Featured Essays Daredevil: Born Again Daredevil: Born Again Offers a Much-Needed Corrective to Relentless Copaganda Pushing back on decades of misleading media representations of law enforcement. By Joe George | Published on April 23, 2025 Credit: Marvel Television Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Marvel Television Midway through the season one finale of Daredevil: Born Again, the mayor of New York City delivers a powerful speech about the dignity of the city’s police force. Positioning himself as someone who understands “the rank and file… down there on the streets, risking their lives to keep New York safe,” the mayor berates his opponent’s moral cowardice. Scenes like this happen every day on television, but Daredevil: Born Again puts a unique twist on the concept. It’s not just that it occurs in a series about Marvel superhero Daredevil (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer who uses his enhanced senses to fight crime. Nor is that the mayor is Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), the one-time Kingpin of Crime who has found new power as the elected leader of the city. No, the twist is that Fisk’s valorizing of the police is presented as deeply sinister. Against the wishes of his opponent, NYPD Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston), Fisk has put together a special Anti-Vigilante Task Force and authorized them to use lethal force as they see fit. He justifies his actions not in legal or rational terms, instead grounding his argument in manipulative pathos, insisting that cops have such a hard job keeping people safe that they should be able to act as they see fit, even killing with impunity. The scene ends with a gory climax, as the cops watch in shock and awe as Fisk crushes Gallo’s head with his bare hands. But as over-the-top as it gets, in one key aspect the scene is incredibly realistic—it’s one of many instances in which Daredevil: Born Again boldly reminds viewers that for many citizens, the criminal justice system fails to provide either safety or justice. Copaganda on Patrol Credit: Marvel Television The idea of a renegade police force taking hold of the city might seem like a wild concept, a storyline ripped from the pages of an old Marvel comic book, but the focus on police is arguably one of the more mainstream aspects of Daredevil: Born Again. Police and law enforcement have long been fixtures of American popular culture, so prevalent that almost half of all dramatic television produced in 2020 was about cops. Going far beyond a matter of taste or a mere cultural trend, the prevalence of cop shows and movies has real effects on the way we think about law enforcement. According to scholars such as Alex S. Vitale and Mark Neocleous, modern policing, first in the UK and then in the US, began as a method to oppress immigrants, non-white citizens, and the working class. Yet, thanks to these shows and movies, which has become known as “copaganda,” people are conditioned to think of law enforcement as a necessary social good, something that can and must exist for our protection and well-being, despite mounting evidence that the police do not stop crimes and often make situations less safe. Copaganda is as old as moving pictures themselves. When Berkley Police Chief August Vollmer came to power in the early 20th century and instituted the reforms that would earn him the title “the Father of Modern Policing,” he took aim at the media, criticizing movies featuring the comedic Keystone Cops and appearing in one of the first examples of movie copaganda, the 1926 serial Officer 444. In 1949, one of Volmer’s protégés, L.A. Police Chief William Parker, followed in his mentor’s footsteps by working with Jack Webb to create Dragnet, which soon became a television show in 1951. In addition to establishing the procedural model that continues to this day, Dragnet also put an emphasis on greater realism. Each of the episodes purported to be based on a case file from the LAPD (with the permission of Parker and his associates) and each episode portrayed Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday and associates as consummate professionals, heroes who effectively kept citizens safe from danger. The model established by Dragnet can still be see in use today in hits like the Law & Order franchise, Chicago P.D., and Blue Bloods, with the same attitudes and narratives reflected even in so-called reality shows like Cops, which tends to valorize police officers even when they disregard and violate rules of conduct while taking down “bad guys.” Even after the Black Lives Matter movement brought greater attention to police brutality against Black citizens and called for a massive reappraisal of copaganda, TV shows and movies about heroic cops continue to hit our screens. Daredevil: Born Again might seem to follow suit with sympathetic characters such as no-nonsense hostage negotiator Angie Kim (Ruibo Qian) and retired cop-turned-Matt Murdock associate Cherry (Clark Johnson, formerly of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire)—both, it’s worth noting, are people of color. However, these good apples are completely outnumbered, buried under an avalanche of disturbingly bad apples, making Born Again a welcome corrective to the familiar narrative we’ve been taught to expect and accept. Crime and Punishment Credit: Marvel Television As Kingpin prepares for his grisly work against Gallo, the leaders of his task force come face to face with their true inspiration, Frank Castle, aka the Punisher. “I’m a big admirer of your work,” says the task force’s leader Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley), hoping to convince Frank to join them. “Everything you do, you can do with us,” Powell tells him, promising that Frank can continue to execute those he considers guilty with impunity. Frank Castle may be a fictional character, first introduced in a 1973 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, but the scene feels utterly realistic. For years, American police officers have adopted the Punisher’s skull logo, sporting it on their personal belongings and sometimes even their cars and on-duty uniforms, against department regulations, claiming as a hero a brutal vigilante who murders at will. Even though Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway has spoken out against the practice and the character of the Punisher himself called out the practice in the pages of Marvel comics, it still continues today. It’s particularly powerful, then, to see this version of the Punisher, as played by Jon Bernthal, mocking the corrupt police for modeling themselves after him, precisely because of that history, and the utter pervasiveness of copaganda in most popular entertainment. “Buncha clowns,” Castle mutters to himself before telling them off, screaming “You think you know me? You think you know my pain?” With those questions, Castle forcefully underscores the show’s point: anyone who would try to live like Frank Castle must be broken, like him. The showdown with the Punisher is just one of many depictions of violent police in Daredevil: Born Again. The first major arc involves Daredevil, in his civilian identity as Matt Murdock, defending a man named Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes), who has been charged with killing a police officer. However, the officer in question died when Ayala stopped him and Powell, both undercover, from beating up a witness. Ayala simply saw two men brutalizing another and came to help, and when one of the aggressors accidentally fell into an oncoming subway train during the fracas, Powell immediately pinned the blame on the do-gooder. The two-episode arc shows off a different side to Matt’s heroism, underscoring his resourcefulness as a lawyer and, of course, how his superpowers help him to gather evidence. In every instance, Matt finds himself stymied not by some costumed supervillain, but by police officers, both in and out of uniform. It’s not just Powell but the entire force who choose to stand by their fellow officer and hold the Blue Line rather than seeking true justice. Even after Matt proves his client’s innocence and helps him go free, Ayala is executed in the streets by a cop. Was he killed in revenge for speaking out against the cops? Was he killed because the cops believe he’d killed one of their own? Was he murdered just because the cops hate him? It isn’t clear and doesn’t matter. The point is that the cops kill who they want. That point is driven home even further by two shorter vignettes throughout the season. In one, a Black man named Leroy Bradford (Charlie Hudson III) is transported to Rikers Island for stealing a couple boxes of caramel corn from a bodega. The sequence, in which Matt uses his considerable charm to get Leroy’s sentence reduced down to ten days, serves to underscore our hero’s eroding faith in the law. We also see two cops munching on the caramel corn that Leroy stole and didn’t open, mockingly snacking on the merchandise that was used to justify taking away a man’s freedom. Bradford’s story illuminates the various ways in which the system is rigged against some members of society. The other example serves to show that the systemic corruption of law enforcement extends far beyond Fisk’s clearly villainous task force to the uniformed police who patrol the city. In the finale, we witness a regular beat cop shooting an unarmed man looting a store. When the cop’s partner questions him over the killing, he simply pulls a knit cap over the dead man’s face and declares that his unarmed victim was a “masked vigilante.” The fact that even these random, unnamed cops defy the law so flagrantly—shooting and killing unarmed people, and framing them as violent offenders, knowing that they will almost certainly be absolved of any blame, as we’ve seen time and again in real life—demonstrates that it’s not just Fisk’s handpicked officers that feel empowered to act with impunity. Born Again is not interested in assigning blame to a few very bad apples—in this story, the rot runs deep, from the very top all the way down through the rank and file. The system is irreparably broken, and there are no easy fixes—only hard questions, and the dire need for a sincere, constructive conversation about establishing a just and humane approach to public safety. Devil’s Advocate Credit: Marvel Television Some might argue that Daredevil: Born Again is overly sensational in its depiction of police, and that’s fair. After all, this is a Marvel superhero show, and the first season ends with Fisk declaring martial law, sending his task force to lay siege upon the city. Others will point out that the season finale’s closing montage, in which Daredevil gathers with supporters to plan a season two counterattack, does include some cops on his side, including the aforementioned Cherry and Kim. However, when balanced against the oppressive, hulking weight of decades of shows and movies that depict the police as an inherent good without question, even when cops brutalize witnesses, disregard the law, and kill the innocent, Born Again is still an insufficient corrective, even at its most outrageous. In order to properly assess the effects of policing in our cities and communities, we need to be able to ask relevant questions, recognize systemic problems in policing and the justice system, and seek a clearer perspective on what’s wrong, and the endless stream of copaganda has muddied those waters for far too long. It may be uncomfortable for many viewers to consider Born Again’s portrayal of most, if not all, cops in a negative light, and to see law enforcement depicted as broken and corrupt. But here in 2025, after over a century of glowing portrayals that focus heavily on acts of service, bravery, and sacrifice while ignoring or minimizing the darker realities of police brutality, misconduct, systemic racism and abuse, it’s time for those realities to take center stage. This certainly isn’t the first show to feature police corruption and officers who believe they’re above the law—not by a long shot. But usually, that corruption is seen as an aberration—the assumption is that the system might break down from time to time, but the good cops will inevitable win out, restoring law and order. It’s only recently that we’ve been invited to question the validity of that convenient, comfortable framing of reality, and whether it reflects the world we see around us. Leave it to Daredevil, a show about a blind man seeking justice, to help us begin to balance the scales.[end-mark] The post <i>Daredevil: Born Again</i> Offers a Much-Needed Corrective to Relentless Copaganda appeared first on Reactor.

As promised, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services is going on the offensive against artificial food dyes, one of the most high-profile “Make America healthy again” initiatives of the new administration. Getting rid of food dyes “is just a no-brainer,” Kennedy said on Tuesday after announcing an agreement with major food companies to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food.  Kennedy has been working on this for months, having had a series of conversations with food executives about altering their recipes. RFK JR: "We are spending as much on mitochondrial disorders like diabetes as we spend on our military budget. We can't continue to exist like this. The problem is, industry is making money on keeping us sick." pic.twitter.com/JXwMZ3KyfI— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 22, 2025 “Nobody wants to eat petroleum. There’s enough science out there that we know it’s terrible for you, that it causes health problems, but also behavioral problems,” he added. The HHS’ plan includes an agreed-upon schedule for phasing out those dyes, revoking the authorization for certain dyes and authorizing “four new natural coloring additives in the coming weeks,” according to a departmental press release.  FDA Commissioner Marty Makary (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Kennedy believes that eliminating use of those dyes in food, as well as his efforts to investigate environmental factors behind autism, will do much to improve the health of Americans. President Donald Trump “wants dramatic change in the next two years, and we’re going to deliver that for him,” he said. Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who will also play a major role in the effort, spoke at the press conference of numerous studies tying artificial dyes to health problems. “For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals. The scientific community has conducted a number of studies raising concerns about the correlation between petroleum-based synthetic dyes and several health conditions, such as [ADHD], obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, cancer, genomic disruption … and allergic reactions,” said Makary, formerly a surgeon and professor at Johns Hopkins University and its affiliated hospital. ? #BREAKING – IT'S OFFICIAL: Trump administration moves to BAN essentially ALL artificial food dyes in the USA food supply at RFK Jr.'s direction.Eliminate 6 dyes: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, by the end of 2026.FDA Commissioner Makary says: "This… pic.twitter.com/Z2cq4xh4PW— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 22, 2025 “This administration is not interested in continuing down the path of doing the same old things as we watch our nation’s children get sicker. We need fresh, new approaches,” he said. The post Ridding Food of Synthetic Dyes Is ‘a No-Brainer,’ RFK Jr. Says appeared first on The Daily Signal.

UPDATE: Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced his retirement Wednesday. The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator.But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch.So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term. pic.twitter.com/eiBTPjToFT— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) April 23, 2025 He told the New York Times, “There are good people in the wings, good people on the bench ready to serve, and they can fight this fight just as effectively as I can. There comes a point where you have to face reality that this is the time to leave for me.” This is the text ot the original article, published April 17: Amid speculation that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will announce his retirement soon, Democrats are gearing up for a political free-for-all to fill his seat. Durbin, 80, who has been in Congress since the Reagan administration, fueled speculation over his retirement after reports that he raised less than $43,000 in the first three months of 2025. His seat is up for election in 2026. Durbin has been slow to make a decision, telling the press in late March he would decide on his future plans in the coming weeks. Illinois’ senior senator is in his fifth term in the upper chamber after seven terms in the House. The Senate seat, which likely would go to a Democrat in deep blue Illinois, would be highly sought after. Back in late 2008, for example, then-President-elect Barack Obama’s departure from the Senate fueled behind-the-scenes drama between then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Obama team over who to appoint to the Senate seat Obama was vacating. The back-and-forth, which shed light on the contentious inner workings of the Illinois Democratic Party, ultimately led to Blagojevich’s serving prison time for public corruption for attempting to sell appointment to the seat. Blagojevich wound up appointing former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, who completed Obama’s term, but did not run for reelection. With Durbin’s fellow Illinois Democrat senator, Tammy Duckworth, being just 56, a cohort of other Illinois Democrats are angling to seek Durbin’s seat if he vacates it, as another opportunity might not come for decades. The potential Democrat would-be senators include Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has reportedly sought Gov. JB Pritzker’s endorsement for the seat. There’s also Rep. Lauren Underwood, who has been sending out fundraising emails signaling interest in the seat, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has raised millions amid the Durbin retirement speculation. Duckworth recently told reporters that the Senate aspirants “have to do what they think is right for themselves,” but added, “Obviously, Sen. Durbin has more than earned the patience and the grace to make the decision on his own time.” Another question arises: Who would assume Durbin’s coveted position as Senate minority whip?  Although top Senate Democrats have not publicly angled for that high-ranking position in leadership, potential successors might include Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey or Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.   The post Durbin Announces Retirement, Leaving a Power Vacuum appeared first on The Daily Signal.

On An Island Filled With Dragons, Have the English Slain St George Instead?

"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"

The Supreme Court of the United States sent shock waves throughout America when the justices sided with Democrats over the weekend, blocking the Trump administration from deporting MS-13 gang members under the Alien Enemies Act. Only Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas stood their ground, disagreeing with the rest of the judges. “I want to be very careful with my words here,” Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” begins. “I don’t expect Supreme Court judges to make their decisions based on any sort of loyalty that they have for the president.” “But it does feel like the opposite is happening and they’ve got it out for him for whatever reason. We definitely know Amy Coney Barrett does, just based off of her reaction whenever she sees him. It’s like a visceral reaction that she has,” Gonzales continues. Alito and Thomas claimed there was no hearing, no lower-court ruling, no opportunity for the government to respond, and no explanation provided. Alito also put his colleagues on blast for violating the court's own rule 23.3, which requires seeking relief in lower courts first. “All of them agreed that the highest executive in the entire country should not have the ability to remove illegal criminals from our country. That’s wild to me,” Gonzales says. “Didn’t it strike you as a gross undermining of the judicial system, but more so, giving rights to illegal immigrants that Americans have in lower court? Your right to be innocent until proven guilty is an American right,” BlazeTV contributor Jaco Booyens says in agreement. “That’s not a right for some Australian that ends up here or a kid from Guatemala. You don’t have a First, Second, Third Amendment. You don’t have these rights. You’re not a citizen,” he adds. Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A Ring camera caught the moment when a helpless suburban Chicago couple in front of their own home obediently handed over their valuables — and even their clothing — to armed robbers who rushed them Monday night.Greg Poulos and Angie Beltsos were walking to their front porch in Glenview around 10 p.m. after dinner in the city when a car pulled up, WBBM-TV reported.'I was always taught by my father just give whatever they want, give what they want, and your life is far more valuable.'Police said three males approached them, pulled out guns, and demanded their belongings, the station said. Beltsos told WBBM she saw one male "running at us pointing a gun, screaming at us to give him everything."The couple did just that.Video shows one of the robbers telling them to "give me all that s**t," and Poulos and Beltsos immediately tossed their cell phones and keys to the ground; Beltsos also gave up her purse, the station said."You got it. You got it. Here, take it. Take it. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Here, you can have it. Honest to God, guys," Poulos was heard on the clip telling the robbers, WBBM reported."I started throwing shoes and coats," Beltsos noted to the station in the aftermath; video shows them both removing their jackets for the crooks.Poulos told WBBM, "I was always taught by my father just give whatever they want, give what they want, and your life is far more valuable."The nightmare didn't end there, however.Video doesn't show that the crooks soon "had us lie down on our stomachs, and pointing guns at us, and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, is this how it's going to end today?'" Beltsos recounted to the station, adding that "for a moment, they were standing there, and they ran off."Police told WBBM the robbers sped out of the neighborhood in a Jaguar SUV, which was later found abandoned and empty in Chicago.You can view a video report here about the incident."People have become much more brazen, and they need to be held accountable," Beltsos added to the station.Glenview police told WBBM they're talking to other local police departments in an attempt to identify the robbers.The village of Glenview is about 40 minutes northwest of Chicago and is "one of the best places to live in Illinois," according to Niche. It's also a haven for retirees and boasts "a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks" as well as "highly rated" public schools, Niche adds.Poulos told the station that people nowadays have "to be vigilant and keep their head on a swivel."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

How do you start Oblivion Remastered Shivering Isles DLC? The not-so-surprise drop of Oblivion’s Unreal Engine 5 remake has coated the classic Bethesda RPG in a fresh lick of paint. It also bundles its Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine DLC alongside the core game. Here's what you need to know to start each DLC's respective quests. While Oblivion Remastered has plenty of content, as evidenced by the Oblivion Remastered quest list, Shivering Isles offers one of the better and more substantial chunks of DLC that Bethesda released for their RPG hit. Continue reading Oblivion Remastered DLC - how to start Shivering Isles MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Oblivion Remastered quest list, Oblivion Remastered mods, How long is Oblivion Remastered?

How do you get a free horse in Oblivion Remastered? Getting a horse in Oblivion is essential for traversing Cyrodiil, and though you can get a horse by progressing the main campaign, there's a much easier way to get a free horse early on in your playthrough. You can get a free horse by delivering the Amulet of Kings to Brother Jauffre in Weynon Priory by progressing through the main Oblivion Remastered questline, but if you're just starting out in the RPG game, here's where to find a horse for free much earlier. Oblivion Remastered is much easier to navigate with a horse. Continue reading How to get a horse in Oblivion Remastered MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Oblivion Remastered quest list, Oblivion Remastered mods, How long is Oblivion Remastered?

After the success of the mighty Balatro, roguelike deckbuilders aren't slowing down in 2025, courtesy of Slay the Spire 2 and Monster Train 2, both of which are on their way. But there's more. Mixing the visual flair of Metaphor Refantazio, with writing and worldbuilding from original Dragon Age creator David Gaider, Malys is a stunning challenger that puts you in the shoes of Noah, a priest turned exorcist and demon hunter. Built by Summerfall Studios, it’s just landed on Kickstarter, and it's already making a splash. Continue reading Malys is a demon-slaying roguelike deckbuilder from the creator of Dragon Age MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games