There is a God we want and a God who is, and the two are not the same. —Ligon Duncan
Dec. 8, 2014
BLOOMBERG
President Obama had hoped his historic election would ease race relations, yet a majority of Americans, 53 percent, say the interactions between the white and black communities have deteriorated since he took office.
About $225,000 dollars a day. That’s a ballpark estimate for how much President Barack Obama and his supporters need to raise for his presidential library, assuming $500 million in expenses and a desire to pay the tab within four years of leaving office.
San Francisco may become the biggest U.S. city to use its development powers to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, partnering with another California community whose own plan has come under fire from investors. The proposal from a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors would use eminent domain to take over loans on property with a market value below the mortgage amount. A lawmaker says it would help minorities in the city of about 837,000, while some officials see the move increasing borrowing costs and discouraging investors.
Adelanto, California, a Mojave Desert community with more prisons than supermarkets, is poised to authorize two more detention facilities as city leaders try to stave off insolvency.
Speculators boosted bullish gold bets to a three-month high on signs central banks will act to counter low inflation, reviving the allure of bullion as a hedge.
China’s trade surplus climbed 4.7 percent to a record in November after an unexpected decline in imports on lower crude oil and other commodity prices.
Merck agreed to buy Cubist Pharmaceuticals for $8.4 billion in cash to add products to help fight the growing threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
Oil prices will stay at about $65 a barrel for at least half a year until OPEC changes its collective production or world economic growth revives, said the head of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp.
McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant chain, posted its worst monthly U.S. sales decline in more than a decade and said a health scare in China would continue to take a toll on profit this quarter.
UBS, facing the threat of competition from Google and Amazon has turned to a Singapore-based technology company that uses artificial intelligence for help delivering personalized advice to the bank’s wealthy clients.
Record rains fell in California this week. They’re not enough to change the course of what scientists are now calling the region’s worst drought in at least 1,200 years.
AP Top Stories
Protesters carrying signs bearing names of black Americans killed by police have marched outside the U.S. Capitol to demand a human rights investigation.
Necrophilia motivated a man to fatally shoot his stepdaughter last month. Gregory Graf recorded himself sexually abusing the body of Jessica Padgett.
Russia would accept either money or the delivery of two Mistral helicopter carriers to resolve a dispute with France, a Kremlin official said.
People who smoke a hookah or inhale secondhand hookah smoke may be breathing in the chemical benzene, a substance that previous research has linked with an increased risk of leukemia, according to a new study.
Australian scientists said they had made a breakthrough in increasing the efficiency of solar panels, which they hope could eventually lead to cheaper sources of renewable energy. They were able to convert more than 40 percent of sunlight hitting the panels into electricity. “This is the highest efficiency ever reported for sunlight conversion into electricity.”
Russia demanded an explanation for Israeli airstrikes on two areas near Damascus, while the Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers called it an act of aggression that proves Israel was “in the same trench” with extremist groups fighting the Syrian government.
This year, automakers are on pace to sell more than one million vehicles in the U.S. with transaction prices of at least $50,000 according to new data compiled by TrueCar.
BBC
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said there is no need for a review into operations to free Americans held by militants despite recent failures.
A call by German conservatives for immigrants to speak German in the home as well as in public triggered a political furor.
Six prisoners (four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian) who spent 12 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center arrived in Uruguay after being released by the United States.
A Cuban doctor who recovered from Ebola after receiving experimental treatment in Switzerland was welcomed back to Havana.
The UN asks for $16.4bn for its aid operations in 2015, much of it for Syria, in its biggest-ever annual request.
WND
Profiling on the basis of religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity by federal law enforcement agencies will be banned, the Justice Department announced.
Two leading Secret Service experts are worried about the safety of President Obama because of mounting disclosures of misconduct and lapses in protection.
Outside groups are bracing for surprises in the massive $1.014 trillion government-funding bill the Congress is expected to consider next week.
CA – School districts around the Bay Area are spying on their own students – often with private investigators – just to make sure the kids really live where they say they do.
Yesterday was the 73rd commemoration of the Japanese surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. “It’s to pay respects to the 2,400 who died that day, 1,177 on the USS Arizona.”
Daily Digest for Monday
December 8, 2014
THE FOUNDATION
“There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. ‘Tis an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.” –George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Down Goes Another Democrat
The GOP picked up another Senate seat Saturday. The Associated Press reports, “Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy defeated Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu on Saturday, denying her a fourth term and extending the GOP’s domination of the 2014 midterm elections that put Republicans in charge of Capitol Hill for the final two years of President Barack Obama’s tenure. With Cassidy’s victory, Republicans will hold 54 seats when the Senate convenes in January, nine more than they have now.” Landrieu failed in her bid to stave off the GOP tide, even though she pushed the Keystone XL pipeline. Louisiana voters saw through the charade, however, and opted to aid a higher purpose — stopping Barack Obama. Her loss also means that 30 of the 60 Senate Democrats who voted for ObamaCare are no longer in Congress. Talk about an albatross. More…
Nearly 12 Million Have Left the Workforce Under Obama
November’s jobs report no doubt contained good news. Payrolls jumped by 321,000, which was far above the 230,000 jobs forecast by economists. September and October also saw positive revisions. The most recent year with superior job growth was 1999. Add it all up, and the economy has clearly turned a corner after subsequent years in deep shambles. However (how many times have we had to say that?), the economy continues to lag significantly in potential; you can thank the Obama recovery for that. The one particularly troubling statistic pertains to the labor participation rate that remained unchanged last month at 62.8% — meaning 92,447,000 Americans aren’t seeking a job. The cumulative effect of a stubbornly low participation rate is alarming to say the least, as nearly 12 million workers have called it quits during Obama’s presidency. CNSNews.com reports, “When President Obama took office in January 2009, there were 80,529,000 Americans who were not participating in the office, which means that since then, 11,918,000 Americans have left the workforce.” That’s far more than the number of jobs Obama claims to have “created.” So while the headline employment numbers have improved, there are still underlying problems that remain unresolved. That is why speculators remain pessimistic despite the media’s rosy narrative. More…
Jihadist Relieves Himself, Thwarts U.S. Hostage Rescue
The Navy SEALs’ attempted rescue of American journalist Luke Somers, who was captured by al-Qaida in Yemen, did not play out like the heroic 1976 Israeli hostage rescue, Operation Entebbe. The jihadists released a video telling the U.S. to comply with their demands (which they didn’t state in the video) or else Somers would die within 72 hours. In a statement, Barack Obama said, “Other information also indicated Luke’s life was in imminent danger. Based on this assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, I authorized a rescue attempt.” However, as the 40-man special operations team was establishing a perimeter, a jihadist stepped outside — probably to go to the bathroom — and saw the rescue force. U.S. officials say Somers was executed. However, the Wall Street Journal commends the Obama administration for taking a hard line against jihadist kidnappers. Terrorists now know if they kidnap Americans, they might wake up to the knock of a U.S. commando team in the middle of the night. More…
White House Mulls Destroying Relationship With Israel
The White House and the State Department deflected questions from Washington reporters about an Israeli newspaper story alleging the Obama administration is considering slapping sanctions on Israel. Both White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf refused to talk about the sanctions with reporters because it’s “internal deliberations.” According to Haaretz, the U.S. may impose sanctions on its ally because it continues to build settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to Yeshiva World News, the U.S. is also considering withdrawing its political protection of Israel at the UN, allowing anti-Israel motions to move through the international body. The Washington Free Beacon quotes an anonymous senior congressional aide: “If these reports are true, this would mark a new era of unprecedented hostility from the White House against our strongest ally in the Middle East. It’s impossible not to notice the irony of the administration mulling sanctions on Israel while threatening to veto new sanctions against Iran.”
Deportation Policies Let Almost Anyone Stay
While an Immigration and Customs Enforcement report shows deportations in general dropped during the 2014 fiscal year, the report goes on to say that immigration enforcement officials are lax with illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. According to the Removal Operation Report for fiscal year 2014, 30,862 foreign criminals were released into the United States. Of the 315,943 people deported from the United States, the majority were caught at the border and 86,923 were caught committing a crime. The drop in deportations comes as the Obama administration has set high low standards on who it will and will not deport. In a statement, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the Los Angeles Times, “We essentially tell citizens of other countries, ‘If you come here, you can stay — don’t worry, we won’t deport you.’ The reality on the ground is that unless you commit multiple crimes, the chances of your being removed from this country are close to zero.” More…
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
From the Department of Corrections
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The Leftmedia have a story to tell, and they’re generally not going to let facts get in the way. This truth came in to stark relief with Friday’s massive correction Rolling Stone issued to its November report on a gang rape at the University of Virginia.
The correction was so big, it may be easier to recount what the original report got right than what it got wrong. A quick recap:
A UVA student given the name “Jackie” recounted how a man Rolling Stone calls “Drew” and his fellow fraternity brothers raped her at a party. But among numerous other errors, it turns out Drew belongs to a different fraternity than the one in question, and there was no party the night Jackie says she was raped. Much trouble would have been avoided had reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely not acceded to Jackie’s request not to interview the accused because she feared retribution. Bad decision.
The story was evidently too good to check because it fit the narrative of a widespread “rape culture” supposedly evidenced by the epidemic of sexual assault on campuses around the country. In fact, Erdely went around looking for just the right story to support that narrative. We’ve already questioned the breadth of the epidemic itself, and Rolling Stone’s shoddy and reckless journalism hardly does anything to correct the record, much less help true victims of rape.
Jackie may have been raped, and just because some of the facts were wrong doesn’t mean all of them were. And it should go without saying that this doesn’t invalidate other rape accusations. But truth cannot be a casualty of narrative.
Other media outlets swallowed Rolling Stone’s original story hook, line and sinker, leading to a cascading effect turning a lie into a legend. Media often blindly take up a cause célèbre in pursuit of ratings and the almighty advertising dollar. (We note that this is one reason The Patriot Post doesn’t accept advertising, instead relying on the support of our readers for our sustenance.)
It’s noteworthy that, just like the Jonathan Gruber videos, the UVA story began to fall apart because of the efforts of an independent blogger.
Worked into a tizzy by Rolling Stone’s story, feminists hammered “rape apologists” who dared ask questions. To them, men accused of rape are guilty until proven innocent. And to many of them, they’d even rather cling to a false story than admit men are innocent.
That recalls the response to rape accusations against Duke University’s lacrosse team several years ago. Those likewise proved to be false, though only after the reputations of those young men were destroyed.
Nevertheless, UVA students protested, while university president Teresa Sullivan responded to the allegations by shutting down activities at all fraternities and sororities. When Rolling Stone essentially retracted the story, Sullivan didn’t apologize for overreacting — she doubled down. “Over the past two weeks,” she said in a statement, “our community has been more focused than ever on one of the most difficult and critical issues facing higher education today: sexual violence on college campuses. Today’s news must not alter this focus.”
Reason Contributing Editor Cathy Young concludes: “Commentators across the political spectrum have expressed concern that Rolling Stone’s sloppy journalism will damage what Bloomberg View columnist Megan McArdle calls ‘the righteous fight for rape victims.’ But despite its righteous goals, the crusade against rape has leaned too far toward promoting the dangerous idea that accusation equals guilt and that to doubt an accuser’s word is heresy. Finding the balance between supporting victims and preserving the presumption of innocence is a difficult line to walk. Perhaps the lessons of the UVA story will help steer the way toward such a balance.”
In Young’s separate analysis of the Obama administration’s Department of Education push to have colleges and universities more vigorously prosecute sexual assault, she writes, “The Department of Education has recommended that colleges use the lowest burden of proof — ‘preponderance of the evidence,’ which means a finding of guilt if one feels the evidence tips even slightly toward the complainant. Missing is virtually any recognition of the need for fairness to the accused.”
Bottom line: Sexual assault allegations should be investigated and prosecuted by qualified law enforcement agencies, not on the pages of Rolling Stone or other pop media outlets.
America’s Shrinking
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Days after headlines captured America’s slide from its status as the world’s number one economy to number two behind China, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report spun off a few articles about America’s declining birthrate. Let’s just say if you’re an employed taxpayer, you’d best grab your wallet.
While many in the ranks of high-brow policy don’t want to engage in the discussion of what many deem as so-called cultural “wedge” issues such as abortion, fertility and population, it’s all about the math. And that math has implications in tax policy, foreign policy, health care policy — you name it. The reality remains that if there are fewer babies, there are fewer future workers and consumers.
Let’s look at the math as it relates to our standing economically.
If our population does not replace itself, the labor market — and with it the tax base — will shrink, all while government spending rages on.
What does that CDC report say?
“Childbearing is on the decline in the United States overall and among women under age 30 and women in each of the largest race and Hispanic origin groups.” In 2013, the birthrate his a near-low of 1.86 live births per female.
The big deal?
A birth rate of 2.1 children per childbearing female is necessary just to maintain stasis. The U.S. missed the mark for the first time in 1972, and it has hit “replacement” numbers only twice since then — in 2006 and 2007.
The good news is abortions are down, too. Consistent and intense educational efforts of the pro-life movement through ultrasounds during pregnancy in tandem with state policy efforts to defund “health care” clinics offering abortion on demand has reduced the number of abortions performed.
As for the overall birthrate, the contributing factors have been the economic pressures of the 2007 recession either delaying or cancelling family plans, a more educated population that delays the birth of children, and other things such as gender disorientation pathology, access to long-acting birth control, and, candidly, selfishness that refuses to include others, such as children, in a myopic definition of success.
In light of this consistent, documented population decline, has our government spending seen appropriate adjustment? Has our need for military might changed? Are the IOU’s repaid in the “Social Security Lockbox” to fund the current retirees? No, no and no.
Still not convinced this is a big deal? Let’s look across the pond at Europe. The nations that currently make up the European Union (E-28) tracked their fertility rate at 1.45 live births per women in 2002 with only a slight increase to 1.58 births in 2012, as published in a May 2014 European Commission report. Clearly, that’s far below the demographically necessary rate of 2.1 for generational replacement.
The nations of the European Union continue to struggle with government spending that averages 49% of gross domestic product, with its member nations hovering around a 10% unemployment rate.
The National Bureau of Economic Research says it plainly in its online report, “The Cost of Low Fertility in Europe“: “In the long run, low rates of fertility are associated with diminished economic growth. … If fertility rates stay at current levels … Europe’s share of working-age people will fall from about 70 percent today to somewhere between 50 and 55 percent in the long run … a 25 percent drop in the number of workers per capita.”
Clearly, changes in population cause disruption in the demand for services, produced goods and the volume of money the populace spends in any given economy.
Here in America, this decline is seen most obviously in a single government program, which happens to be the largest federal expenditure after surpassing defense spending back in 1993 — Social Security.
When the first benefits were paid in the Social Security retirement program in 1940, there were 42 workers paying into the system for each retiree receiving benefits. As of April 2014, that number is 2.8 workers per beneficiary.
Furthermore, the U.S. Treasury has borrowed money from the Social Security Trust Fund and, according to the Trustee’s 2014 report, owes $2.8 trillion as of December 2013. According to the same report, due to declining birthrates and increased life expectancy, the trust fund will be exhausted in 2033, just 19 years from now. The Heritage Foundation, meanwhile, says it could be insolvent in just 10 years.
If America continues pursuing policies that transfer wealth from workers to non-workers, allows mass immigration of a new underclass that will only increase the pressure on government entitlement services, and refuses to recognize there must absolutely be a reduction in spending, we will only remember the good old days when our economy once led the world.
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Peggy Noonan: Can the GOP Find Unity and Purpose?
- Jonah Goldberg: What Schumer Wants to Embrace
- Burt Prelutsky: They Protesteth Too Much
- Jeff Jacoby: The Good That Results From U.S. ‘Boots on the Ground’
- Star Parker: EEOC Has Become the Problem, Not the Solution
OPINION IN BRIEF
The Gipper: “I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal.”
Columnist Peggy Noonan: “[Obama’s] executive action on immigration, seen by many as daring and clever, may not prove clever. … In making that move he removed one of the Republican Party’s problems. They were split on immigration, their adversaries said the reason was racism. The whole issue roiled the Republican base. Now the president has taken it out of their hands. And he has united them in their condemnation of the manner in which he did it. At the same time the president took an issue that was a daily, agitating mobilizer of his base and removed it as a factor. He took the kettle off the heat — but that kettle had produced a lot of steam that provided energy to his party. Now the president has to implement his directive, and implementation has never been his strong suit. He has to tamp down grievance from those who came here legally or are waiting in line. He has to answer immigration activists who think they got too little. He has to face all the critics who will experience and witness the downside of his action on the border. He took an issue that was a problem for Republicans, and made it a problem for Democrats. That may well prove a political mistake of the first order.”
Columnist Jonah Goldberg: “[Sen. Chuck] Schumer’s speech at the National Press Club is a marvel to behold. … ‘Democrats must embrace government. It’s what we believe in; it’s what unites our party,’ Schumer explained. ‘If we run away from government, downplay it, or act as if we are embarrassed by its role, people won’t vote for our pale version of the Republican view.’ … The senator has no principled objection to a government takeover of health care; what he objects to now is the timing. Back in 2009-10, he was a vocal champion of the law [ObamaCare]. Last week, he said, ‘Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem — health care reform.’ The senator said he still favors Obamacare’s goals, but ‘it wasn’t the change we were hired to make.’ Voters wanted Obama and his party to fix the economy. Indeed, in a remarkable moment of honest cynicism, Schumer went into great detail lamenting how the law was designed to help mostly poor people who for the most part don’t vote. Morally, this is a fascinating admission. In Schumer’s hierarchy of needs, winning elections for Democrats matters more than helping the truly needy. Call it uncompassionate liberalism.”
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel: “The birthrate in the United States is at an all-time low. Whereas our death rate is still holding strong at 100 percent.”
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.
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Massive Inferno Is Engulfing Downtown Los Angeles, Protests becoming More Violent?
Officials say a massive fire in downtown Los Angeles closed down portions of two major freeways and is visible for miles. Is this the result of protests becoming more violent? Are we leading up to the David Wilkerson Vision of “Fires in the Streets of America”? More
Minnesota School Board Allows ‘Transgender’ Males to Play on Girls’ Teams
A Minnesota high school sports league’s decision to allow male students who ‘identify’ as females to participate in girls’ sports has elicited concern from many parents and Christians. On Thursday, the Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors approved a controversial “transgender” student policy. Once the policy goes into effect next year, male high school students who “identify” as females will be allowed to participate in female-specific athletic programs. “League member schools will now have some guidance from the Board on determining the eligibility of transgender male-to-female (MTF) students to participate in gender-specific athletic programs,” the Board of Directors explained in a written summary of their meeting last week. The Minnesota State High School League, which has nearly 500 member schools, is responsible for overseeing high school athletics throughout Minnesota. More
Grand Theft Auto fans push for ban on the Bible
We tend to believe that our values are the right ones for everybody. Many people’s definition of “liberal” seems to be “say and do whatever you like, as long as I don’t find it repulsive.” Just as many people’s definition of “freedom” is, in fact, “free to think and do only those things of which I approve.” And so it is that a great battle of values has emerged in Australia. The country’s Kmart and Target stores have decided to ban “Grand Theft Auto V.” I’m not sure why it took them five versions to get there, but it’s clear the stores were moved by a petition that was signed by 50,000 people. More
Reasons to Stay Away from Fast food
If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight, a good way to start is by cutting back on fast food. Those burgers and pizzas may be quick, convenient and cheap, but they’re also loaded with things that can defeat your diet plans. Check out these reasons to make 2014 the year you decrease your consumption of fast food! More
Does Pope Francis Believe Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?
At the famous Blue Mosque during a papal visit to Istanbul, Pope Francis stood beside the grand mufti of Istanbul and prayed for two minutes, bowing his head, closing his eyes. At the end of his prayer, the grand mufti whispered aloud: “May God accept it.” One can’t help wondering: Did the grand mufti doubt that God would accept a prayer from the head of the Roman Catholic Church? Indeed, does Francis, or any Christian, genuinely accept that God is God, whether his name be Allah or God? More
China and US climate deal delivers $4.5 trillion blow to Big Oil and Coal
Citigroup says the impact of the China-US climate deal signed earlier this month could total $US3.9 trillion ($A4.5 trillion) – that’s the loss in revenue for Big Oil and Big Coal over the next 15 years from the joint undertaking on greenhouse gas emissions by the world’s two biggest economies. And in a stinging rebuke to the fossil fuel lobby, the Abbott government and conservative commentators, Citigroup analysts say that a carbon price in Australia is inevitable, suggests thermal coal is on a permanent decline, and that investments in infrastructure surrounding the Galilee basin contain significant risk. More
Dead Banker List Grows to 36
The 52-year-old private banker from Haaltert was described as flawless, sporty, sleek and successful. The 52-year-old Geert Tack on 5 November left from his home in Haaltert to his work, but he never arrived. A detection message was distributed and there was a search location near the Zwin, which was found his abandoned car. On December 3, the body was found on the coast of Ostend and removed from the water. The prosecutor confirmed today that it is Geert Tack, but it is still awaiting further results of the autopsy for the exact cause of death. The results of toxicological testing are not yet known. Parquet floor states that the body showed no outward signs of violence. More
California’s ‘Hot Drought’ Ranks Worst in at Least 1,200 Years
Record rains fell in California this week. They’re not enough to change the course of what scientists are now calling the region’s worst drought in at least 1,200 years. Just how bad has California’s drought been? Modern measurements already showed it’s been drier than the 1930s dustbowl, worse than the historic droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. That’s not all. New research going back further than the Viking conquests in Europe still can’t find a drought as bad as this one. More
Detroit now resembling third-world nation as power grid fails and lights go out
During the 1950s and 1960s, the city of Detroit became the automobile manufacturing capital of the world. Growing to become America’s fourth-largest city, it was a model of modernity and American production capacity. Between 1910 and 1950, the PBS program “The Rundown” reports, “few cities grew faster, were wealthier, were more attractive to those seeking success than what became known as the Motor City.” More
Patterns Of War – Will History Repeat Itself?
The world is changing and becoming even more dangerous — in a way we’ve seen before. In the decade before World War I, the near-hundred-year European peace that had followed the fall of Napoleon was taken for granted. Yet it abruptly imploded in 1914. Prior little wars in the Balkans had seemed to predict a much larger one on the horizon — and were ignored …………. Click here for full story
Putin Pushes Back: Beware The Wounded Russian Bear
Contrary to what he would like us to believe, things are going very poorly for Vladimir Putin these days. Having found the West more united than he expected on the issue of sanctions against Russia, he now discovers that the bottom has fallen out of the international oil market ……… Click here for full story
China’s Prophetic Military Build-Up
What should be made of the tremendous and rapid military growth of China? What does it mean for the stability of rest of the world, and particularly the United States? Does the Bible have anything to say about China and her role in end-time Bible prophecy?………. Click here for full story
Egypt’s Largest Military Maneuver ‘Meant for Israel’
Egypt held its “Badr 2014” military maneuver between October 11 and November 6, its largest exercise since 1996 which was only half the size – according to a senior security expert the Nile state has its sights on Israel, despite the peace treaty………. Click here for full story
Jordan’s Abdullah Plays The Flawed Demographics Card
During his recent visit to Washington to meet with President Obama, King Abdullah II of Jordan was interviewed on “CBS This Morning.” Displaying his keen sense of the terrible neighborhood in which his kingdom is embedded, he identified the war against ISIS jihadi terrorists as “clearly a fight between good and evil.” ……… Click here for full story
Danger Ahead
Axel Merk on gold, oil, the dollar, and the stock market in 2015.
New Law Would Make Taxpayers Potentially Liable For TRILLIONS In Derivatives Losses
If the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble implodes, who should be stuck with the bill? Well, if the “too big to fail” banks have their way it will be you and I. Right now, lobbyists for the big Wall Street banks are pushing really hard to include an extremely insidious provision in a bill that would keep the federal government funded past the upcoming December 11th deadline. This provision would allow these big banks to trade derivatives through subsidiaries that are federally insured by the FDIC. What this would mean is that the big banks would be able to continue their incredibly reckless derivatives trading without having to worry about the downside. If they win on their bets, the big banks would keep all of the profits. If they lose on their bets, the federal government would come in and bail them out using taxpayer money. In other words, it would essentially be a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition. (Read More….)
House GOP Leaders Trick 216 House Republicans into Accidentally Supporting Obama’s Executive Amnesty
In a lengthy interview on Friday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) exposed how House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise strengthened President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty with procedural trickery former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber would envy—and they did it all in the name of pushing a bill that they told Republicans would block Obama’s executive amnesty.
Winds of War
NOTE: Scroll down through their fundraising article to find the Terry James’ article. — OTM
By Terry James
Our purpose in the case of the Church–all born-again believers–is to act, individually and collectively, as a preservative agent. We can act only to delay the decay, the degeneration into the sin-darkness of mankind’s eventual, God-rejecting, human history.
This is the answer to the question: Why should Christians get involved in the political process? Why even bother to vote? The answer is that we are commanded to stand in the struggle against the gathering darkness. We must fight to the very last second just before we go to be with the Lord, whether in death, or in the Rapture.
Online Searches for Ouija Boards Up 300 Percent
In a report recently released by the search engine giant Google, online searches for Ouija boards—occult boards used to communicate with the dead—have risen 300 percent in the past few months, raising concerns with Christians over those who may engage in the Bible’s forbidden practice of necromancy.
“Certain retro toys are making a comeback this season,” Google wrote in its Black Friday article on the most popular searches for gifts online. “Thanks to the new movie ‘Ouija,’ searches for ‘Ouija boards’ are up 300% since October.”
Headlines of Interest
Howling at the Moon: The False Blood Moon Teaching
Destiny Church’s $6 million windfall
Former Street Church associates claim ‘cult-like’ practices tearing families apart
Jews for Jesus tries to set up shop in heart of Jewish London
China is cracking down on the missionary lifeline that helps North Korean refugees
The U.S. and Israel: The Curse Grows Nearer
But Bush #1 was not the only President who led us away from blessing the nation of Israel. Presidents Clinton and Bush #2 took us down that same path, with the Camp David summits and the “Roadmap to Peace” negotiations. Each of these brokered deals saw more of God’s original boundaries for Israel disappear. And we continued to slide toward that slippery slope of cursing Israel.
Our current President has not only called for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines (rendering Israel indefensible with only 9 to 11 miles of land in the Tel Aviv area); but unconfirmed reports, just this week, hint that the U.S. is considering economic sanctions against Israel for its continued settlement activity involving the building of homes in Jerusalem.
Global Government and the Coming Perfect Storm
OUR CURRENT RADIO PROGRAM
The web of deception being engineered by Satan’s forces is vast and well planned. Global government is on the horizon. But it will take a crisis – both national and international – to have it implemented. Gary Kah, Jan Markell and Eric Barger discuss this the entire hour and the options that could lead to such crises. This is sobering. The racial unrest may play a role in this. A perfect storm is forming to create a one-world government sooner than most expected. We use the mobile app found on the Home page of http://www.oneplace.com.
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Why We Fail to Progress Past Ferguson
by Pastor J.D.
With all the developments of Ferguson and now the tragic Eric Garner case, I’ve been trying to process what it means to be a follower of Christ in a moment like this. I am grateful for those who have explained the nuances of both “sides;” particularly for African American friends and fellow pastors who patiently have helped me understand the bigger picture from their perspective. It does seem that despite millions of blogs and endless hours of discussion on cable news networks, we aren’t making that much progress—though I suppose having the discussion itself is significant progress.
I want to suggest that this lack of progress comes from both “sides” failing to heed two of the Bible’s most cherished principles about conflict resolution. They are to listen before, and more than, we speak (James 1:19); and to consider the interests of others (including other communities) to be more important than our own (James 2:1–4).
As I am a white man, raised in a white community and pastoring a church—while increasingly multicultural church—arising from Anglo origins, let me explain what I hear the black community saying to us. I am sure there is more, but this is what I have heard:
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4 Seasons When You Will Face Temptation
We live in a world that is full of temptation. There is no rest from sin and no rest from temptation to sin. There is not a single moment when we can relax our vigilance. As John Owen says, we can leave sin alone when sin leaves us alone, and that will not be until we are on the far side of the grave.
Temptations can be like the waves of the sea as they break along the beach—they rise and fall, they ebb and flow. Yet temptations are not entirely unpredictable, and there are certain times in life in which they are more likely to press hard than in others. Here are 4 times or seasons in which you need to be especially vigilant against temptation.
The Problem of People Pleasing
In this letter of love to his Galatian friends, Paul is forced to kick it up a notch. As an apostolic prophet, he is called by God to safeguard the Gospel, and sometimes this requires him to offend both friend and foe. So on this issue, Paul has debated orthodox Pharisees, ecumenical Judaizers, and dear friends such as Barnabas and Peter. And he is not through; for according to this text, he even stands ready to contradict a heavenly angel who comes preaching a different Gospel.
Pastoral Care: Step One
The Elders/Overseers are to shepherd the flock. These verses are clarifying because it reminds the Elder of their first priority. It is not buildings, finances, policy, or making decisions. It may include those things, but ultimately shepherds focus on the sheep. The priority of the elder/overseer is to care for people.
Dear Evangelicals, You’re Being Had
“We’ve been trying to solve spiritual problems with political solutions. We’ve petitioned Presidents and Governors more than we’ve petitioned the King of Kings. We’ve tried to change people’s laws, but forgotten about their hearts.We’ve also failed to testify positively and persuasively about our lives and families.”
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The Seven Deadly Sins in a Digital Age V. Envy
If there’s one thing worse than celebrity Christians… (Paul Levy)
4 Powerful Prepositions on the Incarnation
He Is Our Peace
There is only one answer to the racial divide in this country, and the Church needs to supply it. Stay tuned to BreakPoint.
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If I’m a Christian, Why Am I Depressed?
‘Twas the Night Before the Last Christmas!
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