Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge writes: 2024 was the year when the runaway US budget deficit was supposed to gradually normalize, and after two crisis years, the US was supposed to end its drunken sailor spending ways. And for a while there, it seemed touch and go, with the cumulative US deficit initially overtaking 2023 […] The post Opportunity Economy: Interest on Debt Over $1T, US Borrows 55¢ on Every Dollar appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Scott Hayes, 47, was charged on Thursday after he shot a man wearing a pro-Palestinian pin who charged and tackled him during a protest in Newton, Mass. The charges, announced Thursday night by Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, include assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury. Hayes will be arraigned in Newton District Court on Friday.  In a video obtained by The Daily Wire, a man wearing the pin and a surgical mask around his neck stood on the opposite side of the street, yelling at a group of 10 protesters. He called them “sick” and accused them of “supporting genocide.” BREAKING: Anti-Israel man shot in stomach after charging through traffic to tackle a man at a pro-Israel demonstration outside Boston in Newton, Massachusetts. Footage obtained exclusively by @KassyAkiva: pic.twitter.com/nsGN3MQVAO — Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 13, 2024 The man then runs across the street through traffic and tackles Hayes, who was preparing to leave before the attack. Moments later, while the attacker was on top of Hayes on the ground, Hayes shot the man in the stomach. In another video, Hayes is seen placing the gun behind him on the pavement after the shot. Hayes, who was holding American and Israeli flags throughout the protest, is then seen in an additional video telling bystanders to call 911 and tending to the wounds of the man who attacked him. In another video, the man who fired the gun is seen providing medical care to the man who tackled him before first responders arrived. pic.twitter.com/wMtoowakr9 — Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 13, 2024 Other protesters told The Daily Wire they were not aware Hayes had a firearm, but believe he was acting in self defense. Hayes, a Iraq War veteran frequently attends pro-Israel protests and rallies around Massachusetts to show his support for the Jewish state and to call for the release of the 101 hostages currently held by Hamas in Gaza.  “We’ve been to standouts like this often and nothing like this has ever happened,” Aidin, a pro-Israel Iranian who attends protests with Hayes, told The Daily Wire, declining to give his last name. “I was shocked when the man ran across the street and had no idea why he would do that.” Though Hayes is not Jewish, the Jewish community quickly came to his aid, raising over $30,000 in a GoFundMe to pay for his legal defense fund as of Friday morning. Others plan to attend his arraignment to show their support, sources told The Daily Wire. Newton, a suburb of Boston, is considered one of the most Jewish cities in the United States. Jews make up between 20 and 30% of the population, according to Forward. Here is the press conference with Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan announcing that Scott Hayes will be charged after shooting the man with a pro-Palestinian pin who tackled him during a protest. pic.twitter.com/YBuRhzHeJU — Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) September 13, 2024 The man shot suffered life-threatening injuries, Ryan said during a press conference that included the Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the police chief.  Ryan did not say if the anti-Israel man will be charged. Fuller called the situation a “frightening incident’ and asked the public to let the police “do their work and get their facts straight.” Anti-Defamation League New England said it was “concerning” that “charges were immediately filed prior to completion of the investigation” in a statement on X. Ryan’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

The following is a transcript excerpt from Dr. Jordan Peterson’s interview with The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh about his new movie, “Am I Racist?” In this segment, Walsh describes witnessing the real phenomena of white guilt when filming. He explains that without religion, people’s inability to interpret the feeling of guilt caused by sins becomes misplaced. In search of understanding, people are deceived by con artists who make money showcasing white-guilt subterfuge and the like, causing white guilt to become a replacement for religion. For more from Dr. Peterson, see his extensive catalog available on DailyWire+. You can listen to or watch the full podcast episode on DailyWire+. Start time: 1:28:58 Jordan B. Peterson: What did you learn as a consequence of doing the movie, and why should people go see it, as far as you’re concerned? Matt Walsh: I think there are several things. Maybe the main thing that I learned — and I don’t know if it’s learned so much as had illustrated for me — but a lot of people who fall for this… You know, there are the people that push it: the Robin D’Angelo types, the women who run the race to dinner we have in the film— Peterson: Oh, yes. Saira Rao … She runs those dinners where the white women pay to be humiliated by two unbelievably narcissistic psychopaths so that they actually feel good about themselves without actually having to do any more or having to put in any of the moral effort. Walsh: Exactly, exactly. And that’s the thing. Those types of people, the people who are running the show, that’s one thing. And I don’t know how much they even believe a lot of what they’re saying. I don’t think they believe all of it, certainly. And there’s not a lot to be learned about them. I think that they’re grifters. They’re con artists. They’re making a lot of money on this stuff. That’s a big part of the motivation. It’s not very complicated.  Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! But what’s more interesting to me are the women who would sit around that table who are paying money to be there, or the people who would willingly attend one of these seminars that we have in the film, people who would willingly read Robin D’Angelo’s book. I’ve always been more interested in them. Like what’s going on with them? And what I found making the film is that, you really can’t overstate the guilt that these people are walking around with. White guilt. White guilt is a very real phenomenon. I knew that making the movie, but having it illustrated so profoundly was still pretty enlightening to me, that a lot of these people are just walking around with a lot of guilt. And, for a sane, rational white person like myself and you, it can be hard to understand because I’ve never spent any time feeling guilty about slavery or Jim Crow. I had nothing to do with it. I’ve never spent any time feeling guilty about it at all. And so it’s hard for us to understand people who, not only have they felt guilt about it, but they’re overcome with guilt by this kind of thing.  Peterson: How much of that, though, too, is that they want to signal how overcome by guilt they are so that they look like hypermoral agents? I see the same thing with mothers, in particular, who brandish their trans children like their flag of pride. It’s like, “Oh, look at how upset and confused my child is, and yet I’m still wonderful enough to love them no matter what.” It’s a really malevolent game. And that parading your self-flagellation indicates the profundity of your guilt, that’s a pretty bloody ugly game too.  Now, I understand that there’s a fair bit of genuine moral confusion mixed in there, but the self-serving in public — you notice that those women go to those dinners in groups. It’s not Saira Rao and her pathological partner with one woman. They have to do that group so they can signal to each other the depths of their moral virtue. Walsh: Yes, I think that’s certainly right. There’s a certain amount of virtue signaling that goes into it for sure. But the race to dinner — just using that again as an example — that’s seven or eight minutes in the movie, but, of course, you’re making a movie, especially a movie like this, they take a lot longer to film, and that was really two hours. I mean, that dinner went on for two hours, and you can see these women sitting around at this table at various points crying, seemingly very much overcome with emotion talking about their racism that they feel, given opportunities to talk about examples of when they committed racist acts, and then they share their examples. And it’s like none of the examples they give are actual racism. And yes, again, some of that is them just showing off, but I do think that at the core of it, there is real guilt here. And we could spend another two hours psychoanalyzing this, but my own theory about how they can feel this guilt is that it’s a replacement for religion. Almost all of them are irreligious people. Even if they would call themselves Christian, they’re not really. And traditionally, religion has given us an answer for guilt.  Now, I don’t feel any racial guilt, I don’t feel any white guilt. But I do feel guilt. I do experience guilt for things that I do that are wrong. If I commit sins, I feel guilty about them. But then, I turn to my faith and that gives me an answer for, number one, why I feel that guilt, what that guilt is from, and then what to do with it, what I do about that guilt. And I can turn to my faith and get an answer to all of that.  But if you take religion out of it, well, now you’ve still got people that are sinning, that are doing evil acts, and so they’re still going to feel the guilt because of it. But they don’t have a way of understanding that guilt. They don’t have any way of interpreting it. And so they look around for someone to tell them what to do with the guilt. And then these racial husslers are there, and then they’ll tell you, “Oh, I’ll tell you why you feel guilty. It’s because of this.” That’s a big part of it.  Peterson: Well, I think that’s a good analysis. When you were a somewhat profligate 24-year-old, you needed to channel the meaninglessness and the guilt that was associated with your unmoored life into something that was properly sacrificial. And you got married and you had kids. That provides a pathway where you can discharge your moral duty. That’s the thing.  It’s necessary for human beings to discharge their moral duty; otherwise, they’ll be overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and self-deprecation. That’s because we are communal and social creatures, and we have to live in relationship to other people. If we don’t do that, we violate our deepest instincts or our most divine calling. As you said, for the typical person, you find that expiation of your self-centeredness in responsibility to your wife, like long-term committed responsibility, and to your kids, to your grandkids, and to that multi-generational endeavor. If we didn’t have that propensity for guilt, we wouldn’t be social the way that we are. And it can be exploited by the sadistic, narcissistic, histrionic psychopaths. And the women who run that race to dinner are great examples of that. Man, they’re something to watch.

With a looming strike by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), U.S. retailers and manufacturers are scrambling to mitigate the potential fallout. The ILA, representing about 25,000 dockworkers, has been locked in a deadlock with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) over new labor agreements. If no deal is reached by the contract expiration on September 30, the strike could begin as early as October 1, potentially crippling East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas. Retailers, particularly those preparing for the crucial holiday season, are on edge. A strike could lead to significant delays in the arrival of goods, just as retailers anticipate high demand for consumer products. Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain at the National Retail Federation, noted that many businesses are already preemptively increasing imports to avoid disruptions. However, even with these precautions, the impacts could ripple across the U.S. economy if the strike drags on. “Retailers are prepared for the holiday season,” Gold said, but emphasized that extended delays could lead to empty store shelves and a potential loss of consumer confidence. NewsNation's Blake Burman discusses the potential impact of a port strike on the East and Gulf Coasts. There is a possibility of workers going on strike Oct. 1, which would coincide with the election and the holiday shipping season. pic.twitter.com/SwmCgZ8EIm — NewsNation (@NewsNation) September 12, 2024 Manufacturers are also deeply concerned. Many rely on just-in-time inventory systems, which could see their production lines halted if raw materials and parts fail to arrive on time. The automotive sector, in particular, would be hit hard, as car manufacturers depend on timely imports of parts from overseas suppliers. A lengthy strike could exacerbate already-existing supply chain issues, potentially leading to production shutdowns across the country. The agricultural industry stands to suffer as well, with exporters fearing delays that could cause spoilage of perishable goods. With the ports handling 40% of U.S. imports, a stoppage would likely back up shipments, impacting farmers and producers who depend on tight shipping schedules to get their goods to global markets. A potential East Coast port strike could cripple a lot more than holiday business. Think the supply chain was bad during the pandemic?pic.twitter.com/OnkPeL0NTH — Debbie Paige (@deb1boston) September 12, 2024 The broader economy also faces significant risks. According to experts, for each day of work stoppage, it could take five days to clear the resulting backlogs. Given that the strike would coincide with peak shipping season and China's Golden Week, delays could quickly snowball. Ships would back up in ports, rail and trucking networks would become congested, and U.S. companies relying on international trade would feel the squeeze almost immediately. Government intervention is possible, though complicated. The Biden administration has so far resisted stepping in but could invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, a federal law allowing the government to impose a temporary cooling-off period during labor disputes deemed a threat to national security. Such an intervention has been used in past port strikes, most notably during the 2002 West Coast port shutdown under President George W. Bush. However, Biden, known for his pro-labor stance, may be reluctant to use this tool, especially with an election on the horizon and labor union support a key consideration. The ILA is demanding significant wage increases, similar to the 32% raise secured by West Coast dockworkers in 2022. The union remains firm in its stance, and it is unclear how quickly negotiations can resolve the deadlock before the deadline. If no resolution is reached, the U.S. economy could see billions of dollars in losses, and the holiday season could become a logistical nightmare for retailers. The clock is ticking, and all eyes are on the negotiations. For now, businesses across the nation are bracing for the worst, hoping that the strike can be averted before it wreaks havoc on already fragile supply chains. The post Retailers and Manufacturers Brace for Potential East Coast Port Strike appeared first on The Conservative Brief.

Every person on the planet has left something in a hotel room at some point. They often get as far as the front desk or their car and realize it. That makes it easy to return to retrieve the item. However, if you drive away, you may not miss it until you’re home. The list of things left in hotel rooms includes the most common items, such as phone chargers, adapters, underwear, and dirty laundry. It may surprise you with some of the strange things hotel staff find in rooms. According to the Hotel Room Innsights Report, Hotels.com reports that one guest left their pet lizard! After finding a mini dinosaur crawling around in the room, the cleaning staff may have needed CPR or the portable defibrillator. Fortunately, the lizard was returned to its owner without incident. Image from Rawpixel. The most expensive item ever left was a $6 million watch. Other guests left a Birkin Bag, stacks of cash, and a Rolex watch. It is difficult to imagine having such valuable items and “losing” them in a hotel room. Most people collect everything on a bellhop cart and make a final circuit through the room when they leave. But that didn’t help the ten percent of guests that left behind dentures. Did they miss out on the continental breakfast or eat without their teeth? Image from Wikimedia Commons. In addition to the live things and expensive items, guests leave behind other bizarre stuff. It raises eyebrows when staff find a car tire in the room. Other guests have left rice cookers, blenders, teddy bears, rings, and construction pipes. In fairness, the construction pipes may have been a PVC marshmallow shooter. Please share if you said, “Huh?” You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here. The post Hotels.com Shares Strangest Things Left Behind In Hotel Rooms appeared first on InspireMore.

The movie premieres Oct. 3

S.O.S. FOR SPRINGFIELD, OHIO... ‘Send Help’: Ohio Town Grapples With Car Crashes, Housing Crisis And National Attention Amid Migrant Influx SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Residents of a suburban Ohio town currently under the national spotlight say they’ve been dealing with the consequences of mass immigration for years, including a housing crunch, a rise in car wrecks and other alleged crimes.

'Al Qaeda has never been a one-dimensional threat'