George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley described Friday on Fox News the “serious problem” he had with special counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s handling…

A teen suspect was apprehended by U.S. Marshals after he was accused of shooting a tourist in Times Square. Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa‚ a 15-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela‚ was arrested…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Special Counsel Robert Hurr’s report concluded that President Joe Biden should not be prosecuted for mishandling classified documents because he is an “elderly…

Lemmy on the song he couldn't escape. The post The Motörhead song that “backfired” on Lemmy Kilmister first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Kamala Harris is angry. Take cover. An earthquake is coming. Thanks to prosecutor Robert Hur’s report‚ we know what we already knew: that Biden is a zombie‚ and the only one in charge of the country (and that’s just a figure of speech) is her. I think Harris has suddenly felt she’s been found out‚ which is why she’s been so irritated. It’s like we caught her stealing ice cream from the president in the oval office. I guess the Democrats’ internal agreement was to keep it secret — even if the secret was shared by 8 billion people long before Robert Hur blew the lid off the affair. READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: Apple’s Vision Pro Heralds Doomsday Hur’s description of Biden is frightening because it is not meant to be offensive; in fact‚ it is meant to be kind‚ but it cannot hide the truth: Biden cannot engage in a debate on any issue because his head is a cocktail shaker of unconnected memories and opinions. It’s reckless to leave someone like that in charge. Remember that chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that‚ as Hur tells us‚ the president has no idea of what his opinion about the Middle East is; in fact‚ I doubt he’s even capable of remembering where the hell it is. “His memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him‚” Hur relates. Those in the Democratic Party don’t want these things to be known. They would rather have a zombie president who is low in the polls in the limelight than a vice president like Kamala Harris‚ who is even lower in the polls. Their situation is desperate because now they will no longer be able to hide something that all their voters already know. And it is serious‚ very serious. As Mark Hemingway said yesterday in an amusing column: “Biden is speaking in the present tense about world leaders who died when grunge was still popular‚ and that’s when he’s capable of speaking at all. Voters can clearly see that mentally‚ the wheel may be turning‚ but the hamster is deceased.” There is also something inhumane about what Kamala Harris and the other Democratic Party leaders are doing to Joe Biden. If he were my grandfather‚ I would force him out of office to go home and enjoy the family‚ although I don’t know if bumping into Hunter coming back from a late-night bender is compatible with the verb “enjoy.” But keeping a puppet like Biden on the front lines of the U.S. presidency‚ besides being a drag on American prosperity‚ is petty. The only reason they force it on him (admittedly‚ he doesn’t seem too bothered in office either) is because without him‚ the Democratic Party would collapse even more than it has already under his presidency. (READ MORE: Take an Exclusive Look Inside Itxu Díaz’s New Book: I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite) And‚ of course‚ voters have a right to know this. The Democrats are also guilty of having tried their best to hide the president’s mental deterioration. They are lying to citizens over and over again. Biden himself lied a few days ago when he said he was in perfect mental condition. Yes‚ maybe he believes it. But that’s what staff‚ family‚ and friends are for: to save you the heartache of having to be thrown out by the voters when it’s already obvious that you’re incapacitated‚ that you’re tearing the country apart. What amazes me about Biden is that‚ even if he were of sound mind‚ I suspect he would be incapable of doing much better. But still‚ the taxpayers‚ the voters‚ the citizens have a right to know whether it’s Biden or the vice president who’s running the nation. In the end‚ Kamala Harris says the report is “gratuitous‚ inaccurate‚ and inappropriate.” She lies‚ as usual. Because the truth is that the only thing “inaccurate and inappropriate” here is Kamala Harris herself. And she is not gratuitous at all. On the contrary‚ she is very expensive. Translated by Joel Dalmau. Buy Itxu Díaz’s new book‚ I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚ here today! The post ‘Gratuitous‚ Inaccurate‚ and Inappropriate’: Kamala Lies Some More appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The futuristic Allegiant Stadium — dubbed the “Death Star” because it resembles the Star Wars space station — is the perfect setting for an event that has now achieved almost supernatural status. The stadium‚ with its black façade‚ dark windows‚ and eerie white lights encircling the top of the exterior of the building‚ and its 92-foot torch that is ceremoniously lit before the kickoff‚ we are reminded once again that the Super Bowl is much more than entertainment. For many‚ the Super Bowl is now the nation’s religion. READ MORE: Bud Light’s Super Bowl Hail Mary Although most of us participate in the ritual in our homes with hot wings and chili‚ we are still part of the tradition with our big-screen TVs and stadium surround sound. This is the first time the game has been played in the sleek new Las Vegas stadium‚ but the event has become a revered part of our popular culture since its earliest days more than 50 years ago. The first Super Bowl was in 1967‚ and the halftime shows in these early days glorified God‚ country‚ and the American spirit. In fact‚ by 1976‚ the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale‚ the father of positive thinking and author of some of the most widely read inspirational tracts‚ told his congregation on Super Bowl Sunday that “if Jesus were alive today‚ He’d be going to the Super Bowl.” Probably not. But on Feb. 11 when the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers meet at the Death Star‚ there will likely be religion — but a very different kind of religion. Since 2013‚ the Church of Scientology has purchased ad time each year at the Super Bowl to remind us that we are the source of our own truth and the standard of goodness. Their message is clear: We are supreme — we are the creators. In Scientology‚ the Answers Are You As creators of our own destiny‚ each of the annual Scientology commercials has promised that we can learn how to use that creative power to change the world. Although the Scientologists have not announced whether they will be participating again this year‚ it is expected that with an anticipated 110 million people likely to watch the game‚ they will probably make an appearance — even though prices for a 30-second ad cost between $6.5 million to $7 million. The Church of Scientology understands better than the mainstream Churches that they need to go where the people are. Beginning in 2013‚ the Super Bowl welcomed Scientology for the first time with a commercial simply titled “Knowledge‚” assuring viewers that “In the eternal debate for answers‚ what is true is what is true for you.” Each individual’s truth is Truth. The following year‚ Scientology’s commercial asked viewers to “Imagine Science and Religion Connecting … and then imagine that everything you ever imagined is possible.… [in] Scientology‚ there are higher states of existence.” In 2015‚ when Super Bowl ads cost only $4.5 million‚ the Church of Scientology’s annual ad focused yet again on finding the truth within us in an ad called: “Welcome to The Age of Answers.” The Answers are you. (RELATED: The Most Influential Dissidents in Sports During the Biden Regime) Each year‚ the promises of self-fulfillment and empowerment have gotten more elaborate. Over the last few years‚ Scientology’s Super Bowl ads have reflected the far darker state of the country‚ while always giving hope that we have the power to overcome the darkness if only we can find it through Scientology. Last year’s 2023 Super Bowl ad depicted the destruction of our cities‚ reminding audiences that we can rise again: “If you think that all is lost‚ think again.… The power is within you … because nothing is more powerful than you…. Live Again.” Many of the ads depict the religion’s elaborate and expensive system of auditing or processing‚ which is the central practice of Scientology — and the most expensive. During the auditing process‚ Scientology’s adherents are encouraged to confess their lapses and anxieties to a Scientology practitioner while holding a “high-tech” looking E-Meter which is similar to a lie detector designed to measure the stress levels of the individual. The E-Meter is shown fleetingly in many of the Scientology Super Bowl commercials — including last year’s game. In the ads‚ it is usually held by an attractive woman sitting at a desk across from the Scientology practitioner with the promise that we too can find true meaning in our lives if we literally put our lives into the hands of Scientology. Scientology Claims to Offer What Traditional Religions Aren’t There was a time when all religions understood that the true mission of religion was to help believers find meaning in their lives — not to dominate others or re-create the world in our image. According to Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman‚ Scientology claims to be the “fastest growing religion in the world.” It also claims “millions of members in 165 different countries and eighty-five hundred Scientology churches‚ missions‚ and outreach groups across the globe.” Banned in Germany‚ where it has been described as a “totalitarian” organization‚ and in Australia — which later reversed the ban and recognized it as a religion in 1983‚ Scientology has been viewed by some as a “cult” and by others as a “criminal” enterprise. It is difficult to know what is true‚ but what cannot be denied is that the Church of Scientology appeals to young people‚ many of whom have fled more traditional forms of religion. Most of Scientology’s Super Bowl ads promote themes like “purpose” and “freedom‚” and‚ as Reitman writes‚ the ads “feature a multiracial assortment of college-age men and women‚ standing atop skyscrapers‚ along beaches‚ and on oceanside cliffs‚ reaching toward the sunrise.… You are a spirit.… You are your own soul.… You are not mortal. You can be free.” (READ MORE: More Americans Than Ever Have No Religious Affiliation) The idea of immortality and freedom from anxiety is appealing to all of us — especially the young who are not finding this kind of meaning in mainstream religions. American Spectator contributor Tom Raabe recently pointed out that recent national General Social Survey data demonstrate that in the denominations traditionally labeled mainline Protestant‚ the percentage of members in the 18- to 35-year-old range is 1.7 percent: That is‚ members in the prime baby-making years constitute less than 2 percent of the membership of seven historic Protestant denominations including American Baptist Church‚ United Presbyterian‚ United Methodist‚ United Church of Christ‚ Episcopal Church‚ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America‚ and Disciples of Christ.… The number of people with no religious affiliation in America has jumped from 16 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2021. But all is not lost. Sociologists have known from the days of Émile Durkheim that people crave meaning in their lives — meaning they tend to get from some kind of religion. Durkheim also knew that societies and communities need religion to hold them together. Religion is the “tie that binds us.” Ross Douthat explains it best in his Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics‚ where he identifies that America’s problem is not too little religion or too much religion; rather‚ it is “bad religion.” For Douthat‚ the real problem is “the slow-motion collapse of traditional Christianity and the rise of a variety of destructive pseudo-Christianities in its place.” Self-worship is just one of several destructive pseudo-Christianities. As Biola University theology professor Thaddeus William explains‚ “Self-worship has become the world’s fastest-growing religion.” Scientology is just one part of that. In last year’s Super Bowl ad lineup‚ there was one bright spot for Christians with the introduction of the engaging Jesus “Gets Us” ads. The message is the antithesis of self-worship and was a welcome arrival to the Super Bowl for some. Not surprisingly‚ the mainstream media was apoplectic about ad buys from a Christian organization. CNN was especially vicious in its criticism about the expense of the Christian ads‚ arguing that the ad campaign donors should have spent that money on the poor. CNN also criticized the belief that the donors are hostile to the LGBTQ community‚ but the truth is that the ads are clear that Jesus loves all people no matter what they do or who they love. The message is clear: “Whatever you are facing‚ Jesus faced it too.” The Super Bowl message in “He Gets Us” is that Jesus understands that we are fallen and can rely on Him to help us get up again‚ even though we might fall again and again. Despite the promise of the Scientologist’s Super Bowl ads that we are all gods‚ most of us realize that we cannot manage this life on our own. It is helpful to be reminded that Jesus is there to help. That should give all Christians some hope on Super Bowl Sunday. The post Christians Battle Scientology at the Super Bowl appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

They pounded another nail into the coffin that is traditional amateur athletics on Monday. “They” is an amorphous actor‚ to be sure‚ comprising athletes‚ power brokers‚ agents‚ the courts‚ the government‚ and general mucky-mucks dissatisfied with a model of amateur sports that has for a century provided athletes as well as a sports-crazed public the joy of competition on a stage “purer” than that of professionalism. READ MORE from Tom Raabe: Nick Saban Hangs Up His Straw Hat But the “they” in this case is a regional official from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who ruled that the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team was composed not of student-athletes but of student-employees‚ and‚ as employees of Dartmouth‚ they could unionize. It is possible they will do so within the next week or two‚ and if they vote affirmatively‚ they will join other Dartmouth employees at Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union.  The official‚ NLRB regional director Laura Sacks‚ wrote in a 26-page ruling: Because Dartmouth has the right to control the work performed by the Dartmouth men’s varsity basketball team‚ and the players perform that work in exchange for compensation‚ the petitioned-for basketball players are employees within the meaning of the [National Labor Relations] Act. It didn’t matter to Sacks that Dartmouth doesn’t give athletic scholarships or that‚ unlike big-time athletic departments‚ the school’s sports teams don’t make money. Nor even that the “compensation” the Dartmouth jocks receive comprises not money but equipment‚ apparel‚ free tickets to home games‚ and shoes. To her‚ they are employees of the school and‚ as such‚ can unionize. What this means is that players will be able to negotiate over salaries‚ working hours‚ working conditions‚ and travel arrangements‚ among other matters. Players’ testimony during a hearing that‚ while NCAA rules limit athletes to 20 hours spent on their sport per week‚ they actually spend more than 40 hours per week may have influenced the director. Michael Hsu‚ a supporter of the Dartmouth suit‚ told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports: The schools will have to pay the players. Minimum wage is what it is‚ minimum wage. Some players may make only minimum wage. Other ones‚ there will be a lot of competition over. This gives them a chance to use the athletic director’s budget to pay players. Dartmouth College promises to appeal the NLRB ruling. On the other side‚ an Ivy League Players Association for hoopsters is already being talked about. This is not the first unionization effort in college sports. In 2014‚ the Northwestern football team attempted to unionize‚ arguing that because they were given scholarships‚ they had the right to bargain collectively. Like the Dartmouth case‚ a regional director of the NLRB gave the players the go-ahead – ruling that the players were university employees – but after an election was held by the team‚ the full NLRB sided in 2015 with the university‚ and the ballots were destroyed. Chaos in College Sports The Northwestern decision went against unionization‚ but that was nine years ago‚ when sanity was in greater abundance in the college athletic world and the concept of the student-athlete was still a tenable idea‚ albeit marginally so. Now‚ in 2024‚ the landscape has changed. The college sports world has been turned upside down. Utter chaos has been the standard for the past three or so years on the big-college athletic scene. The NCAA’s effort to allow college athletes to reap monetary rewards for their name‚ image‚ and likeness (NIL) has turned into an all-out bidding war for top-notch talent. The big powers with wealthy boosters commandeer collectives — groups of donors independent of the universities that set up NIL deals for athletes — that end up offering athletes lucrative NIL deals (some in the millions of dollars). (RELATED from Tom Raabe: Congress Jumps Into the NIL Debate) While this gives a leg up to the well-bankrolled schools — the Texases‚ Alabamas‚ and Ohio States — it hurts the less wealthy schools in recruitment and threatens to demote them to ersatz mid-major status. Whereas once the football program at an Iowa State or Cal or Georgia Tech‚ to pick three‚ could compete in their conferences and sneak away with a championship on occasion‚ their lack of sports-generated finances may now relegate them to perpetual also-rans. Couple that with the relaxed transfer rules that allow athletes in the major sports to switch schools without penalty‚ and bidding wars for stud football and basketball players — and wholesale movement of players from team to team — have become an annual off-season ritual. Adding to the upheaval is a letter sent by the new NCAA president in December proposing the establishment of a new tier of schools that would be permitted to make their own rules‚ up to a point‚ apart from the rank-and-file Division I programs and to invest in their athletes directly. Charlie Baker‚ on the job only since last March‚ says schools in this new group would have to “invest at least $30‚000 per year into an enhanced educational trust fund for at least half of the school’s eligible student-athletes.” This is clearly directed toward football‚ college sports’ cash cow and financier of minor sports at all big colleges around the country. The idea is that the elite football powers — the upper ranks of the Football Bowl Subdivision — would be allowed to make their own rules about roster size‚ transfers‚ and NIL‚ among other issues. Add to that the numerous other actions‚ including lawsuits‚ presently afoot in the collegiate sporting world. The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia are in legal battle with the NCAA over the latter’s NIL rules‚ and the NLRB is pushing USC to reclassify its athletes as employees.  It is little wonder that the two mega-conferences — the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten‚ now comprising 16 and 18 schools‚ respectively — recently formed an advisory group to chart their way through a future that features not only an expanding NIL universe but also a seemingly unlimited and unregulated transfer portal — and now‚ to cap the craziness‚ the specter of college athletes forming unions and bargaining with their schools. Whatever emerges from all this will not be your daddy’s college sports. There are a lot of daddies unhappy about that.  The post College Jocks Given Green Light to Unionize appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.