Category Archives: Federalist

The weeks upon weeks of negotiations leading up to the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill were just the prelude to the absolute whopper that is the Bernie Sanders budget resolution, which hit the wires Monday morning and will hit the Senate floor Tuesday.

The $3.5 trillion documentis a full-on attempt to remake the American economy, the labor markets, blow off our immigration laws, rewrite the tax code, impose a climate agenda, and profoundly alter the relationship between the government, and those it governs.

Among the bills highlights:

It is important to note that congressional budgets are blueprints. Budget resolutions never become law; they merely provide the umbrella document, or the outline, under which appropriations the actual spending takes place. Much of that process will begin in September when Senate committees put forward their reconciliation bill. Reconciliation also has an associated unlimited amendment process, or vote-a-rama, and passes with a simple majority.

Taken together, this current $1 trillion infrastructure bill, plus the $3.5 trillion budget resolution, which will be accompanied with a reconciliation bill of potentially an even greater amount, is one of the most aggressive efforts from Democrats in the modern era to transform the economy in their image.

At some level, you have to respect the moxie. Democrats are using a Democrats-only reconciliation package to transform the country. Republicans couldnt even muster the votes on their own side to use reconciliation to repeal Obamacare.

Rachel Bovard is The Federalist's senior tech columnist and the senior director of policy at the Conservative Partnership Institute.

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Democrats' $3.5 Trillion Budget Resolution Would Remake The US Economy - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Federalist Senior Editor Christopher Bedford and Culture Editor Emily Jashsinky discuss New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos resignation and how the corporate media ignored his wrongdoings, all for the sake of being anti-Trump.

Every single thing about this guy was in broad freaking daylight and they just ignored it because theyre soulless awful, trolls, Bedford said.

When they should have been looking at his record critically, they were very busy talking about how theyre Cuomo-sexual, they were busy lauding him, they were busy praising him, Jashinsky added.

While Bedford and Jashinsky say they were caught off guard by Cuomos announcement, they both expect him to re-enter the scene.

I wouldnt be surprised if he came back to governor, Jashinsky said. I think maybe thats why he actually resigned is because the impeachment, that would be a problem for, you know, running again, whereas, if you can just say he resigned because he was becoming a distraction.

I dont think hes gone, Bedford said.

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The Media's Shameless Fawning Over Andrew Cuomo Fuels Institutional Distrust - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Tim Winter, President of the Parents Television and Media Council, joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to explain how entertainment outlets are sexualizing content designed for teens.

We have a lot of years of being an adult. The blessing of childhood and the innocence is something we should preserve as long as we possibly can andunfortunately, there are some folks who really seem not to care about that when it comes to our entertainment, Winter said.

Hollywood and other TV entertainment providers, Winter said, hypocritically promote and produce sexually explicit shows that display harmful content to kids while also demanding reverence for movements such as #MeToo.

If were really going to have a dialogue about the ills of society and how to make them better, we need to stop becoming entertained by them, Winter said.

If Hollywood is trying to fight the sexualization of women, why are they asking us every night to be entertained by sexualizing women? The contradiction is concerning, its appalling and again we go back to what is the ultimate harm on children, on our future, Americans, on our culture, on our society? he asked. When Hollywood does something positive, nobodys better. They can do it in a fascinating way, a brilliant way, in a powerful storytelling way. But, but when they are doing something that is toxic and harmful, sadly, nothing is more powerful.

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How The Sexualization Of Teen Television Is Ruining Culture - The Federalist

A new study has found that individuals that have previously contracted COVID-19 show a more potent antibody response than those who were solely vaccinated for the respiratory virus.

Conducted by a research team at Rockefeller University in New York, the analysis found that between a first (prime) and second (booster) shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, the memory B cells of infection-nave individuals produced antibodies that evolved increased neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, but also that no additional increase in the potency or breadth of this activity was observed thereafter.

Meanwhile, researchers determined that not only do recovered COVID-19 patients possess neutralizing antibodies up to a year after infection, but that such infection simultaneously assists in offering protection against developing variants.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection produces B-cell responses that continue to evolve for at least one year, the study read. During that time, memory B cells express increasingly broad and potent antibodies that are resistant to mutations found in variants of concern.

The analysis later goes on to conclude, Memory antibodies selected over time by natural infection have greater potency and breadth than antibodies elicited by vaccination.

Moreover, the results suggest that boosting vaccinated individuals with currently available mRNA vaccines would produce a quantitative increase in plasma neutralizing activity but not the qualitative advantage against variants obtained by vaccinating convalescent individuals.

The studys findings add to further mounting evidence detailing the level of protection natural immunity offers previously infected COVID-19 patients. Last month, Emory University published an extensive investigation describing the efficiency of long-term immunity against the respiratory virus. Similar discoveries have also been identified in research released by the Cleveland Clinic and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, respectively.

Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a student at the University of Mary Washington, where he plans to major in Political Science and minor in Journalism. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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Study Finds Greater Antibody Response In Recovered COVID-19 Patients Than Vaccinated Ones - The Federalist

Rep. Rashida Tlaib partied without a mask at an indoor wedding reception on Sunday, defying Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for the area.

The party was held in Wayne County, Michigan, on Sunday a CDC-classified substantial risk for community transmission county, in which the CDC recommends masking indoors regardless of vaccination status.

The congresswoman can be seen dancing, holding hands, and hugging other people, none of whom appear to be wearing masks, in video footage uploaded to Instagram by the band that performed at the wedding, Bassam Saleh.

The party occurred the same day that Tlaib attacked Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, for urging Americans to ignore the ever-changing CDC guidelines.

The KY Senator is throwing a tantrum as his state is being swallowed whole by this virus, again. People are getting sick and dying, Tlaib wrote. He needs to put politics aside, and put people first. Start resisting the virus.

Tlaibs masking hypocrisy, whereby the elite ruling class lives by a different set of rules than the ones they create for everyone else, came amid controversy over former President Barack Obamas maskless birthday party, which New York Times correspondent Annie Karni justified because the crowd was sophisticated.

Tlaib has also come under fire in recent months for promoting antisemitic movements and calling for the abolition of police.

Maggie Hroncich is an intern at The Federalist and a student at Hillsdale College.

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Rashida Tlaib Pulls An Obama, Parties Maskless While Pushing Mandates - The Federalist

American Airlines announced it will be partnering with the social media app TikTok to bring the entertainment platform to its roster of inflight entertainment offerings.

According to the companys press release, fliers traveling on Viasat-equipped narrowbody aircraft will be provided with 30 minutes of free access to TikTok, including the ability to search for popular video creators, their favorite topics or even hashtags like #travel, #traveltips, or #traveltheworld to view related video content for travel and adventure enthusiasts. When exploring TikTok, customers will also be able to access a bevy of videos pertaining to travel inspiration, music and dance trends, and comedians and pop culture experts, among others.

Faster Wi-Fi allows us to deliver diverse inflight entertainment options and invest in innovative partnerships with platforms like TikTok, said Clarissa Sebastian, Americans managing director of premium customer experience and onboard products. Customers play the lead role in helping us better understand what content they want during their inflight experience and TikTok is one of the platforms they love on the ground, and were thrilled to work with Viasat to give customers free access to TikTok while theyre in the air as well.

The newly announced partnership, however, raises serious U.S. national security concerns. TikToks parent company ByteDance is a China-based company with a long track record of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including assisting the state in disseminating propaganda and condoning the regimes human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. Moreover, Zhang Fuping, ByteDances vice president, is the head of the companys Chinese Communist Party committee.

Speaking with The Federalist, J. Michael Waller, senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy, blasted the new partnership while also describing how TikTok represents a major national security issue for the United States.

The fact that a legacy American carrier with a global flight service is using a Chinese digital information operation as part of its offerings to passengers is really an alarming thing to see, Waller said. There are concerns that it is collecting intelligence on everyone who uses the service. If thats the case, you have a leading American global air carrier that is incorporating Chinese spyware into its passengers entertainment offerings around the world.

Waller went on to warn about potential consequences of the deal, noting that TikTok on American Airline flights could indirectly give the CCP access to highly influential figures throughout the United States.

[American Airlines] caters to businessmen. It caters to diplomats. It caters to intelligence officers, Waller said. It caters really to anyone who has a role in making decisions or influencing policy in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and now American Airlines is providing the Chinese with a means of accessing them while theyre basically held as a captive audience wherever theyre traveling.

Federalist senior contributor Helen Raleigh echoed similar sentiments, saying companies like American Airlines must recognize the malicious intentions of the CCP, take national security seriously, and take actions to protect U.S. customers data.

The biggest concern is data collection and how the CCP will use and put todays youth, who will be our future senators, scientists, and businessmen, in compromising positions because of silly, embarrassing stuff they shared, she told The Federalist. No U.S. companys bottom line is secure if our national security is compromised.

While TikTok has repeatedly denied any connections to the communist government, the CCPs 2017 National Intelligence Lawrequires any Chinese citizen or organization to support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law, and keep the secrets of the national intelligence work known to the public.

When pressed by The Federalist about whether American Airlines was concerned about TikToks connections to the Chinese government, a spokeswoman for the company avoided answering the question but claimed that American Airlines does not share any data with TikTok through this offering, and that the airliner does not have a direct commercial relationship with the company.

Accessing Americans free inflight entertainment content is important to our customers, and American strives to offer options that accommodate a wide range of preferences, she said. Based on customer feedback, connecting with family and friends through personal accounts on social media platforms while in flight is important to them. With that in mind, we work with our Wi-Fi provider to offer customers more of what they want a diverse variety of entertainment options, which currently includes TikTok.

During this promotional period we will be evaluating and learning from customer feedback and engagement to help inform future decision making, she added.

In a letter addressed to Americans CEO Doug Parker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio urged the company to terminate the so-called innovative partnership, while citing the threat the deal poses to U.S. national security.

By partnering with TikTok, American Airlines is now lending its brand credibility to a company that endangers national security and the data security of tens of millions of Americans, many of them minors, Rubio wrote. I urge you to suspend American Airlines innovative partnership with TikTok while the U.S. Government completes its investigation into the national security risks posed by the Chinese-owned app.

The deal between American and TikTok officially launched on Monday, Aug. 2, with airliners set to incorporate the offering immediately.

Shawn Fleetwood is an intern at The Federalist and a student at the University of Mary Washington, where he plans to major in Political Science and minor in Journalism. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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American Airlines Risks National Security By Partnering With TikTok - The Federalist

The Church of Facebook is set to capture the human soul in silicon. On July 25, the New York Times reported that since 2017 the social media giant has quietly cultivated exclusive partnerships with select religious communities. As always, money is involved.

While Facebooks ultimate goals remain sealed behind non-disclosure agreements, the Times article does hint at things to come: The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money.

The partnerships reveal how Big Tech and religion are converging, the Times continues. Facebook is shaping the future of religious experience itself, as it has done for political and social life.

In other words, ultra-mod spiritual centers will be blessed by mass data extraction, algorithmic polarization, and censorship of theological misinformation.

If Facebooks history is any guide, every digital prayer will be scooped up and turned into a data point. Livestreamed preachers who deny the sanctity of LGBT lifestyles will be flagged and punished as extremists. Best of all, smartphone-addicted congregants can donate their last widows mite with the touch of a virtual button. Sounds like a little slice of heaven, doesnt it?

The Church of Facebook is just one part of a much broader vision. Three days before the Times article appeared, The Verge published an in-depth interview with founder Mark Zuckerberg about his ambition to bring the metaverse to life. The term refers to the evolution of 24/7 screentime into a warped synthesis of physical reality, mixed reality, augmented reality, and virtual reality.

The Metaverse was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 dystopian novel Snow Crash. The author imagined the decadent virtual realm as an escape from a dismal society run by mega-corporations. Now that the Metaverse is being funded by Silicon Valley oligarchs and Wall Street traders, were supposed to believe itll be a fine place to live.

In his Verge interview, Zuckerberg describes the Metaverse as an embodied internet the holy grail of social interactions where we can work, play, and enjoy a sense of presence alongside teleporting holograms. He predicts that within the next five years around the same time Elon Musk hopes to achieve digital telepathy through brain chips Facebook will transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.

According to Facebooks chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, it will also be a spiritual endeavor. Faith organizations and social media are a natural fit because fundamentally both are about connection, she told the Times. Our hope is that one day people will host religious services in virtual reality spaces as well, or use augmented reality as an educational tool to teach their children the story of their faith.

Imagine a synagogue where a holographic burning bush recites the Decalogue, or a cathedral where saint icons speak to you directly, or maybe animated deities waving their many arms in Hindu temples. Immersive idolatry is the future of false religion. With 3 billion users worldwide and zero sense of sacred boundaries Facebook is poised to lead this spiritual revolution.

Its true that with enough hyperbole, anything can be described as a religion. People often say things like Art is my religion or Nature is my religion. Critics also use this to scold their opponents, perhaps accurately, saying Science is their religion or even Video gaming is their religion. But this is not hyperbole: Technology has become a religion.

If you look at the personalities behind techno-fetishism, they frequently describe digital culture in spiritual terms. Smart devices produce all the miracles promised by religion, and for an affordable price. Its a dream world with a long history.

In Francis Bacons unfinished 1626 novel The New Atlantis, he describes a technocratic utopia with perspective-houses, where we make demonstrations of all lights and radiations. We procure means [to] represent things near as afar off; and things afar off as near. The pioneering scientist warns of vivid mechanical illusions that could be presented as miracles. As far back as the 17th century, Bacon was imagining holograms. In a sense, his New Atlantis has already arrived on your laptop display.

Striking a dissonant note, in 1976 the first Apple computer went on sale for $666.66. Despite the cuddly Steve Wozniaks insistence that it was just a fluke, the numeric symbolism has dark resonance in the Christian imagination. You dont have to be superstitious to appreciate the mythical implications. When I visited the famous Apple Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, a large decal on the front window read: Three apples changed the world. The first tempted Eve, the second inspired Newton, and the third was offered to the world half-eaten by Steve Jobs.

Many observers are thrilled by these infernal archetypes. In 1988, Timothy Leary published his classic essay Digital Polytheism: Load and Run High-tech Paganism. The High Priest of LSD explicitly describes the personal computer in terms of ritual magic: Today, digital alchemists have at their command tools of a precision and power unimagined by their predecessors.

Computer screens ARE magical mirrors, presenting alternate realities at varying degrees of abstraction on command (invocation). Aleister Crowley defined magick as the art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with our will, Leary wrote.

Its a curious fact that, like many techno-fetishists, Leary was as obsessed with Crowleyan magick as he was with psychedelics and cybernetics. In fact, his essay opens with Crowleys catchy little ditty:

We place no reliance

On virgin or pigeon;

Our Method is Science,

Our Aim is Religion.

In the smartphone age, even a midwit wizard can summon transportation, Sichuan noodles, or casual sex with a few swipes of the touchscreen. But thats just a cheap parlor trick. Big Tech titans can observe our inner worlds in the aggregate, or each of us one by one. They can use that information to sell targeted ads, manipulate public consciousness, or sway national elections. Its just like magic, except it works (almost) every time.

This mystical connection is not some secret conspiracy. For instance, on Good Friday of 2020 while religious communities were forbidden to gather in-person and forced to worship online Microsoft launched a controversial ad for their HoloLens 2 mixed-reality glasses. The advertisement featured an art exhibit called The Life by Marina Abramovi. In it, we see goggled hipsters standing around a bougie gallery, looking pleased with themselves. Suddenly, the Spirit Cooking sorceress materializes in a red dress.

I believe the art of the future is art without objects, Abramovi narrates. There is always this great ideal of immortality. Once you die, the work of art will never die. Here, I am kept forever.

The ad may be as tacky as it is sinister, but you dont have to be a crazed dot-connector to see the profound symbolism. Its merely one expression of an increasingly influential worldview.

Incidentally, both Microsoft and Facebook are among the many partners at the XR Association whove joined forces to manifest the Metaverse in our daily lives from basic infrastructure to spirituality. Google, Sony, and HTC are also leaders in the effort. Immersive technology will play a vital role in Americas drive to Build Back Better, the XRA website promises. Over the course of the next decade, the physical and digital worlds will merge at an unprecedented scale.

While citizens bicker over vaccine mandates and debt ceilings, Big Tech is crafting a parallel universe for a new breed of humans to inhabit. Right now, the magic mirrors used to enter that world are touchscreens in our palms. In the coming years, well be wearing them on our foreheads. Each of us will be free to spiral off into our own inconsequential reality, playing make-believe in the shadow of a homogenizing corporate umbrella. It will be heaven on earth.

Maybe you dont buy that story, and thats fine. Dont worry about it! If Zuckerbergs proposed universal basic income is sufficiently generous, the powers that be will just buy it for you.

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Mark Zuckerberg Is Planting The First Church Of The Metaverse - The Federalist

President Joe Biden is reportedly considering naming Ezekiel Emanuel, who clearly stated that he doesnt believe older people contribute to society and that he wants to die by 75, to head the Food and Drug Administration as its permanent commissioner, Politico reports.

Emanuel, 63, served as an adviser on Bidens campaign before joining the new administrations COVID-19 advisory board. During his time there, he called for prolonged lockdowns to fight COVID-19.

Politico notes that Emanuel has little experience in drug policymaking and has never worked at FDA, but claims that he is in the running for the top position after years of appealing to Democrats and their agenda.

Hes won allies within the administration due to his background aiding the Obama administration, health policy vision and broader knowledge of the government, the article stated.

Emanuel built his reputation with Democrats and Biden after previously leading the Obama administration in their efforts to create the Affordable Care Act. Emanuel appears to have found long-lasting favor with Biden and his team such as the scandal-plagued Dr. Anthony Fauci who Politico claims is one of the oncologists biggest backers.

The White House denied that Emanuel is being considered for the position, but Politico said that Emanuel did not rule out being interested in the job if approached.

The article also noted how other potential candidates will face confirmation battles in the Senate that they probably cant win.

Bidens push to choose an FDA commissioner comes as the agency is evaluating whether to offer full approval for the COVID-19 shot. Emanuel previously urged institutions such as universities and healthcare facilities to mandate the virus vaccine.

Jordan Davidson is a staff writer at The Federalist. She graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism.

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Guy Who Thinks You Should Die At 75 Wants To Take Over FDA - The Federalist

A summer Learning Guide published by Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia is teaching anti-police rhetoric to second graders. According to a whistleblowers copy published by Parents Defending Education, this years guide promotes a video from Woke Kindergarten that claims, I feel safe when there are no police.

Under a list of suggested texts, the six-page document recommends YouTube videos by Ki, the creator of Woke Kindergarten. The first suggested video is entitled Safe by Ki (Woke Kindergarten 60 second text). It starts by saying, We all deserve to feel safe. However, the video quickly becomes political.

I feel safe when Im with my dogs. I feel safe when Im with my partner. I feel safe when Im with my friends. I feel safe when people listen to my feelings. I feel safe when there are no police, the video says. It attempts to normalize anti-police rhetoric, by telling impressionable young children that its just as reasonable to feel safe around dogs as it is to feel unsafe around police.

Its no ones job to tell me how I feel, the video concludes. But its everyones job to make sure that people who are being treated unfairly feel safe too.

As the narrator speaks, the video shows young protesters holding signs that say, Racism Isnt Born, Its Taught and Black Lives Matter, a reference to the leftist organization connected to rioters who attacked and destroyed businesses across America last summer.

Fairfax County Public Schools summer learning guide also suggests a second video, called Good Trouble by Ki (Woke Kindergarten 60 second text). This video tells young children, Sometimes its good to get into trouble. Its good when you are protecting your friends. Its good when you are showing that you care about peoples lives.

It also displays an image of anti-gun rights March For Our Lives protestors, implying that its okay for kids to break the law if theyre supporting left-wing movements. The video invokes the legacy of civil rights leader John Lewis, in an attempt to suggest that the civil rights movement of the 1960s is analogous to todays left-wing politicking.

Necessary change has to happen, in order for Black and Indigenous people to be free. Which is why [John Lewis] kept getting into good trouble, until he couldnt anymore, the video claims. Now its our turn. We can get into good trouble.

Parents Defending Education points out, Some critics have noted that the concept of good trouble is confusing for second graders as they are also being taught, I feel safe when there are no police. Not only are second graders being taught that law enforcement is evil, but theyre also being implicitly encouraged to break the law.

According to Woke Kindergartens own website, pushing leftism is exactly the point of these videos. Woke Kindergarten creator Ki self-describes as an ardent radical. Ki (they/them) is an abolitionist early educator, coach, consultant and creative entrepreneur currently innovating ways to unlearn, heal, liberate and create with their pedagogy, Woke Kindergarten, Kis bio says. The website alsotouts a commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-Black liberation.

The language of abolitionist suggests Woke Kindergarten is dedicated to eradicating Americas law enforcement. The sites Woke Wonderings page displays a series of infographics, which gear anti-police rhetoric toward children.

If we abolished the police, what else could we do to keep people in the world safe? one image asks, unintentionally acknowledging that police do, indeed, keep people safe. Abolish means to get rid of for good, another image says. When we abolish something, we stop it from existing.

Woke Kindergarten also publishes Woke Read Alouds for small children, as well as woke words of the day like protest and abolish.

This is the organization whose materials are being recommended to Virginia children. Parents are sending their tax dollars and more importantly, their children to Fairfax County Public Schools, whose summer reading materials encourage students to defy the law and fear those who serve in blue. And this is just the latest, as critical race theory persists in American schools.

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Video From Fairfax Public Schools: 'I Feel Safe When There Are No Police' - The Federalist

Spoilers are included in this podcast.

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Federalist Publisher Ben Domenech joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to share his thoughts on movies such as The Father, Old, and Pig and explain how they capture the current cultural angst.

One thing thats in common with all of these movies that were gonna be talking about is that you can either buy them or rent them on early access on Amazon or through a few other different streaming places so you can see all of these if youre in a space where the theaters are still restricted and not showing that many non-big-budget movies, Domenech said.

Unfortunately, the big-budget movies of the moment, particularly, I would say Black Widow, have really disappointed people who were looking forward to them. They have not lived up to in any way, I think, what folks were hoping to be able to get back to when it came to the theater experience, he added.

These three films were not necessarily made on big budgets, Jashisnky points out, but portray a larger trend of mid-budget movies that will outperform their budgets and are going to be sort of that sweet spot for streamers and even for box office films.

A lot of these big tentpole movies are gonna have to seek out new IP orrejigger things. Were gonna get newapproaches to the X-Men. Therell be reboots and things like that, but that also leaves an opening in this time ofkind of the streaming uptick to have a lot of these mid-budgetand low-budget films that just have a couple of recognizable actors and lean more on the writing, potentially have more success, Domenech said.

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Podcast: Three New Movies That Capture Cultural Angst - The Federalist