"The point that [Biden] was making, uh, is that the factors that caused inflation was in place when he walked in — into the administration — when he took office," she says.

When I was offered the role of Ronald Reagan’s longtime confidant Edwin Meese in the upcoming film “Reagan,” playing opposite Dennis Quaid as the 40th president, I was excited. I asked our producer, Mark Joseph, if it would be all right if I reached out to Meese and he replied, “We can set that up.” I was pleasantly surprised and immediately started to prepare my questions for the interview. The outcome was that Reagan’s former counselor and U.S. attorney general spent an hour with me on a Zoom session. His insights were helpful and as I prepared myself for the role, I read as much as I could about him from both fans and detractors and watched any YouTube videos I could find. It was particularly interesting to gain Meese’s perspective on events that I previously only had read about. Even more interesting were the small adjustments in his perspectives over the decades. For example, Meese’s interpretation of the causes and influences of the riot in Berkeley’s People’s Park, when Reagan as California governor sent in the state National Guard, is notably different today than in May 1969.  [During Reagan’s two-term governorship, Meese served as his executive assistant and chief of staff after two years as legal affairs secretary. He previously served as deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California.] I worked hard to take what Meese had shared with me and incorporate it into my portrayal of him in “Reagan,” reviewing all of the events of the ’60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s of which he was a part. [After the end of Reagan’s two-term presidency in 1989, Meese joined The Heritage Foundation and later led its Center for Legal and Judicial Studies from 2001 until his “semiretirement” in 2013. Heritage founded The Daily Signal in 2014.] I also studied each of the other characters with whom I share scenes in “Reagan,” directed by Sean McNamara. I tried to delve into Meese’s process, particularly into the evolution of his perspective over three decades. When it came time to film and we were in those specific moments on set, I attempted to process Meese’s feelings.  President Ronald Reagan puts an arm around Attorney General Edwin Meese on Nov. 11, 1987, after announcing his nomination of Judge Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. (Photo: Dirck Halstead/Getty Images) I’ve been a producer, director, and actor in Hollywood for over 20 years. But as I homed in on my producing and directing skills, I had somewhat put aside my love for acting. I am blessed to have a well-known director, Terrence Malick, as a stepfather. However, the closer we became personally, the further apart we grew professionally. I first got to know Terry auditioning for the 1998 movie “The Thin Red Line,” and we had a strong working relationship during its filming. My father recently had left my mother, and she was heartbroken. God works in mysterious ways. Years earlier, Terry and my mother had both attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, and now they were able to reconnect. About five years after working on “The Thin Red Line,” I acted in another film directed by Terry, 2005’s “The New World.” By this time, my mother had found new love with him. Terry explained to me that he opposes nepotism and so a very different working relationship developed between us, since he had become family. Nevertheless, I’ve been able to pick up a few directing tips from Terry. For instance, when he is shooting a film, he shoots much more footage than is normal or necessary, then uses the best of what he has to put it all together in postproduction. I’m thankful that I was able to watch him at work as a director, because it helped me on my own journey as a filmmaker. That said, I have a harder time accepting the role of director on a film (as opposed to producing or acting), even though directing is what I enjoy the most. That’s because the film’s story really needs to be in your heart; it’s something you’re going to be living and breathing for years.  I’ve been blessed to run an acting school where I have coached thousands of students, many of whom have gone on to illustrious careers. I realized that teaching the craft of acting gave me somewhat of a revival deep within and allowed me to satisfy my craving for acting. But it was on the set of “Reagan,” playing this fascinating real-life character, Ed Meese, that I found my passion for acting beginning to be rekindled. The experience helped me remember how much I enjoy preparing to portray a character, especially one from history. “Reagan” is slated for release Aug. 30 in movie theaters nationwide. For details, visit www.Reaganfilm.com. The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. The post How I Rediscovered My Love of Acting on the Set of ‘Reagan’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Will the Bay Area Recall Another Progressive Prosecutor?

A heart-stirring discovery on social media propelled one man into action, showcasing the undeniable spirit of compassion that still thrives in the hearts of many. The footage that caught his eye was nothing short of shocking—a video showing four helpless puppies callously dumped on a bustling highway. This moment of horror would become a turning... The post Man sees footage of puppies being dumped along busy road and drives out to find them appeared first on Animal Channel.

As we've noted in the past, Mika Brzezinski has expressed concerns over the fragile psyche of her husband and co-host Joe Scarborough, at one point ordering him to take an extended break from the show. Mika might be inclined to give Joe another long time-out after his disturbed and disturbing performance on Wednesday's Morning Joe. Scarborough absolutely freaked out [see screencap and Mika's stone-faced reaction] over a New York Times/Siena poll showing Trump leading in five out of six swing states. Note that the show never actually displayed the bad-for-Biden poll results in question on screen, no doubt not wanting to provide them any additional publicity. Scarborough began by saying that he believed in conspiracy theories, and believed that the Times had entered into a conspiracy with psychiatrists in blue states to split the profits on psychiatric care in return for the Times using skewed methodology in Trump's favor. Joe was - at least we hope - kidding about that. But Scarborough was dead serious when he accused the Times of rigging the polls against Biden in order to write clickbait stories about them: Maybe they're trying to make up for '20, when they skewed in Biden's direction by about four or five points? But every one of these New York Times/Siena polls have been wildly skewed when you compare them to other polls that come out at the same time. (...) And by the way, people are calling Mika, saying this is a just reaction to one poll. No. You can go back. You can look at the tape. We do this every time when the New York Times/Siena poll comes out. It's always an outlier, and the New York Times always gets 15 or 16 articles out of them that everybody rushes to, because it says, Earth ends at 5:00. Hit link at New York Times, 15 times, and they keep writing articles about it.      At one point, an incredulous John Heilemann put it to Scarborough: "You're saying the New York Times is systematically putting these polls out in a way to try to amplify them to drive the news cycle?" Responded Scarborough: "Yes. Yes, I am saying that." Scarborough rudely shouted down Heilemann, who had very politely and cautiously tried to differ ever so slightly in his take (Click "expand"): HEILEMANN: I'm not saying it's not close. I'm not going to carry water for the New York Times or the methodology of this poll. I would keep going back to the thing that I try to say every time we talk about these things. Which is, that I'm really interested in -- and I know you know this. What are the polls showing us directionally about the race? SCARBOROUGH: I understand. There's a difference, though, with the New York Times/ Siena poll, and you know this. It's given disproportionate impact. This year, this cycle, it is skewed wildly in Donald Trump's direction. [Heilemann tries to speak.] Hold on. And the New York Times feasts on it with clickbait stories, like, a dozen at a time. HEILEMANN: And I, what I'm trying to focus on is what I think people should pay attention to [tries to continue]-- SCARBOROUGH: -- [Interrupting] But what I'm trying to focus on is, the New York Times right now is actively shaping the election cycles, where this poll comes out on a Sunday, and on Monday, people go, oh -- and I heard it! And I'm sitting there going, don't be so stupid. That's why we're doing this. [Heilemann tries to respond. Scarborough shouts.]  Hold on. No! No! Hold on a second. Hold on. No, no, no, no,. Hold on. We recently noted evidence that wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski was getting fed up with Scarborough's insolent, incessant interruptions of her. Combine that with Scarborough's intemperate big-footing of Heilemann today, and his explicitly expressed belief that the New York Times—of all media outlets—was manipulating its polls against Biden, and serious questions arise about Scarborough's mental state. Note: Scarborough mentioned that when NPR looked into some of the people quoted in Times articles saying they voted for Biden in 2020 but are now switching to Trump, it was found that they had never voted before. Could be. But ask yourself: when asked by a reporter or pollster about their presidential preference, who was the average person less likely to admit they prefer? Good Ol' Joe Biden, or Trump, whom the media consistently portrays as a monster who will end democracy forever? The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC Morning Joe 5/15/23 6:11 am EDT JOE SCARBOROUGH: I have said for the past couple of days, as I've said for the past couple of months, that -- and I believe now that there is a conspiracy. And I do believe in conspiracies. I think psychiatrists in blue states have conspired with the New York Times/Siena pollsters and said, listen: we'll split the profits on psychiatric care if you guys will, will, will have the craziest methodology, which they always have. Maybe they're trying to make up for '20, when they skewed in Biden's direction by about four or five points? But every one of these New York Times/Siena polls have been wildly skewed when you compare them to other polls that come out at the same time. . . .  And by the way, people are calling Mika, saying this is a just reaction to one poll. No. You can go back. You can look at the tape. We do this every time when the New York Times/Siena poll comes out. It's always an outlier, and the New York Times always gets 15 or 16 articles out of them that everybody rushes to, because it says, Earth ends at 5:00. Hit link at New York Times, 15 times, and they keep writing articles about it.  There are, and NPR has found some of these voters that said, well you know, I voted for Biden before. And they said, but wait. This guy, we checked the voting rolls. He has never voted. Other news organizations offer three, four more examples. Not just of people in the surveys but people the New York Times quoted in their article: "Well, here's one of many people we interviewed who said he's disillusioned and is going to vote for Trump." No record of him voting. JOHN HEILEMANN: Yeah. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Okay? HEILEMANN: You know -- MIKA: Are you feeling something, John Heilemann, that you want to say? HEILEMANN: I think sometimes as a general matter, there's maybe an overreliance on voters telling the truth about things in general. Hate to say it. Reporters find this occasionally that reporters lie. Here is what I say about this poll. If I were to ask you this question, Joe: do you know anybody on either side who doesn't think that it's the case that of the battleground states, that Joe Biden is stronger in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin than he is in Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia? SCARBOROUGH: It sounds about right. I've seen some polls that show Georgia's very close. Greg Bluestein actually had an article that says the CNN poll is wildly off. HEILEMANN: I'm not saying it's not close. I'm not going to carry water for the New York Times or the methodology of this poll. I would keep going back to the thing that I try to say every time we talk about these things. Which is, that I'm really interested in -- and I know you know this. What are the polls showing us directionally about the race? SCARBOROUGH: I understand. There's a difference, though, with the New York Times/ Siena poll, and you know this. It's given disproportionate impact. This year, this cycle, it is skewed wildly in Donald Trump's direction. [Heilemann tries to speak.] Hold on. And the New York Times feasts on it with clickbait stories, like, a dozen at a time. HEILEMANN: And I, what I'm trying to focus on is what I think people should pay attention to [tries to continue]-- SCARBOROUGH: -- [Interrupting] But what I'm trying to focus on is, the New York Times right now is actively shaping the election cycles, where this poll comes out on a Sunday, and on Monday, people go, oh -- and I heard it! And I'm sitting there going, don't be so stupid. That's why we're doing this. [Heilemann tries to respond. Scarborough shouts.]  Hold on. No! No! Hold on a second. Hold on. No, no, no, no,. Hold on. What I hear is after these Siena polls come out, every time: oh, well, everything that Joe Biden's done since the, since the State of the Union address, all these, all this money he has put out. All of the campaigning is for naught.  No, it's not! No, it's not! There's one poll that's wildly skewed every time. And it does shape -- if it's a New York Times poll versus a Morning Consult poll and the New York Times then amplifies it 15, 16, 17, times, it, it, it warps reality and everybody responds to that in the media and in the political world. HEILEMANN: So if you're -- all I'd say about this is that I agree with you. That the problem to me, unless you want to speculate, unless you want to suggest you think there is a conspiracy at the Times about this which you're -- SCARBOROUGH: Their methodology is bizarre and Larry Sabato said this, Wall Street [Journal] said that. HEILEMANN: Joe, you're saying something more than that. You're saying the New York Times is systematically putting these polls out in a way to try to amplify them to drive the news cycle. SCARBOROUGH: Yes. Yes, I am saying that. HEILEMANN: And I'm  saying, I'm not, I'd like to know,  I'm curious, as somebody who understands your level of sophistication about reading the media, why you think that's true. What I'm trying to say is, I agree with you. The best bulwark against any polls, outliers or anything else, is for people who are actually consumers of this information, is to not let these -- any given news outlet, or any given poll, shape your perception of the race unduly. SCARBOROUGH: But John, that's not realistic. And I'll tell you why it's not realistic. Because, and I'll say to you, I know people come up to you after every New York Times/Siena poll comes out. It completely changes the political battlefield out there for about a week, week-and-a-half. It distorts the questions that are asked of the White House. It distorts the questions that are asked of Donald Trump. It distorts all of the opinion. It distorts everything.  And that keeps happening every month when this comes out. And then finally, about two weeks later, after the residue of the New York Times/Siena poll leaves, people go, I think Joe Biden's on a winning streak. And then two weeks later it comes out again, and it's garbage. It's an outlier. And yes, the New York Times,  when they have all of these experts questioning the methodology. When they're calling about 20% of the people likely voters who have never voted before, or didn't vote in the last two primaries. When they're even quoting people who say they're switching their vote from Joe Biden, who have never voted before? I'm sorry! The New York Times has to know what they are doing!

Wisconsin police said that a 29-year-old teacher was "grooming" a student with hundreds of private messages through social media. A criminal complaint said that the Kenosha County Department of Family Services received an anonymous tip on Feb. 2 about Christian Enwright allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student at the Kenosha School of Technology. 'I'm trying so hard to be appropriate LOL.' A detective in court filings characterized the interactions as "manipulation, otherwise known as grooming." The interactions were described as "special attention, developing secrets, desensitizing and normalizing sexual topics, and pushing personal boundaries." The allegedly inappropriate messages began when the student was 13 years old in June 2023 and escalated to the point where Enwright sent as many as 600 messages in one week. The student told school staff that she and Enwright were using Snapchat and TikTok to communicate on a daily basis but denied that they had done anything inappropriate. When police completed a forensics analysis on her phone, they found that he had sent her shirtless photos and referred to her as "cute." WITI-TV obtained screenshots of some of the interactions and published them in its news video report. When asked about the messages, Enwright allegedly told police that he had only sent the girl images and messages because he was "trying to raise her confidence and make her feel better about herself." According to police, one message read, "Your dimples cute ASF," while another read, "I'm trying so hard to be appropriate LOL." Parents have protested at the school over the accusations. "It’s terrifying," said Brittany Lawton, who is a parent of a child at the school. "We’ve always known that there was something off, there was always something not quite right, but no one knew it was going to get to kids." Lawton said she has known Enwright since he was a child. "It’s just horrifying to think this could have been my kid, and it would have been swept the same way," she added. "There is always the risk, but you never think it’s going to be so close to home." The district said it fired Enwright on May 7. Judge orders bail Enwright was charged with 22 misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct. The suspect appeared in court on Wednesday, where his attorney argued that the charges didn't meet the state's standard for disorderly conduct because the teacher didn't have the intention of causing a disturbance at the time of their interaction. A judge disagreed with that argument and issued a $5,000 bond for the suspect. He is also ordered to have no contact with the victim, the victim's family, any school, or another other child apart from his own child. He also ordered to not have unsupervised access to social media. Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton issued a statement about the investigation. "The charging decision by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office is the culmination of countless hours of work by our Detectives to get to the truth of Mr. Enwright’s actions. We have worked in collaboration with the district attorney’s office to present all of the known information to bolster a charging decision," read the statement in part. Patton went on to say that the department is working with legislators to develop "proactive legislation and new state laws that will properly address behavior such as this with strict language and punishments." Here's more about the arrest: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Experts believe the carving may depict Maya Devi, the mother of the Buddha, and could date back as far as the 6th century C.E. The post Mushroom Hunters Discover An Ancient Sculpture Of A Woman In A Thai Forest appeared first on All That's Interesting.

This discovery marks the first time that pre-Ottoman structures have been unearthed at Visegrád Castle — and research is just getting underway. The post The Remains Of A 14th-Century Church Were Found Under The Tennis Court At Visegrád Castle In Hungary appeared first on All That's Interesting.

The filing includes allegations of school administrators engaging in antisemitic rhetoric and refusing to take action in the face of harassment against Jews.

The Day the Music Died: Chuck E. Cheese Pulls the Plug on Animatronic Band