Several super PACs linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee reportedly poured over $20 million into multiple House primary races in Illinois in hopes of advancing favored candidates or at the very least kneecapping candidates critical of Israel.

Some of the groups’ investments paid off.

‘There’s no gray lines as it relates to their beliefs.’

For instance, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller — a beneficiary of nearly $4.5 million in ad spending from the AIPAC-linked group Affordable Chicago Now — defeated former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Democrat primary for the state’s 2nd Congressional District.

In the Democrat primary for the 8th Congressional District, former Rep. Melissa Bean, another beneficiary of spending by an AIPAC-aligned group, also came out on top, beating Junaid Ahmed, a leftist whom AIPAC faulted for centering “his campaign on attacking Israel.”

However, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, a candidate who ran in the 7th District Democrat primary to replace retiring incumbent Rep. Danny Davis, turned out to be a bad investment.

With 90% of the votes in, the Associated Press called the race for state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat with a history of tax fraud who secured 23.9% of the total vote. Conyears-Ervin, one of only handful of candidates who said in a WBEZ-FM survey that she did not oppose sending U.S. military aid to Israel, trailed behind with 20.5% of the vote.

RELATED: Jesse Jackson Jr.’s political comeback fails miserably after he served prison time

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

The United Democracy Project, an AIPAC super PAC established in 2022, poured nearly $5 million into positive ads for Conyears-Ervin, reported Politico.

Austin Weekly News reported that the AIPAC group’s intervention in the race was criticized by many of the other 13 candidates, including Ford, who was backed by the retiring incumbent.

“I’ve also had meetings with the very people that’s spending this money,” said Ford. “They want you to say ‘yes’ to everything that they have requests for. There’s no gray lines as it relates to their beliefs. It’s a yes or no. … ‘Don’t have a conversation, that this is what we want. We want you to vote with us in Washington 100% of the time, and we want to control our member,’ and that’s what this is about. And I refused that type of relationship.”

Ford suggested further last month that “this money dwarfs, or tries to dwarf, the voice of the voters in the 7th Congressional District, and it would tell you immediately who this candidate will be beholden to. Follow the money.”

Kina Collins, one of the leftist candidates defeated on Tuesday, said last month that it was “not going to help [Conyears-Ervin’s] case that AIPAC is backing her.”

While AIPAC’s support may have negatively affected Conyears-Ervin’s chances, she also had plenty of baggage. For instance, she reportedly agreed in September to pay a $30,000 fine to resolve charges brought by the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Conyears-Ervin, an ally of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), was accused of misusing city resources and retaliating against whistleblowers — allegations she denies, reported WTTW.

Conyears-Ervin’s race was among the Illinois primaries regarded as a test for AIPAC. The lobbying group characterized the night as a win overall, however, stating, “Illinois voters rejected half a dozen anti-Israel candidates across several heavily Democratic open-seat races. These results further demonstrate that campaigns defined largely by opposition to AIPAC, our members, and the values we represent continue to fall short on election night.”

The group added, “Although Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin did not advance, AIPAC congratulates State Representative La Shawn K. Ford on his win. The pro-Israel community is proud to have helped defeat Kina Collins, who has voiced anti-Israel views over multiple election cycles.”

Ford — who was indicted on 17 counts of bank fraud but ultimately pleaded guilty in 2014 to only a single misdemeanor charge of tax fraud — will face off in the general election with Republican nominee Chad Koppie, a farmer and retired Delta Airlines pilot whose “main goal is trying to ban abortion.”

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I went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting the other night, a meeting I have gone to sporadically over the years. It’s in a big church and tends to average around 200 people every Saturday night.

I was immediately surprised at the sparse attendance. This is something I have been seeing a lot lately. I was just at a meeting the week before that was half its normal size.

The idea of a person having a ‘drinking problem’ feels almost quaint now that most major American cities are full of drug-addicted zombies wandering the streets.

It’s not unusual for attendance at AA meetings to ebb and flow. One meeting will get hot for a while. Then it will die down and another meeting will become popular.

Also, COVID has had a lingering affect on AA meetings. People got comfortable doing Zoom meetings, and now they don’t want to leave their homes.

*******

I got a coffee and took a seat. The first of the night’s three speakers went to the podium.

He was from Texas. It was very entertaining to hear his accent and his crazy drinking stories. The next woman bottomed out in Los Angeles while working in the film business. The third person was a local guy and told his story of basically being in the grip of alcohol from age 13 onward.

That sober life

I’ve been sober for a long time. So I know how AA stories go. They’re all different, but at their heart, they are all the same. Also, there’s a certain AA language people use to describe their experiences. There’s a rhythm to the stories.

It’s all very familiar and routine for me. It’s a nice feeling to settle in and listen to your fellow drunks describe their experiences.

But sitting there this time, a dark thought came over me. I wondered if AA was getting old in some way. If I’m in my 60s, and this meeting felt like the perfect way to spend a Saturday night, what would it feel like to a younger person? Probably very old-fashioned.

AA’s glory days

AA began in the 1930s. It caught on immediately. Over the decades, it literally saved millions of lives and vastly improved millions of others.

In theological circles, many consider Alcoholics Anonymous to be the most profound and important spiritual movement of the 20th century.

But what now? Can it continue indefinitely?

I considered who founded AA in the first place: white Christian men, most of them professionals. Of course, AA evolved and adapted as it grew, quickly including women, younger people, and other ethnicities and social classes.

But it still bears the marks of its beginnings. And institutions with those kinds of roots tend to get targeted and harassed by leftist activists — even the most benevolent ones.

RELATED: When ‘live, laugh, love’ means ‘pour me another’

Matt Cardy/Tatyana Larina/Getty Images

First they came for …

So far, no one has accused AA of being sexist or racist or “white supremacist.” But it seems possible the left could find something wrong with it.

Not to mention that AA is a lot like church. There are prayers and talk of God, and many meetings actually take place in church basements.

And we all know how socialist/communist countries dealt with churches in the past. They shut them down.

I doubt that will happen, but the left could certainly try to discredit AA. Or file lawsuits against it, as with the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts were just minding their own business, until they were obliterated by lawsuits brought by the radical left.

To drink or not to drink

Another consideration: Is alcoholism still a major problem in our society? I mean, it obviously can be. But is it as bad as fentanyl? Or meth?

It usually takes years of drinking to seriously damage your body. Our new super-addictive street drugs can kill you in a week.

The idea of a person having a “drinking problem” feels almost quaint now that most major American cities are full of drug-addicted zombies wandering the streets.

In recent years, alcohol seems to have faded as the recreational intoxicant of choice. Think of how popular alcohol was in the 1940s and 1950s. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s ever-intoxicated “Rat Pack” became the symbol of suave masculinity. The idea of a man not drinking was unthinkable. That’s what men did. They drank.

But not any more. Oh, men still drink. They drink Evian water out of their $30 water bottles.

Teenagers under the influence

And what about teenagers? Do they still drink? I’m sure they do. But not like the generations before them.

When I was in high school, everything we did was combined with alcohol from freshman year onward. That was what we did at social gatherings. That was how we talked to girls.

When you picture contemporary teenagers’ social lives and leisure activities, you see them online. On their phones. Gaming. Posting. Texting.

I don’t remember “reading” as being something I was good at when I was drunk. Or typing on a tiny keyboard.Maybe that’s why Adderall is so popular now. It sharpens your mental skills instead of blurring them.

Into the future

I am not suggesting I want Alcoholics Anonymous to age out or become irrelevant. I love AA. It saved my life. It gave me a life. The friends I made there will be in my heart until the day I die.

But the world is experiencing rapid change. And it seems inevitable that this will affect AA. I hope it can adapt and survive and continue into the future.

Because I, for one, still need a place to go when I’m feeling unsettled and overwhelmed. Where I can drink some bad coffee, lean back in my seat, and enjoy the company of my fellow alcoholics.

​Lifestyle, Aa, Alcoholics anonymous, Sobriety, Blake’s progress 

President Donald Trump’s administration has offered several concessions to persuade lawmakers to restart funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but Democrats continue to refuse to compensate Transportation Security Administration personnel.

The White House and Democratic lawmakers have remained in a negotiation stalemate since the DHS shut down on February 14.

‘If this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports – particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up.’

Border czar Tom Homan and the White House director of legislative affairs, James Braid, wrote a letter dated March 17 to Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Katie Britt of Alabama, detailing the administration’s offered concessions.

The letter, which was shared by the Daily Wire, explained that the “majority” of Democrats’ demands “would make it impossible to fully protect American citizens from dangerous criminal aliens and expose law enforcement and their families to increasing threats of violence.”

“In other words, they would prioritize illegal aliens above American families,” it reads.

The letter detailed how Homan ended the surge operation in Minnesota, canceled Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s roving patrols, updated protocols for dealing with unlawful agitators, deployed body-worn cameras, and enhanced cooperation with local law enforcement.

RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown

Tom Homan. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Homan and Braid stated that the White House has offered to codify several improved guidelines, including expanding the use of body-worn cameras, limiting immigration enforcement activities in certain sensitive locations, increasing the oversight of detention centers, and requiring officers to visibly display their identification.

Despite the administration’s efforts to negotiate, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly failed to make a good-faith effort to compromise, according to Homan and Braid.

“The Administration has worked in good faith to again reach bipartisan agreement on full funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security and institute common-sense operational improvements to federal immigration enforcement operations that enhance the safety of American communities,” the letter reads.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused the White House of not taking the negotiations seriously.

“The issue is, they’re not getting serious,” Schumer stated. “The key issues of warrants when you bust into someone’s house, the key issue of identity of police and no masks, they haven’t budged on those.”

RELATED: ‘Is it even REMOTELY reasonable?’ Scott Jennings demolishes liberal CNN panel on DHS funding feud

Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Meanwhile, TSA agents missed their first full paycheck last week. An estimated 366 TSA agents quit last month, NBC News found.

A TSA spokesperson told Fox News that the national callout rate jumped to 10.19% on March 15, compared to 2% before the shutdown.

“If this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports — particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up,” acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told the news outlet.

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​News, Immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Tom homan, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Donald trump, James braid, Transportation security administration, Tsa, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Dhs shutdown, Adam stahl, Politics 

I’ve been sick the past couple days. In the last 48 hours, I’ve probably spent more time in bed during the day than I have in the past three years combined. It’s been miserable. But more than that, it’s been terrible feeling so useless.

I tried to work as much as I could, but with a fever, my brain turns to mush. Even doing my best, my productivity wasn’t much to write home about. I couldn’t really sleep, so I spent most of the days in a groggy state — lying in bed, looking at my phone.

Maybe friction is essential to life. We imagine wanting a life with no demands, no stress, no deadlines — but maybe we go soft without them.

Really, I was doomscrolling and “bed-rotting,” as our Zoomer friends call it.

I only did it for a couple days, but it was brutal on my mind and spirit. I can only imagine what it does to capable young adults who live like this. No wonder so many Zoomers feel listless, nihilistic — just sort of blah.

Pajama punditry

Feeling useless is bad enough on its own. It’s worse when you’re a spectator, scrolling through short-form videos of other people doing more interesting things. It’s like being kicked when you’re down. Psychological masochism.

There’s something especially bleak about the “bed” in bed-rotting. I’m someone who gets up and gets dressed, who puts on shoes in the morning and takes them off at night. Spending the middle of the day in bed feels wrong in a deeper way. It makes me feel lazy. For some reason, scrolling on the couch at 1 p.m. doesn’t feel as bad as doing it in bed at 1 p.m. Same behavior — but the setting seals the degradation.

“I can’t even rouse myself from bed. I can’t even pretend to engage with the world. I’m just waiting for it to get dark again so I can sleep.”

That’s the feeling. It’s deeply depressing.

Reflecting on a few days of this has clarified something — not just about younger generations, but something more universal: The problem isn’t just distraction. It’s uselessness.

RELATED: Most men buy their clothes too small

Bettman/Getty Images

Needless to say

We need to be needed. That’s the core of it. From love to work to everything in between, being needed gives shape to our lives. When we aren’t needed, we feel it. Even when we say we want a break, want to get away, want to escape the demands — after a while, the absence of need starts to itch. We want it back.

This is why people without children get dogs. They need to be needed. Simple.

It’s also why the looming threat of AI-induced uselessness is so unsettling. If you follow discussions about AI and the future of work, the forecasts can look bleak. Whether or not the worst predictions come true, it’s worth asking what happens if they do.

Give me friction

If large swaths of the workforce are replaced or managed by AI, millions of people could find themselves both unemployed and unneeded. The optimistic view says we’ll have universal basic income — and everyone will be free, comfortable, and happier than ever.

You can only believe that if you misunderstand human nature. We need to work. We need to be rewarded for what we do. We don’t actually want everything handed to us. Five-year-olds might — but not 45-year-olds. And even if we think we do, that feeling dulls quickly. The need to be needed comes back.

Maybe friction is essential to life. We imagine wanting a life with no demands, no stress, no deadlines — but maybe we go soft without them. Maybe we lose something vital when nothing is required of us.

Being needed might be one of the most precious conditions we have, especially in a world moving toward automation and away from human necessity. Preserving that — ensuring people are needed — may be one of the most important challenges of the next decade.

Because it doesn’t matter if we have everything we want — if we’re well-fed and comfortable. If we aren’t needed, we aren’t fulfilled.

​Men’s style, Lifestyle, Family life, The root of the matter, Bed-rotting, Usefulness, Sick 

Former Democrat Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.) faced a brutal primary loss after attempting to revive his political career in the aftermath of a corruption scandal.

Jackson represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until 2012, when he resigned, citing health issues amid a federal investigation into his campaign’s finances. Jackson, son of the late civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr., pled guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for misusing approximately $750,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses.

‘A terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.’

Jackson ultimately served 17 months more than a decade ago. His name recognition and political experience were not enough to secure the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. He earned just 29% of the primary vote, while Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller won with 40.4% of the vote.

Jackson’s scandal-ridden track record was not the only force working against him. As in other primaries across the country, a very powerful lobbying group put its thumb on the scale, likely costing Jackson the race.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims voters were ‘disenfranchised’ following crushing defeat in key Texas primary

Photo by Saul LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has successfully ousted anti-Israel Democrats like former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Cori Bush (Mo.), and Tuesday night was no exception. AIPAC touted a pro-Israel winning streak, saying the organization helped “defeat six would-be Squad members” in the Illinois primaries.

“Six up… Six down!” AIPAC said in a post on X. “A great night for the pro-Israel community and a terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.”

“Tonight’s results tell a critical story: centering campaigns on attacking Israel and demonizing pro-Israel Americans is a losing strategy.”

RELATED: ‘Judgement Day is coming’: Ken Paxton advances with establishment incumbent in key Texas primary

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Jackson was not an overly anti-Israel candidate, but AIPAC deemed Miller more supportive of its cause compared to the former congressman. Miller was reportedly able to rake in support from an AIPAC-aligned group that spent over $4 million on promoting her campaign.

Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District is heavily Democrat, and Miller is expected to secure the House seat in November.

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​Jesse jackson, Jesse jackson jr., Chicago, Illinois, Illinois primary, Democrat primary, Donna miller, Aipac, Politics 

Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien from El Salvador who stole into the U.S. in 2024 and was subsequently released by the Biden administration, is accused of molesting at least nine girls at Fairfax High School in Virginia where he was enrolled in the 11th grade, even though he is at least 18 years old.

Adding insult to injury, the school allegedly downplayed the scandal.

‘They have attempted to sweep it under the rug.’

The alleged offenses took place as recently as Feb. 25. Flores-Ortiz was arrested on March 7 and has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery.

“There’s a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” a mother of one of the victims told WJLA-TV. “It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls. He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months.”

Two of the victims’ mothers said that the school was doing a terrible job handling the situation.

“Abysmal, abysmal,” said one of the mothers. “I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls.”

Fairfax High School principal Georgina Aye reportedly waited over two weeks after the incidents were reported to notify parents in an email, “We are writing to share the news of the recent arrest of a student who was charged with inappropriately touching other students at school. These incidents involved the student touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”

RELATED: ICE arrests child-diddlers and ecstasy traffickers while Dems try to ‘score brownie points,’ DHS says

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Parents lashed out over Aye’s claim that the alleged molestation was simply a matter of a “student touching students’ buttocks.”

“Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping,” one mother told WJLA. “I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn’t be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter’s legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched.”

Another mother said, “The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention seeking.”

“They have attempted to sweep it under the rug,” said one mother.

The City of Fairfax School Board, which oversees Fairfax High School in partnership with the FCPS, said in a statement on Monday that it “takes the recent situation at Fairfax High School very seriously.”

“We support the students who have been directly affected and encourage members of the Fairfax High School community to support one another during this difficult time. Inappropriate conduct has no place in our schools, and we understand the concern and distress this incident has caused for students and families,” said the school board. “We also want to express our support for Principal Dr. Georgina Aye, a student-centered leader who has devoted her career to serving and supporting students. We have confidence in her leadership.”

In addition to receiving what one victim’s mother described as “a completely sanitized letter” from the school’s purportedly “student-centered leader,” parents were allegedly informed by Fairfax County Public Schools that upon his release, Flores-Ortiz would return to school.

FCPS told WJLA in a statement, “While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school.”

FCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

ICE issued a detainer for Ortiz, the agency told WJLA, “to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again.”

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid’s (D) office told Blaze News in a statement:

Israel Flores Ortiz remains in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC). While it is still too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC, and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody if and when he is ordered released.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers.

Flores-Ortiz reportedly requested to be released on bail. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s (D) office told Blaze News that there was a bond hearing, but “after listening to arguments, the judge decided to hold him. He is being held.”

Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reportedly denied Ortiz’s request on Friday after reviewing surveillance video of one of the incidents.

“This 19-year-old criminal illegal alien should NOT have been attending a Virginia high school and allowed to prey on innocent teenage girls. He now faces nine counts of assault and battery. This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s failed open border policies,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women,” continued Bis. “Unfortunately, Governor Abigail Spanberger ended cooperation with ICE and is siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

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​Pedophile, Molester, Molestation, Illegal alien, Immigrant, Illegal, Noncitizen, El salvador, Israel flores ortiz, Fairfax county, Fairfax county public schools, Fairfax, Virginia, Democrat, Kincaid, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Dhs, Politics