Dave Bondy
Politics • Culture • News
News they don't want you to see
Tuesday December 16, 2025
December 16, 2025

Thank you for being here. I send this newsletter out Monday thru Friday at 7a.m. EST. It gives you the top five stories the mainstream media is ignoring.


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State worker fired for benefit misconduct earned years of ‘100’ reviews from state health department

LANSING, Mich An employee of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was fired in 2024 after allegedly not conducting interviews when making decisions about whether to approve benefits. That same employee received perfect scores on four assessment reviews before being fired.

Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained Ashanta Butler’s performance reviews through open records requests.

Those records show Rachel Hill, a health department supervisor, gave Butler a 100 in every category in the 2019 review for areas such as job knowledge, managing work, communication and contributing to team success.

Part of the performance review from 2023 praised Butler for communicating with “positive non-offensive and inclusive terms.” Click here to read more.


 

Australia’s Leftist Leaders Call For ‘Tougher Gun Laws’ After Antisemitic Massacre

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that the country’s Left-wing government stands “prepared” to pass more restrictive gun laws after two gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney on Sunday.

Albanese responded to the terrorist attack by cracking down even more on gun ownership, saying the country must “take whatever action is necessary,” the Associated Press reported.

“Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese added.

Australia already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world after the government enacted a mandatory buyback program following the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, where a gunman killed 35 people. Australia bans citizens from owning semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns. Click here to read more.

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Republican bills repeal ‘red-flag’ gun law as Judiciary Committee schedules hearing

A trio of gun rights bills introduced by Rep. Jim DeSana in February will finally come before the House Judiciary Committee next week, sparking renewed debate over Michigan’s controversial red flag gun law.

The Carleton Republican aims to repeal the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act adopted by a Democratic government trifecta in 2023, which has led to legal gun owners losing their Second Amendment rights over the actions of others since it went into effect in February 2024.

DeSana’s bills have been sitting in committee for nearly 10 months.

House Bill 4140 is the centerpiece of the package. It would repeal the 2023 Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, which allows courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals a judge believes pose a danger to themselves or others. Click here to read more.

 

US AG Office: 260,000 Dead People And Thousands of Non Citizens On Voter Rolls

LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The U.S. Attorney General has discovered more than 260,000 dead people and several thousand non-citizens during its review of voter rolls across the country thus far.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon gave an update on her office’s attempts to review all the voter rolls for every state in the country.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has refused to cooperate with the federal government on this issue. Benson said the information, such as social security information and driver’s license information, is private. Benson has said she is not handing the information over so to keep the information private and safe from identity fraud. She called the federal government’s request illegal and unconstitutional. Click here to read more.

 

Biden ‘ignored warnings about letting terror-linked Afghans into US’

Joe Biden’s administration ignored counterterrorism warnings to admit Afghans with terrorist links into the United States, it has been claimed.

Officials flagged more than 1,000 Afghans with ties to Islamic State and other terror groups who entered the country during Operation Allies Welcome, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to a senior intelligence official.

Biden, the former president, is accused of prioritizing mass migration over security and disregarding warnings from officials within his administration who identified terrorist threats.

U.S. government reports have previously concluded that the normal system of background checks was suspended because of the urgent need to evacuate Afghans after the Taliban takeover.

On Nov. 26, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan soldier who fought alongside American forces and was granted humanitarian parole in the United States under Biden, shot and killed a National Guardsman and left another in critical condition. Click here to read more.

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October 15, 2026
I may have to end my independent journalism

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I’m with my daughter at a school event which is way Morse important.

October 22, 2026
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Who Is Lady Budgetdown? The Mystery Account Raising Eyebrows and Uncovering School Finances
The anonymous figure behind a growing school transparency website says the project is run by one person, has faced threats of legal action and is expanding its reach across Michigan.

MICHIGAN — Who is Lady Budgetdown?

It’s a question that has circulated among Michigan educators, school administrators, taxpayers and social media users as a mysterious online watchdog continues digging into school district finances, superintendent salaries, bond proposals and public spending.

Now, the person behind the increasingly visible project is revealing new details about its origins, operations and future — while refusing to disclose their identity.

In an exclusive written interview, Lady Budgetdown confirmed the operation is run by a single individual, not a larger organization or political group.

 

“It started with just me, and it currently is only me,” Lady Budgetdown said.

The anonymous researcher said the project receives technical assistance with website development but independently oversees the research, reviews public records, creates content and determines what information gets published.

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October 22, 2026
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Thursday October 22, 2026

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Michigan school funding tops inflation since before the pandemic

Funding for public schools in Michigan has grown faster than inflation since before the pandemic.

Yet some school teachers, like Amanda Walker of Bay City Schools, have said that schools are being defunded. Walker is vice president of her district’s chapter of the Michigan Education Association.

“I do think there’s been a concerted effort to dismantle public education by defunding, by diverting funds to private schools, by tearing down teachers and accusing them of all sorts of nonsense. People see it, and they feel it, and they don’t like it,” Walker told an MEA news publication recently.

It can feel that way at school districts such as Bay City, where the student count dropped 16% between 2018-19 and 2025-26, according to MiSchoolData.org. Fewer students means less in per-pupil funding. Click here to read more.


 

Data centers become midterm minefield as candidates scramble to answer voter backlash

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his support for building new data centers across the country, but candidates in both parties are trying to show voters they are listening to growing concerns about the technology. With the midterms two weeks away, the issue could help decide who voters ultimately choose.

The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting. Click here to read more.

Stay in contact with family with push to talk nationwide waterproof walkie talkies. Click here to learn more and get an extra 10% off.

 

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Cops Release Woman Who Plowed Through Soccer Field: No Charges, No Explanation

The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting.

In Hermantown, Minnesota, a rural community of about 10,000 people in the northeastern part of the state, the city council moved closer to approving a new Google data center. Some residents said officials haven’t pushed hard enough. Click here to read more.

 

Consumers Energy’s rate hike request comes days after $139M increase approved

Consumers Energy is looking for a rate hike on natural gas prices less than a week after the public service commission approved a $139 million increase.

The utility provider filed its notice of intent with regulators on Monday, which is required before it can submit its rate request.

The previous rate hike came out to about a 4.3% bump in monthly payments for natural gas.

Big picture view:

Consumers Energy has not said how much more it is asking for it its latest failing, but did say the new rate would last 12 months, ending Oct. 31, 2028.

Utility companies cannot set rates themselves. Instead, they submit a request to increase rates for either natural gas or electricity with the Michigan Public Service Commission.

After making the request, both parties and any other stakeholders weigh in on the case.

The Michigan Attorney General frequently intervenes in these cases. Click here to read more.

 

Trump and Vance announce $25M whistleblower program to encourage public to report alleged fraud

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the U.S. government as they ramp up efforts to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars.

The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program.

During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to a 1% commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover. Trump also said he will decide who gets reward money in cases where more than one person claims to have provided the tip.

“I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” Trump in the Oval Office with Vance and other administration officials standing behind him. “It’ll be a binding arbitration.”

Trump said journalists could participate in the program. Click here to read more.

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October 20, 2026
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Michigan Audit Raises Questions About Medical Procedures Performed on Children in State Care
State auditors also identified problems with adoption approvals, oversight of children under state guardianship and security of confidential records.

LANSING, Mich. — Children under Michigan's guardianship underwent medical procedures without required consent or documentation, while thousands of others were not being consistently tracked by the state agency responsible for them, according to a new audit.

The Michigan Office of the Auditor General released a 40-page report Oct. 15 identifying significant deficiencies within the Michigan Children's Institute, which operates under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The institute serves as the legal guardian for children whose parental rights have been terminated.

Auditors concluded that the institute's selected guardianship activities were not sufficient, identifying problems with

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