Some Republicans are signaling that they will not support a border-related proposal that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated will be pushed again this week.The measure failed to advance earlier this year when it had been packaged together with other items such as Ukraine aid, but now, it will be revived a standalone proposal.'The fake border bill will fail, again, because it does nothing to seriously secure the border—just cement outrageous levels of illegal immigration.'"This week, the Senate will return to the pressing issue of our nation's border security," Schumer wrote in a dear colleague letter posted on X. He said that "the Senate is prepared to take up the bipartisan Border Act as a standalone measure this coming week." — (@) House GOP figures, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said in a statement that the measure "would be dead on arrival" if it were to get to the House."For more than three years now, Congressional Democrats have stood by while the Biden Administration has opened our borders to criminal drug cartels, terrorists, and untold millions of illegal immigrants. Now, Leader Schumer is trying give his vulnerable members cover by bringing a vote on a bill which has already failed once in the Senate because it would actually codify many of the disastrous Biden open border policies that created this crisis in the first place. Should it reach the House, the bill would be dead on arrival," the four House Republican lawmakers said in a statement."If Schumer cares about the border He should tell Biden to enforce the law," GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah tweeted in a post on his @BasedMikeLee X account. "Biden already has authority to fix it," he continued. "The bill Schumer’s pushing this week Would make matters worse," he added. "A lot worse.""The fake border bill will fail, again, because it does nothing to seriously secure the border—just cement outrageous levels of illegal immigration," a post on Lee's @SenMikeLee X account reads. "Ironically, some Democrats will vote against it, because even pretending to limit illegal immigration is a step too far for them."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

For nearly a century, the program known as Alcoholics Anonymous has been helping thousands of desperate people regain sobriety and recover their lives. Unfortunately, woke ideology has infiltrated some AA groups, particularly those geared toward younger generations, possibly preventing some on the right from seeking much-needed help and convincing others already in the program to walk away.Blaze News spoke with four people who once regularly attended AA meetings but who have largely stopped on account of leftist takeover. All four are men between the ages of 30 and 45 who have been sober for anywhere from six to 15 years. Don and Tommy live in Georgia, Russ lives in Michigan, and Dave lives in Texas. In keeping with the spirit of AA, Blaze News is sharing only their first names.'Neither endorses nor opposes any causes': The AA structureAlcoholics Anonymous is a largely decentralized organization comprising loosely affiliated groups at the city or county level all across the country and even other parts of the world. Insofar as a group adheres to the principles and the 12 steps laid out in the book entitled "Alcoholics Anonymous," first published in 1939, a group can consider itself part of AA, though an umbrella administrative office in New York City does help ensure the program more or less continues as originally intended.'The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.'As the name suggests, Alcoholics Anonymous is, in theory, focused exclusively on accomplishing one task: helping alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. Publicly available information attests to this laudable goal.A preamble posted to the website for AA Area 33, which covers several counties in southeastern Michigan, notes: "A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.""The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking," the preamble also avers."Three people together with the book can be an AA meeting," Russ explained to Blaze News.'No longer welcome': Sensing political tension at AA meetingsMost of the men who spoke with Blaze News indicated they actively participated in AA meetings and events for years without giving a thought to political ideology or wondering how other group members voted. But they said they slowly became more aware that some of their conservative opinions might not be welcome, especially in recent years.Russ said he was taken by surprise when he was asked to referee a misgendering incident involving two other group members. He also claimed that in 2019, his then-girlfriend, who was not in AA but who nonetheless occasionally attended open AA social events, had an awkward encounter with a program man who kept badgering her about whether she supported Donald Trump, who was president at the time. She dodged the man's questions and left the conversation as tactfully as possible, he claimed.Don told Blaze News that he learned to steer clear of meetings held in liberally minded cities. "If I were to personally show up to one of those meetings in more left-leaning areas, where they know me to be a Trump supporter, there would be very much hostility at these meetings," he said. "I just avoided those and stayed close to where I felt comfortable."'I wanted to, like, keep living life': AA and COVID shutdown During official meetings, AA group attendees do generally avoid politics and concentrate only on issues related to sobriety, the men who spoke with Blaze News said. However, they added that COVID-related government shutdowns did bring political opinions among AA members to the fore.He attributes the apparent animus against him to his attempts to defy the government shutdown and maintain in-person AA activities and meetings as well as some of his pro-Trump posts on his personal Facebook account.Tommy noted that with the rise of masks, group members were suddenly wearing their political opinions "literally on their face." These "physical markers of their political persuasions" led members to make assumptions about others, especially those who resisted mask mandates and other forms of government overreach, he said. "It was no longer, 'Who do I think you might have voted for.' It was: 'Do you wear a mask or not? Do you want remote voting or remote meetings? Do you want lockdowns and for everybody to be staying at home? OK, then you're voting for this person and that makes you evil.'"Dave claimed that members' stubborn fixation on masks was wildly out of proportion to the risk posed by COVID, especially considering the heavy and painful stories so many of them share during meetings. "Some people have literally killed people in their cars, killed their children with pills they've left out, and you're telling me to put on a mask to be allowed in a room?" he said, bewildered.Don told Blaze News that while he considered himself relatively apolitical or perhaps even left-leaning before COVID, fellow AA group members immediately branded him a right-winger when he advocated to keep the local AA facility open."I wanted to, like, keep living life," he said. "[But] half of the people were like, 'No, we can't have meetings.' It was just constant fighting and bickering."Among a group of AA-affiliated committees on which Don served, the name-calling was even more intense, he said. "We were considered the 'conservative committee' ... because there was a handful of us, five or six, that really pushed hard to be throwing in-person events like bonfires."Some who attended those in-person events would then turn around and disparage them in private Facebook groups. "I can't believe I showed up to this event, and people weren't wearing masks. I felt so gross," people would write, Don said.After the shutdown began to abate and people wanted to attend more AA-related events in person, some still insisted that everyone show proof of vaccination before they could participate, Don said.Don was eventually voted off the service committee, and he attributes the escalating animus against him to his attempts to defy the government shutdown and maintain in-person AA activities and meetings as well as some of the pro-Trump posts that he later made on his personal Facebook account."This was two straight years of literally dedicating 20 to 30 hours a week to throwing events, raising money, fundraising," he said. "And then I basically got my knees chopped off.""All because of how I lean politically."'Except for a straight white man': AA-affiliated conferencesThose who join AA are often in need of new social circles since so much of their previous social life revolved around alcohol. To that end, AA-affiliated groups regularly schedule conferences where members can meet more people of like mind and engage in fun recreational activities without the pressure to consume alcohol. Unfortunately, many of these conferences have manifested a leftist ideological bent as well, the men told Blaze News.'If Hunter Biden is sitting there trying to get sober, I'm there for him, too — because he's trying to get better.'In 2017, Tommy attended a conference in Chicago, and he claimed that those chairing the committees of that conference represented every identity group "except for a straight white man." "That's statistically impossible," he noted.Dave, a comedian who once worked for a high-profile conservative pundit, had an even worse conference experience. Because he is a familiar face to some, Dave has been invited to speak and share his story at many AA-related events and conferences. Such was the case for a conference in Wisconsin a few years ago.However, when some conference coordinators got wind of Dave's association with a known conservative, they tried to throw up road blocks to prevent him from speaking, he said. "How do we really know that he's sober? Do we have proof that he's sober? How do we know where he goes to meetings?" they demanded to know even though such questions run counter to AA principles.Eventually, Dave was disinvited from speaking at the conference altogether, a crushing blow to a man who shares his story as often as he can in the hope of helping others. "That's how I give back," he said."I'm not even this far-right guy that so many people assume that I am," he explained to Blaze News, though he said political opinions should never matter considering the severity of the stakes involved. He then gave a poignant hypothetical to demonstrate his point."I think that a lot of the stuff Hunter Biden has done is completely disgraceful and evil," he said. "But if Hunter Biden is sitting there trying to get sober, I'm there for him, too — because he's trying to get better."'Gay or trans or gay-trans-adjacent': AA-affiliated drag showsThese AA-related conferences have other problems aside from the seemingly leftist ideologues in charge. Many of them also offer extracurricular activities such as drag shows that are likely to turn off or perhaps even offend conservatives and traditional Christians. Three of the four men who spoke with Blaze News confirmed that they had attended or known about a conference that included a drag show. Russ, who considers himself a Christian, told Blaze News that such drag shows "went too far" and made him uncomfortable. "Even though it's all adults — it's not like there's minors at it — I just didn't see what the appeal was. I just thought it was stupid. I thought it was vulgar," he admitted. Screenshot of conference flyer shared with Blaze News 'It has nothing to do with recovery at all.'Tommy believes that such shows slowly change the AA culture to exclude political and religious conservatives. "The people who are all about drag shows — whether they think it's funny, whether they think it's empowering, whether they think it's just cool or whatever — they'll go, and the other people just won't attend. And then it becomes more and more centered around that, and you have eight out of ten activities at a conference being gay or trans or gay-trans-adjacent or whatever.""It seems like more than the majority of the conference is going to be stuff that's just not for me, and it has nothing to do with recovery at all," he added.Don was careful to note that AA-related conferences are not, strictly speaking, AA meetings and can include many ancillary events and activities — including poker tournaments and live music as well as drag shows — that do not relate to sobriety or sober living. Still, he said he avoids the drag stuff. "I don't think drag shows have anything to do with AA," he said.'Doesn't like the God concept': AA and growing tolerance for atheismMany of these AA-related conferences, which are usually directed at young people, also offer sessions for professed atheists and secularists, and some local AA groups even accept atheism in defiance of AA's most basic principles, the men told Blaze News.To keep from scaring the newbies off, he said, veterans won't press the issue, more or less allowing people to cling to their old ways and the former mindset that led them to addiction in the first place.Indeed, God features prominently in nearly all 12 steps of the AA program. In fact, the AA book summarizes the 12 steps for recovering alcoholics thusly: "(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (c) That God could and would if He were sought."The men clarified to Blaze News that many in AA struggle with God and belief in a higher power, and such struggles are not antithetical to AA but instead are a constitutive feature of what members call "working the steps." Yet, coming to terms with God is important for achieving sobriety and maintaining it long term, the men said. Nevertheless, in an apparent attempt to be more inclusive, some groups have de-emphasized the spiritual component undergirding AA."What ends up happening is somebody who doesn't like the God concept comes in. They're listening. They decide that they finally have something to say, and their opinion inevitably ends up being that AA feels exclusive, that you're making people take on this God concept when that may not be what they believe," Tommy said.Such newbies sometimes accuse more seasoned members of acting "cult-y" and "gatekeeping" the way to recovery by focusing so heavily on God, he continued. To keep from scaring such newbies off, he said, veterans won't press the issue, more or less allowing people to cling to their old ways and the former mindset that led them to addiction in the first place.This trend away from God and spirituality seems to have spread to other aspects of AA as well. Russ claimed that meetings routinely used to close with a group recitation of the prayer commonly referred to as the Our Father or the Lord's Prayer. However, in recent years, the closing prayer has sometimes been omitted, he said."A lot of young people were staying silent during it." Screenshot of conference flyer shared with Blaze News'Unwelcome': Other sources admit AA has a problemThe four men who spoke with Blaze News are hardly the only ones who have noticed politics taking over some AA groups.Not only were press releases marketed specifically to Hispanics and 'LGBTQ+ individuals,' but the first line of a press release on spirituality reiterated that 'A.A. welcomes anyone seeking help for a drinking problem and is not aligned with any religious tradition or beliefs.'In fact, earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report published an article that lamented the racial disparity in overall AA membership. "AA Programs Turn Lives Around, But Most Members Are White: Study," the headline read. The article likewise suggested that "young adults may be turned off by the religious nature of the meetings."But even some left-leaning members committed to AA's principles are becoming increasingly concerned that politics has alienated people who would otherwise reach out for help. In a column published in UnHerd, author Ben, who once described himself as a "radical progressive," admitted that in the last few years, national politics have sometimes trumped sobriety and recovery at regular AA meetings."Particularly after Donald Trump was elected ... members started sharing about a fight they’d had that day with their idiotic, MAGA-hat-wearing uncle on Facebook — apparently unaware of newcomers, desperate to get sober, who might now feel unwelcome because they had voted for the wrong guy," he wrote.Even press releases from the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous in NYC, issued within the last two years, cater to identity politics and spiritual atheism or agnosticism. Not only were press releases marketed specifically to Hispanics and "LGBTQ+ individuals," but the first line of a press release on spirituality reiterated that "A.A. welcomes anyone seeking help for a drinking problem and is not aligned with any religious tradition or beliefs."Blaze News reached out to the general office to find out whether administrators are aware that political ideology has crept into many AA groups and affiliated conferences, and we were encouraged when we received a response that invited us to partake in a "quick call." We made multiple attempts to arrange such a call but never received a follow-up reply.Misha, the AA general office representative who emailed Blaze News, included preferred pronouns in her email signature: Screenshot of email sent to Blaze News'When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help': Hope for AA's futureThe men who spoke with Blaze News seem both sad and frustrated that Alcoholics Anonymous — the program that all four said had "saved" their life — has, in some respects, fallen victim to woke capture. Though all four maintain a sober lifestyle and continue to follow AA precepts on their own, just two of them said they still attend meetings and only infrequently.'It wasn't really until I had a spiritual experience through the 12 steps that I found out who I really was and what my true values really were.'"I do not attend meetings like I once did," Dave stated. "I go when I very much need them. I will go if I need to help somebody get into a program and help them get into recovery.""Unfortunately, it's become politicized where people are no longer welcome," he added.All four also said that they would like to see the AA program return to a greater emphasis on God and the overall political neutrality that has made people of all ages and from all walks of life feel welcome. "It wasn't really until I had a spiritual experience through the 12 steps that I found out who I really was and what my true values really were," Don said. He claimed he would always want to help others have a similar experience of self-awakening.Yet, all four still expressed a sincere belief in the core AA program and would still recommend young AA groups for people in their 20s and 30s who believe their lives have become unmanageable because of alcohol.Tommy believes young AA groups are important because of issues of trust. Young alcoholics will usually trust people their age, he said, but harbor an instinctive distrust for members of older generations. "It doesn't matter that this old guy knows what he's talking about or that he was exactly where I was," he explained. "It's that he's telling me what to do."He doesn't get it the same way your parents don't get it."Russ said he would steer young people in need to both young AA groups and mixed groups so that they can benefit from the wisdom and experience of those with decades of sobriety under their belt while at the same time make connections with people their age who understand their struggles.Despite current problems with AA, Donny, Dave, Tommy, and Russ remain AA members in spirit. As such, they still abide by AA principles and still adhere to the "responsibility statement" they faithfully made when attending regular meetings:"I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that I am responsible."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Many of us would agree with Donald Trump that “crooked Joe Biden” is “the worst president ever.” Further, unless the equally crooked corporate media or the Democratic National Committee’s election fixers can devise the necessary solutions, the Bad Orange Man may be re-elected president in November. According to recent polls, Trump is leading Biden in five out of six battleground states, and on immigration, the economy, and foreign policy, he is well ahead of his opponent.Still, there is something troubling about how the public is answering certain polling questions, and for those of us who define ourselves not just as Republicans or Fox News junkies but as social conservatives, we should be paying attention to these signals.The GOP has conceded, perhaps out of desperation, most LGBTQ+ issues to the Democrats. Republicans are now speaking out against only the most grotesque policies.It appears that likely voters prefer Biden’s approach to the abortion question over Trump’s and do so by at least eight percentage points. Trump believes that Americans should have the right to vote on abortion laws in their separate states. He has also affirmed the legal correctness and binding nature of state referenda dealing with abortion, even those that do not reflect his own more restrictive position.Biden and the Democrats, by contrast, support a bill to make abortion available to women without restriction up until a baby’s birth. No state under this proposed law would be allowed to limit the time period for fetus-termination. The Democratic position goes well beyond the time limits for legal abortions permitted even in most progressive European countries. But that is the position that most poll respondents evaluating the positions of the two presidential candidates seem to embrace. Let’s not imagine these voters don’t know where the candidates stand on this issue: Biden and Trump have both been explicit about their views on abortion rights.Voters in my state prefer Biden’s view to Trump’s by a full 20 points. Abortion rights have now surged to second or third place as an electoral “dealbreaker,” and one feels drowned in stale feminist rhetoric every time suburban women tell us on TV about a return to back-alley abortions. Although Republican legislatures in some red states have tried to limit the time period for legal abortions, these initiatives are typically overturned in referenda. In blue states, abortion laws have tended to become more permissive since the Dobbs decision.The GOP has conceded, perhaps out of desperation, most LGBTQ+ issues to the Democrats. Republicans are now speaking out against only the most grotesque policies being pushed by the administration, e.g., “gender-affirming” surgery for minors, allowing male athletes to compete in female sports events, and encouraging men claiming to be inwardly women to use female restrooms and lockers. Such weird government policies, strangely enough, have not even registered as leading political issues. Unless I’m mistaken, many Americans haven’t noticed or just don’t care about the Democrats’ attempted abolition of traditional gender distinctions or their war on the nuclear family. But support for unlimited abortion rights continues to rise as a key political issue.Equally ominous, Biden beats Trump by nine points in polls about protecting democracy and fighting “political extremism.” If that polling information is true, then it should give us pause about the fall election. The Democrats will likely pull out, unless stopped, their predictable bag of tricks, such as ballot harvesting months before Election Day, trying to validate ballots that are submitted late and that are not filled out per instructions, and the removal of voter identification as a “racist” requirement. Any complaints from Trump’s team about fraud will receive short shrift from the media. After all, not Trump but Biden is the one protecting “our democracy.”This poll response is not entirely unexpected. For the last four years, the corporate press has treated Trump as someone who makes totally false election claims. Trump allegedly tried to overthrow the government on January 6 in a mad effort to steal the 2020 election. It is not a question of whether these charges are correct but whether they’ve been effectively sold to the public. While the media present Democrats counterfactually as paragons of election integrity, Trump is depicted as someone trying to overthrow democracy by falsifying election results.Of course, Trump has not done himself any favors by repeatedly claiming that he won the 2020 election by millions of votes. There is no way he can prove that assertion, and our former president is playing into his enemy’s hands by making it.That the Democrats in all likelihood behaved dishonestly in the last presidential election is an assumption I won’t even contest. But the answer to that situation should be obvious. The Republicans should be working relentlessly to end the Democrats’ dubious electoral practices. Republicans should be trying to return elections to a single day and having them take place in polling booths supervised by the two national parties. Naturally, the media will do everything it can to prevent that from happening. And its success in misrepresenting which presidential candidate is protecting democracy indicates that it can manipulate the public quite effectively on certain issues.

By seeking to hoard influence unto themselves, repeatedly misleading the public, and stifling opposing ideas, the duplicitous duo did a disservice to the country.

DERSHOWITZ ON FIRE: Legal Scholar Attends Trump Trial, Demolishes Judge Merchan's Prejudicial Conduct

I'm a longtime iPhone and Mac user who hoped a month ago that rumors about Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro 11 outperforming the M3 MacBooks were accurate. I hoped that Microsoft and Qualcomm could put up a better fight against Apple's M-series chips. Moreover, I thought Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X Elite chips powering the Surface Pro 11 would be a herald of next year's Snapdragon chipsets that will power flagship 2025 Android devices. It turns out that Microsoft's new Surface Pro 11 does just that. During its Build 2024 edition, Microsoft explained that the new tablet/laptop can beat the M3 MacBook Air in benchmark tests. On top of that, the new tablet offers better battery life than the MacBook Air, according to Microsoft's claims. But this comparison has a glaring oversight that we can't ignore. The Surface Pro 11 has a built-in fan, while the MacBook Air has a fanless design. Of course, a computer with a fan would perform better than a competitor without one. The fan is the key difference between the M3 MacBook Air and the M3 MacBook Pros. Continue reading... The post Microsoft’s claims comparing Surface Pro 11 and M3 MacBook Air performance are deceiving appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: Memorial Day sales on ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Combo, Apple, Samsung foldable phones, more Today’s deals: $20 Blink Mini, $179 AirPods Pro, $300 Vitamix blender, $100 COSORI air fryer, more Today’s deals: $50 off new Beats Solo 4, $249 iPad 9th-Gen, $19 Roku Express, $180 ASUS laptop, more Today’s deals: MacBook Pro & Air blowout, $99 Bose speaker, $25 Fire TV Stick 4K, $15 TOZO earbuds, more

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told investors the bank's succession plans were underway and that he no longer sees a five-year timeline for stepping down.

Anyone who has heard “I Keep Forgettin’” by Michael McDonald will always remember that horrible, incredible ache in the chest those words bring. The instrumentation doesn’t overstay its welcome, but rather is like the perfect stage to shine a spotlight on McDonald’s soft, wounded intonation that perfectly brings to life the feeling of our first heartbreak. Over four decades later, it still holds up. The sun was shining in August 1982 when “I Keep Forgettin’” was released on McDonald’s If That’s What It Takes but the visceral emotions of this song are all rainy days and cloudy nights. It’s often joked that nobody remembers anyone in a band besides the lead singer, but for his first foray away from the Doobie Brothers, McDonald made his mark with some impressive chart numbers to back him up. “I Keep Forgettin’” was a big project for Michael McDonald and others The Doobie Brothers were formed in 1970 and would have a bit of a rotating lineup over the years. For instance, the intrepid McDonald didn’t join until ‘75, serving as a second vocalist and a keyboard player. He brought with him a unique interest in soul music that bled into what the Doobie Brothers put out with great effect—look no further than 1976’s Takin’ It to the Streets. RELATED: “When Will I See You Again” By The Three Degrees Is The Perfect Anthem For Love And Loss By ‘82, the Doobie Brothers were dissolved…for a time. But even when this short-lived breakup repaired itself, McDonald kept his work relationship limited mostly to guest appearances until 2019 for their 50th-anniversary tour. In the meantime, he was busy crafting a masterpiece. If That’s What It Takes ended up his first solo album separate from the Doobie Brothers. This uncharted territory proved loaded with success, as the album peaked at #6 on Billboard 200. “I Gotta Try” reached #44, but he had an even bigger gem in that treasure vault of an album. He got to stretch his creative wings and show what he could do I Keep Forgettin’ was one of the first big projects Michael McDonald successfully completed unrelated to the Doobie Brothers / (c)Warner Bros. Courtesy: Everett Collection All of If That’s What It Takes were shaped by McDonald’s keen eye for music writing, with some additional credits throughout the album. “I Keep Forgettin’” was touched by McDonald as well as Ed Sanford. Ironically, “I Keep Forgettin’” evokes that agonizing feeling of separation so well, while also being a perfect example of a lot of parts coming together very successfully, like McDonald’s appreciation for soul. It wasn’t limited to instrumentation; McDonald brought that right into his vocals to elevate “I Keep Forgettin’” to not just a song but a truly emotional experience, like an actor whose performance can truly be believed. If That’s What It Takes / Amazon McDonald and the object of his affections may not be in love anymore, but plenty of artists appreciate the song and it’s been sampled countless times over the years. But, of course, nothing beats the original, so be sure to give it a listen again and again and again. Hopefully, we’ve made that so clear. Everything about the song perfectly emulates longing, love, and loss in a tragically beautiful cycle / YouTube screenshot Click for next Article The post “I Keep Forgettin’” By Michael McDonald Sounds So Good It Hurts Our Hearts appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Dana Daly

“Everywhere I looked, there were caved-in houses, dead bodies on the ground, and people screaming. That same morning those same people had been living peacefully in their houses; in the blink of an…

The sheriff’s office detained 23 juveniles, who were subsequently taken to the juvenile assessment center, and six adults, who were booked into the Orient Road Jail.