Yep, Riley definitely saw this moment on social media. Continue reading…

Before Gary Rossington died in 2023, he told his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates exactly how he wanted his legacy to continue after he was gone. Continue reading…

In recent years, stars have reached outside the box when choosing names for their offspring. Continue reading…

I walked into that house meeting with a knot of anxiety, a strange sense of paranoia. An hour later, I was running into the freezing Ohio night, barefoot and coatless, tears blurring my vision. My paranoia, it turns out, was simply an instinct for survival.  During my last year at Kenyon College, my roommates, all members of Students for Justice in Palestine, called a meeting. There, I sat for an hour, stunned, as they hurled baseless accusations at me.   When I couldn’t stop the tears, I said, “I’m sorry, I have to go now, I’m starting to cry.” No apologies came. Only cold stares from my housemates, one even smiling as I desperately blinked back tears.  I rushed out, too ashamed and afraid to grab a coat or shoes, preferring the biting winter air to another minute inside. I stayed out for hours, then moved into emergency housing two days later. My roommates never apologized or contacted me.  Though my name is Yael and I wear a small Star of David necklace, I never mentioned my beliefs to them. Yet simply existing in their orbit seemed enough to ignite their ire. While I can’t definitively say they attacked me because of antisemitism, their SJP membership—a group notorious for its antisemitic and anti-Zionist views—and one girl’s disturbing Instagram “reflections” suggest otherwise.   Her posts openly declared sentiments like, “If the West wants an Israel so bad, split Germany in half,” and, ominously, “If you think this is justified, live every day knowing your spirit is sick.”  My dorm nightmare mirrored a larger, pervasive campus environment. On campus, Zionist views and basic human decency were suppressed, at least when it came to Israel. Last year, I plastered hostage posters around campus daily. They were torn down almost immediately.  But apparently calling for the release of babies stolen from their beds or those kidnapped while dancing at a music festival on Simchat Torah—the happiest day in the Jewish year—was controversial. So controversial, in fact, that I once saw a professor ripping down a poster of four-year-old Ariel Bibas. But that wasn’t enough for him. He literally scrubbed the wall afterward, ensuring no trace of Ariel remained at Kenyon.  SJP hosted many outspokenly antisemitic speakers, especially after Oct. 7. Among them: Miko Peled, notorious for his refusal to condemn the Hamas terror massacre on James Whale Unleashed. There, Whale directly confronted him: “They’re terrorists. They went into a town and they massacred every man, woman, and child. Are you saying that was false?” Peled was unable to answer.   Despite Peled’s shameful behavior, the college’s Asian and Middle East Studies and English departments directly sponsored his event. SJP may have orchestrated it, but Kenyon was more than willing to fund the antisemite.  SJP, however, didn’t just amplify the voices of antisemitic adults. They also featured Kenyon students, notably during their “Vigil for Palestine” on the one-year anniversary of October 7th. This vigil was described as a “vigil to honor the tens of thousands killed before, on, and after Oct. 7, 2023, and the countless Palestinians who have been displaced and dispossessed since 1948.”   But what about the hostages taken on Oct. 7? As one student speaker eloquently put it, “Who is applying pressure to Israel to release their hostages too?” A disturbing moral equivalency.  And where was the Kenyon Hillel, the only designated Jewish space on campus, during all of this? It failed to live up to the promise of Hillel International: to “always be a safe space for all kinds of Jewish students—a place where they feel welcomed and included.” I certainly didn’t feel that way. Attempting to “be open to everyone,” it refused to associate itself with Israel, which felt like a rejection of a core part of my identity.   While that was difficult, it paled in comparison to the Hillel’s reaction, or lack thereof, to the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The Hillel failed to condemn, or even acknowledge the massacre, at least online, until one year after the tragedy. Then, it hosted a poetry reading “to commemorate the anniversary of the hostages being taken and the current conflict that is taking place between Israel and Gaza.” This was hardly the condemnation of Hamas’ pogrom I had hoped for. Sadly, my experience at Kenyon College isn’t unique. In fact, it pales in comparison to what many students across the country have endured since Oct. 7. No one screamed “Death to Israel!” in my dorm, nor did a rock shatter my window and strike my head on Holocaust Remembrance Day.   I consider myself lucky—but what a tragic measure of luck for a Jewish college student. To emerge relatively unscathed after Oct. 7 is a relief that itself underscores a profound campus crisis. According to a February poll by the Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International, an alarming 83 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or seen antisemitism on their campuses since Oct. 7. How much more must Jewish students endure before enough is enough?  The post 83 Percent of Jewish Students Face Campus Hate—How Much More Will Colleges Allow? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

For years, Meta has claimed that it carefully manages access to its platform’s data to benefit users and developers alike. But internal documents from its Federal Trade Commission trial paint a different picture—one of strategic exclusion and economic sabotage cloaked in user protection. Specifically, documents reveal that Meta has been weaponizing its application programming interface, or API, to crush American competitors while maintaining an open door for foreign hostile nations—a double standard that undermines both U.S. innovation and national security. An API is like a digital bridge that allows different software systems to communicate with each other and enables apps and services to share data easily with one another. For tech startups and businesses, API access to major platforms like Facebook is often essential for survival, as it connects them to wider markets. But the lack of that API access can prove deadly. In 2013, Circle, a promising social networking startup, was gaining traction—that is, until Facebook terminated Circle’s API access, saying that Circle was spamming users. Yet internal emails show a different motivation: an attempt to keep Circle from competing with Facebook. Path, another social networking competitor, met a similar fate in April 2013, when Facebook abruptly cut off its API access. According to court documents, Path’s growth “slowed significantly” afterward. Similarly, Vine, Twitter’s short-form video service, was denied API access after a couple of days which could have accelerated its growth. The pattern holds firm. Throughout 2013, Facebook systematically blocked API access to multiple mobile messaging apps, with internal communications stating they would not communicate with developers “in any way about these restrictions.” Facebook acknowledges the detrimental effect that restricting API access has. An internal slide deck in early 2014 states that changing API access would be “killing prospects of many startups.” The message was clear: If you threaten Meta’s dominance, you’ll be digitally excommunicated and your business will die. Yet while American innovators were being systematically cut off, Meta maintained an open and permissive approach to developers from hostile foreign nations. Before the 2014 API change, over 240,000 software developers in hostile countries could access Facebook users’ data. That included nearly 90,000 developers in China, over 42,000 in Russia, 76,000 in Vietnam, and thousands in Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. More specifically, Chinese developers—including those from Huawei—could access users’ profile data, photos, and even private messages. Facebook’s API structure was so permissive that developers only needed consent from one user to access that person’s entire network of friends’ data. A single compromised account could expose hundreds of connections. And Meta knew about these risks. Internal documents show the company was aware that foreign developers could exploit this access for intelligence gathering and espionage. Yet the company continued providing broad access to actors from adversarial nations while simultaneously choking off American competitors under the banner of user protection. Although a court opinion has stated that Meta restricting API access from competitors doesn’t constitute an illegal “refusal to deal” under antitrust law, legal permissibility doesn’t equal ethical behavior. Meta’s selective enforcement puts foreign countries first and America second. The broader implications extend beyond individual company grievances. APIs enable interoperability, increase efficiency, and foster innovation by allowing new services to build upon existing platforms. But when dominant companies like Meta use API access as a competitive moat rather than a bridge to innovation, they effectively tax the entire U.S. ecosystem’s growth potential. Even worse, Meta’s actions aid U.S. enemies. If protecting users were truly the priority, the company would have implemented consistent standards choking off security threats alongside competitive threats. Instead, Meta created a system that protected its market position while leaving users genuinely vulnerable to foreign manipulation and data harvesting. The solution isn’t complex regulation of every API decision, but rather consistency and transparency in how these powerful gatekeepers operate. When platforms achieve the scale and influence of Meta’s ecosystem, their infrastructure decisions effectively become public infrastructure decisions, affecting innovation, competition, and security across entire industries. Congress and federal enforcement agencies should hold these companies with monopolistic reach accountable to their own standards. Meta’s API practices reveal a company that views user and developer protection as a convenient excuse rather than a genuine commitment. Until that changes, we should view Meta’s claims with the skepticism they deserve. After all, a company that protected Chinese developers’ access while blocking American innovators has already shown us where its true loyalties lie. The post FTC Trial Reveals Meta Disregard for National Security, Innovation appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Department of Homeland Security’s X account trolled the left into oblivion over the weekend. On Sunday, DHS posted a viral image of a Mexico City protest from a day earlier in which one Mexican man held a sign aimed at Americans. The sign read, “PAY TAXES. LEARN SPANISH. RESPECT...

National Council of Informed Riders (National COIR) KEEPING YOU INFORMED National COIR has joined 5 other organizations in demanding a retraction and to cease and desist violating the rights of all Motorcyclists! Sheriff Stacy L Ball of Pulaski County, Missouri has arbitrarily shut down a planned motorcycle rally at a local Shriners facility simply because it was open to all Motorcyclists! The first letter below is our jointly signed objection to Sheriff Ball’s blatant discriminatory action. The second letter is Sheriff Ball’s letter that prompted our response. Letter RE: Pulaski County Sheriff Department The National Council of Clubs, the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the National Council of Informed Riders, the Motorcycle Profiling Project, the Confederation of Clubs Missouri and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, collectively representing the legitimate interests of hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists and motorcycle clubs nationwide, is highly concerned to the point of legitimate outrage relating to a recent defamatory public statement (attached) released by Pulaski County Sheriff Stacy L. Ball relating to the unconstitutional and illegal cancellation of the Mid-Missouri Route 66 Round Up Rally. Although Sheriff Ball makes a veiled attempt to separate law enforcement from the decision to cancel the event and pass the blame to the local Shriners hosting the event, the facts and plain language of Sheriff Ball’s statement clearly establishes legitimate legal claims of tortious interference, state agent discrimination against a 1st Amendment protected community, and defamation against organizations deemed legitimate and protected by the federal government. Indeed, the MPP has been memorialized in federal legislation specifically addressing the issue of motorcycle profiling. Sheriff Ball claims the department has “received credible intelligence from multiple law enforcement partners, including state and federal agencies, indicating that this rally was being promoted to members of the Confederation of Clubs (COC) and various 1% Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs). These are not harmless hobbyists. These are organizations with well-documented ties to organized crime, territorial violence, drug trafficking, and in some cases, ongoing investigations in our state.” The Confederation of Clubs and COC’s exist nationwide for the specific purpose of protecting motorcycle clubs and their members against government overreach and discrimination. Spanning decades, no COC has ever been indicted for criminal activity in the entirety of their existence. In fact, in 2018 the highly qualified expert witness Agent Shuster (F.B.I) made very clear, under oath, that COC’s are legitimate political organizations focused on motorcycle rights. Sheriff Ball’s claims are untrue, discriminatory, and based on absolutely no tangible evidence. The Sheriff’s actions also violate club members’ and COC members’ fundamental liberty interest in their freedom to associate. Furthermore, Sheriff Ball suggests that coordination with law enforcement is a prerequisite to allowing an event protected by the 1st Amendment. This demonstrates the Sheriff’s ignorance and hubris in terms of constitutional law. This communication is an attempt to exhaust remedy and allow the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department an opportunity to retract these false and discriminatory statements and cease and desist interference in any 1st Amendment protected event or assembly involving COC’s and even 1% motorcycle clubs. Failure to meet these terms will likely result in extensive legal action against Sheriff Ball and the department to protect the interests of COC’s and motorcycle clubs in Pulaski County. In Sheriff Ball’s own words, “Put the blame on me as the Sheriff for the Cancellation.” We will certainly take you at your word. With Deep Concern,Patrick McGrath, President, The National Council of ClubsThomas Moran, Chairman, Missouri Confederation of ClubsDavid Devereaux, Director, Motorcycle Profiling ProjectJoseph Lester, Executive Director, The National Coalition of MotorcyclistsKurt Willard, President, The Motorcycle Riders FoundationJim Barr, Director, National Council of Informed Riders PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM SHERIFF STACY L. BALLRE: Cancellation of Mid-Missouri Route 66 Round Up Rally First and foremost, I want to thank the many veterans, motorcycle riders, and community members who have reached out regarding the recent cancellation of the Mid-Missouri Route 66 Round Up Rally. As a fellow veteran and long-time supporter of veteran-based motorcycle clubs, I want to make something very clear: this decision is not about bikers, nor is it a condemnation of motorcycle clubs that give back to their communities that is being portrayed on other posts. I’ve personally ridden in benefit events hosted by the Wingmen MC and have been welcomed at open houses by local veteran clubs in years past. As the Sheriff or after this I probably won’t get any invites to any MC open houses but that’s ok. I respect the spirit of brotherhood, service, and patriotism that many of these veteran clubs represent. However, the rally in question raised serious public safety concerns that could not be ignored. Let me be absolutely honest, I fully support the decision that this organizations National level took to cancel this event. Not because I oppose motorcycle rallies, but because I have a duty to protect every single person living in or entering Pulaski County, including those in attendance. This rally turned into something completely different than what was originally proposed and that is the unfortunate part of this. This event, as proposed, involved no communication with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. At no point were we contacted to discuss logistics, safety, or emergency planning. That’s not just a misstep, that’s a liability. Events of this scale require coordination with law enforcement to ensure the safety of all involved, especially when large gatherings are expected to include groups with a history of violence. I’ve received credible intelligence from multiple law enforcement partners, including state and federal agencies, indicating that this rally was being promoted to members of the Confederation of Clubs (COC) and various 1% Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs). These are not harmless hobbyists. These are organizations with well-documented ties to organized crime, territorial violence, drug trafficking, and in some cases, ongoing investigations in our state. Just last year, right here in Pulaski County, a violent incident occurred involving the Wingmen MC and Sin City Disciples MC. In a high traffic area by civilians. Four individuals were hospitalized. Not long after, the Wingmen clubhouse was burned down. That wasn’t just coincidence. I am reopening this investigation to identify and hold accountable those responsible for burning the Wingman Club House and the Shooting prior to. This isn’t about image, it’s about operational readiness. My office and our neighboring law enforcement agencies simply do not have the resources to manage a large influx of OMGs who may be hostile to one another, in a public, high-traffic area surrounded by civilians. The risk far outweighed the reward in this situation. By contrast, other local rallies like the Mid-America Freedom Rally (MAFR) and other events at the Shrine Club are successful because they are planned in full cooperation with law enforcement. There’s trust, transparency, and shared responsibility. That was completely absent in this case. Moving forward, if organizers wish to revisit this event for the future, my door is open. But it starts with a conversation. We need open communication, detailed planning, and a mutual commitment to safety, not secrecy. I understand that emotions are running high, and that some individuals are upset. My job is to protect Pulaski County, and I will not compromise public safety, no matter how unpopular that makes me in certain circles. Put the blame on me as the Sheriff for the Cancellation. My concern is the Safety for all and I will not make exceptions for any person or group. Thank you to those who continue to support our mission to serve and protect this county with integrity, professionalism, and transparency. Let’s move forward with a shared goal: safety for all. Respectfully,Sheriff Stacy L. BallPulaski County Sheriff If you would like more information on how to join your local Motorcycle Rights Organization (MRO) and/or the national Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), please visit our website where you will conveniently find each one listed with their website link at https://nationalcoir.org The post National Council of Informed Riders appeared first on Bikernet.com - Online Biker Magazine.

I just watched the George Clooney and Evan McGregor film, “Men who Stare at Goats.” It made no sense, but about a decade before the Iraq war, maybe two, I owned goats and was a member of the Hells Angels. I lived on a half-acre in Sun Valley on the outskirts of the San Fernando Valley. I bought this little clapboard one bedroom in a bad part of town. It’s all I could afford at the time, but I needed to get back in the market or forever grouse about not being able to own my own home. Not bad thinking for a grubby 26-year-old biker. I won’t mention the club much. I was about to get out after being around the organization for about 2.5 years and a member for a year. I could have stayed in, but I saw treachery and trouble everywhere and too often in the ranks. As a member for a year, I faced six fights and lost one. The first one happened while I was still a prospect. The charter attended a funeral up north. I drove an international panel wagon. A brother, Old Man Paul ran off the twisting  Topanga canyon road soaked in whiskey and became instantly a life-long paraplegic. I was able to haul him in the back of my panel wagon to a couple of functions. When I returned home from the funeral, I found my redhead at the time attended a party in Marina Del Rey, home of the Heathens Motorcycle Club. One troublemaker messed with the her and we faced one of our codes: You don’t mess with an HA broad. Old man John the president and I met up with their President and this dufus Mofo. I fought him until I tore his patch off his back, while he scrambled along the deck next to the pool table. Another time, with old man Paul we drove his stinkin’ Lincoln to Pismo Beach. At the time we could cruise up and down the beach in the lowered white Lincoln. We partied in some other club guy’s home. He initiated fights all night as if to obtain a stripe for each violent encounter. It was too weird. He wanted to fight all of us. He lost. Recently George Christie mentioned one of the fights in his book, “Exile,” and claimed I started a war over a girl. That wasn’t the case at all, which I had to point out to Sonny Barger after I left the club. We rode to the Great Western Exhibit Center swap meet and had a great time with my brothers and so many other guys I knew in the industry. I bumped into a member of another club who turned and said something disparaging about the Hells Angels. Another code faced, I had no choice but to smack him and the fight was on. It was just a fight between young members of two clubs, not a war. But ultimately, the leadership turned it into a war. It changed everything. I didn’t know until years later, my ex and her club boyfriend were somewhere in the swap meet. I never saw them.  George’s rendition of the event was more romantic and kept the book flowing. That’s an author’s prerogative. A month later I found myself in a set-up brawl with the same club and the Satan’s Slaves in a bar in the San Fernando Valley. We took a few patches and the member I handled fought valiantly to retain his coveted patch. Then the Summer came and we rode to the Bass Lake Run in Northern California. We partied hard and a northern member came around with drugs. Soon the whiskey and liquid acid took their toll and this member started to pick a fight with me. In a fog, I moved around and he smacked me once. I didn’t know what to make of it. He was an older Oakland member and well known and respected. I admired him and didn’t want to fight. We argued about the massive campfire and then he hit me again. That turned me from my cloud of drugs into a fighter and I went after him. The next thing I knew he fell to the dirt and I climbed on top. That’s when the realization hit. Oakland wasn’t going to lose this fight. I would be rat packed and most likely stabbed maybe killed in the dusty dirt and pine needles. So, what the hell was I going to do? Fortunately, this old member didn’t kill me with his ring-filled punches, so I let him roll on top of me and get the best of the fight. I was a mess and rode home covered in blood, gravel and dirt. At the time, I felt I should lose the fight for my charter. I didn’t want trouble for my brothers. I might have been set up for a mud- check on acid. Or as George said, I wasn’t popular with Sonny Barger. More towards the holidays we rode to Ventura to party. We made our presence known at all the biker bars and ended up at a brother’s 1930s mission styled home with a massive wooden porch. Our president at the time, Indian Ray started in on a big prospect. This was another lesson. Ray and whiskey didn’t match and he reached for the Buck, folding knife on his hip to stab someone, anyone. He started to reach for his knife and it was in that precarious moment we told the prospect to leave. He tried to defy us, but we ultimately convinced him to leave his motorcycle and peel out on foot. That left me face to face with the angry Indian who wanted blood. I spent an hour eyeball to eyeball with the mad man, his calloused hand twitching over his knife. Ray’s proclivity to stab folks created devastating issues with the club and may have ultimately led to his death. Later, I got out of the club and went back to working for Easyriders and being a grubby biker. I still had my club babe, Melanie, and we had a blast for a while until drugs and shit got in the way. I left the club in the winter and the next Summer rode to the Kern River Run, with a bunch of guys from Moorpark, where we set up camp and the party started. A brother ran up to me in despair, something about our friends and a surfer with a knife. I checked and this long-haired surfer-dude pulled a massive bowie knife on a rider from my camp. I told him to put it away and fight like a man. He did, but as soon as I walked away he pulled it again. I returned and hit him with a half-empty Cuervo Gold bottle and took the knife. “Now, fight all you want,” I said. His face swelled up like a blood-filled balloon. All night long emissaries from his camp begged me to return his knife. Use it or lose it was and is the code. I held onto the long-blade, bone-handled knife for over 30 years. Years later, I trained in close-quarters combat with a close friend and weapons expert. He taught me gun, knife and close-quarters fighting. George taught martial arts for decades. I also trained in Pilipino stick fighting with Bruce Lee’s mentor Sifu of the IMB academy in Harbor City. Here’s the deal about fights and violent encounters. Each one is a roll of the dice. I could hit a guy once and kill him. I’m not bragging. It’s luck of the draw. Anything and everything can turn in any direction. A brother can simply be pushed in a bar, slip in a puddle of beer, hit his head on the iron edge of a pool table and never be the same again or worse. Suddenly, out of nowhere the pusher could face a murder charge. I may have missed a fight description or two and maybe it was meant to be. Check our shop for wild biker adventure books The post CLUB FIGHTS 1976 appeared first on Bikernet.com - Online Biker Magazine.

ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT CLICK TO WIN https://store.wheelsthroughtime.com/win-this-bike The 2025 WTT Raffle Grand Prize is this stunning 1939 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead. Finished in year-correct HD Factory Teak Red and Brilliant Black, with stainless steel and chrome accents. This 61c.i. OHV Knucklehead powerhouse sports a genuine 4-speed transmission, art deco styling with full fenders, iconic “cat-eye” dash, and 120 mph speedo. Plus, a list of nearly impossible-to-find parts too numerous to mention. The machine was meticulously restored to showroom condition in the WTT Restoration shop, and runs as good as it looks. It is ready to go home with YOU! THE JUNE PACKAGEWith your purchase of the “Greater Deal” package or higher, you’ll get The brand new WTT Branded Sunglasses along with the new ’39 Streamline Book, Tee, and DVD. At the “Better Deal” or higher, you’ll get our FIRST EVER branded Straw Hat along with the new ’39 Streamline Book, Tee, and DVD. And at the “Best Deal” or Higher, you will get it all along with the new ’39 Streamline Book, Tee, and DVD! The post 1939 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead is headed to someone’s garage  appeared first on Bikernet.com - Online Biker Magazine.