Books The Wheel of Time Reading The Wheel of Time: Tarna Plans and Cadsuane Wonders in Crossroads of Twilight (Part 15) The White Tower is still figuring out how to handle Asha’man—and especially Asha’man Warders… By Sylas K Barrett | Published on November 19, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, we’re spending a quick moment with Pevara and ​​Tarna Fier before leaving the White Tower and heading over to Tear, where Cadsuane and the rest are resting after the events at Shadar Logoth, and Cadsuane is trying to tackle mysteries about Verin, about bonding Asha’man, about Elza Penfell, and most of all, about Rand himself. It’s chapters 22 and 23 of Crossroads of Twilight! Tarna Fier, who has been made the new Keeper of the Chronicles, is visiting Pevara in her quarters. Pevara congratulates Tarna, but the new Keeper answers that she isn’t sure congratulations are in order—Elaida insisted that Tarna accept the position and Tarna felt she couldn’t refuse. She starts to say something else about Elaida, then changes the topic, remarking that Pevara has always been a bit unconventional for a Red, and that she has heard that Pevara once said that she would like a Warder. Pevara responds that she has been called much worse than “unconventional.” Tarna tells Pevara about how, on the way back to Tar Valon after her visit to Salidar, she encountered a party of Asha’man recruiting. There were six men in black coats, who talked openly of the Dragon Reborn and of learning to “wield the lightnings.” Elaida still thinks all the Asha’man can be gentled, but Tarna is certain there are now too many for that to be an option.  “There is only one answer I can see. We…” Tarna took a deep breath, fingering the bright red stole again, but now it seemed more in regret than to play for time. “Red sisters must take them as Warders, Pevara.” Pevara is shocked, but Tarna points out, firmly, that Red Sisters are accustomed to dealing with men who can channel, and although they will have to take more than one Warder each, if Greens can manage that, so can they. “I think the Greens will faint if this is suggested to them, though. We… Red sisters… must do what needs to be done.” Tarna hasn’t mentioned this idea to Elaida—she tried to bring up the mere subject of Asha’man and was instantly rebuffed. This is a lot for Pevara to process, and she still can’t be sure Tarna isn’t Black. Tarna gives Pevara a letter she has received from Toveine Gazal, and although Tarna states that it changes nothing, once Pevara has read the contents, she replies that it changes everything. It changes the whole world. Elsewhere, Cadsuane has taken Rand and Nynaeve, along with Min and the rest of Cadsuane’s followers, to the home of Algarin Pendaloan. Pendaloan is a lesser house in Tear, and the home is located near the Spine of the World, which seemed like a safe place for Rand and Nynaeve to recover. Algarin is loyal to Cadsuane because of the way she treated his brother, Emarin, when she took him to the White Tower to be gentled. Cadsuane was able to help Emarin survive for ten years after his gentling. Verin comes into Cadsuane’s room, chattering about her trip to deliver Harine and the other Sea Folk to the city. Cadsuane knows that Verin is one of those Browns who use the appearance of being scattered and unworldly as a disguise, and isn’t as sure of Verin as she would like to be. Min comes in to tell Cadsuane that Rand has asked to see her. On her way to see Rand, Cadsuane watches Verin and Nesune fall into a conversation about snakes, and wonders if their respective oaths of loyalty to Rand have superseded the fact that they are, or at least were, on opposite sides of the division in the White Tower. Cadsuane would very much like to know how far Rand’s ta’veren power extends. Although she doesn’t know what three of the ter’angreal in her hair do, she doesn’t think any of them protect against ta’veren. She stops to watch the Asha’man practicing swordplay. Jahar is fighting against Lan, and each time he is beaten he tries again, with more determination and anger at each attempt. Merise is there, watching her young Warder. Merise is never very talkative, so Cadsuane is surprised when she goes on at length, talking about the way the Asha’man grieve their own, and how Jahar actively expects his death, considering every hour to be his last. Merise isn’t sure if saidin has truly been cleansed. The male half of the One Power does feel cleaner than it used to when she linked with Jahar, but the fire and chaos of saidin is so great that anything could be hiding underneath it. She also mentions that it is impossible to predict how strong a man will become when he reaches his full strength; the implicit worry is over what might happen if Jahar became stronger in the One Power than Merise herself is. Merise explains that Jahar is upset and frustrated because Rand just gave him the Dragon pin, but Merise wouldn’t let him keep it. “Apparently, for Asha’man, it is akin to attaining the shawl. I had to take it away, of course; Jahar, he is still at the stage where he has to learn to accept only what I say he can. But he is so agitated over the thing… Should I give it back to him? In a way, it would come from my hand, then.” Cadsuane is shocked that Merise would ask advice about how to handle her own Warder—it is an unthinkable level of intimacy. Alivia and Elza are on guard outside Rand’s rooms. Once admitted, Cadsuane is greeted politely by Rand, who offers her wine. She declines, noting how much colder and harder, not to mention more weary, he looks. Rand tells her that Algarin wants to go to the Black Tower to be tested, then turns the conversation to the Seanchan, expressing his concern over the strength of the war tactics. When Cadsuane asks if he is worried they can’t be defeated, Rand replies that he can defeat them eventually. But he is interrupted before he can finish whatever he was going to say, as Erian and Sarene push into the room despite Elza’s attempts to stop them. “Bartol and Rashan do be coming,” Erian announced loudly, agitation thickening Illian in her speech. Those were her two Warders, left behind in Cairhien. “I did no send for them, but someone did Travel with them. An hour ago, I felt them suddenly closer, and just now, closer again. They are coming toward us now.” Serene estimates that her Warder, Vitalien, is only a few hours away, and Elza admits that her Fearil is also coming. Cadsuane wonders if she would have mentioned it if the others hadn’t forced her hand. “I didn’t expect it so soon,” the boy said softly. Softly, but there was steel in his voice. “But I shouldn’t have expected events to wait on me, should I, Cadsuane?” Cadsuane answers that events never wait on anyone. She considers that whatever problems are on their way along with the Warders, she has gotten another answer from Rand, and will have to consider very carefully how to advise him on it. In a way, nothing much happened in these chapters. But in another way, kind of a lot happened. We now have three different groups of Aes Sedai considering three different approaches to working with Asha’man. The rebel Aes Sedai have decided to make some kind of alliance or arrangement with the Black Tower so that Asha’man can be included in linked circles during battle; Cadsuane’s followers have bonded Asha’man as Warders in the traditional way; and Tarna is suggesting bonding solely as an alternative to gentling, and only by the Red Ajah. All of these different approaches have some things to recommend them and some (very big) flaws. As far as the Salidar Aes Sedai go, even if Taim doesn’t become a problem for them, it’s certain that any deal made with the Asha’man won’t be as much to the Aes Sedai’s terms as they want—making a bargain with the Black Tower will probably look more like making a bargain with the Sea Folk, and require what feels like huge concessions from the Aes Sedai. But even though I imagine the Asha’man will be more confident in their ability to defeat the Dark without the help of female channelers, it is still true that both halves of the One Power are much more limited on their own than when saidin and saidar are used together. If the Asha’man are truly committed to their identity as weapons against the Shadow, then they should be ready to embrace anything that increases their ability to fight, and the ability of the Light to triumph in Tarmon Gai’don. In theory, at least. Tarna, on the other hand, is suggesting bonding as an alternative to gentling, and probably without the consent of the Asha’man involved. This is a much less equitable suggestion than the alliance the rebels are considering—even if the Asha’man accept the stipulation that only Aes Sedai will lead the circles. She probably intends for the Red Sisters to exert a great deal of control over these Warders, though it’s probable she hasn’t gotten too far, yet, in imaging the specifics of what that would look like.  In some ways, it could be argued that forcibly bonding a man who can channel isn’t that far of a jump, morally speaking, from gentling. The argument in either case is that it is a necessity brought on by the taint, and being bonded as a Warder at least offers a man a chance to live. Some men might even choose becoming a Warder willingly, if gentling was the alternative, and if they had a good relationship with their Aes Sedai they could benefit from the privileges and prestige that come from being a Warder. That doesn’t make forcible bonding okay, of course, but gentling is hardly better, and might even be considered worse. It’s a bit like Cadsuane’s relationship with Lord Algarin. Despite the fact that she is the one who captured his brother and took him to be gentled, Cadsuane clearly managed to treat Emarin with enough care and respect that he lived much longer than gentled/stilled channelers usually do. She probably worked with him after his gentling, teaching what the Aes Sedai know about finding purpose in life to replace the lost connection to the One Power. As long as the taint was still a factor in how men who can channel lived and died, you can see how an Aes Sedai might have done similar work with a man who was bonded as an alternative to gentling. However, I doubt that many men who have been at the Black Tower for very long would consider willingly bending their necks that far for anyone—and certainly not for Aes Sedai—even outside of whatever is going on with Taim and his followers. There are probably others like Eben, Damer, and Jahar, but even those three might not have agreed if they hadn’t been separated first from their fellow Asha’man, and then from Rand. Also, if there are too many Asha’man to capture and gentle all of them, how will the Reds capture and bond all of them? Even in the case of Asha’man willingly becoming Warders, Cadsuane has noted that the boundaries around Aes Sedai and Warders—that Aes Sedai command and Warders obey—are going to have to shift if Aes Sedai are going to be bonding Asha’man. The balance of power between two channelers is different than when only one side, the controlling side, is connected to the One Power. She notes how even an experienced Green like Merise is struggling with that change in the usual dynamic. Asha’man training might well make them resistant to Ae Sedai ways of doing things, as well. More compromise is probably going to be necessary, even with the edge being the “controlling” side of the bond gives to the Aes Sedai. I wonder if Lan and Moiriane’s arrangement might point the way to a more balanced dynamic between Aes Sedai and bonded Asha’man. Moiraine was certainly in charge, but she did not force Lan to do things (until that one time at the end, anyway), and she shared more with him and relied on his expertise and advice more than is usual for an Aes Sedai. Channeling will still make such a balance more complicated to work out, but I could see Merise and Jahar managing it well, and Damer and Corele seem as though they might have already figured out a pretty good balance, based on the fact that they both just want to think about and work on Healing as often as possible. It occurs to me, however, that if Aes Sedai start bonding Asha’man regularly, and if Asha’man also continue “bond” Aes Sedai the way Logain and some others have, they might run into a problem when it comes to aging. Now that the taint on saidin has been cleansed, Asha’man will live much longer than Aes Sedai who are bound by the Oath Rod, even if their lives are somewhat extended again by Egwene’s Aes Sedai retirement plan. But to get back to Tarna for a moment. We last saw her back in the Prologue, trapped in Dorlan and unable to reach the White Tower because of the rebel siege. I guess she was able to use Narenwin’s information to find a way to sneak back into Tar Valon, which probably means Katerine did as well. And we know that Katerine is probably Black Ajah, since someone poisoned her Aiel guards after she was captured during Dumai’s Wells. I suppose there could be some other reason she was freed, but I can’t think of any other reason an Aiel would have to risk being caught killing other Aiel just to free a random Aes Sedai, unless they weren’t both Darkfriends. In any case, Katerine has some very serious information to share with Elaida: She can fill everyone in on exactly what happened with the kidnapping of Rand and the battle at Dumai’s wells, and substantiate the rumors that some Sisters have sworn fealty to the Dragon Reborn. Tarna’s information about the rebels might be useful, too, although Egwene moved faster than Tarna could have wished, or ever anticipated. I must say that I don’t blame her for not wanting to be Elaida’s keeper. Elaida has proven herself to be an erratic, overly-strict Amyrlin, governing by edict and punishing on a whim. Tarna has her favor for now, but how easy would it be to lose it, even if Elaida didn’t find out about Tarna’s idea to have Reds bond the Asha’man? One wrong step would see her serving penance; any offer of advice might be seen as insubordination. Most of the White Tower is angry at Elaida at this point, which might well translate to everyone being angry at Tarna as well. On top of all that, the Keeper’s duties will also keep Tarna very busy, which will give her less time to work with her Ajah on her plan to have the Reds take all the Asha’man as Warders. Having Pevara on her side will certainly help there, since Pevara is a Sitter and therefore very influential. If the plan can get enough momentum it will eventually have to be put before the Hall, and I don’t think Elaida could stop it if the Hall voted positively. And the letter from Toveine, which I can only imagine must contain information about the way she and the rest of her companions have been “bonded” by Asha’man, will probably push more sisters to consider turnabout to be fair play. Or revenge. Or something. Even with all that being said, however, I can’t think that Tarna’s plan will be easy to sell, either to the Reds or to the rest of the Tower. Egwene’s Hall had a hard enough time with the idea of partnering with the Black Tower to the extent of bringing Asha’man into linked circles. Making them Warders is a far more intimate connection than including them in a link—yes, it gives the Aes Sedai more advantage, and maybe more control, over the Asha’man than an agreement to link does, but it also brings her closer to saidin, which most people still believe is tainted. And if Aes Sedai like Cadsuane and Merise, who have actually experienced saidin, are still uncertain whether or not it has actually be cleansed, how are you going to convince a bunch of Red Sisters that it’s safe now? But anyway, the other question I have about Tarna’s proposal is what such an arrangement would do to the balance of Power between the Ajahs. Things are already tricky enough in that regard, and the Reds suddenly having more than one Warder apiece, and those Warders with the ability to channel saidin, is a huge change to the order of things. If I were a Green I would have a problem with that, I think. I imagine the Blues would as well—which isn’t currently something Tarna has to worry about, but even if Egwene doesn’t become the next Amyrlin, it’s unlikely that any kind of reconciliation in the White Tower is going to happen if Elaida’s edict to dissolve the Blue Ajah is allowed to stand. I think Tarna is wrong to believe that the Greens would all faint at the idea of bonding an Asha’man. Some might be appalled or frightened, of course, but so will some Reds. I think many members of an Ajah that calls itself a Battle Ajah would jump at the chance to increase their ability to fight the Shadow in such a way. After all, while Merise, Daigian, and Corele were instructed by Cadsuane to make overtures to Rand’s abandoned followers, none of them seem to have been too bothered by the idea, and Merise is the only Green among them. Speaking of Greens, Cadsuane notes that all of the Aes Sedai who supported Elaida before they were sworn to Rand seem suspicious of her, but Elza seems almost to be jealous, and determined to keep Cadsuane away from Rand if she can. As we know, Elza is Black Ajah, and her way of accommodating Verin’s cobbled-together compulsion was to decide that she has to protect Rand and keep him alive and safe so that he can make it to the Last Battle to be defeated by the Dark One. It’s interesting to watch Cadsuane observe the results of that twisting of Elza’s mind, interpreting it as jealousy. She picks up on the fact that Elza might not have mentioned that her Warder was on his way; perhaps she would rather not reveal her Warder’s whereabouts for some reason. If he is a Darkfriend, she might have wondered if he was coming to her for some Shadow-related reason, or wanted to hide his arrival from the others so she could use him more effectively in whatever plans she has. I also enjoy watching Cadsuane be wary of Verin, especially since Cadsuane and I are on the very same page with regards to that particular Brown sister. Verin has recently decided she’s sure of Cadsuane, but I think Cadsuane is right to keep a close eye on Verin. I’ll be very interested to see if she is able to learn anything about Verin that the narrative hasn’t already revealed to us, the readers. Next week we’ll get to spend some time in Rand’s head and catch up with Loial. Plus, I’ll share some more of my thoughts and theories about the ongoing development in the relationships between male and female channelers. See you then![end-mark] The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Tarna Plans and Cadsuane Wonders in <i>Crossroads of Twilight</i> (Part 15) appeared first on Reactor.

In 1952, the musical Singin' in the Rain was released. Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Conner, the film portrays characters who are caught up in the new phenomena of silent films turning into "talkies." The cinematic history lesson isn't the only fun fact twirled up in this dance movie, though! Keep reading for some behind-the-scenes facts that are sure to have you singing in... Source

New Poll: Majority of Americans Approve Trump Transition

The discovery’s been described “like winning a million-dollar jackpot.”

Amazingly, the original stretch of pier hasn't been significantly replaced or repaired in over 80 years.

As Democrats continue to ask themselves what went wrong, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart came up with a new idea: they are simply too soft. Stewart made the puzzling claim on Monday, asserting that while Republicans “don't give a [bleep] about your norms,” Democrats are busy running “to the nearby Kinkos.” Stewart was not happy with the Democratic response to the idea that Donald Trump may use recess appointments for some of his more controversial cabinet picks and mocked them, “Yeah, you can do it, and it is legal, but, whatever, guy. We’re going to think you are a dick."     Some state-level Democrats tried to keep Trump off the ballot and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just rebuked four Democratic counties for counting illegal votes despite an order forbidding them to do so, but Stewart still claimed, “Republicans exploit the loopholes. Democrats complain about the norms. Over and over and over and it has ghastly consequences.” Stewart then recalled the Senate not voting on Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination, “Now you could make a case that Obama could violate the norm, say the Senate failed their advice and consent, and appoint him anyway, and see what the [bleep] happens. Fight. But they just went, "Well, we've never heard of that rule, but okay!" Smash cut: Two months before a presidential election, Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court after the completely unforeseeable death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And as you can imagine, the Democrats went right to the nearby Kinkos.” The Senate declining to give its consent is not a “loophole,” but nevertheless, Stewart then played a clip of Sen. Dick Durbin, who once filibustered Miguel Estrada because he was Latino, rather dully explaining, “Behind me is the McConnell rule. On February 13, 2016, when Justice Scalia passed away, Senator McConnell said, and I quote, "This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president." Again, Stewart was dismayed, "So, Amy Coney Barrett was forced to head back to her homestead, never to be heard from—oh, they didn't give a [bleep]?" Oh, right, I forgot! They didn't give a [bleep]!” Stewart then had some advice for Democrats, “Look, let this show be the utterly ineffective hypocrisy finders. I can tell you from experience, it does nothing! You guys be the loophole guys that figure out how to get shit done. Because they don't give a [bleep] about your norms! They will exploit any loophole, even if they have to go through clearly closed windows to do it.”     The ever distraught Stewart then recalled, “You would think after Trump's presidency, Democrats would have learned. But they doubled down. When Biden tried to get immigration reform into the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Senate parliamentarian told him he couldn't, did he respond to the rule with a loophole or did he—” After patting himself on the back and playing a clip of President Joe Biden deferring to the parliamentarian, Steart ranted, “No! That's for—you take the parliamentarian and you put them in a locker and then you bring Grimace in and have him—that's what you do!” Later, Stewart welcomed professor and author of The Emerging Democratic Majority, Ruy Teixeira to discuss his more recent book, Where Have all The Democrats Gone? And asked him: I’ll say something that I feel like resonated with the audience and has resonated with them in a while. My idea of what happened with the Democratic Party is, it was a rejection of a status quo, a feeling that, not just in the working class movement but in many movements, that democracy is by nature analog. We are living in a digital world, we’re, you know, terminally online. The outrage and the anger and confusion is much elevated, and the distance between those two points becomes untenable. Especially, if the Democrats insist on, ‘Well, we have to keep, I would love to get the help you need, but the parliamentarian has been really up my ass all night.’ I feel like that’s a real problem for them. Teixeira concurred, “Yeah, I mean, the sense that the Democratic Party isn't responsive to the needs of, sort of, ordinary, the common man and woman, the working class, and they are too caught up in other issues or they are too afraid about sort of government regulations and parliamentarian stuff and they're not laser focused on getting stuff done.” Here is a transcript for the November 18 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 11/18/2024 11:16 PM ET STEWART: "Yeah, you can do it, and it is legal, but, whatever, guy. We’re going to think you are a dick." Republicans exploit the loopholes. Democrats complain about the norms. Over and over and over and it has ghastly consequences. Remember when President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to give that a vote, saying, well, it's only one full year before the election. It's too close. Now you could make a case that Obama could violate the norm, say the Senate failed their advice and consent, and appoint him anyway, and see what the [bleep] happens. Fight. But they just went, "Well, we've never heard of that rule, but okay!" Smash cut: Two months before a presidential election, Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court after the completely unforeseeable death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And as you can imagine, the Democrats went right to the nearby Kinkos. DICK DURBAN: Behind me is the McConnell rule. On February 13, 2016, when Justice Scalia passed away, Senator McConnell said, and I quote, "This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president." STEWART: "So, Amy Coney Barrett was forced to head back to her homestead, never to be heard from—oh, they didn't give a [bleep]?" Oh, right, I forgot! They didn't give a [bleep]! Look, let this show be the utterly ineffective hypocrisy finders. I can tell you from experience, it does nothing! You guys be the loophole guys that figure out how to get shit done. Because they don't give a [bleep] about your norms! They will exploit any loophole, even if they have to go through clearly closed windows to do it. You would think after Trump's presidency, Democrats would have learned. But they doubled down. When Biden tried to get immigration reform into the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Senate parliamentarian told him he couldn't, did he respond to the rule with a loophole or did he [Pats self on the back]— JOE BIDEN: That's for the parliamentarian to decide, though— not for Joe Biden to decide. STEWART: No! That's for — you take the parliamentarian and you put them in a locker and then you bring Grimace in and have him—that's what you do!  … STEWART: Now, and I’ll say something that I feel like resonated with the audience and has resonated with them in a while. My idea of what happened with the Democratic Party is, it was a rejection of a status quo, a feeling that, not just in the working class movement but in many movements, that democracy is by nature analog. We are living in a digital world, we’re, you know, terminally online. The outrage and the anger and confusion is much elevated, and the distance between those two points becomes untenable. Especially, if the Democrats insist on, "Well, we have to keep, I would love to get the help you need, but the parliamentarian has been really up my ass all night." RUY TEIXEIRA: Right. Right. STEWART:  I feel like that’s a real problem for them. TEIXEIRA: Yeah, I mean, the sense that the Democratic Party isn't responsive to the needs of, sort of, ordinary, the common man and woman, the working class, and they are too caught up in other issues or they are too afraid about sort of government regulations and parliamentarian stuff and they're not laser focused on getting stuff done and you know, even in places like New York City where you have, you know, very Democratic governance there's a sense that they aren't pulling out all the stops to make sure everyone gets good services and everything runs well and, you know, effective government is what people want to.

On Monday morning, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS Mornings informally added Chris Wright and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr — whom President-Elect Trump nominated to become Energy secretary and chair of the FCC, respectively — to the list of appointments they’re melting down over, fearing the former’s promise to unleash American potential on energy production and the latter’s long-standing crusade against bias. ABC put Biden-Harris apple polisher Mary Bruce on the case, so she naturally had only mean things to say.  She made sure to point out Wright joined Trump alongside other appointments such as Department of Government Efficiency picks Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy at Saturday’s UFC fights before melting down over Wright being “[o]ne of the nation’s top fracking CEOs” and “fiercely criticized the existence of a climate crisis.”     “Wright, who has no government experience, has argued the impacts of climate change are overblown. But scientists agree, humans are causing global warming and climate change. This year is shaping up to be the hottest on record, with more extreme weather events made worse by climate change expected,” she huffed. Fact-check: Pants on fire. Wright has cultivated a relationship with the great team at American Conservation Coalition, a pro-environmental group that’s advocated for free market solutions to climate challenges.  Speaking at their Action summit last year, Wright called himself “a lifelong environmentalist” and deemed “climate change” to be “a real problem and I’ve been speaking on it for 20 years.” As for Carr, Bruce downplayed his qualifications by merely stating he’s been at the FCC since 2012 before moving onto kicking dirt, lamenting he’s “received high praise from Elon Musk and wrote a chapter of the Project 2025 policy book how he would run the FCC.” ABC’s Mary Bruce, upset with Trump naming @BrendanCarrFCC as his nominee to become FCC Chairman: “Now, overnight, Trump naming Brendan Carr to be FCC commissioner. He’s served there since 2012, received high praise from Elon Musk and wrote a chapter of the Project 2025 policy… pic.twitter.com/1BjunZOFT7 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 18, 2024 CBS had political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns bite the bullet on the transition picks. After huffing about Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, she too peddled misinformation about Wright, cutting him down to merely “a fracking company CEO and an opponent of efforts to fight climate change.” Given CBS’s shenanigans with Vice President Harris’s 60 Minutes interview, the Tony Dokoupil-Ta-Nehisi Coates fiasco, and cutting portions of an interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to name a few, one could see why Huey-Burns would be worried about how Carr would see whether over-the-air broadcast networks like CBS are serving the public: CBS’s Caitlin-Huey Burns was low-key freaking out on ‘CBS Mornings’ over President-Elect Trump tapping @BrendanCarrFCC to lead the FCC and @ChrisAWright_ to lead the Energy Department pic.twitter.com/cmevIR2053 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 18, 2024 HUEY-BURNS: And the latest pick, Brendan Carr, for FCC chairman. He’s a senior Republican member of the FCC who has drawn attention over his contribution to Project 2025, the planning document Trump attempted to distance himself from during the campaign. In a post last night, Carr seemed to take aim at broadcast media, stating they’re expected to operate in the public interest, and the FCC plans to enforce this obligation. BRENDAN CARR : The remedies the FCC has ultimately would be license revocation if we find that it`s egregious. HUEY-BURNS: Now, the FCC does not have the authority to punish or revoke the license of a broadcast station for content, only for obscenities, but Carr is expected to test the legal limits of the FCC, and Trump himself has called Carr a free speech warrior. For good measure, CBS Mornings Plus also invoked Carr and Wright. Co-host Tony Dokoupil said in a news brief that Wright is “the CEO of a fracking company and an opponent of efforts to fight climate change” while Carr “has drawn controversy over his contribution to Project 2025, that conservative blueprint for this administration” and has “seemed to take aim at broadcast media.”

MRC founder and president Brent Bozell appeared Tuesday morning on Varney & Co. on the Fox Business Network to discuss the collapsing ratings of MSNBC and the spectacle of Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski traipsing into Mar-a-Lago to have a little summit with the president-elect Donald Trump. Bozell laid out a picture from the Nielsen ratings of MSNBC's ratings plunge. Since October their ratings are down 53%. From November 6 to 13, they drew 550,000 viewers compared to 2.2. million at Fox. Even Rachel Maddow's show lost a million viewers. So that's why it's time for desperate measures with Trump.  BRENT BOZELL: The support for the national news media with, the trust in the national news media a is at 31%. It's at an all-time low. Now, his -- the people at MSNBC could care less about the collapse of their network. What Joe Scarborough is trying to do is stop the bleeding because that's the -- they've got to do that the or that network collapses completely.  The way you stop the bleeding was you go to the man who's famously had no permanent friend, no permanent enemies, and you try to amend it is so that you can go back on the air and you can be talking about him and no longer talking to him about a fascist, etc. So it's a smart move that Joe Scarborough made, it's even a smarter move that Donald Trump is making in welcoming him to Mar-a-Lago. Right before Bozell came on, Varney ran a clip of Ana Navarro on The View ripping Joe and Mika as opportunists: "There are probably a lot of people looking at what Joe and Mika did and find it opportunistic. There are people who change their stripes or maybe their spots depending on who's in power -- I don't know if that's what happening with them. Everybody has to live with their decisions, everybody has to look in the mirror -- I'm good."  

As expected, the left has gone into full-on meltdown mode as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House — and celebrities across the nation are threatening to leave the country for greener pastures. The hysteria began to ramp up about a year ago when Barbra Streisand told Stephen Colbert in an interview on “The Late Show” that she couldn’t live in the United States should Trump be successful in his bid for the presidency, and would likely move to England. Cher joined Streisand on the list of celebrities afraid of a Trump presidency, telling the Guardian in an interview that she “almost got an ulcer the last time he was in office.” “If he gets in, who knows. This time, I will leave,” Cher continued, adding, “I was with two trans girls the other night and my own child. I was saying we’ve got to stand together. I don’t know what their eventual plan is for trans people, I don’t put anything past them.” Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” believes they should make good on their promises, saying, “Good, don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.” Sharon Stone has also reportedly been considering a move to Europe if Trump wins, explaining she was “certainly considering a house in Italy” as this is one of the first times in her life that she’s “actually seen anyone running for office on a platform of hate.” However, Gray doesn’t believe they mean it — as many celebrities said the exact same thing in 2016. “Among those was Miley Cyrus, who declared in an Instagram post back in 2016, ‘Honestly f*** this. I’m moving if this is my president. I don’t say things I don’t mean,’” Gray says, adding, “Yet, she’s still here.” Lena Dunham made the same promise, telling fans she planned to move to Canada after Trump’s election. “Unfortunately, she didn’t,” Gray says. 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.

An older foreign national died earlier this month after falling off a wall along the U.S. southern border near San Diego, California, and if not for American Border Patrol agents and first responders, he would have died alone.At 5:42 in the morning on November 8, a group of suspected illegal aliens were spotted attempting to cross the double-barrier wall just west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego.Apparently recognizing that they had law enforcement on their heels, the group scattered. One person returned to Mexico. Three managed to scale the second barrier wall using an "improvised pompier ladder" and head north, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, two men were still atop the second barrier when Border Patrol agents arrived in the zone between the two barrier walls. One man managed to make his descent into America and head north but was apprehended a short time later.His fellow traveler — later identified by the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office as Edgar Guillermo Hernández, a 62-year-old Colombian national — was not so fortunate.At about 5:44 a.m., Hernández "fell as he descended, and landed on the north side of the secondary barrier," said the press release, which also noted that the secondary barrier is "approximately 30 feet tall and ... constructed of vertical metal bollards."'This was one of the most dangerous areas. We have a double wall. We have a wall on both sides.'From behind the barrier, Border Patrol agents noted that despite the fall, Hernández was still alive and moaning in pain. They quickly radioed for emergency medical assistance. It seems there may have been some confusion about their exact location, because by 6:09, a Border Patrol supervisor had ordered agents to "escort" EMTs to the right spot, the press release said. They arrived about five minutes later, but within 60 seconds of their arrival, Hernández had become "physically unresponsive and stopped moving."Hernández was pronounced dead at 6:25 a.m.The medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy and determined that Hernández died of blunt-force injuries, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.An investigator from the medical examiner's office initially "took custody" of Hernández's body, the press release stated, but whether his body remains with the medical examiner is unclear.The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified of the incident, and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is "reviewing" it, the press release said.During his first term, President-elect Donald Trump paid a visit to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to celebrate progress on the border wall, one of his central campaign promises."This is an area — because it’s so highly trafficked, this was one of the most dangerous areas. We have a double wall. We have a wall on both sides," Trump said in a speech in September 2019."It’s a very powerful, very powerful wall," he added, "the likes of which, probably, to this extent, has not been built before."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!