With government funding, a team of engineers at Univ. of Las Vegas are poised to revolutionize how water is supplied in desert climes. Their new system pulls gallons of water a day out of the air around us, and far from sitting on a bench in a laboratory, this incredible innovation is already moving to […] The post Scientists Perfecting New Way to Turn Desert Air into Water at Much Higher Yields appeared first on Good News Network.

Books book review Epistemology, But Make It Magic: On Jedediah Berry’s The Naming Song A review of Jedediah Berry’s new fantasy novel By Tobias Carroll | Published on October 29, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share What if the very act of studying something could have magical ramifications? That question has informed books as stylistically diverse as R.F. Kuang’s Babel, Felix Gilman’s The Half-Made World, and Alex Pheby’s Cities of the Weft trilogy. Now, with The Naming Song, Jedediah Berry had offered up his own take on what a world where understanding something forever transforms it. I’m going to take a quick moment here to say that this is an especially challenging review to write. More than most books I’ve discussed in this space, part of the appeal of Berry’s novel is figuring out precisely how this world works, and certain details don’t come to the forefront until later on in the book. Unfortunately, discussing what’s most interesting about this novel, as well as its flaws, requires some recounting of those plot points. All of which is to say: Spoilers follow. The Naming Song is set in a world that could be called post-apocalyptic, though the nature of that apocalypse is ambiguous. A few stories have endured from the pre-apocalyptic times—which is to say, from our own world—and, as in Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun, there’s a certain pleasure that comes from parsing out how some familiar stories are remembered in this new landscape. The act that ended the old world, the Silence, eradicated all words from the human landscape. This didn’t just end society as we know it; it also, at least temporarily, removed the concepts of sex and gender. And the setting is at a strange technological level, with several prominent railroads factoring into the plot along with more futuristic flying machines. Here, too, the act of naming something can alter it, from the routes the novel’s protagonist takes to escape her enemies to the occasionally hidden compartments and cars on the aforementioned railroads. When we’re introduced to our protagonist, a nameless woman known as “the courier,” it’s in the context of her work, which is to say: delivering new words to the world around her. In doing so, Berry also reveals much about the way this world is governed, and why the courier’s work is important: Her committee employed diviners to find the words in their quiet chambers, using tools and methods known only to them. Couriers to deliver the words into the world. Committee pages to add the words to the next broadsheet, to print and carry copies to every place with a name. To Whisper, home of the sayers. To Hollow, the largest city of the named, with its booming factories. To Tooth in the Well-Named Mountains, and to Tortoise on the shore of the lake. To the cities built on top of cities from before; to the towns cobbled long ago from the nameless nothing; to the new towns on the borders, where settlers waited anxiously for words, because words were a better defense against those for whom the watchers watched than all their guns and palisades. Gradually, we learn more, about the place of nameless people in this world, about the courier’s own personal history, about her periodic relationship with a diviner named Beryl, and one of the other properties of this world: that people can create monsters from the act of dreaming. The courier is concerned about growing activity among the nameless, which suggests to her that they’re planning some sort of violent action against the power structure of this society. The head of her committee, Book, continues giving her words to deliver, but she becomes aware of something more going on—including secret meetings between Book and Ticket, the courier’s sister. There’s intrigue aplenty here, and that’s before the courier’s dreams bring a monster that resembles her sister to life—and before she goes on the run, one word still remaining to be delivered. Buy the Book The Naming Song Jedediah Berry Buy Book The Naming Song Jedediah Berry Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The courier’s route takes her into the orbit of the Black Square Show, a kind of traveling theater company in which the social hierarchy is very different from the larger society. Here, humans, monsters, and ghosts are on equal footing; here, too, all are given titles based on the card they’ve drawn from a deck. There’s something tarot-esque about it, albeit with very different suits: Stones, Leaves, Shovels, and Trees. (This is not the first time Berry has ventured into the world of tarot for inspiration.) Her time spent on the rails with them puts certain elements of her own history in a different light, and also reveals new dimensions to the patchwork ghost, an old friend of hers.  There’s one especially noteworthy thread that runs through the book. The courier winds up acquiring an animal companion early in the book, a creature referred to only as “the stowaway.” From its behavior, it seems pretty clear that this is a cat—but that particular word is never used, presumably because that word has not yet been (re)discovered. It’s a small yet elegant way for Berry to convey precisely what living in this world is like. As befits a book about names and recognition, much of The Naming Song abounds with moments of realization and revelation. (The latter is intended in a religious sense as well; this is, in its own way, a creation story and a tale of Original Sin, though it’s not always obvious as such.) And, like a linguist, the courier must think back over the words that she’s delivered and muse on their effects on the world. The whole thing is heady and frequently gripping—palace intrigue plus long-buried secrets plus a setting that feels genuinely new, all with a defiant and forceful character at its heart. There is a lot to like and admire about The Naming Song. And besides the ways in which Berry blends a high-concept setting with a thrilling narrative, there’s also the ambition that’s clearly at work here: Berry has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about how language shapes the way humans encounter the world and how that could make for a compelling story. Here’s where it gets a little thornier. Early in the book, Berry supplies a list of characters, including a few described as ghosts and monsters. The ghosts do seem to be, well, ghosts; at one point, a supporting character dies and his ghost appears, still a tactile presence but seemingly deprived of the ability to speak. As the novel continues, Berry reveals more about the lot of ghosts in this world, including the fact that the authoritarian villains burn them for fuel and that they can be bought and sold. There’s also a secretive movement devoted to getting the ghosts to safety, far from the oppressive society that seeks their enslavement or destruction. Reading this, it seemed as though Berry was looking to establish the ghosts as a metaphorical stand-in for oppressed groups; the aforementioned rescue efforts seemed to evoke both the Underground Railroad and the Kindertransport, which felt like a really big swing on Berry’s part. Still, if you’re writing about the sheer power of language, the role that it can have in denying people their own humanity is certainly on the table. (Magnus Mills’s Explorers of the New Century does this in an exquisitely chilling manner.) But at the end of the day, that isn’t quite what Berry is up to here. For all of the powerful metaphorical imagery Berry has put on the table, these ghosts are, at the end of the day, ghosts. There is a payoff, but it zeroes in on a very different element of ghosts’ presence in this world. That Berry doesn’t do more with some of the metaphorical baggage he’s accumulated here is somewhat frustrating—but in a novel with as many big ideas as this one, it isn’t unexpected to see some get less developed than others. The Naming Song has big ambitions, a compelling protagonist, and an immersive world; all of those qualities make it eminently discoverable.[end-mark] The Naming Song is published by Tor Books. The post Epistemology, But Make It Magic: On Jedediah Berry’s <i>The Naming Song</i> appeared first on Reactor.

News Scary Movie 6 The Wayans Are Back for New Scary Movie The last Scary Movie film was released in 2013 By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on October 29, 2024 Credit: Miramax Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Miramax The Scary Movie franchise is back in action, with a new movie officially set to shoot next year and eventually make its way to theaters. Deadline broke the news that Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Keenen Ivory Wayans—the creators of the parody movies that spoof tropes we see all too much in horror films—are reuniting after eighteen years. “We are thrilled to reunite Scary Movie with the Wayans brothers, the brilliant creators behind the beloved franchise,” Miramax head Jonathan Glickman said in a statement to Deadline. “The timing is perfect to bring back the series to the big screen and we’re lucky to have Keenen, Marlon and Shawn’s unique comedic vision bringing it to audiences around the world.” The Wayans were equally enthusiastic. “We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the new Scary Movie and work with each other again,” they said. “This is a franchise we created more than twenty years ago. We remember people laughing in the aisles and hope to see that happen again. We look forward to working with Jonathan Glickman and his team at the new Miramax to bring these laughs to theaters, where they belong. It’s a double reunion.” There are currently five movies in the Scary Movie franchise, starting with the first one in 2000, which made over $278 million worldwide. That film, which earned the most of all the movies to date, spawned four more films, the last one being Scary Movie 5 in 2013. All of the movies combined have raked in almost $900 million globally. We don’t know much about this sixth film, other than that it’s happening and that the movie’s original screenplay comes from the Wayans and Rick Alvarez (Fifty Shades of Black). And while we don’t know the premiere date for movie yet either, with production taking place next year we’ll likely see it come out sometime in late 2025 or 2026.[end-mark] The post The Wayans Are Back for New <i>Scary Movie</i> appeared first on Reactor.

Excerpts Young Adult Read an Excerpt From Isabel Ibañez’s Where the Library Hides A lush immersive YA historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure. By Isabel Ibañez | Published on October 29, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from new young adult novel Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez, the conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows—out from Wednesday Books on November 5th. Inez Olivera traveled across the world to Egypt, seeking answers into her parents’ recent and mysterious deaths. But all her searching led her down a perilous road, filled with heartache, betrayal, and a dangerous magic that pulled her deep into the past.When Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.Marriage to Whitford Hayes.Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her. CAPÍTULO UNO I kept Whitford Hayes waiting. Twelve hours later, I still hadn’t made up my mind. It alarmed me how badly I wanted to say yes. If I’d learned anything from my time in Egypt, it was that I couldn’t trust my own judgment. A disappointing and terrifying realization. From now on, I’d have to be on my guard, no matter what my heart wanted. Besides, what would happen if I did marry him? Whit had made a promise to someone else, and while it hadn’t been his personal choice, he had given his word to another. He had insisted on keeping his distance, and we had agreed on a friendship, and nothing more. But then he’d kissed me when we thought we were dying, and so the scale tipped, and we lost our equilibrium. Everything changed while we were locked up in a tomb. Did his proposal mean he cared about me? Was he as deep in as I was? I could have asked him, but then, wouldn’t he have made some kind of declaration when he proposed? A simple I adore you would have been much appreciated. Now that I thought of it, Whit hadn’t actually asked me the question. He’d said, Marry me instead, matter-of-factly. I’d been so rattled I hadn’t had the time to pick through my thoughts before he’d left the room. Instead, I teetered from terror and joy. All the good things I’d ever loved had been lost to me. The family I believed I had. Elvira. The discovering of Cleopatra’s tomb. All destroyed by one person. What if Mamá somehow wrecked this, too? I tugged on the scarf around my throat. My mother had given it to me to shrink dozens of artifacts from Cleopatra’s tomb, and for some reason, I had kept it when I probably ought to have burned it. This stretch of fabric was evidence of her betrayal. It felt like a chain, linking me to her. Maybe if I pulled on it hard enough, it’d somehow lead me to where she was hiding. Buy the Book Where the Library Hides Isabel Ibañez Buy Book Where the Library Hides Isabel Ibañez Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget “Stop fidgeting with that scarf. Why are you dragging your feet?” Tío Ricardo asked, voice laced with impatience. “Whit will be waiting.” I winced. Ah, yes, Whit’s perpetual state at the moment. “Él es paciente, Tío.” “Ha! Whit? Patient? You don’t know him like I do,” my uncle scoffed. “All I’ve eaten is broth for the last few days, y me muero de hambre. I need a hearty meal, Inez, and if you say one word in disagreement, I will start yelling.” I threw him a disgruntled look, even though he didn’t see it. He was categorically not dying of hunger—I personally made sure of it. I was not a violent person, but I silently contemplated throwing something at his head. Tío Ricardo, once again, refused to stay in bed. One would think I were suggesting he bite into a raw onion like an apple. Instead, he tugged me along as we made our way to Shepheard’s lavish dining room, one hand holding tight to my wrist. His other arm was bound up in a sling, which he periodically glared down at, resenting anything that might keep him from Philae. He also kept eyeing every person who passed us in the corridor with deep suspicion. When two gentlemen entered the hallway leading to the main stairs, my uncle forcibly moved me down another turn and waited for them to pass. This time I didn’t try to hide my exasperation. “Just what do you think will happen to me on the third floor of the hotel?” Tío Ricardo wasn’t looking at me but was focused on the retreating backs of the pair of gentlemen walking, presumably, to their room. “Have you seen them before?” I yanked my arm free. “You ought to be resting and not casting judgment on unsuspecting tourists.” My uncle finally angled his bearded face toward mine. He towered over me, smelling of citrus soap, and his clothes, for once, were pressed, his shoes wiped clean. Direct results of staying in the hotel for the past few days. “Have you learned nothing? Lourdes’s contacts could be anyone.” “If she wanted to kill me, she had plenty of opportunity. But she didn’t,” I whispered. “I’m still her daughter. Her only child.” “You have proof of how far she will go to protect her interests. Don’t depend on any maternal affection she might have for you.” The deep lines gathered at the corners of my uncle’s mouth smoothed away. He regarded me with soft eyes the exact same color as my own—hazel, which changed hue, depending on our mood. Pity lurked deep within them, and I couldn’t stand it. “Trouble follows wherever she goes. You of all people should know that.” My lips parted as a memory raced into my mind. A quick flash, like the swipe of a knife against my skin. Elvira screaming my name—calling for me as the trigger was pulled, the bullet streaking toward her. And a moment later, her blown-up face. Unrecognizable. Blood pooling under her head, staining the golden sand. If I could, I would give up years of my life for that memory to be struck from my mind. “I think it’s safe to go on down,” he said, and resumed holding on to me, half pulling me down the hall with his uninjured arm. “We have much to discuss.” Ordinarily I would have made some retort, but his words had chilled me through. I could never forget who my mother was. Master manipulator and a shrewd strategist. A liar and a thief. A woman who could and did betray her daughter, who was hungry for power and would do anything to acquire wealth. Coldly ruthless as she sacrificed Elvira without remorse. A woman lost in the wind. Be on your guard, I told myself. We continued our trek to the dining room, but this time, I joined my uncle in his careful observation of our surroundings. * * * Hotel guests filled the dining room, sitting at round tables covered in snow-white tablecloths, while servers nimbly carried trays laden with silver teapots and porcelain cups. Whit sat across from me, dressed in a blue button-down tucked into his standard khaki trousers. His brawny frame filled up the dainty seat, broad shoulders overtaking the back of the chair’s width. I didn’t need to look under the table to know that he wore his favorite leather boots, laced up to midcalf. He poured his second cup of coffee, and I knew he’d forgo sugar or cream, preferring to drink it black. I tore my gaze away, conscious of my uncle sitting not two feet from me, and lifted my teacup to hide my burning cheeks. The liquid was hot on my tongue, but I swallowed it down to buy myself time. I felt the weight of my uncle’s gaze, silently assessing and watchful. The absolute last thing I wanted was to give myself away. My uncle would not appreciate the depth of my feelings for Whit. “We’ll depart in a few days,” Tío Ricardo said to him. “Not what the doctor ordered, I’m afraid,” Whit said calmly. “He instructed you to keep off your feet for another day or two and warned of too much activity at once. Certainly no traveling long distances. Too much jostling and the like.” My uncle let out a muted snarl. “Philae is hardly a long distance.” “Only several hundred miles,” Whit said, still unperturbed by Tío Ricardo’s foul temper. “You could pull the stitches, risk infection—” “Whitford.” Almost against my will, my eyes flew in his direction. I couldn’t help it, much like I couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped from my mouth. My uncle wasn’t only irascible with me, he dumped his acerbic manner onto Whit, too. He just handled it better than I did. “You’ll do what you want, but I did promise the doctor I’d issue his warning,” Whit said, smiling faintly. “And now, at least in this instance, my conscience is clear.” You’d never know that hours earlier, he had spoken of marriage. His manner was the same as it always was, an amused air that hid a deep current of cynicism. He met my uncle’s eyes confidently; his words came out with nary a wobble. His hands were steady around the handle of the coffee cup. Only one thing gave him away. Since I sat down, he hadn’t looked in my direction. Not once. Tío Ricardo narrowed his eyes. “What else have you gotten yourself involved with? Or do I not want to know of the other instances?” “I’d stay clear,” Whit said before taking a long sip. He still wouldn’t look at me. As if he worried that meeting my gaze might reveal all of his secrets. My uncle pushed away his plate—he’d eaten pita bread, dipping it in hummus and tahina, and four fried eggs. Despite my frustration with him, I was pleased to see his appetite had returned. “Humph,” Tío Ricardo said, but he let the matter drop. “Now, Inez,” my uncle began, rummaging through his jacket pockets. “I have your train ticket to Alexandria. You’ll be leaving within the week, and hopefully by then I’ll have found you a chaperone for the journey. It’s a shame Mrs. Acton already sailed.” He threw me a vexed look. “By the way, I had a hell of a time calming her down when you walked out on her. She was deeply offended.” I’d nearly forgotten about dear Mrs. Acton, a woman my uncle had hired to escort me back to Argentina upon my arrival in Egypt. I had tricked her and escaped from the hotel where my uncle had wanted to keep me under lock and key until he could pack me off. But I couldn’t scrounge up any feeling of remorse. I couldn’t even form a reply. My mind stuck on my forthcoming departure date. Within the week. My uncle let out an exclamation of triumph as he pulled something out of his pocket. He held up two slips of paper and then slid them to me. I glanced down, refusing to touch the sheets: a one-way train ticket to Alexandria, and one passage booked for the port of Buenos Aires. The noise level in the room died down, the constant chattering falling to a hush. I contemplated drowning the tickets in my water glass. I thought about ripping them intro shreds and flinging them at my uncle’s face. Whit’s marriage proposal loomed large, a way out of my exile. He offered a lifeline, a chance to make things right. Access to independence, a way to stop my mother and her heinous behavior. My answer to Whit’s question crystalized in my mind. Slowly, I lifted my face and looked in his direction. And for the first time since I sat down, he met my gaze. His blue eyes seared. Whit arched his brow, a silent question that only I knew the answer to. He must have read something in my face because he lowered his coffee, pushed his chair back from the table. “I’ll be out on the terrace while you work out the details.” From Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez. Copyright © 2024 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group. The post Read an Excerpt From Isabel Ibañez’s <i>Where the Library Hides</i> appeared first on Reactor.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Monday that the Post’s decision not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris is in response to a larger issue of media credibility being eroded. Bezos pointed to the recent surveys on trust and public reputation, with media institutions consistently ranking near the bottom, in the article titled “The Hard Truth: Americans Don’t Trust the News Media,” published in the opinion section of the Post. This year, however, Gallup reports an even more dire verdict that journalism now holds the lowest spot in American trust, with Bezos arguing media credibility has eroded not only because of perceived biases but also due to an industry tendency to ignore public perception. Bezos further explained that the most recent backlash surrounding the Post’s decision not to endorse Harris only highlights a growing issue that trust in the press depends on two pillars—the coverage being accurate, and it must be broadly trusted to be accurate. The choice not to endorse provoked outrage across liberal circles, but as Bezos stated in a rare public response, the decision is rooted not in partisanship but in a commitment to genuine independence. ?BREAKING: Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos speaks out after his paper refused to endorse Kamala Harris for President “The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media” pic.twitter.com/3Dl8OaY4kj— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 29, 2024 “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.’ None. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Bezos wrote. Bezos acknowledged that this choice might appear strategically timed to favor one candidate over another, especially given a coincidental meeting between a top executive from Blue Origin, a company that Bezos also owns, and former President Donald Trump on the same day. “I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision,” he wrote to clarify that the decision was made internally. Even so, Bezos is acutely aware of the larger challenges facing his newspaper and the industry at large, as the media’s credibility problem is neither isolated nor new. “Increasingly, we talk only to a certain elite,” Bezos reflected, contrasting today’s diminished public reach to the 80% household penetration The Washington Post achieved in the D.C. metro area during the 1990s. “Now more than ever the world needs a credible, trusted, independent voice, and where better for that voice to originate than the capital city of the most important country in the world? To win this fight, we will have to exercise new muscles,” Bezos added. The Washington Post reportedly saw a drop of over 200,000 subscriptions after CEO and Publisher William Lewis announced that, for the first time in decades, the paper’s editorial board will not endorse a presidential candidate, NPR reported. Following the decision, several staff members who supported Harris reportedly resigned in protest. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post ‘Americans Don’t Trust the News Media’: Bezos Speaks Out After Washington Post Chose Not to Endorse Harris appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Conservative podcaster and former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon was released from prison Tuesday morning. Honey badger and baby honey badger???? pic.twitter.com/Ma1vQTCHKb— Grace Chong ?? (@gc22gc) October 29, 2024 Photo of Steve Bannon’s release from prison on Oct. 29, 2024. (Grace Chong, Bannon’s WarRoom) Bannon served four months in a federal prison in Connecticut for defying a subpoena to appear before Congress to testify as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. “For every conservative in America, this is what happens in the last days of a dying regime. They will never shut me up. They’ll have to kill me first. I have not yet begun to fight.” —Stephen K BannonVICTORY OR DEATH pic.twitter.com/hBFWTWjGXR— Grace Chong ?? (@gc22gc) June 30, 2024 His scheduled released was announced by the Bureau of Prisons. The 70-year-old Bannon was set to resume his WarRoom podcast Tuesday morning, according to The Associated Press. He has also scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference in New York City. The post Former Trump Adviser Steve Bannon Released from Prison appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Vice President Kamala Harris was born and spent most of her life in California, where she was elected to the Senate. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that her proposed policy agenda is aligned with California-style governance. Since the effects that high taxes and heavy regulation have had on the Golden State are clearly visible, it should be obvious that applying the Harris model nationally would be a disaster. Even with California’s appeal of natural beauty and pleasant weather, Americans have been fleeing the state in droves for years. A net 1.25 million people left California for other states between 2010 and 2019. Incredibly, this trend is getting worse, with a net 749,529 people departing California in 2021 and 2022 alone. Similarly, many major corporations have moved headquarters out of California, including Tesla, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Chevron, and Charles Schwab. There are good reasons for that exodus. California places a heavy tax burden on its citizens and businesses. That includes high personal and corporate income taxes, general sales taxes, and gas and diesel taxes. With many states taking the opposite approach by cutting taxes in recent years, California is increasingly an outlier. It would be one thing if those tax dollars were all used wisely. Unfortunately, California’s state and local governments are notorious for wasting money. That ranges from boondoggles such as the state’s dysfunctional high-speed rail project to a network of nonprofit groups that bilk cities with minimal oversight. In addition, California has a painfully high cost of living. Part of that is energy prices that are inflated by taxes and onerous “green” energy production mandate. Housing is also expensive, because local governments have blocked or delayed needed new construction for decades. In contrast, states such as Florida and Texas have attracted millions of residents from other states, thanks to pro-growth policies of low taxes, modest regulation, and making it easy to start and grow businesses. Such states provide a haven from the excessive government seen in places like California. That’s why the details of the Harris economic plan are so important—and so concerning. The 82-page plan, released in September, calls for increasing the federal government’s control. For example, there would be tax credits for selected (politically favored) industries. However, there would be broad tax increases on all businesses, since she claims they aren’t paying their “fair share.” That means the government would be picking winners and losers in the economy. It would also make most American businesses less competitive globally and reduce job-creating investments. That’s been the case in California, which taxes most businesses heavily while showering a select few with benefits. That approach resulted in driving businesses to other states. The Harris plan also proposes a national minimum wage increase. That mimics another job-killing policy from California, which has gone so far as to mandate $20 an hour for fast-food restaurant employees. When it comes to the cost of living, the Biden-Harris administration’s track record has been abysmal, fueling inflation through out-of-control deficit spending and a multitude of expensive regulations. To date, Harris has been unable (or unwilling) to distance herself from the current administration’s policies. Subsidy proposals in the Harris economic plan would also make inflation worse. Handouts for home purchases would encourage sellers to raise their prices, while an expansion of student loan “forgiveness” would encourage universities to keep tuition at eye-popping levels and add to the national debt. Higher prices, excessive regulations, and central control of the economy are both the hallmarks of Harris’ economic plan and the causes of California’s troubles. People who are unhappy with California can move to other states. But if California’s policies spread nationwide, Americans would have nowhere to escape to. This column reflects David Ditch’s personal opinions. His biographical information is presented for identification purposes only. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Harris’ Plan to Spread California’s Economic Dysfunction appeared first on The Daily Signal.

NOVI, Michigan—Concerns about the economy, religious freedom, and border security are driving unlikely Michigan voters to the polls to vote Republican for the first time. One of the most hotly contested swing states, with its 15 Electoral College votes, Michigan may determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Members of Naomi Steury’s Amish community in Battle Creek, Michigan, are registering to vote so that they can help elect former President Donald Trump. Although the Amish traditionally do not vote, she said, Amish residents of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania know something has to change if they are going to be able to afford to continue living on their farms. On Saturday, Steury attended the Trump rally in Novi, Michigan, shortly after registering to vote as a Republican for the first time. “Everything is going downhill, like our families try to stay on the farm and they can’t afford to buy anything,” she told The Daily Signal. “It’s too expensive. They can’t afford to buy land, and we are struggling with interest. Everything is just down.” After the two attempts to assassinate Trump, Steury said, she felt God “directing” her to vote and she feels “at peace” with that decision. At least 30 others in her community in Battle Creek are following suit, she said. Steury, husband Sam, and their two voting-age daughters all plan to cast their ballots for the former president rather than Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. “We know what Kamala Harris has done,” Steury said. “She’s already been tried, and Trump has been tried. Look what Trump did, and look what Kamala did.” Zayn Khazaali, an Arab-American from Dearborn, Michigan, says he voted for Joe Biden over Trump in 2020. But after three and a half years of record-high inflation, Khazaali said, he is voting this time for the former president. “While the country before with Trump was doing really good economically, we are now in bad shape and we cannot continue another four years with Democrats,” Khazaali told The Daily Signal. Trump is aligned with American values and has made efforts to gain the trust of Muslim and Arab-American communities, Khazaali said. “I believe the Muslim community and Arabic communities, they want a president that is close to their values, in order to be one nation that’s strong,” he said. “And I believe in the unity of American citizens if we all gather, and I believe Donald Trump will be the president that we need right now—especially in the world, with what’s going on.” Many other Muslims are undecided about who they will vote for Nov. 5, he said, but his family is leaning toward Trump. “It feels like doing something [for] the community,” Khazaali said. “He’s kind of inspiring them. They are feeling like he’s more trustworthy.” Some Muslims doubt Democrats’ leadership because they support gender ideology. Democrats say they’re for minorities, but their promotion of the LGBTQ agenda makes Muslims feel excluded, Khazaali said. “We are all American in the end, and we pick the president that can take the country forward, not a Democrat who [would] put us back for many years,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen again.” Azia Hernandez, who says she is a model for the energy drink Red Bull, is a resident of Wayne County, Michigan. Growing up in a Hispanic household, Hernandez said, she was told Democrats were the party of the working class. After doing some research of her own, Hernandez decided this wasn’t true and became a Republican. “I’m married to a military man,” Hernandez told The Daily Signal. “It’s awesome, but he’s British. It’s been two years. We can’t get him over here, but then we have all these illegals able to come over here, no problem.” Jim, a small business owner in Oakland County who emigrated from Baghdad, Iraq, says he has always been a Republican. He asked The Daily Signal not to publish his full name. “A small business owner is a conservative by nature,” the Chaldean American told The Daily Signal. “You don’t balance the books, you’re going to go out of business. Simple, plain and simple. And the same thing, I feel that this country should be run by someone that is familiar with business, and they need to balance the budget.” “A businessman understands how to balance the books,” said Jim, “and that’s why I believe that Trump can do it again.” He said he attended the Trump rally in Novi with his two daughters and niece, who are highly educated and in their 20s. He is confident that Trump will win Michigan because of the “pent-up demand and regret from the last election,” Jim said. He said the past four years have been characterized by “working twice as hard for less” and “trying to get caught up with the inflation, with the economy.” “I miss four years ago,” Jim said. Colin Green, 20, also from Oakland County, said he supports Trump and attended the rally because of the tax cuts implemented during Trump’s presidency, which he believes benefited middle-class residents like himself. “I’m here because I’m 20 years old, and I want to be able to afford to have a house,” Green said. “I want to be able to afford to live, afford groceries, afford gas. I want to be able to afford a general, decent standard of living.” A black resident of Oakland County, 21-year-old Breezy Mohammed, told The Daily Signal that he is casting his first-ever vote for Trump because he believes the former president will protect his gun rights. As a Christian, Mohammed said, he also is concerned about Harris’ radical positions in favor of the LGBTQ agenda. “Without a doubt, either Christians shouldn’t vote at all or they should be voting for Trump,” he said. “There’s no way you should be voting for Kamala.” Mohammed said high grocery and gas prices have affected Americans nationwide, so he believes they will vote for a change. “I think from talking to people, talking to my friends, even the youth, all my friends are voting Trump,” he said. The post Former Democrats, First-Time Voters Flock to Trump Rally in Michigan appeared first on The Daily Signal.

More than a third of American Muslims deny the rapes and murders committed by the Hamas terrorist organization in Israel occurred, according to a poll first reported by The Daily Signal earlier this month.  Just over a year after the Oct. 7 attacks and a week before the Nov. 5 presidential election, Muslim-American voters who oppose Israel “may determine the Electoral College votes of critical swing-state Michigan,” historian Victor Davis Hanson recently wrote in his weekly commentary published by The Daily Signal.   Since Iran assists and funds Hamas, Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has expressed concern that the Islamist regime continues to influence the thinking of some Americans.  Now, Peterson is promoting “Ask an Iranian,” a 15-minute minidocumentary about Iran, as part of US: The Story, a nonprofit organization set up to produce content across social media platforms. To date, content produced by US: The Story has racked up 80 million impressions and 5 million views, he said in an Oct. 9 press release.   Islamists fear nothing more than a vocal Iraninan telling the TRUTH about the Middle East. This is the real story of the Islamic Republic of Iran as told by 6 Iranian-Americans, unfiltered and with a stark warning for America. Watch below: pic.twitter.com/1bZSSthw0Q— us_the_story (@us_the_story) September 18, 2024 The short documentary from writer Gregg Hurwitz, an admirer of Peterson’s, focuses on post-1979 revolutionary Iran and the ideology that sparked the current regime.  “Of all the subversive players on the international stage, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] is arguably the most hell-bent on the subversion and even eventual destruction of both the U.S. and Israel,” Peterson said in an email promoting the minidocumentary.  Israel retaliated Saturday for Iran’s Oct. 1 launch of 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli cities with its own airstrikes against key Iranian military facilities. Afterward, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Sunday for a global military coalition to attack Israel.  “Ask an Iranian” draws on what Peterson calls the “experience of a selection of Iranian nationals.”   “Their blunt testimony paints the appropriately dire picture of [Iran] and the trouble that state is successfully fomenting in the West,” Peterson said in the press release.  This diverse group of Iranian Americans includes men and women of varying ages.  “One of the biggest strategies that the Islamic regime uses, and that all of the jihadists use, is propaganda,” a young woman name Gazelle Sharmahd says in the minidocumentary. “They try to look like the victims.”   Elham Yaghoubian, another featured voice, was born and raised in Iran and notes that “about $70-100 million annually was sent to Hamas” by Iran.  After the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel that left over 1,200 dead and another 250 taken hostage, and despite the U.S. State Department’s classifying Iran as “a dangerous regime,” protests in America in support of Hamas and against Israel spread, especially on college campuses.  Dear university students in the United States of America, you are standing on the right side of history.— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 29, 2024 “What we’re seeing right now on our campuses [is] not a grassroots movement … coming out because they genuinely care about a humanitarian cause. They’re orchestrated from a certain place,” Sharmahd says in “Ask an Iranian.”  She adds: “The supreme leader of the Islamic regime has supported these encampments, has said they’re heroes. And … when the leader of the Islamic regime says they’re supporting you, you’re probably on the wrong side of history.”  With Hurwitz as his guest, Peterson recorded a related episode of his popular podcast titled “US the Story: Dismantling Partisan Propaganda.” (The podcast may be seen on The Daily Wire and YouTube.)  “Ask an Iranian” is available across multiple platforms, including X, YouTube, and Instagram.   The post ‘Wrong Side of History’: Jordan Peterson Promotes Short, Timely Documentary on Iran  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Amid escalating assertions over foreign influence in US elections, the White House is exploring a controversial proposal that some warn could threaten free speech and open debate. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan recently confirmed that the administration has been “grappling with and thinking about” the potential creation of an “information czar,” sparking concern over the government’s expanding role in controlling narratives under the guise of national security. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/sullivan-info-czar-rtn98.mp4 Speaking at the National War College, Sullivan responded to a question about the potential for a centralized figure to oversee and counter foreign disinformation efforts by suggesting that while the idea has been under consideration, it could raise issues in a free society. “Questions around information operations, around public diplomacy, around the voice that America uses to speak to the world, bleed over into questions of propaganda or politics,” he said, implicitly acknowledging that such a role could have far-reaching consequences on public discourse. The proposal for an “information czar” raises immediate concerns over whether any centralized control over information could be used to restrict speech and stifle dissenting opinions. Sullivan recognized this risk, questioning whether such a role should be linked to the White House itself or to a more removed agency in order to “insulate this from the twos and fros of politics.” Still, the idea of government officials controlling “information resiliency” remains contentious, especially when directed at speech in the US rather than strictly addressing threats abroad. In defending the proposal, Sullivan argued that foreign election interference, particularly by Russia and other state actors, poses a national security issue and “an attack on our country” that needs a robust response. However, critics argue that efforts to counter disinformation could easily expand into broader content censorship efforts, a slippery slope that could ultimately see the government interfering with free speech in the name of “resilience.” We’ve Been Down This Road Before The White House’s recent consideration of an “information czar” to counter foreign election disinformation brings to mind the Department of Homeland Security’s short-lived Disinformation Governance Board (DGB) in 2022, which aimed to address misinformation but was quickly dismantled after facing public backlash and First Amendment violation concerns. The DGB’s stated mission was similar: to safeguard national security by countering foreign misinformation. However, it was met with immediate and intense criticism, as many feared the board would become a vehicle for government overreach, potentially chilling free speech under the guise of “information resilience.” The public pushback against the DGB showed the deeply rooted skepticism toward government involvement in controlling or moderating information, especially when it intersects with free speech concerns. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post White House Security Adviser’s “Information Czar” Idea Triggers Free Speech Concerns appeared first on Reclaim The Net.