Five Things I've Learned Not to Do on Social Media

Sister Toldjah reporting for RedStateVIP 

It may seem obvious in this day and age what a person should and should not do on social media in the interest of preserving their sanity, not to mention maintaining their safety and privacy and that of their family.

But believe it or not, there are a lot of people out there who start accounts on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and all the rest who could use some tips on how to shield themselves from obnoxious trolls, potential online predators, and the like.

With that in mind, here's my list of five things I've learned not to do on social media, in no particular order.

Post as little personal information about yourself as possible

If you're in a profession where it makes business sense to post a significant amount of personal information about yourself, your family, and/or your community, then obviously this doesn't apply to you. But as a general rule of thumb, I recommend that most people cut way back on sharing anything that could allow Internet sickos to track you or a loved one down, even if you do have your privacy settings set to where only people you know can see what you post.

For starters, don't post full pictures of the front of your house, especially if you've taken them from the street and the street number is visible. If you simply must, remember to block out that number and anything else that might be unique about your particular home/yard. Likewise, don't take pictures of your car where the license plate or any unique bumper stickers can be seen.

It is shocking and disturbing how easy it is for predators to find out people's addresses, phone numbers, and workplaces just from posting information like that, but it absolutely happens.

I speak from experience. When I was still posting anonymously many years ago, I used to share pretty pictures of my (former) house after it had snowed - sans the street number. A wacko group affiliated with Democrat voter registration efforts here in North Carolina teamed up with one of the "Occupy" movements to find out who I was and where I lived brd in part on photos like that. One of them even threatened to drive by my house and take pictures and "joked" about hoping they saw me inside sitting on the couch.

Don't tell people where you are, until you're not there anymore

I know it's trendy to be sitting at some cute local place with a friend and post a picture to the Internet with the caption "Having the time of our lives at Betty's Bake and Brew!" But this is something you shouldn't do for a couple of reasons.

For starters, it allows Internet randos the opportunity to do some sleuthing, find out where you live, and visit your home to do some damage because they know you're not home. I've read countless stories over the years of people doing this and coming home to find their place ransacked.

You can still post your picture, just make sure to post it after you've left. "Had a great time earlier today at Betty's Bake and Brew!" Or, if you want to post it while you're there, just leave off the identifying info about the location.

Similarly, don't make a big announcement that you're going on a two-week vacation to the Bahamas until well after you're there. And even then, make sure you have a neighbor monitoring the place or even hire a house sitter if you can and/or take other measures to protect your home while you're away for that time frame. 

Because you won't be able to resist posting photos of your time at the ocean while you're there (hopefully without any identifying info included), and wrongdoers will take full advantage of that if they can.

Ignore trolls and obnoxious keyboard warriors

Trust me, I fully understand how hard it is to ignore trolls and know-it-alls on the Internet, with the urge to crush their arguments and put them in their place strong.

I used to be a big flamethrower on social media, arguing people down until I got the last word, even wallowing in the mud with them at times because it was the only way to beat some of them at their game.

But over time, it started to make me miserable. Plus, I began to realize that not only was I becoming something I wasn't, but I was spending too much time online arguing with people who would never try to see things from my perspective and who were not acting in good faith.

These days I either ignore, mute, or block trolls and other bad-faith actors depending on my assessment of what they're saying and what I think they're trying to do. Life is too short to spend too much time humoring these people. Don't do what I did. If you spend more than 60 seconds on them you are wasting your time.

Keep the food/drink photos to a minimum

Again, if you are a food blogger/chef or are in some type of profession where posting a lot of food/drink photos makes sense, this doesn't apply to you.

But I've gotten to where I don't share photos of what I'm having for lunch/a snack/etc. much anymore, because for some reason people get REALLY obnoxious about it in the comments to the point it takes the enjoyment right out of it.

For instance, I once posted about enjoying a Wendy's chili on a cold day several years ago. A full-blown argument broke out in the comments of my Facebook post on what the ingredients were, whether they were good for you, etc. In others, I've had people tell me to "get out more" because they didn't like where I'd chosen to get food from that day. These people managed to take the fun and joy right out of those posts.

My mom told me about something she posted a while back about her love of sweet tea, only to have one person comment that it would "rot your teeth" and another warn her about what the sugar could do to her body.

Obviously, this is a personal preference thing, as I'm sure many out there would simply tell these people to take a hike. But it was happening so much in my case that I just decided it was better to cut back altogether.

Don't assume everyone who disagrees with you is the enemy

As has often been said, if we all agreed with each other, life would be pretty dull. Disagreement is one of the spices of life, provided people can do it respectfully, and passionately without making horse's patooties out of themselves. I've made friends with people who are further to the left of me and further to the right than me who disagreed with me and let me know it. 

Engaging with people who are operating in good faith is good for the soul and helps us evolve. Even if the person doesn't change our minds (which is the case in most instances!), they can help us better understand where they are coming from, which helps us improve our own arguments.

Have any tips or other dos/don'ts to share? Please do so in the comments! Would love to hear from you.

X22, On the Fringe, and more- January 2nd

 

Remembering January 6

A new holiday was born

written by Adam ‘Lectern Guy’ Johnson for The Spectator

I just finished wrapping the Christmas presents. Every year I consider just putting the boxes under the tree and leaving the papercuts to my five children. To date, I have not won this battle with Mrs. Lectern Guy. The onslaught of holidays late in the year used to end with Champagne and a kiss. All the indulgences of overeating, overspending and overworking would be forgiven on January 1, and I could rest until chocolate and flowers day. But my calendar now holds an additional holiday with new traditions to keep. Just days after New Year’s, I will be forced to relive the darkest day — well, four hours — in American history.

January 6 was the end of our country as we know it. In the days that followed, cleaning crews spent countless hours sweeping, dusting and removing scuff stains. Furniture that had been moved tens of feet was ceremonially returned to its rightful corner. Papers that Congress would never read before signing had to be re-collated by interns. Thankfully, it only took $1.5 million to clean the building. Maybe I should give the maid a raise.

The cleaning bill paled in comparison to the costs of the new ceremonies designed to explain how a ragtag assembly had vanquished Democracy without F-15s or nukes. Investigations were put together with a production value of nearly $20 million. For our tax donations, we were honored enough to see Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Principled Courageton) weep. It was DC’s submission to the Sundance Film Festival. The plot didn’t make sense, but it was art.

While the DC Elect work the festival circuit, my mug only shows up in the tabloids like some cheap Hollywood fling, which is fine by me but deeply unfair to the lectern — don’t dare call her a podium — of ill repute. I spotted her alone in a corner, neglected and forgotten. I was as enchanted as I was outraged. Nobody puts baby in the corner. I hoisted her magnificent mahogany body up and brought her to the center of the room for all to see. Swayze would have been proud. I was good to her, but she had been in abusive relationships before me. I think about her often and see her from time to time with new people and wonder if she thinks about me.

Not everybody is blessed with intimate reminders of the day Democracy perished, for there are only so many federal SWAT teams and solitary confinement cells. Those too ignorant to understand the gravity of the day need constant reminders. Thus, a new holiday was born. In 2022, more than 200 candlelight vigils were held to honor the heroes who stood by and posed for selfies with rioters. Congress filled the steps of the Capitol dressed in funeral garb. They had created their own holy triduum of political theater. Their lamentations are offered as sacraments: consume the narrative and wash it down with wine that tastes of Kool-Aid and costs thirty pieces of silver (adjusted for inflation: $34 trillion). Do this in remembrance of us.

There are those who still doubt and even insist that moving furniture is not the same as murdering 2,977 people with airplanes. Not me. I’m a true believer, and I know where the non-believers go. In November I made a pilgrimage to the Capitol and saw firsthand that my prayers to Saint Cheney had worked. There were even re-enactments as pilgrims scuffed the floors and obeyed rope lines.

Holiday traditions are byproducts of real history that lost its meaning to time. They become cultural law. Strangers must pinch you if you do not wear green on St. Patrick’s Day to sate the leprechauns. We play with explosives in July, pardon turkeys at the executive level in November and allow fruitcake to ruin December.

We trust the science. Pagans hide candy-filled eggs for the kids they choose to have come Easter or celebrate Christmas using Coca-Cola’s illustration of a Greek saint. They do not tell their children why the traditions exist. They dress it up knowing the consumerist version of formerly holy days is a lie. I struggled with finding the appropriate age to stop lying to my children about why teeth are worth money, knowing the truth would be a nationwide contagion, a pandemic of broken dreams. Easter baskets would go empty, mall Santas would be out of work and people would not commit aggravated assault on Black Friday. Our economy would collapse. So, we lie to the children to protect our own interests. Santa is as real as Adam Kinzinger’s tears.

The good news is that Santa won’t throw us in prison for not leaving him cookies and leprechauns won’t seize our assets for refusing to celebrate rainbows. However, the naughty list for questioning January 6 is real and, unlike other festivities, your holiday spirit is required. So, as we embark on the new year, remember: take the candy, pinch strangers, celebrate propaganda and mourn when instructed. It may be a lie, but it’s tradition.

The True Cost of Trading with the Enemy

posted by John F. Di Leo at American Thinker 

They say the generals are always fighting the last war, and sometimes there’s truth to that.

But in 2024, our ability to mount a wartime footing against our most likely enemy is most severely hampered, not by the readiness of our armed forces, but by our most likely enemy’s deep infiltration into not just our military, but the entirety of our civil life.

Consider our response when Russia  annexed Crimea in 2014, and then, again, when they escalated with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

We imposed economic sanctions on Russia and Belarus, banning many imports and exports. This was manageable because we have traditionally exported relatively little to them, and imported relatively little from them as well.  While these sanctions have certainly been enough to be felt (such sanctions tend to hurt us more than the other party, unfortunately), they could be imposed relatively easily, only because there was relatively little commerce to interrupt.

If we were to maintain a neutral position on the war, we would not have needed to do this at all.  It is a critical step, however, if there is a chance of joining the conflict. You cannot continue to trade with a country with which you are at war.

Imagine if we had been dependent on Germany and Japan for either finished goods or manufacturing components, on the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor? We obviously lost all commerce in both directions from that day until the end of the war; all pending orders were stopped; any of our dies or molds or manufacturing processes essentially became unavailable enemy property until the war’s end. 

Luckily, our dependence on these countries was minimal in 1941; our manufacturing sector could become independent of any countries on the other side of the war’s dividing lines, and we could ramp up domestic production to a wartime footing relatively quickly.

Could we do so today?

As much as we may try to avoid thinking about it, we all know that the next country with which we are likely to go to war is the People’s Republic of China, a communist military dictatorship.

This isn’t an idle fear; China has been threatening our friends for years, recently ramping up not only the rhetoric but physical sea incursions as well.  Long known for funding and encouraging North Korea’s saber-rattling against South Korea, Japan, and the United States, Red China is now making actual moves on the Philippines and other South China Sea neighbors, as well as Taiwan.   As America’s leadership grows more impotent, China gets bolder and bolder, and understandably so.  Beijing knows that 2024 is likely their best opportunity ever to invade and annex at least one neighbor.  Such an invasion will surely create a larger war, and even if the U.S. doesn’t step in, there is no question but that all U.S.-China trade would necessarily come to an immediate halt.

We know from any random shopping trip that a majority of the finished goods that we buy in the store -- small appliances, electronics, clothing, shoes, toys, gifts -- are now made in China. Even most of the electrical products that we manufacture right here in the United States are made here of a wide array of components imported from China.  We might manufacture a refrigerator or oven in the USA, using American steel and American glass, but if the printed circuit board, power cord, heating elements or cooling condenser had to be imported from China, our domestic production even of those American-made products will stop cold the day the war starts.

When the inevitable war with China comes, consider what our current interdependence with China will mean to the American way of life:

1. Many of our companies depend on exporting to China for their profit margin. Such exports will of course end immediately.  But that’s the least disruptive issue, compared to the rest:
2. We buy countless finished goods from China.  Goodbye to that, for the duration.
3. American factories buy countless components everything from off-the-shelf standard products to customized parts. Don’t assume we can just buy them from another country. For millions of globally-sourced parts, China is the only current source. It’s not a matter of ramping up production; it’s a matter of relearning how to make things.
4. Countless American businesses “own” factories in China, where not only Chinese people work, but American and other foreigners do as well, often living there with their families.  Goodbye to those plants, and their output, and the U.S.-owned equipment, dies and molds, and personnel.
5. Similarly, countless Chinese nationals are in the USA, working at American companies. Some are doubtless honorable immigrants; many are undoubtedly plants, foreign agents ready to be activated upon the breakout of hostilities.  How do we know which to deport, which to detain, which to welcome as immigrants?
6. How many of our colleges depend on the billions of dollars per year in Chinese tuition and joint research grants (which also serve as a cover for stealing our technology?). Once hostilities are joined, the drying-up of this funding will cripple many of our colleges, as will the presence of a veritable army of likely foreign agents.
7. How much of our transportation, logistics, and retail economies are dependent on trade with China. Millions of jobs?  Goodbye to much of that.
8. Consider American-made cars dependent on China for the printed circuit boards that run their dashboards.  Consider American pharmaceutical companies who have many of their drugs made in China. Consider the computer networks that power your business, your home internet, your phone service, often local utilities too, most of which depend on Chinese equipment, Chinese parts, Chinese remote control. To how much of that must we say goodbye?

This is just a starting point.  There’s much more.  America has moved from traditional AC plug-in technology (which could be made anywhere) to cordless technology (which depends on lithium ion batteries almost entirely sourced in China).  Almost everything we do, everything we use, everything we depend on, is either partially or wholly dependent on trade with the most malevolent, militant, and expansion-minded country on earth.

Remember how destructive the “supply chain crisis” of 2021-2022 was? That was when we weren’t at war.  That was when we just couldn’t get parts for a couple months longer than usual.  Now imagine it being five years, or ten, or twenty.

President Trump tried to awaken us to this threat, and even implemented expensive punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, to shake some sense into the American business community.  As soon as it started to have an effect, and some American manufacturers started home-shoring again, our nation’s enemies installed Joe Biden in the office of the presidency to put a halt to that corrective process.

China plays the long game. We don’t know for sure if this will be the year it all happens.  But if China wants to do it at all, then it’s hard to imagine that there will ever be a better year for it than this one.

The sooner America wakes up, the better.

Chairman Xi New Year Message About Taiwan: “China will surely be reunified”

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

In his New Year message to the people of China, Chairman Xi Jinping affirms the intention to unify Taiwan with China.

[Full Translation HERE] From the speech:

“We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in harnessing their distinctive strengths, better integrating themselves into China’s overall development, and securing long-term prosperity and stability. China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”  ~ Chairman Xi Jinping (link)

This is sure to create anxiety amid the DC interventionists within the U.S. foreign policy establishment.  However, with the USA bogged down in two regional conflicts, Israel/Gaza and Ukraine/Russia, the window for China to influence the Taiwan election is wide open.

ALJAZEERA – […] Beijing’s policy towards the self-ruled island it claims as its own will again be under the spotlight when voters in Taiwan go to the polls on January 13 to choose a new president and parliament, and the United States will be watching closely.

At the moment, William Lai Ching-te, the incumbent vice president and the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is expected to emerge the winner.

That result would likely rankle Beijing, which portrays Lai as a “separatist” bent on independence and ensure continued tension across the narrow strait that separates the island from China.

“Washington is well prepared to deal with any choice that the Taiwan electorate makes, but there’s certainly going to be different opportunities and challenges depending on what the results of the election are,” Rorry Daniels, the managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, told Al Jazeera, adding that the US would be considering strategies for the “appropriate political signals” to deter any Chinese military responses. (more)

 

🥳 1st looks at the surviving NCIS's Season premieres

 

Source: https://www.tvinsider.com/1116523/ncis-hawaii-2024-season-premiere-date-posters-photos/

Our favorite special agents are ready to get back to solving cases.

TV Insider has an exclusive first look at the key art for NCIS Season 21 and NCIS: Hawai’i Season 3, featuring both casts. Check out the full versions, as well as teases about what to expect in both premieres (airing February 12) below.

CBS

The NCIS poster shows Rocky Carroll (Director Vance), Diona Reasonover (Kasie Hines), Wilmer Valderrama (Nick Torres), Gary Cole (Alden Parker), Sean Murray (Tim McGee), Brian Dietzen (Dr. Jimmy Palmer), and Katrina Law (Jessica Knight).

The finale ended with Torres coming face-to-face with someone from his past and telling him he wanted “to watch [him] die.” Now, in the Season 21 premiere, the team must help Torres when he puts his future at stake by confronting the man who tormented his family when he was a child.

Ahead of the finale, executive producer Steven D. Binder said to us of Torres, “Is he going to destroy everything he’s worked for and done for putting to bed some old demons? He’s at an inflection point where he’s either going to go forward and continue to be a functioning agent, or he’s going to do something that maybe he can’t recover from.” Now it’s time to see what he does.

CBS

And the NCIS: Hawai’i poster shows LL Cool J (reprising his Los Angeles role of Sam Hanna), Jason Antoon (Ernie Malik), Alex Tarrant (Kai), Tori Anderson (Kate Whistler), Yasmine Al-Bustami (Lucy Tara), Noah Mills (Jesse Boone), and Vanessa Lachey (Jane Tennant).

LL Cool J appeared in the Season 2 finale, helping Jane and Kate, and after it aired, it was announced he’d be returning in a recurring capacity. Now, with the Season 3 premiere logline, we get a tease of how we’ll see him next. After Tennant passes her medical and psych evaluations, she’s surprised to see Sam’s conducting her final interview to clear her return to work. Also, when the team discovers a breach in the U.S. Marshal’s database, Sam joins Tennant in Las Vegas to locate the hacker.

NCIS, Season 21 Premiere, Monday, February 12, 9/8c, CBS

NCIS: Hawai’i, Season 3 Premiere, Monday, February 12, 10/9c, CBS

Kim Orders Military to 'Thoroughly Annihilate' United States and South Korea if Provoked

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is continuing his saber-rattling with a new development in which he made threats against the United States and South Korea. On Monday, he instructed North Korea’s military to “thoroughly annihilate” both countries if they provoke the North Korean regime.

This rhetoric, supported by state-owned media, is part of a broader war of words between the countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his military should “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reported Monday, after he vowed to boost national defense to cope with what he called an unprecedented U.S.-led confrontation.

North Korea has increased its warlike rhetoric in recent months in response to an expansion of U.S.-South Korean military drills. Experts expect Kim will continue to escalate his rhetoric and weapons tests because he likely believes he can use heightened tensions to wrest U.S. concessions if former President Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November.

In a five-day major ruling party meeting last week, Kim said he will launch three more military spy satellites, produce more nuclear materials and develop attack drones this year in what observers say is an attempt to increase his leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S.

In a meeting Sunday with commanding army officers, Kim said it is urgent to sharpen “the treasured sword” to safeguard national security, an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons program. He cited “the U.S. and other hostile forces’ military confrontation moves,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

On Thursday, Kim made similar comments when he pushed to expand its war preparations.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country's military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the U.S., state media said on Thursday.

Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country's ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with "anti-imperialist independent" countries, news agency KCNA reported.

North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.

The first question that comes to mind is: Can North Korea actually make good on Kim’s orders? The regime has been progressively advancing its nuclear arsenal. Estimates indicate it has between 20 to over 100 bombs. But the issue is whether or not the regime could reach the United States with these warheads. This has not been the case in the past, but there could be indications that North Korea’s capabilities have improved.

The Hwasong-18 missile’s physical dimensions and its flight trajectory data appear “nearly identical” to those at of Russia’s Topol-M ICBM, says the report, authored by Theodore A. Postol, a professor emeritus of science, technology and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The report was written for Beyond Parallel, a project sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a defense think tank.

The new missile represents a sudden and significant advancement of North Korea’s ballistic missile arsenal, according to North Korea’s own pronouncements confirmed by U.S. officials. The rocket is solid-fueled, making it harder for Western intelligence to detect than liquid-propellant ICBMs. The test last month, observed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was the first successful launch of a solid-fueled ICBM. The test also demonstrated the Hwasong-18’s ability to deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads as far as Washington, the report said, and deploy decoy canister countermeasures to evade U.S. missile defenses.

If this report is accurate, then North Korea might be closer to obtaining the capability to strike the United States. However, this does not necessarily mean such a move would be successful, nor is it likely that Kim wants this outcome, given the retaliation that would come. It seems more likely that he is seeking to use this as leverage to gain concessions from the U.S. and other nations.

North Korea has increased its warlike rhetoric in recent months in response to an expansion of U.S.-South Korean military drills. Experts expect Kim will continue to escalate his rhetoric and weapons tests because he likely believes he can use heightened tensions to wrest U.S. concessions if former President Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November.

Given Trump’s meetings with Kim during his presidency, it is not surprising that the North Korean leader would want more leverage in the event that Trump does become president again. It is also worth noting that another Trump presidency might make Kim more hesitant to rattle the saber given the former president’s unpredictability and willingness to threaten “fire and fury.”

The international community will face a complex challenge ahead with North Korea regardless of who wins the 2024 election. North Korea’s threats are part of a longstanding pattern of aggressive rhetoric and missile tests. As the election draws closer, the world will be waiting to see what comes next.

Israel-Gaza latest: Hamas says top official killed in explosion - and blames 'assassination' on Israel

 

Hamas has said one of its top officials, Saleh al Arouri, has been killed in an explosion in Beirut - blaming the "cowardly assassination" on Israel.

Al Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas's military wing and the deputy leader of the group's political bureau. He also headed Hamas's presence in the West Bank.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone. Three security sources told Reuters the strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, has said al Arouri was killed in a "cowardly assassination" by Israel, adding such attacks "will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance".

He added: "It proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip."  

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, earlier vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in the country. 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill al Arouri even before the Hamas-Israel war began on 7 October 2023.

Hamas official Bassem Naim has confirmed al Arouri was killed in the blast. A Hezbollah official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations also said al Arouri was killed.

Israeli officials declined to comment.

An explosion shook the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs on Tuesday evening causing chaos in Hezbollah's stronghold, but the nature of the blast was not immediately known.   

https://news.sky.com/story/hamas-deputy-head-saleh-arouri-killed-in-an-explosion-south-of-beirut-according-to-hezbollah-tv-13041022   

Sporting Goods Store Employees Fired for Trying to Stop a Thief From Stealing a Pistol

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

In the latest example of corporate stupidity, three sporting goods employees were fired for chasing a man who stole a pistol. Apparently, trying to stop someone from stealing a deadly weapon is against company policy.

This is yet another story in which a major company punishes employees for trying to protect it from entitled thugs who think they have the right to take what they want.

Michelle Sutton, along with two other unidentified workers at the Academy Sports + Outdoors in Metairie, Louisiana, said that the shoplifting incident happened Dec. 16.

The sales associates said that they thought they were about to make a sale and were showing a customer a pistol, when he took off with the firearm.

Sutton, who was working as a team lead at the store, said once she received word on her radio, she immediately dropped what she was doing and jumped into action.

"I just took off," Sutton told local TV news station WGNO. "I knew I needed some form of way to help the police."

Four days later, Sutton said the store fired her and the two other employees for trying to stop the thief. “Sutton said that they were let go due to Academy Sports + Outdoors policy on loss prevention, which states that employees are not allowed to chase or physically restrain a fleeing person suspected of theft,” according to the report.

Sutton criticized the store’s decision in a conversation with a local news outlet, arguing that she and her former colleagues were not properly trained.

“There’s no clarification on getting [the suspect’s] location for police,” Sutton said. “I know my store director had said that they want you to be able to get the make and model of a vehicle, you know, maybe a direction in which way the vehicle went.”

In this case, Sutton says the suspect wasn’t in a vehicle.

...

“Every store that sells firearms, especially pistols that are concealable, need to have clear policy,” Sutton said. “They need to have extra training. They need to prepare for the unexpected.”

Clothing company Lululemon came under fire last year for firing employees for violating a similar policy. During a wave of organized shoplifting operations in Atlanta, the company terminated two employees for – get this – talking back to thieves who were looting the store. Even scolding thieves was too much for Lululemon.

The looters had hit the same outlet a dozen times prior, but this time two female employees had had enough, with assistant manager Jennifer Ferguson telling them, “No, no, no, you can march back out.” The looters were undeterred, however, and knowing that they probably faced no consequences in today’s world, simply came back for more. “Seriously? Get out,” the frustrated former employee said.

“Chill, b–tch, shut your ass up,” one of the robbers responds. The women watch the thieves get in a getaway car but never tried to physically intervene.

So why did they get fired? For daring to speak to the robbers, and for calling the police…Which is against company policy. No, I’m not kidding:

“We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they’re going to do,” Ferguson told 11Alive.

“And then, after it’s over, you scan a QR code. And that’s that. We’ve been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. We’re not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it.”

These policies, combined with local and state governments that essentially tell criminals they will not face consequences if they rob and steal, are a recipe for disaster. They reveal a disturbing inclination to protect criminals, even if it means punishing their victims or people trying to stop the theft.

Then, the people supporting these policies wonder why the crime rate is so high. Or perhaps they don’t actually care.

It Was Never About Democracy

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

Democracy. It’s become Democrats’ favorite word ever since the 2020 election. Now, one can hardly listen to a leftist politician give a speech without them waxing eloquent about safeguarding our “democracy.” Elite media outlets prattle on about how electing someone like former President Donald Trump would be a threat to our “democracy.”

But, over the past year, and especially recently, it has become clear exactly how these people actually feel about the concept of a democratic system of government.

Politico published an article on Monday highlighting the “peril” that democracy is in worldwide. “Is 2024 the year when democracy hits a tipping point and slides toward autocracy?” the author asks.

Later in the piece, the author also claimed Trump “is threatening to weaponize democratic institutions against his political rivals.”

The Associated Press also chimed in on Sunday with a piece suggesting that American democracy had been “tested” in 2020. The author argued that Trump calling for pardons for those who participated in J6 is a sign that he is a threat to democracy.

He has called for pardoning those prosecuted for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, continues to insist falsely that the 2020 election was 'stolen' and says he will use the federal government to seek revenge on his political enemies.

Not to be outdone, The Guardian also published a piece suggesting that Trump and other Republican candidates were somehow a threat to democracy. The author noted that Biden would likely be standing between Trump and American democracy during the election.

After all, his most likely opponent refused to accept the result of the 2020 election, incited the deadly attack on Congress of 6 January 2021, has been linked to plans to slash the federal government in a second term, and has even said he wants to be a 'dictator' on day one.

The author also slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing “restrictions on voting rights in Florida” and went after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for playing up “the risk of voter fraud more broadly.”

Yet, in none of these articles could I find any suggestion that the ongoing effort to leverage the 14th Amendment to keep Trump off the ballot is a threat to democracy. At no point did any of these alleged journalists call out folks on the left who are trying to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election by using a ridiculous interpretation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to argue that the former president should be disqualified from holding office.

These individuals have filed multiple lawsuits in various states to keep Trump’s name off the ballots so that his supporters cannot vote for him. In Colorado and Maine, they have had some success. Instead of letting the people decide who they want to occupy the White House, they seek to dictate who they can and cannot vote for.

This alone shows us how these people truly feel about the concept of “democracy.” To them, it is nothing more than a buzzword intended to elicit emotional reactions from the public. Remember, progressives are experts at using language and words in a way that helps them advance their agenda. Their claims about democracy are nothing more than their typical habits. Their actions always prove how they truly feel about the issues they claim to care about the most. The democracy angle is just the latest example proving this.