Around the Nation and the World in Five Minutes

By Robin Itzler

Editor's Note: This is a commentary in Robin's weekly newsletter Patriot Neighbors.  Any cartoons are added by me.  If you wish to get the full edition, E-mail her at PatriotNeighbors@yahoo.com to get on her list, it's free. RK 

From Around the Nation 

We often hear that there are two Americas. Some statistics that should concern us about the future: 

• Per Gallup, 28+ percent of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ. That is more than twice the rate of millennial women and almost three times that for Gen Z men. 
• Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 percent of U.S. high school students struggle with gender identity. 
• Per USA Today, since 1990, women’s and gender studies DEGREES in the United States has increased 300+ percent. In 2015, there were 2,000 degrees conferred on this insane area of study. (We can only imagine what that number is now.) 
• Exit poll data from the 2024 election showed that singles (and particularly unmarried women) made up the largest percentage of voters for Kamala Harris while men and married women overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump. 

Food stamps by ethnicity.  There is a lot of chatter about the Schumer Government Shutdown causing pain to those who collect food stamps. The question should be: Why are nearly 42 MILLION Americans receiving food stamps?  Officially it's called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

The Department of Agriculture said that more than 12 percent of the US population receives SNAP benefits. Some statistics you can think about when you are buying your own food: 

• 45% of Afghanistan immigrants are on food stamps. 
• 42% of Somali immigrants are on food stamps. 
• 34% of Iraq immigrants are on food stamps. 
• 23% of Haitian immigrants are on food stamps. 
• 59% of ALL illegal aliens are collecting food stamps, meaning that most of the people getting food stamps from the U.S. Government and the U.S. Taxpayer are not even Americans. 

Rob Finnerty of Newsmax put it in perspective: 

“And we didn’t know about any of this before the government shutdown started. But thanks to Democrats, we can confirm tonight that millions of Joe Biden, illegal aliens, people who crossed the border when Joe was president, are now collecting food stamps from a program funded by hardworking American taxpayers.”

New York City:  A Victory Insights survey found that 26.5 percent of respondents are thinking about moving out of the Big Apple next year if communist Muslim Mamdani wins the mayoral race. 

Texas: The Supreme Court ruled that judges in the state who decline to perform a gay wedding ceremony based on a “sincerely held religious belief” do NOT violate the state’s rules on judicial impartiality. Expect this to head to the Supreme Court. 

 Read Tucker Carlson and Antisemitism by Victor Mezhinsky.

From Around the World

Argentina:  President Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza Party, won a decisive victory in the country’s midterm elections. Milei has now expanded his control of Congress so that he can proceed with saving the nation from its socialist past. Milei will continue with deep spending cuts and sweeping free-market reforms. China is financing or supporting numerous projects in South America. 

Canada: Canadian Member of Parliament Sameer Zuberi (okay, you can guess what comes next) called for heightened screening of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers entering the country to ensure they weren’t involved in alleged war crimes during the Gaza conflict. (Want to talk about war crimes?   Canada should heighten the screening of anyone from Gaza!) 

Portugal: Their right-leaning Chega party proposed a bill, supported by center-right and even some liberal parties, to prohibit coverings such as burqas and niqabs from being worn in most public places. Excluded are places of worship and sacred places. There are exceptions for facial concealment as “justified for health reasons or professional, artistic, entertainment or publicity reasons.” When the bill was in parliamentary debate, Chega leader André Ventura said that:

"Whoever arrives in Portugal, wherever they come from, whatever region they come from, with whatever customs and religion they have, must comply with, respect and ensure that the customs and values of this country are respected." 

Now the law will be debated in the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, where it may also be amended. From there it must have a final vote before it reaches President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa who can sign or veto the bill. 

Another choice the president has is to do neither and send it to the Constitutional Court for review. If signed into law, Portugal would follow Austria, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands that have full or partial bans on face and head coverings.  

Muslims in Europe: Projections by 2050 Many European nations are on a path for national cultural suicide. Their citizens see what is happening and demand change, but leadership ignores their cries by welcoming legal and illegal Muslims into their nations. According to PewResearch Centre, this is the percentage of Muslims that will comprise these nations population in 2050—just 25 years from now.