They might have lived on the periphery of the genre, but their 70s cross-fertilisation with the blues left us with stunning examples of left-field creativity

Hugh Fitzgerald at Jihad Watch writes: Rashida Tlaib, that “unpleasant in all respects” congresswoman, she of the wide-mouthed bass aspect, is furious yet again. She is angry this time because the House of Representatives has passed a bill prohibiting the State Department from citing figures on casualties — wounded and dead Gazans — that come […]

Last month, The Gospel Coalition hosted its largest ever gathering. Nearly 9,000 women assembled in Indianapolis for TGC’s 2024 Women’s Conference, themed Behold and Believe: Encountering Jesus as the Great I AM. Attendees came from 49 states and 27 countries, with over 65 percent being first-time attendees at a TGC Women’s Conference. These attendees heard keynote messages unpacking the seven I AM statements in John’s Gospel, from speakers including Jen Wilkin, Ruth Chou Simons, and David Platt. Through more than 40 topical breakout sessions and workshops, the conference also provided attendees with practical, biblical help for various aspects of life and ministry. Now, we’re excited to announce the release of all the audio and video sessions from TGCW24, available for you to stream at your convenience and share with others. To access the seven keynote talks and more than 40 breakout sessions, simply head to our TGCW24 On-Demand page and dive into the enriching content. Join Us in 2025 As you can see by watching the free sessions from TGCW24, or by browsing our Facebook photo album, TGCW24 was a blast—a time of inspiring teaching, joyful worship, enriching training, and encouraging community. If you missed the conference, be sure to join us at our upcoming events. Our next national conference, TGC25, will take place from April 22 to 24, 2025, in Indianapolis. Exploring the theme Alive Together: Faithful Living in a Faithless Age, TGC25 will be a time of learning what it means to be “alive together in Christ” (Eph. 2:5). Through keynote sessions on Ephesians and dozens of topical breakout sessions and workshops, attendees will be equipped to reach a fraying and isolated world. Registration just opened, and the lowest rate will last through July 31. Register soon to save!

On the surface, wolves follow a predictable life. They lounge in zoos or hunt in the wild to sustain their pack and rear pups. But these animals have more adventures, humor, and courage than we give them credit for. Some of the best examples of their multi-layered existence come from news reports about individual wolves. […] The post 10 Unusual Wolves That Made The News appeared first on Listverse.

Certain global corporations have become so integral to the world’s economic and social infrastructure that their failure would have catastrophic consequences. These companies provide essential services, create millions of jobs, and maintain critical supply chains that the global economy relies upon. Their influence extends beyond national borders, and their stability is paramount to preserving economic […] The post 10 Indispensable Corporations the World Cannot Afford to Lose appeared first on Listverse.

It’s a story that needed to be told, says “Sound of Hope” writer and producer Rebekah Weigel, because Possum Trot is not just another small Texas community near the Louisiana border, but a town that chose to live out God’s command to care for the orphan.  “This is such an amazing story,” says Weigel, an adoptive mother herself, adding, “we need to see more churches step in” the way that Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church did. Back in the 1990s, W.C. Martin, the pastor of the small church in Possum Trot, and wife Donna felt the Lord call them to adopt a child. Martin began preaching to his rural church about what the Bible says about adoption, and the congregation was moved to action. In total, 22 families in the church adopted 77 of the hardest-to-place children in the foster care system.  “There’s probably only a couple hundred people in the community of Possum Trot, an unincorporated area,” Weigel says, “but, you know, they took it seriously, and they did it together as a community. And I think that’s something I really loved about this story, was just the sense of doing it together, like bearing each other’s burdens, and, you know, when one was weak, they came together, and they helped each other, and I think we need more of that.” Now, the inspirational story of what happened years ago in the little community of Possum Trot is hitting the big screen on July 4 in the feature film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” Angel Studios is distributing the film. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.  Weigel joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the true story behind the film and the experience of telling such a moving story through film.  Listen to the podcast below: The post Angel Studios’ New Film Brings Message of Adoption, Hope to Big Screen appeared first on The Daily Signal.

MSNBC’s coverage of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Trump v. United States, which clarifies the scope of presidential immunity therefore delineating the limits of executive power, was ridiculously funereal. Except for Joy Reid, who was just ridiculous. There was a wide assortment of bad takes vomited on MSNBC air throughout the evening, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one as stupefyingly over-the-top as Reid on the early prime-time verdict special panelpalooza. Be sure to hang on as Reid takes you on a journey inside her fevered delusions: MSNBC TRUMP IMMUNITY RULING SPECIAL 7/1/24 7:31 PM CHRIS HAYES: Joy, just before we go to break, there's also the- to your point earlier about the sort of clarity of this, or the stakes, the one thing I was thinking about, too, and this is Rachel's point, is just how clarifying this is about the stakes of the election. To the extent that there is some activating small-d democratic energy that can be brought out what I think is a genuinely appalling move by the Court. I wonder if you feel the same way about that.” JOY REID: It's very clarifying. They might as well have added- by the way, please google Project 2025”, because we are essentially authorizing- and not just authorizing. Really sort of calling on Donald Trump -- they repeatedly talk about bold and decisive action. What bold and decisive action do they have in mind? Probably the exact same bold and decisive action that the Heritage Foundation has in mind. Heritage Action has in mind. Leonard Leo had in mind. Steve Bannon has in mind. And what I think what they're saying to the American people is that if we get- ”we”, this Leonard Leo Six, get our preferred president back, we're going to encourage him to break the boundaries of the law, push it to the limit, to feel free to even use violence, to use mass incarceration. “Go ahead and do those camps. Do whatever you need to do to take the bold and decisive action that we repeatedly have said is necessary for the function of the presidency, to get the agenda done, and we'll protect you and we'll let you know, Donald Trump, when you've gone too far and only then will you be stopped.” This is a clarion call to every American. By the way, that debate is like 34 felony counts old and it does not matter any more. All that matters is that you do not allow the person back into office who will use this power that he’s been given by this Court, this imperial Court, to implement that agenda they wrote down and published because they know that no one will stop them except voters. It doesn't matter if Biden is old. It don’t matter. It don’t matter if he’s old. What matters is that the other guy wants to be a king, and this Court has said “yes”, you are a king, and we are The King’s Hand. And together the seven of us will rule this country.   From watching this overwrought hyperventilation disguised as “analysis”, one can only conclude that Reid did not read the ruling. Or that of she did, she failed to comprehend the words located therein which were written in the English language.  The language in the ruling makes crystal clear that the President of the United States has neither absolute power nor absolute immunity. All that Trump does is to clarify the extent to which immunity applies. The real reason Reid and everybody else on MSNBC is raging is because Trump will severely curtail the ongoing  weaponized government prosecutions of the 45th President of the United States. The federal cases are imperiled, the Georgia case is stuck in limbo, and there is now a motion to vacate the jury conviction in the New York business records case. Furthermore, and as is noted elsewhere, it is the height of hypocrisy to whine about runaway executives flouting the law when the Regime figurehead that MSNBC serves is seen to be constantly bragging about defying the Supreme Court. This bragging about flouting the Supreme court is then rewarded with extensive airtime. If it weren’t for Regime Media, we’d have no media at all.   

Archaeologists have identified an ancient stone wall in the Dossone della Melìa, a high plateau in southern Calabria, as one of the defensive structures built by Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus to trap Spartacus and his army of escaped slaves. The moss-covered wall is 2.7 km (1.7 miles) long and is paired with an earthwork on one side. The wall also would have originally been accompanied by a deep ditch (fossa), but that is now lost. [University of Kentucky’s Dr. Paolo] Visona believes that Spartacus attacked the wall in his bid to break free of the trap that Crassus had constructed for him. The discovery of numerous broken iron weapons, including sword handles, large curved blades, javelin points, a spearhead, and other metal debris, indicate a battle took place at the site. The Dossone plateau extends from the toe of Italy’s boot to the arch, from the Reggio Calabria on the Straits of Messina and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Isthmus of Catanzaro and the Ionian Sea. It was used as the main regional pass between the eastern and western coasts of southern Italy since at least the 6th century B.C. (and continued to be used well into the 16th century). It was so strategically important to the Greek colonies in Calabria that the dominant city in the area, Locri Epizephyrii, had forts along the pass and regular patrols to protect its territory from attack by rival colonies. Spartacus and 70 gladiators escaped imprisonment in the gladiatorial training school in Capua in 73 B.C. This tiny core expanded geometrically, drawing in enslaved rural and urban workers, shepherds, farmers, men, women and children until there were 70,000 rebels successfully raiding towns and making fools of the Roman commanders sent to quash the rebellion. Spartacus and his co-leaders made ample use of the local knowledge in their ranks, military tactics and understanding of the terrain among them. The Social War between Rome and its former Italian allies less than 20 years earlier had seen a great deal of action in southern Italy, and there were certainly veterans of that rebellion among Spartacus’ forces. By the time Spartacus and his ragtag army made their way to Rhegium (Reggio Calabria) in 71 B.C., however, the richest man in Rome, the ruthless general Marcus Licinius Crassus, was on his tail. Crassus cut off access to the Straits of Messina so Spartacus could not flee to Sicily and he ordered construction of fortifications to block their movements and supply chains. Hemmed in by Crassus and with news that Pompey’s legions, fresh from war in Spain, had been dispatched to crush the rebellion once and for all, Spartacus busted through the fortifications and headed east for the heel of the boot. They didn’t make it. They made a hard turn north and the final confrontation between the Spartacan army and the Roman legions of Crassus took place in 71 B.C. in Senerchia, 260 miles north of Rhegium.

Just a couple of days ago I wrote about the way the national media was expressing shock over Joe Biden's performance at the debate while simultaneously ignoring the fact that many people on the right…

CNN data analyst Harry Enten freaked out on the air over poll numbers for Biden after the debate disaster of last Thursday night, noting that he has never seen numbers this bad for an incumbent president.…