The RNC gave families of illegal alien victims a podium. It was an excellent idea. Van Jones said that illegals commit fewer crimes while “fact-checking.” That is not true, but even if it were, these crimes never should have occurred. Speeches from everyday Americans hurt by the policies in place are among the most powerful. […] The post The Most Powerful Speech of the RNC Convention Day 2 appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Viggo Mortensen explained why he hasn’t appeared in any franchise films since his turn as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy between 2001 and 2003. The 65-year-old actor told Vanity Fair that he’s been looking for an equally worthy project but hasn’t been able to find one yet.  “I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories,” Mortensen told the outlet. “It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.” “That goes for franchises,” he continued. “If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good.” Mortensen said, “I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.” The three-time Academy Award nominee said earlier this year that he’s open to reprising his role for Jackson’s newest “Lord of the Rings” project, which has a projected release date in 2026. “I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard,” he told the UK version of GQ Magazine of “The Hunt for Gollum.” “Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually,” Mortensen added. “I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.” Though he hasn’t starred in any franchise films since “LOTR,” Mortensen did work on several projects over the past two decades, including “A History of Violence” (2005), “Eastern Promises” (2007), “A Dangerous Method” (2011), “Captain Fantastic” (2016), and “Green Book” (2018).  The actor made his directorial debut with “Falling” in 2020.

Former Trump White House aide Peter Navarro was released from federal prison in Florida on Wednesday morning and is preparing to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Navarro, imprisoned for four months after being convicted of contempt of Congress charges, has been a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. The 75-year-old was sentenced after he did not show up for a deposition with the Democrat-run January 6 committee and did not provide them with certain documents, citing the doctrine of executive privilege.  Navarro, who was the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under Trump, has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying he was targeted because of his political views and connections to Trump.  “I’m afraid for this country because this, what they’re doing, should have a chilling effect on every American regardless of their party,” he said before turning himself in to federal authorities in March. “They come for me, they can come for you.” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected an effort by Navarro to avoid prison time while he appealed his case.  Navarro will reportedly speak around 6:00 p.m. CST Wednesday as the RNC enters its third day.  “The best is yet to come!” Navarro’s X account posted on Wednesday.  Another former Trump White House aide, Steve Bannon, is currently serving a four-month prison term over his conviction on similar charges.  Bannon was also convicted for not complying with a subpoena from the January 6 committee in 2022 instructing him to testify and produce certain documents for the committee. After a lengthy appeals process, a federal judge ordered Bannon to report to prison on July 1.  On the campaign trail, Trump has sharply criticized the Biden administration, saying that it has weaponized the Justice Department against him and his supporters. After a judge dismissed Jack Smith’s case against him over his handling of classified documents, the former president said all legal cases against him should be dropped. “The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME,” he added. “Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”

A female teacher in Arizona has been charged with sexually abusing a teen boy who had been missing for months. Robyn Rogers, 44, was arrested on July 11 and charged with three counts of sexual conduct with a minor, hindering prosecution, false reporting to law enforcement, possession of narcotic drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, AZ Family reported. The victim, who is 17 and hasn’t been named, reportedly ran away from home on February 14 and hadn’t been seen since. Police officers, following several leads and tips that said the boy may have been staying at a home in Lake Havasu, Arizona, went to the home and spoke to Rogers. Police believed Rogers was hiding the victim, and while they were talking to her, he fled out the back of the house. Officers pursued and took him into custody. Police reportedly said Rogers and the victim had a sexual relationship and that she was helping him avoid police. Rogers taught at the charter school Telesis Preparatory Academy, according to local outlet Today’s News-Herald. A page listing her as a member of the school’s staff has been removed as of Friday, the outlet reported. The page previously said she was the school’s athletics liaison and a board of directors liaison, as well as a teacher in life skills and child development. She also served as the school’s cheerleading coach. It is unclear whether the victim was a student at Telesis. Telesis Superintendent Sandy Breece said, “The staff member is no longer employed at our school. We do not have any additional information.” Rogers was held on a $25,000 cash bond for the three charges pertaining to sexual conduct with the victim. He received a secured bond of $5,000 for the remaining charges, the News-Herald reported. It is not clear if she has retained an attorney or entered a plea, People Magazine reported.

“The Simpsons” showrunner Matt Selman hit back at the “horrifying” suggestion that the popular show somehow predicted the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. After a shooter opened fire on the former president during his rally in Pennsylvania, injuring Trump and killing one of his supporters, a meme began surfacing on social media showing a false image of Trump from the cartoon lying in a casket, with the caption, “First time I’ve seen a ‘Simpsons’ prediction fail.” Speaking to TMZ, Selman slammed the image in the strongest terms, making it clear the writers and show would never have an episode about assassinating the former president and that a cartoon Trump never appeared in a casket. “Anyone who thinks ‘The Simpsons’ would include such horrifying content on a family TV show doesn’t really watch the show or have any understanding of ‘The Simpsons’ at all,” Selman told the outlet. The Simpsons creator shuts down rumors that the Fox series ‘predicted’ the Donald Trump shooting https://t.co/nHPqmokEEG — Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) July 17, 2024 He also told Reuters, “The image of Donald Trump in a coffin never appeared on The Simpsons. It is doctored.” “Sadly it is all too easy to create fake Simpsons ‘predictions’ like these for the purpose of misleading people,” he added. Next to some of the doctored images, social media users have noted their surprise and belief that the fake image was real, the Daily Mail noted. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “The Simpsons got some explaining to do,” one person wrote. Another person added, “Ain’t no f***ing way. The Simpsons predicted this too?” While a third wrote, “Simpsons ain’t never miss.” Internet users falsely believing the meme came from the cartoon most likely stems from the reputation “The Simpsons” have earned after it’s been able to seemingly predict the future more than once. The show previously predicted the creation of technology similar to the Apple Vision Pro, FaceTime, the COVID pandemic, and more recently, the Titanic submersible implosion. Entertainment Weekly recently did a piece titled, “20 Times ‘The Simpsons’ Predicted the Future” during the cartoon’s 35 seasons. The piece included what appeared in the cartoon episode and what ended up happening that same year or years later. Related: Mummy Depiction Looks A Lot Like Beloved ‘Simpsons’ Character

MSNBC anchor Ari Melber referred to the bandage on former President Donald Trump’s ear as a “prop” and a “spectacle,” suggesting that Trump was using his injury to stir outrage in his base. Melber was reacting to Trump’s appearance on Monday at the Republican National Convention (RNC), just two days after a would-be assassin opened fire at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. As Lee Greenwood gave a live performance of “God Bless the USA,” the former president walked onto the convention floor to cheers and chants of “USA!” and “Fight! Fight! Fight!” WATCH: MSNBC’s Ari Melber on Trump’s bandaged ear: “a prop…a spectacle for this candidate who we know is…obsessed with assorted spectacles…to mine and use Donald Trump’s injury, and whether [they] do that in a way that overextends their credibility will be decided by the voters.” pic.twitter.com/PEMXKBwOQK — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 16, 2024 “This was also showmanship by a politician known for his mastery of what they call ‘unscripted reality TV,'” Melber said of Trump’s entrance. “Taking this supremely visible seat in the VIP box with his new running mate and party leaders and a longtime TV personality Tucker Carlson as well last night.” Melber went on to quote The New York Times as saying that Trump had been his own “biggest prop” on the first night of the convention, making a grand entrance just over 48 hours after he’d been shot: “It was a blank rectangle on which the crowd could read what it wished.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “That’s fair,” Melber agreed, adding, “A placard for delegates to fill in, an image for political mobilization, a spectacle for this candidate who we know is, by his own admission, obsessed with assorted spectacles.” “These aren’t normal times. This is not a normal convention,” he continued. “There is a political quest here to mine and use Donald Trump’s injury, and whether [they] do that in a way that overextends their credibility will be decided by the voters.” In addition to hitting the former president in the right ear, the shooter who opened fire on Trump’s rally killed firefighter Corey Comperatore and wounded at least two others.

When Donald J. Trump rises with his fist to the sky, his bloody face like flint, we are reminded what it truly means to be a man in our country. Strong men lay down their lives. Strong men raise their hands as weapons of strength. Strong men “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Strong men do not fumble around onstage wondering which way to turn. Strong men do not invite deranged TikTok stars to the White House whose biggest accomplishment this year is getting breast implants. Strong men do not stand in front of the rainbow flag and claim “transgender people shape the soul of America.” No. Weak men do that. Weak men applaud deranged men who dance around in dresses and call themselves girls. Weak men claim children should be allowed to “change’ their biological sex while ignoring the fact that this renders children mutilated and infertile. Weak men appoint women to run the Secret Service simply because of their gender, when bodyguards are big, strong imposing men for good reason. Not only is Biden a weak and feeble man, but he is totally deranged in his understanding of femininity and masculinity. When the man at the top doesn’t exude masculine strength, this trickles all the way down to the children who are upside-down in their understanding of gender. This is our nation’s fate at stake: we can either have a weakling or a warrior. Biden’s asinine DEI policies led to the hiring of a female head of the secret service, Kimberly Cheatle, whose goal is to have “30% female secret service members by 2030.” Her goal is not to find the strongest, toughest defenders and protectors of our society — men who train like navy seals — but females, who will never be as strong as males no matter how hard they try. Here’s the truth whether or not Biden can admit it: An adult woman’s upper body strength is half as strong as that of an adult man’s and two-thirds as strong in the lower body. Men can punch two and a half times harder than women. 90% of females have weaker hands than 96% of males. In her book “The Case Against the Sexual Revolution” Louise Perry writes, “The unwelcome truth will always remain, whether or not we can bear to look at it; almost all men can kill almost all women with their bare hands, but not vice versa. And that matters.” The truth is, men are biologically predisposed to protect us in wartime. They are our greatest weapons. During my hundreds of hours of research into the meaning of “male and female” in the Book of Genesis, I discovered the first letter of the word male reveals the action of his gender: the Hebrew letter zayin is a picture of a weapon. The male is the greatest weapon to protect the family. What is true for the family is true for the nation. Let’s be clear: the woman who acted as a human shield to the President is a woman of valor. There’s no need to take cheap shots at her. She displayed courage and bravery. Nevertheless, placing women as human shields of the President of the United States is the catastrophic result of the demolition of gender in our society. Women aren’t wired for this. Cheatle’s goal to have one third of the secret service filled by females has zero benefit for national security. The woman standing in front of Trump looks to be about 5’5”; Trump is 6’3”. A Secret Service agent should be able to shield a president with their physical size, move him with physical force, and engage in hand-to-hand combat if necessary. As Officer Tatum points out, they should be elite forces who command an intimidating presence and should be a large, imposing person of at least 6’2”. None of the women assigned to this security detail fulfilled those qualifications. He points out that women often have insights into criminals that men don’t, but physical fitness standards should be 100% the same across the board. As a Daily Wire subscriber writes, As a female and a former military personnel, I would love to say that 30% more females would mean a better protective force. But my experience tells me otherwise, and so does common sense. Infantry men are expected to be able to carry 60-100 lbs of extra gear, and still be able to carry their buddy who also has extra gear to safety if they need arises. I can’t physically do that even when I’m in my best shape. Most women can’t. To protect the president you have to be big enough to physically block his body from attack. This is a job for men, and it’s not sexist to say so. DEI denies the way men and women are made. It is a lie and an affront to the masculinity we need to protect our nation in times of war. Women can think strategically and bring incredible administrative and leadership skills to the table, but when it comes to the Secret Service, they should not take the place of human shields. We are created to be protected by men, not the other way around. Men are wired for combat, women are not. Now our country has a question to answer: do we want a weakling or a warrior at the helm? The answer is obvious. * * * Jennifer Strickland is former international model, TEDx speaker, host of the I AM A WOMAN podcast, and an eight-time author, including titles such as Girl Perfect, Beautiful Lies, and her most recent release, I Am a Woman: Taking Back Our Name. She has worked with women of all ages for over 20 years through her ministry, U R More, and passionately aims to educate women, girls, men, and boys about the biblical truth of our identity. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Wednesday where he expressed “serious concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat former President Donald Trump. Schiff’s statement comes as dozens of Democrats have called on Biden to end his campaign following his disastrous debate against Trump late last month that spurred weeks of highly negative news coverage for the party. “President Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better,” Schiff told The Los Angeles Times. “But our nation is at a crossroads. A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November.” He acknowledged that while Biden was the one who had to make the decision, it was time for him “to pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by allowing another Democrat the opportunity to beat Trump. “I will do everything I can to help them succeed,” Schiff said. “There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high.” Biden had trailed Trump for months in polling prior to the debate and that gap widened slightly after his performance. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Dr. Tom Pitts, a Democrat who is a quadruple board-certified neurologist based in New York City, told NBC News last week that Biden has Parkinson’s and degeneration of the brain. Pitts said that he sees patients like Biden up to 20 times a day at his practice and that the president’s stuttering problem has nothing to do with his cognitive issues. “You notice when he turns it’s kind of end-block turning; it’s not a quick turn,” Pitts continued. “That’s one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s; it’s rigidity and bradykinesia, slow movement, and he has that hallmark, especially with the low voice they said was a cold; hypophonia, small monotone voice like this over time is a hallmark of Parkinsonism. I could have diagnosed him from across the mall.” “Shuffling gait, we call that ‘little steps,'” he noted. “Loss of arm swing from the rigidity; when we walk we have a nice cadence, he doesn’t really swing his arms, and end-block turning, meaning he kind of pivots around his foot. If you said, ‘Hey, President Biden,’ he wouldn’t go like this,” he said, swiftly turning to look behind him.