While “Hazbin Hotel” has received rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes‚ Lauren Chen is less than impressed. The show centers around the daughter of Lucifer‚ who opens a rehabilitation hotel that offers a group of demons a chance at redemption — which supposedly will help reduce hell’s overpopulation. If the daughter‚ Charlie‚ isn’t successful in rehabilitating the demons‚ then they’ll be killed by angels. Chen‚ who watched the show‚ says she “essentially spent two hours watching animated furries discuss their sexual deviances.” “Obviously this show is an attempt to parody or subvert the Christian worldview‚” Chen explains‚ noting that she’s received plenty of complaints from viewers over one clip that makes a mockery of Adam and Eve. “What I think really got me personally is not just how heretical the show’s premise is‚ it’s also how ignorant the people who wrote the show clearly are of Christianity‚” she adds. Chen also doesn’t believe the show does a good job of investing you in the storyline or the characters. “When we have Charlie freaking out saying‚ ‘Oh no‚ all these monsters are going to be killed‚’ I’m kind of like‚ good‚ I hope they are‚” she explains. And unsurprisingly‚ the show runs rampant with queer representation. “Is representation here a win for the LGBTQ community or not? Because I feel like it could go either way‚” Chen says. Want more from Lauren Chen?To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty‚ pro-logic‚ and pro-market commentary on social and political issues‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

We’re developing Yogi Berra politics. The connections are severed‚ but the connections are secure. Everyone is sticking with the thing that everyone has abandoned. In California‚ elected officials have become positively manic in their promotion of a sexualized childhood and a culture of enforced secrecy in schools. Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing a school district to prevent it from notifying parents when their children declare a new gender identity and pronouns to school officials. Read this press release from Bonta to see the depravity of the argument right from the source. The extremely explicit and persistent state policy is that children must be protected from the gravest threat they face: their own families. Schools must keep sexual secrets about young children because that’s very progressive. California is “protecting the rights of trans children‚” and communicating with parents about their own children is “forced outing.” The unspoken but not-at-all-subtle premise underlying this state push for childhood sexual secrecy is that children have their most honest and intimate relationships with officials in government-run schools but must hide their true selves from their parents. It’s statism on steroids and crystal meth and bath salts‚ and your children belong to the government. Californians despise this view‚ and they express deep loathing for all of the policy implications that follow. Democrats are freakishly good at severing politics from real-world outcomes and hooking it firmly to status anxiety. Republicans don’t counter that maneuver. It’s been months since a Rasmussen poll arrived at this conclusion: “California Voters Support Parental Rights by Overwhelming Margins.” Amazingly enough‚ pretty much no one supports the premise that teachers should have a lot of intimate sexual conversations with young children and then keep it all a special secret from mommy and daddy. A solid 82% of all likely voters in California support parental notification policies — and that's without asking the question of parents only. To summarize: 1) A much-publicized California policy has no support among California voters‚ who hate everything about it. 2) But elected officials aren't changing their policy course at all. If anything‚ they’ve shoved all their chips into the pot and are uniformly moving in a direction that the public overwhelmingly rejects. 3) And‚ this is the kicker‚ no political course-correction appears to be on the horizon. Polls strongly suggest that California voters will remain aligned with the Democratic Party and Democratic elected officials while despising the things those officials actually do. Californians are probably going to elect Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff to the U.S. Senate this year‚ if you need to read in one sentence how dark that disconnection becomes. The matter of sexualized childhood and school secrecy isn’t an isolated case. Californians are disturbed by an open border‚ appalled by widespread homelessness‚ aware of growing economic hardship and urban decline‚ bothered by crime‚ and firmly behind the Democratic incumbents who are causing all of the things they hate. I strongly support Elected Official X‚ voters explain‚ and I despise everything he does. You're probably thinking right now that you don't care because Californians are just getting what they voted for. They chose it‚ so they deserve it. The problem is “President Joe Biden‚” whose leg hair turned blond in the sun and the children loved to play with it and then Corn Pop showed up. The cultural fire in California is just a slightly hotter version of the national grease fire. How many Texans voted for the federal government to put out the welcome mat at Eagle Pass? The coast-to-coast trend is toward meaningless voting‚ and not just because of ballot harvesting and the lost connection between votes and ballots. The severing of what politicians do from the question of what we think of them is a cultural crisis built on a foundation of status-signaling. If your experience is anything like mine‚ your discussions with fiercely Democratic Party-supporting family members turn quickly to ranting about trailer parks and flyover country: Dude‚ I'm not some Trumper. Don’t you know where I went to college? Democrats are high-status and upper-middle-class; Republicans are the poors‚ and they probably shop at Walmart or something. For example‚ see what advice the liberal pundit Matt Yglesias offered young men about identifying as Republicans. (Spoiler alert: It’s about their dating life.) This realignment of political choice on an otherwise empty foundation of consumerist status-signaling is our ruin. It locks people into failure because voting against failed politicians is low-status. Democrats are freakishly good at severing politics from real-world outcomes and hooking it firmly to status anxiety. Republicans don’t counter that maneuver. But the ugliness of our emerging future demands that we re-establish the link between how we vote and what happens next. Look north to Canada to see what happens to a country that sustains failed power far past the moment of its collapse. Our path forward reflects our ability to connect cause and effect‚ and that path isn’t looking good. It’s time to fight through those family rants about Trumpers and their trailer parks and force people to look at what’s actually happening. The empty politics of social status is death.

An Oregon county that includes parts of Portland has voted to close its Equity and Inclusion Office after commissioners agreed that the office was a drain on critical resources and that it created unnecessary division within the community.Clackamas County‚ Oregon‚ stretches from Mt. Hood in the east all the way to a portion of Portland in the west. In July 2020‚ just a few weeks after the death of George Floyd‚ the county opened the Equity and Inclusion Office and poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into DEI staff and initiatives. A county statement issued in April 2022 spoke glowingly of "uplifting voices and making the invisible visible within communities" through DEI measures. "We want to grow a workplace where people of color‚ members of the LGBTQIA+ community‚ and others from historically marginalized communities feel not just welcomed‚ but also valued and respected as core members of our team‚" Jon Hennington‚ equity program manager for the city of Milwaukie‚ said at the time.However‚ the 2022 election reshaped the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners‚ and though board positions are nonpartisan‚ four of the five current members are reportedly registered Republicans. Beginning in May 2023‚ outspoken new Commissioner Mark Shull proposed cutting the entire DEI budget‚ which amounted to a staggering $828‚000‚ claiming that it was an "unnecessary expense" that "only foments friction."While most commissioners were less abrasive in their language at the time‚ they seemed to agree with some of Shull's points. Commissioner Martha Schrader‚ the board's lone registered Democrat‚ vehemently disagreed‚ claiming that her Korean-American son and Chinese neighbors continue to endure racist attacks. "People need to understand it still happens today‚" she argued at a meeting last May. "As Oregonians and Americans we need to understand that those kinds of behaviors are harmful to one another‚ and to me‚ the diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion piece is the constant reminder that we have to be sensitive to this and we have to honor that."Commissioner Ben West‚ a Republican and Naval reservist who is in a gay relationship and who adopted a black son‚ argued instead that DEI often encourages a "victim mentality" and creates division within the community. DEI "does not bring our county and local communities together‚" he stated through tears at the meeting.West‚ Shull‚ and others have now carried the day‚ as the board has voted to close the Equity and Inclusion Office effective February 5. "We're no longer investing in that ideology‚" West confirmed in a recent Fox News interview about the vote. "We believed that it was really important to focus on merit‚ fairness and equality‚ not to racialize the workplace and the county.""We value the individual‚" he continued. "We value you regardless of your immutable traits.""In Clackamas County‚ we really value the merit‚ the talents of every individual‚ that every person has and brings to the county. ... A diversity of ideas is important to us."While many are celebrating the board's decision as a victory for true American values regarding liberty and equality‚ others see it as a step backward. "I'm saddened – it seems like we're going in reverse‚" said Emmett Wheatfall‚ a former county diversity manager who retired in 2019. "My hope is we can return to moving forward again‚ but it's going to take champions."The two full-time employees at the office will be reassigned to other positions. It is unclear how the former DEI budget will now be spent.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Musician Lil Nas X described himself as a "very spiritual young man‚" which helped him deal with backlash from his single "J Christ‚" which upset Christians through his portrayal of Jesus in the song's music video.The artist dressed as the Bible's Noah while playing basketball against Satan in the music video‚ in which he also dressed as Jesus Christ and danced alongside male cheerleaders. The visuals also included celebrity look-alikes of Kanye West‚ Oprah Winfrey‚ and President Obama ascending into heaven. Lil Nas X told Variety that despite the song getting an underwhelming reception‚ he was "proud" of the song and video."Everyone expected me to be upset or something. But I’m a very spiritual person. I’m thankful that I get to even be in the charts and still be in the conversation. And I’m making new music and it’s been so long. So I’m grateful for that."The singer gave remarks at the premiere of a new HBO documentary about himself‚ which reportedly featured him praising his family for accepting his homosexuality‚ which included taking his dad to a gay bar. "I never would have thought to do gay stuff with my dad‚ but he insisted. He was like‚ ‘No‚ I want to go with you guys!’ So‚ yeah‚ that was the best night ever‚" Lil Nas X said.As well‚ Variety reported that the artist's brother‚ Tramon Hall‚ is revealed to be a bisexual in the film.After the release of his latest video‚ Lil Nas X was criticized by Christians for once again including satanic imagery in his musical performances. A previous video showed the artist falling from heaven‚ down to hell‚ to give Satan a lap dance.Christian rapper Bryson Gray evoked a response from Lil Nas X‚ as well as rapper Kid Cudi when he released his own song called "Gay Demon‚" targeted at rappers who promote anti-Christian themes."I made one snippet about wanting god to give me hope a few days ago and already like 5 christian rappers have conceptualized‚ wrote‚ recorded‚ and shot music videos‚" Lil Nas X wrote on X. Bryson Gray has successfully gotten under Lil Nas X\u2019s skin — (@) "If he was serious‚ he would apologize for the things he's done in the past like everybody else‚" Gray told Fox News. "You apologize for that. You acknowledge that. And him‚ he’s done all this damage to children in the public sphere. So come out and say ‘I apologize‚'" Gray added.However‚ Lil Nas X reiterated to Variety that he is a "very spiritual young man.""I believe that things are going to work out as long as I’m doing my part. I’ve never worked harder on an album or done more in my life internally to get things right. I’m excited for the outcome‚" he added.In response to Lil Nas X saying he is spiritual‚ Gray told Blaze News‚ "I do believe he's spiritual‚ but that spirit is a gay demon." Christian rapper responds to LIL NAS X \ud83d\ude2e — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A school district in North Carolina plans to shut down a special-needs school to convert it into a “newcomers school‚” New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise warned Thursday.New Hanover County Schools announced in November that the district plans to shutter the Career Readiness Academy at Mosley‚ which serves students with special needs.According to Scalise‚ during a meeting last week‚ the NHC Board of Education and NHC Schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust stated that the shuttered school might be replaced with a “newcomers school.” Scalise explained that‚ despite the misleading name‚ the school would ultimately amount to a migrant resettlement facility. He slammed the district for attempting to close down the school‚ forcing its students to relocate to other facilities in the county.“Mosley is a one-of-a-kind public school in New Hanover County that offers custom-tailored education to local students who require special learning. Newcomers schools may be called schools‚ but they are more akin to migrant resettlement and assimilation facilities‚” Scalise wrote in a recent op-ed published by the Carolina Journal.“The purported mission of these facilities is not to educate students in the traditional sense but to allegedly help entire immigrant and refugee families integrate into the local community where they are relocated‚” Scalise continued. “The undeniable truth is that a newcomers school is outside the purview of our education system and would rapidly become a magnet to migrant families from outside of the county.”He called on the district to focus its priorities on serving students who live in the county. Scalise noted that another North Carolina school district‚ Guilford County Schools‚ formed newcomer institutions and experienced “a rapid influx of immigration‚” turning it into a “hub for refugee resettlement‚” according to an October WUNC article.“I now have serious questions about how long any plans to close Mosley and open a newcomers school have been in the works‚ especially after hearing Dr. Foust’s staff disclose that this plan has been on the table since as early as 2021‚” Scalise added. “I am also gravely concerned that Dr. Foust and his administration unilaterally decided to announce the closure of Mosley without seeking the Board of Education’s prior approval. Discussions and decisions of this magnitude should be had and made by our elected Board of Education‚ not by staff behind closed doors.”Foust did not respond to a request for comment‚ the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Donald Trump famously called the press the “enemy of the people” because he said they spread “fake news” about him during his time running for president and later in office. The truth is that when it comes to the “culture war‚” corporate media are a threat to the American public because of the real stories they promote every day. MSNBC host Joy Reid recently interviewed Tiffany Justice‚ co-founder of the group Moms for Liberty. Progressives accuse Justice and her group of spreading hate and trying to erase black and LGBTQ content from school curricula. Anyone familiar with their work understands that Moms for Liberty expresses the frustration many parents feel toward a K-12 school system more focused on racial and sexual politics than reading and math. One sign of a culture in decline is when it attacks the normal and promotes the obscene. At one point‚ Reid brought up the book “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and asked Justice what expertise Moms for Liberty drew on to argue for its removal from schools. Justice noted that the book is a memoir that uses explicit language to describe sexual acts and sexual abuse. Then Justice asked Reid‚ “In what context is a strap-on dildo acceptable for public school?” Reid never answered that question‚ and when the Twitter account for her show posted this exchange‚ it wouldn’t even spell out the term. The progressive press is a lot like many school boards in America. Both hate when conservatives expose them and other adults to the sexually explicit material they want children to have in the classroom. Liberal outlets prefer to control the narrative to make the public more open to alternative lifestyles and sexual kinks. New York magazine recently published a story about polyamory that took readers into the tangled web of several adults in relationships with one another. Here is one passage that demonstrates the confusion: Celebrating your lover while they marry their partner while supporting your lover’s lover’s lover while they go through it is an example of what Anna calls “living life on hard mode.” “There’s a real sense of connection that I think comes from doing hard things‚ and I’m someone who likes to do hard things‚” Sarah explains further. A few days after I read this story‚ I saw a headline in the New York Post titled‚ “Is your relationship ready for polyamory? 6 signs that point to yes.” In a few years‚ don’t be surprised when a “polycule” composed of three men and two women files for a marriage license in a blue state. This will inevitably kick off a cultural debate about whether there is any moral or legal reason to restrict “marriage” to only two adults. One thing to keep in mind is that family policy is downstream from marriage laws. If a state declares six men can get “married‚” it won’t be long before those men assert the “right” to adopt a child. And we can be sure that some New York Times columnist or MSNBC host will be there to explain why this is good for society. The only types of relationships the corporate press doesn’t like to promote are those that have been the bedrock of every society since the beginning of time. Over the past few years‚ several media outlets have published opinion pieces questioning whether a husband and wife raising their biological children should be seen as the ideal family structure. David Brooks wrote that the nuclear family was a mistake in an essay in the Atlantic. A Harvard professor argued that black children don’t benefit from intact families and married parents as much as their white peers. One author for New York magazine — who is married with children — wanted to know why so many conservatives seemed to be fixated on encouraging more Americans to marry. The media’s agenda in the realms of sex‚ sexuality‚ and relationships also means that social commentators promoting traditional marriage and the natural family unit should expect to be questioned and ridiculed by the left. One economics professor recently wrote a book arguing that children have better outcomes when they are raised by a married mom and dad in an intact household. Even this seemingly noncontroversial conclusion — backed by decades of research — has forced her to counter bad-faith arguments about her position on a regular basis. One sign of a culture in decline is when it attacks the normal and promotes the obscene. I doubt Joy Reid would want the “Success Sequence” taught in K-12 schools‚ but I could easily see her inviting a guest to talk about why schools need classes in porn literacy for students. Parents need to be vigilant when it comes to content aimed at their children. Progressives want to influence the culture and control the classroom. They know how important our children are. So should we.

CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil discovered this week that he could not find a single person outside a New Hampshire grocery store who feels "good" about the economy.The Biden administration claims the economy is doing great because of President Joe Biden‚ and if Americans don't feel the effects of the president's hard work‚ it's because it hasn't trickled down to them yet or it's because they're overly influenced by the media‚ which the administration claims are not doing a good enough job celebrating Biden's accomplishments.But tell that to residents in Derry‚ New Hampshire.Dokoupil‚ a co-anchor on "CBS Mornings‚" recently spoke to voters outside a grocery store there‚ and he could not find anyone feeling good about the economy despite claiming the state of the economy is "good news" for the president."I don't know what pocketbook they’re looking at‚ but it ain't mine‚" one voter told Dokoupil of the Biden administration's narrative. She explained she has to work two jobs to make ends meet.Two other voters‚ a mother and a son‚ explained that six people live in their house — and five of them work."You know‚ it’s like‚ if you go back‚ like‚ 30 years‚ two incomes would have covered all of our expenses‚ probably‚" the son told Dokoupil. — (@) Later‚ Dokoupil summarized his experience talking with voters outside the grocery store."People are really bummed out about the economy here in New Hampshire. Even if the overall big picture numbers are going in the right direction‚ and even if people's own personal experiences in general are going OK‚ there's a lot of gloom‚" he said. "Food prices‚ for example‚ are generally going up. And we talked to a bunch of people outside of a grocery store in Derry‚ New Hampshire — we couldn't find anybody feeling good about the economy."Rather than recognizing the real issue — that prices are still going up despite inflation cooling — Dokoupil dismissed annoyance at the economy as "just human nature.""Psychologically‚ you go into a store — if you're paying more for items that you get every week‚ that really sticks with you‚ it really annoys you‚ it gets you down. People were upset about it‚" he said. "Yeah‚ they're making it. But are they bothered by the fact that frozen OJ has gone up double digits and that steak on Fridays — up double digits? Absolutely. And that's really driving people's perspective on things‚" he explained.It's true that‚ in general‚ Americans are beginning to feel more positive about the direction of the economy. Whether Biden is responsible for that is debatable. But it's hard to feel great about the cost of life today when you can remember prices of food‚ clothes‚ and other items before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and subsequent inflation crisis. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The set celebrates the U.K. band’s acclaimed period from 1972 to 1992‚ which included three #1 singles and five top 10 albums The post 10cc Gets 14-CD Box Set‚ ’20 Years’ appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

By the time 'Bridge' swept the 1971 Grammy Awards‚ Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had effectively parted ways professionally. The post Simon &; Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’: An Epic‚ Massive Swan Song appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

The album‚ says the announcement‚ “offers an unstoppable flow of future Knopfler classics‚ with their customarily learned lyrics and refined guitar textures." The post Mark Knopfler to Release 10th Solo Studio Album‚ ‘One Deep River’ appeared first on Best Classic Bands.