I’ve been sick the past couple days. In the last 48 hours, I’ve probably spent more time in bed during the day than I have in the past three years combined. It’s been miserable. But more than that, it’s been terrible feeling so useless.

I tried to work as much as I could, but with a fever, my brain turns to mush. Even doing my best, my productivity wasn’t much to write home about. I couldn’t really sleep, so I spent most of the days in a groggy state — lying in bed, looking at my phone.

Maybe friction is essential to life. We imagine wanting a life with no demands, no stress, no deadlines — but maybe we go soft without them.

Really, I was doomscrolling and “bed-rotting,” as our Zoomer friends call it.

I only did it for a couple days, but it was brutal on my mind and spirit. I can only imagine what it does to capable young adults who live like this. No wonder so many Zoomers feel listless, nihilistic — just sort of blah.

Pajama punditry

Feeling useless is bad enough on its own. It’s worse when you’re a spectator, scrolling through short-form videos of other people doing more interesting things. It’s like being kicked when you’re down. Psychological masochism.

There’s something especially bleak about the “bed” in bed-rotting. I’m someone who gets up and gets dressed, who puts on shoes in the morning and takes them off at night. Spending the middle of the day in bed feels wrong in a deeper way. It makes me feel lazy. For some reason, scrolling on the couch at 1 p.m. doesn’t feel as bad as doing it in bed at 1 p.m. Same behavior — but the setting seals the degradation.

“I can’t even rouse myself from bed. I can’t even pretend to engage with the world. I’m just waiting for it to get dark again so I can sleep.”

That’s the feeling. It’s deeply depressing.

Reflecting on a few days of this has clarified something — not just about younger generations, but something more universal: The problem isn’t just distraction. It’s uselessness.

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Bettman/Getty Images

Needless to say

We need to be needed. That’s the core of it. From love to work to everything in between, being needed gives shape to our lives. When we aren’t needed, we feel it. Even when we say we want a break, want to get away, want to escape the demands — after a while, the absence of need starts to itch. We want it back.

This is why people without children get dogs. They need to be needed. Simple.

It’s also why the looming threat of AI-induced uselessness is so unsettling. If you follow discussions about AI and the future of work, the forecasts can look bleak. Whether or not the worst predictions come true, it’s worth asking what happens if they do.

Give me friction

If large swaths of the workforce are replaced or managed by AI, millions of people could find themselves both unemployed and unneeded. The optimistic view says we’ll have universal basic income — and everyone will be free, comfortable, and happier than ever.

You can only believe that if you misunderstand human nature. We need to work. We need to be rewarded for what we do. We don’t actually want everything handed to us. Five-year-olds might — but not 45-year-olds. And even if we think we do, that feeling dulls quickly. The need to be needed comes back.

Maybe friction is essential to life. We imagine wanting a life with no demands, no stress, no deadlines — but maybe we go soft without them. Maybe we lose something vital when nothing is required of us.

Being needed might be one of the most precious conditions we have, especially in a world moving toward automation and away from human necessity. Preserving that — ensuring people are needed — may be one of the most important challenges of the next decade.

Because it doesn’t matter if we have everything we want — if we’re well-fed and comfortable. If we aren’t needed, we aren’t fulfilled.

​Men’s style, Lifestyle, Family life, The root of the matter, Bed-rotting, Usefulness, Sick 

Former Democrat Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.) faced a brutal primary loss after attempting to revive his political career in the aftermath of a corruption scandal.

Jackson represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until 2012, when he resigned, citing health issues amid a federal investigation into his campaign’s finances. Jackson, son of the late civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr., pled guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for misusing approximately $750,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses.

‘A terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.’

Jackson ultimately served 17 months more than a decade ago. His name recognition and political experience were not enough to secure the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. He earned just 29% of the primary vote, while Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller won with 40.4% of the vote.

Jackson’s scandal-ridden track record was not the only force working against him. As in other primaries across the country, a very powerful lobbying group put its thumb on the scale, likely costing Jackson the race.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims voters were ‘disenfranchised’ following crushing defeat in key Texas primary

Photo by Saul LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has successfully ousted anti-Israel Democrats like former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Cori Bush (Mo.), and Tuesday night was no exception. AIPAC touted a pro-Israel winning streak, saying the organization helped “defeat six would-be Squad members” in the Illinois primaries.

“Six up… Six down!” AIPAC said in a post on X. “A great night for the pro-Israel community and a terrible night for anti-Israel candidates.”

“Tonight’s results tell a critical story: centering campaigns on attacking Israel and demonizing pro-Israel Americans is a losing strategy.”

RELATED: ‘Judgement Day is coming’: Ken Paxton advances with establishment incumbent in key Texas primary

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Jackson was not an overly anti-Israel candidate, but AIPAC deemed Miller more supportive of its cause compared to the former congressman. Miller was reportedly able to rake in support from an AIPAC-aligned group that spent over $4 million on promoting her campaign.

Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District is heavily Democrat, and Miller is expected to secure the House seat in November.

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​Jesse jackson, Jesse jackson jr., Chicago, Illinois, Illinois primary, Democrat primary, Donna miller, Aipac, Politics 

Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien from El Salvador who stole into the U.S. in 2024 and was subsequently released by the Biden administration, is accused of molesting at least nine girls at Fairfax High School in Virginia where he was enrolled in the 11th grade, even though he is at least 18 years old.

Adding insult to injury, the school allegedly downplayed the scandal.

‘They have attempted to sweep it under the rug.’

The alleged offenses took place as recently as Feb. 25. Flores-Ortiz was arrested on March 7 and has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery.

“There’s a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” a mother of one of the victims told WJLA-TV. “It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls. He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months.”

Two of the victims’ mothers said that the school was doing a terrible job handling the situation.

“Abysmal, abysmal,” said one of the mothers. “I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls.”

Fairfax High School principal Georgina Aye reportedly waited over two weeks after the incidents were reported to notify parents in an email, “We are writing to share the news of the recent arrest of a student who was charged with inappropriately touching other students at school. These incidents involved the student touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”

RELATED: ICE arrests child-diddlers and ecstasy traffickers while Dems try to ‘score brownie points,’ DHS says

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Parents lashed out over Aye’s claim that the alleged molestation was simply a matter of a “student touching students’ buttocks.”

“Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping,” one mother told WJLA. “I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn’t be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter’s legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched.”

Another mother said, “The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention seeking.”

“They have attempted to sweep it under the rug,” said one mother.

The City of Fairfax School Board, which oversees Fairfax High School in partnership with the FCPS, said in a statement on Monday that it “takes the recent situation at Fairfax High School very seriously.”

“We support the students who have been directly affected and encourage members of the Fairfax High School community to support one another during this difficult time. Inappropriate conduct has no place in our schools, and we understand the concern and distress this incident has caused for students and families,” said the school board. “We also want to express our support for Principal Dr. Georgina Aye, a student-centered leader who has devoted her career to serving and supporting students. We have confidence in her leadership.”

In addition to receiving what one victim’s mother described as “a completely sanitized letter” from the school’s purportedly “student-centered leader,” parents were allegedly informed by Fairfax County Public Schools that upon his release, Flores-Ortiz would return to school.

FCPS told WJLA in a statement, “While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school.”

FCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

ICE issued a detainer for Ortiz, the agency told WJLA, “to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again.”

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid’s (D) office told Blaze News in a statement:

Israel Flores Ortiz remains in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC). While it is still too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC, and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody if and when he is ordered released.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers.

Flores-Ortiz reportedly requested to be released on bail. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s (D) office told Blaze News that there was a bond hearing, but “after listening to arguments, the judge decided to hold him. He is being held.”

Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reportedly denied Ortiz’s request on Friday after reviewing surveillance video of one of the incidents.

“This 19-year-old criminal illegal alien should NOT have been attending a Virginia high school and allowed to prey on innocent teenage girls. He now faces nine counts of assault and battery. This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s failed open border policies,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women,” continued Bis. “Unfortunately, Governor Abigail Spanberger ended cooperation with ICE and is siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

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​Pedophile, Molester, Molestation, Illegal alien, Immigrant, Illegal, Noncitizen, El salvador, Israel flores ortiz, Fairfax county, Fairfax county public schools, Fairfax, Virginia, Democrat, Kincaid, Ice, Immigration and customs enforcement, Dhs, Politics 

Selling one’s soul to the devil for fame, money, or power is an age-old trope. Elites have long dismissed it as nothing more than a conspiracy theory perpetuated by “satanic panic” Bible beaters, but is there any truth to this legendary exchange?

In her March 10 podcast episode, actress Candace Cameron Bure, best known for her role as D.J. Tanner in the iconic sitcom “Full House,” suggested that it’s more than just a theory. The outspoken Christian revealed that she’s personally stared Hollywood’s dark underbelly in the face.

On a recent episode of “Strange Encounters,” BlazeTV host Rick Burgess reacted to Bure’s anecdote and exposed the truth about Hollywood’s depravity.

On the “Candace Cameron Bure Podcast,” Bure told her co-host Madison Prewett Troutt about a time when she and her husband, former NHL hockey player Valeri Bure, accidentally attended an S&M themed party.

“I went to a party once with Val because we were married, and it ended up being this underground party that was an S&M like sex thing that was so dark and demonic,” she recounted, adding that her “eyeballs were popping out of [her] head.”

The scene was so shocking that the couple immediately left. “We made a hard U-turn and walked right out of there,” she recalled.

“It was just so slimy and weird. … We just had no idea what we were walking into. And it was so disgusting and gross.”

The “Full House” star has long been open about rejecting Hollywood’s moral compromises. On the “Stay True Podcast” last year, she explained: “I was just honestly never the kid that wanted to do the risky thing, that wanted to use my body or my sexuality to get ahead or my morality meant more to me, and my character has always meant more to me than the success of things.”

Rick reads between the lines of Bure’s comments.

“What she’s saying is there were moments she got scripts and there were things in the script she didn’t want to do,” he says, implying that Bure’s dedication to her Christian values might have cost her opportunities because she refused to participate in the “underground demonic world of Hollywood.”

He rejects the notion that Hollywood infuses depravity into film and music “because that’s what the people want.”

“That’s not true because we know that really family-oriented movies and shows have far bigger numbers than any of this garbage. No, it’s an agenda. It’s coming from a dark place,” he warns.

To hear more of Rick’s commentary, watch the full episode above.

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​Strange encounters, Strange encounters with rick burgess, Rick burgess, Candace cameron bure, Hollywood, Hollywood corruption, Blazetv, Blaze media 

A male was caught on video punching a Philadelphia-area crossing guard in the face and knocking her out in front of elementary students Monday afternoon.

The incident took place outside Walnut Street Elementary School in Darby Borough shortly after 3:30 p.m., WPVI-TV reported.

‘Her children go to this school, so can you imagine? They shouldn’t have to witness anything like that.’

Authorities told the station the guard was helping students cross the street when a male exited his car, chased her down the sidewalk, and punched her in the face.

“It’s disgusting,” Darby Borough Police Chief Joe Gabe told WPVI. “She stated an unknown male exited a Nissan Altima and came at her in an aggressive manner, chased her down the street, about a quarter of the way down the block, grabbed her, and struck her in the face with his left fist.”

RELATED: 3 females dragged Philly crossing guard off bus when she tried to escape brutal beating, detective says; suspects arrested

Surveillance video captured the attack; it shows the male chasing the guard down a sidewalk until she stops next to a school bus. The male gets in her face, brutally punches her, she falls backward to the ground, and he runs off.

She told police she was knocked unconscious as the male ran back to his car and drove away, the station said.

The chief told WPVI it’s believed the suspect may have been angry about waiting in traffic: “He may have been upset with having to wait for her to cross children off of the school bus there.”

Gabe added to the station that the suspect was yelling profanities as he drove through the intersection prior to the attack: “When he was approaching her, he was yelling more obscenities at her before he grabbed her and struck her in the face.”

The crossing guard suffered swelling to her face, WPVI said, adding that police said she regained consciousness, walked home, and then called authorities.

The station said the crossing guard didn’t report to work Tuesday, and a male crossing guard took her place.

“We just spoke to her, she’s feeling OK, but she’s very shaken up over what happened yesterday and is worried to go back to her position as a crossing guard,” Gabe added to WPVI.

Dionne Galloway, a school district employee, added to the station that “I see her every day. She’s a part of this family, this school district. She crosses these children every day. She’s always on time. She’s always helpful. I just hope she recovers and is safe. Her children go to this school, so can you imagine? They shouldn’t have to witness anything like that.”

Police told WPVI they’re asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who was seen driving a gold Nissan Altima. However, police added to the station that the car didn’t have a license plate and had a paper tag in the window.

“It’s terrible that a person would come up, just out of nowhere, just maybe frustrated with traffic or having to wait, and goes over and assaults this woman,” the chief told WPVI. “A male goes over and assaults this woman in front of children and has no problem doing it.”

Gabe also has a message for the suspect, the station noted: “We are tracking you down, and we’re hoping that we will be able to find you and have you prosecuted. So the best thing to do is to turn yourself in.”

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​Physical attack, Crossing guard, Male punches female, Elementary school, Darby, Pennsylvania, Knocked out, Suspect at large, Caught on video, Assault, Crime