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The jubilant headline on the front page of Friday's New York Times was "Democrats Lose Fear of Calling Trump a Fascist." Reporter Jonathan Weisman's first paragraph seemed daft. The F-bomb has "hovered" around Trump since 2015. "But for most top Democrats, it was a provocative term loaded with dread, historical import and potential incitement -- best left unsaid." It was? Is the Times somehow skipping over Morning Joe and all the other liberals and Democrats who love comparing Trump to Hitler and Mussolini? Then there's the question of "fact checking." The "independent fact checkers" aligned with the Democrats never find calling Trump "fascist" or "Hitler" signal this is so accurate it doesn't need checking. But New York Times "fact check reporter" Linda Qiu slammed Trump for calling Kamala a "Marxist" at the loaded ABC debate.  False. Marxism refers to the political, social and economics theories of Karl Marx, practiced as socialism or communism. Ms. Harris’s campaign has described her as a capitalist. She has not proposed to seize the means of production. And she has received the backing of more than 80 chief executives, some of whom have called her “pro-business.” Weisman reported Kamala Harris proclaimed it would be "fine with her," that the F-bomb was worth dropping:  On Tuesday, as the radio host Charlamagne Tha God interviewed Ms. Harris, he interjected as the vice president contrasted her vision with her rival’s. “The other is about fascism,” he said of Mr. Trump’s vision. “Why can’t we just say it?” Ms. Harris’s response: “Yes, we can say that.” On Wednesday, speaking in Washington Crossing, Pa., Ms. Harris quoted Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Mr. Trump, describing his former boss as “fascist to the core,” as detailed in a new book from the journalist Bob Woodward. Weisman then brought in the usual conga line of "fascism" experts, like Timothy Snyder and Ruth Ben-Ghiat to underline how this  is so wonderfully warranted. Hillary Clinton and Liz Cheney have chimed in. Mass deportation, which they admitted was currently supported by a majority of Americans, was explicitly linked to fascism. "Mr. Trump’s calls for mass deportations and internment camps, his promise to use force against a pernicious “enemy from within,” his leveraging of a cult of personality, his refusal to distance himself from groups like the Proud Boys and Three Percenters" allegedly fit the F-word.  Republicans were allowed to express objections. J.D. Vance called it an incitement to violence that was "beyond the pale." Ben-Ghiat then commented: "Vance is a very smart guy....He knows the power of the word." That's why the Left is throwing it.  Weisman quoted the Washington Examiner finding that Democrats have called Republicans "fascist" since Barry Goldwater's campaign in 1964. "Fascism is anything Democrats don't like," they said. That's true.

Comedy Central's The Daily Show took its outrage at Republicans to another level on Thursday as it welcomed Laverne Cox to the show to rant at the GOP and “its transphobia,” which included the accusation that the party’s $65 million ad campaign is contributing to transgender people committing suicide. After a clip of a Georgia man claiming he had “no hard data” on how many males are trying to compete in female sports, Cox claimed, “Hmm. No hard data? Oh, that's okay, hon, I understand. I'm sure that not having anything hard is something you're used to.”     There are real headlines from the real world documenting this issue. Networks like MSNBC even promote it as a positive thing. Speaking of MSNBC, Cox then set up a montage, “And as the election gets closer, the Republican Party is going all in on its transphobia.” In the first clip, Ayman Mohyeldin reported, “Since the beginning of August, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads focusing on transgender issues in over a dozen states.” The Daily Show then played snippets of five GOP ads, the last of which was a Trump ad where the narrator claims “Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you.” That full context of that ad focused on Harris’s history of supporting taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners and illegal immigrants, but Cox still claimed to be flattered by it, “Oh! Look who finally learned how to use pronouns. But seriously, $65 million on anti-trans ads? Do you know how disappointing it is to finally have someone spend $65 million on me, and it's for this crap? I didn't want hateful attack ads! I wanted a house in the hills with six walk-in closets.” Cox then escalated, “But with anti-trans messaging playing such a large role in our politics, it's no wonder we're seeing so much anti-trans violence and suicide. And that is something we do have hard data on. I didn't pull that fact from the same place Republicans get their information: www.straightoutoftheirass.com.” Continuing with that theme, Cox added, “This is straight out of the bigotry handbook. Using dehumanizing language on marginalized groups provides a permission structure to attack them. Because when people are rendered no longer human, you can take away their rights, commit violence against them with impunity.” Over the past few months there has been a lot of discussion about inflammatory rhetoric, but for the left-wing media, claiming pro-lifers are going to kill women or Republicans are responsible for transgender suicides is just another talking point. The answers to when life begins or what constitutes womanhood doesn’t matter to them. Here is a transcript for the October 17 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 10/17/2024 11:14 PM ET LAVERNE COX: Hmm. No hard data? Oh, that's okay, hon, I understand. I'm sure that not having anything hard is something you're used to. Now, these lawmakers claim the purpose of these bills is to protect kids. But the reality is, anti-trans laws actually lead to more school bullying of trans and queer kids and that is so disappointing to see. Especially from governors like Ron DeSantis. The way that man rocks a pair of high heels, you'd think he'd be an ally. And as the election gets closer, the Republican Party is going all in on its transphobia. AYMAN MOHYELDIN: Since the beginning of August, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads focusing on transgender issues in over a dozen states. NARRATOR 1: Baldwin supported efforts to allow sex change surgeries for minor children. NARRATOR 2: Sex change operations attempting to make young boys into girls. NARRATOR 3: Tester even wanted to let men use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. NARRATOR 4: Boys in girls' bathrooms! Boys in girls' locker rooms! Boys in girls' sports! NARRATOR 5: Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you. COX: Oh! Look who finally learned how to use pronouns. But seriously, $65 million on anti-trans ads? Do you know how disappointing it is to finally have someone spend $65 million on me, and it's for this crap? I didn't want hateful attack ads! I wanted a house in the hills with six walk-in closets. But with anti-trans messaging playing such a large role in our politics, it's no wonder we're seeing so much anti-trans violence and suicide. And that is something we do have hard data on. I didn't pull that fact from the same place Republicans get their information: www.straightoutoftheirass.com  Now, this is not to shame ass play. We would never do that. Never. But this is straight out of the bigotry handbook. Using dehumanizing language on marginalized groups provides a permission structure to attack them. Because when people are rendered no longer human, you can take away their rights, commit violence against them with impunity. But trans people are people. People with actual thoughts and feelings, and maybe a slight online shopping addiction that they're trying to get a handle on, but then Prime Day comes along, and what if I need a gazebo even though I live in an apartment? Hypothetically speaking. We're just trying to live our lives. We just simply want to be who we are and not experience stigma, violence, and discrimination for it.

At Trump’s Univision town hall, he was asked an impossible question. The former president was asked to name the three greatest virtues of Kamala Harris — and despite the challenging nature of the inquiry, his answer was perfect. “That’s a very hard question,” he began as the crowd erupted in laughter, before he got serious. “I think she’s harmed our country horribly at the border, with inflation, with so many other things.” “But she seems to have an ability to survive,” Trump continued. “She was out of the race, and all of a sudden she’s running for president. That’s a great ability that some people have and some people don’t have.” The former president also championed Kamala’s “longtime friendships.” “I don’t call that an ability; I call that a good thing, and she seems to have a nice way about her,” he added. “She behaves in a certain way, but in another way, I think it’s very bad for our country. Very bad for our country. But she does seem to have some relationships that are lasting, and she does seem to be a survivor.” Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” is thrilled with Trump’s answer. “Good old-fashioned Trump,” Rubin comments. “He’s kind of funny at the beginning; he lays out that she’s been a danger.” “Don’t hate the player; hate the game. In essence, that’s what he’s saying,” he adds. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The European Union's Digital Services Act is touted as part of a regulatory strategy to "prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation." In practice, the DSA, regarded by critics as a "censorship law," is shaping up to be a cudgel for vindictive continentals to wield against Elon Musk and his relatively open social media platform, X. There are now indications that the European Commission is plotting to personally target Musk with monster DSA fines for supposed violations of the regulators' content moderation rules on X. After months of investigation concerning alleged DSA violations, the European Commission announced on July 11 that X was likely in breach "in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for research." 'We look forward to a very public battle.' The commission complained that: Anyone on X can subscribe to obtain a blue checkmark, which somehow "negatively affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with"; X lacks a "searchable and reliable advertisement repository"; X "prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping." Thomas Regnier, a spokesman for the commission, indicated there are additional alleged breaches under consideration, noting in a statement obtained by TechCrunch, "There is no precise timeline for [the EU completing all its DSA probes of X], and the Commission continues its investigation on the two remaining suspected breaches, namely illegal content and information manipulation more generally." Musk indicated that he would challenge the findings, tweeting, "We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth." The commission said that a noncompliance decision finding X in breach of Articles 25, 39, and 40(12) of the DSA could mean fines of up to 6% of a platform's total worldwide revenue, to be decided by Margrethe Vestager, the commission's Danish executive vice president. However, insiders revealed this week to Bloomberg that the commission may instead calculate fines based on sales from all of Musk's companies, including SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and the Boring Company. The apparent thinking behind this punitive play is that since X is a private company and under Musk's control, the billionaire is ultimately the finable entity. This logic bodes well for those foreign nationals seeking to expropriate the maximum amount of money from the American, given that X was recently valued at only $9.4 billion. According to the insiders, Tesla Inc.'s sales would be exempt from these fines because the company is publicly traded and Musk is not in total control. To avoid the Euro fines, X would have to bend over backward to satisfy the regulators. "The obligations under the DSA are addressed to the provider of the very large online platform or very large online search engine," Regnier told Bloomberg. "This applies irrespective of whether the entity exercising decisive influence over the platform or search engine is a natural or legal person." 'I'm really scared by digital platforms in bad hands.' In doing so, the EU would be following in the footsteps of the Silva regime in Brazil, which similarly treated Musk-led companies as a single group. Last month, the South American nation confiscated millions of dollars from a Starlink bank account to cover fines imposed on X. Even if Musk successfully challenges the latest DSA complaints or bends the knee, the Europeans will likely continue trying to extract their pound of flesh. Evin Incir, a Swedish Social Democrat member of the European Parliament, for instance, recently told Kvartal that the "DSA is an extremely important tool" to combat polarization and so-called "disinformation" on X, which she claims is adversely impacting society. Incir indicated that the DSA would help tame the "Wild West," which is X under Musk. European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová told Politico Wednesday that Musk was "not able to recognize good and evil." "We started to relativize evil, and he's helping it proactively. He's the promoter of evil," said Jourová. "I'm really scared by digital platforms in bad hands." Musk responded on X, "Věra Jourová is the epitome of banal, bureaucratic evil." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Creative Pebble V3 is, as its name suggests, the third iteration of the company's peculiarly pebble-shaped computer speakers. This latest generation adds a Bluetooth connection to the previously wired-only models and switches to a USB-C main cable. They remain incredibly cheap, though, and deliver plenty where it counts. It's this all-round ability to do more than just get the job done that earns these Creative speakers the coveted best budget title on our best computer speakers guide. Plus, while you can clearly get far more clarity, power, and features if you spend more, for just under $35, there are no better options we've tested. Continue reading Creative Pebble V3 review: brilliant budget Bluetooth computer speakers MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5

After more than a decade since it launched, Europa Universalis 4 remains one of developer Paradox’s best grand strategy games to date. Still a central pillar of its lineup alongside the likes of Crusader Kings 3, Stellaris, and Age of Wonders 4, new EU4 content is still coming out. As we look towards the future and a potential Europa Universalis 5, you can give the current iteration a go completely free on Steam right now, with what Paradox calls its “best deal ever” to pick up the full package. Continue reading Play Europa Universalis 4 for free this weekend, with a huge sale on everything MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Europa Universalis IV DLC guide, The best Europa Universalis 4 mods, Play Europa Universalis 4

A fresh start is one of the most enduring narratives we tell ourselves. In the same vein, the idea of creating a brand new settlement in untamed wilds is an evocative one, which is why Farthest Frontier (where you do exactly that) is a compelling proposition. Out in early access for over two years, it’s nearing the finish line with an update adding a ton of brand new stuff to the title, including one feature that shows that the wilderness isn’t a safe place. Continue reading Wilderness city builder Farthest Frontier nears full release with new big patch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city building games, Best survival games, Best building games