Solving the Victorian Housing Crisis JamesHoare Thu, 10/03/2024 - 08:25

When people think about things that are smuggled, the first thing that comes to mind is usually drugs. Then, there are banned and controlled items, such as ivory and weapons. But the truth is that throughout history, all kinds of things have been smuggled. Basically, for as long as authorities have been taxing and controlling […] The post 10 Strange and Unexpected Things Smuggled into Strict Authoritarian Countries appeared first on Listverse.

Under the waterline lies a vast world of mystery and wonder, home to some of the most beguiling creatures on Earth. Marine life can be shocking, that’s for sure, and at times incredibly dangerous, but it never fails to be astounding. In this list, we will be delving into the underwater world, from the shallows […] The post Ten Astonishing Stories about Underwater Life appeared first on Listverse.

Open the Books was founded in 2011 on a simple principle: Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going and how it’s being spent.  Americans are paying “property taxes to fund local education, so wouldn’t you like to know where that money is going?” asks Matthew Tyrmand, deputy director at large of the Florida-based nonprofit Open the Books.  Working at the federal, state, and local level, Open the Books files thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests every year with the aim of obtaining and publishing government spending records.  For every state in the U.S., Open the Books publishes a “checkbook” detailing how much the state spends annually and on what.  Tyrmand joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” as part of this week’s money and transparency series. He share the history of Open the Books and takes time to honor the organization’s founder, Adam Andrzejewski, who passed away unexpectedly in August. Listen to the podcast below: The post Do You Know Where Your Tax Dollars Go? Now You Can appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Wearing high heels or flats to work is a small thing most women don’t give too much thought to, but when seconds matter while running to a bomb shelter, a simple decision over footwear becomes critical.  Most women in Israel don’t wear heels because, when the sirens sound, Israelis have only about 30 seconds to make it to a bomb shelter, Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, explains.  Yael Eckstein stands with Israel Defense Forces soldiers. (Arik Shraga/International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) “Just the other day, four days ago, we woke up at 5 a.m. to a siren sounding,” said Eckstein, who lives in Israel with her husband and four children. “We had 90 seconds to wake up our four kids and get them to our shelter in time. Thank God we have a shelter in our home, but even 90 seconds to wake up the kids, get them down to the shelter, we didn’t have time to bring our puppy, and so my kids were crying that the puppy was outside, and I had to make the decision of keeping my kids safe or going out and getting the puppy and risking our lives.”  For people living in Israel, these are “everyday situations,” she says.  When Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, Eckstein had just landed in the U.S. with three of her children for a trip working with American churches to mark the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. At home, her husband, son, and other family members were huddled in the bomb shelter, and it’s at moments like those, according to Eckstein, that “prayers are our strongest weapon.”  Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system was successful in intercepting most of Iran’s missiles on Tuesday, and no life was lost in Israel as a result of the strike, though a Palestinian was killed in the West Bank from shrapnel from Iran’s attack.  Through her work with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Eckstein has been a part of placing thousands of bomb shelters across Israel, and specifically around school bus stops. “We realize children are very, very vulnerable when they’re waiting for the bus stop or getting off at a bus stop,” said Eckstein, adding that the fellowship has “placed bomb shelters on every single school bus stop from 0 to 9 [kilometers] from the northern border that have saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives of children.”  Children run to a bomb shelter in Israel. (Israel Yosef/International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) Eckstein joins “Problematic Women” to discuss Iran’s recent attack on Israel and commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.  Also on today’s show, we discuss the biggest moments from the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night.  Listen to the podcast below: The post Running to Bomb Shelters and Other ‘Everyday Situations’ for Israelis appeared first on The Daily Signal.

For the premiere of The Daily Signal’s new show, “The Signal Sitdown,” I sat down with Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to discuss the state of the Nov. 5 presidential election, the race to replace Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and new revelations about both assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump. Following reports that elements of the Republican Party secretly hope that Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day, I asked Johnson why that is apparently the case.  “There are probably people who would voice that prior to Donald Trump being our nominee,” Johnson replied. “But I think once he’s our nominee,” Johnson added, “I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want him to win, regardless of their views. I mean, we want to be able to save this country.” Since national Democrat leaders substituted Harris for President Joe Biden atop the ticket, polls show the presidential race has tightened. Johnson said he believes the corporate media is to blame. “In a sane world with an unbiased media, this election wouldn’t even be close, but we have an insane world with a highly biased media,” Johnson told me. “It’s not a level playing field, it’s not a fair fight. Not even close.” The Nov. 5 election won’t be the end of crucial Senate-linked elections this fall. Shortly afterward, the Senate Republican Conference will choose a new slate of leaders—most importantly, a successor for McConnell at the top of what is expected to be the GOP’s new Senate majority. Johnson said he hopes this change in leadership can transform how the Senate operates. “Under Leader McConnell, his style of leadership is: We need operational security, so I can’t tell anybody what I’m going to do. And so he just springs his decision on us, last minute, and then expects people to line up behind it,” Johnson said. “We’ve gone from $8 trillion up to $35 trillion in debt under his leadership,” Johnson said. “He’s been the one person in every negotiation for every deal—debt ceiling, every budget, every appropriation package.” “That’s got to end,” the Wisconsin Republican said. As for the next GOP leader of the Senate, Johnson suggested he likes Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., for the job. “It’s so important to get a really good majority leader if we have the majority,” Johnson told me. “Somebody who has private sector experience, somebody who’s led large organizations, understands how a functioning organization works [and] how to get the most of the people that are within your organization.” With Johnson’s own seat not up for grabs in 2024, the Wisconsin senator has focused on getting to the bottom of the two assassination attempts on Trump. Johnson has been intimately involved in a Senate panel’s investigation, which recently released preliminary findings. Nevertheless, Johnson told me, “things have been withheld” from Senate investigators, including autopsy results for the 20-year-old shooter in Butler, Pennsylvania.  “We haven’t seen the autopsy. We just issued a subpoena, apparently, to get the autopsy,” Johnson said. “The House got it. They can’t share it, for whatever reason. We don’t see a toxicology report. The FBI goes, ‘Oh, well, it’s standard procedure. We release the body once we’re done with it.’ Well, we weren’t done with it.” “This isn’t a standard situation,” the Wisconsin Republican added. “This is an assassination attempt [on] a former president and a [current] presidential candidate. You got to make sure the public has confidence in your autopsy report and your toxicology report.” “You need experts looking at these things so we don’t have lingering questions like we had with the JFK assassination,” he said, referring to President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination in Dallas. Listen here: The post ‘Got to End’: Ron Johnson Says Senate Leadership Needs Dramatic Change in ‘The Signal Sitdown’ Premiere appeared first on The Daily Signal.

In Pennsylvania Tour, Trump Hits All the Right Places and Messages

Part of what makes the Regime Media the Regime Media is their propensity to hide stories that cast the Regime in an unfavorable light. One such story is the announcement, made by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that, with a month remaining, FEMA lacks the funds to make through hurricane season. Per the Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency can meet immediate needs but does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday. The agency is being stretched as it works with states to assess damage from Hurricane Helene and delivers meals, water, generators and other critical supplies. The storm struck Florida last week, then plowed through several states in the Southeast, flooding towns and killing more than 160 people. Mayorkas was not specific about how much additional money the agency may need, but his remarks on Air Force One underscored concerns voiced by President Joe Biden and some lawmakers earlier this week that Congress may need to pass a supplemental spending bill this fall to help states with recovery efforts. Portions of the Carolinas have been obliterated, many persons remain unaccounted for, and the agency in charge of backstopping state assistance is out of money? That’s terrible. And yet, despite having ample time to include this in their hurricane coverage, none of ABC, CBS, NBC did so during their evening network newscasts.  NewsMax did, though. Here’s that report: NEWSMAX NEWSLINE 10/2/24 1:31 PM BIANCA DE LA GARZA: Also, this just in, some breaking news we've just learned now: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says FEMA does not have the funds to make it through hurricane season. So this is a disaster. Hundreds of people are missing at this hour. More than 160 are confirmed dead. And now we're just learning from this administration that FEMA needs more money, something we hadn't heard from Administrator Deanne Criswell or Vice President Kamala Harris when she tweeted out a picture of herself at FEMA headquarters. She'll be speaking in Georgia today, two days after Donald Trump was already on the ground in Valdosta. So we'll see if Biden, who is also going to South Carolina, addresses this. But just right now, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary saying they do not, FEMA does not have the funds to make it through hurricane season.  Now why wouldn’t the Regime Media want to highlight the need for additional hurricane relief funding at such a critical juncture? Because that might expose the American public to the fact that FEMA has spent approximately $1 billion dollars in Shelter Services funding of illegal migrant housing over the last couple of years. Per The Federalist: The Biden-Harris administration took more than a billion tax dollars that had been allocated to the agency responsible for American disaster relief and used it to offer services for illegal immigrants. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocated nearly $364 million in the fiscal year 2023 and $650 million for the 2024 fiscal year to the “Shelter and Services Program” “to provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants following their release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” according to the government’s website. The program is run in cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “to support CBP in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities,” FEMA’s website reads. The article cites research done by Oilfield Rando, who works in the energy industry and researches government waste, such as…FEMA dropping $183K on a diversity, equity, and inclusion study.  It is unclear which is more infuriating: FEMA’s overall mismanagement or the Regime Media suppressing the story so as not to damage the Regime’s electoral prospects. In all likelihood, they are waiting for a Trump-negative angle with which to report the story- that is, to “Trumpwash” prior to publication. Imagine the outrage had a Trump FEMA announced it had run out of hurricane relief funds after diverting money to some other program. We’d never hear the end of it, and we’d never hear the end of the subsequent impeachment discourse. But there’s a (D)ifference, you see. It isn’t too much to ask for the so-called “mainstream media” to act as journalists and ask these questions, as opposed to acting like courtesans and sycophants. Especially when lives are literally at stake.  

Click to Skip Ahead Most Popular Cat Names Male Names Female Names Other Great Names There are many people who like to use naming conventions when naming their pets. Some people like to use a specific letter (like B names for Boston Terriers), and others like to stick to a certain theme, like sports stars. Naming conventions are a fun way to bond with your pets and can be a great conversation starter. If you are someone looking for a name that starts with the letter E, you are looking for an uncommon sort of name. Names that start with E are less common than people realize, and the names are more unique than other letters. That makes it a perfect letter to mine for ideas for the perfect name for your cat. Here are 80 of the most popular cat names that start with the letter E. Most Popular Cat Names That Start With the Letter E These are the most popular names for cats that start with the letter E. These names were derived from copious amounts of research and categorizing to identify trends in the pet naming world. Each one of these names has made the list of the most popular cat names in the past two years. Some of the most popular naming trends are based on television shows, music, and traditional names. Image Credit: Julija Sulkovska, Shutterstock Male Names Here are five of the most popular male cat names. Some were taken from rover.com’s Top Cat Names of 2023 based on names submitted by readers. Other names were taken from cats.com’s list of most popular cat names starting with E, in which the names are voted on by readers. So, keep in mind that for the cats.com names, the number of “loves” for any name may change, and the numbers given reflect the number of “loves” at the time of writing. You are welcome to go to cats.com and vote for your favorite, too! 1. Eric Names inspired by The Little Mermaid were popular in 2023, and the name Eric was up 47%, according to Rover. Eric (Erik) also proved to be popular on cats.com’s list, with 124 “loves” at the time of this writing. 2. Eddie According to Rover’s list, names inspired by 90s grunge were increasingly popular. The name Eddie increased by 6%, likely as a nod to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. But Eddie is also a character in the hit show Stranger Things, which is likely why it was popular on cats.com’s list of names as well. 3. Eamon Now going solely to cats.com’s list, the name Eamon was the most popular with readers by a landslide, with 304 “loves”. Eamon is an Irish name meaning “wealthy protector”, a perfect name for a kitty that always has your back. Image Credit: Elena Loginova, Shutterstock  4. Edvard The second most popular name on cats.com was Edvard with 192 “loves”. Edvard is a name of Scandinavian origin but has a similar meaning to Eamon. Edvard means “wealthy guardian”, and is the Scandinavian form of Edward, the third most popular name choice with 190 “loves”. 5. Earl Earl was actually the 4th most popular name on cats.com, but we’re mentioning it since Edvard and Edward are so close. The name Earl had 182 “loves”. It’s the perfect name for a grey kitty (like Earl Grey tea), but it can also be added in front of another name for your cat to give them a regal name (i.e., Earl Fuzzypaws). Other popular names for male cats include: El Fuego – New in 2023. Elden – From the popular video game Elden Ring. Espresso – One of the more popular names based on drinks. Elmo – A classic pet name derived from the classic character. Elvis – A classic pet name derived from Elvis Presley. Female Names Cat names inspired by popular culture have proven to be very popular in recent years, especially for female cats. Here are some of the most popular female cat names beginning with E. The top five were taken from rover.com’s Top Cat Names of 2023. 1. Earth Earth might seem like an unusual name for a cat, but this name was up 193% in 2023. There were a lot of space and alien-themed cat names that were popular, but Earth is the only one that starts with E. Image Credit: David Tadevosian, Shutterstock 2. Evermore Leave it to the queen herself and fellow cat lover, Taylor Swift, to give us one of the most popular female cat names. The use of the name Evermore increased by 193% in 2023, inspired by Swift’s 9th studio album of the same name. 3. Este Speaking of Taylor Swift-inspired names, another popular name for female cats was Este. The name Este is inspired by her song no body, no crime and was up 110% in 2023. 4. Enid Another pop culture inspired name, Enid was also up 110%. The name is inspired by Enid Sinclair, the werewolf student and Wednesday Addams’ roommate and best friend in the hit Netflix series Wednesday. 5. Eevee This name, inspired by the cute fox-like Pokemon, was up 24% in 2023 compared to the previous year. We can certainly see why it’s so popular among cats. Other popular cat names inspired by pop culture include: Eilish – From musician Billie Eilish. El – Short form of Eleven, from Stranger Things. Eleven – A popular name derived from Stranger Things. Erika – A name that rose in popularity due to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Elizabeth – From pop icon and documentary subject Elizabeth Holmes. Image Credit: Alena Ozerova, Shutterstock Other Great Names That Start With E While those names are the only official names that start with E that make the list of the most popular cat names for the past year, there are still other E names worthy of consideration. E is one of the more uncommon letters for naming. E is not as common as A or even I when it comes to names. However, there are plenty of interesting names that start with E that complement the most popular names list. Male Names Eadric Eagan Earnest Earnhardt Easton Eavan Ebbie Eben Eberhard Ebi Ebrill Ector Ed Edgar Eduardo Edward Edwin Egbert Egypt Einstein Elf Elton Emerson Emery Emmett Emory Enzo Epic Ernie Eugene Evan Everest Ewok Ezra Image Credit: BearFotos, Shutterstock Female Names Earhart Eartha Eathelin Ebony Echo Eclipse Eden Edie Edith Effie Elaine Elara Electra Elena Ella Eliza Ellie Eloise Elsa Elsie Ember Emerald Emily Emma Emmy Eowyn Esme Esmeralda Estelle Esther Ethel Eunice Eva Eve Evelyn Evie Conclusion Names that start with the letter E aren’t easy to find. Once you get through the top twenty or so names, it gets harder to come up with unique, popular, and fun names that start with this vowel. However, these 80 names provide ample material and inspiration to help you name your cat. The letter E is a great base to find a name from, and you are sure to get a classic name or something completely new for your cat. Sources https://www.rover.com/blog/cat-names/ https://cats.com/cat-names/start-with-e https://www.rover.com/blog/cat-names-that-start-with-e/ Featured Image Credit: Stock-Asso, Shutterstock The post The Most Popular Cat Names That Start With E (Updated for 2024) appeared first on PangoVet.