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4 w

‘Deeply Disturbing’: Dem Candidate’s Sexually Explicit Porta Potty Posts Resurface
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‘Deeply Disturbing’: Dem Candidate’s Sexually Explicit Porta Potty Posts Resurface

Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner made sexually explicit comments on social media about masturbating in portable public toilets, according to newly surfaced social media posts.  “I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portash*tter… that blue water smell conditioned me,” he wrote in March 2017 in a thread on nostalgic military smells, Fox News reported. In another reported thread titled “GWOT Dick Art,” Platner described graffiti of a penis as “beautiful,” “engorged and veiny,” and moving “towards its penetrative glory,” according to Fox News.  The graffiti was found inside a portable toilet Platner used during one of his overseas deployments. Platner served three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine and went to Afghanistan in the infantry.  “Oh sh*t!!!,” Platner added regarding the sexually explicit drawing in March 2021. “You’ve got the Hot Rod C*** from Manas!” Describing his reaction to the explicit drawing, Platner said he “sat there in sheer awe” and was taken by “the soul filling joy to be allowed to witness such glory.” Platner, looking to unseat Senator Susan Collins, made the most under the name “P-Hustle.” In the past, he has faced criticism for several vulgar posts he made from that account on women and Christianity.  Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Samantha Cantrell called Platner’s posts “disturbing.”  “Graham Platner’s explicit sexual behavior in public restrooms is deviant and deeply disturbing, especially from a man who blamed victims of sexual assault for their own rapes,” she said in a statement.  Platner previously faced criticism for Reddit posts he made saying that women should “act like an adult for f*** sake” and “not get so f***ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to” if they are fearful of being raped. He also called the Virgin Mary a “skank” and said Jesus Christ was a “zombie.”  “I’ve spent 8 years in the infantry, Marine Corps, and Army, and I’ve been about as crudely atheist as one can be the entire time (zombie jesus jokes and Mary sucking at covering up being a skank, as examples),” he wrote in 2012. Platner has characterized many of his previous posts as jokes and apologized for his former comments about women.
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4 w

Fundraiser For Guard Who Thwarted Mosque Shooters Tops $1.6 Million In Under 24 Hours
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Fundraiser For Guard Who Thwarted Mosque Shooters Tops $1.6 Million In Under 24 Hours

'Amin put himself between the gunmen and everyone inside'
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4 w

The Overlooked Prosecutors’ Tool Against Violent ‘Teen Takeovers’
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The Overlooked Prosecutors’ Tool Against Violent ‘Teen Takeovers’

'There is still action that must be taken immediately'
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4 w

Nancy Pelosi Anoints Candidate She Wants To Succeed Her In Congress
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Nancy Pelosi Anoints Candidate She Wants To Succeed Her In Congress

'I'm proud to endorse Democrat Connie Chan'
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4 w

INGERSOLL: The Solutions For The Worst Problems In America Are Quite Simple
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INGERSOLL: The Solutions For The Worst Problems In America Are Quite Simple

Don't let them tell you it's complicated. It isn't
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Kathy Hochul Tries Having It Both Ways On School Choice
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Kathy Hochul Tries Having It Both Ways On School Choice

Playing both sides?
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Trump Finding Himself On Same Side As Neocons He Railed Against At Beginning Of Political Career
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Trump Finding Himself On Same Side As Neocons He Railed Against At Beginning Of Political Career

Trump now aligns with McConnell as he opposes Massie
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SciFi and Fantasy
SciFi and Fantasy  
4 w

Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Confronts Darkfriends and Rand Confronts Borderlanders in The Gathering Storm (Part 26)
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Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Confronts Darkfriends and Rand Confronts Borderlanders in The Gathering Storm (Part 26)

Books The Wheel of Time Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Confronts Darkfriends and Rand Confronts Borderlanders in The Gathering Storm (Part 26) By Sylas K Barrett | Published on May 19, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share This week, Reading The Wheel of Time is covering chapters 43 and 44, in which Egwene confronts Darkfriends, Galad, and a difficult decision, while Rand goes to meet the Borderlanders, only to be confronted by an old ally and the memory of a not so old trauma. Nynaeve does her best to protect people from Rand and learns the whereabouts of Perrin and his company. Without further ado, let’s get to the recap. In her tent in the rebel camp, attended by Chesa, Egwene thinks about her failure to defeat Elaida. She is angry at her followers for disobeying her orders, but she is also aware that she herself may have been able to do better. She wonders if she was too secretive, and considers that she should have shared more with Siuan. She’d once thought, mistakenly, that the Amyrlin wouldn’t be so easily tossed about by random twists in the Pattern. She was supposed to be in control. Everyone else spent their days reacting, but the Amyrlin was a woman of action! Egwene is now realizing that her assumptions were incorrect; Kings and Queens and Amyrlins are also tossed about by the storms of life. The only difference is that they are skilled at projecting calm and control in the face of life’s chaos. She realizes that in some ways, the Amyrlin does have more control than most people. While she still needs to adapt to the needs of the moment and the changes of the Pattern, she also has the knowledge and skills and power to shape the world in turn. Egwene decides that she cannot wait for negotiations, not with the threats of the Seanchan and the Last Battle looming. Her army is fresh and ready, while the Tower forces are exhausted and demoralized. Now is the time to strike. She hopes that history will forgive her. She is startled to find Gawyn outside her tent. He tries to talk to her, telling her that he needs to know where they stand and how she feels, but Egwene cuts him off, upbraiding him for ruining her work in the White Tower. He replies that he and Siuan were worried about her. “Well, that worry was the sacrifice I demanded, Gawyn,” she said, exasperated. “Don’t you see what a distrust you have shown me? How can I trust you if you will disobey me in order to feel more comfortable?” She tells him that while Egwene the woman understands, Egwene the Amyrlin is furious with him. She also realizes then that he doesn’t see her as the Amyrlin, and points out that this uncertainty in Gawyn undermines their relationship. She agrees to talk to him about it later. In the White Tower, five Ajah heads—Jesse Bilal of the Brown,  Adelorna Bastine of the Green, Ferane Neheran of the White, Suana Dragand of the Yellow, and Serancha Colvine of the Gray—have gathered for a secret meeting. Tsutama hasn’t been included, since she wasn’t yet the Highest of the Red Ajah when the the Ajah heads of the White Tower came up with a scheme to heal the division in the Tower and to rule the Aes Sedai themselves by using Elaida.  It had seemed like a brilliant plan. The division of the Tower, the departure of so many in rebellion and the raising of a new Amyrlin, had not been their fault. But it had presented several opportunities. The first had been the easiest to take hold of: send Sitters to the rebels to steer them and hasten a reconciliation. The most youthful of Sitters had been chosen, their replacements in the Tower intended to serve only a short time. The Ajah heads had been certain this ripple of a rebellion could be easily smoothed over. The Ajah heads discuss the fact that their plan to wield power through Elaida has failed, as has their plan to reconcile the division in the White Tower. Their election of Sitters who were too young for the job made other sisters suspicious. They hadn’t anticipated Elaida’s instability, and never have anticipated how effective the rebel leadership would turn out to be. To herself, Jesse also thinks that letting Elaida disband the Blue was the greatest mistake; without that dishonor, the Blues might not have dug in so hard, keeping the rest of the rebels from returning. With their plan to lead the White Tower themselves no longer viable, and with Elaida beyond rescue, conversation turns to the election of a new Amyrlin. Each woman suggests a member of her own Ajah, arguing for why their particular skill set is most needed. The talk rises to arguing… and then Adelorna suggests Egwene. There is resistance at first, but as they all discuss Egwene’s ability to resist Elaida, her effectiveness during the Seanchan attack, and the fact that her appointment would bring the rebels back to the White Tower, they realize that she is the best, and the only, choice. They also realize that their dreams of leading the White Tower themselves will never come to pass, as this time they will be setting up a strong Amyrlin. “I, for one,” Adelorna said, “think that’s a splendid idea. It’s been too long.”One by one, the others agreed. Siuan waits under a tree outside the tent where the Hall is meeting. When Bryne joins her, they discuss what punishment Egwene might mete out to Siuan. He asks if the risk of rescuing her was worth it. “Yes,” Siuan said. “She didn’t realize how close this band was to slipping away from her. And we couldn’t know that she’d be safe within the Tower during the attack. If there’s one thing my time in the White Tower taught me, it’s that there is a time for gathering and planning, but one also has to act. You can’t always wait for certainty.” Bryne tells her that she is a woman of honor, and that he understand her now: She is able to break oaths or shrug off orders when she deems it necessary because no oath is as heavy or as binding on her as the responsibility she has already put on herself. When she asks when he will tell her what the other condition is, he admits that he intends to demand that she marry him, but only after the Last Battle is over. His hope is that after Siuan has given everything for the world for so long, she will be willing to take a life for herself, with him. Inside the tent used as the Hall, Egwene faces a dozen Sitters. Each Ajah has one missing, as they were sent as part of the envoy to the Black Tower. Sheriam is with Egwene, and has a bandage on her hand, which she won’t let anyone look at or Heal.  Having already had the youngest member weave a ward against eavesdropping, Egwene embraces the Source. She produces the Oath Rod and swears the Three Oaths before the Hall, telling them that they can no longer claim that she has the ability to lie, or that she is not fully Aes Sedai. She then explains that a sister came to her while she was in the Tower and admitted to being a Darkfriend. She announces in plain words that she herself is not Black Ajah, then explains that each of them will be required to remove and then retake their Oaths and declare they are not Darkfriends, just as Egwene has done. Sheriam tries to embrace the Source but Egwene is ready and shields her. She tricks Sheriam into saying a falsehood by asking her a series of rapid-fire questions, then tells her about Verin’s confession, the giving of Sheriam’s name, and how Verin got around the oaths by taking poison. Sheriam admits that this was clever; she could never bring herself to do anything similar. When Egwene mentions that there were many other names given, including those of Sitters, Moria jumps up and runs for the door. She is shielded immediately and bound with Air. One by one, the rest of the Sitters release themselves and then retake the Three Oaths, declaring themselves not to be Darkfriends. Egwene then tells them her plan to bring the rest of the Aes Sedai into the Hall in groups, under the guise of telling everyone something important that must not be overheard by the soldiers in camp. Armed with Verin’s list of names, the Sitters will be ready to capture everyone on that list, and anyone else who is revealed when Egwene demands they all go through the same process of removing and re-swearing the Oaths. Egwene also declares that once the job is done, they will attack the White Tower. Romanda agrees that this is what must be done, formally putting forward a motion to follow Egwene’s plan. It is unanimously agreed upon. Accompanied by Aiel, Narishma, and Naeff, Nynaeve and Rand ride to a meeting with the Borderlanders. They discuss where Rand will fight the Last Battle. Nynaeve insists that Tarwin’s Gap is the perfect place for Rand to fight, but he disagrees. He intends to take advantage of Lan’s presence there as a distraction; the Dark will think Rand is there too, and move its forces there, at which point he will Travel in to strike at Shayol Ghul itself. Nynaeve has attempted several good, rational arguments, but none have worked. *“Rand,” Nynaeve said, her anger fading to horror. “Lan will die!”“Then who am I to deny him that?” Rand said. “We all deserve the chance to find peace.”Nynaeve found her mouth hanging open. He actually believed that! Or he was convincing himself to believe it, at least. She attempts to argue further, but Rand shuts her down with that soft, dangerous tone he has developed. She falls silent, musing on how she can change this outcome, worrying over how Lan will die at the Gap, his forces overrun, and how the Shadowspawn and the Seanchan will sweep across the lands, trampling innocents in their wake. She asks Rand if he knows where Perrin is, and Rand mentions that he is connected to Perrin, and to Mat, but won’t explain further. They reach the rendezvous, but the Borderlanders are not there. There is only one man, who Nynaeve and Rand both recognize as Hurin. After Rand tests the man’s memory of their time together in order to prove he is who he seems to be, Rand asks Hurin what is going on. Hurin explains that he was sent to discuss terms. The Borderlanders want to meet him in Far Madding, inside the protection of the Guardian. Rand cuts off anything else Hurin is going to say, and opens a Gateway back to a familiar stretch of road, and then to a place outside Far Madding. They can see an army camped around the lake, outside of the island city but within the reach of the ter’angreal that prevents men from reaching the Source while in its boundaries. Rand tells Nynaeve that the army will have seen him arrive, and that they want him in their box. “The city is a box,” Rand said. “The whole city and the area round it. They want me where they can control me, but they don’t understand. Nobody controls me. Not anymore. I’ve had enough of boxes and prisons, of chains and ropes. Never again will I put myself into the power of another.” He pulls the access key to the Choedan Kal. Nynaeve is dismayed when she sees the globe on the key begin to glow. He mutters about how they need to be taught to obey him, how they captured and beat him in Far Madding once already. Nynaeve reminds him that the city isn’t full of Graendal’s mind-controlled slaves, that they are innocent people. Rand responds that he isn’t going to hurt the city, but that the army deserves to experience fireballs, or perhaps lightning. She tells Rand that if he does this, there will be no turning back, but he counters that he was never able to turn back; his feet were set on this path the moment Tam found him as a baby. Still, Nynaeve persists, telling him that he doesn’t have to kill anyone today. Rand stops channeling, ordering Hurin to carry a message to the Borderlanders that the Dragon Reborn is riding to Shayol Ghul. If they wish to return to their posts and serve with honor, he will provide them with a gateway. If not, they can stay here, hiding, and they can explain to their children and their grandchildren why they were far away from their duty when the Dark One was slain and the prophecy fulfilled. They return to Tear. As Nynaeve is dismounting, Rand tells her that Perrin is camped in the shadow of an enormous statue that looks like a sword stabbed into the Earth. When she asks why he told her, he replies that he owes her a debt for continuing to care, even when he cannot. Nynaeve goes to Cadsuane, finding her with her usual group of Aes Sedai. Min is also there. Nynaeve approaches Cadsuane respectfully, but holds the information about Perrin hostage in an attempt to make Cadsuane tell her the plan. She does tell Cadsuane about the meeting with the Borderlanders, and how she only just stopped Rand from raining down fire on the army. She worries that it’s getting too late to do anything to change him. Cadsuane declares her determination to teach Rand to laugh again. Corele interrupts, pointing out that many of Min’s visions have to do with events that are clearly going to happen after the Last Battle, which proves that they are going to defeat the Dark One. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter whether they are able to intervene with Rand or not. The Pattern has already decided that he will be successful. Min counters that this is wrong, because if Rand loses, there will no longer be a Pattern. “The girl is correct.” Cadsuane sounded surprised. “What this child sees are weavings in the Pattern from a time still distant—but if the Dark One wins, he will destroy the Pattern entirely. This is the only way the visions could fail to occur. The same holds for other prophecies and Foretellings. Our victory is by no means sure.” Nynaeve, realizing she can’t hold back the information about Perrin if she wants a chance to help Rand, tells Cadsuane about the statue of a sword stabbed into the ground. Cadsuane, who recognizes the description at once, knows where Perrin is. She declares that they will leave at once, and admits to Nynaeve that it is not Perrin who is important to her plan, but rather one particular person who is with him. Trying to make sense of fate and predestination in this universe is enough to make anyone’s brain melt and pour out of their ears. I really love that Min has become a philosopher/scholar about these things, because it gives the narrative more chances to get into the themes of fate and prophecy, and also because Min’s power (and therefore Min as a character) becomes less passive as a result. Her viewings are an active ability she understands and can use, rather than only being able to offer them to others for them to understand and use. Her correction of Corele, for example, shows that in this she is an authority who can participate equally in a conversation between Aes Sedai. Cadsuane seems a little surprised at the insight, but she doesn’t stop or correct Min for joining in. Min has come a long way from playing Elmindreda the fool and spying for Siuan. I do think I understand Min’s point about her visions. If the Pattern were ever to come to an end, she wouldn’t be able to see it, because it wouldn’t be the end of a straight line, cause and effect leading to a single finality. Rather, the Dark One’s victory would result in the destruction of a never-ending circle. You couldn’t see it on the circle. The key here, I think, is how one thinks about time. In our own world, physicists know that time exists in relation to the three dimensions of space, which is why we have the term spacetime. I once watched a video in which an astrophysicist explained why it doesn’t make sense to ask the question of what existed before the Big Bang. Time, and therefore concepts like “before” “during” and “after,” only exists because the universe exists. There was no “before” the universe, because there is no time without it. That can be a mind-bending concept for beings who exist inside of time, but it does once again raise the question in my mind of how the Dark One himself relates to time. From everything we’ve seen, it appears that he is restrained by time, in some way, since he cannot access the souls of his followers who have been removed from the Pattern via balefire. However, he does not appear to be affected by linear time, as we saw that those Forsaken who were trapped inside the Bore with him did not age, though those closest to the “outside” or “surface” or whatever you want to call it were not fully protected from the ravages of time. (See: Balthamel and Aginor.) One might almost deduce that the Dark One exists outside time, but is somehow imprisoned by it. Perhaps by the Pattern itself. In any case, Min is great and I am proud of her, as well as worried about her relationship with Rand. The two of them need a serious long talk, maybe over wine, but I don’t think they’ll be able to get that while Rand is in his current condition. I am now confident in my prediction that Cadsuane’s plan is to bring Tam to Rand, since she told Nynaeve that there is one person in particular, who is with Perrin, who is vital to her plans. We know that Rand is still in there, under the paranoia and trauma and the hardness he has built around himself. In a way, he is imprisoned by these things just as the Dark One is imprisoned. The only difference is that Rand’s prison is one of his own making, while the Dark One was (presumably) imprisoned by the Creator. I suppose it’s rather fitting that Rand would end up in a metaphorical prison due to the corruption of the taint. As the soul designated to fight and repel the Dark One (I don’t think it’s possible for Rand to kill him, but more on that later), he acts basically as a parallel to the Dark One, perhaps even more so than the Creator might be said to be. The Dark One is a being outside of the Pattern, unconnected to the world and its consequences, with no aim other than to bring about nothingness. Rand, in contrast, is human, inside the Pattern, a part of the World. He brings about good and ill, change and evolution—all the consequences of time and existence. Perhaps most importantly, Rand is a being who has choice. He can bend the Pattern to his will, both intentionally and unintentionally; he can choose how he wants to live his life and fight his battles. Egwene also muses on this when she considers whether or not the Amyrlin is immune to the dictates and storms of the Pattern. Initially she thought someone so powerful would be, but now she understands that everyone must weather what the Pattern throws at them, and that no one can change or anticipate what the Wheel might weave. At the same time, she is also aware that the Amyrlin’s position of power gives her more ability than most to affect change in turn, and to direct the path the world takes. But Rand doesn’t see things this way. He sees himself as more trapped than the average person, and his fate as a never-ending cage of pain and being hated. We have seen this multiple times, most recently in his conversation with Lews Therin in chapter 44. What have we become? Lews Therin whispered. We’re going to do it again, aren’t we? Kill them all. Everyone we’ve loved. Again, again, again….“Again and again,” Rand whispered. “It doesn’t matter, as long as the world survives. They cursed me before, swore at Dragonmount and by my name, but they lived. We’re here, ready to fight. Again and again.” We also see him refer to Lan’s probable death as “finding peace,” showing just how little love Rand has for life. Of course he’s willing to kill anyone these days, if he sees death as bringing peace to a beleaguered and suffering humanity. We can’t know anything, really, about how the Dark One thinks or acts; this is all supposition and musing on my part. Still, if the Dark One exists outside of time, that suggests a lack of ability to change or make choices. He is what he is and that’s it. As a prisoner with a single-minded existence, it makes sense if he wanted to delude and trap the soul designated to fight against him, both to cripple and demoralize him, but also to inflict his own state upon his enemy. The tragedy of that is that Rand has decided he has no choice, no free will, not in this life or in any other. However, Rand exists inside time, even if it is cyclical rather than linear. He should have the ability to choose. He chose to listen to Nynaeve, after all, when he did not attack the Borderlander army. He is considering options about where he starts his assault during Tarmon Gai’don, implying choice there, as well. He also has the choice of whether or not to cut himself off from his emotions, whether or not becoming hard and unfeeling is really the direction he wants to take his life. He has the ability to choose to feel, to love, and to laugh. We know the old Rand is still in there somewhere. He was grateful to Nynaeve for caring about people’s lives when he felt he could not. He listened to her. If that meant nothing, he would not have stayed his hand or offered her information about Perrin to discharge a debt he felt he had incurred. He still feels pain and grief over what he has become, and he still attempts to control his anger and violence. Nynaeve worries that it may soon be too late to reach him, but it does not appear to be too late yet. I do think the Borderlanders are being rather silly. I can absolutely understand their concern that they have been left out of the dealings that the Dragon Reborn has had with the rest of the world, but just marching around with their full armies and all their rulers does seem really ridiculous. They could have sent envoys, or designated one ruler to negotiate for all of them, or any number of other plans. Heck, they’ve spent months (or more; I really don’t know how much time has passed in the series) wandering around, traveling in winter—a difficult and impractical thing to do, as Hurin pointed out—hoping they can find Rand and mostly failing. They’re only getting a meeting now—or would have, if they hadn’t gone to Far Madding—because Rand finally decided to seek them out. It kind of makes you wonder if there is something else going on, some pull on them by the Pattern or Rand’s ta’veren nature. Why that would be, or whether it will turn out for good or ill, remains to be seen, of course. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and it weaves in mysterious ways. Also, I love that Hurin has reentered the story! He’s a really fun character, and I’m very interested in his weird ability to smell violence. I assume what he smelled around Rand was the taint of the “True Power.” “The air… it smells like a lot of death, a lot of violence, only not. It’s darker. More terrible.” He shuddered visibly. Hurin’s ability to smell violence was one of those oddities that the Tower couldn’t explain. Not something related to the Power, yet obviously not quite natural either. He describes it as similar to violence and death, but darker and more terrible, which makes sense. Violence and death are bad, especially from a human standpoint, but they are still part of the world. The power of the Dark One is not actually death or violence but an absence of creation; death and violence are just the closest analogies for beings existing within creation. We see this same translation of the Dark One’s essence whenever he is connected with carrion eaters, insects, rodents, and decay. These things are not actually unnatural, but they represent the sorts of things humans associate with the Dark One.  As Nynaeve observes, it must have been quite a shock for Hurin to experience this version of Rand, which is so very different from the one he knew. I would love to hear his report to the Borderland rulers, and maybe learn what he thought and how he interpreted Rand’s actions. Meanwhile, Egwene is making some bold choices and actions of her own. The parallels between the two continue to the point where they are starting to get a bit obvious and tired, but it remains true that Egwene’s approach to making hard decisions is very different from Rand’s. In this chapter, she has to confront the members of the Black Ajah among her own followers, including women she respected and thought of as friends. Sheriam being one of these, one can appreciate how calm and even-tempered Egwene was during her conversation with her former Keeper, and when Moria tried to escape. I have no doubt she will be able to keep her composure when confronting the rest of the Black Sisters, both for her own sake and for the sake of her followers. A big part of Egwene’s journey as Amyrlin has been figuring out how to bring the rest of the Aes Sedai to trust and believe in her, both in the sense of trusting Egwene’s judgment and the path she has chosen for them, and in the sense of believing that Egwene has the strength and ability to execute her plans. She doesn’t know it yet, but she has succeeded on both counts with the Aes Sedai of the White Tower. Things might have gone differently if Elaida had not been captured, but with the space opened up, the confidence Egwene inspired in the Ajah Heads allowed them to see the other merits of installing her, especially the fact that it will allow them to reunite the White Tower. It’s actually startling to realize that the tragedy of the Seanchan raid is in some ways a good thing for the Aes Sedai. Not for those who were captured or killed, of course, but Elaida’s capture allows everyone to sidestep the messy business of trying to decide whether she should be deposed and then actually having to go through with it. Elaida being removed by a third party means that the Aes Sedai who stayed loyal to her can save face; they don’t have to denounce her or claim to have made a mistake. Both sides now can agree on how to move forward without having to litigate out whether anyone needs to be sanctioned or punished for what happened in the past. Adelorna asserts that Elaida deserved to be captured, since she ignored Egwene’s warnings and insisted that the Seanchan were not a threat. While I don’t believe anyone deserves the horrors of being a damane (and I think Egwene would agree with me) it does feel very symbolic that Elaida was captured. Not just because she was almost willfully ignorant about the Seanchan threat, but because she wanted to elevate herself to a position of importance even greater than your average Amyrlin. She moved herself to the highest part of the Tower, setting herself apart from the other Aes Sedai, which put her directly in the path of the Seanchan raid. Elaida’s fate is an interesting one. She isn’t just a bad person who came to a bad end. She is someone whose ambitions of greatness contributed directly to her own destruction. She’s a very Shakespearean character that way. I have to admit that I really enjoyed seeing her story play out, even though it’s awful that anyone at all was collared. We now also have an answer for why both the rebel Hall and the White Tower Hall have a contingent of Sitters who are too young to have been normally elected. I find it rather hilarious that the Tower Hall chose women who were too young for the job in a bid to control them, only to have it backfire spectacularly, just as the rebel Hall had the raising of Egwene to Amyrlin backfire on them. It also makes perfect sense to me that Beonin wasn’t the only spy among the rebels, and that the Ajah Heads would be much more involved in trying to fix the division than Elaida herself was. It will be interesting to see how Egwene and Gawyn navigate their relationship. I had a thought about Min’s visions concerning the two of them as well: Perhaps the vision that Min had of Gawyn either kneeling to Egwene or causing her death had something to do with his love for Egwene the woman vs. his inability to accept her as Amyrlin. I have no doubt that Egwene would never accept Gawyn as a lover, a Warder, or any kind of companion, unless he was willing to fully dedicate himself to her identity as Amyrlin. She will do whatever must be done, no matter how painful it is to herself; her personal life will never be even remotely as important to her as being Amyrlin and taking care of the Aes Sedai and the world. So I guess time will tell how that will work out. Siuan and Bryne are very cute here. I believe that last week I accidentally included this week’s exchange and talked about it; I had already read chapter 43 and forgot what happened when. I am quite confident that Lan isn’t going to die in a futile attempt to hold Tarwin’s Gap. I’m expecting it to be a sort of Helm’s Deep situation, and if Rand isn’t going to come riding (or Traveling) to his aid, someone else will. Maybe Egwene? It would be really thematically beautiful if the White Tower were to arrive just in time to prevent Lan and his Malkieri followers from being overrun by Shadowspawn; after all, they were unable to prevent the fall of Malkier because they could not travel fast enough to reach that land before it was too late. They have Traveling now, so that limitation no longer exists. Maybe Lan can get some kind of closure in more ways than one. Rand using Lan’s fight at the Gap as a distraction from his own strike at Shayol Ghul also reminded me of Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the King, Aragorn, Gandalf, et al. ride to the gates of Mordor to challenge Sauron to battle. They are hopelessly outnumbered, and know that they are all likely going to die, but they are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to draw Sauron’s gaze and hopefully give Frodo and Sam a chance to finish their mission while Sauron is distracted by the King of Gondor showing up with an army. Lan is an Aragorn parallel in many ways, but Frodo didn’t decide to sacrifice his friends without even letting them know about it, which is what Rand is doing. I really like the compare/contrast of these two moments, given how much the early books of The Wheel of Time were inspired by Lord of the Rings. We’ll be continuing on to more Egwene stuff next week, and I’m very excited to report that both chapter 45 and 46 are hers. The Wheel of Time has always moved from POV to POV, but I much prefer a few chapters in one head before moving on to someone else, and then to someone else, rather than the hopping back and forth that the narrative has been doing lately. And boy, are there some big things coming for Egwene and her Aes Sedai. I enjoyed the dramatic irony of Egwene being angry over losing her place in the White Tower right when she was about to win, and angsting about having to lead her army against Elaida’s after all, when I as the reader knew that she is going to be offered the Amyrlin Seat, and reunification, by the Tower Hall. We’ll see how that goes next week. In the meantime, all my best to you, dear readers. See you again soon![end-mark] The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Confronts Darkfriends and Rand Confronts Borderlanders in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 26) appeared first on Reactor.
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China-Linked Group’s Socialist ‘Liberation Centers’ Coming to a Town Near You
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China-Linked Group’s Socialist ‘Liberation Centers’ Coming to a Town Near You

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—A socialist group with ties to a China-based financier is setting up indoor hubs for radical activism in neighborhoods across the U.S. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) has at least 28 event spaces, often called “Liberation Centers,” open since 2021 or in preparation, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of online PSL posts and local news reports found. The organization uses the centers to cultivate “revolutionary” thought and attract new local followers while organizing protests against foreign policy decisions and law enforcement. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Columbus Liberation Center (@columbusliberationcenter) Former tech mogul Neville Singham, based in Shanghai, has donated tens of millions of dollars to a network of leftist groups that share several top officials with the PSL, the DCNF and The New York Times reported. Like Singham, the PSL aligns itself with pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) narratives. The group’s websites praise late Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong for how he “liberated” China with the CCP’s bloody revolution and deny the government’s infamous massacre of pro-democracy protesters in 1989. The PSL did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment. PSL activists frame their activity in the U.S. around building a “movement against racism, poverty and war,” according to the Atlanta Liberation Center’s website. They have gotten so adept that neighborhoods wary of socialist political agendas should take note, Manhattan Institute investigative analyst Stu Smith told the DCNF. “Their model is simple; find a local grievance, radicalize it, and turn it into movement infrastructure,” said Smith, who researches left-wing activist networks for the conservative think tank. “These centers are often staffed by semi-local organizers who cut their teeth elsewhere, then parachute into new communities.” “They reach out to teenagers, encourage school disruptions and walkouts, and help create mini-PSL pipelines disguised as harmless ‘student unions,’” Smith told the DCNF. A February Instagram post from the PSL’s Columbus, Ohio, chapter offers an example, calling on students and parents to help arrange “walk outs” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Join the PSL at the Columbus Liberation Center this Sunday for a student & parent organizing meeting to build connection between highschool organizers, discuss strategies for building the movement, and plan together on our next steps!” the post reads. Other PSL social media posts invite supporters into rooms with literature on “Trans Liberation,” signs honoring late Cuban revolutionary and mass murderer Che Guevara or a “Prison Abolition — Marxist Perspective” workshop. View this post on Instagram A post shared by PSL – Central PA (@psl.centralpa) “If you want a foreign-maligned influence operation in your backyard, targeting your community and your children, then ignore the Liberation Centers,” Smith said. ‘We Must Be Organized!’ In addition to Liberation Centers already open, the PSL scheduled grand openings in June for locations in Houston, Texas, and Washington, D.C., the group’s online posts show. The group has also fundraised for a Louisville, Kentucky, Liberation Center since at least 2024. The PSL chapter in the nation’s capital demands a 90% budget cut for the Metropolitan Police Department, cashless bail, “access to gender affirming care” for “trans youth,” “Guaranteed Income” and other far-left agenda items, according to the upcoming D.C. Liberation Center’s website. Two of the 28 spaces the DCNF identified are a PSL-affiliated cafe in Durham, North Carolina, and the group’s “Lancaster People’s Center” in Pennsylvania, which serve the same event-hosting function as the so-called Liberation Centers, according to PSL posts. PSL centers have popped up in conservative and liberal areas alike, from Portland, Oregon, to the West Virginia panhandle. Pennsylvania appears to have the most of any state with seven in Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Reading, Phoenixville, Philadelphia, York and the West Chester borough of Chester County. The PSL is not required to publicly disclose its funding, and several of its Liberation Centers claim to rely on PSL volunteer staff and crowdfunding. The PSL’s Albuquerque Liberation Center, in turn, calls itself “the fiscal sponsor of activists building working-class power in” the area. “It is not just one group or one campaign,” Smith said of the PSL and other Singham-backed groups. “It is an ecosystem of overlapping organizations, causes, and front-facing projects that all reinforce each other locally.” Singham led an Illinois-based tech firm that he sold for $785 million in 2017 and poured money into a web of advocacy groups, The New York Times reported. The paper and The Daily Beast documented several examples of Singham or the activists he supports attending CCP propaganda events alongside Chinese officials. Singham also previously advised the China-funded tech firm Huawei, The Daily Beast reported. Smith told the DCNF his own town has a nearby PSL center, declining to reveal his location. “I don’t live in some massive activist hub, either,” Smith said. “My guess is we ended up with one because the local radicals got especially rowdy during the [2020 Black Lives Matter] ‘Summer of Love,’ and PSL saw an opportunity to plant a flag.” In a Wednesday Instagram post, the PSL invited potential allies to channel their rage against “capitalism, racism, war” into sophisticated politics by joining the organization. “It’s not enough to be angry – we must be organized!” the group’s national chapter declared. Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Hundreds of Pregnancy Center Leaders Urge Trump, Congress to Defund Planned Parenthood Before Time Runs Out
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Hundreds of Pregnancy Center Leaders Urge Trump, Congress to Defund Planned Parenthood Before Time Runs Out

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A coalition of more than 300 directors of pro-life pregnancy centers, led by Americans United for Life and a pro-life company, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump and congressional leadership asking them to extend the defund of Planned Parenthood. Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” defunded Planned Parenthood for one year, but that expires July 4. John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, Anton Krecic, CEO of Seven Weeks Coffee, and hundreds of pregnancy center directors penned a letter to Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Leader John Thune asking them to extend the policy.  “With the moratorium on funding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood set to expire on our great nation’s 250th anniversary,” the letter says, “we call for the defunding of abortion providers by July 4 and look forward to walking and working alongside you as you create policies that strengthen families and protect the pre-born.” The letter promotes pregnancy centers as an alternative to Planned Parenthood, due to the range of services they provide includingpregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing, material resource assistance, medical referrals, education classes, pregnancy counseling, after-abortion recovery and care, and fatherhood programs. “Pregnancy centers not only provide important services, but they promote the flourishing of families,” the letter says. “Their goal is to come alongside mothers and fathers with physical and emotional support so that they don’t feel like abortion is their only option. Our communities are far richer for the work done by pregnancy centers.” Unlike abortion facilities, pregnancy centers provide real woman’s health care, said Krecic, who founded Seven Weeks Coffee, a pro-life coffee bean company that donates a portion of its profits to pregnancy centers. “Supporting women with practical resources, baby essentials, parenting support, and medical guidance that support moms during pregnancy and far after birth,” he said. “It’s our privilege to support over 1,200 centers nationwide and have a coalition of pregnancy centers that are standing together asking Washington to end federal abortion funding.” “Unlike abortion businesses, pregnancy centers provide real woman’s health care. Supporting women with practical resources, baby essentials, parenting support, and medical guidance that support moms during pregnancy and far after birth. It’s our privilege to support over 1,200 centers nationwide and have a coalition of pregnancy centers that are standing together asking Washington to end federal abortion funding.” Krecic said. The pregnancy centers also urge action on the chemical abortion pill following a report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center showing about 11% of women experience adverse effects after taking mifepristone. The Biden-era Food and Drug Administration removed the in-person dispensing requirements for the abortion pill. “We cannot in good conscience celebrate 250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by simultaneously federally funding the largest abortion provider in the country,” the pregnancy center directors wrote. “Nor can we ignore the devastation caused by the abortion pill.” John Mize said pregnancy centers are uniquely situated to understand the harms inflicted on women by Planned Parenthood. “Federal dollars must never be used against the taxpayer’s conscience to prop up dangerous abortion providers,” Mize told The Daily Signal. “Congress must extend the One Big Beautiful Bill’s defunding provision and rededicate the nation to a culture of life, rather than let America’s 250th birthday be a celebration for abortion providers.”
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