by the Author of The Widow in the Woods Here’s where the story left off last time. Taking a deep breath, Kate knew they had to move. She nudged Ariel, and they both took a quiet step back toward the safe depths of the forest. They didn’t speak and took great care to avoid stepping on twigs that would snap under their feet or leaves that would crunch. Kate pulled the pistol from her holster and kept it in her hand, muzzle pointed safely toward the ground. She heard Ariel’s quick intake of breath when she saw the gun in her mother’s hand, but she ignored it, leading the way deeper into the maze of trees. “Mom.” Ariel said the word aloud, like a plea. Kate turned with her fingers to her lips to shush Ariel. She froze when she saw her daughter. Ariel was being embraced by the worst mistake she had ever made. His dark hair was buzzed into a short cap on his head instead of silky waves that made him look boyish. He was a little bit thinner than before, but the type of thinness that suggested wiry speed and strength. His face looked harder, somehow, with a different set to his jaw. The eyes she used to fondly think of as cerulean blue now seemed like the specific shade that appeared, snapping and painfully hot, when you lit a gas stove. “Hi, ladies,” Logan smiled at them, teeth so white and prominent that Kate was reminded of the wolf in Grandma’s bed, trying to fool Little Red Riding Hood into thinking he was harmless. “Great day for a hike, isn’t it?” Ariel fired back to life, preparing to struggle. She was subdued when Kate glanced in warning at her and she halted her fight before it began. Kate could see her daughter trembling, but she couldn’t think about that now. She didn’t know how, nor did she know when she’d get her chance, but Logan was going to find out that she wasn’t the same victim who had cried on the witness stand explaining what he’d done to her and to Ariel. “Fancy meeting you here,” she greeted him calmly. “Yeah. Fancy that.” The smile Logan flashed did not reach his eyes, and Kate could feel the rage emanating from him. “I love family hiking trips. Coming out here with my family was one of my favorite memories over the past three years, three months, and six days.” “We’re not your family, Logan. Any chance of that ended when you attacked me and kidnapped my daughter.” Logan pulled Ariel in closer to him. Her eyes looked panicked, and Kate couldn’t stare into them and keep her cool, so she met Logan’s eyes instead. “I was like a father to this girl.” His voice broke when he said the words. He looked down at Ariel, who barely made it to his shoulder. “I love you, Ari. I love you.” As he used his free hand to lift her chin and meet her eyes, Ariel closed them shut tightly and refused. He gave a grim chuckle. “It’s okay, honey. I know your mother has been telling you lies about me.” “Put the gun down, Kate,” he ordered. “We both know you aren’t going to use it.” Carefully, regretfully, Kate laid the Glock down on the ground. She couldn’t risk a shot with Ariel in between them. She heard the voice of a previous instructor in her head. “You have to wait for the right moment. Don’t take your chance too early, while your opponent is alert and waiting for it. Bide your time.” Bide your time, bide your time, bide your time, she chanted mentally, breathing slowly, calming herself. “Now, kick it over here to me.” Kate indulged in a small rebellion by kicking the firearm off the trail into a pile of leaves. Logan chuckled and kept his hold on Ariel as he moved over to get the gun and stick it in his own waistband. “Let’s go back and have some lunch. I’m starving,” said Logan, as though it were a normal Sunday afternoon frolic in the woods. He turned, arm still around Ariel, and began to stride toward the path back to the cabin. “I’ll make us some soup and sandwiches,” Kate said agreeably as she followed. If he was crazy enough to believe her, she was determined to lull him into thinking she was under his spell again. By the time they had reached the cabin, the sun was much lower in the western sky. Kate estimated it was around four o’clock. Her stomach growled as she thought about food. It seemed so weird that she could still feel hungry under these circumstances, but even if she hadn’t been, she’d have forced some nourishment into herself. Once inside the cabin, Logan pulled a handful of zipties from his pocket and restrained them both to kitchen chairs. He collected the knives from the kitchen, the bear spray from their backpacks, and everything else that they might use to fight back against him. He left briefly to hide the potential weapons, giving Kate and Ariel a moment together. “It’s going to be okay, Ariel,” Kate told her daughter firmly. “We have to wait for our chance. We have to make him think he’s won and that we’ve given up. Can you do that for me?” “No!” Ariel began to cry, large tears rolling down her cheeks. “I hate him. I don’t want to be nice to him.” “I know, but it’s the only way we’re going to get the chance to escape. I want you to keep your boots on at all times, even in bed. We are going to get out of here, do you understand me? Do not let him scare you and take away all that you’ve learned since he’s been gone. We need to make him feel like he’s already won so that we can catch him by surprise.” Ariel sniffed and nodded. She lifted her chin. Kate felt better, knowing that she’d play along. Logan didn’t know it yet, but these two familiar faces hid two very determined women. He had no idea what he was in for and that was exactly how Kate liked it. When he returned to the cabin, he cut the zip ties off both of them. He tried to entice Ariel into a game of dominoes while Kate puttered around the kitchen, the picture of domesticity. She popped open a jar of minestrone she had home-canned, and while it was warming on the stovetop, she made sandwiches using some of the deli meat and cheese she’d brought with her from the city. She set the table with her cheerful red speckleware, added a cloth napkin to each place setting, and ladled the steaming hot soup into bowls she had thrifted that had handles and the old Campbell’s logo on them. “Lunch,” she announced with fake cheer. “Ariel is stomping me at dominoes!” Logan exclaimed. “You’ve gotten really good at that game.” He gave the girl a fond, paternal look. After a momentary struggle over her facial expressions, she smiled back wanly. As Kate poured lemonade into Mason jar glasses, they sat at the table. They looked just like the family Logan wanted them to be. For now. About Daisy Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging author and blogger who’s traded her air miles for a screen porch, having embraced a more homebody lifestyle after a serious injury. She’s the heart and mind behind The Organic Prepper, a top-tier website where she shares what she’s learned about preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty. With 17 books under her belt, Daisy’s insights on living frugally, surviving tough times, finding some happiness in the most difficult situations, and embracing independence have touched many lives. Her work doesn’t just stay on her site; it’s shared far and wide across alternative media, making her a familiar voice in the community. Known for her adventurous spirit, she’s lived in five different countries and raised two wonderful daughters as a single mom. Now living in the beautiful state of North Carolina, Daisy has been spreading her knowledge through blogging for 15 years now.  She is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.   The post Haven Hill: Chapter 9 appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

Washington's Latest Tax Assault on Economic Success

Maybe the real Theia is the Moon we made along the way.

In an interview last night, I was asked two scientific questions. First, there was the news report about the discovery of the `strongest evidence yet’ of life on a distant planet, K2–18b. I was asked: “If life is confirmed there, what would be the next step? Should we try to establish some sort of contact? Generally, do you think it is a good idea to reach out to extraterrestrials once we know where they are?” I explained that the new paper is based on the JWST detection of the spectral fingerprint of a single molecule, dimethyl sulfide, in the atmosphere of the exoplanet. This molecule is not a reliable biomarker according to another paper, which shows that it is found in the interstellar medium without the presence of life. On Earth, this molecule is produced by microorganisms in the oceans. Inferences based on the detection of molecular biomarkers in the atmospheres of exoplanets are indirect. However, as I suggested in a paper with my former student, Henry Lin, and Gonzalo Gonzalez, the detection of molecules associated with industrial pollution, such as CFCs, will be far more indicative, not only of life but also of the technologies it developed. I find microbes to be much more boring than intelligent life. Microbes are probably very abundant, but we can learn much more from a smarter kid on our cosmic block. If we ever discover conclusively life on an exoplanet, we should definitely listen to any technological signals it transmits. But a dialogue would be challenging. For example, this planet K2–18b is 124 light years away. If we send a communication signal towards it right now, the earliest time for us to receive a response at the speed of light is 248 years from now, in the year 2273. I am not that patient and would love to learn more about it by observing it in great detail over the centuries before the year 2273. Because of the large distances to stars, I am not worried about predators. Those who can reach us are likely far more advanced technologically than we are. They will probably not view us as a serious threat. In fact, my concern is that they will ghost any direct message (DM) we send them because they will not find us particularly intelligent given the geopolitics on our planet. In a second news item, the new director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the White House, Michael Kratsios, gave his first public talk in which he remarked that “our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space.” This statement was part of a broader discussion on how regulatory frameworks since the 1970s have potentially hindered technological advancements, urging for a reevaluation to enhance American productivity and innovation. I was asked whether Michael’s statement indicates that the U.S. Government has secret knowledge about how to manipulate spacetime, garnered from years of reverse engineering of alien spacecraft that were recovered on Earth. In response, I explained that the field equations formulated by Albert Einstein in 1915, relate the curvature of spacetime on their left-hand-side to the mass or energy density of matter or radiation on their right-hand-side. The distortions of time or space are minuscule unless one concentrates a huge amount of mass within a small volume. For example, the Sun distorts spacetime at a minuscule level of one part in 10⁸ at the position of Earth. The resulting tiny curvature is sufficient to make the Earth move in a circle around the Sun. When black holes with tens of solar masses collide at cosmological distances, they produce small ripples in spacetime of one part in 10^{21} near Earth, as first detected by LIGO in 2015. The immediate vicinity of black holes is characterized by large spacetime distortions, but the U.S. government does not have access to such environments. We use Einstein’s equations to acquire precise navigation with GPS systems. If these equations were wrong, we would get lost. I also clarified that any experimentation by the U.S. Government does not reach the energy densities accessible at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider by many orders of magnitude. This implies that if there is any new physics regarding the manipulation of spacetime, it would have been noticed in unclassified data shared by the international community of physicists at CERN. Secrets were leaked out of the Manhattan Project and physicists worldwide would have known of any major advance in the theory of gravity. If we ever learn how to bottle the “dark energy” that causes the accelerated expansion of the Universe, we might have access to repulsive gravity that could propel a craft without fuel. Discovering a more advanced civilization with this knowledge would unleash a new wave of American innovation, which Michael Kratsios will greatly appreciate. But we have to find these alien technologies first. For that to happen, NASA and NSF need to allocate billions of dollars to the search for extraterrestrial techno-signatures and not invest only, as they do now, in the search for bio-signatures. Hopefully, someone out there is listening! The post Life Beyond Earth and Manipulation of Spacetime appeared first on Anomalien.com.

One of the Midwest’s more popular microbreweries is showing its support for the Second Amendment with the release of its first India Pale Ale — 2nd Amendment New England IPA. Illinois native Jeff Alcorn and his sons Trevor and Cameron started Tridentine Brewing Co. as a hobby, naming it in honor of their strong Catholic faith. Not wanting their beer to get lost in a sea of IPAs, Tridentine went with a style focusing on 'more traditional and maltier expressions.' When their home brews proved popular, the family partnered with Madison, Wisconsin-based Karben4 Brewery to launch their first commercially available beer in October 2024. Since then, the company has surged in popularity, building a fan base of 20,700 X followers and 6,400 Instagram followers and landing a major Forbes profile in November. Brewing anticipation Trevor describes 2nd Amendment as a refreshing, mellow, and juicy New England-style IPA that is more approachable than contemporary IPA products. Its patriotic and pro-gun-rights branding reflects the company’s stances on these issues. “We actually canned the batch on Tuesday, April 1, and it started to hit some stores, but it wasn’t widespread across all the locations we’re at in Wisconsin,” says Trevor. “I didn’t get the social media stuff up until late Saturday, but it’s getting out there more and it's pretty well received. People loved the artwork even before we brought the beer to share, and now that people have had the beer, the reception is pretty good.” 2nd Amendment is the brewery's fourth release. Like its predecessors, it tells a story through its packaging — an eye-catching can designed by Catholic illustrator Chris Lewis. God-given rights Tridentine's Quartermaster Jerry Blonde Ale pays tribute to late family patriarch Jerry Alcorn, who served in the U.S. Navy, while Cristeros Mexican Lager honors Catholics martryed by Mexico's socialist government in the 1920s. Dies Irae Imperial Stout alludes to the final judgment at the end of time. The company expects to launch a fifth beer this summer. While 2nd Amendment may seem more explicitly topical than the other beers, Trevor says the message is ultimately timeless. “The timing didn’t have to do with politics per se, with what's going on. This is just our strong belief in the God-given rights we have as Americans and supporting those. That’s the driving force behind it, and it ties into the patriotic theme. We want to drive home the message that being patriotic is not just a holiday thing. For us, honoring and saluting our veterans and our country is something we want to do year-round.” Trevor also wanted the can's artwork to stress that the Second Amendment applies to all Americans, not just those in the military. "We wanted to show ... a regular farmer," he says. "Someone who wasn’t in a Continental Army uniform [so we could] highlight the reason for the Second Amendment: for our right to firearms to defend ourselves and our community if needed.” Tridentine Brewery Co. A patriotic IPA As for making it an IPA, Trevor says it just made sense. Given that IPAs control a 46% share of the craft beer industry, demand has been high for the company to branch out of lagers, stouts, and blonde ales. Not wanting their beer to get lost in a sea of IPAs, Tridentine went with a style focusing on "more traditional and maltier expressions" seen in IPAs from New England — a perfect fit for the patriotic theme. Tridentine Brewing Co.’s motto is “Brewing beer for the greater glory of God," and this is reflected at all levels of the company's work. Its social media presence is outspokenly Catholic, the family prays before brewing sessions, and the brewery was even blessed by a priest. Tridentine beers are currently only available in Wisconsin. The company's contract with Karben4 and state liquor laws have slowed the rollout to other states. Still, the company hopes to expand distribution, starting with the Alcorns' home state of Illinois and eventually to other states. Given the passionate evangelization the beer inspires online, Tridentine seems well equipped to hit the target.

President Donald Trump has moved faster than anyone expected to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. His latest action — deploying the U.S. military to the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land spanning the border in California, Arizona, and New Mexico — is a necessary step to defend American sovereignty.A White House memorandum issued April 11 authorizes the military to take temporary control of the corridor, detain individuals attempting illegal entry, and support key security operations, including barrier construction and surveillance. With drug cartels, human traffickers, and other criminal threats exploiting the southern border, this deployment offers a direct, long-overdue response to a crisis the political class has allowed to fester for years.The military brings what civilian authorities can’t: logistical power, surveillance, and manpower. We’ve seen it work before.Established in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt to safeguard the border, the Roosevelt Reservation provides the ideal legal framework for President Trump’s latest deployment. By designating the strip as a “National Defense Area,” Trump has empowered the military to act decisively within a clearly defined legal perimeter.This renewed focus on border security comes none too soon. Under President Biden, the situation along the reservation deteriorated. In 2022, frustrated by the White House’s inaction, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) ordered shipping containers stacked along the reservation to block illegal crossings. His successor, open-borders Democrat Katie Hobbs, wasted no time removing them.The Trump memorandum directs the Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security to transfer jurisdiction of the Roosevelt Reservation to the Pentagon. This move allows U.S. troops to detain border trespassers until Border Patrol can process them.This isn’t “militarizing” the homeland — it’s using federal authority to defend it. The chaos Biden unleashed now demands real action. Trump’s strategy puts American citizens, not politics, first.The need for this action is clear. Even with reports of fewer illegal crossings, the southern border remains a pipeline for deadly drugs like fentanyl — which killed more than 70,000 Americans in 2023. Cartels continue to exploit weak enforcement, using remote corridors like the Roosevelt Reservation to move narcotics and human trafficking victims deeper into the country.Critics rushed to label Trump’s deployment an overreach, but their objections don’t hold up. Some claim the move violates the Posse Comitatus Act, the 1878 law restricting military involvement in domestic law enforcement. One activist even called the strategy a “crazy” attempt to skirt the law by labeling illegal aliens as trespassers on military land.That argument is nonsense. The Posse Comitatus Act allows exceptions during national emergencies, and Trump’s declaration of a border emergency provides that authority.What’s more, the military’s role under the April 11 memorandum is narrow and lawful. It simply detains border trespassers on federal land until civilian authorities take over. This mirrors past deployments under both Republican and Democratic presidents. The Pentagon isn’t rounding up citizens or patrolling cities. It is securing a narrow federal corridor explicitly designated for border protection.Some Democrats and activist groups claim that deploying the military escalates tensions unnecessarily, especially since illegal border crossings have declined since Trump took office. But that argument misses the point. Crossings dropped because of Trump’s tough policies — not because the threat disappeared.Cartels are opportunistic and fast-moving. They seize on any lapse in enforcement. The Roosevelt Reservation’s rugged terrain and rumored smuggling tunnels make it a prime target. A military presence deters those operations before they escalate.Waiting for the next crisis — like the 2022 surge that saw more than 2.5 million migrant encounters — isn’t strategy. It’s surrender.Open-border activists argue that Border Patrol or local law enforcement should secure the border alone. But that ignores reality. Of the border’s 1,954 miles, more than 700 run through rugged, hard-to-patrol terrain. Civilian agencies are already overwhelmed.The military brings what civilian authorities can’t: logistical power, surveillance technology, and manpower. This isn’t theoretical. We’ve seen it work before. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Operation Faithful Patriot provided vital support for wall construction in high-traffic zones — reducing illegal crossings where they were most severe.Extending this strategy to the Roosevelt Reservation isn’t radical. It’s obvious.Trump’s order rests on a simple truth: A nation without borders is not a nation at all. The new memorandum isn’t just defensible. It’s essential. Anyone who doesn’t see the military’s role in this crisis is clinging to the same mindset that let things spiral out of control in the first place.

By choosing compassion over bitterness and courage over silence, we hold the key to restoring balance to academia.

The faithful execution of the law must not be a casualty of the administration’s immigration policy.  

Excessive regulations have contributed to a nationwide shortage. But there’s a way to free ourselves to start constructing more.

Yale’s Center for British Art shows 75 works by the British visionary for his big birthday bash.