Shutdown Politics; Synagogue Attack; and Comedians Bowing to Saudi Royals

Let's unpack today's conservative conversations

The Shutdown Trap

We’re three days into the government shutdown, and Democrats are finding themselves backed into the very corner they built. This whole mess began because they demanded that taxpayer-funded healthcare include illegal immigrants. Republicans said no. Democrats refused to budge. And here we are.

The media is spinning like crazy. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins insists federal Medicaid money doesn’t go to illegals. Michael Knowles pointed out what everyone knows: that’s the “letter of the law” game. In practice, states like California funnel billions to cover illegals, then pull more from Washington through clever accounting schemes. Taxpayers foot the bill either way.

Now, Trump is on offense. He’s using the shutdown to review “non-essential” agencies with Russ Vought (yes, the same Vought of Project 2025 fame) and Democrats are losing their minds. They called Project 2025 a conspiracy theory. Now Trump is literally using its author to decide which bureaucracies should be cut. They wanted a fight over healthcare for illegals; Trump is turning it into a referendum on the entire swamp.

As Tim Pool put it, Trump has created a win-win: “Either Democrats cave and reopen government without their giveaways, or Trump gets to start axing Democrat agencies.” That’s not brinkmanship. That’s strategy.

Terror on Yom Kippur

While Washington games out shutdown politics, a synagogue in Manchester, England was attacked by a terrorist on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Jews gathered to worship were attacked, several killed, more wounded. It was deliberate strike at the Jewish faith.

Ben Shapiro didn’t mince words: “Another terror attack against Jews. No one is surprised.” And that’s the tragedy that we expect it now. When Jews are slaughtered in Europe, the headlines are fleeting, the outrage muted. We’ve normalized antisemitic violence to the point that elites shrug it off as a sad but unremarkable reality. That’s not just cowardice. It’s complicity.

It also connects to the broader pattern of escalating violence in the West. Just days ago, an ICE facility in Dallas was attacked, bullets engraved with anti-ICE slogans. In England, Jews are shot in their synagogue. At home, leftist militants openly glorify violence against conservatives. We’re seeing law and order tested in ways that can’t be ignored.

Comedy Without Courage

And then there’s the spectacle of American comedians performing in Riyadh for the Saudi royal family. Shapiro went off on this, and rightly so. Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, and others — men who pride themselves on being “truth tellers” — traveled halfway across the world to kiss the ring of a monarchy that bans dissent, silences women, and punishes gays.

This isn’t edgy comedy. It’s flattery in exchange for cash. Shapiro was blunt: “These guys fly to Saudi Arabia, perform for the royals, and call it art? They’re not speaking truth to power. They’re sucking up to it.”

Think about the contrast. These same comedians savage their own country every chance they get. They mock religion, trash America, and rail against free markets. If comedy is supposed to be the last refuge of honesty, what does it mean when even the comedians are bowing to dictators?

A Culture Without Anchors

Meanwhile, the circus at home continues. Harvard proudly hosts a drag performer as a fellow. The NFL picks Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show. The same guy who boycotted America to protest ICE. Netflix churns out more woke programming. And Hollywood flirts with films that glorify left-wing violence.

Michael Knowles nailed the hypocrisy: conservatives are censored, deplatformed, and hounded for speaking truth. But those who spit on America? They’re rewarded with contracts, concerts, and prestige fellowships.

This isn’t just entertainment. Culture sets the tone for politics. A nation that entertains itself with propaganda, flatters dictators, and laughs off faith is a nation without moral ballast.

The Market Shrugs, But We Shouldn’t

And while all this unfolds, the stock market quietly hits record highs. Clay Travis noted that anyone who bought S&P 500 index funds is sitting on the biggest 401k balance of their lives. Washington may be in chaos, but Wall Street shrugs. That’s a dangerous illusion because the deeper crisis isn’t fiscal, it’s cultural. And culture always comes due.

Where We Stand

These stories aren’t isolated. They’re all symptoms of a deeper crisis. One of seriousness, courage, and truth. A country that shrugs off antisemitic terror, treats its own sovereignty as negotiable, and rewards performers for selling out to dictators is a country in danger of forgetting who it is.

That’s why the shutdown matters. That’s why culture matters. And that’s why the voices we listen to in politics, media, and entertainment matter more than ever.

It’s Friday evening. We’ll be back on Monday. Until then, stay sharp, stay grounded, and don’t let the noise drown out the truth.