Philadelphia’s rogue prosecutor, Larry Krasner, has sued billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, arguing that he conducted an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law because he said he would pay individuals $1 million a day to sign a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. But the one case Krasner relies on to support his legal theory actually undercuts his entire argument.  Krasner, a Democrat who is one of George Soros’ bought-and-paid-for district attorneys, doesn’t care about the law. He is doing this to assuage his insatiable desire for media attention. It’s also a bit rich of Krasner to sue Musk, since the Philadelphia DA is a two-time violator of state campaign finance laws.  Krasner refers to himself as a “public defender with power;” criminals on the street call him “Uncle Larry.” He won his race for district attorney in 2017 thanks to a boat load of money from Soros-funded groups, as Heritage Foundation colleague Zack Smith and I wrote here.  Krasner received $1.7 million from the Soros-funded groups, including Real Justice PAC, a political action committee based in San Francisco.  When Krasner ran for reelection in 2021, he received $1.25 million from the same groups. In both races, he broke campaign finance laws and got into hot water with Philadelphia’s Board of Ethics.  In 2019, in a settlement with the ethics board, Krasner paid a $4,000 fine and reimbursed the city for excess in-kind contributions from Real Justice PAC. He acknowledged violating the law, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. It’s bad enough to violate campaign finance laws once. But Krasner did it again in his re-election campaign in 2021—and was caught. The Inquirer reported that Krasner’s campaign agreed to pay $10,000 in penalties and admitted making misstatements. He again entered into a settlement agreement with the Board of Ethics.  Back to Krasner’s suit against Musk, who in July endorsed Republican Donald Trump for president over Democrat Kamala Harris. As a prosecutor for the city and county of Philadelphia, Krasner has no legal ability to prosecute anyone for alleged violations of federal law. So instead, he is pulling an Alvin Bragg by concocting a flimsy legal theory that Musk somehow is violating Pennsylvania’s lottery law.  As my Heritage Foundation colleague Hans von Spakovsky wrote here, Musk isn’t paying individuals to register to vote; he is paying already-registered voters to sign a petition, which is entirely lawful.  And what does the petition stand for? The actual language is: “First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendment.” Each day, one individual who signs the petition in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, or North Carolina will be awarded $1 million, Musk said. As von Spakovsky noted, “there is no direct quid pro quo between getting paid and getting registered; the quid pro quo is getting paid for signing the petition, but the offer is open only to registered voters.” In his civil complaint against Musk, Krasner asserts that by “lulling” registered voters into giving their personal identifying information such as their postal address, cell phone number, and e-mail address, voters have paid Musk consideration—as when a person gives a dollar to purchase a Mega Millions lottery ticket.  Krasner cites an opinion from an appeals court in Pennsylvania in the case of Commonwealth v. Lane that laid out the elements of an unlawful lottery. Under Pennsylvania law, the court said, a lottery is unlawful if it satisfies three elements: (1) a prize to be won; (2) a winner to be determined by chance; and (3) the payment of consideration by the player.  Here, the first two elements are satisfied. But the third element is nowhere to be found. Consideration is the payment of money, which is completely lacking in the Musk proposal. Registered voters didn’t pay money to sign the petition. Their personally identifiable information isn’t, under either the Lane case or state law, “consideration.” Krasner’s gambit won’t work as a legal matter. But that never has been his top priority. Nor has public safety.  Krasner has been a disaster as Philadelphia’s district attorney, as Smith and I wrote in the book “Rogue Prosecutors.” Crime has exploded in Philly as a result of Krasner’s pro-criminal, anti-victim, cop-hating policies. In the five years before he was elected, an average of 271 homicides occurred per year. Since he was elected in 2017, an average of 368 homicides per year have occurred—an “extra” 97 dead bodies per year. Other crimes also exploded on Krasner’s watch non-fatal shootings (an average of 1,588 per year, up from 1,047), aggravated assaults while armed (3,116, up from 2,209), retail theft (9,084, up from 7,412) and auto thefts (8,665, up from 5,691).  Krasner brags about this year’s falling homicide rate, hoping Philadelphians will forget about the fact that between 2008 and 2017, homicides were in the 200s per year. Under his reign, however, homicides have been in the 300s and 400s per year.  Both Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania have rebuked Krasner. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives impeached him by a vote of 107-85 for abuse of prosecutorial discretion. The Legislature passed and Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, signed into law Act 40, creating a special prosecutor to handle all crimes on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, the public railroad system known as SEPTA that includes Philadelphia. Shapiro and the Legislature did so because Krasner was failing to hold criminals accountable for crimes they committed on public transit. Krasner, like former rogue prosecutors such as Baltimore’s defeated Marilyn Mosby, St. Louis’ Kim Gardner, who resigned under pressure, and San Francisco’s recalled Chesa Boudin, has been an absentee district attorney. He has traveled around the country on boondoggles and visited law schools trying to recruit “woke” law students to work in his office. All that Uncle Larry cares about is Uncle Larry. But Elon Musk is not your typical defendant. Perhaps someone should advise Uncle Larry about Pennsylvania’s rules prohibiting malicious prosecution and the limits of prosecutorial immunity.    The post DA Larry Krasner, 2-Time Campaign Finance Violator, Sues Elon Musk Over Voter Lottery appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Too Good to Check: Hezbollah Collapsing As Desertions Skyrocket

ABC’s Good Morning America began another workday spewing more thick venom in the direction of former President Trump and his tens of millions of supporters, blasting Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally as “dark,” “filled with grievances,” “incendiary,” “outright racist,” “profane,” and “vulgar” thanks to Trump as well as a litany of warm-up acts. In contrast, ABC offered nary a negative word about Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, touting her as “sprinting toward the finish line, blitzing the battlegrounds, hoping to drive voters to the polls” and “leaning on her most powerful supporters to hammer home what’s at stake,” including a “searing” defense of abortion by former First Lady Michelle Obama. As always, co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos set the table, look at this framing in an opening tease: Donald Trump holds a rally in New York City. The former President calls America a nation in decline, labeling Democrats the enemy from within, and the Trump campaign facing backlash for racist and sexist remarks made before he took the stage. One comedian called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.” Kamala Harris hits back. The Vice President in must-win Pennsylvania and Michigan with former First Lady Michelle Obama — [CHEERS] — arguing Harris faces an impossible down standard, laying out the stakes for abortion rights.  Stephanopoulos later had the setup to idolatrous Trump-hating correspondent Rachel Scott, denouncing the rally’s “profane and racist” turn. The latter concurred that Trump’s “rhetoric has turned increasingly dark and filled with grievances” and the Madison Square Garden rally was “completely overshadowed by comments that were vulgar and, at times, just outright racist.” ABC’s @GStephanopoulos and @RachelVScott reacting on ‘Good Morning America’ to the #MSGRally: Stephanopoulos: “There was a rally marked by profane and racist jokes and — including the opening comedian who called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.” That comment provoked… pic.twitter.com/k4rMaBMVd3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 28, 2024 Scott hit more predictable notes, including her declaration that the Trump campaign should have known Tony Hinchcliffe would say something controversial like he did about Puerto Ricans. ABC’s @RachelVScott seethes over Trump’s #MSRally during ‘Good Morning America’: “The rally was incendiary and vulgar before Trump even stepped on the stage. Several speakers making sexist, profane, and racist comments. One calling Vice President Kamala Harris the devil and the… pic.twitter.com/P7bOGytUxp — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 28, 2024 This went right into a hard turn to the fluff from Disney’s in-house North Korean news lady for the Biden-Harris regime, Mary Bruce: ABC’s @MaryKBruce – Disney’s North Korean news lady for Kamala Harris – was enthralled with the Harris rallies in her ‘Good Morning America’ report: “Harris is hitting key states and leaning on her most powerful supporters to hammer home what’s at stake. In the home stretch,… pic.twitter.com/y9MQSiK2sQ — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 28, 2024 Bruce was enthralled with the escalatory rhetoric from her fellow leftists, voicing zero concerns about Michelle Obama arguing support for Trump and the GOP ticket would put every single woman’s health (and thus life) at stake: ABC’s Mary Bruce, fawning over Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama as her colleagues rip everything Trump: “And [Michelle Obama] ripped into Trump’s record for mismanaging the pandemic response, to fanning conspiracy theories, and his attempt to steal the 2020 election...But her… pic.twitter.com/Y5h7Pqrcoa — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 28, 2024 Following a polling breakdown from political director Rick Klein, three-time anti-Trump author Jonathan Karl gave his take on the MSG event since he’s been covering Trump “[l]onger than Rachel Scott’s been alive.” Karl initially gave Trump credit for the “packed” crowd and achieved something no other “Republican figure of my lifetime” could have done in a dark-blue city, but then unloaded: ABC’s Jonathan Karl, after crediting Trump for the “packed” #MSGRally and “movement” that came to NYC, something “I cannot thinbk of another Republican figure of my lifetime...could have” done: “[T]his was an incredibly dark event. The motivation was that there was love of Trump… pic.twitter.com/Cqow55Sn1C — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 28, 2024 CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today were more passive and saved much of the criticism for Hinchcliffe. “Trump the spectacle enthralled thousands of supporters. But the political impact remains unclear. Strategists tell us the words of others on stage, not Trump, could be amplified by Democrats in the coming days,” declared CBS chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa. Co-host Nate Burleson said “comments that, quite frankly, rubbed people the wrong way” with Costa saying “jokes that veered into racist comments — they veered into really offensive remarks” and “speakers that not only just towed the line, they went over the line — crossed it and crossed it boldly.” White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe had the Kamala propaganda, gushing her rallies were “designed to motivate as many voters as she can” and played walking and talking press release by touting her campaign stops. Along with ABC and NBC, CBS’s O’Keefe cheered the Beyonce rally, but said nothing about the lies that the pop artist would perform. NBC co-host Hoda Kotb described the rally and Trump’s speech as having been “overshadowed by racist remarks.” Trump campaign correspondent Garrett Haake repeated the o-word: “Trump's message was over shadowed by some his supporters’ dark and sometimes racist rhetoric.” White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez hit all the key notes for the Harris campaign, touting it as “focus[ed] today on the economy, touting her support for manufacturing in a must-win state” of Michigan “where early voting kicked off Saturday and more than one-and-a-half million people have already cast their ballots.” To see the relevant ABC transcript from October 28, click here.

Not that was ever much doubt, but on today's CNN This Morning, the show she hosts, Kasie Hunt made clear her membership on Team Kamala. In the context of a discussion of Trump's MSG rally yesterday, David Frum, an Atlantic editor and Trump-despiser extraordinaire, said that the Trump campaign is all about "rage, contempt, and hate."  Frum added that the message of the Trump campaign is: "Police women [presumably in the sense of keeping tabs on those who might violate state laws restricting abortion], expel people who are different from you. Be angry at the world. Denounce criminals, from the mouth of a convicted criminal himself." Frum said that the rally constituted a public service because it showed America "the choice" that they had. Responding, Hunt said that "David is correct," and echoed Frum's words, saying that when she reviewed excerpts from the rally: "I wrote the top that this choice could not be more stark. Honestly. I mean, you could see it." It seems that for Kasie, it's a choice between, on the one hand, Trump, who offers rage, contempt, hate, a police state against women, expelling people just because they're different, and denouncing criminals. And on the other hand, Kamala, who offers . . . well, Kasie didn't say. But we'll put her down as favoring joy, and a New Way Forward--whatever that means! Kasie closed the segment with a heartfelt sigh: "We got one more Monday before election day -- We've got a big choice ahead of us."  And no one could doubt which choice Kasie was urging people to make! Note: Frum said that a part of Trump's platform is to "denounce criminals." True, Frum added that the denunciation came from someone who had himself been convicted of crimes [bookkeeping crimes in mislabeling hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.] But whatever Trump's peccadilloes might have been, does Frum think it's wrong to denounce criminals?  Frum also framed Trump's immigration policy as wanting to expel people who are "different from you." No. Trump plans to stop the flow of the millions who entered illegally during the last four years. Does Frum favor what amounted to Biden-Harris' open-border policy?  Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 10/28/24 6:06 am EDT DAVID FRUM: This IS the message. This has always been the message: rage, contempt, hate.  Police women, expel people who are different from you. Be angry at the world. Denounce criminals, from the mouth of a convicted criminal himself. That's the message! . . . This rally was a true public service. Show America what is the choice. That's it. What you saw there was NOT a distraction. It was the truth. KASIE HUNT: I mean, I will say, when I watched, when I watched the pieces of his rally last night, and again coming in this morning. I mean, there's a reason I wrote the top that this choice could not be more stark. Honestly. I mean, you could see it. And David is correct that this is what, I mean, the Trump team is not distancing itself from all the other things that were said at the rally, because they believe it! . . .  FRUM: I think it's upsetting to a lot of Trump voters to face who this guy --that he has never done a good deed in his life. He's never done a charitable act in his life. He's a monster. . . .  HUNT: All right [big sigh.] Almost, [shakes head] we got one more Monday before election day, and this is where our conversation is. We've got a big choice ahead of us.

Hundreds of ballots likely went up in flames after an explosive device apparently went off in a ballot drop box in Washington state, one of two such explosions that occurred early Monday morning.Around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, police began working tirelessly to put out a fire in a ballot box near a bus station in Vancouver, Washington. Video of their efforts shows crews toiling in the pouring rain as the contents of the ballot box were reduced to ashes. — (@) "It appears that a device was attached to the outside of the ballot drop box that resulted in the ballots being ignited," Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey said, according to Oregon Live. The ballot box was outfitted with a fire suppressant, Kimsey noted. Unfortunately, it did not work effectively.When asked how many ballots were affected, Kimsey declined to give an exact number but claimed it was in the "hundreds."Kimsey described the incident as "heartbreaking." "It’s a direct attack on democracy," he added.Police likewise described the device as "suspicious."'Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence.'Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) suggested the incident may have even been an act of "terror.""I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state," he said in a statement, according to ABC News.The drop box is located in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) and Republican Joe Kent are in a tight rematch. In 2022, Perez beat Kent by fewer than 3,000 votes."Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence," Perez said in a statement, according to ABC News.Kent's team did not respond to a request for comment, the outlet claimed.Ballots at the drop box were last collected around 11 a.m. on Saturday, so anyone who deposited a ballot after that time is encouraged to check the status of their ballot online. They may also contact the county elections office to receive a replacement ballot by calling (564) 397-2345 or emailing elections@clark.wa.gov.Sadly, the drop box in Vancouver was not the only one in the area to be hit. About two hours before the incident in Vancouver, an "incendiary device" exploded in a drop box in Portland, a press release from the Portland Police Bureau indicated. Portland, Oregon, is located about 10 miles south of Vancouver, Washington.Fortunately, a fire suppressant installed in the Portland ballot box activated, preventing a significant fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott claimed that only three ballots had been damaged and that elections workers had already made plans to contact the affected voters."By the time officers arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by security personnel who work in the area," the PPB press release said. "Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire. PPB’s Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) responded to the scene and cleared the device."It is unclear whether the two incidents are linked.Yet another incendiary device was discovered at a drop box in Vancouver on October 8. Luckily, it did not cause any damage.A man also allegedly admitted to lighting a fire in a ballot box in Phoenix last week, destroying perhaps 20 ballots, as Blaze News previously reported. The suspect denied having any political motivation, claiming instead that he "wanted to be arrested."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

I just finished Joe Rogan’s interview with Donald Trump and wanted to share my thoughts while it’s still fresh in my mind.This interview will likely be the most consequential political event of my lifetime — maybe ever. Future interviews will try to emulate its style and influence, making it a generational harbinger much like the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate of 1960. But whatever comes next will only build on the precedent set here for the following reasons.If the culture war needs voices like Rogan and Trump, so be it. Rogan arguably has the widest reach of any show since Oprah Winfrey, and his audience is distinct: men who see themselves as truth-seekers and who distrust the current political and media landscape.For better or worse, Rogan now guides more of the next generation of male discipleship and leadership in this country than the church does — an influence shift that the church has allowed.Trump is arguably now the most famous living person in human history. And yet the largest platform in the country was still able to grant him the opportunity to counter so many misconceptions of who he actually is, what he actually thinks, and the resistance movement he represents.This interview alone won't erase nearly a decade of malevolent corporate journalism, but it's a D-Day invasion-level event. The marriage of the largest alternative media platform yet devised and the biggest living threat to the current media-political-industrial complex has established a beachhead in the enemy's occupied territory. Just as June 6, 1944, forever shifted the momentum in the last great war, it is quite possible that October 25, 2024, will be seen by future generations as the great momentum-shifter in the great information war.The benefit of this interview for candidate Trump could be equivalent to the largest and most expensive media ad buy in political history — something unattainable given the resources and precise messaging required to pull it off effectively.This may become the most-watched interview in human history, featuring a candidate whose last two campaigns were decided by a combined margin of fewer than 130,000 votes in key swing states. It granted him an unrestricted platform to redefine himself for millions just as the election unfolds.This single conversation inflicted more epistemological damage on the Spirit of the Age that threatens Western civilization than the Christian Church has managed in a generation. Once the institution that shaped this civilization, the church has become weakened and passive in confronting today’s cultural battles.It was just two individuals, each with their own unconventional beliefs, pursuing truth, common sense, and the common good. It’s clear why the Spirit of the Age attempted to dismantle Rogan’s platform during the COVID-19 pandemic and has targeted Trump himself for assassination not once but twice. By contrast, it’s equally clear why many pastors don’t face such opposition — they simply aren’t seen as a threat, and tragically, few even aspire to be.The conversation about environmentalism may be the best example. Trump demonstrated a surprising command of the issue and, in one interview, inflicted more damage on a core tenet of the left’s occult religion than I’ve ever seen in a single setting. Given Rogan’s largely post-partisan audience, the reach and impact of this moment are significant.This was cultural evangelism in action. Trump dismantled the left's climate narrative as effectively as John of Damascus challenged Islam or Francis Schaeffer deconstructed the counterculture. This approach poses a serious threat to the prevailing Spirit of the Age.If Trump and Rogan can reframe common sense in a way that transcends the mostly artificial partisan divide, they present a far more existential threat to societal darkness than the current state of the church, sadly. This conversation unfolds against the backdrop of leftists attacking publications like the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times for not rubbing their bellies.This interview also signals where the culture war may go post-Trump. With the church caught up in self-censorship and essentially emasculating itself, something else must emerge to confront the darkness. Would God prefer to use our family-values pastors who speak with little vice? Absolutely. But just as Gideon sounded the trumpet for battle, the church has decided it has better things to do.So if the culture war needs voices like Rogan and Trump, so be it. As believers, we shouldn’t compromise our core principles — we’re not allowed that luxury. But we should recognize where the battle is, go there, and stand with those willing to fight. Not everyone storming the beaches of Normandy was a devout believer, yet they fought. Cast aside your sweater vests and furrowed brows and join this fight while we still can. Joe Rogan’s interview with Donald Trump confirms that this battle will happen — with or without us.

Times They Are a-Changin': Mitch McConnell to Step Down As Senate Republican Leader in November

Big Brother Alert: It Sure Looks Like YouTube Is Censoring the Joe Rogan Donald Trump Interview

Burned Ballots Have Trump Voters Worrying Democracy Could Go up in Smoke This Election

Back in May 2023, Bungie announced that the studio is developing another game outside of the Destiny 2 franchise, and it was none other than the studio's dormant IP, Marathon. Since the announcement, the studio has refrained from sharing more info about it, but that changes today.