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Veteran director Ridley Scott didn’t mince words when asked to describe the state of modern filmmaking. In fact, he needed just four letters: “s**t.”

The ornery 87-year-old — the force behind iconic movies like “Alien,” “Black Hawk Down,” and “Gladiator” — brought down the hammer of justice during a public Q and A with his son Luke in London this week.

‘I think a lot of films today are saved and made more expensive by digital effects, because what they haven’t got is a great thing on paper first. Get it on paper.’

“Well, right now I’m finding mediocrity, we’re drowning in mediocrity,” he responded when asked about his own moviegoing habits, according to Yahoo.

Smurfy’s law

Pretentious? Maybe, but it becomes more understandable if you consider the recent crop of multiplex mistakes foisted on the public, suggested the Guardian. The newspaper cited the recent “Smurfs” movie as well as the widely criticized live-action “Snow White” remake — which used “CGI dwarves [that] looked like semi-melted CGI gonks” — as evidence for the prosecution.

Director Ridley Scott on the set of the movie ‘Alien,’ 1979. Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images

During the sit-down at the British Film Institute Southbank, Scott said that this mediocrity prevails despite more movies being made than ever.

“The quantity of movies that are made today, literally globally, millions. There’s not thousands, there’s millions, and most of it is s**t,” he declared.

Numbers game

The “Blade Runner” director then shared the math behind that determination.

“Eighty to 60% eh, 40% is the rest, and 25% of that 40 is not bad, and 10% is pretty good, and the top 5% is great,” he explained, as if writing on a chalkboard. “I’m not sure about the portion of what I’ve just said, but in the 1940s, when there were perhaps 300 movies made, 70% of them were similar, for example.”

Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott on the set of ‘Blade Runner.’ Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Man in the mirror

Still, there is at least one talented director still working today, affirmed Sir Scott.

“So what I do, and it’s a horrible thing, but I’ve started to watch my own movies, and actually they’re really good. And also, they don’t age.”

Scott continued his rave review, admitting that he was shocked by the quality of his own work.

“I watched ‘Black Hawk [Down]’ the other night, and I thought, ‘How the hell did I do that?’ But I think that occasionally there’s a good one that will happen, it’s like a relief that there’s somebody out there who’s doing a good movie.”

RELATED: ‘Gladiator II’ is a MAGA metaphor

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Scott then turned to a trend currently irritating moviegoers of all ages: directors attempting to save bad scripts with excessive CGI.

“I think a lot of films today are saved and made more expensive by digital effects, because what they haven’t got is a great thing on paper first. Get it on paper,” he said.

RELATED: Father-Son Movie Bucket List

‘Hood’ rich

Not everyone is ready to embrace this curmudgeonly view — even coming from a legend like Scott.

While Scott makes “a few” good points, his rant is “really rich coming from the director of ‘Robin Hood,'” entertainment writer Natasha Biase told Align.

“He must have amnesia about some of his own movies,” the writer added.

As for Hollywood, it seems to have forgotten how to get butts in seats.

A decrease in movie quality seems to be at least part of the reason about half the amount of tickets were sold in 2024 compared to 2004.

Scott told the audience that his favorite meal is yogurt and blueberries, because he “got over food years ago.”

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President Donald Trump pinpointed two main areas of focus when criticizing the NFL’s Super Bowl LX plans for February.

During an appearance on Newsmax with host Greg Kelly on Monday, Trump was asked about the NFL’s decision to have Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny perform at the annual halftime show.

‘I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is.’

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, has been accused of being an odd choice for football fans given the simple fact that he performs mostly in Spanish. This is coupled with the artist’s criticisms of the president — which include mocking him in a music video — and previous statements about avoiding U.S. cities on his tour because he fears immigration enforcement may occur outside of his concerts.

In a clip from Newsmax, Trump admitted to never having heard of the singer.

“I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy,” the president said. “And then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

In the NFL’s Super Bowl announcement, the league explained exactly who is in charge of the halftime performance.

RELATED: Bad Bunny: Learn Spanish if you want to understand my Super Bowl performance

Bad Bunny. Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for GLAAD

“Apple Music, the NFL, and Roc Nation announced that 3x Grammy Award-winning global recording artist Bad Bunny will perform at the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday, February 8, 2026, airing on NBC,” the NFL wrote in a press release.

Apple Music’s key figure is listed as Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and international content.

Roc Nation, the company founded by rapper Jay-Z, has been involved with Super Bowl halftime shows since 2019. In the same press release, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter said Bad Bunny’s “unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice to take the Super Bowl halftime stage.”

In response to the announcement, Trump administration adviser Corey Lewandowski said there is “nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”

According to Variety, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called it “a terrible decision” for the NFL to have Bad Bunny perform.

Meanwhile, when hosting “Saturday Night Live” last weekend, Bad Bunny responded to criticisms in a lighthearted manner but also noted in Spanish that the booking was “an achievement” for himself and Puerto Ricans.

He concluded by saying in English: “And if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

RELATED: Super Bowl platforms anti-ICE DRAG QUEEN rapper Bad Bunny to troll MAGA

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

On Newsmax, the president aired another grievance with the NFL, saying, “While we’re at it, I’d like them to change the kickoff rule, which looks ridiculous, where the ball is kicked and the ball is floating in the air, and everyone’s standing there watching it. It’s ridiculous.”

The president claimed the new kickoff formation is “not any safer” than the previous format, which the league abandoned before the 2024 season.

The NFL claimed in January, however, that concussions in 2024 were down 43% when compared to the 2021-2023 average.

“I think it just looks so terrible,” Trump continued. “I think it really demeans football, to be honest with you. It’s a great game, but it demeans football. Do you know what I mean by that? The kickoff rule, the new kickoff rule, it’s ridiculous.”

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Virginia attorney general nominee Jay Jones (D) continues to face a public relations crisis as calls grow for him to end his campaign following leaked text messages in which he wished death upon a Republican lawmaker and his children.

Jones had scheduled a fundraiser for Thursday, but his campaign abruptly canceled the event, according to Axios. The fundraiser was reportedly set to be held at novelist David Baldacci’s home that evening.

‘With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it’s up to Virginians to decide.’

The news outlet noted that Jones has not held a public event since Friday, the same day that the National Review shared a text message conversation he had with Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner in 2022. In the exchange, Jones presented a hypothetical scenario in which he would shoot then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert twice if he only had “two bullets” and had to choose between shooting “Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot.”

Jones also accused Gilbert and his wife of “breeding little fascists,” wishing harm on their children in hopes that the “pain” would motivate Gilbert to change his policies.

Jones did not deny sending the text messages, but he did issue an apology.

His texts immediately prompted Republican lawmakers to call for him to withdraw from the race for state attorney general.

RELATED: Democrats stand by their man despite vicious texts wishing death on GOP rival and his kids

Democratic Nominee for attorney general Jay Jones, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Ghazala Hashmi. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

While some of Jones’ fellow Democrats condemned the comments in his text messages, none of them stated he should end his campaign.

“After learning of these comments earlier today, I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted,” Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger stated. “I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words. What I have also made clear is that as a candidate — and the next governor of our commonwealth, I will always condemn violent language in our politics.”

While Jones’ Thursday fundraising event seems to be canceled, Spanberger’s website lists several upcoming events — including canvassing, community virtual chats, and message training — organized by the campaigns of Spanberger, Jones, and lieutenant governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi (D).

RELATED: Virginia AG candidate implodes after ‘two bullets’ text scandal

Jay Jones. Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

It is unclear whether Spanberger or Hashmi had planned to attend the Thursday evening fundraiser. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was scheduled to be there, according to Axios.

When asked whether he had any plans to call on Jones to withdraw from the race, Kaine previously told Blaze News, “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words, and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades. With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it’s up to Virginians to decide.”

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The federal government on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 29-year-old male in connection with the origin of the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced on X the arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht “on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January.”

‘True disaster.’

Essayli said the criminal complaint alleges that Rinderknecht “started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction.”

RELATED: LA approves only handful of building permits 75 days after fire devastation

Jonathan Rinderknecht. Image source: Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on X

Fire crews extinguished the initial fire, but it continued to smolder underground before reigniting during high winds, Essayli said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press.

The acting U.S. attorney noted that among the evidence collected from Rinderknecht’s digital devices “was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city.”

RELATED: Woke, tearful Jimmy Kimmel rips Trump as ‘our alleged future president,’ blasts ‘his gaggle of scumbags’ over LA fire remarks

Image source: Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on X

Rinderknecht fled the scene of the original fire but returned to the same trail to watch it burn, Essayli said, according to the AP: “He left as soon as he saw the fire trucks were headed to the location. He turned around and went back up there. And he took some video … and watched them fight the fire.”

What’s more, the outlet — citing the criminal complaint — said Rinderknecht not only made several 911 calls to report the fire but also during a Jan. 24 interview told investigators where the fire began, which was “information not yet public and that he would not have known if he hadn’t witnessed it.”

The outlet said the fire erupted Jan. 7, killed 12 people, and destroyed more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the wealthy Pacific Palisades coastal neighborhood of Los Angeles.

RELATED: LA Times owner regrets his paper’s endorsement of Karen Bass: ‘That’s a mistake’

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Rinderknecht’s initial appearance was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Essayli also noted.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the “great work by @USAttyEssayli and our federal agents to make this crucial arrest.” Bondi added that the Department of Justice “will deliver justice for the Palisades Fire and keep Californians safe — even if California leadership won’t.”

Donald Trump — who was president-elect at the time the fire erupted — blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom, calling the Democrat’s handling of the fires a “true disaster” while citing lack of proper infrastructure and leadership.

Democrat Mayor Karen Bass also was criticized, given she was in Africa attending a presidential inauguration in Ghana at the time the fire was spreading. In fact, Bass reportedly was at one point living it up at a cocktail party in Ghana while the fire burned. The Los Angeles Times said Bass was hobnobbing and posing for photos at a Jan. 7 embassy shindig.

In February, Bass fired the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who had blamed officials’ incompetence for a disastrous response to the wildfires.

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President Donald Trump said that music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs asked for a pardon.

Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering charges by the eight-person jury in a Manhattan federal courtroom earlier this year. In October he was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.

‘I was very friendly with him. I get along with him great and seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.’

The president told reporters at the Oval Office on Monday about the request while being questioned about the possibility of a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I have a lot of people [who] have asked me for pardons,” the president said. “I call him Puff Daddy, has asked me for a pardon.”

He had previously said in August in an interview with Newsmax that he was unlikely to pardon Combs because of comments Combs made in the past about him.

“He was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump said.

“I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile. And it’s hard. Like you, we’re human beings, and we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment. But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements.”

Trump added, “I don’t know. … I’m being honest: It makes it more difficult to do.”

RELATED: Blaze News exclusive: ‘I’ve attended these parties’: Former Diddy protégé recalls ‘dark hours’ with ‘extra activities’

Combs’ lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said his office had nothing to do with any request for a pardon, according to Breitbart News.

“I am not involved in that in the least,” said Agnifilo. “I have literally no idea. There are times I think there’s nothing to it, and there are times I think it’s just rumor mill stuff. But I do not purport to know the president’s mind. I really don’t know.”

Before his conviction, Combs addressed his victims and apologized to them for his behavior.

“I want to personally apologize again to Cassie Ventura for any harm or hurt that I caused to her, emotionally or physically. My actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick,” he said.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Combs said to another accuser known only as “Jane.”

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Former FBI Director James Comey pled not guilty at his arraignment on Wednesday.

He faces federal charges from the Department of Justice for obstructing a congressional proceeding and making false statements. The charges are related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 30, 2020, where he addressed the FBI’s role in the Russia collusion investigation related to the 2016 election.

‘No one is above the law.’

Comey was indicted on September 25 of this year. The indictment alleges that Comey lied about his role in authorizing FBI contacts to serve as anonymous media sources during the investigation and that he deliberately withheld information about the investigation from the Judiciary Committee. The case is scheduled to go to trial in January.

“No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X following the announcement of Comey’s indictment.

RELATED: ‘Ultimate hypocrisy’: Murkowski, now whining about Comey indictment, sang a different tune when Dems went after Trump

Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Comey has denied the accusations and said that he looks forward to a trial. His legal team also claimed the indictment amounts to vindictive persecution and that they plan to request a dismissal, according to the AP.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Comey as a “dirty cop” as well as a “slimeball.”

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Entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian made a bold assertion to the internet about the founding of his website Reddit.

The online forum is known for having a discussion page about nearly every topic — and often implementing extremely left-wing moderation and rules enforcement across its many pages.

‘[Border security] shouldn’t come at the cost of crushing lives.’

Ohanian invented Reddit in 2005 as an online bulletin board dubbed “the front page of the internet.”

He ended up resigning from the site’s board of directors in 2020, at which point he urged the company to replace him with a black candidate in honor of George Floyd.

Now, the entrepreneur has said the site would have never existed had federal immigration law been enforced before he was born. Ohanian was born in New York City in 1983 to an American father and a German mother, whose immigration status was not legal.

Responding to programmer Paul Graham’s X post about “masked thugs” who are “dragging people off the street at gunpoint” — referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — Ohanian revealed that his mother overstayed her welcome in the United States.

“As the son of an undocumented immigrant (my mom overstayed an au pair visa for years before marrying my dad, a U.S. citizen), it’s deeply personal: Reddit wouldn’t exist if ICE had come for her,” he wrote. The Au Pair visa permits bringing in a foreigner for childcare services.

Insisting that he did “think border security matters,” Ohanian then advocated for mass amnesty of illegal immigrants.

Border security “shouldn’t come at the cost of crushing lives,” Ohanian claimed. “A sensible amnesty / legalization policy (like what Reagan offered in 1986!!) could strike a better balance: Path to citizenship for law-abiding, hard-working undocumented immigrants <>.”

RELATED: MAGA hat triggers woke cardplayers into allegedly banning champion from entering tournament

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Adding nuance to his proposal, Ohanian said that those who do not come forward to a pathway for citizenship should “face enforcement under due process.”

“This isn’t open borders, it’s smart borders + humane immigration reform. The guys up at the crack of dawn in the Home Depot parking lot <> or the women hustling their home-made food on the corner are <> the men & women we want contributing to this great nation. We shouldn’t be rounding them up at gunpoint.”

Former Republican candidate Blake Masters, who ran for Senate in Arizona, mocked Ohanian in his replies.

“Reddit not existing had we enforced immigration law is a great argument for enforcing immigration law,” Masters wrote, echoing criticism from other detractors.

Ohanian made additional arguments in response to his original post. For example, he bragged that his “$38B Market Cap” was evidence that “undocumented immigrants can have some pretty productive kids.”

RELATED: YouTube admits to secretly manipulating videos with AI

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While the majority of the replies sarcastically mocked the website guru for providing a great reason to enforce existing laws, Ohanian was not without some support.

Marko Stankovic, vice president of cloud computing company Zenlayer, similarly claimed that if he “came to the US in today’s climate, I don’t think we would have been able to stay.”

He added, “Ironic that a lot of the tech entrepreneurs and CEOs (including many Trump supporters) came over on H1B or student visas.”

However, one X user’s rebuff of Ohanian’s logic seemingly captivated the sentiment of those who disagreed with him:

“I can’t even comprehend the level of entitlement to stay here knowing you’re not permitted, then demand citizenship because you stayed so long that it would be inconvenient to leave,” the user wrote.

As for what web surfers may be using if Reddit never existed, tech and education expert Josh Centers told Blaze News, “I think we would still have a lot of independent forums and the web would be a lot healthier.”

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Two new bombshell reports have somehow made Joe Biden’s already horrendous legacy even worse. Recent declassified documents reveal that when he was vice president, Biden blocked the sharing of intelligence reports showing Ukrainian officials’ concerns about his family’s corrupt business deals.

Another shocking report exposes Biden’s weaponized FBI for allegedly spying on private calls and texts of eight Republican senators who backed Donald Trump. Former special counsel Jack Smith was named as the key figure who oversaw the tracking of those private communications during the January 6 Arctic Frost probe.

“Think about all the things that [leftists] say that President Trump does that makes him a fascist, a dictator, an authoritarian. … And meanwhile, Joe Biden is spying on Republican senators,” says Sara Gonzales, BlazeTV host of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

It wasn’t enough that the Biden DOJ raided Mar-a-Lago and hit Trump with 91 indictments and 34 felony counts, she says. “They had to spy on Donald Trump’s friends as well.”

She highlights that this latest revelation adds to the growing list of egregious actions taken by Biden during his presidency — actions like aggressively targeting pro-lifers for nonviolent protests, imprisoning hundreds of innocent January 6 participants, and using federal power to force people to take the experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

“And they have the audacity to look at you and say Donald Trump is literally Hitler?” Sara scoffs. “Well, guess what? I got news for them. This is what dictatorships actually do.”

And if not for President Trump’s incredible victory, we would’ve been stuck in this dictatorship for another four years. “If they had won, I don’t know if we would be able to pull this whole experiment that we call America back together,” Sara says.

But it didn’t take the presidency for Biden to start acting like a dictator. He was doing that back when he was Barack Obama’s vice president.

As shown in the recently declassified report, “Joe Biden was out there lecturing other governments to clean up their act, while, of course, Hunter raked in the millions from Daddy’s business dealings,” Sara says.

Biden then carried this knack for making undesirable information vanish into his presidency.

“Anything that he didn’t want disseminated just got censored. X under Jack Dorsey — you’d get kicked off the platform if you wanted to talk about Hunter Biden’s laptop or any of the other corruption that was happening with the Biden family,” Sara recalls.

And all the while, he was projecting his own deception onto Donald Trump with the Russiagate hoax.

“It is stunning to me how the Biden regime crossed every single line. … He was covering up for his family members; he was pardoning them; he was spying on political opponents; and he was silencing and burying anyone who wanted to criticize him,” and yet Democrats still try to push the narrative that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, Sara says.

She urges Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ to keep digging and declassifying: “If there is this, there is more. We need all of it. … Let us see the information. And then, by the way, let us find out if we can bring Joe Biden in for some testimony because there are some people who need to be held accountable, and Joe Biden is just the tip of the iceberg.”

To hear more of Sara’s analysis and commentary, watch the episode above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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Violence broke out in Boston on Tuesday evening when pro-Palestine protesters gathered for a rally on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack that caused the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis and sparked the ongoing war.

‘From my perspective, this is all the same ball of wax: Antifa, free Palestine, trans-tifa. They’re all the same effectively, far-left/communist agitators.’

Flyers of the protest feature an illustration of people masked in kaffiyehs and a police car on fire.

“Flood downtown for Palestine,” the flyer reads. “Rally and march.”

John Gately, the host of the “John F Gately Show,” captured footage of the downtown protest, which he estimated was attended by roughly 175 people.

Gately recorded a video of a group of masked protesters sitting on the ground, trying to conceal their activities. When Gately approached the group, they quickly formed a barrier, holding up kaffiyehs to block his view, and even appeared to move a police barrier. One protester claimed they were providing first aid to one of their comrades who needed to “rest.”

Gately told Blaze News that when the march arrived at Boston’s Downtown Crossing, “things got ugly” as protesters blocked emergency vehicles.

“There was a kerfuffle. There was a report of pepper spray; I didn’t see that,” Gately said. “It was a fight in the middle of Tremont Street.”

RELATED: Two years after October 7: God hasn’t been silent

Content warning: language

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He described seeing protesters pushing and shoving before police swarmed in to arrest 13 individuals, eight men and five women.

Four officers sustained injuries, all of which were non-life-threatening but included broken bones.

RELATED: Hamas agrees to Trump Gaza deal, plans to release all Israeli hostages

Content warning: language

— (@)

Tensions in the community were already high before Tuesday’s demonstration, Gately stated. He explained that a visiting professor from Harvard Law School fired off a pellet rifle near a Brookline synagogue last week on the eve of Yom Kippur. The professor allegedly told law enforcement he was “hunting rats.”

“From my perspective, this is all the same ball of wax: Antifa, free Palestine, trans-tifa. They’re all the same effectively, far-left/communist agitators,” Gately told Blaze News. “It’s all the same oppressor versus oppressed dialectic.”

“I think that effectively, the far-left promotes violence,” Gately added.

In a statement provided to Blaze News, Mayor Michelle Wu (D) said, “We are extremely grateful for the work of the Boston Police in keeping the city safe and in supporting the right to peacefully protest. Boston will not tolerate violence, and we categorically condemn those who came into our community to attack our police officers. The individuals who engaged in these attacks must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Blaze News contacted Gov. Maura Healey’s office for comment.

Image source: John Gately

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​News, Palestine, Hamas, Pro-palestine protest, Pro-hamas protest, Anti-israel, October 7 terror attack, October 7, Antifa, Free palestine rally, John gately, Boston, Massachusetts, Michelle wu, Maura healey, Politics 

Over the weekend, country music star Zach Bryan posted a song clip to his Instagram with the caption “the fading of the red white and blue.” Since then, Bryan has faced a wave of backlash over some of his apparently “anti-ICE” lyrics, but one of the best responses came from the Department of Homeland Security.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security’s X account posted a compilation video of law enforcement with one of Zach Bryan’s more famous songs playing over it.

‘When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.’

The caption of the post reads, “We’re having an All Night Revival.”

The video depicts several scenes of arrests by law enforcement, riot control, and even a clip of the commander at large of the U.S. Border Patrol, Chief Gregory Bovino, who recently allegedly he had a murder hit put on his head by a Latin Kings gang member.

RELATED: Country singer Zach Bryan gets nailed with backlash over anti-ICE song

Photo by James Smith/Sam Snap/Getty Images

Zach Bryan’s song “Revival” plays over the DHS video. “Revival” has over 390 million plays on Spotify and is among Bryan’s top 10 songs.

The lyrics from the new melancholy song clip mention ICE while suggesting the slow decline of America.

“ICE is gonna come bust down your door,” it reads. “Try to build a house / no one builds no more.”

The lyrics end, “Got some bad news / the fading of the red, white, and blue.”

Hours after the DHS video dropped on Tuesday, Bryan posted an explanation on his Instagram story: “To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes.”

He suggested that there is more context in the full song: “When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.”

He has not given any indication of the planned timing for the song’s release.

Blaze News made multiple attempts to contact Zach Bryan and his management team for comment but was ultimately unsuccessful.

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Millions of Indians have flooded the United States in recent years. Now, their political force is being felt in one of their most popular destinations, California.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law that will make Diwali, also known as Deepavali, a state holiday. The bill, sponsored by assembly members Ash Kalra and Darshana Patel, will take effect on January 1, 2026.

‘This day is marked as the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar of each year.’

The law amends relevant sections of the code of civil procedure, the education code, and the government code.

The new law designates Diwali as an official state holiday. In the text, this day is marked as “the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar of each year.”

RELATED: Church joins persecution of Texas business owner who criticized H-1B visas

Preparations for the Diwali festivalPhoto by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Diwali often falls in October or November of the Gregorian calendar accepted universally in the West.

According to Britannica, Diwali is a festival celebrated in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and sometimes Buddhism. The name derives from the Sanskrit term “dipavali,” meaning “row of lights,” and celebrates the victory of light over darkness.

According to a Pew Research study published in May 2025, “960,000 out of the nation’s Indian population of 4.9 million, or 20%, live in California.”

Other states with large Indian populations include Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois.

California is the third state to make Diwali an official state holiday, following Pennsylvania and Connecticut, according to the AP.

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​Politics, Indians, H-1b, California, Gavin newsom, Diwali, Hinduism, United states, Immigration, Ash kalra, Darshana patel 

Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas is doing his part to ramp up deportation efforts across the country.

Gill introduced landmark legislation on Wednesday that would effectively close loopholes and expand expedited removal authority to cover violent criminal aliens, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. The bill also mandates the detention and expedited removal of violent criminals, gang members, and terrorists while also ensuring they are unable to abuse asylum protections.

‘Democrat leaders invited them to invade our county en masse.’

The current law primarily limits expedited removal to migrants who recently crossed within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of entry. Because of existing loopholes and procedures, criminal aliens are often sorted into slower and more standard removal proceedings.

In contrast, Gill’s legislation addresses the removal of criminal aliens with urgency.

RELATED: Inside the Portland ICE facility under siege by Antifa extremists

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

“Our number one priority should be to protect American communities,” Gill told Blaze News. “America should never be a safe haven for gang members, terrorists, or violent offenders.”

“Yet, Democrat leaders invited them to invade our county en masse,” Gill added. “Serious crimes require decisive consequences. My bill backs President Trump’s efforts to capture and deport violent illegal aliens quickly at the behest of Americans across the nation who want their families to thrive in a safe society.”

RELATED: Federal agents clash with mob of Antifa-fueled, anti-ICE protesters in Portland

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Over the course of President Joe Biden’s administration, there were over 10 million migrant encounters in the United States, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, migrant encounters have plummeted to historic lows, with illegal crossings across the United States-Mexico border dropping to the lowest levels in over half a century. Gill indicated his legislation would continue this trend and help codify Trump’s immigration policy.

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​Joe biden, Donald trump, Brandon gill, Migrant crisis, Border crossings, Invasion, Trump administration, Cbp, Dhs, Deportations, Mass deportations, Criminal aliens, Illegal aliens, Customs and border protection, Department of homeland security, House republicans, Texas, Politics 

Charlie Kirk’s alleged murderer came from somewhere. We all do.

Since the “In the beginning” times, our species has wrestled with the fundamental logic — and perceived unfairness — of holding parents responsible for the sins of their children. Or the other way around. In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the prophet makes this explicit:

The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:20)

Yet, we mortals struggle with this idea. It’s a matter of self-preservation. The unifying idea is that we must bear some responsibility for the behavior of our own kids. Our kids are reflections of us because we put our stamp on them. Functional societies have a justifiable fear of the ripple effects of other people’s bad parenting.

What this family confronted deserves to be noticed, praised, and modeled.

Healthy families are civilization’s frontline schoolhouse of needed humans — producers of good men, women, and citizens. Bad parents can easily replicate themselves and often do. It is a rare and beautiful testament to the enduring nature of the good to see exceptions to the rule.

The inverse happens, too. I have met many good parents of bad kids — a bad seed that grows up to be a bad adult. Or a good kid who leaves the home for school, falls in with the wrong crowd, and rejects root and branch the ways of his family.

Modern parents know that at some point, we must let our offspring venture into a hard and secular world outside the home threshold, a world that undermines good parenting at every turn. A school system that inverts the established, time-tested ways for purposes of political indoctrination. A culture that has lost any sense of moral and natural limits. An algorithmic media that is set on setting people into warring tribes with desensitized, brutish ways.

Good soil, infected fruit

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin was born and raised in Southwestern Utah — Mormon territory. He was the son of a mother and father who raised their kids in the Mormon way, which produces exemplary fruits that are missionaries to the world. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — its formal name — instills family loyalty, stewardship, tolerance, sobriety, hard work, and sharing. Members tithe. They contribute. They are impressive people.

Even Matt Stone and Trey Parker, with their “Dumb, Dumb, Dumb” view of the Mormon religion (which is a cutout for all organized religion), recognized that Mormons have strong families and raise very good kids. The whole “Book of Mormon” craze began with a 2003 “South Park” episode featuring an impressive Mormon high school kid. His ending soliloquy put it best:

Look, maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that.

The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the church teaches now is loving your family, being nice, and helping people.

I don’t know about you, but I admire the old-school way the accused killer’s father brought his son — his own flesh and blood — to face justice.

Would you have done the same?

The family saw the fruit of their loins on video surveillance in a national all-points bulletin. The family reached out to their own. Father and grandfather. They talked him into coming home. Once he was home, they convinced him to turn himself in for the crime — and to stanch the dishonor that he had done to his family’s name.

Would Luigi Mangione’s wealthy and well-connected Maryland family have done the same if they recognized his distinctive eyebrows? “Come home, son,” followed by, “You must turn yourself in to the authorities and be held accountable.” There’s no evidence they did anything of the kind. If they had, would Luigi have complied? I doubt it.

Fathers and mothers of America: Do you think you and yours could do similarly? To ask that question is not to answer it easily.

This Utah family has a quiet dignity to it. Their creed was not an assassin’s creed. Their kid is certainly a lost young man. He took a path outside of his family’s way, but his family retained a line of communication and influence over their prodigal son. They lost their son to dark, demonic forces, but appealed to the light remaining in him and brought him home and to justice.

What this family confronted deserves to be noticed, praised, and modeled. Our country was given clarity in real time. We very rarely get that. This young man did not come in lawyered up and with his phone locked and encrypted.

RELATED: Here’s what we know about Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk

Photo by Office of the Governor of Utah via Getty Images

A reeling nation did not have to suffer the indignity of mushroom management, where “We the People” are kept in the legalese dark and fed legalese doggerel.

Every family that has successfully raised a good kid to adulthood knows how hard it is in our present educational, cultural, and social media bathhouses.

A family in need of prayer

A family can hold a line, and a kid can transgress it. Once upon a time, the family had educational and cultural support systems that checked transgression and bolstered parents and kids. Kids heard a shared common and civilized creed in and outside the house. That cord has been cut for a while, and our families and nation are suffering at scale because of it.

This family summoned their prodigal son home. While we rightfully think of their son as a moral monster, they still had a familial claim and power over him. And with it, they brought him home and then to justice.

This family gave another grieving family and a nation the closure it needed. We owe them our thanks and compassion for displaying moral courage when it counted. The sins of their son are not theirs. They ought to be seen by the nation as neighbors in good standing. They need and deserve our parental prayers.

Under present grooming circumstances, there but for the grace of God go all of us.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Tyler robinson, Tyler robinson confession, Tyler robinson texts, Charlie kirk, Charlie kirk assassination, Charlie kirk assassin, Political violence, God, Faith, Family, Virtue, Latter day saints, Book of mormon, Parenting, Prayer 

Seven females — five of them teenagers, two of them adults — are facing charges in the wake of a brawl caught on video outside the Maryland State Fair, Baltimore County police told WJZ-TV.

Charged in connection with the assault and public disturbance were four 14-year-olds, a 15-year-old, and two adults — Melika Gamble-Thomas, 33, and Tiera Gamble, 37 — police told the station.

‘These children come out in groups, and they try to cause havoc or whatever. It’s a shame.’

Both Gamble-Thomas and Gamble were taken into custody on open warrants, WBFF-TV reported.

Police launched an investigation after video of the brawl began circulating on social media in late August, WJZ reported.

The video shows one teen girl being dragged by her hair. Police told WJZ the brawl involved at least a dozen other teens.

Officers at the fair said several arrests were made, but some suspects fled the scene in a car, WJZ said, adding that some officers suffered minor injuries while responding to the brawl.

The group of teens may have been denied entry to the fair over its unaccompanied minor policy, Maryland State Fair General Manager Andy Cashman told WJZ.

The fair’s unaccompanied minor policy, instituted in 2024, stipulates that minors can’t enter the fair without an adult, WJZ said, adding that one adult can chaperone up to six minors.

“It’s been a problem,” Cashman told WJZ. “These children come out in groups, and they try to cause havoc or whatever. It’s a shame.”

WBFF said officers responded around 8:30 p.m. Aug. 30 to the 2200 block of York Road in Timonium for reports of an assault.

Authorities told WBFF the brawl reportedly began at the fairgrounds and ended in a nearby parking lot.

The mother of the girl dragged by her hair told WBFF that “she had drag marks all up her body; she had bruises on her face” and added, “I wanted to talk to the parents to see, like, why, what was going on? Why did you allow this to happen, to find some reasoning in it …”

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​Brawl, Video, Dragged, Hair, Maryland state fair, Charges, Teen females charged, Adult females arrested, Open warrants, Crime 

On Monday, October 6, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James teased a big announcement. Pitching it as “the Second Decision” — a parody of his infamous 2010 ESPN special where he revealed leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat — NBA fans held their breath in anticipation that the 40-year-old basketball veteran would either announce his retirement or a change in teams.

But no.

It turns out the big reveal has nothing to do with basketball at all. LeBron’s big announcement turned out to be a promotional campaign for a limited-edition Hennessy V.S.O.P cognac bottle collaboration, which will feature his signature “crowning” gesture.

Needless to say, basketball fans are infuriated. The manipulative clickbait marketing left them feeling emotionally exploited, especially considering LeBron’s recent hints at an impending end to his NBA career.

But Jason Whitlock is frustrated by something else: LeBron is yet again leaning deliberately into black stereotypes for marketing gain.

“If he was going to lean into a stereotype, at least he didn’t lean into watermelon,” he scoffs.

“This is maddening,” says “Fearless” contributor Steve Kim, who was excited at the prospect of LeBron finally retiring or leaving the Lakers.

“He just won’t go away, Whitlock. We’re stuck with this guy,” he sighs.

Jason is ready for the LeBron mania to fizzle out, too, but for him, it’s less about basketball and more about LBJ’s impact on culture. He’s tired of the “Bronsexuals” — James’ most ardent, overly defensive fans who exhibit an intense, almost obsessive loyalty to him — “[pretending] like LeBron is some genius, that LeBron is some influencer that’s ahead of the conversation.”

“I’m not sure if this dude can read, write, comprehend,” says Jason.

“This guy’s got one of the biggest brands in all of America and he’s … [using] it to promote Hennessy” — the most “ghetto liquor in the world?” he asks.

The marketing ploy also proves that LeBron has learned nothing from his past mistakes. The original “Decision,” during which he announced his transition to Miami, was not received well by fans.

“He got ripped and destroyed from that, and you would think that he would learn a lesson from that and that 15 years later, he wouldn’t be doing something to draw comparisons to [‘the Decision’] and then to do something equally as small,” says Jason.

He can only assume that LeBron’s handlers — Adam Mendelsohn, Rich Paul, and Maverick Carter — are just as cognitively stunted as the drama king himself.

“They can’t talk LeBron out of leaning into brown liquor stereotypes?” asks Jason, baffled.

He assumes that LeBron’s Hennessy collab will be defended by the usual tactic of playing the race card: “Anyone that criticizes this will be either an Uncle Tom or sellout like me, or they’ll be a racist.”

Now that LeBron’s retirement is no longer on the table, Jason and Steve fear that the aging athlete will play until he’s 50 years old.

“He’s certainly going to play until he can force his other son into the NBA,” says Jason.

“That might drive me to Hennessy,” Steve laughs.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the video above.

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​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Steve kim, Lebron james, La lakers, Nba, Second decision, The decision, Blazetv, Blaze media, Hennessy, Black stereotype 

David Harsanyi recently sounded the alarm in the New York Post that “Gen Z’s casual anti-Semitism is growing.” His warning has some merit, but it also reveals blind spots about the political context he prefers not to acknowledge.

Harsanyi isn’t wrong that ugly anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic rhetoric has surfaced in parts of the populist right. Plenty of very online commentators have insinuated — and in some instances insisted — that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was tied to Israel. Conspiracy theory claims circulate online that Jewish billionaires control conservative media, bribing or blackmailing Republicans into supporting Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza no matter the cost.

Gen Z has broken old taboos. That’s healthy. But if Zoomers want to be taken seriously, they must separate legitimate criticism of US policy from adolescent conspiracy theories.

This is an “ugly turn,” but it didn’t appear out of thin air. Once the neoconservative gatekeepers lost their grip, a wider debate on the right was inevitable.

For decades, particular outlets and movement foundations policed what conservatives were allowed to say. That censorship has collapsed in the internet era, for better and worse.

I welcome the broader discussion on the right. It was overdue. But the opening comes with a price: young voices saying stupid and reckless things. Then again, establishment conservatives have spent years saying reckless things of their own. My own anthology of commentaries catalogs four decades of such elite nonsense — much of which never saw daylight in “respectable” venues such as National Review, Commentary, or the Wall Street Journal.

Why? Because I was “unreliable on Israel.” Never mind that I never attacked the Jewish state. My real offense was questioning whether American conservatives should be compelled to parrot Likud talking points. Harsanyi may not see it this way, but the reality is obvious: Conservatives should be free to criticize Israeli policy without fearing cancellation from their own establishment.

That establishment has demanded iron discipline on Israel, sometimes even backing Democrats AIPAC preferred over those judged insufficiently loyal to Jerusalem. Yet the same institutions shy away from clear stands on basic civilizational issues like marriage. The imbalance speaks for itself.

And Charlie Kirk himself, before his death, reportedly raised doubts about Netanyahu’s ongoing Gaza campaign — only to spark frantic denials from conservative influencers who insisted he hadn’t meant it. Harsanyi frets about Gen Z’s “abnormal fixation” on Jews and Israel. He should also notice the establishment’s fixation, which is every bit as abnormal.

The movement Harsanyi defends is a relic. I’m old enough to remember its birth in the 1980s, and I remember how eagerly it purged dissenters. (Full disclosure: I was one of them.) Forgive me if I feel some schadenfreude watching Gen Z give that same establishment fits, even if I wince at the crudity of their attacks.

RELATED: Netanyahu takes aim at the so-called ‘woke right,’ Tucker Carlson

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

What really troubles me is the lack of reflection among Gen Z’s loudest voices. Nick Fuentes, for example, is a sharp communicator, but he throws away credibility by ranting about international Jewish conspiracies. That style is unserious, self-defeating, and easily exploited by enemies.

Even on substance, the Gen Z case collapses under scrutiny. They cite the Adelsons, but that’s one family. They point to Bill Ackman, a hedge-fund billionaire, but ignore his politics: Ackman is firmly on the left at home, even if he backs Israel abroad. Meanwhile, non-Jewish moguls like the Murdochs wield far more influence over conservative institutions and their loyalty to Israel.

And one final irony: As a Jewish dissenter on the right, expelled long ago, I know from experience that many of my opponents were not Jewish at all. More often than not, they were well-heeled gentiles writing checks.

Gen Z has broken the old taboos and raised questions the establishment tried to bury. That’s healthy. But if Zoomers want to be taken seriously, they must separate legitimate criticism of U.S. policy toward Israel from adolescent conspiracy theories. Otherwise, the real lessons will be lost in the noise.

​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Netanyahu, Israel, Aipac, Antisemitism, Zionism, Antisemite, Zionist, Trump and netanyahu, Anti-semitism, Benjamin netanyahu, David harsanyi, Tucker carlson, Gen z, Bill ackman 

Ever since “Human Forever” came out in 2021, people have asked me when the real-life Butlerian Jihad was coming. Some assumed I supported a real-life Butlerian Jihad. A few even coined the phrase Poulosian Jihad …

Well, no. Now that we are deep into the still-unfinished movie adaptations of Frank Herbert’s immensely influential “Dune” novels, and jihad-like options like calling in the airstrikes on the data centers have become influential in their own right through the effective altruist crowd, I feel the need to let the good times pause and underscore my strong opposition to any Butlerian or Butlerian-inspired Jihad.

For those unaware, the basic outline of the Butlerian Jihad (Herbert borrowed heavily from Arabic and Muslim signifiers in world-building his desert planet Iraq, I mean Arrakis) is this:

As mankind spread throughout the known universe, technology advanced and eventually machines were made that would make decisions for people. This propelled the creators of these machines into a new technocratic class, effectively controlling the worlds of the common people.Mankind eventually rebelled against these machines and their creators in a nigh-religious war that sought to retake the thinking soul of mankind from the gods of machine logic. After two generations of violence … their gods and rituals were looked upon in a different, perhaps even jaded, light. Both were largely seen to be guilty of using fear as a means of control. Hesitantly, the leaders of religions began meeting to exchange views, and a new, central religious precept was defined, that man may never be replaced by a machine.

Blah blah blah, long story short, probably the most important detail in the Butlerian Jihad lore is this: “Planet Earth was completely irradiated and turned into a burnt husk and the machines on the planet were no more.” Yes, humanity had to nuke its own home to beat its own machines.

But even beyond that, there are important reasons to look away from the Butlerian Jihad as any kind of metaphorical or inspirational model for dealing with even very out-of-control AI.

The failure cycle of Western religious wars would seem to have led us to exactly the point at which technology of superhuman potency has emerged in the minds of many as the last tool in the box to finally free us from that accursed cycle.

One of them would surely have to do with the problems of jihad itself. “Holy war” as Muslims have practiced it does, by now, have a very bad reputation. From a theological standpoint, it is easy to see why this might be so in the case of a militant, conquering religion that entails the worship of one single, undifferentiated, unitary, monotheistic deity. Such a God is, to be sure, lord and master of the universe and all creation. But such a God is not in a position that enables us humans to enter into a familial relationship (re)joining the human and the divine. Such a God does not seek above all the reciprocation of His boundless and unimaginably great love for us, His creations. Worship of such a deity must not hinge on the spiritual experience and pursuit of repentance and forgiveness, but rather solely on submission and obedience, which at least invites the imposition of submission and obedience on others as itself a holy or sacred practice.

But wait, there’s more. The West itself has a long if uneven tradition of holy war, or “crusaderism,” a tradition that leaves its own reputation in tatters. In fact, the failure cycle of Western religious wars would seem to have led us to exactly the point at which technology of superhuman potency has emerged in the minds of many as the last tool in the box to finally free us from that accursed cycle. So it is particularly disturbing to see technology accelerate at a speed so intense that more and more people are suggesting the only tool left in the box to stop mass human slavery or death by the machines is holy or sacred war.

I really think we have seen this movie before, so to speak. Look at the track record of all-out conflict led by a rebel alliance in a fight seen as so existential that the ends sacralize any means necessary. For the past 500 years or so, the West has struggled in the grip of this pattern, which had led to the routine slaughter of millions upon millions of souls — and the invention of ever-more-powerful weapons technologies to execute on the perceived necessity of slaughtering so many “enemy souls.”

Every major leap forward in communications technology has occasioned another round of sacralized slaughter, which today has led at least a few leading technologists (like Meta’s chief AI scientist) to justify the slaughter, or at least wave it away, on the basis of the ostensibly locked-in gains made to knowledge and enlightenment: “The Catholic clergy worried very much about the ‘safety problems’ of the printing press. They were right: it reduced their grip on European society. It caused a bunch of religious rifts and conflicts. But society made progress because of it.” This is a terrible argument for a broadly permissive approach to AI innovation! And obviously, it contributes to people feeling suspicious of trusting technologists to authoritatively guide us on the topic of their own inventions.

RELATED: Arizona’s AI policing tool threatens civil liberties

Photo by Bloomberg / Contributor via Getty Images

But this is happening in the first place — and people are so susceptible to caving in to its inhuman logic — because of the deep failure of faith that has sunk into the bones of the West. The belief that Christ and His church are inadequate to the threat of total Borg slavery leads now, as it has in similar past crises, to two rival alternatives: militant return to a “pre-Christian” state or conquest unto a post-Christian one. The saints speak eloquently to the importance of trusting God enough to let Him focus on dealing with evil and evildoers — so that we can focus, as we must, on purifying our hearts to the needed degree to reunite fully and reciprocally with God. Or if you would rather get it straight from the Lord Himself:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Few dare accept this! It is so much more reassuring, in a false and perverse way, to bet our fortunes on the pagan hero’s journey where, with enough courage, violence, and sacred license, we can slaughter evil and save the world. And how’s that working out for us? Many reply: well, not great, but surely better than if we let ourselves get wiped out by bad guys like a bunch of pathetic, dumb sheep.

To this one might reply by busting out Ivan Ilyin’s “On Resistance to Evil by Force.” This classic text, written by an anti-communist Russian exiled from the Soviet Union, does not take a juridical approach to questions of “just war” but rather emphasizes the arduous and painful effort of internal spiritual probity and discernment incumbent upon every person who is confronted with the necessity of defending the innocent from organized attack.

But as we all know, well-written and well-argued books are not really the way to move masses of people toward a deeper and richer understanding of the gospel (or much else). And so we have to work in simpler, larger themes and questions. Such as:

Can a fictionalized jihad waged by a rebel alliance in a mythical universe where Christ did not, does not, and will not exist possibly indicate a spiritually authoritative response to technological acceleration that we can trust?

Can limiting our spiritual identity with regard to technology to a militarized oppositional one possibly free us from the pattern of spiritually “consecrated” total war against the total other that has defined the trajectory of the West toward this new peak of crisis?

Just as an immeasurably loving God asks of us that we reciprocate His love freely and willingly — because automatons created without free will cannot possibly be said to love or to be created out of boundless love — so, too, must any “resistance” to technological acceleration in violent or oppressive directions manifest through freely and willingly pressing the “off” button rather than pressing the nuclear “on” button out of a sense of hideous necessity.

Of course, pressing the “off” button isn’t quite “resistance” at all, properly understood. Rather than being against the machine, we ought to content ourselves with the higher authority of being for our given humanity, God’s capstone and completion of creation. Take that spirit, and we might just find ourselves capable — and worthy — of having nice things after all.

​Butlerian jihad, Tech, Ai, Dune 

Chicago, Portland, and other American cities are showing us what happens when the rule of law breaks down. These cities have become openly lawless — and that’s not hyperbole.

When a governor declares she doesn’t believe federal agents about a credible threat to their lives, when Chicago orders its police not to assist federal officers, and when cartels print wanted posters offering bounties for the deaths of U.S. immigration agents, you’re looking at a country flirting with anarchy.

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic.

This isn’t a matter of partisan politics. The struggle we’re watching now is not between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between good and evil, right and wrong, self‑government and chaos.

Moral erosion

For generations, Americans have inherited a republic based on law, liberty, and moral responsibility. That legacy is now under assault by extremists who openly seek to collapse the system and replace it with something darker.

Antifa, well‑financed by the left, isn’t an isolated fringe any more than Occupy Wall Street was. As with Occupy, big money and global interests are quietly aligned with “anti‑establishment” radicals. The goal is disruption, not reform.

And they’ve learned how to condition us. Twenty‑five years ago, few Americans would have supported drag shows in elementary schools, biological males in women’s sports, forced vaccinations, or government partnerships with mega‑corporations to decide which businesses live or die. Few would have tolerated cartels threatening federal agents or tolerated mobs doxxing political opponents. Yet today, many shrug — or cheer.

How did we get here? What evidence convinced so many people to reverse themselves on fundamental questions of morality, liberty, and law? Those long laboring to disrupt our republic have sought to condition people to believe that the ends justify the means.

Promoting “tolerance” justifies women losing to biological men in sports. “Compassion” justifies harboring illegal immigrants, even violent criminals. Whatever deluded ideals Antifa espouses is supposed to somehow justify targeting federal agents and overturning the rule of law. Our culture has been conditioned for this moment.

The buck stops with us

That’s why the debate over using troops to restore order in American cities matters so much. I’ve never supported soldiers executing civilian law, and I still don’t. But we need to speak honestly about what the Constitution allows and why. The Posse Comitatus Act sharply limits the use of the military for domestic policing. The Insurrection Act, however, exists for rare emergencies — when federal law truly can’t be enforced by ordinary means and when mobs, cartels, or coordinated violence block the courts.

Even then, the Constitution demands limits: a public proclamation ordering offenders to disperse, transparency about the mission, a narrow scope, temporary duration, and judicial oversight.

Soldiers fight wars. Cops enforce laws. We blur that line at our peril.

But we also cannot allow intimidation of federal officers or tolerate local officials who openly obstruct federal enforcement. Both extremes — lawlessness on one side and militarization on the other — endanger the republic.

The only way out is the Constitution itself. Protect civil liberty. Enforce the rule of law. Demand transparency. Reject the temptation to justify any tactic because “our side” is winning. We’ve already seen how fear after 9/11 led to the Patriot Act and years of surveillance.

RELATED: 8 things Chicago has done to put illegal immigrants first

Photo by IPGGutenbergUKLtd via Getty Images

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic. The left cannot be allowed to shut down enforcement, and the right cannot be allowed to abandon constitutional restraint.

The real threat to the republic isn’t just the mobs or the cartels. It’s us — citizens who stop caring about truth and constitutional limits. Anything can be justified when fear takes over. Everything collapses when enough people decide “the ends justify the means.”

We must choose differently. Uphold the rule of law. Guard civil liberties. And remember that the only way to preserve a government of, by, and for the people is to act like the people still want it.

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​Opinion & analysis, Opinion, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice raid, Ice raids, Ice raid chicago, Ice raid portland, Portland, Chicago, Sanctuary cities, Law and order, Donald trump, Rule of law 

The LGBTQ community is reeling after an art deco Pride crosswalk was uprooted by order of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from the streets of Miami Beach.

A number of drag queens assembled to watch work crews dismantle the rainbow crosswalk on Sunday morning and told WPLG-TV they were shocked and heartbroken.

‘I think the street art got out of hand. I think it’s much better that we use crosswalks and streets for their intended purpose.’

“Our pride is getting erased just like that,” said CC Glitzer, a drag queen. “It’s very painful.”

“This represents blood, sweat, and tears. It tears my heart to see it go,” said TP Lourdes, another drag queen. “They might take this away, but they didn’t take the love and memories we’ve built here.”

The WPLG report said the crosswalk was destroyed by the Florida Department of Transportation without any notice from the state, despite DeSantis ordering the removal of street art in August.

“Why waste taxpayer dollars to remove something safe, beautiful, iconic, and embraced by everyone?” Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez said.

Additionally, an Associated Press report indicated that the city lost an appeal against the state order just a few days before the crosswalk was dismantled.

Fernandez said the bricks from the crosswalk were collected to be repurposed.

“This represented decades of people who endured housing discrimination, expulsion from the military,” Fernandez said, “workplace discrimination, the stigma of HIV and AIDS, the fight for marriage equality, all the hard-won battles that took the LGBTQ community from being marginalized to now being a visible, celebrated part of the community.”

RELATED: Florida teen hit with felony charges over ‘doughnut-burnouts’ on Pride flag crosswalk

DeSantis threatened to suspend state transportation funding from those communities that refused his order on street art.

“I think the street art got out of hand. I think it’s much better that we use crosswalks and streets for their intended purpose,” DeSantis previously said.

The AP noted that other street art had been dismantled under the order, including a “Back the Blue” mural outside of the Tampa police headquarters.

City officials cut the ribbon on the crosswalk in Nov. 2018.

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A federal judge has just sentenced Nicholas Roske — who now goes by Sophie — to only eight years in prison for his attempt to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh in June 2022, right before the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.

Roske had armed himself with a pistol, knife, lock-picking set, duct tape, hammer, crowbar, and tactical gear after flying from California to Virginia and before taking a taxi to Kavanaugh’s address.

The Department of Justice sought a much longer sentence for Roske, but Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, said during the sentencing hearing that Roske “spontaneously confessed to and cooperated with police.”

“I believe Ms. Roske understands that what she did was terribly wrong. I find her remorse sincere,” Boardman said, using Roske’s new “she/her” pronouns.

“Nicholas Roske, deliberately and in a premeditated manner, targeted for assassination a Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh, because of Brett Kavanaugh’s pro-life views. And yet, eight years is the entirety of the sentence that Nicholas Roske has to serve in prison with a lifetime of supervised release,” BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler comments, disturbed.

“Why? Why is that? Well, I’ll tell you why that is. It’s because Nicholas Roske now identifies as a woman. … Nicholas Roske, a biological man, has requested to be called Sophie. We on ‘The Liz Wheeler Show’ will not be honoring that request,” she continues.

Boardman referred to Roske as a transgender woman throughout the hearing, and Roske’s attorneys told the court that Roske goes by the name Sophie and uses female pronouns.

Boardman also claimed that she factored Trump’s executive order requiring transgender inmates to be detained in prisons that correspond to their sex at birth into her decision.

“The judge is worried about his safety if he, as a man, is in a male prison. No worry, though, about the women in the women’s prisons if a biological man is incarcerated with them. Don’t worry about their vulnerability to assault, especially sexual assault. She’s worried about his safety. So she reduced his sentence because she doesn’t like President Trump,” Wheeler explains.

“What she did is she legalized left-wing terrorism,” she continues. “So now, people on the left who are committing acts of violence against us, which is happening on a daily basis right now, now she has signaled to them that as long as you have openly embraced a communist ideology, the neo-Marxist ideology of queer theory, as long as you identify as transgender, then you will be held to a different standard.”

“You will be actually rewarded by our justice system if you commit violence in the name of radical leftist ideology as long as you have put on the mantle of transgenderism,” she adds.

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