If someone who was once considered “heir apparent to run the Times” declares that his former paper has become an intolerant “illiberal” hellhole‚ you should listen. The latter part of former New York Times opinion editor James Bennet’s 17‚000-word autopsy of his former employer sharpened the focus on the suffocating liberalism of the media world in general and the Times --and its closed-minded liberal readership -- in particular. (Read our take on the first part here.) Bennet conveyed more conservative arguments in a single paragraph than Times reporters have done over the last four years: ….The Times was slow to break it to its readers that there was less to Trump’s ties to Russia than they were hoping‚ and more to Hunter Biden’s laptop‚ that Trump might be right that covid came from a Chinese lab‚ that masks were not always effective against the virus‚ that shutting down schools for many months was a bad idea. In my experience‚ reporters overwhelmingly support Democratic policies and candidates. They are generally also motivated by a desire for a more just world. Neither of those tendencies are new. But there has been a sea change over the past ten years in how journalists think about pursuing justice…. Illiberal journalists have a different philosophy‚ and they have their reasons for it. They are more concerned with group rights than individual rights‚ which they regard as a bulwark for the privileges of white men. They have seen the principle of free speech used to protect right-wing outfits like Project Veritas and Breitbart News and are uneasy with it….. This observation also rang true: ….The newsroom’s embrace of opinion journalism has compromised the Times’s independence‚ misled its readers and fostered a culture of intolerance and conformity. In Bennet’s view‚ the Times allowed itself to be warped by smarmy Internet youth culture. This creep of politics into the newsroom’s journalism helped the Times beat back some of its new challengers‚ at least those on the left. Competitors like Vox and the HuffPost were blending leftish politics with reporting and writing it up conversationally in the first person…. But Bennet may have really struck a sore spot when he brought up the paper’s hallowed (later discredited) “1619 Project‚” arguing that America was founded on slavery. ….like Cotton’s piece‚ the 1619 Project was presented in a way the Times later judged to be too provocative. The Times declared that the 1619 Project “aims to reframe the country’s history‚ understanding 1619 as our true founding”. That bold statement -- a declaration of Times fact‚ not opinion‚ since it came from the newsroom -- outraged many Americans who venerated 1776 as the founding. The Times later stealthily erased it from the digital version of the project‚ but was caught doing so by a writer for the publication Quillette…. If the 1619 Project and the Cotton op-ed shared the same supposed flaws and excited similar outrage‚ how come that one is lauded as a landmark success and the other is a sackable offence? You know you're in novel territory when a former Times editor is quoting then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell approvingly (and pungently): As Mitch McConnell‚ then the majority leader‚ said on the Senate floor about the Times’s panic over the Cotton op-ed‚ listing some other debatable op-ed choices‚ “Vladimir Putin? No problem. Iranian propaganda? Sure. But nothing‚ nothing could have prepared them for 800 words from the junior senator from Arkansas.”…. Bennet found some recent encouraging signs‚ such as the paper’s newly questioning coverage of “medical protocols for trans children.” But he doesn’t think the paper can regain its credibility until the staff truly embraces tolerance of opposing views. Would the rising woke generation at the Times ever relinquish its vise grip over a discredited but still influential media outlet? 

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow might as well have been standing in front of a corkboard with newspaper clippings and red twine during Monday’s edition of her eponymous show. The ranting Maddow opened her once-a-week show with an over 25-minute screed where she stitched together a bizarre argument that tied the recent increase in anti-Semitism in the U.S. to the Ku Klux Klan (not the pro-Hamas crowd)‚ to an anti-Semitic Army general in 1939‚ and ultimately to former President Trump’s recent campaign rhetoric. Maddow started the show fairly measured as she rightfully decried the recent surge in anti-Semitic incidents across the country ranging from vandalism of synagogues to a rash of bomb threats against them. But things took a turn when‚ instead of blaming the October 7 terrorist attack and the extremists supporting Hamas‚ she seemed to link them to white supremacists: They know what to do at Beth Israel in Jackson. They've had to do this before. In 1967‚ which was just four years after a Klansman murdered Medgar Evers in his driveway‚ in Jackson‚ in 1967 the Klan also bombed the Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson‚ the very same synagogue that was evacuated for the bomb threats this weekend. Beth Israel in Jackson was bombed by the Klan in 1967‚ the rabbi of that congregation had his house bombed that year too. She even suggested the bomb threats represented the political “climate right now in the United States of America. This too is what it's like in our country right now.” “How does this kind of terroristic menace work? What does it accomplish? Why is this a political tactic?” she rhetorically asked before answering.     Her answer involved the 1939 congressional testimony of then-former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army General George Van Horn Moseley. In his testimony‚ Moseley praised Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany and called for an American eugenics program to sterilize Jews (Click “expand”): Well‚ General Moseley told the Congress in 1939‚ “The first thing I would do if I was in the White House‚ gentlemen‚ I would issue an order immediately discharging every communist now in the government of the United States. He told Congress‚ quote‚ “I believe in watching our breed in America very carefully.” He told Congress that Hitler and Germany had‚ quote‚ “solved the racial problem.” By 1939‚ General Moseley was publicly advocating and speaking toward – publicly advocating for the sterilization of all Jewish immigrants in America. This man had been deputy chief of staff of the United States Army. “General Moseley had put himself forward to the leading fascist groups in America as a potential military dictator for the United States‚ which is what they were working for and which is what he thought we needed in this country‚” she added. You can see where this is going. Giving a synopsis of how Moseley was able to have those beliefs and spread them to others (and seemingly suggesting they were incredibly popular)‚ Maddow opined‚ “If you get people exercised enough about the threat‚ if you use just the right words‚ you get them exercised enough about the threat…they're liable to do things they would never otherwise agree to.” That sounds like the rhetoric used by the liberal media and Democrats for the last seven years‚ claiming the GOP was bringing back Jim Crow and installing a dictator. It sounds like the kind of rhetoric that would lead leftist extremists to try assassinating U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh‚ attempting to assassinate Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY)‚ and shooting up the Republican baseball practice like one of Maddow’s fans did. But no‚ it reminded her of Trump. “But we are having this weird moment in American news and politics right now where half the country is shouting about how the Republican presidential nominee keeps quoting those dictators. He keeps saying the kinds of things‚ the exact kind of things that Hitler and Mussolini said as they ascended to and consolidated power‚” she said. She proclaimed‚ “He doesn't mind being compared to those people” and proceeded to suggest Republicans were hungry for all those terrible things. Who’s the one trying to stoke fear? The transcript is below. CLick "expand" to read: MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show December 18‚ 2023 9:08:12 p.m. Eastern (…) RACHEL MADDOW: That same day‚ that same synagogue in D.C. Got a bomb threat. Like all these other synagogues all across the country. And‚ yes‚ in Mississippi after the threats to the four different airports and to the northern Mississippi synagogues on Thursday‚ on Sunday the bomb threat was to the largest synagogue in the whole state‚ Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson. They had emergency responders on site all day‚ all services and programs canceled. They know what to do at Beth Israel in Jackson. They've had to do this before. In 1967‚ which was just four years after a Klansman murdered Medgar Evers in his driveway‚ in Jackson‚ in 1967 the Klan also bombed the Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson‚ the very same synagogue that was evacuated for the bomb threats this weekend. Beth Israel in Jackson was bombed by the Klan in 1967‚ the rabbi of that congregation had his house bombed that year too. And‚ you know‚ yesterday it all comes back‚ evacuated again. Bomb threats. Across the country there were hundreds of them. This too is part of the climate right now in the United States of America. This too is what it's like in our country right now. (…) 9:10:39 p.m. Eastern How does this kind of terroristic menace work? What does it accomplish? Why is this a political tactic? Sometimes it's easier to see in other time periods or in other time places than it is to see in our own. So‚ consider this‚ it is from our country but it's from a long time ago‚ 1939. 1939‚ a congressional committee took testimony‚ very high-profile testimony‚ got a lot of attention at the time. They took testimony from one of the most famous Army generals in the United States‚ his name was General George Van Horn Moseley. Until not long before this committee testimony‚ General George Van Horn Moseley had been the deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Army; some very very very senior person in the United States military. Deputy chief of staff of the Army. He goes before the Congress and he testifies in 1939 that he believed there were more than 6 million communists in the United States of America and more than 90 percent of them had to be Jews. By then‚ General Moseley had put himself forward to the leading fascist groups in America as a potential military dictator for the United States‚ which is what they were working for and which is what he thought we needed in this country. And why would we need a dictator instead of our democracy? Well‚ General Moseley told the Congress in 1939‚ “The first thing I would do if I was in the White House‚ gentlemen‚ I would issue an order immediately discharging every communist now in the government of the United States. He told congress‚ quote‚ “I believe in watching our breed in America very carefully.” He told Congress that Hitler and Germany had‚ quote‚ “solved the racial problem.” By 1939‚ General Moseley was publicly advocating and speaking toward – publicly advocating for the sterilization of all Jewish immigrants in America. This man had been deputy chief of staff of the United States army. (…) 9:15:01 p.m. Eastern If there's some kind of‚ you know‚ existential threat that not only lurks in the world‚ but it's coming from here at home‚ coming from within somehow‚ well‚ you would do almost anything to stop it‚ right? You would agree to things you’d agree to do things you’d never otherwise agree to because it’s an emergency. If you get people exercised enough about the threat‚ if you use just the right words‚ you get them exercised enough about the threat and who’s to blame for the threat; and frankly‚ who’s to blame for everything‚ it doesn't have to be rational‚ you just get people emotionally exercised enough about it‚ get people afraid enough about it and they're liable to do things they would never otherwise agree to. (…) 9:16:28 p.m. Eastern That rhetoric‚ that propaganda‚ that language‚ that political tactic didn't just work in the countries that turned into dictatorships in the 1930s‚ that political tactic worked on a lot of Americans here just as well as it worked abroad. Because it's an effective political tactic. And‚ you know‚ nobody is a Nazi but a Nazi‚ nobody is Hitler but Hitler. Nobody is Mussolini but Mussolini. Right? There is no point in making and there’s no cause to make any sort of modern analogy to the fascist dictatorships of the 1930s. But we are having this weird moment in American news and politics right now where half the country is shouting about how the Republican presidential nominee keeps quoting those dictators. He keeps saying the kinds of things‚ the exact kind of things that Hitler and Mussolini said as they ascended to and consolidated power. And you see the names of those dictators and you see the discussion of that period in history all over the news right now because he is saying those things. He is effectively quoting Mussolini and Hitler in some of their most effective propaganda shtick tactics. But pointing out he's saying Hitleresque and Mussoliniesque things turns out to not be enough to make him stop saying those things. He doesn't mind being compared to those people. (…)

Christmas might be a time to focus on images of "Madonna and Child‚" but Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is once again calling out the aging pop tart's tawdry old pranks on the stage of her latest "Celebration Tour." He called it "Madonna in Free Fall." Joe Kinsey at outkick.com‚ explained he had an "undisclosed source" taking pictures as " the 65-year-old Material Girl was back at it Saturday night in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center where the Boomer was getting after it with one of her dancers." The source acquired "footage of Madonna enjoying herself to prove that the old girl is not only still alive and kicking‚ it also seems as if her lesbian sex drive is still as strong as ever." The singer needed to pad her wealth due to Biden-flation: “Madonna still has to pay bills and if suburbanites are willing to pay her to go have simulated sex with one of her dancers six months after she nearly died [she spent days in the ICU following a serious bacterial infection]‚ then get after it girlfriend.”  No Generation X grandmother should be taking the grade-school grandkids to this concert! Another media source‚ mamamia.com‚ put it this way: “Don’t be alarmed‚ but right now there’s a 65-year-old woman simulating masturbation on stage in front of 20‚000 people. Not only that. She’s getting lap dances from all comers. She’s being touched and rubbed and pulled and groped‚ tied up‚ even. A man in a jockstrap‚ bottom exposed‚ is pretending to perform oral sex on her.” Here’s the clincher. “Oh‚ and her children are watching. Participating‚ sometimes. Some of them are adults‚ some of them are kids. It’s a family show that is very definitely not a family show.” As the Daily Mail noted‚ “The singer‚ 65‚ shared a kiss with a topless dancer while donning satin lingerie‚ before she was joined onstage by her daughter Estere‚ 11‚ once again.” Madonna's on-stage pranks are never-ending. She even put herself on a glittering cross in Rome to attract condemnation from the Vatican. 

For his final episode of the year‚ milquetoast comedian John Oliver took a moment to shill for the dystopian social media censors exposed by The Twitter Files during a 27-minute-long monologue of smearing X owner Elon Musk. Oliver engaged in fear-mongering about Musk’s management of X (formerly Twitter) after referring to Musk as a “less f*ckable reimagining of Billy Zane’s character from the Titanic” during the Dec. 17 edition of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The leftist comedian went out of his way to minimize the actions of the censorship regime that preceded Musk’s purchase of X‚ insisting that they were merely “struggling with the impossible job of content moderation” rather than conspiring to censor conservatives.  In the same monologue‚ Oliver whined about the dissolution of Twitter’s infamous “Trust and Safety” council‚ while ignoring the suspension of accounts such as The Babylon Bee for acknowledging biological reality and scathing scandals like the suppression of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Instead‚ Oliver suggested that the authors of these authoritarian decisions had been too lenient and panned The Twitter Files that exposed them.  Oliver’s claims came after Musk pledged to make X a free speech platform. Oliver said that Musk “released The Twitter Files‚ in which he basically mistook the emails of various feckless left-leaning tech weenies struggling with the impossible job of content moderation for a vast elite conspiracy to silence right-wing dipsh*ts.”  Oliver did not mention most prominent accounts censored before Musk bought the platform but resigned himself to attacking Musk for restoring podcast host Alex Jones and “white supremacists” to the platform. Since Oliver insisted that there was no conspiracy to silence conservatives‚ he completely ignored the censorship of biological reality before Elon Musk changed the platform’s rules to allow “deadnaming” and “misgendering.” Nevertheless‚ Oliver ranted that a “transphobic documentary” — What Is a Woman? — was promoted by Musk on the platform.  Earlier in Oliver’s obsessive monologue‚ he mocked Musk for the outfits he wears to events‚ calling Musk a “less f***able reimagining of Billy Zane’s character from the Titanic.”  NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham delivered a broadside against Oliver for this attack: “John Oliver is just gross. "F---able" is vulgar and dehumanizing‚ and if he thinks he fits that word‚ he's delusional.” John Oliver is just gross. "F---able" is vulgar and dehumanizing‚ and if he thinks he fits that word‚ he's delusional. https://t.co/hGmk3Iyi7L — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) December 18‚ 2023 Conservatives are under attack! Contact Twitter at (415) 222-9670 and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.  

This Pecan Praline Recipe is easy to make and a wonderful dessert. Add these to any occasion for a real treat! They melt in your mouth! If you love old-fashioned recipes‚ you will love these Kentucky Bourbon Balls. They are always a hit‚ and if you are not a bourbon fan… no worries‚ we share...

A mentally unstable woman in the U.K. reportedly stabbed a stranger walking his dog in a park earlier this month. The woman had escaped from a number of mental health units leading up to the attack. The Daily Mail reported that artist Emma Borowy‚ 32‚ was apparently a schizophrenic who happened to be obsessed with elements of witchcraft. Borowy had previously been arrested for slaughtering two goats as part of a "sacrifice" ritual.Borowy had also threatened to "stab someone in the heart" just three weeks before fatally stabbing Roger Leadbeater‚ a 74-year-old man. Leadbeater apparently died of multiple stab wounds‚ and the report noted that it is believed the attack was random. At the time of the attack‚ Borowy was apparently under the care of the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust.However‚ the case will not be going to trial‚ as the woman is suspected of killing herself in New Hall Prison‚ located in Wakefield‚ West Yorkshire‚ according to The Star.Prior to her apparent suicide‚ Borowy was in the process of being evaluated concerning her fitness to stand trial in the case. Judge Jeremy Richardson noted that Borowy was set to be transferred to a hospital focused on the care of those with mental health issues.Borowy's father‚ Karl‚ said his daughter had been admitted into mental health units in Warrington‚ Salford‚ and Bolton‚ but she managed to walk out of them without difficulty."It seems she can escape any time she wants‚" he said. "That's what she told my wife. I do think these units should be more secure. She must have escaped a dozen times in the past two years."Karl noted that his daughter had been welcomed back home three months ago but that she was unable to "cope." He went on to say that she also had a drug problem.Borowy's father commented on the apparent killing of Leadbeater and said "We knew she was very‚ very unwell‚ but this is a new dimension.""I think perhaps mental health services are struggling and dealing with too many people. The counselor she had seemed to change every few months. I don't think Emma was taking her medication properly when she was out either."The authorities said they were told that Borowy had not been seen at home in three months leading up to the killing of Leadbeater. One neighbor said that Borowy had an "interest in witchcraft‚" including the making of "voodoo dolls."She had also slaughtered two goats as part of a "ritual" killing. The animals were later found with broken bones and their throats cut. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The 2020s have seen unprecedented acceleration in the sophistication of artificial intelligence‚ thanks to the rise of large language model technology. These machines can perform a wide range of tasks once thought to be only solvable by humans: write stories‚ create art from text descriptions‚ and solve complex tasks and problems they were not trained to handle.We posed two questions to six AI experts: James Poulos‚ roon‚ Max Anton Brewer‚ Robin Hanson‚ Niklas Blanchard‚ and Anton Troynikov. —Eds.1. What year do you predict‚ with 50% confidence‚ that a machine will have artificial general intelligence – that is‚ when will it match or exceed most humans in every learning‚ reasoning‚ or intellectual domain?2. What changes to society will this effect within five years of occurring?James PoulosIt is very easy to imagine or reason about the absolute triumph of computational machines and networks over human capabilities and actions in the realm of so-called “general” intelligence — so easy that even humans restricted in their thought process to reasoning and imagination should be quick to question why it is so easy to do so.If the hallmark of imagination is novelty and the hallmark of reason probity‚ there should be among our theorists of AI a robust and active interest in the field of more novel scenarios that require more intellectual effort than the “default” of machine supremacy‚ whether pegged to arrive in 300 years or 30 or three or at a point now already past.After all‚ the simplest or even most tautological logic in favor of predicting the imminent and inevitable surpassing of the human faculties of reason and imagination by artificial “general” intelligence is that the momentous event became imminent and inevitable once enough of us‚ on the research and production side as well as the consumption side‚ became “convinced‚” consciously or otherwise‚ that indeed it was more or less imminent and inevitable. At what point might that have happened‚ and for what reason? And to that question we can add: What constituted then‚ and now constitutes today‚ or tomorrow‚ “enough”? And how do we‚ or would we‚ know or sense — well enough to venture a prediction worth making and considering — that what strikes “us” as being or having been enough really is‚ in the world‚ “enough”?Because it is clear even now‚ in fact more so each day‚ that most of us humans in the world‚ despite (or let’s dare to suggest because of) the massive strides in technological sophistication enclosing human and all life on Earth‚ do not consider the obsolescence of human beings in the realm of intellect and the activities it fosters to be imminent and inevitable.Secular supremacyBesides technologists‚ who are as instinctively inclined to agree that technology will take over the world as financiers are to feel that finance‚ if it has not already‚ will do so; and besides the absolute least reflective of ordinary people who are nonetheless reflective enough to enthuse over the self-serving predictions of technologists so unsatisfied with mere technology that they take on a second calling as “futurists‚” who among us really believes that nothing will stand in the way‚ not just of the attainment of AGI but‚ as is routinely claimed‚ of AGI’s then-instantaneous triumph over the world and everyone in it‚ from the molecular to the planetary level and beyond? The common person whose work‚ identity‚ purpose‚ and life these events would obliterate? The anxious and scheming upper-middle-class person whose access to influence and income would remorselessly be taken away? The elite “technocrat” whose slow defeat at the hands of actual technologists would become a sudden rout?What motive would compel skeptical Christians‚ American and otherwise‚ or monotheists worldwide‚ to swallow such an amazing and final judgment‚ one so comprehensively at odds with the bedrock of their faith?Why‚ to press on‚ would Chinese‚ Indian‚ Indonesian‚ or Pakistani people‚ who together make up over 40% of the world’s population‚ take an attitude toward the destiny of technology and the human race overwhelmingly fostered‚ developed‚ and pursued headlong by not just “Westerners” but secular white Westerners adhering to long-standing esoteric beliefs commonly recognized for millennia as specifically Christian heresies? Why would Russians‚ among whom even those dubious that Moscow is the last protector of the true Christian faith increasingly see the technologized West as an enemy hostile to their civilization‚ submit with a whimper to the forecasts of that enemy’s technologists that those same technologists cannot and will not be stopped from creating the machines that exceed the capacities and significance of men‚ women‚ and children?It could only be that such disbelievers in the fate laid out for them had been utterly demoralized by the state of technology and technologists that we already have today. Such a result could only be obtained if technologists and researchers skeptical that AGI could ever possibly exist — such as‚ most recently‚ Andrea Roli‚ Johannes Jaeger‚ and Stuart A. Kauffman‚ as they establish in their paper “How Organisms Come to Know the World: Fundamental Limits on Artificial General Intelligence” (Front. Ecol. Evol.‚ 28 January 2022) — had already been thoroughly marginalized and discredited; if the ability of ordinary disbelievers to maintain ongoing communication among one another sufficient to keep their understanding alive had already been thoroughly disrupted and destroyed; and if ordinary disbelievers had been stripped of their very memory and intuition about the primal distinction between organism and machine and between human and non-human organism.Mountains of evidence exist that the marginalization of dissident researchers‚ the disruption of free association and discourse‚ and the alienation of peoples from their own fundamental experience and recollection of reality have been growing more severe for decades. There is little denying this process has not accelerated dramatically in the past few years.The prospect of an onrushing future in which we feel ourselves becoming entities more akin to gods without souls than to humans with them is already visible enough today to foster a vast and profound reorientation of experience‚ memory‚ and intuition against the pursuit of AGI and whatever may come after.But the process is nowhere near completion‚ and even its projected advancement still farther does not take away the myriad different paths by which the achievement and absolute triumph of AGI would not happen‚ a non-exhaustive list of which would include: (a) failure of the research program for imaginable reasons such as technological or environmental limits or limits imposed by AIs themselves; (b) failure of the research program for hard-to-imagine reasons such as unforeseeable internal contradictions or inexplicable failures; (c) failure of the research program for unimaginable reasons that manifest only after the apparent consummation of the program; (d) conflict or agreement leading to the limitation or shutdown of the research program in some‚ most‚ or all parts of the world; conflict or agreement leading indirectly to the arrest or freeze of the research program in sufficient part to postpone the attainment of AGI indefinitely; or‚ to help indicate the basis for a radically different forecast than AGI supremacy; (e) abandonment of the research program due to hostility or mere loss of interest on the part of would-be consumers and even producers.In this last scenario‚ it must be recognized already that the acceleration and intensification of hype and fate-mongering in the realm of encouraging acceptance of the inevitability of the ever-more-thorough technologization of life is running up against the decelerating and disenchanting effects of aspects of human nature familiar and unchanged throughout our history. The mounting human experience that the greater technologization of life now brings greater harm and‚ still more radically‚ greater disinterest‚ offers a glimpse of a future where humans astonishingly more augmented with technology than at present nonetheless still abandon the pursuit of AGI or prevent machines from pursuing it‚ because the boredom and disenchantedness experienced by the demigod-like cyborgs we have become is simply too much to bear‚ pointless to bear‚ or not worth bearing by any standard.The prospect of an onrushing future in which we feel ourselves becoming entities more akin to gods without souls than to humans with them is already visible enough today to foster a vast and profound reorientation of experience‚ memory‚ and intuition against the pursuit of AGI and whatever may come after. To believe‚ to predict‚ that this reorientation will be simply plowed under‚ shoved aside‚ or routed around is to deny that human nature — the same human nature that perennially eggs us on to reach for fantasies we can never make real — any longer operates or exists.Human foreverMost revealing for our purposes is how so many AGI supremacists seem capable of bearing the weight of their prophecies only because they are exactly that‚ prophecies‚ and not at all mere scientific forecasts or predictions. That the religious foundation of this vision is so plain to see yet is almost never expressed in forthrightly religious terms signals strongly to us that the future actually favors not only “religious belief” and devotion in general but in particular the ancient Christian faith — which transcends and surpasses the primal “religious” distinction between sacred and profane that produced in the West a schematic of knowledge where the mechanics of the godless world are invested with meaning by incantation.The schematic’s result has been a consuming desire to organize all life by sacralizing mechanical causes — results — with spiritual causes — reasons‚ and in the end to reduce all life to this process. The vision of AGI supremacy is that automation‚ and only automation‚ can bring this process‚ the only true process‚ to completion. In such a world God’s absence from reason and the increasing disenchantment and exhaustion of imagined incantations throws us back on the same resources that even now we are returned to by the indifferent colossus of our automated simulation and prediction machines: not the sterile ideas that issue from reason and imagination alone‚ but the fertile experience that arises from recollection and intuition.The return of that experience‚ through a uniquely human silence and stillness no machine can augment‚ improve‚ or replace‚ points to a re-sacralization of body as well as soul‚ one that no machine or machinist will be welcomed to transgress. What we intuit and recall amidst our shared participation in the sacred given life of the world can furnish more reasons than reason can calculate to stop the chain of causation that culminates in our uncreation and can envision more images than imagination can summon of what will be lost if we do not. But still more‚ it can move us beyond the realm of argument by reason and dream‚ to a place where our obsession with building creations to destroy us may heal and disappear.James Poulos is the founder and editorial director of Return.

MrBeast is one of the most popular social media personalities — but that hasn’t stopped the left from turning on him for reasons that make zero sense. The YouTuber‚ whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson‚ has been attacked for rebuilding homes for tornado survivors in Kentucky‚ helping cure blindness‚ raising funds to rebuild a children’s home in South Africa‚ and sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine. His latest offense is constructing 100 wells to provide clean drinking water and help 300‚000 to 500‚000 people in Cameroon‚ Kenya‚ Somalia‚ Uganda‚ and Zimbabwe. The left is calling it “performative altruism.” Saran Kaba Jones‚ founder and CEO of FACE Africa‚ is one of his critics. “Overnight‚ this person comes along‚ who happens to be a white male figure with a huge platform‚ and all of a sudden‚ he gets all of the attention. It’s kind of frustrating‚ but it’s also understanding the nature of how the world is‚” Jones told CNN. Leftist comedian Bill Maher is one of few who used his platform to come to MrBeast's defense‚ specifically calling out Jones on his show. “You know what else is frustrating? Dying of thirst‚” Maher said. He then went on to call Donaldson’s critics “f***ing idiots‚” noting that his detractors are the result of an overly sensitive society. Pat Gray is pleased with Maher’s defense. “I’m really glad he’s noticing this‚” Gray comments. “This isn’t a new phenomenon. They’ve always been this way on the left.” Want more from Pat Gray?To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

Armed home intruders on Staten Island pistol-whipped a 5-year-old girl in the face early Monday morning — and took off from the premises with a cell phone.What are the details?Four suspects‚ three armed with guns‚ kicked in the front door of the home near Livingston Avenue and Queen Street around 12:45 a.m.‚ WPIX-TV reported‚ citing New York City Police.A 5-year-old girl‚ a 4-year-old boy‚ a 33-year-old woman‚ and a 54-year-old resident were inside the home at the time of the break-in‚ the station said‚ citing police.The NYPD released a video from surveillance cameras showing the robbers — wearing hoodies and masks — entering the home and searching the residence with a flashlight‚ the New York Daily News reported. — (@) The robbers demanded money and jewelry‚ police said‚ according to the Daily News‚ and they pistol-whipped the girl and the woman. The victims suffered facial cuts and bleeding‚ WPIX said‚ and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The boy and the 54-year-old resident were not hurt‚ the paper added.The suspects stole a cell phone before fleeing the home‚ police told the station‚ and there have been no arrests.Police are asking the public for help identifying the suspects and tracking them down‚ the Daily News said‚ adding that anyone with information can confidentially call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. How have folks been reacting?Commenters under the New York Post's story about the incident are not happy:"Wonder how many times these winners/grad students have been caught and released with no bail‚" one commenter said. "The child in the home did not deserve this. ...""Where was the social service worker to talk them out of this now that nothing is a crime and responsibility is a past tense?" another commenter asked."Liberal states would rather have dead innocents than armed informed citizens‚ only one of them is a threat to their tyranny‚" another commenter said."Isn't gun control great!!" another commenter exclaimed. "You take the guns away from the law abiding citizens and give them to the criminals."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tennessee filed a lawsuit Monday against the world's largest asset manager‚ BlackRock‚ alleging it violated consumer protection laws by making "misleading" claims about its so-called environmental‚ social‚ and governance strategy.A press release from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office stated that the "first-of-its-kind" lawsuit seeks to protect consumers from the firm's alleged "false or misleading representations … about the extent to which Environmental‚ Social‚ and Governance (ESG) considerations affect BlackRock's investment strategies."In a recent statement‚ Skrmetti said‚ "We allege that BlackRock's inconsistent statements about its investment strategies deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice.""Some public statements show a company that focuses exclusively on return on investment‚ others show a company that gives special consideration to environmental factors. Ultimately‚ I want to make certain that corporations‚ no matter their size‚ treat Tennessee consumers fairly and honestly‚" he added.According to the lawsuit‚ the asset manager has made two opposing claims about its investment strategies‚ stating that it prioritizes return on investments and also claiming it prioritizes investments in firms that align with its "net zero" goals. "Thus‚ BlackRock has articulated two inconsistent positions: one focusing solely on money and the other focusing on environmental impact. Tennessee consumers deserve to know which of firm's statements are a true account of the company's decision-making. This enforcement action seeks injunctive relief‚ civil penalties‚ and recoupment of the State's costs‚" the attorney general's office stated.The complaint argued that prioritizing investments in companies based on their carbon output goals may lead to worse financial outcomes for the asset manager's clients."It is thus only fair that consumers know if the hard-earned funds they invest will be leveraged to BlackRock's ESG ends‚ rather than to maximizing financial returns‚" the lawsuit contended. "Yet for years‚ BlackRock has misled consumers about the scope and effects of its widespread ESG activity."It noted that BlackRock currently manages roughly $9 trillion in investments. The asset manager's massive holdings allow it to pressure companies to align with its preferred agendas‚ including radical climate initiatives."Its holdings are more than the gross domestic product of nearly every country in the world except for the United States and China‚" the lawsuit read.A spokesperson for BlackRock told Fox Business‚ "We reject the Attorney General's claims and will vigorously contest any accusations that BlackRock violated Tennessee's consumer protection laws.""Contrary to the Attorney General's claims‚ BlackRock fully and accurately discloses our investment practices and our approach to proxy voting‚" the spokesperson continued. "On behalf of our clients‚ BlackRock has invested approximately $40 billion in Tennessee‚ and we are helping more than 600‚000 hard-working Tennesseans retire with dignity. We are proud of our contribution and committed to the future in Tennessee."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!