The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling
Posted By: Moritz55, 2/14/2023 6:35:38 PM
J.K. Rowling is arguably the most successful author in the history of publishing, with the possible exception of God. And “Harry Potter” was a kind of bible for my generation. Since its publication beginning in the late ’90s, the series has taught tens of millions of children about virtues like loyalty, courage, and love—about the inclusion of outsiders and the celebration of difference. The books illustrated the idea of moral complexity, how a person who may at first appear sinister can turn out to be a hero after all. The author herself became part of the legend, too. A broke, abused, and depressed single mother—writing in longhand at cafes
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It looks as though Prince Harry and Meghan are in the crosshairs of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone judging by a teaser clip for this week's episode of the long-running Comedy Central show.
According to the description for episode two of season 26, titled The Worldwide Privacy Tour, 'The prince of Canada and his wife try to find privacy and seclusion in a small mountain town.' In the teaser clip, Kyle can be seen telling his friends: 'It seriously is driving me crazy. I'm sick of hearing about them but I can't get away from them! They're everywhere. In my
Forget “America First” for a moment. Put MAGA aside. Any effort to restore American greatness without putting the children first will fail.
If there was any doubt that kids suffer when their own needs are subjugated to the fears and desires of adults, the Covid experience should have cast it out. For years, children en masse were put on the bottom of the priority list. Children are falling behind in education and key developmental milestones, mood disorders and loneliness are up, and suicide ideation has risen dramatically (including during the Covid era). Families are more broken and dysfunctional than in previous decades, and nearly 400,000 children are in foster care.
CNN, ABC, MSNBC and more flipped out over former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley's 2024 announcement as they claimed that the former South Carolina governor was just a "token" presidential candidate who had "lost her mind." Wajahat Ali, a columnist for the Daily Beast, launched a racially-charged attack against Haley on Twitter. "In the 2023 Racial Draft, I, on behalf of all self-respecting South Asians, hereby announce we are cutting Nikki Nimrata Haley from our team. We advise you not to pick her up off waivers. Oops! Too late. GOP scoops up another token. Well, we warned you. Good luck!" he wrote.
On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre claimed President Biden is the "the best communicator" in the White House," sparking laughter across Twitter. After being questioned by a reporter about whether Biden is viewed by his team as "equally adept in all settings in terms of communications," Jean-Pierre insisted that the president's communication skills are the best in his administration.
Many on Twitter balked at Jean-Pierre's statement. Biden has a long history of being lampooned for his word flubs and sometimes incomprehensible speech at public events.
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling
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J.K. Rowling is arguably the most successful author in the history of publishing, with the possible exception of God. And “Harry Potter” was a kind of bible for my generation. Since its publication beginning in the late ’90s, the series has taught tens of millions of children about virtues like loyalty, courage, and love—about the inclusion of outsiders and the celebration of difference. The books illustrated the idea of moral complexity, how a person who may at first appear sinister can turn out to be a hero after all.
The author herself became part of the legend, too. A broke, abused, and depressed single mother—writing in longhand at cafes
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday she expected all NATO member-states to sign-off Finland and Sweden's joint membership bid, which has thus far been slow and complicated.
Baerbock called on NATO members Turkey and Hungary to pave the way for the Nordic countries' membership "without delay." Speaking from Helsinki on Monday during a joint press conference with her Finnish counterpart, Baerbock said the accession of Finland and Sweden would strengthen the NATO alliance as a whole. "To make it clear once more, Finland and Sweden fulfill the criteria we have agreed upon together as NATO members in Madrid," Baerbock said,
Kamala Harris is a living embodiment of the Peter Principle, where people keep getting promoted until they reach jobs for which they are clearly unqualified. More and more Americans think that describes our current vice president.
Harris is deeply unpopular with independents, who are essential for electoral success (fewer than one in three voters view her favorably), and she is losing popularity among Democratic Party leaders. They see her ineptitude, listen to her word salads, and watch the polls with dismay. The latest evidence of Harris’ fading position is a sharply critical article in the New York Times, of all places, filled with anonymous disapproval from senior Democrats
The People's Republic of China lobbied criticisms at the United States on Monday over the nation's recent actions to protect its airspace. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin spoke to reporters Monday about the multiple aircraft shot down over the U.S. since the destruction of an unmanned Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month. "We have made it clear time and again that the entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was a purely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure," said Wang. However, Wang could not provide any information on whether any of the recently downed aircraft belonged to China
It's now an infamous headline among conservatives and a sore spot for Politico. But at the time, the Oct. 19, 2020, story by Natasha Bertrand had its intended bombshell effect with this headline: "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say." Now former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says Politico "deliberately distorted" the letter he and more than 50 others – many of them open Joe Biden supporters – signed. Critics are wondering why the players in the story are speaking out more than two years later – just as House Republicans are investigating the matter – and why they didn't cry foul
How does Trump vs. DeSantis end?
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How does Donald Trump vs. Ron DeSantis end? “Not well” is my answer. Such pessimism is based on former President Trump’s recent response when radio host Hugh Hewitt asked him if he would support “whoever” wins the GOP presidential nomination. “It would have to depend on who the nominee was,” Trump replied, prompting Hewitt to change topics.
The 45th president’s answer leads one to envision a list of “acceptable” nominees locked in a drawer at Mar-a-Lago. And what if the eventual winner were someone Trump considered disloyal?
With China’s spy balloon crossing the American heartland unmolested and GOP leaders simultaneously starting probes of his family’s corruption, Joe Biden is entering a new phase of his presidency. The worst case scenario is that all his chickens are coming home to roost.
The spy balloon’s appearance and that of two additional objects shot down by the military oddly highlight the importance of the House probes. The possibility that Biden has been compromised by profiting from son Hunter’s lucrative foreign entanglements, especially with China, is drawing extra attention to how the president reacts to the Communist regime’s aggressive surveillance.
Hunter Biden’s legal team has been at the center of news coverage this month after it appeared to confirm the authenticity of his laptop in a letter (only to try to backtrack 24 hours later). It was a curious and gratuitous move for Biden and his counsel Abbe Lowell as they called for criminal investigations into his critics, suggested lawsuits against media, and even argued that the tax-exempt status of some groups be rescinded by the IRS. Now, however, the team is moving in a far more precarious direction. They seem to be adopting the strategy of Steve Bannon that resulted in his conviction for contempt of Congress.
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Public schools are failing all over the country. States like Illinois and Maryland have barely any students performing at grade level.
Schools seem more concerned with pushing woke garbage about ‘equity’ than teaching basic skills.
Despite all of these problems, far left crank Bernie Sanders is demanding more money for teachers. He wants a minimum salary of 60K for all teachers.
The Hill reports: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60,000 for public school teachers
Since President Trump left office, many of the “trustworthy” media outlets have created a talking point that is now held by a minority, yet noticeable number of Conservative Americans. The belief is “DeSantis is Trump, without the baggage.” This group supported President Trump’s policies and felt he did a tremendous job as president, but now feel the baggage that came with Trump would not be present with Ron DeSantis. Many have taken this a step further and believe this baggage would give DeSantis (or others) a better chance of winning in a general election against the Democrat nominee than President Trump.
ROME — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres offered his apocalyptic view of the coming climate catastrophe Tuesday, warning the Security Council that rising seas threaten the very existence of “entire countries.”
In his doomsday address, the U.N.’s alarmist-in-chief declared that the danger “is especially acute for nearly 900 million people who live in coastal zones at low elevations — that’s one out of ten people on Earth.”
“Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear forever,” Guterres asserted. “We would witness a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale.”
“Rising seas are sinking futures,” Guterres intoned with hyperbolic flourish.
If you read my articles, you know I’m a former NYC liberal. Next year will be my 10-year anniversary since I first voted for a Republican in the 2004 George Bush vs. John “looks like a talking apple tree from the Wizard of Oz” Kerry election.
Someone recently asked me whether I would ever go back to voting for Democrats. Let me ask my Magic 8-ball.
My Magic 8-ball says, “KDJ will not vote for the people who want him to engage in carnal knowledge with a man, even if the dude is wearing a dress.”
My Magic 8-ball is wise.
When I was a liberal,
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A group of Catholic women claims they were denied Communion at an Englewood church for wearing rainbow-colored face masks. Sally Odenheimer said it was an effort to show support for Maggie Barton, an LGBTQ teacher fired from the church’s affiliated Catholic school. Barton claims she was fired from All Souls Catholic School in Englewood after the Archdiocese of Denver learned of her same-sex relationship.The Archdiocese said she was fired because she violated her contract, which includes “refraining from taking any public position or conducting himself or herself in a manner that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Chiefs Coach Did Not Allow Players to
Watch Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show:
Patrick Mahomes 30 replies
Watch Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show:
Patrick Mahomes 30 replies
There were two things that I missed during Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The first was Kansas City’s game-winning drive, which saw kicker Harrison Butker seal the underdog Chiefs’ 38-35 victory with a last-second field goal. My inattention was unintentional; my daughter, in the throes of a stomach flu that’s currently working its way through the family, decided to decorate our floor as the game came down to the wire. Que sera sera.
The second was pop star Rihanna’s halftime show — or at least the audio portion. This was wholly intentional, since I’ve heard Rihanna’s music before
Actress Raquel Welch, who rose to fame as a sex symbol of the 1960s, died Wednesday after a brief illness, TMZ reported. She was 82.
Her long resume includes “Fantastic Voyage,” “Bedazzled” and “Hannie Caulder.”
Welch is a two-time Golden Globe nominee and won one award in 1975 for her performance in “The Three Musketeers.”
She also appeared on “The Cher Show” in 1975 and performed “I’m a Woman” with Cher.
Born Sept. 5, 1940, Welch was named one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History” by Empire magazine in 1995.
A stunning new report has determined that students at 55 different schools throughout the city of Chicago are failing so badly that not a single student can do basic reading or math.
(snip)the report from Wirepoints analyzed student performances across 649 public schools in Chicago during the 2021-2022 academic year. (snip) the report determined that 22 schools saw zero students who could perform grade-level reading, while another 33 schools had a zero percent passing rate for grade-level math.
“Defenders of the current system are sure to invoke COVID as the big reason for the low scores,” (snip) the 2019 numbers show that the reading and math numbers were only slightly better
U.S. intelligence officials were tracking the spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month since it lifted off from the south coast of China, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
According to U.S. officials, after takeoff, the spy balloon drifted east in the direction of Guam and Hawaii and then went north to Alaska and entered U.S. airspace on Jan. 28. Given the path, it's possible that the balloon was blown off course by weather, but U.S. officials said that once it came south over the continental United States, it was being controlled by China.
The tracking of the balloon was first reported by The Washington Post. China has insisted
Important Takeaways from Ohio Gov's Train
Derailment Briefing, Including a Shocking Revelation 24 replies
Derailment Briefing, Including a Shocking Revelation 24 replies
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine took to the podium on Tuesday to update reporters and citizens about the devastating train derailment in E. Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The small town has been reeling in the wake of the derailment and subsequent controlled burn of dangerous chemicals days after the wreck. One of the most astounding revelations from the press conference (watch below) was that the train was not classified as carrying hazardous chemicals.
“I learned today from the PUCO [Public Utilities Council of Ohio] that this train was not considered a high hazardous material train,” DeWine said. As a result, the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio
U.S. military and intelligence agencies tracked the Chinese spy balloon for nearly a week before it violated American airspace last month, according to a new report.
As the U.S. monitored the balloon, it appeared headed for the U.S. territory of Guam. But the balloon was seemingly blown off course and instead ended up over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands before ultimately floating over the continental United States, the Washington Post reported.
U.S. officials are considering the possibility that China did not intend to send the spy balloon over the continental United States, but instead took advantage of the balloon being blown off course to surveil sensitive locations in Montana.
The infrastructure for living without a smartphone in the West is slowly disappearing. Thanks to societal changes made during the pandemic-induced lockdowns of 2020, many temporary adjustments — QR code menus, digital boarding passes — have become permanent.
Nowadays it’s rare to go to a restaurant without grabbing your phone for access to a menu or for ordering takeout. Some concert venues actually require guests to show their tickets from their mobile devices.
Comments:
A fascinating article, especially given the author’s own background.