By Ray Cardello for January 25, 2026, Season 34 / Post 5

Just how does it work with these zealots that appear to have a vested interest in the cause they attack, but really, are they just hoping that the minimum wage, and therefore protester rates, keep climbing? These folk are certainly drawing the short straw in this year’s Season of Love, as getting up early to stand in the cold of Minneapolis or Lewiston in the middle of January can not be pleasant at any price. Still, they are troopers, and they will go anywhere if they can scream in the face of an ICE agent. There are tons of jobs out there, but none allow you to throw snowballs and bottles of frozen urine at Donald Trump’s Gestapo troops and get an autopen-signed check from the real Big Guy, the King of Anti-America, the George Soros.

According to News Nation:

One woman, who calls herself a “compensated activist,” told NewsNation it’s more complicated than that. The woman, who went by the pseudonym “Tanya” for this story, says she works with the firm Crowds on Demand, a company that organizes protests.

Tanya said she helps recruit paid protesters for events the company has been hired for and works with Crowds on Demand CEO Adam Swart to help organize and coordinate events. 

“I’m watching, I’m there, I’m making sure everything goes well and everything remains peaceful, and we’re following the rules and making sure everything is up to par. That’s my job,” she said.

Tanya has been on the paid-protestor circuit, not unlike the carnival workers, for ten years and said that most of these actors are paid less than $500 a day. Unfortunately, there are no benefits included and no labor union support as yet, though Randi Weingarten is working on that (I just threw that in because it seemed to fit). Few people can yell and scream like Randi. Tanya is not doing a very good job of keeping things peaceful, though, as the death toll for protestors stands at 2 in Minnesota, and the fervor seems to be ramping up as the temperatures plunge.

This fake passion throws a bucket of water on the argument from people like Frey, Walz, Mills, and even the infamous Don Lemon that these protestors are only exercising their First Amendment rights and speaking for the people. Truthfully, many do not have a clue why they are there, or can give an anti-Trump argument, but this is the opportunity that America has given these folks at a career who are cursed with a liberal arts degree and huge student debt bills.

I write this article somewhat in jest, because it is so difficult to wrap your arms around this entire scenario. ICE is just arriving in Maine, and reports are that they have a list of 1,400 targets for apprehension. That is, one in a thousand people in Maine who are illegal aliens with a history of child molestation, human trafficking, rape, or murder. I have to say, as someone who lives a few miles from Lewiston, that I am happy to see ICE arrive and these human scum to leave, but I am only a member of half the population who feels that way. The other half hate Donald Trump so much, though they cannot tell you why, that they want to protect the rights of these sub-humans over the safety of all. A friend of mine lives in the LA area of Maine (that is the Lewiston/Auburn area for non-Mainers) and lives in a normally quiet, peaceful neighborhood. One of his neighbors found a task on his to-do list this week to paint “F-ICE” in large red letters on his garage door. In most places, that would be a sign of vandalism. In today’s America, that is someone exercising their First Amendment rights by defacing their own property. That is how crazy this country has become, and civilized folk cannot understand it, which is a good thing, because if we could, we would be more like these paid protestors and less like the patriotic Americans we still hold dear. I do not see this ending soon or well. As long as there are ultra-rich people like Soros and Adam Swart, who have as much hate for America as money in the bank, and are willing to spend it on these fake protests, there will be the Tanyas of the world looking to give purpose to their sorry lives by showing up, throwing a few snowballs, and cashing their checks.