Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota did not meet the deadline set by a Minnesota state committee to produce documents related to its investigation into the “Feeding Our Future” fraud scandal.

The House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee of Minnesota took a vote on Tuesday to subpoena the congresswoman, but it failed by falling short by just one vote.

‘This is one of dozens, if not hundreds of things we are investigating. We have had hundreds of whistleblower reports. They continue to come in weekly.’

Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican member of the committee, excoriated Omar in comments to Fox News.

“It shows her continued disdain for the taxpayer,” she said. “She feels like she’s above having to answer for her involvement in the fraud and her responsibility as a member of Congress who … passed the bill that took the guardrails off the school nutrition program that led to the conditions that enabled Feeding Our Future.”

Robbins said committee members reached out to Omar several times and had not received a response.

She tied the fraud to Omar passing the MEALS Act in March 2020. At least 65 people have been convicted in relation to the massive fraud ring at Feeding Our Future.

“I do think the subpoena is important. This is one of dozens, if not hundreds of things we are investigating. We have had hundreds of whistleblower reports. They continue to come in weekly,” Robbins added. “Even though the committee will no longer have official hearings, we will continue to investigate these whistleblower reports and webs of fraud.”

Robbins said she would seek to have Republicans in the U.S. Congress seek a subpoena against Omar next.

“I don’t know if they are, but they would have the same authority ,and it’s still relevant to them because it’s a federal program that’s been swindled,” she said. “So I don’t know if they would be willing to do it, but it’s worth asking.”

A Blaze News request for comment to Omar’s office was not immediately answered.

RELATED: ‘Feeding Our Future’ scam artist agrees to plea deal with a slap-on-the-wrist sentence

“Democrat Ilhan Omar has shown her disdain for the taxpayers. She believes she’s above answering for her role in the Feeding our Future fraud,” Robbins wrote on social media. “We’ve sent her multiple letters and invites, but zero response from Ilhan Omar — what is she hiding?”

Republicans have also questioned Omar’s suspicious growth in assets as reported in her financial disclosures. After months of criticism, Omar released a revision that significantly lowered the amount of reported assets by millions of dollars.

Robbins is also running for Minnesota governor.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Rep ilhan omar of minnesota, Feeding our future scam, Omar fraud allegations, Politics, State rep kristin robbins 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stern warning to Iran while substituting as the White House press secretary on Tuesday.

Rubio took on a briefing room full of reporters after Karoline Leavitt took time off from her role as press secretary in order to spend time at home with a newborn child, her second.

‘They really shouldn’t test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump. … If they test him, ultimately, they will lose.’

Rubio issued a warning to Iran that it should take the diplomatic path the Trump administration is offering in order to avoid the other option of economic ruin and defeat.

“There’s a real diplomatic path. … If there is one there, it could be one that leads them to reconstruction, to prosperity, and to stability, and to not posing a threat to the world. The alternative is growing isolation, economic collapse, and ultimately total defeat,” Rubio said.

Peace negotiations between Iran and the U.S. have focused on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been shut down, causing high gas prices across the globe.

“I know what the right choice is for Iran. I hope that the people over there making decisions will make the right one,” he added.

“They really shouldn’t test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump,” Rubio concluded. “He has proven time and again that he will back up what he says — and if they test him, ultimately, they will lose. The hard way, the easy way, the long way, the short way — they will lose.”

He went on to discuss the situation with the energy shipments to Cuba, claiming that “there’s no oil blockade on Cuba per se” but that Venezuela had chosen not to provide free oil to the island nation.

“Their economic model doesn’t work. It doesn’t work, and the people who are in charge can’t fix it. And the reason they can’t fix it is not just because they’re communists — that’s bad enough. But they’re incompetent communists,” he said. “The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent one.”

Rubio also said there was no change in U.S. relations with Venezuela.

RELATED: ‘We are not doing this any more’: Rubio to strip billions in foreign aid from ‘NGO industrial complex’

At one point, he lightheartedly noted that the briefing room was overloaded with journalists.

“You can ask two questions, and I’ll pick which one I like better,” he said to one reporter.

Rubio had previously joked that he was taking over the press secretary role based on a popular meme online that shows the state secretary reluctantly taking on numerous new jobs for the administration.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​White house press secretary marco rubio, Us-israel strikes on iran, Marco rubio, White house press briefing, Politics 

An illegal alien accused of torturing dogs at the animal shelter where he worked was arrested and charged with animal torture, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.

The alleged animal abuse at the Working Dogs of Nevada training facility in Las Vegas was first reported by a woman who applied for a job and surreptitiously took video of the treatment of the dogs in February.

‘This disgusting criminal tortured dogs at the shelter where he worked.’

Those allegations led to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Section performing a search warrant at the business and the removal of 35 dogs on April 1.

John Young Cotter Johnstone, 38, was arrested at that time and charged with four felony counts of willfully or maliciously torturing, maiming, or mutilating an animal kept for companionship or pleasure.

Tabitha Berube, 32, was also arrested and charged with one count of the same crime.

On Tuesday, DHS confirmed that Johnstone was an illegal alien from the United Kingdom after he entered the country in 2021 but overstayed his visa since Feb. 2022. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer request the day after his arrest, and he was turned over to federal custody.

Some of the secret video footage was published by KTNV-TV and showed a man kicking and dragging a dog.

DHS said the other videos provided to police showed Johnstone using shock collars and swinging dogs in mid-air by their leashes.

“This disgusting criminal tortured dogs at the shelter where he worked,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

“Thanks to the cooperation of Clark County officials who honored the ICE detainer, this freak is in ICE custody,” she added. “Seven of the 10 safest cities cooperate with ICE. We need more state and local politicians to work with us to keep criminals off our streets and out of our country.”

RELATED: Ohio woman pleads guilty to horrific child sex abuse charges and bestiality — and will testify against her husband

The woman who recorded the alleged abuse later adopted two of the dogs, according to the KTNV report.

“Seeing the use of the shock collars and the way the dog was screaming because he was being shocked and being drug across the floor, it was a horrible thing to witness,” she told KVVU-TV.

“Everything in me, I wanted to tell them to not do that to an animal, but I knew if I did I wouldn’t be able to get the evidence that I did get,” she added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Illegal alien from uk, Las vegas dog training abuse, Dog torture, Video dog abuse, Politics 

A 31-year-old California man named Cole Tomas Allen was charged with the attempted assassination of President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Armed with guns and knives, he allegedly fired shots while trying to breach security at the Washington Hilton in an attempt to assassinate the president and other administration officials. Fortunately, Trump, the first lady, and others were safely evacuated by the Secret Service, and no casualties occurred.

When BlazeTV host of “Strange Encounters” Rick Burgess heard the news, he immediately suspected that Allen acted under demonic influence. Now, after diving into his history, he’s almost certain of it.

Allen’s professional persona as a self-employed indie game developer was the first red flag for Rick. Even though his game is described as “nonviolent,” it includes shooting.

“I have an issue with a game that involves fighting and shooting to be in any way, shape, or form deemed nonviolent,” says Rick.

Allen’s manifesto — specifically the “anti-Christian rhetoric” — also gave him pause.

“One of the things he had a real problem with,” says Rick, “was the turn-the-other-cheek instruction from Jesus.”

“Biblical truth is becoming hate speech, or it’s becoming, in this case, instruction that should be ignored. … We don’t have to look very far to see the demonic part of this,” he continues.

Further, Allen — a Caltech and California State University grad — “was educated in an education system that I personally believe has been taken over by a lot of demonic-type ideology,” Rick adds.

Many universities today, he argues, don’t actually educate students but rather “indoctrinate” them with ideologies that stand in direct “conflict with God’s standard and the Scriptures.” He believes Allen was likely a victim of this.

In his manifesto, Allen outlined his plans to kill President Trump and other high-ranking officials and acknowledged that his plan would likely culminate in severe consequences for him personally — which Rick saw as another indicator of demonic influence.

“Remember one of the markers of demonic activity is that usually those that are possessed by demons — they are sent on a mission where they will be killed or they will kill themselves,” he says.

Allen’s manifesto also acknowledged that his assassination plan felt “awful” to the point of wanting to vomit — but that the internal “rage” he felt was all-consuming.

He wrote, “Oh and if anyone is curious is how doing something like feels: it’s awful. I want to throw up; I want to cry for all the things I wanted to do and never will, for all the people whose trust this betrays; I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”

“And that’s where you see some markers of demonic activity,” says Rick.

“Demons convince people to do things that at the end of it all ultimately will either end their life on earth or their life will be destroyed forever, and he did it anyway.”

To hear more of Rick’s spiritual analysis on Cole Allen and other cases of “demons in the headlines,” watch the episode above.

Want more from Rick Burgess?

To enjoy more bold talk and big laughs, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Assassination attempt, Attempted assassination, Blaze, Blaze media, Blazetv, Cole thomas allen, Demonic influence, President trump, Rick burgess, Strange encounters, Strange encounters with rick burgess, White house correspondents 

CBS News debuted a “60 Minutes” report on Sunday that delved into the supposedly troubling trend of Americans bypassing official channels to help other Americans who are struggling in the aftermath of natural disasters.

“What if we told you that after natural disasters, some of those who descend on hard-hit communities with offers to help are anti-government conspiracists and white nationalists?” Lesley Stahl said at the outset of the episode.

‘Shameless and transparent.’

While the geriatric talking head clutched pearls over a pattern of life-saving help from undesirable sources — namely “anti-government, far-right groups” — video played showing men helping to clear brush, distribute supplies, and reinforce disaster-stricken Americans.

Among those men reportedly featured in the montage are members of the multiracial Virginia Kekoas militia group, which provided aid in 2024 to those areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and neglected by the Biden administration.

The “60 Minutes” report — which strategically focuses on the efforts of Patriot Front and Active Club, a pair of groups regarded as white supremacist hate groups by the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center — smears unsanctioned volunteers who are “far-right” and/or affiliated with militia groups as “disaster tourists who are out to sow doubt in government, soften their own image, and gain followers.”

In addition to leaning on Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin’s critique of the challenges supposedly posed by “misinformation” and “outside folks” in disaster areas, “60 Minutes” turned to Freddy Cruz, a program manager at the Western States Center — a Portland-based leftist organization whose bread and butter appears to be concern-mongering about perceived white nationalism — for help in framing the story.

RELATED: Klansman allegedly on SPLC payroll was ‘true believer’ white supremacist, not reformed infiltrator

ALLISON JOYCE/AFP/Getty Images

“These people come in, they hand out water, they help clean up the debris,” Stahl said. “Whatever their ideology, they’re doing something positive, aren’t they?”

“What we’re seeing is actually these groups will show up and generate a whole bunch of social media content,” Cruz said. “We’re dubbing it ‘disaster tourism.'”

This and the other bizarre attacks in the report did not go over well with some of the self-giving groups and individuals who have repeatedly stepped into the breach in those moments where the government’s relief efforts have proven wanting.

The United Cajun Navy — a nonprofit organization that was not mentioned in the “60 Minutes” episode by name but has for decades engaged in life-saving rescue operations, humanitarian assistance, and logistical support in areas hard-hit by floods, hurricanes, and other ruinous natural events — noted on X, “We have many media outlets that are very good to us. Then there’s this trash.”

“This SCREAMS ‘Funded by the [SPLC],” wrote the UCN, which in the wake of Hurricane Helene joined forces on aid efforts with Mercury One — another outfit whose relief efforts “60 Minutes” smeared by implication. “Even though we aren’t mentioned, we would still be happy to comment ON THE RECORD about what [horse manure] this is. It’s time to put 60 Minutes out to pasture, Holla!”

Shawn Hendrix, the “expert survival dad” featured on MrBeast’s YouTube channel who was among those who helped victims of Hurricane Helene, said in response to CBS News’ agitprop, “Not one ‘left’-leaning news station reached out to me during the disaster. They pretended it wasn’t happening because Biden was president and Cooper was governor, failing us badly. I was up there for months and never once saw a CNN camera or MSNBC crew. Now, over a year later, they want to create some wild narrative. They weren’t there, so how did they know?”

“I, however, was there,” Hendrix continued. “The only people being selective about who they helped were FEMA. I saw no racism; no one cared who you voted for. We were all just surviving and serving.”

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre tweeted, “SPLC funding the KKK story drops[.] A week later 60 Minutes just happens to run a ‘hey that white guy helping you while your house was destroyed is probably a fascist’ segment.”

“Shameless and transparent,” MacIntyre added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Active club, Americans, Anti-government, Auron macintyre, Biden administration, Cbs news, Cnn, Disaster relief, Fascist segment, Fema, Freddy cruz, Government, Henderson county sheriff, Hurricane helene, Kkk, Lowell griffin, Mercury one, Militia, Natural disasters, Patriot front, Portlandbased organization, Southern poverty law center, Splc, United cajun navy, Virginia kekoas, Western states center, Politics, Lesley stahl 

“Anti-ICE” signs are reportedly popping up all over official buildings in Los Angeles at the order of Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for re-election.

Bass ordered the signs to be installed at over 450 sites in order to warn federal agents against entering and using the locations to launch immigration enforcement operations.

‘This whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force, or effect on anything.’

“I will not stand by while federal agents use our neighborhoods as staging grounds for fear and intimidation,” Bass said in a statement to KTTV-TV. “In Los Angeles, we are setting clear boundaries: City property will not be used to carry out these raids.”

Bill Essayli, the first assistant United States attorney for the Central District of California, derided the signs and the order from Bass.

“I just think this whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force, or effect on anything the federal government does,” he said. “Federal agents will go anywhere they need to go to enforce federal law, including city property.”

He went on to deny the signs would prevent federal officers from performing their duty.

“No. Not at all. They’re null and void. They mean nothing to us,” he said of the signs.

The signs read as follows:

“This property is owned or controlled by the city of Los Angeles. It may only be used for its intended city purpose and not used for immigration enforcement as a staging area, processing location, or operations base.”

The sign prominently cites Mayor Bass, whose beleaguered re-election campaign has been hamstrung by low approval ratings from Angelenos.

While L.A. municipal races are technically nonpartisan, Bass is a prominent member of the Democratic Party. She even gave a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

RELATED: More than 100 outraged community members denounce elementary school teacher over 2-word post about ICE

KTTV said officials did not say how much the signage cost the city, but the news outlet estimated it could have cost about $250,000.

The signs are posted at transit hubs, parks, libraries, zoos, and parking lots.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Mayor karen bass, Anti-ice signs in los angeles, Bill essayli, Trump admin vs los angeles, Politics 

Legendary country star Dolly Parton says in a video on social media that she is canceling some concert appearances out of health concerns.

Parton, who turned 80 in January, had postponed a Las Vegas residency in September over health issues, but the six shows have now been canceled completely.

‘I can’t be dizzy, carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels … not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits.’

“I’m here to give you an update on a few things going on in my life,” Parton said. “First, it’s concerning my health. And I have some good news and a little bad news. But the good news is, I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day.”

She added that she had troubles with kidney stones that have taken a toll on her digestive system as well as her immune system.

“It’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say,” she continued. “And of course I can’t be dizzy, carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels … not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality.”

She compared herself to a classic car that needs some rebuilding to continue running well.

“Once restored, it can be better than ever, but when they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine, that my transmission is slipping, my oil pan is leaking, and my muffler is busted, and my shocks and pistons need to be replaced,” she added.

“And for sure my spark plugs need to be changed — because you know as well as I know that I can’t lose my spark.”

RELATED: Dolly Parton raises $9 million for victims of Gatlinburg fires

She said she was working on opening a museum and hotel in Nashville as well as writing and reworking a Broadway musical based on her life.

Parton kept her characteristic sense of humor despite the sad news.

“I know I’m still crazy, but they didn’t mention nothing about my mental health!” she joked.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Dolly parton, Celebrity health issues, Las vegas residency, Country star, Politics, Entertainment 

Under the guise of “comedy,” late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has long made claims about President Trump and his supporters that don’t hold water, as well as refused to apologize for jokes like his recent “widow” line aimed at Melania Trump.

But when Aaron Rodgers made a similar joke about Kimmel a couple of years ago, the comedian went on a long rant condemning the former NFL quarterback for his comments.

“There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, that are really hoping that [list] doesn’t come out,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“He decided to insinuate that I am a pedophile,” Kimmel responded in a January 2024 monologue. “This is how these nuts do it now. You don’t like Trump, you’re a pedophile. It’s their go-to move. And it shows you how much they actually care about pedophilia.”

“If you are a member of a group that thinks it’s okay to randomly call someone a child molester because you don’t like what that person has to say, maybe you should rethink being a part of that group,” he continued.

“The same doesn’t apply to calling people Nazis,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray interjects.

Kimmel went on to claim that when he does “get something wrong,” he apologizes for it.

“Which is what Aaron Rodgers should do, which is what a decent person would do, but I bet he won’t,” he added.

CNN’s Jake Tapper then went on defense for Kimmel as well, calling Rodgers “wildly irresponsible.”

“Tapper then injected himself into this whole controversy at the time between Kimmel and Rodgers,” executive producer Keith Malinak chimes in.

“New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is facing intense and frankly well-deserved criticism over comments he made on ESPN’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ in which Rodgers made false allegations about accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and a popular late-night comedian,” Tapper said on CNN.

“False, defamatory, wildly irresponsible, and not funny,” he continued in defense of Kimmel. “If Rodgers was trying to be funny. This is child sex trafficking.”

“Frankly, just the latest example of Aaron Rodgers using his platform to spread misleading and false information. So wildly irresponsible,” he added.

“Methinks you doth protest too much,” Malinak comments, shocked.

“I mean, it was a joke,” Gray adds.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Aaron rodgers, Blaze media, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Blazetv host, Child molester, Child sex trafficking, Cnn, False allegations, Jake tapper, Jeffrey epstein, Jimmy kimmel, Keith malinak, Nazis, New york jets, Nfl quarterback, Pat gray, Pat gray unleashed, President trump, Sex trafficker, The blaze 

Ottawa and members of the eastern ruling class of Canada have made no secret of their contempt for Canada’s resource-rich prairie provinces and their inhabitants, proving time and again their willingness to simultaneously exploit the West’s wealth and hinder its progress.

‘Albertans are engaged and this is an issue people want to have a say on.’

While the powers that be might not be losing sleep over alienating the residents of these provinces, they could soon lose something far more precious: a province roughly 1.56 times bigger than California that’s home to over 5 million people, vast natural beauty, the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the world, a large variety of valuable metallic and industrial minerals, and Atlanta’s former NHL franchise.

How it started

Canadians — not so much those in the 18-to-34 age bracket, who largely voted Conservative, but those over the age of 55 — decided last year to award another four years to the Liberal government that in the preceding years oversaw a historic growth of the federal deficit, numerous tax hikes, an unprecedented influx of immigrants, a spike in illegal immigration, rising crime, unanswered church burnings, a worsening housing crisis, and the rise of state-facilitated suicide as a leading cause of death nationally.

Unlike certain progressive regions that got what they wanted in the form of another Liberal government, the Province of Alberta flatly rejected World Economic Forum regular and self-identified “European” Mark Carney and his woke party.

The Conservatives netted 91.9% of the vote in Alberta, the province with the youngest population. The Liberals alternatively brought in a measly 5.4%.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith acknowledged her fellows’ frustration at the time, stating, “A large majority of Albertans are deeply frustrated that the same government that overtly attacked our provincial economy almost unabated for the past 10 years has been returned to government.”

RELATED: Priest breaks hip — now Canada apparently wants him dead

Elections Canada

While there has long been chatter about Alberta possibly separating from Canada, the 2025 federal election energized the secessionist movement.

Proponents of Albertan sovereignty were further emboldened after the provincial legislature passed amendments to the Citizen Initiative Act, which make it easier to start a referendum, including one on separating from Canada.

On Jan. 2, Alberta’s chief electoral officer issued the separatist group Stay Free Alberta’s citizen initiative petition, kicking off a 120-day signature collection period and setting the stage for a possible referendum in the event the group could secure at least 177,732 signatures, which amounts to 10% of eligible voters.

How it’s going

Stay Free Alberta petitioners, accompanied by hundreds of supporters, delivered the goods to Elections Alberta’s Edmonton office on Monday.

The separatists claim to have collected 301,620 signatures, state media reported. Another 1,500 signatures were allegedly late in coming owing to problems with Canada Post, the nation’s strike-happy, government-owned postal delivery service.

Stay Free Alberta leader Mitch Sylvestre told the crowd, “This process shows that Albertans are engaged and this is an issue people want to have a say on.”

Elections Alberta confirmed that Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure has received the petition and signature sheets from Sylvestre.

The verification is, however, on hold until Justice Shaina Leonard — an appointee of the Trudeau Liberal government — rules on a legal challenge advanced by a pair of Indian tribes that claim the petition process threatens treaty rights. Her decision is expected later this month.

Should the Indians’ legal challenge fail, the province will have 21 days to verify the petition.

If deemed successful, the petition will be submitted to provincial officials, who will then decide whether to sign off on a province-wide referendum, which could take place as soon as Oct. 19. Premier Smith previously indicated that if the requisite number of signatures were collected, she would put the question to a referendum.

RELATED: ‘AMERICAN INVASION’: Flailing Canada PM Mark Carney invokes historical grudge in latest lob at Trump

Leah Hennel/Bloomberg/Getty Images

An Abacus Data survey of 1,000 Alberta adults conducted in late February found that 26% of respondents support Alberta ceasing to be a Canadian province and becoming a sovereign country. Sixty-four percent of respondents signaled opposition, and 9% said they were undecided. The idea of regional independence was apparently most intolerable to those in the 60+ age cohort, 71% of whom signaled opposition.

A poll conducted last month by Canadian state media, whose coverage has largely been critical of the independence movement, said that 57% of United Conservative Party voters — those who back Alberta’s current ruling party — would vote for separation. Supporters of the province’s socialist New Democrat Party were almost unanimous in their opposition to breaking from the federation and Canada’s leftist central power, with 98% saying they would vote against the initiative.

When asked on Tuesday how he would prevent Albertan separatists from succeeding in a possible referendum, Prime Minister Carney said that “there’s the rule of law — there’s the Clarity Act which has been opined upon by the Supreme Court,” and “any referenda in any part of Canada need to be consistent with that.”

The Clarity Act sets out the conditions under which the federal government would negotiate the separation of a province.

Carney, who also appears hopeful that the Indian tribes’ legal challenge might prevail, added that Ottawa will in the meantime act “in the spirit of cooperative federalism, making the country work, making it work for Albertans, making it work for indigenous peoples, making it work for all Canadians.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Secession, Separatism, Alberta, Canada, Mark carney, Calgary, Edmonton, Secede, North america, Independence, Albertan, Danielle smith, Canadian, Elites, Laurentian elites, Ottawa, Alienation, Sovereignty, Free alberta, Politics 

When Viktor Orbán lost the Hungarian parliamentary election last month, most of the coverage told a familiar story: Liberal democracy had defeated nationalist authoritarianism. Left had beaten right. Those headlines, while partly true, left out an important point that has implications well beyond Hungary.

What actually drove ordinary Hungarian voters to the polls wasn’t ideology. It was economic stagnation, rising inflation, and falling living standards.

Traditional right and left parties may be north or south, regardless of the partisan language we brand them with.

Widely classified as far right, Orbán had governed in a strongly interventionist manner: nationalizing industries, rewarding allies, punishing competitors. He did not lose because Hungary turned left. He lost because his brand of right-wing economic intervention had made people poorer, and they noticed.

That distinction points to a flaw in the political vocabulary we have been using for two centuries.

The left-right spectrum was born in the French National Assembly, where supporters of the king sat to the right of the presiding officer and revolutionaries to the left. Somehow we are still using it, as if the geometry of an 18th-century parliament contains all the wisdom we need for the 21st-century world.

It doesn’t. And on some level, most of us already know it.

Instead, the political compass now looks more like an actual compass, with north, west, east, and south poles. The traditional right-left debate is between east and west. But there is an additional north-south debate that relates to political parties’ support of competition, open trade, and property rights (north), or support of statism, industrial policy, and government intervention (south).

This north-south debate is every bit as important, and it illustrates how traditional right and left parties may be north or south, regardless of the partisan language we brand them with.

Here is the error of the traditional axis: It puts so much energy into the horizontal argument, left versus right, progressive versus conservative, that we have largely stopped asking the vertical question: not who should wield state power, but how much state power should exist at all.

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, which has measured market conditions across 184 countries for 30 years, finds that economies it classifies as “free” average around $112,000 in per capita GDP, while those it classifies as “repressed” average roughly $10,000. A tenfold gap, consistent across decades.

The Index has its critics. Jeffrey Sachs has argued that it measures current wealth better than it predicts growth. Even so, the broad pattern it documents is not seriously disputed. More economic freedom tends, over time, to correlate with more prosperity.

If you accept even a modest version of that premise, the compass begins to replace the old map entirely.

Due north, on this map, represents genuine economic freedom: voluntary exchange and limited coercion. Due south is the statist trap, whether administered by socialists or nationalists. What unites them is not ideology, but the same drive to expand state control over economic life, with the same results.

The distinction that matters is not the flag you wave getting there, but how far south you end up.

The horizontal axis doesn’t disappear; it shifts from economics to culture. Both left and right have northern and southern variants. Market-oriented progressives sit in the northeast; market-oriented conservatives in the northwest. The southern quadrants — interventionist left and interventionist right — share more with each other than either would care to admit.

RELATED: Universal basic income is a dangerous delusion

Blaze Media Illustration

The northeast quadrant is where the most instructive examples sit. Paul Keating in Australia and Roger Douglas in New Zealand were leaders on the left who pursued serious market liberalization. They were not ideological converts but pragmatists who concluded that the social programs they cared about required a productive economy to fund them.

Critics will note that both Keating and Douglas presided over substantial social spending alongside their market reforms, but this misses the point. Keating and Douglas understood something their ideological allies did not: that a government that destroys the market in pursuit of social goals will eventually have neither.

Orbán’s Hungary sat in the southwest quadrant: culturally conservative, economically interventionist. It was as state-directed in practice as many of the left-wing governments it claimed to oppose. The southwest quadrant has no ideology. It has only consequences.

None of this means markets are perfect. But the relevant comparison is never between a flawed market and a perfect government. It is between a flawed market and a flawed government.

In that comparison, the historical record is not close. What this compass insists on is that voters stop evaluating politicians purely on cultural grounds and start demanding an account of the vertical axis too.

Hungarian voters, faced with the concrete consequences of statism, made an economic judgment. They didn’t need an ideology. They needed cheaper groceries and a functioning future for their kids. It is a practical, unsentimental instinct. Focused on results, not rhetoric.

The left-right debate will continue. It probably should. But the question that matters comes first: not which side you are on, but how far north you are willing to go.

​Orban, Viktor orban, Politics, Compass, Left-right, Economics, Opinion & analysis 

Not everyone is a winner, and President Trump announced on Tuesday that he wants to put competition back at the forefront for American youth.

To prove this, Trump is reviving a nearly 70-year-old policy that was phased out by President Barack Obama in his second term.

‘We want to make sure our kids have the best opportunity to succeed in life.’

The commander in chief brought a number of high-profile athletes, Cabinet members, and children into the Oval Office to sign a memorandum to bring competition back to kids all across the United States.

As part of an executive order signed last July that reinstated the Presidential Fitness Test, Trump announced at the White House that he would bring back the National Physical Fitness Award as well as the Presidential Fitness Award.

According to Harvard Health, President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in 1956. It included a one-mile run, pull-ups or push-ups, sit-ups, a shuttle run, and a sit-and-reach exercise for flexibility.

The test endured in different forms all the way up until 2013, when President Obama replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

Gone were the awards, once listed on a government website under the President’s Challenge. The president’s award recognized students who scored at or above the 85th percentile on all five activities, while the national award went to those who scored above the 50th percentile in all five activities.

RELATED: Make America Fit Again: Presidential Fitness Test returns after 13 years

– YouTube

President-elect John F. Kennedy is credited with popularizing the fitness craze in the 1960s after writing an article titled “The Soft American” for Sports Illustrated.

In his writings, Kennedy cited research he had come across that spanned 15 years, comparing the physical fitness of American children versus the fitness of children in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. Kennedy wrote that for six tests evaluating muscular strength and flexibility, over 57% of American children failed one or more, while less than 9% of the Europeans did.

Kennedy later proposed the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, which would later establish the awards program under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. referenced his uncle’s article at the White House on Tuesday, calling the physical fitness program “an enduring right of passage for us that everybody in my generation remembers.”

“It was a benchmark for measuring national physical fitness,” the secretary continued, adding that he hopes Americans “help each other get in shape so that we can prepare for our great future that this administration is providing for this country.”

RELATED: The left can’t handle Hegseth’s combat stance

– YouTube

Also joining the president in the Oval Office were former professional athletes, including NHL player T.J. Oshie, MLB pitcher Noah Syndergaard, and golfer Gary Player, as well as current pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau.

DeChambeau’s remarks were celebrated when he thanked the administration for prioritizing the physical health of American youth.

“We want to make sure our kids have the best opportunity to succeed in life. … Their physical fitness is a huge priority in helping them become better human beings,” he said.

Also in attendance were War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​American youth, Fitness, National physical fitness award, Presidential physical fitness test, Presidents council, Sports, The soft american, President trump, Obama, Politics