Jeers to our local Congressional delegation for two disturbing votes in recent weeks. Those votes go against basic American values and decency, but continue to show their blind worship of Donald Trump.
Senator Kevin Cramer AP
On the Senate side, North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer inexplicably voted not to kill Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund.
This fund would pay big bucks to the traitors who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. In case you forgot, those rioters broke into the Capitol, beat up police officers with sharp objects (wounding 140 of them), trashed the place, defecated on the walls and floor, attempted to overturn a free and fair election, and tried to hang Vice President Mike Pence, among others.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
Trump disgracefully pardoned all of them. These traitors should not be paid for their crimes, they should be in prison, which they were, until Trump sadly let them all out.
Another shameful part of the slush fund deal would give Trump immunity for any tax crimes he might have committed. I wonder why Trump is asking for that?
Hoeven and Cramer should be ashamed that they are supporting this corruption.
On the House side, North Dakota Representative Julie Fedorchak and Minnesota Representative Michelle Fischbach disgracefully voted against aiding Ukraine and sanctioning Russia. Most of the money would have been vital loans to help Ukraine defend itself.
Good to see 18 House Republicans vote for this, although there should have been much more. One Democrat, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, inexcusably voted against this legislation.
Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)
Julie Fedorchak in KFGO studio
If we can’t support Ukraine, who can we support? This is a classic case of good (Ukraine) versus evil (Russia). Russia is much bigger and has more firepower than Ukraine, which is simply fighting for its survival.
Russia had no right to invade the sovereign and independent nation of Ukraine. It certainly has had no right to kill, torture, rape and kidnap tens of thousands of Ukrainians.
Still, Trump is in bed with the bloodthirsty Vladimir Putin. So, as long as Trump supports Putin, so will cowardly members of Congress, such as Fedorchak and Fischbach. Supporting Trump is apparently more important than helping the innocent victims in Ukraine.
–Speaking of wars, with the war against Iran apparently over, what did we accomplish? Virtually nothing.
The old Iranian regime is gone, only to be replaced by one that’s just as brutal. The Strait of Hormuz is open now (kind of), but it was open before the war. Most importantly, Iran still has the capability to produce nuclear weapons. President Obama had a deal to prevent Iran from making nuclear weapons, but Trump foolishly cancelled it.
Smoke rises up after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Meantime, 1700 Iranian civilians were killed, including 168 girls who were attending their elementary school during a missile strike. As for us, 13 U.S. service members lost their lives. Often forgotten is that 380 Americans were wounded, with most of them suffering traumatic brain injuries.
On top of that, Trump wasted tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, while sending gas prices soaring. Not to be overlooked is the $300 billion designated for Iran reconstruction. For all we know, much of that money will be sent to the Iranian terrorist proxies of Hamas and Hezbollah.
This war was very costly on several fronts. And for what? There is no good explanation.
–Probably the most gruesome and heartbreaking story I ever covered was the 1992 murders of the Neugebauer family in Menoken, North Dakota, which is 14 miles east of Bismarck.
EP27 Unseen Sword and Scale / Courtesy: State Historical Society of North Dakota
15-year-old Michael Neugebauer shot to death his mother, father, 16-year-old sister and 13-year-old brother.
I saw the disturbing photos of his dead sister, who was shot twice in the back, and his brother, who was shot in the head as he cowed in the corner of his bedroom. I have never been able to forget those horrific images.
I also interviewed Michael in prison, the only interview he has ever done. Neugebauer remains in prison today.
I bring this up because there’s an excellent new documentary out about the Neugebauer case. You can find it at swordandscale.com.
I was interviewed for this documentary. It is so well detailed that I learned some new things about this tragic case.
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