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2025-05-04 01:01:15

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/john-waynes-epic-freedom-train-could-save-americas-250th-birthday.jpg?id=60058539&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C49%2C0%2C50
Many Americans of Generation X and older will recall the red, white, and blue American Freedom Train that was a centerpiece of America’s glorious bicentennial celebration in 1976. But few know that the Freedom Train — pulled by a steam locomotive and filled with American historical artifacts — was the brainchild of none other than John Wayne. As we fast approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, it’s time to get Wayne’s American Freedom Train back on the tracks as part of the quarter-millennium celebration. Ross Rowland, who spearheaded the American Freedom Train effort as a young man, recently told me how Wayne came to have the idea. Rowland had run away from home in the 1950s and fortuitously ended up working as a groundskeeper for Wayne. The Duke befriended Rowland and eventually convinced him to return home. Rowland, whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been railroad men, had success on Wall Street and then commemorated the centennial of the 1869 “golden spike” — the completion of the transcontinental railroad — by having a steam train travel from New York City to Salt Lake City. There’s still a chance to make the quarter-millennium anniversary a spectacular, unifying event like the bicentennial was a half-century ago. Wayne joined Rowland for the final leg of that journey (and arranged to have “True Grit” premiere in Salt Lake City the night before). As they rode in an open-air train car, observing the large crowds as they passed, Rowland says Wayne told him something to the effect of, “You know, Ross, we’ve got America’s 200th birthday coming up. We should do this for that.” And they did. Rowland handled most of the planning and execution, Wayne got support from Bing Crosby and others in Hollywood, and President Richard Nixon agreed to let the train carry artifacts usually housed at the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and National Archives. The American Freedom Train was a tremendous success. During the bicentennial period, it traveled to all 48 contiguous states, stopped 138 times, and had an average of more than 50,000 visitors board at each stop. Riding along a moving walkway, visitors saw such artifacts as Paul Revere’s saddlebags, President George Washington’s copy of the Constitution, the actual Louisiana Purchase document, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, Babe Ruth’s bat, John F. Kennedy’s handwritten copy of his inaugural address, and other artifacts, enough to fill 12 display cars. The American Freedom Train, perhaps more than anything else, tied the national and local bicentennial celebrations together. John Warner, who headed up the congressionally created American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, said the train was “the most visible” of the bicentennial offerings and was able to “sew together” various festivities. President Ford said it “brought the story of America to the people.” During the recent period of peak wokeness — from around 2020 to 2024 — it looked like the nation’s 250th anniversary risked becoming more of a condemnation than a celebration of American history. President Donald Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris largely ensured that the occasion would be a celebration. Yet there is a very real danger that this milestone anniversary — perhaps the best chance in 50 years to reset how Americans view our nation’s founding — might barely register with the public, making it a massive lost opportunity. Planning for the quarter-millennium is woefully far behind where planning was at this stage for the bicentennial. The official planning entity, created by Congress during the Obama administration, is useless and focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. President Trump wisely created Task Force 250 to fill this void, but it faces a severe shortage of time. Fortunately, the American Freedom Train could hit the tracks in the first half of 2026. Rob Gardner, president of the American Steam Railroad, told me the “sister engine” of a locomotive that pulled the train during the bicentennial is being restored and will be ready for action. All that’s really needed is for President Trump to authorize the use of federal artifacts at the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and National Archives, consistent with his recent executive order telling the Smithsonian to stop denigrating America and instead “remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.” Everything else would quickly fall into place. There’s still a chance to make the quarter-millennium anniversary a spectacular and unifying event like the bicentennial was a half-century ago. Reprising the American Freedom Train is a big part of that. Let’s bring back John Wayne’s rolling tribute to America’s finest. Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/john-waynes-epic-freedom-train-could-save-americas-250th-birthday

2025-05-04 01:01:15

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/grass-fed-steaks-unprocessed-salt-and-more-chemical-free-picks-from-the-solarium.jpg?id=60068487&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=74%2C0%2C74%2C0
Note: The product recommendations that Align publishes are meant solely to inform and edify our subscribers; unless explicitly labeled as such, they are neither paid promotions or endorsements. Strolling the grocery store today can be like entering a mental war zone — especially when I have to step outside the fresh produce periphery and into the processed food interior. There, reading ominously extensive ingredient labels often finds me leaving without the item I wanted. I'm not a nutritionist or "health expert." I'm a filmmaker and a mother simply trying to make sensible, healthy purchases in a culture that seems determined to dose us with chemicals at every turn. And yet sometimes I wonder if I'm on the verge of becoming Julianne Moore's character in "Safe." You have to be very, very strong and diligent to stay the course, for yourself and your family. But it pays off. To make it easier, I created the Solarium, which curates trusted, third-party-tested foods, clothing, beauty products, and more — all free of seed oils, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, plastics, fluoride, retardants, endocrine disruptors, synthetic fragrances, artificial coloring, alcohols, carcinogens, and other harmful additives. Here are some of the products we've been enjoying lately. Organic dried mango from Magone's One of my greatest food pleasures is dried mango. The ones from Mangone's are still juicy and bursting with taste. Highly recommended. Take 12% off with promo code TheSolarium. Pungao Vital Nectar Pungao is an all-natural, honey-based energy enhancer and supplement. Not just for athletes, the ingredients in Pungao help nourish and energize your body with clean sugars, hydrating salt, and stimulating cinnamon and guarana. Take 10% off with promo code TheSolarium. Sport Drink An electrolyte-rich powder made with organic fruits, real sugar, and zero food dyes or chemicals. As simple and effective as its name, Sport Drink aims to provide a trusted hydration alternative to the neon-colored, chemical-laden mainstream brands. Take 10% off with promo code TheSolarium. Kindred Harvest teas Organic, whole-leaf tea without micro-plastics, glue, or heavy metals; blended, tested, and packed in the USA. Comes in black, green, hibiscus, and more. Raw Royal Jelly Bees are magical creatures: In addition to honey, they give us royal jelly, which encourages muscle and bone growth, boosts stamina, libido, and fertility, and helps prevent cancer. Take 10% off with promo code TheSolarium. Masa Chips Masa Chips use 3 simple ingredients: organic corn, 100% grass-fed beef tallow, and sea salt. So simple yet so hard to find chips made without seed oils, pesticides, or preservatives. Jake Steaks Grass-fed and -finished beef direct from the farmers to your front door. The cows are raised and finished on a variety of native grass. They are entirely pasture fed — zero corn or grain. Let Jake know the Solarium sent you. Honey from Busy Bee Candle Co. Busy Bee's "use the whole animal" mentality means it doesn't stop at clean, purifying beeswax candles; it also sells raw, untreated wildflower honey. Just as beeswax makes the perfect candles, honey is the perfect sugar — packed with incredible health benefits. Take 15% off with promo code TheSolarium. Greco Gum If you are going to chew gum, chew a natural, plastic-free gum that simultaneously builds your jaw muscles, assists digestion, and potentially prevents oral cancer. 100% crystallized resin, made by nature in Chios, Greece. First-time customers take 10% off with promo code TheSolarium. Vera Salt Hand-harvested, natural spring salt from Spain. Not processed or bleached, leaving its mineral content — potassium, magnesium, and calcium — intact. Oliva Dorado Olives farmed, harvested, cold-pressed, and bottled on-site at a single estate in northern Spain to create a 100% authentic extra virgin olive oil. No synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizer ever used. Kraut Krackers A nutrient-packed cracker made from wild-fermented sauerkraut, dehydrated at low temperature. All from four simple ingredients: organic purple cabbage, organic red beet, organic golden flax seeds, and pink Himalayan salt. Made in the USA.
https://www.theblaze.com/align/grass-fed-steaks-unprocessed-salt-and-more-chemical-free-picks-from-the-solarium

2025-05-03 16:00:10

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/inflation-is-a-fed-failure-not-a-trump-tariff-consequence.jpg?id=60071302&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C53%2C0%2C54
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs would likely lead to higher rates of inflation. He made this claim on April 16 before an audience at the Economic Club of Chicago. This somewhat gratuitous statement must be examined in light of sound economic theory: Do tariffs actually cause inflation or not? Classic economics defines three primary sources of government funding: taxation, debt, and inflation. To tax is to levy fees on income, sales, property, and other activities to raise revenue for expenditures. Second, borrowing enables governments to finance operations through future tax revenues. Lastly, expansionary monetary policy may increase the money supply relative to the output of goods and services, raising prices and reducing the currency’s value. As Milton Friedman famously argued, this phenomenon is known as inflation. Whether one agrees with Trump’s tariff strategy or not, it represents a deliberate effort to defend America, defend domestic industries, and improve labor conditions for Americans. The Fed has three means of fulfilling its dual mandate: Changing the target short-term overnight rate. Setting reserve requirements. Open market operations. While changes to interest rates and reserve requirements influence borrowing and liquidity, the most potent tool recently has been the Federal Reserve’s large-scale asset purchases in the open market. These purchases are financed with previously nonexistent money, described in Latin as ex nihilo — or “out of nothing.” When the Fed expands its balance sheet in this way without a corresponding increase in the production of goods and services, the result is inflation. The expanding money supply In February 2020, the U.S. money supply stood at $4.1 trillion. By March, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread rapidly across the world. In a whirlwind of uncertainty, many businesses shut their doors, millions were laid off, and the U.S. economy fell into recession. As a counter-cyclical measure, the Federal Reserve expanded the money supply from $4.1 trillion to $8.97 trillion in about two years. Consequently, U.S. inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, surged from 1.4% in January 2021 to 9.1% by June 2022 on an annualized basis. After several months of elevated inflation, the CPI began to decline as the Federal Reserve reduced its balance sheet by $2.24 trillion, bringing it down to $6.73 trillion as of mid-April 2025. America has a monetary problem. Ballooning national debt From a fiscal perspective, the U.S. national debt surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in its then-205-year history at the end of President Ronald Reagan’s first year in office in 1981. The deficit expanded significantly during the Reagan years as the administration pursued tax cuts, strengthened Cold War defense spending, and battled inflation. By the close of the Clinton administration, the national debt had grown to $5.68 trillion. President Clinton achieved a budget surplus in his final year, driven largely by spending reforms and the post-Cold War reduction in defense outlays. Government spending rose dramatically during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, particularly through the 2008 financial crisis, bringing the debt to $19.6 trillion by the end of Obama’s tenure. Under President Trump, the debt increased further, reaching $26.95 trillion — largely due to emergency spending during the COVID-19 crisis. The debt expanded by another 85% during the first term of President Trump and the term of President Biden, ultimately reaching $36.3 trillion as Biden left office. Notably, nearly $9.5 trillion was added during the Biden administration, despite strong economic growth of 5.7% for his first calendar year in office. Rebutting tariff-spurred inflation This historical context in both fiscal and monetary policy reveals the flaw in Powell’s assertion. He warned that if the Trump administration continues to impose tariffs on key imports and the economy slows or contracts, the result could be inflation — or worse, stagflation. What Powell described, however, is not technically inflation — at least according to economists like Milton Friedman. Inflation, historically, is driven primarily by an increase in the money supply, not by fiscal policy or trade regulations. While tariffs and taxes can lead to higher prices, these increases are typically offset by a slowing economy or quickly reversed when such measures are lifted. Trump’s strategy President Trump’s interests in strengthening the U.S. economy and reinforcing the nation’s global leadership are on target. His push for tax reform, regulatory rollback, and more balanced federal spending reflects a prudent economic approach. Simultaneously, his administration continues to enforce border security and uphold a foreign policy centered on peace through strength. The United States must also respond decisively to China’s economic behavior. This includes addressing: Violations of World Trade Organization rules. Chinese firms listed on U.S. exchanges that fail to meet U.S. “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.” Intellectual property theft. Currency manipulation, which artificially boosts Chinese exports and disadvantages U.S. manufacturers. If the current tariff policy generates hundreds of billions in tax revenue, the U.S. economy may still achieve robust growth by year-end. The potential drag from tariffs could be counterbalanced by the stimulative effects of lower taxes, deregulation, and more disciplined federal spending. A firm response While a more traditional free-market approach would be preferred — centered on stable monetary policy, tax cuts, deregulation, and devolving power to the states — it is evident that China’s aggressive trade and military posture demands a firm response. Whether one agrees with Trump’s tariff strategy or not, it represents a deliberate effort to defend America, defend domestic industries, and improve labor conditions for American workers. Ultimately, history reveals that tariffs do not inherently cause inflation and should not alone justify restrictive monetary policy. Nor should tariff policy spark the uncertainty and instability that exist in today’s global economy, especially with allies that have stood with America through thick and thin, helping us build the freest and most prosperous global economy in the history of the world. Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearMarkets and made available via RealClearWire.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/inflation-is-a-fed-failure-not-a-trump-tariff-consequence

2025-05-01 21:02:44

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/the-book-on-david-horowitz.jpg?id=60063958&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C48%2C0%2C48
My first acquaintance with David Horowitz, who died Tuesday at the age of 86 following a battle with cancer, was as Peter Collier’s co-author on “The Kennedys: An American Drama,” published in 1984. That year in Washington, I heard Peter and David explain their departure from the left, which had people talking.In 1987, when I met David at his Los Angeles home, he asked me what I did in the 1960s. I told him my primary interest was getting stoned, but like many others, I raised my voice against the war in Vietnam. David promptly invited me to the Second Thoughts Conference in 1987. As Peter Collier explained in the foreword to my “Bill of Writes,” the participants shared one central conviction:The god of the New Left had failed them personally during its nihilistic strut on the stage of the ’60s and they were ready to testify against the smelly little orthodoxies they had once affirmed. In the future, some of these Second Thoughters went on to be conservatives, but they would always have a more profound identity as “ex-leftists,” who knew that the utopia they (we) had been building had never really been anything more than a Potemkin waste site, and that while leftism might try to disguise itself as “liberal” or “progressive,” totalitarianism by any other name would smell just as rancid.The ex-leftists, myself now among them, were ready to take on Hollywood. They prompted David to found the Center for the Study of Popular Culture and bring me aboard as a journalism fellow. David once toned down my description of Lillian Hellman as a “Stalinist swamp sow,” but for the most part, we were on the same page. I worked with Peter on Heterodoxy, and both colleagues helped me out on the work that would become “Hollywood Party.” Heterodoxy transformed into Frontpage, where I write to this day. Photo by Lloyd BillingsleyDavid considered Peter the better writer, but David never wrote a dull page. Consider, for example, “Radical Son,” which belongs on a shelf with Whittaker Chambers' “Witness,” “Out of Step” by Sidney Hook, and “The God that Failed” by a group of ex-communists, including Arthur Koestler, Andre Gide, and Richard Wright.I recently reviewed the account of the Black Panthers in “Radical Son,” the founding of their school in Oakland, the murder of Betty Van Patter, and a lot more. But as it turned out, I had forgotten what David had written up front: “To Lloyd, comrade-in-arms, who joined us at Second Thoughts.”David Horowitz now joins Peter Collier, who died in 2019. Farewell, brave warriors for truth and freedom.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/the-book-on-david-horowitz

2025-05-01 17:35:30

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/mike-waltz-reportedly-on-his-way-out-as-national-security-adviser-after-inviting-liberal-reporter-to-sensitive-war-chat.jpg?id=60068266&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C4%2C0%2C5
Mike Waltz won his re-election bid in November to represent Florida's 6th congressional district. The decorated Green Beret decided, however, to give up his seat and corresponding job security to serve as President Donald Trump's national security adviser. He might come to regret that decision sooner rather than later. Three sources informed journalist Mark Halperin that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, are expected to step down as early as Thursday afternoon. Multiple sources subsequently confirmed the departures to CBS News and other legacy media outfits. Sources alternatively told Politico that Trump is planning to kick Waltz to the curb, but that the decision is not final. There has been significant uncertainty about Waltz's future in the administration since March, when he included an anti-Trump polemicist in a private high-level group chat on Signal where senior administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, discussed attacks on Iran-backed Houthi terrorists. While Waltz insinuated in an interview that Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of the Atlantic, may have infiltrated the group chat by unseemly means or with an insider's help, he ultimately took "full responsibility" for the blunder. Trump, apparently unwilling to let Democrats and liberal personalities claim a scalp, signaled his continued support for Waltz, telling reporters that "it was very unfair the way they attacked Michael" and that "nobody gives a damn" about the Atlantic. Despite Trump's supportive messaging on the issue, unnamed White House officials told Politico in the immediate aftermath of the Atlantic's report on the contents of the private Signal chat that there is presently internal debate over whether to kick Waltz to the curb, claiming the general consensus is that "Mike Waltz is a f**king idiot." 'Trump certainly wasn't pleased with this.' One official who spoke to Politico on the condition of anonymity said some administration staffers are "saying he's never going to survive or shouldn't survive." "It was reckless not to check who was on the thread. It was reckless to be having that conversation on Signal. You can't have recklessness as the national security adviser," said the unnamed official. A senior White House official told Axios in late March that "Trump certainly wasn't pleased with this," but added "all this talk you see about Waltz not lasting is just way premature. There's a Washington feeding frenzy. And we all know that you don't give the mob what it wants." One source familiar with the situation told CBS News that Trump thinks enough time has passed since the Signal incident that Waltz and Wong's ousters can be spun as part of a reorganization. After the removal of Gen. Timothy Haugh as the head of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, Trump underscored that where he's concerned, terminations are inevitable and routine: "Always we're letting go of people, people that we don't like or people that we don't think can do the job, or people that may have loyalties to somebody else. You'll always have that." When asked for comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Politico, "We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources." CNN noted that while Waltz boarded Marine One with the president on Tuesday, he subsequently remained behind while his colleagues boarded Air Force One 10 minutes later — a move some aides figured as possibly significant. One administration official told CNN that while there have been discussions to find Waltz a "soft landing spot," that recently ceased to be a priority, noting, "President Trump lost confidence in him a while ago." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/mike-waltz-reportedly-on-his-way-out-as-national-security-adviser-after-inviting-liberal-reporter-to-sensitive-war-chat

2025-04-29 21:08:04

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/exclusive-republicans-relish-trump-s-100-day-winning-streak-we-have-momentum-building.png?id=60057747&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=39%2C23%2C131%2C42
President Donald Trump is officially 100 days into his second term, and many of his allies have celebrated the milestone as a roaring success. Despite criticism from his political and media adversaries, Trump takes pride in his 100-day sprint, and Republican lawmakers are riding the momentum. 'He took the bull by the horns.'"Well, I think either we've done everything, or it's in the process of being done," Trump told reporters Tuesday. House Republicans are messaging in lockstep with the administration, sharing the president's enthusiasm in exclusive interviews with Blaze News. "The first 100 days of President Trump can be summed up in one slogan: promises made and promises kept," Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina told Blaze News. "It’s like a veil has been lifted from this country.”"I think it’s been the best presidency that I’ve seen in my lifetime," Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri told Blaze News. "We’ve had four years to kind of plan and strategize what he would do when he returns, and we’re seeing the fruits of that."One frequently referenced victory has been the southern border, which has seen record-low encounters with illegal aliens under the Trump administration. Between the inauguration and April 1, only nine illegal aliens were released back into the country, compared to the 184,000 illegal aliens released under former President Joe Biden during the same time frame last year, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'President Trump is fulfilling his promises, but the accomplishment to me is the rate he’s doing it.'“The border security is incredible," Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia told Blaze News. "It’s historic. And we have a lot of thanks that goes to President Trump, as well as Tom Homan." “To do that in these first 100 days has been absolutely phenomenal," Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina told Blaze News. “He took the bull by the horns." The numbers paint a very clear, indisputable picture on immigration. However, other areas like the economy have been swirling with controversy in recent weeks with ongoing trade wars and market uncertainty. Many critics, particularly in the media, have rushed to call the economy a failure. Despite their doom and gloom, the Trump administration and his supporters on the Hill remain confident. 'We have a long way to go, but he’s only been in office 100 days.'"We were losing billions and billions of dollars a day with trade, and now I have that down to a very low level, and soon we're going to be making a lot of money," Trump told reporters Tuesday. The consensus among Republicans was that Trump's presidency was not only a success but also impressively efficient. "President Trump is fulfilling his promises, but the accomplishment to me is the rate he’s doing it," Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois told Blaze News. "He was working on his transition team before he was even elected so he could hit the ground running, and that's what he’s done." "He came in with the best Cabinet that I think we’ve ever seen," Burlison added. "He came in, and he got them appointed quickly, and he came in with a ton of executive orders."While Republicans enjoy the successes of the first 100 days, lawmakers are tasked with maintaining the winning streak. The House and Senate are officially back in session after a two-week recess, and reconciliation talks are resuming. “We have a long way to go, but he’s only been in office 100 days," Norman told Blaze News. "I’m very excited about it," Miller said. "I think we have momentum building to pass this one big, beautiful bill."While lawmakers in the House and Senate continue to iron out reconciliation talks, Republicans have maintained that Trump policies, such as no tax on tips, are a non-negotiable. 'Congress is not on page with President Trump, and I think that's a serious problem.'“No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on social security," Greene told Blaze News. "These were President Trump’s campaign promises that he said over and over again, promising the American people, and these are the promises that Congress has to deliver.”Spending cuts have also remained a top priority despite the negative press from the legacy media surrounding Elon Musk and DOGE's efforts. "It’s not going to be easy, but it’s like the cancer patient who’s taking the medicine that’s bitter," Norman told Blaze News. "I’m sorry, but if it will help you and cure the cancer, then we do it. And the cancer in this country has been overspending, and we’re going to fix it.” "We’re at $37 trillion in debt," Burlison added. "We have a $2-trillion-a-year annual deficit. If we grow that, I can’t live with myself."'We’ve gotta make sure we do government differently.'Although some Republicans say we are on track, others are not confident that Congress will stay on course."Congress is not on page with President Trump, and I think that's a serious problem," Greene told Blaze News. “If Congress does not deliver on these important campaign promises of President Trump, we’re gonna lose the midterms," Greene added. “It would be such a failure of a Republican-controlled Congress not to deliver on the mandate, the historic mandate, that was given in November.”Although there are some concerns that Congress will return to old spending habits, Trump remains optimistic about reconciliation. "If we get that done, that's the biggest thing. ... And I think we're going to get it done," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "We have great Republican support.""We’ve gotta make sure we do government differently," Harris said. “We’ve gotta stay the course that we’ve started.” Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/exclusive-republicans-relish-trump-s-100-day-winning-streak-we-have-momentum-building

2025-04-24 21:35:49

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https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/pedro-pascal-attacks-jk-rowling-over-uk-s-supreme-court-ruling-protecting-biological-women-from-transgender-individuals.png?id=60031927&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C53%2C0%2C53
Actor Pedro Pascal attacked author J.K. Rowling over her reaction to a recent landmark ruling by the U.K.'s Supreme Court that defines a woman based on biological sex, which could bar biological males posing as transgender females from spaces designated for biological women. Last week, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom made a unanimous decision that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.'Awful disgusting S**T is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.'The BBC said of the Supreme Court ruling, "Specifically, they ruled that the definition of sex as used in the Equality Act 2010 is 'binary' and decided by biology — a person who was not born as a biological female cannot obtain the legal protections the Act affords to women by changing their gender with a Gender Recognition Certificate."Rowling enthusiastically approved the Supreme Court ruling by posting a photo of herself on the X social media platform with a cigar and a drink with the caption, "I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights."Numerous celebrities applauded the reaction by Rowling, including Elon Musk, Megyn Kelly, Jordan Peterson, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). However, not everyone was as enthusiastic over Rowling's celebration of the historic ruling by the U.K.'s Supreme Court. A pro-Palestinian and pro-transgender activist named Tariq Ra'ouf demanded a boycott of "Harry Potter" projects and experiences in an Instagram video. Ra'ouf said of Rowling's post, "This is some serious Voldemort villain s**t, right here." Ra'ouf urged everyone to make it their "mission" to make the "Harry Potter" franchise no longer profitable to "anyone who dares to do business with J.K. Rowling." Speaking of Rowling's opinion that men who identify as transgender shouldn't be invading spaces designated for women, Ra'ouf said, "That s**t, that awful disgusting s**t, that has consequences." In response to Ra'ouf's video, Pascal replied in the comments: “Awful disgusting S**T is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.”The official Instagram of Pascal has nearly 10 million followers.Pascal – the 50-year-old star of HBO's "The Last of Us" – has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community over the years. Pascal has publicly supported his sibling, Lux Pascal, who came out as transgender in February 2021. Lux has accompanied Pascal to several red carpet premieres.On Tuesday, Pedro Pascal attended the U.K. premiere of Marvel's "Thunderbolts" movie in London, England. Pascal was wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the message "Protect the Dolls."According to Newsweek, "dolls" is an "affectionate term within the LGBTQ+ community to refer to transgender women."The $100 T-shirt is made by Conner Ives, who created the shirt to call attention to any anti-transgender sentiment."Given the U.S. federal government's current hostility towards trans people, support like this is needed now more than ever," according to the website that sells the pricey activist shirt. Also this week, "The Mandalorian" actor shared an Instagram post that featured an apparent coffin with the caption, "An unjust law is no law at all." In the post, Pascal tagged the "Trans Kids Deserve Better" Instagram account, which demands: "We deserve equal access to gender-affirming health care. To delay care to a trans person is to deny it. We don't have time to wait. Secondly, we should be able to give informed consent to our own treatment — just as any cisgender young person already can."As Blaze News previously reported, Pascal was widely lambasted after posting a social media tribute to Joseph Rosenbaum — one of Kyle Rittenhouse's attackers.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/pedro-pascal-attacks-jk-rowling-over-uk-s-supreme-court-ruling-protecting-biological-women-from-transgender-individuals

2025-04-23 20:51:28

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/district-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-restore-state-media-networks.jpg?id=60028596&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C53%2C0%2C54
U.S. district court judges have done their apparent best to hamstring the second Trump administration just as they had the first. Between Jan. 20 and March 27, the Congressional Research Service indicated there were at least 17 cases of nationwide injunctions — 11 more than were issued during the entire presidency of George W. Bush and two shy of the total issued during Barack Obama's tenure. At this rate, the courts are on course to beat their previous record of 64 nationwide injunctions under the first Trump administration. There has been no indication in recent weeks that the judiciary will exercise some self-restraint — certainly not from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where a Reagan judge decided on Tuesday to reverse the Trump administration's shuttering of Voice of America and termination of over 1,000 potentially antagonistic journalists and employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth concluded that the administration's stated effort to "ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda" were "arbitrary and capricious." 'It has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation.' "Not only is there an absence of 'reasoned analysis' from the defendants," wrote Lamberth, "there is an absence of any analysis whatsoever." The judge overseeing Widakuswara v. Lake added, "The defendants are likely in direct violation of numerous federal laws," including the VOA's congressionally established charter in the International Broadcasting Act. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 14 aimed at reducing various "unnecessary" elements of the federal bureaucracy "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." Among the entities targeted was the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which supervises Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and a handful of other state-funded outfits including Radio Free Europe. In a corresponding publication, the White House quoted Dan Robinson, a 34-year veteran of VOA, who stated last year: I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media. It has sought to avoid accountability for violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement. The White House also shared links to articles criticizing the state media outfit; a 2022 lawsuit claiming VOA has "been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests"; and perceived evidence of VOA's bias, including an article downplaying the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop story. 'The defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM.' Pursuant to the president's executive order, approximately over 1,000 VOA journalists and other employees were placed on administrative leave, and funding was suspended to VOA's sister networks, including Radio Free Asia. Kari Lake, senior adviser for the USAGM, noted days later that VOA was "unsalvageable." "Let's reduce this to the bare minimum and start fresh," tweeted Lake. Lamberth was evidently of a different mind. "The defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court can discern," he wrote in his Tuesday ruling. "They took immediate and drastic action to slash USAGM, without considering its statutorily or constitutionally required functions as required by the plain language of the EO, and without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world." 'It's for our own national security.' "It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants' actions here," added the judge. Lamberth ordered the administration to "take all necessary steps to return USAGM employees and contractors to their status" prior to Trump's March 14 EO; to restore VOA programming; and to restore fiscal year 2025 grants to Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. He also demanded that the administration provide him with monthly status reports "apprising the Court of the status of the defendants' compliance with this Order." Lamberth's ruling contained echoes from Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York, who issued a temporary restraining order barring the USAGM from canning staff last month. The Obama judge blasted the Trump administration for "taking a sledgehammer to an agency that has been statutorily authorized and funded by Congress." Patsy Widakuswara, VOA's White House bureau chief and one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said of Lamberth's Tuesday order, "My colleagues and I are grateful for this ruling. But we know that this is just a small step forward, as the government is likely to appeal." "This is not just about our jobs and journalistic freedom — it's for our own national security," continued Widakuswara. "Because every day that VOA is not broadcasting, is a day we cede the global information space and allow adversaries to fill it with disinformation and anti-American propaganda." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/district-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-restore-state-media-networks

2025-04-20 00:02:57

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/telling-americas-story-is-too-important-to-leave-to-radicals.jpg?id=59950946&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C1
Every nation has a story. Recently, the Washington Post described the Smithsonian Institution, with its 21 museums and 14 educational and research centers, as “the official keeper of the American Story.” What kind of story have the Smithsonian museums been telling about our country? On March 27, President Trump issued an executive order arguing that there has been a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” and promote a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” This “revisionist movement” casts American “founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.” A White House fact sheet calls for “revitalizing key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology.” Vice President JD Vance, a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, will lead the administration’s efforts. The debate over the Smithsonian is only one front in a wide-ranging, ongoing conflict over first principles and concepts of justice (equality versus equity). Critics of the executive order responded quickly. They maintain that the Trump administration wants to “whitewash the past and suppress discussion of systemic racism.” The Smithsonian, the critics contend, is led by nonpartisan professionals whose aim is to be truthful and inclusive and tell the whole story of America, including groups that have been neglected in the past. Professor David W. Blight of Yale, president of the Organization of American Historians, complained that the executive order is a “laughable thing until you realize what their intent actually is and what they’re doing is trying to erode and then obliterate what we have been writing for a century.” Is there a divisive ideology being taught, as the Trump administration maintains, and if so, what is it? What have university professors been writing about America, if not “for a century,” for at least the past decade? Professor Blight’s OAH revealed its ideology by embracing the New York Times’ 1619 Project, declaring: The 1619 Project’s approach to understanding the American past and connecting it to newly urgent movements for racial justice and systemic reform point to … the ways in which slavery and racial injustice have and continue to profoundly shape our nation. Critical race theory provides a lens through which we can examine and understand systemic racism and its many consequences. What do we call the ideology that, as the OAH explains, “acknowledges and interrogates systems of oppression — racial, ethnic, gender, class — and openly addresses the myriad injustices that these systems have perpetuated through the past and into the present”? As most are aware, the ideology expressed by the OAH is dominant in universities today. It views American history negatively through the lens of “oppressors” (white males) versus “oppressed” and “marginalized groups.” This ideology has been variously called political correctness, identity politics, social justice, and wokeness. We could use Wesley Yang’s term “successor ideology,” meaning it is the new, radical, left-wing ideological successor to the old patriotic liberalism of politicians like Walter Mondale and historians like Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Not surprisingly, given its pre-eminence in America’s universities, this divisive “successor ideology” is at the heart of the worldview propounded by the leaders of the Smithsonian. Something rotten in the Smithsonian The current secretary of the Smithsonian is Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is adept at dealing with donors, stakeholders, and Republican congressional appropriators. His language is mostly measured and reasonable. He talks in terms of truth, nuance, complexity, and nonpartisanship. But in reality, Bunch is a partisan progressive, a skilled cultural warrior, and a promoter of the leftist “successor ideology.” Bunch partnered with and promoted the biased 1619 Project, which asserts that slavery is the alpha and omega of the American story and that maintaining slavery was a primary motivation for some American colonists who joined the revolutionary cause. The architect of the 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, bragged that it “decenters whiteness,” and she denounced her liberal academic critics as “old white male historians.” Nevertheless, Bunch proclaimed, “I want the Smithsonian to legitimize important issues, whether it's 1619 or climate change.” Of the Smithsonian’s participation in the 1619 Project, he declared, “I was very pleased with it.” Bunch proudly noted that people “saw that the Smithsonian had fingerprints on [the 1619 Project]. And that to me was a great victory.” Bunch pictures America as a nation in which systemic racism is pervasive. During the George Floyd riots, Bunch told the Atlantic, "It is really about systemic racism throughout, not just the police department, but many parts of the American system.” Further, he made excuses for the violence in the summer of 2020, which resulted in more than a dozen Americans killed and between $1 and $2 billion worth of property damage: How dare they loot. Well, that kind of protest is really one of the few ways the voiceless feel they have power. And while I am opposed to violent protests personally, I understand that frustration sometimes pushes you over the edge. I think what’s important for us to recognize is, let us not turn attention towards looting in a way that takes away what is the power of these protests. Three years ago, the Smithsonian assisted in the creation of a new College Board AP course on African American Studies. Ethics and Public Policy Center scholar Stanley Kurtz has revealed how APAAS is a radical neo-Marxist, anti-American project that calls for the socialist transformation of the United States. APAAS is soaked in the tenets of critical race theory, flirts with supporting violence, and implicitly advocates dismantling the American way of life, including free-market capitalism. It is a curriculum where students learn from Frantz Fanon that America is a “monster” and from Aimé Césaire that Stalin’s Soviet Union was a model society. Nevertheless, the APAAS curriculum is promoted on the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab. Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida legislature passed the Stop Woke Act that bars APAAS from the state’s K-12 schools because it promotes the divisive concepts manifest in CRT. Lonnie Bunch and his close ideological ally Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, falsely accused DeSantis of ignoring African-American history. On the contrary, DeSantis created a new black history curriculum based on serious and accurate scholarship. In response to DeSantis’ opposition to APAAS, Bunch complained to Alexander: I am upset because you know we were involved in helping [APAAS] and the notion that somehow simply having a course that forces us to understand complexity, nuance, and ambiguity is a problem, that’s a problem for all of America. In truth, there is very little “complexity” and “nuance” in the Smithsonian-promoted APAAS. It is one-sided, partisan propaganda. Kurtz notes that APAAS is not in fact inclusive, ignoring the work of black conservatives “like Glenn Loury, Shelby Steele, or Robert Woodson” or even “liberal black intellectuals, like Randall Kennedy or John McWhorter.” Bunch often talks in terms of “nonpartisanship” and promoting the best of historical and cultural scholarship. But at the same time, he promotes the progressive left agenda, stating that the “job” of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is “really to create new generations of activists,” and “for me it really is about how … museums play a social justice role.”Our story To use one of Lonnie Bunch’s favorite terms, what is the “context” in which President Trump issued his executive order? It recognizes that a left-progressive cultural revolution (the “successor ideology”) has marched through our universities, schools, foundations, and museums, transforming the story of America into a tale of oppression and exploitation. The woke revolutionaries aim to “fundamentally transform the United States” from a nation based on a natural rights concept of the equality of citizenship to “equity,” a system of racial-ethnic-gender group quotas and group consciousness. The debate over the Smithsonian is only one front in a wide-ranging, ongoing conflict over first principles and concepts of justice (equality versus equity). If the cultural revolutionaries are “transformationist,” in the sense that they aim to deconstruct the American way of life, the position articulated by Trump’s executive order is “Americanist,” in the sense that it represents a cultural counterrevolution that affirms America’s past and principles. Are the Organization of American Historians and the current leadership of the Smithsonian right that America is a nation built on “slavery, exploitation, and exclusion”? Or is the American story what British writer Paul Johnson described as one of “human achievement without parallel,” the story “of difficulties overcome by skill, faith, and strength of purpose, and courage and persistence”? Was Johnson right when he wrote, “The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures” and that Americans “thrown together by fate in that swirling maelstrom of history” are “the most remarkable people the world has ever seen”? Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at the American Mind.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/telling-americas-story-is-too-important-to-leave-to-radicals

2025-04-18 03:09:41

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/woke-wordplay-warps-language-and-the-meaning-of-freedom.jpg?id=59910857&width=2000&height=1500&coordinates=56%2C0%2C57%2C0
Someone just sent me a Passover greeting that traced the arc of tyranny from the ancient pharaohs to our current “dictator” in the White House. The message left little to the imagination: Donald Trump, apparently, is the modern-day pharaoh.The sender works, unsurprisingly, in our state bureaucracy in Harrisburg. She was happy as a lark during Joe Biden’s “compassionate” presidency, but now seethes at his swamp-draining successor.This isn’t a debate over rights. It’s a collision between incompatible worldviews.In the past, I might have written her back. I might have reminded her who actually weaponized the federal government against political opponents. I might have pointed to the sweeping executive orders, the censorship collusion, and the criminalization of dissent that flourished under the true despotism of President Joe.Unlike Biden and his handlers, Trump has made his intentions clear — and he’s doing what he promised. Transparency used to matter in politics. Apparently not any more.I might also have noted the waste, incompetence, and embedded corruption in the federal bureaucracy, including the office that cuts her checks. The Department of Government Efficiency was not a stunt. It was a necessary start. And its housecleaning is long overdue.Different ideological universesI’ve come to realize that trying to debate this acquaintance would be pointless. We’d only talk past each other. Words don’t mean the same thing to both of us. It’s not that I believe in “freedom” or “constitutional government” and she doesn’t. It’s that the definitions we assign to those words are so radically different that even if we used the same language, we wouldn’t truly agree.This insight came into focus while reading A. James Gregor’s “The Ideology of Fascism,” a book that sheds valuable light on political semantics. Gregor notes that fascists and communists genuinely believed in their own concepts of “democracy” and “freedom.” They weren’t just twisting the language — they inhabited entirely different ideological universes. And so, certain political divisions can’t be bridged. The terms are familiar, but the meanings diverge.To the woke left, for instance, it seems entirely reasonable to remove children from parents who “misgender” them or who insist on using biologically accurate pronouns. In their framework, punishing such offenses against identity isn’t oppressive — it’s the fulfillment of authentic freedom. The law, they argue, is merely shielding the vulnerable from unnecessary psychological harm.This isn’t a debate over rights. It’s a collision between incompatible worldviews.A new left lexiconIt’s apparently ignorant — or worse — to define “fascism” narrowly, as something confined to the interwar European dictatorships. According to today’s progressive orthodoxy, fascism now flourishes wherever LGBTQ guidelines aren’t strictly followed or wherever anyone dares to advocate for a less “compassionate” form of government — say, one that distinguishes between citizens and undocumented migrants.The logic, such as it is, goes something like this: Germany once drew sharp legal lines, and look where that led — tyranny and genocide. Ergo, any policy that establishes firm national boundaries or citizenship norms must be a step toward fascism.Meanwhile, “oligarch” no longer refers to the mega-wealthy class in general. As I’ve gathered from watching MSNBC, an oligarch is now anyone who donates to MAGA Republicans or refuses to get rid of a Tesla after learning that Elon Musk is a “fascist.”Likewise, the label “white nationalist” has been repurposed to apply to any MAGA-aligned Republican who fails to support the Democrats’ latest campaign against “white nationalism.” Trump’s support for voter ID laws or efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens? Those too, we’re told, reek of white nationalism — never mind that many of the ICE agents enforcing those policies have dark skin. That detail is irrelevant because it doesn’t fit the narrative.What many on my side view as a sprawling, wasteful, and unconstitutional bureaucracy, our political opponents treat as the very embodiment of constitutional government. The Constitution they revere is not the one written in Philadelphia. It is a “living document” — one that demands a constantly expanding class of civil servants to fulfill the goals of “democracy,” which now include identity politics, lifestyle diversity, and environmental dogma.Trump, in their view, is a modern pharaoh not because he consolidates power but because he makes life harder for the benevolent bureaucracy. He obstructs the compassionate machinery of the state. Worse, he sows “chaos” — unlike the Democrats, who have dutifully welcomed millions of illegal migrants to enrich America with fresh waves of sanctioned diversity.Liberty’s language hijackedNone of this is to say that millions don’t cynically exploit these twisted definitions of political virtue. Nor am I suggesting a moral relativism. I know where I stand. But it’s clear that large numbers of voters have swallowed these ideological rebrandings whole. And when basic political terms no longer mean the same thing to both sides, meaningful debate becomes nearly impossible.Western Europe now offers a sobering example. Countries across the continent have begun curtailing freedom of expression — not in spite of democracy but in its name. To those driving this trend in what we still, somewhat naively, call the “free world,” there is no contradiction between repression and the preservation of liberty.Even European governments that our own vice president has scolded for their illiberal tendencies insist they are safeguarding democracy and freedom. Against what? Against such “reactionary” threats as national sovereignty, religious conviction, and traditional gender norms.Even worse, a growing number of voters in both Europe and the United States agree. The language of liberty has been hijacked to justify its opposite. And for now, the hijackers have no shortage of passengers willing to go along for the ride.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/woke-wordplay-warps-language-and-the-meaning-of-freedom

2025-04-18 03:07:36

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/woke-wordplay-warps-language-and-the-meaning-of-freedom.jpg?id=59910857&width=2000&height=1500&coordinates=56%2C0%2C57%2C0
Someone just sent me a Passover greeting that traced the arc of tyranny from the ancient pharaohs to our current “dictator” in the White House. The message left little to the imagination: Donald Trump, apparently, is the modern-day pharaoh.The sender works, unsurprisingly, in our state bureaucracy in Harrisburg. She was happy as a lark during Joe Biden’s “compassionate” presidency, but now seethes at his swamp-draining successor.This isn’t a debate over rights. It’s a collision between incompatible worldviews.In the past, I might have written her back. I might have reminded her who actually weaponized the federal government against political opponents. I might have pointed to the sweeping executive orders, the censorship collusion, and the criminalization of dissent that flourished under the true despotism of President Joe.Unlike Biden and his handlers, Trump has made his intentions clear — and he’s doing what he promised. Transparency used to matter in politics. Apparently not any more.I might also have noted the waste, incompetence, and embedded corruption in the federal bureaucracy, including the office that cuts her checks. The Department of Government Efficiency was not a stunt. It was a necessary start. And its housecleaning is long overdue.Different ideological universesI’ve come to realize that trying to debate this acquaintance would be pointless. We’d only talk past each other. Words don’t mean the same thing to both of us. It’s not that I believe in “freedom” or “constitutional government” and she doesn’t. It’s that the definitions we assign to those words are so radically different that even if we used the same language, we wouldn’t truly agree.This insight came into focus while reading A. James Gregor’s “The Ideology of Fascism,” a book that sheds valuable light on political semantics. Gregor notes that fascists and communists genuinely believed in their own concepts of “democracy” and “freedom.” They weren’t just twisting the language — they inhabited entirely different ideological universes. And so, certain political divisions can’t be bridged. The terms are familiar, but the meanings diverge.To the woke left, for instance, it seems entirely reasonable to remove children from parents who “misgender” them or who insist on using biologically accurate pronouns. In their framework, punishing such offenses against identity isn’t oppressive — it’s the fulfillment of authentic freedom. The law, they argue, is merely shielding the vulnerable from unnecessary psychological harm.This isn’t a debate over rights. It’s a collision between incompatible worldviews.A new left lexiconIt’s apparently ignorant — or worse — to define “fascism” narrowly, as something confined to the interwar European dictatorships. According to today’s progressive orthodoxy, fascism now flourishes wherever LGBTQ guidelines aren’t strictly followed or wherever anyone dares to advocate for a less “compassionate” form of government — say, one that distinguishes between citizens and undocumented migrants.The logic, such as it is, goes something like this: Germany once drew sharp legal lines, and look where that led — tyranny and genocide. Ergo, any policy that establishes firm national boundaries or citizenship norms must be a step toward fascism.Meanwhile, “oligarch” no longer refers to the mega-wealthy class in general. As I’ve gathered from watching MSNBC, an oligarch is now anyone who donates to MAGA Republicans or refuses to get rid of a Tesla after learning that Elon Musk is a “fascist.”Likewise, the label “white nationalist” has been repurposed to apply to any MAGA-aligned Republican who fails to support the Democrats’ latest campaign against “white nationalism.” Trump’s support for voter ID laws or efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens? Those too, we’re told, reek of white nationalism — never mind that many of the ICE agents enforcing those policies have dark skin. That detail is irrelevant because it doesn’t fit the narrative.What many on my side view as a sprawling, wasteful, and unconstitutional bureaucracy, our political opponents treat as the very embodiment of constitutional government. The Constitution they revere is not the one written in Philadelphia. It is a “living document” — one that demands a constantly expanding class of civil servants to fulfill the goals of “democracy,” which now include identity politics, lifestyle diversity, and environmental dogma.Trump, in their view, is a modern pharaoh not because he consolidates power but because he makes life harder for the benevolent bureaucracy. He obstructs the compassionate machinery of the state. Worse, he sows “chaos” — unlike the Democrats, who have dutifully welcomed millions of illegal migrants to enrich America with fresh waves of sanctioned diversity.Liberty’s language hijackedNone of this is to say that millions don’t cynically exploit these twisted definitions of political virtue. Nor am I suggesting a moral relativism. I know where I stand. But it’s clear that large numbers of voters have swallowed these ideological rebrandings whole. And when basic political terms no longer mean the same thing to both sides, meaningful debate becomes nearly impossible.Western Europe now offers a sobering example. Countries across the continent have begun curtailing freedom of expression — not in spite of democracy but in its name. To those driving this trend in what we still, somewhat naively, call the “free world,” there is no contradiction between repression and the preservation of liberty.Even European governments that our own vice president has scolded for their illiberal tendencies insist they are safeguarding democracy and freedom. Against what? Against such “reactionary” threats as national sovereignty, religious conviction, and traditional gender norms.Even worse, a growing number of voters in both Europe and the United States agree. The language of liberty has been hijacked to justify its opposite. And for now, the hijackers have no shortage of passengers willing to go along for the ride.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/woke-wordplay-warps-language-and-the-meaning-of-freedom

2025-04-17 16:30:51

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/new-york-yankees-say-they-are-still-committed-to-dei-initiatives-our-diversity-and-inclusion-committee-continues.png?id=59941378&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C108%2C0%2C109
The New York Yankees said they are still hosting diversity, equity, and inclusion committees and summits, despite Major League Baseball removing references to such activities online.While MLB removed references to DEI initiatives as well as its DEI-centric hiring pipeline program in March, sources inside the organization claimed the Yankees are still engaging in possibly discriminatory hiring practices that were thought to be finished.At the same time, other race-based activities are still firmly in place.'Our dedication towards these efforts remains unchanged.'Ahead of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration by the league in which every player wears Robinson's number, the New York Yankees were asked about their commitment to DEI by the New York Daily News. The franchise said that its commitments are unwavering."We are continually working with the members of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and are actively engaged with our neighbors and community partners," said Brian Smith, the Yankees' senior vice president of corporate and community relations. "Our dedication towards these efforts remains unchanged, and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee continues to do its work."The outlet then noted the Yankees' alleged five pillars of diversity, which were a series of buzzwords such as socioeconomic development, social responsibility, and health and wellness. The remaining two pillars were focused on "education" and working on diversity and inclusion within the Yankees organization.This appeared to be in lockstep with what an MLB spokesman said on the matter in March: that the league's stance on DEI had not changed despite public perception."As the commissioner stated, our values on diversity remain unchanged. We are in the process of evaluating our programs for any modifications to eligibility criteria that are needed to ensure our programs are compliant with federal law as they continue forward."MLB diversity-related websites appear to remain down, however, even the one referred to just days ago in the local report, titled "Diversity and Inclusion Committee | New York Yankees."A page that showcased a press release about the creation of the committee also no longer exists.Although it seems the Yankees would prefer to be less public about the race-based initiatives, the diversity council reportedly meets twice per year and subsets of the group meet regularly.Inside sources were alleged to have claimed that New York Yankees' hiring practices have not changed either, meaning the team is still making staffing decisions based on race.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/yankees-dei-dediciation-hasnt-changed

2025-04-16 21:34:29

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59923447&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C220%2C0%2C220
Over the past decade, the once universally loved “Saturday Night Live” has become a clear propaganda tool of the left — consistently pushing left-wing issues while poking fun at the right. However, that may be changing after one April 12 "SNL" skit shockingly mocked gay surrogacy. The sketch took place at a chaotic dinner party where guests shared bizarre personal updates. One gay couple at the dinner party had a newborn baby, and the other guests then begin asking questions as to where and how they acquired a baby — even asking if they stole it. The skit took it so far as to ask the gay couple how just the other night they were going to a gay rave called “Bulge Dungeon” when there was a baby on the way. “There are two different ways to see this,” Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” says. “Either you can see it as using comedy to normalize two men purchasing a baby, or you can see it as a big vibe shift that we are actually starting to mock and deride something that deserves our mockery and derision.” “Because it is a legitimate question. How could two men, who do not have the genetic material nor the wombs to create and bear children, have a child?” Stuckey asks. While Stuckey is skeptical that the skit was pointing out the gay couple’s purchase of a baby as a bad thing, she did think one line from the skit was a home run. “That line about ‘last night you were talking about going to Bulge Dungeon and now you have a baby and we’re just wondering how to square that circle,’ that was a good one. That was the best line, because if you see a lot of these men who are purchasing children, you do have some questions, like, ‘Do you know the first thing about raising a child?’” Stuckey says. “And so I appreciate that whatever the motive is, that we are in the mode right now of mocking something that is absolutely depraved and destructive,” she adds. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/relatable/gay-surrogacy-snl

2025-04-16 21:32:15

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59923447&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C220%2C0%2C220
Over the past decade, the once universally loved “Saturday Night Live” has become a clear propaganda tool of the left — consistently pushing left-wing issues while poking fun at the right. However, that may be changing after one April 12 "SNL" skit shockingly mocked gay surrogacy. The sketch took place at a chaotic dinner party where guests shared bizarre personal updates. One gay couple at the dinner party had a newborn baby, and the other guests then begin asking questions as to where and how they acquired a baby — even asking if they stole it. The skit took it so far as to ask the gay couple how just the other night they were going to a gay rave called “Bulge Dungeon” when there was a baby on the way. “There are two different ways to see this,” Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” says. “Either you can see it as using comedy to normalize two men purchasing a baby, or you can see it as a big vibe shift that we are actually starting to mock and deride something that deserves our mockery and derision.” “Because it is a legitimate question. How could two men, who do not have the genetic material nor the wombs to create and bear children, have a child?” Stuckey asks. While Stuckey is skeptical that the skit was pointing out the gay couple’s purchase of a baby as a bad thing, she did think one line from the skit was a home run. “That line about ‘last night you were talking about going to Bulge Dungeon and now you have a baby and we’re just wondering how to square that circle,’ that was a good one. That was the best line, because if you see a lot of these men who are purchasing children, you do have some questions, like, ‘Do you know the first thing about raising a child?’” Stuckey says. “And so I appreciate that whatever the motive is, that we are in the mode right now of mocking something that is absolutely depraved and destructive,” she adds. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/relatable/gay-surrogacy-snl

2025-04-15 17:01:29

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/dark-and-macabre-florida-woman-arrested-for-allegedly-selling-human-remains-on-facebook.png?id=59898361&width=2000&height=1500&coordinates=137%2C0%2C137%2C0
A Florida woman has been arrested for selling human remains on Facebook, according to police. Kymberlee Anne Schopper — a 52-year-old woman from Deltona — was arrested Thursday. She was charged with trading in human tissue, according to the Orange City Police Department.'Join us on a journey down our rabbit hole of curiosities, where the oddities of the world become the keys to unlocking a deeper appreciation for the diverse tapestry of existence.'Schopper was released Friday from the Volusia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.Schopper reportedly is one of the owners of the Wicked Wonderland store — self-described as "embracing the peculiar, the odd, and the misunderstood."The business states it offers taxidermy forms, bone art and jewelry, clown art, BDSM accessories, and a "large selection of wet specimens." The store's site notes that "every ethically sourced specimen is handled with the utmost care and respect.""Join us on a journey down our rabbit hole of curiosities, where the oddities of the world become the keys to unlocking a deeper appreciation for the diverse tapestry of existence," the site states. "To understand the odd is to truly appreciate the beauty of diversity." According to the business' website, the owners are "a mother and daughter team who revel in the madness of the strange and unusual; the dark and macabre."The owners both claim to "come from a medical background" and "have a passion for sharing our knowledge and expertise in the preservation and exploration of anatomy and pathology of all organic beings."Wicked Wonderland reportedly also sells merchandise on Facebook. On Dec. 21, 2023, police received a tip that Wicked Wonderland was selling human bones on Facebook Marketplace, according to WOFL-TV.The business allegedly was selling two human skull fragments for $90, a human clavicle and scapula for $90, a human rib for $35, human vertebrae for $35, and a partial human skull for $600.When investigators asked about the human remains, the other shop owner told police that she was unaware that it was illegal, according to the arrest affidavit. "She confirmed that the store had multiple human bone fragments, all purchased from private sellers, and mentioned she has documentation for these transactions but could not provide it at that moment," the arrest affidavit states. "She described the bones as genuine human remains and delicate in nature."Schopper allegedly told police the bones were "educational models," which would make it legal to sell the human remains. Police seized the human remains and submitted them for analysis by a medical examiner and experts. Experts allegedly suspect the cranium and the skull fragments were likely archaeological finds. The human remains are believed to range in age from 100 years old to more than 500 years old, WOFL-TV reported. Police said the investigation is ongoing. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/florida-woman-selling-human-remains-facebook

2025-04-13 23:01:54

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/silence-isnt-peace-its-just-surrender-in-slow-motion.jpg?id=59883452&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C20%2C0%2C20
Blaze Media recently published my opinion piece “Agree to disagree? More like surrender to the script.” In the days that followed, readers left thoughtful and reasonable comments.But when the Christian Post republished the same article, the comment section there sparked a firestorm.If God the Father had been willing to 'agree to disagree' with humanity about sin, He wouldn’t have sent His Son to die in our place.If you don’t have time to read the article or browse the responses, here’s the short version:The piece centers on a conversation I had with my friend Jeffrey, who strongly dislikes President Trump. Over the four years of the Biden administration, Jeffrey never once criticized Biden or his team — no matter how egregious their actions. Yet, barely two months into Trump’s return to office, Jeffrey was already taking shots at him. And he did so during what had been, until that moment, a relatively uneventful phone call.To be clear, I didn’t bring up the topic of the president. I knew it was a sensitive subject for Jeffrey. But during a conversation about a recent movie, he found a way to insert his objection to Trump’s deportation policy, calling those deported “asylum seekers.” He also declared that Trump was “bad for democracy.”I pushed back gently, noting that America is not a democracy but a constitutional republic. Jeffrey agreed.When I pointed out that an open border has led to sex trafficking, fentanyl deaths, and violent criminals infiltrating small towns, he said he didn’t support any of that. But then he quickly ended the conversation with, “Let’s just agree to disagree.”Trump broke the truceI found that well-worn phrase — “agree to disagree” — strange in this context. It suggests any disagreement, no matter how serious, can be casually brushed aside. Sure, my wife prefers chocolate ice cream, and I prefer vanilla. On that — and countless other minor things — we can “agree to disagree.” But when the stakes are higher? When lives are at risk — even the future of the nation? People should articulate and defend their positions.After my “agree to disagree” article appeared in the Christian Post, commenters there came after me. Apparently, I wasn’t being a good Christian because I stirred the pot by bringing up Donald Trump — “the great divider,” as some called him. Never mind that I didn’t bring up his name. My friend did. But I wasn’t about to let his cheap shots go unchallenged.In the original piece, I asked whether my friend — a faithful Christian — also sees his allegiance to the Democratic Party as an “agree to disagree” matter. Can a Christian’s loyalty to any political party cloud his judgment on what’s clearly right or wrong?Jeffrey said he opposes sex changes for kids and drag queen story hours. But when it comes to deportation, he sees Trump’s second-term policies as domineering and out of bounds.Disagreeing isn’t a sinOn critical issues — like the devastating effects of open borders — silence is complicity. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned, “Silence in the face of evil is evil. Not to speak is to speak.” When others looked the other way — or “agreed to disagree” — during the Nazi rise in 1930s Germany, Bonhoeffer stood firm. He was one of the few pastors who refused to be silent.Today, the American left censors, cancels, and silences anyone who disagrees. Leftists expect us to “agree to disagree” but only if we’re the ones doing the agreeing — and the disagreeing. That demand for submission is part of why the country now finds itself in such dangerous and unstable times.In my earlier article, one line struck a nerve:It’s hard to imagine these days that the words ‘Christian’ and ‘Democrat’ can be mentioned in the same sentence.That line sparked outrage. One commenter at the Christian Post wrote: “Nothing ends discussions — or even friendships — faster than questioning someone’s salvation over their political party.”But here’s the problem: That’s not what I said. That commenter assumed I questioned my friend’s salvation. I didn’t. Within the context of the article, it’s clear I questioned his wisdom — something entirely different.Jesus didn’t flinchA few years ago, it was trendy to wear wristbands with the initials “WWJD?” — short for “What Would Jesus Do?”But I always thought the better question was “WDJD?” — “What Did Jesus Do?”Without knowing the Gospels, we risk projecting our own preferences onto Christ. We imagine He would act just like us in any given situation. But if we read scripture and study His words, we begin to understand how He actually responded — and how we should, too.Nowhere in the four Gospels does Jesus “agree to disagree.” He never split the difference. He never wavered. He always led from a position of authority.Take His encounter in the Temple. Jesus didn’t debate the moneychangers. He didn’t issue a polite warning. He flipped their tables and drove them out (Matthew 21:12-13). He didn’t scold them and promise to check in again next Sabbath for a follow-up heart-to-heart.Jesus didn’t agree to disagree. He made it unmistakably clear: God’s house would not be defiled.Oswald Chambers, in his classic devotional “My Utmost for His Highest,” ends the March 24 entry with this piercing line: “You may often see Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it.”He cites Matthew 10:34, where Jesus says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”That doesn’t sound like someone looking to “agree to disagree.”Debate or dodgeOne commenter tried to compare disagreement to a hung jury — where jurors can’t reach a unanimous verdict. But that analogy falls apart under scrutiny. Hung juries don’t arise from casual disagreement or an early vote. They happen only after jurors rigorously examine the evidence, debate the facts, and dig into every detail.A jury doesn’t begin deliberations by taking a straw poll and calling it quits. It doesn’t return to the judge after a 7-5 split and declare, “Let’s just agree to disagree.”A fair trial demands serious discussion — so should any conversation where truth and justice are at stake.If God the Father had been willing to “agree to disagree” with humanity about sin, He wouldn’t have sent His Son to die in our place. We could have gone on living however we pleased — hurting others, being hurt, and suffering the consequences. Jesus might have shown up just to stand on the sidelines, shaking His head as we destroyed ourselves.Consider the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. The Pharisees reminded Jesus that the law required her to be stoned. He could have done what Pontius Pilate would do later — wash His hands of the situation. He could have said, “The law is the law,” and let the crowd do as it pleased. Agree to disagree, right?But Jesus didn’t do that. Instead, He delivered a mic-drop moment that spared her life. Then, He told her, “Go and sin no more.”Compare that to what happened when Jesus stood before Pilate. Pilate, faced with the mob, knew Jesus was innocent. But instead of standing up to the crowd, he caved. He agreed to disagree — and sent Christ to the cross.When it comes to sin and judgment, “agree to disagree” is just cowardice dressed up as compromise. Jesus never did that.You posted, didn’t you?Some readers of my original article accused me of sounding self-righteous for taking a firm stance with Jeffrey. But I don’t believe we should compromise — or “agree to disagree” — on matters of real consequence. That’s why I laid out the facts clearly, whether Jeffrey knew them or not.There’s more to be said, but let me end with this:A surprising number of commenters on the Christian Post insisted that we should always “agree to disagree,” even on major issues. But every one of those comments proved my point. Not a single person “agreed to disagree” with me. Instead, they made sure their dissenting views were heard — some twisting my words, others going straight for personal attacks.If they truly believed in “agreeing to disagree,” they wouldn’t have commented at all.So who’s right about the value of “agree to disagree”?Well, it appears it's debatable, after all.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/silence-isnt-peace-its-just-surrender-in-slow-motion

2025-04-12 22:31:18

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59886186&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=150%2C0%2C150%2C0
There are a few far-right commentators orbiting the conservative space who stir controversy at every chance they get, and Nick Fuentes is one of them. Recently, the young podcaster set his sights on Jason Whitlock of “Fearless,” seemingly blaming him — and the color of his skin — for Fuentes’ own powerlessness over how others perceive him. “You are a token,” Fuentes began. “Hey, Jason, you’re a token. You are in conservative media as a black guy that can confer upon white people the dignity of not being called a racist for having their views. That’s why you get paid, and that’s why I don’t, because I didn’t have the privilege of being born black.” “I was born white, so there’s a limit on what I can say. There’s a limit on what I can say without being penalized in the so-called free marketplace of ideas, and everybody knows it,” he continued. “And everybody’s sick of it, especially in the conservative space, that blacks have had it easy.” While Fuentes went on to say that he’s sure Whitlock is “a sincere person,” he kept attempting to bash the “Fearless” host by saying he’s “playing by a different set of rules,” has “training wheels on,” and calling him “pal.” “If you said the stuff that you said as a white person, your a** would be gone,” he added. Whitlock found the clip of Fuentes bashing him to be rife with “jealousy.” “There’s a couple things going on here. There’s jealousy, there’s some sort of belief that I’m immune to the consequences of my journalistic standards, of my approach to journalism,” Whitlock says, noting that Fuentes compared him to a much younger former BlazeTV host. “I’m in my 50s, and he’s comparing me to a child who was at the beginning of his career in the media, and expects that a child, in this profession, should be treated like a decorated military veteran in this profession,” Whitlock says, adding, “That’s a level of privilege that they want that perhaps is irrational.” “And the assertion that I’ve been given everything, oh boy, that’s quite a stretch. But he can have that narrative,” Whitlock continues. “The one thing I do want to answer to is this thought that I’m here to confer dignity on white conservatives.” “I’m here to defend Christian values. I’m here to defend anyone that stands on Christian values, and I don’t want Christian values demonized as racist,” he adds. “I want to confer dignity to God’s truth, and I don’t want it smeared and promoted as racist or harmful for black people, and that’s what they’ve been doing.”Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/fearless-with-jason-whitlock/black-lives-matter

2025-04-12 22:31:02

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59886186&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=150%2C0%2C150%2C0
There are a few far-right commentators orbiting the conservative space who stir controversy at every chance they get, and Nick Fuentes is one of them. Recently, the young podcaster set his sights on Jason Whitlock of “Fearless,” seemingly blaming him — and the color of his skin — for Fuentes’ own powerlessness over how others perceive him. “You are a token,” Fuentes began. “Hey, Jason, you’re a token. You are in conservative media as a black guy that can confer upon white people the dignity of not being called a racist for having their views. That’s why you get paid, and that’s why I don’t, because I didn’t have the privilege of being born black.” “I was born white, so there’s a limit on what I can say. There’s a limit on what I can say without being penalized in the so-called free marketplace of ideas, and everybody knows it,” he continued. “And everybody’s sick of it, especially in the conservative space, that blacks have had it easy.” While Fuentes went on to say that he’s sure Whitlock is “a sincere person,” he kept attempting to bash the “Fearless” host by saying he’s “playing by a different set of rules,” has “training wheels on,” and calling him “pal.” “If you said the stuff that you said as a white person, your a** would be gone,” he added. Whitlock found the clip of Fuentes bashing him to be rife with “jealousy.” “There’s a couple things going on here. There’s jealousy, there’s some sort of belief that I’m immune to the consequences of my journalistic standards, of my approach to journalism,” Whitlock says, noting that Fuentes compared him to a much younger former BlazeTV host. “I’m in my 50s, and he’s comparing me to a child who was at the beginning of his career in the media, and expects that a child, in this profession, should be treated like a decorated military veteran in this profession,” Whitlock says, adding, “That’s a level of privilege that they want that perhaps is irrational.” “And the assertion that I’ve been given everything, oh boy, that’s quite a stretch. But he can have that narrative,” Whitlock continues. “The one thing I do want to answer to is this thought that I’m here to confer dignity on white conservatives.” “I’m here to defend Christian values. I’m here to defend anyone that stands on Christian values, and I don’t want Christian values demonized as racist,” he adds. “I want to confer dignity to God’s truth, and I don’t want it smeared and promoted as racist or harmful for black people, and that’s what they’ve been doing.”Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/fearless-with-jason-whitlock/black-lives-matter

2025-03-31 19:47:24

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59763953&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0
On March 25, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” The order requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, mandates that all ballots be received by Election Day, strongly encourages paper ballots, and gives federal agencies (like DHS) power to review state election practices. States that fail to comply risk losing federal funding. While there is certain to be pushback from the radical left, anyone with an ounce of sense knows this is a big win for election security, which a huge percentage of Americans no longer have faith in. “This would prevent the radical left from being able to do almost everything that they have done to us,” says Liz Wheeler. The simplicity of voter ID and paper ballots to solve the complex problem of election fraud is further proof of Donald Trump’s brilliance, she says. On top of that, it will expose who wants to cheat. “Listen to who opposes this, and you'll know who the cheaters are. ... There is no legitimate reason to oppose any of those things. If you oppose it, you are a cheater,” says Liz matter of factly. She’s less excited, however, about the Crossfire Hurricane EO that will declassify files related to the FBI’s probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign and alleged Russian interference. “This is good that he declassified this,” but “my expectations are low for the same reason that my expectations were low for the JFK files: I don’t expect that those in the FBI who were so corrupt that they staged lawfare against the president of the United States, illegally spied on him, lied and falsely accused him of colluding with Russia – I don't expect that they would have retained a file or a file cabinet full of incriminating information against themselves,” she says. The only reason we know the truth about Crossfire Hurricane, Liz argues, is because “we the people — independent journalists — recorded what happened and investigated what happened.” She doesn’t anticipate these files will have any kind of smoking gun because the FBI wouldn’t dare leave such a thing sitting around awaiting discovery. To hear more of Liz’s analysis, watch the clip above. Want more from Liz Wheeler?To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-liz-wheeler-show/brilliant-trumps-election-fraud-eo-locks-down-voting-while-exposing-the-cheaters

2025-03-31 19:46:39

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59763953&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0
On March 25, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” The order requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, mandates that all ballots be received by Election Day, strongly encourages paper ballots, and gives federal agencies (like DHS) power to review state election practices. States that fail to comply risk losing federal funding. While there is certain to be pushback from the radical left, anyone with an ounce of sense knows this is a big win for election security, which a huge percentage of Americans no longer have faith in. “This would prevent the radical left from being able to do almost everything that they have done to us,” says Liz Wheeler. The simplicity of voter ID and paper ballots to solve the complex problem of election fraud is further proof of Donald Trump’s brilliance, she says. On top of that, it will expose who wants to cheat. “Listen to who opposes this, and you'll know who the cheaters are. ... There is no legitimate reason to oppose any of those things. If you oppose it, you are a cheater,” says Liz matter of factly. She’s less excited, however, about the Crossfire Hurricane EO that will declassify files related to the FBI’s probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign and alleged Russian interference. “This is good that he declassified this,” but “my expectations are low for the same reason that my expectations were low for the JFK files: I don’t expect that those in the FBI who were so corrupt that they staged lawfare against the president of the United States, illegally spied on him, lied and falsely accused him of colluding with Russia – I don't expect that they would have retained a file or a file cabinet full of incriminating information against themselves,” she says. The only reason we know the truth about Crossfire Hurricane, Liz argues, is because “we the people — independent journalists — recorded what happened and investigated what happened.” She doesn’t anticipate these files will have any kind of smoking gun because the FBI wouldn’t dare leave such a thing sitting around awaiting discovery. To hear more of Liz’s analysis, watch the clip above. Want more from Liz Wheeler?To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-liz-wheeler-show/brilliant-trumps-election-fraud-eo-locks-down-voting-while-exposing-the-cheaters

2025-03-28 02:06:44

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/i-called-out-the-cia-on-x-and-then-my-account-disappeared.jpg?id=59318713&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C113%2C0%2C114
Some say the Central Intelligence Agency is the world’s leading cause of “coincidences.” This might be another one. Just as the government released thousands of JFK assassination files, I — a former CIA officer turned whistleblower — was suddenly blocked from posting reform proposals on social media. The experience showed just how powerful X has become in the fight against deep-state corruption. Americans want their country back from those who have taken control. I post regularly on X, sharing updates on CIA activity and government corruption. My account has 125,000 followers and delivers unfiltered information without paid promotion. After 17 years in the CIA, including high-level assignments across multiple global stations, I know how the agency operates — and how often it violates the U.S. Constitution without consequence. Since I began publicly exposing CIA corruption in 2010, I have created documents and posted videos about CIA misconduct. My computer crashes frequently — twice in the past four months — destroying all my data. Even my backup account on Carbonite failed to save this information. Recently, “someone” accessed my primary computer through the router and specifically targeted and corrupted only the files and videos related to the CIA, rendering them inaccessible. My account on X has been a quick and protected way to get this information to Americans. In my book, “Twilight of the Shadow Government: How Transparency Will Kill the Deep State,” written with my courageous co-author Kent Heckenlively, we reveal the CIA’s criminal and unconstitutional operations for everyone to see. “Light dispels darkness,” as so many have observed. In the book, Kent and I lay out 12 steps that must be taken to reform the CIA. Two weeks ago, on my X account, I spelled out 13 additional radical steps to reform the CIA and end its tyranny of secrecy once and for all. I posted each step back-to-back. These reforms are lethal to the CIA’s control over all three branches of our elected government — and the fear of reprisal against anyone who challenges its power. Maybe it was the 13th step that annoyed the agency the most: “Legally indict and charge CIA officials who engage in a criminal conspiracy to silence whistleblowers, block information from Congress, or violate U.S. and constitutional law.” It just wouldn’t be the same old CIA any more if they couldn’t lie to Congress or our duly elected president. The day after I posted the 13 steps, I received a warning from X stating I had violated its guidelines and was being suspended for multiple copyright violations. I was unable to log in and access my account. Four attempts to appeal the suspension resulted in a boilerplate response instructing me to log in to my account for further information. Of course, I was unable to log in to do so. What’s more, I could not follow any other X users or post comments on their pages. It was an endless loop of blockages. This occurred just as 80,000 pages of JFK assassination documents were released — a critical moment. I had prepared evidentiary posts indicating the CIA was involved in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. My position as a CIA officer who had worked in all four agency directorates — as well as being the only one to publicly challenge the state secrets privilege and publish a book about the history of the CIA without the agency's approval — made me unique among commentators. Finally, I contacted my dear friend Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has reached the same conclusion regarding the CIA's culpability in the murder of his uncle — spelling out what had just happened. Since he is extremely busy with his new Cabinet post at Health and Human Services, I was unsure whether I would receive an answer. Within a matter of hours, I received a text back from Bobby. He advised me that he had passed my text to James Musk — Elon’s cousin and an X executive. James responded immediately. After researching the matter, James advised me that X had not suspended @kevin_shipp. Some entity — perhaps the CIA? — had created a fraudulent @kevin_shipp account, which caused an override of the true account and sent me a fictitious X community guidelines violation along with multiple copyright violation claims on the 13 steps to CIA reform. James uncovered this malicious attack in just under two hours. Following his guidance on how to regain access to the real account, @kevin_shipp was back up, and all 13 steps were there and open for comments. What a relief to see my first post go live again — just one word: “Test.” My co-author quickly shared the story on X, paying to boost the post. It reached 1.6 million people. The experience showed just how powerful X has become in the fight against deep-state corruption. Americans want their country back from those who have taken control. Watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and James Musk respond so swiftly and boldly to a targeted attack on my account was inspiring and reassuring. That night, I slept peacefully, knowing I wasn’t alone in standing up for our republic. This fight isn’t mine alone — it belongs to all of us. And with people like Kennedy and Musk stepping up, we’re finally pushing back.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/i-called-out-the-cia-on-x-and-then-my-account-disappeared

2025-03-26 17:06:36

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=59082196&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=150%2C0%2C150%2C0
When ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was on “The Megyn Kelly Show” this past Monday, he was quick to point out that he was the first person on the left to call out Joe Biden. “When I called out President Biden at the time, it was a year before the debate – a year. I said, ‘Yo, something's missing, he's not there; he's not going to make it to the Democratic National Convention,”’ he said. “I was excoriated; I was raked through the coals ... but look at you now because I was right.” Smith went on to list all the things he called the left out on: Kamala Harris, woke culture, cancel culture, transgender nonsense, and the border. Megyn Kelly may have been impressed with Smith’s criticism of the Democrat Party, but Jason Whitlock says he’s “a fraud.” He argues that the idea that Smith was “so ahead of the curve” and was “super insightful and courageous” is just ridiculous. “Stephen A. Smith is beating his chest” by claiming that he was the first to say “Joe Biden is cooked,” he says. “Anybody with a brain had already said that months and months and years ago.” This calling out Joe Biden and the Democrat Party is all part of his plan to run for president, Whitlock speculates. Long before Smith publicly floated the idea of running for president, Whitlock knew that his 2023 book “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes” was “written to launch his presidential career.” How did he know Smith was gearing up to run for president? “There's a pattern to these planted imbeciles that the Democrats use. ... His book read just like Obama’s book – a book of fiction written to cover all the talking points necessary to be a Democrat candidate for president,” he says. If Stephen A. Smith was a true leader, he wouldn’t have been up there “preaching about the [COVID] vaccine and shaming people that wouldn't take the vaccine.” “I need something more authentic than Stephen A. Smith,” says Whitlock. To hear more of his commentary, watch the clip above. Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/fearless-with-jason-whitlock/stephen-a-smith-prophet-of-bidens-demise-or-political-fraud

2025-03-24 20:05:40

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=58407828&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0
The long-awaited release of Disney’s new “Snow White” remake has turned out to be a massive disappointment, as ahead of the box-office opening, it had the worst Rotten Tomatoes score for a Disney live-action remake. Before it’s official release, the critic score was 46%. One of the top critics, Otis Henderson, wrote, “I had high hopes that 'Snow White' would make me happy; instead, this dopey remake made me sleepy and grumpy.” While the professional movie critics weren’t pleased, the audience hasn’t been, either. “Wow Disney, you truly are incredible. It took you three years, multiple rewrites, unnecessary CGI, and $209 million just for me to enjoy a comment section of a movie I will never watch. Bless you,” one YouTube user wrote about the trailer. The film stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the evil queen, which has led to the remake coming under even more fire for poor casting. “I mean look, I love Gal Gadot, I don’t think she’s the greatest actress,” Matthew Marsden tells Sara Gonzales and Jaco Booyens on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.” “But why do you pick somebody who is quite clearly more beautiful than Snow White to play the queen?” But it’s not just the casting that the panel sees as a flop. “They have dried up with any creativity,” Booyens says. “That’s true,” Gonzales adds, “That’s like all they’re doing now is coming out with live actions of others like ‘The Lion King.’” Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/snow-white-dei

2025-03-24 18:52:29

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/everybody-should-be-fired-rob-lowe-says-entertainment-industry-has-abandoned-los-angeles-and-california.jpg?id=58407884&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C194%2C0%2C194
Actor Rob Lowe decried the state of the entertainment business in California and claimed that he was forced to miss out on a television show because of mismanagement. Lowe made the comments while speaking with guest Adam Scott on his "Literally! With Rob Lowe" podcast. He said that it was more expensive to walk across the street and shoot a film than it was to move the entire production to another country. 'It's criminal what California and LA have let happen. It's criminal. Everybody should be fired.' "It's cheaper to bring a hundred American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot to Fox, past the sound stages, and do it there," Lowe said. "Crazy!" Scott responded. Scott then asked Lowe if they were to film the popular series "Parks and Rec" again if they would have to move it out of California. "One hundred percent, we would be," Lowe replied. "We would be in Budapest." “It’s so weird how nothing shoots in Los Angeles,” Scott said. “Nothing!" Lowe interjected. “I had my next show already done, scripts, deals closed, and they said we’re shooting this in New York, and I said I’m not moving to New York to do this, and it went away. The show’s done. Not doing it." "Wow!" Scott replied. "No s**t!" Lowe explained that other places in the world offer tax incentives of up to 40% and other perks in order to steal production from Los Angeles. "That's not even talking about the union stuff!" he added. "It's criminal what California and L.A. have let happen. It's criminal. Everybody should be fired," Lowe said. Scott offered an anecdote about studios where he had worked, claiming they were bustling with new shows in the past but have since become a ghost town. "It's weird," he said. "Super, super weird," Lowe added. Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a plan to double the tax incentives for the entertainment industry to $750 million in an attempt to revive business in Hollywood. Some have criticized the effort as not comprehensive enough to reverse the industry's decline. "It's just too expensive to shoot here," said Scott. The entire podcast can be viewed on the show's channel on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/align/rob-lowe-entertainment-los-angeles

2025-03-24 18:52:29

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/masked-leftist-thug-cuts-off-harasses-tesla-driver-a-mother-on-her-way-to-doctor-and-tells-her-this-is-a-nazi-car.png?id=58407637&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C63%2C0%2C64
A mother on her way to a doctor's appointment last week in Lynnwood, Washington, told KCPQ-TV a male wearing a mask cut her off, got out of his vehicle, and began harassing her because she was driving a Tesla.Leigh, a Tesla owner for the last two years, added to the station that she first noticed the aggressive driver honking behind her as she approached a red light Wednesday morning.'I could only see his eyes. He also had a large bag in front of him and baggy clothes. I had no idea if I was safe or not.'"Thankfully, I was by myself," Leigh added to KCPQ. "When I made a left turn, they followed me and cut around me."She told the station things heated up when the driver of a white SUV cut her off, stopped in the middle of the road, got out, approached her vehicle, and began berating her."He gets out and walks straight up to my door window. So I cracked my window, and I said, ‘What? What is the problem?’" Leigh recounted to KCPQ. "He goes, ‘You need to sell your car. This is a Nazi car. You're driving it, you need to sell your car.’"The mother seemed "visibly shaken" when describing the encounter, the station said, and she noted that the driver — who was wearing a camouflage jacket and a ski mask — lowered his mask to tell her she "needed to learn to drive" and then returned to his car."I could only see his eyes. He also had a large bag in front of him and baggy clothes. I had no idea if I was safe or not," Leigh told KCPQ, adding that "I felt very threatened."You can view a video report here about the incident; it includes a clip of the masked male in question approaching her Tesla.As is the case with many Tesla owners, Leigh expressed values to KCPQ that reflect a liberal sensibility: "Being in Seattle, climate’s important, our footprint’s important. This seemed like the right move for our very busy family."Yet, once again, a radical leftist has taken it upon himself to menace someone who probably agrees with him about most issues."We drive a lot, and it saves us on gas," Leigh noted to the station, adding that "now it feels like a huge risk; it’s scary."More from KCPQ:Since the confrontation, Leigh says she has altered her driving routes, opting for highways instead of back roads to avoid stop signs and feel safer. She has filed multiple reports regarding the incident, but it remains unclear if the suspect will face any consequences."If it was easy to just turn over a $60,000 car and find something new that works, that’s one thing," she also told the station. "That’s not a decision that everybody can make overnight, and I think that puts a lot of us in a hard position."Leigh also told KCPQ, "Just really sad that this is what's happening to people. Honestly, it doesn't affect how I believe or what I believe — it's just the car I drive."More of the sameWhat Leigh experienced is part of an ongoing trend of open violence and vandalism the left has been carrying out against Tesla cars and Tesla owners. The company's CEO, Elon Musk, has been heading up the Trump administration's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, which is deeply unpopular with leftists. Some examples:Recently a male who was caught on video keying a Tesla in San Jose, California, was arrested for a felony.Teslas at a Las Vegas service center were torched with Molotov cocktails and shot at.A Tesla protester lit himself on fire while trying to destroy Tesla charging stations in South Carolina, police said.Also, a now-removed website — “Dogequest" — purportedly doxxed Tesla owners around the country and mapped out possible targets for destructive protesters.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/masked-leftist-thug-cuts-off-harasses-tesla-driver-a-mother-on-her-way-to-doctor-and-tells-her-this-is-a-nazi-car

2025-03-11 22:02:22

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/embalmer-charged-with-felony-abuse-of-corpse-over-what-she-allegedly-did-to-dead-man-s-genitals.jpg?id=56815390&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0
A licensed embalmer was arrested after she allegedly cut off a dead man's genitals and stuffed them into his mouth. The horrific incident was reported to Houston police by an embalming student at the Memorial Mortuary and Crematory in Texas. The trainee claimed to have seen 34-year-old Amber Paige Laudermilk commit the act after finding out the man had been a registered sex offender. 'No matter what one thinks of his life, the law requires that he be treated with dignity in death.' Police said that Laudermilk used a scalpel to stab at the genitals of Charles Roy Rodriguez in February. Rodriguez had been charged with sexual assault in 2001 and received 10 years of deferred adjudication before he died at the age of 58 of natural causes. Rodriguez was cremated after the alleged desecration of his corpse. “This case is about two troubled people: the victim who was a registered sex offender and the defendant, who is accused of viciously attacking his dead body,” said Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen in a post on Facebook. “No matter what one thinks of his life, the law requires that he be treated with dignity in death.” After Laudermilk allegedly committed the abuse, one of the witnesses said Laudermilk remarked, "You didn't see anything," in a manner that was perceived as a threat. “I don’t know the suspect’s past, but we have the utmost empathy for anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault or is the family or friend of someone who has been the victim of a sexual assault,” Rosen concluded. “The facts clearly indicate she was angry and I hope after this is resolved in the courts, she gets the help she needs.”Rosen posted an update that Laudermilk had turned herself in and was being held at the Harris County Jail with a bond of $5,000. Video from the mortuary can be viewed on the news report from KPRC-TV on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/embalmer-corpse-mutilation-genitals-houston

2025-03-07 18:03:04

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/fauci-cabalist-top-gain-of-function-scientist-raise-alarm-about-dangerous-new-experiments.jpg?id=56662330&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C1
One the world's most prominent gain-of-function researchers — whose methods were adapted by researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology for work on chimeric viruses — and one of the scientists who helped furnish Anthony Fauci with what he needed to downplay the lab-leak theory are now sounding the alarm about dangerous new coronavirus experiments conducted by the Chinese. Criticism may have been easier this time around, given that the critics and their friends do not appear to be directly linked to the dangerous research in question. Ralph Baric and W. Ian Lipkin expressed concern in a March 3 New York Times op-ed that Chinese scientists "are experimenting with viruses in ways that could put all of us in harm's way." Baric, a professor in the departments of epidemiology and microbiology at the University of North Carolina, is a leading proponent of gain-of-function research who successfully fought for an exemption from the Obama administration's moratorium on the dangerous practice in order to keep manufacturing artificial SARS-like viruses. He became an especially controversial figure during the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 7 million people worldwide. Lipkin, the John Snow professor of epidemiology at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, was one of the co-authors of the controversial March 2020 paper "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2," which Fauci used on multiple occasions to suggest to the American public that COVID-19 was not a lab leak but rather an animal virus that jumped to a human. Lipkin, who later thanked Fauci for his "efforts in steering and messaging" regarding the virus' origins, has reportedly long had a cozy relationship with Chinese communist authorities. Baric and Lipkin indicated that they are particularly concerned about experiments conducted by WIV researchers and other Chinese scientists on a deadly coronavirus called HKU5-CoV-2. These experiments are detailed in a recent paper published in the scientific journal Cell. The duo noted that the virus at the heart of the study "belongs to a subgroup of viruses that are classified alongside the one that causes MERS and that can have fatality rates far higher than that of the virus that caused the Covid pandemic." While HKU5 can infect humans and has the potential to be far more lethal than SARS-CoV-2, Chinese scientists have apparently been meddling with the fully infectious virus in a lab with "insufficient" containment controls. There are multiple biosafety level ratings for laboratories ranging from BSL-1 to BSL-4. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "each biosafety level builds on the controls of the level before it." 'Potentially dangerous research should not be done without proper precautions.' A BSL-4 lab, for instance, is designed to handle microbes that are "dangerous and exotic, posing a high risk of aerosol-transmitted infections" that could prove fatal. Researchers in such a lab must manipulate the infectious agents using a gas-tight sealed container with a double HEPA filtered exhaust while wearing protective gear. Alternatively, they must wear a full-body, air-supplied positive pressure suit. Researchers must also undergo routine medical surveillance for signs of infection. Such a high-security lab must also be located in a separate building or in a restricted zone of an existing building with double locking doors and provided with a dedicated supply of air along with decontamination systems. Despite the dangers posed to the researchers and the rest of mankind, the Chinese researchers have instead been experimenting in a lab described as BSL-2 plus. BSL-2 labs are meant to handle only microbes that pose, at worst, moderate hazards to researchers and the environment. "Decisions about what level of precaution is appropriate for research are typically made by a study's lead scientist and an institutional biosafety committee," wrote Baric and Lipkin. The lead scientist on this dangerous study was Shi Zhengli, whose track record for safety is less than stellar and with whom Baric has previously collaborated. According to a 2021 article in the MIT technology review, Baric asked Shi, who is the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the WIV, for the genome of a new coronavirus Shi found in bat excrement. He apparently wanted to take the "spike" gene from the novel virus and stick it into a copy of a SARS virus he had on hand. Ultimately, Baric's team tested the resultant chimeric virus on humanized mice and in a petri dish of human airway cells and discovered that it could indeed infect humans. Baric and Lipkin noted in their op-ed that while the relevant authorities in China apparently approved the dangerous new experiments on HKU5, "it is not sufficient for work with a new virus that could have significant risks for people worldwide." "Work with viruses that have the potential to become threats to public health should be restricted to facilities and scientists committed to the highest level of safety," added the duo. According to Baric and Lipkin, governmental and nongovernmental agencies that fund research on viruses should require "proof that investigators meet global standards." Additionally, scientific journals should insist on similar standards for the studies they accept. The duo concluded, "Potentially dangerous research should not be done without proper precautions to prevent deliberate or accidental spread." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/top-gain-of-function-scientist-and-fauci-cabalist-raise-alarm-about-dangerous-new-experiments

2025-01-09 23:04:48

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/jim-gaffigan-says-people-told-him-to-avoid-criticizing-kamala-harris-because-the-election-was-so-important.jpg?id=55527569&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C104%2C0%2C104
Comedian Jim Gaffigan revealed that people had told him not to criticize Kamala Harris during the presidential election, and he called it a strategic mistake. He made the comments while appearing on "The Last Laugh" podcast with Matt Wilstein. 'That's actually bad to have that approach. And I think in hindsight people feel that way.' "What I thought was interesting about this election, maybe because it was so important, and maybe because it was such a short election for Kamala, that people were like, 'Don't criticize her,'" said Gaffigan. "And my whole thing is, that's actually bad to have that approach. And I think in hindsight people feel that way," he added. Gaffigan's comments were in line with much of the scorn being directed at the Democratic Party and Harris herself after garnering a record billion dollars in campaign contributions and failing so badly. Democrats lost the electoral vote and the popular vote, lost control of the U.S. Senate, and were unable to topple Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The comedian ignored the advice to avoid criticism of Harris when he emceed the prominent Al Smith Dinner in October during the election. Gaffigan skewered Harris for avoiding the dinner that raised millions for Catholic charities and even took a damaging jab at the Democrats for installing her without a primary to give voters a choice of candidate. Gaffigan also said on the same podcast that he regretted alienating some Trump supporters with his comments against President-elect Donald Trump. “I regret that people think that I was criticizing people that support Trump. That was never the intention," he said. “I also do acknowledge that there are true, die-hard Trump fans who probably enjoyed my comedy, but because they feel so passionately, will never forgive me,” he added. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/align/jim-gaffigan-criticism-kamala-harris

2025-01-09 23:04:48

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55525825&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C104%2C0%2C104
The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles is facing intense scrutiny after being absent from the city as a historic conflagration erupted on Tuesday in Pacific Palisades. Mayor Karen Bass was on a previously scheduled trip to Ghana to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama when officials announced that southern California would face "destructive and potentially life-threatening" winds. At least 130,000 people are under evacuation order, including residents of Hollywood and Pasadena, and more than 2,000 structures have been destroyed.Some on social media tossed a 2021 tweet from Bass back in her face to highlight her hypocrisy and incompetence. Bass had been among the voices calling for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to be tossed out of office after he took his family to Cancun during a severe winter storm. "Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis. We need to build a movement to kick them all out," she wrote. Ironically, Bass is now facing the same calls to resign after residents discovered she was thousands of miles away while they suffered from the fires. In one particularly damaging video, Bass refuses to answer any questions from an intrepid Sky News reporter who calls on her to respond to the outrage from her constituents. “Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster?” asked David Blevins. She had no response. So far, five people have died in the fires, and officials believe the death toll will be far higher. At least 130,000 people, including residents of Hollywood and Pasadena, are under evacuation order, and more than 2,000 structures have been destroyed. Reports that some firefighters are finding empty fire hydrants while trying to save lives and homes has exacerbated the criticism against Bass and other local officials. "You have to have water," said billionaire Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass for mayor, "and my understanding is the reservoir was not refilled in time and in a timely manner to keep the hydrants going. So that's a failure, whether on DWP's part or another city agency, but this is basic stuff."He went on to say residents were paying the ultimate price for the lack of leadership and management from city officials. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/la-mayor-tweet-wildfire-hypocrisy

2025-01-09 23:04:48

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55525503&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0
Science fiction has become reality as Mark Milley may have ordered the use of directed-energy weapons against American citizens during the 2020 riots. “We all remember 2020, the summer of love, the burning buildings, all the looted stores, and an overall lack of legal consequences for crimes committed by rioters. However, in a Blaze exclusive, Blaze investigative journalists Steve Baker and Joe Hanneman revealed that the Pentagon approved the use of directed-energy weapons on rioters in June of that year,” Jill Savage of “Blaze News Tonight” explains. Baker didn’t set out to find this information, but through his investigation into the Capitol riot on January 6, it led him here. “My curiosity began to just lead me down a number of rabbit holes, and I began to pull a lot of threads, and throughout that process, I began to discover that there were new types of systems that I was not aware of that could be used to both control crowds as riot control but also had other uses to move people in ways that maybe the American public are not aware of,” Baker says. But this technology isn’t exactly new. In the 1950s, the Soviets were active in developing what are called psychotronic weapons. And when the Soviet Union fell in 1991, many Soviet scientists were selling their information and selling their science to the United States government and other buyers as well. “Elements of our government were able to purchase advanced technology in what they call the directed-energy weapons space, and some of that was much more advanced technology than what we have,” Baker explains, noting that the technology we now have is more advanced. “We have a video that Julio Rosas, our own correspondent, took in Kenosha back in 2020, of an actual audio device, an audio energy weapon, blasting at what they call it super audio levels to clear crowds out. There are microwave versions of that that they can blast at you and make you for a two-second pulse, it makes your skin feel like you’re on fire,” he continues. “Those are the very basic things that we’ve seen around for a long time. Those are not science fiction,” he adds. Now, Baker says the technology has gotten “much more sophisticated and much more miniaturized to the point where they can carry them in backpacks.” “So now they have backpack size, and what some of these special operatives have described to me in great detail are what they call agitation weapons. And this is the thing that we fear the most,” Baker says. “These weapons that we know have been used overseas in the military and by the CIA in operations to create color revolutions, to create riots, to create confusion in hotspots around the world, some of these devices may now be being used here.” Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/blaze-news-tonight/pentagon-directed-energy-weapons

2025-01-01 22:02:30

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55437708&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=18%2C0%2C19%2C0
Long-running Atlanta radio station 104.7 The Fish, which is one of the largest Christian radio stations in the country, will go off the air on February 1st, 2025, according to WSB-TV. The station, which has been running in its current format for almost a quarter century, is one of the largest contemporary Christian radio stations in the country. The station is shutting down because the station's current owners, Salem Communications, sold the station as part of a package deal with two other stations to the Educational Media Foundation, which also runs a series of Christian radio stations. In a statement provided by Salem to the media, interim CEO David Santrella said, "Upon the closing of these three transactions, we will have transformed and significantly improved Salem’s balance sheet and capital structure. With the exception of its revolving line of credit, Salem will have no outstanding debt. Salem will also benefit from working with an important new strategic investor that is expected to bring significant new opportunities to the company as well as offer incredible expertise in the area of digital media."Salem executives also expressed hope that EMF would continue some form of Christian programming, saying that EMF had been a "delightful" partner during the sale. However, a number of on-air personalities at The Fish have already taken to social media to announce that they will not be retained when the new station opens in February. The hosts of the popular Kevin and Taylor Show confirmed that their show was ending but praised EMF, saying, "We've heard nothing but good things about the company who is taking over," and likewise expressing hope that Christian programming would continue on 104.7 in the new year.
https://www.theblaze.com/align/one-of-the-nation-s-largest-christian-radio-stations-will-close-its-doors-in-a-month

2024-12-13 00:00:21

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55307130&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=150%2C0%2C150%2C0
Caitlin Clark had become a conservative icon for what seemed to be a refusal to bend the knee to left-wing activism, but as the rule often goes, all good things must come to an end. In a recent interview with Time magazine, Clark made clear where her allegiance lies when she told the reporter, “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been black players.” “This league kind of has been built on them. The more we appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made the league incredible, I think it’s very important,” she concluded. Steve Deace of the "Steve Deace Show” believes capitulating to the woke mob was always in her cards after joining the WNBA. “Caitlyn Clark is groveling to a league that she is bigger than, she does not need. She is her own brand. She could go play internationally where a lot of the woke silliness that we have here largely does not exist,” Deace explains. “She could just barnstorm the country with Caitlyn Clark’s Globetrotters and make every bit as much money, if not more, than what she’s making right now,” he continues. “The reason why I didn’t want her to go to the league is this was always bound to happen. She was never going to hold out, and it was frankly unfair to ask her to because it would be in denial of human nature.” Deace also believes that because Clark is a woman, she’s “in a uniquely challenging position.” “Men are relational creatures as well, but women are pre-eminently relational creatures, and asking a woman, just as a general rule, to be an iconoclast, goes against the natural order of things,” he explains. “I would like to say, therefore, what position she finds herself in is uniquely challenging for her being asked to go up against an entire league, an entire peer group,” he continues. “Caitlin Clark will literally commit lesbian lascivious acts as part of the halftime entertainment and marry a woman within the next year or she might as well name herself Donald Trump.” “Every time you turn onto Tolerance Boulevard it will always be a one-way street,” he adds. Want more from Steve Deace?To enjoy more of Steve's take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/steve-deace-show/caitlin-clark

2024-12-13 00:00:21

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55307514&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C1%2C0%2C1
South Dakota police said a teacher was arrested for sexual exploitation after students pretended to be underage girls on Snapchat in order to catch him in the act. Huron police said officers were contacted by the principal of Huron Middle School after a parent saw concerning images on social media of a student. The boy said that he had started a hoax account after a 6th-grade girl said she had received messages from a teacher that made her uncomfortable.'The student told police that he used images from Pinterest to 'catfish' the teacher.' The student set up a hoax account that appeared to be 14-year-old girl and messaged the 28-year-old teacher, who was identified as Zachary Kaderabek. Another student set up a separate account pretending to be the sister of the first hoax account and also exchanged messages with Kaderabek. Police said that Kaderabek allegedly admitted to messaging students on Snapchat and sending four images of his penis. Kaderabek was indicted on Monday on two counts of solicitation of a minor as well as two counts of sexual exploitation. The Huron School Board voted on Tuesday to move him from paid administrative leave to unpaid administrative leave. Huron School District Superintendent Kraig Steinhoff released a statement about their actions regarding Kaderabek to KELO-TV.“The Huron School District is communicating with its attorney and is cooperating with law enforcement. All policies, procedures, and laws are being followed," said Steinhoff in part. The student told police that he used images from Pinterest to "catfish" the teacher. His hoax account was named "Kate." Kaderabek is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 14. A booking photo of the teacher can be viewed on KELO's YouTube video channel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/students-catfish-teacher-perv-snapchat

2024-12-12 23:48:01

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=55307342&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C76%2C0%2C77
A Western New York town warned state officials that it would take action if the state didn't follow through on emptying out hotels of immigrants. Asylum-seekers have been housed in two hotels in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, since June 2023. After two incidents of alleged sexual assault by asylum-seekers, local county officials said they would stop taking in immigrants and demanded the state vacate those from the hotels. 'These folks have a right to an asylum hearing and some of these folks will be granted asylum and there are already productive members of the community.' Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Brian Nowak said they did not intend to be anti-immigrant but wanted to enforce zoning laws at the hotels. "Moving on from having them in hotels is one thing, but saying we want to send you back to Mexico or Venezuela or whatever, that's a whole different story," said Nowak. "These folks have a right to an asylum hearing and some of these folks will be granted asylum and there are already productive members of the community that are living in these buildings," he added. "Moving on from our hotels being used as encampments or shelters, yes, but not to say we don't want migrants or immigrants as part of our society." On the same day as the vote from Cheektowaga, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that 25 hotels and shelters housing asylum-seekers in New York would close. Adams told WKBW-TV that the hotels in Cheektowaga would be emptied of immigrants by Dec. 16 and 18. "We’ve come a long way since the first buses from Texas arrived in our city over two years ago, when we were working around the clock to care for the thousands of people who were arriving every week," said Adams. Adams has faced fierce criticism for defending the city's sanctuary city policies and then folding after Republican governors began to send immigrants to take advantage of their social safety net. He has since criticized the Biden administration for the immigrant crisis and demanded more help from the state. "We are seeing real results from our hard work, including the ability to continue consolidating operations," Adams added. "We continue to look closely at all of our shelters and will make all determinations based on what’s best for our city and those in our care.” Many have said that voters turned against the Democratic Party in the election partly because of the panicked response to immigrants being sent to Democrat-controlled cities by Republican governors. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/ny-migrants-hotels-action-state

2024-11-22 19:45:50

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54966037&width=980
This past week, Ukraine launched missiles made by the United States into Russia despite Vladimir Putin’s warnings that an action like this would bring other countries into the middle of their ongoing war. “So Joe Biden gave the green light, and after he gave the green light, six U.S.-made missiles were used in this attack,” Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” comments, noting that Russia says they shot down five of them, while one of them hit their Ammunition Depot. “The use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia can prompt a nuclear response,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement regarding the attack. While Gonzales isn’t cheering on Putin, she doesn’t think his response is “unreasonable.” “I mean, he’s like, ‘You guys are the ones who have the codes, you guys are the ones who are working in conjunction with Ukraine to send missiles and hit our people, this is not a proxy war anymore, this is your direct participation and we should respond accordingly,’” Gonzales tells Glenn Beck’s head writer and researcher, Jason Buttrill. “I think it’s absolutely insane that you had to caveat what you just said,” Buttrill comments. “I was tweeting about this earlier today, and I did the same thing. I put a subtweet, where I was like, ‘I’m obviously not saying that I’m a Putin lover, I don’t like Russia, I think they’re bad.’” The real question, however, is why Biden waited until the remaining few months of his presidency to escalate America’s involvement in the war. “Why would he wait until all the way at the end?” Buttrill asks. “First off, I don’t think that Biden did give this order.” “Personally, I think this is the death gasps of the regime. This military industrial complex, which includes the intelligence and diplomatic cores, I think that they are scared to death that their entire way of thinking since the end of World War II is about to change,” he explains. “This is the last you know, Hail Mary, to how do we lock in the old status quo through Trump’s administration. They want to force him into being a wartime president. That’s what’s going on right now,” he adds. Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/ukraine-missiles

2024-11-22 19:45:50

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54969397&width=980
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) announced on Friday that her administration plans to cut state-run shelter costs by tightening stay limits for families with children.At present, families have a nine-month stay limit in taxpayer-funded accommodations. However, this duration will soon be capped at six months.'Governor Healey is only making this change so she can hang her hat on saying she is doing something.'A Friday press release from Healey's administration framed the new policy as a cost-cutting measure to reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars going toward lodging to house homeless local and illegal alien families. Ultimately, the administration's stated goal is to phase out the use of hotels and motels from the state's shelter model, which has been overrun amid the ongoing immigration crisis.The administration claimed the move would "help more families find stable, permanent housing."Beginning on December 10, families will either be placed on the "Rapid Shelter Track," which offers a 30-day stay for those who can obtain "self-sufficient permanent housing," or the "Bridge Shelter Track," which provides six months of housing to "high-risk families and those with more complex needs."Healey stated, "In recent years, the state's family shelter system has grown to be increasingly unsustainable. We've taken significant action to rein in its growth, and we've seen tangible results. The size of the system has remained stable for the past year, we no longer have families relying on Emergency Departments or the airport for shelter, and all shelter sites currently have a service provider instead of relying on the National Guard.""More needs to be done so that Massachusetts taxpayers do not continue to be on the hook for this federal problem. The changes we are making will reduce costs, phase out the use of hotels and better meet the needs of all families," Healey added.Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll stated there is "clearly a consensus around making shelter brief, rare and non-recurring."Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance told Blaze News that the Healey administration's latest announcement is nothing more than "window dressing" that "will do very little to deter illegal immigrants and inadmissible migrants from coming to Massachusetts.""They seek the taxpayer-funded housing and generous welfare benefits," Craney stated. "Governor Healey is only making this change so she can hang her hat on saying she is doing something. In reality, what she's been doing since she was elected Governor is make the situation a whole lot worse.""Under the Governor's watch, they have expanded very generous welfare benefits for illegal immigrants and inadmissible migrants, making us a top destination in the country," he continued. "If the Governor wants to do something about Massachusetts being the top magnet state in the country, she should work with the new administration which is trying to solve the problem."Healey stated earlier this month that her state police will "absolutely not" be cooperating with President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plan. She vowed to use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect" illegal aliens from the incoming administration's efforts.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/massachusetts-to-boot-illegal-alien-families-out-of-overrun-shelter-system-but-won-t-aid-trump-s-deportation-efforts

2024-11-20 15:37:39

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/suicidal-recklessness-biden-s-missile-authorization-against-russia-prompts-talk-of-wwiii-impeachment.jpg?id=54805840&width=980
Before relinquishing power in January, President Joe Biden may turn America's proxy war with Russia into a direct nuclear conflict. Elements of the Biden administration, various lawmakers from both major parties, Ukrainian officials, and others appear convinced that attacks on Russia using American long-range missiles might put Kyiv in a better bargaining position should the Eastern nations ever sit down to negotiate an end to the war, which has lasted over 1,000 days and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Critics have suggested not only that the move might protract the war, which the majority of Ukrainians now want to end with immediate negotiations, but that it might trigger a nuclear holocaust or at the very least prevent — by design — President-elect Donald Trump from brokering peace upon taking office. Missiles fired After authorizing Ukraine's use of long-range missile systems against targets in Russia — a move long resisted by U.S. officials concerned about escalation and identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a trigger for war between Washington and Moscow — Kyiv launched six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System missiles Tuesday morning at a weapons depot in Karachev, a Russian city 70 miles inside the country, in the Bryansk region. 'We must not fear doing more now.' According to CNN, Russian air defenses allegedly shot down five of the ATACMS supersonic missiles, and the sixth was damaged. Pieces of the damaged missile rained down near a military facility, causing a fire but resulting in neither death nor damage. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the attempted missile strikes and suggested that these and subsequent long-range missile strikes would be interpreted as U.S. military actions. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said in a statement, "The [Russian] president mentioned this several times. If long-range missiles are going to be applied from Ukraine into Russian territory, it will also mean that they are operated by American experts, military experts, and we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly." In his Tuesday address to the European Parliament, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "We must not fear doing more now." "While some European leaders think about, you know, some elections or something like this at Ukraine's expense, Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own. The more time he has, the worse the conditions become," said Zelenskyy. The Institute for the Study of War indicated that as of June, Putin had captured roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, with Russian forces occupying 75% of the total area of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts. "Today is the best moment to push Russia harder, and it's clear without certain key factors Russia will lack real motivation to engage in meaningful negotiation," added Zelenskyy. Hours later, Russia reportedly conducted missile strikes on Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernihiv, and Sumy, as well as drone attacks inside Ukraine. The U.S. embassy in Kyiv announced Wednesday morning that it was shutting its doors, citing the potential of a "significant air attack." Nuclear, mine policies updated Russian state media indicated that Moscow revised its nuclear doctrine this week in hopes of "making conventional warfare unachievable," qualifying attacks by a non-nuclear state in conjunction with the support of a nuclear state as a joint attack, satisfying the need for for nuclear deterrence. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Federation's security council, noted on X, "Russia's new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they're located. That means World War III." Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that he would also respond with nukes to conventional attacks on Russia or Belarus. Russia has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles. Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed that the West realizes "the revisions Putin outlined have largely undermined the attempts by the United States and NATO to achieve a strategic defeat of our nation. Furthermore, the expanded criteria for using nuclear weapons essentially rule out the possibility of defeating the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield." U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told the Associated Press, "I'm unfortunately not surprised by the comments the Kremlin has made around the publication of this new, revised document," adding that Russia has routinely sought to "coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior." The U.K. and other NATO members condemned the "irresponsible rhetoric" and reiterated their support for Ukraine. The Biden administration had a policy update of its own. Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Post reported that Biden authorized the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine. "When they're used in concert with the other munitions that we already are providing Ukraine, the intent is that they will contribute to a more effective defense," said one of the officials. While the U.S. is not one of the 164 parties to the Ottawa Convention, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, Biden reportedly resurrected an Obama-era policy in 2022 banning the transfer and use of American antipersonnel land minds outside Korea. Reactions Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck suggested that the Biden administration is painting Russian President Vladimir Putin "into a corner." "A man who is a bloodthirsty killer — you don't keep backing him into a corner, or what happens? Eventually he says, 'I'll have absolutely no credibility' [with] his people who have just been bombed with U.S. missiles, which he just said two days ago will be an act of war," said Beck. "We have entered a moment of madness. What Joe Biden did is impeachable." 'Americans do not want World War III.' A day prior to the ATACMS strikes, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) insisted that Biden had committed "an unconstitutional Act of War" that qualified as an impeachable offense. — (@) Texas Rep. Keith Self (R) penned a letter to Biden Tuesday, challenging his decision to authorize Ukraine's use of ATACMS against Russia. While Self suggested the missile systems might have proved strategically useful earlier in the conflict, at this stage in the war, their use is "counter-productive to President-elect Donald J. Trump's stated goal towards a negotiated peace." 'This is the faceless power of failing experts in action.' "If this desperate move by your administration represents an attempt by deep-state operatives to hamstring the incoming Trump presidency, it's a dangerous miscalculation," wrote Self. "I am very concerned that this miscalculation could have catastrophic results. Americans do not want World War III." "January 20 can't get here fast enough," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Fox News' Laura Ingraham. "It looks like a green light for escalation on the part of Ukraine. ... What would happen if Russia would launch and retaliate missiles into the territory of a NATO member? Then our treaty obligations would be triggered. Then we're talking about a full-scale war." Hawley noted further that the man who authorized the use of the long-range missiles against a nuclear power was considered too decrepit by his own party to stay in the presidential race earlier this year. Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson stressed that "what is happening in regard to Russia and Ukraine while we have no functional President is one of the last, most reckless and outrageous acts from the supposed 'adults in the room' who have consistently driven our nation towards the cliff the last four disastrous years." "This is not 'democracy,'" continued Peterson. "This is the faceless power of failing experts in action: thwarting the will of the people in the midst of the final 'lame duck' period of an aging dementia patient of a President. This is a form of masochistic, suicidal recklessness enacted by weak men." Peterson added on "Blaze News Tonight," "There is really something that I think that is despicable about the self-assured foreign policy expert in this country. Of all the different sectors of government experts who get degrees, foreign policy people dress themselves up in the suits and in the trappings of -isms and -istics, and, 'We know all this stuff and we have domain knowledge that you don't have.' They're consistently the most evil, dangerous, and really foolish sector of the entire government complex." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/suicidal-recklessness-bidens-missile-authorization-against-russia-prompts-talk-of-wwiii-impeachment

2024-11-20 15:37:39

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/dem-bucks-county-official-backpedals-on-apparent-vow-to-count-illegal-ballots-misinterpretation.jpg?id=54798546&width=980
Bucks County Board of Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D) is backpedaling on her pledge to count illegal ballots in the Senate election between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick.While multiple news outlets declared McCormick the winner, Casey has refused to concede the race, instead demanding a recount since the results were within the 0.5% margin that could trigger such a review.'Misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.'The recount has sparked concerns about election integrity after Ellis-Marseglia basically admitted she planned to defy the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's order not to count undated or misdated mail ballots."People violate laws any time they want," Ellis-Marseglia stated. "So, for me, if I violate this law it's because I want a court to pay attention. There's nothing more important than counting votes." Again, on Monday, the state's Supreme Court ruled that undated and misdated ballots cannot be counted.Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley accused Democrats of "brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots" to "steal the seat" from the Republican candidate."The RNC has filed four lawsuits over this already and will fight for as long as necessary," Whatley said. "This is the exact kind of left-wing election interference that undermines voter confidence."On Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) broke his silence on the matter, claiming that there was "a lack of legal clarity surrounding undated mail-in ballots that caused significant confusion and put counties in a challenging legal position."He stated that county officials "were damned if they did and damned if they didn't — likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting.""As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage the faith in our electoral process," Shapiro stated, presumably referring to Ellis-Marseglia's previous statement."The rule of law matters in this Commonwealth, and as I have always said, it is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions," he added.Whatley called Shapiro's statement "better late than never.""Heartening to see. Once Democrats came to the conclusion that even ignoring the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can't scrape up enough ballots to win ... Governor Shapiro suddenly discovers that he stands with the rule of law," Whatley said.Later that day, Ellis-Marseglia appeared to backpedal on her previous comments, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.She blamed a "misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.""I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused," she said.Ellis-Marseglia claimed that the court's reaffirmed ruling on Monday provided some much-needed clarity."This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity," she said. "We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity."Blaze News reached out to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn to determine whether her office plans to open an investigation into the matter. However, Schorn did not respond to a request for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/dem-bucks-county-official-backpedals-on-apparent-vow-to-count-illegal-ballots-misinterpretation

2024-11-19 17:40:32

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/trump-support-in-sports-isn-t-going-away-las-vegas-raiders-usa-soccer-and-golfers-are-all-supporting-the-president.png?id=54702155&width=980
More and more athletes are jumping on the presidential bandwagon and supporting Donald Trump with their dance moves. After Trump won the presidency for the second time, athletes from across the country paid tribute to him with his signature dance as a form of celebration. Now, nearly three weeks since the election victory, the Trump-themed dances show no sign of slowing down, and the trend is spreading across more sports. Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers showed off his moves after a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Although the Raiders fell short with a 34-19 loss, Bowers led all receivers in receptions and yards. Perhaps unlike before the election, the Raiders' communications team was not shy about showcasing Bowers' dancing touchdown celebration and posted a stand-alone clip of the 21-year-old on social media. In soccer, the U.S. Men's National Team appropriately represented the new president during a CONCACAF Nations League match against Jamaica. Team USA took home a 4-2 victory, and when star winger Christian Pulisic scored just 13 minutes in, he ran to the corner flag to dance in front the St. Louis crowd. "Made it look too easy," the team proudly wrote above the video clip on X. In another angle of the celebration, Juventus player and international star Weston McKennie can be seen joining in on the dance. Either talented athletes are doing the Trump dance or the dance itself is a good-luck charm, because LPGA golfer Charley Hull found herself in a race for the Annika tournament championship over the weekend. Hull pulled out the Trump dance during the final round and landed herself in a three-way tie for second place on the leaderboard, earning $229,909. These weren't the only athletes showing off the president's dance moves. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones made a point of thanking Trump at UFC 309. Trump was in the audience at the Madison Square Garden event. Jones shared his rendition of the viral dance before handing the president his belt to hold after his victory. With college football players and even Wayne Gretzky coming out of the woodwork as Trump supporters, enthusiasm for the red, white, and blue is at an all-time in the sports world and shows no signs of stopping. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/trump-support-raiders-usmnt-lpga

2024-11-18 16:32:23

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/biden-reportedly-clears-ukraine-to-take-actions-that-putin-suggested-would-trigger-nato-russia-war.jpg?id=54561987&width=980
The Biden administration has reportedly cleared Ukraine to use American long-range missile systems against targets in Russia — a move long urged by Ukrainian officials, resisted by U.S. officials concerned about escalation, and identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a trigger for a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Background In February, President Joe Biden secretly signed off on the transfer of the Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Garron Garn told CNN that following Biden's approval, the ATACMS were included in the $300 million aid package announced on March 12 then delivered the following month. The American-made supersonic missiles have a range of up to 190 miles. Ukraine also has British-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of 155 miles. The U.S. has blocked the use of such weapons in recent months over fears of escalation. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed in September that the Biden administration was considering clearing Ukraine to start lobbing them into Russia, citing the need to adjust and adapt "as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed." Putin, whose nation has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles, responded to Blinken's suggestion by telling a reporter, "It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia." Putin, who invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, claims the use of ATACMS would constitute direct action on the part of the U.S. because American satellite reconnaissance would allegedly be necessary for successful missile strikes. He noted in June, "Ukrainian servicemen cannot do everything on their own and strike with this missile. They are simply technologically incapable of doing this." He equated an ATACMS strike as the work of the Pentagon and a Storm Shadow strike as the work of the British government. Escalation According to Reuters, two American officials and a third source familiar with the decision confirmed that the Biden administration has cleared Ukraine to employ the missiles internationally and that the first of the long-range missile strikes are expected to take place in the coming days. A U.S. official told CNN that the missiles will likely hit targets in the Kursk region of Russia, where Kyiv launched its summer counteroffensive and where Moscow recently deployed nearly 50,000 troops, including North Korean soldiers. According to one official, the decision to authorize the use of the ATACMS was driven in part by the recent involvement of the North Korean troops in the fighting. 'This is an impeachable offense.' By maintaining a foothold in Kursk with the help of long-range missiles, Ukraine might be in a better bargaining position in January should Trump bring Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and Putin to the negotiating table. The New York Times indicated that Ukrainians hope to be able to trade territory in Kursk for Ukrainian territory presently occupied by Russian forces. Reaction Zelenskyy noted Sunday evening, "I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort." "The plan for strengthening Ukraine is the Victory Plan that I presented to our partners. One of its key elements is providing our army with long-range capabilities," continued Zelenskyy. "There's been much said in the media today that we have received approval to take relative actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. These things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves." Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media, "If such a decision was really formulated and brought to the attention of the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict." The Washington Post noted that the decision was not altogether unexpected in Moscow. "The standoff will become even fiercer, and the talks will become more difficult," said Andrei Kartapolov, a former Russian Army officer and chairman of the parliamentary defense committee. "We expected them to escalate before the end of Biden's office — that was completely obvious." The Biden administration's decision, which comes with only months remaining in the Democratic president's term, amounts to a significant escalation that has various adversarial nations, especially China — whose alliance with Russia has grown considerably since Putin's invasion of Ukraine — paying close attention. 'Ukraine can't properly defend itself if one hand is tied behind its back.' There are presently tens of thousands of North Korean troops engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces. North Korea not only has a defense treaty with Russia but a firm mutual defense pact with China. Despite its defense obligations, China has emphasized that North Korea's presence in Ukraine is its "own business" and has signaled a reluctance to get directly bogged down in the conflict. Nevertheless, China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian desperately impressed upon his American counterparts the need for de-escalation. Responding to reports that the U.S. has cleared the use of the Army Tactical Missile System by Ukraine against Russia-based targets, Lin Jian, the spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, stated, "China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear, and an early ceasefire and pursuit of a political solution are in the interests of all parties. Promoting a de-escalation of the situation as soon as possible is the top priority." The Chinese regime also insisted that Russia, which executed a large-range missile and drone attack against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure over the weekend, should similarly pursue de-escalation. Some American lawmakers have expressed support for Ukraine's use of the missiles, including Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who stated, "Biden's decision to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of ATACMS in Russia is long-awaited progress. But it's critical that authorized targets include Russian oil refineries, which pump out the lifeblood of the Kremlin's war machine." Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (R) similarly expressed optimism over the development, stating Sunday, "If initial press reports are true, I am encouraged at the prospect of allowing Ukraine to use long-range ATACM missiles supplied by the U.S." Republican Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio) wrote, "Ukraine can't properly defend itself if one hand is tied behind its back. Today's news that the Biden Administration is finally allowing Ukraine to use some U.S.-provided ATACMS to strike limited targets within Russian territory is long overdue." Turner stressed the need to "put pressure on Vladimir Putin" ahead of Trump taking office. Other American lawmakers are less than enthused over the prospect of a shooting war with Russia. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted, "By authorizing long range missiles to strike inside Russia, Biden is committing an unconstitutional Act of War that endangers the lives of all U.S. citizens. This is an impeachable offense, but the reality is he’s an emasculated puppet of a deep state." Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale (R) wrote, "American long range missiles being used to attack Russia? As many as 12,000 North Korean troops staged in Russia. When will Congress reclaim its authority and stop this proxy war we are entangled in?!" Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-reportedly-clears-ukraine-to-take-actions-that-putin-suggested-would-trigger-nato-russia-war

2024-11-18 16:32:23

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/msnbc-s-morning-joe-hosts-meet-with-trump-for-the-first-time-in-7-years-as-viewership-plummets.jpg?id=54560144&width=980
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," announced Monday they had met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week in an effort to reopen the lines of communication for the first time in seven years. Scarborough and Brzezinski, who are married, told the audience that although they disagree with Trump on most issues, they felt it was important to speak with him following the "five years of political warfare" that has divided our country. Notably, this announcement was made after the network's viewership has reportedly plummeted by a double-digit percentage drop since Election Day. 'Joe and I realized it's time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.'"Over the past week, Joe and I have heard from so many people, from political leaders to regular citizens deeply dismayed by several of President-elect Trump's Cabinet selections, and they are scared," Brzezinski said. "Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. "On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that," Brzezinski continued. "Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years."The co-hosts have been some of Trump's most vocal critics for nearly a decade, as well as frequently hosting prominent Democratic lawmakers on their platform. Despite their differences, Scarborough and Brzezinski noted it was their job as commentators to set aside their disagreements. "Now, we talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets," Scarborough said. "We talked about that a good bit. And it's gonna come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of issues. And we told him so." "What we did agree on was to restart communications," Brzezinski said. The co-hosts also emphasized Trump's desire to work across the aisle with Democrats and to mend the division our country has experienced over the years. "My father often spoke with world leaders with whom he and the United States profoundly disagreed," Brzezinski continued. "That's a task shared by reporters and communicators alike." "In this meeting, President Trump was tearful. He was upbeat. He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues," Brzezinski said. "And for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, why wouldn't we?"Brzezinski went on to say that although they personally disagreed with Trump, they wanted to factor in the tens of millions of people who supported him. "Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country," Brzezinski said. "We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump's actions and words in the coarsening of public debate.""But for nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, and January 6 were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote," Brzezinski continued. "Joe and I realized it's time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him."Trump also spoke to Fox News of the meeting, saying it was "extremely cordial.""In order to Make America Great Again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair, and open media or press," Trump told Fox News."Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication," he said. "In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago." "And while many others are calling for meetings, I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding, or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly or even badly beyond comprehension," Trump continued. "I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/msnbcs-morning-joe-hosts-meet-with-trump-for-the-first-time-in-7-years-as-viewership-plummets

2024-11-18 16:31:50

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/biden-reportedly-clears-ukraine-to-take-actions-that-putin-suggested-would-trigger-nato-russia-war.jpg?id=54561987&width=980
The Biden administration has reportedly cleared Ukraine to use American long-range missile systems against targets in Russia — a move long urged by Ukrainian officials, resisted by U.S. officials concerned about escalation, and identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a trigger for a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Background In February, President Joe Biden secretly signed off on the transfer of the Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Garron Garn told CNN that following Biden's approval, the ATACMS were included in the $300 million aid package announced on March 12 then delivered the following month. The American-made supersonic missiles have a range of up to 190 miles. Ukraine also has British-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of 155 miles. The U.S. has blocked the use of such weapons in recent months over fears of escalation. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed in September that the Biden administration was considering clearing Ukraine to start lobbing them into Russia, citing the need to adjust and adapt "as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed." Putin, whose nation has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles, responded to Blinken's suggestion by telling a reporter, "It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia." Putin, who invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, claims the use of ATACMS would constitute direct action on the part of the U.S. because American satellite reconnaissance would allegedly be necessary for successful missile strikes. He noted in June, "Ukrainian servicemen cannot do everything on their own and strike with this missile. They are simply technologically incapable of doing this." He equated an ATACMS strike as the work of the Pentagon and a Storm Shadow strike as the work of the British government. Escalation According to Reuters, two American officials and a third source familiar with the decision confirmed that the Biden administration has cleared Ukraine to employ the missiles internationally and that the first of the long-range missile strikes are expected to take place in the coming days. A U.S. official told CNN that the missiles will likely hit targets in the Kursk region of Russia, where Kyiv launched its summer counteroffensive and where Moscow recently deployed nearly 50,000 troops, including North Korean soldiers. According to one official, the decision to authorize the use of the ATACMS was driven in part by the recent involvement of the North Korean troops in the fighting. 'This is an impeachable offense.' By maintaining a foothold in Kursk with the help of long-range missiles, Ukraine might be in a better bargaining position in January should Trump bring Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and Putin to the negotiating table. The New York Times indicated that Ukrainians hope to be able to trade territory in Kursk for Ukrainian territory presently occupied by Russian forces. Reaction Zelenskyy noted Sunday evening, "I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort." "The plan for strengthening Ukraine is the Victory Plan that I presented to our partners. One of its key elements is providing our army with long-range capabilities," continued Zelenskyy. "There's been much said in the media today that we have received approval to take relative actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. These things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves." Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media, "If such a decision was really formulated and brought to the attention of the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict." The Washington Post noted that the decision was not altogether unexpected in Moscow. "The standoff will become even fiercer, and the talks will become more difficult," said Andrei Kartapolov, a former Russian Army officer and chairman of the parliamentary defense committee. "We expected them to escalate before the end of Biden's office — that was completely obvious." The Biden administration's decision, which comes with only months remaining in the Democratic president's term, amounts to a significant escalation that has various adversarial nations, especially China — whose alliance with Russia has grown considerably since Putin's invasion of Ukraine — paying close attention. 'Ukraine can't properly defend itself if one hand is tied behind its back.' There are presently tens of thousands of North Korean troops engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces. North Korea not only has a defense treaty with Russia but a firm mutual defense pact with China. Despite its defense obligations, China has emphasized that North Korea's presence in Ukraine is its "own business" and has signaled a reluctance to get directly bogged down in the conflict. Nevertheless, China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian desperately impressed upon his American counterparts the need for de-escalation. Responding to reports that the U.S. has cleared the use of the Army Tactical Missile System by Ukraine against Russia-based targets, Lin Jian, the spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, stated, "China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear, and an early ceasefire and pursuit of a political solution are in the interests of all parties. Promoting a de-escalation of the situation as soon as possible is the top priority." The Chinese regime also insisted that Russia, which executed a large-range missile and drone attack against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure over the weekend, should similarly pursue de-escalation. Some American lawmakers have expressed support for Ukraine's use of the missiles, including Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who stated, "Biden's decision to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of ATACMS in Russia is long-awaited progress. But it's critical that authorized targets include Russian oil refineries, which pump out the lifeblood of the Kremlin's war machine." Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (R) similarly expressed optimism over the development, stating Sunday, "If initial press reports are true, I am encouraged at the prospect of allowing Ukraine to use long-range ATACM missiles supplied by the U.S." Republican Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio) wrote, "Ukraine can't properly defend itself if one hand is tied behind its back. Today's news that the Biden Administration is finally allowing Ukraine to use some U.S.-provided ATACMS to strike limited targets within Russian territory is long overdue." Turner stressed the need to "put pressure on Vladimir Putin" ahead of Trump taking office. Other American lawmakers are less than enthused over the prospect of a shooting war with Russia. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted, "By authorizing long range missiles to strike inside Russia, Biden is committing an unconstitutional Act of War that endangers the lives of all U.S. citizens. This is an impeachable offense, but the reality is he’s an emasculated puppet of a deep state." Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale (R) wrote, "American long range missiles being used to attack Russia? As many as 12,000 North Korean troops staged in Russia. When will Congress reclaim its authority and stop this proxy war we are entangled in?!" Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-reportedly-clears-ukraine-to-take-actions-that-putin-suggested-would-trigger-nato-russia-war

2024-11-18 16:31:49

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/msnbc-s-morning-joe-hosts-meet-with-trump-for-the-first-time-in-7-years-as-viewership-plummets.jpg?id=54560144&width=980
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," announced Monday they had met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week in an effort to reopen the lines of communication for the first time in seven years. Scarborough and Brzezinski, who are married, told the audience that although they disagree with Trump on most issues, they felt it was important to speak with him following the "five years of political warfare" that has divided our country. Notably, this announcement was made after the network's viewership has reportedly plummeted by a double-digit percentage drop since Election Day. 'Joe and I realized it's time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.'"Over the past week, Joe and I have heard from so many people, from political leaders to regular citizens deeply dismayed by several of President-elect Trump's Cabinet selections, and they are scared," Brzezinski said. "Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. "On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that," Brzezinski continued. "Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years."The co-hosts have been some of Trump's most vocal critics for nearly a decade, as well as frequently hosting prominent Democratic lawmakers on their platform. Despite their differences, Scarborough and Brzezinski noted it was their job as commentators to set aside their disagreements. "Now, we talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets," Scarborough said. "We talked about that a good bit. And it's gonna come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of issues. And we told him so." "What we did agree on was to restart communications," Brzezinski said. The co-hosts also emphasized Trump's desire to work across the aisle with Democrats and to mend the division our country has experienced over the years. "My father often spoke with world leaders with whom he and the United States profoundly disagreed," Brzezinski continued. "That's a task shared by reporters and communicators alike." "In this meeting, President Trump was tearful. He was upbeat. He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues," Brzezinski said. "And for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, why wouldn't we?"Brzezinski went on to say that although they personally disagreed with Trump, they wanted to factor in the tens of millions of people who supported him. "Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country," Brzezinski said. "We have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trump's actions and words in the coarsening of public debate.""But for nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, and January 6 were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote," Brzezinski continued. "Joe and I realized it's time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him."Trump also spoke to Fox News of the meeting, saying it was "extremely cordial.""In order to Make America Great Again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair, and open media or press," Trump told Fox News."Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication," he said. "In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago." "And while many others are calling for meetings, I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding, or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly or even badly beyond comprehension," Trump continued. "I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/msnbcs-morning-joe-hosts-meet-with-trump-for-the-first-time-in-7-years-as-viewership-plummets

2024-11-17 18:02:46

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/blaze-news-original-christians-to-provide-happy-thanksgiving-to-hurricane-victims-in-western-north-carolina.jpg?id=54501440&width=980
As devastating as the images were coming out of Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene in late September, sadly, it is all too easy for those of us personally unaffected by the storm to move on with our lives. Emotions were high leading up to the election, and now supporters of President-elect Donald Trump have focused much of their attention on the prospects of his second term. Not so for those in North Carolina. Though voter turnout was still remarkably high in North Carolina, exceeding turnout in 2020 by more than 100,000 votes and exceeding 2016 numbers by more than 1 million, much of the western part of the state, normally protected from the storms that batter the coast with some regularity, remains wiped out from flooding. Not content to carry on with the holiday season while their compatriots across the state still suffer, some Christians in an eastern region of North Carolina have made preparations to provide supplies, Bibles, and a hearty Thanksgiving meal to those in need. To learn more about what has been dubbed Operation Thanksgiving Blessings, Blaze News spoke with the man behind the plans, David Burke, who in turn prefers to give all the credit to someone else. "No way in the world would all this stuff ever have happened if it wasn't for God," he said, adding with a laugh, "I'm not that smart." Operation Thanksgiving Blessings Blaze News spoke with Burke on multiple occasions and can verify that he is, indeed, that smart. By trade a project manager for a metal fabrication company, Burke has also been known to dabble in some cooking competitions. "I was ranked as high as #3 in the state of North Carolina for whole-hog BBQ competition with the Roth Carolina Pork Council," he noted proudly in a message to Blaze News. After attending church one Sunday morning in early October, just a week or so after Hurricane Helene ravaged his state, Burke sensed that he had to do more for the victims than pray or write a check. "The Sunday school lesson was on home community service, of all things," he said. "I'm 59 years old. Never once have I had a Sunday school lesson on community service until about three weeks ago, four weeks ago." David Burke, speaking to children at a church that donated 100 Bibles for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Photo used with permission. After a series of coincidences, putting Burke in touch with people living hours away, he finally figured out what he was going to do: arrange to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for those living in an area that has thus far received little help from the government. Citing Newland, North Carolina, Mayor Derek Roberts, who claimed his daughter received just $300 from FEMA after losing her entire house to the flooding, Burke claimed that government assistance has been almost nonexistent in some cases and that the people of Western North Carolina have more or less had to fend for themselves. "I knew right then that's where we needed to go," Burke told Blaze News. Burke lives near Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, a rural area about 100 miles northeast of Raleigh and more than 260 miles east — about a six-hour drive — from Elk Park, the area he intended to feed. The distance and the scope of his plans meant that Burke needed help. As so many people do these days, Burke turned to social media, creating a Facebook page as a landing site for those interested in getting involved. And, as it were, the floodgates opened. Famed turkey company Butterball donated 100 turkeys weighing about 24 pounds each. Glover Construction is providing enough ingredients to make 300 gallons of Brunswick stew, a local staple that Burke described as "a thick vegetable soup." Even an area prison with a farm on its grounds reportedly offered 180 dozen eggs — more than 2,100 total — for the effort. Restaurants such as Napoli Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Murfreesboro chipped in by holding fundraisers. By pooling all proceeds from the fundraiser — including tips — Napoli's alone collected $4,000 for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Napoli's owner, Mari Rizo, told Blaze News she was thrilled with the success of the fundraiser. "At Napoli's Pizza and Italian Restaurant, we’ve always believed in the power of community. When we heard about the devastating impact of the hurricane on families in Western North Carolina, we felt compelled to help. Our team wanted to do something meaningful to give back, especially with Thanksgiving approaching," Rizo said in a statement to Blaze News. "To the families in Western North Carolina who are facing difficult times, we want you to know that we are thinking of you. We hope that this gesture helps to bring some comfort and joy to your holiday. Our hearts are with you, and we will continue to do everything we can to support you through this difficult time." Photo of Napoli's fundraiser. Used with permission. The Seaboard Lions Club, of which Burke is a member, has also collected monetary and supply donations and stored them on the organization's 20-acre site. "Everybody knows somebody, and in our world, the more people you know ... [the] better off you are," Burke said of the growing network of donors and volunteers involved with Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Burke told Blaze News that his initial goal was to cook and serve about 5,000 total meals on Thanksgiving Day, but that goal expanded after he spoke with a woman who had a similar idea about feeding others living near Fletcher, North Carolina — about 90 miles away from Elk Park — on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. "We got another 40 turkeys donated and another 20 hams, and so what we're gonna do is we're gonna cook all that food for those 500 as well on Thanksgiving Day, and we'll pack it in bulk and send it to her. And then all she'll have to do is warm it back up and serve 500 people on Saturday as well," Burke explained. As generous as a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal is, the food represents just a tiny fraction of the goods and services Operation Thanksgiving Blessings will offer those in Western North Carolina. Burke and his team have loaded 53-foot trailers with other supplies as well, including clothes for the winter, heaters, blankets, baby supplies, gloves, hats, personal hygiene items, paper products, and cleaning supplies. ORBIS Corporation even donated 750 plastic bins for storage, a necessity for folks who lost not only all their possessions but a place in which to keep them. "ORBIS is honored to support this incredible cause and support the people of Western North Carolina in their time of need," the company told Blaze News. Photo of supplies. Used with permission. The details The crew from the Roanoke Rapids area has already begun packing up trailers and trucks, ready to haul everything out to the western part of the state just a day or so before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day, they will set up shop at Cranberry Middle School at 6051 N. U.S. Hwy 19E in Elk Park, North Carolina. Folks can begin arriving at 11 a.m. and sit down and enjoy their meal or pick one up and take it to go. Screenshot of flyer featured on OTB Facebook page. Used with permission. Burke told Blaze News that his group has all the supplies and donations it can handle. He suggested that anyone still interested in making a monetary donation mail a check to the Seaboard Lions Club at P.O. Box 76, Seaboard, North Carolina, 27876. Sending it to David Burke's attention and including "OTB" on the memo line of the check will help earmark it for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Burke emphasized to Blaze News that "every red penny" the Lions Club receives will be distributed to people living in and around Elk Park. Ever committed to transparency, Burke even offered to have Blaze News share his private phone number in this article, an offer that we politely declined. "I don't want people to sit around and wonder what we're doing," he explained. "I want them to see exactly what's going on and see God at work." Feeding bellies and souls Burke, a devout Christian, takes the biblical call to love and serve others seriously, and he is happy to use his talents as a project manager and as a chef to give those who have lost all their material possessions a Thanksgiving meal they will never forget. However, he believes that evangelizing them for Christ is even more important. "We're looking for that one person out there that doesn't believe, doesn't think God is real," he told Blaze News, "and it is our hope that we can change his mind or her mind." "By showing them that people care and that God has been working this whole time to make all this come together, maybe, just maybe, we'll save that one," he continued. Burke is hardly the only Christian involved in Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. In fact, he has teamed up with members of churches across the state to identify and reach people in need. For instance, Burke connected with a pastor from his hometown of Murfreesboro but now living in Boone, North Carolina, who began collecting supplies sent via Amazon from all over the country. Burke also made contact with the student body president of Appalachian State University, who once attended Sunday school taught by Burke and his wife. "I called and talked to her, and I told her ... 'Go out there, and you tell these people that you're gonna come bring some help to them at Thanksgiving. ... And I'll be standing right behind you,'" he recalled to Blaze News. "I said, 'You've been on mission trips with me before. You know exactly what I want to get done. So let's see if we can make it happen.'" Burke acknowledged to Blaze News that some people, especially those who lost their homes, pets, and even loved ones in Hurricane Helene might struggle to believe in a loving, all-powerful God. But he added that faith in the face of doubt is still the answer. "Why did God let this happen? I can't answer that question, but it's all within His plan," he explained. "His plan has meaning. He doesn't make any mistakes, and so all we have to do is we have to have the faith." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/blaze-news-original-christians-to-provide-happy-thanksgiving-to-hurricane-victims-in-western-north-carolina

2024-11-17 18:02:46

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54530418&width=980
Donald Trump won the election, but that isn’t the only win Americans are seeing. “This was really not an election of Trump versus Kamala, it was really an election on reality and how many people had woken up to something roughly real that they were getting versus the endless lies of the mainstream media,” Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” explains. “I mean, CNN is now talking about the podcasters and the online streamers and everything else. MSNBC is now for sale via Comcast. CNN, it’s now being reported, is about to axe a bunch of their top talent,” he adds. Megyn Kelly is in full agreement, noting that unlike Kamala, who relied on the mainstream media, Trump utilized the podcast circuit to get his message out to voters. “The young people do not watch cable news at all. Older people, senior citizens watch cable news,” Kelly says, adding that because of the memes, commentary, and fact checking on social-media, “mainstream anchors could not get away with the lies they were telling.” “The Tim Walz stolen valor stuff, that exploded online. We all really had a massive role in shaping the narrative in a way that would have been unthinkable even four years ago,” she says, “It’s a totally new game now.” When Kelly worked at Fox News, she recalls the media company refusing to entertain actress Jenny McCarthy’s claims that the childhood vaccine schedule was way over-the-top — and now it’s the same thing with trans ideology and pronouns. “I remember Fox News being like, ‘Oh, hell no, we are not even going there,’ and now today the same thing is happening with the trans stuff. Fox News uses quote ‘preferred pronouns.’ That’s a news corp. policy. They say ‘he’ when it should be ‘she,’” Kelly explains. “You could never have the frank and honest discussions that we have on our shows about race, race essentialism, the election denialism stuff, the COVID truths,” she continues. “I only would really put it together later that a lot of that is driven by just the agenda of the owners and the people at the top, and a lot of it is driven by the advertisers.” “I mean, RFK Jr. is not wrong when he points out what a huge advertiser Pfizer is all over television,” she adds. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-rubin-report/mainstream-media-2669892077

2024-11-17 18:01:39

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/blaze-news-original-christians-to-provide-happy-thanksgiving-to-hurricane-victims-in-western-north-carolina.jpg?id=54501440&width=980
As devastating as the images were coming out of Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene in late September, sadly, it is all too easy for those of us personally unaffected by the storm to move on with our lives. Emotions were high leading up to the election, and now supporters of President-elect Donald Trump have focused much of their attention on the prospects of his second term. Not so for those in North Carolina. Though voter turnout was still remarkably high in North Carolina, exceeding turnout in 2020 by more than 100,000 votes and exceeding 2016 numbers by more than 1 million, much of the western part of the state, normally protected from the storms that batter the coast with some regularity, remains wiped out from flooding. Not content to carry on with the holiday season while their compatriots across the state still suffer, some Christians in an eastern region of North Carolina have made preparations to provide supplies, Bibles, and a hearty Thanksgiving meal to those in need. To learn more about what has been dubbed Operation Thanksgiving Blessings, Blaze News spoke with the man behind the plans, David Burke, who in turn prefers to give all the credit to someone else. "No way in the world would all this stuff ever have happened if it wasn't for God," he said, adding with a laugh, "I'm not that smart." Operation Thanksgiving Blessings Blaze News spoke with Burke on multiple occasions and can verify that he is, indeed, that smart. By trade a project manager for a metal fabrication company, Burke has also been known to dabble in some cooking competitions. "I was ranked as high as #3 in the state of North Carolina for whole-hog BBQ competition with the Roth Carolina Pork Council," he noted proudly in a message to Blaze News. After attending church one Sunday morning in early October, just a week or so after Hurricane Helene ravaged his state, Burke sensed that he had to do more for the victims than pray or write a check. "The Sunday school lesson was on home community service, of all things," he said. "I'm 59 years old. Never once have I had a Sunday school lesson on community service until about three weeks ago, four weeks ago." David Burke, speaking to children at a church that donated 100 Bibles for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Photo used with permission. After a series of coincidences, putting Burke in touch with people living hours away, he finally figured out what he was going to do: arrange to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for those living in an area that has thus far received little help from the government. Citing Newland, North Carolina, Mayor Derek Roberts, who claimed his daughter received just $300 from FEMA after losing her entire house to the flooding, Burke claimed that government assistance has been almost nonexistent in some cases and that the people of Western North Carolina have more or less had to fend for themselves. "I knew right then that's where we needed to go," Burke told Blaze News. Burke lives near Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, a rural area about 100 miles northeast of Raleigh and more than 260 miles east — about a six-hour drive — from Elk Park, the area he intended to feed. The distance and the scope of his plans meant that Burke needed help. As so many people do these days, Burke turned to social media, creating a Facebook page as a landing site for those interested in getting involved. And, as it were, the floodgates opened. Famed turkey company Butterball donated 100 turkeys weighing about 24 pounds each. Glover Construction is providing enough ingredients to make 300 gallons of Brunswick stew, a local staple that Burke described as "a thick vegetable soup." Even an area prison with a farm on its grounds reportedly offered 180 dozen eggs — more than 2,100 total — for the effort. Restaurants such as Napoli Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Murfreesboro chipped in by holding fundraisers. By pooling all proceeds from the fundraiser — including tips — Napoli's alone collected $4,000 for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Napoli's owner, Mari Rizo, told Blaze News she was thrilled with the success of the fundraiser. "At Napoli's Pizza and Italian Restaurant, we’ve always believed in the power of community. When we heard about the devastating impact of the hurricane on families in Western North Carolina, we felt compelled to help. Our team wanted to do something meaningful to give back, especially with Thanksgiving approaching," Rizo said in a statement to Blaze News. "To the families in Western North Carolina who are facing difficult times, we want you to know that we are thinking of you. We hope that this gesture helps to bring some comfort and joy to your holiday. Our hearts are with you, and we will continue to do everything we can to support you through this difficult time." Photo of Napoli's fundraiser. Used with permission. The Seaboard Lions Club, of which Burke is a member, has also collected monetary and supply donations and stored them on the organization's 20-acre site. "Everybody knows somebody, and in our world, the more people you know ... [the] better off you are," Burke said of the growing network of donors and volunteers involved with Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Burke told Blaze News that his initial goal was to cook and serve about 5,000 total meals on Thanksgiving Day, but that goal expanded after he spoke with a woman who had a similar idea about feeding others living near Fletcher, North Carolina — about 90 miles away from Elk Park — on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. "We got another 40 turkeys donated and another 20 hams, and so what we're gonna do is we're gonna cook all that food for those 500 as well on Thanksgiving Day, and we'll pack it in bulk and send it to her. And then all she'll have to do is warm it back up and serve 500 people on Saturday as well," Burke explained. As generous as a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal is, the food represents just a tiny fraction of the goods and services Operation Thanksgiving Blessings will offer those in Western North Carolina. Burke and his team have loaded 53-foot trailers with other supplies as well, including clothes for the winter, heaters, blankets, baby supplies, gloves, hats, personal hygiene items, paper products, and cleaning supplies. ORBIS Corporation even donated 750 plastic bins for storage, a necessity for folks who lost not only all their possessions but a place in which to keep them. "ORBIS is honored to support this incredible cause and support the people of Western North Carolina in their time of need," the company told Blaze News. Photo of supplies. Used with permission. The details The crew from the Roanoke Rapids area has already begun packing up trailers and trucks, ready to haul everything out to the western part of the state just a day or so before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day, they will set up shop at Cranberry Middle School at 6051 N. U.S. Hwy 19E in Elk Park, North Carolina. Folks can begin arriving at 11 a.m. and sit down and enjoy their meal or pick one up and take it to go. Screenshot of flyer featured on OTB Facebook page. Used with permission. Burke told Blaze News that his group has all the supplies and donations it can handle. He suggested that anyone still interested in making a monetary donation mail a check to the Seaboard Lions Club at P.O. Box 76, Seaboard, North Carolina, 27876. Sending it to David Burke's attention and including "OTB" on the memo line of the check will help earmark it for Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. Burke emphasized to Blaze News that "every red penny" the Lions Club receives will be distributed to people living in and around Elk Park. Ever committed to transparency, Burke even offered to have Blaze News share his private phone number in this article, an offer that we politely declined. "I don't want people to sit around and wonder what we're doing," he explained. "I want them to see exactly what's going on and see God at work." Feeding bellies and souls Burke, a devout Christian, takes the biblical call to love and serve others seriously, and he is happy to use his talents as a project manager and as a chef to give those who have lost all their material possessions a Thanksgiving meal they will never forget. However, he believes that evangelizing them for Christ is even more important. "We're looking for that one person out there that doesn't believe, doesn't think God is real," he told Blaze News, "and it is our hope that we can change his mind or her mind." "By showing them that people care and that God has been working this whole time to make all this come together, maybe, just maybe, we'll save that one," he continued. Burke is hardly the only Christian involved in Operation Thanksgiving Blessings. In fact, he has teamed up with members of churches across the state to identify and reach people in need. For instance, Burke connected with a pastor from his hometown of Murfreesboro but now living in Boone, North Carolina, who began collecting supplies sent via Amazon from all over the country. Burke also made contact with the student body president of Appalachian State University, who once attended Sunday school taught by Burke and his wife. "I called and talked to her, and I told her ... 'Go out there, and you tell these people that you're gonna come bring some help to them at Thanksgiving. ... And I'll be standing right behind you,'" he recalled to Blaze News. "I said, 'You've been on mission trips with me before. You know exactly what I want to get done. So let's see if we can make it happen.'" Burke acknowledged to Blaze News that some people, especially those who lost their homes, pets, and even loved ones in Hurricane Helene might struggle to believe in a loving, all-powerful God. But he added that faith in the face of doubt is still the answer. "Why did God let this happen? I can't answer that question, but it's all within His plan," he explained. "His plan has meaning. He doesn't make any mistakes, and so all we have to do is we have to have the faith." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/blaze-news-original-christians-to-provide-happy-thanksgiving-to-hurricane-victims-in-western-north-carolina

2024-11-17 18:01:39

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54530418&width=980
Donald Trump won the election, but that isn’t the only win Americans are seeing. “This was really not an election of Trump versus Kamala, it was really an election on reality and how many people had woken up to something roughly real that they were getting versus the endless lies of the mainstream media,” Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” explains. “I mean, CNN is now talking about the podcasters and the online streamers and everything else. MSNBC is now for sale via Comcast. CNN, it’s now being reported, is about to axe a bunch of their top talent,” he adds. Megyn Kelly is in full agreement, noting that unlike Kamala, who relied on the mainstream media, Trump utilized the podcast circuit to get his message out to voters. “The young people do not watch cable news at all. Older people, senior citizens watch cable news,” Kelly says, adding that because of the memes, commentary, and fact checking on social-media, “mainstream anchors could not get away with the lies they were telling.” “The Tim Walz stolen valor stuff, that exploded online. We all really had a massive role in shaping the narrative in a way that would have been unthinkable even four years ago,” she says, “It’s a totally new game now.” When Kelly worked at Fox News, she recalls the media company refusing to entertain actress Jenny McCarthy’s claims that the childhood vaccine schedule was way over-the-top — and now it’s the same thing with trans ideology and pronouns. “I remember Fox News being like, ‘Oh, hell no, we are not even going there,’ and now today the same thing is happening with the trans stuff. Fox News uses quote ‘preferred pronouns.’ That’s a news corp. policy. They say ‘he’ when it should be ‘she,’” Kelly explains. “You could never have the frank and honest discussions that we have on our shows about race, race essentialism, the election denialism stuff, the COVID truths,” she continues. “I only would really put it together later that a lot of that is driven by just the agenda of the owners and the people at the top, and a lot of it is driven by the advertisers.” “I mean, RFK Jr. is not wrong when he points out what a huge advertiser Pfizer is all over television,” she adds. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-rubin-report/mainstream-media-2669892077

2024-11-17 03:00:36

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/abandoned-by-democrats-voters-find-a-voice-in-trumps-agenda.jpg?id=54491138&width=980
People often ask how a former Bernie Sanders supporter like me could back Donald Trump. For me, it came down to one key issue: the Democrats’ abandonment of the working class. Sanders himself recently said it’s no wonder working Americans are leaving a party that no longer serves them.The presidential election underscored this shift, as Trump saw record turnout among black and Latino voters. Yet instead of asking why, the left resorted to lazy stereotypes. MSNBC and other networks labeled black men “misogynists” and Latinos “racists” simply for voting Republican. These dismissive labels only deepen the disconnect. Rather than recognizing the cracks in their base, Democrats brush off real concerns, assuming they’ll regain minority support in a few years without changing their tone or agenda.It’s no surprise that Americans turned out in record numbers for Trump, drawn to his focus on real issues and his willingness to engage with them directly.The truth is simple: The Democrats lost because they stopped listening to everyday Americans.Over time, they shifted focus to appeasing radical supporters and coastal elites. Instead of tackling economic issues like jobs and inflation, Democrats centered their platform on identity politics and social issues that resonate mainly with urban and affluent progressives. This approach alienates Americans grappling with real-world issues — concerns Democrats used to prioritize but now dismiss as outdated or irrelevant.This election cycle highlighted that disconnect. Democratic elites like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and their Hollywood allies spent more time lecturing Americans on how they should think and vote than addressing their daily struggles. For voters barely getting by, these lectures felt out of touch and tone-deaf.Democrats focused almost exclusively on women’s issues, especially abortion, neglecting the bread-and-butter topics most Americans care about: job security, rising costs, and public safety. Men — and the average voter — were left feeling sidelined by a party that once claimed to represent them. The Democrats’ relentless single-issue focus underscored a shift from uniting Americans to dividing them by identity.Meanwhile, Trump and GOP leaders like JD Vance took a different approach. While Harris skipped major bipartisan events like the Al Smith Dinner, Trump showed up where it mattered — flipping burgers at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, while Vance poured beers at a Wisconsin pub. These weren’t just photo ops; they were genuine efforts to connect with everyday Americans, listen to their concerns, and emphasize shared values. By showing up, Trump and his team reminded voters that they’re willing to meet people where they are — a concept Democrats seem to have forgotten.Trump didn’t stop there. Recognizing Americans’ desire for unity over division, his campaign built a coalition that crossed traditional party lines. He assembled a bipartisan “Avengers” task force, featuring figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and even Elon Musk. This team focused on issues that unite Americans — economic security, public safety, and national sovereignty. It was a sharp contrast to the Democrats’ divisive identity politics, and it resonated with voters tired of being labeled as “the problem” or forced to align on every single issue.Harris’ campaign, in contrast, spent nearly three times as much as Trump’s, burning through close to $1 billion, only to underperform Biden’s 2020 numbers and end $20 million in debt. Harris simply didn’t connect with voters. Her race-driven messaging left many feeling overlooked and undervalued. Instead of addressing real concerns, her campaign focused on topics that, while important to some, missed the mark for a large slice of the voting population. It’s no surprise that Americans turned out in record numbers for Trump, drawn to his focus on real issues and his willingness to engage with them directly.The Democrats’ refusal to listen or adapt led to a massive red wave, as voters from diverse backgrounds chose a path that aligns with their lived realities. Trump’s approach resonated because it addressed the everyday struggles Americans face.People are tired of empty promises and tone-deaf lectures from leaders who seem out of touch. They want leaders who speak to their concerns about jobs, safety, and economic opportunity — leaders who prioritize practical solutions over ideological rigidity. While Democrats continue to alienate voters by talking down to them and dismissing dissent, Republicans are building a coalition that listens to and values Americans across all walks of life.The facts of this election reveal that the Democratic Party’s focus on ideological purity has cost Democrats their connection to the everyday American. Working-class families, once the backbone of the Democratic base, are tired of empty promises and divisive rhetoric. They’re rejecting a narrative that labels them “racists” or “misogynists” simply for voting in their own best interests. Instead, they’re joining a movement that prioritizes their voices, addresses their concerns, and puts America first.Trump’s win isn’t just a victory for one candidate; it’s a triumph for Americans who want their voices heard. It sends a message to Washington that people are finished with being dismissed and sidelined. They have chosen leaders who stand up for real issues and who are unafraid to challenge a political establishment that, for too long, has forgotten whom it serves.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/abandoned-by-democrats-voters-find-a-voice-in-trumps-agenda

2024-11-15 02:07:15

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/crucible-of-champions-the-isolated-region-that-breeds-the-ufc-s-stone-cold-killers.jpg?id=54500590&width=980
At UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Khamzat Chimaev, a beast from Chechnya, showed the world why he’s becoming one of the most feared men in mixed martial arts. Known for his brutal, relentless style and the nickname “Borz” (“wolf” in Chechen), Chimaev didn’t just beat former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker — he tore through him with a ruthless efficiency that left fans stunned. Within minutes, Whittaker — a fighter known for his strength and skill — was battered, his jaw tested by vicious strikes. From a young age, boys learn to endure cold, navigate difficult terrain, and face challenges head-on. They don’t just hear stories of heroes; they are expected to become them. Whittaker wasn’t just outclassed. He was embarrassed, thrown around like a cheap rag doll. But to truly grasp the depth of Chimaev’s dominance, one has to understand where he comes from and what fuels him. Where champions are made The North Caucasus is a place synonymous with survival. These rugged mountains, shadowed by centuries of struggle, breed people with an iron sense of identity. No trans madness here. No teaching children that there are 700 different genders. In places like Dagestan and Chechnya, where empires and Soviet boots once pressed down, boys aren’t just taught to fight; they’re taught to endure, to dominate, to win at all costs. Fighting here isn’t recreation; it’s in the blood. It is, for many, a ticket to a better life. While kids in the U.S. are glued to screens, boys here are rolling on mats, learning skills that build character and raw strength. Sure, they shed a tear — they are children, after all — but quickly wipe them away and resume training. In America and other affluent Western nations, parents often cushion their children against the hard knocks of reality. Playgrounds are rubber-padded, and competitive games come with participation trophies. Schools emphasize positive reinforcement and conflict resolution through dialogue. Safety and self-expression are the goals. But only a fool would deny that this soft approach has eroded the concept of toughness. Children in the U.S. and beyond, especially boys, are becoming weaker, both mentally and physically. Contrast this with the North Caucasus, where raising boys is less about emotional insulation and more about preparing them for an unforgiving world. Here, childhood is not an insulated period of delicate growth; it’s an initiation into manhood. From a young age, boys learn to endure cold, navigate difficult terrain, and face challenges head-on. They don’t just hear stories of heroes; they are expected to become them. The bar for what constitutes “soft” or “hard” is drawn starkly differently than in America. In the North Caucasus region, by the age of 10 a boy has already practiced wrestling in the dirt and spent cold nights learning survival skills outdoors. Here, every boy is like a mini Joe Rogan, minus the tattoos and impressive bank balance. Failure is seen as part of learning, not something to be avoided. The experience is grueling but purposeful — the expectation is to grow tough enough to shoulder family and community responsibilities. This isn’t cruelty; it’s preparation. Preparation for greatness.Epitome of greatness One cannot speak about greatness without discussing Khabib Nurmagomedov. To the people of Dagestan, he’s more than a champion. He’s a legend, revered with the same awe reserved for greats like Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan. Khabib is arguably the greatest UFC fighter of all time, a man who dominated with a ferocity that broke opponents. In the Octagon, he didn’t just win titles — he took souls. Stephen McCarthy If in doubt, let me point you in the direction of Conor McGregor. Before stepping into the ring with Khabib, he was the brightest star in the UFC, a fighter believed to be unbeatable. A sporting icon who had elevated himself to near-mythic status, McGregor was systematically dismantled by a monster from the mountains. The buildup to their fight was nasty, with McGregor hurling cheap shots at Khabib’s now-deceased father. However, the Irishman, then the undisputed king of trash talk, would soon find himself getting a taste of his own medicine. The moment the bell rang, McGregor, full of his usual swagger, quickly realized he was facing a fighter intent on destruction — specifically, the destruction of him and his legacy. Clash of civilizations The audience, the vast majority of whom expected yet another McGregor victory, also understood they were not just watching a contest; they were witnessing a reckoning. With each takedown, Khabib sent a message to the world. He was there to make history. His ground-and-pound wasn’t flashy, but it was brutal, precise, and mercilessly effective. McGregor’s legendary counter-punches, the lethal strikes that had taken down countless opponents, proved useless against the relentless force of the Dagestani. Every attempt to escape failed. Khabib was relentless, a human Terminator, there to take McGregor apart piece by piece. The Dubliner spent most of the fight flopping around like a trout on a fisherman’s deck, desperately gasping for air. In truth, October 6, 2018, was the day the Conor McGregor we knew and loved died. He never recovered. How could he? The Grim Reaper had just visited and violated him. While McGregor was busy nursing his bruised body and his battered ego, Khabib returned to his homeland a hero. To the young boys of Dagestan, he was — and remains — a symbol of what's possible. Meanwhile, in the West, many boys and girls worship fleeting idols — TikTok influencers and pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter — whose fame is built on hollow trends and fake personas. They are all style and zero substance. We often speak of being "advanced," but take a hard look at our children and ask yourself: Are we truly moving forward, or are we losing the core values that build resilience, character, and true strength? Khabib’s triumph was more than a victory — it was a reminder of what real heroes look like.
https://www.theblaze.com/align/crucible-of-champions-the-isolated-region-that-breeds-the-ufc-s-stone-cold-killers

2024-11-15 02:00:31

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54502858&width=980
Liberals online began wailing and gnashing their teeth almost immediately after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a seat in his Cabinet on Thursday.As had long been rumored, Trump tapped RFK Jr. to be health and human services secretary. During his independent run for president, RFK Jr. made health a major focus of his campaign.'Putting an anti-vaxxer in charge of public health is like putting the Unabomber in charge of the mail.'After Kennedy dropped out in August and formally endorsed Trump, social media became ablaze with the slogan "Make America Healthy Again," a phrase that Trump often uttered in the close of his rally speeches."I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," Trump wrote in a statement posted to X late Thursday afternoon.In his statement, Trump also called public health and safety an administration's "most important role" but said that lately, Americans have endured an "overwhelming Health Crisis" on account of "harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives."Under Kennedy's leadership, health agencies will fight back against the chronic disease "epidemic," return to the "Gold Standard" of scientific research, and become "beacons of Transparency," Trump continued. — (@) CNN reported that Kennedy accepted the nomination sometime on Thursday.In its article about the RFK nomination, the liberal outfit also described Kennedy as "one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists" and accused him of spreading "false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines." However, the outlet did not provide any examples of such alleged conspiracy theories.The New York Times also claimed in its headline about the nomination that Kennedy "spread false information about vaccines." Liberals online melted down over the news of Kennedy's nomination as well."Putting an anti-vaxxer in charge of public health is like putting the Unabomber in charge of the mail," tweeted the left-wing influencer known as Jo."It’s difficult to describe how utterly wretched RFK Jr. is. Not that I necessarily expect them to, but the Republican Senate *has* to put their foot down here. He’s one of the most deranged sociopaths in public life, and his war on childhood vaccination is unconscionable," wrote a user with 19K followers."RFK Jr. ran a spoiler campaign to help elect Donald Trump. Now, he’s reaping the benefits with a position that will jeopardize the health of millions of Americans," said a group of Democratic activists called End Citizens United.However, not all Democrats assailed the pick. Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado in fact cheered it, claiming that RFK Jr. would help take "on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly.""He will face strong special interest opposition on these, but I look forward to partnering with him to truly make America healthy again and I hope that we can finally make progress on these important issues," Polis added.One industry likely to be upset by the pick is Big Pharma. Shortly after Trump announced the nomination, the stocks of many pharmaceutical companies reportedly tanked.Kennedy did not make a statement about the Cabinet position but did retweet Trump's statement. Soon after Trump's landslide election victory, Kennedy hinted that he likely would be heavily involved in public health agencies during Trump's second term."President Trump has given me three instructions," Kennedy said, according to CNN. "He wants the corruption and the conflicts out of the regulatory agencies. He wants to return the agencies to the gold standard, empirically-based, evidence-based, science and medicine that they were once famous for. And he wants to end the chronic disease epidemic with measurable impacts on a diminishment of chronic disease within two years."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/trump-ruffles-more-feathers-with-rfk-jr-cabinet-pick

2024-11-15 01:54:25

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54501202&width=980
Donald Trump has made it official: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been tapped to run a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (or DOGE), tasked with slashing the federal bureaucracy and spending. “Their duty will be over by July 4, 2026, which is the 250th anniversary of America. So we’ve got a lot of work to do until then,” Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program” comments, thrilled with the news. The point of the Department of Government Efficiency is cutting waste in the government — though that might include mass firings of government employees. “Ramaswamy has come up with this great idea of how to fire people. OK, we know the problem is that you just can’t fire people because they’re just going to take you to court,” Glenn says. “If you’re running a company, and you need to reduce the size of the company, you will have companies that will just cut whole divisions because they don’t want any of the lawsuits.” “It has to be everybody, right? So what Ramaswamy has come up with, and he says this is only a thought exercise, but I think it’s brilliant. What he’s come up with is ‘We’re going to reduce the government by half, and here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to say everyone who has an odd number at the end of their social security number, you’re fired,’” Glenn explains. However, if an employee is elected to the office they hold, they can’t be fired this way. “If you’re elected into that office, you’re not fired. But everybody else, because we’re reducing the size of the government by half,” Glenn says. While Stu Burguiere loves the idea of reducing the government by half, he’s skeptical of the method potentially being employed. “Merit has nothing to do with random groups of firing, you want to fire the employees that suck,” Stu says. “To be able to get to the place where you have merit, you have to reduce the size of the government first. You have blood letting that have to happen,” Glenn responds. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy

2024-11-15 01:05:51

@nprofile…83nr
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/leftist-echo-chamber-cracks-as-alternative-media-gains-ground.jpg?id=54496021&width=980
Donald Trump dealt an earth-shattering blow to the American left. The reality television star not only secured a convincing win in the Electoral College but also captured the popular vote and carried down-ballot Republicans to victory, with the GOP taking control of the Senate and likely retaining the House. Typically, such a decisive mandate for the opposition would lead a political party to reflect on the policies or rhetoric that contributed to such a defeat. But Democrats are having none of that.Instead of examining their platform, tone toward the American people, or use of power, liberal pundits and politicians have reached a different conclusion. From MSNBC to CNN and HBO, they have conducted election postmortems, blaming their loss on one main problem: that the American people have too much free speech.Democrats had constructed a reality in which their ideology was unquestionable and their victory inevitable.A few thoughtful voices on the left have suggested that policies like opening the border, demonizing men, ignoring the economic struggles of middle Americans, and promoting radical gender politics to children may have hurt the Democrats' chances. Yet these moderating voices have been quickly labeled as racist and sexist, silenced by progressives deeply invested in their own radical ideology. Instead, the left has chosen to lay the blame for its loss on alternative media.The left has sounded the alarm about the dangers of misinformation and disinformation for years. Progressives once held a near-total monopoly over the elite institutions that shape ideological consensus in America. In a world where individuals are often isolated from real interactions or events, the dominant narrative provided by news and entertainment had the power to define reality. That is how a nation can be convinced to treat a severe flu like the Black Death. Democrats have lived inside this self-constructed reality for so long that they have forgotten its artificial nature — like a fish that doesn’t know it’s wet.Progressives genuinely believe Americans are inherently racist, sexist, and homophobic, and they worry that without a controlled flow of carefully curated information, people will revert to their “brutal” nature and start throwing Nazi salutes in honor of the eternal Trumpenreich. Leftist operatives don’t view themselves as propagandists because they rely on narratives shaped by a network of credentialed institutions.When progressives talk about “our democracy,” they really mean the consensus upheld by “experts” who show loyalty to their ideology. Any information that contradicts this narrative becomes “misinformation” — not because it’s factually incorrect but because it challenges their carefully curated information ecosystem.In this moment of utter defeat, Democrats have pointed fingers at podcasters like Joe Rogan and Theo Von, frustrated by their influence on young men. Some leftist pundits even suggest the need to create a “progressive Joe Rogan” or build their own network of influencers.But this approach is delusional on multiple levels. The left already has a massive influence network that spans mainstream media, Hollywood, corporate America, academia, and the unelected federal bureaucracy. Progressives don’t view this as an “influence network,” however. They see it as basic institutional reality. They have convinced themselves that the shadows they cast on the wall are reality, and anything outside them is nefarious and artificial.Progressives have plenty of young male influencers, like David Pakman and Hasan Piker. These voices enjoy major funding and the advantage of speaking with little to no fear of censorship from big tech. But it is exactly this obvious alliance with the status quo that dooms their efforts. Liberal commentators aren’t rebels speaking truth to power; they’re pushing on an open door. Their apparent lack of authenticity is palpable, and audiences sense it. This disconnect is so pronounced that Pakman recently made a video addressing the fact that his own audience is leaving in droves.The left’s challenge isn’t a lack of media reach. Despite emerging cracks in their foundation, progressives still hold significant influence over legacy media, education, and government bureaucracies that shape public opinion in the United States. The real problem is that each of these institutions has sacrificed its credibility in pursuit of ideological control. Soft power is delicate. It requires disciplined actors who can leverage institutional control without overtly advancing their own interests. Progressives have lost all such discipline and burned the precious currency of institutional legitimacy for short-term gain. Now they will reap the whirlwind.The left still has extensive media representation, but it no longer holds a media monopoly. Despite a substantial advantage in funding, prestige, and infrastructure, audiences are abandoning traditional media because of their consistent misinformation. They lied about the border, misled on the pandemic, skewed coverage of Trump, manipulated poll results, and even deluded themselves into thinking Kamala Harris could win a presidential election. Even in defeat, progressive commentators remain oblivious to the reality they've so fervently insulated themselves from.Leftists now watch the success of podcasters like Rogan and platforms like X, marveling at their influence. On HBO panels and in New York Times columns, they exclaim, “Media can shape reality! I’ve got to get me some of that!” The lack of self-awareness is remarkable. Yet Democrats cannot produce a candidate capable of appearing on Rogan’s show, let alone replicate his authentic style. Rogan may not be conservative, but he doesn’t dismiss Americans or their concerns, offering an everyman quality that is hard to fabricate.The Democratic Party’s problem isn’t a lack of media reach; it’s a toxic message and an unwillingness to engage with middle America. The party demonizes young white men and labels middle Americans as “trash,” alienating these demographics. The problem isn’t that comedians have podcasts that diverge from the Democratic Party line; it’s the Democrats’ toxic disregard for average Americans’ concerns.Democrats had constructed a reality in which their ideology was unquestionable and their victory inevitable. Only “outdated” institutions like the Electoral College and voter ID stood between progressives and the “end of history.” Now, a resounding defeat in the popular vote has left them bewildered, searching for someone to blame. There will be no introspection or lessons learned. Instead, leftists have doubled down on radical policies and contempt for Americans. It’s a powerful reminder that decadence breeds weakness and insularity fosters delusion.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/leftist-echo-chamber-cracks-as-alternative-media-gains-ground

2024-11-14 16:42:18

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=54496146&width=980
“Make America Healthy Again” was a winning message for Trump’s campaign, especially considering the government appears to have been making America as unhealthy as possible over the past four years. “There’s been such a groundswell across political categories of Americans who, just looking around, they can tell that people are spiritually and physically unwell, that there’s a pandemic of sorts of just real unfitness in America, and they’re suspicious of their food, they’re suspicious of vaccines,” James Poulos of “Zero Hour” tells Senator Rand Paul. Paul agrees, telling Poulos that “the government needs to turn over a new leaf and try being honest.” “Because of their vast dishonesty, people are hesitant. People don’t believe the government any more, and I’ll give you an example of why they probably shouldn’t,” he adds, before citing the COVID response as the primary reason. “The vaccine committees that came forward to approve a booster vaccine for COVID, they really recommended only for over 65, or those who are at risk for COVID. The Biden administration, though, came forward and said, ‘No, your 6-month-old should take it. Everybody from 6 months of age and up should take this COVID vaccine,’” he continues. “Well, when you do the investigation, you find that the vaccine is actually of greater risk to a young person, to a child, a toddler, adolescent, teenager, young adult, than the disease,” he adds. But why wouldn’t they warn the American people that the cure may be more dangerous than the disease? Because that’s not how the pharmaceutical companies, who worked with the federal government to make the vaccines, make their money. “It appears as if the government perhaps is more concerned with the profit of Pfizer and Moderna than they are actually with the truth,” Paul says, adding, “People are suspecting everything the government tells them, because we’ve had such a spate of dishonesty.” Want more from James Poulos?To enjoy more of James's visionary commentary on politics, tech, ideas, and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/zero-hour/covid-rand-paul

2024-11-12 20:23:59

@nprofile…hfrz
https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/creator-of-giant-vote-for-trump-sign-in-new-york-teases-run-for-congress.jpg?id=54489908&width=980
The man responsible for the giant "Vote for Trump" sign that recently lit up the sky in Upstate New York is now considering a run for federal office.It's no secret that Anthony Constantino, CEO of Sticker Mule, supports President-elect Donald Trump. Not only did Constantino create a Trump-related PAC, but he also ordered a 100-foot "Vote for Trump" sign to be constructed atop a Sticker Mule facility in Amsterdam, a city of some 18,000 residents about 35 miles northwest of Albany.'President Trump is a unity president, and I'll do whatever I can to help him make America great for everyone.'Now that Constantino and more than 75 million other Americans have gotten their wish and Trump has won re-election, Constantino is thinking about how he can best serve his president and his country going forward. With Trump tapping New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) as ambassador to the United Nations, Constantino is now mulling a run for the seat Stefanik will vacate after a decade in office, should she be confirmed."I am strongly considering running for the NY-21 Congressional seat. Thank you!" he tweeted Monday night.Constantino went into greater detail about the possible run on an appearance on Monday's episode of "The StoneZONE" hosted by longtime Trump ally Roger Stone."I want to do whatever is most impactful in the world, what's best for the country, and it seems like this might be it," Constantino said.According to the Post Millennial, Constantino and Stefanik went to high school together, and he has long supported her work. He has also already begun gathering a team to consider the next steps in the process."President Trump is a unity president, and I'll do whatever I can to help him make America great for everyone. If that's in Congress, I'll fight hard to win big and continue winning after I'm elected," Constantino said in a statement to the Post Millennial.So far, Constantino seems to have one friend in his corner. In a statement to the Post Millennial, Stone said Constantino "has what it takes.""He built his company from the ground up, creating thousands of jobs. He stood up for President Trump in the face of certain backlash. We need smart and courageous people who aren’t career politicians like him in Washington now more than ever."A month ago, Constantino appeared on "The Glenn Beck Program," telling Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck that Trump "did tremendous things for the country" in his first term, especially regarding free speech."Nobody wants to have duct tape put on their mouth. Nobody wants the right to speech taken away," Constantino said.Free speech was just one of many reasons that Constantino, a registered Democrat, constructed the Trump sign on his building."I'm trying to end this epidemic of anti-Trump hate that's been bad, really, for both sides," he explained to Beck. "People got to be able to be comfortable to say they like President Trump."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/creator-of-giant-vote-for-trump-sign-in-new-york-teases-run-for-congress

2024-10-28 14:20:07

Kamala avoids Biden's help on campaign trail despite lagging poll numbers: Report
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President Joe Biden has offered to stump on behalf of his number two, Kamala Harris, in the waning days of election season, only for Harris to give him the cold shoulder, reports indicate.Several outlets have reported that the Harris campaign is keeping Biden at arm's length. The following are a smattering of headlines that have been published in just the last few days:"Harris stiff-arms Biden in final stretch" — Axios,"Kamala Harris Is Ghosting Joe Biden, Who Wants To Campaign With Her" — Times Now,"Wishing he could do more, Biden fades into campaign's background" — Politico, and"Kamala Harris keeps snubbing President Biden's requests to campaign for her: report" — the New York Post.While the Axios headline uses a football metaphor, the report actually compares the relationship between Harris and Biden to "a slow-moving break-up." Sources familiar with the situation told the outlet that anytime Biden offers to campaign on her behalf, Harris' people offer the same response: "We'll get back to you.""He's a reminder of the last four years, not the new way forward," another unnamed source told the outlet.'There’s really not anything he can do to help at this point.'With just over a week left before Election Day, Biden and Harris have no joint public appearances on their schedule, and Biden's stop in Pittsburgh to meet with various union leaders on Saturday reportedly took the Harris team by surprise."I have walked the picket line, and so has Kamala," Biden said during a 20-minute speech at the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council apprentice training center, according to TribLive. "This is about decency versus lack of decency. This is about character."While Biden's overall approval rating has been in the tank for some time, Scranton Joe still enjoys some enduring support among blue-collar, Catholic areas of the Rust Belt, particularly Pennsylvania. He also appears to do well with some seniors, a reliable voting bloc.Harris could likely use those votes. Most polls on RealClearPolitics show former President Donald Trump with a slight lead in Pennsylvania, a state with a whopping 19 electoral votes. In 2020, Biden officially bested Trump in the Keystone State by 1.2%.White House spokesperson Andrew Bates denied that the Harris team did not know about Biden's trip to Pittsburgh and insisted that Biden stands ready to help Harris in any way he can. "We are in close touch with the campaign to determine when, where and how the president can be helpful," Bates told Axios.However, in a recent "Days Ahead" email sent by the Harris team, which listed a series of campaign events, Biden's stops in Pittsburgh were not mentioned.At a stop in New Hampshire last Tuesday, Biden also ruffled a few feathers after he railed about locking Trump up. "We gotta lock him up," Biden said. Perhaps recognizing that he may have overstepped and admitted a deliberate lawfare campaign against a political rival, Biden quickly added, "Politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do."Thus far, Biden's overtures have reportedly failed to ingratiate him with Harris and her team, even as RCP averages suggest she currently trails Trump in other key battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. "I don’t think it’s all that useful to the campaign," one Democrat said of Biden's campaign events, according to Politico. "But there’s really not anything he can do to help at this point. Maybe some of these events around policy accomplishments make a difference on the margins. But at best, they’re probably a wash."Neither the Harris campaign nor the vice president's office responded to a request for comment from Axios. The New York Post likewise reached out for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/kamala-avoids-biden-s-help-on-campaign-trail-despite-lagging-poll-numbers-report

2024-10-25 10:35:01

Blaze News original: Americans don't trust the media. Here are 7 examples why they probably shouldn't.
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Trust in the mass media has bottomed out. Gallup, which has been tracking public trust in newspapers, TV, and radio for over 50 years, revealed Oct. 14 that a plurality (36%) of Americans have no trust at all in the mass media. 33% of respondents said they don't trust the mass media "very much." Only 31% of Americans indicated they trust the media to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly." Some academics and media outfits have in recent years tried to pin this breakdown of trust on President Donald Trump and on other individuals who have expressed contempt for the mainstream press, such as the late Rush Limbaugh. Although simple and politically expedient, such explanations fail to account for why this decline was under way long before Trump's descent down the golden escalator on June 16, 2015, and the debut of Limbaugh's self-titled show in October 1984. Extra to considering several proposed drivers of the broader trend, Blaze News spoke to Jacob L. Nelson, associate professor in the University of Utah’s Department of Communication and author of "Imagined Audiences: How Journalists Perceive and Pursue the Public," about both Gallup's findings and what his own research has revealed about Americans' degrading trust. While there are multiple and in some cases competing explanations for why Americans don't trust the media, one thing is clear: The continuous advancement of brazen falsehoods and deceptive narratives is not helping. Blaze News has highlighted seven egregious examples of false or misleading reports that have served both to justify Americans' distrust and to illustrate what a trustworthy media might seek to avoid. Bad diagnosis Gallup data indicates that the decline in Americans' trust in the mass media has been under way since 1976. Among those signaling a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the media, there appears to have been a brief rebound from 2000 to 2003, but the downward trend resumed in 2004 — around the time weapons of mass destruction were not discovered in Iraq. This year, a record-low number of respondents (31%) expressed a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media — down one point from last year's similarly abysmal figure. Meanwhile, outright distrust rose from 4% in 1976 to 36% in 2024, briefly cresting at 39% last year. Slight distrust rose from 22% in 1976 to a high of 41% in 2016. It now sits at 33%. In the Trump years, trust in the media skyrocketed among Democrats. Broken down by party affiliation, Gallup indicated that 54% of Democrats, 27% of independents, and 12% of Republican respondents signaled a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the media. Republican trust in the media dropped off around the time of the Watergate scandal and in the lead-up to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. After a brief increase, trust began steadily declining from 1976 onward, enjoying partial though fleeting recoveries at points in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The biggest one-year drop appears to have taken place between 2015 and 2016. Independents' trust, though historically stronger than that of their Republican counterparts, has — with only a few exceptions — largely degraded in parallel. Democrats' trust (i.e. "great deal" / "fair amount") tells a different story. Starting six points higher at first measure in 1972, Democratic trust declined parallel to Republicans' trust from the end of the Vietnam War until 1997 but then began zigzagging erratically during George W. Bush's first term. During the Obama years, trust dropped, reaching an all-time low of 51% in 2016. However, in the Trump years, trust in the media skyrocketed among Democrats, reaching an all-time high of 76% in 2018 — amid the lead-up to the first impeachment of the Republican president. According to Gallup, Democrats' trust in the media tanked 16 points between 2022 and 2024 to 54%. Another telling insight from the survey is the generational divide. Geriatrics' trust in the media currently sits at 43%, having bounced around the high 40s for the past 14 years. Respondents ages 50-64, meanwhile, are less trusting, with only 33% expressing confidence in the media. Only 26% of Americans ages 18-49 expressed a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the media. Possible drivers This decline has prompted a great deal of speculation in recent years about potential causes. Some analysts have suggested that the growing distrust in the media is the result of a far greater social crisis. While less an answer and more a prompt for additional question, this is nevertheless borne out by polling data. Gallup indicated earlier this year that the public's average confidence in 17 institutions, including the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, organized religion, higher education, and banks, has been lower than 30% for the past three years. As television news and newspapers are among the institutions least trusted, it's clear they are still excelling at shedding public confidence. Journalist and author Matt Taibbi noted in a recent Canadian state media documentary that trust may have been degraded in part by a change in the media's business model. Taibbi noted that prior to the 1990s, American broadcast news sought to secure the largest possible audience with minimal objectionable content. But facing increased competition, these outlets began targeting specific demographics in the early 2000s. This, coupled with technological disruptions — AI is now threatening a new shake-up — has allegedly helped to polarize the media landscape. Owing to the rise of social media and supposed democratization of information, the mainstream media also has faced increasing competition for the public's trust and attention from new sources and platforms. The Pew Research Center revealed Oct. 16 that young American adults and Republicans are now almost as likely to trust information from social media sources as from national news organizations. The survey found that among all U.S. adults, 74% of respondents said they had a lot or some trust in local news organizations. 59% said the same of national news organizations. 37% said social media sites had secured their confidence. Whereas the supermajority of Democrats trusted both local and national news organizations, 66% of Republicans supported local outlets and only 40% supported national news organizations — narrowly beating social media sites by three points. Among adults 18-29, 52% expressed confidence in social media sites, 56% in local news, and 71% in national news organizations. Blaze News senior editor Cortney Weil noted that extra to providing Americans with alternative information sources, social media platforms such as X have been helpful in illuminating deceptive media practices. Between Trump and Elon Musk's purchase of perhaps the most powerful social media platform in the world, everyday Americans can see that members of the media all too often launder their preferred narrative through their reporting under the guise of journalism. Some Americans may have begun nurturing distrust not only after achieving a better understanding of how the proverbial sausage is made but upon discovering who is operating the grinder and where. There appears to be incredible ideological conformity in the press, where liberals are grossly overrepresented. A 2020 study published in the journal Science Advances indicated that a survey of U.S. political journalists found that among the 78% of respondents who identified with or leaned toward a particular party, eight in 10 said they were liberal/Democrats. 'I have to present myself as someone who is deeply skeptical.' The problem of real or perceived viewpoint bias is compounded by the de-localization of newsrooms over time to coastal hives amid sweeping consolidation. "Unless and until media outlets step away from the NYC/D.C./L.A. bubbles and venture out into real America, I don't harbor much hope for them," said Weil. While these factors might account for Republicans' disproportionate distrust, the lack of intellectual diversity in the press has turned off liberals as well, such as Peabody Award-winning editor Uri Berliner, who complained — just prior to his conveniently timed ouster — that NPR, where he worked for 25 years, had become an "openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience." Money-poisoned wells and oversaturation Professor Jacob Nelson at the University of Utah has spent years analyzing trust, objectivity, and bias in reporting. Nelson told Blaze News that in his research, interviewees suggested when asked about their confidence in the media that "the news as a whole is inherently untrustworthy." "My sense is that that's in large part due to the fact that the media environment has grown so saturated and now comprises so many different providers of news, many of which are antagonistic toward one another and sort of presenting themselves as, 'We are the ones who have the truth, and if you go elsewhere, that is not where you find the truth,'" said Nelson. "And rather than make people feel as though, 'Okay, I can trust this outlet,' I think that oftentimes people feel, 'Okay, well, if everyone is telling me that everyone is untrustworthy, then I feel like I can't trust anyone, or at the very least, I have to present myself as someone who is deeply skeptical,'" continued Nelson. "'Otherwise, I might be construed as being, you know, like a sucker or someone who is not savvy enough to make sense of what's true or what's false in the world.'" While reluctant to opine on a possible correlation between the rise of populism and the decline in public trust, Nelson speculated that an anti-elitist verve and sensitivity to patronization might prompt some Americans to discount the supposed expertise of media professionals and harbor distrust. Nelson suggested that a significant factor affecting trust is the perception that journalism is compromised by commercial interests. "We did these interviews with people where we asked them, 'Do you trust journalism? Why or why not?'" Nelson told Blaze News. "The question that we kept asking people was, 'Why is it that you think that news organizations are attempting to deceive you?
https://www.theblaze.com/news/americans-dont-trust-the-media-here-are-7-examples-why-they-probably-shouldnt

2024-10-24 20:10:01

Dems panic as Republicans bank record-breaking early votes in key states
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Less than two weeks from the presidential election, Republicans are breaking turnout records for early voting and mail-in ballots across several key states.In previous election cycles, Democrats have overwhelmingly outperformed Republicans when it comes to voting early. In 2020, over 22 million Democrats voted early, while just 15 million Republicans and nearly 12 million independents did the same. Although more Democrats have voted early, Republicans are actually outperforming them in some crucial swing states.Early voting was notably higher in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the trend remains true for previous election cycles. In 2016, just eight million Republicans voted in advance, as well as nearly 10 million Democrats and five million independents. This time around, Republicans are narrowing the gap. With over 26 million early votes counted, 11 million have been from Democrats, over 10 million have been from Republicans, and nearly five million have been from independents. Historically, the Republican Party has been averse to the idea of early voting. This time around, Trump has made the change to embrace it, and Democrats are beginning to panic. "A few more days like this, though, and the Democratic bedwetting will reach epic proportions," Jon Ralston, CEO of the Nevada Independent, told The Hill about early voting in Clark County, home of Las Vegas. "I think it comes solely down to the fact that last cycle, Donald Trump told Republicans not to vote early, and this time, the party is telling them to vote early," Jon McHenry, a GOP polling analyst and vice president at North Star Opinion Research, told Blaze News. "Pretty simple."Although more Democrats have voted early, Republicans are actually outperforming them in some crucial swing states. In Georgia, 48% of the early votes have been cast by Republicans, while 46% have been from Democrats. Similarly, in Arizona, Republicans are outperforming Democrats 42% to 36%, as well as 40% to 36% in Nevada.The two parties are nearly tied in North Carolina, with 35% of early votes coming from Democrats and 34% from Republicans. “The large mail ballot lead enjoyed by Dems has been erased and more by the GOP lead in in-person early voting,” Ralston told The Hill. While Republicans are making strides in the Sun Belt, Democrats have held onto their lead in the Rust Belt states. In Michigan, 52% of early votes were cast by Democrats, while just 38% came from Republicans. In Pennsylvania, the swing state with the highest electoral vote count, 62% of early votes came from Democrats and 29% came from Republicans. In Wisconsin, 37% of early votes were cast by Democrats and 21% of Republicans did the same. "It doesn't matter a whole lot, whether you get them early or you get them late, as long as they get there," McHenry told Blaze News. "The advantage of getting them early is that you know that they're already banked. You won't have to sweat Election Day quite as much."Notably, nearly half of early votes in Wisconsin and a third of votes in North Carolina came from independents. Roughly a quarter of early votes in Nevada and Arizona also came from independents. Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia have had the lowest independent turnout, bringing in 10%, 9%, and 6%, respectively. "Just because you're registered as a Democrat doesn't mean you voted for Kamala Harris," McHenry told Blaze News. "You might be registered as a Democrat, but you've gotten sick to death of the Democrats over the last four years and just didn't bother to change your registration. You might just vote for Trump." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/dems-panic-as-republicans-bank-record-breaking-early-votes-in-key-states-2669472463

2024-10-23 19:50:01

Harris' desperate, last-ditch effort to win over voters? Recycle tired Trump-Hitler narrative
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Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris made a last-minute addition to her schedule on Wednesday afternoon to deliver remarks outside of the vice president's residence.While the White House's announcement did not disclose the topic ahead of time, it became glaringly evident from Harris' opening remarks that the sole purpose of the address was to torch her opponent, former President Donald Trump.'Increasingly desperate because she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles.'During her three-minute speech, Harris explained that Trump's former chief of staff, retired Marine General John Kelly, "confirmed that while Donald Trump was president, he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had.""Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution; he wants a military that is loyal to him," Harris continued. "One that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States."The Trump campaign responded to Kelly's claims, stating that he "beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated."During Harris' address, she doubled down on statements claiming that Trump has "called his fellow Americans, the 'enemy from within.'""And let's be clear about who he considers to be the enemy from within — anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him," Harris claimed. She stated that Trump plans to go after judges, journalists, and non-partisan election officials. Harris was presumably referring to comments that Trump made over the weekend, during which he specifically referred to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-California) as "the enemy from within."Harris continued her Wednesday address, stating, "It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans.""It is clear from John Kelly's words that Donald Trump is someone who, I quote, 'certainly falls into the general definition of fascist,'" Harris said.She claimed that Trump "vowed to be a dictator" and "use the military as his personal militia." "Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable," Harris declared."So, the bottom line is this: We know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power. The question in 13 days will be, what do the American people want," Harris concluded before ending the address. She did not take any questions from reporters. In a Sunday interview, Harris accused Trump of demeaning the office by making critical remarks about her. NBC News accused Trump of using "incendiary rhetoric" against his opponent. Harris' impromptu Wednesday address kicked up criticism on social media, with many claiming that her campaign's final message to voters ahead of the upcoming election signaled desperation. In a post on X, conservative influencer Benny Johnson responded to Harris' claim that Trump desires "uncheck power.""This is coming from the administration that has abused its power against Trump from DAY ONE," Johnson wrote. "TOTAL DESPERATION," he said of Harris' campaign.Rudy Giuliani wrote in a post on X, "Kamala Harris is now comparing Donald Trump to Adolph Hitler. Kamala knows there have been two assassination attempts and countless threats on his life. It couldn't be any clearer—this is a dog whistle to potential assassins. Disgraceful."Trump's campaign responded to Harris' press conference, writing, "Kamala Harris is a stone-cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles. That is why she continues to peddle outright lies and falsehoods that are easily disproven. The fact is that Kamala's dangerous rhetoric is directly to blame for the multiple assassination attempts against President Trump and she continues to stoke the flames of violence all in the name of politics. She is despicable and her grotesque behavior proves she is wholly unfit for office."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/harris-desperate-last-ditch-effort-to-win-over-voters-recycle-tired-trump-hitler-narrative

2024-10-23 19:05:02

Over 600 female athletes have lost medals to transgender competitors, shocking UN report reveals
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A United Nations report reveals that a staggering number of female athletes have lost medals to transgender competitors.The report states that as of March 2024, more than 600 female athletes have been pushed off podiums in 29 sporting categories.'Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels that are higher than those of the average range for females, even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity.'As such, women have lost almost 900 medals to men who identify as women in over 400 competitions, the report says.The report, titled "Violence against women and girls in sports," was published by the U.N.'s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem.In the document, Alsalem explains that various national federations and governing bodies have allowed males who identify as females to compete in female sports categories.Alsalem goes on to say that no matter the age at which transgender males compete against females, inherent athletic advantages for trans competitors will persist: "Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels that are higher than those of the average range for females, even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity."Alsalem also cited the 2024 Paris Olympics, during which "female boxers had to compete against two boxers whose sex as females was seriously contested" and noted that "the International Olympic Committee refused to carry out a sex screening."Controversial boxers Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and Imane Khelif of Algeria both won gold medals in women's boxing this past summer. Controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif beats Italian boxer Angela Carini by forfeit at the Paris 2024 OlympicsPhoto by Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty ImagesBoth the International Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization found that Khelif was biologically a man, but the International Olympic Committee decided to allow Khelif to box in the women's category anyway.Khelif has since filed criminal hate speech complaints in France over alleged abuse during the Olympics.The U.N. report claimed that reliable sex screening procedures can be provided through a simple cheek swab and that female Olympians were in favor of its use in the past."A 1996 survey of female Olympians found that an overwhelming number (82 percent of the 928 surveyed) supported sex tests," the report noted.Last week a group of female activists and former athletes urged the U.N. to push for limitations on men who wish to compete against women in their events.Olympic silver medalist Sharron Davies and former West Virginia athlete Lainey Armistead were among those who spoke at the United Nations General Assembly meeting, alongside Alsalem and lawyers such as Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom.The group of women called for the international sports community to ensure that women can participate in athletics without being at risk of harm from men.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/women-miss-out-on-medals

2024-10-23 18:55:01

National Guard husband vanishes, and his wife's alleged affair — and a new mattress — raise chilling questions of murder
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A Utah mother allegedly shot her husband to death in their bed in September, according to claims by her alleged lover. The husband has been missing since last month. Jennifer Gledhill, 41, told police she and her estranged husband met to talk Sept. 20 and began “drinking whiskey," according to an arrest report. The mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband's body "north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave." Gledhill and her husband — 51-year-old Matthew Johnson — allegedly agreed to have sex that night. "Jennifer informed [the officer] due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex," the warrant states, according to KSTU-TV.Johnson — a member of the Utah National Guard — was reported missing Sept. 23. The next day, Gledhill reportedly contacted the Cottonwood Heights Police Department to file a domestic violence incident report against her husband. She allegedly informed an officer that "bruises were all over her body," and she wanted them photographed for evidence. The warrant noted that an officer noticed several bruises on Gledhill's arms, hands, legs, and a bruise under her left eye.Gledhill claimed Johnson "became upset," but she could not remember why, according to the warrant. "Jennifer informed me she remembered Matthew was on top of her with a closed fist striking her several times," Gledhill reportedly told police. However, an informant told investigators a different story. An unnamed man who claimed to be having an affair with Gledhill reportedly told police that she informed him that she sustained bruises from "moving Matthew’s body and cleaning the mess in the house."'I washed everything & vacuumed & it's not an issue anymore.'The alleged lover also made another bombshell accusation. Fox News reported that the lover informed investigators that Gledhill came over to his house on Sept. 22, and she told him that she was "likely going away for a long time."According to police, the informant claimed that Gledhill told him that she and Johnson got into a fight on Sept. 20 "because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else." The informant allegedly told police Gledhill confessed to him that she shot Johnson in the head with his 9mm Glock "as he slept in their shared bed."Court documents said Gledhill told her lover "that she loaded Matthew’s body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs by herself, and loaded him into the back of her minivan."Documents added that the mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband's body "north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave." The probable cause affidavit noted that Gledhill sent the informant text messages and messages on WhatsApp, including one that reportedly read: "I washed everything & vacuumed & it's not an issue anymore."Gledhill told the informant that if she were told a story like the one she told him that "she would take it to the grave," according to court documents. A neighbor reportedly told police that she witnessed Gledhill’s parents inside the home "cleaning" the garage and "moving things around" on Sept. 24. The suspect's mother reportedly confirmed to investigators that she was at her daughter's house Sept. 24. Johnson has yet to be found.'Take it to the grave.'Detectives found Johnson's truck and his cellphone inside it less than a mile from his home.While serving a search warrant at Gledhill’s residence, detectives allegedly noted that the mattress in the master bedroom "appeared to be brand new."Prosecutors claimed, "The evidence is significant that defendant obstructed the investigation by removing the mattress she admitted to [the] informant that she shot Matthew on while he was sleeping and replaced days later with a new mattress."Gledhill’s mother allegedly told detectives that she purchased a new mattress from Amazon at Gledhill’s request."Additionally, the entire wall behind the master bed appeared to have fresh wipe marks from cleaning," court documents state. "Several reddish-brown spots were located on the walls, bed frame, and blinds of the master bedroom. Detectives noted that the wall behind the master bed was covered in bleach."Police noted "a strong smell of chlorine in the basement" and bleach stains on "several stairs" with black carpeting.During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, detectives discovered bags of what appeared to be drugs packaged "for individual sale" and roughly $200 in cash.Citing cellphone records, prosecutors said "at no point" after Sept. 21 did Gledhill "ever attempt to contact" Johnson.When investigators asked the suspect’s father if he had recently entered the master bedroom, he reportedly responded, "I did not go in where the incident happened."According to police records, Gledhill previously made "unsuccessful attempts to secure a protective order against Matthew during the course of their marriage and was found by the court to be an instigator and one to goad Matthew into a response in order to get him in trouble," prosecutors argued. On Oct. 2, Gledhill was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, five counts of obstruction of justice, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, abuse of a human body, and tampering with a witness.During her first court appearance Monday, 3rd District Judge Todd Olsen ordered her to not have contact with any of her three young children — ages 11, 7, and 5 — either in person or electronically.KSL-TV reported Gledhill "wiped tears from her face" as the judge issued the order.Gledhill's attorney, Jeremy Deus, argued, "I think this is a heavy-handed tactic by the state to try to put undue pressure on her."Deus added, "I can't imagine what it's like to say that she can't see the children and, in effect, tell the children that they can't see mom, either. They're not named victims in the case. I don't see a basis for having a protective order that prevents them from having contact with their mother in any form or fashion."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/utah-mom-murder-national-guard-mattress-sex

2024-10-23 17:20:01

Tulsi Gabbard announces she is joining the GOP: 'The Democrat Party has no home for people like us'
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Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard helped torpedo Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2020. Keen to do so once again but also to spare America from losing further blood and treasure abroad as a consequence of the interventionism favored by the vice president and her new buddy Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman endorsed President Donald Trump in August, stressing that unlike Harris, he would "do the work and walk us back from the brink of war." At a rally Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina, the former Democrat went a step farther, announcing that she was joining the Republican Party. "To those of you here and those watching at home who are independent people like myself, who love our country and are committed to the Constitution and to freedom, the Democrat Party has no home for people like us," said Gabbard. "But we do have a home in the Republican Party." "It is because of my love for our country and specifically because of the leadership that President Trump has brought to transform the Republican Party and bring it back to the party of the people and the party of peace that I'm proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I'm joining the Republican Party," added the former Hawaii congresswoman, to the sound of thunderous applause. 'A vote for President Trump is a vote for peace.' Earlier in her remarks, Gabbard noted that she spent over 20 years as a Democrat but found that the party had morphed into something unrecognizable. Gabbard noted that like her party, Harris is "anti-freedom, she is pro-censorship, she is pro-open\-borders, and she is pro-war." The former congresswoman is particularly sensitive to Harris' disregard for American freedoms, having learned over the summer from several federal Air Marshal whistleblowers that the Biden-Harris administration was apparently surveilling her via a program designed to identify and monitor potential terrorists. Gabbard's alleged enrollment in the Transportation Security Administration's Quiet Skies program was all the more offensive because she enlisted in the military in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, countering extremism across three war zones. The congresswoman previously told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, "The only assumption that I can make is that they're coming after me because of my speaking the truth and revealing who they really are." While continued abuses under a possible Harris administration are clearly a concern for Gabbard, she underscored that the choice between Trump and the vice president was ultimately a choice between peace and war. "President Trump has pledged to stop wars, not start them," Gabbard told the crowd Tuesday in Greensboro. "And this is why, in the eyes of the Kamala Harris, Dick Cheney Democrat Party, they will do everything possible to try to destroy him." Noting that Election Day was just two weeks away, Gabbard impressed upon the crowd that "a vote for President Trump is a vote for secure borders and safe communities, and a vote for President Trump is a vote for peace here in America and around the world." The pro-peace message at the Trump rally was at odds with the message advanced at Harris' phony town hall Monday in Royal Oak, Michigan, where the vice president and Liz Cheney criticized Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine. Cheney said, "I think that if you look at where the Republican Party is today, there's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism." Harris signaled her agreement, stating, "Isolationism, which is exactly what Donald Trump is pushing — pull out of NATO, abandon our friends — isolationism is not insulation. It is not insulation. It will not insulate us from harm in terms of our national security." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/tulsi-gabbard-announces-she-is-joining-the-gop

2024-10-23 16:25:01

40 sheriffs torch Biden-Harris’ open-border policies for unleashing crime and drugs on small-town America
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A coalition of more than 40 sheriffs from 18 states released a joint letter addressed to the public on Tuesday, slamming the Biden-Harris administration’s destructive open-border policies for unleashing crime and drug surges in small-town America.In the letter, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, the sheriffs expressed “grave concern for the safety and security of our communities” nationwide, noting that under the current administration, “Every town is a border town.”'The impact is broken families, lost futures, and devastated communities.'“As sheriffs, our first duty is to protect the citizens we serve, but today, we find ourselves confronted by a growing crisis that threatens the very fabric of our country and its sovereignty: open-border policies,” they wrote.The sheriffs blamed the administration for allowing between 10 to 15 million foreign nationals to cross the border illegally, adding that those totals are “more than the individual population of 46 states in our nation.”By refusing to enforce the country’s existing immigration laws, the Biden-Harris administration has “allowed dangerous criminals, human traffickers, and drug cartels” to infiltrate American communities, they contended.“The result is a flood of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our cities and towns. The impact is broken families, lost futures, and devastated communities,” the sheriffs continued.The Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and their Democratic allies have repeatedly insisted that the only way to stop the immigration crisis is for Congress to pass more laws — specifically, the failed so-called "bipartisan" border Senate bill, the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 815.However, the coalition of sheriffs appeared to push back on the administration’s false claims that it does not already have the authority to shut down mass illegal immigration.“The President alone can act to fix this crisis. The president can suspend or restrict the entry of noncitizens if it is deemed in the national interest, proclaim a national emergency along the border, and redirect federal funds to construct a border wall. The Biden-Harris Administration has done none of these. And we are seeing the consequences,” they wrote.Sheriffs Rich Stanek of Hennepin County, Minnesota; Chad Leonard of Dallas County, Iowa; Adam Infante of Dallas County, Iowa; and Mark Lamb of Pinal County, Arizona, were among those who signed the letter.Sheriff James Custer of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, another signatory, told the DCNF about how the fentanyl crisis has impacted his community.“I’ve seen this trend has been going on over the last three years, the fentanyl crisis, that has come across our southern border. ... Our overdose deaths rose each year,” Custer stated. “Now we are in a slight decline this year, but we have several deaths pending toxicology results.”Sheriff Bob Songer of Klickitat County, Washington, who also signed the sheriffs’ letter, told the DCNF, “Personally, I think both the Biden administration and their administrative staff ought to be charged with treason, they’ve broken this country to where we don’t have a border.”The Biden-Harris administration and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/40-sheriffs-torch-biden-harris-open-border-policies-for-unleashing-crime-and-drugs-on-small-town-america

2024-10-23 13:30:04

Texas couple allegedly assaulted by police while praying on Jan. 6 sentenced to rot in prison
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A Texas married couple who said police assaulted them while they were praying on Jan. 6 were sentenced to years in prison Oct. 22 on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from their time outside the U.S. Capitol during protests and subsequent rioting.Mark Fulton Middleton, 54, and Jalise Kay Middleton, 54, of Forestburg, Texas, had asked U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss to sentence them to home detention and probation, while the U.S. Department of Justice sought sentences of 7.25 years in prison for each.Judge Moss sentenced Mark Middleton to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, while he gave Jalise Middleton 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.In February, the Middletons were found guilty by a Washington, D.C., jury of assaulting, resisting, or impeding two police officers, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct, engaging in physical violence and several other related misdemeanors.'The officer was pulling her scarf and choking her.'A guilty verdict on the felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding was dismissed in September due to the June 2024 Supreme Court ruling in Fischer v. United States. That opinion vastly limits use of an accounting-fraud statute — 18 U.S. Code §1512(c)(2) — to prosecute cases that are not related to documents or other evidence. It was the most widely charged felony in Jan. 6 cases.The crux of the Middletons’ case was what took place at the police line on the Capitol's West Plaza at about 2:10 p.m. on Jan. 6. The large crowd on the north side of the plaza pressed against the bike racks police were using to hold demonstrators back.Police on the west front had been lobbing explosive munitions and firing other projectiles into the crowd for more than an hour, Capitol Police security video showed. A grenade exploded six-people deep in the crowd about a minute before the Middletons had their tangle with police, security video showed. Tear gas swirled about in the stiff wind.The Middletons say if police had not picked up the bike rack barricades and pushed them into the protesters, they would not have made contact with the officers. What prosecutors described as the couple preparing to throw their bodies against the police line was actually the Middletons facing each other and praying, a defense attorney said.“The videos do show that at one point, Mrs. Middleton’s scarf was being pulled by a police officer and Mr. Middleton has testified that he tried to pull Mrs. Middleton away from the police line and to have the police let go of his wife,” wrote defense attorney Stephen Brennwald in Mark Middleton's 21-page sentencing memo. An incendiary grenade is lobbed into the crowd by a Metropolitan Police Department officer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Not far away, Mark and Jalise Middleton scuffle with police at the barricades.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV“That is a natural reaction that any person would have, even if the two people hadn’t been married for decades as the Middletons have,” he said.Brennwald said there is no question that police initiated contact with the Middletons and others nearby.“Her behavior only happened because she was assaulted first—hit by a police officer and pushed by a large violent protester behind her,” defense attorney Kira West wrote in Jalise Middleton's 27-page sentencing memo.“The officer was pulling her scarf and choking her and Ms. Middleton indiscriminately swatted at him to escape what she perceived was going to be her sudden death,” West said.Prosecutors took a dimmer view of the 5- to 7-second encounter.“Mark Middleton heckled police officers, including by shouted obscenities,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean McCauley and Brendan Ballou in a 47-page sentencing supplemental memo. “Together, the Middletons then threw their bodies into the barricades. When officers tried to restore the barricades and ordered them to get back, both the Middletons assaulted two officers.”'I felt responsible to let my voice be heard and make a difference.'Prosecutors cited the political speech of both Middletons since Jan. 6 and accused them of “spreading falsehoods.”“Mark Middleton has used his Twitter to trumpet—on an at least daily if not almost hourly basis—convicted January 6 rioters, promulgate conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, and spread baseless lies about January 6,” prosecutors wrote.The Middletons bragged about their deeds on social media and lied under oath during their trial, the DOJ said.“They have sought to personally benefit by using the notoriety of their crimes to raise money and seek fame,” the DOJ wrote.West rejected claims her client lied at the trial.“Ms. Middleton made no false statements while testifying. Her testimony lines up with the video evidence in the case as well as other testimony and videos from other J6 trials,” West wrote.The Middletons had a right to exercise freedom of speech regarding their concerns over the 2020 presidential election, West said.“When this court considers all of the factors before it, the court must conclude that these are not the actions of someone there to overthrow the government or incite violence, but rather a concerned citizen who believed the election was stolen,” West said. Married couple Mark and Jalise Middleton of Forestburg, Texas, either assaulting police on Jan. 6, 2021, as prosecutors claim or defending themselves after police pulled hard on Jalise Middleton’s scarf as a defense attorney asserts. Photo from Metropolitan Police Department Bodycam In his sentencing memo for Mark Middleton, Brennwald said he was not suggesting the Middletons “should have been where they were in the first place" or that police “did not have the right to, in some manner, move the crowd away from its location.” “But the aggressiveness demonstrated by the police in this instance was not the finest example of police behavior, and ended up being counter-productive, as it inflamed passions in the crowd,” he wrote.In an Oct. 19 letter to Judge Moss, Jalise Middleton said she was in fight-or-flight mode when the incident occurred.“I felt responsible to let my voice be heard and make a difference,” she wrote of her decision to come to Washington, D.C. “The truth is, Jesus Christ makes the difference. My only job that day was to pray and stand ﬁrm. Amidst the chaos that quickly ensued, I forgot to trust him."“Furthermore, I do passionately believe my actions that day were consistent with what any person would have done in our shoes,” Jalise Middleton wrote.The FBI seized Jalise Middleton's wedding ring while executing a search warrant at the couple's home. Agents then took it with them. The Middletons have been married since May 1990.“Wouldn’t a photograph of it suffice?” West asked. “Apparently not.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/texas-couple-allegedly-assaulted-by-police-while-praying-on-jan-6-sentenced-to-rot-in-prison

2024-10-23 00:45:01

Armed homeowner in New Mexico confronts alleged intruder who broke in before 4 a.m. It doesn't end well for uninvited guest.
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A homeowner in New Mexico fatally shot an alleged intruder who broke into a residence early Tuesday morning, Bernalillo County deputies told KOB-TV.The station said deputies responded to a call around 3:45 a.m. about an intruder at a home near Lost Horizon Drive on the West Mesa, the station said. The area is part of Albuquerque.'That’s why we have our 2nd Amendment!!!'The homeowner reported shooting the intruder, the sheriff's office told KOB.Arriving deputies found the alleged intruder critically injured and tried life-saving measures on the individual, the station said.Medics took the suspect to a hospital, but the suspect died, KOB reported.Sheriff's office detectives who work on violent crimes and homicides are investigating the incident, the station said.How are observers reacting?Plenty of people are reacting to KOB's story on the station's Facebook page. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:"Unfortunately we have to protect our own because by the time police show up — if they show up — it's too late," one commenter wrote. "We all work hard for our things and need [to] protect our families. When [suspects are] arrested, they're just let right back out to do it all over again...""This is great news! More criminals need this fate!" another user concluded."This was totally warranted!" another commenter said. "Good job protecting yourself, family, & your home! There needs to be ... repercussions for the outrageous amount of crime in this city.""Good job!!!" another commenter exclaimed. "That’s why we have our 2nd Amendment!!!""Good," another commenter noted before adding, "Tired of this crap. When [they're] in your home, you gotta protect it. I stand for the homeowner. Job well done.""Finally some good news today," another user stated before adding, "Great job on protecting your family and what’s yours. Sends a perfect message to thieves; [we've] had enough of their BS."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/armed-homeowner-in-new-mexico-confronts-alleged-intruder-who-broke-in-before-4-am-it-doesnt-end-well-for-uninvited-guest

2024-10-22 20:05:03

How ‘the science’ is unexpectedly taking us closer to faith
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Whether it was drinking wine through masks, cutting out family for refusing to vaccinate, or ratting out neighbors for having company, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in people all over the world taking their faith to an entirely new level. “Science suddenly became this kind of new god, and it was perhaps embodied in its priest Dr. Fauci, who claimed to be the science and therefore to have authority over all ... aspects of our lives,” Spencer Klavan, author of “Light of the Mind, Light of the World: Illuminating Science Through Faith,” tells Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report.” While science itself is what Klavan calls a “noble human tradition of understanding and trying to know about the natural world,” the newfound worship of the practice disfigured its true nature. “Originally, the scientific revolution that we all know of was not an anti-religious crusade, just the opposite, it was a religious endeavor to know God’s universe,” Klavan says, noting that we were brought up to believe that science is the only truth there is. The blatant lies peddled by Dr. Fauci and the rest of the Democratic establishment regarding masks, vaccines, and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic not only pushed Americans to question “the science” — but how long they’ve been told that it’s the only truth. “It’s a very different story than we were brought up to believe, and I kind of think we need a hard reset on this,” he says. Meanwhile, those who do worship science over religion will be for the most part checking off Kamala Harris on their ballot this November — but it’s not stopping Americans from waking up. “While you have this kind of decrepit establishment endorsing Kamala Harris, you also have things like this article in City Journal that came out recently about all these scientists who are totally shocking themselves by starting to think, ‘Maybe there’s more to the universe than just math and matter in motion,’” Klavan explains. And perhaps, human beings are much more magnificent than we’ve been led to believe. “This is also what I think the quantum revolution has unlocked, is this realization that actually, self-awareness and consciousness are irreplaceable things,” he says, adding, “It looked for awhile like everything was just made of meat and we were just chemistry sets, but actually, there's something much more capacious on the other side.” Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-rubin-report/the-science-religion

2024-10-22 16:05:01

Air Force Academy forces fan to cover pro-women shirt at women's volleyball game featuring controversial transgender player
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Air Force Academy staffers forced a fan to cover his shirt that read "Keep Women's Sports Female" at a women's volleyball game over the weekend that featured a transgender player. John Kopecky, an Air Force Academy graduate, attended Saturday's game at the Academy. The match was against Mountain West Conference opponent San Jose State University.The pair firmly told Kopecky that if he wanted to stay he would have to zip his hoodie 'all the way up' so his shirt isn't visible.SJSU has had a controversial season due to having a male athlete, Blaire Fleming, on the roster. Several NCAA players, including Fleming's own teammate, have spoken out against a male playing against females. Blaire Fleming, San Jose State University Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty ImagesDespite five women's volleyball teams announcing forfeits against SJSU, presumably over the unfairness of having to play against a male, the Air Force Academy decided to play SJSU as scheduled.According to reporter Dan Zaksheske, Kopecky was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with a shirt underneath that read, "Keep Women's Sports Female."A video then caught a pointed conversation between Kopecky and two Air Force Academy representatives — a male and a female — who told him his shirt is "political" and that they are "trying to keep it comfortable and safe" at the arena."How is it political?" Kopecky asks."How is it not?" the male replied.Kopecky told the pair that he had worn the shirt in question just days prior to an Air Force Academy event, and no one took issue with it. He then asked if it would be OK to wear the shirt to other Academy events."Can I wear this to the football game today?""Yeah," the female replied. "Sir, we know why you're wearing that ... targeted ...""I'm not targeting anything," Kopecky reiterated. "I'm coming here to a women's sports event."The pair firmly told Kopecky that if he wanted to stay he would have to zip his hoodie "all the way up" so his shirt isn't visible.They then warned him that he may be forced to leave the arena if he unzips the hoodie, at which point Kopecky said if he was removed from the facility, he would halt all his donations and season ticket purchases.In an interview with OutKick, Kopecky said the Air Force Academy made specific rule changes for this game in particular, including a banner telling fans that no signs are allowed into the venue."They brought out a big board with all these rules about fan conduct that may have been there in the past, but I've never seen it [displayed] right at the door," Kopecky told the outlet. According to OutKick, the school said in a statement that it "takes necessary measures to provide a safe environment at all home athletic events for players, coaches, staff and fans."In the end, San Jose State defeated the Air Force Academy 3-1, and OutKick said Fleming led SJSU with 10 kills in the match.Kopecky also echoed a sentiment that many female volleyball players have revealed after playing against Fleming: "Watching Blaire Fleming play ... the jumping ability was just drastically different. It was just like, 'Wow, there's something you don't see every day at a women's volleyball match.' ... [Fleming was] strikingly more athletic than normal."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/air-force-academy-sjsu-volleyball

2024-10-22 13:55:01

Harris tosses word salads while Liz Cheney blows remaining political capital at phony 'town hall'
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Kamala Harris held a campaign event Monday in Michigan with the apparent aim of attracting Republican women in the suburbs, having just bungled her attempts to win back male voters and Christians. The vice president once again leaned on former Jan. 6 committee member Liz Cheney, who proved more than willing to sacrifice her remaining political capital in service of someone she deemed just four years ago "a radical liberal who wants to raise your taxes, take away your guns and your health insurance, explode the size of our federal government and give it control over every aspect of our lives." While the Royal Oak event had all the makings of a town hall where voters might be able to ask the Democratic candidate questions, the host, former California first lady Maria Shriver, made clear early on that this was not the time for spontaneity or openness. In what appears to have been the only unscripted question, a woman in the crowd asked, "Are we going to be able to ask a question?" "You're not, unfortunately," replied Shriver. "We have some predetermined questions, and hopefully I'll be able to ask some of the questions that might be in your head. I hope so." 'They're not even hiding it anymore.' The apparently clairvoyant host indicated further that she wanted "this to be like a kitchen table — like, just think we're sitting around the kitchen table and we're jamming about all kinds of stuff." Concerning the scripted nature of the event, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "HOLY S***! They're not even hiding it anymore." John Daniel Davidson, senior editor at the Federalist, noted, "Even Kamala Harris's town hall events are more 'staged' than Trump's legendary appearance at McDonald's." 'There's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism.' Harris, spared from having to think on her feet, recycled the script she has attempted to recite in recent interviews, including the lines about former military and intelligence officials' opposition to President Donald Trump she used in her recent Bret Baier interview. Nevertheless, she still managed to toss a handful of word salads. In one instance, she told her muzzled audience: You know, the nature of a democracy is such that I think there is a duality. On the one hand, there's an incredible strength when our democracy is intact. An incredible strength in what it does to protect the freedoms and rights of its people. Oh, there's great strength in that. And it is very fragile. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. So that's the moment we're in. And I say, "Do not despair," because in a democracy, as long as we can keep it, in our democracy, the people — every individual has the power to make a decision about what this will be. And that's — so let's not feel powerless. Cheney chimed in between Harris' monologues and concern-mongered over the possibility that Trump might not commit to another costly foreign entanglement. "I think that if you look at where the Republican Party is today, there's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism," said Cheney, who secured less than 29% of the vote in her last bid to hold on to power. "The reality is that since the end of World War II, America has led and we've led, and that has been necessary to defend our freedom." The border czar agreed, noting, "Isolationism, which is exactly what Donald Trump is pushing — pull out of NATO, abandon our friends — isolationism is not insulation. It is not insulation. It will not insulate us from harm in terms of our national security." Cheney warned further that Congress might not be able to prevent Trump from exiting NATO or from executing other foreign policy decisions the American people would have given him a mandate to tackle. 'I don't know if anybody is more conservative than I am.' The New York Times noted that in similar events that Cheney attended with Harris Monday in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the former congresswoman — who had an "A" rating from the group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America at the time she was denied another term by Republican voters — characterized the vice president as an optimal choice for pro-life women. Cheney suggested that Republican pro-life laws protecting the unborn have gone too far, such that conservative women can back the pro-abortion radical with a clean conscience. "I think there are many of us around the country who have been pro-life but who have watched what's going on in our states since the Dobbs decision and have watched state legislatures put in place laws that are resulting in women not getting the care they need," said Cheney. "In places like Texas, for example, the attorney general is talking about suing, is suing, to get access to women's medical records. That's not sustainable for us as a country, and it has to change." Harris has made clear the change she has in mind: eliminate the filibuster in the U.S. Senate in order to codify abortion as a national right. Neglecting to touch on Harris' support for taxpayer-funded sex changes for illegal aliens and her support for sex-change mutilations for minors, Cheney suggested that her supposed conservatism is compatible with a vote for Harris. "If people are uncertain, if people are thinking, 'Well, you know, I'm a conservative, I don't know that I can support Vice President Harris,' I would say I don't know if anybody is more conservative than I am," said Cheney. Trump mocked the establishment duo's events, writing, "Lyin' Kamala has stooped so low as to pick a woman to campaign with her who lost her Congressional Race by the largest margin, 40%, in history. The record holder is Crazed Warhawk Liz Cheney, whose father, Dick, convinced Bush to go into the Middle East and KILL." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/harris-tosses-word-salads-while-liz-cheney-blows-remaining-political-capital-at-phony-town-hall

2024-10-22 09:01:31

Ravens fan on viral video brutally beating rival fans turns himself in, Baltimore police say
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Baltimore police said a suspect in a viral video showing a Ravens' fan brutally beating two rival fans has turned himself in after an online campaign to bring him to justice. The video showed a man in a Ravens jersey march up to two men wearing Washington Commanders' jerseys and assault them in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack. 'Charging documents said that Callis had been captured on surveillance video assaulting one of the men before the events of the viral video.' Social media users were outraged by the video and went to work to try to identify the man in order to bring him to justice. Some claimed to have identified his place of work and pressured the insurance company until it announced that it had fired the suspect. Then, on Friday, Baltimore police said they had issued a warrant for 24-year-old John Callis. On Monday, Callis surrendered to Baltimore Police’s Southern District station after coming to an agreement with police, according to his attorney. Charging documents said that Callis had been captured on surveillance video assaulting one of the men before the events of the viral video. He allegedly punched one man, leading the other to defend the victim before being assaulted himself. A third man in a Commanders jersey intervened in the fight, as well as a woman, according to police. When they separated, the woman stayed with Callis while the three victims fled. The men who were assaulted told police that they had returned to the area in order to look for a lost cell phone when Callis attacked them again, as seen in the viral video. Police said that one of the men suffered a concussion as well several bodily bruises while the other two suffered only minor injuries. Callis had previously been arrested for beating up a man in 2021 and was given probation and a fine for that incident. A news report from WTTG-TV showed Callis in police shackles, which can be viewed on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/ravens-beating-commanders-surrenders-police

2024-10-22 09:01:24

Toddler shoots infant to death after finding loaded long gun, police say
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An infant was shot to death by a toddler who found a long gun while sitting the back of a car in a parking lot, Texas police say. Three children were sitting in a silver SUV at the parking lot of the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center in San Antonio on Monday afternoon when one of the children found the loaded gun, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. The female adult in the car was waiting for a medical appointment, police said. 'Police said they had not yet determined the owner of the gun.' The toddler fired the gun in the backseat, striking the infant who was between 10 and 11 months old, McManus said at a media briefing. Paramedics from the medical center tried to save the child, but they pronounced the infant dead at the scene. The two other children were aged 2 and 3 years old. Police said they had not yet determined the owner of the gun. Police initially said the incident was being investigated as a tragic accident, and no charges were being considered, but they later confirmed that they may file criminal negligence charges depending on the outcome of their investigation. McManus said they had not yet determined the relationship between the female in the car and the three children during the preliminary investigation. A news video report from KENS-TV showed scenes from the parking lot and can be viewed on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/texas-infant-shot-killed-toddler

2024-10-22 09:01:08

14-year-old boy punches drug-pushing male in head after he lunges at teen. Male falls, hits head on street, dies weeks later.
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A 14-year-old boy punched a drug-pushing male in the head after the male lunged at the teen last month in Pueblo, Colorado. With that, the male fell and hit his head on the street — and died weeks later. Pueblo police said they believe the teen was acting in self-defense, KOAA-TV reported.The station said the Pueblo County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the male in question at a later time.Around 5 p.m. Sept. 27, police arrived in the 1100 block of York Street — which is located near the East 4th Street and Highway 50 interchange — and said the boy was providing aid to a male "experiencing homelessness," the station reported. Police told KOAA they learned the male approached the boy and asked him if he wanted to "smoke drugs." Police told the station the boy declined and tried to leave, but the male continued to try to talk to the boy.With that, the male lunged at the boy, and the boy punched the male in the head, KOAA said.Police said the male fell and hit his head on the street, the station reported, adding that he was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries Oct. 12. Police told KOAA they believe the teenager acted in self-defense, and at the moment, no charges have been filed against the boy. The station said the Pueblo County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the male in question at a later time. Police added to KOAA that they're still investigating the case, and if you have any information about the incident to call Det. Shay at 719-553-2445. The station also said if you want to remain anonymous, you can call Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-7867. - YouTube youtu.be Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/14-year-old-boy-punches-drug-pushing-male-in-head-after-he-lunged-at-teen-male-falls-hits-head-on-street-dies-weeks-later

2024-10-22 09:00:59

Kamala’s filibuster fails as Bret Baier shreds her cowardly campaign strategy
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Although The Hill certainly can’t be accused of being in Donald Trump’s corner and, as far as I can tell, has leaned left throughout this presidential campaign, its reporters lost no time telling us that Kamala Harris messed up her interview with Bret Baier on Fox News. The Hill’s description of the interview used the word “disaster” several times to underscore the truly appalling character of Harris’ clumsy attempts to grapple with Baier’s questioning.Contrary to the totally dishonest defense that the vice president received in much of the corporate left-wing media, The Hill further explained that American media was responsible for Kamala’s interview catastrophe.If Baier seemed to be interrupting Harris repeatedly, he had every reason to do so. She was filibustering.The legacy media, according to The Hill, never bothered to give our vice president any serious questions. The media avoided asking her those obvious things that Baier brought up in the narrow 20-minute interview that Kamala’s handlers granted him. For example, when exactly did she learn that the president under whom she was serving was afflicted with senile dementia? For years, Harris never let on that she grasped that glaringly obvious reality. She went on praising Joe Biden’s mental acumen, up until the moment Democratic kingmakers installed her as their presidential nominee. The friendly media should have been asking Kamala about why she hid Biden’s frailty. If the media had done its job, she might have had a reasonable response to Baier’s query.The interview for me raised another question: Why would Kamala’s handlers have permitted her to undergo the ordeal of an unscripted interview?Their candidate had been running neck-and-neck with and possibly slightly ahead of Trump for about two months, and it might have been possible to run out the clock without exposing Harris to a systematic grilling courtesy of a relentlessly thorough interviewer. By now it’s clear that she doesn’t think fast on her feet; and she’s already “unburdened herself” of multiple, embarrassing word salads when responding to effusively friendly talk show hosts. It might have been best, her advisers should have reasoned, not to put her into a demanding situation that was above her pay grade. (I think we can all agree with Trump that this lady is not very smart.)The one time Harris apparently ventured out beyond tightly controlled situations was during her debate with Trump in September. But even then, she had been allowed to rattle off memorized lines, mostly depicting her opponent as a fascist ogre. And this debate took place under the aegis of biased moderators, who acted as if they were Kamala’s loving babysitters. I suspect her handlers agreed to that short interview with Baier because they thought it would be a win-win situation. Her appearance on Fox News would create the impression that she was reaching out to Republicans, just as Trump went into strongly blue areas to appeal to possible voters there. Presumably at least some Fox viewers — anti-Trump Republicans — could be won over to vote blue. Since the time permitted for that interview kept getting whittled down, from half an hour to about 20 minutes, Kamala would not be exposing herself to the unknown for very long.Her handlers further assumed that Kamala could get by during the abbreviated interview by rehashing the anti-Trump rhetoric that she had dutifully recited for the debate. Please note that the most animated responses that she gave to Baier’s questions were restatements of what she had unleashed against Trump. She, therefore, went back to the same invectives even if they didn’t relate to the questions Baier asked during the interview. If Baier seemed to be interrupting her repeatedly, he had every reason to do so. Harris was filibustering. Instead, she launched into anti-Trump rants as the questioning proceeded, and that made the interview difficult to conduct.Perhaps the major factor that got Harris and her team to accept the interview was the choice of the interviewer. Although a celebrity on a Republican-leaning channel, Baier is not known to bear any affection for Donald Trump. He has never held back from going after Trump’s claim to have won the 2020 presidential race. He also plays up “bigly” his mediating role in seeking “common ground” with Democrats.If I were a Democrat deciding to be interviewed on a Republican channel, I would have been truly delighted if Baier were the one asking the questions. What happened, however, was not at all what Harris expected. Baier came out, entirely to his credit, asking tough, well-phrased questions and tried to keep his interviewee from segueing into her anti-Trump invective. That and being for nationwide unrestricted abortion rights for women continue to be Kamala’s only talking points, when she’s not belaboring her listener with unintelligible word salads.Quite predictably, the leftist media went after Baier for not doing what was expected of him, which was helping to get Harris elected. But Baier wouldn’t release his quarry, a decision for which he should be commended.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/kamalas-filibuster-fails-as-bret-baier-shreds-her-cowardly-campaign-strategy

2024-10-22 09:00:54

Chinese communists reportedly 'frustrated' and 'perplexed' at communist Cuba's resistance to free market solutions
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An economic collapse in the communist controlled economy of Cuba is straining its relations with communist China resulting in an unexpected report. Cuba experienced a massive electrical blackout due to deteriorating infrastructure and damaging embargoes from the U.S., but rather than implement free market solutions, the communist government insists on failing with ideological purity. 'The strained relationship is reflected in a precipitous drop of Chinese imports to Cuba, which went from $1.7 billion in 2017 to $1.1 billion.' According to a report in the Financial Times, Chinese officials are exasperated with their Caribbean island compatriots. They cite economists and diplomats briefed in the situation between China and Cuba. The sources said that China publicly supported Cuba's vertically planned economy, but in private, Chinese officials have urged the island regime to follow the Chinese economic model with market-oriented elements. The report said Chinese officials are "perplexed and frustrated" at Cuban leaders overlooking glaring disfunction in order to perpetuate the state-run economy. The strained relationship is reflected in a precipitous drop of Chinese imports to Cuba, which went from $1.7 billion in 2017 to $1.1 billion only five years later. Cuba is in its fourth day without power to about 10 million residents. Communist leaders blamed U.S. embargoes for the worsening power situation, but U.S. officials denied the accusations. "The United States is not to blame for today's blackout on the island, or the overall energy situation in Cuba," said the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. Some Cuban residents have protested against the government's failures by banging pots and pans while disrupting traffic. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded by warning that the government was "not going to allow acts of vandalism and much less alter the tranquility of our people.”The situation is expected to deteriorate even more after Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Sunday in Cuba. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/china-cuba-communism-blackout-failure

2024-10-22 09:00:46

Massive migrant caravan gathers in Mexico; immigrants plan to cross border before Trump can stop them
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One-third of the population of Tapachula, Mexico, is now made up of migrants who plan to cross the border. Todd Bensman, a senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, explains that these 150,000 immigrants are trapped behind a militarized cordon of Mexican military operation, in order “to keep them from creating a political spectacle at our border.” “This goes back to a deal that was done in December of 2023, in order to reduce the total numbers that were being seen crossing and driving the polls down. So 150,000 is an astronomical number that are hemmed up here in this enclave, this migrant kind of Gaza Strip, if you will,” he tells Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight.” The migrants in Tapachula “are in absolute torment,” as all the resources available to them have been used up. “The people are sleeping on the streets, there’s no room in shelters, there’s no room in the hotels, and they just keep pile-driving in because they fear that Donald Trump is going to win,” Bensman says. “There’s a real sense of urgency among the immigrants here, and they’ve started to form caravans to kind of force their way out of Tapachula, to escape Tapachula,” he continues. “There’s about another thousand or 2,000 forming up right now in downtown Tapachula to get ready to push on to another city down here, providing that the Mexican military will let them pass.” These immigrants aren’t just from Mexico; they’re from all over the world. “All of them just sort of keep coming with this hope that soon the Mexicans will relent and let them through. And that’s the big question: Will the Mexicans relent on the deal that they made with Biden at the time he was running for office?” Bensman asks. Peterson is shocked. “We’re old enough to remember, all of us here, when kids in cages were a terrible thing. Now, it’s hundreds of thousands of kids can go missing and it’s fine here. You have cities in cages,” he says. “Not a single person is talking about this in legacy media. It’s insane,” he adds. Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/blaze-news-tonight/migrant-tapachula

2024-10-22 09:00:36

Texas AG Paxton accuses Democrat donation portal ActBlue of illegally funneling foreign money into US campaigns
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called on the Federal Election Commission to investigate evidence he uncovered of possible illegal foreign donations through ActBlue. 'I am calling on the FEC to immediately begin rulemaking to secure our elections from any criminal actors exploiting these vulnerabilities.' Paxton issued a statement about the results of his investigation into the Democratic donation portal on Monday. "Our investigation into ActBlue has uncovered facts indicating that bad actors can illegally interfere in American elections by disguising political donations," said Paxton. "It is imperative that the FEC close off the avenues we have identified by which foreign contributions or contributions in excess of legal limits could be unlawfully funneled to political campaigns, bypassing campaign finance regulations and compromising our electoral system." Paxton initiated his investigation into ActBlue in Dec. 2023, and the portal's directors responded by adding another security measure to credit card users on the site. Paxton said that was not enough, however. "I am calling on the FEC to immediately begin rulemaking to secure our elections from any criminal actors exploiting these vulnerabilities," he added. In July, independent investigators reported finding evidence of suspicious donations to ActBlue. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares opened an investigation and called on ActBlue to explain the alleged evidence that donations were "being made from fictional donors or dummy accounts, or that information reported by or through ActBlue may be fraudulent." ActBlue officials accused the AG of adding credibility to a "years-long disinformation and harassment" campaign against the portal. “This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors,” the statement from ActBlue stated. “We welcome the opportunity to respond to these frivolous claims.”The portal has also dumped several Political Action Committee organizations that were being accused of behaving like "Scam PACs" that promise to aid campaigns but instead spent lavishly to the benefit of organizers. An ActBlue spokesperson said only that the PACs were jettisoned over their misuse of the information available on the portal. The Harris-Walz campaign has reported raising over a billion dollars in campaign donations, dwarfing previous presidential successes. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/actblue-paxton-illegal-donations-dem

2024-10-22 09:00:12

Trump's roast of liberals was so good that even Brian Stelter is praising it
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Donald Trump may be a lot of things, but one thing that stands out from the rest is his unparalleled sense of humor. The former president flexed his comedic muscle in a roast of the Democrats at the 2024 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City — and none of them were marked safe from his ire, especially Kamala Harris, who did not show up at the dinner, making it the first time since Walter Mondale that both presidential candidates have not been in attendance. “Chuck Schumer is here, looking very glum,” Trump said. “He looks glum. But look on the bright side, Chuck. Considering how woke your party has become, if Kamala loses, you still have a chance to become the first woman president.” Trump also went after Kamala’s supporters, specifically her very loud white male supporters. “There’s a group called ‘White Dudes for Harris,’ have you seen this?” Trump asked the audience. “I’m not worried about them at all, because their wives and their wives’ lovers are all voting for me. Every one of those people are voting for me.” But perhaps one of his best jokes of the night was pointed at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kamala’s VP pick. “Unfortunately Governor Walz isn’t here himself, but don’t worry, he’s going to say that he was,” Trump said, to thunderous applause. While there’s no doubt that many liberals were frustrated to see Trump put on such a great performance, others were able to laugh along — including CNN’s Brian Stelter, who said he was funny and “got a few great jokes in.” “Trump is objectively funny,” Stu Burguiere of “Stu Does America” tells Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.” “You should be able to admit it, and I give credit to Stelter for admitting it.” “He is really funny,” Glenn agrees. “And he has no problem making fun of himself. Last night he said, ‘You know, they told me I should do some self-deprecating jokes, but I got nothing.’” Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/donald-trump-roast

2024-10-22 09:00:11

McDonald's issues bipartisan statement to employees after Trump's visit: 'We open our doors to everyone'
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The leadership at McDonald's gave a statement to its employees after former President Donald Trump hosted a campaign event for supporters at a local franchise in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.Noting that Trump's visit does not mean it is endorsing a candidate, the company appreciates Trump being a longtime fan for many years.As McDonald's noted, it does not have records to back up Harris' claim she had worked at a location as an early job."We are not red or blue — we are golden. Though we are not a political brand, we've been proud to hear former President Trump's love for McDonald's and Vice President Harris's fond memories working under the Arches. While we and our franchisees don't have records for all positions dating back to the '80s, what makes '1 in 8' so powerful is the shared experience so many Americans have had," the statement said."Upon learning of the former President's request, we approached it through the lens of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone. It's with that same approach that franchisees have invited Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to their restaurants, in order to share how McDonald's provides meaningful pathways to economic opportunity and feeds and fosters local communities," the company explained. "The strength of our brand comes down to our people."As McDonald's noted, it does not have records to back up Harris' claim she worked at a location as an early job. The New York Times labeled Trump's statements saying she never worked there as "false" but have mainly relied on a statement from the Harris campaign that offers no further proof. The Times was able to find a close friend who says Harris' mother told her about the supposed McDonald's job.For his part, Trump joked he has now worked at McDonald's longer than Harris ever had. Memes about Trump's visit flooded social media, even overshadowing that Sunday was Harris' birthday.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/mcdonald-s-issues-bipartisan-statement-to-employees-after-trump-s-visit-we-open-our-doors-to-everyone

2024-10-22 09:00:05

'Peak gaslighting': Desperate California teachers characterize parental rights candidates as untrustworthy
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The prospect of greater transparency and restored parental involvement in children's education appears to have panicked a gang of teachers from California's Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Parental rights advocates emphasized to Blaze News that this desperation is yet another signal the tide is turning in favor of parents. English teacher Matt Armstrong of Newport Harbor High School and a multitude of fellow travelers in the district released an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times' Daily Pilot on Thursday blasting those candidates now seeking election to the NMUSD board of trustees who would dare protect parental rights. Although Armstrong and the op-ed's signatories refrained from naming the candidates outright, they appear to have been referring to Philip Stemler in Trustee Area 3 and Amy Peters in Trustee Area 6. "We understand that it's fashionable in some circles to criticize public institutions and vilify teachers," wrote Armstrong and company. "With that in mind, the undersigned teachers and I want to make clear that proclaiming 'parental rights' is code for two goals: to lord over our community's teachers and to censor materials available to students." According to the opinion piece, parents "have not been deprived of any rights" but threaten to upend Democratic laws intended to keep parents in the dark about consequential decisions regarding their children and to foist racial and LGBT propaganda on children. Corey A. DeAngelis, senior fellow at the American Culture Project and executive director at the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, told Blaze News, "Their claim that parents haven't been deprived of any rights is peak gaslighting. California politicians are fighting to keep secrets from public school parents" Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ratified the so-called AB 1955, the so-called SAFETY Act, in July. 'They think they own other people's children.' The law, first introduced by gay Assemblyman Christopher Ward (D) and championed by the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, prohibits school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools from introducing or enforcing rules, regulations, or policies that require employees to disclose to parents "any information related to a pupil's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression." On account of AB 1955, parents in NMUSD are precluded from challenging the district's policy that requires educators to hide a child's so-called "transgender or gender-nonconforming status" from their parents when "appropriate." Armstrong and company alleged in their op-ed: If elected, these people will overrule the qualifications and experience of the educators in our schools by adopting policies intended to challenge California law. They would use their position of public trust on our nonpartisan local school board to pursue a partisan agenda to upend the California SAFETY Act. Such grandstanding will subject our district to costly litigation on a losing case. This is where 'defending parental rights' will lead us. According to her candidate statement, Peters, a mother of three and former educator, not only wants to address the suboptimal academic outcomes in the district and its "poor fiscal health" but to "work to restore the partnership between parents and educators, and to ensure that transparent and response governance and leadership is prioritized." The Daily Pilot indicated that Peters has been openly critical of AB 1955. "I don't think we should be keeping that information from parents," she said at a recent forum hosted by the Harbor Council PTA at Back Bay High School. "The secrecy that's happening on school campuses drives a wedge between schools and parents and teachers and children." Stemler, a father of two and San Bernardino County deputy district attorney endorsed by Newport Beach Mayor Will O'Neill, similarly emphasized the need for transparency in his candidate statement, noting further that "when it comes to the issues facing today's students, family is the solution, not the problem." Stemler added, "Parental and family involvement is vital for student success. We must end policies driving a wedge between parents and students." Both Stemler and Peters have reportedly expressed an interest in challenging state laws that undermine parental rights. "The blizzard of state laws and regulations that are governing our schools are the reason why you need someone like me, who has experience in court and litigating and standing up for what's right," said Stemler. After warning that if parental rights advocates were elected, choices over what students read might be localized, Armstrong and company claimed, "Those who 'fight for parental rights' don't really care about your rights or your children." Blaze News reached out to Peters and Stemler for comment but did not receive a response by deadline. DeAngelis told Blaze News that the claims in the op-ed "raise serious red flags. Government school employees attacking parental rights in education are the ones who cannot be trusted." "They think they own other people's children," continued DeAngelis. "It's time for parents to hold these tyrants accountable at the ballot box." 'They look at parents as dangerous and think they should get out of the way.' Alvin Lui, president of the parental rights advocacy group Courage Is a Habit, told Blaze News that the "gas-lighting tactics" employed in the op-ed are now customarily advanced by government educators and administrators in K-12 — by those convinced "it's the parents that shouldn't be trusted; that they're the ones that know better." Lui noted that the mounting pushback from parents across the nation is partly the result of such brazen anti-parent sentiment in the school system. "The schools aren't even hiding how much they disdain parental rights," said Lui. "[Educators] believe that they know better than the parents. They believe that their values are better, that the parents are backwards or bigots. ... They look at parents as dangerous and think they should get out of the way." This op-ed is another "great example of why more parents should push back even harder," added Lui. "It's a classic manipulator tactic: DARVO, which is deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. That's exactly what they're doing." Like Lui, DeAngelis noted a silver lining about the current battle in the schools. "The good news is parents have woken up and they're never going back to sleep," DeAngelis told Blaze News. "The power of parents scares the defenders of the status quo more than anything else. That's precisely why teachers unions have resorted to attacking parents who want more of a say in their children's education." DeAngelis added that the U.S. Supreme Court "famously ruled in 1925 that 'the child is not the mere creature of the State.' California politicians would be wise to remember those words today." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/desperate-california-teachers-characterize-parental-rights-candidates-as-untrustworthy

2024-10-21 20:25:01

'We will never forget about you,' Trump assures storm-weary Western North Carolina
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Former President Donald J. Trump told a suffering Western North Carolina, “We will never forget about you,” as he pledged that the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene would be met by efforts to make the region “greater and more beautiful than it was before.”Standing with a huge pile of storm debris in the distance behind him, Trump sought to buoy the spirits of suffering residents, community leaders, and first responders — whose task has turned from search and rescue to recovery of the dead.“We’re praying for you, and we will not forget about you,” Trump said at a press conference in Swannanoa, North Carolina. “We will never forget about you. We’re going to be working with you for a long time to come to get it back together.”In his first of three scheduled North Carolina stops on Oct. 21, Trump said he was amazed by the storm devastation as his motorcade made its way from the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina.'What an amazing act of citizenship and service.'“That’s quite a scene driving up. You see that kind of destruction, actually incredible to see,” Trump said. “That is incredible. It’s the power of nature. Nothing you can do about it, but you’ve got to get a little bit better crew in to do a better job than has been done by the White House.”Trump cited the rescue and humanitarian work of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, which turned a local Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership into an air and ground hub to distribute storm relief and coordinate searches. Savage Freedoms was featured by Blaze News on Oct. 16.“Nothing is more inspiring than to see the American spirit triumph over adversity with the most selfless acts of generosity and love,” Trump said. Former President Donald J. Trump greets Adam Smith of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, a group that turned a motorcycle dealership into a helipad and storm relief center, during a visit to Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Oct. 21, 2024.Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images“One of the patrons who stepped forward to help was Adam Smith, a former Green Beret. Adam transformed the parking lot of a Harley-Davidson dealership into a makeshift airbase to help distribute supplies,” Trump said. “Did an incredible job. Adam, what an amazing act of citizenship and service.”Smith organized the relief center with the help of hundreds of volunteers, including many other special ops veterans. An adjacent field was converted into a helipad for flying supplies and even farm feed to remote mountain areas cut off from civilization by devastating rains and mudslides in late September.The relief center drew a visit from an impressed Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. The next day, the 101st Airborne Division sent 100 troops to help the center’s operations.Smith thanked Trump, saying his presence will keep the area “on the map” as it rebuilds. Trump’s decision to delay his visit gave rescue crews “space to operate and function and gave us space to provide relief where it needed to go,” Smith said. Adam Smith of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations addresses volunteers at a makeshift supply depot at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Swannanoa, North Carolina, Oct. 15, 2024. Photo by Steve Baker/Blaze News “The biggest fear that Western North Carolina is sitting on right now, at least from the communities we’ve talked to, is being forgotten,” Smith told the 45th president. “And to have you here and have an opportunity to have this conversation at a national level will keep Western North Carolina on the map and not leave the communities holding the bag on the back end of this.”Trump was sharply critical of the Hurricane Helene response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the agency’s use of hundreds of millions of dollars for settling of illegal aliens across the country.“Their rescue effort was almost nonexistent,” Trump said.Trump said he was in favor of calling Congress into special session to approve more federal aid to the states impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, but he said FEMA should have more money on hand than it does.“So they don't have any money for the people that live here that got hit by one of the worst storms, possibly the worst storm ever, but one of the worst storms in the history of our country,” Trump said. “And it’s a shame because they should have the money. They spent money that I don't believe they’re supposed to be spending for that, as you know.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/we-will-never-forget-about-you-trump-assures-storm-weary-western-north-carolina

2024-10-21 18:45:01

White people should face 'accountability' if Harris does not win, political commentator tells CNN
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Angela Rye said white voters should face consequences for not saving democracy if Vice President Kamala Harris does not win the upcoming presidential election. CNN host Victor Blackwell asked Rye about former President Barack Obama chastising black men for hesitating to vote for Harris. "I think that it's wonderful that President Obama is out hitting the trail for democracy, frankly," Rye initially replied. "And what I think is a mistake is to let white folks escape the accountability that they must face for not showing up to save democracy themselves. Like, they want to get mad at presidential candidates, right, when they don‘t wear a flag lapel pin or they don‘t see you pledging allegiance to the flag."Rye claimed white people view the "terrorist attack on January 6, 2021," at the Capitol building as a demonstration of patriotism, so "the responsibility of saving democracy should be on the largest demographic in this country. "That is white men and white women."Similar to other demographics that go for Democrats during presidential elections, Harris has been struggling in the polls with black voters.Rye pointed to efforts in Detroit to talk with voters about the economy and "ensuring that democracy is preserved even if it's not perfect. We're doing our part. It's time for white folks to turn their ire and their attention to each other to ensure they also do their part.“ Similar to other demographics that go for Democrats during presidential elections, Harris has been struggling in the polls with black voters when compared to President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Obama.The New York Times reported that while Harris is expected to a win an outright majority of black voters, only 78% of black voters are expected to vote for her, compared to 90% for Biden in 2020 and 92% for Clinton in 2016. Part of the reason for the erosion of support for Harris among black voters is that many believe Democrats have not done enough to support their communities despite receiving their votes. That feeling has only been exacerbated by the influx of illegal immigrants in big cities and the money being spent on them instead of inner-city communities. "Forty percent of African-American voters under 30 said the Republican Party was more likely to follow through on its campaign commitments than Democrats were," the NYT explained.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/white-people-should-face-accountability-if-harris-does-not-win-political-commentator-tells-cnn

2024-10-21 17:50:02

Lizzo embraces Trump's warning that Kamala Harris will leave country looking like Detroit
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Lizzo elicited criticism over the weekend for embracing President Donald Trump's warning that Kamala Harris would leave the whole country looking like Detroit — and suggesting that such an outcome would be optimal. The rapper, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, informed her supporters prior to taking a private jet to stump for the Green New Deal advocate, "This is how a bad b**** saves democracy." Jefferson, who now lives nearly 2,000 miles away in a $15 million California mansion, later told a crowd of Democrats in Detroit, where the median listing price for a home is $95,000, "I'm so proud to be from this city. You know, they say if Kamala wins, then the whole country will be like Detroit. OK." The Democratic crowd cheered at the prospect that Harris might transform the rest of the country to resemble a crime-ridden city that filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Detroit, a city that has seen its population shrink from over 1.8 million in the 1950s to just over 633,000 last year, scores a 1 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The chances of falling prey to a violent crime in the city are 1 in 49. The chances of becoming a victim of a property crime are 1 in 22. According to official city figures, there were 252 homicides, 804 nonfatal shootings, 10,427 aggravated assaults, 669 rapes, 167 carjackings, 9,421 reported motor vehicle thefts, 4,821 burglaries, 15,681 larceny offenses, and 1,392 robberies in the city last year. WalletHub once again ranked Detroit — where the unemployment rate is over twice the national average at 8.8% — as the neediest of 182 cities in the country. The median household income in the city last year was less than half of the national figure of $80,610. Jefferson continued, saying, "Proud like Detroit. Resilient like Detroit. We're talking about the same Detroit that innovated the auto industry and the music industry. So put some respect on Detroit's name, okay?" 'They actually want Trump to win.' Jefferson was referring to President Donald Trump's Oct. 10 speech at the Detroit Economic Club, where he said, "Our whole country will end up like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands. She destroyed San Francisco. She destroyed, along with Newscum, California, and we're not going to let her do that to this country. We're not going to let it happen." The Harris campaign and liberal media were keen at the time to ignore the context of Trump's remarks, namely that he was criticizing the hollowing out of America's manufacturing base. Trump went onto say, "I am telling you right now, standing here in the center of this once-great city, that by the end of my term, the entire world will be talking about the Michigan miracle and the stunning rebirth of Detroit." Victoria LaCivita, Trump's Michigan communications director, clarified in a statement obtained by CNN that Trump was highlighting how the city has "suffered from globalist policies championed by Kamala Harris that have shipped manufacturing overseas." "As President Trump emphasized in his speech, his policies will usher in a new era of economic success and stability for Detroit, helping the city reach its fullest potential," added LaCivita. Critics seized upon Jefferson's remarks, sharing images of abandoned houses in Detroit, staggering statistics about the city's crime, and damning figures regarding the education system. BlazeTV's Pat Gray said, "Are you serious? What a stupid thing to say. I mean, even if you're proud of your town, you know the rest of the country thinks it's a hellhole, right?" Conservative commentor Trish Regan noted, "#Lizzo says US 'becoming Detroit' is a good thing. *30% of Detroit lives BELOW poverty line. *Detroit=DOUBLE DIGIT unemployment. *Detroit=one of the highest crime rates in the country. America cannot be #Detroit. USA wants more than ⁦@lizzo ⁩ & Kamala can ever imagine." David Scott, the musician known as the Kiffness, responded, "I'm from South Africa, (one of the highest crime rates in the world) & I've never been robbed on tour. I was in Detroit last year & our tour van was robbed TWICE in one night." Comedian David Angelo shared the video with the caption, "My theory has been that Democrats know everything is about to collapse and they actually want Trump to win." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/align/lizzo-embraces-trumps-warning-that-kamala-harris-will-leave-country-looking-like-detroit

2024-10-21 16:15:01

Harris' attempt to pander to Christians after insulting them goes very badly: 'You're at the wrong rally'
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Kamala Harris' latest attempt to pander to a group she has alienated with her politics and prejudices appears to be going very badly. After attempting to win back those black male voters now abandoning her and the Democratic Party en masse with the promise of federally legalized marijuana, Harris set her sights more broadly on Christian voters, insinuating that "putting faith into action" means casting a vote for her — despite her zealous support of abortion and gender ideology, her past anti-Christian remarks, and her efforts to run roughshod over religious liberties. The online component of Harris' "souls to the polls" campaign, which corresponded with her visits Sunday to churches in Georgia, was overwhelmingly met with ridicule. Harris tweeted an image of herself standing on a church platform with crosses in the background, stating, "We each have the power to make a difference — in our communities and in this election. Now is the time to come together to show faith in action and service." Despite netting nearly 2 million views on X, the post received fewer than 8,000 likes. 'This is such disgusting, superficial, disingenuous pandering, it's beyond words.' BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey quipped, "Christian Nationalism is so scary." Auron MacIntyre, the host of BlazeTV's “The Auron MacIntyre Show” who helped "ratio" the vice president's post, responded, "I think you're at the wrong rally." MacIntyre's comment, which received roughly 9,000 more likes than Harris' post by the time of publication, referred to the vice president's remarks at her campaign event last week in La Crosse, Wisconsin. On Thursday — the day Harris blew off the Archdiocese of New York's 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner — the vice president reportedly told a pair of Christian college students who yelled "Jesus is Lord" that they were "at the wrong rally." Grant Beth, one of the pro-life students mocked by Harris and elements of her crowd, told "Fox & Friends," "This is what you are going to get with a Kamala Harris presidency." "You are going to get the Kamala Harris that alienates over 50% of the U.S. population that is Christian," continued Beth. "You're going to get the Kamala Harris that skips the Al Smith Memorial Dinner." When an audience member yelled, "Jesus is King," at a campaign event for Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's running mate said, "That's right. Jesus is King!" "Christians won't be fooled," tweeted Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz wrote in response to Harris' "souls to the polls" post. Popular YouTuber David Freiheit wrote, "4 days after telling a rally-goer who said 'Jesus is Lord' that they were 'at the wrong rally', Cackling Kamala puts out this message. This is such disgusting, superficial, disingenuous pandering, it's beyond words. And if it works on you, you are an idiot." One user wrote, "Christians are voting for Trump." Harris told members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, on Sunday, "Our country is at a crossroads, and where we go from here is up to us as Americans and as people of faith," reported CNN. 'She has done nothing to support people of faith and what we believe and what we stand for.' "We face this question: What kind of country do we want to live in?" said Harris. "A country of chaos, fear, and hate, or a country of freedom, compassion, and justice?" Like the booster group Evangelicals for Harris, the vice president attempted to use scripture to paint her political cause as morally righteous, casting herself, for example, as the protagonist in the parable of the Good Samaritan. This might be a big reach for a great many American Christians, including Billy Graham's son, Franklin Graham. Blaze News recently reported that Franklin Graham said his dad would never have supported a candidate like Harris, highlighting how her positions are antithetical to Jesus Christ. "My father was a strong conservative all of his life, theologically as well as politically," Graham told Premier Christian News. "He would have never voted for or supported someone like Kamala Harris — someone who is almost anti-Christ in her positions. She has done nothing to support people of faith and what we believe and what we stand for." Harris has found numerous ways to alienate Christians, including suggesting that Catholic judicial nominees who embrace the Vatican's moral teaching should be disqualified from serving on federal courts; co-sponsoring the "Equality Act," which Kenneth Craycraft, the James J. Gardner Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology, indicated would compel Christian hospitals "to perform gender transition surgeries, open women's restrooms to men, and force girls and women to compete against boys and men in athletic competitions"; introducing and sponsoring the Do No Harm Act, which would force religious individuals and organizations to engage in activities that directly violate their firmly held religious beliefs; attacking abstinence education; supporting overturning the Hyde Amendment, thereby freeing up federal funds for abortions; and authorizing a raid on the home of a pro-life activist who exposed Planned Parenthood's alleged trafficking of baby parts. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/abide/harris-attempt-to-pander-to-christians-after-insulting-them-goes-really-badly

2024-10-21 15:00:02

Super Bowl champ and former Steeler Antonio Brown campaigns for Trump in front of steelworker crowd in Pennsylvania
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Super Bowl champion Antonio Brown endorsed Donald Trump while referring to the media as "crazy" during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania.Brown, along with his former teammate ex-Pittsburgh Steeler Le'Veon Bell, gave remarks to a raucous crowd at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour east of Pittsburgh.Brown was all smiles at the event, interacting with the crowd and reporters while wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.In a video posted on X, Brown made several remarks about the Democratic ticket with particular focus on Kamala Harris' running mate, Tim Walz.'He knows success, and he knows what it takes to make America great again.'"I know the media is going to call me crazy for Trump having me speak here. But I want to make this clear: We are not. They are," Brown told rally-goers. "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, they want to put tampons in the boys' bathroom. That's really insane, right? By the way, Tampon Tim Walz, he isn't a real football coach.""He could never guard me," Brown joked. In another video from the rally posted by RSBN, Brown described himself as an "underdog," telling fans that his time playing for the Steelers taught him the "spirit of Pittsburgh: blue-collar, hardworking people that are resilient and face challenges head-on."Brown continued, "I'm here representing a man who carries those same values: Donald Trump. He knows success, and he knows what it takes to make America great again. No matter what the media threw at him, no matter what people said to try to bring him down, he continued to push forward and kept getting back up. And he's always ready for the fight."Bell, a three-time Pro Bowl player, was much more succinct when approaching the mic. The former Michigan State running back simply said that Trump is the only candidate who can "make America great again."Since retiring, Bell has ventured into professional celebrity boxing and has a 2-1 record in three fights.Brown, on the other hand, has become active in the media and political landscape. He recently accused mainstream outlets of censorship over not showing Elon Musk on television when he attended a Steelers game. His vocal support for Trump has come with much fanfare, which he has parlayed into publicity for his own online sports network called CTESPN. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThe Pennsylvania crowd was packed with steelworkers as Trump attempts to win the swing state after losing by just 1.2% to Joe Biden in 2020; Trump won the state by 0.7% in 2016.Pennsylvania has continuously seen its industry waver or send jobs overseas. In December 2023, the United States Steel Corporation, better known as U.S. Steel, was sold to Nippon Steel, a Japanese company worth over $21 billion.U.S. Steel had been an American company since 1901, but the $14.9 billion offer was too much pass up as the company was struggling with nearly $1 billion of debt.Trump's action-packed day on Sunday included not only the rally but a shift at McDonald's and an appearance at the Steelers game later that night.During the game, a female fan caused a stir when she rushed the field in knee-high boots. As she stumbled running across the field, she raised a sign that read, "Trump secure border. Kamala open border," before being apprehended.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/antonio-brown-leveon-bell-trump

2024-10-20 20:05:01

Want to improve the birth rate? Stop being so harsh on mothers.
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In their quest to make motherhood great again, conservatives have set a very high bar for those wanting to make a go of it. Enter the all-or-nothing mother. She must breastfeed baby, and if she’s unable to produce milk for whatever reason, she’s just not trying hard enough. She can’t leave baby in a crib, or sleep-train baby, or leave baby alone with his father or extended family, because Mama must be with baby at all times, lest she give baby a lifetime of attachment-related trauma. Rather than purity-spiraling and leading the birth rate into further decline, conservatives could simply tell women the truth: that they can relax, because there are a thousand different ways to be a good mother. She must feed baby exclusively organic food, but she can’t have a job to help her afford it — that might require the ultimate dereliction of maternal duty: day care. Not that preschool, full-day kindergarten, or half-day kindergarten is much better. Come to think of it, homeschooling is really the only path for any mother who cares about her children. And so on and so forth. Domestic girlbosses In theory, such all-or-nothing motherhood applies the tightly wound, busy-busy-busy culture of high-status, white-collar professions to the domestic sphere — where the stakes are the lives and souls of one’s own children, far greater than corporate presentations and spreadsheets ever could be! And yet, in practice, this vision of motherhood makes it seem intolerable — not to mention impossible — to the only audience that matters: impressionable young women and girls. Far from convincing them of the value of motherhood, making motherhood out to be an all-or-nothing ordeal makes young women wonder if the feminists really were right, if being a mother is incompatible with being a full person. I say this as a member of that demographic: I’m 23 years old and single, and while I am quite conservative and have always wanted children, I’m surrounded primarily by moderate to liberal, professional-class women my age who don’t know what they want. Child-hating hags? My peers, for the most part, aren’t the child-hating, travel-obsessed hags they’re all too often made out to be by conservative media — they happen to actually like children, sometimes in spite of themselves. While some of their apprehension toward motherhood is absolutely driven by a culture that eggs on adult narcissism and extended adolescence, much of it is driven by the opposite extreme: the expectation that not only will they have to give up their friends, their hobbies, and their careers when they have children, but they will have to become completely dependent on their husbands for their financial and social life and will spend every moment hovering over their children with no self left besides “mother.” When young women feel like motherhood is all or nothing, that either you stay “child-free” and keep yourself or become a mother and lose yourself, is it any wonder they’re choosing to keep themselves in greater numbers? More time to spare While this failure to create tolerable motherhood norms is nonpartisan — it’s telling, for instance, that conservative mothering and hippie mothering have basically become one and the same — conservatives have a special responsibility here. After all, unlike liberals, conservatives are interested in getting more women to have more children. Instead of tilting at the windmill of middle-class maternal neglect, conservatives should acknowledge the reality that working mothers today spend more time with their children than stay-at-home mothers did a generation ago, and yet children today are more anxious and less self-sufficient than ever before. Conservatives would do well to keep in mind that women in traditional cultures have the proverbial village to help them raise their children, something American women, even those with traditional values, usually lack. As a result, while many of the demands conservatives make of mothers ostensibly resemble traditional culture, they deviate from traditional culture in the one way that counts: Rather than enmeshing mothers in the fabric of society, over-intensive conservative mothering norms often alienate mothers from everyone else. Love's legacy Why drive mothers crazy — and deter would-be mothers from having children — all for the sake of what is essentially a neurotic, individualistic ideology that doesn’t even seem to improve children’s outcomes — and might actually make them worse? Rather than purity-spiraling and leading the birth rate into further decline, conservatives could simply tell women the truth: that they can relax, because there are a thousand different ways to be a good mother. And that, when we think of our mothers as adults, we don't remember the lifestyle choices they made — day care or not, organic or not, home birth or not — but rather the love they gave us — the deep, unconditional love that only a mother can give.
https://www.theblaze.com/align/want-to-improve-the-birth-rate-stop-being-so-harsh-on-mothers

2024-10-20 15:05:01

Will people in hell repent and be saved by God? The Bible's answer is clear
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According to the Bible, what will hell be like?The descriptions are awful, and the occupants are unsettling. Jesus said "the devil and his angels" would be there (Matthew 25:41). He taught that the unrighteous would be there (Matthew 25:41-46). John the apostle described it as "the second death" (Revelation 21:8) and the "lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). It is a place of unceasing punishment (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:46), and thus it is a place from which there is no escape.Growing up, I used to imagine that those who go to hell would, at some point (and probably sooner than later), come to their senses and repent. If the prodigal in the parable (Luke 15:11-32) came to his senses when he was eating pig slop, surely the horrors of hell would provoke deep sorrow and repentance.Have you ever wondered whether there will be repentance in hell? Should we imagine that those in hell will eventually cry out to God for salvation, only to have their cries rejected? Will they plead for his redemption, pledge themselves to him, and renounce their wickedness, only to have their desperate cries met with divine contempt?We should not imagine those things because we have no biblical reason to suppose that the wicked will ever be repentant in hell.Hell is full of hardened hearts. And repentance doesn't flow from a hardened heart. Repentance is a gift of God. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. And in the New Testament, repentance is unto salvation.Will they wish they weren't in hell? Yes. Will they wish the punishment would cease? Of course. Consider the language of the rich man in Luke 16, when he says, "I am in anguish in this flame" (Luke 16:24) and describes his abode as "this place of torment" (Luke 16:28).Jesus described the emotions of hell's occupants when he said, "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42; see also Matthew 24:51).Should we imagine this "weeping" as being tears of repentance? No repentance is specified. Weeping is not the only thing mentioned. We read about weeping and gnashing of teeth. Together, that pair of descriptions — tears and teeth — is an image of distress and rage. The "gnashing of teeth" denotes rage and hostility. The inhabitants of hell are hostile, angry, rageful.Hell is full of hardened hearts. And repentance doesn't flow from a hardened heart. Repentance is a gift of God. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. And in the New Testament, repentance is unto salvation. There is never true repentance without salvation. Peter said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38). When addressing those who might be opposed to the gospel, Paul said, "God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:25-26). And, of course, Paul is talking about people alive on earth, not about people in hell.Faith and repentance are the result of the gracious work of the Spirit, as the Lord opens our eyes to see the ugliness of our sin and the beauty of redemption. He convicts us, and we experience genuine contrition, a godly sorrow. According to Paul, "Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).Those in hell will never desire to worship God. They will never love the Lord. They will never repent. Instead, their hardness of heart will bear the fruit of all the horrors of sin.If there is any grief in hell, it is a worldly grief and not a godly grief. Godly grief produces repentance, the repentant are saved, and God is glorified because his Spirit's merciful work illuminates the sinner's heart and reveals the glory of Christ to him.It is unthinkable that repentant people would not be saved. And because those in hell will not be delivered from their judgment, there can be no genuine repentance in them. The Spirit will not produce repentance in the hearts of the wicked who cannot be redeemed from the second death.There will not be any saving grace or common grace in hell. There will only be the unrestrained rage of the godless, who, in their unending unrepentance, will indulge their blasphemies and hatred to the uttermost. If heaven is a place of love and hope, hell is a place of hate and despair.Those in hell will never desire to worship God. They will never love the Lord. They will never repent. Instead, their hardness of heart will bear the fruit of all the horrors of sin. The wicked in hell will be embodiments of iniquity, living manifestations of spiritual darkness. They will never want to flee to Christ, for they will despise him and blaspheme him forever.When we reflect on the abode of the wicked, let us rejoice that there is good news of a Savior who welcomes sinners to him even now. When people flee to Christ, he will never refuse them. In fact, he saves them and keeps them — forever.This article was originally published by Dr. Mitchell Chase at his Substack, Biblical Theology.
https://www.theblaze.com/abide/will-people-in-hell-repent-and-be-saved-by-god-the-bibles-answer-is-clear

2024-10-20 14:05:01

Tatting lace with no regrets
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If you're Euro-American, your great-grandmother probably tatted, and if her great-grandmother was a lady of class, she probably also tatted. While there is some thought that tatting has nautical origins, it is a relatively new lace-making technique that materialized a little over two hundred years ago and briefly trended in women's magazines and ladies' parlors. It is resurging, threatening to become as popular as it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Tatting is great on public transit. I can keep my lace and shuttle in my skirt pocket, pull it out and work on it for only a stitch or two if I like, then quickly shove it back into my pocket. Tatting was always an aristocratic pastime. Regular women had no time for sitting around to make lace. It was the 19th-century equivalent of the "fidget spinner" for women who hosted parties with fancy tea-things and was especially suited for chatty women who liked to keep their fingers preoccupied. Keturah Hickman Aristocratic fidget spinner One of my most prized possessions is a bookmark that was supposedly tatted by my great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Wheeler. It was given to me by my maternal grandmother, who taught me to tat about four years ago when I asked to learn. It took me nearly three days to be able to make only an inch of lace. After that I made about ten yards of cotton lace edging for a quilt I sewed by hand. Shuttle tatting does indeed feel similar to a fidget spinner for me, except I feel good after "spinning" when I have something — lace — to show for it. Keturah Hickman Keturah Hickman Shuttle diplomacy I've been living on the road with my husband out of our backpacks for the last few months. Tatting stores better than knitting or crocheting might — it is light and needs little space. I'm even able to keep a few extra shuttles on me to give away whenever I meet someone who wants to learn. It is great on public transit. I can keep my lace and shuttle in my skirt pocket, pull it out and work on it for only a stitch or two if I like, then quickly shove it back into my pocket. Tatting is difficult to master if you have not already learned other handicrafts. It involves making a series of knots with either a shuttle or straight needles and requires perfect, taut tension in order to flip the knots from one thread to another so that the knots slide instead of stick. The size of the lace is determined by the needles when needle tatting and by the weight of the thread when shuttle tatting. Needle tatting is a good option if you have hand or finger disabilities. I personally prefer shuttle tatting simply because the shuttles are very pretty and fun to use. Shuttles can come in all sorts of sizes for holding more or less thread. They are traditionally made of sterling silver but can also be found made of bone, shell, wood, steel, or plastic. Often one tats with a thin thread, but it is possible to tat with any sort of string. I have used embroidery floss and yarn. Time to tat One can make all sorts of things by tatting. I made all my wedding dress lace with silk yarn. I've also made barefoot shoes, earrings (my own ears are unpierced, but earrings sell well on the road), bookmarks, collars, lace edgings, and doilies. There are various Instagram accounts selling tatted jewelry. Keturah Hickman Lace cuffs and collar combos are also popular. While little old ladies are best known for their doilies, they also used to make beautiful lace edgings for priests' vestments. I have ambitions of making a lace parasol. The beautiful thing about tatting is that once you master it, it doesn't take as long to make lace as one might think. When I hosted the girls' immersive program "The Living Room Academy," I did not teach tatting because it simply takes more time to master the basics than any other general skill, and I did not consider it a "necessary" skill to prioritize along with sewing and baking. However, if you feel that you simply want to make lace for the fun of it, it is worth the time and effort to learn tatting. My husband has joked that we should open a tatting shop next to a tattoo parlor, and I could offer "tats with no regrets." There's just something about a piece of lace. Perhaps it was an aristocratic fad at one point in history. But now ... now we all have time to make a little lace, if we want. Keturah Hickman
https://www.theblaze.com/align/tatting-lace-with-no-regrets

2024-10-19 20:05:01

Could a hacker blow up your EV remotely?
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Pagers and walkie-talkies can be turned into remotely triggered bombs — so why not electric vehicles? That was my first thought when I read about last month's coordinated attacks on Hezbollah — believed to have been orchestrated by Israel — in which pagers and walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon, killing dozens and wounding thousands. A thermal runaway event could be induced deliberately, even when the EV's 'ignition' is off — especially if a hacker gained access to the vehicle's battery management system. While those devices appear to have been modified at some point during the supply chain, the principle behind turning them into deadly weapons is relatively simple: Heat the battery until it catches fire or explodes. It could just as easily apply to EVs — as well as hybrids, plug-ins, or 48v cars, all of which use batteries much larger than in any handheld device. Of course, these vehicles have a number of safety systems to prevent the battery from catching fire and overheating. But those safety systems run on software that can be hacked, especially since they are already years old by the time the vehicles are built and sold. Roy Fridman, CEO and chief revenue officer for C2A Security, an Israel-based cybersecurity company focused on the automotive industry, recently said that one automaker told him that the software that controls a motor has two million lines of code. And that’s just the motor. He stated, “You have hundreds of millions of lines of code inside a vehicle. If you were talking about autonomous vehicles, it's even more. But the number of lines of code in a vehicle is continuously growing.” This code is vulnerable to exploitation thanks to wireless connections to the internet (for software updates) and to charging infrastructure. Vehicle-to-grid technology, which allows EV owners to sell their energy storage capacity to grid operators, requires connection to the electricity grid. “The more communication protocols you have, the more lines of code you have, the more you are susceptible to [hacking],” Fridman said. We already know the technology exists to disable cars remotely. Cybersecurity experts are also worried that EVs could be hacked to steal drivers' personal data. As Fridman says, its plausible that someone could "create a battery overload and disable some of the protective mechanisms" within your car. Lithium-ion batteries catch fire when they enter an uncontrolled, self-heating event called thermal runaway. Most often, it occurs due to damage or a defect in the battery. But such an event could be induced deliberately, even when the EV's "ignition" is off — especially if a hacker gained access to the vehicle's battery management system. An overheated battery gives off toxic and flammable gases, which can cause an explosion. At the very least, it produces a smoldering, difficult-to-extinguish fire. For more on this, see my video below:
https://www.theblaze.com/align/could-a-hacker-blow-up-your-ev-remotely

2024-10-19 18:05:02

‘It’s a tied game’: MSNBC pollster realizes Kamala is in trouble
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After the first presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris had a slight edge on Donald Trump — but that edge is now weakening, and her loyal mainstream media is starting to realize it. “Numbers say it, it is a tied game here weeks before the election,” MSNBC pollster Steve Kornacki told Kristen Welker of “Meet the Press” in a recent segment. “Harris had opened up that advantage over Trump going in our new poll,” Kornacki continued. “That advantage has all in the last few weeks in our poll washed away for her.” The polling on the issues of immigration and financial stability lean in favor of Trump while Kamala’s leading in “representing change,” though her numbers have still dwindled on that specific issue since September. “Maybe a reason for that too is remember, she’s the VP in an unpopular administration. Look, we ask [about] Joe Biden’s policies as a president, 'Do you think they’re helping or hurting your family?'” Kornacki says, before showing that almost double the number of people asked say the current administration’s policies are hurting their family. Meanwhile, 44% of people polled believe Trump helped their family while 31% of them say he hurt their family. Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” doesn’t think it looks good for Kamala, explaining that she appears to be in “the doom loop.” “They thought, ‘All right, she couped the old man, now we can just install her and protect, right? We have an entire machine dedicated to protecting her, we have a corporate machine and corporate media, we have Big Tech on our side, we’ll just protect her and hide her,’” Rubin says. “When they realized that the protect and hide wasn’t working as well as they thought, then they thought, ‘Okay, we’ll just put her in these ridiculously easy interviews,’ with the exception of that '60 Minutes' one, which was more difficult, and that one was an abject disaster,” he continues. “But even in the easy ones, she failed because she’s so deeply inauthentic. So the more people find out about her, the less they like her,” he adds. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-rubin-report/polls-election-2024

2024-10-19 17:05:00

What happens after November 5?
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A national election is upon us. Friends, family, and neighbors are at odds. Results may be challenged. What a time we are in! Between the bombast and the ballots, it’s hard to see our way through to a time of hope and peace. Wonder what happens after November 5? For the person of faith, it looks a lot like November 4. Pray. Love. Trust. We can pray, we can love, and we can trust, my friend. What God says will happen will happen. Pray. Perhaps you find yourself unsure of how to pray. Everything seems so confusing, so angry, so exhausting. Here are two topics you might consider for your conversations with God. Let’s lift up our nation. We are a family with so much shared history and an important future. Ask God to humble us, hear us, and heal us. It may seem futile, but remember — the power is not in the one who prays; it’s in the God who hears. And let’s ask God to help our neighbors, and let that help start with us. Pray for the compassion to reach out to the single mom across the hall at work and the shut-in at the nursing home. Pray for hope for those still recovering from storms — whether those tempests go by the name of Helene or Milton or divorce or chronic illness. May God bring his healing balm of hope. And pray for those neighbors with whom you disagree. Yes, even those who make you mad. The quickest way to douse the fire of anger is with a bucket of prayers. Rather than blame, pray. Jesus did this. While hanging on the cross, he interceded for his enemies: “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.” We are never more like Jesus than when we pray for others — those with whom you agree and those you don’t. Pray for this hurting world. God cares about it all. Love. Now, love is not exactly the byword of the day. Contentiousness, yes. Anxiety, for sure. Fear, our constant companion. But love seems to be in short supply. Let’s check our source. This worried world is not the place to look to for steadfast love. Let’s instead turn our gaze to a gracious God whose love will never fail. Governments will fail, but God’s love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out, but his love never will. Let God love you. And let him help you share that love with others. Pause for a moment, right now, and make a list of three people you can show love to today — quietly, simply, and unconditionally. I promise you, that offering of love will return to you in unexpected ways, and the hope-o-meter of your heart will rise like the morning sun. Trust. It’s hard, I know. So many unknowns, and the things we do know are worrisome. These are troubling times with challenges both at home and abroad. Leadership matters. But whether your preferred candidate occupies the White House or not, we can know that God’s in charge of who’s in charge. Proverbs states that a king’s heart is like a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he directs it wherever he pleases. Might I suggest we lift our eyes and shift our thoughts? We can face the problems of this world by focusing on the promises of the next. The future is not as frightening if you know the future. And you can know the future when you know who controls it. One of my favorite sermon illustration books contains a story of a missionary and his son. They moved from England to Central Africa in the company of four other adults. Three of them died. The health of the father began to fail, so he resolved to return to England. He and his boy bounced for days across Africa in an old, broken-down wagon. Upon reaching the coast, they embarked for England by sea. Within a few hours, they encountered a brutal storm. The waves and wind combined to make the sound of cannon blasts and shake the ship from stem to stern. During a lull in the tempest, the father held and warmed his son. The boy asked, “Father, when shall we have a home that will not shake?” I can’t vouch for the story. The book provides no source. But I can most certainly vouch for the question. I’ve asked it. You’ve asked it. Each and every person has felt this world with its troubles and tremors and asked, “God, when shall we have a home that will not shake?” His answer? “Soon, dear child. Very soon.” This world, so upside down, will be right side up. People who were rejected in this life will be respected in the next. In this age, they were enslaved and sold; in the next, they will rule and reign. In this age, they were handicapped and sick; in the next, they will serve with perfected, glorified bodies. This sounds like heaven. This sounds like the perfect ending. This sounds like the grand conclusion to the story of God. We can pray, we can love, and we can trust, my friend. What God says will happen will happen.
https://www.theblaze.com/abide/what-happens-after-november-5

2024-10-19 16:05:01

The dark arts have a new name — witchcore — and it's lurking in your local grocery store
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Paganism has been on the rise in the Western world for some time now. More and more people are abandoning their religious upbringings and rejecting the Judeo-Christian values of the West. While some have opted to adopt agnosticism or atheism, others, especially Gen Zers, have chosen to replace Christianity with a different set of beliefs and practices rooted in paganism. Ranging from engaging in actual black magic to just dressing in dark, edgy clothing, witchcore is the newest fad among the rising generation. Unlike the colonial days when witches were so feared that even the town spinster had to watch her back, today, witches and witchcraft are embraced by society. Allie Beth Stuckey points to a recent magazine in a grocery store checkout lane titled “Witches: Discover their secretive and mysterious practices” as an example of how mainstream the occult has become. The magazine, which features a woman clad in black robes and a pointed hat holding a cluster of burning red candles, sits adjacent to gossip columns and rows of candy as if it’s just another mundane object. “This is clearly a glorification of witchcraft,” says Allie. While the magazine features a traditional-looking witch, the majority of today’s witches look like “your normal suburban mom.” “Even if someone is not wearing a pointy hat and walking around with their black cat, they might be imbibing and emulating [and] exhibiting aspects of witchcraft,” says Allie. Further, modern “witchcraft doesn't necessarily always look like a Ouija board or like dying your hair black and casting spells,” she explains. It often looks like “manifesting,” “transcendental meditation,” “burning sage,” “using crystals,” etc. Modern witches weren’t ushered into the dark arts because they happened to stumble upon a group of women chanting incantations in the forest either. Most of them were introduced to new age concepts in the growing realm of “self-help” and “self-empowerment” guides. Allie explains that things like “a Cosmo article,” “astrology,” or the idea of tapping into your inner “goddess” is all it takes for someone to set off down a path of darkness. A recent British Vogue article even spoke on the subject of witchcore and admitted that although the fad aims to “merge romantic mystical vibes with grungy Gothic undertones,” the “witchcore aesthetic is influenced by ancient rituals and practices, from potion making and herbalism to tarot card reading, sage burning, and crystal healing.” “It’s not just about following a trend that you saw that you think is cute,” says Allie. Even things that seem benign, like a specific clothing aesthetic, are rooted in the incredibly dark idea of unleashing “a woman’s darker side.” Artists like Taylor Swift are heavily responsible for viralizing the witchcore trend. Allie plays a video of Swift performing on her Eras tour in a black robe surrounded by a circle of female dancers who are also clad in black robes. They essentially bow down to the pop icon who stands in the center of the dark ring. “That is clearly demonic,” says Allie. What’s perhaps even more disturbing, however, is the number of Christians who don’t recognize that these new age concepts and practices are satanic in nature. Some even try to engage in certain aspects of new ageism while maintaining their Christian faith. “That’s called syncretism,” says Allie. “In the Book of Revelation, one of the things that [Jesus] condemns is syncretism — trying to wed light and darkness.” To hear more of Allie’s commentary on the rise of modern witchcraft, watch the episode above. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/relatable/the-dark-arts-have-a-new-name-witchcore-and-it-s-lurking-in-your-local-grocery-store

2024-10-19 14:05:01

Dems are panicking that this key demographic is turning to Trump
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Black men are turning their backs on Vice President Kamala Harris and turning out record levels of support for former President Donald Trump. Among black male voters, 20% said they would vote for Trump even though just 4% considered themselves Republican, according to a New York Times/Siena poll from Oct. 12. Trump is on track to perform better among young black men than any other Republican candidate since 1960, according to CNN pollster Harry Enten. Harris has managed to hold on to only 41% of support from black men ages 18-44, which is a 12-point deficit from President Joe Biden's numbers and roughly half of former President Barack Obama's support among the demographic, according to Enten's analysis. These figures have sounded the alarm for the Harris campaign. In an attempt to regain their support, the Democratic presidential hopeful curated a policy pitch to the "brothas," as Obama said. Obama lectured other black men during a campaign appearance last week in an attempt to boost turnout for Harris. "We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running," Obama said to a roomful of black men. "Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothas. So if you don't mind, I'm just going to speak to y'all directly." "You're coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses; I've got a problem with that," Obama continued. "Because part of it makes me think, and I'm speaking to men directly, part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that." Harris has made other attempts to bridge the widening gap between herself and black men. Harris unveiled her "opportunity agenda" for black men on Monday, featuring policy proposals like forgivable loans for "black entrepreneurs," bolstering cryptocurrency so black men "know their money is safe," and legalizing recreational marijuana, despite overseeing over 1,900 marijuana convictions during her tenure as San Francisco district attorney. However, the campaign's last-ditch effort to regain the votes fails to address the actual policy priorities of black men. As in other demographics, the economy remains the top issue for roughly a quarter of black men, according to the recent NYT/Siena poll. While Harris' pitch to black men is tailored to address issues with a racial backdrop, only 4% said equality is their top priority and just 2% said the same for racial issues. Democratic political pundits like former CNN host Don Lemon are even admitting that "Kamala Harris has a problem with black men." "There's a problem," Lemon said. "I went from battleground state to battleground state. ... It was not curated. I went up to people just doing man on the street and said, 'Who are you gonna vote for?' Black men, time after time after time, they said, 'I'm voting for Donald Trump.'" Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/dems-are-panicking-that-this-key-demographic-is-turning-to-trump

2024-10-18 22:40:02

Trump takes the lead over Harris for the first time in 538 election forecast
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Former President Donald Trump has taken the lead in the famed 538 election forecast model for the first time since it began measuring the 2024 presidential election. 'A slow drip-drip-drip of polls showed the race tightening.'Trump is now favored to win the election 52% in the model, which runs 1,000 simulations of the election. Harris has a 48% chance to win the election based on the model. "The change in candidate’s fortunes came after a slow drip-drip-drip of polls showed the race tightening across the northern and Sun Belt battlegrounds," explained data analyst G. Elliot Morris at the 538 site. He said that new polling gave Trump a lead in Pennsylvania while lessening Harris' lead in Michigan and tying up support in Wisconsin. Georgia and Arizona have also gone from toss-ups to being classified as leaning Republican.Morris went on to caution against reading too much into the trend and said he still classifies the race a toss-up. "While Trump has undeniably gained some ground over the past couple weeks, a few good polls for Harris could easily put her back in the 'lead' tomorrow. Our overall characterization of the race — that it’s a toss-up — remains unchanged."Other polling experts such as Harry Enten at CNN have cautioned Democrats that Harris needs to have a large lead in order to feel safe about the election results because Trump often underperforms in polling before an election. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/538-forecast-trump-leads-polls

2024-10-18 19:20:01

Liberals lash out at Jim Gaffigan for 'normalizing' Trump and slamming Kamala Harris' absence at Al Smith Dinner
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Comedian Jim Gaffigan emceed the charity Al Smith Dinner, and many on the left were outraged that he took swipes at Democrats while "normalizing" former President Donald Trump. 'F*** everyone who normalizes that demented fascist rapist. What an obscene event.' Gaffigan mocked Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for skipping the dinner and referred to her as a "mediocre vice president" during his speech. While he also took aim at Trump and others in attendance, many viewers were outraged that he would even sit at a dinner with the former president. "Holy f*** Jim Gaffigan was embarrassingly bad tonight. Oh and he helped legitimize a f***ing fascist. So, you know, f*** all of that," responded actor Jeff Locker. "You stood and applauded a convicted felon and rapist who oversaw an attack on the Capitol in order to maintain power? For shame, Jim. For shame," replied another detractor. "Jim Gaffigan is now in the same s***pile with hair tousling Jimmy Fallon to me. F*** everyone who normalizes that demented fascist rapist. What an obscene event," said an account identifying as a feminist. "F*** Jim Gaffigan for hosting this s***!" read another tweet. "I was a big Jim Gaffigan fan. All he did yesterday was prove being Catholic is more important to him than standing up for what's right. Sitting in that room with that piece of s*** and tucking it up with him? F*** that noise," read another response. "Well, I never thought I’d say F Jim Gaffigan, but here we are," said another critic. Gaffigan especially ridiculed the event for catering to the powerful and wealthy elites of New York City. The dinner is named after Al Smith, the governor of New York from 1923 until 1929 and the first Catholic to run in a major political party in 1928. Video of Gaffigan's comments can be viewed on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/libs-hate-jim-gaffigan-smith

2024-10-18 17:55:01

Stelter accidentally showcases how out of touch mainstream media is with the rest of America
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CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter provided a prime example of how out of touch members of the mainstream media are by making comments about how great his quality of life is compared to that of most Americans.It started during Thursday's edition of "CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip." CNN contributor Shermichael Singleton noted many Americans are fed up seeing so much money being spent overseas in multiple countries while things like infrastructure and school systems in the United States are deteriorating.Stelter characterized such criticisms as unamerican."I don't live in that country, by the way. America is not that horrible. ... I live in a normal city, in a normal town. I love New York, but my roads are not crumbling. My schools don't suck. I just get tired of the anti-America rhetoric," Stelter, 39, said. Stelter later wrote on X that Singleton had 'obviously' misrepresented his point."Well, maybe you're fortunate enough to put your kids in darn good schools ... but there are a lot of Americans in this country who aren't wealthy, who don't live in great cities, who do have to send their kids to terrible schools. That is a fact because of their zip codes," Singleton replied with emphasis. "And to sit here arrogantly and say, 'Well, my kids go to great schools. I live in a great neighborhood.' That's your experience!" — (@) Stelter later wrote on X that Singleton had "obviously" misrepresented his point.Stelter's comments are the latest clue that members of the media class often avoid the issues that everyday Americans face because they have the money to separate themselves from them. Martha Raddatz got a lot of heat for dismissing the growing threat of Tren de Aragua, the violent gang from Venezuela, because some members in Aurora, Colorado, had taken over only a "handful" of apartment complexes."Martha, do you hear yourself? Only a 'handful' of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border?!" GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance replied. "Americans are so fed up with what’s going on, and they have every right to be, and I really find this exchange, Martha, sort of interesting because you seem to be more focused with nitpicking everything that Donald Trump has said rather than acknowledging that apartment complexes in the United States of America are being taken over by violent gangs."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/stelter-accidentally-showcases-how-out-of-touch-mainstream-media-is-with-the-rest-of-america

2024-10-18 15:35:01

Rhode Island officials prompted possible noncitizens to register to vote: Report
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Officials in Rhode Island, one of the bluest states in America, reportedly sent out notices to possible noncitizens, urging them to register to vote.In 2021, Rob Rock — who was then the director of elections at the Rhode Island State Department and is now deputy secretary and director of administration — was corresponding via email with Kyle Upchurch, program manager at the Center for Election Innovation & Research, the Federalist reported.During their exchanges, Upchurch inquired about a group of residents referred to as "eligible but unregistered" to vote. In response, Rock claimed that the state had sent mailers to so-called EBUs, some of whom were flagged as noncitizens."We sent two versions of the EBU," Rock wrote, according to emails viewed by the Federalist. "One to people who have a 'Y' citizenship flag and one to those who have a 'No' citizenship flag. Each PDF contains the English and Spanish versions."How many mailers were sent overall and how many were sent to noncitizens specifically remains unclear. However, the purpose of the mailer, according to a statement to the Federalist from Department of State Director of Communications and Public Affairs Faith Chybowski, was to identify recently naturalized citizens.The text of the mailer appears to support Chybowski's explanation."Our records show that you have not been eligible to vote due to your U.S. citizenship status. If your status has changed recently, you may now be eligible to vote," the mailer reads, according to a copy ostensibly reviewed by the Federalist.The mailer also reportedly warns recipients that they must be U.S. citizens to register to vote.'Why do you care whether voters are 22 or 63, other than younger voters tend to lean left?'Unfortunately, recent attempts to clean up voter rolls in other states revealed that noncitizens are regularly registering to vote, despite the federal prohibition against doing so. Virginia recently removed from its voter rolls more than 6,300 noncitizens who, according to Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, "accidentally or maliciously" registered to vote. The Biden-Harris DOJ responded by suing the state.After facing a series of lawsuits late this summer, Arizona discovered that perhaps as many as 97,000 residents had registered to vote without ever providing proof of citizenship. The state supreme court ruled late last month that these residents could still vote in state and local elections in 2024.Rhode Island claims to have removed nearly 150,000 names from its voter rolls since 2020.Despite a nationwide problem of noncitizens appearing on voter rolls, officials in Rhode Island may not compel someone to provide documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote, the Rhode Island State Department told the Federalist. Instead, registrants provide "an attestation that the signer is a citizen," Chybowski said.Perhaps even more alarming, Rhode Island sent the mailer soliciting more voter registration because of its membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center, better known as ERIC.ERIC bills itself as a "nonpartisan" organization designed "to help election officials" in member states "maintain more accurate voter rolls and detect possible illegal voting." It is also funded entirely through fees paid by its 25 members, including the District of Columbia. In other words, taxpayers pay for its existence.Far from "nonpartisan," though, ERIC was founded by David Becker, a former DOJ attorney characterized by a former colleague as "a hard-core leftist" who "couldn’t stand conservatives."Just a few weeks ago, Becker dismissed concerns about noncitizens voting in American elections, indicating that such reports were a "made-up threat" coming from former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies."Remember to seek out only OFFICIAL election info, from trusted sources like election officials," he wrote in mid September.Becker is no longer listed on the ERIC website, but the organization still seems to make election-related demands that favor Democrats. For instance, ERIC shares with third parties certain demographic information about voters, including age."Why do you care whether voters are 22 or 63, other than younger voters tend to lean left?" asked Michael Greibrok of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a federal watchdog group.Among the third parties with which ERIC coordinates is the Center for Election Innovation & Research, the group Kyle Upchurch represented when he mentioned "eligible but unregistered" concerns with Rob Rock of the Rhode Island State Department back in 2021.And indeed ERIC appears fixated on EBUs. On its website, the group laments that America has perhaps as many as 51 million EBUs scattered throughout the country. Tens of millions of EBUs in a free country are only a problem if those individuals desire to register to vote but have been prevented by external circumstances beyond their control. In all likelihood, they do not want to register to vote and may even have deliberately elected against doing so. ERIC apparently wants them to register anyway."ERIC was established to clean up the voter rolls in member states. However, the member agreement only mandates adding voters, not removing them," Ned Jones, director of the Citizens Election Research Center at the Election Integrity Network, noted to the Federalist."Under the ERIC agreement, member states may be registering noncitizens," he added.Since 2021, at least nine states have parted ways with ERIC, perhaps on account of its partisan activism: Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia."ERIC is a bipartisan organization that operates in a nonpartisan manner," ERIC Executive Director Shane Hamlin told the Washington Examiner in December 2023. "We valued the states that resigned, but we will continue to work on behalf of our remaining members in improving the accuracy of America’s [voter] rolls and increasing access to voter registration for all eligible citizens."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/rhode-island-officials-prompted-possible-noncitizens-to-register-to-vote-report

2024-10-18 15:10:01

Assassination attempt 'will happen again' if Secret Service doesn't get new leadership, panel says
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The U.S. Secret Service needs a new leadership team with significant experience from outside the agency in order to address a long list of critical failures laid bare by the nearly successful attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a review panel recommends. A four-member investigation group appointed by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas restated many of the weaknesses identified by other investigators since the July 13 assassination attempt. The group said the Secret Service needs a new director and leadership team to address everything from risk-based threat assessment to the lack of critical thinking by personnel. Among the most shocking aspects of the attempted assassination was how easy it was for a young man barely out of his teens to defeat what was supposed to be world-class security. “The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the panel wrote in a letter to Mayorkas. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.” The Independent Review Panel said the Secret Service “does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission.” “The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved,” the panel wrote. “The work of the Independent Review Panel uncovered not only numerous mistakes that led to the events of July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, but also deeper, systemic issues that must be addressed with urgency.” The 52-page document released Oct. 17 is the first final report from the nearly dozen probes under way in Congress, the FBI, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and other groups. Members include Janet Napolitano, DHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Mark Filip, a former federal judge and deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush; Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security adviser to President Bush; and David Mitchell, former superintendent of the Maryland State Police. ‘With striking ease’ The panel conducted 58 multi-hour interviews, surveyed the Butler Farm Show Inc. site, and amassed some 7,000 documents. Among the most shocking aspects of the attempted assassination was how easy it was for a young man barely out of his teens to defeat what was supposed to be world-class security. “The July 13 assassination attempt was not the work of a trained foreign adversary prepared to conduct a multi-dimensional attack and willing to sacrifice themselves in the process,” the report said. “Rather, a young, local Pennsylvania man who had seemingly conceived of and executed his assassination plot within days after the former president’s rally was publicly announced had managed, with striking ease, to circumvent the Secret Service’s ‘no fail’ protective mission.” Would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the American Glass Research roof just after 6 p.m. July 13 and ran the length of the complex until he reached Building 6, where he made his sniper’s nest. A SWAT operator looks to access the roof of the American Glass Research building after the July 13 shooting of former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pa. Butler Township Police Department via Judicial Watch A Pennsylvania State Police trooper saw Crooks running on the roof and broadcast a warning on police radio, but Secret Service officials said they never heard it. Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said the first indication of a threat came when Crooks unleashed the first of eight shots from an AR-15 rifle. A SWAT team operator — Sgt. Aaron M. Zaliponi of the Adams Township Police Department — stopped Crooks’ attack when he shot and damaged the buttstock on his rifle. A short time later, a Secret Service counter-sniper killed Crooks before he could attempt any more gunplay. Trump was struck in the ear by the first shot. Other rounds killed volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore and seriously wounded David Dutch and James Copenhaver. Overall 10 people were injured during the tragedy, including seven law enforcement personnel and one Secret Service agent, the report said. Major blunders by the Secret Service included failing to secure the rooftops in the AGR complex 130 yards north of the event stage and not taking steps to prevent the gunman’s direct line of sight to the former president, the report said. Lack of effective communication between the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement agencies helped Crooks escape early detection and prevented Trump’s protective detail from removing him from the stage or even preventing him from appearing at the podium, the report concluded. The Butler County Emergency Services Unit set aside pre-programmed radios for use by various Secret Service personnel — including counter-sniper teams — but the radios sat untouched. The panel recommended that the Secret Service work in the same command center as local law enforcement instead of the separate accommodations used in Butler “with the integration of a real-time incident command management system.” The failure to have counter-drones in the air during a “critical period of time when it could have detected Crooks operating a drone” indicates a “deeper concern” by the panel “regarding a general lack of technology to support the Secret Service’s protective mission.” Secret Service agents cover former President Donald J. Trump after he was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin in Butler, Pa., July 13. Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images The Secret Service did not have drone coverage through most of the day. Crooks surveilled parts of the site with his own drone, starting at about 3:50 p.m. and running for about 11 minutes, the FBI has said. Security experts told Blaze News that Crooks was likely checking his planned route to ensure that conditions had not changed since he first surveilled the site. An inexperienced Secret Service staff member could not get the counter-drone system working and ended up repeatedly calling technical support for the drone manufacturer, according to the House Task Force to Investigate the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. The Independent Review Panel recommended “a mandate that all outdoor events are observed by overhead technology.” Changes to site security planning should include better identification of line-of-sight threats and “significant training” on how to use a risk-based threat identification system rather than basing resource decisions on a protectee’s title, the report said. The panel said a clean sweep needs to be made of top leadership of the Secret Service, with a new director coming from outside the agency. This will help address systemic or cultural issues that show in a lack of critical thinking, a lack of ownership for site planning and other issues, and the need for extensive training. The group also recommended some internal reorganization to place an emphasis on the Secret Service’s protective mission as opposed to investigative or other functions. The panel said that while additions to the Secret Service’s $3.1 billion budget “would be helpful,” the focus should first involve “dialogue around the failures of July 13” or the “critical lessons from July 13 will have been lost.” Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/assassination-attempt-will-happen-again-if-secret-service-doesnt-get-new-leadership-panel-says

2024-10-18 01:40:01

Kamala's comedy cult: Late-night hosts venerate veep
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Regrets, Jerry Seinfeld has a few. No, he isn’t apologizing for skewering pro-Palestinian protesters at his comedy appearances earlier this year. 'Maybe this election, maybe you don’t have a candidate that you love, but you have to have an issue that you, maybe the somebody you love is you.' He’d do that again in a heartbeat. He wants to take back his thoughts on the “extreme left” crushing comedy. Et tu, Jerry? In an interview published in Variety yesterday, the "Seinfeld" alum mused: Does culture change and are there things that I used to say that [I can’t because] people are always moving [the gate]? Yes, but that’s the biggest and easiest target. You can’t say certain words about groups. So what? The accuracy of your observation has to be 100 times finer than that just to be a comedian. ... So I don’t think, as I said, the "extreme left" has done anything to inhibit the art of comedy. Did Seinfeld catch holy heck in the comedy community for that initial opinion? The backpedal here is Tim Walz-weird, Jerry! And he was right the first time, of course. 'Joker's' home invasion The movie that scared Warner Bros. executives silly is coming home for Halloween. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which may lose the studio up to $200 million, will be out on VOD Oct. 29. It opened Oct. 4, crashed at the box office, and then plummeted an astonishing 80% in week two. Who could have predicted a film that ditched everything that made the first “Joker” click and added musical numbers might disappoint at the box office? The film feels like an elaborate trick from director Todd Phillips. Guess he loved that ”Joker burns money” meme so much he brought it to life. Hathaway's hash Word salad. It’s catchy and delicious! Consider Oscar winner Anne Hathaway. She dropped in on a Broadway fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week. The “Les Miserables” star assumed the best way to honor the presidential candidate was to talk just like Harris. “We got a big choice to make, America, you have to make a choice, you do have to vote. Maybe this election, maybe you don’t have a candidate that you love, but you have to have an issue that you, maybe the somebody you love is you. You gotta vote for yourself, America,” she said. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no? No ha-has from Harris hacks We knew late-night hosts have no shame, but this is getting absurd. Both Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert shifted from partisan hacks to literal cogs in the DNC machine earlier this year. They hosted Democratic fundraisers for President Joe Biden before the not-so-active senior’s cognitive decline made its national debut June 27 at the presidential debate. The comedians covered up that open secret for three-plus years. And happily so! Now they’re pouncing and seizing on a generic medical report from Harris that says she’s in excellent health. “This weekend, Harris released her latest medical report, which states that she's ‘in excellent health.’ It's great that just the words ‘excellent health’ kinda feel like a dig at Donald Trump. They should follow that up with ‘can walk up stairs’ and ‘is potty trained.’” Satire needs a kernel of truth to be funny. Break out a magnifying glass, and you still won’t find anything funny there. Sad? Yes. Funny? Not so much. 'Saturday Night' dies “Saturday Night” is dying at the box office. The film capturing the chaotic moments from “Saturday Night Live’s” first episode earned mostly positive reviews and solid box office results from its New York/L.A. debut. The film opened wider over the weekend, and audiences mostly stayed away. The film earned $3.9 million on 2,300 screens. Maybe we don’t want to be reminded of a time when SNL delivered smart, irreverent comedy without an agenda. For longtime fans, that’s a jagged little pill to swallow. At any rate, "Saturday Night" is notable for at least one reason. After decades of box-office flops based on SNL characters, this is the first bomb based on the show itself.
https://www.theblaze.com/align/kamalas-comedy-cult-late-night-hosts-venerate-veep

2024-10-18 00:50:03

New polling from Ohio race may mean Democrats will lose control of the US Senate to Republicans
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A new poll from the U.S. Senate race in Ohio may have dashed Democrats' hopes to keep their tenuous control of the upper chamber of the Congress. 'Sherrod Brown has been a rubber stamp for the radical left.' The Morning Consult poll released Thursday found that the Republican challenger Bernie Moreno had taken the lead over the incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown by 1%. A second poll by Fabrizio Lee for the Moreno campaign found the Republican had surpassed Brown by three percentage points, from 47% to 44%. The error margin for the poll was. 3.1%. Axios pointed out that Democrats are more likely to vote early, but the early voting results were dead even, which was a positive sign for the likelihood of a Republican victory. "Sherrod Brown has been a rubber stamp for the radical left, only cares about keeping his tax payer funded salary, and sold out Ohio to San Francisco liberals like Kamala Harris," said Moreno on social media. The race is the most expensive congressional race with $483 million already spent. The campaign for the Republican has been bolstered by his support for cryptocurrency, as one crypto PAC has donated $40 million to change the owner of the Senate seat. Brown, as the chair of the banking committee, is one of the top opponents of cryptocurrency. “The FTX collapse showed how dangerous crypto can be,” said Brown at a Banking Committee hearing in 2023. “But FTX wasn't the only bad apple. It was just the most explosive example of the problems in crypto: failure to provide real disclosure, the conflicts of interest, the risky bets with customer money that was supposed to be safe," he added. "For consumers, it adds up to billions of dollars.” Moreno has criticized Brown on cryptocurrency and accused him of not knowing the "difference between blockchain and a chainsaw." The Senate can flip to Republican control with just one seat change from Democrats or if Republicans win the presidency and control the tie-breaker between the two sides. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/sherrod-brown-moreno-senate-flip

2024-10-17 21:35:01

Why is the Biden-Harris administration coddling Iran?
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The Biden-Harris administration continues to coddle Iran despite being labeled a State Sponsor of Terrorism since 1984 — and Mark Levin is absolutely disturbed. “The behavior of the Harris-Biden-Blinken administration — this isn’t normal. One of Blinken’s boyhood best friends is a guy named Robert Malley. Robert Malley is under criminal investigation,” Levin of “LevinTV” explains. Malley is under criminal investigation because classified information was passed from his operation to the Iranians. “He was the envoy to Iran. Picked by Blinken, approved by Biden to negotiate the nuclear deal. He’s an Iranian sympathizer or worse. Under him, there was a little beehive of spies who are also providing information and exchanging emails with the foreign minister of Iran,” Levin says. However, the Biden administration has been attempting to cover up from Congress and from the press the extent to which Malley and others were involved in releasing classified information with the Iranians. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, in most normal countries, this would be a massive scandal,” Levin says. “This is an unparalleled scandal in American history.” “You want to know why Iran gets hundreds of billions of dollars? You want to know why they hate Netanyahu at this White House more than they hate the Islamo-Nazi who runs Iran? You want to know why they won’t defend our soldiers? They won’t defend our ships?” he asks. “I think what’s going on here is our relationships, some could be financial, some could be ideological. Maybe it’s something else. Maybe it’s all the above between actors in our government and at the highest level of the Iranian regime. Otherwise, none of this makes sense to me.” “What’s being done is against America’s best interest; it’s against the best interest, obviously, of Israel,” he continues, adding, “I believe treason is taking place.” Want more from Mark Levin?To enjoy more of "the Great One" — Mark Levin as you've never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/levintv/iran-2669417834

2024-10-17 14:35:01

Harris rails about Trump 'locking people up' for disagreement as DOJ sends Christian pro-lifer to prison for peaceful protest
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A Christian grandfather walked into federal prison this week to serve a sentence related to a peaceful pro-life protest while Vice President Kamala Harris (D) caterwauled about her opponent, former President Donald Trump, allegedly threatening to imprison those who "disagree with him." Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Calvin Zastrow, 63, arrived at Federal Correctional Institute Thomson in Illinois to begin serving a six-month sentence for participating in a peaceful protest outside a Tennessee abortion clinic on March 5, 2021. A report from the Daily Wire claimed that Zastrow and others gathered outside the clinic that day, "sat in front of the entrance," "sang hymns," and "urged women not to have abortions." A Department of Justice press release described the incident as a "clinic blockade" that prevented "employees from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services." Nothing in the DOJ press release indicates that Zastrow or his five co-defendants engaged in violence. The press release does note that co-defendants Chester Gallagher and Paul Vaughn "stalled the Mount Juliet Police Department through negotiations that Gallagher referred to as a delay tactic," a detail that seems to reiterate that the protesters were committed to peaceful, civil disobedience, not violence. The same cannot be said for some of Zastrow's fellow inmates at Federal Correctional Institute Thomson. According to the Daily Wire, the prison had five suspected homicides and two suspected suicides between 2019 and 2023. Sex-related crime is also apparently rampant at the facility. Prison staff there filed 275 reports of sexual misconduct in 2022 alone, the Daily Wire claimed. Despite the violent environment in which he will spend the next six months, Zastrow — who was convicted in January of felony conspiracy against rights and of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act — is embracing the opportunity to continue evangelizing. "I’m praying to be able to witness for Christ. If I’m miserable there and can’t sleep well, then I’ll just suffer with honor for Jesus," he told the Daily Wire. "But if I’m able to get sleep and be healthy, I’m just going to see who the Lord wants me to minister to and be ministered to by." "I’m here to declare the glories of Christ and his kingdom," Zastrow continued. "I’m just here to do that. I’m just going let all the demons in hell know that they’re on notice." The Thomas More Society, which is representing Zastrow in a separate case, is disgusted by the Biden-Harris DOJ's ruthless prosecution of peaceful pro-lifers like Zastrow. "Calvin Zastrow ... is a peaceful man with a deep love for others and for his country. He has dedicated his life to peacefully interposing on behalf of innocent children in the womb who face imminent violence – indeed, death," said TMS senior counsel Steve Crampton in a statement to Blaze News. "The injustice of sentencing such a man of peace to perhaps the most violent federal penitentiary in the nation is hard to fathom. But it underscores the blind allegiance of the Biden-Harris administration to the abortion industry and their unbridled zeal to crush the pro-life movement." 'In a democracy, the president of the United States, in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism,' she then seethed, 'without saying he'd lock people up for doing it.' The Biden-Harris DOJ does seem determined to prosecute peaceful pro-lifers. This week, Bevelyn Williams, a 33-year-old Christian wife and mother, began serving a 41-month sentence for misdemeanor criminal trespass in connection with a pro-life protest. In September 2023, the Biden-Harris DOJ secured convictions against elderly pro-lifers who committed similar supposed crimes. Among the defendants in this case were Joan Andrews Bell, then 74, and Jean Marshall, then 72. Paulette Harlow, then 73 and suffering from a debilitating medical condition, was initially determined to be unfit for trial. However, two months later, she was convicted and sentenced to 24 months in prison. Even as the DOJ under the Biden-Harris administration has focused on prosecuting peaceful Christians who oppose abortion and on prosecuting Trump for ridiculous alleged offenses, Vice President Harris waxed indignant in her infamous interview with Bret Baier of Fox News that Trump allegedly wants to sic lawfare on people who have a different opinion than he does. Trump "talked about locking people up because they disagree with him," a visibly flustered Harris fumed to Baier. "This is a democracy," she then lectured, pointing her finger and bobbing her head furiously. "And in a democracy, the president of the United States, in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he'd lock people up for doing it." Of note, the U.S. has always been and continues to be a constitutional republic. Harris' interview with Baier aired on Wednesday, about 24 hours after Zastrow reported to prison. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
https://www.theblaze.com/news/harris-rails-about-trump-locking-people-up-for-disagreement-as-doj-sends-christian-pro-lifer-to-prison-for-peaceful-protest

2024-10-17 14:05:01

Donald Trump shares the plans he has for Elon Musk if he’s elected in exclusive Glenn Beck interview
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Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump joined Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck for an exclusive interview. Among the subjects the duo discussed were Kamala’s dramatic policy reversals — especially when it comes to the border — who’s really calling the shots in the White House (not Joe Biden), and the reported falling out between Harris and Biden following the president’s ousting. They also conferred about Elon Musk, who’s been a welcome addition to the Trump campaign. Glenn asked Trump if he was serious about utilizing the Tesla/SpaceX/X owner if he’s elected. “Oh sure,” said Trump, calling Musk “a great businessman.” “He feels that there's tremendous fraud, waste, and abuse. ... He could save a lot of money and make lives better,” Trump continued. He explained that while Musk “doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet,” as he’s “got so many things going on,” he has expressed interest in a role “having to do with the budget.” “He’s good at finding [waste],” said Glenn, pointing to “the way he runs his companies” as a testament to his savviness. “He’s maybe the best at finding that,” Trump agreed. “It really is such a statement that he's probably the most effective person on the planet of looking over the horizon and then bringing tomorrow into today, and the left, because he likes you ... they will shut him down,” Glenn added. “They’ll try, but he’s hard to shut down because he’s so advanced. He’s on a different playing field,” Trump praised, adding that shutting Elon down was going to “shut the country down essentially.” To hear more of the interview, watch the episode above. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/donald-trump-shares-the-plans-he-has-for-elon-musk-if-hes-elected-in-exclusive-glenn-beck-interview