It's incredible to realize that stuff we use every day could've been invented completely by accident. I mean, in some cases it kind of makes sense. But other times, an item like plastic is just a lab experiment gone wrong. I guess it's safe to say that we put too much negative energy into our accidents. We should do what all of the inventors in this article did, and turn something negative into a... Source

The Donald Trump-backed candidate for state attorney general says he supports the move by his former opponent—Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat—to threaten to prosecute a GOP township candidate over her Facebook posts.  Matthew Deperno, Nessel’s former opponent and the lawyer for Michigan’s Kalamazoo County Republican Party, said Kerry Lynn Elieff likely broke a law against election interference when her campaign’s Facebook account posted a video on polling locations in Ross Township.  Elieff was a candidate for township supervisor. She lost an Aug. 6 GOP primary to incumbent Supervisor Christina Hutchings.  Days before the primary, Elieff told The Daily Signal, she received a cease-and-desist letter from Nessel’s office warning that she could be prosecuted if she didn’t remove the Facebook post.  But Deperno, a fellow Republican who lost to Nessel in 2022, said he supports what her office did in this case. “The attorney general’s office was correct in this instance,” Deperno told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Wednesday. “The law is about trying to improperly influence an election. Instructing people on the wrong polling location could interrupt someone’s ability to vote.” Deperno referred to the statute cited in the cease-and-desist letter to Elieff, which prohibits any action that could “influence,” “deter,” or “interrupt” a voter in casting a ballot.  Deperno added that he doesn’t anticipate Elieff will be charged.  “The attorney general’s office told her to remove the post. She removed it,” Deperno said. “I don’t see this going any further with charges.” Deperno himself faces felony charges in Michigan—along with several other Trump supporters—for challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the state during the 2020 presidential election.  For her part, Elieff told The Daily Signal earlier this month that she didn’t believe she broke any laws—and said she only wanted to warn voters of a change in polling locations.  The local Republican candidate also said she didn’t discourage anyone from voting, and had suggested that voters get an absentee ballot if uncertain where their polling place was.  “They sent the letter without reaching out, or even saying if you feel there is an error contact us,” Elieff told The Daily Signal last week, referring to the attorney general’s office. “There was no investigation. It was a beatdown. It was a ‘Shut up, lady’ message.”  Eileff did not immediately respond this week to inquiries from The Daily Signal.  In the previous interview, she said the Facebook posts at issue  were honest.  “I know everything I posted is true. But I thought this isn’t worth going to jail for, so I modified or deleted some posts,” Elieff said.  The candidate said she never discouraged voting, adding: “I even said in one of the videos, ‘Don’t let this keep you from voting, vote absentee.”  The letter, dated July 24, was signed by Robbin N. Liddell, chief of the Criminal Trials Division of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. Liddell’s letter to Elieff read, in part: “It has come to the attention of our office that you have spread misleading or false election information regarding polling locations in Ross Township through on-line sites. Specifically, MCL 168.932(a) prohibits and criminalizes this conduct.” The letter says Elieff must “CEASE AND DESIST the use of online platforms to continue spreading false or misleading information regarding the Ross Township polling locations.” Elieff maintained that she doesn’t know what was “misleading” about what she posted and isn’t aware of anyone else challenging the accuracy of her posts.  The Michigan statute specified by Liddell reads: “A person shall not attempt, by means of bribery, menace, or other corrupt means or device, either directly or indirectly, to influence an elector in giving his or her vote, or to deter the elector from, or interrupt the elector in giving his or her vote at any election held in this state.” In this case, “elector” means voter. Patrice Johnson, chairwoman of Michigan Fair Elections, said her organization’s lawyer reviewed the situation and determined that the election statute shouldn’t have applied to Elieff’s social media posts. The organization previously worked with Elieff.  The Daily Signal and several other national news outlets reported on the cease-and-desist letter to Elieff. Most did not report that her primary challenge to the incumbent in Ross Township was part of larger inner squabbling in the Republican Party of Kalamazoo County, Michigan.  “She has lied and slandered myself and the party for a year and a half. Now the media is turning her into a hero. That is not OK,” Kelly Sackett, chair of the Kalamazoo County Republican Party, told The Daily Signal.  Elieff described new polling locations in her June 12 post on her campaign’s Facebook page as well as on other social media accounts. She accused the government of Ross Township of not following the law in notifying the public of changes in polling places.  Ross Township Clerk Mary Stage issued a response, asserting that the township followed the law properly.  “In January 2024 a motion was proposed to the Ross Township Board to move precinct 2 to a new location for the August 2024 election,” Stage said in a public statement. “This motion was unanimously approved.” “In April 2024 a motion was proposed to the Ross Township Board to move precinct 1 for the August 2024 election,” Stage added. “This, also, was unanimously approved. These approvals meet the 60-day requirement for approving new polling locations required by the state of Michigan.”  Sackett said simply of Stage: “The clerk has done everything right.” The case captured the interest of Michigan media as well as national outlets since the attorney general’s letter came just weeks after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, announced an effort to “combat any election-related misinformation targeting Michigan voters.”  “I don’t approve of the tactics the attorney general and the secretary of state are doing, trying to get neighbors to report each other,” Sackett said. “But that’s not the case here. The bottom line is she [Elieff] misinformed people about the voting location, and some people didn’t get a chance to vote because they didn’t know where to vote.” The post Trump Republican in Michigan Sides With Democrat AG Who Threatened to Prosecute Over Facebook Posts. Here’s Why. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Walking past Union Station in the nation’s capital, I recently was met with a heartbreaking sight. Vandals had defaced the Columbus Memorial Fountain with spray paint, writing the words “Hamas is coming” in big red letters.  Trash and signs discarded by anti-Israel protesters littered the ground. A burnt shopping cart stood off to one side with piles of ash beneath it.    Most depressing, however, were the three bare flag poles that had been robbed of their American flags. Protesters had burned the flags, the only remnant a charred piece of fabric atop another pile of ash.  This was the aftermath of the July 24 “pro-Palestinian” protests in Washington, D.C., organized in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address that day to a joint meeting of Congress.  As an American of Palestinian heritage, some expect me to cheer on these people. They expect me to condemn the U.S., hate Israel, and support Hamas, a terrorist organization dedicated to wiping out the Jewish state.   But these expectations don’t represent me, nor my family.  I inherit my Palestinian background from my mother’s side of the family; her parents emigrated to America from the Middle East. My grandma was born in Israel and later moved to Ramallah in the West Bank and eventually to Jordan.  After arriving in America in her 20s, my grandma worked hard to become a U.S. citizen.  She learned the English language while raising my mother and uncle.  She opened a restaurant with my grandpa, lovingly named the Chicken Pantry, in Hamtramck, Michigan.  When that business closed, my grandma worked as a real estate agent before eventually retiring in the land of prosperity.  America brought my family prosperity. My grandparents taught my mother to “kiss the ground you walk on” because they knew what a blessing America is.   They passed this lesson on to me.  Although many seem to think that my Palestinian heritage should cause me to align with protests that supposedly are “pro-Palestinian,” it’s precisely because of my heritage that I cannot do that.   Israel went to war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip only after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 and kidnapped about 250 in a rampage of rape, torture, and murder Oct. 7 in southern Israel.  About 10 months later, as pro-Hamas protesters march in this country to “free Palestine,” they call for the death of America. As they burn the American flag, they burn all that my family has worked to achieve.   As the protesters pledge their allegiance to Hamas, they encourage a group that my grandmother wouldn’t hesitate to call a terrorist organization that operates with a strategy of human sacrifice.  Think about it. Why are there no Hamas military bases in the Gaza Strip adjoining Israel? Because the terrorists hide behind their own people.   They dress like noncombatants in Gaza. They establish bunkers in hospitals. They commandeer ambulances for transportation.   These actions are all in direct violation of Article 18 of the Geneva Conventions, the international pacts that set minimum standards during armed conflict for the treatment of civilians, soldiers, and prisoners of war.  One example is Hamas’ use of Gaza’s most important hospital, Al-Shifa. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hamas uses a bunker under the hospital as a base for military operations. This not only makes the hospital a target, but takes medical resources needed for the sick.    In contrast, the Israel Defense Forces have given civilians in Gaza opportunities to evacuate and warned of impending attacks.  No other nation goes this far to protect enemy civilians.  How can I support pro-Hamas demonstrators who wish to end the nation that brought my family so much? How can I back a terrorist group that uses its own people as human shields? How can I hate Israel, when the IDF has worked to keep Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way?  I believe it’s important to point out that, contrary to popular belief, not all Arabs think the same. Some of us do see this conflict differently. And our thoughts and beliefs should not be snuffed out because they go against the “narrative.”    To some, perhaps our stance makes us walking oxymorons. But we are proud ones, nonetheless.  The post I’m a Palestinian American. Here’s Why I Can’t Support the Anti-Israel Protesters.  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Victim in One of SF's Dismissed Criminal Cases: 'I Have Been Failed'

Washington state prosecutors said that two suspects arrested for the shooting death of a mother are a part of a greater organization targeting Asian victims. Snohomish County Major Crimes detectives said in a media briefing Thursday that 28-year-old Kevin Thissel and 23-year-old Chris Johnson were arrested for the shooting death of Irah Sok during a robbery in South Everett in 2022. 'They shot and killed one young mother as her 7-year-old child lay next to her in bed.' Both are facing a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree kidnapping"To create a climate of fear, these men burst into their homes in the middle of the night, dressed in black, claiming to be police, and with guns drawn," said U.S. attorney Tessa Gorman. "Tragically, they shot and killed one young mother as her 7-year-old child lay next to her in bed. This indictment seeks to hold them accountable for the terror they visited on our community." The ongoing investigation is looking for other suspects in the home invasion ring. "This senseless act of violence deeply impacted our community, leaving a young child without his mother," said Sheriff Susanna Johnson. Lynwood Police communications manager Maren McKay previously described the international home invasion ring after two other suspects were arrested in May. Detectives said members of the crime ring would put trackers on cars they found in parking lots of Asian grocery stores and then follow them home in order to rob their homes. Police said they targeted Asians because they perceived them to be "weaker." "We do suspect that we’ll have some arrests in the future. Unfortunately, detectives do believe that this might be an ongoing problem for the foreseeable future," said McKay. Detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Lynnwood Police Department say that the group is responsible for at least 300 burglaries in King County and Snohomish County since 2021. The stolen goods added up to $5 million in cash and jewelry. A news video report from KCPQ-TV showed booking photos of the suspects. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, slammed the European Union's efforts to "silence great Americans like Elon Musk" in a missive launched at EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, reported the New York Post.