'It's a travesty'

'That's actually kind of a refreshing thing'

'A prolonged bout of Trump Derangement Syndrome'

A post shared on X claims that no Christian considered the deuterocanonical books scripture until the Council of Trent. He really doesn’t know they were considered historical writing and never considered canon until Trent? My bible has maps in the back. That doesn’t mean the publisher thinks they’re inspired. pic.twitter.com/65b6EEzM7O — 5 Solas (@5Solas2) March 18, […]

'This is not the way'

PROGRAMMING NOTE ... VINCE INTERVIEWS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AT 10 AM ET ON RUMBLE.COM/VINCE ... INTERVIEW TO RE-AIR ON RADIO STATIONS NATIONWIDE AT 1:35 PM ET ON 'THE VINCE SHOW' ...

A new type of golf ball with a special “water-loving” coating could answer the prayers of thousands of golfers. The coating helps average out the speed of a rolling ball, slowing it on faster dry greens and speeding it up on sluggish, wet courses, says the American inventor. Thomas J. Kennedy III, a polymer chemist, […] The post New Type of Golf Ball with ‘Water-Loving’ Coating Could Be Every Player’s Dream appeared first on Good News Network.

Movies & TV The Wheel of Time The Wheel of Time Invites Us to Ask: What’s the Deal With the Aiel? By Sylas K Barrett | Published on March 26, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share In “The Road to the Spear,” the fourth episode of the third season of The Wheel of Time, Rand ventures into the mysterious city of Rhuidean. Inside a strange forest of glass-like pillars, he sees glimpses of the past through the eyes of various male ancestors, and in the process, learns about his own history, the history of the Aiel, and some very important facts about how the Breaking of the World came about. All in all, the episode does a good job condensing the lore of what is a much more involved and longer series of flashbacks in the chapter of The Shadow Rising from which it derives its name. However, because the story is revealed in reverse, starting with the most recent events and ending with the most chronologically distant, it might have been challenging for viewers to piece together all these world-building details in a clear picture. A few extra pieces of information that were left out of the episode might also have served to further clarify the story of the Aiel, where they come from, and what it really means when they are called “oathbreakers.” The following piece contains spoilers for “The Road to the Spear” and one or two minor details from the relevant parts of The Shadow Rising that were not included in the episode. It contains no major plot spoilers for the book series that have not already been revealed within the show. To proceed in an ordinary, chronological order, let us begin with who the Aiel were during the Age of Legends. One thing the episode didn’t tell the audience, but which might be of interest to viewers, is that most of the Age of Legends was a prosperous, almost utopian time (at least on the surface) in which material needs were met for every human being, and social status was achieved primarily through service to humanity. At this time, there was a group known as the Da’shain Aiel. They served the Aes Sedai and also followed a peaceful way of life known as the Way of the Leaf, a philosophy of humility and of non-violence so strong that the idea of harming any human being, even by accident, was abhorrent to them. For example, in one flashback, an Aiel experiences distress after accidentally bumping into someone and knocking them down, even though the citizen was unhurt. Their adherence to the Way of the Leaf and their sworn service to the Aes Sedai were both very important to the Da’shain Aiel. This service, of course, included serving the Dragon, Lews Therin Telamon, and so the Aiel were known as the People of the Dragon. During this time of prosperity, there were Songs of Growing that the Aiel and others employed to help crops and other plants grow strong and healthy. We see a glimpse of people singing to their crops (although it’s during harvest, not planting) in the final vision Rand experiences. He sees through the eyes of an ancestor who is unnamed in the show but called Charn in the books. Charn serves an Aes Sedai named Mierin, a researcher who works in a floating, sphere-shaped university. Mierin has discovered a new source of power, one that can be wielded by anyone, and is not limited to channelers or to a specific gender. This power, which she names the “True Power,” exists outside of the Pattern—the fabric of reality that is spun out by the Wheel of Time and in which human lives are the threads. Mierin intends to drill a hole in the Pattern (in the books she had a colleague also involved in this endeavor) to reach this Power. Working in the fields alongside his family, Charn witnesses the disaster that unfolds when Mierin’s efforts breach the Dark One’s prison. The university falls from the sky and a hole is left in reality, through which the Dark One can exert his influence on the world. The Dark One’s ability to touch the world led to the outbreak of war. Some powerful Aes Sedai swore fealty to the Dark and became the Forsaken, including Mierin, who took the name Lanfear, and Lews Therin’s rival, Elan Morin Tedronai, who took the name Ishamael. As the situation grew more desperate, Lews Therin came up with a plan to lead an assault on the Dark One himself and reseal the Dark One’s prison. In an event that was adapted in the season finale of season one, “The Eye of the World,” Latra Posae Decume believed this plan to be too dangerous, and refused the help of the female Aes Sedai. During the attack, the Dark One’s prison was sealed—but the Dark One’s counterattack left a taint on the male half of the One Power, which drove every male channeler into a violent insanity.  In Rand’s second to last vision, he sees the fallout of these events. This ancestor, Jonai, is charged by Latra Posae to carry away a cutting of the great Chora tree and a female-attuned sa’angreal called the Sakarnen. Jonai and some of his fellow Aiel swear to keep the Sakarnen safe, and to always keep the Way of the Leaf. At the end of the vision, thousands of wagons are seen departing. It is implied that each wagon carries such a cutting, and possibly other angreal as well. In the books, it is specifically stated that the Aiel were given many angreal and charged to carry them to a place of safety if possible, and to keep them until Aes Sedai came to claim them. In an earlier vision (but later chronologically), Jonai is an old man. The wagons have been attacked and many Aiel have been killed. Because they keep the Way of the Leaf, they do not fight back, only bury their dead and move on. It is revealed that Jonai’s daughter has Dreamed of a place on the other side of the mountain range known as the Spine of the World, where the Aiel can build a great city and be safe. However, everyone in Jonai’s party, except for his grandson, decides not to follow that Dream but to turn south, in search of a palace where they can plant crops and sing the Song of Growing again. Jonai begs them not to abandon their oath, but allows them to leave. He and his grandson, Adan, pull their wagon alone, carrying the Chora cutting and the Sakarnen towards the mountains, and the desert beyond.It is here where the story of the Aiel may have gotten a bit confusing for audience members to follow.  Those of Jonai’s party who turned south were the ancestors of the Tuatha’an, the traveling people who have been featured in other episodes and other seasons of the show. Like the original Da’shain Aiel, the Tuatha’an remain committed to the Way of the Leaf. However, in abandoning their duty to protect the cutting of the Chora tree and the Sakarnen, they broke their oath to the Aes Sedai. The Tuatha’an remember that their ancestors once sang a special song, though the song itself, and its exact purpose, has been forgotten. They remain ever in search of that lost joy, asking anyone they meet if he or she knows the song, and believe that finding it will bring peace to their people. In the book, this split is given far more weight. It occurred not during Jonai’s time but slightly later, and Rand witnessed the events through Adan’s eyes. Also, there was not one but in fact many angreal in the Aiel’s possession. Having dwindled in number, with many of their horses stolen and wagons burned, the Aiel no longer had the ability to carry all the angreal with which they were entrusted, and many no longer believed the Aes Sedai would ever come for the objects, anyway. Tired and despairing, many abandoned the angreal, more concerned with finding safety and being able to rediscover the songs their ancestors once sang. Adan declared that those who abandoned their duty to the Aes Sedai were no longer Aiel, while they argued that they remained Aiel, since they kept to the Way of the Leaf. Later chronologically (but as an earlier flashback), Rand experiences an important event in the life of Lewin, Adan’s grandson. When his sister and another Aiel girl are kidnapped, Lewin and his two friends attempt to sneak into the bandits’ camp at night and rescue the girls. When they are discovered and attacked, the boys end up defending themselves and killing the bandits. Shunned by their families for abandoning the Way of the Leaf, Lewin and his one surviving friend dedicate themselves to protecting the Aiel, who cannot protect themselves. This scene teaches Rand, and the audience, how the Aiel became a war-like people, and also why they use spears to fight but despise swords and will not carry them. Despite becoming someone who has killed and is willing to do so again, Lewin makes a distinction between carrying a sword, which is made only for killing people and has no other purpose, and using a spear, which can also be used for hunting. While killing a human being with a spear is still against the Way of the Leaf, the act of carrying a spear is not, at least in the mind of Lewin and those who join him. We also learn why the Aiel veil themselves if they intend to kill—because Lewin’s mother told him to hide his face from her. The viewer may remember seeing Aiel veil themselves at the mere prospect of battle, as when encountering the Shaido clan, but Avienda does not veil herself when fighting with Lan, as this is a sparring session to see who is the better fighter, not a fight with the intent to wound or kill. In the books, there were several visions for Rand between Lewin’s experience and Mandein’s visit to Rhuidean. In them, he witnessed how the Aiel slowly began to differentiate between those who took up the spears and those who did not. The latter, called the Jenn Aiel, or “true Aiel,” remembered the origins of their people better than the spear-wielding counterparts did, and continued to shun and ignore the fighting Aiel, even as the Aiel continued to defend them, albeit from a distance. At one point, several Jenn came to Lewin and his men to ask for help after members of their families were kidnapped. Some of these, including a woman named Morin, decided to stay with the Aiel and take up the Spear. Angry that her husband cared more for the cutting from the Chora tree than their kidnapped daughter, Morin declared that the spear was her husband, becoming the first Maiden of the Spear and setting the precedent that Maidens do not marry unless they give up the spear. Two Aes Sedai also began traveling with the Jenn Aiel at some point before they crossed the Spine of the World and into the desert. A man named Garam and his father allowed the Aiel to take water from their lands—the only people who ever did so. In the glossary of The Dragon Reborn, the fifth book of the series, it is stated that Garam and his father helped found the city that became Cairhien. Centuries later, in repayment for the gift of water, the Aiel gave the Cairhien people a cutting of Avendesora and granted all Cairhien safe passage through their lands. This lasted until King Laman Damodred, Moiraine’s uncle, cut the tree down and precipitated the Aiel War. In the episode, Moiraine tells Rand about the great tree in Cairhien and her uncle’s actions, though she does not know all the details behind why the Aiel gifted the tree in the first place. In Rand’s second vision of the episode, he sees through the eyes of Mandein, a clan chief who has been summoned, along with all the other Aiel chiefs, to the half-built city of Rhuidean. He witnesses the city being shrouded in mists, and stands under Avendesora with the other clan chiefs as a very old Aes Sedai explains that each of them, and anyone who ever wishes to be a chief, must pass through a forest of columns which she erects with the use of the Sakarnen. She tells them that the Aiel have forgotten where they come from and that the columns are there to give them this information. She also prophesies the coming of the car’a’carn, also known as He Who Comes With the Dawn, who will lead all the Aiel, not just an individual clan. This scene is similar to the one in the books, but lacks certain details, including the fact that the Jenn Aiel, those who still kept to both oaths and still remembered the history of the Aiel, were dying out at this point, and the Aes Sedai foresaw that there would eventually be no Jenn left. The columns of Rhuidean were therefore necessary to keep memory alive once the Jenn were gone. We see the character of Muradin in the show, who is so overcome by what he sees that he gouges out his own eyes before collapsing, dead. We also see other corpses within the forest of columns. The episode does a good job of visualizing psychic pain, but viewers might not have picked up on exactly why the revelation of their true history might cause some of the Aielmen who venture through this ter’angreal to experience shame to the point of self-harm, or even death. The Aiel sense of identity is so powerfully attached to their warrior culture, and their sense of honor is so strong, that many cannot face learning the truth:that they were once pacifists, and that they have abandoned the covenant of their ancestors, both to the Way of the Leaf and the duty charged to them by the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends. Rand’s first vision, in which he sees his father, Janduin, fighting on the slopes of Dragonmount and discovering his mother’s body, isn’t in the books, but it is a powerful scene, and a great way to remind the audience that there is still a little mystery for Rand as to his mother’s identity, as the Wise Ones have recently told him that his mother was not actually Aiel by blood. All in all, “The Road to the Spear” is an entertaining and informative episode. I am excited to see how Rand and the other Aiel respond to his branding as the car’a’carn and the changes that have been prophesied to come. And for those new to the story, I hope this piece serves as a helpful guide to understand what we have seen of the Aiel so far, and what is yet to be explored in the rest of season four.[end-mark] Looking for more on The Wheel of Time? Find all of our episode recaps and discussions here, plus additional articles and news about the television series. You can also follow along with Sylas’ read-through of the books! The post <em>The Wheel of Time</em> Invites Us to Ask: What’s the Deal With the Aiel? appeared first on Reactor.

Three years ago I wrote about what a spine-tingling feeling it was to attend a recreation of Patrick Henry’s fiery “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech in the place where he actually gave it: St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. St. John’s, built in 1741 on a high hill with a grand view of the James River, is still a functioning church today. But on Sunday, March 23, St. John’s presented a special recreation of the Second Virginia Convention on the very day, 250 years ago, that Patrick Henry tried to convince Virginians to form an armed militia to defend their liberty and prepare for war against a tyrannical monarchy.   Why Richmond instead of Williamsburg, the colonial capital? So British troops could not get to the convention in time to arrest everyone attending. Henry’s resolution was disapproved despite his eloquence and support from prominent Virginians like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but he was proven right. Less than a month later on April 19, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the “shot heard ‘round the world.” America was at war. Those delegates, Henry, Jefferson, and Washington, have often been referred to as the voice, the pen, and the sword of the American Revolution. Lest we forget, it was a militia company of 70 ordinary American citizens, farmers and tradesmen—not trained soldiers—led by Captain John Parker who stood up three weeks later to 700 regulars of the most experienced, most dangerous military force in the world—the British Army. There were special speakers at the church on Sunday in addition to a long line of families there to witness an important slice of American history. They included Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns.   Unfortunately, there was also a horde of rude, uncivil protesters not only on the streets outside the church, but actually infesting the sacred grounds of the church with some of the dumbest protest signs I have seen, going after Donald Trump—who wasn’t there—and otherwise saying things like “Morons are Governing America” and “Deport Trump.” The only morons I saw at the church were the ones carrying the signs. They really were pathetic. But their antics clearly revealed their opinion of the almost 80 million Americans who voted for the man they want deported.  Quite a contrast, too. They want the president elected by the American people deported but not the criminal illegal aliens and gangbangers who have been killing, kidnapping, assaulting, and otherwise victimizing us, aided and abetted by the political party the protesters obviously support. The most historically inapt protester there was the one carrying an anti-gun sign. Apparently, he failed to realize that the only reason he could be there protesting was because of the guns used by Americans to defy the British Empire and fight for their liberty. In fact, the debate that led to Henry’s fiery oration was over a resolution he introduced to go forward with Virginians arming and organizing to protect themselves from the tyranny of the royal government and military occupation. Henry’s resolution said that “a well-regulated militia is the natural strength and only security of a free government” and was “at this time, peculiarly necessary for the protection and defense of the country.”  If those words sound familiar, they should. Much of that same language ended up in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It tells you a lot about the protesters that they would inject politics into an event celebrating a great patriot, and that they did not hesitate to invade the grounds of a church to carry on with their ridiculous display. They were trying to ruin a historical remembrance that folks standing in line—many with young children—were there to experience. We were there regardless of our politics, and the protesters tried to poison that experience with partisanship and incivility. Fortunately for us, the speakers concentrated on setting the stage for what the audience was witnessing. The first Continental Congress had met in Philadelphia in October of 1774. Patrick Henry had attended as one of the leading Virginia statesmen. In a letter to Jefferson about that meeting, John Adams said Patrick Henry was the only attendee who “had the candor and courage to acknowledge” the dire situations faced by the colonies. The British government had imposed a series of taxes and restrictions on Americans, including the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, and Intolerable Acts, which the colonists believed violated their rights and their idea of self-government. These acts led to many acts of defiance, including the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773, which resulted in the British navy closing Boston as a port and blockading it in March 1774. Henry’s words inside St. John’s 250 years ago were so influential that, as related by the St. John’s Foundation that is dedicated to preserving the church: “American soldiers of the Revolutionary War marched into battle carrying ‘Liberty or Death’ flags.”  Patrick Henry went on to become the first elected governor of the Commonwealth, serving five terms. He helped draft the state’s constitution and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Along with Virginian George Mason, he was a leading critic of the U.S. Constitution and the powerful federal government he feared it would create. He was one of the reasons that the Bill of Rights was added to ensure ratification. Overall, it was a great day to be in Richmond on the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s speech. Despite their attempt at disruption, the pathetic protesters just looked foolish. If they thought they would persuade anyone there to support them, they did the exact opposite by rudely injecting rancorous politics into a celebration of American patriotism. Gov. Glenn Youngkin did have the funniest line of the day. Speaking of the “visitors” outside, who started yelling and screaming at him when he left the church, he said he was happy to participate in anything that “got more people to attend church.” Patrick Henry would have laughed at that. And at the end of this Virginia Convention, the delegates–the audience–voted in favor of his resolution. Patrick Henry wisely said at the end of his oration, “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”   The American people continue to be vigilant, active, and brave in protecting their liberties and freedoms. The post The Left Has No Respect for God, Country, or History–Including Patrick Henry appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Trump administration has assured a conservative senator who raised concerns about Dr. Mehmet Oz’s positions on transgenderism that the nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have changed, The Daily Signal has learned. Hawley, R-Mo., wrote Oz a series of questions on March 18 about Oz’s past statements expressing support of transgender medical interventions for minors and ambivalence on abortion. Senator Hawley’s written questions for Dr. Mehmet Oz, nominee for Administrator of CMS pic.twitter.com/8xquP0SICy— Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) March 19, 2025 On “The Dr. Oz Show” in 2015, Oz featured transgender-identifying teen activist Jazz Jennings. During his interview with Jennings, Oz told Jennings’ mother, “I love the support you’ve given your daughter. It’s wonderful. And you can see the beautiful young woman she’s becoming because of it.” Oz criticized pro-life policies as recently as 2019. When Alabama enacted a total abortion ban into law, he asked, “Is this really the way they want to spend their time?” Hawley, a pro-life Christian, has discussed his concerns about Oz with the Trump administration, but he has not received responses to his questions from the doctor-turned-TV personality, the senator told The Daily Signal. Hawley said he’s been in contact with “sherpas” and “administrative people” in the Trump administration who have assured him Oz’s views on transgender procedures for minors have changed. “I’ve heard from a lot of people around the administration, but we really just need to hear from [Oz],” he said. Oz is fully onboard with Trump’s agenda, the White House says. “Every member of the Trump administration is working from the same playbook, President Trump’s playbook, to restore commonsense policies and put an end to left-wing ideological nonsense afflicting our government,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Daily Signal. “We look forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of Dr. Oz so he can join the rest of our all-star team at HHS working to Make America Healthy Again by restoring common sense, transparency, and confidence in our healthcare apparatus.” As a result of not being on the Senate Finance Committee, Hawley won’t have the opportunity to ask Oz his questions face to face. Oz advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee by a 14-13 vote. “I’m not on the committee, so I don’t have a chance to ask him questions directly,” Hawley told The Daily Signal. “So, I sent a couple of pages of questions, not very many, but just enough to really get at his views on the trans issue, transitioning for kids, minors, and then abortion, the life issues. “I sent those questions over to him, and certainly the administration knows about that. We talked about it with them, and I’m hoping that we’ll get answers back. I don’t know why we wouldn’t, so we haven’t gotten them yet, though, which is a little strange.” Trump’s record on transgender issues so far has been “terrific,” Hawley said, adding that Oz’s views on the subject seem “out of step” with those of the president. “I hope the response from [Oz] is, ‘Yeah, I’ve changed my views, and I agree with president 100%, and I don’t favor trans surgeries for minors or trans treatments for minors,” Hawley said. An Oz spokesperson told The Daily Wire on Tuesday evening that he is opposed to all transgender procedures on minors. “Dr. Oz fully understands the harms caused to minors by such procedures and is committed to implementing President Donald J. Trump’s agenda of protecting children so they can grow to live out their God-given potential,” an Oz spokesman told The Daily Wire on Tuesday evening. Bradley Devlin contributed to this report. The post Trump Officials Assured Skeptical Senator Dr. Oz’s Views on Transgenderism Have Changed appeared first on The Daily Signal.