'That's more painful than anything I went through'

The post Travel Cat “The Navigator” Convertible Cat Backpack Review 2024: A Detailed Look by Sara Seitz appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead About Travel Cat The Navigator Overview Key Features Is It A Good Value? FAQ Our Experience Our Final Verdict We give Travel Cat’s “The Navigator” Cat Backpack a rating of 4.85 out of 5 stars. Features: 4.9/5 Quality: 5/5 Comfort: 4.7/5 Value: 4.8/5 Check Price on Amazon Does adventure call to your kitty? Do they look at the confines of a catio and flick their tail in disgust? Then Travel Cat may just have the product for you. “The Navigator” Convertible Cat Backpack was made for kitties who long to breathe mountain air, travel the world, and never, ever be left behind. This ultimate cat backpack features multiple roll-up windows, two harness clips, four mesh sides, and safety clips on all zippers. For the human, this well-designed pack comes with highly adjustable straps, breathable padding, plenty of pockets for gear, and even a water bladder pouch with a hose outlet. It’s the perfect cat backpack for hikers, campers, adventurous, and the cats they love. My adventure kitty, Makoa, and I had the opportunity to give this super-functional backpack a try. So far I’ve been very impressed with all it has to offer, though there is some room for improvement. Find out more in my full Travel Cat Convertible Cat Backpack review, below. About Travel Cat Travel Cat was founded by wife and husband team, Emily and Ian after they “accidentally” adopted a stray kitten. They wanted more for their cat than a life of lounging indoors, but the market didn’t have any companies dedicated to creating cat travel products. That’s when Travel Cat was born. Today, this cat-centric company makes quality cat carriers, backpacks, harnesses, leashes, and everything else adventure cats need to feel safe and comfortable in the big, wide world outside their homes. Where Are Travel Cat Products Produced? Travel Cat is a small, family-owned business based out of New York. All their products ship from their warehouse in the state, though many of them are made elsewhere. The Navigator backpack, for instance, is made in Vietnam. Which Types of Cats Are Travel Cat Products Best Suited For? As you might imagine, many Travel Cat products are geared toward kitties who like to accompany their owners into the great outdoors. They have a long line of hiking backpacks, playpens, portable bowl sets, portable litter boxes, and everything else cats need to feel comfortable away from home. But even less intrepid kitties can shop Travel Cat. Their carriers and convertible backpacks are great for car and air travel, too. And they sell plenty of cat beds, accessories, and necessities that even homebody felines will enjoy. The Navigator Convertible Cat Backpack, in particular, is a great option for owners who want to hike with their cats. It has extra padding, pockets, and features to make long hikes with your kitty copilot safer and more comfortable. The Navigator Overview Check Price on Amazon Here is an overview of Travel Cat’s “The Navigator” Convertible Cat Backpack. We’ll look at the build, features, storage, and technical specifications. The Build From the second you get your hands on this backpack, you can tell it is well-built and made with an eye for detail. The polyester fabric is thick and sturdy—even the sharpest nails are no match for this bag. Each of the rubbery mesh screens is made to withstand tearing and chewing while maximizing airflow. The straps and back of the pack are lined with thick padding and breathable mesh material to maximize comfort for the owner. Each strap, including the shoulder, chest, and waist straps, is highly adjustable to fit owners of all sizes. The chest strap, in particular, can be adjusted in width as well as up and down. The Navigator can be used as a backpack or with the included removable shoulder strap, which converts it to a duffle-style bag. The bottom pad inside can be moved as needed to keep your cat comfy in all positions. Features This versatile backpack is popping with features. For cats, it offers roll-up windows on the back and top so they can enjoy the world unobscured. These mesh windows roll up and secure thanks to a brilliant system of clasps. To keep kitties in, the pack features two internal, adjustable harness leashes. Each opening and window flap features two zippers and clips to secure them together. The shape of the backpack maximizes the space at the bottom so even big kitties can rest comfortably. The frame is fairly sturdy too, which helps keep the space inside from collapsing even as the pack gets jostled around. For owners, there is plenty to love about this pack too. On one side, you’ll find two large water bottle pockets. On the other is a spacious zip pocket with three internal compartments and a key clip. This pack even has a water bladder pocket inside the main compartment, complete with a hose outlet at the top. Storage and Usability For those cramped car trips and camping expeditions, as well as those downtimes between adventures, this bag is made to be easy to stow and store. The entire bag folds flat so it can be stuffed into the trunk or the closet. But don’t put it away just yet. The convertibility to a duffel bag makes this backpack a great option for securing your cat in the car. The bag also falls under most airlines’ in-cabin size restrictions, which makes it a good option for air travel. Technical Specifications The Navigator is a good-sized backpack meant to accommodate cats up to 25 pounds. The dual harness clips inside mean you could even load this spacey pack with two smaller kitties at once. The pack itself is 18 inches high by 15.4 inches wide by 10 inches deep. It is fairly sturdy but could easily be smashed down a bit to fit on an airplane or into a packed car. It weighs about 2 pounds when it’s empty. In Summary Pros Well-made and durable Multiple openings and windows Very spacious inside Padded straps and back Multiple pockets Cons Straps may not accommodate small individuals No hip pads Only two color options available Key Features Check Price on Amazon Made for Kitty Comfort The Navigator Convertible Cat Backpack was made with the comfort and safety of cats in mind. It has large mesh windows on four sides to ensure maximum airflow, which means more fun smells to smell. Two of the windows roll up to allow kitties to hang out and see the world around them. And the bottom pad provides a comfy place to rest while the study bag offers tons of room to move around. For safety, the bag features two internal, adjustable harness clips and locking clips on every zipper. Great for Hikes The padded straps and padded, breathable material on the back of this pack make it a great option for long hauls. It has a chest strap and waist strap to help distribute the weight and unburden your shoulders (a great feature for owners of hefty tabbies). It also has two large water bottle pockets and a water reservoir pocket with a hose outlet. With multiple storage compartments and clips to carry even more, this cat backpack may just become your go-to hiking pack. Convertible to Cover All Your Needs Whether you’re hitting the trail or just taking Whiskers in for a checkup, this bag is up for the job. It converts quickly from backpack to duffel thanks to the included shoulder strap. The pad inside the pack can be moved to the bottom or back depending on the orientation of the bag. Is The Travel Cat Convertible Cat Backpack a Good Value? There is quite a range of cat backpacks out there, from the simple $25 options to the premium products that can run near $200. At about $140, The Navigator is definitely on the premium side. But this pack also offers a lot more than most other options. The extra storage, ample padding, multiple straps, water bladder pocket, and multiple other features are not things you’ll find on most cat backpacks. And certainly, you won’t get these options for a lower price, making this premium backpack a good value for what you get. Check Price on Amazon Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) How much cat can this backpack hold? The Navigator is rated for up to 25 pounds of cat. It has two harness clips and can accommodate up to two smaller kitties or one big cat. Are there multiple size options? No, this is a one-size-fits-most backpack. The shoulder straps are highly adjustable, though they may not tighten down enough for petite people. The waist and chest straps also have plenty of room for adjustment. Are there any other color options? The Navigator is available in gray and the recently released “Earth” option. This new color choice is brown and tan with highlights of turquoise and orange. Our Experience With Travel Cat Convertible Cat Backpack My one-year-old domestic shorthair, Makoa, thinks he’s a dog. Maybe that’s because he’s been raised alongside my two dogs since he was five weeks old. Because of this, he needs to be part of the pack. This means that he sits at the door and yowls every time I leave the house to walk the dogs. To remedy this issue, I thought I’d give The Navigator Convertible Cat Backpack a try. I’ve used cat backpacks with Makoa before. But he quickly outgrew those in size and function. At 12 pounds, he’s a fairly large boy. He’s also completely fearless and does not want to be cooped up inside a pack when there are things to see outside. For all these reasons, I thought The Navigator might be a good choice. This backpack is roomy—it has more than enough space for my big kitty. And the combination of the harness clips and the roll-up windows means Makoa can literally “hang out” while we walk, rather than being locked away inside the bag. As soon as I got the bag, I was impressed with the quality of it. The material is thick and sturdy and the bag has obviously been made and designed with care. I love all the pockets and was so excited when I found the water bladder pocket. This combined with the padded straps and back had me forgetting walks with the dogs and plotting my first hike with Makoa, instead. After a few test runs, I knew he would love it. He spends the entire time I’m moving with his head and front paws hanging out the back window. He seems to love being able to see everything clearly and smell the breeze flowing past. He certainly meows less while in this pack compared to his previous backpacks. On my end, I really appreciate the extra padding this pack has. It’s a substantial bag and my boy puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders, especially when he hangs out the back. I only have two real gripes, in terms of comfort. One, the shoulder straps don’t quite tighten enough for my build. And two, the waist straps don’t have any padding around the hips. If this thing was built with the hip straps of a backpacking pack, I could hike for days! Still, I think with a little conditioning, this backpack will be comfortable enough to take Makoa hiking and camping with ease. As an adventurer at heart, I know he’s very excited about having the means to get out more. And I’m happy to have an easy way to add enrichment to his life. In fact, this pack has really inspired me to find more ways to include Makoa in my adventuring, specifically hiking and camping. I plan to load up on more of the wonderful adventure cat products Travel Cat offers in the near future. Check Price on Amazon Conclusion If you have a cat who’s not content lounging around the house all day, I highly suggest checking out what Travel Cat has to offer. And if you like to hike and are looking for a way to include your cat in your adventures, then the Travel Cat Convertible Cat Backpack is definitely for you. This pack is loaded with features. Multiple roll-up windows, a spacious interior, plenty of storage, a water bladder pocket, and more make for a better, safer, more comfortable experience for cat and owner alike. And because this pack quickly transforms from backpack to duffle, it has a multitude of uses. Thanks to The Navigator Convertible Cat Backpack, I never have to leave my adventure-loving cat at home. The post Travel Cat “The Navigator” Convertible Cat Backpack Review 2024: A Detailed Look by Sara Seitz appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won applause at the Libertarian presidential convention in May by criticizing government lockdowns and deficit spending, and saying America shouldn’t police the world. It made me want to interview him. Earlier this month, I did. Kennedy, an independent candidate for president, says intelligent things about America’s growing debt. “President Trump said that he was going to balance the budget and instead he [increased the debt more] than every president in United States history—$8 trillion,” he says. “President Biden is on track now to beat him.” It’s good to hear a candidate actually talk about our national debt. “When the debt is this large … you have to cut dramatically, and I’m going to do that,” Kennedy says. .@RobertKennedyJr says he’ll “cut the military in half.” He argues America shouldn’t be the world’s policeman. Good. But when I ask him about funding Israel… “Yes, of course we should,” he says. I push Kennedy on whether he'd REALLY spend less: pic.twitter.com/HUXwX21uz7— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) July 30, 2024 But looking at his campaign promises, I don’t see it. He promises “affordable” housing via a federal program backing 3% mortgages. “Imagine that you had a rich uncle who was willing to cosign your mortgage!” Kennedy gushes in a campaign ad. “I’m going to make Uncle Sam that rich uncle!” I point out that such giveaways won’t reduce our debt. “That’s not a giveaway,” Kennedy replies. “Every dollar that I spend as president is going to go toward building our economy.” That’s big government nonsense, like his other claim: “Every million dollars we spend on child care creates 22 jobs.” Give me a break. When I pressed him about specific cuts, Kennedy says, “I’ll cut the military in half … cut it to about $500 billion … We are not the policemen of the world.” “Stop giving any money to Ukraine?” I ask. “Negotiate a peace,” Kennedy replies, then refers to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Biden has never talked to Putin about this, and it’s criminal.” Kennedy never did answer whether he’d give money to Ukraine. He did answer about Israel. “Yes, of course we should,” he says. “[Since] you don’t want to cut this spending, what would you cut?” “Israel spending is rather minor,” Kennedy responds. “I’m going to pick the most wasteful programs, put them all in one bill, and send them to Congress [for] an up and down vote.” Of course, Congress would just vote that bill down. Kennedy’s proposed cuts would hardly slow down our path to bankruptcy. Especially since he also wants new spending that activists pretend will reduce climate change. At a concert years ago, Kennedy smeared “crisis” skeptics like me, who believe we can adjust to climate change, screaming at the audience: “Next time you see John Stossel and [others] … these flat-earthers, these corporate toadies—lying to you. This is treason, and we need to start treating them now as traitors!” Now, sitting with him, I ask: “You want to have me executed for treason?” “That statement,” he replies, “it’s not a statement that I would make today … Climate is existential. I think it’s human-caused climate change. But I don’t insist other people believe that. I’m arguing for free markets and then the lowest cost providers should prevail in the marketplace … we should end all subsidies and let the market dictate.” That sounds good: “Let the market dictate.” But wait, Kennedy makes money from solar farms backed by government-guaranteed loans. He “leaned on his contacts in the Obama administration to secure a $1.6 billion loan guarantee,” The New York Times wrote. “Why should you get a government subsidy?” I ask. “If you’re creating a new industry,” Kennedy replies, “you’re competing with the Chinese. You want the United States to own pieces of that industry.” I suppose that means his government would subsidize every industry leftists like. Yet when a wind farm company proposed building one near his family’s home, Kennedy opposed it. “Seems hypocritical,” I say. “We’re exterminating the right whale in the North Atlantic through these wind farms,” he replies. I think Kennedy was more honest years ago when he complained that “turbines … would be seen from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, … Nantucket … [They] will steal the stars and nighttime views.” Kennedy was once a Democrat, but now Democrats sue to keep him off ballots. Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich calls him a “dangerous nutcase.” Kennedy complains that Reich won’t debate him. “Nobody will,” he says. “They won’t have me on any of their networks.” Well, obviously, I will. I especially wanted to confront him about vaccines. That’s for the next column. COPYRIGHT 2024 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post On RFK Jr. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

“She is a San Francisco liberal.” That’s how Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas—who graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law School—described Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview on CNN last week. That description of San Francisco may make sense now, but there was a time when it did not. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower boarded his presidential plane—the Columbine III—on Aug. 21, 1956, to go to the Republican National Convention, he did not head for the Midwest or the South. He flew to San Francisco International Airport and then took a limousine to the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square. The mayor of San Francisco then was George Christopher, a Republican. The venue for that year’s convention was the Cow Palace, an arena that had been built to host rodeos. That fall, the city of San Francisco voted to reelect Eisenhower over Democratic Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson, 51.53% to 48.01%. What kind of city was San Francisco in that era? It was a working- and middle-class town. In 1960, according to Census Bureau data posted by the California state government, only 12.2% of San Francisco workers were professional or technical employees. By contrast, more than 71% worked as craftsmen or foreman (9.9%), laborers (4.3%) or operatives (11.5%) or did clerical (23.9%), sales (7.6%), service (11.9%) or household work (2.1%). That same census showed that 43.7% of the households in San Francisco were families with children under 18. The median family income in the city was only $6,717—which when converted into June 2024 dollars (using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator) equals $71,779.37. The median value of a home in San Francisco in December 1959 was $17,300—which equals approximately $184,872 in June 2024 dollars. A majority of workers in the city either worked at home (4.8%) or took a bus or streetcar (36.7%) or walked (10.8%) to work. Only 11.1% of the city’s 25-and-older population in 1960 had attended four or more years of college. How did that San Francisco differ from the one populated by the liberals that Cotton derides today? The new San Francisco is a much wealthier town. The median household income in the city in 2022, according to the Census Bureau, was $136,692—or $144,695 in June 2024 dollars. That is more than twice the $71,779.37 median family income (in 2024 dollars) that San Franciscans had in 1960. In 2022, according to the Census Bureau, 75.8% of the housing units in San Francisco were valued at $1 million or more. But only 35.3% of the households in the city in 2022 were married-couple families. Among the city’s workforce in 2022, 12.9% worked for the local, state, or federal government, and 10.9% worked for not-for-profit organizations, while 66.8% worked for private companies. Among the private-sector workers, only a total of about 22% worked in construction (3.2%), manufacturing (4.7%), wholesale trade (1.4%), retail trade (7.8%), and transportation, warehousing and utilities (4.8%). By contrast, approximately 62% worked in information (6.0%), finance, insurance and real estate (8.7%), professional, scientific, and management and administrative and waste management services (26.9%), and education services, and health care and social assistance (20.8%). In 2022, 61.4% of San Francisco adults had a bachelor’s degree or higher. That is more than five times the 11.1% of 1960 San Franciscans who had attended four or more years of college. In the 2020 presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden won 85.26% of the popular vote in San Francisco and then-President Donald Trump won 12.72%. The working-class San Francisco of the 1950s voted for a Republican president. The college-educated, six-figure-income San Francisco of the 2020s voted for a Democrat. Which is the party of the elite? COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Back When San Francisco Wasn’t Liberal—or an Epithet appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In the wake of the EU elections, those at the helm of the bloc are working to make the already contentious Digital Services Act (DSA) – which critics say is a sweeping censorship law – even more controversial. Namely, EU regulators now want to make what was previously a set of “voluntary” guidelines implemented by online platforms – the Code of Practice on Disinformation – a formal part of the DSA. This is the stance taken by the Digital Services Board, which just issued a report that now wants that “voluntary code” to be “swiftly converted” so that it becomes subject to the DSA. The Board consists of coordinators from the EU’s nation-states. The report said their demand to bring the Code under the DSA umbrella is supported by the EU Commission (EC). In 2022, the Code was initially joined by 34 signatories, while this number is currently 44. Among them are Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Twitch, and TikTok, but also several journalist and research groups, “fact-checking” groups, and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). When it was announced, the EU said the Code represented a “strengthened” version of the one from 2018, and noted that it was the result of EC’s guidance issued in 2021. Even before this latest initiative, it was unclear to what degree the rules were “voluntary” in practice, given that on many occasions top EU bureaucrats did not hide that, especially when it comes to online platforms, it was there to make sure they “self-regulate” – or the EU would do it for them. If the Code is included in the DSA, it will mean that is exactly what has happened. “In view of the important added value of the Code regarding mitigating systemic risks, the Commission considers a swift conversion of the Code as crucial, with the aim to finish this process in the coming months,” the report said. The text of the 2022 Code states that its purpose is to, among other things, create scrutiny of ad placements, which includes demonetization of “disinformation” and “cooperation with relevant players”; the “integrity of services” section forks into “common understanding of impermissible manipulative behavior” and “transparency obligations for AI systems.” The Code further seeks to “empower” both users and the research community. The first category was to expect signatories to focus on “enhanced media literacy” and, “better equipping users to identify misinformation,” as well as “functionality to flag harmful false and/or misleading information.” Meanwhile, researchers were supposed to be provided with the signatories’ data, for the purpose of “researching disinformation.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post EU Regulators Seek to Formalize “Disinformation Code” Under Censorship Law appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wants First Amendment free speech protections to be bolstered and believes that the separation of Tech and State ( creating a “wall of separation” between them) is in order. This is to make sure government censorship is efficiently prevented going forward, he suggested. Bailey sat down with journalist Tim Pool, and went through a litany of other issues plaguing political and social democratic processes, most clearly visible in what critics of the current White House consider to be the government colluding with social media companies to suppress lawful speech. Bailey spoke about the Missouri v. Biden case (which reached the Supreme Court as Murthy v. Missouri) to say that “government coerced censorship” has already been proven, and now that the case has been referred back to a lower court, the discovery process can be used to fully expose what the state AG called, “that vast Censorship Enterprise.” Regarding the much contested on both sides of the aisle (but for different reasons) Section 230 of the CDA, Bailey agreed with the host that it should not continue in the current form, since platforms are protected for hosting third-party content – and then allowed to freely censor that content. But the collusion with the government demonstrated in stark terms why Section 230 should be reformed so that it’s “just a shield” for platforms, without also putting the “sword” of censorship in their hands, the interlocutors agreed. The issue of social media and internet services becoming so widespread they are arguably the most powerful influence on people’s choices – from shopping to politics – means they qualify as the public square. And on that square, culture can be “fundamentally reshaped,” Bailey said. Platforms banning “misgendering speech” was mentioned as an example. And back to Section 230, but this time with regards to Wikipedia. Here, the Missouri AG doesn’t believe immunity from the rules should extended to Wikipedia. This is because whatever is published on Wikipedia is not clearly marked as written by users (such as on social platforms) – this is only visible in the source of a webpage. “The byline is, ‘from Wikipedia’,” Pool remarked. “They look like a publisher,” Bailey said, alleging that Section 230 was not designed to protect those. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Missouri AG Andrew Bailey Advocates for Tech-State Separation Criticizes, Big Tech Censorship Influence appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. America’s attempt to set up what critics called the “Ministry of Truth” failed miserably last year when the Disinformation Governance Board was quickly set up as an advisory to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – and then quickly dissolved, under massive public pushback. The Board’s head was Nina Jankowicz, whose role some of those same critics, among politicians and media among them, summed up as “misinformation czar.” Let’s say that this is a kind way of saying, “censorship czar.” But, reporting to this effect still personally offended Jankowicz enough to file a defamation lawsuit against Fox News. And now, a federal judge has dismissed that suit. We obtained a copy of the order for you here. Jankowicz stated in the filing that Fox was making false claims about her intent to censor Americans, denying also that she “wanted to give verified Twitter users, including herself, the power to edit others tweets,” or that she was actually fired (rather than resigning). The reason she had to leave the Board, Jankowicz asserted, was the “harassment” she endured because Fox published reports that contained those claims. US District Court for the District of Delaware Judge Colm Connolly, however, dismissed these three arguments. Jankowicz cited 37 statements heard on Fox, but the judge said 36 of them were about the Board in general, not her in particular. And the one instance that could be construed to refer to Jankowicz (her picture was used to illustrate a report about the Board) doesn’t count, either. The Fox report said the Board was “dedicated to working with the special media giants for the purpose of policing information.” The judge decided to express himself plainly: “The statement is not defamatory because it is not false.” And he didn’t stop there: “The Board was formed precisely to police information and to work with non governmental actors,” Connolly wrote. The fact that the Board was to “coordinate” with private companies to tackle what they identified as “misinformation”, is an objective that Connolly said is “fairly characterized as a form of censorship.” As for the claim that Fox lied regarding the Twitter controversy, the ruling reads: “The complaint itself quotes Jankowicz confirming in a Zoom session that she endorsed the notion of having ‘verified’ individuals edit the content of others’ tweets.” Fox commented on this outcome by saying they were satisfied that the court supported the First Amendment, while Jankowicz told her GoFundMe supporters, who are raising funds for her legal fees, that she would appeal. The case is just one episode in the legal battles raging in the US, that fall into the broader category of “supercontroversy” that is the the Big Government-Big Tech collusion. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Disinformation Board Chief Sued Fox News For Alleging She Was Pro-Censorship. A Judge Agreed With Fox News. appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

About That Wind Farm Off Nantucket and the Big Blade That Just Kicked the Bucket

With every election year comes more and more book tours. Whether it’s First Lady Jill Biden and the children's books glorifying her husband, or a random relative reporting on the life of another candidate, there always seems to be opinions coming out of the woodwork in time for an election. The View from Tuesday morning did not disappoint as Fred Trump, nephew of Donald trump, came forward with his new book along with accusations against his uncle of racism and cruelty, something which was not questioned but applauded by the hosts. From the moment of Trump’s announcement of his running for president, these attacks of his character began, many of them unchecked. It’s one thing to acknowledge a story as possibly legitimate, question both sides, and conclude in a non-partisan way. Yet, non-partisan behavior was never the agenda of ABC or The View, so it was no surprise when Fred Trump was glorified by all of the hosts, not one of them questioning the legitimacy of his arguments, instead joining Fred in bashing the former President: TRUMP: I was very close, yeah. He was my trustee when my father passed away. That didn't work out so well.  [ Laughter ] But -- BEHAR: You can't trust him. That's why. SUNNY HOSTIN: He took your inheritance.     Trump continued explaining his book, highlighting a major accusation against his uncle, claiming the former President told Fred to let his disabled son die (click expand): HAINES: Yes, in 1999, your son William was born with a rare genetic disorder causing severe developmental and intellectual disabilities and you spent years advocating for his care, eventually lobbying Donald to establish a medical fund for William, which he constantly replenished. But just a caveat, he had also taken your inheritance so he and his siblings. So that's why you were in this situation to start with, but later when you called to let him know this fund was running low, you say he made a shocking suggestion to you, so what did he say? TRUMP: You know, it doesn't get any easier to recall this moment, but, yes, the fund, which was only necessary because my inheritance was taken away from me and Mary. BEHAR: Because of him. TRUMP: Because Donald hatched a plan. And he was my trustee, again. I called him to say, Donald, the fund is running low. And without skipping a beat, he said, “Your son doesn't recognize you, let him die, and move down to Florida.” [ Audience reacts ] Now I can't explain how anybody could say that about another human being, least of all your grandnephew. A story which has yet to be confirmed by any other source is sad regardless of its validity, unfortunately, the culture in which we live sees no importance in disabled persons. Fred Trump’s love for his son and outlook for disabled persons as a whole is intrinsically Pro-Life. The empathy which was shown by the hosts of The View was natural yet inconsistent as nearly all of the hosts promote abortion, and in the case of Ana Navarro promote the abortion of disabled children as well. Regardless of the hypocrisy of this one facet of the segment, the interview as a whole, was one of glaring partisan slant, with all questions being softball promotion of an anti-Trump campaign. Fred’s claims were extremely serious and call for equally serious questioning, something which The View was not capable of.   The transcript is below, click “expand” to read: ABC’s The View 07/30/2024 11:27:15 AM EST (...) WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Listen we’re just 98 days until the Presidential election. The nephew of the Republican candidate is breaking his long silence in a new memoir, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way. Please welcome Fred Trump. [ Cheers and applause ] JOY BEHAR: So, welcome to the show.  FRED TRUMP: Thank you. BEHAR: Nice to have you here. TRUMP: Thank you. BEHAR: There have been countless books about your uncle, all over the place. I mean even your sister Mary, who’s your younger sister, she came here to talk about her tell-all book back in 2020. Now, you have stated -- you have stayed quiet. You have not opened up about this at all until this book came out. TRUMP: Right. BEHAR: So, what made you decide to come out about it now? TRUMP: Well, first of all, it's my story. BEHAR: Right. TRUMP: Told in a way -- I'm really the only one that was with Donald during his formative years through his business career, and through his time in the White House. BEHAR: Oh, Mary was not? TRUMP: No, I was close with Donald. He was the first guy that put a golf club in my hand. BEHAR: I see. TRUMP: But All in the Family was to honor my older father, Freddy Donald’s older brother, who was a caring, charismatic guy, and my son William, a child with complex disabilities, who is the most courageous and inspirational person I have ever met. And he opened the door for me to advocate on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To tell their story, I needed to tell the story of the Trump family. Complex, sometimes cruel, you know, every family is complicated. Every family has their crazy uncle at the Thanksgiving table. [ Laughter ]  Donald is atomic crazy. And I've seen it firsthand how he's evolved from crazy to atomic crazy. And I was thinking recently, I wish I had come out earlier with this book because the outpouring of people saying what we are doing to help the disabled has been overwhelming. So, I wish I had done that instead of -- what we did was important, but -- BEHAR:  Well, you did it. SARA HAINES: When it was the right time you got there. But your late father, Fred Trump Jr. Was the eldest of Donald Trump's siblings. He passed away in his early 40s due to complications from alcoholism. Since this is the first time Americans are really hearing from you, you know, you mentioned that your uncle was the first one to put a golf club in your hand. How close were you? TRUMP: I was very close, yeah. He was my trustee when my father passed away. That didn't work out so well.  [ Laughter ] But -- BEHAR: Well, you can't trust him. That's why. SUNNY HOSTIN: He took your inheritance away. TRUMP: See what I did, I let you in on it. BEHAR: You did. TRUMP: But, no we were close. Whenever I would call him, even when he was in the Oval Office, he would answer. He'd leave me messages for my -- me and my family on New Year's Eve. “Hi, this is your favorite President calling, wishing --” So we were close. HAINES: But you call yourself a different kind of Trump, which sounds a little bit more like maybe your dad. TRUMP: Oh I'm definitely like my father. There's no doubt. The good and the bad. Dad, again, was a very caring guy, who unfortunately wanted to live a dream and was crushed by his father, my grandfather, with Donald piling on. And that was tragic because dad - - if dad saw what I was trying to do now, he would have been the biggest fan of it and he would have been out there. BEHAR: But gramps wouldn't have been. TRUMP: No. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Well and I kind of want to ask about that. You spent a lot of time analyzing your uncle in the book and you say that, you know, this bombastic political force he became on you attribute that to a lot of your family dysfunction. You say your family puts the fun in dysfunction. Is the Donald Trump you grew up the same man you see now and how did his family influence this figure that we now know him as? TRUMP: He was always driven, always driven. In fact, people have said, you know, this story is kind of like a Succession story, the television show. And I said no in that all three of the siblings wanted to take over from the father. My dad didn't want that. My Dad’s dream was to become an airline pilot, which he did. Donald and my grandfather disparaged him for that, in fact, Donald called him a, “Glorified bus driver.” HOSTIN: Wow. BEHAR: Jealous. TRUMP: Well, I'd like to see Donald or maybe I wouldn't like to see Donald fly a plane. FARAH GRIFFIN: No. TRUMP: But Donald was always a driven guy. Hated to lose so when he's called a loser, that drives him nuts. HOSTIN: Oh, that's good information, thank you. [ Laughter] BEHAR: Its going to be rough in September for him. TRUMP: It's going to be tough for him in November. BEHAR: In November, I mean. HOSTIN: Let me ask you this. Back in the 70s when you were a preteen you wrote about hearing your uncle Donald Trump use the worst racial slur, twice. While ranting to you about his car being damaged and you're not the first person to claim that Donald Trump trafficked in this kind of language, right? TRUMP: Right. HOSTIN: Though he continues to deny it, do you have any doubt that you heard that slur? TRUMP: I was there. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever. Twice he used the "N" word. Now, to put it into context, and what troubles me even more than that is that he did not know who slashed the roof of his Eldorado. GOLDBERG: He assumed. TRUMP: He assumed. HOSTIN: It was a black -- HAINES: The more revealing part. TRUMP: And interesting, Sunny, about the same time I had a bike stolen. I grew up in Jamaica - - we all grew up in Jamaica, Queens. I - - me and my grandparents and Donald and my father in Jamaica Estates, regardless, I had a bike stolen by three black kids. And unfortunately my dad wasn't around at the time, so the police called and said we found your bike. My mom asked Donald if he could go to the police station with me. And they had this kid and I remember he was my age, and Donald was -- he absolutely wanted to see this kid put in jail. And as wise as I possibly could be at 10 years old, I said I don't want to ruin this kid's life. Just think of what that is going to do to this kid, you know? BEHAR: He didn’t care. TRUMP: I got the bike back. I'm fine with it. Flash forward 17 years later, Central Park Five, five kids who were found, were exonerated, he screamed out for the death penalty in a full page ad. (...)   11:38:23 AM EST GOLDBERG: Welcome back. We're here with Fred Trump, Sara has the first question. HAINES: Yes. In 1999, your son William was born with a rare genetic disorder causing severe developmental and intellectual disabilities and you spent years advocating for his care, eventually lobbying Donald to establish a medical fund for William, which he constantly replenished. But just a caveat, he had also taken your inheritance so he and his siblings. So that's why you were in this situation to start with. But later when you called to let him know this fund was running low, you say he made a shocking suggestion to you, so what did he say? TRUMP: You know, it doesn't get any easier to recall this moment, but, yes, the fund, which was only necessary because my inheritance was taken away from me and Mary. BEHAR: Because of him. TRUMP: Because of Donald hatched a plan. HAINES: And you were siblings. TRUMP: And he was my trustee, again. I called him to say, Donald, the fund is running low. And without skipping a beat, he said, “Your son doesn't recognize you, let him die, and move down to Florida.” [ Audience reacts ] Now I can't explain how anybody could say that about another human being, least of all your grandnephew. BEHAR: A blood relative. TRUMP: A blood relative and Donald had never met William. He didn't understand -- BEHAR: Let him die? TRUMP: The inspiration William is to people. Anyone who William meets and if you look at the smiles that he has, he is quite something. BEHAR: That tells you a lot about the man, doesn't it? TRUMP: Yeah, it's -- BEHAR: And his policies will let people die also. TRUMP: Yeah. Yeah, they're -- as I call them, the “Merry and of Miscreants" that he surrounds himself with in Washington. BEHAR: That’s right. Well hopefully we're going to get him out of office. So in the book, you reveal that you did not vote for your Uncle in 2016 or 2020. I think Mary also did not, right? TRUMP: Right. BEHAR: She said - -she has said famously that, “There is not one redeeming quality about this man.” And both times you voted for the Democrat. So is it too much of an imposition to ask you who you're going to vote for in 2024? TRUMP: I believe in policy over politics. BEHAR: Yeah. TRUMP: And without question, Kamala Harris' policies are what I get behind, so I will be voting for Kamala Harris.  [ Cheers and applause ]  And if I'm asked, I will campaign for her without hesitation. BEHAR: Good. FARAH GRIFFIN: And if I could ask quickly, if Donald Trump loses -- you noted in 2021 he lost. He hates losing. We saw what happened on January 6th. If he loses again should we be fearful of what the consequences will be and what he might incite his followers to do. TRUMP: I don't know what the consequences is, but he ain't going anywhere. So, just – he's not going any -- he will not take it. FARAH GRIFFIN: You think he'll run again? TRUMP: Yes. BEHAR: If Kamala wins we're in charge of the National Guard. FARAH GRIFFIN: But state capitals, there's a lot to consider. HOSTIN: I have a legal note. In a statement to ABC News the Trump campaign wrote, quote, “This is completely fabricated and total fake news of the highest order. It is appalling, a lie so blatantly disgusting can be printed in the media. Anyone who knows President Trump knows he would never use such language and false stories like this have been thoroughly debunked.”  TRUMP: Thanks for the publicity, I appreciate it. GOLDBERG: You know what, I want to add something because I'm just -- I'm listening to the book but I don't think we have to fear anything. I don't think anybody needs to live in fear of anyone in this country. We have -- we can do what we need to do but we don't need to be afraid. I don't want anybody feeling like they can't or they're -- what is he going to do – because there are more of us than there are of him.  [ Applause ]  So, our thanks to Fred Trump. The book, his memoir, All in the family: The Trumps and how we got this way is available now. You can get it also on audible, cause Fred is reading it. (...)    

The New York Times had the temerity to actually blame free markets for Venezuela’s descent down the economic cesspool under socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro. Who in their right mind would actually consider Venezuela a beacon of capitalism in South America? Apparently The Times. The newspaper claimed in a July 28 news item that “in recent years, the socialist model has given way to brutal capitalism, economists say, with a small state-connected minority controlling much of the nation’s wealth.” The newspaper, whose report was addressing the dubious presidential election results in the socialist country, cited no specific cohort of "economists" who made the asinine claim that capitalism, as opposed to socialism, was at fault for Venezuela’s economic upheaval.  The leftist rag apparently also didn’t realize the contradiction in railing against a “state-connected minority controlling much of the wealth,” like that has anything to do with capitalism in the first place.  Perhaps The Times should have read its own columnist Bret Stephens’s 2019 piece headlined, “Yes, Venezuela Is a Socialist Catastrophe.” Oof.  Independent Institute Senior Fellow Phillip Magness blasted The Times’s “bizarre interpretation of these events” in a Tuesday op-ed for the Catalyst. He noted that the newspaper's Orwellian revisionism “continues a long line of left-wing apologia around the repressive Chavez and Maduro regimes that have ruled Venezuela for a quarter century.” Magness concluded that “the newspaper ignores the obvious. Nicolas Maduro is an avowed Marxist,” not exactly indicative of capitalist bona fides. A 2021 video cited by Magness shows Maduro extolling Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s infamous Communist Manifesto as “the most important political declaration in 200 years.” The Times didn’t bother mentioning that inconvenient little factoid.  The Times even went so far as to praise Maduro and his oppressive dictatorial predecessor Hugo Chavez’s socialist Chavismo movement, claiming that “initially promised to lift millions out of poverty. For a time it did.”  What the newspaper left out, of course, was the Marxist policies that Chavez implemented that plunged the Venezuelan economy into a death spiral in the first place. Wall Street Journal Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip wrote in 2019, “Soaring oil revenue in the 2000s enabled Mr. Chávez to embark on a sweeping nationalization of the economy.” He continued, “When oil revenue fell because of mismanagement and falling prices, the government forced the central bank to print money to finance its spending, resulting in hyperinflation and the current economic collapse.” Quaint concepts such as facts and accuracy “have long ceased to concern the editors at New York’s self-designated ‘paper of record,’” Magness rebuked. He’s right on target. In 2020, MRC Business analyzed that in a 1,583-word essay on the Venezuelan oil crash that left behind a “destroyed economy,” it didn’t even bother mentioning the word “socialism” once.   Conservatives are under attack. Contact The New York Times at 800-698-4637 and demand it stop falsely blaming capitalism for Venezuela’s socialist catastrophe.