Saturday, June 20, 2026

JD Vance Just Gave Jessica Tarlov a Patriotism Lesson She Won’t Forget

JD Vance Just Gave Jessica Tarlov a Patriotism Lesson She Won’t Forget

Matt Margolis  
AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser

Watching Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters take turns dismantling Jessica Tarlov's talking points on The Five is one of my not-so-guilty pleasures. But Tuesday delivered something even better: Vice President JD Vance stepped into the ring himself, and within seconds, he exposed a glaring blind spot in how the left thinks about loving your own country.

Tarlov tried to explain away a brutal new NBC News poll on American patriotism by chalking it up to simple political math. "Some of it is obviously partisan," she said, arguing that pride in the country naturally dips "when your party's out of power."

"I don't think that's right," Vance said. "Why does that need to be true? That if your party's out of power, you should have less pride in your country?"

He didn't stop there. Vance pointed out that Republicans never operated this way, even when they hated who was in the White House. "I guarantee that when Barack Obama was president or Joe Biden was pretending to be president, that you had Republicans who still said they're proud of America, they're proud of our military, they're proud of the great people of our country, they're proud of our natural beauty," he said.

Then came the gut punch. Vance cited the new NBC News polls, which found that only 29% of Democrats currently say they're proud of their country, and he wasn't shy about where he thinks the blame belongs. 

"What seems to me so bizarre about this is that we've allowed a culture to develop where people feel like the country is the country's politics," he said. He went further, tying that mindset to something darker: "I think that's actually connected to the violent rhetoric where if you disagree with somebody, you can justify killing them. It's really, really a bad thing."

He added, "I wish Democrats, all of them, were proud of our country. We should be proud of our country."

Vance was 100% correct. The NBC News survey released Sunday confirms exactly the kind of partisan rot he was describing. Just 56% of Americans overall say they're "extremely" or "very" proud to be American, while 29% report having little or no national pride whatsoever. The split by party is staggering: 90% of Republicans say they're proud of their country, compared to only 29% of Democrats. Age makes it worse. Roughly three-quarters of Americans 65 and older feel proud of the country, but that number collapses to just 36% among adults 18 to 34.

Related: Greg Gutfeld Humiliates Jessica Tarlov Again While Exposing the Left's Double Standard

And here's the part Democrats really don't want to hear: voters think their party cares more about hating Trump than building anything. The same survey found that, overall, voters said Democrats are too focused on opposing Trump by a six-point margin. Among swing voters, the people Democrats desperately need to win back, that margin exploded to 23 points.

Tarlov tried to dress up Democrat anti-Americanism as a normal political mood swing. But Vance had the receipts and proved her wrong. It’s Democrats who are driving down the patriotism numbers in this country, and it’s because they’re out of power. When 71% of Democrats can't muster pride in their own country, that goes way beyond partisanship. They’ve tied their sense of patriotism to the wrong things. They’ve made hating America part of its identity, and the voters they need most are noticing.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/06/16/jd-vance-just-handed-jessica-tarlov-a-patriotism-lesson-she-wont-forget-n4954044?utm_source=rsmorningbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

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Energy Commission Moves to Lower Prices for Americans

Energy Commission Moves to Lower Prices for Americans

EJ Antoni, Ph.D.
EJ Antoni, Ph.D.  
Energy Commission Moves to Lower Prices for Americans
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

American families have been paying higher energy prices in the wake of the war in Iran, but one government agency is looking to fast-track relief measures that will ultimately lead to lower prices. 

The relief comes from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which voted unanimously, 5-0, to streamline the bureaucracy that has been bottlenecking natural gas infrastructure for years and hamstringing common-sense energy projects with byzantine rules. Most Americans have never heard of FERC, but the commission has an outsized impact on your utility bills.

Natural gas projects, such as pipelines, have been repeatedly blocked for years by mountains of red tape, making even simple upgrades to existing infrastructure virtually impossible. The result is less natural gas supplied to the market, which means higher prices.

When natural gas is more expensive, customers not only pay more to heat their homes, but to cool them as well, because gas supplies more than 40% of electricity in America. With power needs already skyrocketing from growth in AI data centers, electric cars, and manufacturing facilities, supply isn’t keeping up with demand.

The problem largely stems from the antiquated rules and price thresholds in FERC’s blanket certificate program—the framework that determines which pipeline projects need full case-by-case federal review, and which can proceed through a streamlined process. The program’s ossified metrics mean virtually nothing gets the streamlined treatment.

As long as routine infrastructure—a compressor upgrade here, a mainline improvement there—is under a certain dollar threshold, it’s approved for the blanket certificate program without the need for a costly, time-consuming full certificate proceeding. But those dollar thresholds remain frozen near 2006 levels.

Meanwhile, by FERC’s own analysis, pipeline construction costs rose nearly 257 percent between 2006 and 2024, and have climbed further since. In other words, inflation alone quietly converted routine maintenance into “major projects” requiring the full bureaucratic treatment, with its delays and costs.

A compressor station upgrade that would have sailed through a streamlined review in 2006 now sits in a federal queue for months, not because it became more dangerous, polluting, or controversial, but because the prices of steel, labor, and concrete have gone up. That is regulation by accident, not intent—and consumers have been paying for it.

FERC, led by its chairman, Laura Swett, has proposed more than doubling the dollar thresholds to better reflect what these routine, uncontentious projects truly cost. It’d also eliminate cost limits entirely for expansions at existing compressor station sites, so long as the work stays within the utility’s fenceline.

Just adding horsepower to a pumping station that has already been reviewed, built, and operated safely for years should be straightforward. The proposal also extends the in-service deadline for blanket projects from one year to two, giving developers a realistic runway instead of an artificial cliff that keeps projects from ever breaking ground.

These changes matter because regulatory delays are a hidden tax paid by the American people, landing hardest on those least able to pay. Every month—or year—that a routine upgrade languishes in bureaucratic review is more time for demand to outpace supply and drive up prices.

Gas and electric bills alike have risen because—ironically—the world's largest producer of natural gas since 2011 has been hobbled by its own paperwork.

The damage goes beyond utilities, because energy impacts the cost of everything. Higher energy prices ripple through groceries, rent, and anything that's manufactured or transported. Permitting delay looks an awful lot like inflation.

Fortunately, returning to a streamlined approval process helps solve the problem by eliminating this hidden tax. Finalizing these reforms is an economic necessity, especially given rising energy demand in the years ahead.

This also delivers on President Trump's agenda to expedite permitting, as per the "Unleashing American Energy" executive order he signed on his first day back in office. The unanimous vote from a commission that's often divided on policy illustrates the overwhelming case for this commonsense reform.

FERC's decision is the opening salvo, not the last word, in this fight. The next step will be a formally proposed rule, and the public can comment for 60 days thereafter. Opponents should be heard, then outvoted, so that American families and businesses come before special interest groups. We can't afford artificially high energy bills anymore.

https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/06/16/energy-commission-moves-to-lower-prices-for-americans-n2677800?utm_source=thdailyvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-ZzvYf7FkpJ&utm_term=&_nlid=ZzvYf7FkpJ&_nhids=nc40pCY4Hp4qls

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Friday, June 19, 2026

‘No Kings’ Crowd Gets Wrecked by One Brutally Honest Media Column

‘No Kings’ Crowd Gets Wrecked by One Brutally Honest Media Column

By Duke  
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The part that I thoroughly enjoy about being a writer and a sometime radio host is that I get to explore some of the material that is currently bouncing around the world wide interwebs. On any given day, there's some weird stuff bouncing around those interwebs, and it never stops, which can be delightful and frustrating.

Occasionally, when I read a story outside of the Salem media websites, which of course, RedState is part of, I have to sit back and ponder the meaning of it.

Yet man, did I hit the jackpot here with this story.

This article from the Detroit News made me do a double-take, and as you can see, even the title had me intrigued.  If Trump is a king, he's terrible at it.

Damn. 

The lady who penned this piece goes right for the jugular.

As protesters gather for "No Kings" gatherings, rallies and even a First Amendment concert in New York City on President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, I can't help but snicker. If Trump is acting like a king, he's doing a lousy job of it.

Hot diggity dog.

I really can't agree with that more.

Democrats and others who have opposed his policies have had no issue challenging Trump and those policies in court. While I don't have total figures yet because Donald Trump still has a lot of his second term presidency to go, it seems every couple of days, he is having a lawsuit filed against something his administration is attempting to do.

Sure doesn't seem like he is a king to me — a man with overwhelming authority.

Mostly because he is not.

The author continues...

Contrary to the smears in my inbox, I'm not such a rabid MAGA supporter that I can't see Trump's flaws. He is thin-skinned and dodges accountability. He threatens and postures ‒ against media, allies and foes alike. He acts too quickly and sometimes crosses the line.

But enforcing the law aggressively is not tyranny. Trump sent troops to Washington, DC, to restore order. Democrats called it an overreach, but it seemed to help. He threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota to quell riots against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, then didn't follow through. Masked agents could stand to be more civil, but a nation that refuses to enforce its immigration laws quickly becomes a lawless one.

He's not a humble wallflower. He's a man of action who sometimes makes mistakes. But that's not the same as being a tyrannical dictator.

Exactly.

Donald Trump is someone who expects results much quicker than the federal government, or any government for that matter, is used to moving and accomplishing its goals. This is not a character flaw, but it is just a statement of the fact that there are many layers to go through with the largest government entity in the country, and every president, whoever they have been, has run into that. 

Trump learned during the first term what restrictions he was given, and it seems to me in the second term, he would rather do something and then, if the court overturns it, that's fine, but he would rather act first, ask for permission later. All presidents, in my opinion, at some point hit this stage.

Finally this...

By invoking the language of America's founding, the No Kings movement cheapens what that struggle actually meant. America was born from years of real tyranny, paid for in blood by people who had none of these freedoms.

Nailed it.

I have no idea how American history is being taught in the schools today. I sure hope it is at least as decent as it was when I was in the classroom back in the day.

What the founders went through to hand us the gift of a republic such as the United States of America was incredible, and something, as we come up on the 250th anniversary of the nation declaring its independence, that we should all take a moment and treasure. I really do hope that, as a nation, we do appreciate this more than we probably have in the past.

With that all being said, I sure hope that President Trump can keep up the hectic pace that he is known for and kick some you-know-what in his 80th year and America's 250th.

Also, he should keep mocking the No Kings folks because they have zero sense of humor about it, and that makes me laugh.

https://redstate.com/tladuke/2026/06/15/no-kings-crowd-gets-wrecked-by-one-brutally-honest-media-column-n2203367

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Here's an Update on the Voter Fraud Investigation in California

Here's an Update on the Voter Fraud Investigation in California

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  
Here's an Update on the Voter Fraud Investigation in California
AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli provided an update Sunday on his office's investigations into voter fraud in California during an interview with KCRA News' Ashley Zavala. He confirmed that investigators have found definitive evidence of fraud but are still working to determine how widespread it is. 

Essayli went on to say that he expects the investigations to result in criminal charges and questioned why California politicians and others have been so resistant to acknowledging election fraud. He also explained that comments from Trump administration officials, including President Trump himself, are not claims that an election was stolen, but rather an acknowledgment that California's election system and laws leave many people suspicious of the results—a problem he argued stems directly from the state's election laws.

"There's a lot of talk in the media that there's no evidence of voter fraud. So we just wanted to be very clear about that, that there is evidence," Essayli said. "And in fact, we charged a case just last month of an individual who was paying homeless people to register to vote with fictitious information. So that's not a theory. There is evidence of voter fraud. And what I've said is that we have other similar multiple investigations that are ongoing. Under longstanding DOJ rules, we can't discuss the specifics of any investigation, but they are ongoing. And I do believe they will result in criminal charges in the near future."

"We have various investigations at various stages. So some of them are more developed and they're ready to charge. Others are brand new and being worked up. And we are getting tips every day from the public of potential leads of new cases," he added. "So there's a lot of things going on. It's not just one case. There are multiple cases."

"I think sort of the question you're getting to, Ashley, and a lot of reporters will ask is, is this widespread fraud? How spread is it? And I think that's really the question we're trying to answer. I don't have an answer for that because those require intense investigations. And so what I can say right now is, is there evidence of fraud? Yes, there are," Essayli said. "Are they just multiple isolated incidences or is there some bigger connection to the two? That's under investigation. And we're going to get to the bottom of that." 

But what I don't understand is the resistance from leaders, elected officials, and the media to resist looking into these claims. And so we're not prejudging anything. We're not concluding anything. All I've said is our office is taking this seriously. We will follow the evidence wherever it goes. There are investigations. They will result in and we'd like to get to the bottom of how widespread this goes. And that's also why we're calling for an audit. I think the audit is the best way to reassure the public that there isn't widespread fraud. And that's something that we've demanded the state of California comply with. But so far they've resisted.

Essayli went on to downplay accusations of "rigged" elections, at least in its more serious implications, arguing that California's election system is simply not designed in a way that promotes public confidence.

This comes as outrage erupted last week after Los Angeles mayoral candidate and Republican Spencer Pratt lost in the city's primary to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and progressive City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, despite a strong Election Day performance. Despite leading Raman, after less than a week, Pratt had begun to trail and lost out on advancing to the general election by around 30,000 votes. 

This was paired with videos of homeless individuals on Skid Row telling reporters they had been paid to vote for Karen Bass, as well as other concerns about the integrity of California's elections, including reports that thousands of Spencer Pratt supporters had their ballots rejected over signature-matching issues.

However, Pratt revealed in a video last week that his defeat has not ended his fight against the city's corrupt political establishment, unveiling "Phase III" of his political plan and declaring war on the city's progressives.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/dmitri-bolt/2026/06/15/heres-an-update-on-the-voter-fraud-investigation-in-california-n2677758?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-8YcrQCYRj9&utm_term=&_nlid=8YcrQCYRj9&_nhids=nc78PuY7fqb6ls

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A New Study Just Confirmed the Left's Worst-Kept Secret

A New Study Just Confirmed the Left's Worst-Kept Secret

Matt Margolis  
It's an older meme but it checks out.

If you've spent any time arguing with liberals online, you already know this. Now there's a study to prove it.

Decades of research have shown that political conservatives report better mental health and greater happiness than their counterparts on the left. A new study published in the journal Political Behavior takes that finding a step further, finding that “mental illness is emerging as its own political identity and is most heavily aligned with leftist political ideology and causes,” and that it clusters heavily among younger, far-left Americans.

Shocking, I know.

Columbia University's magazine noted back in 2023 that "American adults who identify as politically liberal have long reported lower levels of happiness and psychological well-being than conservatives.” However, researchers spent years scratching their heads over why. Scholars from the Universities of Florida and Toronto eventually took a crack at it, drawing on four separate studies. Their conclusion? Conservatives tend to have greater personal agency, religiosity, moral clarity, a positive outlook, and stronger self-worth… which are traits consistently linked to resilience and mental health. In other words, having a sense of purpose and taking responsibility for your life is good for you. Who knew?

Professor Lauren Van De Hey of Utah State University has conducted research that connects the mental health gap directly to political identity formation. Her findings were drawn from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, a large, nationally representative survey administered by YouGov.

"I further find that there is an emerging mental health political identity that is most pronounced among younger (Gen Z) and more liberal Americans," Van De Hey said.

Roughly half of the study participants who identified as having a mental illness said that identity was very important or somewhat important to them personally. Yeah, that's a voting bloc in the making.

Van De Hey also found that mental health identity operates differently in politics than physical disability or serious physical illness. "I find that the political predictors and political consequences for the emerging mental health identity differ from those for physical disability and serious physical illness categorization and identification," she said. The implication is clear: mental health struggles, increasingly worn as badges of identity, carry huge political weight.

ICYMI: Bakari Sellers Calls Elon Musk a White Supremacist, and All Hell Breaks Loose

The study also found that conservatives are less likely than liberals to categorize anxiety and depression as mental health conditions and report seeking treatment at lower rates. Van De Hey attributes this to a "personal responsibility ethos: they do not seek help when they think they can resolve the issues on their own." The left will frame that as denial. Conservatives will frame it as actually handling your problems. You can decide which sounds healthier.

Gee, who would have guessed that the same political movement that spent years turning gender into a political identity is now running the same play with mental illness?

Van De Hey's study draws that connection explicitly, pointing to gender politics as a precedent for how subjective personal struggles can become major political drivers. Make no mistake about it, this is by design. The left has a formula, and they're running it again and again.

Her conclusions don't sugarcoat what's coming, either. "These findings have far-reaching consequences for mental health advocacy, and the role mental health identity will play in the political sphere — especially as Gen Z matures as a cohort," she wrote. And she's right, though probably not in the way she intends. When emotional struggles become the foundation of political organizing, the incentive structure flips. You don't get better outcomes. You get a movement with every reason to keep people anxious, dependent, and radicalized.

And you wonder why leftists are so crazy?

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/06/14/a-new-study-just-confirmed-the-lefts-worst-kept-secret-n4953961

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Thursday, June 18, 2026

Europeans in the US for the World Cup Are Celebrating American Culture—Specifically, Red America's Culture

Europeans in the US for the World Cup Are Celebrating American Culture—Specifically, Red America's Culture

I couldn't help but notice that all these Europeans driving around being charmed by the U.S. are celebrating the very things that Leftists have the most contempt for.

Batya Ungar-Sargon
Jun 14, 2026

There’s a tremendously charming trend on social media right now of European tourists in the U.S. for the World Cup discovering the staples of American culture and it absolutely blowing their minds.

From shootings ranges to air conditioning to massive gas stations to to ranch dressing, Europeans have been enjoying a uniquely American experience and chronicling every minute of it on social media.

A German man named Freddy has become an overnight sensation for his daily posts, including the time he discovered Buccee’s.

Freddy has also fallen in love with country music.

Another man chronicled his trip to Walmart, which he compared to a museum—“the biggest tourist attraction I could have as a European.” He walked around amazed by things like a gallon of milk, a jar of pickles, coke, and iced tea.

An Italian lost his mind at the concept of free refills.

A Swedish woman likened ranch to crack (fair!).

A group of Scotsmen discovered American cheerleaders.

A group of Scotsmen took over a bar to sing “Country Roads.”

It’s so wonderful to have outsiders appreciate all the wonders of American culture, cuisine, and life.

But what’s truly amazing is that these European admirers are enjoying the fruits of Red America—the exact things that the Left has the most contempt for: Walmart. Guns. Ranch dressing. Country music. People getting fat off fast food. The very things that Leftist elites love to deride about America, often from the vantage point of what a sneering Frenchman might say, are the things our European visitors are most admiring of, because they are the things that are most recognizably American.

At a time when Americans proud to be American has hit a record low, what a gift from Europe on our 250th birthday!

https://www.batya-us.com/p/europeans-in-the-us-for-the-world?r=7yrqz&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer&triedRedirect=true

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