‘I think I looked at the guy, but his back was to me,’ Larry said

'A star is born'

A post shared on X claims that conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said it was a “good thing” that Syrian Christians could be slaughtered because Israel’s enemies had weakened. Jewish pundit Ben Shapiro acknowledges Syria’s Christian minority could be slaughtered now that Assad has been deposed, but says it’s a “good thing” because Israel’s enemies in the […]

In Zambia’s Kafue National Park, a conservation organization specializing in wildcats has reported that the number of leopards there has tripled. With an increase of 2.9, there are now 4.4 leopards per 100 square kilometers of terrain, which is much more than it sounds when you consider just how big Kafue is. At 22,700 square […] The post Leopard Population Has Tripled in the World’s Largest Conservation Area. appeared first on Good News Network.

Excerpts Horror Read an Excerpt From Clay McLeod Chapman’s Wake Up and Open Your Eyes A social horror novel that holds a mirror to our divided nation and will shake readers to the core. By Clay McLeod Chapman | Published on December 10, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, a new social horor novel by Clay McLeod Chapman, out from Quirk Books on January 7th. Noah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it.Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart—literally—as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend glued to a screen. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn—but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes? December 18 Get your family out of there, Noah. Please. The city isn’t safe anymore. None of them are. If you’d been watching the news, you’d know this by now. Please, honey. Please. For me. For your mother. You need to leave New York before it’s too late, before your family gets hurt… Mom left another message. Noah didn’t even hear his phone ring this time. Her voicemails are digital mosquitoes buzzing about his ear at all hours of the day—and night—hungry for blood. This one landed at eleven. Shouldn’t she be in bed by now? Fast asleep? Paul Tammany must’ve just gotten off the air. “Everything okay?” Alicia props herself up on one elbow in their bed, sensing tension. Noah nods, still listening to his mother. “Is it her?” “Yeah.” The frequency of Mom’s calls has really ramped up since Thanksgiving. Something’s in the air. Or maybe it’s the fluoride in the water. Or the cell towers, all that 5G microwaving her brain. I just watched another news story and they said there have been more protests—these riots and I, oh God, Noah, I’m so worried for you… So worried about my grandbaby… When Noah was just a boy, growing up in Virginia, his mom would take him to the library. She’d let him check out two books. Any two. His choice. Their deal was simple: One for you and one for me. Mom would read one book to Noah at bedtime while he had to read the other on his own. He’d pick a picture book to tackle—the easy reads, Sendak or Silverstein—while for his mother, he’d tug the doorstoppers off the shelf. The cinder-block books. Tolkien. Dickens. King. He can still remember the sound of her voice, a soft southern lilt gamely taking on the personas of every last character, her words filling his bedroom, his mind, his dreams. Noah can still hear her voice now. When I think of you up there in that god-awful city, with all those awful people around, I—I don’t know. I wish you’d come home to us. You can’t be safe up there. Kelsey can’t be safe… He doesn’t recognize her at all. It’s not Mom. It can’t be. Technically, yes, that’s her voice. But… the words. They don’t sound like her thoughts at all. These are someone else’s words in her mouth. Her mind. It’s getting worse. She’s getting worse. “Is it bad?” Alicia’s voice is calm. Fair and balanced. Working as an admin at a nonprofit will do that—her uncanny knack for putting out fires with nothing but the serenity in her tone. “Pretty bad.” “How bad?” They’re talking about a reckoning, son… Noah stares at the ceiling, phone pressed to his ear, his mind’s eye filled with his mother’s distorted visions of a city on fire, of protests right outside their window, complete chaos. I know you don’t believe me and I know you think I’m overreacting, but I—I just wish you would wake up, honey, before it’s too late. I wish, I wish you would open your eyes. “Can I hear?” Alicia slides in closer. There’s that curiosity of hers. That mettle. Probably the first thing Noah remembers about meeting Alicia was how she was the one to approach him at that Antibalas show in Williamsburg—what? Thirteen years ago now?—in the back room at Black Betty. She kick-started the conversation, buying the next round. They danced with their drinks held up at their shoulders, those crinkly plastic cups, spilling G&Ts all over themselves. They both carried a hint of juniper all the way back to his apartment, seeped into their skin. “You don’t want to hear this,” Noah says. Buy the Book Wake Up and Open Your Eyes Clay McLeod Chapman Buy Book Wake Up and Open Your Eyes Clay McLeod Chapman Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget “What’s she saying?” Somebody ought to do something. Somebody ought to put a stop to these people— These people. “Nothing.” Noah deletes the message before he finishes listening to it. What Alicia hasn’t said, but what Noah’s sensed anyhow, is that she’s starting to ebb. Pull away from him. His family. And she’s pulling Kelsey away with her. When Thanksgiving discourse shifted to immigration, who’s creeping into the country, didn’t his parents notice Kelsey sitting across the table? Who just passed the mashed potatoes? Didn’t they realize their granddaughter is half Haitian? An invasion, Noah’s mom called it. Why can’t they all just stay in their own country? What about me? What about Kelsey? Alicia asked Noah’s mother at the table, point-blank, in front of Ash and his whole fam, Christ, everyone, having held her tongue as long as the first serving of turkey. What do you see when you look at her? Your own granddaughter? Mom said, no, no, she wasn’t talking about her daughter-in-law or granddaughter. She was talking about those other people. Noah hasn’t picked up a call from her since; just lets Mom go to voicemail now. Lets her ramble on for as long as she wants, filling up his inbox with her endless messages. He traps them. Suffocates them, like bugs in a jar. But it’s not going away. Mom’s not stopping. This has festered for far too long. Noah needs to deal with this. “I’m gonna call,” he says, already dialing. It doesn’t matter how late it is. No answer. Strange. Mom always picks up. No matter what she’s in the middle of, she always makes time to talk to her boys. Particularly Noah. Mr. Golden Boy, Asher always jabs. Pampered Prince. So why isn’t she picking up? Why won’t she answer? “Maybe she’s asleep?” Alicia suggests. “Maybe.” Neither says anything for a breath. Alicia holds on to Noah’s eyes. Really takes him in. “Plenty of people are going through this,” she says, breaking the silence. “I read in The Atlantic—” Noah drags his pillow over his face and releases a low groan. “Pleeeease. No more articles about deprogramming your parents…” It’s far too late for an intervention. That ship sailed last Thanksgiving. Noah already tried dragging Mom and Dad back from the ideological brink of their batshit conspiracy-laden crackpottery. Before packing his fam in the car and plowing through traffic to get to Grammy and Grandpa’s house for Turkey Time, Noah Googled “how to deprogram your parents,” like he was cramming for an exam. He clicked a couple links. Printed a few articles. He even highlighted a couple sentences. Debate won’t help. Arguing only makes matters worse. Your loved ones are lost in a conspiracy theory loophole. They are falling down their own personal rabbit holes. Only patience and understanding will pull them out. Talk to them. See their side. Find common ground Did the writers of these listicles even know folks like Noah’s father? He’s the most stubborn son of a bitch Noah’s ever met. He’s lived with his bullheadedness his entire life. But Mom… Not her. Mom is still Mom, isn’t she? Somewhere deep down? Trapped in her own body? There has to be a scrap of sanity left, just a glimmer of common sense buried deep beneath the calcifying wave of conspiracy theories shellacking her brain, one queasy meme after another. “You’re not alone,” Alicia says. “That’s all I’m saying.” Sure feels like it. This downward spiral may have started years ago, but this last month has been a wildfire of voicemails. Used to be just one a week. Now it’s up to three a day. Noah has felt so isolated from his family—his own mother—ever since she tumbled down the rabbit hole. Whatever crawled back up isn’t Mom anymore. Excerpted from Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, copyright © 2024 by Clay McLeod Chapman. The post Read an Excerpt From Clay McLeod Chapman’s <i>Wake Up and Open Your Eyes</i> appeared first on Reactor.

A Perfect Encapsulation of Government

Clueless Joe Co.: Has Winken Blinken Actually Met the New Boss?

After the alleged murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was caught on Tuesday, MSNBC’s Joy Reid was extra Joy Reid-y on The ReidOut. She gleefully noted that people on the internet are not angry at the murder, and when she welcomed progressive author and radio host Thom Hartmann, wondered how such reactions could be made in the same country that just elected Donald Trump. For his part, Hartmann declared that the reason why America does not have a socialist healthcare system is because of racism. Reid began by pretending to be shocked that liberal Twitter sleuths are not eager to find lefty assassins, “Something a bit unexpected has happened following the murder... I don't want to call it glee but, say, not unhappiness. Especially online, where the internet sleuths who often dedicate themselves to tracking down people accused of racist behavior in public places, criminals including January 6th fugitives, and more have actively been refusing to help.”     She then hyped how “Donald Trump Jr., son of our incoming ruler, went on his X/Twitter page and did the patented ‘internet, do your thing,’ post. And the reaction was mostly, ‘yeah, no.’” Likewise, she gloated that “Other popular conservatives like Ben Shapiro and anti-woman zealot Matt Walsh saw their mention go up in flames when they tried to attack quote/unquote “evil liberals” for celebrating the murder of a CEO, with some of their supporters replying that they had gotten it wrong.” Before introducing Hartmann, Reid added, “United has gobbled up dozens of insurance companies over the decades to become not only the larger insurer in the U.S. but, by profits, the largest in the world, and they exist in an industry that is all about consolidation and profit where basically four to five companies control everything and care little about healthcare consumers in the minds of many Americans.” Reid would eventually ask Hartmann, “It is so ironic to me that people, left and right, are mad at UnitedHealthcare but voted to make America run by UnitedHealthcare, your thoughts?”     Hartmann agreed, “It is totally nuts, Joy, you are absolutely right. Corporations are—if corporations actually were people, they would be psychopaths, you know, they have no conscience, they have no consideration for other people's feelings, in fact, they don't have the ability to feel other people's feelings, and that is how they’re designed.” While corporations are psychotic, Hartmann viewed government as nothing but flowers, rainbows, and happy faces, “Businesses are run for profit; government is run for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s run for the benefit of people. Generally, that’s intangible, it’s really difficult to measure those things, many of those things. I mean, you know, so the FBI stopped eight terrorist attacks; well, how do you measure that people don't know it happened?  Hartmann further lamented, “We are the only country in the developed world that does not recognize healthcare as a right, as a human right, and doesn’t cover every single person in the country. 25 million people in America have no insurance whatsoever, and many of us are radically underinsured, and that just is something no other country would tolerate.”     Diving into a history lesson, Hartmann continued: It goes back to a fellow named Frederick Hoffman in the 1890s. It is an amazing story, I don't know if you want to get into it, but it basically starts with the story of this guy coming over from Germany… and got a gig as vice president of the Prudential Insurance Company, and in 1896 he published a book called Race, Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro, and his argument was that black people were genetically inferior. Therefore, if we simply denied them healthcare, eventually, within a few generations, all black people would die out and solve the race problem in America.  He then blamed Hoffman for thwarting Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman’s plans to install a single-payer healthcare system, “I mean, that’s how we got a privatized healthcare system rather than essentially a socialized health system like everybody else has where the government makes sure everybody is covered.” Meanwhile, in socialized healthcare paradises like Canada, the system merely encourages you to euthanize yourself, while in Britain, waiting times continue to break records. Perhaps that is not what Jefferson meant by “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Newly nominated border czar Tom Homan blasted Illinois elected officials for their handling of illegal immigration and received massive support from local citizens as he delivered his remarks.Homan spoke in Portage Park, Chicago, to a crowd of raucous supporters about starting deportations of illegal aliens in the city."All that starts January 21, and we're going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois," Homan said to loud applause. "If the Chicago mayor doesn't want to help, step aside. But if he impedes us, harbors or conceals illegal aliens, I will prosecute him," he threatened.Making multiple stops in Chicago, Homan routinely took shots at Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for their remarks surrounding immigration policy."The mayor says he wants to protect the immigrant community," Homan said at Gibsons Steakhouse in Rosemont, Illinois."That's a bunch of bulls***. When you think about the fact of the matter is, sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals. That is true. When you release an illegal alien out of your jail, back in the community, do you think the victim and witness of that crime wants them back?" he asked the crowd."I can't believe this governor is saying the things that your governor and your mayor are saying," Homan continued. "Either they help or get out of the way."'They're gonna arrest them. They're gonna enforce the law.'According to ABC News 7, Homan also responded to questions about whether illegal immigrants will undergo "family separation."He said that if illegal immigrants enter the country and then have a child, "that's on you.""You can either take the child home with you, or they can stay here. But, you don't get a pass," Homan clarified.Homan added that Mayor Johnson will end up getting the "exact results he's bitching about" if he hinders federal authorities from making deportations of criminals. The future border czar explained that if a "bad guy" is released into the community, immigration officers will likely find not only their single suspect but other illegal immigrants who "aren't public safety threats" but are still in the country illegally."And guess what? They're coming too," Homan revealed. "Because unlike the Biden administration, I'm not gonna tell immigration enforcement officers, 'when you see illegal immigrants standing in front of you, turn around and walk away from them.' They're gonna arrest them. They're gonna enforce the law."A spokesperson for Governor Pritzker issued a statement, saying Illinois will face "countless, baseless attacks over the next four years from the Trump Administration."The statement continued, "Rather than responding to every ridiculous boast from Trump lackeys, Governor Pritzker is focused on what he was focused on during the first Trump term: leading our state with competence instead of chaos."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The massive tent city shelter at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field is scheduled to shut down next year, and the city plans to relocate the illegal immigrants currently residing there by mid-January.On Tuesday, Democrat Mayor Eric Adams' office announced that it plans to close additional shelter spaces around the city, citing lower numbers of individuals relying on the taxpayer-funded shelter services.'The re-election of President Trump was the final nail in the coffin to secure this closure.'Adams' administration will close 25 shelters, including the 2,000-bed makeshift facility in Floyd Bennett Field, which the city leases from the federal government through the National Park Service."The number of asylum-seekers in city shelters has decreased for 22 straight weeks and is now at its lowest point in over 17 months," Adams' office stated. "New York state, which was paying the costs of sheltering migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, will continue to reimburse New York City for costs for equivalent care incurred at other sites across the city."Adams credited the closures to the city's "smart management strategies" that addressed the immigration crisis."Our intensive case management, paired with 30- and 60-day policies, have helped more than 170,000 migrants take their next steps on their journeys, because migrants don't come here to live in our shelter system — they come here to pursue the American dream," Adams stated. "We're going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response."The Mayor's Office of Asylum Seeker Operations Executive Director Molly Schaeffer called the Floyd Bennett Field tent shelter a "relief valve" that provided "critical shelter and resources" at the height of the immigration crisis for the city.In September, a 30-vehicle caravan of New York City residents protested the potential renewal of the migrant shelter, which they argued had invited more crime and violence into their neighborhoods. Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (R-Brooklyn) previously told the New York Post, "We have these migrants coming in, door-knocking, stealing packages, you know, soliciting everywhere in front of our supermarkets, playing at the heartstrings of people.""And this is not what our community is about," Williams continued. "Floyd Bennett Field is not a place to house migrants. It's a flood zone [with] no infrastructure whatsoever. So when you have them in that type of setting, there is nothing left to do. They're going to be on the street because they don't have any jobs."More than 100 residents held a similar protest against the shelter in June.Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) responded to the announced closure."Today's announcement that the Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter will close next month, days before President Trump is sworn in, shows the impact his agenda is already having on our country's migrant crisis," Malliotakis told WABC-TV. "While we kept the pressure up by rallying, protesting, passing legislation, and filing bipartisan lawsuits to terminate the lease, the re-election of President Trump was the final nail in the coffin to secure this closure, restore order in our community, and put American citizens first," she added.Adams has plans to meet with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, on Thursday.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!