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DAN HOFFMAN: Grief can break your heart. Here's how to keep it from breaking your life
Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius once said, "If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment about it."
If there is one thing my sons and I learned from my late wife Kim's fight against cancer, it was how to distinguish between traumatic life events over which we have no control and the power we have to respond to them as we choose.
A few weeks ago, my sons and I watched "White Room," a short introspective film directed by JT Rees. The film tells the story of 24-year-old Reese, who has tried for years to avoid dealing with his feelings over his older sister Joy's death. But grief has a way of lingering in our hearts while gnawing away at our inner peace. The movie is about sibling love and coming to terms with the loss of Reese’s older sister.
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"White Room" is based on JT's own life experience. When he was 9 years old, he lost his 12-year-old sister Jessie to brain cancer.
My sons and I never met Jessie Rees, but we have bonded deeply with her family over shared grief from losing loved ones to cancer. And for years, we've been soothing our broken hearts by partnering with the Jessie Rees Foundation to support kids in the fight for their lives against pediatric cancer.
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We were always a close-knit family, but now it was the three of us, whom my late wife Kim lovingly called "my boys," facing the post-traumatic stress Kim's fight against cancer had left in its wake. That's why we identified so profoundly with JT's alter ego and protagonist Reese when Joy showed him how to process his sorrow by understanding it was not his fault.
"I had cancer!" Joy screams. She comforts Reese and exhorts him never to give up. "It's OK to cry," Joy says. "I'll always be right here watching you. You know where to find me."
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Joy encourages Reese to "Live your life. Promise me you'll try." Grief can paralyze us. But even if we have no control over the disease that took our loved one's life, we absolutely can make our own decisions about what to do about it.
I honor Kim's memory by fulfilling the promise I made to her on her deathbed to do my best to ensure our sons live their lives to the fullest while carrying with them the grief of losing their mom to cancer when they were only 8 and 11 years old.
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And so, on the day after their mom passed away, my sons went to school just as they had throughout Kim's fight against cancer, including her last few months in hospice. They expressed their sorrow with the help of a service dog and art therapy. They went to swim practice and played outside with their friends. They've never stopped doing the things that make kids' lives fun and meaningful.
Long before my wife was stricken with cancer, I learned that lesson about resilience while serving overseas with the CIA in a Middle East war zone. Upon returning late one night to our overseas field station from leave, I was informed at the airport that one of the CIA's most decorated, courageous and brilliant paramilitary officers had been killed in action. We held a memorial service and never stopped carrying in our hearts the grief over our loss. But we also got right back to our counterterrorism mission and honored our fallen colleague's memory by relentlessly taking the fight to the enemy as he would have wanted.
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And therein lies the meaning of the CIA's Memorial Wall in the lobby of the Original Headquarters Building. Every time I walked into CIA Headquarters, I would look up at the stars on the wall commemorating our fallen heroes and repeat the same ritual when I departed at the end of the day, always deep in thought about honoring the legacy of those we lost.
"White Room" is a must-see film, especially for anyone who has experienced loss over which they never had any control and suffered all the collateral damage.
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My sons and I miss our Kim every day. But together we have learned how to discover and build resilience in our broken hearts.
Do the work. Stay engaged. Don't run from your sadness. But let your grief shape how you honor the memory of the one you lost.
And remember you're not alone. Your loved one is with you, an angel on your shoulders.
Imprisoned American teacher Stephen Hubbard released by Russia and more top headlines
1. Imprisoned American teacher Stephen Hubbard released by Russia
2. Trump rallies in South Carolina with 13 days until midterms
3. Trump weighs in as France grapples with unrest
FAMILY MATTERS — Mystery grows over Ilhan Omar's whereabouts as familiar faces descend on DC home. Continue reading …
‘NUMBERS DON'T SEEM TO ADD UP’ — Dr. Oz presses NYC daycare in surprise crackdown. Continue reading …
TEHRAN'S DEMANDS — Iran sets new hurdle for negotiations with demand US must meet first. Continue reading …
STORIED LEGACY — RFK granddaughter dead at 42 after spinal cord injury. Continue reading …
FACING SCRUTINY — Anthropic CEO defends record on safety, sales to China. Continue reading …
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POWER PLAY UNDONE — Trump’s ‘crazed lunatic’ judge backs off extraordinary demand after DOJ showdown. Continue reading …
DEGREES OF TROUBLE — University president sounds alarm as nearly half of students justify violence to stop 'hate speech.' Continue reading …
NEXT IN LINE — Rubio rivalry looms as the VP hedges on his own White House ambitions. Continue reading …
SLICE OF THE PIE — Trump recruits Americans to hunt taxpayer fraud with lucrative cash rewards. Continue reading …
CULTURE SHOCK — Americans discover harsh truth about European living after ditching the US. Continue reading ...
TURNING THE PAGE — Columnist who challenged firing over Kirk posts celebrates legal win. Continue reading …
WILL TO LIVE — Canadian patient claims hospital kept pushing assisted death while he fought for care. Continue reading …
LIFE AFTER LIGHTS — 'Ant-Man' star says health improved after leaving Hollywood, trusting God's plan. Continue reading …
DR REBECCA GRANT — Trump's MOAB threat could put Iran's deepest bunkers in America's crosshairs. Continue reading …
HANS VON SPAKOVSKY — Gavin Newsom’s legislative minions just got a lesson in constitutional supremacy. Continue reading …
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NO REGRETS — Kid Rock says supporting Trump came at a cost in Hollywood, but he's not backing down. Continue reading ...
MONEY HUNGRY — Former exec says he could see McDonald's resurrecting a fan-favorite menu item. Continue reading …
PAST SECRETS — 2,000-year-old treasure discovered beneath former sports field, breaking regional record. Continue reading …
AMERICAN CULTURE QUIZ — Test yourself on culinary curveballs and airport antics. Take the quiz here …
Tune in as President Trump hits the campaign trail ahead of the midterms, with economic concerns weighing on rural voters, tightening races in Florida, and the possibility of an October surprise. Check it out ...
XX-XY CEO breaks down WNBA Finals confrontation on ‘The Riley Gaines Show.' Check it out…
‘Will Cain Country' explores culture, sports, and comedy with Danny Polishchuk and Asra Nomani. Check it out…
What's it looking like in your neighborhood? Continue reading…
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Urban Meyer says Arch Manning has 'gone backwards' as noise grows surrounding starting job security
Three-time national championship-winning head coach Urban Meyer knows what good quarterback play looks like, and he isn’t seeing it from Arch Manning right now.
Texas has lost two straight games, Manning has struggled in each of them, and the noise in Austin has only grown surrounding the 22-year-old. Meyer said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s "Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich" that during Texas’ thrilling comeback win against Ohio State last month, Manning looked like the guy everyone thought he was going to be, but he has since regressed.
"It's hard to believe we're here," he said.
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"His second half against Ohio State, particularly the last two drives, that looked like the guy that everybody talked about. He was phenomenal. But he’s gone backwards."
Meyer said that last season, Texas didn’t have great wide receivers, which he believed was a viable excuse for Manning's struggles against tougher teams. This season, Manning has struggled despite having Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, two standout wide receivers, and Meyer thinks Manning should be benched.
He cited Michigan as an example of how benching a quarterback can work.
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"You saw coach Kyle Whittingham make the change at quarterback. Instant spark. They beat Penn State. We all know if they don't make that change, they lose to Penn State. So, I think they're at that inflection point right now," Meyer said.
Longhorns backup quarterback KJ Lacey Jr. has taken more first-team reps, and Meyer said head coach Steve Sarkisian has to take reps away from Manning.
"You got to start giving that guy reps and then at (that) point, it's going to be a really really difficult decision if he's going to make that decision to make a change, because I'm really worried about Texas. They look awful."
After the Longhorns' loss to Florida on Saturday, they dropped from No. 12 to No. 19 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Texas’ schedule does not get any easier, as the Longhorns face No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday night.
Caitlin Clark trades the court for kitchen alongside iconic television puppet in witty new commercial
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark clearly needs better teammates, so she is officially teaming up with THE Cookie Monster.
In her latest off-court venture, the WNBA superstar debuted a new Xfinity commercial, joining forces with Sesame Street's most chaotic blue icon on a mission to bake the "Greatest Cookie of All Time."
Honestly, a frantic puppet addicted to baked goods would still provide more spacing on the floor than what Clark dealt with all season. Hard to blame the girl for looking outside the locker room.
WATCH:
It is easily the best sports crossover with a fuzzy mascot since Grimace saved the Mets' season. The commercial leans straight into the "two GOATs" dynamic: Clark, who shattered every TV rating in WNBA history, and Cookie Monster, hunting down pastry perfection.
While Angel Reese is grinding for a title in the WNBA Finals, Clark is clocking offseason commercial shifts. Between her $28 million Nike bag, a Wilson basketball line and spots for Gatorade and State Farm, corporate suits cannot get enough of her. Now she added Xfinity to the pile, playing baker next to a literal felt puppet. Electric.
CAITLIN CLARK PASSES LEBRON JAMES IN JERSEY SALES, FURTHER EXPOSING WNBA'S MARKETING PROBLEM
Clark just wrapped up a frustrating postseason run that ended with the Fever getting eliminated by A'ja Wilson and the powerhouse Las Vegas Aces.
Advertisers know something the WNBA has yet to crack: anything Clark touches brings eyeballs. Now she's getting paid a fortune to hang out with a childhood icon. Not bad work if you can get it.
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Caitlin's fans were hyped for the new ad:
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OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush wanted to join ‘Titanic mythology’ when Titan sub imploded, friend claims
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush built the Titan submersible to implode on its dive to the Titanic wreck so he could become part of "Titanic mythology," a longtime friend claimed, saying it was a "mousetrap for billionaires."
Karl Stanley, a commercial submersible expert and longtime friend of Rush, made the claim in author Matthew Gavin Frank’s new book, "Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines."
"[Rush’s] ego was so big," Stanley told Frank, "he was willing to die and kill to be the pivotal character of this story. He wanted to go [die] at the wreck [of Titanic]. The more high-profile, the better. He didn’t just murder four wealthy people and get paid a cool mill to do it — they are all part of the Titanic mythology."
The Titan lost contact with its support ship on June 18, 2023, while it was descending to see the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic, which sparked a multinational search. Debris was found four days later, and officials announced the Titan had imploded, killing all five people onboard: Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, and Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
Passengers paid up to $250,000 to be onboard the Titan.
A U.S. Coast Guard investigation would later determine that the disaster was preventable.
TITANIC SURVIVOR'S LIFE JACKET SELLS FOR OVER $900K AT AUCTION, FAR EXCEEDING PRICE EXPECTATIONS
Frank wrote that Rush's ambitions went well beyond his own death, saying that the name Titan, which was borrowed from the doomed ocean liner in Morgan Robertson’s 1898 novel "Futility," was done intentionally. That novel features a fictional British ocean liner named "Titan" that strikes an iceberg, drawing a parallel to the fate of the Titanic.
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"According to Stanley, in order to extend, and to be a part of this larger story, Rush needed to compel more than just his own death, and he needed to knowingly fabricate a 'futile' vessel, costumed in a titanic name, as his murder weapon," Frank wrote.
"You believe that Rush knew the sub was going to implode — actually intended it to — and that he killed everyone onboard, himself included, to best become part of the ongoing Titanic mythology?" Frank asked Stanley.
"I know this is what happened," Stanley said.
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Stanley also alleged that "most everyone" who worked for OceanGate knew what would happen to the Titan, and "all of them are s---ting their pants" after the implosion.
Brandi Young, a former federal and state prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that a first-degree murder charge would have been difficult to prove because Rush was risking his own life on the dive, saying a manslaughter charge would have been more likely.
"There’d be an argument to be made that perhaps second-degree murder, showing just reckless, extreme disregard, something that’s heightened over manslaughter, that potentially might be an avenue," said Young. "You have a lot of direct evidence of just the pure recklessness of someone going forward with complete disregard for the other human life."
Former McDonald's exec spills the beans on why healthier menu favorite got the axe
McDonald's is looking to expand its chicken offerings, including potentially bringing back grilled chicken sandwiches — a menu item the fast-food giant discontinued in 2020.
At a September investor meeting, McDonald's executives discussed plans to expand the chain's chicken lineup, including grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps, as demand for protein options grows, according to Restaurant Dive.
The renewed interest comes years after McDonald's pulled its grilled chicken sandwich from U.S. menus, raising questions about why the healthier offering disappeared in the first place.
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Chef Mike Haracz, who served as McDonald's manager of culinary innovation from 2015 to 2019, told Fox News Digital why the grilled chicken sandwich ultimately failed to make the cut — and whether it could find its way back to the menu.
The reason was simple: Not enough customers were ordering it, Haracz said.
"For many of the menu items at McDonald's, and this is true for any corporate chain restaurant, there is a certain sales threshold that means it will be profitable, and it makes sense to have in the restaurant," Haracz said.
"Once [those] sales dips below a certain level, it does not make financial sense to keep it on the menu, as you will end up throwing away product."
In 1993, McDonald's introduced a grilled chicken sandwich as a healthier menu offering, but it did not stand the test of time.
MCDONALD'S BRINGS BACK POPULAR ITEM FOR SHORT TIME AS ONE STATE GETS A TREAT
The sandwich consisted of a marinated skinless chicken breast filet, lettuce, tomato, sweet red onion, Monterey Jack cheese and a herb sauce, all piled on a bun, according to a 1993 press release about the menu item.
McDonald's unveiled a more natural preparation of its grilled chicken in 2015, announcing on its website that it would be cooked using only canola oil, olive oil, and real spices and herbs.
The chain revamped the sandwich that year, introducing the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich.
Ultimately, though, the grilled chicken sandwich lost its spot at McDonald's in 2020, when the chain also removed salads from its U.S. menus, according to Business Insider.
In his role at McDonald's, Haracz formulated new menu items for U.S. locations.
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People looking for healthier options at McDonald's appreciated the grilled chicken offering — especially parents, Haracz noted, because while their kids might have been excited about eating a Happy Meal, the parents were not as interested.
Like many other menu items, the grilled chicken sandwich was cooked on a flattop and held in the universal holding cabinets (UHCs).
Ultimately, it came down to simple dollars and cents.
Space is valuable at McDonald's, Haracz noted, with each location organized to make every square inch profitable.
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If an item is taking up space but not making money, it's probably not going to last too long, he said.
Consumer satisfaction played a big role, Haracz said, adding that he thinks the grilled chicken sandwich's flavor profile didn't always wow guests.
"McDonald's also realized once it gets to a point, there may be menu cannibalization, [which] means instead of ordering Chicken McNuggets, I might order the chicken sandwich," Haracz said. "Well, if we take the chicken sandwich away, are they still going to order Chicken McNuggets or other items? Most likely they are."
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Could the grilled chicken sandwich make a comeback? Haracz thinks it's possible.
"I do think there's a chance it could come back because many chains are dealing with the fact that beef prices are rising, and a way to offset that is to offer a more affordable protein option, which would be chicken," he said.
Haracz said he's not sure if there will be a renaissance of grilled chicken specifically.
"Certainly chicken items, in general, will be more popular, not only because of the beef prices, but also, that is a bigger profit margin if McDonald's develops it appropriately."
Fox News Digital reached out to McDonald's for comment.
DAVID MARCUS: The 5 factors that could decide Michigan's tight and ugly senate race
The Michigan senate race between Republican candidate Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has turned into the marquee matchup of the 2026 midterm, both as a test of the far left’s ability to compete in middle America and as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s leadership. So what will tip the balance?
While many of the basic factors of this contest have already been built in, such as El-Sayed’s disdain for Israel, and Rogers, somewhat qualified, support for the president’s policies, there are a few points emerging that could prove decisive in the final two weeks.
MORNING GLORY: THE POLLS GOT MICHIGAN BADLY WRONG. NOW DEMOCRATS MAY FACE A BIGGER RECKONING
Here are five factors that still could sway who some late deciders vote for, or whether they turn out to vote at all.
Policy differences aside, Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed are very different people with very different temperaments, and voters Fox News Digital spoke with in Michigan could see, in the same temperamental attributes, either a positive or negative light.
For example, Leon in Detroit, a city employee in his 40s who supported El -Sayed’s opponent Haley Stevens in the primary, said of Abdul, "He just comes off arrogant, like he’s talking down to everybody," but young voters I spoke with in Grand Rapids called this attitude, "confidence," and "assertiveness."
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On the ground, one could almost describe the race as a Thanksgiving dinner in which Rogers is your calm, conservative, wealthy uncle and El-Sayed is the new college boyfriend who keeps talking about how terrible American capitalism is and why the football game on tv is toxic, Michigan voters must choose who they hope will be there next year..
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Back in August, when El-Sayed won a one point victory over Stevens, despite polls showing him up by double digits, it was the aggressive far left ground game, especially in semi urban areas like Dearborn, from groups like the Democratic Socialists of America that saved his bacon.
FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS
As Tiffany Justice, Senior Advisor for Citizen’s Alliance told Fox News Digital, " Michigan elections are won at the margins, and the voters who decide them are working-class conservatives who agree with us but don't have a habit of voting. A TV ad won't get them there. A neighbor knocking on their door, looking them in the eye, and personally inviting them to the polls will."
Rogers claims that the GOP ground game has been improving in the Wolverine State, and he better hope so, in fact the money men on the right might need to shift a bit from ads on screens to faces at screen doors.
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You didn’t really think we could leave the president out of this, did you? El-Sayed has dared Trump to campaign with Rogers in Michigan, and Trump has decided to oblige him with a rally set for Sunday, October 25th, just a day after former President Barack Obama will rally with Abdul.
MIKE ROGERS PRESSES CNN'S DANA BASH ON WHY THE PRESS IS 'EAGER' TO DEFEND ABDUL EL-SAYED
Rogers, for his part, has distanced himself from Trump both on the conflict in Iran and on the Canadian tariff war, and notably has done so with no blowback from the commander in chief, a Trump rally will bring out much needed MAGA voters, but could it also alienate independent voters just days before the election.
El-Sayed’s family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his past statements in support of it, have become central to this race, even after Abdul’s hand-waving "sort of" disavowal of the group in a testy town hall exchange, and the backdrop to this issue is the pro Islamist riots in France.
Americans, including voters in Michigan, are increasingly looking towards Europe, with its burning buildings in Limoges and trampling of free speech in London, as a warning of what happens when a nation has untrammeled immigration without assimilation.
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If these riots persist and get worse, both Rogers and El-Sayed will have to address them and the undertones will be clear as day to Michigan voters.
On Wednesday, Rogers and El-Sayed will take the stage for their second and final debate, the first having been contentious, but arguably without a knockout blow for either man. The electorate is much more keyed in than it was on October 8th, when they first sparred, making this the biggest chance either side has to attract new votes.
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How aggressive will El-Sayed be, and can he do it without voters like Leon thinking he is condescending? Can Mike Rogers keep his cool, and should he? In a race this close, one viral moment could make all the difference.
With 2 weeks left to go, the Michigan senate race sits on a knife’s edge, and any of these 5 factors could tip it to one side or to the other.
Russia releases American teacher imprisoned on Ukraine mercenary charges after Trump pressed Putin
President Donald Trump secured the release from Russia of a retired U.S. teacher who was locked up on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
"Stephen Hubbard, taken four years ago by Russia during the Biden Administration, was just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week," according to a Wednesday morning Truth Social post issued by Trump.
"Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return - an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release. This major return should have taken place long ago through the Biden Administration, which got nowhere in its negotiations with the Kremlin. Stephen is on his way back home.
"'Welcome home Stephen, it’s great to have you back,'" Trump said, according to the post.
RUSSIA JAILS AMERICAN STEPHEN HUBBARD OVER FIGHTING AS A MERCENARY IN UKRAINE
Hubbard, a Michigan man, was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years imprisonment. Prosecutors said he had signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and that he fought alongside them until being captured two months later.
U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff told Russian President Vladimir Putin of Hubbard during a Wednesday meeting that "because of you, he's going home to his family."
TRUMP TRIES DIFFERENT APPROACH WITH RUSSIA TO BRING AMERICANS RELIEF AMID ONGOING WAR WITH UKRAINE
"He's a 75-year-old man," Witkoff noted of Hubbard, describing Putin as a "humanitarian."
President Trump noted on Tuesday that he had been in communication with Putin about Hubbard.
TRUMP WAIVES MANY RUSSIAN SANCTIONS, TARIFFS UNDER NEW LAW BACKED BY LINDSEY GRAHAM
"I've been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him," Trump said. "Let's see what happens."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
ELI STEELE: California forces companies to mine the past for slavery's sins
Editor's note: This op-ed is part of a series by Eli Steele exploring White guilt in America and the West. Steele is the director of the newly released documentary essay, "White Guilt." See the film at WhiteGuiltFilm.com.
I am a native Californian, and I will never get over the absurdity of seeing California and slavery in the same sentence. I believe I saw it for the first time during the height of the Black Lives Matter unrest. I remembered how I learned in my San Jose elementary school that California entered the Union in 1850 as a free state. Yet here we are again, this time with AB 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act.
On September 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the act into law. "This is a bill that requires large companies that operated before 1965 to search their records for ties to slavery going back to 1849, and then we make it public," Newsom said. "These are insurance policies on enslaved people. Human beings used as collateral, quite literally as collateral for loans."
I first learned about these atrocities as a child, and they made me understand how total the dehumanization of slavery was. This history should be learned, but there is something profoundly different about turning history into a legal obligation, sworn under penalty of perjury. This comes at a time when most California students, including Black students, are underperforming in reading and math. So why does Sacramento want to excavate corporate records from 1849 rather than fix the classrooms today?
I believe the point of this investigation is not to discover more history, since we have historians for that, but to unearth confessions that can be commodified as grievances. To see why, you have to understand that White guilt is transactional.
When I mention White guilt, many people tell me they feel none. Of course, they don't. You cannot feel guilt for what you have not done. But, that is not White guilt. "White guilt doesn't have anything to do with actual feelings of guilt," my father, Shelby Steele, author, columnist and Hoover Institution senior fellow, says in our new documentary, "White Guilt." White guilt is the collective guilt that says all Whites must carry the sins of the slave masters and segregationists forever.
Activists on the Left have leveraged this accusation for power since the 1960s, and it has produced a terror in many Whites, the terror of being tied to this racist past. Those Whites, especially liberal Whites, want innocence most of all, the ability to say, "I am not like those racist Whites."
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Black leaders understood early on, as my father did in the 1960s, that Whites would do anything out of their deep, existential desire for innocence. That is what gives White guilt its transactional nature.
My father has said that White guilt is "quite literally the same thing as Black power." From Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton to Black Lives Matter, these leaders knew their power was in selling Black victimization. Whites bought innocence with everything from endless programs of dependency to lowered education standards. Both sides of this White guilt — Black power symbiosis get what they want, and that is the trap.
ELI STEELE: THE TERROR OF BEING CALLED RACIST IS CRUSHING FREE SPEECH IN AMERICA
In order to keep the lucrative White guilt grift alive, Black leaders have to keep Blacks locked into permanent victimhood, and Whites have to remain condemned as eternally guilty. As America continues to make racial progress, this symbiosis has moved further left, and further into the past, in search of more grievances.
It was California’s reparations task force that demanded AB 2599. This new law applies to any company doing business in California that takes in more than $100 million a year worldwide and existed in some form by the end of 1964.
Once the legislature funds it, any such company will be legally bound to go through its records, and the records of its parent companies, subsidiaries and predecessors, back to 1849. It must report any findings that the company sold or leased slaves, used them as collateral for loans or insured them. The first filings are due as early as January 15, 2029, and the records will be kept online indefinitely. Every filing will be a confession made under oath, and every confession becomes one more grievance on the public record, available to the activists for as long as the database exists.
Newsom bought his own racial innocence by signing into law the demand that more Black victimization be found. Imagine if Newsom had refused to sign. He would have been blasted as the governor who protected the companies that exploited slaves.
Right there is the very terror that White guilt deploys to kill any reasonable objections. And the corporations on the target list will confess to the sins of their predecessors and buy their innocence with statements of regret and funding for programs and initiatives. None of them will risk the stigmatization that comes with fighting a slavery disclosure law.
REPARATIONS ADVOCATES SLAM CASH COMPENSATION ‘HANDOUT’ LABEL, POINT TO PAST GOVERNMENT REMEDIES
On the same day, Newsom vetoed a bill to exempt reparations payments from state income tax. Where there was no innocence to be gained, he refused to cost his state actual revenue.
On the other side of the bargain are the sellers, and their product is Black victimization. The author of the bill, Democratic Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, told CalMatters which companies he expects to file. "I'm thinking agriculture. I'm thinking banking, insurance. I'm thinking anything in the financial sector." Then he said about what comes next. "Once the public has this disclosure and we have a full accounting of the impact, then it's up to us to decide what that means and what we're going to do about it."
If that last line comes off as a threat, it is because it is. Bryan is telling these companies that once the grievance is documented, lawmakers will set the price of penance. And what this statement also reveals is that this is nothing more than a fishing expedition to find the crime to fuel the White guilt-Black power symbiosis.
That is why the left will never let the White guilt — Black power symbiosis die out. Kristin Nimmers, policy and campaign manager for the California Black Power Network, told Fox News Digital that "a single check is not going to holistically repair our communities." She wants "a harm-based approach, so whoever was harmed should be entitled to that repair."
The rest of us are chum in this transaction, Black children most of all. California released its new test scores on October 15. Only 33.7% of Black students met the state standard in English. In math, it was 21.5%. Our state is busy chasing the ghost of past crimes while ignoring the very crimes of miseducation taking place today.
But the White guilt-Black power symbiosis never had any interest in doing the hard work of developing young minds into individual talents. Instead, this symbiosis will wait for the companies to report back on the sins of their predecessors, and then its elites will hold up the evidence as yet more proof that California and America are systemically racist.
The past will be dragged into the present as if no progress had ever been made, the accusation refreshed and sharpened for another generation. And worst of all, the Black children who needed a state that believed in their future will instead be told that the sins in that database, from 1849, are what has been holding them back all along.
Gavin Newsom’s legislative minions just got a lesson in constitutional supremacy
It is no surprise that a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit just enjoined the blatantly unconstitutional attempt by the "No-Longer-So-Golden State" to impose restrictions on the ability of ICE and other federal agents to enforce federal immigration law. That panel was doing exactly what federal courts are supposed to do — uphold the U.S. Constitution.
On October 14 in U.S. v. California, the court tossed the so-called "No Vigilantes Act" (NVA) onto the ash heap. This law was part of the state’s continuing effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement, which has included relentless public attacks by the governor and state officials on federal agents just trying to do their job of enforcing the law. That includes noxious claims like Newsom likening them to the thuggish "secret police" of an "authoritarian" state.
The NVA required any non-uniformed "federal law enforcement officer" operating in California to "visibly display identification" when carrying out federal law enforcement duties. A federal agent violating this requirement could be criminally prosecuted by the state.
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As the Ninth Circuit pointed out, the Supremacy Clause in Article VI makes the "Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … the Supreme Law of the Land." In other words, federal law not only overrides any state law to the contrary, but it requires what is called "intergovernmental immunity." Under "the intergovernmental immunity component of the Supremacy Clause … states may not directly regulate the Federal Government’s operations or property." The panel cites to a 1996 Ninth Circuit decision, Blackburn v. U.S., on this issue, but then points out that this basic legal principle — that states cannot interfere in federal functions — goes all the way back to one of the most seminal Supreme Court cases in our history, McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). "It is the very essence of Supremacy," said the Court in McCulloch, "to remove all obstacles to its action within its own sphere, and so to modify every power vested in subordinate governments, as to exempt its own operations from their own influence." That is why "States have no power … to retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress to carry into execution the powers vested in the General Government."
California tried to argue that the NVA was constitutional because it did not "substantially burden" federal law enforcement. But the Ninth Circuit shot that down, too, saying any attempt by a state law to directly regulate "the conduct of the United States … is void irrespective of whether the regulated activities are essential to federal functions or operations, and irrespective of the degree to which the state law interferes with such functions or operations."
What made this law even worse was its threat to criminally prosecute federal agents. This is especially ironic because California attempted to do with the NVA what the Supreme Court specifically told the state it couldn’t do 136 years ago in another seminal case, In re Neagle (1890), also cited by the Ninth Circuit panel. That decision reads like a Hollywood movie but also demonstrates just how bizarre state officials have acted in California for a long time, not just in today’s heated political arena.
In re Neagle involved the state of California trying to prosecute a U.S. Marshal for murder. Marshal David Neagle was acting as a bodyguard for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field, a job the U.S. Marshal’s Service still carries out today. He shot and killed the former chief justice of California’s state supreme court, David Terry, at a railway station in the San Joaquin Valley, after Terry tried to assassinate Field. Terry was known for his violent temper and apparently had a grudge against Field for a court decision involving the prior divorce of Terry’s current wife.
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The Ninth Circuit quoted the Supreme Court’s opinion in Neagle that even the "most unquestionable and most universally applicable of state laws, such as those concerning murder, will not be allowed to control the conduct a marshal of the United States acting under and in pursuance of the laws of the United States." California couldn’t prosecute a U.S. Marshal then for doing his job, and it cannot criminally prosecute federal agents now who are "acting under and in pursuance of the [immigration] laws of the United States." End of story, end of case, end of unconstitutional state law.
By the way, a second law enacted by California’s constitutionally ignorant legislators, the "No Secret Police Act," was already enjoined by a lower court for the same reason. That law made it a criminal offense for federal agents to wear "a facial covering that conceals or obscures their facial identity." You know, the same agents who have been villainized, doxxed, followed home, harassed, run down by cars, and shot at by thugs who masquerade as protesters.
As the Ninth Circuit correctly recognized, the lawlessness occurring in California is not limited to thugs. Perhaps some remedial courses on the Constitution for Governor Newsom and the California legislature may be in order.