Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced legislation to cut the federal funding of the Department of Homeland Security’s dystopian censorship activities following a string of bombshell MRC exposés. MRC Free Speech America uncovered how the DHS awarded $700‚000 in anti-terrorism grant money to the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab (the “Rhode Island Lab”) to promote censorship and leftist propaganda in America’s classrooms. Notably‚ MRC also revealed last year how the DHS exploited an anti-terrorism grant program to fund a leftist initiative against the right by the University of Dayton‚ which included an effort to compare Christians‚ Republicans and conservatives to militant Nazis.  Hawley aims to end this DHS grant funding once and for all through new legislation‚ according to Fox News. “‘My bill simply bars Secretary Mayorkas from funneling taxpayer dollars to programs dedicated to targeting this Administration’s political opponents‚’” Hawley summarized. Hawley’s legislation‚ titled the “Ending DHS Funding for Liberal Propaganda Act‚” addresses the DHS’s effort to crush free speech through the infamous “Targeted Violence &; Terrorism Prevention Grant Program” (TVTP). Notably‚ MRC Free Speech America discovered the original TVTP grant to the University of Dayton that produced the now-infamous “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization” ranking Republicans‚ conservatives and Christians on a scale of extremism that included neo-Nazi and fascist groups. MRC was also the first to uncover the DHS’s grant to the Rhode Island Lab for “counter-propaganda” against conservatives. Fox reported that the Hawley bill targets “any programming relating to countering narratives or views on political topics‚ including COVID-19‚ vaccination‚ media bias‚ immigration‚ and crime.” Biden’s administration has gone rogue using your taxpayer dollars to fund leftist propaganda. Much needed legislation from @HawleyMO based on MRC’s censorship investigation. https://t.co/f0p5FpOQXq — Brent Bozell (@BrentBozell) January 22‚ 2024 Indeed‚ Hawley cited the University of Rhode Island's Media Education Lab‚ funded by TVTP‚ to create “counter-propaganda” against conservatives‚ Fox News explained. In a previous letter to Mayorkas‚ Hawley insisted: “This is an outrageous use of federal funds and abuse of power." The senator added‚ "All these funds should be clawed back by the federal government immediately‚ and anyone involved in making this grant should be fired.” Hawley clearly meant it.  Fox News attributed the major legislative development to the Media Research Center's public records investigations. Fox News specifically cited MRC's report on the TVTP-funded effort to compare conservatives‚ Christians‚ and Republicans with neo-Nazis as one of the foundations for Hawley's new bill. MRC’s public records investigation efforts also exposed the State Department partnering with German censors to train teachers how to indoctrinate students against conservative news and ideas. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

Right now‚ there are conflicts raging in Ukraine and Israel‚ with a new front opening up in Yemen. Now is the time for strong American leadership to restore order and end these conflicts. The world does not work when the United States does not lead. To prove that‚ note that few people remember Warren Christopher these days. He was an ineffective secretary of state and leader. In the early months of the Bill Clinton administration‚ he traveled to Europe “to consult with our allies and friends on a course of action” to stop the killing in the former Yugoslavia. “We’re ready to play our part‚ but others must be as well‚” Christopher said. There is no reason to trust Airbus with our national defense contracts. The Europeans were not prepared to play a part. Instead‚ the killing went on for years‚ with the city of Sarajevo being destroyed and more than 100‚000 people killed. It was only when the U.S. military got involved that the parties came to an Air Force base in Dayton and agreed to stop the violence. American power delivered peace. We still see that today. You may not have heard much about it‚ but in the Red Sea‚ Yemeni Houthi rebels are attacking international shipping. The U.S. Navy is preventing those attacks from shutting down global commerce. On a recent day‚ “the U.S. military’s Central Command‚ along with forces from the UK‚ claimed they shot down 18 drones‚ two anti-ship cruise missiles‚ and one anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthi rebels‚” reported the Independent in London. American power protects the world. It goes without saying that the weapons used to shoot down the Houthi attacks were made in the USA. Our country is the only one that can build such high-tech weapons and the only one that can deploy military forces virtually anywhere at any time. But we can’t take this dominance for granted. It isn’t a coincidence. It is the result of a deliberate plan to promote American weapon manufacturing. This matters‚ because a European company now wants to play a larger role in American military planning. “Airbus Group SE is a company based in the Netherlands that is active in the aerospace and defense industry‚” Reuters explains. It already has several defense contracts in the United States and wants to add more. Airbus is now planning to bid for a part of a contract to build an Air Force refueling tanker. “The A330 U.S.-MRTT is a reliable choice for the U.S. Air Force: one that will deliver affordability‚ proven performance and unmatched capabilities‚” an Airbus spokesman claimed. Set aside the fact that the Air Force has an American-made tanker that is effectively doing the job right now and consider whether Airbus is even reliable. Any company will claim its products are good. But Airbus has a history of cheating. Just four years ago‚ Airbus agreed to pay more than $3.9 billion in fines after being accused of bribery in the United States‚ France‚ and Great Britain. “Airbus engaged in a multi-year and massive scheme to corruptly enhance its business interests by paying bribes in China and other countries and concealing those bribes‚” an assistant U.S. attorney explained. It was the largest global foreign bribery resolution at that time. Before that‚ in 2019‚ the U.S. government earned the largest arbitration award in World Trade Organization history‚ resolving a disagreement with the European Union over illegal subsidies that its government was paying to Airbus. “For years‚ Europe has been providing massive subsidies to Airbus that have seriously injured the U.S. aerospace industry and our workers. Finally‚ after 15 years of litigation‚ the WTO has confirmed that the United States is entitled to impose countermeasures in response to the EU’s illegal subsidies‚” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said at the time. There is no reason to trust Airbus with our national defense contracts. The world has learned the hard way that we can’t depend on a European company to protect us. We need American power and American manufacturing to do that. Airbus should stay in Europe and try to help the the continent improve its military outlook. They need all the help they can get to slow the influence of Russia. Meanwhile‚ America’s safety must be made in the USA.

A software engineer for Google was reportedly found covered in blood after allegedly murdering his wife in their California home‚ according to a press release from the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office. The attack occurred on January 16.The authorities were called for a welfare check at Liren Chen's home in Santa Clara‚ California‚ which is just a few miles outside Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley. Chen‚ 27‚ and his wife‚ Xuanyi Yu‚ were both employed by the tech giant at the time of the horrific incident.Officials were alerted to the residence by an unidentified acquaintance of Chen who "expressed concern" about the couple on January 16. The acquaintance became worried after seeing Chen through a window staring "motionless on his knees" with "his hands in the air‚" according to the release.Chen refused to pick up his phone or answer the door when the authorities arrived on the scene. After gaining entrance into the home‚ officers said Chen was at the scene of the murder. His right hand was "extremely swollen and purple‚" and his wife's body was not too far away‚ according to Fox News Digital.Authorities noted that Yu suffered serious "blunt force injuries" to her head‚ which may have been the cause of death. The authorities also mentioned that Chen had blood splattered all over his "clothing‚ legs‚ arms‚ and hands and scratches on his arm."Chen was soon arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors said Chen faces prison time if he is convicted of the crime. "Domestic violence deaths have been falling in our county‚ but that does not measure the depth and destructiveness of the violence‚" District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "Anyone who feels that they or someone else is being abused by their partners‚ please reach out your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone. We can help.""We are shocked and deeply saddened by what has happened to Xuanyi‚" Google spokesperson Bailey Tomson said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with her family at this time‚ and we will work to provide support to them and to co-workers who are processing this tragic news."Chen's arraignment was pushed back to January 22 because he is still in the hospital. Chen and Yu both studied in China at Tsinghua University and at the University of California San Diego‚ according to Fox News Digital.A motive has not yet been determined in the case.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A pair of Hollywood's most iconic classic films will be undergoing "diverse" reboots at the hands of Hollywood writer Kenya Barris‚ who has planned to change main characters to a "person a color."Barris has written or directed many race-centric titles since 2020‚ including TV shows "#BlackAF" and "Black-ish" and films "You People" and the remake of "White Men Can't Jump."Barris' next ventures are reportedly a reimagining of two industry classics: "The Wizard of Oz" and "It's a Wonderful Life."The Oz movie will utilize a completely different setting and take place in an apartment complex in Inglewood‚ California‚ called the Bottoms‚ where the new Dorothy will live."The original ‘Wizard of Oz’ took place during the Great Depression‚ and it was about self-reliance and what people were going through‚" Barris told Variety. "I think this is the perfect time to switch the characters and talk about what someone imagines their life could be."The writer also told talk-show host Jimmy Fallon about his plans to purposely cast the move with "diverse" characters."I think that this is the best time to turn a mirror on society because we need to see ourselves‚ and I want to do it with diverse characters‚" he said to Fallon. "The character lives in Inglewood‚ and someone comes up and she ends up in Underhood‚ which is right outside of Oz‚ and it takes place from there.""I wanted to make people think‚ but also make them feel good‚ and also make people feel seen who hadn't felt seen‚" Barris added.The director will also take on a reboot of the 1946 Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart. Barris explained that the movie's plot is a perfect story to be portrayed by an actor who has "black or brown" skin."I feel like Christmas movies are amazing‚ and I think the idea of taking something that has that long of a history and a tale behind it and putting an amazing piece of talent to tell that story‚" Barris explained. "It’s a guy who’s trying to help out his community and things are going to turn around on him. I think that’s the perfect story to tell for a person of color — black or brown — to get into that because our communities have some issues and someone trying to help that community out. I think that’s the perfect vehicle to tell that story from."The 50-year-old went on to mention that he has received criticism for using others' intellectual property‚ but he believed that certain stories should be told "again and again and again." He called doing remakes of classic films a "gift" and one that he hopes he keeps getting.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The former Democratic-led House Select Committee on January 6 allegedly deleted password-protected files that contained "critical information" just days before Republicans seized the majority in the House of Representatives‚ Fox News Digital reported Monday.Sources familiar with the situation told the news outlet that the former select committee‚ led by Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson from Mississippi‚ was required to provide all documents from its investigation into the events at the United States Capitol on January 6‚ 2021‚ to the new Republican-led committee following the 2022 midterm elections.According to the sources‚ Thompson told the House Administration Committee's Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) that the former panel would provide more than four terabytes of archived data. However‚ the new Republican committee reportedly received less than three terabytes.Loudermilk's panel is investigating the security failures of January 6 and "actions" taken by the former committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) plans to invest more resources in the investigation‚ Loudermilk told Fox News Digital last week.As part of the panel's investigation‚ it hired a digital forensics team to determine what information was deleted‚ according to the sources. The team reportedly found that the Democratic-led committee erased 117 encrypted files days before it was required to turn over the data to the new panel‚ sources told Fox News Digital."As you acknowledged in your July 7‚ 2023 letter‚ the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Select Committee) did not archive all Committee records as required by House Rules‚" Loudermilk wrote to Thompson in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. "You wrote that you sent specific transcribed interviews and depositions to the White House and Department of Homeland Security but did not archive them with the Clerk of the House."According to the letter‚ the forensic team was able to recover "numerous digital records from hard drives archived by the Select Committee.""One recovered file disclosed the identity of an individual whose testimony was not archived by the Select Committee‚" Loudermilk continued. He stated that the panel cannot access many of the recovered files because they are password-protected. Loudermilk demanded Thompson turn over "a list of passwords for all password-protected files created by the Select Committee" so that the data could be archived appropriately.Additionally‚ the Republican-led committee reportedly did not receive White House and Department of Homeland Security testimony from the former committee. In a separate letter to the White House general counsel‚ Loudermilk requested the "unedited and unredacted transcripts" by January 24.In a statement to Fox News Digital‚ Loudermilk said‚ "It's obvious that Pelosi's Select Committee went to great lengths to prevent Americans from seeing certain documents produced in their investigation. It also appears that Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney intended to obstruct our Subcommittee by failing to preserve critical information and videos as required by House rules." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Actress Lucy Liu made multiple claims regarding her on-screen career in a recent interview‚ including that she and her female co-stars from the "Charlie's Angels" reboot were the first trio of women to grace magazine covers all at once.Liu appeared on Variety's podcast "Variety Studio" and was asked if she would consider another sequel to the popular "Charlie's Angels" franchise she starred in with Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore."I honestly don’t know how that’s going to be feasible‚" she told Variety. "There have been so many iterations‚ even after the fact. … In some ways‚ it’s such a strange thing to think about it. Times have changed so much since then‚" she added.From there‚ Liu pegged herself as part of a groundbreaking moment in the entertainment industry when the three women were doing publicity for the films."At that time‚ when we were doing publicity‚ they had never before had three women on a magazine cover‚" she claimed. "They didn’t even know how to do it. It was such a strange thing for women to collaborate and be seen as colleagues and friends. It was such a big moment in time‚ and now it’s shifted."Despite the claim‚ not only were Liu‚ Diaz‚ and Barrymore not the first three women to be photographed together for a mainstream Hollywood magazine‚ but the original cast of the TV show "Charlie's Angels" was on multiple internationally circulated magazines in the 1970s.Kate Jackson‚ Farrah Fawcett‚ and Jaclyn Smith all shared not only a 1976 cover of People magazine but also Time magazine that same year.1976 is the same year Charlies Angels premiered on tv too. Time magazine called them TVs super women pic.twitter.com/aLz4K0mNtg— Jeffs Comics (@jeffs_comics) October 6‚ 2017 As Hollywood in Toto noted‚ the four female stars of "The Golden Girls" also appeared on magazine covers together throughout the show's 1985-1992 run.Liu went on to make another claim that until 1997's drama "Ally McBeal‚" no female actress had led a show."Even when I was doing ‘Ally McBeal‚’ there had never been a lead woman in that way. There was Mary Tyler Moore and things like that‚ but the focus has changed. I’m not in charge of that‚ but I always enjoy the time that I have and then I move on. I never really dwell on anything like that. But I really would be shocked if that happened.""The Mary Tyler Moore Show" aired from 1970 to 1977‚ and in addition to "The Golden Girls‚" many other prominent sitcoms and dramas starring women aired before "Ally McBeal."Among the many were: "I Love Lucy‚" "Murder‚ She Wrote‚" "Bewitched‚" "Murphy Brown‚" "The Nanny‚" and more.According to Ranker‚ 20 of the top 70 "Best TV Shows with Female Leads" were made before Liu's cited television appearance.Liu's comments echoed claims of actress Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence told Variety in December 2022 that no action movies had featured a female lead before she starred in "The Hunger Games" films."I remember when I was doing 'Hunger Games‚' nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn't work. We were told ... girls and boys can both identify with a male lead‚ but boys cannot identify with a female lead‚" Lawrence said.Audiences were quick to cite Sigourney Weaver in 1979's "Alien‚" along with Milla Jovovich‚ Angelina Jolie‚ Uma Thurman‚ Kate Beckinsale‚ and more as women who predated her performance. Jennifer Lawrence claims that before the Hunger Games there were no female protagonists. Really? — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The U.S. Army has allegedly given promotions to 10‚000 noncommissioned officers in the past two years. These individuals have not completed the required military education and training academies‚ according to Fox News Digital.Though 10‚000 NCOs have remained in their promoted position‚ the U.S. Army initially promoted 52‚000 NCOs in what the military branch characterized as a temporary pandemic-era policy. Miliary.com reported that NCOs are supposed to be stripped of their promotion if they do not complete the required school within a year of the promotion. But the Army does not want to demote front-line enlisted leaders all at once. Reports noted that the one-year deadline could have posed challenges for those who had trouble scheduling their schooling. There are limited slots for some occupations in the military‚ and long-term training rotations have made it hard for some units to send their troops to school. Some required courses can take up to a month to complete.The Army told Fox News Digital that "we are conducting a review of all Soldiers with exceptions to the STEP [Select‚ Train‚ Educate and Promote Policy] policy prior to suspension.""As we align policies we will ensure that we are taking care of Soldiers‚ informing commanders‚ units and Soldiers of the changes and correcting any actions that are counter to the suspension of the STEP policy."The Army released a news release in September that explained how it planned to reinstate its "Select‚ Train‚ Educate and Promote" for January. This will still require NCOs to complete the necessary training before they can be promoted. But the decision was overturned in December‚ and the Army told Fox News Digital that there was no timeline for the policy's reinstatement."Our goal is to ensure our soldiers' careers do not suffer from factors outside of their control‚" Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said.In 2022‚ Military.com published a report that revealed 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver for being overweight‚ using drugs‚ or having physical and mental health issues."When considering youth disqualified for one reason alone‚ the most prevalent disqualification rates are overweight (11%)‚ drug and alcohol abuse (8%)‚ and medical/physical health (7%)‚" the study read‚ according to Military.com. Those examined in the study were between 17 and 24 years of age.The study was carried out by the Pentagon's Office of Personnel and Readiness.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has come under fire after vetoing a city council bill that would have required police officers in the city to document every "investigative encounter‚" according to Fox News Digital.Adams spoke at a press conference on Friday‚ laying out the reasons why he believed vetoing the bill was the best course of action. Adams said Intro. 586-A‚ or the "How Many Stops Act‚" could dramatically decrease the response times of the NYPD. He went on to suggest that the bill would add millions of dollars in overtime to the NYPD budget if it went through."As young men‚ my brother and I were beaten by the police in the basement of a local precinct‚ but I turned my pain into purpose and joined the police force to effect change from within the system‚" Adams said in a statement. "And‚ in my time as a police officer and throughout my career in public service‚ I have fought for transparency and against abusive policing tactics that targeted communities of color. While Intro. 586 has good intentions behind it‚ the bill is misguided and compromises our public safety.""Our administration supports efforts to make law enforcement more transparent‚ more just‚ and more accountable‚ but this bill will handcuff our police by drowning officers in unnecessary paperwork that will saddle taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in additional NYPD overtime each year‚ while simultaneously taking officers away from policing our streets and engaging with the community‚" he continued. "That is why I am vetoing this legislation today. I ask my colleagues in government to please work with our administration to improve public safety because New Yorkers want their police out on patrol — taking criminals off our streets and keeping them safe."CBS News reported that public advocate Jumaane Williams disagrees with the mayor‚ saying that "even the language of using apparent gender and race comes from patrol guide. You can't use the word 'paperwork' when there's no paperwork. It's just verifiably a massive exaggeration and it's unbecoming of this mayor.""Whatever the administration wants to believe‚ a Level 1 stop is‚ right now‚ without this bill‚ they're supposed to tag it under body-worn camera at the end of the shift. So the question is are they doing it now? If they're not‚ they have a lot of explaining to do."Williams' reference to a Level 1 stop refers to a generally non-threatening encounter. However‚ Adams invited every City Council member to tag along with the NYPD this week for a ride-along to see how the bill would be implemented. Williams said he would like to take advantage of the opportunity."I think it's a good idea to be on the ground and see what's happening. That won't affect the bill‚" Williams said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

You’re either a globalist neocon interventionist‚ or you are a pacifist who will sit idly while attacked. Is that the false choice we want to navigate as conservatives?After years of wasting time‚ talent‚ and treasure on urban renewal projects in Baghdad and Kabul‚ the U.S. military is exhausted and the public’s resolve is depleted when it comes to deploying the military overseas. And rightly so. When we finally divested from the 20-year debacle in Iraq and Afghanistan‚ we immediately barreled headfirst into another long-standing ethnic territorial dispute in eastern Ukraine. As such‚ there are understandably reactionary forces who will oppose any use of the military even when it’s justified. The idiocy of the neocon grift is driving some on the right to treat the Houthi attacks on shipping lanes as another foreign policy debacle we must ignore. Except we cannot ignore it.Until the half-hearted airstrikes last week‚ the Biden administration allowed a two-bit‚ goat-molesting‚ cholera-ridden group of primitives in Yemen to shut down global shipping in the Red Sea‚ endangering global trade‚ raising prices‚ and making products more difficult to come by.Biden’s passive approach to the Houthi declaration of war on shipping is not merely an exercise in weak foreign policy‚ emblematic of a Defense Department whose Cabinet secretary was hospitalized with nobody in the chain of command aware of his dire situation. It is yet another subterfuge to ensure the cost of living domestically remains high. There is simply no other way to interpret how the Houthis can continue their piracy operations in the face of our $1 trillion annual defense spending with the greatest naval and air power the world has seen. According to Port Watch‚ the seven-day moving average of shipping at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is down a whopping 54% over the past month. Metric tons of trade coming through the strait are down by more than 50% as shipping costs from China to Europe surge uncontrollably. Why would we need a coalition of 13 countries to deal with a bunch of cavemen?At the current trajectory‚ if the Houthis are not stopped‚ shipping at this critical outlet of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden will grind to a halt. The Houthis have attacked more than two dozen ships in the Red Sea since November. This has forced most ships to reroute around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. Given that roughly 30% of global container shipping carrying over 1 billion tons of goods worth $1 trillion per year sails through the Suez Canal‚ this disruption will harm consumers and producers worldwide.In recent years‚ more than twice the tonnage of cargo has traversed the Suez Canal as the Panama Canal‚ which‚ incidentally‚ is also suffering from reduced shipping volume due to a severe drought.Rerouting shipping around the horn of Africa adds up to 22 days of travel for fuel tankers traveling from the Middle East to Europe. Ikea announced that the de facto shipping embargo through the Red Sea “will lead to delays and may limit the availability of some products.”Thus far‚ the Houthis have used anti-ship ballistic missiles‚ drones‚ attack helicopters‚ and old-fashioned piracy tactics to harass and even capture ships traveling the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea. The Houthis have even directly challenged U.S. warships in the region‚ yet the U.S. Navy has so far declined to launch a sustained counteroffensive against Houthi infrastructure. On January 3‚ the United States‚ Australia‚ Bahrain‚ Belgium‚ Canada‚ Denmark‚ Germany‚ Italy‚ Japan‚ Netherlands‚ New Zealand‚ Singapore‚ and the United Kingdom released a statement warning that they are “determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.” The alliance was designated “Operation Prosperity Guardian.”But these threats ring hollow given how much leeway the Biden administration has given the primitive terrorists for nearly two months. Why would we need a coalition of 13 countries to deal with a bunch of cavemen? For an small fraction of the cost of our aid to Ukraine‚ we could wipe out their capability to launch these attacks. Why else have such an expensive and robust military?Last week‚ Biden ordered the military to lob a few missiles at Yemen‚ a move reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s vanity bombing of an aspirin factory in Sudan on August 20‚ 1998‚ following al-Qaeda’s attack on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. None of this has deterred the Houthis‚ as they launched a missile at the U.S.-owned‚ Greek-operated Chem Ranger on Thursday. That followed a pair of attacks on the U.S.-owned Gibraltar Eagle and the Genco Picardy earlier in the week.Even Biden conceded‚ “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.” Clearly‚ the Biden administration doesn’t want to antagonize its Iranian friends‚ who are sponsors of the Houthis. Also‚ because the piracy is primarily targeting Israel‚ the Biden administration likely believes that the Houthi attack could become an ancillary benefit in grinding Israel’s offensive in Gaza to a halt. Don’t discount the fact that the Biden administration is also embracing the opportunity to harm American consumers along with Israelis. Roughly 10% of all global oil transports pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A little more than half of all liquid natural gas trade moves east through the Suez Canal. As we saw with the onset of the Ukraine-Russia war‚ the left views an oil crisis as an opportunity to wean us off sustainable and prosperous living in favor of its dystopian dream of carbon-free — aka human-free — living. Early indications show that the U.S.-led coalition letter was all bluster. The crew of a Singapore-flagged ship sailing through the straits earlier this month transmitted a message “no link to Israel” in order to protect themselves. Singapore happens to be one of the coalition members. They are clearly trying to appease the Houthis and Iran by isolating Israel and complying with their demands. Enough of this. Congress needs pass a binding resolution to establish a kill zone perimeter within the straits authorizing the destruction of any Iranian asset that comes near a cargo ship. We don’t need to get involved in the land-based Islamic civil war among the Houthis‚ the Saudi-backed Hadi government‚ and al-Qaeda in Yemen itself‚ as the Wall Street Journal editorial board and neocons are advocating. But we also must not become a bunch of weak pacifists in response to the inane Wilsonian policies of past Republican leaders.Our trillion-dollar military is now immeasurably superior to the small forces that existed when Thomas Jefferson dispatched the Navy to vanquish the Barbary pirates‚ while the Houthis are not any less primitive than their early 19th-century North African predecessors. If we can’t keep the shipping lanes open 200 years later‚ why go deeper into debt to keep funding this military?

A social media account for MSNBC host Joy Reid proved why sexually explicit materials are not acceptable in any environment at any time.On Friday‚ Reid debated Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice over what Reid called "book bans‚" referring to the movement of parents demanding that sexually explicit and woke books be removed from school libraries.At one point during the frustrating interview — in which Reid repeatedly interrupted Justice and barely allowed her to answer questions or make rebuttals — Reid invoked "All Boys Aren't Blue‚" a controversial book replete with abusive and sexually explicit material. Reid claimed that parents are taking "out-of-context" passages from the book to make their removal demands and asserted that such parents do not hold sufficient "expertise" to make clams about the book."What is the expertise that you have and other Moms for Liberty advocates have to decide that a book‚ an award-winning book like 'All Boys Aren't Blue‚' isn't appropriate for students read?" Reid asked."What a tragic story of a young man who is anally raped by his adult family members. So you have incest‚ rape‚ pedophilia‚" Justice responded. "In what context is a strap-on dildo acceptable for public school? That's my question to you."Tell me what context around a strap-on dildo or the rape of a minor child by a teacher —" she continued when Reid interrupted her.The MSNBC host tried to discredit Justice by asking her what the main character's name is in "All Boy's Aren't Blue‚" a question Justice answered correctly. Reid‚ however‚ never answered Justice's question but expressed offense that Justice would dare make an inquiry of her. "What I am saying to you is you are not an expert in this book‚" Reid later said."I don't have to be an expert to know that dildos are not appropriate for public school‚ I mean‚ come on. Let's get real‚" Justice shot back.The X account for Reid's show‚ "The ReidOut‚" later posted the exchange about "All Boy's Aren't Blue." Ironically‚ the post censored the phrase "strap-on dildo" — instead writing "XXXXX-XX-XXXXX" — thus proving Justice's argument that groups of people‚ organizations‚ and society make concerted decisions that some words and content are not appropriate for any and every circumstance. — (@) "If Joy Reid isn't comfortable writing "strap-on dildo" on X‚ why does she demand that it be made available to children in public schools?" activist Christopher Rufo noted. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!