GOP Lawmaker Berated After Urging Users to 'Reject Marx' in Support of Privatizing Public Lands: 'So Roosevelt Was a Marxist?'

A Republican lawmaker was ridiculed online after urging Americans to "reject Marx" as he proposes privatization of some public lands as part of his colleagues' spending bill.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee added a section into what President Donald Trump has called the "one big, beautiful bill" that would allow the sale of 2 million acres of public land, The Hill reported.
After Lee's proposal was revealed, the senator was met with prompt backlash online, with several users expressing concerns about conservation efforts and wildlife protections.
Lee turned to X Thursday night to defend his idea, encouraging users to "Reject Marx & Lenin" and "Embrace private land ownership." The senator was referring to philosopher Karl Marx and Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who are widely known for spreading communist and socialist ideologies.
However, the senator seemingly drawing comparisons of keeping public lands public to Marxist thought was met with fierce opposition online.
"Communism is when you refuse to sell Yellowstone to BlackRock," one user mocked. Another simply wrote, "Such a terrible idea."
"Give Up. You've lost. You have managed to unite the country on at least one issue though. Good job!" one user added, noting that the idea has been met with bipartisan backlash.
Several users were quick to note that Lee's proposal to sell public lands appeared to go against the ideas of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who is known for his staunch support of national parks and preservation of historic landmarks.
"Theodore Roosevelt? The communist?" one user commented. Another added, "So Roosevelt was a Marxist, Mike? That's the position you want to take?"
The senator has insisted that the bill would not mean that parts of national parks or wilderness areas could be bought. However, millions of acres of land run by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service could be up for sale, according to an analysis by The Wilderness Society.
Originally published on Latin Times

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VP Vance Says US Troops Still 'Necessary' In Los Angeles

Int'l Business Times

2 hours ago

Int'l Business Times

VP Vance Says US Troops Still 'Necessary' In Los Angeles

US Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that the thousands of troops deployed to Los Angeles this month were still needed despite a week of relative calm in the protest-hit city. President Donald Trump has sent roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines, purportedly to protect federal property and personnel, after demonstrations over immigration raids. "Unfortunately, the soldiers and Marines are still very much a necessary part of what's going on here because they're worried that it's going to flare back up," Vance told reporters in Los Angeles. He was speaking the day after an appeals court ruled that Trump could continue to control the California National Guard, which would normally fall under Governor Gavin Newsom's authority. California officials have heavily criticized Trump over his use of the military, saying it escalated protests that local law enforcement could have handled. The demonstrations were largely peaceful and mostly contained to a small part of Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, although there were instances of violence and vandalism. "If you let violent rioters burn Great American Cities to the ground, then, of course, we're going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect," Vance said, adding that Trump would deploy them again if needed. The Republican further accused Newsom -- a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 -- and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging protesters. Newsom and Bass have both condemned rioting and violence towards law enforcement while accusing the Trump administration of manufacturing a crisis in the city. Bass hit back at Vance during a news conference on Friday, accusing him of openly lying and saying that local law enforcement agencies handled crowd control. "How dare you say that city officials encourage violence. We kept the peace. You know that the federal officials that were here protected a federal building -- they were not involved in crowd control," she said. Bass said that even when there was vandalism, at its height "you are talking about a couple of hundred people who are not necessarily associated with any of the peaceful protests." "Los Angeles is a city that is 500 square miles and any of the disruption that took place took place at about 2 square miles in our city," she said, accusing Vance of adding to "provocation" and sowing "division." Many in Los Angeles are angry about immigration raids carried out as part of Trump's ambition to deport vast numbers of undocumented migrants around the country. Outrage at the use of masked, armed immigration agents also sparked protests in other cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas. Tensions spiked when California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, was handcuffed and forcibly removed last week when attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem questions during her news conference. Vance misnamed the senator when referring to the incident, saying: "I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't a theater." Bass reacted to the comment with outrage. "How dare you disrespect him and call him Jose. But I guess he just looked like anybody to you," she said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had said Padilla's treatment "reeks of totalitarianism," while the White House claimed -- despite video evidence to the contrary -- that Padilla had "lunged toward Secretary Noem." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hit back at Vance during a press conference, accusing him of openly lying AFP Tensions hiked when California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, was handcuffed and forcible removed last week when attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem questions during her press conference AFP

Putin says 'all of Ukraine is ours' as he eyes Sumy city – DW – 06/20/2025

11 hours ago

Putin says 'all of Ukraine is ours' as he eyes Sumy city – DW – 06/20/2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin has revived a controversial narrative, claiming that theoretically "all of Ukraine is ours." He also sparked more immediate concerns with comments about seizing Ukraine's city of Sumy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people" and that, in that sense, "all of Ukraine is ours." The assertion underscores Moscow's continued underlying rejection of Ukrainian sovereignty and raises renewed alarm over Russia's territorial ambitions. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin issued a series of provocative remarks, notably stating: "We have a saying… where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." He was responding to a question about Russia's objectives for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. The Russian leader emphasized that while Russia "never doubted" Ukraine's sovereignty after its 1991 independence, it had declared itself a neutral state — a stance he accused Ukraine of having abandoned. Reiterating a longstanding narrative, he said Russians and Ukrainians were essentially the same nation — a position Kyiv and its Western allies categorically reject. "I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours," Putin said. Ukraine said Putin's comments showed his "disdain" for the peace process. "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X. "The only way to force Russia into peace is to deprive it of its sense of impunity." Among the key developments, Putin said he did not "rule out" the capture of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, which lies roughly 30 kilometers (just over 18 miles) from the Russian border. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "We have no objective to take Sumy but, in principle, I do not rule it out," he said, accusing Ukrainian forces of persistently shelling Russian border areas. He added that Russian troops had already penetrated up to 12 kilometers into Ukrainian territory in the Sumy region to create what he called a protective "buffer zone." Sumy, though not among the five Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea — has been a frequent target of Russian attacks. It also served as a launching point for a Ukrainian counteroffensive into Russia's western Kursk region last August, during which Kyiv's forces briefly captured dozens of settlements before being pushed back by Russian troops — bolstered by thousands of North Korean soldiers, according to reports. Putin's remarks come amid growing skepticism over the viability of peace negotiations, with Moscow continuing to demand further Ukrainian territorial concessions as a precondition for any ceasefire.

Putin: 'All of Ukraine is ours' in theory, eyes Sumy city – DW – 06/20/2025