Last month the House of Representatives advanced bipartisan legislation requiring Chinese company ByteDance to sell its widely used video app TikTok‚ or have it banned in the United States. Meanwhile‚ former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced he would assemble a group to purchase the app.However‚ the Congressional legislation is running into some sharp opposition. The Washington Post reported that a coalition of small-business owners‚ educators‚ activists and young people who use TikTok were scrambling to respond with many arguing that it plays an increasingly crucial role in the national economy and American public life.(READ MORE: The Beginning of the End of TikTok?)That increasingly crucial role is exactly the problem.The CCP Controls TikTok AlgorithmThis recreational app has grown into a national security issue. On one hand‚ there is the digital privacy angle. Whatever goes onto TikTok goes directly to the Chinese Communist Party. They can access all your posts and information; so if you plan a future in US government service you might want to remember who has been watching you. Your images and other data will be filed in Beijings biometric databases‚ and the CCP can copy all the user info you load in name‚ email‚ phone number‚ credit cards‚ and whoever you are linked to. So TikTok like most apps‚ frankly is voluntary spyware.Then there is the algorithm‚ which ByteDance wont sell or even allow anyone to view. This could mean bargain pricing for a potential app buyer. But the reason why China keeps the algorithm under wraps is because this is how the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) conducts political warfare against the United States.(READ MORE: Xi Jinpings Persecution of Chinese Christians)Communist influence operations against the U.S. are nothing new‚ but the information age and rise of social media platforms gave the CCP new means of pushing out its messaging. In 2021‚ a RAND study detailed the use of foreign social media by the Chinese military to carry out what they call cognitive domain operations involving subliminal messaging‚ deep fakes‚ overt propaganda‚ and public sentiment analysis.So TikTok is just the latest and most insidious evolution of this technique. The algorithm is a product of the political warfare that the CCP is waging on this country.Like any algorithm TikTok makes content recommendations tailored to each user‚ deciding what users will see based on a variety of criteria such as engagement‚ user interactions‚ video information like captions and hashtags‚ device and account settings like country and language‚ and how long you watch a given video.But it can also push out or suppress messages and images based on other factors‚ including whatever the CCP wants you to see or not see.ByteDance‚ the company behind TikTok‚ is heavily influenced by the communist party. A study by the Jamestown Foundation found that a party committee micromanages ByteDances operations and decision-making. The party committee engages in activities to reinforce party loyalty among its members‚ including oath-taking ceremonies where employees swear to uphold and never betray the Partys agenda. Committee secretary Zhang Fuping emphasized the importance of the party committee taking a proactive and elevated role in oversight‚ ensuring that algorithmic decisions [emphasis added] are in accordance with Xi Jinping Thought and promote socialist core values.These algorithmic decisions are manifested in different ways inside and outside the PRC.TikToks Chinese Cousin Is Heavily CensoredDouyin‚ the domestic Chinese version of TikTok‚ also owned by ByteDance‚ promotes socially useful messages about family‚ hard work‚ education‚ intelligence‚ and loyalty to the Communist Party. These are meant to enhance Chinese national strength‚ growth and cohesion. And just to make sure‚ this is all done under the watchful eye of the internal security services.In 2018‚ Zhang Hong-ye‚ deputy director of the Cyber Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security‚ said that the influence of short videos on society continues to increase‚ and the central and local party and government organs have opened official government affairs accounts on the Douyin platform to carry out positive energy propaganda in the form of videos‚ igniting the enthusiasm of all walks of life to transmit positive energy‚ and has won the general resonance and full affirmation of netizens and social public opinion.(READ MORE: Hong Kong Affords a Glimpse of the Future for Taiwan)In general‚ the Chinese internet has long been heavily censored. Beijing pioneered the technology of internet censorship‚ and the Great Firewall bans popular social media like Youtube‚ Facebook‚ Instagram‚ Snapchat and Twitter‚ all of which are American purveyors of negative energy‚ And most recently Douyin banned AI stating it is prohibited to use generative artificial intelligence technology to create or publish content that violates scientific common sense‚ engages in fraud‚ and spreads rumors.This is all intended to promote a vision of Chinas future as a growing and prospering country under the wise leadership of chairman Xi Jinping.Meanwhile the TikTok algorithm in this country promotes the strange‚ the bizarre‚ the controversial and divisive. A Rutgers study from December 2023 showed that highly divisive topics like Black Lives Matter‚ abortion‚ and all things Trump‚ are heavily promoted‚ while matters the CCP would rather we not think about like the Tiananmen Square massacre‚ Hong Kong protests‚ Falun Gong‚ Tibetan independence‚ or the genocide of the Uyghurs‚ are downgraded or censored. Leaked TikTok moderation guidelines from 2019 showed this is intentional‚ not incidental.A study in Taiwan found Tiktok users tend to have more pro-Chinese views. Other studies showed TikTok spreading violent and sometimes false imagery from Ukraine and the Gaza War. In response‚ TikTok restricted access to the tool analysts were using to conduct these studies. ByteDance and the PRC want to keep the TikTok algorithm hidden is because it is toxic and destabilizing by design.The Marketplace Can Handle Replacing TikTokReplacing TikTok should not be that difficult. Just ban it and let the marketplace replace it with something American owned and operated. But even a home-grown social medium may not be operated in a way thats good for this country. Any such app could well echo the same type of destructive‚ divisive messaging that we see coming from communist China. Look at Google and its woke Gemini AI image generator‚ specifically tailored to produce the kind of output that Chairman Xi would absolutely love. Google and likeminded progressives are a wrecking crew for American culture. Simply banning TikTok wont root out the generational harm that the march through the institutions has done to America.Some question whether the U.S. government should be involved in banning an app. They argue that our commitment to free speech should be paramount. That is a valid concern. But there is no reason why the American commitment to free speech and free enterprise should allow a foreign entity operating under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party‚ or for that matter any other malign foreign actors‚ to freely exercise their mission to destroy our country.Our adversaries are long term planners executing a strategy to weaken and destroy our freedoms and our nation. They will use every tool at their disposal to achieve these ends. They firmly believe that they are on the right side of history‚ that time is on their side‚ and the clock is ticking. You might wonder if that is why they called it TikTok.James S. Robbins is Dean of Academics at the Institute of World Politics in Washington‚ D.C.The post The Clock Is Ticking on TikTok appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

So ubiquitous‚ and acceptable‚ is sports gambling these days that Clay Travis offers free prop bets for March Madness games on The Clay Travis &;amp; Buck Sexton Show.And its not only the successor to the great Rush Limbaugh pushing gambling on the nations most revered and popular conservative talk show. Its the royal family of football‚ the Mannings‚ plumping Caesars Sportsbook in ads that seemed to flood the airwaves leading up to Super Bowl LVI. And its household-name athletes like Mike Tyson‚ Michael Jordan‚ Shaquille ONeal‚ Jerry Rice‚ and Wayne Gretzky‚ and big-screen staples like Ben Affleck and Jamie Foxx‚ using their names and reputations to sell sports betting.READ MORE from Tom Raabe: College Jocks Given Green Light to UnionizeSports channels feature shows where odds and gambling bets are the sole topic of discussion. Ones daily TV viewing is interrupted continually by ads for betting aps. Why‚ the major American sports leagues themselves the NFL‚ the NBA‚ MLB‚ the NHL all have signed big-money partnerships with betting platforms. ESPN has its own online sportsbook.I wonder if anyone foresaw this gambling bonanza 50 years ago when Americans still had to trek to the Nevada desert to legally play the tables or the machines. Or‚ more to the point‚ even six years ago‚ when the Supreme Court threw open the sportsbook doors by striking down the Amateur Protection Act‚ making sports betting legal in the states.Sports betting has exploded since that 2018 decision‚ as 38 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting of some sort‚ although not all have enacted it.And‚ amazingly‚ in those six years‚ all the dangers of sports betting drummed into our heads over these many decades have mysteriously been memory-holed‚ vanished like the money you put on that huge point spread that shrinks radically during garbage time.With a wave of the justices hands‚ the age-old dangers of game fixing and point shaving and general corruption by unsavory influences have all gone away. So strong has been the push for legal sports gambling that scandal and corruption have been washed‚ and wished‚ into oblivion. Sports gambling offers no threat to the integrity and competitive purity of sports‚ we are told‚ because‚ well‚ the gambling people say so. And besides‚ there is just so much money to be made by all in WagerWorld‚ and which state in its right mind is not going to spread its arms to embrace the millions flowing to it in gambling taxes?Nothing shady to see here‚ folks. Certainly no corruption.Well‚ the last year or so has not been kind to the pushers of sports betting. We as a society are up to our necks in sports gambling scandals. It turns out what was up until a couple of decades ago illegal and‚ since the dawn of recorded history‚ immoral does carry with it some dirty baggage.Problems With Prop BetsThe latest contretemps involves prop bets on college athletes. Prop bets proposition bets are wagers on aspects of the game unrelated to the final score. For example‚ some actual bets from the Elite Eight games last weekend include: Will Purdues Zach Edy score 22.5 points against Tennessee? Will North Carolina States D.J. Burns dish out more than 2.5 assists in the Duke game? But they can be even more atomistic‚ like an over/under on how many three-pointers player A will make in a game.Such bets are legal in many states‚ and the president of the NCAA‚ Charlie Baker‚ who wants a nationwide ban on them‚ worries that athletes will be harassed for failing to deliver on prop bets. Baker expressed his worry in January:All that chatter about whos playing‚ whos not playing. Whos sore‚ whos not sore. Whats going on with the team youre playing? What do you think your chances are? Which is just classic chatter‚ where in a world where people are betting takes on a whole new consequence.More to the point of prop betting‚ Baker limned the real-world dangers the following month‚ as reported in the Wall Street Journal:You literally could have certain situations where somebody just says‚ Look‚ youre my friend. Weve been friends a long time. I lost 500 bucks last week because you didnt play well. And I still love you‚ but Ive got to make rent next week. All I need you to do is miss your first two free throws.Could this happen? Sure. Does it happen? We can only guess. But the fact that it could happen showcases the potential of corruption in prop betting. You‚ the innocent bettor‚ never know if those free throws were missed on purpose.San Diego State athletic director J.D. Wicker said players‚ who are out and about on campus‚ attending class and so forth‚ are ripe for pressure from bettors:[T]heres a lot more opportunity for one of them to be pressured‚ for them to have something negative happen because maybe they miss the free throw or they miss the over the under‚ all those types of things.According to CBS Sports: A NCAA survey from last September showed 10% of respondents were aware of an athlete being harassed in person or online. The number of Division I athletic departments that faced a gambling issue or problem tripled from 2019 to 2023.Already a potential prop betting scandal has erupted in the pro game‚ where Toronto Raptor center Jontay Porter is being investigated for his possible part in two lucrative prop bets. In two games‚ in which he exited early or played minimally‚ millions of dollars came in on the under in prop bets involving him‚ turning those prop bets into the most lucrative NBA wagers on those particular days. Sam Quinn wrote at CBS Sports:But the Porter situation‚ pending the results of the investigation‚ has a chance to spiral into one of the worst sports betting scandals since legalization began to spread in 2018. According to ESPN‚ theNBAis investigating the integrity of games Porter himself participated in. If they do indeed find evidence that he either made bets against himself or had involvement with anyone that bet against him‚ that would represent a first since the sports gambling boom started six years ago.People were trying to do whatever they could to bet Jontay Porter props [in the first of the two games]‚ one source told ESPN. And then‚ just a few days ago‚ the same thing. We had a bunch of people trying to bet under for more.Multiple ScandalsApart from prop bets‚ recent times have not been kind to the gambling cause. The Temple University mens basketball team is being investigated by U.S. Integrity‚ a gambling watchdog group‚ for suspicious wagering activity on its games. In one game‚ the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) was a narrow favorite over the Owls‚ but during game day‚ that number ballooned to 8 points‚ closing at game time at 7. No injuries or other factors were at play to affect such a large point swing‚ which aroused the notice of investigators. UAB won the game‚ 10072. Since that loss‚ Temple has been 50 against the spread.Last year‚ University of Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired amid suspicious activity. According to Sports Illustrated‚ he allegedly gave crucial information about Alabamas starting pitcher for a game against Louisiana State University to another party‚ who promptly tried to bet $100‚000 on LSU. The bet raised suspicion‚ as that particular game had generated virtually no action prior to his bet. Additionally‚ the amount of the wager far exceeded the sportsbooks house limit‚ which also set off alarms.In the Hawkeye State‚ athletes from both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University have been embroiled in gambling controversies lately‚ accused of betting while underage; betting on games‚ including on their own teams; and betting under false names. Charges were dropped on four athletes because law enforcement used illegal means to monitor their betting activity‚ but over a dozen college kids have pled guilty to underage gambling.The most high-profile sports betting scandal of the day has a different flavor. It involves bookies and gambling debts in a state‚ California‚ that has not yet legalized sports gambling. And it involves Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani‚ baseballs biggest star and the highest-paid athlete in American sports history.The modern-day Babe Ruth excellent pitcher and fantastic hitter‚ like Ruth is embroiled in a betting scandal stemming from his longtime interpreter taking money from Ohtanis bank account and sending it to an alleged bookie. The question is whether the translator stole the money from Ohtanis account‚ or whether Ohtani was paying the debts for the translator. The case is ongoing‚ and facts about it are fluid. Ohtani has denied involvement in the controversy.Protecting SportsThose critical of legal gambling are usually characterized as bluenoses‚ cheek-sucking prudes who want to take the fun out of everything.A better characterization is that they simply want to protect the purity and integrity of the games they love. There are myriad ways for athletes to negatively affect the games they are playing point shaving‚ tanking‚ faking injury‚ throwing the game. It is difficult to impossible to keep corruption out of sports when gambling is legal and widespread and encouraged by media and society.READ MORE from Tom Raabe:WTF?! Why All the Swear Words?The LGBTQ Conquest of AmericaCan Blacks Be Racist?The post Danger Signs for Sports Gambling appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro is taking pages from Vladimir Putins book by doubling down on repression to secure a victory in upcoming elections. Some of his persecuted opponents are taking refuge in the Argentine embassy that is under siege by his Cuban trained security services in an evolving crisis that could turn into another serious foreign policy embarrassment for Biden‚ who recently eased economic sanctions on Venezuela on the advice of his NSC officials believing he could trust Maduro.Before the ink was dry on a U.S. brokered agreement signed with much pomp and circumstance in Barbados last October‚ pledging all kinds of electoral guarantees to Venezuelas opposition‚ an elaborate legalistic process was underway to prevent the main opposition presidential candidate‚ Mara Corina Machado‚ from getting on the ballot following the authoritarian template being applied by leftist governments globally. (READ MORE: Iran Makes Inroads in Latin America)Last week‚ Venezuelas regime filed unspecified conspiracy charges against all her senior staff‚ two of whom got snatched by Maduros goon squads while six of them made it to Argentinas diplomatic mission. Electricity to the embassy has since been cut and Argentine President Javier Milei is struggling to get a military team into Venezuela to protect the grounds surrounded by Maduros security unit SEBIN who are also cutting the water supply intermittently. When it does come out its dirty an Argentine security official told The American Spectator.Its heartening to see Argentina taking a principled stand to protect those Maduro and his regime have targeted in its multifront attack on the oppositions increasingly futile efforts to give Venezuelans real choice in the July elections‚ says Dr. Evan Ellis‚ Latin America specialist at the U.S. Army War College. Machado was trying to arrange for a prominent academic to replace her on the ticket when Maduro decapitated her political organization to pressure the opposition into accepting a quiet‚ little known ex-ambassador as the rival candidate.Maduro Should Be Held AccountableMilei has been accusing Venezuela of being a communist and terrorist state since his inauguration last year. But other governments are being timid and soft in criticizing Venezuelas criminal violation of international agreements‚ said ex-Colombian president Ivan Duque on CNN. The U.S. State Department has expressed concerns over the regimes election interference while President Lula da Silva of Brazil and current Colombian President Gustavo Petro echo American platitudes.Maduro should be condemned by the Organization of American States and the United Nations‚ says Duque‚ who fears that the lack of international reaction to his brutal fix on Venezuelas elections renders Machado vulnerable to extra official capture or even assassination.The Barbados agreements by which Maduro was supposed to allow competitive elections under international supervision‚ were largely negotiated by NSC Latin America officer Juan Gonzales‚ who quietly resigned from the White House a month ago‚ after it had become apparent that Maduro had no intention of honoring the agreement‚ which had allowed his regime to vastly increase its oil revenues in recent months.Gonzales was much taken in by the Venezuelans getting flown around in private jets‚ a U.S. State Department source told The American Spectator. He made it clear from the start that the administration wanted to scuttle maximum pressure sanctions [imposed by former President Donald Trump].His replacement‚ Dan Erikson‚ is expected to recommend some degree of policy change when the Barbados agreements officially come up for review on April 18. But Maduro has already doubled his oil profits which rose from $12 billion to $20 billion in 2023. The easing of sanctions that were supposedly tailored to allow Chevron to purchase Venezuelan oil for U.S. refineries in a debt repayment scheme‚ ended up being negotiated in ways that also permitted European and Indian oil companies to load up on Venezuelan crude oil in straight dollar transactions that had been banned by Trump.(READ MORE from Arostegui: The Venezuela Template Against Democracy)Similar to how the Biden administrations roll back of sanctions on Iran has allowed the radical Islamic regime to strengthen itself politically and militarily in the Middle East‚ the easing of Venezuelan sanctions is helping Maduro expand his influence in Latin America‚ where he keeps Cubas dictatorship afloat with free oil shipments supplying 30 percent of the islands energy needs. Bolivian international lawyer Christian Barrientos also sees a link between the recent repression unleashed in Venezuela and efforts by Bolivias socialist government to dismantle election integrity safeguards.Maduro Pressures GuyanaIn recent days‚ Bolivias MAS party government of President Luis Arce Gmez filed unspecified criminal charges against an engineer of the cyber security firm Ethical Hackers‚ Edgar Villegas‚ who uncovered an attempt by previous MAS President Evo Morales to manipulate the vote in 2019 elections. An audit he conducted for the Organization of American States presented clear evidence that results were being electronically altered through outside servers connected to Bolivias electoral system while the votes were counted‚ leading Bolivias supreme court to denounce election fraud and oust Morales.Last week‚ Villegas was suddenly charged with instigation to commit a crime without the government saying what the intended crime was. We see a clear pattern by repressive leftist governments to perpetuate themselves in power through the pre-emptive elimination of any possible election challenge says Barrientos.Maduros growing regional influence may also give him leverage on neighboring Guyana where he is pushing territorial claims on the countrys oil producing region of Essequibo where Exxon Mobil is currently undertaking a major exploration project to tap its vast energy reserves. About 6000 Venezuelan troops were mobilized to the border with Guyana last December following a propaganda blitz by Maduro asserting historical rights on the territory based on a border dispute dating back to when Guyana was a British colony. (READ MORE: Disintegration: King of the Jungle‚ Episode 9)Recent satellite imagery indicates that his military remain deployed along the border where they appear to be building bases. Venezuelas armed forces equipped with sophisticated Russian hardware including S-300 missiles‚ Su-25 fighter aircraft‚ T-72 tanks as well as Iranian made Peykaap missile boats‚ dwarf Guyanas small army. Britain has sent a frigate to the area and high-level Pentagon officials have visited to discuss a buildup of Guyanas armed forces.Its doubtful that Venezuela would launch an all-out invasion‚ but its Russian and Iranian supported military could mount low-intensity insurgent operations in Essequibo threatening oil production in the area‚ according to former Navy SEAL Officer Erik Prince who heads the private security firm Academi‚ (formerly Blackwater). He said in recent TV interview that Venezuela is infiltrating undercover teams possibly including Colombian FARC guerrilla veterans. Ellis says that Maduro could be aiming at extorting protection money from oil operators going into the region.Intelligence analysts also say that Venezuela is collaborating with Iran to set up terrorist cells throughout the hemisphere. Argentine security officials worry about possible retaliation against Milei for his support to the Venezuelas opposition and ongoing investigations into Hezbollahs local network.An Iranian Boeing 707 linked to Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps‚ which had been flying regularly between Venezuela and Argentina‚ was grounded in Argentina at the request of the FBI in 2022. Argentine authorities resisted handing the plane over the U.S. authorities until Milei complied with the requisition order upon taking office.The post Venezuelas Maduro Is Clamping Down on Free Elections appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opened in theaters on March 22 and‚ despite mixed reviews‚ quickly became that weekends box office champ with a $45 million profit. To date‚ its garnered $78.5 million domestically‚ bringing collective franchise revenue over the billion-dollar threshold and proving that the 40-year-old brand is still a crowd-pleaser after five successful films. Frozen Empire not only reunites the Ghostbusters franchise with the Reitman family Jason Reitman‚ whose late father‚ Ivan‚ directed the original 1984 filmand Ghostbusters II‚ co-wrote Frozen Empires script with director Gil Kenan but also brings back most of the characters introduced in the first film: Peter Venkman (Bill Murray)‚ Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd)‚ Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson)‚ Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts)‚ and Walter Peck (William Atherton). The film also reintroduces the family members of Egon Spengler (the character played by the late Harold Ramis in the flagship film) who were first seen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife‚ including Egons daughter‚ Callie (Carrie Coon); Callies romantic interest‚ Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd); and Callies children‚ Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard).RELATED: A Neglected John Wayne MasterpieceFrozen Empire is enjoying success at the box office because it targets two distinct audiences. Gen Xers and young boomers who were fans of the original film and Ray Parker Jr.s catchy theme song are drawn to the theaters from a sense of nostalgia‚ while the presence of young ghostbusters like Phoebe and Trevor appeals to families and young adults. The films marketing team went after both of these groups with an $80 million global campaign that partnered with brands like Liberty Mutual‚ Mercedes-Benz‚ Cheetos‚ Hasbro‚ and Timberland‚ among others. The marketing even targeted young gamers by teaming up with a company to create a version of a game in which characters who follow a themed course can morph into a ghostbuster. The efforts to expand beyond a Gen X audience were clearly successful. Deadline reports that‚ according to EntTelligence‚ a telecommunication company that tracks film attendance‚ 54 percent of the ticket purchases on Saturday‚ March 23‚ were for shows before 5 p.m. an indicator of family attendance with 56 percent of the audience under the age of 35.The Ghostbusters reboot resonates with the movie-watching public because it has a moral compass‚ reinforces family values‚ and remains devoid of wokeness. That the Spengler family continues the work of Egon sends a message about the importance of knowing our family history and contributing to its future legacy. Like its predecessors‚ Frozen Empire illustrates the triumph of good over evil with the ghostbusters defeating the nefarious creatures who threaten New York City and the human race at large. Seventeen-year-old McKenna Grace delivers the films standout performance. The young actress‚ who received a Critics Choice Movie Award for her role as a 7-year-old child prodigy in Gifted (2017)‚ has successfully bridged the screen transition from child to young adult with her sensitive‚ nuanced portrayal of Phoebe Spengler. Sporting the glasses that Harold Ramis Egon wore 40 years ago and a short dark curly wig to hide her blonde hair‚ Phoebe is the keeper of flame‚ the scientist of the future. Grace delivers a performance that is a mlange of meticulous researcher and awkward insecure adolescent. We witness Phoebes moral dilemma when she befriends the ghost of a teenage girl named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) and is faced with the decision of assisting or extinguishing her. We also experience her proverbial journey from innocence to maturity when she realizes that Melody has tricked her into committing an action with potentially lethal consequences. Reitman and Kenan are to be commended for imbuing Phoebe with the complicated emotions of an adolescent who is intellectually light years ahead of her peers but emotionally still a child. It is refreshing that the two writers did not bow to present-day social warriors by labeling the bookish‚ tomboyish young character as genderfluid.In addition to its nuanced portrayal of a teenager‚ Frozen Empire addresses the archetypical passing of the mantle from the elder statesmen to the next generation. The film includes a touching exchange between Ray (Aykroyd) and Winston (Hudson) in which Winston tells Ray that the time has come for him to hang up his proton pack and leave the ghostbusting to the next cohort of scientists. To that point‚ much has been made of Bill Murrays brief screen time in his role as Peter Venkman‚ with reviewers speculating that the actor wanted limited involvement with the production. From a plot perspective‚ however‚ the diminished role of the character makes sense: Peter realizes that he is no longer an action hero‚ and so does Bill Murray.Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is not only a nostalgic exploration but also an upbeat‚ funny‚ action-packed film that salutes traditional values‚ punishes the villains‚ and celebrates the citizen heroes who defend and protect our civilization. Its well worth the watch.READ MORE from Leonora Cravotta:Lets Make the Oscars Great Again: Trump Invades the Academy AwardsThis Gentleman Preferred Blondes: A Fascinating Exploration of Alfred HitchcockThe post Who You Gonna Call?: &;lt;i&;gt;Ghostbusters&;lt;/i&;gt; Reboot Reaffirms Traditional Values appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Between unnecessary plastic surgeries to remove buccal fat and hideous architecture‚our society has become one in whichweve commoditized artificial beauty. In fact‚ itsnowso pervasive that we may finally be reachingthe pointwhere society starts to develop a hunger for real‚ authentic beauty.On todays episode ofThe Spectaclepodcast‚ hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay take a step back from politics to talk about the aesthetics of beauty as a conservative value. They point out that truth and beauty frequently go hand in hand.Tune in to hear their conversation!WATCH the latest episode of The Spectacle: This Is the Last Straw. Biden Is Waging an All-Out War on Christianity.Read Scott and Melissas writing here and here.Listen toThe Spectaclewith Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay onSpotify.WatchThe Spectaclewith Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay onRumble.The post &;lt;i&;gt;The Spectacle&;lt;/i&;gt; Ep. 92: Look for Beautyinthe Salons and the BallotBox appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

My frequent long road trips through the Ohio countryside are times to enjoy the outstanding company of such people as Victor D. Hanson‚ Ben Shapiro‚ Carolyn Glick‚ Jordan Peterson and their guests. Just this past week‚ Peterson had as his guest Dr. Iaian McGilchrist‚ an Oxford don‚ who brilliantly combines psychiatry‚ neuroscience and literature in his teachings. It made for a compelling hour and three-quarters I wished it could have gone on.Petersons training and clinical practice was psychology‚ and his deep acquaintance with the research informs his talks and books. Lately‚ Petersons thought has led him to an ever-deepening religious stance that flows from a growing appreciation of the role God plays in our thought. His interest here parallels that of McGilchrist‚ and their dialogue entered into a deep exploration of how consciousness of the divine informs our understanding of the mind and how it works.(READ MORE: Team Biden Declares War on Christians)Neither Peterson nor McGilchrist are trained theologians‚ and so much the better. Their explorations have a freshness and absence of cant‚ which is there not only by the fortunate (or providential!) accident of their training‚ but also as a thought-out consequence of their methodPeterson as an interviewer is never content merely to draw out his guest. He engages his own thought in the process forthrightly‚ most often introducing what he has to say with the command: Now tell me what you think of this! This is deliberate and turns out to be crucial in his approach to God everything must be by invitation. Under normal circumstances‚ the truth‚ beauty‚ and goodness of the idea will speak for itself. Reversion to hectoring of any sort is clearest evidence that what is being put forth is unworthy of being associated with God.God Is the Principle of ThoughtPetersons core theological idea right now is that God is manifest in the structure of our thought as the superordinate principle. As he explains‚ we find that our thought relies on principles. The deeper the principle‚ the more thought depends on it; removing a deep principle pulls out the foundation of a lot of thought. God is manifest in our thought as the deepest of principles; when that is removed‚ the entire structure collapses. The civilizational breakdown he sees in the West as its enduring key principles of liberty of expression and thought collapse he believes stems from a deeper collapse of engagement with God in our thought.Peterson sees that our engagement with the good is expressed in the fundamental decisions we make at each moment about where we place our attention. He believes the fundamental error of the Enlightenment materialism that has ruled Western thought for a few centuries is in believing that‚ if we could only deal with facts‚ all would be set straight; theology is therefore not essential to thinking‚ as it deals‚ by common consent‚ with that which is unknowable at least‚ that cannot be reduced to a set of facts.The insurmountable problem for this way of thinking is that the number of facts is beyond count and we can never amass for consideration more than a fragment of the wholeness of the reality we know to be there. Therefore‚ we are choosing where to place our attention‚ and that is fundamentally a moral choice‚ as it will guide the nature of what we know and can act upon. The more our attention is directed by the deepest‚ the more deeply meaningful our lives will be.McGilchrist did not engage the political aspects of this discussion and Peterson did not force it. McGilchrist was far too interesting in his laying out the import of his own writings on the meaning of the right-brain/left-brain construction of our psyche and what it means.The left hemisphere of our brain functions by abstraction and focuses on a single outstanding aspect of our reality. It forces an either/or choice: You grab this thing NOW or you will fail; you flee from this danger immediately and nothing else matters more. It grabs our attention‚ brings about executive action‚ ruthlessly strips away everything except a core item which it grabs tight.(READ MORE: Those Who Disavow God Entrust Their Faith to Aliens and Bigfoot)The right brain‚ on the other hand‚ perceives the entirety of the context from in which individual facts reside. It is not abstract and reductive like the left brain‚ but holistic. It provides us with both/and thinking‚ the realization of how petty our choices can be‚ how often the tight focus of the left brain errs and leaves us blinded to other parts of the whole that may be more relevant. (A civilizational example from our recent COVID experience which I offer: The exclusive focus on vaccination and isolation was a left-brain leap into executive action; the cautionary warnings of people like Jay Bhattacharya‚ who said that our exclusive focus on these two things will expose us to much greater dangers.)The right brain‚ McGilchrist says‚ is the more important of the two because it alone tells us that both its approach and the tight focus of the left brain are needed; it makes room for the left brain and is capable of guiding it. The left brain is not inclined to see the worth in anything other than what it has focused on. It is inclined to tyranny. The right brain knows that there are always things‚ important things‚ that lie beyond our tight focus and we need the freedom to approach that larger reality for which the grabbing left-brain process is unsuited. It is the ability to be in the flow of the wellsprings of being‚ to be a part of the unfolding of reality as the petals of a flower.How We Know According to the KabbalaIn this short engagement with the talk‚ I will focus in a left-brain manner on one thing that grabbed me. My own study has centered on philosophy and the Jewish holistic explorations of the consciousness in the Kabbalisitic and Chassidic literature (Chassidic thought builds upon the Kabbalistic foundation).(READ MORE: Humanitys Greatest Agent of Peace: In Defense of the Insult)I was reflecting as this conversation between Peterson and McGilchrist was unfolding on how this idea of the hemispheric functions was present in the Kabbala centuries ago. Kabbala proposes that our mind is divided into three basic faculties: chochma‚ bina‚ and data.Chochma (wisdom) is like when in a cartoon a light bulb flashes. You know that you know what you are looking for. It is an all-inclusive flash‚ seemingly out of the darkness‚ when what you did not know before is present in its entirety‚ all in one concentrated point. It is visual we see the whole picture.Bina (understanding) is the faculty that analyzes and breaks down the picture into a series of concrete steps‚ making clear every ramification it can of the thought. It is aural we describe the picture bit by bit‚ ultimately allowing us to break it into pixels and then have oit at our disposal.Daat (knowledge) mediates and synthesizes the other two‚ taking the whole vision as the context in which it will put the vision into action in real life as the break-down afforded by bina allows it to do. It combines the moral sense given by the whole vision of chochma with the actionable‚ accessible‚ either/or steps of bina to transition from the world of thought to the worlds of emotion and actions. It guides our relations with others‚ as now the thought moves out of the hiddenness of our head into the realm where it can be seen be others.As I was ruminating on how much the understanding of McGilchrist follows the pattern of the Kabbalistic psychology‚ McGilchrist asked Peterson if he was familiar with the Kabbala. He noted that it had been brought to his attention by some of the Christian theologians that he had been engaging on his topic of consciousness.I was listening intently. It is of no small significance‚ I believe‚ that this topic is coming up and in such an inviting way‚ free of preachiness and institutional staleness.It is also part of a historical pattern. When the Renaissance brought its breath of fresh air to the scene at the end of the Middle Ages‚ the Italian philosopher Pico della Mirandola found himself drawn to the Kabbala. He studied under a Kabbalist‚ Rabbi Yaakov Allemano‚ who lived in Italy at that time. Pico was convinced that he found in it the key to overcoming the differences that had divided Christian and Jew over the centuries. He called it the Prisca theologica‚ the core theology that manifests in all thought about God.Kabbalistic thought did not make Pico a hermit. Picos voice cried out to the pioneers of political liberty in the West in the ensuing centuries. His great essay‚ Oration on the Dignity of Man‚ spurred the development of religious humanism‚ and influenced such people as John Locke and Thomas Jefferson to take the Genesis story of man and translate it into a conception of human rights and human dignity that must be worked into national law.For the harmonious grasp of the right brain leaves room for the left-brain work of law. It orients it and establishes a sense of constitutionality‚ which provides the only context by which laws can avoid corruption into tyranny. This was also seen by Christian humanist scholars as the way to join the Jewish effort of divine law‚ which now seen in the constitutional prism‚ means the work of self-limitation of the government following the divine process of creation through self-limitation‚ which Pico saw as basically the same as the Christian idea of Gods accepting incarnation and the participation in the limitations and the sufferings of this world‚ and acceptance of living a sacrificial life‚ giving of ourselves in order to transform it.Any good talk continues within ones own mind well after it is over. Another day in America‚ riding its roads‚ living my faith‚ seeing common work with all the others similarly blessed with liberty who are using it for its best ends.The conversations will continue. They are the basis of real hope for healing our troubled world‚ as free people uncompelled show Gods ways in their own lives and throw light on how much good we can do even in the simple act of where we turn our attention.The post Right Brain‚ Left Brain‚ and the Kabbala: Knowing How We Know Matters appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

One of my favorite plans this time of year is to go on a picnic. The first to go on a picnic were cavemen‚ on a hill‚ on a huge slate stone; they just didnt know they were having a picnic. The menu was not the same as it is nowadays‚ and besides‚ checkered tablecloths and thermos flasks had not yet been invented. Moreover‚ in the Stone Age‚ wasps ran away from men‚ not the other way around. And the truth is that eating in the middle of the countryside in prehistoric times didnt make you very original. As a picnic expert‚ I want to help you prepare yours today. (READ MORE fromItxu Daz: The Best Kind of Hippie: A Classy One)Choose the Right PlaceI guess you can have a picnic wherever you like. Pay attention to the signs‚ see where the wind comes from‚ figure out if youll need to set up an umbrella‚ and frown. Above all‚ frown a lot. This will make the rest of the family think you know exactly what youre doing when it comes to choosing the right picnic spot.In the countryside‚ some places are marked with a sign that says‚ No picnic. Thats the perfect place to have a cigarette.The StingAt any picnic‚ one of the guests will be stung by an insect‚ usually a wasp or a bee. The likelihood of the sting being suffered by the most allergic of those present is directly proportional to the distance from the nearest hospital. You know you are allergic when you look worse than the bee‚ which dies after the sting.Since its unavoidable‚ and that means it cant be avoided‚ the best thing to do before unpacking is to have a volunteer snatch at a wasp or a swarm of bees and provoke the sting. This saves time and avoids the always unpleasant element of surprise.Guest AnimalsA common mistake made by vacationers who go on picnics is believing that animals will respect their food‚ their hammock‚ or their chosen space. You are in the countryside. Therefore‚ no matter where you put yourself‚ animal rights will prevail. Unless youre picnicking on a rooftop in Times Square‚ which in turn presents other drawbacks.FoodThe ideal picnic food is omelet‚ croquettes‚ and blue cheese spherification over frozen tomato drops with wild manzanita liver foam and petals of pink pepper still tonic butter.FireNowadays it is forbidden to light a fire in a field‚ and almost anywhere on earth. If you really want to organize a barbecue and you want to avoid the fine‚ try to do it under water.The SeasonThe real purpose of going on a picnic in summer is to enjoy a nap in the open air in the shade of a tree‚ one of lifes great pleasures. It is customary to comment on how different things taste in the countryside! while savoring a slice of vacuum-packed tasteless cooked ham and offering it to others‚ who in turn must reply‚ Its true‚ how wonderful‚ what a different taste. After this stupid ritual‚ you can go to sleep.The CarThe picnic never takes place in an easily accessible location. It is almost always held in a beautiful meadow that cannot be accessed by car. An age-old controversy always arises around Dad in these circumstances. Once the place to put the checkered tablecloth is chosen‚ the big question arises: Do I put the car there too‚ or not? From my extensive experience‚ I will give you a piece of advice: Dont put it there. However‚ from that same experience‚ I will give you another piece of advice: Put it there as soon as possible. Youre going to park it there anyway‚ so save yourself the hesitation‚ measuring the potholes‚ the investigation of possible rocks hidden in the grass‚ and the odds of wrecking the underbody. If you hear rattling‚ bumping‚ or squeaking during the operation‚ youre going too slow. Speed up. If you hear screaming‚ count the passengers again.The DogWhen you have a picnic in the middle of a field‚ the smell of your food floats for miles and reaches every dog on earth. This means that your picnic sends an automatic invitation to lunch for about 400 billion dogs in the world‚ not counting political dogs. Not all of them are likely to come. Or at least‚ not at once. But you should be prepared for at least one very hungry canine diner to show up uninvited.The dog will show up‚ and youll have to decide between throwing food off for him (doesnt work‚ because he eats it and comes back even more eagerly)‚ not flinching (they say if you dont move‚ I dont know what)‚ standing up‚ picking up the whole picnic and running away (it will bite you on the ass)‚ or trying to reason with the mutt (my experience: Dogs couldnt care less about your constitutional rights).Whether the dog is friendly and domesticated or a wild animal that wants to kill you‚ ideally you should get in the car until it has eaten everything‚ including the checkered tablecloth. But remember not to lock the rest of the diners out if you dont want the dog to eat more than your lawyer can justify.Translated by Joel Dalmau.Buy Itxu Dazs new book‚I Will Not Eat Crickets:An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚heretoday!The post How to Have the Perfect Spring Picnic appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Editors Note: This is the final installment of Scott McKays new novel‚ King of the Jungle‚ which has been released exclusively at The American Spectator in 10 episodes weekly since February. It will be published in full on Amazon on April 12. PREORDER YOUR COPY HERE!So far in the story‚ our narrator Mike Holman‚ an independent media man and podcaster‚ has agreed to write a biography and work as a public-relations consultant with his friend and old college roommate‚ the billionaire industrialist Pierce Polk only to find that Polk has built a small city in the jungles of Guyana as a redoubt away from the corrupt Joe Deadhorse administration back home in America.But Guyana has been invaded by Venezuela‚ as the corrupt Madiera regime in Caracas‚ doing the bidding of its foreign partners‚ seeks the vast mineral wealth of its jungles and the ocean off its coast. Now‚ Polks jungle paradise is on the front lines of a hot war.Venezuela‚ backed by a host of global villains‚ is attempting to consolidate its gains against the near-helpless Guyanese military‚ but Polk and his jungle holdouts havent been fully heard from. How does the story end? Heres the dramatic finale of our storyJune 24‚ 2024‚ Georgetown‚ GuyanaJaganoo was as good as his word in not surrendering to the Vinnies that day‚ but his people put out a statement that he was going to address the nation at 9 a.m. the next morning.And then he was arrested by the Guyana Defense Force at 8 a.m. It was Darke who addressed the nation. When he did‚ he said that Jaganoo had been arrested for treason and that Ishgan‚ the president‚ was out of commission for a medical condition.Which turned out to be a fentanyl overdose.Somebody had dosed him with three times the fatal amount‚ and the only thing that saved him was a miracle; Ishgans personal doctor had been a block away from the Marriott and had a Narcan pen in his bag.READ the last episode: Disintegration:King of the JungleBut he was still practically comatose a day later. For all practical purposes‚ Ishgan was knocked out of the game. That made Darke effectively the interim president. And as his first act‚ he announced that Guyana would not surrender to Venezuela under any circumstances‚ and he openly called for help from the community of nations to help us restore the internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Guyana.There was good news and bad news on that score.The good news came in the southern part of the country. The Vinnies who had been dropped into those little villages in the Rupununi river valley had generally been scattered into very small units‚ and theyd suffered a lot of losses to helicopters getting shot down. Not to mention the locals tended to be pretty well armed and fairly decently led‚ and the Guyanese were for the most part kicking their asses.Of course‚ the plan had been that the Venezuelans would reinforce their initial gains. They couldnt really do that in the south because of the trouble back home.And that got worse and worse for them because just after the naval attack somebody hacked the central bank in Caracas and wiped out‚ well‚ everything.Yes‚ you read that correctly. The hack all but destroyed all of the Venezuelan central banks current records and locked the Madiera government out of most of its financial resources.Not to mention those hackers also hit the power grid in Caracas‚ Maracaibo‚ Ciudad Guayana‚ Puerto Cabello‚ and Barquisimeto‚ which plunged a big chunk of the population into darkness.Then de la Vega flew to Curacao and took a helicopter into Coro‚ a coastal city west of Caracas. He said the revolution was afoot‚ and that Madiera no longer had the consent of the people of Venezuela to continue as the president.Burnham‚ Darke‚ and Pierce were on a Zoom call that PJ and I sat in on that morning after Darke had taken over‚ and we had a surprising guest join in.Mr. President‚ said Burnham. Its a pleasant surprise to have you.Im happy to be here‚ said Trumbull. And Tommy I can call you Tommy? Gilchrist says youre a hell of a guy‚ so youre all right with me.Yes‚ sir‚ Burnham laughed.Hey Pierce‚ how ya holdin up down in the sticks? said Trumbull.Im the King of the Jungle‚ said Pierce. I might never leave. No army is about to dig me out of here‚ I can tell you.Trumbull chuckled.Wait a minute‚ he said. Mike‚ is that Pauline youve got with you?Yes‚ sir‚ she said.Wow! he said. I like what youve done with your hair. You look like that girl‚ oh‚ whats her nameThanks‚ Mr. President‚ PJ said‚ and I could tell she was in no mood to be compared to any dye-blond Chinese starlets.Right. Anyway‚ Trumbull said‚ I heard whats going on down there and it seems like it could be at least a little helpful if I did a quick fly-in and endorsed Ravi here its Ravi‚ right?Yes‚ Mr. President‚ said Darke.Ravi. Hell of a guy‚ and bold stuff youre doing. Anyway‚ if you guys think itll help‚ Ill fly down from Palm Beach‚ say hi‚ give a speech about how Venezuela has got to go back‚ and Ill say that when Im back in office all of this will get put right‚ and in the meantime Ravi will keep up the fight. Yknow‚ buck up the folks a little.I think that could only help‚ said Pierce.If nothing else‚ itll shame Deadhorse into doing something‚ said Burnham.I believe things will ultimately turn in Essequibo‚ said Darke. The southern part of the region seems to be returning to our control thanks to the efforts of the indigenous population.Thats good‚ said Trumbull. Thats really good. Youve gotta hang on. And Pierce‚ your guys have to hang on‚ too.Were doing more than that‚ said Pierce.Right‚ great. I want you guys to hang onto that oil! You cant let China he pronounced it CHY-na get those offshore rigs. Yuge to hold on to those. I mean it.No‚ sir‚ said Burnham.We have some plans in that regard‚ said Pierce.So look‚ said Trumbull. They tell me you cant really fly into Georgetown now‚ right? Airport is messed up?The runways were hit with missiles‚ said Darke. It will be a few days before theyre operational again.Well‚ then we could wait‚ or maybe I could do something else‚ said Trumbull. What if I flew in someplace close and then you came and got me in a chopper and flew me in that way?Thats the best idea‚ said Pierce. Well fly you in to Paramaribo‚ in Suriname‚ and then chopper you to Georgetown. Its like 200 miles away.Oof‚ said Trumbull.Oh‚ come on. Youll get to ride in on the Sikorsky V-92. Youll be here in an hour from the tarmac in Paramaribo.You brought your Sikorsky down‚ Pierce? Trumbull was impressed.Pierce shook his head. This is the second one.Trumbull chuckled. They say Im rich‚ but nobodys loaded like this guy.PJ leaned in.Were out of place with all these super-rich guys‚ she said. Theyre talking about private helicopters.Excuse me‚ I whispered back‚ but isnt your dad rich like this?Im not my dad.Thats why I love you.Blurting that out surprised the shit out of both of us.Oh‚ I she whispered.I didnt know what to say.Hey‚ Trumbull was saying‚ Mike‚ are you paying attention?Yes‚ sir‚ I said. Sorry‚ Mr. President.What Im thinking is that maybe you could do the interview on the chopper tomorrow. Meet me in Paramaribo‚ well get on the helicopter and then that gives us an hour.Its a great idea‚ I said. But PJ here er‚ Pauline will come with‚ because shes pitching in as my cameraman now.Yeah? Nice. Shes definitely welcome. Plus‚ shes muscle. You always need as much muscle as you can get‚ right?Thats my experience‚ sir‚ I said‚ humoring him.Trumbull signed off‚ and so we now had a former‚ and possibly future‚ American president coming to Guyana to raise awareness about the war. But when the president checked out‚ the conversation turned.The issue‚ Darke was saying‚ is the north.Pierces hit on that naval flotilla was a success‚ but the Santa Cruz didnt pick off all of those boats heading into the Essequibo River. It would have been impossible. They didnt have enough torpedoes. And more important was to protect the oil platforms to the north‚ because the Vinnies sent a bunch of their naval ships in the direction of the platforms. The sub gave chase and hit one of them with a torpedo‚ which turned away the little armada.But in the meantime‚ the flotilla along the coast simply went ashore. And when it did‚ it disgorged several thousand Venezuelan troops‚ which were shortly commandeering vehicles from the locals and holding all of the lightly populated western coastline from the Essequibo to the Venezuelan border.And they already held basically everything north of the Potaro in the interior.Darke was saying that what was needed was impossible‚ namely‚ a counterattack to dislodge them before they could consolidate those gains and we all knew this was coming bring in the Chinese to begin exploiting them.Wish we had an army to do that‚ said Burnham.You guys are thinking about this the wrong way‚ said Pierce. And I could see him moving aside to make room for Hal Gibson in the Zoom call.Hi everybody‚ said Gibson. Look‚ the day after tomorrow there is a ceremony at the waterfall. Madiera is coming and hes going to declare victory at Kaietur Falls.Is he really? I said.We think theyre going to call a ceasefire and try to claim what they took‚ said Pierce. Its really the only move theyve got.And the north has more economic assets‚ said Darke.That they can sell to China‚ said PJ.Well‚ how do we break up that party? I asked.You let us handle that‚ said Pierce.Do we want to know more than that? asked Burnham.No‚ said Hal. You do not.OK‚ then‚ I said. Brigadier Darke‚ can you make security arrangements for a Trumbull pop-in?I believe so‚ he said‚ given that we have a true professional with us to show us the way.OK‚ security pro‚ said Pierce‚ what do you need from us?I think PJ was the last to realize they were talking to her.Oh‚ wait‚ she said.Once she realized she had a job to do‚ PJ moved fast. She had Pierce send her six guys from Liberty Point‚ and she got Darke to set up the ballroom at the Pegasus Hotel‚ which was the other nice place in town‚ as the venue for Trumbull to speak.Still‚ I sat there watching her work the phones‚ and then I rode with her as Desmond came to get us and brought us to the Pegasus‚ and she had the folks at that hotel jumping as she rearranged their whole setup in preparation for Trumbulls arrival. Everything from closing the pool bar and rearranging the beach chairs‚ eliminating any possible vantage from which a shooter could get at Trumbull from the time he got off the chopper in the parking lot just on the ocean side of the hotel to his speech in the ballroom‚ to his exit out of the hotels side entrance to the convoy of SUVs she organized and to the reboarding of the chopper at the police college a block away. She spent the whole night‚ practically‚ coordinating with Trumbulls team and the Guyana Police Force and Darkes people. She was still doing it when I decided to head to bed.Can I do anything? I asked.Nope. This is my stuff.I didnt see her the next morning. Not until about 11‚ when Desmond came to pick me up and take me to what was left of the airport‚ where Pierces Sikorsky was waiting.PJ was there‚ wearing a black business suit that reminded me very much of the Secret Service agent shed been so recently.You look rumpled‚ Holman‚ she said. You dont have a tie?Trumbull isnt going to wear one‚ I said. So Im not.She rolled her eyes‚ and we boarded the Sikorsky. And an hour later we were landing at the airport in Paramaribo‚ or better put the airport south of Paramaribo‚ because it was really nowhere near that city‚ and not long after‚ Trumbulls plane zoomed in from the north and he got off on the tarmac.The president of Suriname and a few of his people insisted on welcoming Trumbull as he debarked‚ and Trumbull spent a few minutes making pleasantries before he shook my hand.Hey‚ Mike‚ he said. Big times‚ huh? And look at Pauline! Back to the old tricks‚ right?Mr. President‚ she smiled. Im wearing two hats on this trip‚ but you know which one is most important.Right‚ he said. So lets go!He shook all the Surinamese hands‚ and Pauline and his two security guys hustled him into the chopper. I followed.And for the next hour we did an interview which‚ honestly‚ I would have liked to take back. Trumbull‚ I could tell‚ was nervous.Halfway through‚ he stopped.Hey‚ off the record? he asked.Sure‚ I responded.Im kinda thinking this was rash‚ comin down here. I mean‚ its still a war going on‚ right?Well‚ yes and no. Its something of a stalemate and were hoping Venezuelas government falls apart.Yeah‚ I know your guy is doin everything he can to dick em over. Think thatll work?I learned a long time ago not to doubt him‚ but this is a pretty big project.Im just saying‚ Mike. I dont wanna be a pussy. But I got shot in Indiana of all places and here Im goin to Guyana.He more or less mumbled his way through the rest of the interview‚ saying his usual things‚ trashing Deadhorse and promising that if he got put back in charge it would be no trouble at all to put the world back right‚ and to kick out all the Omobba spies and saboteurs embedded in the Executive Branch.These guys‚ he said‚ my first term they had an advantage over me. Its gonna be different the second go-round. You know‚ the presidencys a big job. You need a lot of help. Gotta have the right people or its all fucked. Wait‚ edit that out‚ will ya?Well bleep it.Right. OK‚ whatever. But Deadhorse‚ I mean‚ come on. I told everybody he was senile four years ago and they werent listening. But now? Nobodys arguin anymore. Did you hear what he said yesterday? He said he was the lead singer for the Eagles before Don Henley. Where does he even get shit like that?PJ was happily rolling away with her camera. I thought it was interesting; shed been a giant ball of stress from the time shed gotten drafted back into her old job‚ and while she attacked it with a passion I found amazing shed gone from friendly and polite to irritable and grumpy. But now? I was convinced that camera was therapeutic for her.We ended the interview early‚ mostly because Trumbull was more interested in asking me questions.Mike‚ youve been down here most of the last month. What do you think of Guyana? Whats the deal here?I think if the VinniesWhos the Vinnies?Sorry. The Venezuelans. If they can get chased off‚ I think Guyana has some real potential. And I think what youre going to want to do is knock out some sort of free trade deal with them.Yeah?Yeah. And because theyre going to need a big infusion of labor‚ especially for construction with all the industry that the offshore oil will bring in‚ Id make plans to deport a bunch of those illegals youre talking about getting rid of to here.Oooh. Thats an idea. So the Guyanese would take em in and make em guest workers?I bet theyd be open to it.Who? This guy Darke?Theyre going to do elections in a few weeks. Hes not going to run.Who is?Not sure‚ but the guy I imagine might win is Earl Roberts.Guy named Earl? Sounds like he fixes cars.Hes actually a war hero. Pierces guy. I think youll meet him in Georgetown.Trumbull nodded. Well‚ good. After this‚ have him call me and Ill help if I can.We landed in a cleared-out parking lot‚ and I could see PJ tense up again. She and Trumbulls bodyguards made a phalanx around him and walked him into the hotel. Security was tight as we made our way to the ballroom‚ where several hundred people had taken seats. The applause was thunderous as Trumbull and his party made their way through the side door.Darke was on stage‚ applauding‚ and he and Trumbull shared a quick exchange and a handshake as the former president came to the podium. Then it was Trumbulls turn.And he held forth for about a half hour about how lousy communists were ruining the world and how the good folks of Guyana were the front lines against them.I know you guys have the fight in you‚ he said‚ and soon youll have your country back. All of it.That took the roof off‚ and the crowd rose to their feet yelling‚ screaming and clapping. It was like a rock concert.And Trumbull shook hands with Darke and a few other Guyanese politicians‚ not to mention Burnham and a couple of other American businesspeople who were there. Then he shook Earls hand and took a picture with him and told him‚ Call me‚ and Ill make sure you get elected. Youre a hell of a guy.Then it was time to take Trumbull out of the hotel to the SUVs parked at the side exit.That happened without a hitch. Then we were headed east along Seawall Public Road for about a block‚ then came a right turn into the Guyana Police Depot‚ which was half-destroyed by the missile strike‚ and then a left into the grass parking lot where the chopper had relocated and was whirling away‚ prepared for a fast takeoff‚ and then we all got outWait‚ no‚ PJ said. Thats not how we set this up.Whats wrong? I said.That pile of timber was supposed to be cleared! she said‚ pointing at an unwanted obstruction to the right.Two of Pierces guys took off running for the woodpile‚ and then PJ looked back to the left.Get down! I could hear her say as she brushed past meand then I heard the shot.It would probably have taken Trumbulls head off. Hed crouched down in front of the chopper‚ and the shooter had positioned himself behind one of those decorative cinder-block walls that was constructed in a checkerboard-type fashion‚ next to the road.Instead‚ it hit PJ. She dove in front of Trumbull just in time.Everything was a bit of a blur at that point. Immediately‚ the guns began blazing in the direction of that wall‚ and Pierces six-man team closed on the shooter in no time flat and before he could get into the getaway car he was down. So was the getaway driver.Meanwhile‚ Trumbulls bodyguards whisked him into the chopper‚ and it launched about as quickly as Ive ever seen. Up and away it went‚ and for a moment it was just PJ and me on the grass field.PJ! I said‚ rolling her over gently. How you doing‚ honey? Are you hit?You know Im hit‚ dummy‚ she said. You saw me get hit.Where?Think hard. No‚ wait please dont roll me on my back.Oh‚ no. You didntMy ass‚ she said. I got shot in my beautiful‚ half-Asian ass.She was laying on her side‚ crying and laughing at the same time.Well‚ you saved Donny Trumbulls life‚ hon‚ I said.Thats it‚ she said. I quit.The shooter didnt die despite taking eight bullets from Pierces guys and the Guyanese cops who fell asleep rather than stopping that car when it drove around their barricade on Seawall Public Road. It turned out that his name was Mohammed Hosseini‚ and he was Iranian.Because of course he was.And the getaway drivers name was Enrique Contreras of Cienfuegos‚ Cuba‚ who turned out to be in the employ of the Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional‚ or the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service‚ headquartered in Caracas‚ Venezuela. Contreras even had his SEBIN ID on him. Thats how arrogant these assholes were.All of that we found out later.I helped as Pierces guys gently laid her across the back seat of the SUV‚ with her head on my lap and my belt tightened across her hip‚ her jacket pressed tight against her derriere in order to manage the bleeding‚ and tried to joke with her as we raced the few blocks to St. Josephs Mercy Hospital down the street. They took her immediately into an operating room‚ and the next time I saw her she was in a hospital gown lying on her side with a big wad of gauze wrapped around her stitched-up right butt-cheek.PJ was all tranked up on whatever theyd given her‚ but she still had plenty of gas left in the tank. And as soon as they let me in to see her‚ she was awfully chatty.I got an email from Trumbull‚ I said. He wanted me to pass along his thanks for saving his life. He said you can have any job in his administration that you want. Just name it.Forget that‚ she said.Really?PJ shook her head.Youre gonna give me a damn good job as your videographer‚ she said. Like‚ Im not hearing no from you. Thats the last bullet Im taking for a politician. So its on you now. Make me a job offer.What is this‚ emotional blackmail? I said.Hey‚ I get to do that to you.Since when?Since you said you love me.She had me there.July 31‚ 2024‚ Lake Lanier‚ GeorgiaI finished Pierces biography a lot faster than I expected. Its coming out on August 15‚ and we went with the obvious title:King of the Jungle: How One of Americas Greatest Industrialists Held Off a Communist InvasionI think its going to do well. Weve got over 400‚000 copies already sold via pre-order.And Im publishing it through Holman Media. Tom did a fantastic deal with a printer and a distributor‚ plus we already had the online store on the site‚ so were going to make a killing off this thing.Its a good book‚ though I feel a little guilty taking credit for it when Flip‚ Colby‚ and a couple of the other writers at the site pitched in with the writing and editing. It was really more of a community project than something I did. Of course‚ all of the background and history leading up to Guyana was my stuff. That was the part I could write in my sleep‚ and I practically did. The rest came from a bunch of group interviews we did with Pierce via Zoom. He was starting to turn into a hermit down there‚ though I guess I couldnt blame him.And we didnt put that in the book.The title is accurate‚ by the way. Guyana did win that war. In fact‚ they managed to get their whole country back.How? Well‚ the government changed over in Caracas‚ and General de la Vega was only too happy to pull his troops out of there.Especially after what happened to Madiera.Anybody could have told that arrogant bastard that going to Kaietur Falls and bragging about winning the war‚ when theyd really done anything but‚ was a bad idea.It was the last idea he ever had.Madiera was at the little airport a little ways from the waterfall‚ and theyd put a little podium festooned with Venezuelan flags out for him to speak in front of the cameras and the little crowd of sycophants hed brought with him. His party had walked up to the waterfall to look at it‚ and then they actually toasted each other with champagne. Then he came back to that podium to give his dumb little speech about how theyd decided to split the difference with the Guyanese en aras de la paz.In the interests of peace. What bullshit.You probably know what came next. The bullet came next. Right in the forehead.Nobody saw the shooter. It was estimated hed had to have been in one of the trees set back from the little airport building. The shot had to be a good 1‚500 yards away. To this day its completely unknown whos responsible.And I dont know‚ either. I dont even have a theory.I do have an idea‚ and it makes me smile. My idea is it was a very well-preserved‚ handsome middle-aged black guy. My thought is that he lined up his shot‚ and under his breath he said‚ Here am I. Send me.Then he took a breath‚ then slowly exhaled and pulled the trigger.And when Madiera went down‚ on national TV in Venezuela interestingly enough‚ the power came back on all over the country just a couple of hours before the proceedings at the waterfall there were people in the streets.Not rioting. Celebrating.After that it was de la Vega‚ and the end of the war. The Venezuelans came home from Guyana‚ and even‚ in a surprising number of cases‚ from the U.S. and elsewhere in North America. And the Cubans all got packed off and sent home‚ where they could be a problem for the Castro gang instead of the Venezuelan people.Pierce even cut Cabrillo loose and let him go home‚ though we found out that his wife had filed for divorce and split with all of his money as soon as he was captured. One rumor had it that she was in Panama. Another was that shed taken up with a cartel boss in Monterrey.Meanwhile‚ Darke proved to be a lot cleverer than anybody thought‚ though I suspect he had help. Sino-Petro found their portion of those offshore oil fields nationalized and then leased to a brand new public company‚ Guyana Petroleum Export Company‚ or Guyanapec.Which is expected to have its initial public offering when the Exchange of the Americas opens on January 6.And yeah‚ I did get around to selling my house in Buckhead. I was thinking maybe Id hold onto it after all. But when I brought PJ home a few days after that incident in Georgetown‚ she waddled around the place and just looked at me with her nose scrunched up.No? I said.I can see you living here by yourself‚ she said. But we can do better. Youre big-time now‚ and youve got me.Instead‚ she found us this VRBO on Lake Lanier. I almost passed out at the price‚ but she told me not to worry about it. I suspected her dad was going to foot the bill‚ and I later found out I was right. He might have hated the idea of her throwing in with me‚ but at the end of the day PJ was his little girl.Its so you can take care of me while I recover‚ she said about that ritzy rental. Then well find something more our style.I will say this there are few things more conducive to getting a whole lot of writing done in not that much time than a big‚ luxurious lakehouse with a deck out on the water. And a hot chick in a bikini watching you from the lounge chair a couple of feet away as you bang away at your laptop.Even if she does have a telltale scar on her ass.Trumbull had us come to Milwaukee for the convention. He brought PJ up on the stage and said shed saved his life.Shes a hero‚ he said‚ as the crowd went wild. And believe it or not shes with that guy Holman. Can you imagine that? Theres no accounting for love‚ right?I didnt mind taking shit from Trumbull in front of the whole country. I was too happy for PJ. She was beaming. She told me that her career exit was even better than John Elways‚ if maybe a little more painful.By the way‚ there are rumors that Deadhorse is going to drop out of the race right before his convention next month. Are they true? Maybe. But after that incident at that black church in North Carolina where he went off script and told the parishioners‚ You dumb n***ers had better turn out the vote for me‚ its a good bet hes done.But if he goes‚ who knows who theyll replace him with?Maybe we do. You might have to watch our next podcast if you want to find out.PREORDER your copy of King of the Jungle in Kindle or paperback here!The post Antagonists‚ Bodyguards‚ and Champions: &;lt;i&;gt;King of the Jungle&;lt;/i&;gt;‚ Episode 10 appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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