Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. Household debt in America just hit a new record of $140,000 per family in America. Keep in mind that’s separate from your $280,000 share of the national debt. Or the half-million you owe in unfunded Social Security and Medicaid. All adding up to roughly five times the median net worth of American families. The numbers come from the New York Fed, which reports that household debt hit a record $17.8 trillion, driven by rising mortgage balances, rising auto loans, and rising credit card debt. For perspective, all the bank accounts in America hold about $23 trillion. Personal debt is at $18 trillion. [Mortgage debt increased by $77 billion during the three-month period of April through June of this year, ending the latter month at $12.5 trillion.] HELOC debt—that is, home equity lines of credit—rose for the ninth consecutive quarter as Americans raid the piggy bank to borrow against their house at up to 11% interest. That’s close to what they charge at the pawnshop. Credit card balances hit $1.1 trillion—a new record. Auto loans jumped to $1.6 trillion, also a new record. The only thing that went down were student loans, down a paltry $10 billion, since they’re being illegally written off to buy votes. Beyond the numbers are the delinquencies, with people falling behind. The Fed said 90-day delinquency rates jumped to nearly 11% in credit cards, the highest since the 2008 crisis. Auto loans are less than a point shy of the peak of 2008. “Other debt” hit 8.5% delinquency, also the highest since 2008. The only bright spot was mortgages, which aren’t defaulting because houses went up so much that nobody outside Baltimore is under water on their house. As for those student loans, defaults are traditionally very high, roughly 1 in 10—yes, college grads are deadbeats—but currently we have no idea what the default rate is, since the Fed’s not reporting them until, by sheer coincidence, after the election. Zooming in to the actual humans involved, last quarter, 136,000 Americans went into bankruptcy, 47,000 went into foreclosure, and roughly 6 million American households currently have a third-party collection open on them. Meaning, they’re afraid to answer the phone. All of this, of course, is hitting the young hardest. During COVID-19, they took on debt at historic rates, and now their collapsing wages can’t even service their 24% credit cards. I’ve mentioned in recent videos how they’re moving back in with mom and dad at rates not seen since the 1940s, and they increasingly see traditional goals like buying a house or starting a family as fairy tales from a long-lost age. So what’s next? Since COVID-19, our economy’s running on an unsustainable debt bubble: federal debt, state debt, local debt, and, apparently, $17.8 trillion in personal debt. That’s delayed the recession, but rising delinquencies and flatlining consumer spending say the debt treadmill is running out of steam. Alas, there’s a cavalry coming, but it’s not a good one: The same Fed study reports that credit card limits are growing more than three times faster than balances, as banks take the trillions they borrowed for nothing during COVID-19 and sell it back to Americans at 24% APR. That means another $4 trillion in bright, shiny, 24% APR cards are standing by. If punters take the bait, it could delay or at least soften the recession—at the expense of locking millions of Americans into a lifetime of debt slavery. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Red Alert on Red Ink: Households Drowning in Debt appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday warned Republicans not to abandon “principles,” as he explained why he “cannot endorse” the GOP presidential ticket in the November elections.  “For my part, you know, I’m staying out of the presidential campaign,” Pence told conservative commentator Erick Erickson in an onstage interview at Erickson’s Atlanta conference dubbed The Gathering.  While assailing the “failures” of the “Biden-Harris administration”—and questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ fitness to be president—Pence also expressed concern over growing Republican skepticism of U.S. military intervention abroad, the Republican National Committee’s newly moderate position on abortion, and other issues.  Pence, founder of the think tank Advancing American Freedom, ran for the GOP presidential nomination before dropping out last October.  “I just cannot endorse this growing abandonment of our allies on the world’s stage that’s taken hold in parts of our party,” Pence, 65, said. “I cannot endorse ignoring our national debt that reached $35 trillion just in the last week.” “I cannot support marginalizing the right to life in our party, as we saw in the national platform,” Pence added, referring to the GOP’s official promise not to pursue a national abortion ban. The former vice president said it was “disappointing” that the GOP “removed 50 years of pro-life language” from its platform.  Pence also cited past disagreement with former President Donald Trump on Pence’s refusal to send Electoral College votes back to the states at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, in protest of President Joe Biden’s win. “Between me and my former running mate, I cannot endorse President [Donald] Trump’s continuing assertion that I should have set aside my oath to support and defend the Constitution and acted in a way that would have overturned the election in January of 2021,” Pence said, prompting applause from his audience.  However, Pence repeatedly praised the policies he and Trump put forward during the Trump-Pence administration.  “[I’ve said] it before and I’ll say it again: I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together for the American people, because that relationship worked,” Pence said, to more applause.  The post Pence ‘Staying Out of the Presidential Campaign,’ Won’t Endorse Former Boss appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Silence of the Kams II: Gray Lady Warning Boogaloo?

Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) defended Minnesota Governor Tim Walz allegedly misrepresenting his service in the state's National Guard and for leaving his unit as it was preparing to deploy to Iraq.While Walz submitted his retirement package prior to the unit receiving the official orders to Iraq, he knew ahead of time of the possibility as evidenced by his then-congressional campaign press release about the matter."Do you think Governor Walz needs to clarify, explain, or correct any of what he‘s said and his past campaigns have said about his military service?” CNN host Kate Bolduan asked Reed, who is the chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee."I think Governor Walz has been very clear about his service as a member of the Minnesota National Guard. I think what has happened is that the Republicans have seized upon anecdotal evidence to attack the record of someone who served with distinction," Reed said.Walz did not deploy to a combat zone."But what they’ve done is they‘ve exaggerated and mischaracterized all — several things. One, he retired from the military long before his unit was alerted to go to Iraq," he continued. "He was not avoiding Iraq. In fact, what he was doing was preparing to run for Congress to assume another public period, another public service obligation that is consistent with this whole life as a National Guardsman, as a teacher, as someone who is a community leader."Reed went on to compare the criticisms Walz has received the past few days to the criticisms John Kerry faced about his service in the Vietnam War during the 2004 presidential election. "It‘s a Republican tactic and it‘s demeaning, I think, to their campaign to try to insinuate that the governor is less than a patriotic and dedicated, selfless servant in the military and in the Congress," Reed said. - YouTube www.youtube.com In yet another example of Walz seemingly giving a false impression of his military service, during a press conference in 2007, Walz thanked then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after she introduced him with "we appreciate his service on the battlefield." Walz did not deploy to a combat zone, and he did not correct Pelosi. He also did not correct her when she said he was a command sergeant major, as he did not complete the requirements to retain the rank when he retired early. C-SPAN then identified Walz as an "Afghanistan veteran."

A Chicago police officer was seen on video pointing a gun at street takeover spectators, which has prompted a departmental internal investigation, WGN-TV reported.The station said the video was recorded early Monday morning and shows street takeover participants drifting in the intersection of West 59th Street and South Pulaski Road in in the West Lawn neighborhood on the city’s southwest Side.Police told WGN no arrests were made Monday morning in connection with the street takeover.The video then shows a Chicago police transport truck drive through the intersection and an officer pointing a gun out of the passenger window, WGN said, adding that people at the street takeover responded by hurling insults and slurs at the officers.You can view the clip — which shows the street takeover and the officer pointing the gun — as part of WGN's video report here.The Civilian Office of Police Accountability confirmed to WGN that it also is investigating the incident CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs notified the group.More from the station:In July 2022, city leaders passed an ordinance to impose harsher fines for drifting events like the one that occurred Monday morning in West Lawn, as well as drag racing. The ordinance allows police to use picture and video evidence, along with license plate readers, to track down vehicles involved and impound them. It also imposes a $5,000 fine.Despite city leaders passing the ordinance, drifting events like the one in West Lawn on Monday are still happening across the city. Police told WGN no arrests were made Monday morning in connection with the street takeover.How are observers reacting?As you might guess, many fed-up-with-crime commenters on WGN's Facebook page expressed anger — not at the officer who pointed the gun, but at those in the lawless crowd. Check out some of them:"Leave her alone!!" one commenter said. "She's protecting herself and her partner! Go after the real criminals!""Should have started double tapping," another user said. "That would’ve dispersed the crowd rapidly.""Did I miss something?" another user wondered. "It’s OK that there is a street takeover by a bunch of thugs, but a cop can’t show a gun? WTF. That’s why Chicago is getting worse and worse. Grew up there, and don’t care if I ever see the city again." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Actress and former mixed martial artist Gina Carano recently addressed the rumors that South African billionaire Elon Musk might be using her lawsuit against Disney to drive down the company's stock value as a means to ultimately acquire the House of Mouse at a favorable price. Fellow actor Matthew Marsden detailed for Blaze News the significance of a possible Disney takeover by Musk as well as what it would entail. Background Carano played the character Cara Dune on the smash hit Disney series "The Mandalorian," providing the show with a genuinely strong female protagonist. However, in February 2021 — following the conclusion of the show's second season and several months after she enraged LGBT radicals by jokingly stating her pronouns were "beep/bop/boop" — Lucasfilm canned Carano, letting her find out herself from second-hand sources. "Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future," said a Lucasfilm spokesman. "Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable." 'He wants justice.'Her offense? A post pointing out parallels between COVID authoritarianism and the rise of Nazi Germany and how political hatred has the potential to grow into something truly monstrous. "Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children," the post said. "Because history is edited, most people today don't realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?" Meanwhile, Disney has generally been unfazed by similar Nazi comparisons advanced by its leftist talent — along with all manner of unhinged political commentary. Months after Carano's firing, a Rasmussen poll would reveal that 59% of Democratic voters supported confining the unvaccinated to their homes, and 48% of Democratic voters indicated they supported imprisoning those who questioned the efficacy of the experimental COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, Carano kicked the legs out from under Disney's framing of her ouster, stating: The truth is I was being hunted down from everything I posted to every post I liked because I was not in line with the acceptable narrative of the time. My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist. It was a bullying smear campaign aimed at silencing, destroying & making an example out of me. Carano took Elon Musk up on his open offer of legal support to those fired over lawful exercises of free speech and sued Disney in February for wrongful termination and sex discrimination. The complaint reportedly accused Disney of harassment, defamation, engaging in a "post-termination smear campaign," and attempting to cajole Carano into conforming with the corporate behemoth's views on BLM and gender ideology. Disney has desperately tried to kill the suit in the months since, but its efforts have proven unsuccessful. In the meantime, the value of the company's stock has continued to sag. Agnostic about rumors but keen on change Carano appeared on the Friday episode of "The Shawn Ryan Show" for a nearly 4-hour conversation about various matters, including her Christian faith, her unceremonious ouster from Disney, and her plans for the future. Carano made clear that while her cancellation has made her life exceptionally difficult, there was no way she was ever going to bend the knee to the Mouse: "I don't worship your business and my God is bigger than Disney." While her faith evidently kept her going, she underscored the importance of the help afforded her by Musk. "If it wasn't for Elon Musk, we'd be in a really scary place," said Carano. "He wants justice. I think he's a — I've never met him, I've never spoken to him but I couldn't be more grateful for what he's been doing in my life." Late in the interview, Ryan raised the matter of Elon Musk possibly buying Disney. Musk, who has publicly stated "Disney sucks," helped fuel such speculation in February when he told a reporter at a film premiere, "I'm just here with friends, thinking about companies to acquire." At the time, Musk was attending the premiere of "Lola" with billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz who had previously expressed interest in taking over Disney. In April, Musk suggested he would buy a stake in Disney if Peltz was elected to its board, posting, "His track record is excellent." Peltz, who has decried Disney's capture by race obsessives as well as its recent turn towards lecherous themes, was unable to secure seats on Disney's board. The Hollywood Reporter indicated in May that Peltz dumped his entire stake in the company for $120 a share, which works out to roughly $1 billion. 'I hope that's what's happening.' "Taking over Disney would be a huge thing," WDW Pro of the independent entertainment news outlet That Park Place suggested this week. "That is why this funding of the lawsuit for Gina Carano not only serves the purpose of helping her, but it may also be a huge strategy component of getting that stock down," he elaborated. "And partly the way you get that stock down is you put out into discovery and out into depositions and out into the public knowledge the stuff that's been going on behind the scenes at Disney." Musk has acknowledged that the case will have an impact, writing on July 26, "The discovery on this case will be devastating for the woke mind virus that controls Disney." Ryan told Carano, "I've heard rumors that the longer this lawsuit drags out and the more involved Elon gets, the lower the Disney stock tanks, and that he might be thinking he might buy Disney." Between the lawsuit's filing and April, Walt Disney Company stock gradually climbed; however, it has been in decline since. At the time of publication, its stock is trading south of $86. It's unclear if there has been any correlation between the case and the stock price, let alone a causal link. "Do you think there's any validity to that?" asked Ryan. Carano, who elsewhere in the interview indicated she has yet to actually meet Musk in person, responded, "I have no idea. I think there's a lot of rumors. But I think it'd be pretty cool if he did." "I hope that's what's happening," said Ryan. The actress immediately launched into a passionate tirade explaining why she regards it as critically important that those with dissenting views stand up to Hollywood prejudice and intolerance. Carano indicated that while she has received invitations to speak at conservative and Republican events, she does not want to shy away from the cultural war or cede critical territory to the radicals. Accordingly, she seeks venues and events where she may not necessarily be welcome. "I want to stay in the art space because that's where people shy away from and that's where we need to be," said Carano. "Somebody needs to be fighting in the art space." Blaze News attempted to reach out to Carano with an inquiry about whether she would be willing to return to Disney with Musk at the helm to either reprise the role of Cara Dune or produce content for the company but did not receive a response by deadline. What would a takeover look like and mean? Actor Matthew Marsden explained to Blaze News that people are generally aware of both of the institutional importance of Disney and of how Musk — one of the only tech billionaires willing to support free speech against woke censorship — was able to rejuvenate X. Naturally, this understanding has given way to the hope that Musk might seek to replicate his success with the House of Mouse. "Do I think he will buy Disney? Well, I'd love that to happen. Do I think that it would happen? Probably not," said Marsden. Marsden noted, however, that Musk appears to be a long-term thinker and that Disney's decline and potential breakup — a selloff of Lucasfilm or Marvel, for instance — may produce opportunities down the line too good for him to ignore. This to say, an acquisition is possible just not imminent. "I think that Disney is in free fall, and if Elon was just to leave it for a couple more years, then it's just going to keep going down," said Marsden, noting that the present leadership appears keen to keep making the same mistakes that have alienated fans and resulted in a slew of box office bombs. The trouble of an acquisition at this stage is that owing to the nature of production and scheduling, Musk would have to eat the cost of woke films planned and paid for long in advance. "I think that he's going to have to cancel a lot of those films that are in the pipeline. A considerable investment has been put into them, so that's kind of problematic — but he will have to cancel them," said Marsden. "If he was going to purchase it, he'd have to fire a lot of people because there have been a lot of DEI hires there." The actor indicated that the type of Disney talent that produced "The Acolyte" would need to hit the bricks. Fortunately, Marsden indicated there are plenty of filmmakers, storytellers, and craftsmen, both in and outside Disney who are frustrated with the current state of play who would love to resume work on the kind of content that once made the company great. Marsden also indicated Musk would have to curate Disney content such that families could once again leave their kids alone with a Disney show or movie without having to worry about their little minds being poisoned. As far as potential advisors, Marsden suggested that Musk or any deep-pocketed billionaire willing to step in would benefit from bringing on the likes of Nerdrotic, the Critical Drinker, Geeks, and online commentators with a finger on the pulse of what's presently ailing Disney. Marsden intimated that Disney's reform would be a greater triumph than simply building an alternative because reforming Disney was "the gold standard." "It's the premiere content creator for children in the world," said Marsden. "Glenn Beck loves it. All of us — I certainly grew up loving Disney. I loved it when I used to go there. It was a very magical place. ... It's not just a company, right? It's something very, very special and it did embody the values of the United States."Marsden continued: If you're talking about other companies, it wouldn't matter so much. Sony or, you know, even Universal doesn't matter so much as Disney and what Disney represents. Elon has gone and he targeted X. If he goes and he targets Disney — it makes sense why he would — but it's a much bigger thing. In other words, recapturing the Magic Kingdom would signal a monumental shift in the culture war. Your move, Elon. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Authorities in Oklahoma have named BTK Killer Dennis Rader as the prime suspect in a 1976 disappearance — and investigators have been receiving help from his daughter, Kerri Rawson. The post BTK Killer Dennis Rader Linked To More Cold Cases As His Daughter Helps Investigators appeared first on All That's Interesting.

The 3,500-year-old mummy was found with her mouth open in an apparent scream, and researchers believe that she may have been frozen that way since the very moment she died. The post A New Study Suggests That Egypt’s Famous ‘Screaming Woman’ Likely Died In Agony appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Trump Plane En Route to Rally in Montana Diverted for Mechanical Problem

Why Isn't the Democrat Party Interested in How Alaska's Mary Peltola Accumulated 176 Long Guns?