Three air ambulance crew members are dead after the helicopter they were flying to transport a patient crashed into a field in Oklahoma over the weekend.Late Saturday night‚ a Bell 206L3 helicopter with Air Evac Lifeteam was on its way to return to base in Weatherford‚ Oklahoma‚ after transporting a patient to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City‚ approximately 65 miles east of Weatherford. According to AEL's Facebook page‚ just before 11:30 p.m.‚ the AEL operations control center lost contact with the air ambulance helicopter.Other AEL team members then assisted law enforcement with the search for the missing chopper. Sadly‚ they later learned it had crashed into a field in Hydro‚ fewer than 10 miles away from Weatherford. All three crew members aboard the helicopter died in the crash.The following segment from KOCO shows the devastating destruction of the aircraft: 3 people killed in Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter crash near Hydro www.youtube.com Though AEL's initial post declined to name the crew members‚ a follow-up message posted Monday afternoon revealed the names of the lost: Russell Haslam‚ the pilot; Adam Tebben‚ a flight nurse; and Steven Fitzgerald‚ a flight paramedic."Russell‚ Adam and Steven‚ we miss you so much. We’ll take it from here‚" the Facebook message concluded.Thus far‚ few details about the crash have been revealed. The National Transportation Safety Board has since taken over the investigation‚ planning to examine weather data‚ air traffic control communications‚ and some background checks into the pilot‚ among other possible factors.Family and friends‚ AEL‚ and members of the community are understandably anxious for answers; however‚ those answers are not likely to come any time soon. According to KOCO‚ a preliminary report is not expected for at least a month‚ while the full investigation could take up to two years.Air Evac Lifeteam operates in 18 states and claims to be "the nation’s leading provider of helicopter air ambulance services‚" especially for those living in rural areas‚ such as western Oklahoma. Up to 90% of the patients AEL transports originate in rural areas. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Six mayors from the United States participated in an exchange with the Chinese government in which they traveled to take part in the U.S. Heartland China Association's Yangtze-Mississippi Municipality Energy Transition Exchange project.The mayors who made the trip were Mayor Jim Brainard of Carmel‚ Indiana; Mayor Barbara Buffaloe of Columbia‚ Missouri; Mayor Lee Harris of Shelby County‚ Tennessee; Mayor Chokwe Lumumba from Jackson‚ Mississippi; Mayor Kim Norton of Rochester‚ Minnesota; and Mayor Robyn Tannehill of Oxford‚ Mississippi.The exchange was officially part of an effort to promote best practices between communities along the two major rivers‚ particularly in regards to "energy transition‚ climate mitigation‚ and green economy."The two sides discussed opportunities for possible collaboration and took a trip to Voyah Automobile‚ a Chinese-state owned luxury car manufacturer now specializing in electric vehicles. The cars are reportedly sold in Russia‚ Israel‚ Turkey‚ and Belarus‚ as well as China.As reported by Natalie Winters‚ several of the mayors praised China's approach to green energy policies. Specifically‚ electric vehicle investments and alleged carbon-reducing infrastructure were Chinese policies that some of the mayors hoped to implement in the United States."We were talking about climate change‚" said Columbia‚ Missouri‚ Mayor Buffaloe. "I know that in order for us to solve climate change‚ or at least reduce the impacts it's having on our communities and make sure we have a planet for our future generations‚ that it's going to take us working on things like electrical vehicle transformation‚ renewable energy both production‚ as well as scale and supply."Buffaloe went on to state that the "best practices" she learned in China should be implemented in American communities."It's about our communities learning from one another‚ sharing these best practices‚ and then implementing them in our own communities. We need all kinds of exchanges with China." — (@) Shelby County‚ Tennessee‚ Mayor Harris praised Chinese investments surrounding carbon emissions."China is quickly making the right kinds of investments‚ and those are investments in infrastructure‚ that's investments in reducing carbon emissions‚ that's investments in new tech like electric vehicles‚ and we've got a lot of work to do." Mayor Brainard of Carmel‚ Indiana‚ said that the work conducted alongside Chinese politicians should be implement worldwide."Collaboration between U.S. and Chinese mayors not only benefits the hundreds of millions of people living in our two countries‚ but the ongoing joint work will lead to best practices that can be applied around the world."Brainard also signed a sister cities agreement between Carmel‚ Indiana‚ and Xiangyang‚ Hubei‚ China. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A town in Arizona formed a department to allegedly monitor and control the online speech of its employees‚ AZ Free News reported Thursday.The town of Gilbert‚ located within Phoenix's metropolitan area‚ created the Office of Digital Government‚ which some claim is being used to restrict the speech of the town's employees. According to KTVK‚ the ODG was formed five years ago.The department‚ which may be the first of its kind‚ is committed to "developing forward-thinking policies." It is responsible for "all internal‚ external and digital communications‚ public relations‚ marketing and open data initiatives" for the town‚ according to its website.Corinne Murdock with AZ Free News reported that the town spends over $1 million yearly in taxpayer funds to cover the salaries of the department's workers who "control town employees and elected officials' online speech to ensure conformity with a progressive political agenda." The employees' annual salaries range from "well over $60‚000" to $200‚800‚ according to the report.The department monitors online posts from the town's employees‚ including private social media pages. If an employee posts a political opinion that does not align with the liberal agenda‚ the department contacts the employee to pressure the employee to remove the post‚ AZ Free News reported.A former employee‚ who asked to remain anonymous‚ told the news outlet that they left‚ in part‚ due to the department's overreach. They noted that all messages posted to social media had to be approved by the ODG."It was difficult to get anything accomplished‚" the former employee told AZ Free News. "Everything was so tightly managed. People on the ground there were upset because they couldn't do anything.""When I worked there‚ they were pushing the chiefs of police and fire to be more liberal. Then there's those emails about how excited they were about getting the chief to kneel to BLM‚" the former worker added.Austin Vanderheyden with the Goldwater Institute told KTVK‚ "If they don't like what's being posted‚ they're going to let you know about it‚" he said‚ referring to the ODG.According to Vanderheyden‚ 10 to 12 department employees are monitoring the online activity of other town workers. Gilbert Councilor Jim Torgeson told KTVK that the department confronted him about removing a survey he posted "too early" on his personal Facebook profile."Twenty minutes later‚ I got a call from somebody on staff asking me to take it down and it was on my private Facebook‚" Torgeson explained.Vanderheyden called it "a classic example of government overreach."Gilbert sent the news outlet a statement that read‚ "The Town of Gilbert is proud of its Emmy award-winning Office of Digital Government and the outstanding work of the ODG team that has resulted in record levels of community engagement and interaction over the years. We recognize that our community relies on us to share information and engagement opportunities in ways that are fully inclusive and we are committed to ensuring that our communications reflect this at all times.""The Town has been clear that we will not tolerate divisive‚ offensive or culturally insensitive posts from employees purporting to represent the Town. To ensure this commitment to our public is maintained‚ the Office of Digital Government is the official source of information and communications to our residents and business owners. There is no further need to address the false claims from anyone‚ including disgruntled former employees‚" it added. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Lack of “affordable child care” has become another in a growing list of buzzwords modern parents cite when enumerating why they can’t have children. The claim rests on a couple of assumptions baked into the euphemisms “affordable” and “child care.” We’ll start with "child carae‚" which is the crux of the issue. “Child care” is the concept that remains when “raising one’s children” is left to someone other than the children’s parents. Sanitized and stripped of profundity‚ the term soothes the anxious parent’s (usually the mother’s) guilt for outsourcing her active love for her young children. “Affordable” doesn’t simply mean low or no cost. It means being subject to the whims of bureaucracy. While caring for children is certainly mundane in moments‚ to regard the activity as simply the supervision of food‚ waste‚ and basic safety requires that we implicitly diminish the relationship between a mother and her children. The relationship includes supervision‚ cooking‚ and cleaning but also involves a physical and emotional symbiosis. Mother and child coregulate‚ mentally and emotionally‚ for those early years‚ according to psychologist and author Erica Komisar. This coregulation‚ the stability that a mother’s presence renders‚ lays a foundation for psychological wellness. Savvy child-care facilities have begun calling themselves “schools” instead of nurseries and their workers “teachers” instead of nannies‚ as if a 6-month-old child needs instruction instead of his mother. In doing so‚ the concept and practice of “child care” fools us into thinking that a mother’s constancy‚ her presence‚ and her affections can be not only seamlessly displaced but traded up for something more enlightening. We are to believe that a mother’s particular‚ day-in‚ day-out love‚ in the form of caregiving‚ is not just secondary in importance but basically irrelevant‚ compared to what the facility renders in flowery‚ euphemistic language: “education” and “socialization.” The supporting euphemism‚ “affordable‚” does a lot of work of its own. First of all‚ “affordable” means radically different things to different people. It has no universal application unless it means “no cost.” So what affordable really means in this context is “universally subsidized by the federal government‚” and it is assumed that the subsidy is what would make high-quality child care accessible to everyone. Interlocutors must simply pretend they do not see the outcomes of the United States Departments of Education‚ Health and Human Services‚ and Transportation in order to believe the fantasy. Quebec‚ Canada’s experiment in universal government child care‚ left children significantly more anxious‚ aggressive‚ hyperactive‚ and more prone to hostile‚ inconsistent parenting and lower-quality parent-child relationships compared to children who had not attended. As children grew older‚ these negative outcomes persisted and‚ in some cases‚ increased — particularly for boys. “Affordable” doesn’t simply mean low or no cost. It means being subject to the whims of bureaucracy‚ which‚ in addition to devitalizing the relationship between caregiver and child‚ has a habit of introducing high-cost regulations without adding to the experience of the child‚ such as occupational licensing‚ zoning restrictions‚ and other random ordinances. Taken together‚ “affordable child care” displaces the role of the parent entirely in favor of a literal nanny state. I’ll leave the policy wonking to policy wonks. The kind of Soviet attitude that diminishes the human spirit‚ love‚ and true flourishing in favor of money is more than a matter of policy; it is a cultural expression of value‚ or rather a cultural expression of nihilism. If we continue to regard the role of a mother as so low as to be utterly fungible‚ why would women even make that choice? Why lower themselves? The fertility crisis demands a change of course. It’s not that other things in life aren’t important. Money is important. Saving for retirement is important. One’s career can sometimes be important‚ especially because it enables a person to afford higher goods. But that we must pretend that raising and building a foundation of trust with our own children is not important by comparison should raise a red flag. This has become a cultural norm‚ encapsulated in Millennial parents’ call for the government to subsidize the child-care industry‚ and it is a lie.

Democratic Socialists of America appear to have been so preoccupied with trying to make organizations across America unprofitable that it failed to keep an eye on its own bottom line. DSA‚ backed by members of the so-called squad and touted as America's "largest and fastest growing socialist organization‚" is imploding on account of a seven-figure deficit‚ infighting‚ and the prospect of massive layoffs. To stay afloat‚ the radical group is considering defunding its various chapters and propaganda arms as well as axing senior staff. Reds in the red Members of DSA's National Political Committee indicated in a recent proposal that "DSA is in a financial crisis and staff-related costs account for 58% of our total expenditures and 72% of our projected income. ... The current deficit will force us to make a 7-figure budget cuts. This will require us to make painful decisions that will impact all levels of the organization." NPC committee members Alex Pellitteri‚ Kristin Schall‚ and Laura Wadlin suggested that one way to begin climbing out of the hole that socialists have dug for themselves would be for director-level and bargaining unit staff to volunteer to "have their position cut and receive severance." When that fails‚ the socialist trio suggested they "will they explore initiating lay-offs." The trio did not themselves volunteer to have their positions cut. Rather‚ they claimed elsewhere that the salaries for elected roles should be preserved‚ suggesting "[l]eadership stipends are not a luxury; they're an essential part of DSA's democratic character." The NPC members indicated in a post on DSA's Bread and Roses Caucus' blog that they expect DSA to bring $5 million in income and $7 million in expenses in 2024. Their treasurer‚ John Lewis‚ apparently recommended maintaining a deficit of $821‚000-$921‚000 to buy DSA "another year to solve the problem." Pulling that off would apparently require at least $1.1 million in cuts this budget cycle‚ which "could mean cutting dues share to chapters‚ slashing the YDSA budget‚ foregoing in-person events‚ slashing committee budgets‚ slashing NEC grants‚ slashing publications and literature — nearly everything that gives DSA meaning would be on the chopping block." Other pinkos have offered alternative proposals for keeping DSA afloat. NPC member Sam Heft-Luthy‚ for instance‚ called for an expansion of DSA's hiring freeze. Seizing moments and displacing blame The NPC members made sure to displace any possible accountability for their misfortune‚ instead blaming a "downturn in enthusiasm‚" alleged financial mismanagement by former DSA directors‚ and a dearth of "strong figures at the top of the organization to lead with a political vision that inspires people to become committed socialists." The NPC members indicated further that the DSA dropped the ball on recruitment. "We're living in a moment when revived labor struggles and the fight for a free Palestine are galvanizing so many Americans‚ particularly young people‚" they wrote. "Biden's disastrous policy of fueling Israel's genocide in Gaza has created the kind of space for an independent alternative from the Democratic Party that has not existed since Bernie." Despite this apparent prime time for an ideology that produced over 100 million corpses in the 20th century‚ DSA "didn't adequately seize the moment‚" according to the committee. Supporting terrorists by default then defaulting The New York Post noted that some progressive Jewish leftists figure DSA leaders' support for anti-Israel groups and its rhetorical alliance with terrorists may have also hurt their cause. "DSA long ago fell into the trap of becoming so radical in the name of 'justice' that they abandoned the mission of the progressive movement‚" said Amanda Berman‚ executive director of Zioness‚ a group of Jewish leftists who support Israel. "After Hamas's brutal invasion of Israel on October 7‚ DSA doubled down on their strategy of going deep and long on antisemitism‚ thinking it might get them out of the hole‚" added Berman. Hours after Hamas terrorists massacred thousands of unarmed Israelis as well as dozens over Americans‚ the New York City chapter of the DSA organized a rally in Times Square "[i]n solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid. FREE PALESTINE!" Unlike subsequent anti-Israel rallies‚ this DSA event took place before the bodies of dead Israeli civilians had been counted and prior to Israel's counter-offensive. DSA blamed Israel for the attacks‚ stressing in a thread still live on its X account‚ "Today's events are a direct result of Israel's apartheid regime—a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States. ... This was not unprovoked." "True progressives‚ whether in the grassroots or in political leadership‚ will continue rejecting this extremist group and its hateful ideas in the name of true justice and equity‚ including for Jewish American‚" said Berman. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

“Sam had a big influence on anybody‚” said soul singer Bobby Womack. “To me‚ cancer would be good if Sam gave it out. I’m serious." The post Sam Cooke‚ By Those Who Knew Him appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

From pop ballads and political rock 'n' roll to grand piano suites and throwback oldies‚ he's done it all. Continue reading…

Last January‚ New York governor Kathy Hochul called for the elimination of gas heating in new construction projects by 2030.

It seems like everyone is gearing up for yet another ‘Flight 93 election.’

D'OH! Biden Basically Admits the White House's 'Border Is Secure' Claims Have Been Lies