Progressive policies haven’t just failed — they’re killing people



Progressives say they have Americans’ best interests at heart, but a quick look at key progressive values suggests otherwise: Not only have these policies failed, they have also proved deadly.

At least 24 people died in the Southern California fires, and dozens more are missing. Meanwhile, AccuWeather estimates the damage and economic losses at $135 billion to $150 billion.

Progressive policies and laws are destroying the American dream. More importantly, they are causing the deaths of countless Americans.

This did not have to happen.

Policies backed by Joe Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) created the ideal conditions for this disaster.

California has not conducted controlled burns, which involve intentionally setting smaller fires to remove brush, dead trees, and other highly flammable materials. Such measures help reduce the risk of large-scale wildfires that can destroy lives and property. However, these prescribed fires must first undergo the National Environmental Policy Act review process, which can take between three and seven years from initiation to completion, according to a 2022 policy brief from the Property and Environment Research Center.

In Los Angeles, Bass approved a 2024 budget that cuts $17.6 million from the fire department. The city also donated firefighting equipment to Ukraine, making it unavailable to combat the current wildfires. Although this equipment was in storage at the time, such details bring little solace to the deceased or to those who have lost their homes.

But California’s policies are not the only ones that have taken American lives. Other progressive measures are responsible for further losses. More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of murder — either in the United States or abroad — live outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, according to ICE data.

In the 12 months ending in July 2024, 13 American men, women, and children were murdered by illegal immigrants, people who had no legal right to remain in this country. These crimes stem from progressive policies that permit cities and states to declare themselves “sanctuaries” for people here illegally, refusing to cooperate with ICE in deporting arrested foreigners.

How many Americans have died because of these sanctuary policies? How many more will die?

Fortunately, Donald Trump’s designated “border czar,” Tom Homan, has vowed to cut funding for locals who do not cooperate with the federal government in deporting illegal aliens.

Moving to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Chicago, we see the travesty of no-cash-bail policies.

According to a study by the Yolo County California District Attorney’s Office, the rate of recidivism was far higher for those “who paid no bail versus those who did pay. … [Those] individually released on zero bail were subsequently rearrested for a total of 163% more crimes than individuals released on bail.”

It isn’t just statistics; it is the story of personal tragedy.

Keaira Bennefield was killed on October 5, 2022, when Adam Bennefield allegedly crashed into her car, pulled out a shotgun, and killed her.

Bennefield had been released from jail less than 24 hours before the killing for savagely beating Keaira in an on-camera attack.

Progressive policies and laws are destroying the American dream. More importantly, they are causing the deaths of countless Americans. This is why we are seeing a global shift to the right. Canada, Argentina, France, and, yes, the United States are returning to conservative values and rejecting the progressive policies of liberal Democrats.

The question is: Has it become bad enough in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago for voters to finally reject progressivism and begin electing conservative politicians?

Atheist offers ironic cure for America's woes: More biblical Christianity



A prominent atheist writer has an ironic prescription for American democracy.

Despite eschewing God, writer Jonathan Rauch believes the Christian expression in America has embraced secularism and liberalism, to the detriment of not only the American church but of American democracy and society.

As the Roman world learned, the gospel of Jesus Christ is transformative. Its power transforms not only people but whole societies.

The solution, he argues, is for Christians to live out their faith authentically, not blown by the winds of progressivism.

"What really needs to happen to get our country on a better track is for Christianity not to become more secular or more liberal, but to become more like itself, to become more truly Christian," he said recently in a New York Times interview.

Specifically, Rauch highlighted three "fundamentals of Christianity" that he believes overlap with fundamentals of Madisonian liberalism.

  1. "Be like Jesus. Imitate Jesus."
  2. "Don't be afraid."
  3. "Forgive each other."

Those are fundamental principles on which the Founding Fathers built this country, Rauch argued, and they ultimately produce other foundational virtues like "truthfulness and lawfulness and the equal dignity of every individual."

Importantly, Rauch explained the problem with abandoning Christian principles in American society: "Once Christianity begins caving in, people begin looking other places for their sources of values."

That a committed atheist would admit that America needs more Christianity — biblical, authentic Christianity — is a telling sign that secularism is a glaring failure. Not only is it an ironic admission, but it underscores the larger crisis in our society: that anti-Christ progressivism, which promises adherents a path to the good life, is a failed project.

As an ideology, anti-Christ progressivism is built on individual autonomy and moral relativism, producing the illusion that each person can be his or her own god.

Live your truth. Do what's best for you. Make yourself happy. Prioritize número uno at the expense of others.

That's the mantra of secularism and anti-Christ progressivism.

The problem, of course, is that not only is this the path to chaos, death, and destruction, but the secular progressive framework lacks, as Rauch observed, the moral and communal cohesion that Christianity provides. And if America is built upon objective principles tied to Christianity like truth, justice, and equality (i.e., every human is created in the image of God, made with inherent worth and dignity), then embracing anti-Christ progressivism and secularism ultimately erodes our society.

The fruit of the secular project is clear to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Rauch's critique cuts to the heart of the issue. Not only is it paramount that American society not abandon God to embrace anti-Christ progressivism, but the Church must be an authentic witness or, in Rauch's words, be "truly Christian."

Remember what Jesus said about his followers in the Sermon on the Mount about salt and light?

Matthew 5:13-15 records Jesus' words:

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside and trampled under foot by people. You are the light of the world. A city located on top of a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house.

When Christians embrace secularism and anti-Christian progressivism — like many of the liberal mainline Protestant denominations — their salt becomes tasteless and they are like a light hidden under a basket.

But to be salt and light is to resist the temptation to conform to secular and/or progressive cultural trends that compromise the essence of authentic Christianity.

It is even more ironic, then, that a Rauch recognizes this important aspect of Christianity.

While Rauch is by no means a Christian, his call to action — to imitate Jesus — is the right prescription for both Christians (of course) and American society as a whole.

Christians should hear this ironic endorsement of Christianity as a compliment: That even a skeptic like Rauch sees the value and truth of authentic Christian faith and understands that genuine Christianity, not secularism, leads to the good life — for you, me, and all of our neighbors.

As the Roman world learned, the gospel of Jesus Christ is transformative. Its power transforms not only people but whole societies.

That's what it has always done, and it will happen again if American Christians rise to the occasion.

WATCH: The 4 most BONKERS videos of the week



One of Liz Wheeler’s favorite segments of “The Liz Wheeler Show” is when she addresses the most unhinged video clips of the week. From CNN segments and FEMA footage to viral TikToks and Harris campaign ads, Liz exposes and breaks down the lunacy infecting society.

This week, the clips feature famous TikToker and certified creep Jeffrey Marsh, a racist Kamala Harris campaign ad, an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper and socialist Bernie Sanders, and footage of FEMA and Border Patrol being inefficient to a level that is actually funny.

In the first clip, Jeffrey Marsh – whose entire social media platform is built on the idea of “grooming children into gender disorders,” encouraging them “to cut off contact with their parents if their parents do not ‘affirm’ their gender,” and urging children “to contact him privately via DM” – argues that Trump support is reason enough to cut a family member out of your life.

“Should you cut off contact with family members just because they are voting for Donald Trump? Yes. … If they are unwilling to change, they must experience consequences, and you should not withhold those consequences from them. The consequence in this case would be they don't get your beautiful, loving, wonderful presence in their lives – it's over, and they are gone,” said Marsh, sporting a makeup-caked face and frilly blouse.

“Not only is Jeffrey Marsh a creep, not only is he grooming children, not only is he obviously dangerous – he was embraced by the Democrat National Committee and invited as a VIP to their convention, which means they endorse what he's doing,” says Liz.

In clip #2, a Harris campaign ad attempts to appeal to black men but ends up insulting them instead.

In the ad, a handsome, 6’5” black man who earns a six-figure salary and works out talks to several attractive women, all of whom are holding a balloon. Initially, they all are interested in him based on his appearance and income, but when he reveals that he isn’t planning on voting, they all pop their balloons, which is the equivalent of swiping left, or rejecting, someone on Tinder.

“Kamala Harris is telling black men that women won't date them if they don't vote for her,” says Liz, adding that this isn’t the first time Harris has insulted black men trying to garner their votes.

Liz points to two other insulting examples of Harris trying to win the black male vote. “Last week she put out a video telling black men that she would give them ‘free money’ if they voted for her. She [also] put out a graphic on X promising black men drugs – marijuana – if they voted for her,” says Liz, adding that this approach is “racist because she’s generalizing all black men, saying all [they] care about is drugs, sex, and money.”

In the third clip, Bernie Sanders indirectly admits that Kamala Harris is lying when she says she has reversed course on fracking, the Green New Deal, and Medicare for all.

When CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Sanders whether or not Harris was making a mistake by abandoning her previous beliefs on those three subjects, Sanders responded with the following:

“I think what we're seeing is a coalition of people – more establishment Democrats and progressive Democrats and progressive independents … come together with the goal of defeating a very dangerous candidate, and that is Donald Trump.”

Liz easily reads between the lines of Sanders’ answer.

“What are the words underneath those words?” she asks. “He admits that Kamala Harris hasn’t rejected his policies – the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, or banning fracking. He believes that Kamala Harris still believes in those things, but he knows that voters reject those things and so Kamala Harris has to lie to voters to trick voters into voting for her.”

In the final clip, Border Patrol and FEMA are seen joining forces to help with hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina. Except neither group is actually helping. Although "joining forces" might be a bit misleading.

The video shows roughly a dozen agents in official uniforms in a long single-file line passing a small tree limb from person to person until it’s finally dumped in a woodpile. The spectacle can only be described as childish.

“This video encapsulates perfectly the inefficiency of government,” laughs Liz, who says she, as a “110-pound woman, could carry more logs than that at one time.”

To see the videos and hear more of Liz’s commentary, watch the clip above.

Want more from Liz Wheeler?

To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Bush, Bowman, Gay, Kendi. All Disintegrated. Their Commonality? Woke Acolytes Are On The Run

'They're tired of DEI, they're tired of the campus protests'

Democrat AGs hatch plot to 'Trump-proof' the liberal agenda if Trump wins — but their motive isn't what it seems



Powerful Democratic leaders in blue states are reportedly forming plans to "Trump-proof" the progressive agenda.

Anticipating the possibility that Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, Democratic attorneys general are planning "an aggressive legal strategy to fight him again in court," according to Politico. Those plans include hiring outside experts and researching areas of the law where they believe they can fight a second Trump administration.

'They make decisions predicated on politics sometimes instead of what they’re statutorily obligated to do.'

The central thesis of the plan is this: Democrat AGs will repeatedly sue the Trump administration for any policy they don't like.

Democrats are framing themselves and their plan as the vanguard of democracy and individual rights. In reality, they want to legally hamstring a new Trump administration for policies on immigration, the environment, elections, and "reproductive health" that do not advance the liberal agenda.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) claimed the effort is about protecting citizens' rights.

"When you look at the first Trump presidency, you can see the devastating impact some of the policies that were pursued by that administration had on millions of people across our state," he told Politico. "We need to be prepared for that possibility, even though it may not come to pass, so we’re not caught flat-footed and we’re ready to stand up for the rights of our residents should that be necessary."

Democrats are thus "preparing for potential legal arguments and building an infrastructure to be ready to go should we need to," he added.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), moreover, boasted that Democrats are experienced at this.

"Our office is not new to this. We've been in this position, in 2016 to 2020. And if necessary, we’ll prepare to fight in the same way again," he said.

Indeed, when Trump was president from 2017–2021, Democratic AGs filed more than 160 multi-state lawsuits against the Trump administration.

The states expected to be involved in the effort include New Jersey, California, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, and potentially Oregon and Washington. Other states with liberal AGs could join their coalition.

Meanwhile, the motive behind the plan isn't exactly what it seems.

While Democratic leaders are interested in protecting progressive policies, they're motivated by the political rewards they could reap by weaponizing their office against Trump.

"Attorneys general often now are looking at the next political step," former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler (D) told Politico. "They make decisions predicated on politics sometimes instead of what they're statutorily obligated to do."

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Bill Maher warns Americans 'extreme wokeness' will result in adopting Canada's progressive immigration, economic problems

Bill Maher warns Americans 'extreme wokeness' will result in adopting Canada's progressive immigration, economic problems



Bill Maher warned his audience that delving too far into "extreme wokeness" will result in Americans facing the same problems that progressive nations have run into.

Maher explained on "Real Time with Bill Maher" that along with woke ideology and legislation comes a whole host of problems and said that the United States is creeping closer to having the same issues as Canada.

Maher pointed to Canada's unemployment rate of 6.1%, as opposed to the United States' 3.8%.

He also noted that Canada has 14 of the top North American cities with the worst air pollution, while the U.S. has just one.

"Canada was where all the treasured goals of liberalism worked perfectly," Maher sarcastically explained.

"It was like NPR come to life but with poutine. Canada was the Statue of Liberty with a low-maintenance haircut and cross-country skis. A giant idealized blue state with single-payer health care, gun control, and abortion on polite demand. Canada was where every woke white college kid wearing pajama pants outdoors who'd had it up to here with America's racist patriarchy dreamed of living someday," he added.

In terms of immigration, the comedian warned that Canada added 1.3 million immigrants in 2023, the equivalent of 11 million in the United States for a single calendar year.

This has resulted in a "housing crisis even worse than ours."

Maher cited a Fraser Institute study that showed median value of a home in the United States is around $346,000 USD. The price of a house in Canada is $487,540 USD.

Bill Maher Destroys Liberal Myths About Canada: It's a 'Cautionary Tale' to America of 'Extreme Wokeness'\n\n"There's only one problem with thinking everything's better in Canada: It's not anymore."\n\n"Last year, Canada added 1.3 million people, which is a lot in one year, the\u2026
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Another comparable statistic the late-night host pointed to was Canada having the highest household debt as a share of the GDP.
He also stated that Canada's health care is the worst among high-income countries and ranked last in the ability to get a same-day or next-day appointment. This, despite the country being the "highest spender on health care as a share of its economy (13.3%)."

The problems in the Great White North culminated for Maher in the woke acceptance of the teacher known as Kayla Lemieux, the alleged transgender-identifying male adult who wore gigantic, prosthetic fake breasts while teaching children.

"This is why people vote for Trump. They say in politics liberals are the gas pedal and conservatives are the brakes," Maher theorized. "I'm generally with the gas pedal, but not if we're driving off a cliff," he added.

Maher touched on transgender surgeries and hormones for children and stated that the U.S. was now an "outlier" on the issue since the U.K. and most European countries that progressives point to for their policies have changed their positions.

"The far left always like to use 'well, Europe does it.' Yeah, no that doesn't work on this one any more, or on immigration," the comedian warned. "Calling it racist doesn't solve the problem; it hands future elections to someone who will solve the problem and who I promise you're not going to like."

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Is Technology the Antidote to Leftism? | Ep 23

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Under Our Civil Rights Regime, Fake Murders Are Punished And Real Murders Aren’t Worth Mentioning

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