A post shared on social media purportedly shows the secret service failing to protect Vice President Kamala Harris from a heckler who stormed the stage during a speech. SHOCKING: Vice President Kamala Harris’s Secret Service let a crazy white man roll up on her. She was ultimately protected by the White House Press Secretary. pic.twitter.com/2MTnmx5PPO — […]

Books Front Lines and Frontiers The Further Adventures of John Carter: The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs In which our hero returns to Barsoom to face fearsome foes, unmask false gods, and rescue his true love! By Alan Brown | Published on July 23, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement. Edgar Rice Burroughs is one of the pioneers of science fiction, and the exploits of Earth-born adventurer John Carter on the planet Mars are among his best works. A few years ago, I looked at the first book in the Barsoom series, A Princess of Mars. Since the summer is the perfect time to read books full of pulpy action and adventure, today I’m diving into the second and third adventures in that series, The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars. I have these three books in two forms in my library. The first is a pair of books from the Science Fiction Book Club, which published the first volume alone, and the next two in an omnibus edition. But the volume I used for this review is Under the Moons of Mars (which takes its name from the very first tale of the planet the natives call Barsoom), a collection that contains the first three Barsoom books, published in hardback in 2003 by University of Nebraska Press, as part of their Bison Frontiers of Imagination series. The book is nicely bound, although the typeface is kind of an odd one, with extra-tall capital letters, and in which the letter “f” shows up in different sizes depending on where it appears in a word. The dust jacket features a wonderful painting by Michael Whelan that originally appeared on a Del Rey paperback, and has some nice interior illustrations created for this edition by Scott Beachler. When I revisited Burroughs’ Venus and Pellucidar series in this column, despite thinking I had read them all in my youth, I discovered that I had actually only read about half the books. And that was the case with the books I’m looking at today. I had read the first Barsoom book, and remembered the second, but the third book was new to me. In this day and age, when computers make purchases and inter-library loans effortless and books can even be sent directly to your phone, it is hard to imagine missing books in a series. But in the ancient times of my youth, when books were paper artifacts, scattered among a variety of stores or libraries, you read whatever you came across, regardless of whether you’d read the book that came before it, and sometimes would not find the book that followed. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the most popular authors of the early 20th century, making an indelible mark on both science fiction and adventure fiction. I’ve looked at his work in this column before, including A Princess of Mars, the book Pirates of Venus and the rest of the Venus series, and also Tarzan at the Earth’s Core and the other Pellucidar books. All those columns contain more biographical information on the author. And that review of the first Barsoom book also includes a discussion of John Carter’s adventures in other media, including movies and comic books. You can find much of Burroughs’ work available to read for free at Project Gutenberg, including most of the Barsoom series. A Princess of Mars For those who might not remember the details, I’ll provide a short summary of the book that started the series. In it, John Carter, a cavalryman who fought for Virginia in the Civil War, is trapped in a cave full of strange carvings. And when the planet Mars catches his eye, he finds himself suddenly whisked away to that world. His strength aided by the lesser gravity of Mars, he runs afoul of the Tharks, a fierce race of Green Martians with tusks and four arms apiece. His martial prowess wins him an honored place in their ranks, and the friendship of one of their great chiefs, Tars Tarkas. Then Carter meets a Red Martian prisoner, the incomparably lovely Dejah Thoris, the eponymous princess of the title. The two fall in love, although they must overcome the inevitable misunderstandings that make romance difficult in books such as this. Eventually they are married, and she lays an egg that will become their child (despite this difference between Earth and Martian people, they are cross-fertile). But during a struggle to save an atmosphere plant that keeps the Martian air breathable, Carter finds himself transported back to Earth, where he spends years pining away and wondering what happened to his lost love. The Gods of Mars The next book, originally serialized in 1913, opens with John Carter’s wishes being granted as he finds himself on Mars again. Unfortunately, he is immediately attacked by fierce plant men. He encounters a Green Martian who is also fighting to survive, and realizes it is his old friend Tars Tarkas. This might seem like an improbable coincidence, but those who read Burroughs quickly become used to such coincidences. If a magical force can transport you from one world to the next, why wouldn’t it bring you to the side of an old friend in their hour of need? It turns out they are near the South Pole of Mars, in the Valley Dor, where the River Iss supposedly carries Martians to paradise at the end of their lives. But this religious belief turns out to be a horrible lie, as those who are not devoured by the fierce inhabitants of the valley are either devoured or taken as prisoners by the Therns, a race of White Martians who consider themselves the gods of Mars. Carter and Tarkas are captured and meet the beautiful Thuvia, a Red Martian maiden who is smitten with Carter (who immediately tells her he is married and not available for romance). There is an attack by the Black Pirates of Barsoom, and Carter steals an airship, accidentally rescuing a captured Thern princess, Phaidor, who is also immediately smitten with Carter (who, true to form, rebuffs her romantic interest, infuriating the spoiled princess). Tarkas and Thuvia, on another airship, are able to escape. The Black Martians refer to themselves as the “First Born,” and consider themselves gods even higher than the Therns. The Black Pirates recapture Carter and take him to Issus, their queen, an ugly and evil woman who not only rules the Black Pirates, but as the unseen goddess of the Therns, rules them as well. The religious traditions of Mars turn out to be a confidence racket, with each level of “gods” being manipulated by the next—a nice little parable about the dangers of blind faith in fundamentalist teachings. Carter is forced to fight in gladiatorial games, and befriends the Black Pirate Xodar, who he defeats in combat, as well as befriending a noble young Red Martain. The three of them escape, and find Thuvia, who tells them Tarkas is in the hands of a rival tribe of Green Martians. Carter discovers the young Red Martian he befriended is his own son, Carthoris (yet another of those improbable Burroughs coincidences). They rescue Tarkas and return to civilization, where Carter is condemned as a heretic, but given a year before his execution. He finds that his wife, Dejah Thoris, thinking him dead, had taken the trip down the River Iss, and Carter pledges to save her. Having gained many friends among the Red Martians during his previous time on Mars, Carter is able to build a fleet of a thousand airships (in secret, a notion that boggles the imagination), with a million crew members, and supported by a quarter of a million Green Martian cavalrymen. They set out to defeat the self-styled gods of Mars, and are aided by the fact that the Therns and Black Pirates, in addition to fighting the Red Martians, fight viciously among themselves. There are fierce battles in the air and through the holy cities, but just as Carter is about to rescue Dejah Thoris, she is imprisoned in a rotating stone tower in a cell whose door is only accessible once a year. Moreover, she is trapped inside with Thuvia and the insanely jealous Phaidor, who tries to murder Dejah Thoris just as they pass out of sight. The Warlord of Mars The next book, first serialized in 1914, picks up right where the last tale ended. While allies of John Carter assume leadership of the Therns and the Black Pirates, he himself is impatient to rescue his beloved from her stone prison at the end of the year. There is a rather feeble running gag about Carter thinking the year will consist of 365 days until he is reminded the Martian year is longer. Carter follows Thurid, deposed leader of the Black Pirates, to a secret meeting with Matai Shang, deposed head of the Therns and father of Phaidor. The two discuss a secret way into the cell where Dejah Thoris, Thuvia, and Phaidor are trapped, a way that does not require waiting for the full year to elapse. Carter tries to follow them, desperate enough to make a harrowing free climb up the outside wall of a fortress, with only cracks between the stones for purchase. But the villains free the women and flee on an airship to the north. With only his faithful Martian hound Woola to aid him, Carter steals an aircraft and heads out in pursuit. They reach the equatorial land of Kaol, where people still respect the old religions and their leaders, but Thuvia’s father shows up and demands she be freed. Instead, Thurid and Matai Shang take their prisoners and flee even further north, to the land of the reclusive Yellow Martians, who dwell in a valley protected by a magnetic tower that destroys any incoming airships. With the aid of warrior Thuvan Dihn, Carter disguises himself as a Yellow Martian, and the two fight their way through fierce beasts in the Caves of Carrion. Carter’s disguise fails and he is captured, finding that the head of the Yellow Martians has decided to marry Dejah Thoris. Carter is imprisoned in the torture chamber ironically named the Pit of Plenty, but escapes and leads an uprising of enslaved Red Martians. He sees a Red Martain airship fleet flying to his aid, but realizes he must neutralize the magnetic tower—otherwise his friends will be destroyed. After a fierce fight with a mad scientist, this is accomplished, and the battle for the Yellow Martian city is underway. I’ll end the recap here so as not to spoil the ending. Some of you might be wondering about the identity of the Warlord of Mars mentioned in the title, and why Carter has not met him yet, but those questions are answered before the tale ends. The work of Burroughs has sometimes been criticized for reflecting the prevalent racism of the times when it was written, and one could certainly argue that John Carter fits the tired “White Savior” trope. At the same time, one of the overarching themes of the first three Barsoom books is how people from different races can overcome their differences and become allies. Wherever John Carter goes he makes friends, first with Green Martian Tars Tarkas, and then with people from every other race of Mars. And he shows them how to work together toward common goals. Burroughs can sometimes be heavy-handed with his social commentary, but this message is presented effectively by being shown through Carter’s actions, not relayed through exposition or a lecture. Final Thoughts Together with A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars offer the reader a rousing tale of planetary romance. While the Mars series continued on from this point, these three books make a single, cohesive story that concludes with a solid and satisfying ending. These books present Burroughs at his best, with a larger-than-life protagonist who is strong, principled, brave, and true. Not someone we would expect to meet in real life, but someone we might aspire to be. The writing from this early part of Burroughs’ career feels fresh and energetic. I’m glad I gave these books a try, because they were perfect reading for a summer day. In fact, I’m going to do some digging around to track down the rest of the series, because I obviously missed more than a few books, and these were a lot of fun. And now I’d like to hear from you, either about these books in particular or the Barsoom series in general.[end-mark] The post The Further Adventures of John Carter: <i>The Gods of Mars</i> and <i>The Warlord of Mars</i> by Edgar Rice Burroughs appeared first on Reactor.

A congressional committee’s recent vote should be a message to taxpayers: Yes, it is possible to close the U.S. Department of Education. The House Appropriations Committee approved a proposal to cut an entire program from the agency, demonstrating how lawmakers can downsize and then eliminate the department. The Appropriations Committee voted to defund Title II, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal law governing K-12 schools. The proposal now goes to the full U.S. House. This specific title directs federal spending on teacher professional development and recruiting, which sound like worthwhile initiatives—except that these programs have failed for years to help teachers and students. Just ask advocates of Title II, Part A about professional development. In 2015, The New Teacher Project tried to uncover what, exactly, would be “the right type and right amount of support” for teacher training and improvement. They cited two federally funded studies of “sustained” professional development and “found that these interventions did not result in long-lasting, significant changes in teacher practice or student outcomes.” The report adds that “if teacher improvement were achieved at scale, it would have an enormous effect on students. The problem is our indifference to its impact—that all this help doesn’t appear to be helping all that much.” It only gets worse for professional development. Researchers at the Learning Policy Institute wrote “research has shown that many [professional development] initiatives appear ineffective in supporting changes in teacher practices and student learning.” Though the Learning Policy Institute found some research examples demonstrating that teacher training has “a positive link” with improved student outcomes, the researchers still said “major questions remain about how teachers can learn these [effective teaching] skills and how [professional development] can play a role in improving teacher practice.” An American Institutes for Research report said “13 years and some $30 billion later, Title IIA has not had the effect on teacher and principal quality or student achievement its creators hoped.” The National Council for Teacher Quality, the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development have issued similar reports that include statements critical of professional development, while maintaining that it can be reformed. The Learning Policy Institute, the American Institutes for Research, and others say that even though federal taxpayer spending on teacher training has not produced the intended results, we need more of it. Americans should note when education organizations call for lifelines for failing programs while lawmakers expose weaknesses. This combination means the reasons for closing the Education Department continue to mount. Courts have found that two of President Joe Biden’s administration’s signature education plans are illegal. The administration tried to shift outstanding college student loan payments from students to taxpayers, but federal courts have enjoined many of those efforts. The plan would force taxpayers to pay for outstanding loans, an affront to those who worked and saved to pay off their own student loans. Biden’s team is also trying to redefine sex to mean “gender” in federal civil rights law, and this move, too, is facing injunctions across much of the country. By redefining sex in this way, boys would have access to girls’ private spaces in K-12 schools and be able to participate in girls’ athletics. Surveys consistently find these ideas are highly unpopular. Meanwhile, achievement gaps persist between students from families with different income levels, reading and math scores are stubbornly low, and education spending is high. The agency has not had answers for these problems since its inception. So, when Congress points to evidence that a large federal education program is ineffective—taxpayers spend $2.19 billion on Title II-A annually—these findings, along with the Biden administration’s illegal activities, only strengthen the position that lawmakers should close the whole department. The House Appropriations Committee just demonstrated how to close the agency. Report that a program is ineffectual and zero-out the budget for it. For programs that make public education activities more transparent, relocate offices to departments where they would be better suited. Repeat this process across the department. The findings will give parents and local educators confidence that Washington is ready to stop spending money to prop up programs that fail both teachers and students.     The post Can US Department of Education Really Be Closed? Yes, Starting Here. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Did Democrats Conduct a 'Palace Coup'?

China has created the first large-scale nuclear power station that is apparently resistant to meltdowns. Although this design cannot be fitted to existing nuclear reactors, it provides a model that can be used for any future constructions.How are nuclear reactors cooled?Existing nuclear power reactors require powered cooling systems to operate. The nature of these systems may vary between reactor designs – most use water, but some use coolants like CO2, helium, molten metals, or molten salts – but they all essentially do the same thing: they convey excess heat away from the reactor core.Water cooling systems are known to provide a high power density which translates to better thermal efficiency (basically the ratio of work output to the total heat energy input in a system), but it has drawbacks. For instance, there is always the chance of an explosion if the reactor experiences a meltdown. This is because, if water pumps lose power, the heat from the reactor fuel rods can split water into explosive hydrogen and oxygen gas.It was an issue like this that contributed to the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, when a loss of power meant the fuel rods – which were flooded – overheated, resulting in an explosion.Gas-cooled reactors are less liable to explode than their water-cooled counterparts, but they also tend to have lower thermal efficiency.But regardless of the type of cooling system employed, in the case of an emergency, human intervention is needed to shut down the rector to prevent a disaster. This is generally because the cooling systems rely on external power sources.What’s special about the new reactor design? One new(ish) kind of reactor design, known as a pebble-bed reactor (PBR), may have solutions to the issues inherent in older designs. These reactors are “passively” safe, whereby they can shut down on their own if there is any issue with the cooling system.  Unlike other reactors that rely on highly energy-dense fuel rods, PBRs use smaller, low-energy-density fuel “pebbles” in greater numbers. Although they contain less uranium than traditional fuel rods, there are more of them. They are also surrounded by graphite, which is used to moderate the amount of neutron activity in the core. This helps slow down nuclear reactions, resulting in less heat.As such, lower energy density means excess heat can be spread out across the pebbles and can be more easily transferred away.This may sound good, but until recently the only PBR reactors in existence were prototypes in Germany and China. However, China has now constructed a full-scale Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) in Shandong, which became commercially operational in December 2023 and is equipped with these systems.In order to test them, engineers turned off both modules of HTR-PM at a time when they were operating at full power.“To confirm the presence of inherent safe reactors on a commercial scale, two natural cooling tests were performed on the #1 reactor module on August 13, 2023 and the #2 reactor module on September 1, 2023,” the researchers write. “During the entirety of the tests, the reactor modules were naturally cooled down without emergency core cooling systems or any cooling system driven by power.”The results, which have just been published, show that HTR-PM cooled itself, reaching a stable temperature within 35 hours of its power being cut. Being able to test an operating nuclear reactor by removing its cooling power is extremely unusual. It is only because of the HTR-PM’s unique system that this is even possible, and although further tests will be needed to ensure that the system works correctly, it is hoped this will serve as a model for future reactors elsewhere.“In summary, the loss-of-cooling tests conducted confirm the inherent safety feature of the world’s first demonstration plant of a HTR-PM,” the team wrote. “To fulfill the climate change mitigation goal, we have initiated new projects aimed at providing high-temperature steam up to 500°C [932°F] and electricity to the petrochemical industry in China.”“The reactor modules for the commercial plants are designed to adhere to the same standardized design.”The study is published in Joule.

The Grand Canyon is a spectacular sight to behold in and of itself, but did you know the surrounding national park is also home to a wealth of prehistoric rock art? Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t – the exact whereabouts of the vast majority of it remains a closely guarded secret.Take Shamans’ Gallery, a site that most people would never have heard of were it not for word-of-mouth and later, the Internet. First recorded in 1987 and named by American archaeologist Polly Schaafsma, it features a large panel of rock art paintings – called pictographs – depicting anthropomorphic characters, deer, birds, and other abstract features.Its style has been described as Grand Canyon or Esplanade Polychrome, the latter after the distinctively red and tan bed of sandstone that forms the canyon and though it can be difficult to precisely date rock art, it’s estimated to date back to the Archaic period, which lasted from around 8500 BCE to roughly 2000-1000 BCE.Shamans’ Gallery is also nowhere to be found on the National Park Service (NPS) website.The only way we know about it is through Schaafsma’s descriptions and photographs of the gallery taken by those who’ve managed to find the site. In the latter of those cases, it’s become something of an unofficial rule to not share the exact location, out of respect for preserving and protecting the art.Officials choosing to keep the location of thus far well-preserved ancient rock art so secret isn’t really a surprising choice given the behavior that some members of the general public visiting national parks display towards their surroundings.On an episode of the podcast Everybody’s National Parks, NPS park ranger and archaeologist Russell Cash, who works at Zion National Park, describes how out of the over 150 panels of pictographs and petroglyphs in that region, the “overwhelming majority” are not accessible to and are kept secret from the public in order to protect the art.The one site that is accessible, Cash describes as “the saddest thing that we have here in the park” because “there is more graffiti and vandalism on that rock than any other place in the park.”Back in Grand Canyon National Park and the nearby Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, there are a couple of locations where the public is allowed to feast their eyes on early pictographs and petroglyphs – namely on the Bright Angel Trail and at Nampaweap – but visitors are urged to keep their distance due to similar issues of vandalism.“Please don’t touch petroglyphs. When people touch petroglyphs, they leave a residue of body oil on the surface of the rock. Over time, the oil causes images to fade and history is lost,” says the NPS. “Remember petroglyphs by photographing or sketching them, not by making rubbings or tracings.”

Ever been crossing a bridge and found yourself faced with hundreds – or even hundreds of thousands – of padlocks? The cultural phenomenon can be seen across the globe, and has even caught on to the point of becoming dangerous in some places, so what’s the deal with all these pointless padlocks?Love Lock BridgeLove locks are padlocks attached to a bridge, often with the initials of a romantic couple etched or painted onto their surface. Once locked, the key is tossed into the water below. It’s widely interpreted as being symbolic of the couple’s commitment to each other, in permanently affixing themselves in the form of a padlock to a bridge of their choosing.It's not entirely clear when love locks began, but one of the earliest reports comes from Vrnjaka Banja, Serbia, where the love locks on Most Ljubavi ("Bridge of Love") are said to date back to World War One. The practice is thought to have then picked up momentum in the 2000s when it became popular in Italy, spurred on by a romantic novel from Federico Moccia in which somebody sticks a padlock on the Ponte Milvio bridge in Rome.Love locks then spread across the globe and have been the subject of several scientific papers. An unsurprising fact, perhaps, given they’re a rare modern-day opportunity to discover how customs can disseminate across the globe despite nobody being told to do it.Most Ljubavi "Bridge of Love" in Serbia, a love lock bridge believed to be one of the oldest on Earth.Image credit: AcaSrbin, Panoramio, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped, via WikimediaThe science of love locksThe love lock was the central focus of a 2017 paper that sought to tackle the age-old issue of being an archaeologist: all your ritual subjects are too dead to ask why they did what they did. Study author Ceri Houlbrook of the University of Hertfordshire’s School Of Humanities was uniquely placed to study Manchester’s Oxford Road Bridge in the UK, which she describes in the paper as “barely recognizable as a bridge”. It was here that Houlbrook first noticed and photographed seven padlocks on February 12, 2014.Less than a week later, another was added. Then another arrived within a month, but by the end of May, there were a total of 15, demonstrating the lock locks’ “magnetic-like effect” in which deposits attract more deposits. The study continued for three years, in which time 409 love locks on Manchester’s “barely recognizable as a bridge” Oxford Bridge.Then came the task of trying to interpret the why during the love lock bridge’s formation.A love lock bridge at Lonsdale Quay in Vancouver, Canada.Image credit: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia“Most often the practitioners had deposited love-locks with their partners as statements of romantic commitment, often while on holiday (the deposit becomes an inverted souvenir) or while attending special events, such as shows at the nearby Palace Theatre,” explained Houlbrook.“These interviews revealed that deposition was occasionally timed to coincide with an anniversary, engagement, or birthday. However, other motivations were made apparent in these interviews; for example, one elderly couple in Bakewell attached their love-lock to a bridge to celebrate a recent lottery win.”As for what all this can teach us about archaeology, the study of a little bridge in Manchester tells us what can be learned when we look at ritual deposits as an ongoing practice rather than the finished article, observed retrospectively from a distance of several millennia in the future.“Archaeologists may take from this the lesson that accumulations should not be studied at one static point in time, and this will prompt us to question assumptions about the place, people, pace, and purpose of historic and prehistoric accumulations,” concluded Houlbrook. “And yet three years and 409 lovelocks later, the author still believes this custom has more to teach us.”Local authorities are rarely so charmed by love locks, as demonstrated by this person removing love locks from Charles Bridge in Prague.Image credit: Draceane - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via WikimediaThe dangers of love locksIt's a romantic practice, but one that isn’t necessarily permanent. A woman reportedly traveled 9,580 kilometers (5,953 miles) from Los Angeles, United States, to Seoul in South Korea to remove a love lock with bolt cutters after said love was lost.Costly plane fares aside, love locks have also been deemed a threat to public safety in some spaces as the sheer number of locks rendered the fences unstable. This has seen lock locks be removed by councils from Paris to Melbourne.  So, while it could be argued that there are greener, cheaper, and safer rituals for professing your love, there’s undeniably a lot of academic intrigue surrounding this quirky contemporary depositional practice.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.  

While the rest of the country was discussing President Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign on Sunday, HBO was airing a Saturday-recorded edition of Last Week Tonight where host John Oliver ranted at Republicans for being “dicks,” supposedly not toning down their RNC rhetoric, and for being “racist.” Oliver began by describing the recently concluded RNC as “the worst thing to happen to Milwaukee since Jeffrey Dahmer.” As for the convention itself, Oliver continued, “This week saw the usual pageant of prominent politicians onstage and abject weirdos in the audience, from attendees wearing bandages on their ears to match Trump's, to this guy crashing a reporter's shot in a ‘Where is the Epstein client list?’ T-shirt to this woman in a ‘Bride To Be’ sash, having the most cursed bachelorette party in existence. It feels like she told her bridesmaids she wanted to see a bunch of dicks on stage, and they tragically misunderstood the assignment.”     That woman was a member of the Texas delegation, but later on, Oliver turned to the idea that the RNC would tone down the rhetoric after the attempt on Donald Trump’s life, “Yeah, but that was never going to happen. Because you expect to see certain things at the RNC: elephant logos, cowboy hats, a massive spike in Grindr usage, but "a message of unity" is not something traditionally associated with that event or indeed, this man. And unsurprisingly, the RNC was in no way toned down.” Oliver then played a trio of clips. One included Rep. Tom Emmer condemning Democrats’ economic record, “The Democrats' disastrous record on crime, trade, and regulation has ruined the lives of countless Minnesotans.” Another was of former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, “Democrats come for your kids. They’re indoctrinating them with poisonous attitudes of race and gender.” Yes, it is still a Republican convention, but Republicans criticizing excessive executive branch regulations and gender ideology isn't exactly incendiary. The third clip was of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, but Oliver used that more as an excuse to talk about Babydog. Later still, Oliver was particularly displeased with Republicans focusing on crimes committed by illegal immigrants, “The thing is, if you want to prevent crime and death, that's a great idea, and there are absolutely ways to do that. But when you draw a circle around a few members of a particular group, especially one identifiable by race or nationality, then generalize about what this means about all of them, no matter what you say, you're not having a reasoned debate about crime or safety. You're being racist.” He further lamented, “And the depressing thing is, all this fearmongering has been effective. Over 70 percent of Republicans now believe there is a high risk of people illegally coming to the U.S. and committing crimes. Something, which again is demonstrably and provably false. As we know, immigrants aren't causing more crime in this country.” Except they shouldn’t be here in the first place, so arguing about the rate misses the entire point. Here is a transcript for the July 21 show: HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 7/21/2024 11:23 PM ET JOHN OLIVER: But we're going to jump right in to our main story tonight, which concerns the Republican National Convention, the worst thing to happen to Milwaukee since Jeffrey Dahmer. This week saw the usual pageant of prominent politicians onstage and abject weirdos in the audience, from attendees wearing bandages on their ears to match Trump's, to this guy crashing a reporter's shot in a "Where is the Epstein client list?" T-shirt to this woman in a "Bride To Be" sash, having the most cursed bachelorette party in existence. It feels like she told her bridesmaids she wanted to see a bunch of dicks on stage, and they tragically misunderstood the assignment … Yeah, but that was never going to happen. Because you expect to see certain things at the RNC: elephant logos, cowboy hats, a massive spike in Grindr usage, but "a message of unity" is not something traditionally associated with that event or indeed, this man. And unsurprisingly, the RNC was in no way toned down. TOM EMMER: The Democrats' disastrous record on crime, trade, and regulation has ruined the lives of countless Minnesotans. PETER NAVARRO: Democrats come for your kids. They’re indoctrinating them with poisonous attitudes of race and gender. JIM JUSTICE: We become totally unhinged if Donald Trump is not elected in November.  OLIVER: Okay. That was all awful, but that last camera cut is just spectacular. If you'd asked me, "What's next to this guy, just out of the frame?" And gave me a thousand guesses, there is no way I'm saying, "A lumpy bulldog lounging in an armchair like it's being interviewed at the 92nd Street Y.  … The thing is, if you want to prevent crime and death, that's a great idea, and there are absolutely ways to do that. But when you draw a circle around a few members of a particular group, especially one identifiable by race or nationality, then generalize about what this means about all of them, no matter what you say, you're not having a reasoned debate about crime or safety. You're being racist. And the depressing thing is, all this fearmongering has been effective. Over 70 percent of Republicans now believe there is a high risk of people illegally coming to the U.S. and committing crimes. Something, which again is demonstrably and provably false. As we know, immigrants aren't causing more crime in this country. 

In a gross violation of journalistic ethics, a CNN journalist gave the Biden administration a sneak peek of her article looking for the government stamp of approval before publishing. The Functional Government Initiative (FGI) obtained documents shared exclusively with MRC Business showing that CNN congressional reporter Clare Foran all but asked the Department of Energy to greenlight her story going after Republican politicians for prohibiting the DOE Secretary from implementing any rule that would “limit consumer access to gas kitchen ranges and ovens.” The emails uncovered by FGI — dated March 30, 2023 — don’t denote a run-of-the-mill media inquiry for comment. Rather, the documents expose Foran directly asking government officials if what she wrote in her piece — updated just hours after her correspondence with DOE — was okay for publishing.   Foran emailed DOE chief spokesperson Charisma Troiano concerning a congressional hearing during which DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm testified on Biden’s gas stove policy. Foran wrote in the email,  “I want to paraphrase some of the Energy Secretary’s points and want to make sure I’m characterizing accurately. Can you let me know if the below is all correct?”  Indeed, Foran broke one of the cardinal rules of journalistic ethics: Never send your article to your source or subject, whether in part or in whole, before publication. While it is typical for journalists to seek comments, clarification or even verify the facts routinely, that is not what Foran was doing here. Foran proceeded to copy and paste three paragraphs from her story summarizing Granholm’s comments despite the fact that Foran was basically just quoting from Granholm’s video testimony from the hearing: I listened to the hearing. I want to paraphrase some of what the Energy Secretary’s points and want to make sure I’m characterizing accurately. Can you let me know if the below is all correct? Thank you. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, testifying before a House committee last week, said the Energy Department is required by Congress to work on energy efficiency regulations, including for gas and electric stovetops. Referring to a proposed rule, Granholm said, ‘it is just about making existing electric and gas stoves, and all the other appliances, more efficient.’ ‘There is no ban on gas stoves. I have a gas stove,’ Granholm said.   “Yep,” Troiano emailed Foran in approval. Those three pre-approved paragraphs were published 99 percent verbatim on CNN.  The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics forbids journalists from engaging in any “political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility,” which seeking approval on content on a story from a government entity would clearly constitute. In addition, SPJ instructs journalists to “resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.” Foran essentially invited the DOE to exert external pressure on CNN’s coverage. An earlier email shows Foran displayed lazy research skills. She encouraged the DOE to define its own regulations for her, something she could have easily found on the internet and summarized herself without running it by the Biden administration first. According to documents, Foran wrote, “Not for attribution, but I wanted to ask if this description in bold is accurate: In February, the Energy Department proposed new efficiency standards for consumer products, such as kitchen ranges and ovens, used to cook food with gas, electricity, or microwave energy.”  The email chain revealed that Troiano tried calling Foran directly and even offered her personal cellphone number for future correspondence: “Hey Clare – tried calling you. My cell [phone number was redacted for security reasons].”  MRC Business Vice President Dan Schneider blasted CNN for once again illustrating to the world why it isn’t a reliable news outlet. “Foran’s actions beg the question of how many other CNN stories are run through government channels first before getting published. CNN’s approach is the action of a publicist, not a journalist.” Schneider continued: “After all, it was CNN’s Oliver Darcy who admitted in 2021 that Biden White House officials were holding ‘briefings with major newsrooms’ to pressure the media to add more positive spin to their economic coverage of the president. Not only has CNN obliged, but its incestuous relationship with the White House has clearly continued with impunity.” The attempt to dismiss the reality of Biden’s gambit against gas stoves is nothing short of ludicrous gaslighting — no pun intended.  The Competitive Enterprise Institute noted in June 2023 — just a few months after Foran’s story was published — that “[w]hile no single restriction in the works will categorically eliminate new gas stoves, the cumulative effect of them all would come very close in the years ahead.”  Specifically, CEI analyzed that at least two federal agencies were “tailoring their actions to strangle gas stoves in red tape as part of the administration’s war on fossil fuel production and use. The likely result will be gas stoves that cost more and don’t work as well, tilting the balance in favor of electric versions.” After all, one of the primary reasons why there was any outcry about a gas stove ban at all was because Biden’s U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner Richard Trumka — a Biden appointee — propagandized to Bloomberg News in January 2023 about the “hidden hazards” of gas stoves and proclaimed that “[a]ny option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”   Conveniently, Foran didn’t mention this context at all in her March 2023 write-up, perhaps because it would upend her Biden administration-approved version. Conservatives are under attack. Contact CNN at 404-827-1500 and hold it to account for violating journalistic ethics by acting as Biden’s press room.   

The Morning Joe crew this morning was giddy with enthusiasm and excitement over Kamala Harris. Their delirium was epitomized by Eugene Robinson, the Washington Post columnist and MSNBC analyst, who said the feeling among his fellow Democrats is that: "This is not only a winnable race, but that they can really slam Donald Trump in this election coming up." What's next? Will Morning Joe suggest that Kamala is putting Wyoming and West Virginia in play? Robinson's political pronouncements should be taken with a substantial grain of sodium chloride. He is, after all, the man who not long ago declared that Biden was not merely sharp, but "sharp as a tack." There was much excitement over Kamala's fundraising haul since Biden's exit. Scarborough literally poor-mouthed himself, nudging his wealthy guest Steve Rattner, saying that as "a poor country lawyer," he can't even comprehend the pile of dough that Kamala has raked in. Yes, nothing says "poor country lawyer" like a guy who, with wife Mika, is estimated at $16 million a year. This was a variation on Scarborough's frequent humble-brag about being a "simple" country lawyer. Give it a rest, Joe. You've become the ultimate media elitist on the Jupiter, Florida to Nantucket corridor. Someone who has bragged about being so close to Biden that he spent hours at a time with him. That connection, though, has now been sharply devalued. How will Scarborough try to sidle up to Kamala? Scarborough was sharing excitement with Mara Gay of The New York Times that everyday Democrats understand that Kamala is no FDR, Reagan, or Obama, but are still excited. Plus, "It's also, many people believe, all that's standing between the United States and a very, very dark place for this country." On the grand analogies, give it time, Joe! Yesterday, we heard liberal talking head Jonathan Alter putting Biden in the same class as George Washington and Cincinnatus. Give the liberal media a month or so, and expect to hear clamors for Mt. Rushmore to prepare a new slot for Kamala! In line with Alter's absurd analogy, Scarborough himself on today's show spoke of: "The contrast between, Democrats say, between Joe Biden and what he did and Donald Trump, putting country over self, is a stark contrast that I suspect we'll see play out throughout history." As Scarborough well knows but didn't say, there was nothing selfless about Biden's decision to drop out. If he hadn't made the move on Sunday, Pelosi and other major Dems were about to disgrace him by publicly demanding that he quit.  And if Biden nonetheless persisted, he would likely have suffered an ignominious defeat, dragging many Dem House and Senate candidates down with him.  So Biden was acting out of the desire to preserve his legacy. There was nothing altruistic about it. Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 7/23/24 6:02 am EDT JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let's, I'm going to start with Steve Rattner real quick. Because Steve's like really rich.  MIKA BRZEZINSKI: So he knows these numbers. SCARBOROUGH: And you know, he coughs, and like, a million dollars comes out. He gets numbers. For a poor country lawyer like me, Steve, this is kind of hard to put my arms around, just how much money the Vice President has brought in over the past 24, 36 hours. . . .  Mara, what's so interesting is, when I talk to people that aren't in this business and don't talk about this incessantly, 24 hours a day, nobody's saying she's FDR or Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama as far as political talents go. They understand that and, and at the same time, they're so excited. They don't expect that. They're just so excited. They're so energized. It's historic. It's also, many people believe, all that's standing between the United States and a very, very dark place for this country. MARA GAY: I was out of town for a few days. And I came home yesterday to Brooklyn. And just walking through the streets, every other conversation on the street was, who should be her running mate? What do you think? People are throwing out names -- Mark Kelly. The excitement that you hear from -- I mean, I assume that most of my neighbors in Brooklyn are Democratic voters. SCARBOROUGH: Really? GAY: It's shocking in the bubble in which we live. But, no, the excitement is palpable. . . .  SCARBOROUGH: And the contrast between, Democrats say, between Joe Biden and what he did and Donald Trump, putting country over self, is a stark contrast that I suspect we'll see play out throughout history, as far as looking back at this time. The contrast is going to be pretty, pretty dramatic. . . .  EUGENE ROBINSON: And what are Democrats doing? They are, they are voting with their dollars. They're voting with their feet. There is an excitement, and enthusiasm, and optimism.  A feeling for the first time in many months that this is not only a winnable race but that they can -- they can really slam Donald Trump in this election coming up.