Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of Kentucky and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona sank the Democrats' scheme to seize control of a nomination from President-elect Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York intended to extend the tenure of Democrat Lauren McFerran at the National Labor Relations Board through 2026, but Sinema and Manchin voted against the effort Wednesday. 'It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling ...' Union advocates excoriated the pair for handing the nomination over to President-elect Donald Trump. "This means the Democrats will not secure control of the national labor regulator through 2026. These two Senators effectively handed Trump control of the board when his term begins," read a statement from the More Perfect Union group. “It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes," said Schumer after the vote. "Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema are disgraceful. Sided with corporate bosses yet again, doing even more damage to workers' fundamental freedom to organize. A total betrayal of working people. Full stop," responded Steve Smith of the AFL-CIO union. Both Manchin and Sinema have undermined efforts by Democrats to push extremist polices in the Senate and earned the bilious ire of Democrats everywhere. The criticism led Sinema to leave the Democratic Party and declare herself an independent in 2022. Neither Manchin or Sinema are returning to the Senate after refusing so seek re-election. Sinema's seat will be filled by Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, while Manchin's seat flipped from Democratic control to Republican control. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Who is the victim and who is the aggressor in a conflict between Bashar al-Assad’s Alawites and Sunni “rebel” terrorists in Syria? What happens when ISIS clashes with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, other al-Qaeda factions, Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters, and pockets of Hezbollah militias thrown into the mix? Under Joe Biden’s insane refugee policies, both sides can claim credible fears of religious or ethnic persecution from their rivals. As a result, we’ve allowed individuals from all these warring groups into our country to live as our neighbors. With Syria now under new leadership, it’s time for the Sunnis admitted from Syria to go home. Meanwhile, Christian sects — the only groups with legitimate fears from all the Islamic terrorist factions — have made up less than 2% of Syrian refugees admitted since the civil war began. President Trump must address this injustice immediately. Since the start of the Syrian civil war, the United States has admitted nearly 50,000 refugees through fiscal year 2024, plus an additional 1,000 per month so far this year. Surely, this must mean we’ve prioritized Christians and Druze refugees. Wrong. According to the State Department’s WRAPS database, 98% of Syrian refugees admitted are from Islamic sects, nearly all Sunni. Somehow, al-Qaeda affiliates and sympathizers are now considered great American neighbors simply because they fear Assad and his Shiite allies. This imbalance in refugee admissions needs immediate correction. Of the 50,000 Syrians admitted as refugees, only 798 have been Christians, and just 28 Yazidis have been granted refugee status. Even from Iraq, where Yazidis were slaughtered by ISIS, the U.S. has admitted only 161 Yazidi refugees. Iraq is a prime example of the flaws in our refugee program. Of the 82,500 Iraqi refugees admitted since fiscal year 2012, only a quarter have been Christians, even though they should constitute 100% of those seeking refuge. Instead, the program allows both radical Shiites and Sunnis to enter the United States, as long as they can claim persecution by the other group. Iraq is saturated with Sunni and Shiite jihadist factions, yet each group can qualify for refugee status by demonstrating minority persecution within a specific neighborhood. This policy effectively imports dangerous terrorists who are fighting each other abroad into American communities. A glaring example is Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, who arrived in the United States as a refugee in August 2016, presumably under the guise of fleeing persecution by the Assad regime. In reality, Alowemer was a Sunni terrorist. In June 2019, he was arrested in Pittsburgh for plotting a detailed terrorist attack on a local church and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison. How many more Middle Eastern refugees share Alowemer’s religious and political beliefs, given that many were admitted due to intra-Islamic sectarian conflicts? This question underscores the urgent need to reassess and reform U.S. refugee policies. In recent years, the U.S. refugee program has admitted roughly equal numbers of Sunnis and Shias. Ironically, radical elements of both groups have settled in places like Bowling Green, Kentucky, where reports of violence between them have now emerged. By admitting immigrants not for their love of American values or their status as persecuted minorities but based on sectarian violence itself, we have imported these conflicts onto our shores. “Invade the world, invite the world,” indeed. Since the Iraq War, the United States has admitted over 170,000 Iraqi refugees. This trend exemplifies the “invade the world, invite the world” phenomenon. The refugee admissions process has failed to ensure that individuals coming to America share a commitment to its values or pose no threat to national security. In fiscal year 2024, President Biden admitted over 100,000 refugees, mainly from regions marked by tribal warfare in Africa, Islamic civil wars in the Middle East, or illegal immigrants from Latin America — many of whom hail from relatively homogenous nations. How many of these refugees can credibly assert that “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” was the “central reason” for their application, as federal law requires? Many seem to be escaping the general conditions of life in the third world, rather than qualifying as true refugees. Others are involved in two-way sectarian conflicts that jeopardize U.S. national security. Still more, particularly those from Latin America, come from homogenous nations but have had their illegal immigration status legitimized through misuse of the refugee laws. President Trump needs to shut down the current refugee program on day one, leaving only a few thousand slots available for individuals who are truly part of a persecuted minority, not warring factions. The Refugee Act of 1980 grants the president sole authority to set the annual cap for refugee intake, making this change entirely within his power. Regarding Syria, Trump should take an even bolder step. With Syria now under the leadership of a Sunni president — one celebrated by the corporate left-wing media and the Biden administration — it’s time for the Sunnis admitted from Syria to go home. Those who have not yet been naturalized should be sent back. Their admission under the refugee program was based on a pretense that no longer exists, making their continued presence in the country an abuse of the refugee statute. The shift in Syrian leadership is even more significant for Europe, which faced a Syrian migration crisis comparable to America’s influx of Latin American immigrants. If European leaders had foresight, they would band together, declare the Syrian civil war over, and ask the millions of Syrians to leave. Then again, Western leaders often struggle to differentiate immigration from conquest.

The U.S. Attorney General's Office released a press statement about the arrest of a Chinese citizen for allegedly taking photos of a military base with a drone in November. An affidavit said that officials at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County were alerted to a drone flying over the base on Nov. 30 through the use of drone detection technology. The detector indicated a drone was flying over the base about a mile above ground level for an hour and had been launched from a public area near the base called Ocean Park. 'This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base's layout, which is against the law.' Security personnel from the base went to Ocean Park and encountered 39-year-old Yinpiao Zhou of Brentwood. They said that he was concealing a drone in his jacket and that it was the same as the one that was detected over the base. After obtaining a federal search warrant, they searched the drone and found photographs of Vandenberg Space Force Base from the air. Investigators also said Zhou had searched online for “Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules” and had messaged another person about hacking his zone to allow it to fly higher than it was supposed to fly. Zhou is a Chinese citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. He was charged with violation of national defense airspace as well as failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation. “This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base's layout, which is against the law,” read a statement from United States attorney Martin Estrada. “The security of our nation is of paramount importance and my office will continue to promote the safety of our nation’s military personnel and facilities.”Zhou was arrested at San Francisco Airport on Monday as he was about to get on a plane to China. If convicted, Zhou faces a statutory maximum sentence of four years in federal prison. On Wednesday, Rep. Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey said that large mysterious drones flying in the skies of New Jersey might be Chinese-manufactured craft flown by Iran and called for them to be shot down. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

While most sane Americans are celebrating Daniel Penny’s acquittal after protecting fellow subway riders from a violent threat, some, like New York BLM co-founder Hawk Newsome, are outraged by Penny’s acquittal. “We need some black vigilantes,” Newsome yelled on camera. “People want to jump up and choke us? And kill us for being loud? How about we do the same?” According to reports, Neely was put in a chokehold by Penny, a former Marine, after threatening others on the subway. Penny did not kill him but rather kept him subdued until police were able to arrive, when he then died in police custody. However, BLM doesn’t see it that way. “Just another day in 2024 America,” Keith Malinak of “Pat Gray Unleashed” comments, adding, “That sounded like a threat.” Pat Gray can’t get over Newsome’s belief that Jordan Neely was killed for “being loud,” noting that instead it was for “loudly threatening women and children.” “I guess nobody was supposed to do anything. The right thing is to just let him kill three people if that’s what he feels like doing,” Gray says. “I’m surprised New York didn’t burn yesterday,” Malinak says while Gray adds, “That’s what he’s trying to get going.” Neely’s father joined Newsome in his outrage, explaining during a press conference after the trial that “the system is rigged.” “Let’s do something about this,” Neely’s father said. “Like what? What do you suggest?” Gray asks, adding, “Obviously, he’s calling for violence too.” Want more from Pat Gray?To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The evil doctrines of Marxism have infiltrated many institutions in the United States, leading conservatives to frame cultural and political battles as a contest between individualism and collectivism. On the surface, this makes sense. Marxism, as the ideology of communism, promotes state-enforced equality where individual agency is subordinated to a top-down notion of the collective good.Many past conservative thinkers recognized this as a false binary, however. They understood that individualism, if left unchecked, can foster conditions that pave the way for tyranny. Lower-order organic identities — such as family, faith, and community — have repeatedly proven to be the only effective forces against the imposition of top-down despotism. The true battle is not between individualism and collectivism but between ordered liberty and disordered tyranny.Framing our current opposition to Marxist dogma as a conflict between individualism and collectivism is a mistake.In his classic work “Democracy in America,” Alexis de Tocqueville explored the rise of individualism during the democratic age following the American and French revolutions. De Tocqueville believed a democratic trajectory was inevitable for France and sought to understand how Americans had managed to curb its worst impulses.He observed that individualism often led people to focus solely on their own lives and interests, leaving them indifferent to the well-being of their neighbors and their communities. This lack of civic engagement, he argued, made it easier for despots to establish tyrannical rule. A despot thrives on individual apathy and the absence of civic virtue. He wrote:Despotism, suspicious by its very nature, views the separation of men as the best guarantee of its own permanent rule and usually does all it can to keep them in isolation. No defect of the human heart suits it better than egoism; a tyranny is relaxed enough to forgive his subjects for failing to love him, provided that they do not love one another. He does not ask them to help him to govern the state; it is enough that they have no intention of managing it themselves.How did Americans preserve a spirit of individualism while avoiding its corrosive effects on civic life? For de Tocqueville, the answer lay in their impulse to build free institutions and engage in voluntary associations. He observed that Americans had an instinct to form committees, community organizations, and charities to address almost every problem.In the United States, individuals did not need to be ruled by a powerful despot because citizens were expected to actively contribute to the collective well-being of their communities through voluntary efforts. This approach was individualistic in that it arose organically and was not compelled by the state. But it was also collectivist in that individuals felt a profound duty to their families, churches, and communities.Even when problems required government intervention, governance in America was primarily local. The national government remained small, and local matters were handled by elected officials who were familiar with the specific character and needs of their communities. According to de Tocqueville:American legislators did not believe that a general representation of the whole nation would be enough to cure a disease so natural to the frame of democratic society and so fatal. They also thought it appropriate to give each area of the territory its own political life so as to multiply without limit the opportunities for citizens to act in concert and to let them realize every day their mutual dependence. This was a wise plan.Despite their individualistic tendencies, the American system encouraged citizens to recognize their interdependence and address issues affecting their communities at the local level. The collective identity of the polis enabled them to resolve problems more effectively without formal government involvement.Even when government action was necessary, it was limited in scope, shaped by the community’s identity and political structure. The state did not need to enforce collectivity because communities formed naturally, allowing individualism to thrive without descending into tyranny.The greatest evidence of this principle can be found in the tactics used by communist regimes to centralize power. Marxists routinely advocate the destruction of the family, church, and even ethnic identity because these lower-order bonds obstruct the centralization of authority. As de Tocqueville observed, the isolated individual is most vulnerable to despotism.Totalitarian regimes seek to ensure that all relationships are mediated between the individual and the state, leaving each person dependent on the central authority for assistance and conflict resolution. By contrast, people bound by organic ties of faith, family, and community are far more likely to resist the arbitrary dictates of a despot.When Western governments attempted to create biomedical security states in the wake of COVID-19, it was almost exclusively communities of faith that had the courage to resist. Religious groups possessed an identity and allegiance that extended beyond individual material benefit. This collective identity gave them both the courage and community support needed to stand firm against the dictates of the regime. These communities were able to defend their liberty because they exercised it collectively, united in purpose.The American tradition embodies individual liberty practiced in service to the collective good. It is a liberty ordered toward a higher purpose, pursued through the establishment of free institutions and voluntary associations. Framing our current opposition to Marxist dogma as a conflict between individualism and collectivism is a mistake.Instead, we should understand that by practicing individual virtue in service to our organic communities, we can avoid the tyrannical state that Marxism prescribes. This ensures that liberty is not just a personal right but a shared responsibility to uphold the well-being of our families, faith, and communities.

When your city has been overrun by zombies and survival is a brutal daily grind, you wouldn’t expect there to be much time for seasonal festivities. Well, despite it being a huge tonal shift, Dying Light 2 insists that even the infested city of Villedor should celebrate Christmas, and Techland has brought back its Winter Tales event once again. Continue reading Dying Light 2 gets festive as it brings back fan-favorite Winter Tales event MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Dying Light 2 review, Dying Light 2 factions, Best zombie games

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