In a heartwarming tale of unlikely friendships‚ a video from The Dodo introduces us to an extraordinary duo: Dimonte‚ a spirited kitten‚ and his 130-pound canine brother‚ Purpose. This charming narrative begins with their human companion Latoya expressing surprise and delight at the dynamics of their relationship. She never considered herself a cat person until... The post Tiny cat melts hearts showing 130-pound Cane Corso ‘who’s the boss’ appeared first on Animal Channel.

Florida is home to more than just gators and the infamous Florida men. The state boasts a lot more wildlife than just crocodilians. Snake and bird species by the dozen also call the state home. With how much wildlife calls this place home‚ it’s inevitable that they’ll rub shoulders with Florida’s human residents sometimes. Autumn... The post Crane visits woman every single morning then introduces her to his new family appeared first on Animal Channel.

Learn a few basics about buying‚ cooking and preparing your turkey for Thanksgiving. 📖Thanksgiving Menu The holidays are just around the corner.  Are you ready?  Have you written up the menu‚ decided on what dishes you are serving‚ shopped for recipe ingredients and the turkey?  Do you have traditional dishes you prepare every year or...

If blue states can defy and subvert federal immigration law — and they do — why shouldn’t red states be allowed to enforce it? A new House Homeland Security Committee report found that Joe Biden’s southern border invasion is costing taxpayers $451 billion‚ a burden shouldered mainly by states and local communities. With the federal government ignoring immigration law‚ it is the right and responsibility of red states to defend their own people. To that end‚ after several years of dawdling‚ the Texas legislature last week finally passed SB 4‚ which empowers state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal aliens for their illegal entry into the state. Given that the effects of the invasion plague every major city‚ the Texas bill needs to be the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way states address the crisis. SB 4 also grants state judges authority to return illegal aliens to Mexico. In some instances‚ however‚ the crime of entering the state illegally would be punishable by up to six months in jail for first-time offenders and two years for a second offense. The bill passed the Texas House 83-61 along party lines and the Senate 17-11‚ with one Republican voting with the Democrats. What happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas The lone dissenting Republican senator was Brian Birdwell‚ a co-author of an earlier‚ watered-down version of SB 4. He claimed Texas was setting a “terrible precedent” by “invalidating our obedience and faithfulness to our Constitution” — which specifies that “all power and responsibility for immigration is delegated to the federal government.” Funny enough‚ I can’t find a provision in the Constitution that says anything close to that. Naturalization is an enumerated power of Congress under Article I‚ Section 8. But immigration — especially the power to block a flood of would-be squatters crossing the border — was regulated by the states for the first 100 years or so of our nation’s history. We need to set up a direct challenge to Plyler v. Doe‚ much as red states did with Roe v. Wade. At the same time‚ both houses passed SB 3‚ which would provide $1.5 billion for the maintenance‚ operation‚ and construction of border barrier infrastructure‚ including about 100 miles of border wall. Also‚ in response to my friend Todd Bensman’s phenomenal reporting about the massive illegal alien community of Colony Ridge just east of Houston‚ SB 3 provides $40 million for the Texas Department of Public Safety to police this growing violent area. Apparently‚ the cartels have been operating in Colony Ridge with impunity. The community drew public attention when a Honduran illegal alien murdered five people earlier this year. SB 4 is the bill that every state needs to pass‚ not just the border states. What comes to the border doesn’t remain at the border. It migrates to our cities‚ well beyond the Rio Grande. And the cost to Texans is massive. According to a report from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office‚ illegal aliens cost the state $152 million for housing‚ between $62 million and $90 million in Medicaid expenditures‚ and somewhere between $579 million and $717 million for uncompensated hospital care. Yet Texas is not unique. Every state bears the burden of illegal aliens‚ from the crimes they commit to the public services they consume. It’s simply a fact. A Federation for American Immigration Reform study found that illegal immigration cost U.S. taxpayers at least $182 billion this year alone‚ with states picking up nearly two-thirds of the tab. A legal war worth waging Obviously‚ the left will fight SB 4 in court‚ and the ACLU is already preparing a lawsuit. But now is the time to set up a direct challenge to U.S. v. Arizona‚ the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred states from enforcing immigration law. We need every red state to follow the Lone Star State’s lead but with one major addition: removing the lure of “free” public education‚ which is crushing many local communities. In some school districts‚ 30%-40% of the student body are foreign-born and in the United States illegally. In places like Dallas‚ Los Angeles‚ and New York City‚ the percentage is much higher.The U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 struck down a Texas law that “prohibited the use of state funds for the education of children who had not been legally admitted to the U.S.” That case‚ Plyler v. Doe‚ has done enormous damage in the intervening 40 years. We need to set up a direct challenge to Plyler much as red states did with Roe v. Wade. As we debate whether red states can enforce federal immigration laws‚ blue states continue to flout federal law enforcement. Last month‚ police in Fairfax County‚ Virginia‚ briefly detained a Honduran national on rape and kidnapping charges. Border Patrol had caught and released the same man two years ago. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked Fairfax to keep the man in custody‚ but the Fairfax County jail did not honor the detainer and released an accused illegal alien rapist back onto the streets. If blue states can release rapists‚ why can’t red states arrest and deport them? At a minimum‚ it is their right to deny all public services to trespassers. SB 4 is a great start and potential model for the nation to address and reverse the crisis of 8 million illegal aliens who have entered the United States during Joe Biden’s disastrous tenure. The critical element‚ of course‚ is how eagerly Texas Governor Greg Abbott will enforce the law. We’ll see.

My 9-year-old went as Ken for Halloween this year. The original plan was to go with the movie's Sly Stallone-inspired look‚ but instead of a white fur coat‚ the Goodwill gods delivered up a perfectly sized acid-washed jean jacket. So the (sleeveless) Canadian tuxedo it was. Add to that his blond hair and the Himes six-pack (nature's compensation for shortchanging us on height) and the kid was a mini Ryan Gosling. "All the Kens in that movie had a pull-up content and Gosling won‚" I told him. That piqued his interest. He's very competitive and runs with a particularly sporty crowd of fourth-grade boys; everyone knows exactly where they rank according to various athletic metrics. "How many?" I didn't know‚ so I guessed. "Fifty-two." He nodded just enough to convey respect without admitting that he was impressed. "I'll install a pull-up bar‚" I said. Thing is‚ my son could beat Gosling in a pull-up contest‚ if he set his mind to it. I could beat him‚ and I recently earned a free AARP prescription and a some intimate photos of the inside of my colon. And I bet you could beat him too. Of course‚ you shouldn't take any exercise advice from me that you wouldn't take from a qualified medical professional‚ but my point still stands. Pull-ups are wonderfully egalitarian that way. Just ask David Goggins. Back in May he did what he thought was a new world record of 7‚801 pull-ups in 24 hours. As he was submitting the evidence to Guinness‚ he found out another guy had just done 8‚008. That record stood for a whole five months‚ until an Australian policeman named Gary Lloyd hit 8‚600. Quoth Goggins‚ "There is always some motherf**ker out there working harder than you hunting your ass." Get your form in order first. None of that CrossFit kipping like Mark Wahlberg did when he said he could do more pull-ups than Dwayne Johnson. You want explosive on the way up and slow and controlled on the way down. Don't use momentum; use your back muscles. Keep your core engaged the whole time. Use an overhand grip‚ slightly wider than shoulder width‚ knuckles up so your wrists and not your fingers do the work. Hit the bar with your sternum to encourage proper form‚ and use your full range of motion. More detailed information on form here and here. You don't need an in-house pull-up bar‚ but I spend much of the work day hunched over my computer about 15 steps from my bed‚ so I like the idea of banging out a set every couple of paragraphs. The bar I bought is a Rogue Jammer pull-up bar in red knurled Cerakote. Pricey‚ but Rogue is arguably best in class when it comes to made-in-the-USA fitness products‚ and we're talking about potentially tens of thousands of future reps here. Besides‚ those cheap ones you wedge in the doorframe never seem to fit my doors. Titan Fitness and Fringe Sport also offer American-made wall-mounted bars that come highly recommended‚ while FitBar makes the best doorway pull-up bar I've seen. Women should pay heed as well. Forget leaning in — what about pulling up? Yes‚ your relatively weak upper body strength can make it seem impossible‚ but you haven't met Angela Gargano yet. If you can hang‚ she can get you to your first pull-up and beyond.

For more than a century‚ the K-12 education system in the United States has been monopolized by poor-performing government-run public schools that have little to no competition because the education funding method is fatally flawed. Fortunately‚ one of the few silver linings that has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic has been a surge in support for school choice and the enactment of a more market-driven approach to education funding: universal school choice via vouchers‚ commonly called education savings accounts. Universal school choice is a long-overdue reform that has gained momentum in recent years. Unlike the antiquated system in which state and local governments collect taxes for education and then distribute those funds directly to public schools‚ universal school choice distributes education tax dollars directly to parents so that they can choose the school that best fits the unique learning needs and circumstances for their child. This is a superior education funding process compared to the status quo because it introduces market forces‚ principally through competition in the education marketplace‚ which has been sorely lacking for far too long. It also leads to much-needed innovation in the increasingly stale‚ one-size-fits-all government-run education sector. As of 2023‚ approximately 90% of K-12 students in the United States attended a public school. This is not by choice. In fact‚ most parents would prefer their child to attend a different school rather than the one and only public option arbitrarily assigned to them based on their zip code. This is especially true for parents with children stuck in poor-performing and unsafe public schools located in inner cities. In recent years‚ as standardized test scores show‚ these public schools have done a miserable job of properly educating their students for a successful future. Two of the most appealing aspects of the school choice revolution under way across the nation are that it leads to less education spending and better academic outcomes. One way or another‚ the government (whether at the local‚ state‚ or federal level) is going to play a large role in the education funding system. On average‚ K-12 public schools spent $14‚347 per pupil in 2021‚ according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile‚ several states‚ including New York‚ Vermont‚ Connecticut‚ and New Jersey‚ spent in excess of $20‚000 per student. The average annual tuition rate for the nation’s 22‚440 private K-12 schools is much lower‚ at $12‚350 per student. In general‚ private schools are more affordable than public schools because they lack the enormous bureaucracies that have become commonplace in bloated public school districts. Private schools are more streamlined and devote more of their resources directly to classrooms‚ while public schools and their overweening district offices divert limited resources to countless programs that have little to do with boosting educational outcomes but lots to do with perpetuating bureaucracy. What’s more‚ students attending private schools consistently outperform their public school peers on nationwide standardized tests including the National Assessment of Educational Progress‚ better known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” Of course‚ universal school choice has no shortage of critics. But most of these opponents have an agenda‚ and most work within the existing public school monopoly. Take teachers' unions‚ for example‚ which have battled school choice for decades. Unions argue that school choice programs take education dollars away from public schools‚ harm low-income families‚ and widen achievement gaps. These arguments are weak‚ at best‚ considering that public school funding has increased substantially in recent years while academic outcomes have remained stagnant and achievement gaps either have remained the same or gotten worse. Others deride universal school choice and voucher programs as the antithesis of a free market‚ arguing that state and local governments should not provide large sums of money to parents for educational purposes because it is inflationary and akin to a subsidy. This is misguided. We live in a society in which we agree that some degree of compulsory education is necessary for the preservation of our freedoms‚ values‚ and way of life. One way or another‚ the government (whether at the local‚ state‚ or federal level) is going to play a large role in the education funding system. But it is much more in line with free-market principles for the government to offer education dollars directly to the consumer (parents) versus the other way around‚ where government showers money on the provider (in this case‚ the public schools). Think of it this way: The government gives out subsidies in the form of food stamps‚ but it does not require that those funds be spent in a government-run grocery store. If that were the case‚ could you imagine how lousy the government-run grocery stores would be? The government-run grocery stores would surely know that they are the only option‚ which would deter improvements and innovations. The same logic should apply to government funding for education. Under the present circumstances‚ government plays an outsized role in education funding. We would be vastly better off we limited the government’s role by making it merely a conduit of funds directly to parents‚ who would use the money to ensure their children receive the best education possible — whether that’s at a public school‚ private school‚ parochial school‚ charter school‚ or even homeschooling.

I recently attended a conservative policy event that focused in part on promoting the benefits of universal school choice. It reaffirmed my opposition to this legislative trend‚ even though such laws would be financially lucrative to my business and me personally. The Texas state legislature last week removed universal school choice from a massive reform package. Lawmakers were wise to do so‚ for several reasons. First‚ school choice fosters economic dependency on government funding. Second‚ it is not a “free-market” solution. Finally‚ it isn’t a conservative policy‚ even if the big think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity have jumped on board the taxpayer gravy train. Hats off to Texas legislators for not jumping into the deep end with Senate Bill 1‚ as other states have done and‚ I believe‚ will later regret. Have you seen the shirt that says‚ “I don’t co-parent with the government”? If universal school choice is enacted‚ then everyone will be co-parenting with the government. Demand-side economics is why we’ve experienced massive inflation around the United States. A Heritage Foundation study that concluded Arizona-style education savings accounts are not inflationary is deceptive‚ in part because the study’s authors didn’t use data that reflects the current laws being passed. The Heritage study based its findings on school choice that targets individuals with learning disabilities and low incomes‚ as opposed to people already paying for their child’s private education. In short‚ Heritage compared apples to oranges and advocates oranges because of apples. That isn’t sound reasoning. Besides‚ since when has relying on the government to subsidize healthy middle-class and rich families’ income ever been considered “conservative” policy? Government funding of school choice creates economic dependency‚ it is not a free-market solution‚ and it isn’t a conservative policy in any sense of the term. Advocates of universal vouchers and ESAs argue they are a “free-market” solution. Not really. Someone pushing universal school choice once told me that a free market is when the government gives everyone the same amount of money and they can spend it anywhere they want. All I could think of was Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride”: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Investopedia defines a “free market” as “one where voluntary exchange and the laws of supply and demand provide the sole basis for the economic system‚ without government intervention.” Clearly‚ the government giving families $8‚000 a year‚ sourced from their neighbors’ taxes‚ is not a free-market solution. A system of universal basic education income is not a conservative policy. It is a neo-liberal policy. Just wait for Amazon‚ Disney‚ Microsoft‚ and Apple to start buying up schools and implementing their ESG goals on all private school platforms. Wait until they start data-mining your kids. Just wait for China to start buying up private school platforms and data-mining your children. Let me leave you with a story. My friend Rachel is a leader for Classical Conversations in Arizona‚ and we don’t let our Christian leaders take neo-liberal school choice funds. She was recently talking to a friend who had taken the ESA money and was so happy to have the funds. “I used to have to work part-time to homeschool‚” her friend told her. “I would have my aunt come over and watch the kids for me so that I could go to work. Now I don’t have to do that!” Rachel‚ being trained in the tools of rhetoric‚ politely replied: “So let me make sure I understand what you’re saying. You used to rely on hard work and your family‚ and now you rely on the government.” Her friend’s eyes got wide as she began to realize what she had done. I would urge legislators to drop school choice proposals altogether‚ until we have a better idea of how programs that have already passed in other states are working. States’ tax receipts are starting to plummet as the looming recession becomes more apparent. A state surplus in funds can quickly turn into a deficit‚ and welfare programs like school choice are notoriously hard to repeal‚ even when they become economically unsustainable. Government funding of school choice creates economic dependency‚ it is not a free-market solution‚ and it simply isn’t a conservative policy in any sense of the term.

Aspiring rapper Kevhani Camilla Hicks has been charged with second-degree murder over the fatal shooting of her manager last month in Miami. Hicks‚ the apparent CEO of Pretty Thug Music and whose stage name is Key Vhani‚ told officers she gunned her manager down in self-defense — a claim the Miami-Dade judge presiding over her case has indicated might have some merit. Security footage obtained by WTVJ-TV shows Hicks‚ 27‚ exit a white Lexus sedan outside Wynwood Walls on Oct. 9‚ then amble toward the rear of the vehicle. The male driver of the vehicle meets Hicks behind the vehicle‚ where they appear to argue. Words quickly give way to haymakers. As the two fight in the street‚ a second man‚ identified by the Miami Herald as Hicks' manager‚ exits the Lexus and joins the driver in pinning the rapper against the asphalt. After reportedly administering a beating‚ the manager can be seen slamming the rapper against the pavement. Following the scuffle‚ Hicks begins to walk away while the men return to the car. The peace is short-lived‚ however; Hicks reaches into her purse‚ produces a handgun‚ and storms back toward the Lexus‚ opening fire. Hicks strikes her manager multiple times despite his desperate attempt to take cover behind a parked vehicle. Hicks' final volley leaves the decedent flat in the street. The driver who first attacked Hicks manages to pull away in the Lexus‚ running over the rapper in the process. Hicks and her manager were both taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center. The rapper was treated for non-life-threatening blunt-force injuries‚ and her manager died on account of all his bullet wounds. — (@) Hicks told officers that while the driver ultimately pulled her manager back‚ the sense that he posed an imminent threat to her persisted. The arrest report indicated‚ "As the defendant began to walk away from the victim‚ the victim began yelling threats at her and his voice grew closer. The defendant stated she was in fear due to the victim's size and upon hearing the victim yell 'I'll kill you with one hit‚'" reported WTVJ. The prosecution cast doubt on whether the shooting qualified as self-defense‚ since the decedent allegedly had his back toward her when she opened fire and she allegedly had an opportunity to walk away. Hicks was initially jailed‚ and Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer denied her bond‚ stating last month‚ "I believe she does have a very good self-defense claim‚ but that claim is a defense of the charge; it doesn't negate the finding that there is [probable] cause for second-degree murder‚ the victim was walking away and she shot him after he was beating on her." Glazer recently granted Hicks a $50‚000 bond and house arrest. Hicks' next hearing is reportedly scheduled for Feb. 15. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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