Ignoring victims of terrorist mass murder, legalizing crime . . . and voter fraud. The post Kamala’s Legacies appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

President Joe Biden’s campaign shot down former President Donald Trump’s offer this week to play a round of golf with a $1 million donation to a charity of his choice on the line after Biden initially accepted the offer during his disastrous debate performance two weeks ago. During a rally on Tuesday in Florida, Trump challenged Biden to debate him again this week. He also challenged him to an 18-hole golf match on Doral’s Blue Monster in which Trump would give him a 20-stroke advantage and promised to donate $1 million to a charity of Biden’s choice if Biden won. The Biden Campaign responded to the challenges by completely ignoring Trump’s offer for a second debate this week after polling showed after the first debate that the overwhelming majority of the country said that Trump won the debate and up to 80% of voters said Biden was “too old” to run again. The campaign then refused Trump’s proposed golf match, even though Biden was the one who initially made the offer at the debate. “Look, I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him. I got my handicap, which, when I was vice president, down to a 6,” Biden claimed. “And by the way, I told you before I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?” Biden also made the offer in late March during an event with comedian Stephen Colbert where he revealed that he first made the offer to Trump back in 2021. Donald, my offer to play golf still stands. I’ll let you take three strokes off your game if you carry your own bag. pic.twitter.com/UAzOhwasFw — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 30, 2024 Biden’s campaign lashed out at Trump, falsely suggesting that Trump has been in hiding for 12 days when, in reality, Trump’s campaign noted that Trump has simply removed himself from the spotlight so that the world can see that “Democrats are in disarray.” “Why get in the way of them shooting at each other?” the Trump campaign said. The statement from the Biden campaign made numerous false claims, including suggesting that Trump supported Project 2025, which he has spoken out against; making highly misleading claims about job creation and losses under both administrations that do not take into consideration the pandemic; and making false claims about Trump not standing up to Russia. “Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics – he’s busy leading America and defending the free world,” the statement claimed, even after Biden told Democrats this week that he needs to cut off events at night so he can sleep more and work less. Biden already maintains a light schedule that mostly consists of events between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and a daily nap. “Does he (Joe Biden) have an afternoon nap everyday?” She never answers the question. pic.twitter.com/5OI0IYHBX8 — Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) July 3, 2024

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos said this week that he does not believe that President Joe Biden is physically and mentally capable of serving another term in office — a brutal assessment following his recent interview with the 81-year-old president. Stephanopoulos made the remarks in a video that was obtained by TMZ on Tuesday, just a few days after his Friday interview with the president in which Biden tried and failed to stop talks by members of his party about getting him to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump late last month. “Do you think Biden should step down?” the person recording the video asked Stephanopoulos. “You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.” “I don’t think he can serve four more years,” Stephanopoulos responded. “You don’t think he can serve four more years?” the questioner repeated before adding: “All right, that’s an answer.” WATCH: #GeorgeStephanopoulos just made a STUNNING comment: he told someone on the streets of #NewYork that he doesn't think President #JoeBiden can serve another term! https://t.co/cFMK2Uxx4z pic.twitter.com/pxKkolFcGt — TMZ (@TMZ) July 9, 2024 Biden’s interview with Stephanopoulos was widely considered to be a disaster by many political pundits after he made numerous mistakes in the interview ranging from falsely claiming that Trump repeatedly interrupted him during the debate to claiming that all the polls that show him down in the race — which is nearly every poll in existence — are “wrong.” Related: Biden Claims Only Way He’ll Drop Out Is ‘If The Lord Almighty Comes Down And Tells Me That’

A 14-year-old AGT singer’s emotional cover of You Don’t Own Me was so stunning that it earned a rare Golden Buzzer from Howie Mandel. Reid Wilson appeared on America’s Got Talent’s July 9th installment and shared a brief backstory before taking the stage. As the teen explained in an interview, he has always loved singing. When he was little, he’d “run around the house screaming at the top of [his] lungs.” As Reid got older, he honed his talents. Being the middle child with four siblings, he didn’t want to “be forgotten.” So, he kept the attention on him by singing for his parents and siblings.  Until stepping in front of the AGT judges, he’d never performed for anything aside from some family gatherings. “I would love to be, like, the next superstar,” he said with a dreamy smile. “… I’m definitely nervous. But I’m going to put my all into those two minutes, just sing my heart out, and just try not to miss a note.” That’s just what Reid Wilson did. He sang his heart out and nailed every note of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit. His unique and strong voice captivated Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara—And especially Howie Mandel. As Reid belted his audition, Howie sat back and folded his hands over his chest, taking every lyric in with a smile. Simon was so moved that he closed his eyes to get the best experience. “You know, I shut my eyes for a moment when you were singing just to listen to your voice, and then I opened them again, and there’s this sweet, young kid,” Simon shared.   “Do You Believe In Dreams?” Howie let the other judges give their praise before he spoke and eventually gave Reid the Golden Buzzer. “I was bulled over because I was surprised…First of all, you’re just a 14-year-old kid from Alabama. So I would imagine, I put myself in your position, you were very nervous, and you did come off incredibly nervous. That was a surprise,” he said. “And you know what? That stage is where dreams come true.” “Do you believe in dreams?” Howie asked before Reid answered, “Yes.” “Well, one of them is about to come true,” Howie shouted before slamming the Golden Buzzer. You can watch Reid battle for the Season 19 crown when AGT airs on NBC on Tuesday nights at 8/7 C. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post “AGT”: 14-Year-Old Gets Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer After Singing Jaw-Dropping Cover Of “You Don’t Own Me” appeared first on InspireMore.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A deceptively simple yet revolutionary mental health therapy based on grandmothers’ wisdom and sensitivity took root in Zimbabwe. Now, it is being embraced around the world, including in the United States.  A lifeline for despair Tambudzai Tembo, 57, was devastated when her son, the family’s main breadwinner, was imprisoned. With limited mental health facilities in Zimbabwe, she saw no way out and even considered suicide. “I didn’t want to live anymore. People who saw me would think everything was okay. But inside, my head was spinning,” she recalls. But a simple wooden bench and a caring grandmother changed her life. Older women, equipped with basic training in problem-solving therapy, sit on benches in quiet corners of community clinics, churches, poor neighborhoods, and universities, ready to listen and engage in one-on-one conversations. This technique revives an ancient Zimbabwean practice in which grandmothers served as pillars of knowledge during difficult times. Dixon Chibanda, a psychiatry professor and founder of this initiative, notes, “Grandmothers are the custodians of local culture and wisdom. They are rooted in their communities.” Global recognition and adoption Chibanda’s revolutionary mental health solution has received international praise. In 2022, the McNulty Foundation in the United States awarded him a $150,000 prize for transforming mental healthcare. The Friendship Bench concept has spread across Vietnam, Botswana, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania. It is also in its early stages in London. In New York City, the Friendship Bench has sparked new mental health programs. The city’s mental health plan, which was introduced last year, is “drawing inspiration” from the Friendship Bench to combat social isolation by installing orange benches throughout Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. HelpAge USA in Washington, D.C., is exploring the concept as part of the DC Grandparents for Mental Health campaign. Cindy Cox-Roman, president and CEO of HelpAge USA, reports that 20 grandmothers have received training in listening, empathizing, and empowering others. “Benches will be set up at places of worship, schools, and wellness centers in Washington’s low-income communities,” she says. Overcoming barriers to mental health care Mental health stigma and a lack of faith in medical systems frequently limit access to care. “People are hurting, and a grandmother can always make you feel better,” Cox-Roman emphasizes. The grandmothers, including 81-year-old Barbara Allen, aim to reduce stigma and promote open discussions about feelings. “We have so much wisdom in our older population and arms that can open. I reject ageism,” Allen says emphatically. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one-fifth of all adults in the United States suffer from a mental illness. “The mental health crisis is real. Many clinicians have dropped out of the workforce,” notes Dr. Jehan El-Mayoumi of Georgetown University’s Rodham Institute. The Friendship Bench provides “someone you can trust, open up your heart to, that you can tell your deepest secrets,” El-Mayoumi adds. A vision born out of tragedy Chibanda’s inspiration for the Friendship Bench stemmed from personal sorrow. In 2005, a patient who couldn’t afford the $15 bus fare to see him decided to take her own life. “I realized that I needed to have a stronger presence in the community,” Chibanda says. He recruited 14 grandmothers near his Harare hospital and trained them in basic mental health support. Today, this network of over 2,000 grandmothers, funded by Zimbabwe’s health ministry and the World Health Organization, has grown. These grandmothers provided therapy to almost 200,000 Zimbabweans by 2023. Siridzayi Dzukwa, one of these grandmothers, paid Tembo a follow-up visit at her house recently. Dzukwa, who helped Tembo avoid suicide, used a questionnaire to track her development. Tembo now sells vegetables to support herself and thanks Dzukwa for helping her find a new lease on life. Changing attitudes about mental health Dzukwa has become a well-known personality in her town, with many people coming to thank her or seek her assistance. “People are no longer ashamed or afraid of openly stopping us on the streets and ask us to talk,” according to her. “Mental health is no longer something to be ashamed of.”The post Zimbabwean grandmothers transform mental health care globally first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Biologists devised a novel approach to tackle a fatal fungal illness that threatens amphibians worldwide. These specially designed shelters, functioning like miniature saunas, help vulnerable and endangered amphibians fend off chytridiomycosis, a deadly skin disease. Fighting a deadly fungus Chytridiomycosis, a pathogenic fungus-caused skin disease, has decimated frog populations around the world. The fungi develop on the skin of affected amphibians, interfering with water absorption and causing heart failure. Amphibian Ark, a conservation organization, notes that the disease has resulted in substantial losses in amphibian populations, particularly in Australia, Mexico, Central America, the Andes, and the western United States. According to Macquarie University, 90 percent of amphibians affected by this illness have gone extinct, with 124 species seeing 90 percent or greater population declines. An ingenious sauna solution Researchers from Macquarie University and the University of Melbourne have developed a low-cost, effective strategy for increasing frog resistance to the disease. Using easily accessible materials such as bricks and PVC, they built little shelters to keep warm and prevent the fungal disease from spreading.  “The whole thing is like a mini med spa for frogs,” explains Anthony Waddle, lead author of the study and a Schmidt Science Fellow at Macquarie University’s Applied BioSciences. “In these simple little hotspots, frogs can go and heat up their bodies to a temperature that destroys the infections.” Success in the field In a 15-week trial with the green and gold bell frog (Litoria aurea), a species that has lost more than 90 percent of its original habitat in Australia, researchers discovered that unshaded shelters were roughly 4.5 degrees Celsius warmer than shaded shelters. Frogs in unshaded shelters demonstrated much higher disease resistance. Furthermore, frogs that healed in these shelters showed increased immunity, with an 86 percent survival rate when re-exposed to the fungus, compared to just 22 percent for those that had not previously been infected. The scientific journal Nature published these promising findings. “Lowering mortality rates and boosting their immunity to chytridiomycosis is the key to protecting amphibians from this disease, which is now endemic around the world,” Waddle said. A scalable and accessible solution The materials used to build these shelters are simple and inexpensive, making them scalable. Wildlife specialists and concerned citizens can simply use this method to help local amphibian populations.  However, researchers emphasize that habitat intervention is not a complete solution. “Habitat protection alone cannot protect species that are affected by invasive diseases, but simple manipulations to microhabitat structure could spell the difference between the extinction and the persistence of endangered amphibians,” the study’s authors wrote. A multifaceted approach to conservation These unique shelters are an important weapon in the fight against chytridiomycosis, but they are only one piece of the conservation puzzle. To secure the survival of endangered amphibian species, comprehensive solutions such as habitat preservation, disease management, and broader ecological interventions are needed, and there is much more work to be done. Source study: Nature—Hotspot shelters stimulate frog resistance to chytridiomycosisThe post Tiny spas for endangered frogs battling fatal fungi first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

A little cringe, sure, but I couldn't help but to giggle (LMAO)

Go Woke, Go Broke? Just Do It!

On Tuesday, ABC Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos interviewed Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer about her recently released book, True Gretch. Unsurprisingly, Stephanopoulos focused more on politics and her personal life rather than the book itself. Stephanopoulos mentioned that Whitmer’s new book calls for people to “look for the good in any person or situation.” He then asked her, “Where is the good?” since Democrats have been “feeling pretty stressed the last several days.”     Whitmer’s answer was the following: I wanted to make sure people see some of the lessons that I've used it to get through these last six years and so I do think that in times of stress it is more important than ever to listen and to ask people what's going on in their lives, try to see the humanity in one another, and try to find some good out of any situation and I think that’s a key to getting through hard times. Stephanopoulos wondered, “Have you found any now?” She replied, “I think there are conversations that are happening that maybe weren’t before.” She then relayed a story of how she had sat down with farmers from a conservative area in Michigan just to “check in,” adding that “the power of listening is important.” Wanting to lob even more softballs, Stephanopoulos questioned Whitmer on how she has been “dealing with bullies.” She responded that she has received many “schoolyard insults” and people commenting on the dress she wore to her State of the State address. Following the remarks made about the dress, Whitmer took to social media seeking empathy and compassion. Whitmer also stated that a “former president” singled her out and “encouraged people to hurt me and my family.” Previously, Whitmer had attempted to connect Donald Trump with a Michigan militia group in 2020. Stephanopoulos had actually encouraged Whitmer to keep blaming Trump despite never acknowledging that one of the main suspects in the militia group was a “Trump hating anarchist.” The leader was sentenced to 16 years in prison while three others were acquitted because defense attorneys successfully argued that FBI informants drove the plot forward. Falsely tying Trump to the militia doesn’t sound like looking “for the good in any person.” Nevertheless, Stephanopoulos quickly jumped at the chance to bash Trump as he asked, “What did you learn about dealing with Donald Trump and what lessons can Democrats take in the next several months from that?” Whitmer’s response was that to “deal with the bully you take their weapon and make it your shield.” After finally being asked to hear more about her book, Whitmer called it a book where “you don't have to read every chapter in succession and it really is something that happened in my life, or a lesson that I learned, and how I used it over some of the challenges of these last six years.” Stephanopoulos finished by describing Michigan as a “must-win for Democrats” and asked Whitmer where the state stood now. She explained that Michigan people are “hardworking” and expect their leaders to “work hard if not harder.” Whitmer concluded that the reason Michigan has been such a “successful” Democratic state is because they roll up their sleeves and “do the work.” Click "Expand" to view the transcript:   ABC Good Morning America 7/9/2024 7:41:45 – 7:45:06 STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about the book. You say -- one of the things you write about in the book is that your grandmother taught you to look for the good in any person or situation. For Democrats right now, a lot of them are feeling pretty stressed the last several days. Where is the good? WHITMER: I think that's why I wrote this book. You know George, the question I get predominantly is, how do I stay optimistic with all this heavy stuff that we had to navigate? Knowing that this once again is gonna be another heavy political year, I wanted to make sure people see some of the lessons that I've used it to get through these last six years and so I do think that in times of stress it is more important than ever to listen and to ask people what's going on in their lives, try to see the humanity in one another, and try to find some good out of any situation and I think that’s a key to getting through hard times. STEPHANOPOULOS: Have you found any now? WHITMER: I think there are conversations that are happening that maybe weren’t before. I do always seek to sit down with folks, and in the book I talk a little bit about sitting down with farmers in Midland, Michigan, a pretty conservative part of my state, but just to check in and I found that we were experiencing a lot of the same things, and that I think is really powerful. The power of listening is important. STEPHANOPOULOS: You also talked about what you learned dealing with bullies. Talk about that. WHITMER: Well over the course of my life, like just about everyone I know, I've had to deal with some folks that have taken an aim at me, whether it is schoolyard insults, to people commenting on my dress during my first state of the state in Michigan, and to a former president who singled me out and encouraged people to hurt me and my family. At the end of the day, I am an ordinary person in an extraordinary role serving during an extraordinary time, and staying focused, finding the good in any situation, and running to the fire I think are some of the lessons that have sustained me. STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you learn about dealing with Donald Trump and what lessons can Democrats take in the next several months from that? WHITMER: Well to deal with the bully you take their weapon and make it your shield. You laugh at a joke or you own "That woman from Michigan," the moniker that the former president gave me. We saw an Etsy community grow and women showing up at my events saying “I stand with that woman from Michigan.” And so we took someone else’s weapon and made it our shield. A call to action, something that people can unify around and I think that maybe is the best hack for dealing with bullies. STEPHANOPOULOS: You say this book isn't really a memoir, more of a handbook. What do you mean by that? WHITMER: Well you know it's a short book, you can pick it up, you don't have to read every chapter in succession and it really is something that happened in my life, or a lesson that I learned, and how I used it over some of the challenges of these last six years. Whether it was the insane flooding that we had that wiped out bridges, and that we had to evacuate 10,000 people in the middle of the night, in the middle of the pandemic, to the pandemic itself, to the kidnapping and murder plot that the public became aware of a couple years ago. These are extraordinary circumstances, but certainly everyone has tough stuff they have to navigate, and that’s my hope, as you get a laugh or there’s a lesson or a little inspiration. STEPHANOPOULOS: Your state is a must-win for Democrats. Where do things stand right now? WHITMER: I think Michigan is always going to be, you know, a state that you can't take your eye off of. People in Michigan are good, hardworking people. We expect our leaders to be as good if not better and work just as hard if not harder and it's always going to be a close race. So, as I've told people, don't clutch your pearls when you see a poll where we’re down two points, don’t celebrate when we’re up two points. Roll up your sleeves and let’s do the work and I think that's why we've been so successful and that’ll continue to drive the work that we do going into November. STEPHANOPOULOS: And what’s the most important thing you want people to learn about you from this book? WHITMER: I'm a normal human being. I have shortcomings, I have had weird experiences, I have had some really wonderful victories, and if there is a lesson that someone can take from this to help them get through a hard time or a laugh to lighten the heaviness of this moment, that's what it’s all about. STEPHANOPOULOS: Thanks for coming in today. WHITMER: Thanks George. STEPHANOPOULOS: True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between is available right now.