Christian men: God wants us to be meek, not weak



On August 15, two Americans on a UFC fight card said the quiet part out loud.

Prelim winner Tresean Gore had just secured a decision that cost him two front teeth. With a mouth full of blood, he told Joe Rogan that he no longer smoked weed, drank, or watched porn and that Jesus Christ had saved his life and soul.

King Solomon foresaw the day of physical failure: 'If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.'

On the main card, winner Jalin Turner’s first statement to Rogan was also a profession of faith.

Professing athletes are not new. Tim Tebow, Harrison Butker, and the Oklahoma women’s softball team have all said the same thing in public: Prowess and its rewards are not solely their own doing.

Toga-clad therapist

Gore and Turner moved us for a narrower reason. During our Bible study, we had been talking about the decline of masculinity among Christian men. When those men surrender responsible, loyal, trustworthy headship — as Scripture defines it under God the Father and His Son — instead of becoming humble, they disappear, leaving a hole that the spirit of the age fills.

American Christian men have forgotten, or were never taught, that their King was the strongest man who ever walked the earth, physically and spiritually. Jesus is the pattern for both. Following Him should produce men who pursue strength of body as well as strength of soul. Too many church leaders have taught the opposite. They have offered a Jesus who is only mild, never mighty: a toga-clad therapist who affirms all and judges none. That is not the Christ of the Gospels, and it is not the men who preceded and followed Him.

Other than Christ, no man in the Bible is without sin. God shows us these men so we will learn that Christianity requires faith, repentance, and obedience — not a clean record. Adam shifted blame. Samson and David yielded to lust. David’s sin was worse than just appetite: he deceived, murdered, and committed adultery. Scripture hides none of it.

Restored to strength

It also does not hide what these men were and what they did. Blind Samson pulled down a Philistine temple with his hands. David defended his flock against wild animals, then dropped Goliath with a stone. His elite guard, the Gibborim — Josheb, Eleazar, Shammah, Abishai, Benaiah — were remembered in 2 Samuel because they could fight. Four times God tells Joshua to be “strong and courageous.” Joshua then defeats 31 kings on the way to the promised land. God preserved Moses’ vigor at 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7); fed Elijah strength for the desert road (1 Kings 19:7-8); and promised through Isaiah that those who wait on the Lord will not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31).

The God of mercy and love is the same God who trained David’s hands for war and his fingers for battle and helped him bend a bow of bronze (Psalms 18:32-34 and 144:1). In 1 Peter 4:11, the apostle directs all who serve God to do so with the strength that God provides. All these men knew sin, fear, and confusion. Faith restored them to strength and courage for God's glory. It did not restore them to softness.

RELATED: Do you follow a diluted Jesus — or the full-strength one?

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The weight of the cross

Then there is Jesus. He walked the land for three years knowing His own people would reject Him and kill Him, and He finished the work. The distances of that ministry are measured in thousands of miles, on foot.

On His last day, He was beaten and scourged, and He marched the Via Dolorosa under a patibulum that likely weighed 65 to 110 pounds. He fell because of pain and blood loss that would put most modern men on the ground before the first step. The contrast is not cute. A church that cannot tell the difference between meekness and weakness will baptize the second and call it discipleship.

We would rather live in the world Jesus describes: among people who worship without shame, who speak of Him as plainly as Tresean Gore and Jalin Turner did, and who pursue the holiness He demands. He is not playing. In the wedding parable of Matthew 22, the man without the garment of faith and repentance is bound and cast into the outer darkness. That is the same Lord who walked those miles.

'Act like men'

So the question is not whether Christian men should be kind. It is whether they will be men. No more porn. No more anesthesia by weed and liquor. No more sexual chaos. Less devotion to entertainment that mocks the faith and more time in churches where men teach what Paul taught: Put your house in order (1 Tim. 3:1-5; Titus 1:5-9 and 2:1-2 and 6-8), and “be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).

Drawing on the Old Testament, Jesus does tell His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27, from Proverbs 24:17 and 25:21 and Exodus 23:4-5).

That command is real. It covers the neighbor who hates you, the official who slanders you, even the man who would harm you. It is not a mediation tip. It is imitation of the Father. It is also not a ban on strength. Prayer for a human enemy does not mean pretending he is harmless, refusing to restrain him, or talking to Satan as if he were your neighbor. Scripture never asks anyone to treat the devil as a prayer partner. It does ask men to resist him, to protect the innocent, and still not let hatred become their creed.

King Solomon foresaw the day of physical failure: “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). The next two verses are the gut punch. If you stand by while people are led away to death, God sees, and He will weigh your cowardice.

This is a day of adversity. American Christian men will come up big or small. They will find their strength in God, or they will keep drawing upon a smaller Jesus who demands nothing of their bodies and their nerve. They should pick up where Tresean Gore and Jalin Turner left off: Believe and profess the truth with blood still in your mouth, and then live as if the truth has hands.

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Dear America, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not OK.

Our boys are very, VERY angry. To the point they want to kill each other, hit women, and hurt their teachers.

Like a fat person at an all-you-can-eat buffet, we keep stuffing ourselves but are never nourished.

Our young women are depressed, lonely, and barren. Those who aren’t — well, many of them are still unhappy and mentally fragile, to the point they will take the lives of their own children. And other women will applaud it.

Women can also kill an unborn child up through birth.

Compulsive displays

Violence and murder seem to be acceptable under almost any circumstance. Again, to the accolades of other Americans.

We shamelessly display bouts of irrational and hyperemotional behavior and videotape it for the world to see. Once again, the masses applaud.

Nothing is managed or dealt with in private. The world must know of all our pain and innermost thoughts, because supposedly, sharing helps others with their pain and suffering.

It does not. It merely spreads pathologies until the pathologies become the norm.

Everybody thinks they have something important to say so everyone is talking — all the time.

It is noisy, and it is distracting. I think about how much better the world would be if we all just agreed to share a little less. To “tweet” or “chime in” a little less.

Simulation sickness

Lindsay Clancy and Karmelo Anthony may have broken from reality, with devastating consequences, but in some ways, we all have. We are living in a simulated world of thoughts and ideas with no contact with the created order.

We need to, once again, commune with the physical world. In Orthodoxy, we say that God “is everywhere present and fills all things.” Not all thoughts, for He certainly is not. Not in all tweets or photos. In all things. The less we interact and engage with those things, the less we are tethered to Him and His order, for it is “good” (Genesis 1:31).

We need to build beautiful things like furniture and clothing, grow abundant gardens, or tame wild animals. Or we need to simply touch grass, a tree, or dirt. Anything that has God at its source.

We need to make and kiss and care for babies. They are also “good.”

RELATED: Gratitude is not perspective. It is remembering mercy.

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Empty calories

Manufacturing useful goods is superior to yelling into the echo chamber. Cameron Schiller, founder of hard tech start-up Rangeview, had this to say about physical things:

If all you do is shuffle papers and change numbers in an excel sheet, what connection do you feel to your neighbor? What responsibility do you feel to your country? People that can feel the product of their labor have a different sense of pride.

Not only do we need to commune with the physical world, but we also need to exhibit restraint and discipline in its use. We have not been good stewards of our bodies, our land, or the many resources God has bestowed upon us.

We have squandered the most important things — family, friendships, community, health, and yes, God — for the fleeting pleasures of temporal desires. Desires that are insatiable by food, money, convenience, sex, or any other thing humans chase that leave us feeling empty.

Like a fat person at an all-you-can-eat buffet, we keep stuffing ourselves but are never nourished.

Hospital for the soul

Don’t get me wrong — I love the conveniences of this modern world. But they require judicious use and above all, gratitude, both of which seem to be in short supply these days.

We are so free and so liberated we are lost. Lost in a never-ending maze of sickness – physical, mental, and spiritual.

We need to admit we are weak. That we require help from God to recover our compass and find our true north once again. Truth is not subjective, and it is found in God and His creation.

The church is the hospital for the soul. Our souls need true healing. Healing that can only be found in the sacramental life that God calls us to every day. Not just in thoughts and prayers, but in communion with the real.

Until then, nothing gets well.

Meet the 25-year-old building a Christian alternative to Hollywood



Most of today’s Gen Zers are criticized for the same list of bad traits: laziness, lack of discipline, social awkwardness, no sense of purpose. So it’s a rare thrill to meet someone like Mary Bowen, who not only defies each of these traits, but lays waste to each and every one of them.

Alongside her parents and nine younger siblings, Mary, just 25 years old, has spent the last 12 years building a vertically integrated independent movie studio — Industrious Family Films — which specializes in wholesome family entertainment for Christian viewers.

'Most of what’s coming out is really — it's base. And we're made for more than that.'

In that time, she has produced seven feature films and nearly 20 additional productions. Her studio has recently launched its own subscription-based streaming platform. And now, Mary is directing the studio's most ambitious project yet: "Fabiola," a historical drama set during the final persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mary and discuss her unique upbringing, the growth of Industrious Family Films, and how she and her family approach filmmaking against the backdrop of today’s increasingly hollow entertainment culture.

Faye Root: Could you start by telling a little about yourself, your background, and what you do?

Mary Bowen: I’m the oldest of 10 children, and we are all homeschooled. Growing up, we actually didn't watch any movies. We’d gotten rid of the TV, DVDs, and VHSs. No Saturday morning cartoons or anything. That really gave us an opportunity to grow up without screens. We did a lot of animals, gardening, some instruments.

But in 2012, for the first time in about four or five years, we watched a movie — a film made by a homeschool group in Connecticut. And it inspired us to work on making movies and populating the industry with Christian films that anybody can sit down and watch.

And of course, we watch movies now. But having that break really gave us this “aha” moment because it was not a normal Hollywood mainstream film. So that's kind of where our love of filmmaking came from.

FR: What’s it like working with your family on your films? Does everybody have an area of expertise?

MB: Many hands make light work for sure. And yes, we all can do it, but we all do have our little areas of expertise.

I'm the creative director, so I'm in charge of camera angles, and I run the camera. I do the costumes, sets, props, editing — the visual stuff. And then my sister kind of runs the show as far as organizing schedules, getting people where they need to be, making sure everything's streamlined.

My dad does a lot with set decorating and construction, and then my brothers help do that. I have one brother who's “the tech,” so if something's not working, he gets it to work. And then another brother who really does everything. He's especially good at lights.

FR: Your lighting in the "Fabiola" scenes was excellent.

Yeah, we spent two weeks just working on lighting for that — the prison scene. I was really glad with the way it turned out. My brother and my mom did most of that, and then my sister and I stood in as the actors because we were getting all the lighting set up before [the actors] got there.

My mom and dad help a lot with everything. Especially my mom. She's definitely an assistant director in a sense. She’s also really good at makeup. Some of my brothers can do makeup too, though. And then my sisters, they help with everything.

FR: Can you talk more about your mom and dad and how they influenced your path in life?

MB: They are adventurers in their own sense. We live on a homestead. A dream of my mom's was to live in a yurt, and they did it. They bought a 30-foot yurt, and that's what they live in. All 12 of us were in there at one point.

My dad’s a manager at a tire shop. My mom’s always been a homeschool mom. She has seven students in school right now. Three of us are graduated. My youngest brother is five.

They've definitely encouraged any reasonable whim or hobby we've ever wanted to do and helped us along the way. But they were hands-off enough that we were able to try things. And ruin things. I've ruined sewing machines. I've ruined cameras. Eventually your mind adjusts, and you think, “My mom and dad bought a $300 camera, and I dropped it.” That generosity … as you grow, you get more of an understanding and respect.

FR: Making a film is such a complicated challenge when compared to most other art forms. But rather than emphasize the need for film school, for instance, I’ve heard you speak about the importance of the deeper skills needed to undertake such an endeavor — hard work, stick-to-itiveness, etc. Could you speak more about that?

MB: Yeah, I think even that came out of just the fact that we were gardening and taking care of animals and things at home. You learn responsibility at a young age.

For example, we had a milk cow, and I was at 10 or 11 when it was my job to take care of the milk cow in the morning — my sister and I. And now, looking back at my younger brothers and sisters who are that age, that's actually a lot to expect of a kid! But it's so doable if they're given the opportunity.

And this translates to film, where yes, it’s super complicated. But you can do it if you're given the tools and allowed to make mistakes. Your first project doesn't have to be perfect. Things can happen — just like the cow can get out. But it's not the end of the world.

So I translate that to film where, actually, if you stick to it, even if it's hard to do, if you see it through, you have a sense of accomplishment. It's surprising that you can even do it at a young age. We made our first movie when I was 14.

But that’s the biggest challenge for some people is seeing a project to the end. That's where a lot of discouragement comes from. It’s hard, and you get in the thick of it, and it's like, “This is a mess, and I don't want to ever do this again!” But then you complete it, and you show it, and you have a party, and then you're like, “Oh, this is so addictive.”

FR: What do you think of the mainstream films coming out of Hollywood today?

MB: I don't watch a whole lot of movies that come out right away. Most of what’s coming out is really — it's base. And we're made for more than that. We're made to love beauty and to aspire to nobleness. And we need to provide that for each other, actually. We need to give that to each other so that we can all be good and wholesome people and pleasing to God.

And when you're constantly being given base entertainment, society slowly declines. And so I don't consume a lot of modern films.

Angel Studios has really filled a hole for a lot of Christian families who don't watch mainstream movies. And that’s great because they're missing a part of our culture not having the experience of going to the theater, getting popcorn. Going to see a movie is like going to a baseball game — everyone should experience it. Having a pagan society creating entertainment has made it so we can’t just go enjoy a film.

Pure Flix — they don't do theatrical runs — but the same thing. I really hope that our studio can be as big as those names just to help populate more films that people can go watch without worrying about covering their eyes.

FR: You’ve said that when making your films, you try to follow the moral censorship regulations, which were pretty universally followed in Hollywood in the 1930s to 1960s.

MB: Yes. The fact that we don't even have a decency code for what we show each other today shows how bad our society has sunk. In some senses, a code like this would need to be updated because it's missing things that should be a problem now that weren't a problem then. It would be interesting if some group would get together and make one.

But yes, there are even little things, which don't seem like they're as big of an issue now. For instance, it was very rare to show two people in a bed together, whether they were married in the film or not.

But these guidelines were important. And it wasn’t only about promiscuity or modesty issues. In the storytelling, good vs. evil had to be resolved. Evil always had to be presented as evil. It had to be overcome by good; it couldn’t just be left with loose ends. The bad guys couldn’t get away.

Just the fact that moral censorship regulations existed in Hollywood at one point is actually kind of amazing — whereas now, I mean, Steven Spielberg just made a movie where he said you will question the existence of God.

We almost need a parallel society — and we've talked about this: actually having parallel entertainment. Likening it to "Fabiola," those early Christians almost had to live underground and have a parallel society. And history repeats itself. Things have gotten so base, so disgusting, so low.

FR: Can you tell me about your streaming platform?

It started as a subscription-based app, and all of our films were there. Unfortunately, we found that the phone thing wasn't clicking with our audience. So then we transitioned to a streaming service more like Pure Flix, and it has taken off really well. It's been one of the most successful things we’ve done, so we're really excited about it.

We’ve also got other filmmakers with films of a similar quality as ours, and they're able to put their films on our streaming service, so we can share them with new audiences.

It’s just $24 a year, and there are around 40 films available.

RELATED: 'The Faithful’ puts focus on Bible’s female figures

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FR: Could you tell us a little more about "Fabiola" and what inspired you to make it?

MB: So the story is set during the last Christian persecution, and Fabiola is a pagan Roman noblewoman — kind of a philosophical pagan. But when her dad dies, she has to wrangle with this thought of, “Do I believe in an afterlife? What is the point of existence?” She’s trying to answer these questions that didn't really come up before, and in her search, she gathers around her many smart, content people who she later learns are Christians.

And they are executed. Persecuted and martyred. And she has to decide whether she’s going to continue to play this happy pagan or she’s going to take the stand and become a Christian — even though it might cost her her life. Several well-beloved Catholic saints like St. Sebastian and St. Agnes are portrayed and weaved into the story as well.

It’s based on a novel we read [in school], and when I read it, I thought, “When we’re ready to make an epic, this is going to be our dream project.” And so here we are working on it. We’ve filmedthree scenes so far. Two will be in the end film. We’re working on completing our fundraising this year. Then we'll be filming in 2027 and set to release in the fall of 2028.

FR: What advice would you give to homeschoolers — or any young person — who’s looking to build a business of their own?

MB: I would say just do it. Get started. Just start it, and you'll figure it out as you go along. But definitely don't wait for a better time or a better situation or a better opportunity. If you have an idea and it's a dream, get started right away. Don't be scared.

I run into that even just among people my own age. Some people are like, “I want to go to film school and then I'll start making movies.” I made my first movie on an iPad. Just do it. With what you’ve got. Do it right now.

Industrious Family Films is currently fundraising for "Fabiola" to meet its production cost goal of $1.25 million. If you would like to support the film, you may contribute by heading to the official film website.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

'LAND' MAN: Adam Carolla kills at GOP convention with perfect 'progressive' punchline



Quick — what’s the most ridiculous relic of the woke era, the one even the most liberal of liberals would probably rather forget?

For our money, it’s the land acknowledgment.

Sweeney caught holy heck last year when she dared to playfully blur the line between genes and jeans for American Eagle wear.

You remember those. When every award show or ribbon cutting had to start with someone pretending to feel bad about “stealing” the country from Native Americans (although not bad enough to give it back).

The ritual has mostly faded from view — aside from Billie Eilish’s recent cringeworthy attempt to bring it back.

And after that awkward moment, we’re all ready to move on, right?

Not Adam Carolla.

During his remarks at the first-ever GOP midterms convention, the comic brought down the house with a caustic callback to peak 2021:

“All right. I would like to start tonight with a land acknowledgment. … This is the greatest land in the history of mankind. And if that bothers you, you, your communist and hippie buddies, should get the hell off it!”

Too late? Not by our lights. Sorry, libs. Some things are so embarrassing you never get to live them down.

Whoopi 101

It’s like they never left.

“The View” is back and just as disassociated from reality as ever.

The ABC chat-fest returned from its late-summer vacation and proved the hosts hadn’t used the downtime to catch up on their reading ... or thinking.

Never change, ladies.

Here’s Whoopi Goldberg recoiling in horror over Sen. John Fetterman making a guest appearance at this week’s GOP midterm convention. Seems she has other plans for the Pennsylvania moderate.

You could be, you know, helping us block this idea that we're taking votes away from people. You could stand for that. That would be a good thing. You could stand for bringing back education, real education to our kids in the schools and fight for all the things that we have grown up with and make them better.

Goldberg followed this rant with a detailed, point-by-point criticism of Republican policy.

Just kidding!

As for “real education,” does she mean far-left indoctrination like Colorado high schoolers committing violence at anti-ICE protests? Sorry, Whoopi. That’s on your party ...

RELATED: 'Do me the biggest favor': President Trump keeps the crowd laughing as he makes the case for Republicans

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Ghoulish groupthink

Few things are as insufferable as film festival “standing ovations.”

There’s nothing wrong with celebrating an outstanding performance, especially in a live setting like the theater. Once awards season hits, however, what brings an audience to its feet is more likely to be adherence to Hollywood groupthink than artistic excellence.

And they tend to go on and on. Remember: The longer you clap, the more virtue you signal.

Take the new documentary “NAZA," which argues that Israeli forces are systematically targeting and killing innocent Palestinian civilians.

That's one way to spin October 7.

The movie has earned rapturous reviews to date and is a likely Oscar contender in the Best Documentary field. The screening also sparked a record-setting 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

We’ll have to wait and see if the filmmakers turn their artistic sights on Iran next, a country where the government slaughtered tens of thousands of its own citizens ...

Male call

Sydney Sweeney is making America male again.

The actress is back with a new, provocative ad campaign for Novig, a sports trading app. Sweeney uses a series of sports items to cover up select portions of her figure, all the while promoting a product that doesn’t go near politics.

Triggering.

Sweeney caught holy heck last year when she dared to playfully blur the line between genes and jeans for American Eagle wear.

She survived that cancel culture attack and is now shoving it in the left’s face. Here’s betting leftists won’t look away when the ad comes on their TV sets ...

Old time rock 'n' roll

Rock stars behave themselves better than they ever did.

Remember all the tales of groupies gone wild, trashed hotel rooms, and other flights of debauchery? Now, rockers beg for forgiveness after stepping out on their spouses.

That’s progress, but the headlines are a little less fun to chew over.

Enter Van Halen. Or more specifically, Alex Van Halen and Sammy Hagar. The two once rocked the world after Hagar took over for David Lee Roth in the mid-1980s. These days, the rockers don’t see eye to eye.

“In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot,” Van Halen said when a Brazilian interviewer brought up Hagar’s 2011 memoir.

Hagar responded with the 2026 version of drunken fisticuffs at Whisky a Go Go: a stern Instagram post.

“This comment and post is so unnecessary at this time in our lives, but I guess the truth hurts sometimes. Peace already.”

Sounds like there's only one way to settle this AARP-approved altercation: on the pickleball court.

'None of this is happening!' 'The Matrix' director says kids do not get transgender surgeries — he's wrong



J.K. Rowling is a “literal Nazi.” Supporting “Harry Potter” means supporting “trans genocide.” And transgender surgeries on minors? They're not happening.

Those are some of the claims “The Matrix” co-creator Lily (formerly Andy) Wachowski made in a bizarre new interview.

'If you support "Harry Potter," you're supporting trans genocide.'

And that's just for starters.

In the words of Joe Pantoliano's traitorous Cypher: “Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, ’cause Kansas is going bye-bye.”

Members only

Speaking to Variety about his new studio, Wachowski soon began spinning a dystopian fantasy to rival anything he's done with Keanu Reeves: The United States was this close to a “trans tipping point” of equality — until evil billionaires stepped in to stop it with their lies.

For example, do you really think minors are undergoing transgender surgeries? Think again.

“None of this is happening! This is all right-wing propaganda against trans people. That is what has caused the shift,” he said.

Never mind that even the most skeptical reports do indeed prove him wrong

An article by Snopes, which sought to disprove data from a 2024 study, ended up admitting that hundreds of children have had gender surgeries in recent years, including 85 who underwent a "gender-affirming surgical procedure" in 2019. The author seemingly found solace in the fact that they were mostly "chest-related procedures," though.

The article also noted that health insurance claims showed more than 230 surgeries on minors in 2019, over 250 in 2020, and over 280 in 2021.

Crucially, 56 of the procedures from that period were genital surgeries, something Wachowski specifically denied in a mocking description of the "propaganda" deployed by conservatives.

"Jesse Watters was talking to the Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed about cutting kids' tallywackers off."

Other estimates are considerably higher. Do No Harm, an advocacy group opposed to gender-transition procedures for minors, says its analysis of insurance claims found 13,994 minors receiving puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or undergoing gender-related surgeries between 2019 and 2023. Of those, the group says 5,747 underwent surgery.

RELATED: 'Matrix' co-creator: 'Trans rage' drives my work

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Sapphic 'Star Wars'

Wachowski also complained that Hollywood has shown little interest in the transgender- and gay-themed projects he has pitched.

“If I never make another movie again, I'm fine. I'm getting old,” he said. “But in my experience of pitching stuff, I've pitched a lot of wonderful, cool queer stories and trans stories, and Hollywood didn't want any of it.”

Among those projects was one Wachowski described as “Star Wars” with “lesbians in space.”

“I cannot find a studio that will do any of it,” he said.

RELATED: Transgender 'Matrix' director says Hollywood won't make his new film — and there's one insane reason why

Larry (L) and Andy (R) Wachowski. Bob Riha Jr./WireImage/Getty Images

Bitter 'pill'

Asked about Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump using the term “red pill” — a reference to “The Matrix” that has since taken on a life of its own in politics and online culture — Wachowski rejected the idea that they had simply misunderstood his movie.

Instead, he accused them of "co-opting" the message.

"That's what fascists do,” Wachowski said. “They co-opt the messages of progressives and use it to their benefit to confuse and obfuscate what is going on and the intention of their ideology.”

When the conversation turned separately to Musk and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, Wachowski went considerably farther.

“I mean … these people are Nazis,” he said. “They're literal Nazis.”

Wachowski then accused Rowling, a prominent critic of transgender activism, of financing a “genocide.”

“She is funding trans genocide,” Wachowski said. “J.K. Rowling funds trans genocide, full stop.”

“So if you support ‘Harry Potter,’ you're supporting trans genocide.”

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California is coming for your tires next



Most drivers don't spend much time thinking about tire regulations. You buy the tire that fits your vehicle, your driving, and your budget. If you live somewhere with real winters, you may switch to snow tires. If you drive a performance car, you probably care a lot about grip and handling.

California has other ideas.

Someone driving an SUV has different requirements from someone commuting in a small hybrid. A Mustang owner who takes his car to the track has different priorities again.

On a recent episode of “The Drive,” my co-host Karl Brauer and I discussed new California rules targeting the rolling resistance of replacement tires. Beginning in 2029, tires sold in the state will have to meet new efficiency requirements, with the standards becoming more stringent in the years that follow.

It sounds harmless enough. Lower rolling resistance means a tire requires less energy to keep moving, which can improve fuel economy in a gasoline vehicle and range in an EV.

But fuel economy isn't the only thing a tire has to do.

Get a grip

Tires are a collection of compromises. Grip, tread life, road noise, ride quality, wet-weather performance, handling, and efficiency all matter, and manufacturers design different tires for different vehicles and drivers. The tire you want on a Prius isn't necessarily the tire you want on a Mustang — or a 1,000-horsepower performance car.

Karl had just driven one of those: the new 1,000-horsepower Brabus Bodo. We were talking about how dramatically temperature and tire compound can affect a performance car when he raised the obvious question: Could California eventually make it harder to buy the kind of tire such a car was designed to use?

That's where this gets concerning.

RELATED: The diesel Chevy Suburban makes too much sense to be this hard to find

Bloomberg/Getty Images

California king

California isn't a small automotive market that tire companies can simply ignore. If a manufacturer has to produce one version of a tire for California and another for the rest of the country, it has to decide whether producing both makes economic sense.

We've already watched a version of this happen with automobiles. California's size and economic clout have allowed its emissions policies to influence vehicles sold far beyond the state's borders. Tire manufacturers face the same basic economics: It can be cheaper and simpler to build a product that satisfies the toughest major market than maintain separate versions for different states.

And California rarely remains alone for long. Other states have historically adopted many of its automotive and environmental standards. A rule that begins in Sacramento can therefore affect what manufacturers choose to offer consumers thousands of miles away.

Rubber, meet road

That's why I don't see this simply as an argument about squeezing another fraction of a mile per gallon out of a car. It's about whether drivers will continue to have the freedom to choose the tire best suited to how and where they drive.

I live in Buffalo. Winter tires aren't an enthusiast accessory here. They're a safety decision. Someone driving an SUV has different requirements from someone commuting in a small hybrid. A Mustang owner who takes his car to the track has different priorities again.

There is no single ideal tire for all of them.

I talk about tires constantly because those four contact patches are the only things connecting your vehicle to the road. You can have the best brakes, suspension, and stability-control system in the world, but ultimately they all depend on the tire being able to grip the pavement.

Efficiency matters. But so do traction, handling, braking, and giving drivers the ability to choose the right tire for the job.

California's rules don't fully take effect for several years. Drivers should pay attention now, because by the time they discover that the tire they want is no longer available, the decision may already have been made for them.

Four shootings in two weeks: The crime crisis surrounding the University of Cincinnati



Four shootings near the University of Cincinnati in the first two weeks of the semester finally got City Hall’s attention.

Mayor Aftab Pureval (D) announced increased police patrols, street closures, additional lighting, and other emergency measures around campus. “This is not OK,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, parents are left watching a multimillion-dollar administrative machine move with all the urgency of a DMV line at 4:55 p.m.

No kidding.

Whose jurisdiction?

Every semester, thousands of parents hand over tuition checks to the University of Cincinnati under the naive assumption that municipal leaders and campus officials hold a basic interest in keeping their children safe.

Off campus, along Clifton and Short Vine, students have instead encountered shootings and persistent violence. Cincinnati has long carried the unflattering nickname “Cincinasty.” These days, the joke is getting a little too close to reality.

The problem is not that nobody knows violence exists. It’s that responsibility becomes considerably murkier once students step beyond the campus boundary.

UC itself notes that the Cincinnati Police Department "maintains primary jurisdiction and responsibility” for off-campus incidents, even though university police patrol some surrounding neighborhoods and the two departments work together. UC also describes safety as a “shared responsibility” and reminds students that “living in a vibrant urban city also requires personal accountability.”

Fair enough. But parents might reasonably ask how much accountability belongs to the institutions collecting their tuition and taxes.

'People need to wake up'

Frustrated by the persistent violence near campus housing, Lisa Klancher, a communications veteran whose daughter attends UC, launched a petition demanding direct accountability from both local officials and university leadership.

“People need to wake up, but more importantly, this pressure has to be sustained,” Klancher tells me. “I know leaders are all sitting there saying, ‘Let them vent; parents will soon have a new distraction, and this will go away.’”

But Klancher remains focused on the public safety crisis surrounding the campus. For her, this is less a political debate than a quite literal matter of life and death.

Cincinnati hardly lacks anti-violence programs. In 2023, the city convened representatives from more than 20 organizations running youth violence-reduction programs, and its current ACT for Cincy strategy encompasses everything from mental health services and youth programs to gun access initiatives and policing reforms. The paperwork is impressive; the results less so.

As readers well beyond Cincinnati know, bureaucratic institutions possess an infinite capacity to substitute process for action.

Klancher agrees: “Institutional programs spend so much time and money, they feel they need to roll out one big solution. Those rarely satisfy everyone who has to approve it, and the program never gets launched.”

In other words, process has entirely replaced progress. Meanwhile, parents are left watching a multimillion-dollar administrative machine move with all the urgency of a DMV line at 4:55 p.m.

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Prostock-Studio/Getty Images

Municipal neglect

The decay surrounding the campus is undeniable, yet entirely avoidable. It’s the predictable outcome of years of municipal neglect. In 2023, neighborhood leaders even proposed clearing homeless encampments from nearby Burnet Woods after residents complained they no longer felt safe there. Meanwhile, commercial real estate booms along the nearby I-71 corridor while the district surrounding the state’s flagship university continues to struggle.

Klancher points to nearby Columbus as an example of a different approach. Its Non-Fatal Shooting Team assigns an entire group of investigators to non-fatal shootings rather than just two detectives. According to Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (D), the program’s pilot ended in 2025 with a 94% solve rate, compared with 53% citywide.

“Columbus is using existing laws strategically to remove violent offenders without disrupting the broader community,” Klancher explains. “The city created a nimble, private-sector model that allows for quick assessment and pivoting. Bureaucracy must learn that it is OK to start small, analyze the data, and adapt quickly to what works.”

Beyond barricades

Cincinnati’s response has been more episodic. After a major shooting, barricades go up, cruiser lights flash, and additional patrols arrive. The question is whether that urgency will survive after the headlines fade.

For Klancher, families shouldn’t have to wait for the next shooting to find out.

“No one cares that you worked hard, sacrificed, took on debt,” Klancher says. “You only matter when you get hurt in the crossfire; then leadership and lawyers can create a law in your name.”

City officials and university leaders should step out of their offices and walk Short Vine at midnight on Friday — or on Monday or Tuesday. Frankly, any night of the week works. True public safety requires an honest acknowledgment of reality. It also requires administrative accountability.

As Klancher notes, “We teach young people to respect leadership and their community, but respect is earned through preparation, presence, and action. Students should want to love the community they chose, not count the days until they can leave it.”

NO SHOW: ​Portuguese comedians quit local festival after it lands Jerry Seinfeld



Let's say you're a comedian in Portugal gearing up for Lisbon's first international comedy festival this fall.

You're cautiously optimistic. Then you hear the news: Jerry Seinfeld — one of the most successful stand-up comics of all time — has agreed to perform. He's never even performed in Portugal before. Suddenly, the event has a global star, and the Lisbon comedy scene has a chance to draw some serious international attention.

'I don't care about Palestine.'

So what do you do?

Apparently, you quit.

That's what a growing number of local performers are doing after the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest announced Seinfeld as the headliner of its inaugural show, running Oct. 29 through Nov. 1.

The Lisbon festival prominently features Seinfeld on its website and bills his November 1 appearance at the roughly 20,000-seat MEO Arena as his first performance in Portugal.

But what should have been a landmark booking for the new festival has instead prompted an exodus. At least six performers have pulled out, with several citing or alluding to Seinfeld's support for Israel.

Portuguese comedian Inês Aires Pereira announced her withdrawal by declaring, “We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide.”

Pereira did not name Seinfeld directly but said one of the festival's performers “insistently defends indefensible ideas and actions,” according to the Telegraph.

Comedy duo Cebola Mol also pulled out, posting an image of a watermelon — widely used as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — and telling fans, “We will celebrate justice, freedom, and joy at a future opportunity, together with you.”

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Jerusalem, 2007. Moshe Milner/GPO/Getty Images

At least three other acts have withdrawn without publicly explaining their decisions.

Landing Seinfeld was reportedly two years in the making, and organizers are now considering legal action against performers who backed out, according to Portuguese outlet NiT. The outlet reported that the cancellations began after Seinfeld's public support for Israel became a subject of discussion among the performers.

Another Portuguese outlet, MAGG, reported that organizers have even considered scrapping the rest of the festival and proceeding with Seinfeld's performance alone.

César Mourão, a founding member of the group behind the festival, has said that bringing Seinfeld to Portugal was one of the project's major goals from the beginning.

RELATED: Trump administration taps 'Transformers' for new deportation program: 'You don't know how to drive, Mr. Singh'

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

Seinfeld has been publicly supportive of Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks. In December 2023, he traveled to Israel and met with families of hostages taken by Hamas.

He has been considerably less diplomatic when confronted by pro-Palestinian hecklers.

While posing for a video with a fan in 2025, Seinfeld was met with a call to “free Palestine.”

“I don't care about Palestine,” Seinfeld replied.

During a 2024 performance in Australia, Seinfeld similarly mocked a heckler who interrupted his set with pro-Palestinian remarks.

“We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen,” Seinfeld told the crowd. “He solved the Middle East.”

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Jimmy Kimmel plays free speech martyr over Talarico interview; leaves out one crucial detail



Jimmy Kimmel says something has changed since Donald Trump returned to the White House, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

The late-night host took aim at the president again Wednesday, this time accusing the administration of using federal authority to interfere with his show's editorial decisions.

'I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015.'

“I've been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all,” Kimmel declared.

“I've interviewed a lot of political candidates from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump himself. I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015.”

“But for some reason, and I can't seem to figure out what that reason is, something has changed now that he is president,” Kimmel continued.

Kimmel was explaining why his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico would appear on YouTube rather than air on ABC.

The host accused the Federal Communications Commission of threatening him, his show, ABC and its local affiliates over “simple, traditional editorial decisions” and guest bookings.

What Kimmel did not mention is that the FCC's position is based on a long-standing federal law requiring broadcasters that give airtime to one legally qualified political candidate to provide comparable opportunities to opposing candidates.

The law includes exceptions for bona fide newscasts and news interviews, and in the past, the FCC has allowed some entertainment talk shows to qualify for that exemption.

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Earlier this year, however, the FCC warned broadcasters that late-night and daytime talk shows should not assume they qualify. The agency noted that such exemptions are determined on a case-by-case basis and depend in part on whether guest selections are based on newsworthiness rather than an effort to help or hurt a candidate.

That means airing Kimmel's interview with Talarico could raise questions about whether ABC affiliates would also have to provide comparable airtime to his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton.

Kimmel said he wasn't going to put the stations in that position.

“Out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas,” Kimmel said, he would instead post the interview on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” YouTube channel.

The FCC's equal-opportunities rules apply to broadcast stations, not online platforms such as YouTube.

Some commentators described the decision as “censorship,” although Kimmel himself did not use the term.

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Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images

The dispute comes amid renewed speculation about Kimmel's future at ABC.

Page Six recently reported that unnamed insiders believed Kimmel's year-to-year contract would not be renewed. ABC pushed back on the report.

“This information is inaccurate,” an ABC spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly. “Any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”

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Trump administration taps 'Transformers' for new deportation program: 'You don't know how to drive, Mr. Singh'



The Department of Homeland Security is casting itself as the Autobots — with Megatron and illegal immigrants playing the Decepticons.

It’s the latest Hollywood-inspired message from the Trump administration, which rolled out a “Transformers” mash-up to promote a new ICE tip line for reporting commercial driver's license fraud.

'Self-deport or find out.'

The video uses footage from the “Transformers” franchise to depict Decepticon leader Megatron demanding that the government free his allies. Instead, a voice-over identifies several illegal immigrants who the DHS says obtained commercial driver's licenses before being involved in fatal crashes or other crimes.

First is Harjinder Singh, an Indian national accused of making an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer on a Florida highway last August, causing a crash that killed three people. Singh had received a commercial driver's license from California, according to DHS.

The video also names Rajinder Kumar, another Indian national who the DHS says received a California CDL before jackknifing his tractor-trailer in Oregon in November 2025, causing a crash that killed a newlywed couple.

Also featured are Bekzhan Beishekeev, a Kyrgyz national who the DHS says killed four people in an Indiana crash, and Akhror Bozorov, an Uzbek national wanted in his home country on terrorism-related charges. Both received commercial driver's licenses in Pennsylvania.

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The video concludes with the message: “Aliens don't belong behind the wheel of American trucks on American roads.”

The DHS followed the video with a “Transformers”-style poster — that has since been removed — showing Optimus Prime facing off against an Indian truck driver.

“Self-deport or find out,” the poster read. “Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh.”

“Too many American lives have been lost or permanently changed because illegal aliens who have no business being on our roads have been granted CDLs,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in announcing the tip line.

“ICE and our federal partners, including the Department of Transportation, will be cracking down on CDL fraud so that not one more American life is lost to a reckless illegal alien behind the wheel of a semi-truck,” Mullin added.

The “Transformers” footage isn't the only borrowed material in the video. The mash-up also uses music from Linkin Park, a band that has previously objected to the use of its music in Trump-related videos.

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In 2020, the band issued a cease-and-desist after a campaign video shared by Trump used the band's hit “In the End.” “Linkin Park did not and does not endorse Trump, nor authorize his organization to use any of our music,” the band said at the time.

Earlier this year, a White House video featuring “Somewhere I Belong” was reportedly removed after representatives for the band took action over its use.

Whether the latest video will prompt similar action remains to be seen.

The “Transformers” film rights are held by Paramount Pictures, although it is unclear whether the DHS obtained permission to use footage from the franchise.

The video comes just days after the White House removed a “Tetris”-inspired game from Arcade.gov following a copyright complaint from the Tetris Company.

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