Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, changed its name back in 2021 as CEO Mark Zuckerberg planted his flag into the “metaverse,” denoting it as the future of his company. Several short years later, all Meta gained from the brash move is an empty digital wasteland, a drop in hardware sales, and substantial losses that could fund the GDP of a small country. With debt mounting, Meta would be in serious trouble if not for the help of an unwitting ally – OpenAI.

What is the metaverse?

With AI sweeping through the tech industry, it’s been quite awhile since anyone talked about the metaverse. Just in case you forgot what it is (or perhaps you dodged the initial lackluster hubbub entirely), the metaverse was supposed to be a broad digital world that replaced reality.

Yep, you read that right.

Almost all major brands have either discontinued their hardware or vastly scaled back.

In the same vein as “Ready Player One,” the metaverse was meant to be a place where we worked in digital offices, played games in virtual arenas, hung out with friends in online cafes, sold and traded digital goods like NFTs (another forgotten relic of the past), and more. Meta even built a rudimentary version of this world called Meta Horizon Worlds, which you can access today, though most people don’t.

To dive into the metaverse, all you needed was a pair of virtual reality goggles or glasses — a device along the lines of Apple Vision Pro, Samsung Galaxy XR, or more specifically in Meta’s world, the Meta Quest series.

Photo Credit: Meta

Nobody cares about VR

The mere fact that you’re reading this article on your phone, tablet, or computer — not inside some digital cyberpunk cafe on a cloud server in somebody’s basement — proves that Meta’s virtual reality endeavors amounted to a massive dud. The vision Zuckerberg had in mind for Meta never got off the ground, much less became a vital piece of our digital lives.

Why, you ask? The metaverse failed for more reasons than I can count, but here are a few off the top of my head:

Price: VR headsets are expensive. Even the “cheap” ones cost hundreds of dollars. While the price was hard to swallow in 2021, shifts in the current economy have made these even less accessible.Comfort: VR headsets are unwieldy. Most iterations available today are big, bulky, heavy, and they’re annoying (or even painful) to wear for several hours or more. Redundancy: While phones, tablets, and laptops have become a necessary piece of tech in most people’s lives, VR headsets are an added luxury. They’re a supplemental gadget at best, all without a “killer app” that sets them apart from the devices we already own.Reality check: As it turns out, people would rather live life in the real world than be trapped in a digital version. Sure, if we were all still stuck at home in a COVID lockdown (as we were when Zuckerberg thought up this wild idea), then maybe the metaverse would be something more than it is today. But alas, the lockdowns were lifted, COVID vanished from headlines everywhere, and real life goes on.

The metaverse was destined to fail

COVID lockdowns aside, Zuckerberg’s interest in the metaverse was shortsighted from the start. By the time he changed the name of his company and went all-in, consumer interest in VR was already at a notable low. Major brands in the gaming space, like Playstation, Steam, and Xbox all tried their hands at VR headsets, and almost all of them have either discontinued their hardware or vastly scaled back.

We’ve seen a similar reception with Apple’s attempt at the VR space. Vision Pro has suffered from staggeringly low sales, poor developer support, and slow innovation. By most accounts, Vision Pro is a massive failure for Apple (despite Tim Cook’s candy-coated outlook), and I wouldn’t be surprised if it discontinues the product in another several years.

RELATED: Meta gave sex traffickers 16 chances, says former hire

Meta had 17-STRIKE policy for sex traffickers, ex-employee says Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Not to be outdone, Google and Samsung recently teamed up to launch their own VR headset, dubbed Samsung Galaxy XR. If you’ve never heard of this device or even seen it floating around on your social feed, that’s because it’s already headed down the same path as its predecessors. No one’s talking about it, Google and Samsung aren’t actively advertising it, and consumers have already forgotten about it.

Meta takes a multi-billion-dollar dive

The overall lack of consumer interest in the metaverse didn’t go unnoticed by Zuckerberg and company. A recent report revealed that Meta lost a staggering $77 billion on its entire strategy, including Meta Quest hardware and Meta Horizon development. To soften the blow, Meta will reportedly slash its VR budget by 30%. Layoffs are also on the way, though the actual reduced headcount hasn’t been announced yet.

Luckily for Meta, the terrible news couldn’t come at a better time. As the metaverse melts into vaporware, Zuckerberg’s AI division continues to grow. In fact, if it weren’t for the AI boom of 2022 — ushered in by OpenAI with ChatGPT — Meta might be in serious trouble right now. Towering high over the colossal failure that is Meta Horizon Worlds, Meta’s Llama has done surprisingly well with the service showing up in all of Meta’s major apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Today Meta AI boasts one billion active users per month.

That said, Meta isn’t out of the water yet as recent development delays could cause trouble for the future of Zuckerberg’s AI ambitions. Only time will tell if AI is the vital lifeline Meta needed to escape its metaverse hell or if Llama will join it in the burning pit of dissolution.

​Tech, Meta, Zuckerberg, Metaverse 

We get it. You’ve spent so much time on other gifts that you may have forgotten one very important person — Dad. While Christmas is just around the corner and it would probably serve you well not to tell anyone when you got these gifts, we have some special recommendations from American companies that your father will love.

Give your dad a gift he’ll remember for years — and be proud to own!

1. Liberty Cigar Company

Liberty Cigar Company

Liberty Cigar Company was founded, fittingly, on July 4, 2015, to rekindle the liberty that was so dearly held by those original American seekers of independence. The compay believes that cigars are a quintessential element of the simple pleasures of leisure, a cornerstone of colonial America’s spiritual foundation. Each cigar is named after influential figures of the founding period, so each has a story. The Founders’ Series was Liberty’s inaugural cigar collection, featuring 13 cigars for 13 founders. Each cigar is blended to reflect the unique spirit of these historical giants. Box of 13 MSRP: $196.00

2. Lynx Defense

Lynx Defense

With an emphasis on thoughtful design, Lynx Defense is your one-stop shop for all your range-day needs. Founded in 2013 to provide an organized pistol bag, Lynx Defense has since grown into a much larger company committed to providing high-quality gun range accessories. The team has over 150 years of combined sewing experience, and the company’s commitment to sourcing and manufacturing its products in the USA guarantees the highest quality. Designed for portability, yet spacious enough for an impressive and organized loadout, the Concord pistol range bag is the solution every shooter at the range has been looking for. MSRP: $369.00

3. KelTec

KelTec

KelTec, established in 1991 with a strong commitment to the Second Amendment and making the world a more secure place, is one of the leading gun manufacturers in the USA and beyond. KelTec proudly employs over 300 American citizens, many of whom are military veterans. KelTec’s guns are marked by cutting-edge and innovative designs, made to “strike a nerve” with customers. The semiautomatic SUB2000 is designed for convenience, featuring Glock magazine compatibility and the capability to completely fold in half for easy storage and carry — optics and all. MSRP: $511.00

4. Daniel Defense

Featuring M-LOK attachment technology with the Daniel Defense MFR 15.0 rail, this made-in-the-USA AR-15-style firearm has attachment points in seven positions and an uninterrupted 1913 Picatinny rail on the top, maximizing functionality. It’s also equipped with a DD improved flash suppressor, built around a cold hammer-forged 16-inch barrel to reduce that flash signature.

5. American Giant

The American Giant lightweight full zip is as light as a T-shirt but as cozy as a hoodie. This casual hoodie is perfect for a few extra layers of warmth on cool summer evenings or crisp spring and autumn days. And it’s from a company that produces its products in the USA.

6. White’s Boots

White’s Boots

White’s Boots, founded by Edward White in 1853 in Connecticut, has been a legacy boot-making company for nearly 175 years. From 1853 to 1972, Edward White’s legacy was passed on to his family, who were always committed to creating boots they could be proud to sell. As a result of the boom of loggers, miners, and mill workers in the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century, the company moved west to meet the demand. Now based in Spokane, Washington, White’s Boots continues to produce handcrafted, high-quality boots like the Packer. It’s an all-purpose, all-weather stomper, so well worth the investment. It could be the last boot you’ll ever have to buy. MSRP: $725

7. GoRuck

GoRuck

Founded by a former Green Beret in 2008, GoRuck set out to create high-quality rucksacks inspired by those used in the military. In keeping with the company’s special forces roots, GoRuck commits 1% of its annual revenue to supporting communities that protect the American way of life. You can also check out the GoRuck community challenges, which the company has been hosting across the nation since 2010. The new Bullet Ruck x Carryology-Berserker Viking collab showcases the finest craftsmanship and the highest-quality material — all with a lifetime guarantee. MSRP: $795.00

8. Case Knives

Case Knives

Committed to keeping the legacy of American craftsmanship alive for future generations, Case Knives handcrafts its utility knives with an eye to aesthetics. Responsive to its fan base, including an exclusive Collectors’ Club and sponsorship program to inspire younger generations to love American craftsmanship, Case delivers on its promise of excellence. Headquartered in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Case offers a wide range of unique designs among its pocket and kitchen knife collections. The new Crossroads Sod Buster EDC, a fan-favorite design, combines the classic Sod Buster frame with modern enhancements, including a screwed-together build. MSRP: $89.99

9. Gokey

Gokey

Promising timeless style and enduring quality, one company has claimed to be the industry standard in boot-making since 1850. Founded as a premium leather hunting and sporting boots manufacturer, Gokey produces several other leather products, including a variety of shoes, moccasins, and sporting accessories. Handmade in the United States, the boots have been enjoyed by the likes of Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower and the adventurer turned novelist Ernest Hemingway — a testament to the company’s longevity. The Gokey Super Light Upland Boot, available in Wavy Olive and Chocolate Milonga leather, is built to last in the company’s Tipton, Missouri, factory. If you’re in the area, they will happily hand-measure your feet to find the perfect fit for your boots. MSRP: $580.00

10. Saddleback Leather

Saddleback Leather

Saddleback Leather produces heavy-duty, luxury leather goods that “they’ll fight over when you’re dead.” With the confidence of a hundred-year warranty, you’ll never have to worry about anything going awry with these “over-engineered” products. Visit Saddleback Leather’s new showroom in Azle, Texas, coming next year, to get a feel for the passion with which the company creates these premium leather goods. The large classic leather briefcase easily converts to a backpack when you need your hands free and is spacious enough to fit everything you need for a weekend getaway in style. MSRP: $689.00

11. Warwood Tool

Warwood Tool

Boasting a rich, 170-year history, Warwood Tool has supplied American soldiers, firefighters, woodsmen, landscapers, and homeowners since before the Civil War. To this day, it is said that many generations of the same family have worked at the factory, and ownership has only changed hands seven times. The Pulaski axe, developed by “legendary” U.S. Forest Service ranger Ed Pulaski in 1911, is considered to be “nearly synonymous with wildland firefighting.” A combined axe and mattock blade, it is a versatile tool. Hand-forged by American craftsmen from high-quality steel and American hickory in West Virginia, the Pulaski axe is an elite option for all of your outdoor needs. MSRP: $99.00

12. Unplugged

Adobe

Everyone knows it: Our phone data is constantly being accessed and sold by data brokers without our consent. But what can be done about it? Luckily, Unplugged, Erik Prince’s company, has a secure solution: UP Phone. Featuring an advanced operating system designed specifically for privacy protection and a physical “kill switch” on the body of the phone, you can rest assured that your data is kept private and secure in an increasingly vulnerable world.

​Align, Gift ideas, Christmas, Christmas gifts, Christmas season, Dad, Father, Gifts for dad 

A former volleyball coach is accused of trying to groom a teenage girl for a sexual relationship and used artificial intelligence to help him plot the scheme, Texas police said.

Matthan Lough, 32, was arrested on Wednesday by Mesquite Police and charged with third-degree felony child grooming.

Those messages allegedly escalated into flirty and inappropriate jokes, and then into explicit messages.

The 17-year-old girl told police that Lough had been trying to persuade her into a sexual relationship with him, including some incidents that took place at the church where Lough’s father served as the senior pastor.

The girl and her mother filed a report with the police on Oct. 2 after the mother found out about the alleged relationship.

Police said that they discovered a “Hypothetical Counter-Influence Plan” on the man’s iPad device during an investigation. The AI-generated plan included steps titled “rebuild her autonomy” and “shift the power dynamic.”

Lough had been grooming the girl since spring of 2023, according to an arrest affidavit.

He allegedly approached her at a graduation party for her cousin, and she recognized him as the husband of a woman who led their worship group. He asked her if she wanted to join a volleyball team he was organizing at the church.

In the fall of 2024, he held tryouts for the team, gave her a spot, and then began sending messages to her about his marriage.

Those messages allegedly escalated into flirty and inappropriate jokes, and then into explicit messages. He also messaged her about possibly committing murders and let her know he carried a gun, apparently to frighten her into staying in the relationship.

The teen followed through with requests from him to send explicit images out of “fear and pressure,” according to her account.

The victim said Lough kissed her at a church event in September. Then later that month, he allegedly sexually assaulted her twice.

RELATED: Former teacher who mocked conservatives over grooming claims sentenced to 17 years for child porn

The relationship ended when the teen’s mother found the messages and contacted Lough’s wife.

His wife filed for divorce in October and left the state.

Lough’s father also stepped down from his position as senior pastor at the Christian Center of Mesquite.

Lough was given a bond of $10,000 and appears to have been released.

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​Volleyball coach grooming, Artificial intelligence grooming, Church child grooming, Church sex abuse, Crime 

On December 14, two gunmen — a father and son radicalized by Islamic State ideology — opened fire on a crowded Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, including children and elderly victims, and injuring over 40 others in what authorities declared a targeted anti-Semitic terrorist attack.

While it was certainly the deadliest, this wasn’t the only anti-Semitic violence that happened last weekend. In Amsterdam, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted Hanukkah concerts at the Concertgebouw concert hall by throwing smoke bombs, chanting anti-Semitic slogans, and attempting to storm the venue. In Los Angeles, a drive-by attack targeted a Jewish family’s home, which was decorated for Hanukkah. An unidentified person fired shots while yelling anti-Semitic slurs.

Glenn Beck says these targeted attacks on Jewish people reveal an uncomfortable truth most don’t want to admit: Once again, we find ourselves on the same fertile ground that cultivated Hitler’s crusade.

“Jewish people carry history, not as abstraction, but as inheritance,” Glenn says. “And it lives in names that are whispered at dinner tables and photographs rescued from ash in stories that begin with, ‘And we thought it would never happen here.”’

He comments that before WWII, “polite society everywhere” ignorantly believed that lie — that genocide could never happen on their civilized turf. But then it did, ushering in incomprehensible war and death.

Glenn warns that today, we’re making the same mistake. We’re primed for another Holocaust, and we can’t even see it.

But the signs are everywhere.

“Shadows that all of us hoped were buried forever — hatred with organization, ideology, hatred with teeth, violence, justification — they’re no longer whispers,” he says. “They’re shouting it now in our streets. They’re shouting it in the streets of Australia. They’re shouting it in the streets of Germany and England and France and Norway.”

“They’re burning flags. They’re firing guns. They’re chanting not only, ‘Death to the Jew,’ but, ‘Death to the West,’ ‘Death to Canada,’ ‘Death to the U.S.,’ ‘Death to Europe.”’

But the West, brainwashed by progressive dogma that repackages self-sabotage as inclusivity, is “tolerating it.”

For years, Australia’s Jewish community warned authorities that anti-Semitism was “metastasizing into something ideological and organized and deadly,” but they were dismissed and told to “calm down.” They were told that “multicultural harmony would manage itself.”

“But it didn’t, because it doesn’t. Ideology doesn’t dissolve when it’s ignored. It consolidates. It grows,” Glenn says.

And grown it has — all across the West from Europe to America to Australia.

As a result, today, “Jewish schools [are] guarded like fortresses” and “Jewish families [wonder] whether visibility itself is now a liability,” Glenn laments. “And yet all across the West, officials hesitate to name the problem clearly. So let me do it precisely, truthfully.”

“Islamism is a political ideology. It’s not about faith. It is about power. It’s the belief that society has to be governed by religious law — Sharia law — that freedom of conscience is illegitimate, that women are subordinate, that dissent is heresy, and that the world and everybody in it has to submit,” he lays bare.

This isn’t myth or exaggeration either. It’s their doctrine — documented in writing and preached to the masses.

“Any culture built on individual liberty, freedom of speech, equality before the law — it can’t survive alongside an ideology that views all of those principles as sins or as an affront to Allah,” Glenn says.

Western nations ignorantly “assume that everybody ultimately wants to live and to compromise and live side by side. We assume violence is accidental. We assume that it’s a lone wolf. We assume that words like ‘tolerance’ and ‘dialogue’ mean the same thing to everybody. But they don’t,” he continues.

We have to stop treating Islamism as anything other than what it is: a worldview incompatible with Western ideology.

“I ask you to think about what it feels like to be Jewish today because of the Jewish people, but also because you’re next,” Glenn warns. “Jewish communities always pay the price first. They always do. And believe me, you are on the list — you, your faith, your freedom, your children are on the list.”

“History shows this with brutal consistency. When a society begins to rot from ideological cowardice, the Jews are always the early warning system. They’re the canary in the coal mine,” he analogizes.

The question is: Will we first wake up and see it? And then will we have the courage to do something about it?

“If we refuse to do that work now, our children are going to have to do it later under far worse conditions,” Glenn says.

“[We’re] running out of time.”

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About six years ago, I started a simple experiment. Each evening, instead of relying on a single news source, I watched both sides of the political spectrum — MSNBC and CNN on the left, Fox on the right. The goal was not balance for its own sake. It was triangulation: getting closer to the truth than any one outlet seemed capable of providing.

The pattern emerged quickly. The full story almost never lives on a single channel. It lives in the gaps — in what one side omits, what the other exaggerates, and what only becomes visible when competing narratives collide. Stepping outside a single media ecosystem sharpened my understanding of events and exposed how much emotional steering hides behind what passes for “objective” news.

If a Hollywood actor immersed for decades in elite cultural assumptions can break free simply by pressing ‘channel up,’ that should give the rest of us pause.

I was reminded of this after reading Megyn Kelly’s interview with actor Charlie Sheen.

Pick up the remote

For years, Sheen embodied Hollywood’s loud, theatrical hostility toward Donald Trump. He embodied Trump derangement syndrome. Then he startled people by admitting that he had begun to change his views. Not because of a grand ideological awakening, but because of something mundane.

“I’m going to change the channel,” he told Kelly. “I’m gonna do my own research, like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices. I’m gonna explore just hearing both sides of the g**d**n story.”

Sheen described realizing that he had been “hypnotized” — his word — by the media he trusted. What once felt authoritative and neutral began to look curated, repetitive, and manipulative.

“What I was so hypnotized by,” he said, “in some ways can be described as state-run media. … Legacy media is very much like that.”

How narrative replaces reporting

That charge matters, because it is not rooted in party loyalty. It is rooted in recognition. More Americans sense that the information they consume does not simply inform them — it conditions them. It trains emotional responses, assigns villains, and narrows acceptable conclusions.

As Sheen flipped channels, he discovered how incomplete his worldview had been. Then came his most striking admission: “I felt really stupid. I don’t have a fancier way to describe it. … Some of the stuff I’d bought into … some of the people I was hating because I was told I was supposed to hate them.”

That kind of honesty is rare. In today’s culture, changing one’s mind is treated as treason rather than growth. Sheen’s shift is not primarily about moving from left to right. It is about reclaiming agency — refusing to let a single narrative dictate who deserves trust or contempt.

For years, Americans have been sorted into hardened political tribes by outlets that no longer report so much as reinforce. Each network offers a prepackaged worldview with designated heroes, enemies, and emotional cues. The longer someone consumes only one of them, the more certain — and less informed — he becomes.

This is how democracies fracture. Not because citizens lack reason, but because they are denied the full range of facts required to reason well.

Regret isn’t the point

Sheen even expressed regret over his 2024 vote for Kamala Harris, a decision he now believes was made inside an echo chamber he did not recognize at the time. The regret itself is not the point. The awakening is.

RELATED: Netflix wants a monopoly on your mind

Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

If a Hollywood actor immersed for decades in elite cultural assumptions can break free simply by pressing “channel up,” that should give the rest of us pause.

It suggests intellectual independence remains possible. It suggests curiosity can overpower conditioning. And it suggests Americans are far more capable of balanced judgment than our media landscape assumes.

The most patriotic habit left

The lesson is not complicated. If you want to understand what is really happening in this country, do not limit yourself to the channel you already agree with. Change it. Listen to the other side. Sit with the discomfort.

The clarity that follows may surprise you. It may challenge your assumptions. It may even change your mind.

In today’s America, that may be one of the most constructive — and patriotic — acts left to us.

​Opinion & analysis, Charlie sheen, Woke hollywood, Liberals, Leftism, Media bias, Cnn, Ms now, Fox news, Echo chamber