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Former first lady Michelle Obama recently told SXSW London that imposter syndrome is something she sees in women, minorities, and people who don't think they're supposed to be in positions of power — but not in white men.And BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock couldn’t disagree more.“To have sat at every powerful table there is, I have seen it all. Every table. I’ve been at it ... it’s not all that. Because there's so many people like me, like you, women, minorities, folks who aren’t supposed to be at these tables because they are sitting around thinking that they are imposters,” Obama said.“You know, imposter syndrome. ... I haven’t met one [white man] who has felt it,” she added.“Obama is describing something real. That ache is real. She just got the diagnosis wrong because imposter syndrome is not a white problem, and it is not a black problem. It’s a God problem,” Whitlock says.He describes imposter syndrome as the “fear men and women carry when they wear their resume as armor rather than the armor of God.”“The only people who feel like frauds are the people who forgot whose they are,” he explains.“The world looks at that feeling and prescribes more affirmation, more representation, more DEI. We’ll fix the fear of not belonging by putting more people in the room. And it never works. The ache gets worse,” he adds.Unlike Obama, Whitlock believes that imposter syndrome isn’t defined by the color of your skin.“Only imposters have imposter syndrome. And I’m not saying that about black people. I’m saying it about secular people, about every person, any color, who built their identity on a foundation that can’t hold the weight,” he says.The fear is that someone will recognize that you don’t belong in the seat you’re in, which comes from “believing your seat was given to you for a reason that has nothing to do with you.”“And here’s where we have to be honest. We have to be honest about DEI and affirmative action because this is the uncomfortable part. When you tell an entire generation you’re here to fill a quota, you’re here because of your skin, you’re here to make the numbers look right, you have manufactured imposter syndrome on an industrial scale,” Whitlock explains.“Of course they feel like frauds,” he says, adding, “You told them they were.”Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Trouble likely awaits a budget resolution tied to the SAVE America Act as it heads to the stubborn upper chamber of Congress.On Wednesday, the House passed a $95 billion budget resolution, 216-214, carrying with it important incentives for states to pass the SAVE America Act, alongside funding for Iran-related operations and farm aid.'It's like the Senate is a place that you send things when you want them to die.'The $95 billion package includes $73 billion for defense and intelligence funding, $12 billion for agricultural aid, and $10 billion in election-related funding for states, a key aspect of the SAVE America Act.The bill itself is five primary issues: voter ID, proof of citizenship to register, an end to universal mail-in ballots, and bans on transgender athletes in women's sports and transgender surgery for minors.The SAVE America Act is now sitting with a Republican-controlled Senate that is in apparently no rush to deal with it.Trump ramped up his pressure campaign against Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at a Georgia rally Wednesday, urging supporters to flood Thune's office with calls demanding action on passing the budget bill and, eventually, the SAVE America Act.RELATED: House narrowly passes SAVE America Act as rider to trillion-dollar spending bill Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesHe credited Johnson and the House for doing their part, but blamed the Senate for the holdup: "It's like the Senate is a place that you send things when you want them to die."“We’re not going to take this any longer. … I’m trying to be nice; I’m trying to be really nice,” Trump added.Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) also suggested on X that Thune should "step aside" if he won't act.Politico's reporting from inside the GOP conference shows the resistance runs well past the three sitting holdouts — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).A source familiar with the matter told Blaze News that Thune is prioritizing the continuing resolution to avoid another shutdown and that the budget resolution is in reserve.Asked Wednesday how close he was to 50 votes, Thune said only, "Good question."By Thursday, he was blunter: "I can't count to 50 right now on a budget resolution."Per Politico, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters Wednesday he doesn't expect Thune to take it up at all; Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) isn't sure the votes exist in the first place; and newly named Budget Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said there has been no formal conversation yet.Thune himself has asked colleagues, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?"Reconciliation needs only a simple majority, as opposed to the 60-vote threshold for passing bills into law. Even so, the bill has failed twice — once in April and again in June — with Collins, Murkowski, Tillis, and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voting no alongside every Democrat both times.RELATED: New Jersey's noncitizen voter blame game doesn't add up — literally Win McNamee/Getty ImagesEarlier this month, Speaker Johnson called the package "our best shot" at 50 votes plus Vice President JD Vance as the tiebreaker. For now, McConnell's indefinite absence drops the vote count to 99, meaning Republicans need a plain majority. One holdout flipping to yes still passes it outright, while an abstention reopens a possible 49-49 tie, putting Vance's tiebreaker back in play.Only if all three hold firm does the package fail.Asked directly at Tuesday's weekly Senate GOP leadership press conference whether the House's reconciliation push is more than an academic exercise, Thune demurred: "We'll see ... what they get done this week and what it all consists of."He confirmed the Senate would "hold" any budget resolution the House sends over — but specifically as a fallback to fund the government, not to advance the SAVE America Act."I hope that's not necessary," he said, noting he's already having "productive conversations" with Democrats on a separate funding deal to carry the government past the November election.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A former teacher of the year from Mississippi has been arrested on charges of child sex crimes, according to authorities.The Sun Herald reported that Olivia Marie Smith was arrested and charged with sexual battery and enticement of a child to meet for sexual purposes.'We want to reassure parents, students, and staff that we are addressing this matter with seriousness and diligence.'Anyone convicted of sexual battery in Mississippi faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network.Mississippi state law notes that anyone convicted of enticement of a child to meet for sexual purposes faces a minimum prison sentence of two years and a 10-year maximum, plus a fine of up to $10,000.Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Taylor set Smith's bond at $100,000 during a probable cause hearing ThursdaySmith was an assistant principal at the Oak Park Elementary School at the time of her arrest, according to the Sun Herald. But SuperTalk Mississippi Media reported that Smith was a teacher at Ocean Springs Middle School at the time of the alleged child sex crimes. Both schools are part of the same district.WLOX-TV reported that Smith won teacher of the year in 2022 when she was employed at Ocean Springs Middle School.The Ocean Springs Police Department said it was alerted June 20 about accusations of a school staffer having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.The Ocean Springs School District issued a statement to WLOX saying, "After being tipped off about potential inappropriate behavior taking place involving an employee, OSSD immediately notified OSPD and Mississippi Child Protective Services."The school district also conducted an internal investigation into the accusations.The Sun Herald reported that police conducted an investigation and accused Smith of engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.The Ocean Springs School District is fully cooperating with authorities in the investigation, police said.The district said it fired Smith following an internal investigation.Smith is not listed on the Oak Park Elementary School website or on the Ocean Springs Middle School site.RELATED: Former first-grade teacher pleads guilty to sex crimes against teen student after she allegedly admitted affair to husband The Ocean Springs School District said in the statement, "We are deeply saddened by charges announced today by the Ocean Springs Police Department against one of our former employees.""We understand the gravity of this situation and the concern it may raise in our community," the school district said.The statement continued, "We want to reassure parents, students, and staff that we are addressing this matter with seriousness and diligence. The safety of our students and staff members remains our highest priority."The school district said it "will not have any further comments on this matter."Neither the Ocean Springs Police Department nor the Jackson County Sheriff's Office immediately responded to Blaze News' requests for comment.Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Ocean Springs Police Department at 228-875-2211 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Donald Trump is bullish on American technology and keen to see America dominate the "global race for AI." He has, accordingly, become a champion of artificial intelligence data centers and has even tasked his administration with using federally owned land and resources to help develop them.Trump emphasized during an event on Thursday at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in the national capital that opposition to the erection of data centers across the country is futile — but that consumers should not fear having to shoulder the burden of supporting such inevitable facilities.'You have to go with it.'In his State of the Union address in February, the president acknowledged that many Americans are "concerned that energy demand from AI data centers could unfairly drive up their electric utility bills."Recent polls show that Americans largely oppose data centers. A Gallup poll conducted in March found that 71% of Americans somewhat or strongly oppose the construction of an AI data center in their area. A survey conducted this month by Public First found that 41% of respondents oppose building a data center within three miles of their homes, up from 28% in January, and only 24% of respondents support such an initiative, down from 37% at the beginning of the year.To assuage such concerns, Trump announced in his SOTU speech that the negotiation of the "Rate Payer Protection Pledge," which has companies agree to: spare consumers from price hikes by building, bringing, or buying new power supply; paying for new power delivery infrastructure upgrades; paying special rates "whether they use the electricity or not"; and investing local job creation.Within days of the announcement, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed the nonbinding pledge.On Thursday, Trump revealed that the pledge now has among its signatories 23 governors, various state legislators, numerous electricity providers, and data center developers.RELATED: The path to America-first AI The three Republican governors who did not sign the pledge were Phil Scott of Vermont, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Ron DeSantis of Florida. DeSantis ratified legislation in May to ensure that "local governments maintain the authority to reject data center development in their communities" and to protect Florida's water resources from data center consumption.According to the White House, the pledge "now covers 80% of all power delivered to U.S. homes and businesses and protects 263 million Americans when a data center is built nearby."After suggesting that adherence to the pledge and the construction of additional infrastructure to support the incoming data centers would actually drive down utility rates, Trump stressed that "America's goal must be to dominate the future, and that includes being the number one superpower in artificial intelligence.""Whoever wins that race is probably going to win, period," he added.Trump suggested that foreign "propaganda" might be partly to blame for those "communists" and others now opposed to having data centers in their back yards. According to the president, communities desirous of data centers "are the smart communities because it means tremendous numbers of jobs, very little actual disruption.""You have to convince your community how great these things — you can't fight it. You have to go with it," said Trump. "If you don't have it, everybody else wants it."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!