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Etruscan Origins | Ancient Myths and DNAStudy of Antiquity and the Middle Ages | February 20, 2022

In an ominous open letter published on wonky national security site War on the Rocks Tuesday, eight former secretaries of defense and five former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned of what they call an "exceptionally challenging civil-military environment" developing in the United States that apparently concerned them enough to publish their thoughts ahead of November's consequential midterm elections. Never mind, apparently, that the signatories were at the helm of the U.S. military for the better part of the last two decades during which that "environment" was degraded. Citing "extreme strain" to "[m]any of the factors that shape...

Gavin Newsom still says he intends to sell the California greenie energy plan as a model for the nation. Just days after signing a greenie law mandating that Californians buy only electric cars by 2035 — and calling it a model for the nation — Gov. Gavin Newsom is pleading with Californians to turn off their electricity to prevent the electrical grid from blowing out. In some Bay Area cities — Alameda, Healdsburg, and Old Palo Alto — the rolling blackouts have already started. It's a policy failure unlike any other, from a guy who makes no secret of wanting...

My newest book, The Political Seduction of the Church: How Millions of American Christians Have Confused Politics with the Gospel, has just been released. But what, exactly, do I mean by “political seduction”?Do I mean that Christians who are involved in politics have been seduced? Certainly not. I believe Christians should be involved in politics, as I have stated repeatedly for years.Am I critiquing those who supported Donald Trump, as if they were seduced into voting for him? Not at all. I voted for him myself, both in 2016 and 2020. And my book is about the church more than...

Up to 60 per cent of factories in the UK are now facing possible closure over a massive surge in their energy bills, a manufacturers’ body in the country has warned. Six in ten UK factories are now facing the possibility of winding up their operations over the rising cost of energy bills in the country, a group tasked with representing manufacturers, Make UK, has claimed.

Colleges and universities have been selling potential students a bill of goods for decades, assuring them that a college education was the ticket to economic success, and the more you paid for higher education, the bigger the payoff in increased earnings down the road. That may have been true 40 or 50 years ago. But for most students today, college has become a luxury for upper-middle class and rich families who can afford the cost of a four-year degree. It’s either paid for by daddy — who doesn’t really mind his kid majoring in journalism or environmental justice — or...

I run one of the original, Daniel Okrent fantasy baseball leagues that we started in 1988. Daniel Okrent named it Rotisserie baseball after the Rotisserie Restaurant in New York, where he penciled the first rules that became known as fantasy sports. Over the years, we learned how to spot baseball players who were on steroids. Their batting average leaped by as much as 80 points, and the power increase was obvious. We believe that McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds took high doses of steroids when they passed Babe Ruth's 60–home run record. Roger Maris obviously did not take steroids, but his...

According to President Biden’s tax return for last year, the first couple received a whopping $4,555 a month in Social Security benefits alone which put them well above what the average retired American brings home each month. And that doesn’t include all of their other streams of income. Social Security just celebrated its 87th birthday. It was signed into law in August 1935 and payouts began on Jan. 1, 1940. It has become the safety net for more than 48 million retired Americans and many depend on a monthly check from the agency to survive. The average Social Security check...

Whenever I read about protesters slinging poop, I am irresistibly reminded of Democrats, whom I've called the "Party of Poop" ever since the Bush era, when they were mailing poop, throwing poop, pooping poop, and generally bringing it to all their efforts, real or imaginary. Looking at the state of Democrat-run cities in 2022, nothing has changed. But in Holland, it's entirely possible that throwing poop really did have an effect. The farmers did it to protest a draconian climate edict, and now, the radical agriculture minister behind the push has resigned. Over the summer, Dutch farmers began to protest...

US tech companies that receive federal funding will be barred from building "advanced technology" facilities in China for 10 years, the Biden administration has said. The guidelines were unveiled as part of a $50bn (£43bn) plan aimed at building up the local semiconductor industry. It comes as business groups have pushed for more government support in an effort to reduce reliance on China. They are faced with a global microchip shortage which has slowed production. "We're going to be implementing the guardrails to ensure those who receive CHIPS funds cannot compromise national security... they're not allowed to use this money...

Screenshot/Public/Twitter/KravGirl2004 Hurricane Kay is forecast to continue smiting Southern California and Baja through the weekend. The massive weather event is currently tracking up Mexico’s Pacific coast, bringing extreme heat to California and downpours through Mexico, according to CNN. Tropical storm warnings were issued throughout the peninsula but the storm is expected to turn west, heading toward San Diego by Saturday. Two to six inches of rain could hit southern areas of California, and a storm surge could lead to coastal flooding and other onshore hazards, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Satellite imagery of the storm shared online shows...

Former attorney general William Barr during an interview on Fox News last week said that if Trump did indeed have a standing order to declassify all documents that he took with him as he left the White House, that would amount to a worse abuse than actually taking the documents.Barr said the following:I can't think of a legitimate reason why they should have been could be taken out of the government, away from the government if they're classified. I frankly am skeptical of this claim that "I declassified everything," you know.If, in fact, he sort of stood over scores of...

- Trump took swipes on social media at potential 2024 rivals Govs. DeSantis and Youngkin. - It's been speculated that the Florida and Virginia governors could seek the GOP nomination in 2024. - Though he has not said he's running for re-election, Trump once again teased he may make another White House run.

SOUTHERN UKRAINE — In dimly lit hospital rooms in southern Ukraine, soldiers with severed limbs, shrapnel wounds, mangled hands and shattered joints recounted the lopsided disadvantages their units faced in the early days of a new offensive to expel Russian forces from the strategic city of Kherson. The soldiers said they lacked the artillery needed to dislodge Russia’s entrenched forces and described a yawning technology gap with their better-equipped adversaries. The interviews provided some of the first direct accounts of a push to retake captured territory that is so sensitive, Ukrainian military commanders have barred reporters from visiting the front...

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday for a ceremony revealing the Obamas’ official White House portraits. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Bank Australia recently announced that it will stop granting loans for new fossil fuel cars from 2025 forward to force more people to purchase electric vehicles. Justifying the bank’s move, its chief impact officer proclaimed, “We think that the responsible thing for us to do … is to ensure that our vehicle lending doesn’t lock our customers in to higher carbon emissions and increasingly expensive running costs in the years ahead.” But is making it more difficult for hard-working men and women to obtain affordable vehicles that run on reliable energy really the “responsible thing” to do? That’s exactly the...

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) holds a narrow three-point lead over Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) in a new poll commissioned by AARP for Florida’s gubernatorial race. The poll, conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research, found DeSantis receiving 50 percent support among likely voters compared to Crist at 47 percent. The polling falls within the margin of error, effectively tying the two candidates.

Despite assurances to the contrary, Merrick Garland's DOJ is leaking faster than the Titanic after it struck the iceberg. This from Jonatham Turley on Aug. 25 The feds have maintained that absolute secrecy is essential to protect their investigation and national security while reportedly leaking some of the very information the affidavit contains. It is an all-too-familiar pattern for some of us who have litigated national-security cases against the government. The Washington Post and The New York Times have published a series of leaks clearly designed to put Donald Trump and his team on the defense in the media, including...

A new ad hitting airwaves in Pennsylvania is hammering Democrat U.S. Senate nominee — and current Lt. Governor — John Fetterman for an incident that happened in 2013 when the then-mayor of Braddock held a black jogger at gunpoint until police arrived after apparently falsely assuming the man was involved in a crime. The ad includes clips of an interview with the jogger-turned-victim along with quotes from an unapologetic Fetterman on how he "may have" broken the law when he pointed his shotgun at the man's chest. As NBC News reported succinctly, the latest ad in the battleground state is...

Moscow has largely stopped exporting gas to Europe, saying supplies will not resume until sanctions are lifted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticised the West's "provocations" against Russia, saying the attitude taken by western states was a mistake that triggered the energy crisis in Europe. Erdogan, who is on a state visit to Belgrade, said in a televised address that the West cannot get results through provocative policies. "Russia should not be underestimated," Erdogan said. "Russia is not a country to be taken lightly. The West is making a mistake." Erdogan also said that Europe should have thought...