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Former Trump Yacht, Once Featured In James Bond Flick, Crashes In Tunisia

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Former Trump Yacht, Once Featured In James Bond Flick, Crashes In Tunisia

A massive yacht, once featured in the James Bond movie “Never Say Never Again” and later owned by former President Trump in the late 1980s before being sold to Saudi businessman and investor Al-Waleed bin Talal in the early 1990s, crashed into a pier at a port in Tunisia last week.

SuperYacht Times reports the 85.65-meter (281 ft) superyacht “Kingdom 5KR” (originally named “Nabila”) allegedly suffered a mechanical issue while on approach to docking at a port in Bizerte, Tunisia, and smacked into the side of the pier, causing millions of dollars in damage to the bow. 

“The incident occurred whilst Kingdom 5KR was attempting to dock, with an investigation in place to determine the exact circumstances of the incident. It is believed by online sources that a mechanical failure or miscommunication may have led to the accident,” SuperYacht said. 

Nabila was built in 1980 by shipbuilder Benetti at a cost of $100 million (or about $382 million in 2024) for Saudi billionaire Adnan Khashoggi. It was featured in the 1983 Bond film Never Say Never Again. 

Khashoggi sold the yacht to the Sultan of Brunei in 1988 after facing financial hardships, who sold the ship to former President Donald Trump for $29 million. Trump renamed the yacht to “Trump Princess.”

By 1991, Trump had unloaded the yacht for $20 million to Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who had renamed the yacht Kingdom 5KR.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 10/15/2024 – 04:15

A Diet Low In Starch And Sugar Shows Promise In IBS Relief, Boosts Weight Loss

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A Diet Low In Starch And Sugar Shows Promise In IBS Relief, Boosts Weight Loss

Authored by Mary West via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A recent study from Lund University in Sweden has unveiled a more straightforward path to taming irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Eating less starch and sugar, which describes an eating plan called the starch- and sucrose-reduced diet (SSRD), not only matches the popular low-FODMAP diet in symptom relief but also proved superior in promoting weight loss and curbing sugar cravings.

MattL_Images/Shutterstock

Earlier research suggests that the SSRD is associated with other health advantages, and the low-FODMAP diet has some drawbacks.

Study Compares IBS Treatment Diets

IBS refers to a group of symptoms—primarily abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation—that occur without any visible signs of damage to the digestive tract. While the low-FODMAP diet has been the established dietary treatment, a study published in Nutrients in September compares it with an alternative approach. A low-FODMAP diet restricts the intake of certain carbohydrates, including wheat, lactose, fructose, rye, and barley.

In earlier research, SSRD showed promise for reducing IBS symptoms. However, the Nutrients study marks the first direct comparison between SSRD and the low-FODMAP diet.

“We launched this study in 2022 to compare SSRD and Low FODMAP,” Bodil Ohlsson, a professor at Lund University and co-author of the study, said in a press release. The study participants included 155 people with IBS, randomly assigned to follow either the SSRD or low-FODMAP diet for four weeks. At the beginning of the trial, they were not on any particular diet.

The results showed that both diets improved IBS symptoms by 75 percent to 80 percent. Also, at the end of the experiment, the participants in the SSRD group experienced more weight loss and fewer sugar cravings than those in the low-FODMAP group.

SSRD Versus Low-FODMAP Diet

FODMAP stands for fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols, short-chain carbohydrates resistant to digestion. Doctors recommend the low-FODMAP diet for IBS because high-FODMAP foods tend to produce gas and alter bowel habits.

Despite this advantage, the low-FODMAP diet has the following drawbacks:

  • The low-FODMAP diet excludes many nutritious fruits and vegetables, so restricting these foods in the diet may lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, reported a clinical trial published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
  • The diet restricts prebiotics—high-fiber foods that increase the beneficial bacterial strains in the gut—potentially harming the gut microbiome.
  • Some people complain about the complexity of the low-FODMAP diet, as it has an extensive list of foods to avoid.

In contrast with the low-FODMAP diet, the SSRD focuses on decreasing sucrose, starch, and added sugar. According to Ohlsson, it is healthy and simple.

“We wouldn’t really even call SSRD a diet,” she said in the press release. “It’s how everyone should eat, not just those with IBS,” Ohlsson added. “And unlike the low FODMAP diet, SSRD is easy to understand and easier to follow. You can eat everything when you are invited to dinner, just less of certain things. If you rest your stomach for the rest of the week, you can indulge a little one day!”

Why SSRD Offers Advantages

An array of mechanisms may underlie the positive effects of SSRD, Ohlsson told The Epoch Times in an email.

One factor may involve a rare deficiency in sucrase-isomaltase, an enzyme that breaks down sugar and starch. “Congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency is a genetic disease leading to gastrointestinal symptoms in children,” she said. “Increased prevalence of rare variants of sucrase-isomaltase genes has been found in IBS patients, which aligns with improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms by SSRD.”

Another potential mechanism relates to gut microbiota composition. Excess undigested carbohydrates in the bowel can lead to increased fluid secretion, Ohlsson said. The microbiota breaks down the food, leading to gas production. These effects lead to bloating, flatulence, pain, and diarrhea. Since the SSRD reduces carbohydrate intake, it decreases the symptoms that ensue.

“Additionally, the weight reduction may also lead to improved symptoms,” she added. “Fat tissue produces inflammatory and hormonal substances, so weight loss leads to reduced secretion of such substances. This may lead to less symptoms by reducing a low-grade inflammation.”

The benefits of SSRD in reducing weight and sugar cravings may partly stem from sugar’s low satiety effect, Ohlsson noted. Ingesting sugar leads to the intake of calories with less satiety, resulting in eating more. In contrast, ingesting fat promotes satiety, resulting in eating less. Thus, high sugar consumption results in consuming many more calories.

Following the SSRD

A 2021 study published in Nutrients outlines guidelines for following the SSRD.

The diet recommends increasing the intake of the following:

  • Nonstarchy fruits and vegetables
  • Meat and fish
  • Dairy products without added sugar
  • Butter and oil
  • Fiber-rich grains such as oats, brown rice, and 100 percent whole-grain bread
  • Nuts and seeds

The SSRD also involves avoiding the following:

  • Starchy fruits such as bananas
  • Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and beans
  • Oat and soy milk
  • Margarine
  • Refined grains and processed breakfast cereals
  • Sugary snacks and beverages

A Gastroenterologist Weighs In

How might the findings from the recent Nutrients study be received in the real world of gastroenterology practice?

Dr. Ashkan Farhadi, a board-certified gastroenterologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, shared his thoughts in an email interview with The Epoch Times.

He said he found the study very interesting due to the known drawbacks of the low-FODMAP diet and the potential additional benefits of the SSRD. “While there is no question that the low-FODMAP diet works, it is extremely restrictive,” he said. “In fact, most of my patients are not able to handle the low FODMAP because it deprives them of many fruits and vegetables.

“So I’m really happy to have an alternative that is actually very appealing, as nowadays, people are doing low starch and sugar for a variety of reasons,” Farhadi added.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 10/15/2024 – 03:30

Ukraine Finally Admits To Russian Breakthrough In Kursk As They Evacuate Sumy

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Ukraine Finally Admits To Russian Breakthrough In Kursk As They Evacuate Sumy

For those tracking war maps from both sides of the conflict as well as geo-location data for troop positions, the failure of Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk is not a surprise.  The movement of their forces stalled out only a couple weeks after their initial push into the territory and the Russians have been grabbing back pieces of land ever since.  However, for those people only listening to establishment news sources, the retaking of Kursk might come as a shock.

Russian troops have made significant advances from the western flank of Ukrainian positions, and reports indicate a threat of Ukrainian troops being encircled. 

The Telegraph, usually a platform for pro-Ukraine propaganda, notes that sources from both sides confirmed the Russian breakthrough, which occurred during the heaviest fighting on Russian territory since Ukraine began its cross-border incursion in August.

DeepState, a Ukrainian military blogger, said that there was a risk that Russian forces could encircle Ukrainian forces, although they later said that the front lines in Kursk were “difficult but under control”.  “The enemy pushed through the left flank of the Kursk grouping of Ukrainian defense forces,” the blogger said. “We are on the verge of another mess due to the repetition of mistakes.” (Keep in mind, major military “bloggers” in this conflict tend to have connections to government and military officials who give them battlefront information)

It should be noted that DeepState has avoided changing his war maps to reveal significant Russian gains in Kursk for many weeks.  It is likely that he has been dissuaded from doing so by officials in Kyiv in order to present a facade of success in Kursk.  The fact that he is admitting to those gains now suggests the situation is dire for Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers said that marines from the Pacific Fleet’s 155th Guards Brigade had been involved in fighting around the Glushkovsky district of Kursk, where most Ukrainian forces had allegedly been overrun. 

Fears of potential encirclement of Ukrainian troops in Kursk come only days after US officials claimed they could hold the ground for months.

The strategic sense behind Ukraine’s Kursk operation remains a mystery.  Vladimir Zelensky claims the attack was designed to draw Russian troops away from the eastern front in order to slow down their non-stop bulldozing of Ukraine’s defensive positions.  Many of these towns and the defensive works around them have been held since 2014.  In other words, the fact that Russia is taking these positions so quickly indicates that something has gone very wrong for Ukraine (And we all know what the problem is – lack of manpower). 

As with all war, the losing side tends to implode all at once after a long period of seemingly static and secure defenses.

If the goal was really to divert the Russians away from the east, then the Kursk offensive achieved nothing.  The Kremlin actually increased their forces and attacks in the region after the Kursk event.  John Foreman, a former British military attaché in both Moscow and Kyiv, states:

“Russian progress actually picked up after Kursk…Politically, the Kursk offensive didn’t change much in Washington DC or Europe. I’m still unconvinced of its strategic merit.”

Kyiv’s recent declaration of a mandatory evacuation of more than 37,000 civilians from the Sumy Oblast region just across the border from Kursk provides more evidence that the area is about to be retaken by Russia.  It seems like the Kursk incursion was fuel for the western media hype machine, but other than that the effort served no strategic purpose.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 10/15/2024 – 02:45

After Summit Snub, UK Government “Absolutely Ready To Engage” With Musk

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After Summit Snub, UK Government “Absolutely Ready To Engage” With Musk

Via OilPrice.com,

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has suggested that Elon Musk was not invited to the government’s international investment summit due to his tendency to avoid such events. 

Previous reports suggested Musk, the owner of X and Tesla, was omitted from the guest list following controversial social media comments he made regarding Britain’s summer riots, where he controversially claimed civil war was “inevitable.”

In response to the snub, Musk recently said on X:

“I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.”

However, in an interview with Times Radio this morning, Kyle said:

“Elon Musk has never come to any of the past investment summits that have been held under the previous government, he doesn’t tend to do these sort of events, but I stand absolutely ready to engage with him, to talk about any potential global investments he’s making – I’m not aware of any at this moment in time.”

He added that “we have good engagement with some of his companies” and praised Musk for the safe landing of his booster rocket yesterday.

On Sky News today, Kyle also denied that Musk was not invited because he called the prime minister “two tier Kier”.

The international investment summit, taking place today, will see Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledge to slash red tape that is hindering investment in the UK.

Australian infrastructure giant Macquarie is expected to announce £20bn in new investment in the UK, and total pledges from businesses at the summit could reach as high as £50bn. 

High profile speakers at the event include Blackrock boss Larry Fink, former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, ex-England manager Gareth Southgate, and Aviva chief Amanda Blanc. 

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 10/15/2024 – 02:00

‘Our Democracy’ Marks ‘Their Duplicity’

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‘Our Democracy’ Marks ‘Their Duplicity’

Authored by Thaddeus McCotter via American Greatness,

Presently, we are embroiled in a presidential campaign. It is the apex of political messaging, as both parties and their well-heeled allies bombard the electorate with varying promises, claims, smears, and deceits.

One of the Democrats’ and their “Never Trump” cohorts’ favorite narratives is that the GOP candidate, former president Trump, is divisive and that he must be defeated to allow the Democrat nominee, Vice President Harris, to unite the nation. To believe this, one must concur with the Democrats and Never Trumpers on two counts: first, Mr. Trump, his MAGA supporters, and the GOP are divisive; and, second, Ms. Harris and the Democrats are not divisive but rather a unifying political force.

For purposes of this piece, let us stipulate Mr. Trump and his MAGA and GOP supporters are “divisive,” if only for the simple reason they dissent from the Democrats radical, extreme, and dangerous agenda; and, moreover, unapologetically champion the populist and conservative principles and policies they believe will promote and protect the liberty, prosperity, and security of our free republic.

Nonetheless, even with this stipulation, it is impossible for an objective mind to conclude Ms. Harris and her Democrat supporters are a unifying force within our deeply divided nation. The Democrats are, by design, a divisive party that premises its campaigns and policies upon identity politics—race, gender, class, etc.; and, at root, offers the electorate varying and increasing levels of paranoia and dependence upon the Leviathan—i.e., the administrative state, which is controlled by their cohorts who are ensconced within the unaccountable and remunerative sinecures housed in the bowels of the federal bureaucracy.

Consider the Democrats’ demanding the citizenry’s obeisance to their DIE (“diversity, inclusivity, and equity”) secular religion, which one is compelled to believe above all else.

The left defines “diversity” with external traits, not internal thoughts. In sum, this inherently divides the entire population by physical traits and social castes into “manageable” political blocs—the “Balkanization” of the American electorate. Their root fallacy is that how you look determines how you think. The left purports it is using one’s “lived experience” to make this differentiation, but this experience is presumed to have occurred (even if it has not) based on your external appearance and/or economic status. Such a prejudicial pronouncement upon one’s fellow citizens is patronizing, demeaning, and—in its most heinous manifestations—racist. (Why do you think progressives have expended so much energy trying to redefine and dilute the definition of “racism” to weaponize it against, not racists, but non-leftists?)

Once an individual has been pigeonholed into one of the Democrats’ diversity classifications and it is marked with its “social credit” connotations, these leftist social engineers will cajole and coerce them into their “inclusive” collective, wherein what matters is not individual rights but one’s allegiance to the left’s ideological dictates. True, some individual rights and licenses are granted by the state, but they are in addition to our unalienable, God-given rights we already possess and that cannot be infringed by the state. The left disagrees, believing the state is the ultimate grantor of rights and that “Our Democracy” must not be impaired by the antiquated concept of unalienable, God-given constitutional rights. Consequently, the left believes a citizen’s rights are not God-given but rather government-given. As such, they constitute not unalienable rights; they are arbitrary and conditional licenses. This subordinates the citizens’ sovereignty to the supremacy of the state.

As the Supreme State doles its licenses, it will decide what is “equitable.” This is merely another of the left’s euphemisms for socialism—as is Ms. Harris’s “Opportunity Society.” But once citizens have been civically and economically diminished by the Democrats’ delineating and dividing them on basis of physical traits and economic status and by being subsumed into a leftist collective, Americans will have little recourse to dissent, let alone rid themselves of such a repressive, autocratic socialist regime.

Why would people subject themselves to this DIE agenda? This is where the left’s paranoia pimping enters stage left. The Democrats aver that they and their administrative state are needed to protect citizens from sundry conspiracies out to block Americans’ pursuit of happiness—or worse. Hence, the Greek chorus of Democrats wailing about “Systemic Racism,” “The Patriarchy,” “Threats to Democracy,” and so forth. This is literally a party that smears its opponents as existential threats to “Our Democracy” and demands these opponents be crushed so that they may never again threaten it. Such inherently divisive narratives are designed to lure people into the illusory “security” of the one extant entity capable of controlling Americans’ lives—“Their Government.”

So, how does a progressive manage to believe they are the champions of “Our Democracy,” even as they burn it to the ground to persecute their opponents? By reason of a simple intellectual sleight-of-hand. When Democrats bleat “Our Democracy,” it is a “prog whistle” that, translated, means “Our Party.” Conflating the fortunes of their party with those of the country, the Democrats have the capacity for enormous self-regard that allows them to engage in immense amounts of cognitive dissonance and self-justification as they attempt to foist their reckless, harmful agenda on Americans.

Yes, Republicans also believe their fortunes will save “Our Republic.” But there is a critical distinction. Democrats define “unity” as a uniformity of agreement. Republicans define “unity” as a uniformity of acceptance.

This explains why the Democrats are hellbent to force their DIE ideology on people and why Republicans oppose it. It is an overlooked irony that the left, which obsesses over the diversity of external traits, demands the conformity of internal thoughts. The Twentieth Century is replete with bitter instances of such an ideology’s failed attempts to dictate a rigid uniformity of ideological agreement in the vainglorious hopes of recreating and perfecting humanity.

The answer to such state coercion is still federalism and pluralism. A limited, divided government charged with protecting the unalienable God-given rights of sovereign citizens remains the surest path upon which to pursue one’s happiness. The acceptance required is of the ground rules of the nation—of the constitution, of the peaceable means of effectuating constructive change, of someone else’s thoughts and their right to hold and advocate them, and of your reciprocal right to disagree and oppose their ideas. E pluribus unum—“Out of many, one”—has well served and enriched our nation and must remain the abiding goal.

Again, the left deems federalism and pluralism as bars to the implementation of their autocratic, socialist state, which will determine and map your pursuit of happiness whether you like it or not. It is evinced in why the left crafted the word “diversity” to supplant “pluralism.” Ponder that the root of the word, “div-,” as is found in words such as “divisive,” “divest,” “divorce,” and so forth, that do not exactly scream “unity.”

Nor does their pushing of their “Our Democracy” narrative to supplant the reality we live in a constitutional republic with limits upon its enumerated and citizen-delegated powers; and the duty to serve as a guardian of our unalienable God-given rights and the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic—be they a dictator or a mob.

As they do, the left reveals how their clamor and connivance for “Our Democracy” merely mark “Their Duplicity.”

Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 23:25

Oregon DEI Forestry Snitch Busts Boss For Prioritizing Qualified Candidates Over “Gender Identity”

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Oregon DEI Forestry Snitch Busts Boss For Prioritizing Qualified Candidates Over “Gender Identity”

Oregon’s #2 official at the Department of Forestry, Mike Shaw, was placed on administrative leave after the department’s former DEI strategy officer, Megan Donecker, complained that Shaw had “beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job,” Oregon Live reports.

Megan Donecker, an avid Dungeons and Dragons player, says queer staffers are not safe because they can’t have ‘conversations around pronouns’ at work.   

Donecker first became triggered when Shaw pushed for a more careful approach to DEI – comparing the slide into wokism to speeding on “an icy road.” She says that Shaw warned “We don’t go 60 (mph) out of the gate, or we’re gonna crash the car.”

What’s more, Donecker also reportedly claimed that six homosexual staffers didn’t “feel safe or comfortable” at work because they could not have “conversation around pronouns,” and referred to the department as a “boys club,” the Daily Mail reports further.

The purple-haired Donecker has since quit the department and now works as a DEI consultant, describing herself as an “accomplice to marginalized communities,” whatever that means.

The Oregon Department of Forestry didn’t directly address the allegations, but said that leadership “takes employee complaints and concerns seriously and, when brought to our attention, we ensure they’re handled in accordance with state laws, rules, policies and HR best practices. This includes protecting employees from retaliation.”

“Providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the department and the Board of Forestry,” said State Forester Cal Mukumoto.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 23:00

Will Politicians Toxify Freedom Forever?

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Will Politicians Toxify Freedom Forever?

Authored by James Bovard via The Mises Institute,

The official theme song of the Kamala Harris presidential campaign is “Freedom” by Beyonce. But a more accurate theme would be the Rolling Stones classic, Under my Thumb.

Vice President Harris is seeking the presidency as the greatest champion of freedom in modern times.

But Kamala-style freedom will only unleash the government, not private citizens.

The original Bill of Rights created a row of bulwarks for citizens to prevent government oppression. In the era of the American Revolution, it was a common saying: “The Restraint of Government is the True Liberty and Freedom of the People.” But Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, are offering a “freedom,” seemingly inspired by Yugoslavian communist dictator Tito: “The more powerful the State, the more freedom.”

Harris begins by tacitly presuming that politicians must forcibly save humanity. Harris seeks to vastly expand government intervention to supposedly give people true freedom in daily life. Harris’s “freedom” presumes government is irrevocably benevolent—unless you are a bad person who deserves punishment or subjugation or overtaxing. But the definition of “bad” can be endlessly expanded to include anyone who howls about being fleeced, locked down, or muzzled.

Harris-Walz Freedom requires maximum government interference in daily life. Harris called for a merciless crackdown on misinformation, including punishing social media companies that fail to kowtow to Washington. Walz is emphatic that there is no freedom of speech for “misinformation”—a vague notion which can include any statement disapproved by officialdom. When did America’s most distrusted occupation—politicians—become entitled to define truth and to forcibly suppress and punish what they label “misinformation”?

Under the Harris-Walz standard, Americans will only have the freedom to say anything that the government approves. Walz endorsed a 1919 Supreme Court case that upheld imprisoning anyone who criticized military conscription during World War One. The Biden administration was condemned by federal judges for suppressing millions of comments and jokes by Americans about Covid mandates and shutdowns. But according to liberals, that wasn’t censorship because only reactionaries or deplorables complained about pandemic policies. Plus, Fauci is still a saint. 

Mindy Kaling, an actress and emcee for the third night of the Democratic National Convention, invoked “the freedom to work one job and afford your rent.” The Biden administration floated proposals for nationwide rent control and Harris is championing proposals to stop “price gouging.” To achieve true freedom, bureaucrats would commandeer veto power over any contract dealing with housing or food. And when federal price controls caused devastating shortages, that would simply prove that politicians need even more power over daily life.

At the Democratic National Convention, a Harris campaign video pledged that she would deliver “freedom from extremism.” But that would provide a blank check to suppress any ideas of which politicians disapprove. Newsweek reported last year that the FBI created “a new category of extremists that it seeks to track and counter: Donald Trump’s army of MAGA followers.” To permit politicians to define extremism is to let them preemptively vilify their most dangerous critics. Two years ago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre asserted, “When you are not with what majority of Americans are, then you know, that is extreme. That is an extreme way of thinking.” This is a definition of extremism that could put the federal crosshairs on most people who visit this website.

“Freedom from fear” is another Harris-Walz promise. Pledging “freedom from fear” entitles politicians to seize power over anything that frightens anyone. People who sound the alarm about excessive government power will be guilty of subverting freedom from fear. Giving politicians more power based on people’s fears is like giving firemen pay raises based on how many false alarms are reported.

Harris promises the “freedom to be safe from gun violence.” Harris previously supported banning private ownership of pistols, warrantless searches of people’s homes to inspect their firearms, and confiscating the most popular rifle in America. Freedom from fear of guns will justify politicians confiscating any firearm that frightens any liberal in the land. Disarming Americans will leave them in total dependency on the same politicians who lied to confiscate their guns in the first place.

Walz declared that he and Kamala were devoted to safeguarding “the freedom for children to go to school without worrying if they’ll be shot in the halls.” But what about children’s freedom not to be forcibly injected with experimental vaccines? Liberal Democratic governors in California and New York pushed hard to make Covid vaccines mandatory for school kids. California is also safeguarding the “freedom” to mastermind using drugs or other interventions to assist kids to change their gender while keeping the treatment secret from parents.

Harris champions “the fundamental freedom of a woman to be able to make decisions about her own body.” But vast numbers of nurses were fired for refusing to get the Covid vaccine that Biden mandated for all health care workers. Biden sought to compel tens of millions to get those injections despite their dismal failure to prevent Covid infections or transmission. The Supreme Court blocked Biden’s mandate for private employees but perversely allowed it for health care workers (even though many of them had natural immunity after recovering from Covid infections). That court decision did not prevent liberal governors and mayors from imposing vaccine passport restrictions that effectively sought to banish the unvaccinated from society. 

All that matters is that the latest Covid booster is government-approved—so forcing people to get injected is no violation of individual freedom, which includes freedom to obey your superiors. The same standard could justify imposing endless vaccine mandates for future plagues that escape from federally-funded labs.

Harris pledges to give Americans “the freedom to breathe clean air, and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.” Since the 1970s, federal legislation has sharply curbed pollution of air and water. And how would Harris define this new “freedom”? Parts per billion or parts per trillion of contaminants? To achieve Harris’s vague standards, federal regulators would be entitled to ban gasoline-powered cars and gas stoves. Harris would also entitle bureaucrats to inflict endless restrictions on development to satisfy the latest green fetish.

Harris-Walz freedom is a circus shell game in which constitutional restraints vanish and politicians always win. Once politicians invoke the new freedoms to stretch their power, it will not matter whether they deliver the bounties they promise. Citizens will be left muzzled and disarmed and at the mercy of officialdom.

The campaign video pledged that Harris would give Americans “freedom from control.” A more honest Harris-Walz campaign slogan would be: “For your own good.” Or maybe promise Americans the “freedom to be what the government approves”? Perhaps the Harris-Walz art team could create an icon portraying an iron fist as the new, improved symbol of freedom. Adding a smiley face atop the fist would harmonize with the Harris “joy” and “positive vibes” campaign theme. 

Redefining boundless arbitrary power as freedom is the death knell for government under the law. The Harris-Walz delusions on freedom stem in part from the Democratic Party’s perverse notion of the proper role of government. The perverse redefinition of freedom parallels the attempt to portray politicians as literal saviors. At the Democratic National Convention, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Grisham hailed Harris: “We need a president who can be Consoler-in-Chief. We need a president capable of holding us in a great big hug.” 

Not me. I have enough shams in my life without some politician pretending to be my friend.

Instead of vesting blind trust in Harris and Walz, Americans should heed Thomas Jefferson’s 1798 warning: “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” Those constitutional chains will come in damn handy no matter who wins the election next month.

Is there as much confusion in America on the meaning of freedom as there is on the benefits of tariffs? For almost half a century, prevailing opinion in this nation recognized the folly of permitting politicians to recklessly blockade our own ports with heavy taxes on imports. But both parties are now portraying tariffs as economic magic wands.

Similarly, Americans for generations had an instinctive recognition of the danger of unleashing politicians and letting government officials wantonly intrude into their lives. The Supreme Court declared in 1934, “A general, roving… investigation, conducted by a commission without any allegations… is unknown to our Constitution and laws; and such an inquisition would be destructive of the rights of the citizen, and an intolerable tyranny.” But this is practically the recipe for Harris-Walz freedom as well as some of Donald Trump’s interventionist schemes. Regardless of the election outcome, Americans must beware of Trojan horse definitions of freedom that allow bureaucrats to clamor out and take over everyone’s lives.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 22:35

Almost 90% Of Voters Want CBS To Release Deceptively Edited Kamala Harris Interview

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Almost 90% Of Voters Want CBS To Release Deceptively Edited Kamala Harris Interview

Close to 90% of voters want CBS to release the transcripts from Kamala Harris’ ’60 Minutes’ interview which was deceptively edited to make her appear intelligent.

According to a new Harvard Harris poll, 87% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans and 80% of independents think CBS should “release the full transcript of its interview with Kamala Harris.”

That said, while 81% of Republicans think CBS edited the interview to make Harris look better, 50% of independents agree, along with just 27% of Democrats.

To review, CBS came under fire for deceptively editing the Harris interview – replacing her word-salad answer from a pre-interview teaser with a completely different answer in the version that aired.

When asked by host Bill Whitaker why it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the United States, Harris originally replied:

“Well Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”

But in the version that aired, Harris’ answer was: “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”

Watch:

In response, the Trump campaign demanded that the network release the full interview.

“On Sunday, 60 Minutes teased Kamala’s highly-anticipated sit-down interview with one of her worst word salads to date, which received significant criticism on social media,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary. “During the full interview on Monday evening, the word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala’s idiotic response.”

“Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala’s full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air?” she asked. “The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript from Kamala’s sit-down interview. We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it.“

Trump also posted about it on Truth Social, writing “I’ve never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (“cut and pasted”) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again, some by as many as four times in a single sentence or thought…” Trump suggested that the network helping Harris may have been a “major Campaign Finance Violation,” and is a “stain on the reputation of 60 minutes that is not recoverable.”

Of course, why not demand they release the footage?

Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 22:10

Latest Kamala Word Salad Drops

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Latest Kamala Word Salad Drops

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

During an appearance at a ‘Christian center’ service in North Carolina, Kamala Harris was supposed to speak about faith, but ended up confusing everyone with yet another verbal mish mash of nonsense.

She was talking about hurricanes and how such devastation can lead some to question their faith, when she said the following.

“In times of crisis, and we’re looking at the images of the aftermath of the hurricane, but, it is easy in these moments of crisis to sometimes question our faith. To sometimes lose our faith for a moment.”

Then came the kicker.

“What we see is so hard to see that we lose faith or a vision of those things we cannot see but must know.”

What?

Can we have some fries instead of the salad please.

Pretty sure this isn’t a quote from the Bible.

Is there a translator here who speaks gibberish?

It was almost as cringe as her inspirational moment.

Actual Christians had some thoughts.

A new accent was also unlocked during the event:

The SNL version of Harris is more coherent than the actual Kamala.

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Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 21:45

DOJ Sues Virginia For Purging Voter Rolls Close To Election

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DOJ Sues Virginia For Purging Voter Rolls Close To Election

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Virginia on Oct. 11, alleging that the state violated federal law by removing potential noncitizen voters from the rolls too close to the general election.

Voters work on their ballots at a polling station at the Elena Bozeman Government Center in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 20, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

In a court filing, the DOJ alleged that Virginia’s voter removal program violated the “Quiet Period Provision” in the National Voter Registration Act, which requires that states complete their programs for removing ineligible voters from active rolls no later than 90 days before an election.

“Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

The complaint, filed on Oct. 11, also named the state Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals as defendants.

According to the complaint, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order in August requiring the commissioner to certify that daily updates to the state’s voter lists were being conducted.

These updates involved comparing the list of individuals identified as noncitizens by the State Department of Motor Vehicles “to the list of existing registered voters,” the DOJ stated.

Local registrars were then required to notify those voters that they needed to affirm their citizenship within 14 days or they would be removed from the list of registered voters, according to the Justice Department.

The DOJ said the process has resulted in U.S. citizens having their voter registrations canceled. The state removed 6,303 individuals from the rolls between January 2022 and July 2024, according to the complaint.

It further alleged that local registrars had no discretion to prevent the cancellation of voters who fail to return “an affirmation of citizenship” even if they have reason to believe that those voters are U.S. citizens.

“This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision,” the DOJ said in a statement.

Youngkin criticized the Biden administration for filing the lawsuit with less than 30 days before the election and said that he had “appropriately” enforced the law.

The Republican governor called the DOJ’s lawsuit “unprecedented” and said it was a “politically motivated” attempt to interfere with the state election, according to a statement issued by his office on Oct. 11.

“Virginians—and Americans—will see this for exactly what it is: a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy,” Youngkin stated.

“With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us.”

The DOJ filed a similar lawsuit against the state of Alabama and its Secretary of State on Sept. 27 over the state’s program that was aimed at removing ineligible voters, including noncitizens, from active rolls. It stated that Alabama announced the launch of the voter roll purge program 84 days before the Nov. 5 general election, which violated the National Voter Registration Act.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 10/14/2024 – 20:55