Welcome back to Reading the Weird‚ in which we get girl cooties all over weird fiction‚ cosmic horror‚ and Lovecraftiana—from its historical roots through its most recent branches. This week‚ we cover E.F. Benson’s “Between the Lights‚” first published in The Room in the Tower and Other Stories in 1912. Spoilers ahead!   “No‚ I don’t mind that sort of thing‚” he said. “The paraphernalia of ghosts has become somehow rather hackneyed‚ and when I hear of screams and skeletons I feel I am on familiar ground‚ and can at least hide my head under the bed-clothes.” A half-dozen guests have gathered for Christmas at the country residence of Everard and Amy Chandler‚ where our narrator has often spent the holidays. All Christmas Eve day‚ heavy snow falls‚ but indoors everyone enjoys billiards and Badminton and a romping game of hide-and-seek. As dim white fades into twilight dark‚ the party gathers for tea and ghost stories illuminated solely by a blazing fire. The guests regale each other with “blood‚ bones‚ skeletons‚ armour and shrieks‚” while Everard listens in silence‚ still looking worn from his illness of that autumn. Narrator has just settled back‚ certain he’s told the most harrowing tale‚ when Everard speaks up. Ghosts and skeletons don’t bother him. After all‚ there are eight skeletons in the room now‚ disguised beneath skin and flesh. No‚ it’s the vague nightmares of childhood that were truly terrifying‚ the ones in which one didn’t know what one feared. If that atmosphere could be recaptured – Amy rises‚ saying that Everard can’t want to recapture such terror again. Wasn’t once enough? It was‚ Everard agrees. But the guests‚ scenting a true ghost-story‚ beg him to continue. Narrator feels that the “childish gaiety” of the preceding hours has changed to the tension in which “real terrors were going to lurk in dark corners.” The extinction of a log throws Everard’s face into shadow‚ out of which his voice sounds “slow but very distinct.” Last Christmas Eve‚ he reminds the gathering‚ the weather was so warm that they played croquet on the lawn‚ where a single dahlia was still in scarlet flower. He was watching the match when suddenly he shivered. The brick wall surrounding the lawn seemed to heighten and shrink inward until all light vanished save for a glimmer. He fixed on the red dahlia‚ only to see it become a feeble fire by the light of which he found himself in a low-roofed shed as foul-smelling as “a human menagerie… uncleaned and unsweetened by the winds of heaven.” The inhabitants were human-shaped yet somehow bestial and very small. They chattered and pointed at him. One rose‚ clad in a knee-length shirt‚ with bare and hairy arms. Realizing that “nightmare impotence” had paralyzed him‚ Everard tried futilely to scream. Then‚ at once‚ he returned to the croquet lawn‚ trembling and dripping sweat. He must have fallen asleep and dreamed‚ yes‚ yet he’s convinced he did not. Call it hallucination instead. Dream or hallucination‚ the vision haunted him for months‚ as if “something had actually entered into [his] very soul‚ as if some seed of horror had been planted there.” Morning after morning he’d wake to find himself “plunged into an abyss of despair.” His wife and doctor assured him he wasn’t going mad‚ and the doctor recommended a change of scene. They went to London‚ where the memory of his vision “grew every day more vivid‚ and ate… like some corrosive acid into [his] mind.” From there‚ they traveled to a remote and wild part of Scotland. It was close enough to the sea for mists to frequently roll in; the local gillies [guides] warned him to always carry a compass in order to find his way home through the murk. However‚ a series of clear days made him forget the device. One day he and his gillie Sandy followed their quarry to a tableland that on one side sloped sharply to a loch‚ on the other more gently to the river by which his lodge stood. Sandy insisted they climb the more dangerous slope‚ claiming the deer would scent them otherwise. The going was treacherous‚ over boulders and among clumps of heather swarming with adders. At the top they found the deer had caught their scent anyway‚ as anyone should have known from the direction of the wind. Everard wondered what Sandy’s real reason was for avoiding the gentler slope. They were lucky enough by midafternoon to bag a big stag‚ and Everard felt his dogging dread give way to “an extreme sense of peace.” Sandy urged their return—a sea-mist was rising and would make the climb down the craggy slope even more difficult. Everard discovered he’d forgotten his compass‚ more reason to descend by the gentler slope. After much argument‚ Everard won out. Halfway down‚ the mist overtook them‚ but Everard’s respite from fear continued. He lead‚ Sandy following closely as if scared. Evening approached‚ the air grew colder‚ snow began to fall. After confused wandering‚ Everard heard the river‚ their goal. Then‚ as if “in terror of pursuit‚” Sandy yelled and bolted out of sight. Everard’s momentary alarm‚ however‚ gave way almost to gaiety. He spotted a blackness in the white chaos of the storm. It was a wall with a rough door in it. He followed a low passage into a circular enclosure open to the sky. Its walls were only four feet high‚ with broken stones suggesting they once supported a floor. Abruptly his long terror returned‚ for he saw that his vision was fulfilled and that a figure three and a half feet high was stealing towards him. He heard it stumble over a stone‚ smelled the overpowering stench of the place‚ but he couldn’t scream or move. As the figure crept closer‚ terror broke his paralysis‚ and he fled the ruin and plummeted down the slope to the river track and his lodge. Next day he started developing the pneumonia that would lay him up for weeks. Well‚ Everard says from his armchair‚ that’s his story. One explanation is that he stumbled into an ancient Picts’ castle where a sheep or goat had taken shelter. But the coincidence between vision and event could give believers in second sight something to mull over. Is that all‚ narrator asks. “Yes‚” Everard answers. “It was nearly too much for me.” Then the dressing-bell rings and breaks up their tale-telling circle. What’s Cyclopean: “A temerarious dahlia” still blooms at Christmastime. Libronomicon: Chandler jokes that telling this story makes him feel like Hamlet directing his play-within-a-play. But who’s the guilty uncle? Madness Takes Its Toll: Chandler wonders about the sanity of that temerarious dahlia. And also of himself. His doctor says he’s fine‚ but has no opinion about the dahlia.   Ruthanna’s Commentary Ah‚ a cozy old-fashioned Christmas. Roasting chestnuts‚ ice skates‚ trees decked with garlands‚ treat-filled stockings… ghost stories? Well‚ yes. How better to pass the time around a crackling fire‚ than to tell chilling tales that make the firelight feel safer‚ the gathered friends more necessary for comfort‚ the spiked punch more appealing? Really‚ this is a tradition worth bringing back: sharper and stronger than the myriad holiday-themed albums from everyone hoping to find a spot in the modern stocking. Translated into prose‚ the teller of Christmas shivers tries to recreate as much of the original cozy context as possible. But Benson’s playing with the form again‚ and in the opposite direction from chilling-to-cozy “How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery.” His warmly hospitable host‚ normally a source of croquet and hide-and-seek and otherwise genial house party fare‚ has a tale he’s reluctant to tell. Apparently‚ his last house party wasn’t so cozy as all that—even if no one else noticed. One of the most comforting things about the traditional ghost story is the promise of resolution. The haunt will be explained‚ or at least captured. Events will flow in somewhat predictable fashion‚ from initial intimation to hair-raising confrontation. True experiences of the uncanny have no such reassurance. It may simply be a moment of inexplicability‚ a single event that defies explanation. It probably lacks a clear story arc. It is certainly unlikely to get tied up by a satisfying resolution. So it sticks with you‚ building chronic disquiet rather than acute adventure. So too with Chandler’s experience. There’s his initial vision of an ancient setting. (A wretched hive of scum and villainy?) There are the scaled-down humanoid creatures‚ definitely not hobbits but not anything else specific. Fair folk? Neanderthals? Ghosts? Gnoles? And then he just… can’t get over the vision for months. He’s healthy‚ but it eats at him. Eventually he goes on holiday to Scotland‚ like you do. There‚ despite the best efforts of his hunting guide‚ he stumbles through the mist and into his vision. And he was having such a nice day‚ too. Whereupon he escapes‚ and never learns anything more about what happened. This despite the fact that gillie Sandy clearly knows something. Maybe Chandler fires the guy for not explaining his anxiety in the first place‚ or for running away. Maybe Sandy continues to resist saying anything useful despite subsequent demands. Maybe when he ran away‚ he tripped and fell into a bog. Never mind‚ leaving it all unresolved makes the whole thing less narratively satisfying‚ but more plausible. Which‚ of course‚ makes it more satisfyingly chill-inducing. Meanwhile in another story‚ the mysterious wee beasties are equally confused about this human dude who keeps stumbling into their house. My favorite part is actually the framing story: the tension between comforting ritual and real fear‚ between silly and serious play. The house party is a liminal space‚ where British nobility can drop their dignified armor and play hide and seek‚ or admit that beneath our outer differences we’re all skeletons—and as we all know‚ once you release the rigid trappings of imperial culture‚ anything might happen. Even the admission that said nobles can truly be frightened‚ and might never understand what they’re frightened of. Final thing that’s eating at me unresolved: what are the “lights” that the story takes place “between”? The best I can come up with is “lights” as a term for eyes: that the events (or simply the fear of them) takes place between Chandler’s eyes‚ i.e.‚ in his brain. Dissatisfied with this answer‚ I tried to figure out if it was a Hamlet reference—no luck‚ Hamlet talks about light but not anything between lights. Maybe the lights are the explicable‚ comfortable life on either side of the weirdness. Maybe it’s Chandler’s own fireplace and the beasties’ low‚ guttering hearth. Or maybe Benson has as much trouble coming up with titles as I do.   Anne’s Commentary I wondered why Benson titled this story “Between the Lights” rather than something more obvious like “A Christmas Eve Premonition” or “The Exceedingly Malodorous Pictish Ruin in the Mist.” From the title alone‚ I pictured streetlamps illuminating all-too-short stretches of pavement on a moonless night—between them would be all-too-long stretches of darkness in which anything might be lying in fiendishly grinning ambush. More broadly‚ then‚ what’s between any lights must be the dark‚ as day alternates with night and the sun-dominated seasons alternate with those in which the moon holds fickle sway. Light‚ dark‚ light: That’s the optimistic construction of matters‚ but the pessimistic Dark‚ light‚ dark is just as viable. What was there In The Beginning‚ after all? The frame of Benson’s story takes place between the lights of Christmas Eve and Christmas morn: The “vague white light” of the snowy day has given way to a darkness lit only by the Yule fire‚ for the electric lights have been quenched to provide a suitable atmosphere for ghost stories. Firelight also honors the primordial tradition of people gathering around a blaze and defying the dark by dwelling on its terrors. The creation of light and heat more or less on demand is humanity’s earliest mastery of its environment‚ so why wouldn’t humanity boast about it a little? The Chandlers’ guests boast by switching off the lightbulbs‚ but only until indulging in adrenaline-powered endorphin rushes gets too real; then somebody unceremoniously throws the switches back on. Everard’s too-authentic tale takes place between an unseasonably sunny Christmas Eve and the mist-enhanced fall of an autumn night. He has passed from winter through spring and summer to winter again‚ and not just to any winter’s day but to the one hovering on the Winter Solstice‚ the astronomical event immemorially celebrated as the turn of shortening days into increasing ones. Apart from their Saturnalia shindigs‚ select Romans celebrated my favoritely named ancient holiday‚ Dies Natalis Solis Invicti‚ or the birthday of the invincible sun‚ which harkens back to the pre-Zoroastrian sun god of Iran‚ Mithra. I don’t know about Mithra‚ but wouldn’t we like to think that the sun—the light—is invincible? Isn’t it particularly terrible that Everard’s premonition should have plunged him from the crazy brilliance of croquet on December 24th into a shadow-den of horrors that would haunt him until the vision came true? And what are the horrors but our ancestors‚ or a monstrous offshoot of them that lives in little-mitigated darkness and unrelieved squalor? Remember‚ early-20th-century man‚ that you are an (arguably fortunate) accident of your genes‚ and unto (arguably unfortunate) accidents of your genes you may return. You might also get eaten by any remnants that linger on in the wilds of Scotland‚ because surely they are cannibalistic‚ and hungry. There’s an interesting article on the custom of telling holiday ghost stories on the Carnegie Museum of Natural History website. Andrew Huntley traces it through the millennia humans have been jawing around campfires to the Puritans’ rejection of Christmas as a holiday to the reinvigoration of Christmas traditions that followed Dickens’ publication of A Christmas Carol in 1843. As he notes: “Humans haven’t changed much biologically in several thousand years‚ and a person’s physical reaction to a harmless scare—elevated heart rate‚ endorphin rushes caused by adrenaline—is still essentially the same. The reaction to hearing a ghost story around the burning Yule fire became a tradition; a feeling of warmth and group bonding at what was the coldest and darkest time of year.” Presumably the scare Everard delivers to his guests isn’t entirely harmless‚ but he does turn his tale over for authentication to such dubious experts as “those who believe in second sight.” And luckily his guests are saved by the dressing-bell before they can muse too much about uncanny visions and troglodytes. With enough seasonable victuals and strong potations‚ we can hope they make a complete recovery. With strong potation in hand‚ I wish you all the joys of the season and look forward to more weirdness in the coming year!   We’re off for the remainder of the year! We’ll meet again in 2024 to partake of Max Gladstone’s Last Exit‚ chapters 21-22. Ruthanna Emrys is the author of A Half-Built Garden and the Innsmouth Legacy series‚ including Winter Tide and Deep Roots. You can find some of her fiction‚ weird and otherwise‚ on Tor.com‚ most recently “The Word of Flesh and Soul.” Ruthanna is online on Twitter and Patreon and on Mastodon as r_emrys@wandering.shop‚ and offline in a mysterious manor house with her large‚ chaotic household—mostly mammalian—outside Washington DC. Anne M. Pillsworth’s short story “The Madonna of the Abattoir” appears on Tor.com. Her young adult Mythos novel‚ Summoned‚ is available from Tor Teen along with sequel Fathomless. She lives in Edgewood‚ a Victorian trolley car suburb of Providence‚ Rhode Island‚ uncomfortably near Joseph Curwen’s underground laboratory.

Around this time of the year is when all games usually hold some festive event‚ and we’re seeing this year’s events pile in day after day. Now‚ it’s World of Warcraft’s time‚ and the annual Winter Veil event has begun in WoW‚ we’re going to run over exactly how long it’s going to last in Azeroth. World of Warcraft: How long is the Feast of Winter Veil event? The annual Winter Veil event has been renamed this year to incorporate the Tuskarr Feasts that players have been taking part in throughout Dragonflight. With the current DLC being over a year old now‚ this will be the second and final Winter event that has taken place in Dragonflight‚ and Blizzard is once again pushing the boundaries for players. The Feast of Winter Veil is going to allow once again players to claim festive cosmetics‚ which Blizzard has noted can be found in “Smokeywoods Pastures cart in Ironforge or Orgrimmar and click on Greatfeat...

The super spooky Christmas update adds the scariest possible thing of all to Phasmophobia: Little dancing snowmen all around the maps. Let’s start with the easiest map- here’s all Dancing Snowmen Locations in Tanglewood in Phasmophobia. 6 Tanglewood Drive Dancing Snowmen Locations Screenshot: PC Invasion The first little snowy friend greets you as you come out of the van‚ dancing on top of the mailbox. You’ll then find the second one on the garbage can to the right of entering the house. Another is hidden on top of the left side of the roof. Screenshot: PC Invasion Now you only have 33 more to go! Here are the rest: 6 Tanglewood Drive Snowmen Directly behind the door to get inside. Another is to the left of the dresser when you come inside. Four in the child’s bedroom: windowsill‚ top of the armoire‚ on top of the owl painting‚ and next to the door by the rocking horse. Three in the blue bedroom: windowsill‚...

Call of Duty Mobile is often praised by many as one of the best titles that players can play on the go. With the popularity of the game reaching new heights lately‚ there’s been a hiccup with some players. This comes in the form of Authorization Error 270fd309‚ and we’re going to run over how to solve this error. Call of Duty Mobile: What is Authorization Error 270fd309? CoD Mobile has had its fair share of error codes that players can get from time to time‚ including Authorization Error 270fd309. If you are presented with this error‚ there’s a simple resolution. Authorization Error 270fd309 means that your device doesn’t currently have the correct date and time per your region settings. To ensure this is correct‚ head over to your device’s settings and double check the region and time zone aren’t changed‚ as this is likely the direct cause of this error code. Related: Best guns of Call of Duty Mobile Credit...

The Dawning Event is live in Destiny 2‚ tasking Guardians with a massive ingredient hunt spanning the entire Solar System. If you’re struggling with the Perfect Taste‚ you’re not alone. Here’s how to get Perfect Taste in Destiny 2‚ The Dawning 2023. Related: How to get the Dawning Memento in Destiny 2 Where to get the Perfect Taste ingredient in Destiny 2 You can earn the Perfect Taste ingredient by killing opponents with Precision Hits. You can tell you’ve landed a Precision Hit as the damage number will appear in Yellow. For most targets‚ you’re aiming for a headshot‚ although this isn’t always the case. The big issue with this ingredient is its rarity. I may just be unlucky‚ but I took over 40 minutes to find a single one. Image: PC Invasion I tried finding the Perfect Taste in the Vanguard Strike playlist but quickly realized it was too chaotic with two other Guardians hungry for kills. In the end‚ I took ...

If you’re playing any type of spellcaster in Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3‚ you’ll have an array of spell options at your disposal. Here are the 20 best spells you can use in Baldur’s Gate 3. What are the best spells in Baldur’s Gate 3? Because of the large amount of spells available from the Dungeons &; Dragons 5e rules‚ Baldur’s Gate 3 has a ton of options. This makes it incredibly hard to narrow down all the spells we’ve seen and been able to play around with. Overall though‚ anyone who has these 15 best spells in their arsenal during their playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3 will probably make good use of them. Eldritch Blast Screenshot by PC Invasion Nothing beats having an amazing cantrip‚ which you can cast for free at any point. Dealing 1d10 Force damage‚ Eldritch Blast is a Warlock’s favorite ability to whip out during a fight. If no spell slots are left‚ not to worry‚ because E...

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it is taking on a case regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the chemical abortion pill mifepristone. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine‚ the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists‚ the American College of Pediatricians‚ and the Christian Medical &; Dental Associations filed a lawsuit against the FDA in November 2022‚ claiming that the FDA had ignored safety protocols to approve the abortion pill mifepristone. The Supreme Court said this week that it would hear the case‚ one of the first major abortion cases taken up by the court since overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022‚ according to an order list. The Supreme Court in April ruled against the plaintiffs in a 7-2 decision‚ with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting‚ regarding a request for a temporary stay of the FDA’s ability to administer the drug. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals‚ however‚ ruled in August that the FDA must reverse changes it made allowing the pill to be mailed online and dispensed by pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription‚ according to Politico. The FDA appealed the decision to the Supreme Court in September‚ according to Axios. The court noted in its decision Wednesday that oral arguments on the case would be limited to one hour. The FDA “does not comment on possible‚ pending or ongoing litigation‚” it told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Supreme Court to Weigh Major Case on Abortion Pill Approval appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Kate Cox asked the Texas Supreme Court to give her permission to abort her unborn baby‚ a baby that has a condition known as trisomy 18. On Monday‚ her lawyers said that she will go to another state to end the baby’s life. That same day‚ the court said Texas law didn’t require her to ask its permission. Trisomy 18 is a condition where a baby has an extra copy of chromosome 18‚ making it highly likely that the baby will die in the womb or shortly after birth—though some babies with trisomy 18 do survive‚ such as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s daughter. Cox’s lawyers have argued that by not aborting her baby‚ Cox is jeopardizing her health and future fertility. Meet my incompatible w life daughter Bella. Her docs put her on hospice at 10 days old. Other countries have much higher survival rates than US because they treat the baby not the diagnosis. Every kid deserves a shot at life‚ not be brutally dismembered for not being perfect. pic.twitter.com/QKVAREEyVY— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) December 12‚ 2023 The same day that Cox’s lawyers said she would seek an abortion in another state‚ the Texas Supreme Court said in its opinion that “a pregnant woman does not need a court order to have a lifesaving abortion in Texas.” The court ruling also noted that Cox’s doctor‚ Damla Karsan‚ “asked a [lower] court to pre-authorize the abortion‚ yet she could not‚ or at least did not‚ attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”  Further‚ the ruling stated: A woman who meets the medical-necessity exception need not seek a court order to obtain an abortion. Under the law‚ it is a doctor who must decide that a woman is suffering from a life-threatening condition during a pregnancy‚ raising the necessity for an abortion to save her life or to prevent impairment of a major bodily function. The law leaves to physicians—not judges—both the discretion and the responsibility to exercise their reasonable medical judgment‚ given the unique facts and circumstances of each patient. Texas-Supreme-CourtDownload Pro-life experts argued to The Daily Signal that abortion activists and the media are twisting the news to fit their own purposes. “The Center for Reproductive Rights and an abortion-crusading doctor provoked this confrontation‚ apparently for political purposes‚” said Thomas Jipping‚ senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) “They filed an unnecessary lawsuit and claimed unjustified confusion about what the state law requires in order to create an highly public flashpoint in the conflict over abortion‚” he added. Sarah Parshall Perry‚ also a senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center‚ emphasized that in Texas‚ pregnant women do not need a court order to have a lifesaving abortion. “Which begs the question: Why did she and her doctor seek one?” Perry questioned. “Physicians make in-the-moment professional judgments regularly. The difference here is that the doctor claimed ignorance as to what her ‘reasonable medical judgment’ could actually entail. Kate Cox could have stayed right where she was and received the abortion she sought.”   Pro-life activists expressed strong sympathies for the mother but stressed the importance of valuing the innate dignity of every life. Katie Daniel‚ state policy director at SBA Pro-Life America‚ emphasized to The Daily Signal that “it’s always a heartbreaking situation to be told your child may not have long to live.” “Compassion and care should have been given to both Kate Cox and her baby‚ and sadly‚ that did not happen‚” she said. “There are two patients involved‚ and targeting one of them for brutal abortion will never be the compassionate answer.” Regarding Kate Cox's case in Texas: Nothing could be more heartbreaking than to be told your child may not have long to live. In such moments‚ both patients‚ mother and child deserve compassion and care and dignity. However‚ Texas law is clear: doctors‚ not judges‚ decide…— MarjorieDannenfelser (@marjoriesba) December 12‚ 2023 “It’s shocking that a judge would create her own judicial bypass around the state’s law to allow for an abortion‚” Daniel added. “Texas law protects mothers who need lifesaving care in a medical emergency‚ which a doctor can provide without deliberately taking a patient’s life and without involving the court.” The American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists also expressed deep sorrow for the Cox family and the “tragic diagnoses and health challenges” that they have faced. “Though we cannot speak to the specifics of her case without her medical records‚ we do know that life-affirming medicine does allow women to obtain treatment for pregnancy complications‚ as does the Texas law‚” AAPLOG said in a statement to The Daily Signal. “However‚ a fetal diagnosis of trisomy 18‚ in and of itself‚ is not a threat to the mother’s life. With properly informed consent and a health care team that’s committed to honoring the dignity and value of both mom and baby‚ mothers can receive quality care in Texas‚ and their babies can be given a chance at life.” The organization noted that laws protecting the preborn exist “in part to affirm the dignity of fetal human beings with life-limiting conditions rather than ending a preborn child’s life prematurely simply because it is predicted to be shorter than most people’s.” “A more life-affirming option is perinatal palliative care‚ in which parents can be supported by medical staff and grief counselors as they care for their child‚ regardless of the length of his or her life‚” AAPLOG’s statement said. “Perinatal palliative care has been shown to yield better mental health outcomes for grieving parents and respects the value of both mom and baby‚ unlike induced abortion. That’s the kind of dignified care that our patients deserve.” “Relatable” podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey argued on X‚ formerly known as Twitter‚ that “a fatal diagnosis of an unborn child is not a justification for killing them.” “When the choice is between dismemberment and delivery‚ you deliver‚” she stressed. “You show them love and dignity. You give them a funeral. You don’t discard them like medical waste. Either way‚ the baby has to come out. The choice is between allowing the baby to come out whole or in pieces.” A fatal diagnosis of an unborn child is not a justification for killing them. When the choice is between dismemberment and delivery‚ you deliver. You show them love and dignity. You give them a funeral. You don’t discard them like medical waste. Either way‚ the baby has to come…— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) December 12‚ 2023 “While we can have compassion for the tragedy of receiving such a devastating diagnosis‚ we should never use a diagnosis to justify murdering an innocent baby‚” she told The Daily Signal on Tuesday afternoon. And Lila Rose‚ president of the pro-life organization Live Action‚ defended the unborn baby’s life on X as well. “A baby with Trisomy 18 has the same dignity and worth as you or me‚” Rose said. “They deserve love and care for however many moments‚ days or years they have on earth—not the extreme torture of dismemberment by an abortionist.” A baby with Trisomy 18 has the same dignity and worth as you or me. They deserve love and care for however many moments‚ days or years they have on earth — not the extreme torture of dismemberment by an abortionist.— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) December 12‚ 2023 Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post Pro-Life Experts Warn Leftists Are Using Texas Woman’s Abortion Battle as ‘Highly Public Flashpoint’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Nothing says‚ “a great democracy” quite like an extremely controversial free speech-affecting legislative effort by a country’s government‚ does it? Unfortunately for Australians‚ and judging by reports‚ their current cabinet is now trying to convince the world that it is the caretaker of that kind of democracy – and‚ yet‚ at the same time‚ push through a bill of‚ well‚ that other kind. The “magic word” rears its ugly head again here – misinformation. That’s the centerpiece of Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland‘s plan for what could end up as her democracy and free speech takeover. Namely‚ Rowland‚ nicknamed by some as “minister for misinformation” – and‚ interpret that turn of phrase as you wish – is on record as saying that it will be her right and power of office to “direct the media watchdog to investigate instances of online misinformation.” And the misinformation we’re talking about here is delineated (to suit those who engineered the “definition” rather than be properly defined without bias) in a draft‚ referred to by critics as “censorship laws.” The bill in the works for some time now is meant to amend existing regulation so that it tackles misinformation better. In a June letter Rowland addressed to current Australian prime minister‚ Anthony Albanese (another documents obtained thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request) she effectively states that the proposal‚ if eventually adopted‚ would make her the misinformation “tzar” (or tsarina‚ really). Writes Rowland: she would be given the power to “direct” the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to “commence investigations‚” reports are now saying. ACMA‚ for its part‚ would be given the right to fine social media giants “millions of dollars” if their platforms are found guilty of misinformation and harmful content. And we know how it goes when Big Tech has to choose between saving money and just in general currying favor with government(s) – vs protecting free speech. The latter option virtually never wins. Nevertheless‚ Australia has managed to emerge from its shocking pandemic human rights and speech restrictions as still a democracy – at least as in‚ some people can speak out against what they consider to be wrong government policies. But even they have to be careful to incorporate “Russia and China” into their message. Thus‚ Joe de Bruyn‚ ex head of the largest private sector trade union in Australia‚ “shoppies union‚” had this to say: “The faceless bureaucrats of the ACMA are to be empowered to restrict free speech in accordance with their own judgments on social media platforms.” And‚ even though this is clearly a problem Australia has with itself – he made sure to stress‚ “ordinary citizens will be muzzled (… it will) lead the nation down the path of Putin’s Russia or Xi’s China.” The post Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland To Have Power To Direct Watchdog To Investigate Online “Misinformation” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

On June 2‚ 1967‚ with Wing Commander Colonel Robert Scott away‚ Colonel Jacksel “Jack” Broughton was serving as acting commander of the United States Air Force’s 355th Tactical Fighter Wing‚ based at Takhli‚ Thailand. Broughton had flown a strike mission into North Vietnam that day and‚ after landing‚ he went to his office to catch up on paperwork and then headed to the officers’ club for dinner. As he ate‚ two pilots—Majors Frederick G. “Ted” Tolman and Alonzo “Lonnie” Ferguson—asked to talk to him. They knew Broughton was someone who listened to and cared about his pilots‚ and they wanted to discuss the mission they had just flown. Tolman related what had happened. He and Ferguson had been piloting Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs that day‚ with the call signs Weep 3 and Weep 4‚ Tolman flying lead and Ferguson as wingman. Their mission was to fly through Route Pack 6‚ a heavily defended corridor over North Vietnam‚ and bomb a railroad junction. Along the way‚ Tolman and Ferguson had flown over the North Vietnamese port of Cam Pha. When Majors Frederick Tolman (left) and Alonzo Ferguson (right) inadvertently strafed the ship in Cam Pha harbor‚ they kicked off a diplomatic incident and left themselves open to charges. Like the larger harbor of Haiphong 40 miles to the southwest‚ Cam Pha had been placed off limits for American attacks under the Rules of Engagement (ROE) set by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara for Rolling Thunder‚ the tactical bombing of North Vietnam. President Lyndon B. Johnson and McNamara both wanted to avoid any military actions that might “widen the war‚” as McNamara put it. That meant avoiding anything that could bring Red China or the Soviet Union into direct warfare with the United States. Soviet ships were on the forbidden list‚ even if they were known to be delivering MiG fighters and surface-to-air missiles that would be used against American aircraft. As the two pilots passed over Cam Pha‚ their “Thuds” became the target of anti-aircraft fire. They did not fire back but continued on toward their target‚ although Tolman—“an aggressive‚ hard-hitting pilot‚” as one contemporary described him—said he made a mental note of the AA locations and decided he would make a strafing pass on the return leg. After hitting their target and heading for home‚ the pilots flew back over Cam Pha and encountered heavy fire again. With Tolman in the lead‚ the two Thuds made a diving strafing run at the batteries with their six-barreled Vulcan 20mm cannon. At an airspeed of more than 400 knots‚ the strafing run lasted mere seconds. As their cannon shells tore into the line of AA emplacements‚ Tolman suddenly noticed a ship anchored in the harbor that was directly in his line of fire. Instinctively he centered his gunsight on the vessel and loosed a short burst. He and Ferguson pulled up‚ streaked over the ship and resumed their flight. A storm forced them to land at the auxiliary base at Ubon‚ where they were debriefed while waiting for the weather to clear. By then Tolman realized the ship he had fired on was probably Soviet and he understood the implications of his actions. He told his debriefers about the AA barrage‚ but that he and Ferguson had not returned fire‚ a false statement that went on the official record. Ferguson did not contradict Tolman’s account‚ further muddying the issue. Once back at Takhli‚ the two pilots decided to ask Broughton for advice.  Left: An aerial photo shows the situation Tolman and Ferguson faced above Cam Pha Harbor on June 2‚ 1967. Their attention was focused on the anti-aircraft emplacements. Right: The two pilots passed over Cam Pha on their way in and out of North Vietnam. Colonel Jack Broughton was 42 years old and a graduate of West Point’s class of 1945 who had flown 114 missions during the Korean War and later commanded the Thunderbirds‚ the Air Force’s demonstration team. He would fly an additional 102 missions in Vietnam. As vice commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing‚ Broughton seemed like perfect image of a combat fighter squadron leader. “Colonel Broughton was a large man with a square-set jaw‚ stern eyebrows‚ and close-cropped hair‚ which he brushed straight up from his forehead‚” wrote Ken Bell in 100 Missions North: A Fighter Pilot’s Story of the Vietnam War. “He exuded confidence‚ with just a trace of danger.” Broughton had planned and led bombing missions to destroy key North Vietnamese Army sites along Route Pack 6‚ and many of those flights passed over or around Cam Pha and Haiphong. Subordinates and superiors alike considered him an excellent leader and pilot. He also had a withering contempt for the civilian and military managers in Washington and the restrictions they forced pilots to observe‚ which Broughton later called “probably the most inefficient and self-destructive set of rules of engagement that a fighting force ever tried to take into battle.” Broughton listened to Tolman and Ferguson and gave the matter serious thought. If Tolman or Ferguson had started their cameras before opening fire on the AA emplacements‚ the footage would show whether they had fired at the Soviet vessel. By this time the film had been removed from the airplanes and was waiting to be flown out by a courier aircraft to another base for processing. As Broughton later wrote‚ “I could either follow the established procedures and they would be court-martialed for firing on an unauthorized target and making false official statements‚ or I could do something about it.” An image from newsreel footage shows damage to the Turkestan‚ but the cause remained in doubt. Broughton decided he would do something about it. He called the duty sergeant at the photo lab and had him bring the undeveloped film canisters to him. Together they opened the canisters and exposed the film with the lab truck’s headlights. This was certainly against all the rules‚ but Broughton already disagreed with many of the ROE he and his pilots were forced to follow. His men had to face real guns and real missiles‚ not paper evaluations written up in some Pentagon office 12‚000 miles away. “I could have let that film go through its normal channels and thrown Ted and Lonnie to the wolves‚” he said. But that was not Jack Broughton’s way. “As far as I was concerned‚ nobody could ever establish firmly that we had done any damage to a ship that was delivering weapons to be used against us.” After telling Tolman and Ferguson what he had done‚ he told them to get some sleep. They would resume flying missions as usual. Broughton was betting that the incident would blow over. He was wrong. The vessel that Tolman and Ferguson had seen at Cam Pha was a Soviet-registered freighter named the Turkestan. After the incident‚ its caption radioed his superiors in Hanoi‚ claiming that two American fighters had fired on his ship without provocation‚ causing great damage and killing one of his crew. The report immediately went up the chain of command to the Soviet Foreign Ministry in Moscow. The Soviet Union issued an immediate protest of the incident‚ which it termed “a criminal violation of the freedom of navigation‚ an act of banditry which may have far-reaching consequences.” The Soviets claimed to have recovered an “unexploded” 20mm shell from the damaged ship. By the following day‚ Johnson and McNamara had been briefed about the incident‚ but the Pentagon noted suspicions about the evidence the Soviets claimed to have. The Thunderchief’s 20mm cannon did not eject its spent shell casings or unfired rounds. Instead‚ the casings fell into a bin under the Vulcan cannon for recovery after landing. The only way the Soviets could have an unfired shell was if they had recovered it from one of the more than 140 F-105s that had been shot down the previous year. The Pentagon explained this to the White House‚ and for a short time the situation seemed to be losing steam. That day the U.S. Government responded that the attacks had taken place but “only against legitimate military targets” and that it was “North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire that had struck the Soviet vessel.” But since there had not yet been an official investigation‚ the U.S. government assured Moscow that an investigation would be conducted immediately. President Lyndon Johnson (center) and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (right) were determined not to widen the war in Vietnam by antagonizing the Soviet Union‚ and as a result paid close attention to the Turkestan incident. Secretary of State Dean Rusk is at left. The 355th went on flying its missions and losing pilots to Soviet-manufactured SAMs and AA fire. But having heard nothing more of the Turkestan incident‚ Broughton thought he had put it behind him. He realized he hadn’t on June 17‚ when General John Ryan‚ the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)‚ arrived‚ ostensibly to inspect the base and get briefed on the progress of Rolling Thunder. He had also been told by the Air Force’s vice chief of staff‚ General Bruce Holloway‚ to get to the bottom of the Turkestan affair. To avoid giving Broughton and the two pilots any chance to coordinate their stories‚ Ryan had not told them he was coming to conduct an investigation. Ryan arrived on his personal aircraft‚ accompanied by a large entourage‚ most of it made up of Air Force investigators. After going through the motions of listening to briefings and assessments‚ Ryan lowered the boom. He had every person even remotely connected with the matter brought in for rigorous questioning. Ryan raked Broughton over the coals‚ demanding to know the truth about the incident. After spending days grilling every person involved‚ Ryan declared that a court-martial was in order. Broughton‚ Tolman and Ferguson were about to face a trial that would decide their careers and possibly their freedom. Then the White House‚ hoping to defuse the situation‚ issued a statement on June 20. “The United States formally expressed regret today for damage to the Soviet cargo ship Turkestan off the North Vietnamese port of Cam Pha and gave assurances to Soviet authorities that every effort would be made to ensure that such incidents do not occur again‚” the statement read. The White House did not mention the possibility that the ship’s crew had fired on the F-105s‚ and that the pilots might have been reacting in self-defense. Shortly afterward‚ the Navy experienced its own similar incident. On June 29 two Navy fighters attacked the Soviet ship Mikhail Frunze in Haiphong harbor. The Defense Department announced that damage to the ship was “inadvertent‚” and the matter ended there. Unlike the Air Force‚ the Navy had no plans to prosecute its pilots for violating the ROE.  Broughton‚ Tolman and Ferguson were brought up on charges written up by a legal officer from the Thirteenth Air Force. (Even though the 355th Wing was under the operational command of General William Momyer of the Seventh Air Force in Saigon‚ all administrative and legal matters came under the Thirteenth Air Force.) The indictment listed the charges as destruction of government property (the gun camera film) and conspiracy to deceive authority. Under Article 81 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice‚ the three officers could be dismissed from the service‚ with forfeiture of all pay and allowances‚ and face up to 12 years in prison.  Artist Adam Tooby captures the sense of what it was like to attack North Vietnamese targets in an F-105 Thud‚ an experience that Broughton‚ Tolman and Ferguson knew well. The court-martial took place in October 1967 at the headquarters of the Thirteenth Air Force at Clark Field near the Philippine capital of Manila. The president of the court was Colonel Charles “Chuck” Yeager‚ the combat pilot who had achieved fame as the first person to break the sound barrier. He took the position after other officers had bowed out‚ knowing that if they issued lenient sentences‚ it could prove detrimental to their careers. “Jack was a helluva commander and a great combat pilot‚” wrote Yeager. “Nobody was proud of his cover up‚ but I didn’t think he should be made the Air Force’s whipping boy.” Yeager sympathized with Broughton and his pilots and was determined to see that they got a fair trial‚ even though he knew the Air Force brass wanted to make an example of them.  Tolman and Ferguson were acquitted due to the lack of evidence‚ in particular the lack of gun camera footage. The court also dropped the conspiracy charge but found Broughton guilty of the lesser charge of destroying government property. It was the best compromise Yeager could arrange. He had conferred with the other officers on the court‚ and they agreed to follow this suggestion. Broughton was fined $100 per month for six months‚ the assumed value of the destroyed film.  Even though Broughton had avoided prison‚ the incident derailed his career. Yeager said later that the punishment “was a kiss of death because the only way for a senior officer to survive a scandal of that magnitude was to have all charges against him dismissed. He would never again have a command.” An officer who had attended the court-martial told Broughton that one member of the board later said‚ off the record‚ that the entire affair was the “grossest miscarriages of military justice.”  Colonel Harry C. Aderholt of the 56th Air Commando Wing‚ who also served on the court‚ said it was “the most disgusting episode of my life.” Ken Bell‚ who had flown missions with Broughton‚ was equally demoralized by the situation. “Three pilots who had risked their lives for their country had been whisked away and hung out to dry in an uphill fight for their honor and professional future‚” he wrote. “I felt betrayed.” A fellow pilot said Broughton “exuded confidence‚ with just a trace of danger.” Broughton had hoped to finish his time in Vietnam with 105 missions in the F-105‚ but fallout from the Turkestan ended his combat flying. Instead he detailed his experiences in books like Thud Ridge and Going Downtown. In the latter book Broughton detailed his frustrations over the Turkestan incident. On October 15‚ 1967‚ an article appeared in the Miami Herald‚ in which an unnamed but apparently reliable witness in Hong Kong stated that he had been aboard the Turkestan after the incident‚ and he had seen bullet holes in the bridge plating. He said the bullets had entered the metal at a horizontal angle‚ not from an elevated one that would have indicated an attack from an aircraft. The holes were made by 15mm and 40mm shells‚ he said‚ not American 20mm.The clear implication was that the North Vietnamese gunners‚ trying to hit the Thuds‚ had raked the Soviet ship by accident. But this revelation came too late to help Broughton. Ryan‚ infuriated by the light sentence‚ ordered Broughton out of Vietnam. He was assigned to the Pentagon‚ where he began work on his memoirs‚ a scathing indictment of the air war that he titled Thud Ridge. He also worked with a lawyer on his appeal. In July 1968‚ the court findings were set aside in light of Broughton’s superb record. His status in the Air Force was at last cleared of all censure‚ but the entire affair left a bad taste in his mouth and he retired from the Air Force that August. “I found it interesting that in the entire history of the United States flying forces‚ only one other officer had ever had a general court-martial set aside and voided‚” Broughton wrote. “His name was Billy Mitchell.” Tolman and Ferguson were allowed to keep flying. Ferguson ended up with 103 combat missions and experienced a steady climb in the Air Force‚ retiring as a brigadier general in 1982. He died in 2007. Tolman also continued flying combat missions and retired as a colonel. Now 91‚ he lives in his native state of Maine.  Broughton wrote two other books‚ Going Downtown: The War against Hanoi and Washington (1988)and Rupert Red Two: A Fighter Pilot’s Life from Thunderbolts to Thunderchiefs (2008). Both are recommended reading for anyone interested in the air war over Vietnam. The holder of two Silver Stars‚ four Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Force Cross—the flying arm’s highest award—and one of the most respected officers who served in Korea and Vietnam‚ Broughton died in 2014 at the age of 89.  this article first appeared in AVIATION HISTORY magazine See more stories Subscribe now