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See below or this link for talking points/emails/phone numbers https://ashevilleteaparty.org/so/a4PgXK-SV?languageTag=en&cid=d7551458-24b1-4a4f-8f88-56b6c0b8cae4 TAKE ACTION Talking points for H958 PCS are provided below to make phone calls to key House Republicans. For your email, use the sample email below. These suggested changes from  NCEIT are based on the latest Proposed Committee Substitute  (PCS) of H958.  Directions for Emails In the Subject Line : Suggestions for H958 PCS - Election Law Changes (Very important to put this in your own words.) Copy/Paste this email string of key Republican House Representatives into the TO of your email :   Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.gov ,  Maria.Lord@ncleg.gov ,  Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.gov ,  Jonathan.Almond@ncleg.gov ,   Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.gov ,  Ted.Davis@ncleg.gov ,  Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.gov ,  Dennis.Riddell@ncleg.gov ,  Carson.Smith@ncleg.gov ,  Bill.Ward@ncleg.gov ,  Harry.Warren@ncleg.gov ,  Jeff.Zenger@ncleg.gov          Also Include your Republican representative, if you have one. Look up here:   https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/MemberList/H     BCC:   responses25@yahoo.com See email below: Dear Representative ... . Make sure you include the two links in the email to recommend NCEIT'S Bill Summary and Suggestions to fix the deficiencies in the Bill. You can also include the two data files referred to in the sample email below.    Dear Representative:   Thank you for developing H958 to improve our election system. However, I urge you to please consider additional significant changes to the H958 PCS and to pass the bill with the NCEIT suggested changes and to fix the deficiencies before the 2026 general election to restore voter confidence and election integrity. There should be no opportunity for foreign influence in our elections.  The address of overseas voters must be verified through available state databases. Refinement of the voter registration application, registration process, qualifications of voters and use of HAVA documents for address verification is suggested to improve the quality of the voter registration list. I agree with NCEIT's Suggestions which are provided in the next two links. See links here  NCEIT's H958 PCS Bill Summary  and here   NCEIT's Suggestions to Fix the Deficiencies to H958 PCS . Also see these links for data on Questionable Entires on the Voter Registration List, as well as, Duplicate Registrations.   Sincerely, ______________________________ Your Name ______________________________ Your Address   Directions for Calls: See link for phone numbers to key Republican House members here. Refer the legislator to the email you just sent them (above). Use the Talking Points  below for reference. Pick one or more. Consider using your own words. If a machine answers, please leave a message. NCEIT TALKING POINTS for Revisions & Additions to H958 - PCS   Contributions by foreign nationals - There should be no exceptions to the definition of foreign nationals. - Foreign nationals should not be allowed to contribute money to N. C. elections. - National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued the following statement:  "We applaud House Republicans for the improvements already made to H958, however its section on foreign funding still falls short. Foreign billionaires and corporations should never be given the ability—under any circumstance—to buy North Carolina’s elections and undermine voters so they can affect changes to the state’s constitution. But the reality is that the bill in its current form, without additional amendments, will allow them to continue doing so with ease.”   Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS.   Overseas voter's registration address   (UOCAVA – Uniformed & Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) -  Thank you for proposing changes to UOCAVA voting, but there should be documentation of the voter’s address such as a passport or driver’s license.  In cases where the address is not verifiable, the county BOE address should be used to register the voter. -  Address verification is required for in person and mail in voting.   UOCAVA voting should be treated the same.   - Over 60% of UOCAVA voters were civilian rather than military in 2024.  That trend has been increasing for years.  (In 2024 36% were uniformed military voters and 64% oversees civilian voters according to the Election Assistance Commission.)   Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS.    Voter Registration, Voter Registration Application Verification of Voters -  The voter registration application should have required not requested information, so the voter can be verified.  Full legal name and social security number helps avoid duplicate registrations especially with the many hyphenated names.  Driver’s licenses should be current and valid, -  There are millions of legal residents who are not citizens living in the US.  Many of them have been improperly registered to vote.   Proof of citizenship for new registrations is an important item to require on the application to increase accuracy and trust in the system. -  An application should not be approved until identity and address verification are complete. Current law outlines the address verification process, but the important step of identity verification is missing.   Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS.   Qualifications to Vot e -  The law should emphasize that a person who is not a citizen of the US, will not be allowed to vote which is consistent with a recent amendment to the NC Constitution. - The President’s Executive Order 14248 requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, so that proof should be a qualification.  -  With the number of illegal immigrants in the country we need assure that “only citizens vote”.   Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS.   Use of HAVA (Help America Vote Act) documents - HAVA documents should be used to verify address, not to verify identity. -  HAVA documents are easily forged. -  Current law requires that efforts be made to obtain information to verify the identity during the registration process, not when they show up to vote. -  If voter’s lose confidence in the election system, they may be less inclined to vote, believing their vote will be cancelled by ineligible to voters.  Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS.   When Driver's License and Social Security Numbers Can Not Be Verified -  It is not a best practice to use HAVA documents to verify identity.  The BOE should be in contact with the applicant to obtain information to see if there are errors in names and birthdates, for example.  -  Verifying identity is a key to a trustworthy voter registration database.  It is a priority in our country.   Click HERE  for NCEIT’s Suggestions for Changes to fix the deficiencies in H958 PCS. Jim Womack President, North Carolina Election Integrity Team www.nceit.org 919 774 9682 james.k.womack@gmail.com   Board Member: Jane Bilello jane.bilello@gmail.com Board Member: Joanne Empie joanne.empie@gmail.com Board Member: Jay Delancy jay.delancy@gmail.com Board Member: Janet Fenstermaker jmf27614@hotmail.com Board Member: Debbie Dante infernodeb@gmail.com Board Member: Joan Roan jroanbrooks@protonmail.com jane.bilello@gmail.com 828 692 3117 https://www.nceit.org/

FYI: The State Party Chair (Jason Simmons), National Committeeman (Ed Broyill) and National Committeewoman (Kyshia Brassington) all signed off on the Republican National Committee (RNC) paperwork invoking RC Rule 11 which authorizes the RNC to throw its financial and operational support to Michael Whatley over all Republican rivals in preparation for the March 2026 primary election. Their actions are in direct violation of Article IX F of the NCGOP State Plan of Organization which prohibits the use of one's position in the party to favor any candidate facing a party primary. Moreover, these NCGOP staff lied or misled party members by claiming that the Rule 11 authorization was solely for purposes of creating a Joint Fundraising Agreement with the RNC that would aid the primary winner. The three leaders knew that claim not to be valid; nor is there any language in the RNC rules documents that might be construed as requiring Rule 11 for any other purpose other than for state party granting permission for the RNC to interfere in a state primary. According to Republican National Committee (“RNC”) Rule 11, “[t]he Republican National Committee shall not, without the prior written and filed approval of all members of the Republican National Committee from the state involved, contribute money or in-kind aid to any candidate for any public or party office of that state, except the nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary after the filing deadline for that office.”1 The RNC requires written consent from all RNC State Members to fund any specific election. Although typically uninvolved until after primary elections, the RNC is collaborating with the North Carolina Republican Party through a Joint Fundraising Agreement to secure contributions for the Republican nominee for the 2026 U.S. Senate race, not any particular candidate. None of the funds from the Joint Fundraising Agreement shall be used in the primary election for any candidate. https://dailyhaymaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/NCGOP-RNC-Rule-11-Legal-Interpretation-1.pdf Daily Haymaker Steve Bannon – one of the architects of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement as well as one of the brains behind  Donald Trump’s 2016 victory — is making it crystal clear to his fans that former RNC and NCGOP chairman Michael Whatley ain’t one of us.   This makes Bannon the second Trump-connected figure to come out against Whatley (the alleged Trump choice for North Carolina’s US Senate seat ).  Trump’s first pick for national security advisor, General Mike Flynn , has publicly endorsed Whatley’s opponent in the March primary. Here’s Bannon on Friday’s edition of War Room : “[…] But Whatley is not MAGA. One of the reasons he’s running so poorly in North Carolina. If you talk to the MAGA folks down there, they’re just not enthusiastic about it.” […] Liars ranging from John Locke to the Raleigh & Charlotte legacy drive-bys have bent over backwards trying to present to their dwindling readership and viewership that (1) there is no GOP primary for US Senate and (2) Michael Whatley is invincible and inevitable. Too bad the Harper Poll had to come out and blow that scam to smithereens.  The poll did two things: (1) confirmed that there is a choice for Republicans in the form of one Don Brown , and (2) Whatley AND Brown perform roughly the same in a head-to-head match with Cooper. What makes (2) so extraordinary is that Whatley has been buried in million$ worth of funding from the state and national GOP and has benefited from oodles of logistical help from both of those entities.   Yet, he’s doing about as well as his opponent, Brown, who has been running on a shoe-string operation with NO party help.  One would think this development creates a gaping hole for Brown to run through straight for the end-zone.  The BIG QUESTION: Will Brown recognize this opportunity and take advantage of it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzROvSw5Kwc

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 2025 GEN. MIKE FLYNN REAFFIRMS ENDORSEMENT OF DON BROWN FOR U.S. SENATE General Mike Flynn, the 24th National Security Advisor of the United States and one of America’s foremost patriots, reaffirmed his endorsement of Don Brown for the United States Senate in a new Veterans Day video. Flynn originally endorsed Brown on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at the close of the NC GOP Convention—prior to Senator Thom Tillis’s withdrawal from the race. With Tillis now out and two Republicans remaining, General Flynn released a fresh video reinforcing his support, calling Don Brown “a true champion for patriotism and freedom,” “the most conservative candidate in the race,” and someone who “embodies the ideals of Make America Great Again.” General Flynn’s new video endorsement is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCfugG8Z6B8   In response, Don Brown issued the following statement:“We are grateful, humbled, and honored for General Flynn’s continued support of our campaign. The General is one of America’s greatest patriots, and as a fellow veteran and military officer, his renewed endorsement—especially on Veterans Day—was especially meaningful.” Contact: Susan Smith304-281-0985susan@brownfornc.com -- Don Brown The next US Senator from North Carolina Email: don@brownfornc.com Website:  https://brownfornc.com

Link here   Adam R. Smith, candidate for NC11 Congress i s our special guest at our Tea Time Meeting at noon on Thursday, November 20th, 2025 at Bay Breeze Restaurant, 1830 Asheville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC.   This is also a working meeting. We will be placing stickers on gift bags for the  Don Brown Fundraiser on Thursday, January 15th, 2026.     Agenda Tea Time Meeting Agenda for Thursday, November 20th at noon at Bay Breeze. Speaker: A Don't Miss: Adam Smith, NC11Congressional Candidate .    AdamintheHouse.com .   Awesome Event Thanksgiving Weekend: Saturday, November 29th Military Arms Exhibit at the American Legion in Hendersonville Thursday, January 15th, 2026 Friends for Freedom with Don Brown Fundraiser Plans. Place stickers on gift bags for the fundraiser. Documentary Proof of Citizenship Fight Continues on 4 Fronts. Action Alert! Proposed 68.3% Increase in Dwelling Insurance Rates Could Impact Local Property Owners  in NC.   Report on the Save America Initiative Impact Dinner November 13th . This is Paul Benjamin's event. Paul is expanding his reach to Henderson County Pastors.     Read more here.

https://dailyhaymaker.com/whatley-screwing-up-task-trump-assigned-him/ Posted on October 26, 2025 by Brant Clifton I tell ya — Donald Trump would have zero patience for something like this on his old TV show ‘The Apprentice.’ The president appointed unaccomplished schlub Michael Whatley to head the hurricane relief effort in western North Carolina.  Less than a year later, Republicans AND Democrats are calling for Whatley’s immediate and complete removal from the relief effort: Hurricane Helene recovery czar Michael Whatley is blaming Democrats for the growing chorus of criticism over his job performance — but in heavily Republican Western North Carolina, it’s not just Democratic voices calling for Whatley to be replaced or step down.[…] Let’s see.  The GOP controls the federal government’s executive branch and all of its associated bureaucracies. There are GOP majorities in both chambers of the Congress.  And it’s THE DEMOCRATS’ fault ???? […] “It’s kind of funny to say ‘step down,’ because I never saw him step up,” said Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee. On Sept. 27, 2024, Hurricane?Helene inflicted what is estimated to be  roughly $60 billion in damage across Western North Carolina, including the destruction and partial loss of thousands of homes — more than 73,000 at last estimate — and over 1,300 roads and bridges. Six months after the storm , local governments in Western North Carolina reported receiving little or no federal reimbursement, with only 4% of needs met. More recently, near the one-year anniversary, Gov. Josh Stein said that figure had grown to 9%. In an audio clip of a brief exchange recorded at a recent event provided to The Smoky Mountain News, Whatley, who President Donald Trump placed in charge of Helene recovery and “ making sure everything goes well ” back on Jan. 24, acknowledged the criticism. “What they’re trying to say is that the president has not done a good job in terms of recovery, and therefore I’ve not done a good job,” Whatley said on the tape. “The fact is, $6.5 billion in relief [is what] we’ve brought into North Carolina since President Trump was sworn in. ” Local governments, homeowners and small businesses, however, are still waiting on the remaining $54 billion, nearly nine months after Whatley’s appointment as recovery czar.Whatley’s recorded comments came after more than 120 people from 17 counties across the Helene-impacted region signed a letter demanding Whatley be removed from his position.“Michael Whatley has failed us and forgotten about us,” the letter states. “We have spoken out for months, because we simply cannot stay silent and let his failure continue to hurt our communities. Both Democrats and Republicans  have called out the sluggish response. It’s clear that Whatley just isn’t up to the task.” Addressed to FEMA Review Council co-chairs Kristi Noem and Pete Hegseth, the letter accuses Whatley of “failing to deliver pre-approved, promised federal relief funds” and “forgetting about” the communities he was appointed to help. It cites sluggish federal reimbursements , lingering infrastructure damage and a lack of public engagement from Whatley as reasons for their discontent. In September, during his first known visit to the region since his appointment — a meeting of the FEMA Review Council that wasn’t open to the public or the press — Whatley  told  Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate WLOS he felt recovery was “going really well at this point.” The FEMA Review Council , established by Trump on the same day he appointed Whatley, is a collection of state and federal leaders charged with presenting a report to the president containing recommendations for FEMA reform. The report is due within 180 days of the council’s first meeting on May 4 — mid-November — but Whatley indicated that like recovery efforts in general, that report is also running behind. “We’re going to wrap up the report to the president in December,” Whatley is heard to say on the recording. “Frankly, you know, the people that are calling on me [to step down] like you said, are the Democrats.”Ackiss, a lifelong Republican who only recently saw the letter but would have signed it had she known about it, said that Helene recovery should be a non-partisan issue and that Whatley’s attempt to blame Democrats isn’t reflective of Appalachian values. “This is a human issue. I have friends on both sides of the aisle, although I’m a Republican. When catastrophes happen, I don’t care what party you’re in — we help the people on the ground,” said Ackiss, who claims 10 generations of roots in the region. “To me, it was completely disappointing to see Michael Whatley and many others who espouse themselves to be Republicans not step up and help the people involved in this.”[…] On Oct. 21, Whatley spoke with The Smoky Mountain News as he was on his way to a meeting with Department of Homeland Security officials about Helene recovery. He said he was aware of the letter calling for his ouster.“I’m disappointed,” he said of the letter, “because what we’re trying to do is make sure that we are getting relief into Western North Carolina, and I’m surprised that people would not want somebody to help champion that cause.”  Whatley argued that the federal response has been stronger than critics acknowledge, citing the $6.5 billion in federal relief already delivered to North Carolina as the most ever provided to the state after any storm. He broke that figure down into specific streams — $440 million from the EPA for wastewater and water treatment systems, more than $1 billion in block grant funds from the Department of Transportation and housing assistance through HUD.“The President was very clear when he came to North Carolina in January and in October and said that he is not going to forget Western North Carolina,” he said. “The response that we have seen from the federal government so far has been a very major response. We are seeing roads that have been rebuilt, bridges that have been rebuilt, the debris has been for the most part completely removed, streams and waterways have been cleared and we are seeing construction on wastewater and drinking water systems. There has been a very major effort, but it is going to take years for Western North Carolina to recover. ” Pressed on why that total still represents only a fraction of the state’s estimated damage, Whatley said it’s unrealistic to expect full reimbursement from Washington. “The federal government is not going to be fully reimbursing for 100% of damage caused by any type of major catastrophe,” he said. “The states and the local governments do have a major role there, as well as private insurance. I think that they’re trying to say that 100% of all estimated costs have to be borne by the federal government. That’s not how that has happened traditionally in storm recovery.” “He also cited recent examples of bipartisan, localized, targeted relief, such as $10 million released to Asheville’s beleaguered water system — for a $23 million project with an $11.3 million FEMA ask, according to Whatley’s campaign — and additional money for reopening sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway,” Whatley added.While conceding that “there are improvements that need to be made,” he said the Trump administration’s creation of the FEMA Review Council is intended to correct past inadequacies and streamline future responses. Even though they won’t likely help Helene victims, they could help victims of future disasters recovery more quickly, Whatley said. “What we saw in the immediate aftermath of that storm from the Biden administration and FEMA as well as Gov. Cooper, was an inadequate response,” he said. “What the president wants to do, and what I want to do, is make sure we have a much better response going forward.”[. ..] Wait. SO this job he got appointed to is NOT actually about helping western North Carolina ????   (*Good to know.*)

https://www.wistv.com/2025/11/10/north-carolina-dmv-incorrectly-registered-noncitizens-vote-federal-prosecutor-says/ CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A Hispanic woman living in Charlotte didn’t know why a police officer and federal investigator showed up at her doorstep earlier this year to ask her questions about a voter registration she didn’t know she had. In partnership with QC Life’s Jorge Andrés , WBTV Investigates visited her home and spoke to the woman in Spanish to understand why her name had appeared in a federal prosecutor’s letter to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. “She had no idea until they reached out to her,” Andres said after speaking with the woman about the registration. The woman is legally in the United States, is not accused of any crime, and told WBTV she had no knowledge at the time of what happened. For her protection and at her request, WBTV is not identifying the woman. She is one of six noncitizens that U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson is accusing the DMV of illegally registering to vote. In nearly all the cases, according to records obtained by WBTV, it did not appear to investigators that the people registered had any knowledge of what had happened. According to online voter records, none of them used their registration to vote. “She did say she was surprised and she wanted to fix the errors,” Andres said of the woman’s conversation with investigators. “She said that it was an investigator that led the correction of the error.” US attorney accuses DMV of voter registration errors Russ Ferguson, appointed in March by Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, first alerted the DMV in July that his office had learned of several noncitizens registered to vote. “We have encountered a number of ineligible individuals who have registered to vote at the DMV but have no knowledge of doing so,” Ferguson wrote in the letter obtained by WBTV. “Consistently, they report they were simply presented a form to sign by a DMV employee. That form is presented in English, even though many of these individuals do not speak sufficient English. Most of them recalled signing an electronic block at the DMV, but believed it was part of the process to obtain a driver’s license.” In a separate letter, Ferguson provided several names and asked the DMV to investigate how the registrations had happened. DMV said ‘no systemic issues’ uncovered after investigation In response to the letter, DMV Commissioner Paul Tine – who declined through a spokesperson to interview for this story – told Ferguson that the agency had investigated and had not uncovered any systemic issues in their processes. In some of the cases, a DMV examiner had incorrectly marked the applicant as a U.S. citizen, Tine wrote. Other cases, he said, were a “system error.” In some cases, the DMV corrected the error in their systems, but the registration had already been sent to a county board to finish processing. The DMV does not directly register voters themselves; in accordance with federal law , DMVs across the country offer a voter the opportunity to register and then send that application to the appropriate election agency, which completes the registration. At the heart of the issue identified by Ferguson is the box on a voter registration form that asks a person to verify that they are a U.S. citizen. That box was sometimes incorrectly checked by a DMV examiner, Tine said, or in other cases incorrectly selected by the person “We take our role in the voter registration process seriously and will continue to assist the State Board of Elections in meeting their mission,” a DMV spokesperson told WBTV. US attorney, DMV clash on whether issues are sign of systemic problem In follow-up letters over the ensuing months, Ferguson and Tine have clashed on whether the registration errors identified are part of a larger problem. “Although your letter claims your investigation ‘did not reveal any systemic issues,’ you found issues with all five voters in the limited sample I identified,” Ferguson wrote in September. In that letter, he also identified a sixth name that had come to his attention that he asked the DMV to investigate. “You say two of those issues were due to ‘examiner oversight,’ but it appears all five issues could have been avoided by [DMV] examiner attention.” In Tine’s most recent response, dated Oct. 28, he maintained that numerous systems are in place that safeguard the vast majority of people registering to vote. “The small number of erroneous voter registrations that your office has identified supports the notion that the DMV’s standard protocols are effective,” Tine wrote. “While the ideal number of erroneous voter registrations would, of course, be zero, six out of the millions of applications the DMV has processed is an exceedingly low error rate.” In that letter, Tine also outlined several steps the DMV would take to ensure similar errors didn’t happen in the future, including enhanced training for examiners. Separate efforts already underway at the DMV to hire more examiners and modernize outdated software would also help eliminate errors in the future, Tine wrote. NCSBE demands Social Security numbers in response The controversy has led to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, where executive director Sam Hayes is now pressing the DMV to share full social security numbers with his agency so they can crosscheck voter rolls for noncitizens registered incorrectly. “We don’t have those here,” Hayes said in an interview with WBTV. “To the extent we’ve collected any, we have only collected the last four.” When pressed on whether there would be privacy concerns with a state agency possessing complete social security numbers that normally does not collect them, Hayes pointed to numerous other government agencies that collect and retain Social Security numbers. “I’m not about the business of just giving out my [personally identifiable information] either,” Hayes said. “But they should understand that government agencies use this data all the time for things like voter list maintenance.” The DMV has not provided those numbers yet, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Board of Elections confirmed in November. “That would greatly improve our efforts at voter list maintenance here and would go a long way to making sure that we don’t have non-citizens on our voter rolls,” Hayes said. In Tine’s most recent letter to Ferguson, he said the DMV was exploring whether they could lawfully share that information with the State Board of Elections. Personal implications of registration errors For the members of the Hispanic community caught up in the controversy, their goals are to cooperate and correct the problems. WBTV attempted to reach the people named and successfully contacted two of them. A young man also named in Ferguson’s letter told WBTV over the phone that the DMV had never contacted him about the error. His local board of elections reached out recently, he said, and helped him get it fixed. Ferguson said in a statement that he did not plan to criminally prosecute the people involved. “They had no criminal intent and were victims of a failed DMV system,” a spokesperson for Ferguson said. “The U.S Attorney is more focused on fixing the problem at the DMV than prosecuting individuals working at the DMV but will continue to track these issues.” But the DMV’s errors could leave people vulnerable, Andres pointed out, who is himself a recently naturalized U.S. citizen after an expensive, yearslong process. “If [the DMV] made a mistake and it was a random checkmark that has the potential of derailing a process that you’ve been doing for years?” Andres said. “You don’t do that.” He spoke from the experience of a person who waited 35 years and spent tens of thousands of dollars to gain his citizenship. “Any sort of blemish you have on your record when you’re going through this process is zoomed in with a magnifying glass. And it can be a speeding ticket, and they’re like, ‘Nope.’ It’s that important. There’s that much pressure on it,” Andres explained. Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.

Chuck Schumer’s Political Stunt Falls Flat Jessica Anderson Nov 13 The government is reopened. Last night, the bill passed the Senate and the House, and President Trump signed it into law. Funding will resume for critical programs, Air Traffic Control officers will get paid before the holiday season begins, and American families will breathe a sigh of relief. 44 days ago, Democrats began this shutdown, opposing funding levels though a continuing resolution (CR) they previously supported 13 times under President Biden. Their initial demands included taxpayer funds for illegal aliens and it quickly became clear this shutdown was a political stunt to help Chuck Schumer avoid a primary challenger from the Left. In July, Republicans cut off taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens with the One Big Beautiful Bill — watch JD Vance explain it — but illegal aliens were receiving free health care via Medicaid and through hospital services. In September, Democrats refused to vote for any government funding bill that did not return taxpayer funding for illegal immigrants. For the Democrats, it apparently didn’t matter that essential federal workers went without paychecks. It didn’t matter that foster care programs were losing resources or veterans’ programs were being cut back. In fact, some even protested the Trump administration’s efforts to ensure U.S. troops were paid. Democrats in Congress voted 15 times to keep the government shut down, all because the funding bill did not bring back taxpayer handouts for illegal aliens. Senate and House Democrats were not shy about their strategy to inflict pain for political gain. Chuck Schumer famously said , “every day gets better for us.” Representative Katherine Clark – a member of Democratic leadership in the House – said , “Of course there will be families that are going to suffer... but it is one of the few leverage times we have.” Now, at the end of the shutdown, despite using suffering American families as “leverage,” it appears that Democrats failed to accomplish any of their goals. 2026 battleground Senate Democrat Jon Ossoff voted against the deal to reopen the government, reaffirming his loyalty to the radical parts of the Democratic Party, and 2026 Senate hopeful Roy Cooper all but admitted he would have done the same. Though it took over 40 days – and conveniently after last week’s elections – 8 Senate Democrats finally came to their senses and joined with Senate Republicans to help reopen the federal government. What Comes Next The current package is a three-bill “minibus” that funds the Department of Agriculture, FDA, Veterans Affairs, military construction, and congressional operations for the fiscal year. Every other agency will be funded until January 30, meaning that the appropriations process is not yet finished. Democrats will also continue to push for a vote on Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Meanwhile, the 2026 midterm elections are getting closer each day. As Democrats focus their messaging around the ACA, Republicans must stay focused on delivering a clear and disciplined message on affordability – when it comes to health care and everyday life. We should remind voters why it’s called Obamacare in the first place as it harkens back to the original authors of our failing health care system—Obama and the Democrat Party. The first lie of Obamacare was “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” Politifact named this failed promise from Obama as their 2013 “Lie of the year.” Now that families have lost their previous health care plans and been forced onto the Obamacare exchanges, they’ve learned the second big lie: it’s not affordable! Through the ACA, Democrats created the problems we see today with health care, and they’ve done nothing to fix it since. They would rather subsidize the problem than solve it. In essence, they want to hide the true costs of Obamacare, hiding the truth from all Americans. Similarly to health care, Democrats’ tax, regulation, and free-handout policies drove up prices throughout the economy. With a bloated bureaucracy and out-of-control federal spending, Democrats skyrocketed inflation and created the economic problems President Trump and Republicans are working to fix. Republicans already took a major step to improve health care for Americans in 2025 — with the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), they protected Medicare from becoming insolvent and cut off funding for illegal aliens. The working class tax cuts in this bill also helps families alleviate some of the continued pain they feel from Bidenflation.Through executive action and legislation, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have worked all year and secured our border. This is a first step in returning jobs to Americans and improving the average working wage. Enforcing our immigration laws decreases the pressure on housing while reducing crime, which makes more neighborhoods family-friendly. Safe neighborhoods are a key ingredient for strong families and successful businesses, and so President Trump has deployed the National Guard to several cities in an effort to reduce crime and by extension, promote economic growth. One of the best things the government can do to promote the well-being of Americans is to enforce law and order — at its core, protecting individual liberty and property rights IS the role of the government. This government shutdown shows just how important it is for Republicans to grow their Senate majority, send politicians like Jon Ossoff home, and prevent radicals like Roy Cooper from taking office. A party that is willing to see American families suffer just to accomplish a political goal should not be trusted with more power in Congress. Remember, Donald Trump won 31 states in 2024 — giving us the first roadmap to securing a 60 seat Senate majority. In 2026, we can pick up additional Senate seats in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Followed by additional pick-up opportunities in 2028! With 60 Senators, Republicans can do a whole lot more than just keep the government funded.

How Can We Best Support Our Veterans? Video: The Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient

https://www.newsbreak.com/share/4329681272076-proposed-68-3-increase-in-dwelling-insurance-rates-could-impact-local-property-owners?_f=app_share&pd=08yXCuIP&lang=en_US&send_time=1762362117&trans_data=%7B%22platform%22%3A0%2C%22cv%22%3A%2225.44.0.36%22%2C%22languages%22%3A%22en%22%7D&s=i4 The North Carolina Rate Bureau has requested a 68.3% average statewide increase in dwelling insurance policy rates. The proposed increase would take effect over two years, with a 28.5% rise on July 1, 2026, and a 30.9% rise on July 1, 2027. The Rate Bureau represents insurance companies and is separate from the N.C. Department of Insurance. The proposal was submitted on October 30, 2025. Dwelling insurance policies cover non-owner-occupied residences with up to four units, such as rental and investment properties. These policies are different from homeowners’ insurance. In July 2023, the last rate filing requested a 50.6% increase, but an 8% increase was approved after negotiations. The Department of Insurance is accepting public comments on the current proposal by email or mail until November 19, 2025. If the Department does not agree with the requested rates, negotiations will take place. If no agreement is reached within 50 days, a hearing will be scheduled.