The following article, Dems Tout ‘Democracy’ … Except When Voters Want To Decide Something, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. Democrats across the country have been claiming “democracy” is on the ballot in 2024, as they charge that President Donald Trump would end it. That’s despite their own agenda to deprive voters of the right to make their own choices in their multiple attempts to prevent Trump, and other GOP members, from being on the … Continue reading Dems Tout ‘Democracy’ … Except When Voters Want To Decide Something ...

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decided that the National Rifle Association (NRA) "plausibly alleged" that the New York State Department of Financial Services violated the group's First Amendment rights by blacklisting the group. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the high court "holds that the NRA plausibly alleged that Vullo violated the First Amendment by coercing DFS-regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday revived the National Rifle Association's lawsuit accusing a New York state official of coercing banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the gun rights group in a ruling that warned public officials against wielding their power to punish speech they dislike. The justices, in a 9-0 decision authored by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, threw out a lower court's ruling that had dismissed the NRA's 2018 lawsuit against Maria Vullo, a former...

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously backed the National Rifle Association in a First Amendment ruling that could make it harder for state regulators to pressure advocacy groups. The decision means the NRA may continue to pursue its lawsuit against a New York official who urged banks and insurance companies to cut ties with the gun rights group following the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 people dead. “Government officials cannot attempt to coerce...

It seems everyone needs subtitles nowadays in order to "hear" the television. This is something that has become more common over the past decade and it's caused people to question if their hearing is going bad or if perhaps actors have gotten lazy with enunciation. So if you've been wondering if it's just you who needs subtitles in order to watch the latest marathon-worthy show, worry no more. Vox video producer Edward Vega interviewed dialogue editor Austin Olivia Kendrick to get to the bottom of why we can't seem to make out what the actors are saying anymore. It turns out it's technology's fault, and to get to how we got here, Vega and Kendrick took us back in time.They first explained that way back when movies were first moving from silent film to spoken dialogue, actors had to enunciate and project loudly while speaking directly into a large microphone. If they spoke and moved like actors do today, it would sound almost as if someone were giving a drive-by soliloquy while circling the block. You'd only hear every other sentence or two.But with today's technology, microphones are so small they can be strapped just about anywhere on an actor. This allows the actor to move about the set freely and speak at a normal volume without worrying that their words won't be picked up. So then why can't we hear them? Turns out it's super complicated…and also not."A lot of people will ask, 'Why don't you just turn the dialogue up?' Like, 'Just turn it up.' And...if only it were that simple," Kendrick said before explaining, "If you have your dialogue that's going to be at the same volume as an explosion that immediately follows it, the explosion is not going to feel as big. You need that contrast in volume in order to give your ear a sense of scale."Sure, you may be thinking, well that kinda explains it, but why do the music and other cinematic noises sound like they're beating on your eardrum while the dialogue sounds like the actors are whispering every line? That doesn't seem very balanced. There's more to it, and again, it falls back onto technology.In the video, they explain how our televisions are too thin to hold large speakers facing in the correct direction, and until this video, it didn't dawn on me that the speakers to my television are indeed in the back. No wonder we can't hear. The actors are quite literally talking to our walls. And there's more. Check out the full explanation in the video:This article originally appeared on 2.1.23

A video making the rounds online is reminding us all that love transcends all time and distance. 94-year-old Barbara Carolan of Seabrook, Massachusetts, hadn’t been able to see her 90-year-old sister Shirley, who lives in Nevada, since 2020.When it became clear to Barbara that she might not have much time left to spend with her beloved sister, she prepared to make the 2,700-mile cross country trip to say goodbye.“They waited so long to see each other, and if you don’t know if you’re going to see someone again, you know, especially siblings, it must be really hard,” Barbara’s granddaughter, Stephanie Atkinson Shively, told told her local news outlet WMUR.Shively volunteered to ride alongside her grandmother and document the trip. In a TikTok video, which has been seen over 13 million times, we see Barbara and Shirley getting emotional while reminiscing.“We had a wonderful, wonderful time,” Barbara tells Shirley through tears.“If we don’t see each other [again] on this earth, we’ll see each other in heaven,” her little sister assured.“You betcha!” Barbara sobs. “You betcha.”Watch the video below, aptly captioned: “Hug your sister.” @stephanieatkinson #goodbye #sistersforever #notgoodbye ♬ original sound - Stephanie Atkinson Shively Needless to say, viewers were struck by the sweet moment.“There needs to be a category on this app for videos that are guaranteed to make you cry cuz dammit I’m tired of randomly balling my eyes out!” one person wrote. Another added, “It’s not good bye, it’s see you later. I imagine when we pass, it’ll be like going home. And never again will we have to be separated from the ones we love.”Shively shared several other moments from the journeys, including some pictures of the sisters when they were younger. But the ‘last tearjerker’ showed grandma Barbara waving goodbye as she made her way back home.There’s a bit of comic relief in this one, as Barbara yells “until we meet again!” and gets “WHAT?!” from Shirley, having to repeat herself a few times.Watch: @stephanieatkinson #sistersforever #notgoodbye #sisterlylove ♬ original sound - Stephanie Atkinson Shively All in all, just a beautiful, heartwarming reminder to savor our lives, and all the loved ones in it.Now go hug someone. This article originally appeared on 9.16.23

Toddlers can be hilarious. They're learning the world around them while simultaneously acting as if they've got it all figured out. There's nothing like arguing with a tiny version of yourself whose pants are on backwards and inside out. But even with all their sass, they're mostly filled with adorable moments. Caroline Victoria uploaded a video to her social media page of her toddler daughter saying her bedtime prayers. The little girl is wearing a pink satin bonnet laying on the bed with a sweet grin on her face as her mom starts prayer. Since the girl is just a toddler she is only contributing one word responses for the things she's thankful for. That tiny toddler voice only makes the answers even cuter. Caroline starts off by saying, "dear Lord, thank you for," then she pauses waiting for the little girl's response. She's off to a pretty solid start by being thankful for her brother, Brandon and her mommy but things quickly take an interesting turn.Caroline starts her off again, "thank you for?" The response was no longer a person in the house. This baby was thankful for pizza and she didn't think her mom was taking her gratitude for the cheesy delicious meal seriously. You hear her mom laughing behind the camera before asking her again what she was thankful for. If you thought the answer was going to change, you don't know how much she appreciates pizza. The little girl rattled off pizza at least five more times in a row to make sure her point was taken proving to be a bit too much for Caroline who can be heard squeaking with laugher in the background. Watch her request below:Commenters can't seem to get over how adorably hilarious the little girl is."She is a little comedian and a beauty," one person writes."Too precious!! She grateful for her Pizza.. Amen," another says."She didn't add you in the prayer ma'am.She said her brother, me , and pizza.She didn't say "mummy." Go get your prayers somewhere else," someone jokes. "I'm with her Pizza is definitely something to be thankful for all the time," another person declares.Let's all hope mom answers this little girl's prayers and order some pizza. It's clear that pizza is a top priority for her and until she has it her little brain will not be able to move on to pray for other things.

Those of us of a certain age remember asking for directions and keeping two-inch thick road atlases in our cars to find our way around. Then with the internet came the miracle of Mapquest, followed by the how-did-we-ever-live-without-this GPS systems you could attach to your dashboard. Then smartphones kicked the road trip game up a notch with map apps that not only give up step-by-step directions but also real-time traffic conditions and the ability to find a gas station or restaurant with gluten-free options along your route. Even those of us who grew up with paper maps struggle to recall how we ever got anywhere before Google Maps. Now we're so deep into the map app era that we're past the wow stage and into the nit-picky stage. It's no longer good enough to have a handheld computer tell us how to get someplace in real time. Now we have expectations, preferences, opinions and complaints. We also have data and anecdotes with which to compare different apps and discuss which ones do what best. And hoo boy do people have thoughts on that front. Former Uber employee Flo Crivello shared some info on X about the analysis they did with three of the most popular map apps—Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze—using a dataset with millions of trips. The big winner? Apple Maps. — (@) Google came in second, and Waze was a distant third (worst "by far")."The research also included which apps people *thought* was worse, and the order came in the exact opposite order," Crivello shared. "We understood why Apple Maps got a bad rap given how bad it was at launch — it rapidly got better, but the brand stuck. Waze was more of a mystery, and we ended up realizing that people thought its routes were best because it was exposing them to so much info on traffic, construction, police presence etc… Everyone thinks they want a minimalist UI, but in practice, when they see all this info, they subconsciously conclude 'wow, these guys really have their sh*t together' — even when the routes were actually the worst ones."Crivello said the results "may be shocking," presumably because Apple Maps started with the worst reputation. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook famously apologized for Apple Maps in 2012 and recommended people use Google Maps instead.However, in the years since, Apple Maps has redeemed itself while Google Maps has lost a bit of its initial luster. Then Waze came along, which people in cities with variable traffic touted as more accurate for timing and real-time updates, becoming some people's favorite. But according to his data eight years ago, Apple was the winner. Do those results still hold? Some people in the replies said Google Maps was the best, hands down, while other said they preferred Apple or Waze.It might depend on where you live and what you look for in a map app (and whether you even have access to Apple Maps). Discussions about these apps abound, with some common threads throughout. Many people agree that the U.S. is where Apple Maps shines, but Google Maps works better abroad. Apple Maps offers more natural navigation directions, such as "Not at this stop sign, but at the next one, turn right," instead of Google Maps' assumption that everyone knows how far 300 feet is. Google maps has great searchability and is easier to check reviews of places compared to Apple Maps. So opinions might vary on "best" depending on what you're using it for.Waze has loyal users and people who love to joke about where it reroutes you when there's traffic. — (@) These are not the only three map apps available, either. People who travel internationally and use public transportation seem partial to the CityMapper app, which makes finding train and bus routes simple with a user-friendly interface, so again, a lot depends on why you're using the app in the first place.As far as popularity goes, Google Maps boasts a whopping 1 billion monthly users. While Apple Maps usage doesn't have any hard numbers, there is data that shows younger generations are partial to iPhones, on which Apple Maps is a native app, so its usage may be growing. What's your experience? Which map app do you prefer?