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02 Mar 21:30

How to escape the surveillance state: Securing your smartphone

by Michael Matheson Miller


Editor's note: We're facing an unprecedented moment in American history. Our government and multinational tech monopolies are making it clear that we, the people, are the target of the monstrous surveillance state they've constructed. The deep state is attempting to jail people who share memes, Blaze Media journalists, and even the leading presidential candidate. It's time we take back control over our privacy and digital communications, and this guide will provide you with the tools to do that. This is an excerpt from a larger guide.

Secure your mobile devices

Since most of us use phones or tablets as much as or more than we use computers, securing your mobile devices is an essential part of guarding your privacy and protecting yourself from surveillance and behavior modification.

We’ve already discussed the importance of using a secure text messaging service like Signal. Many of the steps for your computer apply to your phone:

  • Always use a passcode.
  • Keep your phone up to date.
  • Use Proton Mail or a paid service that respects your privacy.
    • Proton has an app for mobile devices.
  • Use a VPN.
    • Proton, Express, and other VPN services work on your phone and are included in your subscription.
  • Use the Brave browser.
  • Use DuckDuckgo or Swisscows for search — Swisscows has a mobile app.
  • Don’t store private information on your phone unless it is essential.
  • Keep your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned off unless you are using it.
  • Use two-factor authentication.
  • Manage permissions for each app
    • Don’t give the company more information than necessary.
  • Turn off location services unless essential.
  • Use Apple’s Screen Time to pre-decide how and when you will use your phone.
  • Be careful about your biometric data and health information.
  • Be careful with the apps you install — only use what is necessary.
  • If you have an iPhone, use the “ask app not to track” function to keep your data more secure.
  • Try to delete your social media apps from your phone and instead use it to read and listen to books or podcasts.

In general, be as careful with your phone as you would be with your computer. The reality is that our phones are the place where a lot of our time is wasted, where our data is collected, and where behavior modification happens. Don’t just secure your computer. Secure your phone.

23 Feb 03:17

Fear and loathing in the Kroger parking lot

by Mikayla G. Hedrick


It’s the Kroger checkout aisle. The woman in front of me has tried three different credit cards so far, and none of them have gone through.

A few aisles away, a baby cries until her mom places an iPad in front of her, and she descends lazily into the virtual world, where she will presumably live most of her life.

I’m inspecting the quality of everything in my cart, seeing if there’s anything I could negotiate a discount for while rethinking that bottle of kombucha I grabbed. Do I really need it?

The woman bagging my groceries appears to be old enough to have comfortably retired by now, but instead she’s trying to lift my 12-pack of toilet paper into my cart until I stop her and tell her I can handle it.

Maybe I had been too wrapped up in my own head to really take stock of the sincere moment of connection at the grocery store entrance. It was just a brief blur of humanity in an increasingly disconnected world.

When she tells me the total, she gives me a sympathetic look, saying, “It adds up fast now, huh?”

I give her a weak chuckle.

“Yeah, sure does.”

Neither of us say, “Thanks, Biden,” but somehow we both know we’re thinking it, and our smiles widen just a bit.

In the parking lot, there’s a man on speaker phone with somebody he’s very angry with. He’s shouting profanities into the phone and dropping N-words like he’s J. Cole. I know he sees me loading my groceries into the back of my Kia Soul right next to him; we made eye contact when he yelled into his iPhone about being disrespected.

It’s one of the most beautiful Texas afternoons I have seen in a long time. There is not one, I mean literally not a single cloud, in the sky. The air has maintained the lingering crispness of colder temperatures as the sun melts winter away.

Somebody cuts me off on my way out of the parking lot, and I realize I can’t blame Biden for that.

I used to think that the universal test of humanity was whether or not you put your shopping cart back in its designated parking spot. The bar is significantly lower now. The new test is if you can handle grocery shopping without cussing somebody out.

But I’m not angry because I’m still thinking about the old man I passed at the Kroger entrance wearing a hat that I believe said he was a veteran from the Korean War. He had stopped the young man whose job it was to pick up the carts that were scattered haphazardly around the parking lot and return them to the store. The old man shook the young man's hand and said something that sounded like, “you’re doing good work.”

I thought maybe he knew the young man. I have a neighbor who works at Kroger. Maybe these men were neighbors too. It’s not a big town.

Or maybe he didn’t know him. Maybe I had misinterpreted the whole scene in my usual distracted rush to get my groceries without collapsing into despair about the price of garlic. Maybe I had been too wrapped up in my own head to really take stock of the sincere moment of connection at the grocery store entrance. It was just a brief blur of humanity in an increasingly disconnected world.

I had a moment watching the woman fumbling to find a card that wouldn’t be declined when I thought, maybe I should offer to pay. Her card went through before I acted, but I could only trace the impulse back to that old man at the front entrance.

He was kind to someone at the grocery store. Maybe I could be too.

I realized while driving the uncrowded main street back home that humanity is equally as contagious as inhumanity but significantly less engaging. I couldn’t help but remember the details of the man yelling into his phone, but the random act of sincerity by the old man — that went almost unregistered by me.

Headlines today are plastered with the end of the world.

“He killed her.” “They hate them."

Rarely is there an article about the old man who shook the young man's hand on a Sunday afternoon at the local grocery. Or the neighbors who finally escalated their friendship from an occasional “hello” to the planning of a game night. The graduate of AA being baptized at church, or the parents who worked it out instead of splitting up. The countless stories of people who had every excuse to despair, to lash out, but didn’t.

We don’t read those stories, but we do live them.

I’m pulling into my driveway, where my husband is waiting to help me unload. We go on a short walk around the neighborhood and notice everyone who has painted their door or is having a cookout.

The sun is setting in that kind of endless-sky way Texans brag about when we get a call from a relative asking how we are.

We’re doing very well.

06 Oct 22:41

Blaze News investigates: What really happened with Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad?

by Cortney Weil


Recently, a number of unsourced allegations from unnamed “sources familiar with the situation” claimed a pattern of “sexual misconduct” involving Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard. Since Blaze Media’s audience has donated to Operation Underground Railroad over the years and would want to know the truth regarding these allegations, Blaze News spoke with several women who have worked with Ballard.

These women, some of whom went on Operation Underground Railroad rescue missions and others who considered going on missions but never did, were willing to speak on the record to us about their experiences with Ballard and O.U.R. Broadly speaking, the women who spoke to Blaze News allege that Ballard manipulated them and/or attempted to coerce them into crossing important professional boundaries during their time at O.U.R.

Ballard and his wife, Katherine Ballard, also spoke with Blaze News and responded to many of the women's allegations. Their responses are included here, as are several statements that they have given to other outlets and/or posted to social media.

O.U.R. officially refused to respond on record regarding the specific allegations against Ballard, but Blaze News did speak with several sources familiar with O.U.R. operations who agreed to share some insights regarding O.U.R. undercover work.

The 'couples ruse'

"Sound of Freedom," the film starring Jim Caviezel about the horrors of child sex trafficking, became a smash hit at the box office this summer, raking in over $212 million worldwide and thus becoming one of the highest-earning independent films of all time.

Though a dramatization, the film depicts the real-life work of former Department of Homeland Security special agent Tim Ballard. About 10 years ago, Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad, an organization designed to rescue victims of human trafficking. According to its website, the organization has had remarkable success, rescuing over 6,000 victims and apprehending more than 4,000 predators.

In an apparent attempt to provide better safety for mission operatives, in recent years, Ballard began implementing a mission tactic that he dubbed a "couples ruse." In a couples ruse, a woman pretending to be Ballard's wife or girlfriend would accompany him on rescue missions. Then when Ballard — himself posing as a sexual predator — found himself in a situation in which he was pressured to engage in sex with strippers, prostitutes, or even children, he could refuse on the grounds that he didn't want to upset his girlfriend. In other words, the fake girlfriend would "block" for Ballard, and he would "block" for her, should the need arise.

One source familiar with O.U.R. operations told Blaze News that such couples ruses are rare, while another stated that when involving benign gestures of affection such as hand-holding, they can be an effective means of protecting mission operatives.

Nevertheless, some women affiliated with O.U.R. rescue teams now claim that Ballard soon began abusing the couples ruse and eventually used the ruse as a tool for sexual grooming.

According to these women, Ballard, a married father of nine and professed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, initially implemented strict rules regarding the couples ruse: no kissing on the lips and no touching or exposing private parts. Then, they said, Ballard gradually relaxed those measures before eventually dispensing with them almost entirely.

For example, according to the women who spoke with Blaze News, while on rescue missions, Ballard would sometimes share a bed with a woman posing as his girlfriend or invite her to shower in his bathroom, even though accommodations at designated safe houses provided separate bedrooms and bathrooms. Ballard, for his part, categorically denied ever having been alone, even briefly, in one of these safe houses with a female operative. O.U.R. did not return a request for comment confirming this claim.

Ballard also reportedly sent to one of the victims a photo of himself covered in tattoos and wearing only underwear. That image then began circulating on social media.

TB has a habit of sending semi nude images to the women he has groomed for sex or sexual acts. There is no allegations it\u2019s all true that will slowly all come out. TB is desperate right now trying to debunk truths of his predatory nature that he\u2019s doing any interview possible.
— Tim Ballard Exposed (@Tim Ballard Exposed) 1695909759

During an appearance on " The Adam Carolla Show" on September 29, Ballard verified the photo but explained that it served a legitimate operational purpose. He claimed the photo was taken after he had fallen asleep while having the tattoos — which he says were henna tattoos — applied in preparation for a mission. He stated that the tattoo artist needed to take the picture so that she would have a frame of reference, should she need to reapply the tattoos at a later date.

It is unclear why tattoos in the groin region or on an upper thigh would have been necessary for rescue missions, since they were unlikely to be seen, and a source familiar with O.U.R. operations denied that having henna tattoos applied was a normal component of O.U.R. undercover work.

'Traffickers can smell the pheromones!' Establishing 'chemistry' for the couples ruse

According to the women who spoke with Blaze News, before they ever went undercover together, Ballard first wanted to ensure that he and his female counterparts in the couples ruse had physical "chemistry" that would be obvious to those they would meet during an operation. "Traffickers can smell the pheromones!" he would allegedly say, impressing upon the women that their couples ruse had to be believable, or otherwise the mission and their very lives might be at risk.

"There has to be real chemistry," he would insist, per one woman. "[Traffickers] have to really believe you are in love with this person, and he wants you to get to that point before you're ever on the op so that when you're on the op and you're with the traffickers and you're in these brothels and these strip clubs, in these places where you're trying to get intelligence ... you're not breaking your cover at all."

To that end, several women told Blaze News that Ballard encouraged them to participate in tantric massages before and while on a couples ruse. A tantric massage is an erotic massage that often involves participants lying naked or nearly naked together. For men, a tantric massage is called "lingam," a Sanskrit word for penis that some tantric massage enthusiasts have translated to mean "shaft of light" or "wand of light."

In a screenshot of a text message — apparently sent from a burner phone with Ballard's known code name, as confirmed by multiple sources, and a number that once belonged to Ballard, as confirmed by one source familiar with O.U.R. operations — Ballard appears to have discussed tantric massages with at least one of the accusers, telling her, "It's NOT about learning some strange kinky moves. That's not it at all. I don't have any to teach anyway.

"It's just about making it real and tapping into tantric /light," his text continued, according to the screenshot seen by Blaze News.

"I think u will be surprised how FAST we connect," he added in a follow-up text.

When Blaze News asked Ballard about tantric massages, he initially appeared confused and claimed he was "not at all" familiar with the term. He then seemed to understand and likened tantric trainings to yoga or a breathing exercise and claimed he used the words "tantric," "reiki," "goddess," or "energy" interchangeably to describe such trainings. He insisted that participants always wore clothes during these tantric trainings, that others were always present, and that "zero massage" was involved with them.

He also suggested that "tantric" could be used to refer to the exotic, "ritual kind of places" that trainees would occasionally visit for more in-depth role-playing. The goal, he said, was to see how operatives perform in environments that more closely resemble those they will see on a mission.

A source familiar with O.U.R. operations denied that undercover training or in-field work involved tantric or any other kind of massage.

'You don't want the first time to be in a cartel setting': 'Practicing' the couples ruse

According to the women who spoke to Blaze News, Ballard was so concerned about the believability of the couples ruse that he frequently asked women to "practice" their couples ruse long before a mission ever took place.

One woman claimed that Ballard came to consider the couples ruse "a perishable skill" that required regular honing. To that end, Ballard flew women across the country, where they would "practice" their chemistry through tantric massages and other trainings, according to multiple women.

When asked about practicing couples ruses, Ballard told Blaze News that during O.U.R. trainings, "People pair up and pretend to be in a couple's situation. ... You don't want the first time [that they're together] to be in a cartel setting. So you have to practice to make sure this person knows what they're doing." He also insisted that such practices were always conducted "in groups" and that he would not have been alone with a female operative during such practice sessions.

A source familiar with O.U.R. operations told Blaze News that Ballard was the only operative who ever "practiced" with women or sent explicit text messages to them in connection with a couples ruse.

O.U.R. did not return a request for comment seeking clarification of these issues.

'With the exception of actual penetration': Allegedly engaging in sex to help victims of sex trafficking

Through these couples ruses, both in the office and in the field, Ballard eventually engaged in sexual contact with some women and propositioned others, the women told Blaze News. "As far as physical [touching], he made it pretty clear that really the only thing that was not going to be considered, if need be, during an op was kissing on the lips," one woman said. "Everything else was pretty much a go and, honestly, more than just a go; it's something that I should anticipate and be prepared to make happen for the sake of the act."

Another woman claimed that, while on a mission, she and Ballard participated in several "sexual acts with the exception of actual penetration." She also stated that their sexual contact ended at the end of the mission.

Other women mentioned engaging in sexual acts and being in various states of undress with Ballard while on a mission, sometimes even while at their private accommodations when no one else was around. According to the women, Ballard would argue that they had to maintain the appearance of a romantic relationship at all times during a mission because suspicious traffickers might be surveilling them at any moment.

Ballard denied that he engaged in any physical contact beyond "hand-holding, arms around shoulders, stuff like that." He also alleged that some female operatives wanted to kiss him during a mission to put on a more convincing performance, but he always refused. "There's no reason to do it. It's not appropriate," he claimed he would tell them.

A source familiar with O.U.R. operations denied that O.U.R. would ever have approved of any sexual contact between couples ruse partners.

'U never did Brazilian before ??' Ballard allegedly makes an intimate request

Apparently to make a couples ruse as convincing as possible, Ballard allegedly requested all women to first have a Brazilian wax, which would remove all pubic hair from their private areas, before they went on an operation. According to a text message viewed by Blaze News that was sent by a phone allegedly operated by Ballard, Ballard explained that "pretty much 100 percent of sex tourists" have Brazilian waxes done.

When the alleged victim told Ballard she'd never had a Brazilian wax before, he expressed surprise. "Wow! U never did Brazilian before ??" he wrote, according to a screenshot seen by Blaze News. "For the record ....i didn't tell u to," he quickly added with a winking emoji.

Perhaps most disturbing about the alleged Brazilian wax request is that it seems entirely unnecessary for a mission to rescue trafficked children. The women who accompanied Ballard were ostensibly brought along to play a part in a couples ruse, nothing more. Since Ballard wanted a fake girlfriend to "block" unwanted sexual advances from others and his own couples ruse rules forbade exposing private parts, it's unclear why the women would need to have a Brazilian wax to fit in with other "sex tourists" or how he would have known if they had declined to get one.

Ballard categorically denied to Blaze News that he ever asked a female operative to get a Brazilian wax, and a source familiar with O.U.R. operations also told Blaze News that female operatives would never have been required or recommended to get one as part of O.U.R. protocol.

An 'extensive and very manipulative ... plan': The apparent ruse of the couples ruse

To those in the outside world, it might seem obvious that engaging in sexual contact for the sake of helping trafficked children is wildly inappropriate. But the women who spoke with Blaze News indicated that Ballard gradually implemented an "extensive and very manipulative ... plan" to convince them to participate in things they otherwise would never have considered doing.

One of the main tactics Ballard used, they claimed, was to lean on their desire to help victims. "Is there anything you wouldn't do to save a child?" he would allegedly ask.

According to one woman's summary, in preparation for a possible mission, Ballard said something to the effect of: "This is going to be a really seedy place. What if this happens? Would you be willing to do this? Well, well, what if I need this? Would you be comfortable doing that?

"And then it's all about testing those limits," she added.

The women also claimed that Ballard would then bad-mouth unnamed women who had allegedly gone on couples ruses in the past, slamming them as "crazy" and claiming that they had fallen in love with him along the way. Such stories, perhaps apocryphal, seemingly motivated the women to prove their mettle and their devotion to the cause by trying to outdo their supposed predecessors on the couples ruse.

When they found themselves questioning the legitimacy of tactics involving sexual contact, they often doubted their own instincts, relying on Ballard's breadth of knowledge about rescue missions to convince themselves that such tactics were normal. "Just remember that Tim's the expert in your learning," one woman recalled telling herself. "Just don't question him. Just do it, as he's right and you're wrong."

She also claimed that sometimes an associate of Ballard — whose identity is unclear but whose role appears to have included booking flights for those going on O.U.R. missions — would remind her about Ballard's superior field experience. "Don't assume you know better than Tim," he'd say, she claimed. "He hates it when these women he brings undercover start thinking they're smarter than him. He's been doing this for 20 years. He knows so much more than you know."

Ballard even allegedly told some of them that engaging in sex play with him might improve their marriages, even as he also allegedly told them not to tell their husbands about what they were doing. "You can take that sexual charge ... home," one accuser claimed he told her.

Another woman claimed that Ballard repeatedly warned her that, should she fail in her couples ruse mission, she would have wasted the hard-earned money that honest donors had entrusted to O.U.R. She said that he also told her that a poor performance from a fake girlfriend had ruined a mission in the past. "I was feeling like ... I have to prove to him that I won't misuse donors' dollars," she explained to Blaze News.

Another common theme from the women who spoke with Blaze News is that Ballard would use spiritual manipulation to coerce them into sex. Most, if not all, of the women who spoke with Blaze News have had some affiliation with the LDS church at some point in their lives, and in many cases, he would cite for them a passage from the Book of Mormon in which a man kills another man at the promptings of the Holy Spirit. According to multiple women, the purpose of this reference was to demonstrate that sometimes the Holy Spirit asks people to perform "unconventional" tasks, presumably such as engaging in extramarital sexual contact during couples ruses.

Ballard told Blaze News that he had "no recollection" of citing "anything like that." He and his wife, Katherine, both stated that they regularly quote scripture — especially Jesus' dire warning in the Gospel of Matthew that "if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" — to support their work of saving children.

"It's our testimony about why we're doing what we do," Katherine Ballard told Blaze News.

'Mutual Assured Destruction': Alleged demands for silence

Despite the importance that obvious physical chemistry supposedly carried in a couples ruse, Ballard, whom some described as "a bully," would also insist that the women stay silent about their alleged sexual encounters with him. In addition to keeping the information from their husbands or boyfriends, Ballard reportedly instructed them not to tell their direct supervisors or other leaders at O.U.R., some of whom are Ballard's relatives.

"Nobody would ever understand [why] we did those things," he would allegedly say, one woman said.

Then, after women had engaged in sexual activity with him, Ballard used their encounters to his advantage, holding those encounters over their heads to pressure them even more forcefully into silence, the women claimed. "We will have so much s*** on each other....we will be deterred into silence on all things forever," he allegedly wrote in a text, according to a screenshot seen by Blaze News. "Mutual Assured Destruction."

Many women also claimed that Ballard frequently demanded that they erase the digital traces of his conversations with them, including — and perhaps especially — explicit conversations. "He had me delete everything," one woman explained to Blaze News. "... He would call at night to say, 'Hey, you scrubbed your phone, right?'"

"He had me delete so much," she later added.

Other women made similar statements. Because of Ballard's insistence that the women regularly wipe their messages, they had scant physical evidence to share to support their allegations, they indicated to Blaze News.

Ballard told Blaze News that "protocol, at the end of an operation, is to clear the texts."

"Once the operation is over," he added, "every operator knows ... you kill the communication or any of the content that's not material to the prosecution. Because that's the smart thing to do."

In his conversation with Blaze News, Ballard repeatedly lamented that he had to discuss operational protocols such as wiping phones to defend himself. He feared that doing so would likely compromise future operations.

A source familiar with O.U.R. operations indicated that in some circumstances, operatives may have been encouraged to delete their texts after an operation.

'It's enough to physically make me feel sick': The fear of public 'backlash'

The women who spoke with Blaze News said they eventually began experiencing debilitating emotional and psychological side effects as a result of what they had allegedly done with Ballard, what they allegedly had been coerced into doing, and/or what had allegedly been done to them. Some mentioned suffering recurring nightmares, panic attacks, or bouts of depression. Others admitted having difficulty trusting others and entering therapy. One woman partially attributes the collapse of her marriage to her time with Ballard.

Despite these sometimes severe aftereffects, some of the women still hesitated to report Ballard's alleged behavior to those at O.U.R. or to others in their communities for fear of retribution. "He has threatened to destroy our lives if we speak out," one woman said.

"I have 1,000 bricks, and you only have one," Ballard allegedly warned another after she confronted him about his alleged behavior, she told Blaze News.

But their fear is not limited to Ballard or to his supposed allies at O.U.R. Many women also expressed to Blaze News a deep concern about the potential fallout of these accusations from the media and the public at large.

"The paranoia of what could happen, the backlash of all of this — I mean, it's enough to physically make me feel sick a lot of the time because I don't want all that. I don't want all that negative attention," one woman admitted.

Their concerns are hardly without merit. Now, in fall 2023, a full six years after the start of the #MeToo movement, many in the U.S. have grown weary of accusations — especially false accusations, such as those leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — being used in an attempt to tarnish the character and ruin the career of an influential person. Even recent allegations made against actor and podcaster Russell Brand have met with strong, visceral opposition, as many have begun to see such accusations as little more than a leftist tactic to prevent someone from speaking truth to power.

The women who spoke to Blaze News are very aware of the current cultural climate regarding accusations of sexual misconduct. They also know that some people will likely dismiss their allegations as just another attempted political hit job, now that Ballard has teased a run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Mitt Romney. Romney has stated that he will not seek re-election.

The women further know that many Americans hold Tim Ballard in high esteem, especially after watching "Sound of Freedom." They know because they once held him in high esteem as well and seem to feel betrayed by his alleged conduct behind closed doors.

For these reasons and perhaps others, the women claimed that they had always intended to keep the investigation into Ballard within the confines of O.U.R. "We loved O.U.R. to the point that we were willing and devoted to it. ... So there was no reason ... to go public," one woman explained. She also added that she and other accusers complied with a request for an internal investigation, presumably from O.U.R. officials. "We did that. It was quiet," she said.

'Baseless inventions designed to destroy me': Ballard goes public

In his conversation with Blaze News on Monday, Ballard indicated that he had only a general idea of what he had been accused of doing. Nevertheless, he had already begun publicly responding to some of those general allegations.

On September 18, he issued a statement through the SPEAR Fund, where he is now a senior adviser. Ballard's full statement is as follows:

As with all of the assaults on my character and integrity over many years, the latest tabloid-driven sexual allegations are false. They are baseless inventions designed to destroy me and the movement we have built to end the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.
During my time at O.U.R., I designed strict guidelines for myself and our operators in the field. Sexual contact was prohibited, and I led by example. Given our meticulous attention to this issue, any suggestion of inappropriate sexual contact is categorically false.

The following week, Ballard posted to his Instagram page two videos addressing the allegations. In the first video, which appears to have been spliced or to have experienced technical difficulties, Ballard repeatedly lavishes praise and "homage" on the women who have helped him pull off the couples ruse. "Hundreds, maybe thousands of children have been rescued using this amazing tactic," he claims.



The second video features a woman whose face has been obscured but who identifies herself as Nataliya. Nataliya claims to have performed multiple couples ruses with Ballard and avers that his conduct was always aboveboard. "There was, again, absolutely ZERO sexual contact, touching, anything inappropriate of that nature ... from start to finish," she emphasizes.


Last week, Ballard also shared with Adam Carolla what he believed was the origin of the allegation that he showered with his couples ruse partners. He told Carolla that on one particular mission in the Dominican Republic — which he claimed saved 27 children who had been locked up in a chicken coop — he ended up showering with a female operator after a mud-based couple's massage. However, he insisted that both participants were wearing bathing suits and that their innocent actions while in the shower — "We don't even touch each other!" he told Carolla — were concealed from others in the massage room by a towel.

Once he and the woman shared that "awkward" anecdote with others, the rumor mill distorted the story to imply that he took showers with his couples ruse partners, he said.

Ballard's wife, Katherine, appeared with her husband for part of the interview with Carolla, and she told Carolla that her husband is doing what he needs to do to rescue children. "And I KNOW," she added with emphasis, "that he has done it in a way of complete faithfulness to me."

Katherine also made a solo appearance on a recent episode of " The Rod Arquette Show" podcast. On it, she assured host Rod Arquette that she was "very aware of the couples ruse" and its purpose for a rescue mission. She claimed that her husband and his ruse partners "never did [a couples ruse] without training first," though she did not elaborate on what kind of training was involved.

She also alleged that "there were a couple times when Tim was propositioned during a training, like, 'Hey, here's my hotel card.'" In those instances, her husband had the women dismissed from the team, Katherine said.

Katherine then reiterated to Blaze News that she still believes in her husband's fidelity. "The couples ruse was created to protect his relationship with me," she said. "... It was a way to stay virtuous."

'We also feel a responsibility to speak out': The accusers offer a public statement

Several accusers, including at least some who spoke with Blaze News, have since hired attorney Suzette Rasmussen to represent them. On Thursday morning, Rasmussen stood at the steps of the Utah Capitol to read a statement on behalf of her clients, who have chosen to remain anonymous at this time.

Here is the full statement:

We are choosing to give a public statement about our experiences with Tim Ballard. Earlier this year, complaints were filed that opened the door for an internal investigation. We now stand together to affirm the truth behind these allegations.

Our involvement with Operation Underground Railroad was rooted in our commitment to fighting against human trafficking. But while engaging in that noble cause, we were subjected to sexual harassment, spiritual manipulation, grooming, and sexual misconduct.

Though we value our privacy as we work to rebuild our lives, we also feel a responsibility to speak out and state unequivocally that these allegations are true.

We acknowledge the risks involved in challenging someone as prominent as Tim Ballard. We will reveal our stories in our own time and in our own way and on our own terms. But for now, we choose to remain anonymous.

We wish to express our gratitude for the outpouring of support from those who have responded and commented to the media and social media posts.

We also want to extend our support and solidarity to all survivors of harassment and abuse of any kind. We believe you, and we are standing by your side as you embark on your own healing journey.

The women also gave Blaze News another statement via Rasmussen regarding their allegations against Ballard:

We had no intention of going after Tim legally until he chose to publicly deny any wrongdoing. He has threatened us, attacked us, and continues to lie and cause further trauma. When we finally started to reach out to one another after being isolated and told to distrust one another, we discovered the extent of Tim’s lies and realized how much he has manipulated, used, and profited off of us and so many others. We cannot stand by and allow him to do this anymore.

On Monday, Rasmussen announced that she is preparing a lawsuit in connection with the allegations, which she claimed had been known to O.U.R. officials "for several months."

'Does not represent O.U.R.’s values': Ballard's former organizations and associates respond to the allegations

For many in Blaze Media's audience, this story may feel almost personal. After all, BlazeTV host and founder Glenn Beck has had a relationship with Ballard that goes back years.

Many of Beck's listeners have also donated generously to Operation Underground Railroad in the past, as it was once affiliated with other nonprofits promoted by Beck. According to Beck, his audience has raised over $100 million for various charities, including O.U.R., in just 10 years.

After Rasmussen read the public statement on behalf of some of Ballard's accusers — all of whom were "former employees and contractors who worked closely with Operation Underground Railroad"; Blaze News was able to independently verify the O.U.R. employment of two women — O.U.R. issued another public statement that did not directly respond to a number of questions asked by Blaze News:

Operation Underground Railroad received an allegation of behavior that violated company policy by then CEO Tim Ballard. The organization immediately placed Mr. Ballard on administrative leave and launched an independent, external investigation of the allegation. At the conclusion of the investigation, as previously stated by O.U.R., Mr. Ballard resigned.

Mr. Ballard’s alleged misconduct does not represent O.U.R.’s values or others within the organization. We expect all employees to follow appropriate protocols and to conduct themselves in the performance of their duties consistent with such values. To protect our operators and other law enforcement partners in the field, we will not comment further publicly about our operating procedures.

O.U.R. is dedicated to combatting sexual abuse and stands with anyone who has been victimized. O.U.R. is sensitive to the privacy concerns of any individuals affected by this and is committed to upholding our duty to protect their anonymity.

O.U.R.’s mission does not change, and we are committed to continuing our domestic and international efforts, in collaboration with law enforcement, to rescue any and all from the scourge of human trafficking.

Per O.U.R., Ballard left the organization "permanently" in late June, just a couple of weeks before "Sound of Freedom" was released in time for the July 4 holiday, and the women suggested to Blaze News that removing Ballard from O.U.R. while still preserving its reputation had always been their ultimate "goal."

"I thought we had won," one woman said. "The goal was accomplished, which was to remove the cancer from the organization and still allow it to continue even stronger than ever. That was the goal."

Ballard disputed that he left on account of the investigation, telling Blaze News that he always intended to leave O.U.R. by May 11, 2023, to avoid the appearance of "a conflict of interest" with the film. He also claimed that he began announcing his intention to leave O.U.R. last October and voluntarily resigned in the first week of May.

A source familiar with O.U.R. denied that Ballard ever made such announcements or that Ballard left the organization in early May. The source confidently stated that Ballard left as a result of the internal investigation regarding alleged sexual harassment.

When asked for comment by Blaze News regarding the allegations against Ballard, Glenn Beck provided the following statement:

I find the allegations against Tim Ballard deeply troubling. I can only hope that truth prevails, justice is served, and all involved will use the free gift of Christ and repent, turn to him, correct their errors, and let the atonement of Jesus Christ work miracles in their lives. It is the only thing that can repair brokenness. My intentions, and those of the thousands in my audience who have generously contributed to O.U.R., were to help save God’s children from the scourge of human trafficking. May the Lord heal this mess so that this important work can continue.

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20 Feb 17:50

Aggressive Progressives: Those Peace-Loving Leftists And Their March To War

by David Robb

by David Robb -

The Blue State Conservative

If Russia doesn’t invade Ukraine, there will be a lot of disappointed Progressives in this country.  The Left has been using Russia as the “bad guy” for years now.  Russia served well for a while to keep Trump preoccupied and prevent him from doing too much damage to their programs.  Now that Covid is winding down, a good war could help the current administration recover before the midterm elections.

If we were to get seriously involved it might even serve as an excuse to “postpone” the midterms, perhaps indefinitely.  It would certainly keep the populace fearful, distract from inflation, and justify all sorts of measures to eliminate “subversive elements who criticize the government” from any participation in society.

Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Progressive Left has been using Russia as a scapegoat and boogeyman.  Aside from their feeling that Russia betrayed the Revolution and backslid into capitalism, the Left has been able to capitalize on the long history of sentiment against the communist Soviet Union.  The Cold War period from the end of the Second World War until the advent of the Glasnost rally in 1965, the Soviet Union was considered an existential threat to the West.  Since Russia was the dominant state in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) it is now the new replacement for that institution in the minds of many.

 

Any port in a storm

After several attempts at reform, the Union finally broke up in 1991 into a set of independent states.  Russia became the Russian Federation.  Unlike Europe and the US, the USSR lacked good port facilities that were available year ’round.  The few all-year ports were problematic because they either required ships to traverse relatively narrow passages controlled by often unfriendly powers, or were at the far Eastern end of the country, distant from the population centers.  This lack of ports greatly hindered economic development, as well as development of a Naval military force.  The one bright spot was the port at Sebastopol in the Crimea.  While not ideal, it was near both Russian population centers and European trading partners.

Consequently, the USSR invested heavily in development of both commercial and military port facilities at Sebastopol.  When the Union fractured, Russia was left without access to a port they had come to depend upon, as well as one they had invested much in development.  In case anyone hasn’t looked recently, there is a large country sitting directly on all the land routes between Russia and Sebastopol in Crimea.  That country, a former Union member, is Ukraine.

In the time of Stalin, Ukraine was a problematic member of the Union.  As one of the largest member republics outside of Russia, and one of the Union’s principal agricultural areas and sources of grain, Ukraine felt it deserved a larger voice.  Stalin had other ideas.  The difficulties grew to the point where during a food shortage in the rest of the Union in the ’30s, Stalin confiscated the crops of Ukrainian farmers, leaving many of them to starve.  Many Ukrainians today either remember that time directly, or have parents and grandparents who remember that period well, and hold substantial mistrust and animosity toward Russia.

Besides the land access routes to the Sebastopol port facilities Ukraine also sits astride many of the best land routes for pipelines between Russia and Europe.  Gas and oil are two major products for Russia and some of its best and most reliable sources of foreign exchange.

Poking the Bear

 

As one might guess, the relationship between Russia and Ukraine has not been the easiest even before the breakup.  Several agreements have been made between Russia and Ukraine in attempts to ensure right of passage for Russia’s fuel exports.  While both sides have broken agreements at times, Ukraine has on several occasions attempted to use the pipelines as leverage against Russia.  This has not led to the best of relations.  Unfortunately, there has not been a sufficiently strong third party respected by both countries to act as a neutral arbitrator and enforcer of the agreements, so the disputes continue.

Add to that the effective hostage situation that exists with the Crimean port facilities, and the situation is ripe for conflict.

This is where the Progressives come in.

By casting Russia as a meddler in our elections, as a manipulator of our leaders, and a general malign agent in the affairs of our country, the Progressive Left has managed to both prevent the development of cordial relations between Russia and the US, as well as to force Russia to reluctantly seek closer ties to China.

A history of conflict

China and Russia have never been comfortable companions.  Heavily populated China has often looked longingly at the virtually empty, but resource rich portion of Russia to the north, known as Siberia.  The Sino-Soviet border often saw troop buildups by both countries during the Cold War period and even after.  Although both countries were nominally Communist, both had their unique flavors and were not mutually agreeable.  As one might expect, dragons and bears frequently do not play well together.

A more natural relationship would be found between the US and Russia.  Both were major world powers, and both had worked together well during the Second World War.  Both were essentially European descended and shared many common features.  That commonality may have contributed to the difficulty between the countries, much like the conflict that can exist within families.

Gorbachev, who led the breakup of the Union was receptive to assistance in turning Russia into a capitalist democracy.  After over seventy years of Communism, though, about the only ones who knew how to make any sort of capitalism work were the Russian mafia – hardly the ones you want in charge.  Unfortunately, hawkish elements in both countries worked to discourage a closer relationship at the time.

Best enemies

Today, the Left finds it useful to have Russia in an adversarial position.  Russia now serves as a useful scapegoat to blame for their own unpopular actions.  Election manipulation – blame Russia.  Trump does something to oppose the Left – his is a Russian agent or a Putin pawn.  Russia has become something of an all-purpose enemy for the Left, useful to blame for almost anything they want to deflect or hide.  This is rather a paradoxical position for them, as they were once strong supporters of Russia when it seemed that it would be a successful model for Socialism/Communism.  Their disappointment broke hard when their hero fell.  For all these reasons, the Left has been stoking division between our two countries for several years now.

NATO

This brings us to a second major concern of Putin and a second factor behind the current Ukraine/Russia conflict.  NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was originally formed to “contain” the Soviet Union.  After WWII, the West was concerned that the USSR would exercise expansionist ambitions into Europe, so it seemed necessary to do something to discourage such thoughts.  After all, it had annexed, or brought under their sphere of influence, Latvia, Lithonia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia, among others in the years following the war.  Territorial ambitions seemed a reasonable assumption.

What was not fully appreciated at the time, was that Russia was acquiring a buffer zone around itself.  During its history, Russia had been invaded by Mongols, the Japanese, the French, Islamic armies, Germans, and even the Swedes.  Having no surrounding aquatic barriers, Russia built a land moat around itself.  The acquisition of territory was as much an attempt to protect itself as it was a mechanism to spread the Communist ideology.

While some at NATO may have realized this situation and understood that Russia would likely back off once it felt safe, there was pressure from Europe and America to assure its own safety from assumed Soviet predation.

Now the Soviet Union is gone, but NATO remains.  In fact, since the breakup of the USSR, several former Soviet states have joined NATO, eroding that buffer zone Russia had constructed.  Worse, NATO still saw its mission as containing the Union now existing in the form of the Russian Federation.  Under pressure from the US, NATO states were encouraged to place military facilities in their borders and even to accept missile launch facilities aimed at Russia close to the Russian border.  Understandably, this was very concerning to Russian leaders.

I have to thank Kurt Schlichter at Townhall for pointing out the increasing encirclement of Russia by NATO forces and facilities.  When Ukraine wanted to join NATO, that was simply too much.  One of Putin’s major demands of Ukraine in this conflict is that it not join NATO.

What if it were us?

Imagine for a moment that China had formed an alliance with Canada and Mexico, along with Cuba and Caribbean countries.  Call it the North American Chinese Organization.  Now imagine that China was encouraging these NAChO members to accept military bases and missiles aimed at the US.  Would we not be concerned?  Would we not complain?  We might even threaten to invade some of those countries in an attempt to discourage Chinese “containment” efforts and activities.  China might even apply sanctions against us.

Just as we might object to NAChO encroachments, it is only reasonable to expect a similar response from Russia to NATO efforts.  In fact, even a modest effort to put ourselves in Russia’s shoes would suggest several possible win-win solutions to the situation that do not involve armed conflict.

An intolerable result

Heaven forbid that such understanding ever develop!  The Left cannot permit it.  They would lose a perfectly good scapegoat that they can use against us nasty conservatives – anything we do to oppose the Left must be directed by Russia as we are too stupid to think it up for ourselves.  Further, with the decline of Covid, the Left fears losing control, and like Canadian truckers, the great unwashed masses might start clamoring for restoration of their freedoms.

A good war would serve to justify more restrictions, would distract from and even justify inflation effects. It would even promote further restriction of speech, assembly, and other subversive activities. It would enable them to further promote the idea that our Constitution is obsolete and irrelevant and groom the population toward Socialism and government dependency.  No, the Left can ill afford to let this potential crisis go to waste.

Never mind that Putin says that he doesn’t want war.  Just like they did with Trump, the Left can claim he is evil and lying and really wants to kill innocent Ukrainians.  Forget that the President of Ukraine is asking us how it is we know that Russia is on the brink of invasion.  Generate lots of conflicting news that Russia is withdrawing troops – no, Russia is moving forward – no we need to arm the Ukrainians to resist – no, NATO won’t get involved – no, we won’t send troops – no, we are airlifting troops and support battalions to Eastern Europe – Putin isn’t sincere in wanting to enter talks — it goes on and on.

All the while the Leftist media is beating the war drums hoping someone makes a mistake and hostilities start for real.  Distract people enough and they won’t notice that we haven’t fixed our election systems so they will be able to jigger the results of the midterms just as they did in 2020, or that forced vaccinations are killing people, or that economies across the world are in shambles from Leftist authoritarianism.

Power from the people

Like flies attracted to manure, those who want power are drawn to concentrations of power  and will always seek to increase it. More government means more power.  The reasons given to increase power are always that more is needed in order to do all the wonderful things that need doing.  Funny how those things never seem to get done because there never seems to be enough power to do them.

If Russia doesn’t attack Ukraine, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth and rending of garments among the Left.  All their information attacks, all their accusations of Putin as an evil warmonger, all their manipulation of public opinion will be for naught.  They will have to find another excuse for more suppression of the populace.  How are they going to keep those slaves down on the plantation once they have seen the lights of freedom?

The Left is in a dangerous position now.  Across the world people are rising up to oppose their arbitrary restrictions, their suppression of basic human rights.  The only thing that has kept them safe is the deeply entrenched willingness of the people to follow the rule of law.  Should that break down, the Left would be treated to its own retribution.  Just ask Marie Antoinette how that worked out.

The question now is: Will the Left get the war they long for, or will Mr. Putin try a different approach to achieving his goals?  Perhaps India might step up to serve as intermediary in negotiations, since the current US administration is too far Left to want a peaceful solution.

Even if Putin takes a military course, it would still be possible to avoid the sort of massive conflict the Left desires.  The Left would put pressure on NATO to escalate matters, but if Putin continues to show restraint and willingness to obtain a peaceful resolution, Europe would be unlikely to favor NATO aggression.  It could even be an opportunity to punk the Left by simply withdrawing troops and pointing out how hysterical was the liberal media’s response to their presence.  Of course, laughing at a Leftist gains you an enemy for life, but at this point, what is there to lose?

Who is more dangerous, a Russia seeking its own security, or a hawkish Left thwarted in its lust for power?  Will the Left stage a false flag operation to provoke hostilities?  How far will they go?  Stay tuned for further developments.

Featured photo by Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Content syndicated from TheBlueStateConservative.com with permission.

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Aggressive Progressives: Those Peace-Loving Leftists And Their March To War is posted on Conservative Daily News - Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust - Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more.

20 Feb 04:07

The Jesse Owens They Don’t Teach You about in History Class

by Lawrence W. Reed

by Lawrence W. Reed -

The world’s top athletes in 1936 wrestled with a moral conundrum: “Should I compete in the Olympics or make a statement and refuse to go?” The site of the games was Hitler’s Berlin. Though World War II was three years’ off, it was obvious to all but incorrigible appeasers that the Nazi regime was a racist, anti-Semitic, violent, and dictatorial regime.

Eighty-six years later, many athletes must have asked themselves the same question before this month’s competitions in Beijing. The Chinese kleptocracy under Xi Jinping has crushed freedom in Hong Kong, threatened Taiwan, and brutally persecuted the country’s Uighur minority. Compelling evidence exists suggesting the regime, whether by accident or intent, unleashed a deadly virus on the world from a government lab in Wuhan. With good reason, the courageous Boston Celtics basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom calls the Beijing spectacle “the Genocide Games.”

Personally, I chose to boycott the Olympics by shunning both the television coverage and the products of the sponsors. But I do not fault every athlete who decided to participate, only those who might return home afterwards and never condemn the crimes of the Chinese government or express sympathy for its victims.

One of the heroes of the 1936 Berlin games, the great Jesse Owens, understood what the most important things in life are. To Jesse, they were matters of the conscience and of the soul.

“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals,” he wrote in his 1970 book, Blackthink: My Life as Black Man and White Man. “The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that’s where it’s at. Life is the real Olympics.”

Owens’ decision to compete in Berlin drew fire at the time from fellow blacks at the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). He went anyway. In hindsight, decent people everywhere ought to be glad he did. By winning four gold medals as Hitler watched from the stands, Jesse impressively undermined the fiction of Aryan racial superiority.

Jesse Owens was a remarkable American. He pulled himself up from very humble beginnings and overcame prejudice. He proved himself to be not only a fantastic athlete but a truly admirable and forgiving man of solid character. The spirit of Black History Month is not well-served if we focus only on speech-making activists and ignore the contributions of the achievers like Owens.

You can learn why I regard Owens as a “Real Hero” in this chapter from my book by that very title. You’ll discover that a snub more disgraceful than anything Hitler could have done was “progressive” Franklin Roosevelt’s decision to invite only the white American Olympians to the White House and keep Jesse out.

Jesse Owens left the ideological plantation early in life and never went back. He always thought for himself. Freedom to him never meant slavish adherence to whatever white liberals or race hustlers of any color told him he should think because he was black. He resisted what he disparaged as “blackthink,” the idea that all blacks should think alike and spend their days in bitter resentment. He was a rugged individualist, not a collectivist fool. He loved America and never condemned the nation for the sins of a few. He never wallowed in victimology. He lived his life according to the Golden Rule.

Owens was born in Alabama in 1913 and died in 1980 at the age of 66. His name is still widely recognized but mostly for what he did in 1936, and not much for what he ever said. That’s unfortunate because Jesse said and wrote many things that deserve attention today. From the book he authored over a half-century ago, Blackthink, I offer this selection of Jesse Owens’s observations on life:

_____

“I’m no scholar in history but I don’t think you have to be a PhD to see the striking, disgusting similarity between all forms of tyranny. Suppressing the personal identity of the individual into some group, the end justifying the means, force instead of freedom. These are what make every despot and potential despot tick, whether it be a Hitler, a George Lincoln Rockwell, a KKK’er, or a black militant…I’ve seen the despotism of the spirit drive out almost everything else good in a man, day after day, sometimes hour by hour, until he’s a fanatic wooden stereotype.”

_____

“Each man has a right, a responsibility, to defend his own life. Freedom is unfortunately sometimes the freedom to use violence—only after you’ve first been attacked in some way. But prejudice isn’t violence. I’m not saying bigotry isn’t rotten. But the line between the man who pulls a gun on me and the bigot who pulls a prejudice on me is a thick line. And if we handle them both the same way, we’re trading liberty for the jungle. The man who thinks Negroes are inferior and won’t have anything to do with them is stupid, maybe sick. But in the United States he has the right to be those things as long as he doesn’t back up his ideas as the KKK or the blackthinkers have—with fists and fires and ropes.”

_____

“What in the hell is liberty if you make everyone else think the way you do? The blackthinkers, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes deliberately, are trying to take away that liberty. They don’t educate, they don’t persuade. Their ‘dialogues’ are usually a hoax.”

_____

“Fifty-seven years on this earth have shown me that men aren’t basically evil. But they aren’t basically good either. The possibilities for both are always in us, and just because we did the right thing on Tuesday and Wednesday doesn’t mean we’re sure to do it on Friday and Saturday. You can’t rest on your laurels where character is concerned, just as you can’t stop breathing and expect to live simply because you’ve drawn fifty million breaths before that. Humanity isn’t something you’re given. It isn’t a natural state of being. You earn it. You’ve got to work to be human.”

_____

“When the chips are really down, you can either put your skin first or you can go with what’s inside it…Remember that prejudice isn’t new. It goes way back, just as slavery goes way back, to before there ever was an America. Men have always had to meet insanity without losing their own minds. That doesn’t mean you should stand still for bigotry. Fight it. Fight it for all you’re worth. But fight your own prejudice, too. Don’t expect perfection in your white brother until there’s not an ounce of blackthink left in you. And remember that the hardest thing for all of us isn’t to fight, but to stop and think.”

For Additional Information, See:

Jesse Owens: “Character Makes the Difference When It’s Close” by Lawrence W. Reed

Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics, 1936 (video)

The Crazy Real-Life Story of Jesse Owens (video)

Jesse Owens: One of the Greatest Olympians Ever (video)

Jesse Owens: A Rare Interview (video)

Jesse Owens In the Lion’s Den (video)

Blackthink: My Life as Black Man and White Man by Jesse Owens

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics by Jeremy Schaap

Content syndicated from Fee.org (FEE) under Creative Commons license.

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The Jesse Owens They Don’t Teach You about in History Class is posted on Conservative Daily News - Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust - Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more.

09 May 22:15

Trump-haters love clip of girl calling him a ‘disgrace to the world.’ But there’s one big problem.

by Dave Urbanski
Paul Presley

Problem is, it’s not Trump in the video.lol

A video posted to Twitter on Sunday appeared to show Republican President Donald Trump — seen from behind — putting his arm around a little girl for a photo. Suddenly, the girl looks up at “Trump” and says, “You’re a disgrace to the world.”

Oddly, she takes a step away from him, smiles broadly and snaps a cellphone photo of her counterpart as adults in the background laugh it up.

https://twitter.com/najahtaa/status/861320374834909185

The clip went viral and as of Tuesday has received more than 415,000 likes and over 260,000 retweets.

Problem is, it’s not Trump in the video. It’s a clip from the  series “The President Show,” featuring Trump impersonator Anthony Atamanuik — and the clip on Twitter is cropped to hide the Comedy Central logo, the Hill reported.

While it appeared as though a large number of folks replying to the clip knew it wasn’t Trump, a few users here and there seemed to think it was — and clearly were overjoyed:

Atamanuik also joined the discussion on Twitter and said that the little girl “was brave, funny and smart. Also, she said that if [sic] her own volition.”

In response to another Twitter user who insisted the whole thing was staged, Atamanuik said the girl “wasn’t an actor. No one ‘Faked’ anything. Also, the girl is still right!”

Doesn’t seem too tough to figure out where Atamanuik stands politically, eh?

Indeed, once let in on the fakery, some folks were a tad upset that the clip wasn’t the real deal:

https://twitter.com/cynful103/status/861347135031320578

(H/T: The Daily Wire)

12 May 03:33

The FBI ‘Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ If It’s Wiretapping Your Amazon Echo

by Tré Goins-Phillips

If you have an Amazon Echo, a hands-free speaker device, in your home, the FBI might be listening to you.

The FBI responded Wednesday to a Freedom of Information Act request from Gizmodo, telling the publication the agency “can neither confirm nor deny” if it is listening in on Americans’ Amazon Echos.

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

According to the FBI, they couldn’t disclose whether or not they are wiretapping the devices, because it threatens the techniques they use.

“The mere acknowledgement of whether or not the FBI has any such records in and of itself would disclose techniques, procedures, and/or guidelines that could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law,” the letter read. “Thus, the FBI neither confirms nor denies the existence of any records.”

The fact that the FBI could now be wiretapping devices inside people’s homes, as Gizmodo noted, offers law enforcement officials a simple and streamlined way to “bug” an area.

For many years, the FBI and law enforcement officials would be forced to wiretap a phone conversation, or plant microphones in a home, if they wanted to listen in. Nowadays, because Americans are voluntarily putting microphones and other recording devices in their homes, the only thing necessary is software to hack things like iPhones and Amazon Echos.

This latest development is not all that surprising, given the fact that the NSA can already allegedly tap into individuals’ phones, even when they are turned off.

Follow the author of this story on Twitter:
Follow @tregp

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06 Apr 02:48

‘My Mind Almost Shut Down’: Man ‘Throws a Ball to Himself’ in Mind-Bending Optical Illusion That’s Captivated Internet

by Carly Hoilman

“Clever,” “trippy,” “evil magic” — These are the words Internet commenters are using to describe the seamless optical illusion achieved by Kevin Parry. The Oregon native recorded a mind-bending video over the weekend in which he uses a mirror to make it appear as if he is throwing a bouncy ball to himself.

In the video, Parry, a self-described stop-motion animator, holds the green ball in one hand while using his other hand to film himself in the mirror with his phone.

Image source: Vine

Image via Vine

He then throws the ball against the mirror and films as his reflection catches it.

The result is the illusion that Parry is bouncing the ball to and from himself in a parallel universe.

The clip went viral over the weekend after Parry posted it to Vine, generating some strong reactions from impressed and stunned Internet users.

One commenter claimed, “My mind almost shut down.” Another wrote, “Holy crap. I didn’t know what was happening. I still don’t know.”

Watch:

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18 Nov 23:35

NFL Star’s Viral Facebook Post About Race and Sin Captivated the World. Now, He Reveals What He Believes Is Truly a ‘Shame.’

by Billy Hallowell

New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson captivated the world last year when he penned a viral Facebook post in the midst of furor over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, proclaiming that sin is the basis of humanity’s problems and is “the reason we are racist.”

Just one year later, Watson has released his first book, “Under Our Skin: Getting Real about Race — and Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us” — a project that he’s hoping will inspire more thoughtful reflection about issues pertaining to race relations.

Watson, a Christian, believes that individuals must confront the sin that is in every human being’s heart in order to truly mend wounds.

“We all have the seeds of racism in our hearts,” he told The Church Boys podcast. “Humans have an issue of default. It’s called sin that points us towards hating people, and being selfish, and being jealous and making others subservient to you, simply because they look different.”

Listen to Watson discuss his views on race relations and his new book below:

It was this sentiment that drove the viral nature of his November 2014 Facebook post, which he published after a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally show Brown.

In it, Watson balanced his anger as an African American with the revelation that no one but Wilson and Brown truly know what unfolded. The message’s candid, honest and emotional nature truly resonated with the masses, as he called for unity.

“SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn,” Watson wrote in his post. “BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind.”

Benjamin Watson #89 of the New Orleans Saints before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 9, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Benjamin Watson #89 of the New Orleans Saints before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 9, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

These were the sentiments that the NFL star reiterated in his interview with The Church Boys, calling on Christians to lead the charge on unity.

“Christians should be the premiere example of what it means to love like Christ,” he said. “The distinctions that the world places on us fade away when we talk about our brotherhood and sisterhood.”

Watson continued, “It’s a shame that we have many of the same feelings and preduces and biases [that non-Christians have].”

At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson…

Posted by Benjamin Watson on Tuesday, November 25, 2014

He said that “Under Our Skin” is an extension of sorts of his viral Ferguson post, calling for open and honest conversation and intentional relationships with individuals who might look different.

In the end, Watson contends that there must be a “change of the heart.” Find out more about “Under Our Skin.”

Follow the author of this story on Twitter and Facebook:

Follow @BillyHallowell

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28 May 22:39

Snorkeler Swims With Millions of Jellyfish in ‘Surreal’ Video — Here’s Why He Wasn’t Stung

by Liz Klimas

In a salt water lake on an uninhabited rock island in the South Pacific are “literally millions” of jellyfish and because their stingers too small to be considered painful to humans, swimming it makes for “absolutely surreal” experience — not a painful one — one man who recently posted a video of his snorkel trip wrote.

“A place like Palau’s Jellyfish Lake is a reminded [sic] of how wondrous the world can be,” mikeyk730 wrote.

Image source: YouTube

Image source: YouTube

Watch his video so dense with jellies that it looked like he was swimming in a sea of pink cotton balls:

According to the Coral Reef Research Foundation, the lake holds 13 million golden jellyfish, which grow to be about 5.5 inches in size.

Because the golden jellies sting doesn’t affect humans like others of its kind, the research foundation notes that some  people have said the jellies lost their ability to sting because the live without predators. The foundation says this is a myth though and that you might experience a tingling sensation, especially if you’re stung on more sensitive skin, like your lips.

Unlike some other species that just free float, the golden jellies migrate daily based on the movement of the sun. This the Coral Reef Research foundation says helps them avoid a predatory sea anemone.

“Swimming east in the morning and west in the afternoon ensures the jellies always encounter a shadow before the actual side of the lake. Staying out of the shadows keeps them away from the edge where this major predator lurks,” the foundation explained.

GoPro also featured a video from Jellyfish Lake this month. Check it out:

(H/T: Reddit)

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24 Apr 02:23

Unique Ax Uses Physics to Make Wood Chopping Smarter, Not Harder

by Elizabeth Kreft

The heavier the ax head, the easier the wood chopping will be. Right?

Not necessarily. This ax seems to defy the laws of physics, but the metal is actually manipulated perfectly to create a better chopping surface.

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The Finnish design balances the ax head with a piece of metal that forces it to the right after impact, assisting with the wood-splitting action. (Image source: Vipukirves)

“Yes, axes have existed since time immemorial, but apparently there’s still room for improvement,” Geek reported.

We agree. Splitting a log requires a more force than you might imagine, and Finnish inventor Heikki Kärnä created an ax that works more as a splitter, lever and wedge all at once.

“The Vipukirves does what the name implies, assuming you speak Finnish. It’s essentially acting as a lever instead of a wedge (Vipukirves translates as Leveraxe),” Geek reported. “A regular ax needs to be driven downward with enough force to separate wood along the grain … if a log is hit off center, the ax blade can deflect at unexpected angles.”

That much force behind a metal blade accidentally misdirected at a foot, knee or any other fleshy body part isn’t good.

But what makes this ax so different?

“It still has a sharpened blade at the end, but it has a projection coming off the side that shifts the center of gravity away from the middle. At the point of impact, the edge is driven into the wood and slows down, but the kinetic energy contained in the 1.9 kilogram axe head continues down and to the side (because of the odd center of gravity). The rotational energy actually pushes the wood apart like a lever. A single strike can open an 8 cm gap in a log, which is more than enough to separate it.”

Maybe Tim Tebow and Jase Roberston should have used this ax while chopping wood on Easter.

Working out with @TimTebow. #OperationBiceps pic.twitter.com/VxVtENNo33

— Jase Robertson (@JaseDuckman) April 21, 2014

Hmm, on second thought, it looks like they were out for a bicep burn, and the Vipukirves would make it less of a workout for them.

Check it out for yourself below. You can get this physics-exploiting ax here, but be prepared, it is a little pricey.

(H/T: Geek)

Follow Elizabeth Kreft (@elizabethakreft) on Twitter.

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22 Apr 22:10

Everything Wrong With The Matrix In 12 Minutes Or Less

by wesbo

Matrix

The Matrix is, without doubt, one of the greatest movies ever made—and I will fight anyone in bullet time who says otherwise. But that doesn’t mean to say it hasn’t got its flaws and inconsistencies which CinemaSins are happy to point out in 12 minutes or less—and they point out 85 of these crimes against coherency.

But before anyone asks why they haven’t done the sequels, if you’re a real Matrix fan then the sequels are dead to you. They don’t exist. So there’s just no point in discussing them. Plus 12 minutes is nowhere near enough time to point out their sins. Eternity isn’t even enough time.

31 Mar 19:46

Far-Left Hollywood Star Once Confronted an Outspoken Conservative Actor Over His Politics – He Couldn’t Have Expected This Reply

by Jason Howerton

Actor Nick Searcy, who plays Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen on FX’s hit TV show “Justified,” is an outspoken conservative in Hollywood — and he really doesn’t care how anyone feels about it.

Actor Nick Searcy as Art Mullins on "Justified." (FX promo image)

Actor Nick Searcy as Art Mullen on “Justified.” (FX promotional image)

In his eyes, his personal views have nothing to do with the work he does onscreen. And though he admits Hollywood isn’t exactly chock-full of conservatives, Searcy told TheBlaze in an exclusive interview that he doesn’t know — or care — if he’s ever been denied a part because of political bias.

“I’m just a dumb actor,” he joked, letting out a light chuckle. “There are a million reasons why you might not get a part. You may look like someone’s brother-in-law that they don’t like. There may have been times I have lost a role because someone doesn’t want a ‘right-wing maniac’ on set. I’m not going to worry about it.”

That’s not to say Searcy’s politics haven’t come up in conversation among his colleagues — even if inadvertently.

The ‘Long’ Sean Penn Story

Searcy recalled an email exchange he had with Sean Penn about a decade ago, in which he told the Academy Award-winning actor to “stick your Oscar up your ass so you can see it when you wake up in the morning, because that’s where your head is.”

As outspoken as Searcy is about his conservative beliefs (see his Twitter feed), Penn is just as vocal about his far-left ideology (see him in Venezuela praising Hugo Chavez). The two weren’t necessarily “friends,” but they had worked together briefly on the 2004 film “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” and Searcy said he respected Penn as an actor.

“It’s a long story,” Searcy began, letting out a sigh as he figured out where to start.

Searcy said the wheels were set in motion by a separate email exchange he had with a conservative actress, whom he chose not to identify. The actress was apparently working on a “piece on conservatives in Hollywood” so she asked Searcy what it was like to work with Penn. The actor said he was under the assumption their conversation about Penn would be off the record.

He said he told the unnamed actress in an email that he enjoyed working with Penn on set, though the two certainly disagree strongly about politics.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets actor Sean Penn after a meeting in Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on March 5, 2011. Penn, who was visiting Caracas, thanked Chavez for the funding that his government gave to an NGO based in Haiti that assists the victims of the earthquake that shook the country in January 2010. (AFP/Getty Images/Juan Barreto)

“I generally don’t do politics on a movie set — that’s not what we are there for,” he told TheBlaze. “We are there to do a job.”

Shortly after their conversation, Searcy said the actress told him she was “fed up with the bullies in Hollywood” and took it upon herself to send his email to “several people,” including Sean Penn.

“I told her, ‘You didn’t have any right to do that,’” Searcy recalled. “I figured there wasn’t any problem though because I didn’t say anything I didn’t believe.”

Then he got a personal reply from Penn, who apparently asked Searcy why he would even agree to work on a movie with him if he knew what his politics were. Searcy also remembered Penn telling him he didn’t care about his “respect” for him as an actor.

In his emailed response, Searcy said he told Penn he doesn’t turn down roles based on people’s politics because if he only worked with Republicans in Hollywood, he “wouldn’t work much at all.”

“He then wrote back with something even nastier,” Searcy continued, “so I finally ended up saying, ‘Congratulations on your Oscar — now do me a favor and shine it up real nice and stick it up your ass so you can see it when you wake up in the morning, because that’s where your head is.’”

He also told Penn at the time he wasn’t in a position to turn down offers based on politics because he didn’t have the luxury of “making $5 million every time I changed my mustache” for a new role.

The story demonstrates how “intolerant” some on the left can be when it comes to different points of view, Searcy said.

But, he told TheBlaze, he doesn’t have anything against Penn personally, other than the fact that he was “kind of a jerk” on that particular occasion.

“Maybe he was having a bad day,” he said, giving Penn the benefit of the doubt.

Since then, Searcy said Penn has sent messages to him through mutual friends, one time complimenting him on a role he did.

“I don’t think there are any hard feelings,” he concluded.

Nick Searcy: The Man

As people who follow him on Twitter know, Searcy takes a no-nonsense approach to social media. If someone attacks him or other conservatives unfairly, he lets them have it. If someone promotes a liberal ideology that he thinks is stupid, he lets them have it. If an anonymous Twitter user starts name-calling, he really lets them have it.

But acting and shaming anonymous, name-calling users on Twitter aren’t Searcy’s only passions. He told TheBlaze he and his wife, Leslie, are both ardent supporters of bettering the United States’ foster care system.

Searcy adopted his 14-year-old son out of foster care when he was just 15 months old.

“The minute I saw him, I knew he was my son. It was like God speaking to me,” he said.

(Twitter, Nick Searcy)

Photo via Nick Searcy/Twitter

When he was asked during the adoption process if he had any racial preferences, he said no. However, it was surprising to learn how some people have a problem with a white family adopting a black child, Searcy said.

“I’ve heard some social workers call it ‘social genocide’ and say if he’s raised by white people that he won’t know his culture,” the actor said. “But I knew I was going to make sure he knows his history, knows the history of the civil rights movement.”

But having gone through the “long, frustrating process,” Searcy said it made him realize how hard it is to “wrench a child out of the system.”

He laughed when asked how it makes him feel that, even though he has a black son, some people routinely call him racist simply they disagree with him. He has been known to sarcastically post a photo of him and son on Twitter when someone tries to pull the race card.

“That really says it all,” he added.

‘Justified’

All politics aside, if you aren’t watching “Justified,” you really are missing out.

The show focuses on a tough but trigger-happy deputy U.S. Marshal from Harlan County, Ky., Raylan Givens, played by actor Timothy Olyphant. Searcy’s character, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen, spends a considerable amount of time trying to keep Raylan out of trouble — or get him out of trouble he’s already caused.

The show, currently in its fifth season, airs Tuesdays on FX at 10 p.m. ET. There are only two episodes left, but the first four seasons are available for binge-watching on Amazon Prime.

Though Searcy humbly admits Art Mullen is “much braver” than he is, he also said he tries to keep the character “close to his chest.” In other words, part of the reason Art comes off as a such a genuine character is partly because he’s similar to the man he plays him in several ways.

“He’s very similar to me in terms of our sense of humor,” Searcy said of Art.

Art and Searcy are also very similar in that they both have the same wife. He revealed that the actress who plays his wife on the show is, in fact, the woman he’s been happily married to for nearly three decades.

FX

FX

Tom O’Neill, and from left, Jere Burns, Jacob Pitts, Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Fred Golan, Erica Tazel, Dave Andron and Walton Goggins attend “An Evening with Justified” on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at the Television Academy in the NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

He also said the show has given him some creative freedom to add or try out new lines while shooting episodes, many of which he admits he stole from his father.

But part of what makes “Justified” such great TV is the show’s star, he said.

“I can’t tell you how great it is to work with Timothy Olyphant,” Searcy said of his colleague. “He’s just a talented, dedicated, hard-working guy that puts in the effort every day, every scene, every character.”

Timothy Olyphant, left, and Walton Goggins attend “An Evening with Justified” on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at the Television Academy in the NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

As far as his Twitter antics and his unapologetic conservatism, Searcy said he believes the people who employ him understand and respect the fact that his personal life is his business.

“I don’t talk about things in context of the show or hang any responsibility on the show or the people who work on the show,” he said.

Still, some people ask him why he chooses to be so vocal about his beliefs — especially while working in Hollywood.

He said it pretty much started when conservative icon Andrew Breitbart died.

“Bullies on the left, they want to call you names and categorize you and make you respond,” Searcy argued. “They want to make you say, ‘Why are you saying that? I’m not that.’ So when [Breitbart] passed away so suddenly, I just sort of had this moment where I asked myself: Why am I scared? Why am I letting these people do this to me?”

“Now, I’m not,” he said.

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23 Feb 13:58

Residents of Wealthy Atlanta Neighborhood Plan Protest Against Justin Bieber Moving Into Area

by Oliver Darcy

Residents of a wealthy Atlanta neighborhood plan to stage a protest early Monday morning to express disagreement with the possibility of singer Justin Bieber moving into the area.

In this March 19, 2013 file photo, singer Justin Bieber performs during a concert at Bercy Arena in Paris. Bieber has been arrested after police say he drag raced on a Miami Beach, Fla., street in a yellow Lamborghini and failed a sobriety test early Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

In this March 19, 2013 file photo, singer Justin Bieber performs during a concert at Bercy Arena in Paris. Bieber has been arrested after police say he drag raced on a Miami Beach, Fla., street in a yellow Lamborghini and failed a sobriety test early Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

The troubled pop-star went house shopping in the affluent Atlanta area of Buckhead this week, according to WXIA-TV. The singer wants to live closer to the city’s hip-hop community, TMZ reported.

However, residents of the community aren’t too crazy about the idea of being neighbors with “The Biebs.”

A protest posted to Facebook, with 216 RSVPs at the time of publication, claims that “Justin Bieber’s relocation to Atlanta can be nothing but bad for our children.”

“…Justin Bieber’s relocation to Atlanta can be nothing but bad for our children.”
Share:

“Some can’t even let their children play in the driveway without fear; he has raced vehicles under the influence, before,” the Facebook event page adds. “What’s to say he won’t do it again? As a home owner down the street from this residence, one can assume many people will be contacting real estate agents soon enough.”

Image source: Facebook

Image source: Facebook

“Please do not allow a child to ruin what we have worked so hard to obtain,” it concludes.

Signs posted to Facebook read “DUI Much?” and “Keep Buckead Bieber Free.”

According to WXIA-TV, Buckhead is already home to world-renowned celebrities like Janet Jackson and Elton John.

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

 

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18 Nov 22:49

This Hail Mary May Just Go Down in History as the ‘Most Improbable Touchdown You Will Ever See’

by Oliver Darcy

Auburn defeated Georgia in last night’s gripping football game after Tigers quarterback Nick Marshall threw a last minute, fourth-quarter Hail Mary pass that ultimately ended up being caught for a game-winning touchdown.

With a mere 32 seconds remaining on the clock, Marshall tossed the ball across the field toward wide receiver Ricardo Louis.

The pass, however, ended up looking like a sure interception, but instead bounced off a Bulldogs defensive back and into Louis’ arms.

This Hail Mary May Just Go Down in History as the Most Improbable Touchdown You Will Ever See

(Image source: YouTube)

Louis, with the ball in hand easily crossed over to the end zone and delivered a stunning 43-38 defeat to Georgia with just seconds on the clock.

This Hail Mary May Just Go Down in History as the Most Improbable Touchdown You Will Ever See

(Image source: YouTube)

Sportscasters immediately dubbed the throw the “play of the year,” calling the “miracle” throw the “most improbable touchdown you will ever see.”

Watch the stunning play:

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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