Welcome back to Reading the Weird‚ in which we get girl cooties all over weird fiction‚ cosmic horror‚ and Lovecraftiana—from its historical roots through its most recent branches. This week‚ we cover Nadia Bulkin’s “Seven Minutes in Heaven‚” first published in Aickman’s Heirs in 2015—you can find it most easily in Nick Mamatas’s Wonder and Glory Forever anthology. Spoilers ahead! “Memento Mori. I remembered.” Amanda lives in Hartbury‚ one of two towns on Mt. Halberk. The other‚ Manfield‚ is a ghost town whose steeple‚ water tower and municipal dome peek above the trees when you drive down Highway 51. A long time ago‚ there was an accident at Manfield’s chemical factory which released a cloud of pesticide gas‚ killing all its inhabitants. Amanda won’t learn this story until junior high—young Amanda imagines God crying “away with you sinners” and waking extinct Mt. Halberk to exact His vengeance. A “morbid” child‚ she soothes her anxieties by drawing pictures of Manfield complete with stick-figure people and animals. Then she draws the volcano pouring black Sharpie curlicues of destruction down on the town. On Manfield—not on Hartbury‚ not on her. Amanda’s friend Jennifer is afraid of ice cream trucks. Amanda’s phobia is less whimsical: She’s afraid of skeletons‚ because they make her think about “what waited for [her] on the other side.” Pastor Joel tells her that Heaven will hold no ugliness or suffering‚ and besides‚ it will be a long time before she’s ready to go. Well and good‚ but his reassurances can’t banish the under-the-bed skeleton that emerges to clamp rotten fingerbones around her neck. It takes her teacher Miss Lucy to exorcize the nightmares‚ Miss Lucy so loves Halloween that she hangs a skeleton decal from the classroom American flag. She tells Amanda that she shouldn’t fear skeletons‚ given she already has one inside her. Parents don’t like Miss Lucy. She’s replaced by Mrs. Joan‚ who doesn’t like Halloween. At seventeen‚ Amanda makes her first visit to Manfield with friends—a “hardcore” way to celebrate Halloween. Their vision of an Old West ghost town is far from the truth. With its “ticky-tacky houses and plastic lawn gnomes and busted minivans‚” Manfield looks “just like Hartbury—only dead.” Allie’s surprised to see that the newspaper clippings taped in a tavern window are only twelve years old. Parents have been vague about the chronological distance of the disaster‚ stating it was “a while ago.” “A while‚” Amanda thinks‚ is one of those “slipshod words that you could rearrange to cover up the fact that somewhere‚ somebody was wrong.” Amanda goes out of town to college‚ where her most critical lesson comes from an anthropology-obsessed roommate‚ who’s reading a book called A History of Forgotten Christianity. One chapter’s on cults of universal resurrection. Around 350 such communities sprouted in Northeastern America‚ mostly in small towns subject to high mortality rates. The cultists believed God had granted them the power to raise the dead. Pastors and elders could perform a ritual immediately postmortem to prevent the soul from leaving. Two details chill Amanda. The cult’s symbol was the scarab beetle‚ whose offspring emerge from balls of dung—like the stained-glass windows in her home church. And most universal resurrection cults eventually converted to mainstream Christianity. Most‚ but not all. Amanda leaves college and goes to the city. She’s known that the toxic cloud that destroyed Manfield did blow toward Hartbury; she’s assumed it never got there. Now she’s convinced Hartbury’s home to the walking dead. She estranges herself from her family and substitutes for them “Brother Whiskey and Sister Vodka.” At twenty-three‚ she returns home for her aunt’s funeral. Her parents are frightened by the tattoos of bones she wears by way of memento mori. They’re appalled when she reacts with hysterical terror and laughter to Pastor Joel’s funeral oration: O death where is thy sting? Her father accuses her of having no respect for the life her town’s given her‚ while she counters he has no respect for death. Why doesn’t he bring Aunt Ruth back to life if he loves it so much? Her father answers that Aunt Ruth was ready to go. Ready this time. Amanda returns to Manfield‚ alone except for the family dog Buttons. The ghost town looks more dilapidated now‚ but she follows a new group of thrill-seeking teenagers. One guy mentions the neighboring town that also got gassed but survived. His mother was a 911 operator who got a flood of calls from Hartbury. When rescue workers arrived‚ they were told everyone was fine. Amanda roams again‚ through a world succumbing to plagues and war and martial law. She gets sober but keeps moving. On a bus trip in “the dead of summer‚” her own skeleton returns to her‚ “its agony…so much deeper‚ that much richer…grown up.” She tells a fellow passenger‚ an old man with rotting teeth‚ about Hartbury and confides a secret: She died there. He grins and says‚ “Join the club‚ living dead girl.” On her third visit to Manfield‚ Amanda finds nature reclaiming it. But still there are thrill-seeking teenagers. She hides and eavesdrops. One recounts a story from a friend-of-a-friend: the town’s haunted by a girl with a dog. So Buttons is going to live forever‚ unlike the FOAF who was deployed and died. “Everyone was dead‚” Amanda concludes. “Everyone was alive.” And a fighter jet roars overhead‚ “on time for its appointment with the grim reaper.” Libronomicon: Narrator’s college roommate quotes to her from A History of Forgotten Christianity‚ sharing unwanted information about the sect in which she grew up (or went through some semblance of growing up). Madness Takes Its Toll: The narrator describes herself growing “older and madder”; it’s entirely unclear which meaning of “mad” she intends. Ruthanna’s Commentary The world is off its track. Something happened that wasn’t supposed to happen‚ or something didn’t happen that was supposed to. And with one thing off-track‚ everything goes sideways and keeps going‚ stranger and stranger and worse and worse‚ a katamari damarcy runaway trolley of wrongness. It is‚ maybe‚ a familiar feeling. Nadia Bulkin is a long-time Reading the Weird favorite—this is the least bloody of her pieces we’ve covered so far‚ and also maybe the creepiest. I read a story in my teens—here it is‚ wow‚ I didn’t expect to find it!—in which a man is given a book by a street preacher entitled You Will Never Die. The book’s message is not so hopeful as one might presume from the title: it suggests that in a multiverse of infinite possibilities‚ where new realities split off with each decision and dice roll‚ every individual consciousness will follow the track of possibility in which its existence continues. If you get hit by a runaway trolley‚ you’ll wake in a world where the trolley was sideswiped by a bus just before it hit you‚ saving your life and destroying others. The longer your consciousness goes on‚ of course‚ the stranger and more unlikely the world around you becomes—depending‚ as it does‚ on the increasingly wild events required for your personal survival. The narrator ends up the last survivor of Earth‚ being “salvaged” by aliens via…maybe you should just go read‚ I’m not sure I can adequately summarize it. It’s all very unpleasant and exactly as strange as you’d expect from Robert Anton Wilson. “Seven Minutes in Heaven” feels of a piece with that story. Something is off-kilter right at the beginning‚ and the world gets worse and stranger as it goes. It’s never quite labeled as an alternate history—but the narrator’s survival requires Christ the Worm and Christ the Scarab‚ requires resurrectionist priests and a seven minute refund period on death. Perhaps it also required the Pacific Wars and broken highways‚ survivors of some further unspecified war murdering each other beside buses. I’m reminded again of another story‚ this time Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven‚ where a therapist manipulates a patient who can dream changes into reality‚ trying to make the world better and succeeding only in painting humanity into ever-worse corners. Which brings us back to Last Exit‚ and the question of whether a better reality is findable‚ and if so what it takes to get there from a local maxima surrounded by chasms of dystopia. I don’t think the narrator of this story is going to get past those chasms‚ somehow. If half-life can be pulled from death‚ then life grows increasingly meaningless‚ and decisions (perhaps to go to war and launch angelic war planes) become increasingly made by the half-alive who refuse to acknowledge what they’ve done. The resurrection of Hartbury might have gone very differently if not accompanied by the insistence that everything is fine‚ that Mansfield died decades ago‚ that history was never different and couldn’t ever have been different. Lies‚ like violations of natural law‚ multiply and run out of control‚ until truth and lie—like life and death—can no longer be distinguished‚ and one can’t be preferred over the other.  One subtle horror‚ among the many obvious ones‚ is how the resurrected Hartburians lose the solace of irrational phobia. In our world‚ a child with nightmares about skeletons or the sea can be reassured that dreams aren’t real and fear can attach to anything. But here’s poor Jennifer Trudeau and her freak ice cream truck accident—perhaps waking in a worse and stranger reality with her head attached to an alien robot? Or her brain in a jar on its way past Yuggoth? That may be the worst possibility. In a world where “everyone was dead; everyone was alive‚” there’s no particular expectation that well-meaning priests—even ones capable of mass resurrection—are right about the other options at the end of that seven-minute waiting period. The narrator recalls only darkness in her memento mori. Maybe there’s no heaven for the solidly dead after all. Maybe there are just increasingly fractional states of living‚ in ever-increasing states of uncertainty‚ far from the track where the world started. Anne’s Commentary I can sympathize with Amanda’s compulsion to draw pictures of Manfield and its volcanic destruction. Putting the tormenting image down on paper is the only way she can get it out of her head and remind herself it was Manfield that incurred the wrath of God‚ not Hartbury. When I was in early grade school‚ I overheard my mother talking about some kid who got lookeemia and died. My takeaway was that kids were especially susceptible to lookeemia and always died from it. Always‚ because what it was‚ your heart was normally half-red and half-white‚ but sometimes the white half started eating the red half until the heart was all white‚ and then forget about it‚ the worms would soon be crawling in and out‚ like the song said. I’d barely gotten over thinking I’d get leprosy like guys in Bible stories and have to totter around noseless with a bell around my neck. Now I drew page after page of cartoons in which normal hearts went lethally bleached. The last frame was a skull with X’s instead of eye sockets. Not that I was a morbid child or anything. I was quite cheerful after drawing the hearts‚ because it was never my heart in the cartoon but that of some kid too dumb to ward off lookeemia via the magic of art. I had to look up this Seven Minutes in Heaven game. Also the concept that it takes seven minutes for the soul to journey to paradise. Eventually Amanda learns that the name doesn’t refer to a variation of freeze-tag‚ but to a party game popular with teens. In the party game‚ two of the players go together into a closet or similar tight‚ dark space and stay there for seven minutes‚ chatting or kissing or making out‚ name your level of intimacy. Being an inveterate eavesdropper‚ Amanda might have heard some teens talking about Seven Minutes; caught‚ they might have come up with the freeze-tag story. Or she might have asked adults about the game‚ and gotten the embarrassed fib. Those who were adults when the Manfield factory belched death are used to telling face- and/or sanity-saving lies to their children. The truth was that Manfield’s wind-wafted poison-cloud entered Hartbury attenuated enough not to kill everyone before Parson Joel and associates had time to revivify the stricken. I bet the Manfield people used to shake their heads about those scarab-worshiping Hartbury folk‚ but the cosmic laugh was on them when the Universal Resurrectionists had just the right disaster plan in place. Or… did they? In addition to discovering the true nature of the Seven Minutes game‚ Amanda realizes that seven minutes isn’t the length of time it takes for a soul to reach heaven. I tried to figure out where she got this notion. Unsurprisingly‚ I could track down no consensus on the theological question. Some suppose the soul transitions to the afterlife at death. Others suppose the soul remains in a transitional state for varying lengths of time‚ like the forty-nine days Tibetan Buddhists believe a soul lingers in the bardo before rebirth. Some Biblical passages contend that nobody goes to heaven instantly‚ but must “sleep” until the Second Coming‚ as in John 5: 28-29: For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good‚ to the resurrection of life‚ and those who have done evil‚ to the resurrection of condemnation. In 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-15‚ Paul tells the dozing dead not to worry that the wide-awake will beat them to the Throne of Judgment: “We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.” This may reassure most of us‚ but what about those resurrected not by divine trumpets but by potentially criminal necromancy? Pastor Joel‚ I’m looking at you. I’m sure you meant well‚ but in legend and weird fiction‚ usurping godly powers rarely ends well. Can living dead girls hope to join the existentially pure on the Last Day? Is their only salvation finally choosing to die and stay dead‚ like Aunt Rose? Bulkin doesn’t say‚ but are the Universally Resurrected immortal? Amanda evades many mortal perils in the apocalyptic times of her maturity: plague‚ war‚ people who’ll kill you for the stale Kind Bars in your backpack. To consider Amanda’s situation from a more philosophical‚ perhaps ecological standpoint: Can one respect life without respecting death? This is an argument Amanda has with her father when he accuses her of not valuing what Universal Resurrection has given her. Amanda has plenty of memento mori‚ “the shadows of nearly all [her] bones…tattooed across [her] body.” She‚ however‚ doesn’t have to remember she must die—she already has died‚ as she tells the old man on the bus. He says to join the club‚ which probably doesn’t mean he’s also Universally Resurrected‚ although that would be cool. Everyone is dead‚ everyone is alive. That’s the epiphany Amanda takes away from her last visit to Manfield. In the midst of life‚ we are in death. Figuratively true for all. Actually true for Amanda. Is it any wonder if she’s a bit morbid? Next week‚ maybe we finally learn about Elsinore? Maybe‚ in chapters 25-26 of Max Gladstone’s Last Exit. [end-mark] The post Memento Mori: Nadia Bulkin’s “Seven Minutes in Heaven” appeared first on Reactor.

We’re joined by Jay from The Purple Stuff podcast as we explore the Halloween themed fun of Wizard 87 featuring an interview with Gene Simmons of KISS &; Todd McFarlane‚ the works of horror illustrator‚ CONTINUE READING... The post WIZARDS The Podcast Guide To Comics | Episode 87 appeared first on The Retro Network.

Navy SEAL deployments are often long and grueling‚ and leaving school-age children behind only adds to the challenge‚ especially if the children are struggling in school.  If a father is “getting ready to go on mission‚ and there’s Timmy failing in second grade‚ that’s all he’s going to think about‚” says Gretchen McIntosh‚ the executive director of SEALKIDS.  And for the mothers at home with a husband deployed and a child struggling academically‚ McIntosh says‚ Mom is often “stressed out” by the task of meeting the needs of a “child at home that has a learning disability.”  Out of seeing an immense need for additional educational support for many Navy SEAL families‚ the organization SEALKIDS was born.  “SEALKIDS steps in so that Dad can concentrate on his mission ahead‚ because we’re handling the mission at home‚” McIntosh explains.  SEALKIDS not only connects families to tutors and other education resources in their area‚ but also raises funds to help the families pay for those additional resources.  SEALKIDS is active in 17 states and is serving 390 kids this year‚ with a focus on helping children with learning disabilities.  McIntosh joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” during National School Choice Week to share the stories of the families the organization has helped and to explain how it hopes to expand its work to serve even more SEAL families.  Listen to the podcast below:  Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post On a Mission to Serve Navy SEALs’ Kids With Learning Disabilities appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A key player in a joint venture between Hunter Biden and one of Communist China’s largest private companies‚ CEFC China Energy‚ is scheduled to be deposed this week as part of the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.   That key figure‚ Mervyn Yan‚ is a private equity manager and investor based in New York who facilitated key portions of the Hudson West III joint venture owned by Owasco‚ one of Hunter Biden’s companies‚ and Hudson West V‚ a company controlled by CEFC China Energy.  Initial hopes for a long-term relationship between CEFC and the Biden family were dashed following legal action in the U.S. against Patrick Ho‚ the head of the Chinese company’s U.S. think tank‚ and in China against CEFC’s chairman‚ Ye Jianming.  Hunter Biden once described Ho to a friend as “the f—ing spy chief of China.” Since commencing their investigation of possible influence peddling by the Biden family‚ Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee have focused on what they say is a scheme‚ repeated across multiple companies and individuals‚ in which foreign entities paid members of the Biden family in return for access to top officials‚ including the senior Biden when he was vice president.  CEFC China Energy‚ formed in 2002‚ had over $48 billion in revenue in 2015 and over 30‚000 employees at the end of that year. CEFC supposedly is a private company‚ but evidence suggests it was influenced by the Chinese Communist Party. In January 2017‚ in a story referring to the Czech Republic‚ Reuters news service reported that little was known about the ownership of CEFC China Energy‚ writing: “CEFC’s wide range of investments in the central European nation and its hiring of politically connected figures there has led to questions in the Czech media about whether CEFC is purely commercially driven or is operating under the influence of the Chinese government.”  To date‚ the House committee’s investigations of the CEFC component of the alleged Biden family scheme have uncovered payments of over $4.8 million to at least three family members‚ as well as at least one direct meeting between CEFC and Biden when he was vice president to President Barack Obama. Committee investigators’ ongoing work aims to clarify the extent of the senior Biden’s involvement in the financial and business relationship between his son Hunter and the Chinese business‚ as well as both parties’ expectations for the services the Bidens would provide.  Yan‚ slated for questioning this week in the congressional deposition‚ is one of only a few firsthand witnesses to the interaction between CEFC China Energy and the Bidens whom Congress has succeeded in subpoenaing. CEFC: A Collector of Top Officials At its peak‚ CEFC China Energy was a billion-dollar business that played a key role in advancing China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.  Based on 2018 reporting by The New York Times and more recent congressional investigations‚ the public has learned that‚ at the same time CEFC was advancing the Belt and Road initiative‚ company Chairman Ye and other top officials created a think tank in America to cultivate relationships with top government officials here and elsewhere. Ho was the head of CEFC’s U.S.-based think tank.    CEFC‚ with Ho’s help‚ was able to nurture those relationships by offering hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to influential former government officials. For example‚ Bobby Ray Inman‚ a former director of the National Security Agency‚ reported declining an offer from the Chinese company that would have paid him $1 million per year for businesses that were not specified. As in the case of CEFC China Energy’s initial outreach to Inman‚ who also was a former CIA deputy director and national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter‚ the reason for the Chinese company’s financial overtures often were unspecified or opaque on their surface. However‚ publicly available information suggests that CEFC’s ultimate goal was buying political influence. For example‚ Inman told The New York Times that he later rebuffed a second request from a CEFC official—this time explicitly asking for help persuading the U.S. military not to bomb oil resources in Syria that the Chinese company was considering purchasing In other cases‚ influential former U.S. government officials didn’t decline CEFC’s money; the company paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a pair of think tanks headed by James Woolsey‚ CIA director during President Bill Clinton’s administration‚ and Vuk Jeremic‚ president of the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 and 2013.  Notably‚ Jeremic failed to respond to a letter from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in February 2023. CEFC China Energy also donated hundreds of thousands more to the Clinton Foundation‚ the nonprofit formed and run by Clinton‚ his wife Hillary Clinton‚ and their daughter Chelsea Clinton.  One troubling example in which it appears CEFC’s overtures succeeded is outlined in a Justice Department indictment of Gal Luft‚ co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security‚ or IAGS—a think tank founded by Woolsey. The indictment‚ unsealed in July 2023‚ charges Luft with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by‚ among other things‚ working with Ho and Ye to recruit and pay Woolsey (identified as “individual-1” in the Luft indictment) to “publicly support certain policies with respect to China.” It says: Yan a Key Player in Biden Family Business The FBI arrested Ho in the U.S. in November 2017 and he later was charged with and convicted of international bribery and money laundering. Ye disappeared into China’s murky legal system after being detained in early 2018‚ and has not been seen since.  After Ho’s arrest‚ Biden family members and their legal team worked with Yan‚ the equity manager‚ to quickly dissolve Hudson West III and sever all connections between the Biden family and CEFC China Energy. In the period between formation and disillusion‚ Yan also played a key role in operational aspects of Hunter Biden’s Hudson West venture. Rep. James Comer‚ chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee‚ subpoenaed Yan in November to appear for the deposition set for this week.  It isn’t clear whether the Justice Department previously had interviewed or investigated Yan regarding either Hunter Biden’s alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act or official probes of Ho or other CEFC affiliates.  Yan’s deposition by congressional investigators likely will focus not only on the details of the financial arrangement between CEFC China Energy and the Bidens‚ but also on both parties’ motivations and the types of business they planned.  Scrutiny of Illegitimate Loans Questions from congressional investigators about Yan’s financial dealings are likely to focus on several overarching topics.  One area of potential interest is a $5 million nonrecourse loan from CEFC China Energy to Hunter Biden’s Hudson West III. Much of the proceeds of this loan ultimately benefited members of the Biden family.  Yan played an important role in distributing money to the Bidens by setting up Hudson West III’s initial bank and credit card accounts‚ which he provided to Hunter Biden and to his uncle and aunt‚ Jim and Sarah Biden (Joe Biden’s brother and sister-in-law).  CEFC’s nonrecourse loan to the younger Biden’s venture‚ which wasn’t repaid‚ has been characterized by Republican lawmakers as a bribe disguised as a loan. Hunter Biden’s history of nonrecourse loans also drew the scrutiny of Gary Shapley‚ a career criminal investigator at the Internal Revenue Service who later became a whistleblower for congressional investigators. Shapely has stated that the loans lacked regular elements such as promissory notes‚ defined interest‚ and scheduled repayments over time. A second topic of interest to investigators‚ the hurried dissolution of Hudson West III‚ provides further evidence of the informal nature of this large payment to the Bidens.   Multiple documents from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop‚ first released by the conservative research organization Marco Polo and reviewed by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project‚ are relevant to the ongoing impeachment inquiry. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news outlet.) One document‚ an email sent the month after Ye’s detention in China‚ was written as CEFC China Energy began to dissolve. In the email‚ Hunter Biden’s secretary at Hudson West III‚ JiaQi Bao‚ encourages the younger Biden to think of the financial agreement between himself and Ye as a personal agreement.  She writes that “it doesn’t matter whether the left-over operations funds [are] labeled as ‘personal goodwill/loan’ or ‘non-recourse‚’ ‘recourse‚’ ‘borrowing/drawing’ … just take it and keep as much as possible.” Bao‚ then in her late 20s and a graduate of Arizona State University and China’s Tsinghua University‚ first appears in the contents of the younger Biden’s laptop in connection with the Hudson West III joint venture as a personal assistant. She later would write to him to encourage his father’s presidential bid in 2020.  Strangely‚ in an email replying to another message that she had been let go because of the dissolution of Hudson West III‚ Bao gave advice to Hunter Biden to “keep as much money as you can.” It appears that the president’s son took her advice‚ because nearly a year later Yan apparently was unsure how to treat the unorthodox payment to the younger Biden for tax purposes.  This was because Hudson West III‚ which made loans to the younger Biden‚ had been dissolved without loan repayment. A final relevant document details the care taken by Hunter Biden’s lawyer‚ George Mesires—working with Yan‚ the younger Biden‚ and CEFC affiliate Gongwen “Kevin” Dong—to “effectively divorce” companies in which Biden held an ownership stake from the Chinese company and its affiliates.  In this communication‚ Mesires explains to Hunter Biden and his uncle‚ Jim Biden‚ that neither Yan nor his company‚ Cold Harbor Capital LLC (which would replace Hudson West V in the joint venture with the younger Biden) were affiliated with CEFC China Energy.  Investigations by Sens. Charles Grassley‚ R-Iowa‚ and Ron Johnson‚ R-Wis.‚ determined that Yan and his company were the beneficiary of over $318‚000 from activities related to Hudson West III. One sticking point in this “divorce” between members of the Biden family and CEFC China Energy involved office-sharing agreements and lease agreements between Biden entities and CEFC Infrastructure Investment (US) LLC‚ a subsidiary of CEFC China Energy.  Documents show that the younger Biden’s Hudson West III shared office space with CEFC in New York City at 3 Columbus Circle. Documents also show that the Bidens planned joint office space with CEFC in the Georgetown neighborhood at House of Sweden‚ one of the most exclusive waterfront buildings in the nation’s capital. According to emails‚ the D.C. office was to be occupied by Joe Biden‚ his wife Jill‚ brother Jim‚ and son Hunter‚ along with the younger Biden’s business partner Dong‚ whom he characterized as an “emissary” of Ye‚ CEFC’s chairman. In one 2017 email‚ the younger Biden refers to Yan as one of “my partners.” It’s not clear whether the office at 3 Columbus Circle was among the properties raided by the FBI following Ho’s arrest Nov. 18‚ 2017.  Chinese authorities arrested Ye about four months later‚ and CEFC China Energy subsequently went bankrupt.  Questions of Motive A little more than a week before the FBI arrested Ho‚ Hunter Biden sent a message to Dong‚ asking him to pass it to “C‚” presumably “Chairman Ye.”  The younger Biden‚ writing from an email account that uses his legal first name‚ Robert‚ wrote that “my uncle and myself are grateful for your wisdom of including Kevin [Gongwen Dong] and Mervyn [Yan] in this endeavor.” The indication that Yan and “CEFC emissary” Dong were both suggested by Ye‚ coupled with the coincident timing of Yan’s appearance in emails that initially discussed a Biden-CEFC joint venture‚ casts doubt on the assertion by Miseres‚ the younger Biden’s lawyer‚ that “Mervyn [Yan] indicated that he has no affiliation with CEFC.” Indeed‚ it seems possible that the formal separation of Yan and CEFC China Energy may have masked an informal relationship that was much cozier. If correct‚ this structure is reminiscent of a conversation that former business partner Tony Bobulinski claims he had in May 2017 with Jim Biden.  In that conversation‚ Bobulinski said‚ Joe Biden’s brother explained that he wasn’t worried about business deals with the Chinese or other foreign entities risking his brother’s future presidential campaign because of “plausible deniability.” That same month‚ Hunter Biden and his partners circulated a business prospectus titled “CEFC China Energy Investment Vehicle: Targeted Geographics for Development.” Among other topics‚ this document highlighted Joe Biden’s relationship with foreign leaders in Colombia as part of what Bobulinski described as a “framework for a partnership between CEFC China and local partners‚ with a solid basis starting and the very foundations of the country’s administration.”   In deposing Yan this week‚ congressional investigators have one of only a limited number of chances to peel back any layers of “plausible deniability” that still may exist between President Joe Biden and CEFC China Energy in the minds of Americans.  Ultimately‚ what is most important is that Americans be provided with as much evidence as possible with which to judge for themselves how far a major Chinese company’s apparent political influence operation traveled through the Biden family. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post House Panel Scrutinizes Key Player in Biden Family Business With China appeared first on The Daily Signal.

In their latest attack on the integrity of the U.S. Supreme Court‚ House Democrats are urging Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a case involving former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on Colorado’s Republican primary ballot. Their reasoning is simple‚ but dangerously misguided: Because Thomas’ wife‚ Ginni‚ has expressed opinions about Trump and the 2020 election‚ he should be barred from adjudicating any case involving Trump and elections. Such reasoning is unfair‚ unsound‚ unwarranted and strikingly hypocritical. In 2011‚ Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to recuse himself from a constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8 on same-sex marriage even though his wife had spoken publicly about the case and her organization‚ the ACLU of Southern California‚ had filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing for the law to be struck down. Saying that his wife’s views “are hers‚ not mine‚ and I do not in any way condition my opinion on the positions she takes regarding any issues‚” the now-deceased Reinhardt declined to recuse himself and ruled against the ban. There was‚ of course‚ no left-wing outrage over Reinhardt’s decision. In fact‚ liberal ethics professor Stephen Gillers supported Reinhardt’s decision‚ arguing “a spouse’s views and actions‚ however passionately held and discharged‚ are not imputed to her spouse‚ and Judge Reinhardt is not presumed to be the reservoir and carrier of his wife’s beliefs.” Similarly‚ all one could hear from the Left was the quiet sound of crickets at night when Judge Nina Pillard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit refused to recuse herself in cases including a challenge to the conditions of confinement of detainees at Guantanamo Bay‚ in which the ACLU took a position‚ even though her husband was that organization’s national legal director. Ginni Thomas’ relationship to the Trump case is‚ of course‚ far more attenuated than those instances. She has no involvement or direct interest in the case and has just as much of a right to comment on public matters as anyone else. Ginni Thomas did not lose her First Amendment rights when her husband—who was recently (and accurately) described by constitutional law professor Steven Calabresi as “incorruptible in every sense of that word”—became a judge. In addition to using Ginni Thomas as a cat’s-paw in a desperate attempt to try to change the balance of the Supreme Court‚ the Left has shamelessly smeared her character. Even a cursory view of the facts disproves House Democrats’ unfounded‚ thoroughly outlandish claim that Ginni Thomas “was instrumental in planning [the Jan. 6 rally] and bringing the insurrectionists to the Capitol.” Ginni Thomas fully cooperated with the Jan.  6 Committee‚ complying with document requests and participating in a thorough four-hour interview. Her name does not appear even once in the 845-page committee report. The Democrats’ “by any means necessary” attempt to tarnish Ginni Thomas with the events of Jan. 6 is a transparent ploy to inject politics into the Supreme Court‚ undermine its independence‚ and affect policy outcomes to achieve their political objectives. All of this comes atop their months-long effort to impose arbitrary and unreasonable ethical standards that would undermine the court’s independence. All the justices—both liberal and conservative—have made clear that they have long adhered to a Code of Conduct‚ which they reiterated in a recently released statement. Many of the guidelines to which the justices adhere go beyond those followed (or not‚ as the case may be) by members of Congress‚ exposing to anyone who cares to look that what the Democratic members who have been decrying false claims of judicial improprieties really want is “rules for thee‚ but not for me.” The latest attacks on Clarence Thomas are merely a continuation of the Left’s dangerous political campaign to exert pressure on the justices and to destroy the legitimacy of the Supreme Court because they are displeased with some of the court’s opinions. But however hard they try‚ and however much they squawk‚ they will once again fail. Clarence Thomas is not going anywhere. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post The Left’s Calls for Justice Thomas’ Recusal Are Baseless‚ Hypocritical appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: The Anti-Defamation League flags “online amplifiers of LGBTQ+ hate” as extremists to be examined by law enforcement‚ a newly unearthed email shows. The revelation indicates that the Anti-Defamation League‚ “the leading anti-hate organization in the world‚” is specifically pushing law enforcement to scrutinize viral dissenters against transgender ideology‚ such as The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh and The Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo. The ADL has historically focused on anti-semitism‚ but in recent years has directed heavy attention to hate and extremism. The ADL has described content pushing back against transgender ideology as both “dangerous” and “false‚” claiming that this content inspires “real-world extremist activities‚ threats‚ and even violence.” “The ADL‚ and similar organizations‚ are a key driver of government weaponization‚” Mike Howell‚ the director of the Oversight Project‚ a division of the Heritage Foundation‚ told The Daily Signal. “They provide the phony predication and intellectual cover in order to point the people with guns at their enemies. Our investigative work continues to expose examples of these groups driving government action.” (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news outlet.) The Extremist Landscape Oversight’s Freedom of Information Act request to Washington State Fusion Center (a “unified counterterrorism” center) turned out a February 2023 email on “the extremist landscape” from the ADL. The email was sent to Tyler Phelan‚ an intelligence analyst at the center‚ from the ADL’s “Law Enforcement” address. The email bears the subject line: “White Supremacist Fight Clubs‚ Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate.” It then paints a picture of the “extremist landscape:” threats of Islamic terrorism‚ an alleged rise in white supremacist crews encouraging violence‚ and “online amplifiers of LGBTQ+ Hate” promoting “false narratives‚ escalating harassment of LGBTQ+ individuals.” This section on “LGBTQ+ Hate” describes content pushed by online actors “including the vilification of drag shows” and “baseless claims of ‘child grooming’ by LGBTQ+ people.” The ADL alleges that this content has “further endangered and isolated an already at-risk community‚” noting that “these accusations and stances have also been adopted by right-wing media personalities and disseminated on mainstream platforms.” “The growing online anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry puts LGBTQ+ individuals at greater risk of physical violence and harassment‚” the email notes. It refers readers to its blog for more information‚ and notes that ADL’s Center on Extremism monitors “extremism across the ideological spectrum” through investigators‚ analysts‚ researchers‚ and technical experts. ADL touts its Center on Extremism as “the nation’s foremost nongovernmental authority on extremism.” It is comprised of “investigators‚ analysts‚ researchers and technical experts who strategically monitor and expose extremist threats—on the internet and on the ground.” That email bears remarkable similarities in both wording and structure to the ADL’s blog post on “Online Amplifiers of Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism” — a blog post that specifically names the viral “Libs of TikTok” social media account run by Chaya Raichik‚ the Gays Against Groomers social media account run by Jaimee Michell‚ the media company Blaze Media‚ Rufo‚ and Walsh. According to that blog post‚ the ADL is interested in the government targeting these types of individuals due to their influence online related to transgender ideology. “ADL is advocating for government partners to strengthen laws against perpetrators of online hate‚ as well as consulting with law enforcement partners to act on online hate speech that incites violence and/or credible threats‚” the blog post reads. “ADL will continue to develop community partnerships with LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations such as GLAAD‚ in efforts to counter hate speech with positive speech.” That article represents a collaboration between the pro-LGBTQ group GLAAD and the ADL intended to “counter anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism and Hate.” The collaboration explicitly aims to “alert law enforcement and community organizations to threats targeting LGBTQ+ individuals and institutions.” “You can draw a direct line from anti-LGBTQ content and accounts on social media to real world violence: from extremists showing up at drag shows to vandalism at LGBTQ community centers to bomb threats being called into children’s hospitals that care for transgender youth‚” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in the November 2022 press release announcing the collaboration. It appears that the ADL email to the Washington State Fusion Center employee links to this blog post — the email includes links that The Daily Signal could not confirm‚ specifically on the phrase “online actors” and the phrase “baseless claims‚” referring to supposedly baseless claims of child grooming and the “vilification of drag shows.” The ADL did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Law Enforcement Denies Investigations Chris Loftis‚ director of communications for the Washington State Patrol‚ a key partner in the Washington State Fusion Center‚ denied that there are currently investigations into Walsh‚ Rufo‚ Raichik‚ Libs of TikTok‚ or Gays Against Groomers. He also said of Washington state law enforcement agencies that‚ though they might review information from “an organization like ADL‚” they would “recognize that they‚ like any organization or individual‚ would be organized and energized around core beliefs and mission thrusts that could impact their perspectives.” “Therefore‚ we treat every source of information the same‚ with appropriate appreciation and skepticism‚ regardless of where they might be on the political spectrum and do our due diligence assessing the validity of any information received‚” he added. “If‚ after that type of broad-spectrum and multiple source review‚ we have actionable intelligence on a credible threat‚ we take appropriate action.” “We do not investigate anyone or anything ‘at the direction of the Anti-Defamation League‚'” Loftis added‚ referencing The Daily Signal’s press inquiry. “We receive tips from a variety of sources and interested parties and we follow each to its logical conclusion to assess if any possible public safety threat actually exists.” The Online Amplifiers The ADL blog post on online amplifiers of “LGBTQ+ Hate” accuses both Raichik and Gays Against Groomers of perpetrating “false allegations” of “grooming” and repeatedly accuses Raichik‚ Michell‚ the Blaze‚ and Rufo of vilifying drag shows. It also describes Walsh as “one of the biggest purveyors of erroneous and harmful narratives surrounding gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary youth‚” calling him an “anti-LGBTQ+ extremist commentator.” Walsh has particularly drawn the attention of gender ideologists through his “What is A Woman” documentary and his exposés of the hospitals and medical professionals across the U.S. who perform experimental transgender medical interventions on children and young people. Walsh regards the ADL’s tactics as “a very serious threat‚” he told The Daily Signal. “I’m not surprised that the enemies of free speech and common sense are using this tactic but I do find it deeply concerning‚” Walsh said. “Democrats (and the ADL is just an activist arm of the Democrat Party of course) clearly want to use force to shut down speech that threatens their narrative‚” Walsh said. “We’ve been moving in that direction for some time. I expect that if Biden wins re-election we will start to see‚ in the next year or two‚ outspoken conservatives getting fined and arrested on the grounds of ‘hate speech‚’ etc.  The ADL blog post also describes Rufo‚ widely known for his work exposing the ideological background and workings of critical race theory (a framework reinterpreting American society as systemically racist)‚ as “an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist.” “Previously known for his fearmongering around critical race theory‚ Rufo has now turned his focus to the alleged ‘dangers’ of ‘gender ideology’ – a baseless‚ decades-old conspiracy theory alleging that the progressive movement seeks to destroy traditional families and conservative values by expanding the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people‚” the blog post states. Rufo weighed in on the ADL’s efforts in a Tuesday phone interview. “The ADL is attempting to mobilize the government for the purposes of political persecution‚ putting our right to free speech at risk‚” he told The Daily Signal. “The fact that the ADL would like the government to investigate critics of transgender ideology under ‘domestic terrorism’ provisions is outrageous.” “I will not back down to this intimidation campaign—rather‚ I will fight harder than ever‚” he added. “If counterterrorism agents come knocking‚ I will tell them to pound sand. This is still America‚ and we still have the right to free speech.” The ADL also describes Raichik’s “Libs of TikTok” account as “anti-LGBTQ+ extremist social media” that “frequently targets educators‚ healthcare professionals and drag performers who either identify as LGBTQ+ or work on LGBTQ+-related issues.” “Notable narratives promoted by LoTT include an ‘investigation’ into Boston Children’s Hospital and a mega thread vilifying drag shows during Pride Month‚” the ADL post says‚ referring to when Raichik published video of the hospital promoting “gender-affirming” hysterectomies for young people. “Those targeted often report experiencing threats‚ harassment and real-world violence in the wake of the LoTT campaign against them.” Raichik told The Daily Signal that the ADL is heading down a “really dangerous road” by essentially saying that “criticizing someone or something means that you’re a criminal.” “Their whole brand is deciding who is an extremist‚ who is a racist‚ who is transphobic‚ who is a bigot‚ and then all of the corporations follow them and take cues from them‚” she noted. ADL’s Work With Law Enforcement The ADL did not respond to many requests for comment for this story. However‚ the organization notes on its website that it “believes law enforcement has a fundamental obligation to preserve civil rights and liberties in a democracy and is instrumental to efforts to protect people and communities from hate crimes and extremism.” The leftist organization‚ which has regional offices across the U.S.‚ claims that it provides law enforcement with “professional development tailored” to each agency’s needs and ranks. The ADL also says that it provides a number of trainings and “educational opportunities” for law enforcement agencies and personnel‚ though it has removed the page for those educational opportunities. An archived version of the page examined by The Daily Signal states that “an important part of our work is ensuring that law enforcement agencies and personnel at the local‚ state and federal levels understand the threats to vulnerable populations.” “In order to do this effectively‚ ADL shares our resources and expertise on extremism‚” the archived page states. “In 2020 alone‚ ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) provided law enforcement with critical intelligence about extremism over 1‚000 times and tracked over 5‚000 new incidents of hate on our online‚ interactive H.E.A.T. Map.” ADL says that its efforts to work with law enforcement include “assisting” law enforcement in protecting people and communities from “hate and extremism — both online and on the ground‚” as well as “providing” law enforcement with “information and education to address emerging extremist threats‚ both on and offline. In 2014‚ according to the ADL‚ the Metropolitan Police Department adopted its recommendations “to improve its response to hate crimes and to strengthen the MPD’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.” Some of the ADL’s violent extremism modules for law enforcement include material on “elements of violent extremism” and “recognizing violent extremism‚” which includes an overview of the ADL’s perception of “extremist ideologies and groups.” Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post EXCLUSIVE: ADL Urged Law Enforcement to Target Opponents of Transgender Ideology appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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Animals have a whole range of means to survive the cold‚ from thick fur and warm dens to simply sleeping through the cold winter months. Alligators might not be the first creatures that come to mind when thinking about survival tactics for cold weather‚ but videos reveal that freezing right along with the lake is the best way for them to get through a cold snap.In Texas and North Carolina‚ videos are emerging on social media of “gatorcicles”. Found in frozen bodies of water‚ these are alligators that have let the water freeze solidly around them. Only their noses and mouths poke out of the surface of the ice‚ allowing the animals to breathe. One video shared by gatorcountytx on TikTok showed exactly that.         IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.According to the South Carolina Aquarium‚ this is a process called brumation‚ a period of dormancy where the heart rate and other processes within the body slow down in response to cold weather. In alligators and other reptiles‚ it consists of a decreased body temperature‚ lethargy and decreased metabolism. As these animals are cold-blooded and require warmth from the sun for their metabolism‚ if the temperatures get too cold‚ they can die. However‚ this period of brumation typically lasts 4-5 months in response to cold weather. It's similar to hibernation as the animals go without eating‚ but it is distinct in that they will continue to drink and are not in quite as deep of a sleep state.The TikTok account 2guysandsomeland also shared a video of "swamp puppies" frozen in their habitat and it gives a good idea of how out of it these alligators are – the person in the video is able to "boop the snoot"‚ although that's definitely not recommended. And neither is licking them‚ even if they have been compared to popsicles.        IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Elsewhere in the US‚ more frozen animals are causing chaos‚ as it's "dodge the falling iguana" time again in Florida.