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In a story we didn’t get to last week, CBS Mornings brought on Biden-Harris Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the August 29 show and co-host Tony Dokoupil admirably grilled him on what he probably thought was going to be an easy interview about a supposed bus tour to promote public education and defend it (i.e. and prop up public sector unions) from those bastards on the right wanting to empower parents. Instead, it turned into a back-and-forth on the cost of the Biden White House’s astronomically expensive student loan forgiveness plans, the pitfalls of this year’s student aid application process, and even whether America needs a federal Education Department.     While the interview ended with a softball about what he wanted to accomplish on said bus tour, Dokoupil dropped this humdinger that every conservative would want asked: “And it raises the question, you know, for 40 years now, there’s been a conversation about what the proper role is of the federal government in local and state schools. Why do we need a Department of Education these days?” Cardona obviously defended his cabinet agency as necessary because they ensure “students...have access to teachers, have access to special education services” and claimed shuttering it would rob “students with autism or children with disabilities” of “the support that they need” and “rural communities” of “support” to succeed. Rewinding to the beginning, Dokoupil started off with what Cardona may have thought as the start of something easy: “Time and again, the Biden administration has tried to lower or eliminate student loan payments for borrowers. You get knocked back again and again. At what point do you give up?” Things pivoted with Dokoupil dropping this bit of knowledge: “The plans are costly. By your own numbers, it would cost more than what the DoE provides to public schools in a given year, right? So, why is it worth it?” After Cardona said it’s “worth it because...we need to be competitive internationally” and it’s “fixing the root cause of the issue of college affordability”, Dokoupil hammered the obvious about easy money giving the higher education system an excuse to raise prices: “[P]art of my worry is that the colleges and universities themselves are just charging too high of a price, and they’re still going to get their money when you forgive it, and taxpayers are footing the bill.” “Actually not. Because we have accountability measures that we put in place that have never been put in place,” Cardona replied in part, adding Republicans should work with him to ensure “public education...benefits the whole country.” Dokoupil switched gears to this year’s disastrous Federal Application for Aid (FAFSA) process, which had massive delays and affected how families decided where to send their children to college this fall. Following two attempts to have him explain why the wheels suddenly came off this year, Dokoupil pointed out his mother “filled it out with pen and paper at the kitchen table” many years ago, so the answer might be “the federal government...can’t handle technical things like this.” Given this is partially how he justifies his department’s existence, Cardona was steadfast that it’ll be fixed and improved going forward since it hadn’t “been touched” “for 40 years.” Before the question about why we need a Department of Education, Dokoupil brought up grade schools: My mom was a public school teacher. I went to public school. My son, Teddy, is about to start public school. Public schools aren’t doing that well, however. Enrollment is down by a million kids or more. Segregation is persistent all across the country, and test scores are not good, middling or worse. What’s going on? Of course, Cardona hit back and said Dokoupil’s “framing of the question indicates the opposite of what I’m seeing everywhere in the country.” Dokoupil first hit back at how what Cardona claimed as “framing” were “the facts on the ground.” To see the relevant transcript from August 29, click here.

There is never a level playing field in an American election. For example, the two major political parties have major advantages that third parties can’t muster. Another example is the major Democratic Party advantage of the home-team announcers calling the action on the playing field. Our national media set the terms and the tone of our democracy. The pro-Democrat tilt of every election comes to mind when the pseudo-conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin gushed on ABC’s The View on September 3 that “the momentum is on Kamala Harris's side right now.” The electorate is highly polarized and the polls are tight, but “she's running a flawless campaign…she's running really smart.” In every election cycle, it is abundantly easier for Democrats to appear to have “momentum” when the media prattle on about their supposed momentum. It is easier to declare Democrat campaigns are “flawless” when the media steamroll over any flaw that emerges. It is easier to look “really smart” when journalists tell everyone you’re smart, and if voters don’t understand you have a stunning intellect, then you’re “misunderstood.” The media act like the wind beneath Kamala’s wings, and then they praise her flying skills. Her weaknesses are buried as Trump’s strengths are attacked. She fails to empathize with Gold Star parents whose children were killed in Afghanistan, and the media attack Trump for having the chutzpah to show up at Arlington Cemetery at their invitation. The only scandals that aren’t Fake News are the Republican scandals. Here’s another advantage that can be maddening to Republicans. The Washington Post published a story on September 2 headlined, “Trump aims to drag down Harris as he scrambles to keep up in tight race.” The subhead underlined the spin: “The Republican nominee’s advisers and allies are clear-eyed about the unlikelihood of improving his standing. That leaves one option: damaging hers.” Can we turn that the other way? Isn’t Harris aiming to “drag down Trump”? Isn't her goal "damaging Trump”? Do the political editors at The Post really think the Democrats don’t criticize their opponents? Do these Posties understand that nearly everyone thinks their primary goal in journalism since 2015 has been to destroy, and even imprison Trump?  Any notion of their objectivity died in darkness decades ago. On September 3, National Public Radio senior political editor Domenico Montanaro blared out a similar spin: “"Former President Trump is ramping up attacks on Harris, trying to drag her down. So expect the race to get even uglier." A listener to taxpayer-funded radio might detect a bullying flavor, as in the Big Bad Wolf is aiming to ruin Little Red Riding Hood. Or if that makes Kamala sound too vulnerable, she might be Wonder Woman, and Trump is imagined as Wonder Woman’s evil nemesis Doctor Poison, or maybe Doctor Psycho. Journalists don’t see their own work as “ramping up attacks” on Republicans and making the race “even uglier.” In their egotistical dreams, they are never adding ugliness to politics. They’re writing a flawless first draft of history.   In her convention speech, Harris called for moving “past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past.” But everything Kamala and her media allies are doing is bitterly attacking Trump, dividing voters, and then cynically insisting they are not the bitter dividers. This explains why Gallup found only 14 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of independents have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in the media’s performance. They sound like they deliver DNC advertising instead of the old-fashioned straight news.

An 80-year-old man said he fought back after a random attacker clobbered him in the head inside a Georgia grocery store late last month.Felix Dessel told WAGA-TV the attack occurred while he was shopping for groceries in the Kroger at the intersection of LaVista and North Druid Hills Roads in Toco Hills in DeKalb County around lunchtime Aug. 22.'I'm picking bananas, and somebody attacks me, and I was a little woozy from the shock.'Dessel told the station a male hit him in the head with a can of soda, which left a "very big bump."With that, Dessel ran toward the suspect and fought back, WAGA reported, citing a DeKalb County Police report.Investigators said the suspect then threw multiple items at Dessel, the station reported, adding that Dessel said the suspect also threw punches and kicks.However, Dessel noted to WAGA that when a Kroger employee saw what was happening, both he and the attacker were told to leave the store — and the suspect took off."I said, 'I'm not getting out of the store, I was just attacked,'" Dessel recounted to the station. "I'm picking bananas, and somebody attacks me, and I was a little woozy from the shock."While the attack was caught on video, DeKalb County Police and Kroger declined to release it, WAGA reported, and investigators have not made any arrests.The station noted the following statement from Kroger in regard to the incident: "The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority. We work with local law enforcement upon request in all ongoing investigations."Dessel didn't need to visit a hospital after the attack, WAGA reported, but he said he believes more needs to be done to protect customers."They need to have security; something tragic is going to happen there," Dessel noted to the station. "I was able to overcome that, and I'm very happy about that. [The attacker] needs to be locked up, and he needs medical, mental help."In the meantime, Dessel told WAGA he's having a "hard time going to sleep because I'm reviewing [the attack]. The bruises will go away, but [pointing to his head] this is a different story."You can view a video report here about the incident, which includes an interview with Dessel.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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A ‘remarkable’ Pictish ring, untouched for over a millennium, has been discovered at the ancient Burghead Fort in Moray, Scotland, during a dig led by the University of Aberdeen. Found by volunteer John Ralph, the intricately designed ring features a kite-shaped setting with a red garnet or glass at its center. Its discovery at a site previously thought to have been archaeologically compromised sheds new light on Burghead’s historical importance during the Pictish period. Rediscovering Burghead: A Forgotten Pictish Treasure Burghead Fort, once a significant stronghold during the Pictish era, had long been considered a lost archaeological site. When the town of Burghead was constructed in the early 19th century, large portions of the fort were dismantled, with much of the stone being repurposed for new buildings. The construction of the new town was a key development for the region’s fishing industry, with families, including the ancestors of John Ralph, moving there for work. However, thanks to excavation efforts led by Professor Gordon Noble and funded by Historic Environment Scotland, Burghead’s Pictish past has gradually re-emerged. Over the past three years, Noble’s team has uncovered a wealth of artifacts and evidence suggesting that Burghead was once a seat of Pictish power, with high-status metalworking and impressive structures. Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesEuropeRead Later 

Elon Musk's social media platform X on Wednesday won an appeal to partially block a California law requiring social media companies to publish their policies for combating disinformation, harassment, hate speech, and extremism.