Beef prices keep climbing, but small ranchers aren’t seeing the profits. So where is the money going?

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck believes the answer lies in an industry dominated by a small number of meat-processing companies and a regulatory system that makes it nearly impossible for smaller competitors to enter the market.

And during a conversation with President Donald Trump, he let him know.

“Please when it comes to beef, please look at the cartel that is the meat-processing cartel,” Glenn tells Trump.

“I run a ranch, so I know what it’s like. And I’m telling you, it is the processing plants.”

“There’s four of them, and I think two of them are not even American. It’s bad. And I believe they’re colluding with each other,” he adds.

“I’m surprised because that’s been going on a long time, Glenn. Long before I got here,” Trump interjects.

“Help us. … We can’t butcher with all of the federal regulations. It is really hard,” he says, noting that the “inspections are insane.”

“Break the back of those processing plants though. There’s people that want to build processing plants everywhere. The regulations are killing us, just killing us,” he adds.

“So you’re saying with less regulation, you think that the ranchers and farmers would do a very good job of processing the beef?” Trump asks.

“Yes,” Glenn answers.

And it’s not just Glenn who’s noticed the issue regulations are causing small farms and ranches, as a caller from West Virginia called in to share his story when it comes to the agriculture industry.

“My father was a farm veterinarian for 51 years,” he tells Glenn. “Over my entire lifetime, I have watched the complete destruction of the agriculture industry everywhere. From what chemicals you can use to where you take your cows to you name it.”

“Complete destruction. West Virginia passed a law that people might like. It’s called the farm-to-table law. They bypass the USDA. They have to meet West Virginia standards. But we got a lot of farm-to-table stores here now and completely bypass that whole ag industry,” he adds.

Glenn is hopeful that after bringing the issue up to President Trump, they might see more similar changes in the future.

“Anything that we can do to give relief to our ranchers and our farmers on regulation, which is what the president and I spoke about today, and hopefully he will act on it,” Glenn says.

“People are tired of all this processed food, not knowing where it comes from. I know if my ranch, if I could slaughter the beef and have standards obviously, but slaughter the beef, cut the beef, and sell it in the local grocery store, we’d save a ton of money on meat,” he continues.

“Right now, I think we sell my cattle, I think, in Denver, and then they’re finished off with grain someplace else … and then they’re slaughtered. I mean, I don’t even know where they go. It’s insane. It’s stupid … and it’s these big processing plants, man. That’s the problem,” he adds.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

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​Agriculture industry, Beef prices, Donald trump, Farmers, Glenn beck, Processing plants, Ranches, West virginia, Blazetv show 

The U.S. Department of State has officially labeled an Italian hacker group as terrorists after finding some disturbing connections.

The connections have had brutal ramifications for U.S. federal agents, as this European group has been working closely with Antifa cells in the United States.

‘Let’s take back the night together!’

The group, called Autistici/Inventati Collective, has earned the label of specially designated global terrorist group, meaning it will join a long list that includes names like al-Qaeda, Tren de Aragua, and al-Shabaab.

The group was described by the State Dept. as a hacker cell that provides far-left extremists with encryption capabilities for calls and web-hosting services.

“The A/I Collective is a central node in the far-left’s war on our civilization,” the department wrote.

Particularly, “A/I Collective” has been assisting the Portland Antifa cell, called Rose City, which used a website hosted by the Italian group to doxx ICE agents, incite attacks against them “at their homes,” and organize laser attacks on Border Patrol helicopters.

One poster showcased by the federal government was a graphic titled: “You’re Invited: Lazer Tag!“

This encouraged readers to go to a park or public area to shine lasers at CBP helicopters in order to ground them. “Let’s take back the night together!” the poster read.

Other sites hosted by A/I Collective encouraged terror attacks on critical infrastructure, the State Department showed. This included “detailed guides” on arson, bombings, and sabotage of sites like bridges, pipelines, and military logistics centers.

RELATED: Rutgers dean banned from campus after being hit with ‘extremely disturbing charges’ for allegedly recording ‘upskirt’ videos

Websites hosted by the Italian hacker group were allegedly hubs for extremists to brag about the terrorist acts they had committed, too.

A few examples included a terrorist boasting about bombing a police car and plotting to attack a federal building; the government said he was found guilty.

A group calling itself “Jane’s Revenge” bombed pregnancy centers from Colorado to New York and posted calls for others to commit attacks on one of the websites, another government post stated.

Overseas, an attack on Germany’s power grid left one person dead after a group claimed responsibility on an A/I Collective website and called for more public sabotage.

In Italy, seven suspects were arrested for terrorism-related charges over a sabotaged rail line during the 2026 Winter Olympics, after which they published a manifesto on an A/I Collective-hosted site.

RELATED: DHS investigation confirms FEMA left Trump supporters to fend for themselves after hurricane

GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Digital that “far-left terrorism poses a profound threat to the United States and the broader West.”

“Today, the United States sanctioned Autistici/Inventati – a major far-left tech collective whose services are used by the most active and violent Antifa cells in the United States and across the world,” Rubio added.

The State Department concluded that it will continue to “crush transnational far-left terror networks” and that there will be no refuge for these extremist groups who “plot to violently overthrow free societies.”

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​Department of state, Marco rubio, Antifa, Autistic iinventati collective, Ai collective, Tech, Terrorism 

Democratic socialist Nithya Raman’s attempt to boast about improving the city was widely mocked and ridiculed as an example of utter government incompetence.

Raman, who is a mayoral candidate and Los Angeles city councilwoman, said her office was able to successfully paint a crosswalk after only about nine months.

‘How dumb do you have to be to post this?’

“The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council alerted our office in late 2025 to the need for a crosswalk at Sunset Dr. and Bates St., which has just been completed!” Raman posted on social media.

“Thank you to our incredible CD4 Field Team for continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer,” she added.

The post included a photo of the astounding infrastructure improvement, which showed that there had been no improvement to the cracked pavement, only a simple paint job.

The ridiculous post was roundly mocked online.

“Holy s**t, my sides…Nithya Raman’s big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street? How dumb do you have to be to post this? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” responded reality TV star and former L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.

“LOL only a commie would celebrate this as a success. Nearly year to do this and the street is still broken. What a joke!” replied Katie Pavlich of NewsNation.

“Dear Lord, Nithya. Your standards are so incredibly low. They didn’t even fix the street, they painted over cracks. And it took them a year,” said Richard Grenell, a special envoy with the Trump administration.

“Peak California governance is bragging about taking a year to paint a crosswalk without bothering to fix the giant cracks,” said another critic.

“Something that should have taken a minimum of a couple of days, with permitting took almost a year. The cracks in the road were not even fixed, just paint. It is unbelievably pathetic that you claim this to be an accomplishment,” replied another detractor.

RELATED: LA officials mocked online after celebrating ‘La Sombrita’ shades for race and gender equity

Others compared it to another ridiculous infrastructure project in Los Angeles that was mercilessly mocked online.

Raman defeated Republican candidate Spencer Pratt in the mayoral jungle primary election. She is running against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, also a Democrat.

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​Democratic socialist, Spencer pratt, Los angeles, Government incompetence, Politics 

President Donald Trump is touting a poll showing that he is more admired than other legendary Republican presidents.

The president posted a video of CNN analyst Harry Enten covering the poll that showed 53% of Republican respondents said they admired Trump more than Ronald Reagan or Abraham Lincoln.

‘Trump’s still the sun around which the GOP revolves.’

Only 18% of Republicans said in the CNN poll they admired Reagan most, while a paltry 8% said they admired Lincoln most.

Trump posted a short video to his Truth Social account from the segment that first aired on CNN on Wednesday.

Enten used the poll to explain why Trump-endorsed Darline Graham Nordone won the Republican primary runoff for one of two South Carolina seats in the U.S. Senate.

“Trump’s still the sun around which the GOP revolves,” he posted on social media.

“Trump’s endorsees for Senate have won 100% of the time in 2026,” he added. “He pulled Graham, who had little shot pre-endorsement, over the finish line.”

Enten pointed out that a separate Elon University poll found 29% of Republicans said Trump was the best president in history, while only 25% said the same of Lincoln and 14% said the same of George Washington.

RELATED: Democrats face CRUSHING math problem trying to take over the Senate: CNN

He went on to show that New York City Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani had grown his national support and now had the most positive net favorability among Democrats, surpassing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Many polls have reported that the president’s favorability has suffered after the prolonged military operation in Iran and some of its economic fallout.

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​Ronald reagan, Abraham lincoln, Polling, Politics, Donald trump 

An AI production company is hoping viewers will follow suit on a popular Chinese trend.

Fountain 0 and its Iranian CEO Ash Koosha are hoping budding actors will license their likeness to appear as an AI character in TV or films. Recently, the company struck a deal with a popular left-wing commentator that could push along the business.

‘The interests of these underserved audiences.’

Endless Summer

Fountain 0 has created AI movies like “Dreams of Violets” and a version of “The Odyssey” and now will produce adaptations of the works of one of daytime TV’s biggest liberal hosts.

“The View” host Sunny Hostin, real name Asunción Cummings Hostin, has licensed her name and likeness to the AI startup to create adaptations of her fictional “Summer” novel series, Variety reported.

The books, “Summer on the Bluffs,” “Summer on Sag Harbor,” and “Summer on Highland Beach,” are dripping with diversity themes, which Hostin herself said were stories that she hoped would reach “diverse audiences.”

“I feel particularly strongly that there is a need to bring stories to the big screen that are more in tune with the lives of diverse audiences that Hollywood focuses too little on, and I believe Fountain 0’s AI productions can have a major impact on responding to the interests of these underserved audiences,” Hostin said in a statement, per Variety.

Viewers can look forward to themes of “Afro-Latina” lawyers and “Historically Black Beachfront” communities in Hostin’s works.

RELATED: Val Kilmer ‘resurrected’ in new film — estate says he’d want it this way

LOU ROCCO/American Broadcasting Companies Inc./Getty Images

Slopaganda campaign

CEO Koosha joins the ongoing battle of AI studios clawing for legitimacy, but they have not been off to a good start.

The first AI film to hit theaters earlier this year faced calls for a boycott, with AMC Theaters immediately withdrawing its willingness to host the movie.

The two-minute film was overwhelmingly hated when it was posted online, including a plethora of comments calling it slop.

“Even for AI slop this is bad,” one user wrote. Another unhappy viewer said, “This is complete garbage dude.”

The founder of Particle6, the AI studio behind fake actress Tilly Norwood, urged viewers in July to simply get on board with AI cinema or risk being left behind.

“We have to accept that this is going to be part of our every day. And I worry for people who put their head in the sand and don’t embrace AI because the future world will require people to have AI skill sets,” Eline van der Velden said.

Studios like Fountain 0 will undoubtedly rely on public sign-ups to license faces for their AI background actors, a trend that has already taken off in China.

RELATED: Rosie O’Donnell continues run at worst TV return ever with insane comments about ‘Nazis’

Jason Mendez/Getty Images

Sunny’s side

Blaze News reported earlier this month that signees can earn anywhere between $15 and $700 for their likeness to be used in AI content.

The main use for faces in China has been for the category of “microdramas,” which have begun popping up on platforms the United States.

Hostin said she believes “top-quality AI productions can not only enable writers and directors to have their imaginations unleashed and no longer be tethered to budgetary constraints,” but can also “pioneer a new art form which can open up new dimensions for how public personalities can engage with audiences.”

Adaptations of the books may use Hostin’s image, but she will maintain control of where it is used.

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​Artificial intelligence, The view, Sunny hostin, Fountain 0, Entertainment 

The Trump administration is investigating a pair of federally funded universities accused of violating civil rights laws over their race-specific student-housing communities.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, which received over $322 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2024, is home to five of what it calls “Defined Residential Communities” — “communities in residence halls where students can live with hall mates who share similar interests, backgrounds, and identifies.”

‘Re-create Jim Crow in the name of bizarro social justice.’

They are as follows: the Asian/Asian-American DRC; the disability DRC; the so-called “Latinx” DRC for Hispanics; the “Harambee” DRC for blacks; and the “Spectrum” DRC for non-straights.

The University of Nevada, Reno — whose active federal awards as of summer 2025 totaled over $520 million — has a similar offering called “Living Learning Communities,” which are advertised as a way for students to “develop personal relationships with peers of similar academic, social, and cultural interests.”

The University of Nevada, Reno, has the following identity-based LLCs: Asian Pacific Islander; black; LGBT; “Indigenous”; and “Latinx.” They are apparently housed on LLC-specific floors.

Dean Kennedy, the University of Nevada, Reno’s executive director of residential life, housing, and food services, said in 2023 that “for the safety of student participants, it is important only students who hold that identity are considered.” While the university claimed Kennedy misspoke, the identity-based LLCs are still in place.

RELATED: Equal treatment makes a comeback

Doug Jones/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

The Equal Protection Project, the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s racism watchdog, filed civil rights complaints against both schools with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in July.

The complaints allege that the two university housing programs “use race- and ethnicity-based descriptions and promotional materials to steer students based on race, color, and national origin, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.”

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination “against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.”

Under the act, it is also unlawful “to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”

The EPP argued that under applicable HUD regulations enforcing the FHA, “this kind of ‘steering’ toward or away from housing based on race is strictly prohibited. Steering liability attaches even if the housing program does not physically bar members of other racial or ethnic groups from participating.”

The EPP claimed further that these programs violate both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, previously told the Washington Examiner that promoting “racial separation” in housing constitutes a “clear legal and constitutional violation.”

“It’s one thing to provide opportunities for cultural expression; quite another to re-create Jim Crow in the name of bizarro social justice,” said Shapiro.

HUD’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity notified EPP in a pair of letters on July 29 that its complaints against the two universities had been officially filed and would be investigated under Title VI.

The HUD office noted in the letters published by Legal Insurrection on Tuesday that it is required by law to complete the investigation within 100 days — meaning the deadline is Nov. 6 — or to provide by that date an explanation for why the probe has not yet been completed.

The University of Nevada, Reno, said in a statement to Blaze News, “The University has been informed that a complaint concerning certain Living Learning Communities has been filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The University’s Living Learning Communities are open to all students who choose to participate and are not exclusive housing environments.”

“Programs and activities associated with these communities are designed to support student success, foster community, and enrich the residential experience for all students,” continued the statement. “The University remains committed to complying with applicable federal civil rights and fair housing laws and will cooperate with any official inquiry.”

The University of Massachusetts Amherst did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment by deadline.

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​Segregation, Racism, Civil rights act, Dei, Politics, Massachusetts, Nevada 

President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to rename Lake Ontario as his trade war with Canada continues.

The president lambasted Canadian officials after they rejected a trade deal and responded with reciprocal tariffs to Trump’s newest tariffs.

‘Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.’

The president signed an executive order changing the lake’s name to “Lake America” on Thursday.

“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America,” he said to reporters.

“We filed all of the necessary papers, documents, [and] everything else. We’ve notified all of the various people you have to notify,” he added.

The president previously changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” shortly after he retook office.

“If you think about it, we have a gulf, now we have a lake, now all we need is an ocean,” Trump joked. “Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has tried to match the president’s rhetoric, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fired back against the U.S. with excessive threats.

“He can kiss my ass as far as I’m concerned,” said Ford. “We need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him. He’s arrogant, he’s cocky.”

Ford has threatened to cut off electricity and minerals that Canada provides for the northern U.S. states.

“I’ll cut them off,” he added. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”

RELATED: Trump says he will declare new US territory ‘pretty soon’ in the Middle East

The lake encompasses 7,340 square miles but is the smallest of the Great Lakes.

Canada is the second-largest trading partner to the U.S., behind Mexico in the top spot and ahead of China.

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​Canada, Tariffs, Trade war, Politics, Donald trump, Mark carney 

A Maryland judge ruled on Wednesday that the Democrats’ attempt to gerrymander their state’s lone Republican congressional district out of existence was legally deficient.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson held that the redistricting measure HB 2100 threatening Rep. Andy Harris’ (R-Md.) seat should not move forward as part of a November referendum. Anticipating an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court, Thompson stayed his order.

‘When are we going to be honest with the people and say, “Your government can do whatever it wants”?’

Oversight Project vice president of litigation Jeffrey Clark represented the plaintiffs, arguing that Maryland Democrats ran roughshod over their own deadlines and election statutes.

HB 2100 was introduced August 3, despite statutory codes mandating that any modifications to statewide ballot measures be submitted by July 1. Plaintiffs argued that HB 2100 violated the July 1 deadline and illicitly placed a redistricting measure on the November ballot.

However, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Kobrin insisted that the General Assembly’s constitutional authority was not restricted by statutes.

Judge Thompson ultimately bought Clark’s case. Throughout the roughly five hours of oral argument, Thompson repeatedly expressed skepticism toward the state’s case.

“Why not be honest with the people … and let them know if you have a three-fifths majority, you can do whatever you want?” Thompson asked Kobrin from the bench. “When are we going to be honest with the people and say, ‘Your government can do whatever it wants’?”

The state immediately filed an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court.

“We respectfully disagree with the Circuit Court’s decision and have already filed our appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court,” Maryland Governor’s Office spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “At a moment when states across the country are manipulating congressional maps to silence voters and undermine fair representation, Maryland cannot afford to sit on our hands.”

State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) and Del. Kris Fair (D) attended the hearing. Kagan’s involvement in the ballot measure was highlighted by the plaintiffs.

RELATED: DHS investigation confirms FEMA left Trump supporters to fend for themselves after hurricane

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“There is no time to comply with the plain language of the law with our new law because July 1st is in the rearview mirror,” the senator said in early August when debating the bill. Clark referenced her remarks as evidence that Maryland Democrats intended to violate election statutes to get the redistricting measure on the November ballot.

Ballots may be printed as early as September 3, according to state law. The Maryland Supreme Court is providing expedited review in order to render a decision prior to ballot-printing.

“It is very rewarding to see that the Judge assigned to the case agreed with the catalogue of legal errors we laid out that the General Assembly and Governor [Wes] Moore made in their hurry-up Special Session,” Clark said in a statement after the ruling. “Now we will proceed with energy and this wind at our backs as we go up to defend this victory on appeal before the Maryland Supreme Court.”

Clark served as acting administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from March 2025 to March 2026, leaving to join the Oversight Project.

“This is a big win not only for Marylanders but fans of justice across the country. We had the facts and law on our side and won, and that won’t change if the state appeals,” Oversight Project president and affected Maryland voter Mike Howell said in a statement.

Howell, all seven Maryland Freedom Caucus members, and state Sens. Steve Hershey (R) and Justin Ready (R) jointly filed suit against the State Board of Elections regarding HB 2100 on August 6.

“Today’s decision is a victory for Maryland voters and the rule of law,” Rep. Harris said in an X post on Wednesday.

Kagan and Fair did not respond to requests for comment.

Editor’s note: Mike Howell is a contributor to Blaze News.

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​Gerrymander, Maryland, Oversight project, Wes moore, Politics 

The first democratic socialist to win a primary in Oklahoma’s history is getting some unwanted attention after a bizarre “burn book” video from her past resurfaced.

The video, posted last September, is a spoof of a scene from the movie “Mean Girls” where a crazed teenager cuts out a picture of her social foe and pastes it into a book with a mocking statement.

‘Are they mocking mental illness or promoting it? Why would they do this?’

N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, the candidate for one of two Oklahoma seats in the U.S. Senate, casts herself in the role of the unhinged, hysterical teenager but holds up a photo of Markwayne Mullin, who was a senator from Oklahoma at the time.

Republicans resurfaced the video to give voters a taste of Thomas’ socialist hysteria.

“These people are cray-cray,” replied Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“The Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma. Seems totally normal and stable,” responded the popular Libs of TikTok account.

“This is a candidate for the United States Senate. Care to guess her party affiliation?” said actor James Woods.

“Honestly just expecting scenes like this to be 3 of the 4 nights of the DNC in 2028,” replied commentator Scott Jennings.

“For US SENATE!??! What the actual f**k is going on at the DNC?? Senate seats are very important, this isn’t just a local council seat. For the love of God someone explain the absolute lunacy at the DNC right now,” said another detractor.

“So, someone stands filming for the girl to walk in, she acts like a moron, then post this to social media. Are they mocking mental illness or promoting it? Why would they do this?” said another critic.

RELATED: Democratic socialists honcho gives rambling, incoherent reply when asked simple question

“We are getting to the point where many democrat candidates are just people who should be in mental institutions or jail,” read another critic.

The video appears to still be on the TikTok account for Thomas, but the account has been restricted from most viewers.

Thomas won the Democratic primary despite being vastly outspent by the establishment candidate. She is facing Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) for the Senate seat after Mullin left to run the Department of Homeland Security.

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​Democratic socialist, Markwayne mullin, United states senate, N’kiyla jasmine thomas, Oklahoma, Viral video, Politics 

As I — and numerous others — anticipated years ago, the populist backlash against the dystopian possibilities of super-duper artificial intelligence has begun in earnest, with the rise of data centers as the inciting event.

It is easy to see why. Beyond the standard human response to unasked-for change at scale — isn’t there someone (me!) you forgot to ask? — the populist spirit in America has always run bone-deep.

Americans do not like feeling mogged by their fellow citizens, and we like even less being lectured by the moggers about how we are unentitled to feel that way.

Alexis de Tocqueville understood the democratic dynamics of envy and resentment. Under conditions of social equality, everyone feels precariously interchangeable with everyone else, so another person’s relative advantage can register not merely as inequality but as a wound to pride.

Extend that dynamic to the “global town square,” where we spend more and more of our waking hours watching other people’s breakout advances in real time, and the sensation of being left behind goes nuclear.

Americans do not like feeling mogged by their fellow citizens, and we like even less being lectured by the moggers about how we are unentitled to feel that way. Worse, somewhere beneath the resentment lurks the humiliating suspicion that we have helped put ourselves in the inferior position.

Sensitive young men of ambition today — reminding me of my own “Fight Club”-era preoccupations — are once again stalking some kind of Nietzschean-Christian syncretism that promises, amulet-like, supreme confidence and supreme humility. The reason is that both Nietzsche and Christ condemned resentment.

The gulf between the Übermensch and the God-Man is obviously enormous. Yet both traditions understand that resentment degrades the person who lives by it. And that is why the backlash against data centers has moved so quickly from personal grievance and political interest onto the higher plane of spiritual war.

More Americans across the political spectrum now speak of data centers as if they are not merely ugly, expensive, noisy, or intrusive but evil — evil as “tech” itself has become in their imagination, evil as the “tech lords” who build it are presumed to be.

On the secular left, where human justice perfected becomes an almost religious ideal, tech’s push toward superhuman capability readily appears sinister. On the woo-woo left, where witches warn that they cannot hex Trump, tech’s tilt toward post-humanity manifests as something post-natural and spiritually contaminating.

RELATED: Is this the number-crunchers’ come-to-Jesus moment?

Inkoly/Getty Images

On the right, spiritual conservatives with relatively weak institutional confidence often apply a precautionary principle: If it looks menacing, assume it’s evil. Those with stronger church lives have a different reason for suspicion: an acute awareness of man’s fallenness and the old Actonian warning that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Search a man for evil — beginning with yourself! — and evil, no doubt, you shall find. But this being America, where making me feel “less than” can register as a kind of spectral crime, the emotional incentive is to cast the first stone. And in an age when throwing a stick will almost certainly hit somebody culpable and “punchable,” it is remarkable that the techies did not prepare for the boomerang now whacking them upside the head.

But that should be the beginning of our rumination, not the end. Many, many techies are doing “this” because of what they regard as good intentions. Some sincerely believe they are acting, for our own good, out of their very best intentions.

Ignoring that fact will produce a maelstrom of resentment more destructive than the nightmares already filling our wounded and prideful imaginations.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. But the proverb should not tempt us to dismiss good intentions as meaningless. It should force us to take seriously the human yearning for the good, the wonderful, and the pure — especially in people whose projects strike us as dangerous.

Christians, in particular, are meant to remember that all creation cries out for reunion with God and that even badly distorted human desires can point toward something real that has gone wrong in the seeking.

RELATED: The question of the AI age: How much humanism is too much?

Moor Studio/Getty Images

That does not give the maddest of mad scientists a cosmic hall pass. It does mean that, if we look without fear at the grand plans of our technologists, we may see in them a powerful expression of the universal human longing for purification.

As the structure of our economic life increasingly leaves people feeling condemned by bad debts, bad surpluses, and obligations they cannot spiritually discharge, we desperately seek something powerful and authoritative enough to wipe the ledger clean and leave us new.

Hey, our best-intentioned techies keep shouting. There’s an app for that!

No purification, no salvation; this we have known for ages. But when time feels short, we become vulnerable to shortcuts — to the fantasy of a perfectly engineered “solve” for our human, all-too-human debt.

If we merely demonize one another — losing sight of the Lord’s hidden presence in us all — then the data centers may not be what finally tears us apart. We may do that job ourselves.

​Ai, Data centers, Fight club, Big tech, Americans, Religion, Nature, Opinion & analysis, Alexis de tocqueville, Donald trump, Christianity 

Manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been forced to admit an embarrassing truth that destroys the brand they have sold to young men across the world: They were apparently lying about their wealth.

The brothers are in federal custody in Miami battling extradition to the U.K. on rape and sex-trafficking charges and have been outed by their lawyers for allegedly not owning but renting all their fancy displays of a lavish playboy lifestyle.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock has been calling what they’ve been doing a grift for years, and he’s not surprised in the slightest to find out he seems to be right.

“The mansion was a renovated warehouse at the end of a dead-end street across a swamp from the airport. $600,000 or $700,000 of building. The Guardian called it a ‘run-down meat factory.’ Black paint, red neon, strip-club lighting sold as a villain lair,” Whitlock says.

“Romanian seizures, cars, watches, some Bitcoin, 15 properties totaling about $2 million. Combined, the brothers were being discussed in the neighborhood of $10 million,” he continues.

“Andrew had already said on tape he did not own the cars, a trust, a percentage of a company, access to a Bugatti he did not own,” he adds.

His lawyers told a Miami judge that their $2.1 million Aston Martin and the $12 million Bugattis he showed off were rented. The $50 million yacht they boasted wasn’t theirs either, but rather a prop they received payment to promote.

“That is not new information. That is notarized information,” Whitlock says.

“Tate sold a world where the righteous measure of a man is the thing he can park. Superfly lighting. A driveway full of other people’s cars,” he adds.

But the Tate brothers’ grift has revealed even more about the pair than just lies.

“You will know them by their fruit,” Whitlock says. “The love of money is the root of all evil. Not money; the love. The hunger that will rent a yacht and call it testimony.”

“They told the judge they were playing a role. Every boy who copied the role was the audience. Every dollar that role pulled was the box office. What that hustle kills is a young man’s ability to tell a father from a pimp,” he continues. “A healed boy is a threat to that revenue.”

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Vice President JD Vance just put a spotlight on Abdul El-Sayed and his real priorities — and the Michigan Democrat Senate candidate wasn’t happy about it.

“It’s sometimes actually hard to understand what do these modern Democrats actually stand for. But look what they say. Pay close attention, and they’ll leave these little hints of what they actually care about,” Vance said.

“El-Sayed, this guy running for Senate in Michigan, he once argued, not too long ago, that criticisms of Sharia law were rooted in white supremacy,” he continued.

“I’d love to go back in time and tell my papaw that there’s a man who claims to stand for working people who says, ‘Not only should we have Sharia law, but if you criticize it, you’re a white supremacist.’ That’s not my papaw’s Democrat Party, my friends,” he added.

El-Sayed responded to the criticism in a post on X, “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no …”

Executive producer of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Keith Malinak, points out that this isn’t the first time El-Sayed has spoken about Usha Vance.

“‘What do you think is going through Usha’s head when he talks?’ … ‘She’s like, damn, I have to sleep with him.’ Another quote. ‘I guess she’s pregnant, so something is happening,’” Malinak says, quoting El-Sayed.

“Another quote, he referred to Vance’s ‘brown kids’ … and the ‘awkward conversation that Vance is going to have to have with them about hating people who are different,’” he continues.

“I mean, this guy is so obsessed with JD Vance’s family,” he adds.

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Earlier this month, the Democtatic Socialists of America threw a “Y2K Prom” in Los Angeles, pitching it with a straight face: “Do you hate capitalism, but love to dress up?”

The irony of charging up to $40 a ticket for anti-capitalist role-play is almost too easy to laugh at. While a room full of socialists discovering ticket markup is objectively hilarious, the event shouldn’t be dismissed as a joke.

Conservatives cannot win this battle by simply shouting historical facts at 20-year-olds at a podium.

That’s because it offers a window into a much bigger problem.

Nationwide playbook

The recent prom is part of a nationwide playbook for leftist indoctrination. Across the country, DSA-aligned groups host book clubs, communist-friendly summer camps, “queer movie nights,” and free clothing swaps. They hijack normal social spaces and turn them into political pipelines.

First, they offer community and entertainment. Next, they teach youth to blame capitalism for every personal problem. Finally, they turn those kids into foot soldiers who march, canvass, and vote the next lunatic into office. The left understands that capturing youth culture means capturing America’s future, one dance party at a time.

Those sipping punch at these gatherings rarely pause to consider the savagery they are embracing. In the Soviet Union, the 1932 Holodomor starved nearly 4 million Ukrainians to death in the name of collective “progress.” Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward in 1958 managed to exterminate roughly 45 million Chinese citizens through sheer economic idiocy and central planning.

Yet today, a 22-year-old armed with an iPhone and a liberal arts degree considers it a human rights violation that people actually have to prove their worth once they leave the insulated incubator of higher education.

Disguising brutality

Modern socialism disguises its brutality with talk of fairness and equity. The old pitch promised equal opportunity, which required actual work and personal responsibility. Equity tosses individual merit into the gulag, favoring mandated outcomes and systematically penalizing anyone who dares to excel. It’s the ultimate political embodiment of tall poppy syndrome, dedicated to decapitating high achievers so the rest of the garden feels better about blooming late or never blooming at all.

The entire apparatus relies on the concept of eternal victimhood. Socialism is the official philosophy of the entitled and the lazy, providing a convenient intellectual cover for those who refuse to take control of their own destinies. When a person fails to pay rent on time, capitalism gets the blame. When a career stalls, systemic oppression gets the credit. The ideology replaces individual pride with a perpetual stream of excuses. It tells a young adult that his shortcomings are never his fault and that the neighbor down the street owes him a living simply for existing.

This is precisely what makes the summer camps, the dance parties, and the Y2K proms so insidious. In a relaxed social setting, far removed from the sterile classroom environment, the subtext is far easier to instill. It equates tyranny with good times, good music, and moral superiority. The socialism Gen Z worships owes less to Karl Marx and far more to Zohran Mamdani. And while the New York mayor radiates all the raw masculinity of an oat milk latte, Gen Z absolutely adores him for it.

RELATED: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the cruel lie of egg-freezing

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Utopian dance party

Redistribution sounds fantastic to a generation conditioned to receive participation trophies for showing up to seventh-grade soccer practice. The illusion falls apart the moment the government runs out of other people’s money to redistribute. At that point, the utopian dance party ends, leaving behind empty grocery store shelves and widespread rationing. The promise of free health care and subsidized housing morphs into a mandatory queue for bread in the dead of winter.

But democratic socialists are having a moment, largely because they actually understand the modern digital landscape. Their activists craft viral TikTok clips. They run sophisticated social media campaigns. Leftist organizers show up where young people hang out, offering a sense of belonging, even if that belonging is rooted in mutual resentment and economic suicide.

Conservatives cannot win this battle by simply shouting historical facts at 20-year-olds at a podium. Blasting socialism on cable news panel shows accomplishes nothing when the targeted demographic streams content on phones.

Right-leaning movements need better ideas, better messaging, and actual cultural spaces that appeal to young Americans. The defense of free markets, personal liberty, and individual achievement must sound energetic, daring, and fundamentally superior to the dreary alternative of state control.

Self-reliance builds genuine strength, while externalizing failure ensures permanent weakness. Securing the future requires proving that creating value through hard enterprise beats nursing grievances at an overpriced vintage prom. But if conservatives ever hope to win that fight, they first need to step onto the battlefield the left actually occupies.

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