'Tucker Carlson’s brand Alp should have a significant impact on the nicotine market'

'So now comes legal beagle Kash Patel to clean things up'

'Leaving signatures'

A video shared on Instagram claims abortion clinics have purportedly warned they’ll go “bankrupt” if a “recent Democrat sex strike” continues.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Bernadine | Relationships + Culture (@bernadinebluntly) Verdict: False The claim is false and originally stems from a Nov. 10 article published on “The […]

'unconstitutional'

Books Teen Horror Time Machine Visions and Rage: Christopher Pike’s Witch In which the magically gifted protagonist refuses to simply accept fate… By Alissa Burger | Published on December 5, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share In R.L. Stine’s The Mind Reader (1994) and Sinclair Smith’s Second Sight (1996), the young female protagonists have inexplicable visions, encounter doubt from those around them, and find themselves filled with frustration and uncertainty, as they try to balance what others think about them with what they know to be right. In Christopher Pike’s Witch (1990), Julia Florence sees visions as well, this time through a hereditary magical ability passed down through her mother’s side of the family. But when Julia sees visions of horrors to come, instead of self-doubt and uncertainty, she taps into rage and vengeance as she tries to change the course of fate.  Both Julia and her mother have magical powers, a legacy Julia carries on her own following her mother’s death from a cerebral hemorrhage after she used her powers to unsuccessfully try to heal a young woman. Julia’s mother raised her to embrace her power, though she is clear about its limitations, telling Julia “We’re not gods … we’re helpers. That’s all,” instructing her daughter to “Serve in what way you can, without attracting attention to yourself. Never flaunt your abilities. Never think you hold the power of life and death. Only God has that power. When it’s a person’s time, nothing can save them” (6, emphasis original). One of Julia’s powers is being able to “see” and divine by looking into the watery surface of a pond in the woods near their house, which her mother called “viewing” (9). As Julia looks at the surface of the water, she can check in on those she loves and see visions of things to come. Julia’s mother gave her two rules for her magical viewing ability: “she wasn’t allowed to spy on other people, and she couldn’t look in the pond when the moonlight was shining on it” (9). One night before going out with her friends, Julia falls asleep next to the pond and when she wakes up, she sees a vision in the moonlit water, of a liquor store holdup where a boy she’s never seen before is shot and killed by the robber. She’s disturbed by this vision but tries to shake it off and goes to meet her friends at their high school football game—where she discovers that the boy from her dark vision is her best friend Amy’s new boyfriend, a football player named Jim.  Julia and Jim feel an instant connection, and while Julia’s vision might provide some explanation for her instant recognition of a boy she’s never met before, Jim’s similar gravitation toward Julia seems to suggest something more. Their first meeting has an odd energy. “Jim and Julia looked at each other. Of course, there was a fence between them and they couldn’t shake hands, so Amy supposed they had to look at each other real long to make up for the barrier. But Amy began to feel just a little bit uncomfortable when the look stretched past five seconds and neither of them had taken a breath” (34, emphasis original). Amy is a remarkably good sport, especially since this isn’t the first time something like this has happened: Amy’s boyfriends have a bad habit of falling in love with Julia and asking her out before they’ve gotten around to breaking up with Amy. But the way Amy figures it, “Just because a couple of her former boyfriends had fallen in love with Julia didn’t mean Julia had anything to do with it” (35). Julia’s apparently just that great.  After the game, Amy, Jim, Julia, and Amy and Julia’s friend Scott hang out. With her dark vision still fresh in her mind, Julia steers the group away from a liquor store and when they stop somewhere else for refreshments, she convinces Jim to stay in the car, sending Scott in instead. This doesn’t avert disaster, however, and Scott is shot in a holdup in the gas station. Julia is horrified that she wasn’t able to avoid the horrors promised by her vision, but rather than feeling uncertainty or guilt, her first thought is of making sure the two men who held up the gas station are held accountable as she thinks “They will die. I will make them die” (50, emphasis original). Scott was shot in the head but isn’t immediately killed, and Julia is able to temporarily reign back her rage and turn her powers toward healing him, as she “closed her eyes and let the pain pour into her” (53) before realizing that his injuries are too much for her to heal without dying herself.  Scott is rushed to the hospital where he undergoes a lengthy operation and sinks into a coma. Amy stays at the hospital waiting for news of any changes in Scott’s condition, and rifles through the hospital files looking for information on the girl Julia’s mother tried to save—who has some mysterious connection with the man who shot Scott.Julia and Jim, meanwhile, run off together in pursuit of the robbers. Once again, Amy is remarkably chill about her boyfriend leaving with Julia, or maybe just resigned to the inevitability. And while Julia loves Amy and hasn’t had any interest in Amy’s previous boyfriends (however interested they may have been in her), Julia’s feelings for Jim are undeniable. But even though she loves him, that doesn’t mean she’s going to tell him the whole truth, and when she takes him back to her house, she leaves him there as she walks to the pond alone in hopes of a vision that will tell her where the robbers will strike next.  Julia ascertains the time and place of the next holdup, unsuccessfully attempts to enlist the help of the police, and then makes a plan to intervene herself, driven by anger and vengeance. When Julia and Jim enter the store, the robbers have already shot the store owner and in a moment of confusion and fear, the store owner fatally shoots Jim, with fate returning to its predestined course from Julia’s original vision. In the liquor store standoff that night, Julia puts together the pieces to discover how everything that has happened is interconnected: her mother tried to heal the girl, whose name was Kary, because she was Julia’s half-sister, the child of Julia’s father who left her and her mother when Julia was a baby. Kary was injured in a motorcycle accident when her boyfriend Frank crashed into a tree while driving drunk on a night off from committing armed robberies, because Frank is the same criminal who shot Scott in the holdup. Julia has no reservations about killing Frank and is about to give into her rage when she thinks of her mother and the power the women in her family are blessed with, concluding that “This is not why I’m here, is it?” (172). Julia heads back to the hospital, heals Scott, and dies in the attempt, believing that even if her sacrifice is not fair, “it’s right. That’s what matters” (208).  Like the protagonists of The Mind Reader and Second Sight, Julia sees more than she should be able to, but her response to these visions is much more direct and unapologetic. Julia doesn’t doubt herself or the veracity of what she has seen, and rather than waiting for someone to believe her or help her make sense of it all, she sets out in search of justice. Julia’s emotions get the better of her and even as she works to find the man who shot Scott, she knows that she is going against her mother’s advice and misusing her gift, but she claims her power in a way that the previous girls failed to do. Julia’s rage may not bring Scott back, but there is still something savagely satisfying about the idea of making Frank pay for the people his actions (and their repercussions) have hurt, a long list that includes not just Scott but also Julia, her mother, Kary, and Jim. She has the power to hold him accountable and she intends to do it. A girl with too much power is a destabilizing and terrifying proposition, however, and by the end of Pike’s book, Julia is unsurprisingly neutralized, called back to her central purpose of helping people and sacrificing herself to save Scott.  Pike’s Witch is one of the stories told in the Netflix original series The Midnight Club (2022), told by Illonka (played by Iman Benson). The Midnight Club’s version of the story redresses the exclusively white cast of characters in Pike’s novel (and the vast majority of ‘90s teen horror books), with Julia Florence transformed into Imani, a young black woman also played by Benson. The story itself is also simplified and streamlined, as Imani falls in love with a boy her friends set her up with named Ben (Igby Rigney), rather than the convoluted love triangle of falling for her best friend’s boyfriend. Imani prevents Ben from going into the liquor store she saw in her dark vision, but Imani’s friend Scottie (Ruth Codd) goes in and is shot instead. While Scottie is on life support in the hospital, Imani and Ben keep dating, until one night when they stop for gas on the way to the movies, where the same guy is holding up that store, and Ben gets shot, with fate reasserting itself, despite Imani’s best efforts to thwart it.  In both these versions of Witch, the magically gifted young woman refuses to simply accept fate: she sees what’s coming and fights to change it and to protect those she loves. This tremendous power has its limitations, however, and no one can change what’s meant to be. But the most important thing is that she tries: she doesn’t wait around for someone else to set things right, she doesn’t spend time or energy trying to make other people believe her, she doesn’t doubt herself or her abilities. She embraces her rage and her desire for vengeance, rather than playing nice and going along with someone else’s plan. She simply gets down to fighting a battle she knows deep down that she probably can’t win. She is up against insurmountable odds but refuses to accept defeat. Her power may not be infallible, but it is a testament to love and a light in the darkness.[end-mark] The post Visions and Rage: Christopher Pike’s <em>Witch</em> appeared first on Reactor.

Prior to the Biden-Harris administration, electricity prices had been flat for a decade at around 13 cents per kilowatt-hour. They’re now at 18 cents per kWh—an increase of nearly 30% since 2020. U.S. consumers are paying more for everything, especially electricity, as price increases ripple through the economy. Although food and housing inflation receive a lot of attention, a hidden cost of both home ownership and renting is rising electricity costs. This is despite the fact that natural gas powers half of the U.S. grid and prices for it hit record lows this year. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory means a change in energy policy with positive effects on electricity prices and power generation. This shift could pivot the U.S. toward more reliable sources for power generation such as natural gas and coal, reducing our reliance on expensive, weather-dependent wind and solar. “Green energy” advocates argue that wind and solar are both cheaper and better for the environment, but neither claim holds up to scrutiny. As more states force wind and solar on their grids, costs passed along to consumers continue to rise, along with global carbon dioxide emissions—the very thing green energy is supposed to curb. Rising electricity prices and increasing shares of wind and solar in the grid are closely linked. Integrating these intermittent sources is more complex and costly than proponents anticipated. Wind and solar are expensive because they’re not only intermittent but weather-dependent. Often, peak output doesn’t align with peak demand. Utility-scale battery storage is prohibitively expensive and can’t maintain reliable power for major cities. Trump’s policy direction could ease these cost pressures by reducing green mandates and supporting stable energy solutions such as increasing power generation with natural gas and stopping the aggressive decommissioning of coal’s cheap, reliable baseload power generation. Trump’s stance on CO2 emissions also differs from that of the Biden-Harris administration. His “Drill, baby, drill” agenda is about harnessing U.S. energy to lower prices for businesses and consumers. It prioritizes affordable domestic energy such as shale gas and coal over reliance on costly, imported renewables. Under Trump’s leadership in a second term, we should see a shift away from aggressive decarbonization that forces wind and solar power into the grid, giving states more flexibility to focus on reliable, cost-effective energy sources. China is an often-overlooked aspect of green energy. China remains the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, producing cheap solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries using coal, forced labor, and lax environmental standards. China accounts for a third of global carbon dioxide emissions and boasts more coal-fired capacity to generate power than the entire U.S. grid. Ironically, the West’s rush to green energy inadvertently enables higher CO2 emissions as well as human rights abuses. The second Trump administration may address U.S. reliance on China for wind and solar technologies, emphasizing domestic energy solutions instead. If America wants truly “green” and ethical energy, it must prioritize affordable, reliable, and responsibly produced U.S. natural gas and coal while fostering energy innovation at home. American natural gas and baseload coal are critical to reliability and affordability. Rapidly removing coal power reduces grid reliability, raises costs, and indirectly increases global CO2 emissions by shifting U.S. manufacturing to countries such as China. The real costs of renewable energy often go unexamined. The infrastructure needed to integrate wind and solar into the grid is substantial, requiring costly investments in transmission and storage.  The mining of metals and minerals for “green” energy is largely done in Africa and Latin America with heavy, diesel-powered equipment. Processing and refining are concentrated in China, where environmental and labor standards are far lower than in the U.S.  If green technology isn’t lowering global CO2 emissions and is increasing electricity costs, what should the U.S. do? After taking over Jan. 20, the new Trump administration can lean into natural gas and pause the decommissioning of coal-fired power generation to support grid reliability and reduce energy costs. This would align with an America-first energy strategy that emphasizes affordable, responsible energy resources like U.S. shale gas and coal. America is the largest oil and gas producer in the world. American energy can power the nation responsibly and affordably. The solution lies not in Chinese-made solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries but in leveraging our vast energy resources. U.S. shale gas can fuel the nation and the world. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Rising Electricity Prices and ‘Green Energy’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Employees at the United Auto Workers, the sixth-largest union in America, have gone on strike against the union this week in Manhattan, but you wouldn’t know it from the legacy media’s silence. UAW Staff United, which represents hundreds of employees across 34 locals, announced its strike Monday, and Thursday marks the fourth day of picketing in New York City. According to UAW Staff United (USU), the strike comes “in response to the bad-faith bargaining committed by the UAW throughout our negotiation process and the retaliatory termination of a union leader.” UAW hires temporary organizers, who work on three-month contracts renewable for up to three years. USU is demanding “job security through stable staffing and just cause protections for these workers—which together would constitute an end to an exploitive, tiered system of employment for USU staff.” Specific demands include severance payments, two months’ notice of layoffs, and sick days. “We want to make sure that this job is not only sustainable, but also sets up staff to better support our campaigns,” Rita Akincillar, a spokeswoman for the USU, said in a statement Monday. “Management’s insistence on being able to lay us off on a whim shows gross disregard for our needs and the needs of the UAW rank and file.” BREAKING: UAW Staff United (USU), the union representing many United Auto Workers (UAW) International and local staff organizers in the Northeast United States, is on strike! pic.twitter.com/1rfzQSjmM6— UAW Staff United is on strike! (@UAWStaffUnited) December 2, 2024 The USU also claims that UAW leadership “has decided to cut off all striking workers’ pay.” At the same time, we received indirect word that UAW leadership has decided to cut off all striking workers pay (not even 1 day into our strike.) Two support needs: hardship fund donations and bodies on the line ??We are back at 350 W 31st today 10am-4pm!2/end pic.twitter.com/kQ90axRord— UAW Staff United is on strike! (@UAWStaffUnited) December 3, 2024 The USU posted photos of the striking workers. Today is day 4! Join us back at 350 W 31st 10am-4pm (weather permitting)Day 3 picketing @EDL_Law was so full of energy and high spirits! Thank you to all the members and supporters that pulled up to our picket line ???: Jonathan Bloom pic.twitter.com/zDShwccp9b— UAW Staff United is on strike! (@UAWStaffUnited) December 5, 2024 UAW staffer (and USU member) Molly Ragan wrote on X that “UAW pulled a classic corporate boss move and cut all striking workers’ pay yesterday.” “It’s strike day 2, and we are angry and determined to make this place better for staff organizers and the members we organize alongside,” she added. “Cut our pay, cut our health care, we are not going away.” . @UAW pulled a classic corporate boss move and cut all striking workers’ pay yesterday. It’s strike day 2 and we are angry and determined to make this place better for staff organizers and the members we organize alongside. Cut our pay, cut our healthcare, we are not going away.— Molly Ragan ON STRIKE (@molly_ragan) December 3, 2024 The USU targeted the offices of labor lawyers who represent the UAW. It’s strike day 3 and we’re picketing Eisner Dictor & Lamadrid (@BenjaminDictor @ThomasLamadrid) in downtown Manhattan. These are the “lawyers in service of the working people” that the @UAW is using to bust our union ? pic.twitter.com/pVlS3V6Qp1— UAW Staff United is on strike! (@UAWStaffUnited) December 4, 2024 The legacy media appear not to have covered the strike in downtown Manhattan. The pro-union outlet Payday Report covered the strike and condemned “so many labor journalists” for ignoring the story. As The Washington Times reported in September, UAW Staff United accused the UAW of stalling contract negotiations and illegally terminating the contract of a labor organizer. UAW Staff United launched in March after the election of UAW President Shawn Fain, who ran as a reform candidate following a series of corruption scandals. An independent UAW monitor is investigating Fain on accusations that he participated in retaliation against other labor leaders this year. Fain welcomed the investigation and claimed that he is “committed to serving the membership and running a democratic union.” The “retaliatory termination of a union leader” refers to temporary organizer Alex Chan, who was terminated at the end of September. According to the USU, the firing marks the first time a temporary organizer has been terminated before the end of a three-year term. USU claims the UAW terminated Chan in retaliation for her part in forming the union last year. “Terminating me doesn’t just hurt me as an individual; it hurts the union drives and thousands of union members that I’m supporting & organizing with,” Chan wrote on X. “UAW needs to afford its staff the same basic rights, just cause, and job security as the UAW workers that we fight for.” As the Left has consciously embraced unions, many left-leaning nonprofits have unionized, notably including groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. Staff at the SPLC unionized after a racial discrimination and sexual harassment scandal at the nonprofit in 2019. When the SPLC reorganized earlier this year, the union accused the organization of union-busting. Neither the USU nor the UAW responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time. The post IRONIC: Union Employees Strike Against the UAW, Accuse it of Union-Busting appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. When the EU doesn’t like the outcome of an election or a government in a member country, it alarmingly tends to look for explanations in almost every place, except the one that makes sense – the free, democratic will of the voters. It’s Romania’s turn. Namely, ahead of the second round of presidential elections in that country, the European Parliament (EP) appears to be going the roundabout way in an attempt to delegitimize the first-round victory of independent candidate Calin Georgescu. And the roundabout way is what looks like a frontal rhetorical assault on TikTok, which some EP members (MEPs) are accusing of failing to live up to the Digital Services Act (DSA) – EU’s censorship law. Specifically now, where it now concerns the Romanian vote and spread of “disinformation” on an alleged scale capable of influencing the result. A hearing was organized on Tuesday to put pressure on the social platform’s executives, with corporate media describing the MEP’s behavior as “hostile” and “furious” – while Georgescu is casually referred to as an “ultranationalist.” The Internal Market Committee hearing came after TikTok was blamed by the European Commission for running algorithms that supposedly “disproportionally” promoted content favorable to Georgescu. TikTok’s representatives told the panel that they are in fact working hard to censor, aka, moderate content in Romania in particular, a market which is said to have the largest number of moderators. And, in the run-up to elections, a number of “influence campaigns” had been removed from the platform, they told the MEPs. But that’s not what the MEPs wanted to hear. Those from Georgescu’s opponents at home, the ruling Social Democrats, were particularly vocal in their outrage, accusing TikTok of not respecting DSA-mandated censorship (“moderation”), and providing the committee with “no answers” while showing “utter contempt.” Only a politician knows how it’s possible to interpret an attempt by TikTok to prove and document its eagerness to “moderate” to the current authorities’ satisfaction as, “utter contempt” – but, unsurprisingly, Greens from a number of countries used similar rhetoric. Meanwhile, “work” is being done in Romania itself to derail Georgescu’s presidential bid, including accusations of alleged “outside interference.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post EU Pushes for TikTok Clampdown After Romanian Election Upset appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Outrageous: 94% of Feds Work From Home