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More Evidence Skilled Labor Is Rising in Value

For years, they told an entire generation that the future belonged to people sitting behind computer screens, pushing paper around in climate-controlled offices, while anyone working with their hands was somehow a failure. Schools pushed college degrees endlessly while trade schools were neglected and industrial jobs were treated as relics of the past. Parents were convinced their kids needed massive student debt just to survive while corporations shipped factories overseas and politicians cheered the destruction of domestic industry as “progress.” Now reality is crashing directly into that fantasy.

The irony is unbelievable. The very AI revolution that many thought would eliminate blue-collar labor is actually creating one of the biggest labor shortages in modern history. Artificial intelligence requires physical infrastructure everywhere. These systems do not magically float in the clouds. They need giant data centers, electrical grids, transformers, cooling systems, steel, copper, pipelines, construction crews, semiconductor plants, and endless maintenance. Somebody actually has to build all of it.

CNBC finally admitted this week what many people are beginning to see with their own eyes. White-collar hiring is slowing while skilled trade hiring is exploding. The office jobs everyone chased for decades are suddenly becoming unstable while electricians, welders, HVAC technicians, elevator mechanics, and industrial workers cannot be hired fast enough.

Utilities are expected to spend roughly $1.1 trillion modernizing America’s electrical grid over the next several years because AI systems are consuming extraordinary amounts of power. Reuters reported the United States may need more than half a million additional workers tied directly to energy infrastructure and transmission projects by 2030. At the same time, nearly half the current skilled labor force is approaching retirement age.

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The Strait of Hormuz: A Constant in Iranian History

The strategic and spiritual resonance of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply woven into Iran’s identity. It represents a profound geographic constant in Iranian history. This narrow waterway has served as a central artery for Persian political and economic power, historical consciousness and culture across millennia.

Whether safeguarding Zoroastrian trade routes under the Sassanids, expelling European powers in the Safavid era, or commanding energy routes today, Iran’s geopolitical identity is fused with this narrow stretch of water.  It is a physical manifestation of sovereignty, insuring that the “Passage of the Palm Groves” and its divine namesake “Ahura Mazda” remains a focal point of global history.

Linguists and historians trace the etymology of “Hormuz” to “Ohrmazd,” the Middle Persian derivation of “Ahura Mazda” (the supreme deity of Zoroastrianism). To ancient Persian monarchs, this body of water was more than a trade route; it was an extension of the imperial cosmic divine order.

In the ancient dialect of southern Iran, the name is believed to have evolved from “Hur-Mogh.”  In the local tongue of Hormozgan, Hur means waterway and Mogh refers to palm trees.  For people who lived there for millennia, the strait was not a military chokepoint, it was simply, “The Passage of the Palm Groves.”

The Strait of Hormuz presents a profound historical paradox. Its name honors the Zoroastrian source of cosmic harmony, Ahura Mazda. Yet today, this narrow chokepoint whose foundational ethos, “humata, hukhta, and huvarshta” (good thoughts, good words, and good deeds), is now the epicenter of severe international geopolitical friction and trade instability.

Long before it became the jugular vein of the modern global economy, the Strait of Hormuz was the sacred and strategic maritime gateway to the Persian empire.

The Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, was the first imperial power to recognize the strait as a strategic artery to be owned.  Its name is tied to the Sassanian dynasty (224-651 CE), the last great pre-Islamic Persian empire and initiator of Zoroastrianism as a state religion.

During the Sassanian era, its Zoroastrian rulers expanded outward from the Iranian plateau to dominate both the northern and southern shores of the strait.

By commanding the entrance to the Persian Gulf by constructing forts and coastal infrastructure, these ancient kings secured their control over the lucrative maritime trade routes, linking Mesopotamia, the Indian subcontinent and the broader world.

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South Carolina’s New Social Media Law Puts Every User Under Age Surveillance

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed H.B. 4591 on May 19, turning the Stop Harm from Addictive Social Media Act into a law that will reshape how every resident of the state uses major social media platforms.

The bill passed with almost no opposition, clearing the House 115-0 and the Senate 42-1. It takes effect January 1, 2027, and it brings with it a surveillance apparatus aimed at all users.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

The law, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Guffey (R-York), requires covered platforms to repeatedly estimate and verify the age of every South Carolina account holder.

The stated goal is child protection. The way it claims to do that is continuous behavioral analysis of anyone who spends enough time on a platform, combined with escalating confidence thresholds and penalties of ten thousand dollars per violation if platforms get it wrong.

Here’s how the age estimation system works. Once an account holder hits 25 cumulative hours on a platform within six months (the “first trigger date”), the platform has 14 days to estimate whether that person is over 15, with 80% confidence.

At 50 hours (the “second trigger date”), the confidence requirement jumps to 90%. After that, the platform must update its estimate every 100 hours of use, or whenever it runs data analytics on the user for any other reason, whichever comes sooner.

That last clause is easy to miss and it means any time a platform runs its profiling algorithms on you for ad targeting, content recommendations, or anything else, it also has to re-evaluate your estimated age. The law essentially piggybacks mandatory age surveillance onto whatever commercial surveillance platforms already conduct, expanding the scope of both.

Because platforms face significant liability if they can’t meet these confidence thresholds, the law creates powerful incentives to harvest far more sensitive data about users than they do today, including about minors.

A platform that guesses wrong faces $10,000 per violation. A platform that overinvests in behavioral profiling to avoid those fines faces no penalty at all. The incentive structure points in one direction.

The bill claims it “does not create any duty on the part of a covered social media platform to request, collect, or retain any information from or about any account holder” and that age estimates must be “derived based on information collected and retained by the covered social media platform in the ordinary course of operation.”

This is the bill’s central fiction. Platforms that can’t achieve 80% or 90% confidence from existing data will need to collect more data, or face financial ruin from accumulated violations. The law doesn’t mandate new data collection in the same way that holding a knife to your wallet doesn’t mandate you hand over cash.

For users classified as children (under 16), the restrictions are extensive. Accounts require verifiable parental consent, with privacy settings locked to the most restrictive levels by default.

Platforms cannot show children profile-based feeds, profile-based advertising, or any “addictive interface features,” a category that includes infinite scrolling, auto-play video, push notifications, and display of personal metrics like reaction counts.

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Biden-Released Illegal Alien Gets 50 Years in Prison for Producing Child Porn of His Special Needs Niece, Nephew

An illegal alien, released into the United States by the Biden administration, was sentenced to 50 years in prison this week for the production of child sexual abuse material that involved his eight-year-old niece, who has special needs, and his eight-year-old nephew.

Angel Emilio Rodriguez-Marroquin, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was handed the sentence on May 18 after having been arrested in November 2025 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Rodriguez-Marroquin was initially charged with the production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Investigators found that Rodriguez-Marroquin had produced the abuse material using his eight-year-old niece, who has special needs, and his eight-year-old nephew.

“This depraved illegal alien from Guatemala pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography, which included footage of him assaulting his own nephew and niece with special needs,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said:

This monster would not have been in our country in the first place if it weren’t for the Biden Administration’s disastrous open borders that released him into our country. Thanks to our ICE law enforcement officers, this creep is behind bars, and after he serves his time, he will be removed from our country. [Emphasis added]

Rodriguez-Marroquin is the subject of a child sex crimes investigation, conducted by HSI, in Guatemala. The illegal alien first crossed the southern border in 2024 and was subsequently released into the U.S. interior by the Biden administration.

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GREENLAND TIES: US Opens New Consulate in Nuuk, Strengthening Its Presence in Arctic Island

The size of the new consulate spells the importance Greenland now has for the Trump administration.

The diplomatic dance continues between the United States, the presently leaderless kingdom of Denmark, and the autonomous territory of Greenland.

Three Days after special envoy Jeff Landry visited the island for a conference, the US inaugurated yesterday (21) a new consulate in Nuuk, while some Greenlanders turned up to protest.

The new US consulate in Nuuk shows the Donald J. Trump administration ‘sharpening its focus on the Arctic’.

Politico reported:

“The inauguration of the new, 3,000-square-meter complex in Nuuk’s city center has prompted protests from native Greenlanders, with the island’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, telling local outlet Sermitsiaq that he will not attend the event.”

“Trump reopened the American consulate in 2020 during his first term, but it initially had to be housed in a Danish Joint Arctic Command building.”

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Nine years after Grenfell inferno, New Scotland Yard declares there is “no presumption” that charges will be brought

Approaching the ninth anniversary of the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell Tower inferno, the Metropolitan Police held a press conference this week to announce that 57 individuals and 20 companies could face criminal charges.

New Scotland Yard’s May 19 update, coinciding with the Met’s press conference, declared its investigation into the fire “is on track by the end of September to submit all files for charging decisions to the Crown Prosecution Service”.

Police said that charges under consideration include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, misconduct in public office, fraud, and health and safety matters.

On the Met’s announced timeline, charging decisions might therefore be reached before the ten-year anniversary on June 14, 2027, with criminal trials, if they happen at all, unlikely to begin before 2029. By the time any verdicts are delivered, Grenfell will be a crime approaching two decades old.

The Grenfell inferno was a crime of capitalism and social murder. The Met’s latest statement is part of an orchestrated state cover-up that has continued under four Conservative and Labour governments, led by four different prime ministers.

At Tuesday’s press conference, the Metropolitan Police spoke of the “immense” scale of their nine-year investigation. Its “update” boasted of having investigated:

  • 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations… of which 57 people and 20 organisations are suspects for criminal offences.
  • 165 million electronic files to meticulously search for evidence.
  • A total of 14,400 statements have been taken.
  • More than 27,000 exhibits, including cladding, insulation, doors, windows and other parts of the building, down to screws, nuts and bolts, are stored in a warehouse.
  • So far, 15 of 20 files have been submitted to the CPS and 10 of 14 overarching evidence files are complete.
  • The word counts of the Met’s summary reports to the CPS exceeds 2.2 million.

The Met’s recycled lists seek to justify nine years of inaction. It has refused to charge those responsible for heinous crimes that sacrificed the lives of Grenfell residents to corporate greed and profit.

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THEY’RE NOT HIDING IT ANYMORE: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Comes Out and Says She’s Open to Letting NON-CITIZENS Vote in City Elections – “We Need to Explore It!”

Radical Democrat Mayor Karen Bass just admitted on camera that she’s willing to hand voting rights to non-citizens in Los Angeles.

Bass responded to a question about far-left Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez’s push to let non-citizens vote in local elections by declaring: “Well, I think we need to explore it.”

The exchange, which took place during a Politico California Playbook discussion, laid bare the Democrats’ desperate endgame.

Soto-Martínez, who has endorsed Bass, wants to rewrite the city charter to allow non-citizens – including those here illegally – to cast ballots in city council and school board races. Bass didn’t shut it down. She didn’t call it unconstitutional. She didn’t say it would destroy election integrity.

Instead, she leaned in.

Bass tried to soften the blow by claiming some cities only let “legal” non-citizens who pay taxes vote, but she quickly pivoted to defending sanctuary city policies she rammed through even after Trump’s first election.

California Bureau Chief Melanie Mason:
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who has endorsed you, wants to explore ways to let non-citizens vote in city elections. I know that some cities already do this, but, you know, politics is all about timing. With Donald Trump in the White House, is this the right time for Los Angeles to go down this path?

Karen Bass:
Well, I think we need to explore it. Now, I’ve not seen exactly what he’s calling for. I have a little familiarity with what happens in other cities. For example, some cities will allow people to vote in city council and school board elections because they pay local taxes. But they are not necessarily undocumented. They might be here completely legally but have not finished the citizenship process. So, we’ll wait and see.

But, you know, I mean, some questioned that around sanctuary cities too. But we made that into law even though Trump had been elected. And it was because our population of vulnerable immigrants were terrified. That provided a measure of security for a minute. And no one anticipated we’d have the military roll up on us.

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Taxpayers forced to foot billion-dollar-bill for FIFA World Cup games

On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Carson Binda discussed how Canadian taxpayers are being forced to spend approximately $1 billion to host part of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Canada will host 13 matches during the World Cup, which runs across North America from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The matches will be split between two Canadian host cities: Toronto (6 matches) and Vancouver (7 matches).

Binda condemned federal, provincial and municipal politicians for allocating such huge sums of taxpayers’ hard-earned funds on a sporting event like this.

“Politicians are wasting a million dollars per minute hosting a handful of international soccer games,” he said. “This is an outrageous amount of money coming right from your pocket going out the door on these soccer games,” Binda continued.

“FIFA is leaving taxpayers with big pocketbook pain, without the promised economic gain,” he added.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the total public cost at approximately $1.07 billion, with the federal government contributing $473 million and the remainder covered by provincial and municipal governments.

More than one million visitors are projected to travel to Canada for the World Cup matches in Toronto and Vancouver. Toronto’s hosting budget stands at $380 million, covering operating and capital costs such as stadium upgrades and event services.

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How China Used the Green Scam to Win American Taxpayer Dollars

Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who also served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, joined The Patriot Perspective to discuss his new book, China’s War on Faith, and delivered a blunt warning about the threat Communist China poses to the United States, religious freedom, and Western civilization.

Brownback, who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom during President Donald Trump’s first term, called the Chinese Communist Party “the most significant adversary we’ve faced in the last century.”

That warning should shape how Americans view one of the greatest policy scams of the modern era: the so-called green transition.

For years, the American people were told that solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and battery mandates were necessary to save the planet. Politicians framed green energy as a moral cause, not just an economic program. Anyone who questioned the agenda was accused of denying science, opposing progress, or standing in the way of a cleaner future.

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Complete Guide to Medical Marijuana Laws in All 41 Legal States

41 states have legalized the medical use of cannabis, representing over 80% of the entire United States. Below is a breakdown of all 41 states, including details on when the state legalized the medicine, when the first dispensary opened, possession limits and more.

Alabama

Year legalized: 2021.

Year first dispensary opened: The first dispensary is expected

Possession limits: up to 70 daily dosages for a registered patient; usable forms exclude raw flower, smoking, vaping, and standard edibles.

Tax rate: Alabama’s statute imposes a 9% excise tax on retail medical-cannabis sales, plus an annual medical-cannabis privilege tax.

Qualifying conditions: closed list, including cancer-related cachexia or nausea, depression or anxiety related to terminal illness, epilepsy, panic disorder, PTSD, autism spectrum disorder, MS/spinal-cord spasticity, terminal illness, Tourette syndrome, and chronic or intractable pain when conventional and opiate therapy is ineffective or contraindicated.

Anything else notable: the program has been unusually delayed by licensing litigation.

Alaska

Year legalized: 1998.

Year first dispensary opened: none; Alaska’s medical law did not create medical dispensaries, and later adult-use retail began separately in 2016.

Possession limits: generally 1 ounce usable cannabis and 6 plants, not more than 3 mature.

Tax rate: no medical-dispensary tax structure applies because there is no medical-dispensary system.

Qualifying conditions: classic closed debilitating-condition list, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain, and seizure/spasticity-related conditions.

Anything else notable: Alaska remains one of the clearest examples of a patient/caregiver-plus-home-grow model rather than a dedicated medical-retail model.

Arizona

Year legalized: 2010.

Year first dispensary opened: 2012.

Possession limits: 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana; if the patient is cultivation-authorized because the residence is far from a dispensary, up to 12 plants.

Tax rate: no medical-specific excise was identified in the reviewed sources; Arizona’s adult-use excise does not apply to medical sales.

Qualifying conditions: closed list, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, and severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, persistent muscle spasms, PTSD, and other department-added debilitating conditions.

Anything else notable: Arizona still preserves a meaningful medical advantage over adult-use through higher possession limits and cultivation access for some patients.

Arkansas

Year legalized: 2016.

Year first dispensary opened: 2019; the Arkansas Department of Health says the first dispensary opened on May 10, 2019.

Possession limits: 2.5 ounces every 14 days; no home cultivation.

Tax rate: Arkansas has ordinary sales tax on retail sales and a 4% special privilege tax on transfers of medical cannabis.

Qualifying conditions: closed list, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, PTSD, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, peripheral neuropathy, intractable pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe muscle spasms, Alzheimer’s disease, and cachexia.

Anything else notable: Arkansas allows visiting-patient cards, uses a strict registry-card model, and has one of the clearer official FAQ systems for conditions and limits.

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