FSU shooter identified

 Live updates: Florida State University shooting leaves 2 dead and 6 wounded; suspect in custody | CNN

FSU shooting today: 2 dead, multiple others injured shooting at Florida State University; suspect is son of local sheriff's deputy - ABC7 Chicago

"The son of a local sheriff's deputy allegedly opened fire near the Student Union at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, killing two people and injuring six others, authorities said.

"The suspect -- 20-year-old Pheonix Ikner, a current FSU student -- was shot by responders and has been hospitalized, police said. He was taken into custody with non-life-threatening injuries, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News.

"Ikner is the son of a current Leon County sheriff's deputy, according to Sheriff Walter McNeil. He had access to one of his mother's personal weapons, which was one of the weapons found at the scene, the sheriff said. It appeared Ikner had a handgun and a shotgun with him, police said." . . .

. . ."Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland high school shooting in South Florida in 2018, said some of Jaime's classmates now attend FSU.

" 'Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today," Guttenberg, who has become a gun reform supporter, wrote on social media. "As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today." . . .

" 'Ikner was also a member of the Youth Advisory Council of the sheriff’s office.

“This event is tragic in more ways than you people in the audience could ever phantom from a law enforcement perspective,” McNeil said." . . .

Man Who Loathes Big Pharmacies Guns Down Innocent Walgreens Worker in California

 The Gateway Pundit   

"This incident brings to mind what happened to United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December." 

"A crazed individual with a seething hatred for Big Pharma gunned down an innocent worker in a Luigi Mangione-style ambush this week.

"As ABC News reported, 30-year-old Narciso Gallardo Fernandez entered a Madera, California Walgreens at roughly 9;30 p.m Monday night and allegedly murdered employee Erick Velasquez. The suspect proceeded to shoot at other employees in the store as they ran.

"Before allegedly killing Velasquez and trying to gun down the others, Fernandez shot out a security camera in an apparent effort to cover up his horrific crime." . . .

"Madera Police Chief Giachino Chiaramonte told ABC News that Fernandez did not know Velasquez. He went on to explain that Fernandez told investigators he hates big pharmacies.

"According to Chiaramonte, the pharmacy was closed at the time of the incident. Moreover, Velasquez was not a pharmacist.

"In addition to being a worker at Walgreens, Velazquez was a husband and the father of two children." . . .

What We Know and What We Don’t About January 6

Imprimus  The following is adapted from a talk delivered at a Hillsdale College luncheon in Anchorage, Alaska, on January 22, 2025.

"The Select Committee’s report, issued in December 2022, omitted important information about January 6 and failed to address many lingering questions about the government’s role and response. Its partisan (and specifically anti-Trump) purpose can be deduced from its recommendations: that the Department of Justice pursue criminal charges against Trump and that Congress bar Trump from ever again holding federal office. 

"Just hours after his inauguration on January 20, President Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the events of January 6, 2021. He commuted the sentences of fourteen additional people whose cases for a full pardon are still under review.

"Earlier that morning, to less fanfare, President Biden had issued “preemptive pardons”—a type of presidential pardon with no historical precedent­—to all the members and staff of the House Select Committee on January 6 and to all the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before that committee.

"'What could better illustrate that what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 has become a political Rorschach test on which Americans remain deeply divided?

""Partisans on the Left accept the official narrative of the Democrats and the corporate press, believing that January 6 amounted to an insurrection and a violent attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

" 'Partisans on the Right believe that however bad the events of that day were, the federal government’s reaction has been even worse, amounting to a weaponization of the Department of Justice to criminalize certain political views.

"Many ordinary Americans are left wondering what to believe. With those Americans in mind, it is helpful to sift through what we have learned about January 6 over the past four years—and to note the things that we still don’t know.

"The official report of the House Select Committee, which runs to more than 800 pages, is too deeply biased to give much help. This was foreordained given the hyper-partisan way the Select Committee was formed. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s two Republican appointments to the committee—Representatives Jim Jordan and Jim Banks—and instead appointed two virulently anti-Trump Republicans, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger." . . .

Lies My Leftist Teacher Told Me

 Wilfred Reilly and John Stossel: Intellectual Takeout  "SLAVERY:  Schools teach children that, when it comes to slavery, America was the worst.

"But Wilfred Reilly, author of “Lies My Liberal Teacher Taught Me,” says that’s just not true."

“Slavery around the world, was slavery,” says Reilly in our new video.

"He believes it’s better to teach the truth – that almost every society had slavery: the Aztecs, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Vikings, and most of all, the Islamic world.

"American slavery was horrible. But it wasn’t unique.

"Our culture would be healthier if we learned about that." . . .

"Americans are taught that the native people were stewards of the environment.

"Movies like Pocahontas sell that message.

"But Wilfred Reilly’s new book, “Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me” debunks this and other myths about America’s history.

"Government guides for teachers say, “Native Americans lived in harmony with nature… They did not kill anything they could not use.”

"I believed it!

"But Reilly points out the Natives took slaves, set big forest fires to clear land, and often were just as cruel as white Europeans.

"Our new video looks at myths American schools still teach."

Passing the Torch of American History to Our Children

 Intellectual Takeout  

"Three ways to steer your children into history are through living books, unit studies, and my own preferred method as a boy, reading wherever my interests took me."

 

. . ." Never have parents and teachers possessed such a wealth of treasure for teaching history as we do today. The countless stories and biographies written for the young, the songs and movies, the museums: all are widely available in libraries, bookstores and online. The gold is there; all we have to do is mine it.

"Books: Countless biographies and colorful histories are wonderful vehicles for teaching about the past while also providing great opportunities for extracurricular reading. Rush Limbaugh’s “Rush Revere” series, for instance, with its stories about the Pilgrims, the American Revolution, and more was a big hit with some of my younger grandchildren. Poetry, like “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and historical fiction, like the “Childhood of Famous Americans” books, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, “Ben and Me,” and “Johnny Tremain” are only a few of the many fine books available to readers in elementary grades.

"To get started, search online for “best historical fiction for elementary students.”

"Music: Singing American history is a fun way to slide into the past. Songs like “John Henry,” “Cape Cod Girls,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Dixie,” and “Battle of New Orleans” offer a springboard into a discussion of the lyrics and their place in history. “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and other standards can easily become part of a child’s repertoire as well.

"Search YouTube for “classic American history songs for kids” and you’re there. Thirty years ago, when my older children were elementary school age, our favorite was “Wee Sing America,” also available on YouTube.

"Movies: The animated series “Liberty’s Kids,” having received two thumbs up from some of my grandkids, traces the history of the United States from the Boston Tea Party to the writing of the Constitution. “Animated Hero Classics” offers outstanding biographies of American heroes. The Civil War movie, “Shenandoah” is an example of a classic film that gives older elementary school students food for thought on slavery, war, and the rights of the individual.

"Check out the Christian website Fields of Daisies, and you’ll find plenty of other films that will appeal to the K-6 set." . . .

The republication of this article is made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

Rachel Morin’s Mother Blasts Sen. Van Hollen for Trying to Free Suspected MS-13 Member

 Legal Insurrection   May we assume Joe Biden knows nothing of what is going on regarding the effects of his administration while he talks about President Trump through clenched teeth? TD

"And to have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother and now a grandbaby without a grandmother, so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen."

"A jury convicted illegal alien Victor Martinez-Hernandez of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense and kidnapping in the death of Rachel Morin.

"Martinez-Hernandez murdered Morin, a mother, in Maryland in August 2023.

"Maryland Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen has not shut up about President Donald Trump’s administration deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 member and illegal alien, to El Salvador.

"Van Hollen even traveled to El Salvador for Abrego Garcia.

"Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gave Patty Morin, Rachel’s mother, the floor at the press briefing.

"Patty went off on Van Hollen and others who don’t support deporting illegal aliens, especially violent ones.

"Patty even described Rachel’s brutal murder." . . .

Deported MS-13 Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Detained For Human Trafficking in 2022   "New evidence has emerged that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS-13 gang member and wife-beater who was deported to El Salvador last month, engaged in human trafficking several years ago.

"In an exclusive report, the Tennessee Star reported Wednesday that in December 2022, Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) caught Garcia smuggling seven suspected illegal aliens in a van in Tennessee. Garcia and the seven individuals were allegedly caught midway through their trip from the Texas border to Maryland. THP detained the crew until the FBI under then-Director Christopher Wray directed THP to release them.

"The Star obtained information about the stop, “including the identity of the THP officer, the officer’s badge number, and the Computerized Dispatch Report code assigned to the incident.”

"During the nearly two-hour traffic stop, “an officer determined that Abrego Garcia was operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license and began searching for information about him,” according to the Star’s THP sources." . . .

No One Is Above the Law—Including Letitia James

 No One Is Above the Law—Including Letitia James   "New York Attorney General Letitia James campaigned for office on one thing and one thing only—"getting” Donald Trump. Symbolizing the banana republic style perversion of justice that defined the Biden years, James hit Trump with bogus real estate fraud charges and managed to glean a judgement from biased New York Judge Arthur Engoron against the real estate mogul for over $400 million—despite the fact that there were no victims to her made up "crime," there were no losses, and in fact the very banks that she claims he defrauded said they would be more than happy to do business with Trump again." . . .

   . . . "This week, in a karmic corkscrew so tight it could pop the lid off a can of virtue-signaling pea and lentil soup, the Federal Housing Finance Agency referred New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Department of Justice for possible mortgage fraud. 

"Yes, that Letitia James—the one who sued Donald Trump for allegedly overvaluing buildings, counting too many bathrooms, and violating New York’s unspoken law against being a Republican with real estate holdings." . . .

 . . ."And the progressive left apologists should spare us the whole “she’s being targeted” routine. Letitia James ran for Attorney General on the platform that she would go after Trump." . . .

Anti-Trump Crusader Letitia James' Response to Possible Federal Charges Is Laugh-Out-Loud Hysterical

. . ."That is one of the richest, most hypocritical statements I have ever seen from a supposed “leader.” She cries about “bullies,” even as she has used her office for virtually nothing else. She is the Ultimate Bully, yet she is now wrapping herself in the cloak of victimhood. It’s as if Biff from “Back to the Future” suddenly claimed that George McFly was a hard-core hassler." . . .

Jaw-Dropper: Letitia James Has Married Her Father According to Official Documents   "Ilhan Omar, you have been put on notice by Letitia James: She’s not going to be outdone in the incestuous relationships of convenience department.

"Rep. Omar, you may recall, allegedly married a man who is, many say, her brother in order to get him to the United States legally. While some reporters have pursued the story, most of the media has been content to stay away, safe in the knowledge that going after the Minnesota Democrat, no matter how accurate the charges may be, cannot end well for them.

"In the case of James, the attorney general of New York, it’s going to be a bit more difficult to look away. 

"Late Tuesday, the news broke that James — who managed to secure a civil judgment against the Trump Organization for what her office claimed was a pattern of inflating the value of the business to get favorable terms for loans — was referred to the Department of Justice for allegedly lying about properties she owned to get favorable terms for loans." . . .

Troll: Trump releases docs on foreign gang member a primping senator is trying to bring back from foreign prison

 Monica Showalter  

"That's [Van Holland's] grand cause for heroism? That's the hill he wants to die on? Something tells me this is not going to be the big ticket to celebrity for him that he thought it was going to be."

"Sen. Chris van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, fancied himself a hero.

So, to Get Trump after his repatriation of a "Maryland man" to his native El Salvador, van Hollen made grand plans to fly down to the Central American nation and like a conquering hero, bring Kilmar Abrego-Garcia back from a Salvadoran prison where Trump deported him last month, to the U.S. like a trophy. He would preen for the cameras. He talk the president of El Salvador into releasing him from the high-security CECOT prison owing to the Trump administration errantly missing the stay of deportation order some judge had granted him in 2019, owing to his upstanding membership in MS-13 which endangered him with the Barrio 18 gang in El Salvador, following his final deportation order. Never mind that the judicial rationale for the stay was obsolete because the gang has since been broken up in El Salvador, though ironically, he may still have things to fear from rival gangs here where blue cities continue to allow gang activity to flourish.

But this was about 'narrative' and van Hollen had a live one. He was all in with the media narrative about Abrego-Garcia being another George Floyd, cut down by the Trump administration, a loving father, a family man, a sheet metal worker, and a union member, just doing what millions of Americans are doing, living their best lives, only to be persecuted by the heartless and dictatorial Trump administration.

Van Hollen got nowhere with the Salvadoran president, who has a country to run, and has already stated that he won't let a terrorist roam free inside his well-run country to endanger his citizens. He's a very popular president there for that.

Then the real embarrassment happened.

The Masochistic Democrats Hate You — And Beg You to Hate Them Back

The American Spectator  

. . ."And Van Hollen, Murphy, and the nauseatingly performative Cory Booker white-knighting for the “Maryland Dad” are not doing their side any favors. This isn’t quite the Karmelo Anthony case in terms of the Left’s position being utterly indefensible (if only because of the incarceration issue), but the public clearly favors mass deportations and the MS-13–affiliated Garcia would certainly be high on the list of people worth deporting." . . .

"Every once in a while, you run into something that strikes a chord with you and makes your head nod. You’ll say to yourself, “Yeah, that’s not just true, it’s incandescently true.”

And scrolling through X on Wednesday, I stumbled on just such an item:

So far this week, I've learned that...

If you murder white teenagers.

Or

Are an illegal immigrant gang banger and wife beater.

Democrats will throw all of their money and political power behind you. . . .

. . .I’m agnostic about whether Garcia belongs in that prison. Frankly, that’s a question for the authorities in El Salvador to resolve. But the idea that somehow anyone’s rights are being violated because an illegal alien with a questionable and violent past was sent home is ridiculous.

. . ."And Van Hollen, Murphy, and the nauseatingly performative Cory Booker white-knighting for the “Maryland Dad” are not doing their side any favors. This isn’t quite the Karmelo Anthony case in terms of the Left’s position being utterly indefensible (if only because of the incarceration issue), but the public clearly favors mass deportations and the MS-13–affiliated Garcia would certainly be high on the list of people worth deporting.

"And then there’s Maine.

"The Justice Department is now taking that state to court for civil rights violations arising from its refusal to ban boys from competing as women in its high school sporting events. This after a months-long controversy in which the president directly challenged the state’s governor, Janet Mills, on her trans advocacy." . . .

And finally, we have Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, who was just referred to the Department of Justice for committing the same crime she prosecuted Trump for, in a kangaroo court in New York City: . . .

Democrats infatuated with criminals and gang members — American citizens? Not so much

. . ."Van Hollen and Booker and the rest of the Democrats never fight that hard for American citizens. They don’t care about Americans held against their will overseas. Not even in Russia. And they sure as hell don’t care about Jan. 6ers, even those held in solitary confinement without charge! No, they only truly care about non-citizen criminals, the more hardened the better. That, as they say, is messed up." . . .

 

Soros-Funded Groups Are Behind Lawsuit Blocking Trump from Deporting Migrants

 John Binder/ Breitbart   

"As Breitbart News reported last month, the Soros-linked Democracy Forward organization was partially behind a lawsuit that sought to block Trump from deporting illegal alien gang members from the U.S. using the Alien Enemies Act."

"A pair of organizations, partially funded by George and Alexander Soros’s network of left-wing nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are behind a lawsuit that has thus far successfully blocked President Donald Trump from deporting migrants who were released into the United States through former President Joe Biden’s parole pipeline.

"In March, Trump revoked parole for about 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who were released into the U.S. interior by the Biden administration despite having no legal status.

"As a result, the Trump administration told such migrants that they would need to self-deport from the U.S. or face deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"The Justice Action Center and Human Rights First sued the Trump administration, claiming that the president did not have the authority to cancel Biden’s parole pipeline and thus making more than half a million migrants eligible for deportation.

"This week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani — appointed by former President Barack Obama — issued a stay, preventing the Trump administration from terminating the parole pipeline:" . . .

Ilhan Omar’s Daughter Fundraises For Columbia Activist in ICE Custody Who Endorsed Oct. 7 Attack

 Washington Free Beacon  "Mohsen Mahdawi said he can ‘empathize’ with Hamas, but the GoFundMe calls him an ‘advocate for peace and justice’ "

"Isra Hirsi, the daughter of "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), promoted a fundraiser supporting Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student activist facing deportation over his support for Hamas.

"Hirsi, a far-left activist, anti-Israel agitator, and Barnard College senior, posted a screenshot of the GoFundMe with a link on her Instagram story Tuesday evening. At the time, the fundraiser had collected just over $9,000. By Wednesday afternoon, that ballooned to more than $42,000.

"The GoFundMe launched after ICE detained Mahdawi, a Jordan native, following the revocation of his green card on Monday. The fundraiser has a $100,000 goal with proceeds going toward "legal expenses on behalf of Mohsen … to effect his release from detention and to achieve his quest for US citizenship," the page says.

" 'It also seeks to further his advocacy for building understanding between Israelis and Palestinians for the traumas that each have experienced in order to bring peace and justice to each," the page adds.

"But while the fundraiser portrays Mahdawi as an "advocate for peace and justice," the Columbia graduate student has repeatedly expressed support for Hamas. Just two weeks after the terrorist group killed nearly 1,200 Israelis during its Oct. 7 attack, Mahdawi told a New England newspaper that "Hamas is a product of the Israeli occupation." According to the newspaper, he also helped pen an Oct. 14, 2023, statement that anti-Israel groups at Columbia issued arguing that the "Palestinian struggle for freedom is rooted in international law, under which occupied peoples have the right to resist the occupation of their land." . . .

How a Wind Turbine Works -

 Text Version | Department of Energy

How Much Power is 1 Gigawatt? | Department of Energy  "A date most movie buffs know by heart, October 21, 2015, is the day Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to the future in Steven Spielberg’s 1989 classic “Back to the Future Part II.”

"Although you may not have remembered the date, you’ve probably heard of Doc’s DeLorean, which takes 1.21 gigawatts (GW) of power to travel through time. Admittedly, our national labs haven’t quite figured out time travel just yet, but they do analyze power.

"For instance, at the end of 2023, there were over 150.5 GW of wind power and 137.5 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) total in the United States. To help put this number in perspective, it’s important to know just how big 1 GW is. A watt is a measure of power and there are 1 billion watts in 1 GW. (And if you wanted to break it down even further, 1 million watts = 1 megawatt [MW] and 1,000 watts = 1 kilowatt [kW].)

"Need a stronger visual? Here are seven examples equal to 1 GW of power "