Dr. Martin discussed what is happening right now in real time with prosecutions for Covid Crimes Against Humanity. Let Freedom Ring! With thanks to:- https://rumble.com/c/Intentional

Our family has gone through a passel of pets while raising our kids. We started with a goldfish named Princess (who lived a surprisingly long life for a feeder fish we got at a festival). We've had several pairs of fancy rats, which really do make sweet, personable pets. We got our first cat when we moved to a place that allowed them, which as a lifelong cat person I was excited about. Then added a feline friend for him a couple of years later. Finally, several years ago, two of our kids got rabbits. And honestly? If we had known how awesome bunnies can be as indoor pets, we would have skipped the fish and the rats—maybe even the cats—and never looked back. The fish was interesting to look at. The rats were sweet and cute. (If you've never seen a pet rat wash its face or eat a Cheerio, you're missing out.) Rats themselves are clean, but their cages get smelly pretty fast. The cats are great—again, always been a cat person—but ours are indoor only and the catbox situation is … less than desirable. They've also destroyed several pieces of furniture with their claws. Good thing they're so entertaining and lovable. But the rabbits have surprised me by having a leg up on all the other pets we've had. Here's why:1. They can be litterbox trained—and it's way less stinky than a cat's litterbox.I had no idea that rabbits could be litter trained. Rats can allegedly be litter trained as well, but we never had any luck with that with any of our pet rats. And cats are easy to litter train, of course, but cat pee and poo are smelly. It takes super expensive litter to cover cat pee ammonia smell, and if a kid waits too long to change the litter it's … noticeable. Rabbit pee doesn't stink. I don't know how, but it doesn't. It barely has much of a smell at all, and the smell is just sort of "earthy." Same with rabbit poop. It's basically just digested hay, and it's little dry-ish pellets that pick up easily. We often joke that it's like picking up a Cocoa Puff, not that we have to pick up a lot of it because they generally keep it all inside their litterboxes.It took less than a week for each of our rabbits to start using their litterboxes consistently. And their "litter" is just paper. Super easy to clean out their boxes, and again, super not smelly.2. They're adorable and unbelievably soft.Bunny fur is so soft it's unreal. The only thing I've ever felt that was softer was chinchilla fur. They do shed sometimes, so there's a vacuuming element to having rabbits, much like there is with cats and dogs. Totally worth it, though. There are a bazillion different rabbit breeds out there, with different-sized bodies, different fur types, different ear types and so on. But most of them are so darn cute. The way they twitch their little noses all the time? Precious. Their little bunny butts with their little bunny tails? Forget about it. I thought watching a rat wash its face was cute, but bunny face and ear washing is even better. And eating lettuce? The little crunchy-munchy sounds they make? Gracious.The number of "Awwww, he's so cuuuute!" around here rivals when we had a newborn baby. 3. They do cute things with cute names like zoomies, binkies and flops.Not only do rabbits do the cutest things, but the cute things they do also have the cutest names, such a:Zoomies: When a rabbit gets a sudden burst of energy and starts racing around the room, it's called a "zoomy."Binkies: When rabbits are happy, they'll do a sudden, twitchy jump for joy, where they leap up in the air and sort of shimmy their body really fast. It's my favorite thing. They do it out of nowhere, like their joy just overtakes them all of a sudden and they can't help themselves. (Watch some bunny binkying above and witness the cuteness.)Flops: When rabbits feel safe and content, they just flop over onto their side. Again, out of nowhere. You might almost think they fainted or died, but no, they just "flopped."I genuinely had no idea rabbits had such personalities. I'd only ever seen them in hutches or cages just sort of laying around, but when they are able to roam around, they're delightfully entertaining.4. They can be surprisingly smart—and fearless.Wild rabbits are skitterish, so I expected our pet rabbits to be similar. Nope. Our bunnies can get spooked by loud noises, but they're not at all afraid of people. They're not even afraid of our cats. They'll run right up to people and constantly try to get the cats to play with them. It's hilarious.And maybe it's just our rabbits, but they're surprisingly smart. My son's rabbit kept getting out of his enclosure, and it took us a while to figure out how he did it because he'd only do it when no one was in the room. You can also train them to do little tricks, like running around in a circle or jumping through a hoop. My kids have trained the rabbits to jump over their legs when they're sitting, and all my daughter has to do is flick her finger and her rabbit will spin around for a treat. 5. They're pretty low-maintenance as furry pets go.I don't want to oversimplify what it takes to have a bunny as a pet, and there are some downsides I'll share in a moment. But as far as loveable, furry creatures go, rabbits are pretty low-maintenance. They eat hay and food pellets and fresh vegetables, they drink water either from a bowl or a water dispenser, and they need things they can chew on. There aren't vaccines for pet rabbits in the U.S., so no need to keep up with those. They need their claws trimmed once in a while. And that's about it. So what are the downsides? Chewing. The main downside with our two bunnies is that one of them is a major chewer. All rabbits like to chew, but if you give them enough things that are safe for them to chew on, they're less likely to chew things you don't want them to. But rabbit teeth are like razors and our chewer is particularly partial to cords—phone chargers, lamp cords, any type of cord really. He somehow manages to chew through pet-proof cord protectors as well, so he doesn't get to roam around freely without a close watch on him like our other rabbit does. Space is another issue if you can't let them roam freely. Creating an enclosure large enough for them to run around in requires space that not everyone has. Our "free-roaming" bunny doesn't even have a cage—he just roams around my daughter's room and has a little linoleumed area where his litter box and food go. (Unlike cats, rabbits actually like to have their food near their litterboxes.) Like all animals, rabbits need exercise to stay healthy so it's not great for them to stay in small hutches or cages all the time. Finally, as the Humane Society of the United States points out, they're not great for families with very young children. I'd wait until kids are old enough to understand how to handle them gently (they are more delicate than cats or dogs) and not make a lot of startling noises around them.That's really about it. As I said, if I had known the cost-benefit ratio of having rabbits as indoor pets, we would have started the kids off with them as pets from the get-go. In some ways, they're even preferable to the cats—and coming from a lifelong cat person, that's really saying something. This article originally appeared on 3.17.22

Some compositions are so ubiquitous they are recognizable in their first few bars, even by people who are not music aficionados. French composer Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" is one of those pieces, known for its relentless snare drum beat throughout, as it gradually builds tension from a sweet, simple tune to a grand, flourishing climax. Ravel wrote the piece for a friend, a Russian ballet dancer, while on holiday shortly before touring North America in 1928. According to Classic FM, the composer was about to go for a swim when he called a friend over to the piano and played a simple theme with one finger, saying, "Don’t you think that has an insistent quality? I’m going to try to repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can.”That he did, with tremendous success—and with the sacrifice of the poor percussionist charged with repeating the same 24-beat note pattern throughout the piece, for a whopping total of 5,144 drum strokes on the snare drum. While different instruments are introduced as the piece progresses, creating a buildup of sound that eventually incorporates the full symphony orchestra, the lone snare drummer never gets a break. They play the same rhythm over and over and over, just gradually increasing in volume. But what would "Bolero" be without the signature snare drum? Or the orchestral buildup? What if someone were to play "Bolero" on just one instrument? What if several someones played it on the same instrument? Would that even work?Such experimentation with well-known pieces can be risky. But four cellists managed to pull off an incredible feat by performing "Bolero" together on a single cello. While it's not the full 15-minute piece, it's doggone impressive how rich and full the piece feels on just this one instrument. Watching the cellists physically coordinate the playing of it is sheer entertainment, beautifully executed—and the little bullfight shoutout to the Spanish theme is just delightful.Enjoy this fun performance by the Wiener Cello Ensemble 5 +1, shared by Classic FM: This article originally appeared on 4.27.22

This is Monstro, a telescope goldfish that captured hearts online. Before his rehabilitation, there was absolutely no gold to be seen—he looked like he was covered in soot. In a now-viral TikTok video, artist Lacey Scott shared that when she first met the 10-year-old fish at a pet store, he was “sick and dying." I mean, just take a peek at the screenshot below. Little guy looked like a charcoal brick. Definitely not the picture of health. Sad fishy. Very sad fishy. TikTok Lesions had also formed on his underside from laying in the substrate (those little pebbles found at the bottom of a tank). The poor fellow couldn’t even swim anymore.Scott decided to take Monstro home and see if she could nurse him back to health. Setting up a “shallow hospital tank” with aquarium salt and a daily water change seemed to have a positive effect. Monstro began eating again and swimming for short periods of time.Eventually, he was put into a five gallon tank, and even got some new friends. At this point, his golden hue began to return. Not fully—he had a cool ombre thing happening. But still, obvious progress. “He also got bigger….a lot bigger,” the onscreen text read. Continuing to grow is a common characteristic of goldfish—not just to fit their environment, by the way—and this was a clear indicator that Monstro was getting healthier by the day. As Monstro’s condition improved, people became even more invested. The video ends with Monstro swimming and carefree, a golden boy once again. @heretherebesculptures The one where you accidentally become a goldfish keeper. Meet Monstro ? #rescue #inspirational #goldfish #rescuepet #fish #recovery ♬ Inspirational Piano - AShamaluevMusic One person commented, “You’re telling me this goldfish was wearing all black cause he was SAD? I love him so much.” And actually, this statement is pretty accurate.Fish can often be seen as the perfect low-maintenance pet. It’s not like Mr. Guppy expects daily walks, after all. Nor does he feel the need to scratch up the leather furniture. What could possibly go wrong?But the truth is: Fish, like all pets, really do require at least some level of devoted care. Fish in general need a good tank size and water that is routinely cleaned, as well as a strict eating schedule. And unlike our furry friends, fish rarely offer warning signs before things go belly up … literally. Goldfish in particular might need some extra TLC. They are a notoriously messy breed, and require a little daily help to keep things clean. A fish-keeping site called Aquariadise suggests a high-grade filtration system and a 30% water change on a weekly basis. Plus, being omnivores, they actually need variety in their diet. But not too much too quickly! Yes, it’s a lot. But when properly taken care of, these little guys can provide companionship for decades. Yes, decades. @heretherebesculptures Reply to @crystalcelestecon he’s doing great ? #monstrothegoldfish #rescueanimals ♬ Japanese-style dramatic piano song - スタジオ　Music Rabbit It’s unclear whether or not Monstro has decades left. But Scott assured us that no matter how long he has left, “he’ll spend the rest of his days happy and loved.” And that’s what counts. This article originally appeared on 5.30.22

Now that the 2024 election is over, we're near the end of Joe Biden’s presidency. He's statistically the least popular president in modern times, according to polling data. He had to drop out of the race because of his age and apparent mental fitness for office. And his chosen replacement lost in spectacular fashion to Donald Trump. But underneath all the bad news about Biden and his administration, is a record of historic accomplishments. Many of which may not come fully to light for years to come. When Biden took office, the nation was in turmoil. The COVID-19 pandemic raged due to the previous administration’s inability to confront the issue. The 2020 focus on racial matters and policing, which included everything from inspiring Black Lives Matters rallies, to billion of dollars in private property damage through riots, left the nation motivated but confused about how to chart a course forward of racial and cultural healing. The 2020 election only seemed to make maters worse. The country was in shock after the January 6 riot at the Capitol building, which put countless members of Congress's lives in danger and democracy in peril.The nation desperately needed a new commitment to climate change after the previous administration rolled back climate protections. America was also on shaky ground economically after the pandemic brought unemployment to its highest rate since the Great Depression and businesses struggled to stay afloat amid lockdowns and labor shortages. The economic success of Trump's first three years in office seemed like a distant memory.In response, Joe Biden promised steady, bi-partisan leadership at a time of intense political division.Days after a shocking and surprising 2024 election, most of the focus is understandably on what went wrong. But history isn't made overnight or even with one election. So, let's take a step back and look at 23 of Joe Biden’s greatest accomplishments as president of the United States.1. Passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems.2. Helped get more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans through the American Rescue Plan.3. Stopped a 30-year streak of federal inaction on gun violence by signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health.4. Made a $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.5. Ended the longest war in American history by pulling the troops out of Afghanistan.6. Provided $10,000 to $20,000 in college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year.7. Cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan.8. Capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act.9. Passed the COVID-19 relief deal that provided payments of up to $1,400 to many struggling U.S. citizens while supporting renters and increasing unemployment benefits.10. Achieved historically low unemployment rates after the pandemic caused them to skyrocket.11. Imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act.12. Recommitted America to the global fight against climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement.13. Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers Sweden and Finland.14. Authorized the assassination of the Al Qaeda terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became head of the organization after the death of Osama bin Laden.15. Gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending.16. Held Vladimir Putin accountable for his invasion of Ukraine by imposing stiff economic sanctions.17. Boosted the budget of the Internal Revenue Service by nearly $80 billion to reduce tax evasion and increase revenue.18. Created more jobs in one year (6.6 million) than any other president in U.S. history.19. Reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the American Rescue Plan.20. Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins.21. Signed the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing and innovation.22. Reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027.23. Halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze.Most presidents are looked upon more favorably after their time in office has ended. Trump himself saw record approval numbers only after his first term ended. In the coming days, weeks and months most of the focus will be on Trump's second term and what lessons Democrats need to learn from their landslide defeat. But history will also start to turn to more honestly assess Joe Biden's time in office. And regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, there's a lot to be proud of for all Americans. This article was originally published on 9.30.22. It has been updated and rewritten to reflect current events.

Why do self-described tolerant people hate so much? In the wake of this historic election, a very definite majority of Americans voted for Trump. Even in California, Harris voters are bound to trip over a closeted Trump voter. Why does the Trump voter have to remain closeted? Why, if a Trump voter is in the majority, does he feel the need to hide? The answer is that the Kamala Harris voters are not at all tolerant. They’re vicious and spiteful creatures who spew venom on their perceived enemies. And these intolerant people are why Kamala lost. They need to look in the mirror. But first, let’s look at them: Woman says she has an IQ of 130 and will now “stay dry” and not sleep with men because Trump was elected. She said it’s punishment for taking away her right to an abortion. Sounds good. She won’t need any abortions then. Way to go IQ 130. pic.twitter.com/P6wgGrvYpt — Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) November 7, 2024 .@TheView‘s @Sunny Hostin claims Latinos voted for Trump because of their ‘misogyny and sexism’ https://t.co/pydxOnRgP7 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 7, 2024 The arrogance of these people is amazing. pic.twitter.com/SGXVQapWRh — Alan Roberts (@TheMFingCOO) November 7, 2024 Crying tiktoker says Kamala lost because of racism and misogyny and she hopes minorities who voted for Trump see repercussions pic.twitter.com/GGeLWo1fiZ — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 Chris Wicklund works for the U.S. Air Force according to his FB. He says that he doesnt care about people who are affected by natural disasters or mass shootings if they live in a state that voted for Trump pic.twitter.com/hcqUNnv9AI — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life at @uoregon tells Trump supporters to kiII themselves Any comment @uoregon? pic.twitter.com/hwK0qhH9b1 — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 She wants to hire a hitman to take out Trump @FBI @SecretService pic.twitter.com/5tV1e6Er42 — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 crazy. This tiktoker warns women to delete period tracker apps, not get married, divorce their husbands if they voted for Trump, and have a plan of action in place. They’re serious about this. This is what media brainwashing looks like. It’s actually very sad. pic.twitter.com/yzEkHAMwQJ — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 I fixed it for you pic.twitter.com/Dmoxdj02DI — stephen hilton (@stephenhilton23) November 7, 2024 Bawling Liberal has insane meltdown over Trump. Serious TDS pic.twitter.com/SEhOTeGOII — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 Unhinged Tiktoker says White women upset at election results shouldn’t complain to Black or LGBTQ people because they’re more oppressed than White women pic.twitter.com/jjbfaZCo3J — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024 The doomsday warnings from the NYT editorial board about the next Trump Presidency are a lot funnier with the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme running in the backgroundpic.twitter.com/RD7rQuBgja — Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) November 7, 2024 The Best Media MELTDOWNS of Trump’s 2024 Election Win pic.twitter.com/rxcZlay9KM — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 6, 2024 Wow, that was a lot. It’s one thing to see a meltdown here or there, but putting them all together is overwhelming. I included the media at the end because these insane people are the ones who stirred up the gullible and weak who made the hysteria total and now are making insane life choices because of the hatred stirred within them. What all these folks, media, teachers, young, and old have in common is that they’re sure that they are the good ones. They’re morally superior to their fellow Americans, their family members, and any person who voted in a way they disapprove of. What unites them is a venomous intolerance for anyone not like them. If they had any self-awareness, they’d see the irony. These same folks preach tolerance and open-mindedness — unless you disagree with them. If this article gets forwarded to any of these folks, perhaps including the definition of tolerance would be helpful. From Merriam-Webster: tolerance noun tol·​er·​ance ˈtä-lə-rən(t)s ˈtäl-rən(t)s 1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : ENDURANCE, FORTITUDE, STAMINA 2a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own b: the act of allowing something : TOLERATION 3: the allowable deviation from a standard especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece 4a(1): the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (such as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure developed a tolerance to painkillers also : the immunological state marked by unresponsiveness to a specific antigen (2): relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor b: the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food By any definition of the word, these folks aren’t tolerant. They cannot forebear someone whose beliefs differ from their own. In addition, they have no ability to thrive in unfavorable environments. Let’s discuss why that might be. When people grow up hermetically sealed, with no dirt, no sunshine, and no physical stress, they develop allergies, their bones are weak, and they are susceptible to all sorts of disease and illness. Their bodies haven’t fought anything or had to build up a resistance to common illnesses. Likewise, these lefties are so used to being in environments that cater to their every whim, thought, desire, and emotional need. They’ve developed no resilience. A perfect example of intolerance is Kamala Harris. Installed into positions of power in California, coddled throughout her political career, she crumbled in the face of a friendly environment. Imagine if she were JD Vance or Donald Trump and had to deal with constant, chronic hostility, and hatred? She couldn’t handle it because she’s weak and fragile. In the same way, her voters are mentally crumbling because every aspect of their lives has been coddled and protected. The worst thing they can imagine (and it is all in their imagination) is that they might not get an abortion drug. This is a lie, but it doesn’t matter. Just the idea of that small challenge has Democrat voters descending into a mental fugue and primal rage. An intolerant, cornered narcissist is a dangerous beast. These women are threatening to cut off family members, threatening the lives of elected officials, and making suicidal life decisions like contemplating going childless or getting divorced. This is mental illness. These people are unwell. No one will be doing these folks any favors continuing to cater to them. They must be strengthened for the sake of the greater society. How does this happen in a practical way? Stop all DEI programs NOW. The language of these programs is creating a nation of unstable victims. Return to a meritocracy. Fail students. Increase standards. Stop all coddling. No safe spaces. No special lounges. No separation to save feelings. Full integration with people of differing viewpoints. Team sports requirements. People have to learn how to work together and get along with those with whom they disagree and fight for a common goal. Dismantle affirmative action. Corporate HR departments need to be freed from this madness. Encourage humor. Bring back ribald comedies. Enough of the babying of emotional babies who are easily offended. No. Grow up and listen to something that makes you uncomfortable. School choice. Free people from the shackles of being forced to go to schools with people just like them. Choose the best environments for kids. Intellectual diversity in colleges. Start forcing ideological parity in higher ed at state schools. For every lib hired, one conservative must be hired. The interesting thing is that young people are moving in this direction without force. They have grown up with this insanity and reject it. But goodness, there’s a strain of intolerance in leftists that is totalitarian, communal, and vicious in nature. Women, especially, band together and form packs of feral animals. Filled with fear over imagined threats, they’re lashing out. These irrational lefties need help. Help should come in the form of some emotional strength training. They need to tolerate those with different points of view. As you trip over these folks, gently share your story and why you voted as you did. So many of these people are frightened, propagandized, and far too many are mentally ill and unstable. They need help back to sanity. The Left needs a return to tolerance. Their psychological openness needs to extend not only to those they feel they’re protecting but to those who are strong in their opposing opinions. True tolerance is only tested in adversarial environments. The ability to humanize one’s opponents, see their arguments fairly, and rationally entertain them is a sign of maturity and emotional resilience. In a word, tolerance. READ MORE: It’s the End of the Obama Era in America. Good Riddance. Trump’s Morning in America Donald Trump Wins! The post About Tolerance appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

There are generally two opinions about raw milk. The vast majority of people find it strange that a person would ever want to drink the fluid that comes out of a cow’s udder without first cooking it to get rid of any potential harmful bacteria. On the other hand, a small but steadily growing minority of people respond that milk should be drunk the way God made it: unpasteurized and unhomogenized. I’m not here to weigh in on this rather contentious debate. I’m not a scientist, nor do I want to spend hours pouring over scientific studies I barely understand to provide you with the answer. I’m also biased. I’ve been drinking raw milk since I was a kid, and it’s never gotten me sick. That said, by all accounts Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture might have had good reasons for obtaining an administrative search warrant to look into exactly what was going on at Amos Miller’s farm back in January. Amos Miller is an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania, and he’d been in trouble with the law before for selling raw milk. The FDA currently prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines, and Pennsylvania requires farmers to acquire a permit to sell within the state. Miller lacked the permit (he argued he didn’t need it since he was selling to a “private membership association”), and his milk was traced back to cases of illness in children living in Michigan and New York.  However, when the Department of Agriculture raided his farm earlier this year, it didn’t make the Amish happy. It was, by all accounts, a last-straw kind of situation. The Amish community, according to Robert Barnes, a lawyer who reached out to them to try to gain votes for Trump, already felt harassed by both the government and the state of Pennsylvania, so when Miller’s farm got raided, they were ready to take action. What exactly that action would be became clear when Donald Trump Jr. waded into the debate. “Imagine what law enforcement could accomplish if they went after oh I don’t know, say, members of elite pedophile rings rather than farmers selling to their neighbours???” he tweeted. The result? On Tuesday, the New York Post reported, according to an anonymous source, that horses and buggies showed up in “unprecedented numbers” at polling stations so that the Amish could cast their vote for Donald Trump — this, even though in the past, most Amish have chosen not to vote for religious reasons.  Ultimately, the whole raw milk thing probably didn’t do much to swing Pennsylvania in Trump’s favor. According to incomplete numbers published by the AP on Thursday, he won the state by more than 100,000 votes. That said, the Amish vote likely didn’t account for much of that. While 92,000 Amish live in Pennsylvania, more than half of them are minors. In 2020, it’s estimated that just 3,000 Amish voted in the state.  Not only did Trump galvanize the Amish community in Pennsylvania, he was able to gain more support from black voters, especially black male voters. He made “mammoth” gains among Hispanic voters, according to the BBC, enjoying a 14-percentage-point bump since the 2020 election. His appeal to rural voters worked phenomenally well (something even the women at The View had to concede), as did his appeal to the working class, to men, to non-college educated Americans, and — much to the chagrin of MSNBC’s Joy Reid — to white women. He didn’t just appeal to those demographics, he turned them into allies against the elites who were too caught up in their own ideology to recognize that what Americans don’t want is the government dictating everything from what they think about the economy to the milk they drink. The post Amish for Trump appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Everyone expected President-elect Donald Trump to win Florida’s 30 electoral votes on Tuesday night. But the defeat of ballot initiatives that would have legalized abortion and recreational marijuana in the state flew in the face of conventional electoral wisdom.  What’s more, the defeat of both Amendment 4 and Amendment 3 — ballot initiatives to legalize abortion up to viability and recreational marijuana, respectively — occurred despite massive spending by abortion and weed advocates. It’s no secret that money steers election results. But social conservatives won on both issues against well-funded goliaths who overwhelmingly outspent them.  DeSantis’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Stands In Florida, ballot initiatives must earn a supermajority of 60 percent support in order to pass. Amendment 4, the abortion initiative, failed to reach that threshold, receiving 57.2 percent of votes. Gov. Ron DeSantis’s Heartbeat Protection Act prohibiting abortion after six weeks, when an unborn child has a detectable heartbeat, remains the law of the land in the Sunshine State.  The pro-abortion side raised $119 million in support of Amendment 4, outspending the opposition nearly 10–1. But Governor DeSantis’s active opposition to the initiative was a critical factor in its defeat.  “DeSantis deserves special recognition for taking the abortion industry head on and setting a new standard for what it means to be a Pro-Life Champion as a state’s chief executive,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. Among other pro-life efforts, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) worked to educate voters about the risks of Amendment 4 through television ads and web content. The agency, which oversees the state’s abortion clinics, clarified the “reasonable and common-sense guardrails for medical professionals and their facilities” that would be overturned by the ballot measure. AHCA also explained the contours of Florida’s existing abortion law, which maintain exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormality, and the life and health of the mother and must be backed up with documentation.  Since Dobbs v. Jackson returned abortion laws to the states’ jurisdiction, pro-life efforts lost whenever abortion was on the ballot — until Tuesday night. Following this election, pro-lifers can no longer be castigated as an unmitigated political liability. (RELATED: A Dozen Thoughts on a Historic Election)  Florida Voters Defeat Marijuana Legalization In addition to Tuesday night’s victory for the cause of life, quality of life also won in Florida. Voters rejected Amendment 3, which also failed to meet the 60 percent threshold. As with the pro-abortion initiative, Amendment 3 received massive financial backing and was defeated with the help of DeSantis. Outspending the opposition by 5–1, initiative sponsor Smart & Safe Florida reported $153 million in contributions. Financial support for the proposal was provided mainly by cannabis corporations eager to gain access to the third most populous state in the nation. Cannabis giant Trulieve provided $145 million in support of the initiative, and marijuana companies Verano, Curaleaf, and Green Thumb Industries chipped in a few million dollars, too.  Trulieve owns one in five medical cannabis dispensaries in the state and has opened more than 30 new plants in recent years. Had Amendment 3 passed, the medical cannabis network would have been perfectly poised to transition to recreational sales, bypassing the start-up costs that tend to strangle new dispensaries following state-level legalization.  Though polling from this past spring hinted that 60 percent support for legal weed might be hard to stir up, Trulieve’s optimism was far from unfounded. Republican victories against pro-pot initiatives have been few and far between — and Amendment 3 was the most expensive legalization initiative to date with nearly four times the amount spent on California’s successful 2016 legalization efforts.  “This is clearly one of Big Marijuana’s biggest defeats yet,” commented Dr. Kevin Sabet, former drug policy advisor to Clinton, Bush, and Obama and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Sabet continued:  Floridians have dealt a remarkable blow to one of the largest commercial marijuana companies in the U.S. and others in the addiction industry. With the rejection of Amendment 3, Floridians have taken a firm stance against the dangerous drugs the pot profiteers tried to convince the public are harmless. As with Amendment 4, DeSantis made his opposition to recreational marijuana clear from the start. “I’ve gone to some of these cities that have [cannabis] everywhere—it smells,” he said in a March press conference.  Looking to the Future  It feels good to win, especially on contentious issues like abortion and recreational weed. But the real legacy of this week’s victories will be proven in future election cycles. (RELATED: Trump’s Morning in America) Though the cause of life won in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota, pro-abortion measures passed in Missouri and Arizona, making abortion “broadly legal” in the states once again. Other states shored up existing protections for legal abortion. Pro-life advocates broke their losing streak, but abortion remains a divisive issue in state and national politics. Regarding recreational marijuana, Florida’s refusal to legalize was echoed by voters in North Dakota and South Dakota, where legalization measures also failed by an even bigger margin. But if public opinion doesn’t shift meaningfully in the coming years, Florida could follow in the footsteps of Ohio, where recreational weed was legalized via ballot measure after a similar initiative had failed in 2015. For now, however, social conservatives have scored meaningful victories in Florida, proving that life and quality of life don’t have to be losing issues. Mary Frances (Myler) Devlin is a contributing editor at The American Spectator. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2022.  READ MORE by Mary Frances Devlin:  Tuning In to the Gender Gap Election California Redefines ‘Infertility,’ Paves Way for More Abuses Mayor of Majority-Muslim City in Michigan Endorses Trump The post Florida Turns the Tide for Social Conservatism Despite Massive Spending Gaps appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.