Major American corporations that benefited from tax cuts enacted last year by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are donating to the campaigns of GOP lawmakers who made the windfall possible.A report published Friday by Unrig Our Economy spotlights seven House Republicans who voted for the sprawling and unpopular GOP budget package, which extended tax breaks for corporations and wealthy Americans while inflicting unprecedented cuts on Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance—with disastrous consequences for millions of low-income families across the country.Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), one of the lawmakers featured in the new report, has received campaign donations from corporate PACs representing 3M, Amazon, Walmart, AT&T, and other companies that collectively received billions of dollars in tax breaks from the Republican law, which restored a provision allowing businesses to immediately write off new investments.Amazon saw its US income taxes fall by more than half last year due to the GOP law, even as the company’s profits grew. Unrig Our Economy noted that Amazon, whose PAC donated thousands to the Republicans spotlighted in the new report, has an effective federal tax rate of 1.37% following enactment of the budget law.Miller-Meeks, who has received at least $57,000 in donations from the PACs of companies that benefited from the 2025 law, issued a statement Thursday bragging about supporting “the largest tax cuts in American history,” not mentioning that the benefits will disproportionately flow to profitable corporations and the richest people in the country.“Thanks to the Republican tax law, corporations are receiving tax breaks, House Republicans are getting campaign cash, and working families are getting stuck with the bill,” the report states.Another Republican lawmaker featured in the report, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, received $2,500 in campaign donations from the PAC of FirstEnergy, which reaped $500 million in depreciation deductions thanks to the GOP tax law.“Bresnahan voted to give FirstEnergy hundreds of millions in tax breaks even after the company raised utility prices for his constituents,” Unrig Our Economy’s report observes.The report also points out that Bresnahan “owned stock in every single one” of the companies who contributed PAC money to his campaign following passage of the Republican budget package last summer.“This comes after Bresnahan has already faced scrutiny for dumping stock in Medicaid providers and selling off bonds in Pennsylvania hospitals before voting to slash Medicaid and put rural hospitals at risk,” the report notes.Leor Tal, Unrig Our Economy’s campaign director, said in a statement that “one year ago, House Republicans ripped away healthcare and food assistance from millions of Americans, so that corporations could get massive tax breaks.”“Now, many of those companies are dishing out PAC money to the Republicans listed in this report,” said Tal. “Republicans in Congress sold out many of their own constituents to help corporations get even richer. It’s time that House Republicans step up, do the right thing, and start fighting for working Americans—not giant corporations.”
Everyone knows the song.It’s a warm summer night, the top of the seventh inning has just concluded, and the organ begins to ring throughout the stadium. It’s time to whip out the singing voice for one of America’s most iconic tunes — "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." At a time when baseball fandom was overwhelmingly male-dominated, the character of Katie stands out as an unusual creation for the era.Yet few baseball fans, let alone Americans at large, know the true history behind the 118-year-old symbol of our country’s pastime.To get to the beginning, we must travel back to the time of President Theodore Roosevelt. The year is 1908: The Ford Model T makes its debut in the automobile market; New York City drops the very first New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square; and the Grand Canyon is declared a national monument.The story goes that Jack Norworth was riding a New York subway train when he was inspired by a sign he saw that read, “Baseball Today — Polo Grounds.” Norworth quickly developed the lyrics to the song, with Albert Von Tilzer composing the music.The irony? According to reports, neither of these men had ever been to a baseball game. Norworth did not attend a game until 32 years later in 1940.Norworth and his then-wife Nora Bayes would go on to debut the tune during a vaudeville act at the Amphion Theater in Brooklyn. The song was quickly recorded by multiple different groups, with both the Edward Meeker and the Haydn Quartet versions finding mass success. Although only the chorus is sung at baseball games today, the original song contains multiple verses that tell the story of Katie Casey (later changed to Nelly Kelly by Norworth) — a “baseball mad” fanatic who would rather have her boyfriend take her to the ballgame than to the theater. At a time when women did not even have the right to vote, let alone the fact that baseball fandom was overwhelmingly male-dominated, the character of Katie stands out as an unusual creation for the era.The earliest documented instance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" being played at a baseball game was during a Los Angeles high school game in 1934. The song made its Major League debut later that year during Game 4 of the 1934 World Series.Stadium bands began regularly performing the tune during games in the mid-20th century. However, the way baseball fans engage with the song today — singing it during the seventh-inning stretch — was popularized by Chicago White Sox announcer Harry Caray in the 1970s. Caray later brought the tradition to the Chicago Cubs when he became their announcer in 1982. In 2001, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was ranked #8 on the "Songs of the Century" list, and later in 2010, Edward Meeker's recording was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.So next time you find yourself indulging in America's pastime, remember to buy some "peanuts and Cracker Jack" so that you can "root, root, root for the home team" — but never forget: "For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, at the old ball game."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered his July 4 address from behind George Washington's desk at City Hall. The mayor was joined by recently naturalized U.S. citizens as he highlighted the ideals the founders of the nation put forward 250 years ago.
Democrats are preparing a hostile audit of President Trump and his inner circle, intent on exposing — and ultimately ending — the most lucrative presidency in American history.Why it matters: Since winning the 2024 election, Trump has operated in a Wild West of his own making — monetizing the office to the tune of billions, while enabling family, friends and donors to cash in along the way.He and the White House have denied any conflicts of interest. Republicans, who spent years investigating the Biden family's business dealings, have shielded Trump from the same scrutiny.But Democrats see the presidential gold rush as corruption personified — and plan to bury Trump's orbit in subpoenas if they win the House in November's midterms.Zoom in: Trump's $2.2 billion financial disclosure is a 927-page roadmap for the coming investigations, itemizing every known venture that made 2025 the richest year of his life.A crypto business that barely existed when Trump took office minted him roughly $1.2 billion — eclipsing, in a single year, the real estate empire he spent decades building.His biggest single payday was $635 million in royalties from the $TRUMP meme coin, which has crashed roughly 95% from its inauguration-week launch — destroying billions for the small investors who bought in.Trump also reported tens of millions from legal settlements with major media and tech companies, plus new income from branded watches, sneakers, Bibles, fragrances and foreign licensing deals.Zoom out: For Democratic investigators, the ripest targets are the people around Trump: family, appointees and allies who, unlike the president, can be compelled to testify under oath.World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture launched by the Trump and Witkoff families, has become a magnet for foreign money, including a secret $500 million investment from a senior Emirati royal.A New York Times investigation found that Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and the sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have ties to at least 14 companies seeking $8.9 billion in federal support for critical-minerals deals.Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, has raised billions from Gulf governments while leading Middle East peace talks. In Albania, Kushner's firm won "strategic investor" status for a $1.4 billion luxury resort on a protected island — igniting mass protests dubbed the "flamingo revolution."What they're saying: Trump dismissed criticism of his financial disclosure on Wednesday, telling reporters his money is run by outside advisers in what he called a "blind account.""Everybody is profiting," Trump said, because "the stock market's going up."In a CNBC interview Thursday, Trump said he didn't know about many of the crypto gains disclosed in the filing because his son Eric and outside firms handle his investments. But he also argued that even if he had known, "there's nothing illegal with that," saying presidents cannot realistically recuse themselves from every decision that might affect their finances.Reality check: Trump's defense focuses on who manages his investments. Democrats are preparing to scrutinize the much bigger ecosystem around them: a portfolio that made more than 21,000 securities transactions in 2025, a family crypto empire, foreign business deals and other ventures that expanded alongside his presidency.The explanation also sidesteps broader ethics questions, including Trump's acceptance of a $400 million Qatari jet that entered service as Air Force One on Wednesday.Trump plans to keep the luxury plane — the largest foreign gift in U.S. history — for his presidential library after he leaves office.White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement: "President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public — which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media. There are no conflicts of interest."The big picture: Scrutiny of Trump's finances comes amid a growing anti-billionaire current in U.S. politics, exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis the president repeatedly has downplayed.The number of democratic socialists in Congress is poised to more than double after the midterms, giving the left's anti-oligarchy message a bigger platform inside the Democratic Party.Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) has made corruption the central theme of his re-election message, drawing 2028 chatter for his viral speeches detailing the Trump family's foreign windfalls.For Democrats, the bet is that Trump's profits can become part of a broader affordability argument: Washington works for the well-connected, while everyone else pays the price.The bottom line: It's no secret that Democrats intend to make life miserable for Trump and his inner circle if they win the midterms."They will turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, and they'll go after the president's family, the Cabinet, his donors and friends," House Speaker...
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered an address, railing against ICE and Capitalism, to mark America's 250th birthday on Friday morning, hours before President Trump is set to address the nation from Mount Rushmore. Sitting behind a desk used by George Washington in the Nation's first Capitol building, Federal Hall, now housed in New York City Hall, the Ugandan immigrant lectured Americans on our history.
The post WATCH: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Gives Divisive July 4 Address Behind George Washington’s Desk Surrounded by Foreigners – Says America Is an “Arena of Supremacy” and Its Citizens are “Small, Weak and Unoriginal” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
