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Recent research appears to confirm what many older people have been noticing for years: Younger generations are falling behind on cognitive skills. Measured IQs are dropping, and abilities like verbal fluency and nonverbal reasoning are declining as well.If we’re going to reverse this decline in the young, parents and older adults are going to have to do what you might call “re-parenting.” We’re going to have to teach young people some basic skills.Thank God for Mrs. McGonnigle. She sat with me during lunch for an entire week doing flash cards until I had my times tables burned into my brain.These are skills that we largely seem to have absorbed by osmosis in our youths. For a number of reasons, these younger generations haven't. Digital deprivationIt’s not that kids are being born with fewer “hard-wired” smarts than before; it’s not that raw intelligence at birth is declining. Instead, it looks environmental, and the biggest culprit appears to be the “the rapid integration of digital technology into education.”Bioinformatics researcher Shibasis Rath does a good job of putting complicated studies into plain English in his article “Is Gen Z the first generation less intelligent than their parents?”The research in both Europe and the U.S. finds that younger generations show noticeable declines in their ability to reason abstractly, to solve novel problems on their own, and to engage in numerical/mathematical reasoning.As Rath writes:A large analysis of nearly 400,000 American adults tested between 2006 and 2018 found declines in verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and matrix reasoning — key markers of fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve novel problems. Spatial reasoning showed modest improvement, but overall composite scores fell, with the sharpest declines among young adults aged 18 to 22.What does the research suggest is the biggest culprit? Anyone who has watched a smartphone generation struggle with basic tasks will not be surprised.Those interested in digging into the data can read some pertinent studies here and also here. To summarize, research on intelligence, measured by IQ and other tests, used to find a consistent upward trend over time. This is called the “Flynn Effect.”From the 1930s to about 2000, researchers found IQs and mental skills rising in each subsequent generation. But then it flattened out. Worse, though, the curve started to decline around 2010; this was just a few years after the introduction of the smartphone.Many people remarked that giving young people phones that let them outsource their thinking to a machine would lead nowhere good. But the pushback was, and is, loud and boisterous. Those who made such warnings were called “Luddites” and “Boomers.”Math muddleWell, it did happen. Think about how you’ve noticed that younger people are confused about how to deal with cash at stores. If they key in the wrong amount, they don’t know how to make change. This means they can’t do the simple arithmetic in their heads that people my age (51) and thereabouts do automatically. They don’t even know how to do simple subtraction on paper, because schools teach “new math.” If you want to go down a nightmare rabbit hole of what public school math instruction looks like, start here.This problem with math is mirrored in the ways reading is taught today, like using the discredited “whole language” approach instead of phonics. The series “Sold a Story” tells the tale in a compelling way.If you still don’t believe today’s young people are floundering and adrift without basic skills, check out this demonstration from a college classroom. Before you watch this short video, understand that it’s not from a bottom-tier community college. These are Duke University students who have no idea which direction is north and who struggle, and fail, to read a simple road map.The professor in that video is fighting the good fight with humor as he tries to skill-up his college students with the kind of knowledge older generations had by third or fourth grade. But he can’t do it alone. Teachers can’t do it alone, because the problem doesn’t start at school — it starts at home.Phoning it inIt starts with parental mistakes. Not malice, not abuse, just honest mistakes. This is hard for parents to hear. Heck, it’s hard in 2026 for anyone to hear that they made a mistake or made the wrong choice. But we have to face the truth if we’re going to do better by our kids.The first and biggest mistake was giving children smartphones at all. And no, they don’t “need” them. If a child needs to be able to call his parents wherever he is, a flip phone will do that without the collateral damage of instant access to violence and pornography right in Johnny’s pocket.But it’s not just the obscene and damaging internet content that’s the problem. It’s deeper. When Johnny has a GPS system, a calculator, an AI “write my email” program in his hands, he’s going to use them instead of his brain.So what are we to do? It’s time to be “old-fashioned” again. Wise parents will put their youngsters back in time and take away the digital crutches that have stunted their growth.1. How to be boredTake that smartphone away. No child 16 or under should have a smartphone. If you’re not willing to do this, close this tab and stop reading, because you’ve already decided you’re not going to help your kid grow. Yes, other kids, and other parents, will point out to your kid that “you’re the only one who doesn’t have one.” This is an excellent opportunity to impart that timeless parental wisdom: "If every kid jumped off a bridge ..."For Gen X kids, boredom was the training ground of childhood — the quiet stretch of time that forced you to invent games, pick up a book, wander outside, or simply learn how to be alone with your own thoughts.2. How to read a mapBuy your child a map of your city, and then expand to an atlas of your state. Sit down and show your kid how to read the map’s instructions (the legend that explains symbols), and plot out the route from your house to your kid’s school. Then have your child plot a route from his school to whatever his favorite destination in town might be. This has to be done by hand, writing down steps by hand, on real paper. Yes, it matters. No, typing doesn’t form the same neural connections. Then keep going to more complicated routes.3. How to memorize math facts with flash cardsDoes your daughter struggle with math? Does she have a hard time with arithmetic? It’s time for flash cards. In third grade, I was the only kid in class who struggled to memorize his multiplication tables. Thank God for Mrs. McGonnigle. She sat with me during lunch for an entire week doing flash cards until I had my times tables burned into my brain. This kind of rote memorization is the nonnegotiable, must-have building block for moving on to long division, algebra, and more.4. How to get places without a chauffeur This one’s easy, and it will save you time: Stop driving your kid to school and everywhere else he wants to go. If school is a mile away, he can walk. I did, and most of you reading did too. No, it’s not true that it’s “mostly too dangerous in these modern times.” That’s only true in some areas, but even parents in safe neighborhoods have fallen prey to hysteria; they won’t even let their kids ride bikes until sunset. Reverse that.5. How to cookTeach them basic cooking. Not by directing them to a website with GPS-style “turn-by-turn” steps and directions — by showing them and getting them to put their hands on the mixing bowl and the stove along with you. You don’t need detailed recipes to teach basic cooking like pasta, grilled sandwiches, meat loaf, and other home staples. Gen Z thinks DoorDash is “how food happens.” Teaching them kitchen skills will give them better physical health, it will save them money, and it will show them how much more affordable (and tasty) food can be. If you need a reference cookbook, I recommend the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" (a 1980s version if you can find it). The book explains basic techniques in food preparation that make sense and all fit together.RELATED: Cooking is easy; it's our modern anxiety that makes it hard The Print Collector/Getty ImagesParents: I know it’s not easy. You’re swimming against a huge cultural and commercial tide that wants to swallow your kids’ minds and money. Tech companies don’t want to improve your kids’ quality of life — they want them dumbed down and dependent, and they’re doing a very fine job. Only you can stop this.It will be lonely for a lot of you. Other parents will think you’re that kooky, crunchy mom or the too-strict dad. All your kids’ friends will poke fun if your daughter doesn’t have an iPhone. Yes, I’m afraid those things will happen.But so what? You can handle this. Yes, you can. You know you can, because you know that you did when you were growing up. You can turn this into a lesson for your children too. Model good responses for them. Be confident in how you let silly jabs roll off your back. Explain that there’s value and confidence in knowing how to help yourself. Yeah, your kids will roll their eyes a few times. But in 10 or 15 years, they’ll say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad.”

Retired Green Beret veteran Joe Kent has resigned from his post as director of the National Counterterrorism Center Tuesday, citing his disapproval of the United States' strikes in Iran. Kent said Iran posed "no imminent threat" to the United States and that the U.S. instead became involved in the conflict due to pressure from Israel. Kent also said continuing to serve in the administration would violate his conscience, especially after losing his "beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel."'This echo chamber was used to deceive you.'"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," Kent said in a letter addressed to President Trump. "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.""As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives."RELATED: Trump's hilarious response after intel reportedly tells him Iran's new supreme leader might be gay Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesKent praised Trump's foreign policy from his 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns, saying that during those campaigns, Trump understood that wars in the Middle East "were a trap" that cost American lives. He also applauded Trump's killing of Qasem Soleimani and defeat of ISIS in his first term but says his administration has since been lobbied and persuaded by "high-ranking Israeli officials" who sought out a war with Iran. "Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage war with Iran," Kent told Trump. "This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.""This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women," Kent added. "We cannot make this mistake again."RELATED: 'Die in your rage': Islamist attacks and murder plots are quickly adding up Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesKent signed off with a warning to Trump, urging him to "reverse course" in the war with Iran. "I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for," Kent said. "The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.""It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation." Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The SAVE Act, which would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, is currently stalled in the Senate. Republicans, led by President Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), are adamant on pushing it through, as it prevents noncitizen voting. But is the GOP so hyper-fixated on passing it that it’s glossing over an even bigger threat? According to Blaze Media’s Daniel Horowitz, the answer is yes. “All you hear going into this new week is ‘the Save Act, the Save Act.’ Do you see what minutia that is when you look at the magnitude of what we're facing just with Islamic immigration?” he asks. On this episode of “Conservative Review with Daniel Horowitz,” the no-nonsense conservative analyst breaks down why the SAVE Act is actually a distraction from more pressing immigration issues. “We basically let in ... several million people that believe in at least civilization jihad, don't like America, cultivate a climate where you have several hundred thousand people that downright support terrorism as a form of fulfilling their jihad,” says Horowitz.In light of this looming threat, the SAVE Act is “so small potatoes,” he argues, calling it “an idolatrous bill“ that ignores the real problem. “It's illegals being counted in the census, noncitizens being counted in the census, bringing in mass waves of people that become citizens and legally vote Democrat. That is a much bigger issue than the actual illegal voting,” Horowitz declares.“Having Hezbollah, Hamas, Shabab, and Al-Qaeda-supporting Muslims in the millions in this country is a much bigger deal than the freaking SAVE Act,” he continues. But stricter vetting isn’t the answer, he says. Citing his interview with former Muslim Danny Burmawi, Horowitz contends that Islam is “not a religion” so much as it’s “a state” with its own “system of governance.” Unlike in the Middle East, where governments often have to limit or modify strict Islamic practices to keep the state functional and avoid total dysfunction, Muslim immigrants in the West are free to express support for jihad and terrorism. “We're trying to run our state, and they're able to actually implement a full unfettered, unadulterated Islamic state within the confines of our state. And that's how you have a greater concentration of jihad now in the West than you have even in the East,” says Horowitz. Instead of focusing on the SAVE Act, he argues that the GOP’s attention should be fixated on “[shutting] off the new flow” of Muslim migrants and denaturalizing and deporting those here legally who support foreign terrorists. “The Constitution is not a suicide pact,” he declares. “States are going to have to say no to mass migration — illegal and legal.” To hear more of Horowitz’s in-depth breakdown, watch the full episode above.

After a midair collision and a train derailment, Congress faces a simple test: Will it follow the evidence?In aviation, the Senate’s ROTOR Act would mandate improved aircraft surveillance technology after last year’s deadly midair collision involving a military helicopter and a passenger jet. Yet earlier this month, the House failed to advance the bill after Pentagon opposition — sidelining broader use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, a system that likely would have prevented that tragedy.Rail risks being locked into prescriptive labor mandates, while aviation safety is undermined by incomplete adoption of proven technology. Neither sector is getting what it needs.At the same time, a group of senators reintroduced the Railway Safety Act, branding it “data-driven” while again pushing minimum crew mandates — despite no empirical evidence that larger crews reduce accident rates — in response to the 2023 East Palestine derailment.The impulse is understandable. When tragedy strikes, Washington acts. But acting quickly is not the same as acting on evidence.If safety is truly the goal, Congress needs to ask a harder question: What actually reduces risk?The data point in a clear direction. Human error dominates transportation accidents. And the most consistent safety gains in modern transport have come not from adding more people into systems but from improving system design, automation, and structured safety management.Human error is the core problemIn 2024, roughly 40,000 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes — far outpacing most developed countries on a per-capita basis, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.By contrast, aviation and rail — sectors that have embraced automation and safety management systems — post dramatically lower fatality rates. Commercial aviation in developed countries now experiences fatal accidents at rates below 0.1 per million departures. Federal Railroad Administration data show train accident rates have fallen 33% since 2005, with derailments down significantly and human-factor incidents continuing to decline.The lesson is straightforward: When systems are designed to reduce human error, safety improves.RELATED: Female Black Hawk pilot didn't follow orders before horrific crash: Report Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesAutomation works — with caveatsFully autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle systems have posted lower crash rates in controlled environments. These results require continued scrutiny and larger data sets, but the direction is clear: Reducing reliance on human reaction time reduces collisions.The same logic applies in aviation and rail.Automation now governs the vast majority of routine commercial flight operations. Positive train control has sharply reduced train-on-train collisions and overspeed derailments.Consider last year’s midair collision. Broader, uninterrupted use of ADS-B In and Out would have provided precise real-time traffic awareness to pilots and controllers. The technology exists to prevent exactly this type of conflict, a point highlighted in the BlazeTV documentary “Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster,” which presaged the January 2025 Reagan National Airport tragedy. Yet expanded deployment has failed to advance despite bipartisan Senate support.In rail, meanwhile, some lawmakers are moving in the opposite direction — toward mandates for more personnel.Symbolic safety vs. structural safetyThe East Palestine derailment stemmed from a mechanical failure — an overheated bearing — not a shortage of crew members. There were three crew members on board.Adding personnel would not have prevented a bearing from overheating. Predictive maintenance systems, sensor networks, and better data integration are the tools designed to catch precisely that kind of failure.Yet the RSA would codify minimum crew requirements across freight rail operations, regardless of route, cargo type, or level of automation.This isn’t primarily about risk analysis. It reflects political incentives.Organized interests exert concentrated influence. Diffuse beneficiaries — consumers, shippers, taxpayers — do not.Labor interests can organize to protect jobs. The Pentagon can block safety rules it opposes. But the public — which wants safer transportation — is too diffuse to mobilize around specific, technical policy choices. The result is a grab bag of special-interest “safety” measures rather than coherent, risk-targeted reform.RELATED: Trucks destroy roads, but railroads — yes, rail! — can save taxpayers billions Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesFocus on what worksFreight railroads in the United States are privately funded and capital intensive, investing billions annually in track upgrades, advanced detection systems, and predictive maintenance. Rail remains one of the safest ways to move goods over land because sustained technological improvement compounds over time.By contrast, the Federal Aviation Administration — a government-run system — has struggled to modernize needed surveillance and air-traffic technologies at speed and at scale. In civil aviation, the FAA has deployed ADS-B across controlled airspace, dramatically improving traffic surveillance and situational awareness. But gaps remain where some defense aviation actors are not required to fully transmit or receive ADS-B data.Rail now risks being locked into prescriptive labor mandates, while aviation safety is undermined by incomplete adoption of proven collision-avoidance technology. Neither sector is getting the policy it needs.As Congress considers the RSA, lawmakers should prioritize provisions that directly reduce accident probability. Decades of transportation data point to a consistent lesson: Safety improves when systems are engineered to anticipate and correct human limitations — not when policymakers assume more humans automatically mean more safety. One-size-fits-all crew mandates don’t meet that test.Nor should Washington abandon expansion of ADS-B and other proven collision-avoidance technologies. The system exists to prevent the very type of tragedy we witnessed. It shouldn’t take another collision for Congress to act.The evidence isn’t ambiguous. Technology-driven risk reduction works. Symbolic mandates do not. If lawmakers are serious about safety, they need to focus on what demonstrably prevents accidents — and have the discipline to follow the data.