Global events are moving very rapidly now‚ and rumors are flying all over the place.  I am going to share some very alarming developments with you in this article‚ but it is important for me to note…

The Christian Institute in the United Kingdom is reiterating its promise to go to court against the Scottish government if lawmakers there continue with their agenda of religious censorship through a…

Everybody knows that the explosive deaths of supermassive stars (called supernovae) lead to the creation of black holes or neutron stars‚ right? At least‚ that’s the evolutionary path that astronomers suggest happens. And‚ these compact objects exist throughout the Universe. But‚ no one’s ever seen the actual birth process of a neutron star or black hole in action before. That changed when supernova SN 2022jli occurred in the nearby galaxy NGC 157. This catastrophic stardeath event was discovered in May 2022 by amateur astronomer Berto Monard. Its behavior quickly caught the attention of two teams of professional astronomers. Observations from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and New Technology Telescope provided high-quality light-curve measurements as well as other data. Those measurements and radiation showed something unusual‚ not like a “normal” supernova. Focusing on the Supernova Astronomers Ping Chan of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Thomas Moore of Queen’s University‚ Belfast‚ Northern Ireland each led teams who studied the weird behavior of this supernova. Their analysis showed the supernova explosion ended up creating a massive compact object. That was pretty exciting because until now‚ no one has observed the process happen in (almost) real-time. That makes the light curve a useful window on the creation of either a neutron star or a black hole. Chan’s team wanted to establish a direct connection between the death of a massive supergiant star and the creation of the object. “In our work‚ we establish such a direct link‚” Chan said and reported the work at the recent American Astronomical Society meeting. Moore’s team was also intrigued by the light curve of this event. “In SN 2022jli’s data we see a repeating sequence of brightening and fading‚” he said. “This is the first time that repeated periodic oscillations‚ over many cycles‚ have been detected in a supernova light curve.” Finding the Missing Link Between Supernovae‚ Black Holes‚ and Neutron Stars Supernovae occur pretty frequently in the Universe. Astronomers study them and chart how their brightness changes over time. After the initial explosion‚ the light it generates fades out over some time. Usually‚ it’s a pretty smooth change in the light curve. But‚ SN 2022jli didn’t fit the “normal” curve‚ so to speak. Instead of fading out smoothly‚ the brightness of light from the explosion oscillated in a 12-day-long period. Both teams noticed this oscillation‚ and Chan’s group also detected the motions of hydrogen gas and gamma-ray bursts in the region. This is a JWST view of the Crab Nebula. Like other supernovae‚ a star exploded to create this scene. The result is a rapidly spinning neutron star (a pulsar) at its heart‚ surrounded by material rushing out from the site of the explosion. SN 2022jli could have either a neutron star or a black hole orbiting with a companion star. What story does SN 2022jli’s strange light curve tell us about the creation of black holes or neutron stars? Let’s start with the explosion itself. It was a fine example of what astronomers call “Type II supernovae”. Basically‚ at the end of its life‚ a supermassive star collapses and then explodes outward. The remaining core collapses further to create one of two types of massive objects. A neutron star is one. It’s what’s left over after the rapidly collapsing core of the star crushes the remaining protons and neutrons of matter into neutrons. It’s essentially a ball of neutrons. Most neutron stars have about the mass of the Sun crushed inside themselves. But‚ they are small—really small‚ compared to their progenitor stars. Most are maybe 20 or so kilometers across. Stellar-mass black holes also come from the deaths of supermassive stars that were at least 20 times the mass of the Sun or more. The core collapses during the event‚ the same as with a neutron star. But‚ the mass is so great that the event creates a black hole‚ crushing all the leftover core material into a pinpoint of dense matter. Putting Together the Link Between Supernovae and Compact Massive Objects All the data from the observations helped both teams suggest the following scenario. Like many massive stars‚ the progenitor of SN 2022jli appears to have had at least one companion star. It probably survived the supernova explosion. The outburst threw out huge amounts of material‚ and the companion star interacted with it. That caused its atmosphere to “puff up”. The newly created compact object passes through the orbit of the star and sucks hydrogen gas away from the star. That material funnels into an accretion disk around the compact object. Those periodic episodes of matter theft from the star release lots of energy‚ which gets picked up as regular changes of brightness in the light curve measurements as well as the gamma-ray signals. After SN 2022jli exploded this may be what it looks like. A compact object and its companion star orbit each other. The possible neutron star or black hole steals hydrogen gas from the neighbor star. Courtesy ESO/L. Calçada Of course‚ we can’t see light coming from the compact object itself—whether it’s a neutron star or a black hole. But‚ we do see radiation from the heated material drawn into the accretion disk around the compact object. And‚ since astronomers were able to track the changes in the light curve due to activity by the massive object‚ it amounted to watching its formation. “Our research is like solving a puzzle by gathering all possible evidence‚” Chen said about the findings. “All these pieces lining up lead to the truth.” The next step is to figure out exactly what astronomers saw being formed. Was it a neutron star with tremendously strong magnetic fields and gravity‚ or a black hole with gravity so strong nothing (not even light) could escape it? Determining that requires additional observations and the capabilities of telescopes not yet online‚ such as the Extremely Large Telescope due to begin operations in a few years. For More Information Missing Link Found: Supernovae Give Rise to Black Holes or Neutron StarsSN 2022jli: A Type 1c Supernova with Periodic Modulation of Its Light Curve and an Unusually Long RiseA 12.4-day Periodicity in a Close Binary System After a Supernova The post Black Holes and Neutron Stars are Finally Linked to Supernovae appeared first on Universe Today.

Dancing too close to the fire. The post The Black Sabbath song that the band almost threw away first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

“NYC Public School Wipes Israel from the Map” reads the headline of Francesca Block’s article in The Free Press today (January 11). The map was supplied to the school‚ PS 261‚ as part of a program that is sponsored by the rulers of Qatar. The idea is‚ of course‚ to normalize to these children the idea of a Middle East from which Israel has been erased. Only terrible determination and the realization that only the greatest of sacrifice will bring real peace. As America was distracted with the 2020 summer of violence‚ the shutdown of schools‚ the impeachment drama‚ and the bizarre presidential campaign‚ the most significant advance in Middle East peace in our lifetimes took place — the Abraham Accords. This was peace as peace should be — chosen because it is in the best interests of all to live peacefully and prosperously with the other. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates joined the peace and within a trice‚ there was a synagogue in Bahrain along with an invitation for Jews to come there to live and there was a Chabad House in UAE‚ and then marvelous pictures from a Chassidic wedding in which members of the Emirates elite were joining the dancing. it was clear — hush hush wink wink — that the Saudi Crown Prince was approving and just waiting for the right moment to join in. (READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin: Israel’s High Court Pulls a Dred Scott) Qatar sat it out‚ scowling. The rulers of Qatar do not believe in a peace like that. The map shows what peace it believes in — the peace of absence‚ the peace of emptiness‚ the peace after the Land of Israel is as denuded of living Jews as Syria‚ Iraq‚ Lebanon‚ Algeria‚ Libya‚ Kuwait‚ Jordan‚ the PA‚ and until the IDF made themselves at home‚ Gaza — all of which hosted‚ together‚ more than a million Jews during the early Twentieth Century‚ and in some of which Jews had dwelt in since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. The picture of the map is better than a thousand words to clarify the policy of Qatar’s leaders. Yet it is precisely these eliminationists who are making a play to be seen as disinterested‚ honest brokers. Humanitarians‚ they are‚ if we get the gist of the new smog blowing from Biden’s Foggy Bottom (to be clear‚ I refer to the State Department). Why‚ they have found the magic key‚ if not to Middle East peace‚ then to finding a way to patch together the shredding unity of the Democrats. Why‚ look! We can settle every reasonable demand by splitting the difference — the Israelis (and other) civilians‚ Jews and non-Jews‚ kidnapped‚ tortured‚ raped‚ or otherwise abused by Hamas will be saved and the surviving Hamas leadership will get to go into a protected exile.  What’s wrong with that? What is wrong is that it gives de facto international recognition to indiscriminate slaughter‚ torture‚ rape‚ and abduction of a civilian population as an acceptable way of carrying on “politics by other means.” It will be trumpeted as a victory for the exterminationists of Hamas‚ evidence of the inability of Israel to win a decisive victory over those who seek its extinction.   It will be an endorsement of any policy necessary to achieve that aim‚ to the exclusion of any moral norm whatever. That’s what is wrong with it. The same kind of release was demanded of Israel when the IDF had Yassir Arafat trapped in Beirut. End the war‚ he’ll go to Tunisia‚ you won.  But Arafat turned it into a triumph. He got out of an impossible situation. He parlayed that into a triumphant return to power‚ and eventually‚ now a darling of the State Department‚ into an insincere peace commitment to Israel‚ which he eventually dropped and inflicted a massive terror campaign against the Israeli civilian public‚ taking scores of lives‚ and finally forcing Israel to erect walls to control the terror. Hamas would like to make the same comeback but do it one better — no pretense of a peace. It would cement their reputation as the kings of Salafist macho‚ the ones who will act out the most savage‚ id-soaked fantasies of revenge through torture and enforced sexual degradation.  It seems for the Foggy Bottom boys that‚ since they won’t be affected by the consequences of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory‚ it will be just fine. They will have squared the political circle‚ getting the old-school Dems who support Israel back together with what they think is the Dem future — the Squad and their like‚ who are ready to go however far beyond the law they can get away with to compel everyone else to bow to their will. (READ MORE: Reject Iran’s Lies) The most powerful argument that will be used is that it saves the lives of the innocent hostages. It would‚ in theory. And only those with hearts of stone would blame the families of the hostages for pleading for their lives. But a moral policy takes responsibility not only for those who can plead for the precious lives of these victims of barbarity‚ but as well‚ for protecting those who have no voice now — those in the future who will suffer from the terror that will certainly happen again and again if Hamas is rewarded with their lives for returning those whom they have held against their will‚ some at the very least under horrible conditions. Hamas would celebrate this as their victory in the war to erase the Jews‚ a kind of a perverse Dunkirk. (Hamas‚ at least‚ have been honest from the onset. Their enemy‚ they affirm in their own documents‚ are Jews wherever they may be. Anti-Zionism‚ they tell those who will listen‚ requires comprehensive antisemitism. And they will carry on as long as they are not finally smashed and held accountable with their lives for the hundreds of lives they snuffed out or savaged with malice aforethought. The real Dunkirk could not have been the salvation that it was had there not been tremendous self-sacrifice. The Nazi forces were ready to roll up the French coast and fall upon the British army helpless on the Dunkirk beach. The only thing in their way was a small British contingent holding out at Calais. Churchill saw that only they could delay the Germans long enough to evacuate the army on the beach. At Churchill’s insistence‚ this was the order that was sent out: Every hour you continue to exist is of the greatest help to the B. E. F. (British Expeditionary Force). Government has therefore decided you must continue to fight. Have greatest possible admiration for your splendid stand. Evacuation will not (repeat not) take place. Churchill described his own feelings after having made this decision that meant the death of almost all the soldiers at Calais: One has to eat and drink in war‚ but I could not help feeling physically sick as we afterwards sat silent at the table. Determined criminal regimes believe that we are too weak to do what it takes to win‚ that they can make the stakes too emotionally high for us. They believe they can overcome all our advantages by controlling us psychologically‚ believing we will not have the determination to pay the psychological price it will take to end Hamas’ rule of terror. When you’re a facing an enemy that uses Hitler for a model‚ you need to use Churchill’s model in response. It values courage over comfort‚ resolve over self-righteousness. Not every enemy is a Hitler; sometimes‚ most times‚ compromise is the best way towards peace.  But Hamas are would-be Hitlers. And compromise won’t work. Only terrible determination and the realization that only the greatest of sacrifice will bring real peace. (READ MORE: A Real Democracy Cannot Protect Hamas) It is a terrible choice we are forced to make‚ Israel and America together. It would be shameful to buy ourselves short-term comfort at the expense of the next victims. The horror will never end until we defeat it. Hamas themselves tells you that. And Qatar are Hamas’ shills‚ their Ribbentrop‚ the suave and wealthy face of genocidal fanaticism. If we don’t stand up to it‚ if we do only what is comfortable‚ our kids will all be educated by our example and the map and mindset of Nazi Islamists and their collaborators.  And we all know that that is no comfort at all. The post Do Not Let Hamas Escape Into Exile appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The Archdiocese of Washington is challenging the constitutionality of Maryland’s new Child Victims Act. The 2023 legislation took effect in October and lifts the statute of limitations for lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse‚ much akin to legislation approved in numerous other states. The Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Archdiocese of Washington‚ which together with the Diocese of Wilmington cover the entirety of Maryland’s Catholic territory‚ have fought against the legislation for years. In November‚ the Archdiocese of Washington argued that those accused of child sexual abuse have a “vested right” to legal immunity once the alleged victim turns 38 years old. Over the past few weeks‚ Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has disputed the Archdiocese’s reasoning. Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Luoma wrote: We are aware of no Maryland case holding that expiration of a statute of limitations or statute of repose provides a defendant with a vested right. What the Archdiocese asks this Court to rule would be unprecedented and would go against the consensus of federal law and the reasoned opinions of many other states. The dispute centers on the difference between a statue of limitations and a statute of repose. A statute of repose‚ generally considered more favorable to defendants than to plaintiffs‚ sets the clock ticking for plaintiffs based on the actions or establishments of the defendants; for example‚ a construction company protected by a statute of repose could only be sued for injuries sustained in or working on a specific building starting at a specific date and time and ending at a specific date and time. A statue of limitations‚ however‚ allows the plaintiff to file a suit or claim based on when an offense or injury occurred to him. (READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: In 2023‚ Nicaragua Was No Place To Be Catholic) The Archdiocese of Washington is arguing that in 2017 the Maryland state legislature established a statute of repose regarding sex abuse victims and that the General Assembly does not have the constitutional authority to adjust a statute of repose. Luoma responded: Within its ability to set the time periods during which plaintiffs can file suit in court‚ the General Assembly has authority to revive causes of action that otherwise would be time-barred. This principle is well-established by federal courts and the courts of many other states and applies regardless of whether the provision effecting the bar is denominated a statute of limitations or a statute of repose. Legal challenges aside‚ both the Archdiocese of Washington and of Baltimore have staunchly opposed the Child Victims Act for years. Shortly ahead of the legislation going into effect last year‚ the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy‚ stalling victims’ suits against America’s oldest Catholic diocese and effectively ensuring the expected inundation of lawsuits seeking remuneration for clerical sex abuse would not materialize. Earlier last year‚ the Maryland Attorney General’s office released a damning report on clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The nearly-500-page report condemned the Archdiocese’s “history of repeated dismissal or cover up of that abuse by the Catholic Church hierarchy.” A significant portion of the report focused on Archdiocesan leadership’s failure to protect children and discipline‚ expose‚ or report abusers. Much of that section was redacted‚ at the behest of a lobbying group funded by current Archbishop of Baltimore William Lori. The Child Victims Act‚ which Lori fought against‚ was passed by the Maryland Senate the same day that the report was released. The Archdiocese of Washington is hardly a paragon of virtue when it comes to sexual abuse. One of its most infamous former archbishops is the now-laicized ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In 2018‚ McCarrick was exposed for sexually abusing children and young men‚ especially seminarians‚ for decades. During his tenure as Archbishop of Washington‚ McCarrick was still secretly paying out settlements to victims of his abuse. McCarrick’s successor‚ Donald Wuerl‚ was also accused of covering up for McCarrick‚ and The Washington Post reported that Wuerl was aware of allegations against McCarrick as early as 2004‚ 14 years before the cardinal’s abuse became public knowledge‚ when McCarrick was still at the Archdiocese’s helm. (READ MORE: ‘A Simple‚ Humble Laborer in The Vineyard of The Lord’) Wuerl himself also has a spotty record of dealing with sexual abuse. A Pennsylvania grand jury’s 2018 report on clerical sex abuse in the state revealed Wuerl failed‚ as bishop of Pittsburgh‚ in handling multiple cases of clerical sex abuse. His failures there included quietly shuffling abusive priests to other dioceses‚ allowing priests to remain in active ministry even after having manufactured child pornography‚ and covering for a priest even after paying out a $900‚000 abuse settlement. After the report’s release‚ Wuerl defended his record‚ but then-Attorney General (and now Governor) of Pennsylvania Joshua Shapiro shot back‚ “Cardinal Wuerl is not telling the truth. Many of his statements in response to the Grand Jury Report are directly contradicted by the Church’s own documents and records from their Secret Archives. Offering misleading statements now only furthers the cover up.” Wuerl resigned as Archbishop of Washington in 2018‚ one month after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched an investigation into reports of continued clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese. (READ MORE: Which Way‚ Western Man? Satanic Idols or Christian Morality?) Now‚ the current Archbishop of Washington‚ Wilton Gregory‚ who was identified by the late clerical sex abuse expert Richard Sipe as a homosexual‚ is adding his name to the roster alongside Wuerl’s and McCarrick’s‚ seeking to protect the Archdiocese’s pocketbook instead of its children. The post Archdiocese Challenges Child Abuse Victims Act appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden is under the skin of House Republicans. He made a surprise cameo Wednesday morning at a House Oversight hearing‚ where members were considering holding him in contempt of Congress. As the hearing started‚ President Joe Biden’s son sat in the front row next to attorney Abbe Lowell. After a matter of minutes‚ Biden and Lowell left the proceedings. Rep. Mike Waltz‚ R-Fla.‚ dismissed Hunter Biden’s brief presence as a “PR stunt.” Thing is‚ it was a PR stunt that worked. It made Biden seem sympathetic and Republicans unhinged. Which means the Republicans have every right to throw the book at Hunter Biden. “My first question is‚ who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” Rep. Nancy Mace‚ R-S.C‚ asked. She said she believed the president’s son should be sent to jail. In the hallway‚ Lowell later told reporters‚ “Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this‚ Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father.” Lowell also said the legal team offered to work with the committee to address “any legitimate inquiry.” As Lowell talked‚ a heckler shouted questions about the younger Biden’s one-time crack cocaine use. (READ MORE from Debra Saunders: Biden Urged Oppressed to Cross Border. Now There Are Caravans.) Hunter Biden has said that he would testify before the committee‚ but only publicly‚ lest Republicans selectively leak his comments. House Republicans rightly counter that committees‚ not witnesses‚ get to decide such things. When Democrats controlled the House‚ they held former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress. And a Washington jury found the two guilty. Which means the Republicans have every right to throw the book at Hunter Biden. To get the public to believe that the lobbyist-turned-artist has an obligation to testify when subpoenaed — even if he takes the Fifth Amendment — all House Republicans needed to do was show the importance of congressional oversight. Alas‚ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‚ R-Ga.‚ saw an opportunity to seize the limelight. She held up posters of alleged nude selfies taken by the president’s son. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‚ D-N.Y.‚ accused Greene of posting “revenge porn.” “This is not ‘The Jerry Springer Show‚'” Rep. Jamie Raskin‚ D-Md.‚ the ranking Democrat‚ countered. But thanks to MTG and Mace‚ it pretty much was. Rep. Jared Moskowitz‚ D-Fla.‚ responded by displaying a photo of former President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At least they were clothed. (READ MORE: Partisan Efforts to Keep Trump off Ballots) Remember the days when you used to see members of Congress repeating the same talking points over and over again? Now there are too many freelancers and showboats who distract from the real issue. When and after Joe Biden was Vice President‚ his son Hunter was a walking “for sale” sign who invited dubious foreign interests to pay him obscene amounts of money because they wanted access to a man who actually might be president. Both Bidens saw nothing wrong with that arrangement. They still don’t‚ and neither do House Democrats. It’s all about winning. And getting under GOP skin. Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post Bipartisan Circus in House as Hunter Biden Makes Cameo appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Just months ago‚ Gov. Kristi Noem endured accusations that she had conducted a yearslong extramarital affair. But you would never guess of the scandal by her actions‚ as the South Dakota governor has remained resolute in her efforts to position herself to become the Republican vice presidential nominee under Donald Trump. Since the beginning of the year‚ Noem has traveled to Iowa to campaign for the former president‚ delivered a State of the State address laden with self-promotion‚ appeared on Fox News‚ and released the next in a series of advertisements starring her that is strategically aimed at both encouraging people to move to South Dakota and raising her public profile. In essence‚ her reaction to the affair scandal has been to act as though it never happened. The allegation that Noem conducted an affair with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski broke through a Sept. 13‚ 2023‚ tell-all report that was published by the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail’s report was followed days later by a similar account in the New York Post; the Post supplied an additional five anonymous sources to back up its claims. The Daily Mail’s report went into so much detail as to chart Noem and Lewandowski’s day-to-day travels alongside one another to a bevy of political events (and luxury resorts) as well as the time they spent together at those events. Lewandowski had been an adviser to both Trump and Noem before he was fired from both jobs in 2020 for allegedly sexually harassing the wife of a billionaire donor. (READ MORE from Ellie Gardey: Democratic Presidential Candidate Dean Phillips Is Fed Up With the Liberal Media) When the report was released in September‚ Noem was near the top of the pack of contenders for the role of vice presidential nominee and was all but openly seeking the job. It’s been months since the Daily Mail’s detailed report. And Noem is still running just as openly to become the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee. Moreover‚ she is still viewed as having a high chance of winning the role. Noem has been openly embracing the speculation that Trump could select her to be his vice presidential nominee. Noem has simply denied the report and moved on — and it seems like everyone else is fine with letting the story go as well. Her appearance last week at a Trump campaign event in Sioux City‚ Iowa‚ again demonstrated that the Trump campaign has little concern for the alleged affair. And this week‚ the Atlantic published a profile of Noem that consigned mention of the affair to paragraph 16 of its account. In addition‚ South Dakota politicos have been willing to move on from the report. For instance‚ Lee Schoenbeck‚ the president pro tempore of the South Dakota Senate‚ told Sioux Falls Live in September that “he would be the last to know what Gov. Noem does in her personal life.” Similarly‚ state Rep. Greg Jamison told the same publication‚ “Those kinds of things always seem to come out about people who are a rising political star…. The Kristi Noem that I know doesn’t match any of those descriptions or accounts‚ but Kristi and I don’t chit chat either.” Likewise‚ the state’s House Majority leader called the stories of the alleged affair “tabloid garbage‚” while Spencer Gosch‚ who was South Dakota’s speaker of the House until 2022‚ asserted that he had not “seen anything to corroborate it.” ***** Public news of Noem’s alleged affair first surfaced in a 2021 article published in American Greatness. Noem’s reaction at the time was to totally deny the veracity of the report. She said in response‚ “These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie.” But for the Daily Mail’s more detailed report‚ she and Lewandowski both issued responses that were less than adamant denials. The Daily Mail said that when it reached out to Noem for her to comment on its story‚ the governor “issued a statement attacking us for the timing of the article.” Lewandowski‚ meanwhile‚ did not respond to the request for comment. After the Daily Mail’s story was published‚ Noem’s office continued to not comment. Ian Fury‚ Noem’s spokesman‚ told Sioux Falls Live that he would not be commenting “without on-the-record corroboration of the relationship.” Later‚ however‚ Fury came back to Sioux Falls Live and said in a text message‚ “The allegation of an affair is false.” Fury then said in a statement‚ “It is shameful that Sioux Falls Live would report based on a false and inflammatory tabloid rumor. It was also false that Governor Noem did not deny the allegation to the Daily Mail. They failed to print the denial and failed to appropriately correct the story when that failure was pointed out to them.” The allegations of the affair not only cast doubts on Noem’s authenticity as a self-proclaimed champion of family values; they also prompted concerns she was altering her actions in her role as governor to conceal the affair and spend time with Lewandowski. A follow-up story by the Daily Mail quoted an anonymous source from within Noem’s administration who claimed that the governor would not inform her own staffers as to where she would be so that she could conceal the time she spent with Lewandowski from her husband‚ who allegedly knew of the affair and despised Lewandowski. Another staffer alleged that Noem had “secret vacations” and would “simply disappear.” The alleged relationship was also problematic on a professional level given that Noem claimed to have fired Lewandowski following the sexual harassment allegations against him. But it seems as though she continued working with him after she made that announcement. A source told the Daily Mail‚ “When Las Vegas happened‚ she fired him without really firing him.” (READ MORE: Kristi Noem Loses Religious Conservatives) Noem’s entire term as South Dakota’s governor‚ which began in 2019‚ has been dominated by her efforts to position herself on the national stage. Even her advertising campaign encouraging Americans to move to South Dakota has put her front and center. In the most recent iteration of the ads‚ Noem dresses as the types of workers the state is trying to recruit — as an accountant or nurse‚ for example — and encourages people like herself to come to South Dakota. She has traveled far and wide for public events and is a mainstay on Fox News. Noem even built a TV studio in the South Dakota capitol for that purpose. Noem has been openly embracing the speculation that Trump could select her to be his vice presidential nominee. When a reporter asked her while she was campaigning for Trump in Iowa earlier this month whether she would consider accepting the spot of Trump’s vice presidential nominee‚ she said‚ “I think anybody in this country‚ if they were offered it‚ needs to consider it.” Furthermore‚ when a reporter asked her what qualities Trump should look for in a vice presidential nominee‚ she answered‚ “Oh gosh‚ someone who tells him the truth.” When the reporter further inquired as to whether she believes she has that quality‚ Noem answered‚ “Oh yeah‚ but I can think of a lot of people who have those qualities‚ but yeah‚ I’ve been very honest with the president.” Noem has also been playing the long game for the role‚ as she came out early to endorse Trump in September of last year. Noem’s efforts to promote herself and divert attention away from the affair appear to be succeeding‚ as she is currently Trump’s most likely vice presidential nominee‚ according to the betting market. Perhaps an extramarital affair is no longer a major transgression according to the standards of the media and politicians. READ MORE: Dakota Diddling: The Noem–Lewandowski Affair The post Post-Scandal‚ Kristi Noem Does Not Change Course appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.