'He stripped our citizens of the American Dream and now wants them to focus on the riot'

A cat stood outside a kind neighbor's door with a feline buddy so both could have food and better lives. Domino the catPuppyKitty NYCityA cat named Domino wandered into a yard and received food from a kind neighbor‚ and he kept coming back. He was friendly‚ hungry‚ and had roamed the streets for some time.Without a home to go to‚ Domino made regular visits to the neighbor's door‚ asking for sustenance. And in return‚ he showered the neighbor with purrs and nuzzles.Around mid-fall‚ he showed up outside with a tiny friend‚ a black kitten‚ screaming for his share of nourishment. Domino showed up at a neighbor's door with a feline buddyPuppyKitty NYCityDomino was a social‚ confident cat who didn't belong on the streets. He meowed at the top of his lungs for attention‚ nudging the neighbor's hand with his nose.His feline buddy‚ Kiltz‚ followed him around‚ trying to keep up. He was friendly‚ asking for food and attentionPuppyKitty NYCity"He was patiently awaiting his forever home to come around‚" Puppy Kitty NYCity‚ a local animal rescue‚ shared.As it turned out‚ Domino and his buddy came to the right place to seek help. The kind neighbor is a volunteer for Puppy Kitty NYCity. While she kept them fed‚ she worked alongside her rescue to get them both off the streets. Domino was finally off the streetsPuppyKitty NYCity"Domino was living in a backyard in Queens before he was rescued. He was a sweetheart even on the street."With the support of the public‚ they were able to scoop up both kitties and arrange for transport and vet appointments for them. Kiltz the kittenPuppyKitty NYCityDomino had never met a stranger and was immediately friendly with everyone he encountered. His personality truly shone indoors as he demanded attention from volunteers‚ wrestled with a selection of cat toys‚ and filled his belly to the brim at mealtime."He is super affectionate. It's like having a teddy bear who will give you endless actual cuddles." PuppyKitty NYCityKiltz‚ the beautiful kitten with large eyes and a velvety sleek coat‚ was shy but curious about his new surroundings. He needed a foster home where he could learn to socialize and enjoy the company of people.With a comfy and quiet room‚ he began to come out of his shell. Kiltz learned to socialize in a loving foster homePuppyKitty NYCity"His large expressive eyes radiate a sense of wonder‚ with a keen eye for crinkly balls and laser pointers."While Domino quickly blossomed and became a social butterfly‚ a man-about-town‚ Kiltz began to adjust to living as a house cat with the help of his loving foster family. PuppyKitty NYCity"Although initially shy‚ Kiltz absolutely loves chin rubs and will immediately ignite his purring engine once touched. He is a little black ball of energy that loves to play and will entertain himself for hours swatting around a piece of dog kibble." PuppyKitty NYCityIt didn't take long for Domino to win over the hearts of a lovely family. Once he was ready to spread his wings and fly‚ he left the rescue for his forever home‚ where there would be food‚ toys‚ and hugs galore.Domino will never have to scream outside someone's door for food and attention now that he has found his heart's belonging‚ a place to call home. PuppyKitty NYCityKilt has bloomed into a boisterous young cat‚ romping around the place with unbridled energy and newfound confidence. He is ready to find a place of his own."He has been being socialized all this time‚ and he is finally starting to be his true self." PuppyKitty NYCityShare this story with your friends. More on PuppyKittyNYCity on Instagram.Related story: Four Kittens Found Outside at One Week Old Have Come a Long Way as a Tight-knit Bunch

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A new Media Research Center study by Alex Christy underlines that the late-night jesters on ABC‚ CBS‚ NBC‚ and Comedy Central overwhelmingly tilt their political jokes to whack Republicans. He counted 9‚518 political jokes‚ and of these 7‚729 (or 81 percent) were directed at someone or something on the right side of the political spectrum. The shows included Jimmy Kimmel at ABC‚ Stephen Colbert and James Corden at CBS‚ Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers at NBC‚ and the carousel of cranks on The Daily Show (including Sarah Silverman) on so-called Comedy Central. Rich targets of satire like Hunter Biden and Kamala Harris are rarely touched‚ while they gave us an astounding 835 jokes on George Santos. They must have been a little sad Santos was forced out.  This study goads me into my usual question: "Who's president right now?" The Donald Trump to Joe Biden ratio is 2‚440 to 912‚ or about 2.5 to 1. But the kids ratio is fascinating: Trump’s children were joked about in far greater numbers than Hunter at 250-27 or a ratio of over 9:1. And the spouses? Melania Trump drew 58 jokes despite being largely missing from the public eye‚ compared to Jill Biden's six. Other than Joe Biden‚ no Democrat placed in the top 25 targets. One would have to go to Bernie Sanders (53) in 26th place to find the next lefty. "The Squad" -- Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‚ Ilhan Omar‚ Rashida Tlaib‚ and fire alarm-puller Jamaal Bowman -- had a combined zero jokes told about them. Compare that to back-bencher MAGA Republicans: 196 jokes at the expense of Marjorie Taylor Greene‚ 78 for Lauren Boebert‚ and 69 for Matt Gaetz.  Enjoy the podcast below‚ as Alex Christy explains his voluminous 2023 findings‚ or enjoy it wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Many people start the new year with the resolution to read more books that deepen their understanding of the world around them. I am often asked for reading recommendations‚ so I have habitually collected and shared the most thought-provoking books I encountered in the previous year. These are not books that were published in 2023. In fact‚ many of them are rather old. These are simply books I read during the year and found insightful. I hope you will‚ too.'Skin in the Game' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb“Skin in the Game” is a book about many things‚ but primarily‚ it is a book about what happens when you separate the cost of a decision from the people who actually make the decision.What does transferring the cost of a decision to another group of people do to the incentive structure of your society? This is a vital question because it speaks to what happens when you scale a civilization when a society becomes too large and starts to entrust certain institutions and bureaucracies with key aspects of its decision-making process. Those institutions may be specialized and professional‚ but they are also far removed from the concerns of the communities they supposedly serve.The bureaucrats operating such institutions no longer have skin in the game. They are incentivized to do what is best for their own careers and not what is best for the communities they serve because their lives will not be affected. Taleb also explains why the intolerant minority beats the more-accepting majority. This is counterintuitive for many people who believe that the big tent strategy is the key to winning political battles.Taleb is a good author who writes in a very entertaining style‚ which makes this a quick read.'Return of the Strong Gods' by R.R. RenoThis tome does a great job explaining why forces like nationalism and populism are taking hold in our world today. Reno points out the shortcomings of enlightenment liberalism and why the attempt to put away many of the key aspects of human identity ended up causing significant problems‚ damaging social cohesion and the search for meaning.Reno discusses the emergence of the postwar consensus starting in 1945‚ which stressed the need to stop any form of authoritarianism. Many leaders believed that the core of authoritarianism was a connection to larger forces of identity — a connection to meaning‚ purpose‚ and the transcendent. It became very important to these new modern states to limit their population’s access to these forces.Reno is honest about his own difficulty in parting with certain liberal precepts‚ but at the same time‚ he recognizes that these realities about identity‚ nationalism‚ and populism are not going away.Our ruling class can wring their hands with concern if they like‚ but that will not change what is happening. We are transitioning from a time of liberal ideology and returning to the things that have been true about social organization for a very long time. Reno understands the failure of our elites to contain these changes and knows we cannot prevent the return of the strong gods‚ so we must channel those forces in a positive direction that is healthy for society instead of creating an ugly backlash.'The Clash of Civilizations' by Samuel P. HuntingtonSamuel Huntington was an international relations guru and professor. The author and scholar Francis Fukuyama was one of his students. Fukuyama famously developed the “end of history” model in opposition to Huntington’s “clash of civilizations.”This book was written in the early 1990s‚ just after the fall of the Soviet Union‚ and Huntington attempted to envision what the post-Cold War world would look like. This shift away from a bipolar world was very important because many nations and alliances had been held together simply because only two major forces dictated international relations.While Fukuyama’s model looked to be the winner early on by predicting a monopolar Western hegemony that would produce a universal culture and political form‚ we are starting to see events tip in Huntington’s favor.Huntington predicted that different civilizations would attempt to modernize while simultaneously de-Westernizing‚ separating two phenomena that were previously thought to be interlinked. It is interesting to see what Huntington got wrong and what he got right from our chronologically advantageous perch in 2024. He certainly fails in some of his predictions. But his most important prediction is the phenomenon Reno observed decades later in “Return of the Strong Gods.” Huntington believed we would see the end of the age of secular economic ideology that dominated for so long and see the resurgence of more traditional cultural identities linked strongly to religion.'The Ancient City' by Numa Denis Fustel de CoulangesThis was my favorite book of the past year because Coulanges does not just review the events of ancient Greek or Roman history but rather takes the reader to the beginning of those cultures and treats them as if they are entirely alien civilizations.Coulanges focuses on religion as the core of the ancient identity‚ creating a way of being that is entirely foreign to modern secularized individuals. Religion was the water in which the ancients swam‚ the way they sought to understand every aspect of life‚ and the doctrine that dictated everything from laws to family formation.When Coulanges discusses the ancient Greek or Roman religions‚ he is not really discussing the pantheon we think of with Zeus or Jupiter. Rather‚ he’s referencing the even more ancient religion of ancestor worship and the sacred hearth.Coulanges also explores how religion and the strength of the family limited the power of the state. Each of the Genes‚ or patrician families‚ had a religion that was unique to their own domestic practice without some kind of overarching belief that tied them together. This particularity of worship gave the families an incredible degree of power over every patron‚ freedman‚ and slave that was connected to them‚ limiting the demands the government could make without risking pushback from one of the Genes.The author documents the state’s need to alter the religion and create a belief system that would connect the families before they could be stripped of power. The tribes formed a city-state‚ and the city-state grew into an empire. But at each step‚ the families had to be weakened‚ and the religion altered. “The Ancient City” is a fascinating read back to front‚ and I cannot recommend it highly enough.'On Heroes‚ Hero Worship‚ and the Heroic in History' by Thomas CarlyleThis book began as a series of lectures given to university students‚ and it retains that form. Carlyle believed that hero worship was the foundation of society‚ which is why it is one of the most recurring themes throughout human civilization.In each lecture‚ Carlyle discusses a different archetype‚ the hero as the divine‚ prophet‚ poet‚ priest‚ man of letters‚ and king. Each archetype also comes with a few examples‚ including Odin‚ Napoleon‚ and Mohammed.Many will suggest this book as an introduction to Carlyle‚ but I do not think it is the best place to start. It is‚ however‚ a critical book that helped introduce the “great man” theory of history. Carlyle is always a challenging read due to his style‚ but he is always rewarding‚ and I fully endorse this one.'A Conflict of Visions' by Thomas SowellIf you have never read Sowell‚ this is a great introduction to his work. Sowell investigates the two basic moral visions of the world: the unconstrained or utopian vision and the constrained or tragic vision. Those with the unconstrained vision see humans as lumps of clay that can be molded and shaped until the perfect society is achieved. Those with the constrained vision understand that humans have a set nature that is imperfect and cannot be removed through social engineering.When you have two groups that approach politics from these radically different directions‚ you will get conflict over how you try to resolve political questions.'The Problem of Pain' by C.S LewisI love to reread some of Lewis’ work every year because a different insight always jumps out at me. This book does what you would expect from the title‚ addressing the issue of theodicy‚ or why bad things happen if there is an all-good and all-powerful God. This remains important because there are still a bunch of Reddit-tier New Atheists who run around pretending that no theologian has ever addressed this question.To be clear‚ this is not the definitive work on theodicy. Lewis’ books are always more of a primer‚ an introduction to complex issues and the higher thinking ordered around them. But “The Problem of Pain” is a great place to start.'State of Emergency' by Patrick J. BuchananWith the possible exception of Ron Paul‚ no single figure in contemporary politics deserves a bigger apology than Buchanan.Buchanan was the unwelcome prophet in his own town‚ ostracized from the mainstream conservative movement for correctly predicting ... well‚ everything. His platform is basically the playbook that was photocopied for Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.In “State of Emergency‚” Buchanan warns about the invasion that was already underway in 2006 at the southern border. The nice thing about Buchanan is that he is unafraid to go after difficult issues. He addresses not only the economic or criminal problems associated with immigration but also the cultural impact‚ how it would transform American identity‚ and how it would alter democratic participation.Buchanan also addresses the problems of legal immigration‚ not just the criminal variety‚ and explains why the Republican Party is willing to be complicit in a transformation that harms its voting base.'America’s Cultural Revolution' by Christopher RufoRufo is the most effective conservative political activist around‚ so when he writes a book‚ you should pay attention.“America’s Cultural Revolution” is about the ideological roots of wokeness and traces the movement from the 1960s to today. Rufo stops to look at key pieces of ideology advanced by thinkers like Herbert Marcuse or Derrick Bell.The most powerful and useful part of this book is how it shows the reader how everything was there in the 1960s. Rufo does not hold back when he explains the vile and violent ideology advanced by a movement willing to use terrorist bombings and rape to achieve its goals. All the anti-family‚ anti-Christian‚ and anti-white hatred was baked in at the start.I disagree with Rufo’s characterization of and need to return to the Civil Rights Act when it seems clear that the law worked exactly what was intended. Purging the DEI regime and returning to the CRA seem like opposing goals. But‚ all disagreements aside‚ the book is a valuable read‚ and I highly recommend it.

A woman employed as a nurse in Florida was arrested for animal cruelty after she allegedly poisoned her neighbors' pets. The victims said they grew suspicious when their two cats‚ Luna and Pancake‚ died within hours of each other at their home on North Davis Avenue in Lakeland. The cats exhibited similar symptoms before expiring‚ including foaming at the mouth‚ choking‚ and being unable to breathe. They were also in significant pain. Hours later when they found their Chihuahua dog named Daisy‚ she was also dead along with her eight unborn puppies. The couple told officials that their neighbor‚ 51-year-old Tamesha Knighten‚ had previously threatened to poison their pets if they came into her yard. She also allegedly yelled at the victims' children earlier that day while they played ball outside. Investigators asked Knighten to share her security footage from that day‚ and they said that the video showed her wearing a blue glove while handling a white Styrofoam bowl with a white and brown substance in it. "These people lost their beloved pets in a most horrific way" They said they found a similar bowl containing chicken laced with poison in the neighbors' yard. Lab results found that the pets had been poisoned with phorate‚ a pesticide found in insecticides. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters at a media briefing that Knighten was charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty and one count of putting poison in a public place. He said she could not be charged with the deaths of the unborn Chihuahua puppies. “This suspect‚ despite all evidence to the contrary‚ repeatedly denied killing her neighbors' pets‚ even telling our detectives that she’s a nurse and had too much to lose. Well‚ guess what? These people lost their beloved pets in a most horrific way‚ and she lost her freedom by going to jail‚" said Judd. "It takes a cold-hearted person to poison and kill two cats and a pregnant dog‚" he concluded. "It’s hard to imagine how a person in the medical field could do such a thing.” Knighten was booked into the Polk County jail. Here's a news report about the arrest: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A third set of documents‚ about 1‚300 pages in length‚ was released on Friday related to the Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit. The legal documents were ordered to be released by Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. Southern District of New York in December. Preska oversaw the 2015 civil defamation lawsuit against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell by one of his victims‚ Virginia Giuffre. That lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2017. Critics have been clamoring for the release of names of powerful politicians and celebrities who might have been involved in the underage sex-trafficking ring operated by Epstein and Maxwell. On Wednesday‚ the first set of documents was released and included the names of some of Epstein's victims as well as people previously known to be involved with the pedophile‚ including former President Bill Clinton‚ a Democrat‚ and Prince Andrew. A second tranche was released on Thursday that revealed accusations claiming Clinton had "threatened" Vanity Fair against writing articles about sex trafficking by his "good friend" Jeffrey Epstein. A former Vanity Fair editor said that the incident "categorically" did not happen. The third set of documents includes an incident allegedly involving celebrity magician David Copperfield and an interaction he had with Johanna Sjoberg‚ who massaged Epstein for many years. “[Copperfield] questioned me if I was aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls‚” said Sjoberg in the testimony. CNN reached out to Copperfield for comment.Also included in the newest drop was testimony from Juan Alessi‚ a former employee of Epstein who offered a list of famous people who had been involved with Epstein. Alessi said he met Bill Clinton on Epstein's plane and had dinner with former President Donald Trump at Epstein's home in Palm Beach. He also claimed to have met an unnamed winner of a Nobel Prize in chemistry and several foreign beauty queens. Both Trump and Clinton have denied involvement in any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is also named as an associate of Epstein‚ but the pedophile reportedly ended his relationship with Weinstein because he had been acting too aggressively with one of his “favorite girls.” Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for other charges related to sex trafficking. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Here's more about the third Epstein drop: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening‚ the Pentagon announced on Friday."On the evening of January 1‚ Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure. He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today. At all times‚ the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary‚ if required‚" Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement which did not divulge what procedure the cabinet official had undergone.The Pentagon Press Association called it an "outrage" that the information had been concealed."The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening is an outrage‚" a PPA letter to Ryder and assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs Chris Meagher reads. "The public has a right to know when U.S. Cabinet members are hospitalized‚ under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as the result of any medical procedure."Austin has previously promoted climate alarmism. In a 2021 statement‚ he claimed‚ "Climate change is an existential threat to our nation's security‚ and the Department of Defense must act swiftly and boldly to take on this challenge and prepare for damage that cannot be avoided." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has announced that the lawmaker‚ who has been fighting cancer‚ is getting "an autologous stem cell transplant.""Last month‚ Leader Scalise successfully completed induction chemotherapy and had a positive response. It has now been determined he is eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant. He is currently undergoing the transplant process‚ marking a significant milestone in his battle against cancer. Once the procedure is completed‚ he will be recovering under the supervision of his medical team and will work remotely until returning to Washington next month‚" the statement read. "He is incredibly grateful to have progressed so well‚ and is thankful to his entire medical team‚ family‚ friends‚ and colleagues for their prayers and support."According to the Mayo Clinic‚ "An autologous stem cell transplant uses healthy blood stem cells from your own body to replace bone marrow that's not working properly. An autologous stem cell transplant is also called an autologous bone marrow transplant."Scalise announced in August that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and started receiving treatment. — (@) "Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. Healthy plasma cells help fight infections by making proteins called antibodies. Antibodies find and attack germs‚" according to the Mayo Clinic. "In multiple myeloma‚ cancerous plasma cells build up in bone marrow."Scalise has endorsed former President Donald Trump‚ throwing his support behind the apparent GOP frontrunner before the first contest in the GOP nominating process takes place later this month in Iowa.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!