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In the enchanting realm of the animal kingdom‚ friendships often blossom in the most unexpected ways. It’s not unusual to witness dogs befriending cats or other diverse species forming bonds. This phenomenon was beautifully captured in a heartwarming video featuring a doe‚ her fawn‚ and an unlikely companion – a chipmunk. The video‚ which quickly... The post Chipmunk sees doe and fawn and ‘invites’ them to eat with him in most adorable way appeared first on Animal Channel.

Christiane Amanpour welcomed CNN colleague and senior political analyst John Avlon onto her Monday show that is aired in the U.S. on PBS to discuss President Joe Biden’s latest speeches. In Avlon’s world‚ Biden is fighting the dark forces of “white supremacy” and “Christian nationalism.” Ironically‚ he also believes that it is important for journalists to be more activist as currently there “is an assault on truth.” On Biden’s speech at Mother Emanuel Church‚ Avlon first recounted the church’s history‚ “I think‚ a relatively renewal of an old idea that we've debated in the United States‚ often with violence‚ unfortunately‚ which is the resistance that exists to a multiracial democracy that characterized the run up to the Civil War‚ certainly‚ but especially reconstruction and the violence around overturning Jim Crow.”     That was surely a reference to the 2015 mass shooting by a white supremacist‚ but Avlon continued and sought to smear great numbers of people‚ “we see it in more benign and politicized forms to this day. And I think that's what Joe Biden -- President Biden was speaking to. In many ways‚ it's a companion to a speech at Valley Forge just a few days ago‚ kicking off his campaign where he said this is about defending democracy. I think this puts a finer point on it.” Avlon added‚ “One of the great obstacles to the fulfillment of democracy's ideal in the United States is white supremacy‚ is white nationalism‚ is‚ in some cases‚ Christian nationalism when it is combined with a racial animus as we've seen too many times. And sometimes you've got to listen carefully to hear those strains. But if you know your history‚ if you're willing to confront it clearly‚ then all becomes more evident.” Since he was devoid of examples‚ it appears Avlon was just throwing around buzz words to scare people. People can agree that white supremacists who conduct mass shootings at black churches are evil people‚ but by going on about “benign” forms of the same ideology‚ Avlon seeks to tie people who are not white supremacists to the shooter. Avlon’s partisan ramblings are noteworthy not just because they are partisan ramblings‚ but because he insists that his fellow journalists must echo him‚ as he later claimed‚ “We have a fundamental responsibility. And I think it's a civic responsibility that connects journalists‚ but also citizens. There is an assault on truth that has been going on for several years.” What about the idea that white supremacy is prominently found in “benign” forms? No‚ Avlon simply meant Donald Trump‚ “It is fomented and crystallized often by Donald Trump's lies‚ and they need to be called that‚ but they're amplified via social media‚ which amplifies often the most conspiracy theorist version of events‚ the most confrontational version of events‚ amplifies people who played the base.” Further lamenting the media has lost its gatekeeping abilities‚ Avlon proclaimed: You know‚ I think the days of gatekeepers and Walter Cronkite saying ‘that's the way it is’ are long gone‚ but that's exactly why I think we need to strengthen guardrails around our democracy‚ guardrails around democratic norms. We need to call out lies for what they are as we simultaneously recognize that Trump and the drift towards hyper-partisan media and maybe a fragmentation via social media has been successful in selling outright lies to people who are susceptible to that kind of confirmation bias. It would be one thing if Avlon had history of good fact-checking‚ getting his facts correct while going after both sides‚ but he doesn’t. He goes after one side‚ often getting his facts wrong. Here is a transcript for the January 8 show: PBS Amanpour and Company 1/8/2024 CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And I was interested that Biden couched the beginning of his speech as a fight for democracy. What did you make of the speech? And then we'll ask about‚ you know‚ the impact of going to South Carolina. JOHN AVLON: Well‚ Mother Emanuel Church is less than a mile from my parents' house in Charleston. And so‚ it's an area I know well. And it has really become a sacred civic space because of the massacre that occurred there‚ and what a reckoning that was. It was in -- I think‚ a relatively renewal of an old idea that we've debated in the United States‚ often with violence‚ unfortunately‚ which is the resistance that exists to a multiracial democracy that characterized the run up to the Civil War‚ certainly‚ but especially reconstruction and the violence around overturning Jim Crow. And we saw it at Mother Emanuel that day‚ and we see it in more benign and politicized forms to this day. And I think that's what Joe Biden -- President Biden was speaking to. In many ways‚ it's a companion to a speech at Valley Forge just a few days ago‚ kicking off his campaign where he said this is about defending democracy. I think this puts a finer point on it. One of the great obstacles to the fulfillment of democracy's ideal in the United States is white supremacy‚ is white nationalism‚ is‚ in some cases‚ Christian nationalism when it is combined with a racial animus as we've seen too many times. And sometimes you've got to listen carefully to hear those strains. But if you know your history‚ if you're willing to confront it clearly‚ then all becomes more evident. … AVLON: We have a fundamental responsibility. And I think it's a civic responsibility that connects journalists‚ but also citizens. There is an assault on truth that has been going on for several years. It is fomented and crystallized often by Donald Trump's lies‚ and they need to be called that‚ but they're amplified via social media‚ which amplifies often the most conspiracy theorist version of events‚ the most confrontational version of events‚ amplifies people who played the base. And I think that's something that we're still getting our hands on around. You know‚ I think the days of gatekeepers and Walter Cronkite saying “that's the way it is” are long gone‚ but that's exactly why I think we need to strengthen guardrails around our democracy‚ guardrails around democratic norms. We need to call out lies for what they are as we simultaneously recognize that Trump and the drift towards hyper-partisan media and maybe a fragmentation via social media has been successful in selling outright lies to people who are susceptible to that kind of confirmation bias.

What is a nation? And what does it take to destroy it? The 19th-century French historian Ernest Renan famously defined it not as a physical entity but as a spiritual one. A nation is a soul‚ a spiritual principle. Two things which‚ properly speaking‚ are really one and the same constitute this soul‚ this spiritual principle. One is the past; the other is the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present consent‚ the desire to live together‚ the desire to continue to invest in the heritage that we have jointly received. Messieurs‚ man does not improvise. The nation‚ like the individual‚ is the outcome of a long past of efforts‚ sacrifices‚ and devotions. I agree. But my agreement disturbs me more than I want to admit. A spiritual entity is much more fragile than a physical one. It can be destroyed much more easily because it depends on faith. And faith can be shaken. It can even be destroyed. And worst of all‚ it’s most susceptible not to outside enemies but to enemies within. In what did we have faith here in America? First was surely our Constitution. It represented the constraints on our country that make us a good and just republic‚ which in turn shows us to be a good and just people‚ for how could one exist without the other? What we see now is the Department of Justice using every legal device‚ no matter how questionable‚ no matter how unconstitutional‚ to destroy those officials see as inimical to their chosen ideology. Even the right to a speedy trial is being ignored for those who entered the Capitol on January 6‚ 2021. Many have been in prison for longer than the sentences they would receive from biased courts in Washington‚ D.C. Most crucial of all was our faith in our elections. The 2020 presidential election came and was undermined by massive and manifest fraud. In state after state‚ we saw Donald Trump lead until‚ in the dead of night‚ the electoral count was simultaneously halted in exclusively Democrat-controlled counties in Wisconsin‚ Michigan‚ Pennsylvania‚ and Georgia‚ only to be followed by tens of thousands of newfound votes for a senile candidate who campaigned from his basement. We were told to believe that this man received‚ ultimately‚ an unprecedented 81 million votes. We were once allowed to see all sides. Now‚ we need to be protected from “disinformation” or “misinformation‚” as defined by the people who engineered a fraudulent election and corrupted our institutions. The fraud was clearly a matter of pride for many: The perpetrators had no hesitation in boasting about the operation in Time magazine. In 2020‚ we witnessed an electoral process that can only be claimed to be fair by those who assert that mail-in ballots‚ without any independent validation‚ are justified by unconstrained expansion of voter access. Yet we know they are lying‚ for this depends on two highly questionable assumptions. One is that access to the voting process is a good in itself. The other is that there is no impetus toward fraud in the electoral process. We know neither of those assumptions are true. Not everyone cares enough about elections to want to participate in them. It is those who have an investment in being elected who really care about participation. And these are the very people who have the most reason to want to commit fraud‚ which requires that voting be unconstrained by checks on validity. Put the two together — those who don’t care and those who want to win at any cost — and you have the perfect recipe for stolen elections. Those who don’t care to vote can be “voted” willy-nilly‚ and no one will know‚ for those whose ballots are pilfered just don’t care. All of this leaves us asking ourselves a terrible question: How many of our elected representatives were actually fairly elected? Third was faith in the probity of our judicial system. We used to be able to go into our courts believing they would deal with any issue before them justly and fairly‚ with total impartiality‚ no matter with whom or what they were dealing. Instead‚ the judicial system rejected all but a tiny minority of attempts to bring evidence of fraud before it‚ using any and all judicial technicalities to do so. The final blow was when the Supreme Court refused to hear the Texas lawsuit against states that had violated their own electoral laws on the ridiculous ground of “standing.” Yet in a federal system‚ what recourse does a state have when another state perverts an election that affects all states? If no state has standing to make such a claim‚ who does? “No one” must clearly be the Supreme Court’s reply. Fourth was faith in our federal institutions. Yet we remember how the Internal Revenue Service was weaponized against Tea Party groups in 2012‚ how the intelligence community was used to spread fraudulent information about Trump‚ and how the FBI suppressed evidence of the Bidens’ corruption‚ all the while giving Hillary Clinton a pass. The investigations the Justice Department supposedly undertook to probe misbehavior by these institutions and individuals‚ both under Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr‚ turned out to be meaningless shams. No significant player was indicted. Barr even gratuitously went out of his way to dismiss election fraud claims when he had clearly never looked into them. Fifth was the honesty and impartiality of our media. No one sneered when Walter Cronkite finished his broadcasts with‚ “That’s the way it is!” Now‚ they would roll their eyes. We all know that the American media is functionally an organ of the Democratic Party. In a true democracy‚ we would not have almost every media outlet insisting in unison that every assertion of fraud in the 2020 election is just part of the “Big Lie.” They would not require their reporters to write about claims of election fraud modified by the words “unfounded‚” “false‚” or “debunked.” Sixth‚ as we see here‚ was truth. A small word‚ but a crucial one. We were once allowed to see all sides. We were once given the facts and allowed to choose those that seemed to us to represent the truth. Now‚ we are told we should be protected from “disinformation” or “misinformation‚” as defined by the very people who engineered a fraudulent election and corrupted our institutions. Add to this mix an ideology that violates all common sense‚ where men can be women on a whim and women men‚ and what truth do we have left? Consider what motives there might be for all this‚ for partisan judges who ignore their oaths to uphold the Constitution‚ for civil servants who care nothing for the high ideals that they should adhere to‚ for reporters who have become ideologically captive hacks. Foremost is a profound contempt for the system that gave birth to and nurtured us‚ accompanied by an exaltation of anything that is not us. Perversion of our system is a good thing to those who think like this. They despise it. A system so bad cannot‚ surely‚ be damaged by abuse of it‚ can it? Join this with hatred of a single man‚ and a conviction that any device‚ any stratagem‚ any perversion of the legal system is acceptable to stop him. Constraint is not a word these people know. Nothing else can explain the wildly excessive attempts of those who despise Donald Trump to destroy him. They don’t trust the people. Indeed‚ they fear them. There is nothing they will not do to stop him. Nothing is too extreme. Nothing. And what do we have left? A belief in our nation? But that needs faith in its essence‚ in its spirit. And where is our faith now?

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have finally come to an agreement on the next budget spending bill. But Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is furious‚ despite Johnson touting the agreement as a way to cut back on spending while avoiding a government shutdown. Roy tells Glenn Beck that the bill will “hammer the American people” and that while Johnson is the new speaker‚ he’s simply representing “the same garbage.” The bill is $1.66 trillion‚ which is nearly $60 billion more than Nancy Pelosi’s last spending bill and $100 billion more than is needed. Meanwhile‚ the bill doesn’t address the border crisis at all. “Republicans are going to go try to sell you and the American people that that’s somehow a win. Don’t believe them‚” Roy says. “I was asked to eat a National Defense Authorization Act which got rid of almost all of our policy changes we put in our version and then extended FISA over 16 months so we can have a government continue to spy on the American people‚ and now I’m being asked to accept this ridiculous spending deal with no real border security measures‚” Roy continues. While the deal is financially devastating‚ Roy is slightly more concerned about the lack of attention given to the border crisis. “In my view‚ they’re actually both important‚ but I will take border security first‚” he tells Glenn. “Me too‚” Glenn says firmly. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling‚ thought-provoking analysis‚ and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

Former first lady Michelle Obama is "terrified" over the possible outcome of the upcoming presidential election.In a recent podcast interview‚ Jay Shetty asked Obama what keeps her up at night. At first‚ she listed common fears: war‚ how artificial intelligence will change society‚ the climate‚ phone addictions‚ and "knowing too much‚" referring to her husband once being the leader of the free world and thus privy to the most sensitive of information.But then she listed the 2024 election."What's going to happen in this next election? I am terrified about what could possibly happen because our leaders matter. Who we select‚ who speaks for us‚ who holds that bully pulpit — it affects us in ways that‚ sometimes‚ I think people take it for granted‚" Obama said."You know‚ the fact that people think that government — 'Eh‚ does it really even do anything?' — And I'm like‚ 'Oh my God‚ does government do everything for us‚ and we cannot take this democracy for granted.' And sometimes‚ I worry that we do. Those are the things that keep me up‚" she explained. — (@) You heard that right: Michelle Obama thinks government does "everything" for us and is scared that some Americans may disagree with her.The remark highlights a view of government that‚ ironically‚ would have terrified the founding fathers‚ who believed in limited government — not an enormous centralized bureaucracy that employs millions of people and controls nearly every aspect of society.Indeed‚ Thomas Jefferson famously wrote in 1821:When all government‚ domestic and foreign‚ in little as in great things‚ shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power‚ it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.It's not surprising that a progressive ideologue like Michelle Obama believes the government does "everything" for us‚ though it is surprising to hear her say it out loud.Ironically‚ it is precisely Obama's view of the government that terrifies those who disagree with her. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The proposal from the Biden administration's National Park Service to remove a statue of William Penn in the historic heart of Philadelphia‚ announced just last week‚ has already been scrapped and the public comment period shut down after unified outcry from Americans from across the political spectrum.On January 5‚ the NPS announced the proposal to remove the Penn statue from Welcome Park‚ a park established in 1982 on the 300th anniversary of Pennsylvania's founding and named after the ship Welcome‚ which brought Penn to the area from his native England‚ Blaze News previously reported. The purpose of removing the tribute to Penn — a Quaker whose pacificism resulted in decades of peaceful relations between colonists and indigenous tribes — was to provide an "expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia" and thereby create "a more welcoming‚ accurate‚ and inclusive experience for visitors." To that end‚ the NPS consulted with members of the Haudenosaunee‚ Delaware‚ Delaware Tribe of Indians‚ Shawnee Tribe‚ and Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma nations‚ the announcement said. However‚ it appears the agency did not consult representatives from many other groups because the backlash against the proposal was swift and severe. The initial announcement said that the NPS website would offer the public the opportunity to share thoughts and concerns about the proposal between January 8 and January 21. By the end of the day on Jan. 8 though‚ the NPS had issued a new statement confirming that the proposal had been withdrawn and the public comment period closed.The original proposal was merely a "preliminary draft" that had been "released prematurely‚" as it "had not been subject to a complete internal agency review‚" the new statement said‚ even as the NPS was the agency that controlled the review and release process."No changes to the William Penn statue are planned‚" the statement reiterated.Leaders from both major political parties are celebrating the proposal's demise. Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro even claimed that he had a direct hand in making it happen."My team has been in contact with the Biden Administration throughout the day to correct this decision‚" he wrote on X. — (@) Speaker of the Pennsylvania House Bryan Cutler‚ a Republican‚ expressed similar sentiments. "The reversal of the decision by the Biden administration and the National Park Service to remove the statue of William Penn from Welcome Park is the right call‚" he wrote on Facebook. "I am glad to see commonsense and an accurate portrayal of history prevail over this non-sensical and ideologically-driven attempted removal."Despite this rare show of solidarity across the political aisle‚ some left-leaning outlets have derided the decision and dismissed the concerns seemingly shared by the overwhelming majority of respondents. "The proposed plan to remove the William Penn statue from Welcome Park in Old City was withdrawn by the National Park Service on Monday after it was sharply criticized by a Republican state lawmaker and other conservatives‚" sneered the PhillyVoice (emphasis added.)The PhillyVoice also downplayed the historic and patriotic significance of the statue and Welcome Park by citing a leftist Philadelphia blogger who dismissed the park as a "forgotten brutalist plaza." Welcome Park is located just a few blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell and is included among the stops on the Independence Hall Association's virtual "Historic Philadelphia History Tour.""If they'd just removed the statue without announcing it‚ no one would have noticed or cared‚" tweeted another Pennsylvanian cited by the outlet.Axios Philadelphia even seemingly hinted that scrapping the proposal might be the result of racism. In its reporting‚ it bemoaned that "women‚ African Americans and Indigenous people remain significantly underrepresented compared to white men in American monuments‚ including in Philly." "The confederacy of tribal nations contends the site of the park was given to them in the 1700s and remains theirs‚" the outlet said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!