Politics is tough on principled people‚ just as it was on former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman‚ who passed away Wednesday at 82 years old. The rough and tumble of Athenian democracy bred the idea that whatever you can persuade people to be true and good is true and good. All one needed to do was to learn how to influence people. This bred a school of professional teachers‚ the Sophists‚ who trained men in the art of rhetoric so that they could win arguments and the minds of people through that power. READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin: Biden’s Cowardice Feeds Hamas’ Criminal War Strategy Socrates argued against them‚ famously‚ and‚ equally famously‚ came to a bad end — bad enough in the eyes of his student Plato that he sought to escape from the reach of Athens so he could be free to follow Socrates in exploring what the good is in itself. Plato remained wary and skeptical of democracy. The Framers of our Constitution were well-read in the classics. They sought to avoid the mistakes of Athens and to achieve governance by consent of the governed without sacrificing principle and to so avoid the ruin that befell Athens. As the first president under the Constitution‚ George Washington had such widespread esteem and such a deep sense of public duty that one might have thought our own republic would proceed through history devoted to principle above party and rhetoric. When‚ on principle‚ Washington relinquished power after two terms‚ John Adams thought that he could continue to govern as if party mattered little.  That dedication to principle guaranteed he would have no second term. His brilliant and principled diplomacy that settled the XYZ Affair without a war with France pleased neither the Jeffersonians (who thought Adams far too pro-British) nor the High Federalists (who wanted to join the Brits in their war with France). Whipsawed by partisans on either side‚ his brilliance and principle counted less with the voters than party and partisan rhetoric. Principle asserted itself again in American politics in the battle over slavery. The Whigs fell apart for sidestepping the issue‚ and the Republicans came into rapid prominence as the party dedicated to ending the spread of slavery. Abraham Lincoln forged a coalition of principle‚ first for the preservation of the Union but then on the underlying principle of ending the evil slavery. By 1684‚ he was running as a Unionist‚ successfully forging a coalition of all who would support the broad principle of a united country in which slavery was abolished. In the face of the Nazi threat‚ Winston Churchill called himself a unionist‚ reaching beyond his Conservative Party to forge a coalition of those who would stand up for their country regardless of party. When Neville Chamberlain’s Conservative government fell in the wake of disastrous defeat in Norway‚ Churchill alone had the ability to command respect and allegiance from all three parties and headed a memorable national government that broke the Luftwaffe‚ kept control of the seas‚ and eventually built the grand alliance that won victory on all fronts. Democracy’s reward for Churchill was that immediately upon the victory over Germany‚ he was turned out of office in a landslide‚ as his former coalition partners deserted him‚ and his own Conservative party was blamed for the appeasement policies that brought the war upon them. Joe Lieberman’s renown is for being a man of principle in an unprincipled profession. He was respected for it and derided for it. Regardless‚ with the fewest of exceptions‚ his record remained untarnished. A domestic liberal and a foreign affairs conservative‚ he would vote by his conscience enough to anger both his own party and others who courted his partisanship unsuccessfully. He drew the Clintons’ ire for his public censure of Bill’s unpresidential behavior. He was successfully primaried by his home-state Democrat Party because of his support of the War on Terror‚ but he had the last laugh‚ running and winning his reelection bid as an independent. His principles came from the deep well from which America has found its inspiration. He was a forthrightly religious man‚ willing to guide his use of the power entrusted him by the wisdom of God he found in his steady commitment to his faith. He had an apartment close enough to the Capitol so that if duty called on the Sabbath day‚ he could make the walk and observe his faith and his civic duties together. He spoke of faith openly and was not afraid to show his religious commitment‚ always. In a way‚ true to Jewish teachings‚ that afforded a respect for other Americans’ own faith commitments‚ which he rightly believed are the primary source of America’s strength.  He was not successful‚ at least so far‚ in offering an alternative to our partisan deadlock with the Third Way movement‚ in which he was partnering with similarly independent centrists like Joe Manchin. And his brave Wall Street Journal op-ed‚ appearing only a few days before his passing — in which he took on Chuck Schumer’s shocking partisan betrayal of Israel — seemed not yet to have borne any fruit. But Joe Lieberman was‚ first of all‚ a man of faith‚ and he had faith that the principles for which one sacrifices live on beyond our demise. They elevate a person beyond the partiality that is our human lot‚ and our willingness to endure sacrifice for principle attaches us to the great truth that can never be controlled our perverted by our shortcomings. Churchill spoke of this in undying words: The only guide to a man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield‚ because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations; but with this shield‚ however the fates may play‚ we march always in the ranks of honour. Churchill’s words eulogizing principle and conscience could have been written about Joe Lieberman. Certainly‚ they are appropriate to extol the man and his commitment and to inspire us to have the courage to let the politicking serve principles rather than the opposite‚ which seems to be the rule today. Be guided by this commitment to principle‚ and we all have common cause. The post RIP Joe Lieberman: A Man of Principle in an Unprincipled World appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

We’ve known for a while that the CIA and FBI have gone rogue: They spy on American citizens and both institutions are infected by woke groupthink. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast‚ Mike Waller‚ a senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy and the author of Big Intel: How the CIA &; FBI Went from Cold War Heroes to Deep State Villains‚ joins hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay. They talk about the bloated and ineffective state of modern intelligence agencies and the solutions we need to implement. Tune in to hear their conversation! WATCH the latest episode of The Spectacle: New Dune Movie Surprisingly Subverts the Left Read Scott and Melissa’s writing here and here. Listen to The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Spotify. Watch The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Rumble.  The post <;i>;The Spectacle<;/i>; Ep. 89: Our Intelligence Agencies Went Rogue. Now They Feel Threatened. appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

‘No Tampons‚ No Peace!’: Panic at Vanderbilt University Sit-In as Protestors Realize It Won’t Be Catered

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Hostess Meltamors may bring to mind the brand's classic CupCakes‚ but can this new treat stand on its own? We tried two varieties to find out for ourselves.

Starbucks fans already know about its line of ready-to-drink beverages‚ but now‚ the chain is offering something new: canned cold brew in fan-favorite flavors.

Accept: The Reckoning “We’re thrilled to release ‘The Reckoning’‚” said guitarist and last original member‚ Wolf Hoffmann. ” “It’s one of our favorites from the new album: hard-hitting‚ solid metal with lyrics about a poignant life theme.” The Exies: For What It’s Worth “I strummed the chorus and I started to sing the melody‚” shared vocalist/guitarist Scott Stevens. “Within about 20 minutes I had the first three or four lines of the chorus. I looked at it in the morning and its journey began.” The early century L.A. band has scheduled a reunion concert on May 29th at the Viper Room in West Hollywood. Daughtry: Pieces “We will all experience trauma of some kind‚” noted Chris Daughtry. “This is about finding the strength to pick up those broken pieces‚ face the darkness head on‚ and fight your way toward the light.” (Band also pictured at top.) ### The post New Music: Accept‚ The Exies &; Daughtry appeared first on RockinTown.

Godsmack‚ lifted from an Alice In Chains’ song‚ is a great name for an Alt./Metal group.As Strip Mind and Lillian Axe bit the dust in ’95 vocalist Sully Erna and drummer Tommy Stewart launched Godsmack. Bassist Robbie Merrill‚ a covers band veteran‚ joined shortly thereafter. Also signing on was guitarist Tony Rambola. Boston natives Godsmack recorded “All Wound Up” and released it locally. But the group was still playing hometown biker bars. Things were moving slowly. So slowly that Stewart left.Thanks to local radio play (finally kicking in)‚ Universal Records signed Godsmack. That bit of activity induced Stewart to return to the fold. Out was replacement drummer Joe D’Arco. Universal took “All Wound Up” added new tracks and released it as “Godsmack.” Propelled by the singles “Whatever‚” “Voodoo” and “Keep Away” “Godsmack” sold three million copies and won the group a place on the ’99 Ozzfest Tour. They also appeared on the ’00 version. A second album‚ “Awake” (pictured at the top) hit in December ’00‚ with the title track delivering the first and most lasting blow. With new drummer Shannon Larkin‚ third album‚ “Faceless‚” released in ’03‚ continued the leather-lunged attack. To demonstrate there was valid music at the root of their sound‚ Godsmack totally changed direction with ’04 release‚ “The Other Side‚” which contained acoustic versions of their songs. Plugging in once again‚ they released “IV” two years later. “It’s a more bluesy record‚ for sure‚” said Larkin. “But I think it’s got the toughness of Godsmack.”“We’re not going away‚ we are just gonna take a break and . . . recharge our batteries‚” said Erna. “We will come back bigger and badder than ever.” True to Erna’s word‚ Godsmack returned. “The Oracle‚” a Dave Frontman produced album‚ dropped in ’10. The lead single‚ “Cryin’ Like A Bitch!‚” was inspired by some unpleasantness experienced on the ’08 Crue Fest Tour. “It was more about just being fed up with prima donnas and certain Rock stars in this industry that still feel they can push people around and are still relevant even though it’s been about 20 years since they’ve had their big moment‚” Erna told Rockpit.com. “The Oracle” moved 117‚000 copies in its first week of release to earn Godsmack their third #1 album on the Billboard 200 (03’s “Faceless” and ’06’s “IV” were the first two). “Cryin’ Like A Bitch!” also landed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart.By early ’14‚ Godsmack was working on “1000hp.” Released that summer‚ the album sold 58‚000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at #3 on the Billboard 200. Godsmack returned in ’17 in a rather unexpected way. Their five-year-old cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” went to #1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. The song resurfaced when it was posted on SocietyofRock.com. Back with original material‚ Godsmack rolled out “When Legends Rise‚” their first album in four years. The group’s seventh studio effort marked the band’s move from Heavy Metal to Hard Rock. There was a desire to branch out and a dissatisfaction with getting lumped into the Heavy Metal genre. Erna mentioned “reinvention” and a “new chapter” when talking about the album as opposed to what he termed as “vintage classic Godsmack.” “(I wanted to find) a way to introduce a newer‚ fresher‚ more mature sound‚ while still maintaining the power of Godsmack‚” Erna stated.  Producer Erik Ron was brought in to produce a couple tracks.  The band was so pleased with the results Ron was slotted to work on the entire album.  Erna served as co-producer‚ as he had on prior albums. The first single‚ “Bulletproof‚” peaked at #4 on the Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart on its way to platinum status. The post Godsmack appeared first on RockinTown.

“If you deceive and defraud your customers‚ the FBI will be persistent in our efforts to bring you to justice‚” said assistant director of the FBI’s New York office. Update (1145ET): And there it is – Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison – more than Elizabeth Holmes‚ less than Bernie Madoff‚ same as Bernie Ebbers. SBF will also have to forfeit more than $11 billion. Judge Kaplan did not hold back during his sentencing: “When not lying‚ he was evasive‚ hair splitting‚ trying to get the prosecutors to rephrase questions for him. I’ve been doing this job for close for 30 years. I’ve never seen a performance like that.” Update (1105ET): Just before the federal judge was about to sentence Bankman-Fried in his fraud case‚ the former FTX founder said that he was “sorry.”Survival Shield X-3 is BACK at the Infowars Store! Get 40% OFF on the next evolution in activated nascent iodine HERE “I know a lot of people feel really let down‚” he said at his sentencing hearing Thursday morning in lower Manhattan.“I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage.” “All of the company followed me across the earth‚ across continents‚ burning the midnight oil working until 2 a.m.‚ 4 a.m.‚ dedicated to FTX‚” he said in a plea for leniency. “I remember so many of them.” He said the staff “all built something really beautiful. They threw themselves into it and then I threw that all away. It haunts me every day. I made a series of bad decisions. They weren’t selfish decisions‚ they were bad decisions.” Bad decisions indeed Sam. The long-running legal saga of Sam Bankman-Fried will come to an end on March 28 when Judge Lewis Kaplan announces the sentence of the FTX founder during a 9:30 a.m. hearing at the U.S. Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Before we get to the sentencing‚ @jconorgrogan lays out exactly what SBF did… 1. In January ’22‚ Sam market sold $75M of stETH‚ leading to a massive depeg event which set off the Celsius bankrun and the daisy chain of events that included the blow-up of 3AC 2. Using Alameda + FTX customer funds‚ Sam:-Bought 10M+ of NFTs-$18k of Pebble‚ a fractionalized NFT of a picture of a rock-$605 of CarolineDAO NFTs a “SimpDAO for Caroline Ellison”~$20k of “TENDIES”-Bought $270k of a token called “CUMROCKET” 3. Engaged in 10s of thousands of wash-trading transactions to boost visibility of his holdings 4. Created an NFT (and most likely bought it for 270k using customer funds) 5. Did this dozens of times 6. Sold locked tokens 7. Helped fan the flames for SHIB‚ built up a giant position‚ then dumped at the absolute top 8. Manipulated defi governance token distribution forcing an emergency intervention by the protocol 9. Wasn’t that active onchain until the crime started. Here’s a chart of the balance of Alameda Wallets (Jan ’18- June ’20) The blue dot is when Nishad Singh altered the codebase to enable Alameda to withdraw unlimited amounts of crypto from FTX 10. Publicly shilled/pretended to TWAP FTTOh btw he later claimed in court that at this time “things were tight” and he had ordered Caroline to put on hedges 11. Filling/shilling Here SBF is telling a concerned holder that he didn’t short or dump SUSHI. 3 days earlier‚ an SBF-connected wallet sent 35K SUSHI to the Alameda FTX deposit address. This happened a lot 12. (It was Alameda) 13. Messed up the Sollet bridge enabling him to account for 21k phantom SOL After all that‚ in November 2023‚ as Michael Washburn reports via The Epoch Times‚ jurors decided to convict Mr. Bankman-Fried on all seven of counts of conspiracy and fraud with which government lawyers charged him. Mr. Bankman-Fried and his attorneys have repeatedly argued that he didn’t intentionally do anything wrong and that he deserves no more than 6 1/2 years in jail. In his trial testimony in October 2023‚ Mr. Bankman-Fried insisted he used sophisticated analytics to try to keep track of the state of FTX’s finances and suggested that subordinates acting without his knowledge or imprimatur made costly mistakes. But prosecutors‚ citing testimony from Alameda Research head Caroline Ellison‚ who was at times romantically involved with Mr. Bankman-Fried‚ vehemently disagreed with the more charitable view and are pressing for a sentence of half a century or longer. The government’s tough stance has found support from the current CEO of FTX‚ John Ray III‚ the former chair of the recovery corporation in another high-profile insolvency: that of Enron‚ which imploded in December 2001. In a letter to Judge Kaplan‚ Mr. Ray denounced the “categorically‚ callously‚ and demonstrably false” claims that Mr. Bankman-Fried and his lawyers have put forth in the hope of getting a lighter sentence. Occupying a middle ground between the defense position and the prosecutors‚ Jeffrey Hooke‚ a senior lecturer at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business in Maryland and former investment banker‚ said that Mr. Bankman-Fried’s transgressions are serious but nowhere near on par with those of convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff‚ for instance‚ who received a 150-year sentence for his $65 billion Ponzi scheme and died in prison in 2021. Mr. Bankman-Fried deserves a lighter sentence than either Mr. Madoff or the senior Enron executives responsible for the calamity of December 2001‚ Mr. Hooke said. “Now‚ stuck with a guilty verdict‚ an appropriate sentence seems to me to be at least 10 years. The Enron guys essentially got 12 years after appealing longer sentences‚ and I might argue that they were truly aware of their crimes‚ whereas Bankman-Fried might have been somewhat less aware or deliberate‚” Mr. Hooke told The Epoch Times. Dominoes Fall The verdict in November 2023 came exactly one year after a Nov. 2‚ 2022‚ report in the cryptocurrency publication Coindesk began to stoke wide concern about the state of FTX’s finances. The report cited a leaked balance sheet of FTX’s hedge fund trading affiliate‚ Alameda Research. According to Coindesk’s analysis‚ a bulk of Alameda’s $14.6 billion of assets was in the form of FTX’s own crypto token‚ FTT‚ rather than a fiat currency. This not only suggested that Alameda’s wealth was potentially less fungible than many had assumed but also pointed to extensive commingling of FTX customer deposits with the hedge fund affiliate. Whether or not Coindesk was correct to impute instability and weakness to FTX on the basis of its position in FTT‚ the reaction in the market was swift. On Nov. 6‚ 2022‚ Changpeng Zhao‚ then-CEO of Binance‚ one of the other leading cryptocurrency exchanges‚ sent out a sharply worded post on Twitter. Mr. Zhao alluded to the fact that Binance had been distancing itself from FTX over the past year and had received the equivalent of about $2.1 billion in U.S. dollars in the form of both cash and the FTT token. “Due to recent revelations that have come to light‚ we have decided to liquidate any remaining FTT on our books. We will try to do so in a way that minimizes market impact‚” Mr. Zhao wrote. Despite that assurance‚ Binance’s move‚ and forthright public announcement‚ immediately helped fuel a run on the bank during which customers pulled $6 billion from FTX in three days. The exchange would never recover; some $9 billion of customer funds are still lost through the commingling of funds and Bankman-Fried’s lavish spending. Damian Williams‚ US attorney for the Southern District of New York‚ details the indictment of Samuel Bankman-Fried in New York City‚ on Dec‚ 13‚ 2022. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) The Feds Move In U.S. federal prosecutors were quick to take action. On Dec. 13‚ 2022‚ the Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury had returned an indictment charging Mr. Bankman-Fried with wire fraud‚ conspiracy to commit wire fraud‚ securities fraud‚ money laundering‚ campaign finance violations‚ and fraud against the Federal Election Commission. The last allegation relates to Mr. Bankman-Fried drawing upon customer deposits to make large donations to both Democrats and Republicans with whom he wanted to curry favor. But it was mainly Democrats who benefited from Mr. Bankman-Fried’s largesse‚ including a reported $5.2 million donation to then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020. According to The Wall Street Journal‚ this gift made Mr. Bankman-Fried second only to Michael Bloomberg among top-spending backers of President Biden. Government lawyers briefly dropped the campaign finance charges on the technical grounds that Bahamas authorities hadn’t included them among their stated grounds for extraditing Mr. Bankman-Fried from the Bahamas to New York to face trial in December 2022. Then‚ in August 2023‚ prosecutors did an about-face and announced that Mr. Bankman-Fried was still on the hook for campaign finance violations. Story continues below advertisement “The Justice Department has filed charges alleging that Samuel Bankman-Fried perpetrated a range of offenses in a global scheme to deceive and defraud customers and lenders of FTX and Alameda‚ the defendant’s crypto hedge fund‚ as well as a conspiracy to defraud the United States government‚” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Michael J. Driscoll‚ assistant director of the FBI’s New York office‚ was blunt about Mr. Bankman-Fried’s misuse of FTX deposits to pay Alameda’s expenses and to make other investments. “If you deceive and defraud your customers‚ the FBI will be persistent in our efforts to bring you to justice‚” Mr. Driscoll said. In this courtroom sketch‚ Sam Bankman-Fried watches as defense lawyer Mark Cohen makes his opening remarks in Mr. Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial over the collapse of FTX‚ at Federal Court in New York‚ on Oct. 4‚ 2023. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters) A Fatal Move Bankman-Fried didn’t gain any sympathy from the media‚ the public‚ or prosecutors by situating himself and nine FTX colleagues in an 11‚500-square-foot suite in a $35 million Bahamas mansion. Mr. Hooke suggested that some people still may not fully appreciate the extent of the error that Mr. Bankman-Fried made in agreeing to waive his right to formal extradition hearings and undergo transfer to the United States. “He should never have left the Bahamas. He could have dragged out the extradition request for years‚ and by the time he was back in New York‚ a lot of this controversy would have blown over‚ and he could cut a decent plea deal‚” Mr. Hooke told The Epoch Times. Once taken into custody in New York‚ Mr. Bankman-Fried underwent a lengthy ordeal‚ during which both a federal appeals court and Judge Kaplan repeatedly ruled against granting him pre-trial release. Judge Kaplan said that‚ given the seriousness of the charges against him‚ Mr. Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk‚ and the judge overruled arguments from the defense team that his dietary needs went unmet in prison and he was unable to confer properly with his lawyers in preparation for trial. Mr. Bankman-Fried’s personal life also became the subject of extensive media scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the trial’s commencement. The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal team for comment but received none by press time.