Do you‚ too‚ long for the good-old days when the philistines tearing down statues did so on their own dime and on their own time? “The National Park Service proposes to rehabilitate Welcome Park to provide a more welcoming‚ accurate‚ and inclusive experience for visitors‚” read a press release announcing William Penn as the latest victim of statuary murder. The public did not regard Penn’s erasure from a park bearing the name of the ship bringing Pennsylvania’s founder to Philadelphia as “accurate‚” to say nothing of “inclusive” or “welcoming.” Uproar caused the National Park Service to reverse course on removing the Quaker’s statue. READ MORE: Biden Admin Suddenly Drops Removal of William Penn Statue — In Pennsylvania Destruction of public art‚ de rigueur in the heady summer of 2020‚ now moves from the rabble to our representatives. Just as we went native in forcing masks not just on women but everybody after years in Afghanistan‚ we also embraced the Taliban practice of destroying public art out of fashion with the ruling ethos. Shortly before Christmas‚ the Congressional Naming Commission succeeded in removing a 32-foot bronze Confederate Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery. To honor the Southern dead in a cemetery built on land expropriated from Robert E. Lee’s family struck some as too much to tolerate. “This was a memorial to men who committed treason in defense of the supposed right of some humans to ‘own’ other humans as property‚” James Grossman‚ executive director of the American Historical Association‚ opined. “The very idea that this monument was still here until today reminds us not just how far we’ve come but how much further we have to go.” The following week‚ Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the “Tribute to the Women of the Southern Confederacy” removed. She denied erasing history or destroying art. “By removing the Confederate monument from Springfield Park‚” she strangely claimed‚ “we signal a belief in our shared humanity.” Recall that those pushing to remove public art once argued it belonged not in parks but in museums. It turns out they really did not want it in museums‚ either. Houston‚ years after taking down statues of Christopher Columbus‚ Confederate officer Dick Dowling‚ and an angel representing the “Spirit of the Confederacy‚” advanced the process of removing them from the city’s art collection in October. Around the same time‚ Charlottesville secretly melted down a statue of Robert E. Lee. “Well‚ they can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again‚” Andrea Douglas‚ the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s executive director‚ exclaimed as the artwork melted in a furnace. “There will be no tape for that.” The previous year‚ New York tore down the “Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt” that had long sat in front of the Museum of Natural History‚ a place owing its existence in great part to the former president. “The board of the TR Library believes the Equestrian Statue is problematic in its composition‚” the chief executive officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library divulged in a statement. “Moreover‚ its current location denies passersby consent and context.” He noted the agreement meant hiding the statue in storage while the library’s decisionmakers thought about “context‚” its “problematic” composition‚ and much else. In so many instances‚ governments forbidden from “abridging the freedom of speech” do just that — or‚ at least‚ something contrary to the spirit of freedom of speech. Beyond this‚ historians‚ museum curators‚ artists‚ and others professionally bound to oppose Talibanning art memorializing history instead cheer it on. The Orwellian shift of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Committee and the city’s Arts Commission‚ for instance‚ witnesses people charged with protecting art and history destroying it in a city that nevertheless tolerates more than a half-dozen memorials to mass-murderer Jim Jones’ aiders and abettors. The unforgettable Doctor Who episode “Blink” features malicious white statues that come alive when people look away. Neither bronze William Penn nor marble Robert E. Lee possesses this power. But the statuary murderers act as though they do. Their hateful behavior toward inanimate objects makes one wonder what they would do to flesh-and-blood political opponents should the rest of us blink. The post Attempted Statuary Murder appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Neither gender policy‚ nor multiculturalism‚ nor climate change. It’s all nonsense that entertains politicians but is useless for winning elections‚ because voters see it as just that: nonsense. The Democrats have already realized this and have a new reason for you to vote for them: saving democracy. It is funny that the Left‚ the ideology that has caused more poverty‚ crimes‚ and totalitarianism in history‚ comes to save democracy. But Joe Biden’s speech on Jan. 5 left no room for doubt. It’s your choice: Democrats or chaos.  READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: Year 2024: Everyone Except Paul Krugman Is Wrong The only thing they show with this change of direction (they don’t so much as mention Bidenomics anymore) is that they are desperate. After all they’ve committed against Donald Trump‚ after all they’ve done to muddy the playing field‚ with all the traps laid out and all the lies‚ the guy is still leading in the polls‚ while the zombie in the White House is becoming more and more zombie-like and less and less in the White House. In his rant on the fifth‚ Biden said‚ “Donald Trump’s campaign is about him‚ not America‚ not you.” The truth is that the one who keeps talking about Trump is Biden‚ not Trump. He added‚ “Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past‚ not the future.” This from the president of the party that is happy to revise history books‚ knock down statues‚ and try to frighten the electorate by shouting‚ “The fascists are coming!” My favorite passage from Biden’s speech is the one on political violence: “Political violence is never‚ ever acceptable in the United States political system — never‚ never‚ never.  It has no place in a democracy.  None.”  I am not in favor of political violence either; however‚ I wish to clarify that taxes seem to me like political violence‚ any stupid regulation seems to me to be legalistic cruelty‚ and the illiterate rulers who embarrass the nation with their constant fight with grammar and common sense seem to me a clear example of murdering synapses.  Anyway‚ Biden shouldn’t be talking about political violence after the enthusiasm Democrats showed for BLM’s trashing. Now that was political violence.  The frightening thing about the president’s speech is not that he devoted very long paragraphs that he must have rehearsed for hours on end to attacking Trump‚ a feat not devoid of merit considering the state of his mental health. What is frightening‚ what is truly disturbing‚ is that Biden is saying something that does attack freedom‚ democracy‚ and the nation: He is saying that he is democracy and that his opponent is not‚ and he is sowing seeds that would allow no chance of Trump (nor probably any other Republican) to return to the White House … even if the Democrats lost the election. (RELATED: A Trashy Speech by a Trashy President: Biden Takes on Valley Forge) Thus the Democrats‚ unfortunately‚ subscribe to Bolivarian progressive strategy‚ although of Venezuelan origin‚ later adopted by Argentina and now employed by several European parties. It is a matter of dragging the party to the most extreme point on the left and‚ once there‚ drawing a line on the ground to treat as “extreme right” and “anti-democratic” anything that falls outside.  It is a strategy that worked for a while in Argentina and that continues to work in Venezuela for one simple reason: because the next step is to build up an extreme-left totalitarian regime “to prevent the right wing from coming in and ending democracy.” Already in Venezuela there is only dictatorship. In Argentina‚ there is hope. In Spain‚ we are still suffering the consequences of the total cancellation of all those who are not extreme leftists. And in the United States‚ the land of freedom‚ Biden now wants to create that same prison.  It is a danger. But above all‚ it is an indignity. Translated by Joel Dalmau. The post Biden Lashes Out at the Half of the Country That Refuses to Vote for Him appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Blue eyes. Blond hair. Somewhere between 5’9 and 6’3. Does that sound like the ideal baby boy? Or maybe you wanted a girl with brown hair and green eyes who would grow to be 5’3. Until very recently‚ that wasn’t a choice anyone got to make. Now‚ with surrogacy‚ almost anyone can. Of course‚ that doesn’t mean surrogacy is moral‚ and the Catholic Church has been consistent in its opposition to the practice because it amounts to trafficking unborn children. On Monday‚ Pope Francis called for a global ban on surrogacy during an address to diplomats gathered in Vatican City in which he discussed a wide range of global issues‚ including the wars in Ukraine and Israel and the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. (READ MORE: Kellyanne Conway’s Contraception Gambit) “The path to peace calls for respect for life‚ for every human life‚ starting with the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb‚ which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking‚” Francis said. “In this regard‚ I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood‚ which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child‚ based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs. A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.” Surrogacy Grows in Popularity But Francis didn’t just speak out against surrogacy‚ which he has done before; he called on the world to ban the practice altogether — and he did so in the face of an industry that is growing exponentially. Global Market Insights estimates that by 2032‚ the surrogate market will have grown ninefold compared to 2022 data‚ becoming an industry worth $129 billion. Surrogacy isn’t exactly new (“Baby M‚” the subject of a contentious case that went to the New Jersey Supreme Court‚ was born in the 1980s)‚ but its popularity has skyrocketed over the last few years. There are several reasons for that. As homosexuality becomes more widely acceptable‚ those practicing the lifestyle want to have biological children‚ and that requires using a surrogate. Celebrities who want children often turn to surrogacy for health reasons or convenience. Couples who were married late in life or who struggle with fertility will sometimes do the same. Of course‚ surrogacy doesn’t work as an industry unless women are willing to carry someone else’s child for nine months — and those living in war-torn countries like Ukraine‚ countries with third-world economies (some of which have wisely banned the practice)‚ or situations with low incomes and few career opportunities‚ usually are. As the practice has become more popular‚ stories like that of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams have received a lot of attention in the media. Despite Dawson’s demonstrable pedophilic tendencies‚ the popular YouTubers were recently able to take home twin boys conceived via an egg donor and birthed by another woman. An estimated 10 children were discarded in the process after Dawson and Adams decided which babies they wanted. (RELATED: Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams’ Use of Surrogacy Showcases the Practice’s Grotesqueness) Product of the Culture of Death While Dawson and Adams’ case is particularly horrific‚ the problem with surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization isn’t only that the gay couple deprives a child of his or her mother but that the process itself is immoral. Millions of tiny‚ unborn babies are frozen or killed‚ and the miraculous process of bringing life into the world is reduced to a contractual relationship in which thousands of dollars pass hands. The same is true when a heterosexual couple struggling with infertility or sexual trauma turns to surrogacy to build a family. The ends don’t justify the means‚ and the process should be illegal. Fortunately‚ in some places like Italy‚ Spain‚ and India‚ it is. Unfortunately‚ in the United States‚ surrogacy is governed by a patchwork of laws across the states‚ and only three ban it outright. As Francis pointed out in Monday’s address‚ surrogacy and its popularity are a product of the culture of death in which we live. “At every moment of its existence‚ human life must be preserved and defended; yet I note with regret‚ especially in the West‚ the continued spread of a culture of death‚ which in the name of a false compassion discards children‚ the elderly‚ and the sick‚” the pope said. The pontiff is‚ of course‚ quite right. Children ought to be the natural product of the love between a man and a woman — a wonderful‚ miraculous outflowing of their relationship. They should never be a commodity‚ ordered out of a catalog in a desire to satisfy the egos of the people who claim to be their parents. The post Pope Francis Is Right. The World Should Ban Surrogacy. appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

More than 70‚000 attendees of the COP28 conference from around the world flew to Dubai‚ one of the global hubs of oil wealth‚ a shining beacon of development in the desert‚ to commiserate over the state of the world. Unlike many of the climate “warriors” attending a winter party in the Arabian Peninsula‚ where the daytime temperatures hovered dreamily between 80–90 degrees Fahrenheit and sunsets glowed over the Persian Gulf‚ I‚ at least‚ had flown commercial. READ MORE: Biden’s Fuelish Hydrogen Giveaway Slogans like “Action Builds Trust” and “Action Creates Hope” were printed on billboards towering over the highways and peppered across the COP28 Expo grounds. Alas‚ “Action Burns Carbon” went unmentioned. Inside one of the technological expo spaces‚ Dubai Electricity &; Water Authority (DEWA) gave a presentation. While most of its power comes from oil‚ the company has already built one of the largest solar arrays on earth providing power production for a not-insignificant portion of the city and its surroundings electricity needs. More than 8 square miles of solar panels darken the desert‚ and the installation includes a concentrated solar power (CSP) system. These mirror systems have been made famous in the Mojave Desert for vaporizing birds in mid-flight with the massive heat generated by the focused sunlight. As I looked at a model of this system that directs concentrated solar energy at a massive tower surrounded by circles upon circles of mirrors‚ reflecting the sun’s powerful rays to a peak where they heat molten salt to power a turbine to generate energy‚ I mentioned to a local woman‚ dressed conservatively‚ employed by the power company‚ that the array must produce an incredible amount of heat. “Yes‚ in fact‚ we measured 565 degrees Celsius [1049 degrees Fahrenheit] at the apex of the tower‚” she replied. “We have to warn air traffic to avoid the airspace for their own safety.” It appears this “green” energy produces a lot of hot air. A collection of start-ups and existing energy companies wrangle for both private capital and government money to implement “green technology.” Elon Musk has become a billionaire with the help of U.S. taxpayers. The U.S. subsidizes electric car purchases‚ increasing the national debt while further enriching Musk. His rocket company‚ SpaceX‚ is contracted by NASA to spew methane into the atmosphere out of flaming rockets as they are fired through the “greenhouse” and atmosphere upon which life on earth depends. With his profits off American debt‚ Musk flies around the world on a fleet of private jets‚ taking at least 441 flights in 2023‚ more than double his number from 2022‚ a year he burned at least 221‚358 gallons of jet fuel on 171 private jaunts. Besides jet exhaust‚ we never seem to be told just how much carbon is emitted in the building of an electric car. From the diesel burned in the mining and extraction of the rare earth metals to produce the batteries‚ to the materials to build the frame‚ seats‚ and dashboard‚ every part of every electric car leaves a carbon footprint. (READ MORE: Al Gore for President) One recent congressional bill included close to $400 billion for “clean energy” and “decarbonization.” The problem is that every one of those dollars spent is a petro-dollar in a fossil-fuel-powered market‚ where everything bought or sold is shipped and manufactured using carbon-burning infrastructure. Can emissions really go down when expenditures‚ development‚ deforestation‚ manufacturing‚ mining‚ and construction are going up? There are not enough precious metals on earth to build all the batteries needed to “transition” the entire global transportation fleet to electric cars‚ which are being sold as “zero-emission vehicles” (and subsidize Elon’s private jet travel). The solution provided by the green confidence game is to mine asteroids‚ bringing back precious metals from space to “solve the bottleneck.” But at what point in time will we be able to launch a rocket into space without increasing greenhouse emissions? It is impossible to make a solar panel without burning fossil fuels. From the mining‚ crushing‚ and melting of the silicon to make the panels‚ to the massive amounts of carbon and water expended in mining and transporting the cobalt‚ lithium‚ and rare earth metals that go into the battery arrays to store the energy‚ it’s a very carbon intensive process. And so every petro-dollar spent on introducing new technology has a corollary carbon footprint. The trucks and ships that are transporting and delivering all the concrete that builds the foundation of all those industrial wind farms are burning diesel gas. At the conference‚ I was speaking to a man who works at Total Energy about one of their solar arrays in southern Texas. They have converted 4‚000 acres of what was productive farmland‚ mostly soybean- and rice-growing operations‚ into what is now a vast solar array dotted with natural gas wells. With a growing human population with inevitable caloric-intake needs‚ one has to wonder whether solar panels can be recycled back into food. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that covering huge swaths of the earth with dark colored‚ reflective‚ heat- and power-generating panels and mirror arrays that focus the sun’s power at towers full of molten salt that raise the surrounding ambient temperatures to nearly 600 degrees Celsius (1‚112 degrees Fahrenheit) is going to create a heating effect on the surface temperature of the earth that will‚ in terms of basic logic‚ contribute to the ultimate heating of the atmosphere. The scientific discoveries regarding the greenhouse effect were demonstrated in the late 1800s. Would it be a surprise to discover that harvesting energy from the jet stream with thousands of wind turbines off the coasts of the United States‚ Canada‚ and Northern Europe is going to alter the climate and precipitation patterns in Southern and Eastern Europe and perhaps as far away as Australia‚ China‚ Saudi Arabia‚ and Dubai? Here we are‚ collectively installing jet-stream-energy-harvesting wind turbines around the world at the same time as we are being told that the jet stream is weakening as the result of climate change. I remember learning about the butterfly effect as a middle schooler: that when a butterfly flaps its wings in China‚ it can create a downstream effect 1‚000 miles away. Action might build hope‚ but this collective action‚ subsidized by taxpayers‚ looks set to further heat up the atmosphere. I’m not arguing that the status quo is clean and sustainable‚ but I am arguing against printing billions of dollars and putting generations of future Americans in debt to add more carbon emissions and demand through increased development and manufacture of novel technologies of which we don’t understand the long-term consequences. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt began a campaign to break up the biggest monopolies threatening this republic over 100 years ago because monopoly is the enemy of democracy. Do private interests want the American people fighting “carbon” instead of entrenched monopolistic power? The fortunes of Musk‚ Mark Zuckerberg‚ and Jeff Bezos were all born on the internet‚ a U.S. taxpayer–funded technology that has allowed these men to take control of so much of our collective spending power‚ intellect‚ and government. How did we ever get to the point where‚ instead of being taxed to control their monopolistic power‚ Bezos and Musk are instead literally being subsidized to the tune of billions of dollars and subcontracted by the U.S. government on U.S. taxpayer dimes to launch rockets into space. Shouldn’t these men whose wealth was built by taxpayer-funded technology be paying down our national debt‚ not driving it up? Even if we weren’t calling loudly for controls on the explosive monopolization rising worldwide‚ perhaps we could all agree to not subsidize billionaires with taxpayer dollars‚ which only increases their power to purchase our government away from their elected purpose: to represent the citizens who elected them. To actually clean up the mess we’ve made‚ we’d have to ban new manufacture of plastics to create a demand for all the plastic we’ve littered the environment with‚ develop a 100 percent recycling economy‚ and prohibit companies from making products that are built to break (planned obsolescence). We’d repurpose manufacturing hubs and prohibit the manufacture and sale of chemicals‚ pesticides‚ and herbicides that are killing the living web of life around us‚ exponentially decreasing a healthy earth’s ability to sequester carbon‚ increasing carbon concentrations in the atmosphere‚ and making us ill. If we actually wanted to cut emissions‚ wouldn’t we phase out the personal vehicle model and transition to efficient high-speed rail systems? Wouldn’t we repopulate small-town America by demonopolizing the millions of acres of farmland that have been concentrated into the hands of a few giant corporations that are poisoning and depleting topsoil and return it to small-scale‚ permaculture-based farming operations that build topsoil and sequester carbon while supplying human caloric needs? If there were ever a use for AI robots‚ we would have them working constantly to remove all toxic substances and recyclable materials from the world’s dumps and landfills‚ because we’ve already produced a global surplus of material that we just need to repurpose instead of building more mines and wasting precious fresh water supplies. Instead of doubling down on a planet-wide mental-conditioning system that would have us accept lies as truth and madness as sanity‚ let’s create an economy that doesn’t manufacture never-ending debt and a big environmental mess. At COP28 in Dubai‚ a myth was propagated that we can spend our way into a “clean” energy future by implementing massive technological development when all of that development is destined to remain dependent on the exploitation of fossil fuel resources. It reminds me of the news that was just reported about a group of “scientists” at the South Pole who were celebrating their use of hot water to drill down 600 meters through the ice to the sea floor. To study melting ice‚ the “scientists” literally melted the ice. Andrew Scott is Executive Director of the Open Mind Project‚ an intercultural and inter-religious diplomatic education initiative. The post Green Mythology Runs Rampant at COP28 appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

WASHINGTON — If the Washington Post treated itself the way it treats conservatives‚ it would call itself the “liberal Washington Post.” The newspaper’s story on the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay repeatedly referred to her critics as “conservative‚” GOP or Republican‚ as if that’s all readers need to know. READ MORE: The Fake Martyrdom of Claudine Gay This controversy blew up during a Dec. 5 House committee hearing‚ at which Gay‚ University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill‚ and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth whiffed an opportunity to renounce anti-Semitic speech on campus. Their lack of indignation and general cluelessness invited criticism from the left and right‚ as well as calls that they resign or be fired. Magill resigned in short order. Kornbluth and Gay stayed on. “Then came allegations of plagiarism against Gay‚” the Post reported last Thursday‚ “which were publicized by conservative activists.” There’s a red light blinking: Forget the plagiarism charges. Consider the source. To the Washington Post‚ holding academia accountable and confronting anti-Semitism are conservative ideas. I agree. They are. But they used to be liberal ideas. I think they still are. Los Angeles Times business columnist Michael Hiltzik must disagree. He wrote that Gay was the victim of a “right-wing cabal.” Would a left-wing cabal be better? Apparently‚ yes. Hiltzik railed that a conservative activist‚ “the odious Christopher F. Rufo‚” went onto social media platform X to take credit for launching the “Claudine Gay plagiarism story from the Right.” You’d never guess that 84 House Democrats joined House Republicans to vote in favor of a resolution calling on Gay and Kornbluth to resign‚ after Magill stepped down from Penn’s presidency. Hiltzik also slammed Rufo for his critiques of “critical race theory” and diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion (DEI) programs. “The antonyms of diversity‚ equity and inclusion are uniformity‚ inequality and exclusion‚” Hiltzik argued. “In context‚ this translates into white supremacy.” Steven McGuire of the pro-academic freedom American Council of Trustees and Alumni‚ or ACTA‚ responded‚ “DEI itself is about dividing people‚ indoctrinating people and excluding people.” Proponents can be “extremely intolerant of anybody who dares to dissent or propose an alternative point of view.” As for the white-supremacy charge‚ McGuire noted that people used to reserve the term for the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis‚ but now it is used to shame and intimidate people. Academia’s view of racism has moved radically to the left. Gay is Black. She sees herself as a target‚ she wrote‚ because she is “a Black woman selected to lead a storied institution.” “You’ll see the media and academics talking about a right-wing assault on higher education‚ but rarely do they want to talk about the decades-long‚ left-leaning campaign to take over these institutions‚” McGuire said. Conservatives understand the message from academia and Big Media: This is our sandbox. You don’t belong here. Because ACTA believes in academic freedom‚ there are those who believe journalists have an obligation to call ACTA a conservative group. That’s how much the definition of conservative has shifted. Know this: They’d never dream of suggesting I should call the Los Angeles Times the “liberal Los Angeles Times.” Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow her @debrajsaunders on X. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post Big Media’s Partisan Rush to Defend Claudine Gay appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

by S.D. Wells‚ Natural News: Remember the “War on Terrorism?” What ever happened to that? Supposedly‚ a couple dozen years back‚ a bunch of illegal immigrants flew some planes into some tall buildings in New York City‚ except both buildings‚ constructed with 200‚000 tons of steel‚ were reduced to rubble‚ demolition style‚ not to mention […]

by Jim Hoft‚ The Gateway Pundit: Nadia Marcinko‚ the elusive former associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein‚ has vanished from her Upper East Side home following the release of court documents related to Epstein’s scandalous activities‚ according to The New York Post’s recent report. Nadia Marcinko‚ also known as Nada Marcinkova‚ is a former commercial pilot […]

from Red Voice Media: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Mac Slavo‚ SHTF Plan: The United States is making a major military move that could result in World War 3 breaking out. As Iran continues to aid terrorists worldwide‚ the regime is becoming increasingly “nervous” that the conflict will broader into a global conflagration. Ali Vaez‚ the Director of the Iran Project and Senior […]

A proposed new project would be the end of the famous property. Continue reading…