Mar. 1, 2016
BLOOMBERG
A Navy SEAL who rescued a doctor held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan became the 11th living service member to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan.
Justice Clarence Thomas broke his decade-long silence during U.S. Supreme Court arguments, asking almost a dozen questions as the court considered a federal law that bars firearm possession by people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.
Presidential nomination voting began in about a quarter of the U.S. on Tuesday, with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton looking to use the biggest day of the 2016 race so far to all but cement a White House match-up this fall.
Regardless of which state you call home, if you’re a woman, your chances of living in poverty when you pass 65 are alarmingly high, according to a study. A survey reveals that, man or woman, East Coast or West Coast, it just doesn’t matter: Most Americans are nervous about what quality of life they’ll have in retirement.
When members of Congress grill Apple Inc. Tuesday on its refusal to help the FBI unlock a terrorist’s iPhone, the company will be fresh from a courtroom victory that blasted the government for upending the separation of powers and fearing a legislative debate.
Euro-area unemployment decreased to 10.3 percent, lowest in more than four years in January, giving European Central Bank policy makers some positive news a week before their monetary policy meeting.
AP Top Stories
For years after 9/11, top American officials proclaimed Osama bin Laden a man on the run and incapable of overseeing al Qaeda. But newly declassified files taken from his compound in Pakistan and obtained by ABC News show he was a “hands on” boss until the end, firing off hundreds of memos, letters and video messages containing explicit and detailed orders for his lieutenants, along with personal, security-obsessed missives for his family members.
No one expects a breakthrough when Pres. Barack Obama hosts Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, on Tuesday to talk about the confrontation over filling the Supreme Court seat held by the late Antonin Scalia.
Philippine police said Tuesday that they were trying to determine the identity and cause of death of a man found dead while sitting slumped in a yacht that was drifting in the Pacific Ocean and which was apparently owned by a German adventurer.
Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said.
The European Union said on Tuesday it was “very concerned” about the crackdown at the Greek-Macedonian border where Macedonian police tear fired tear gas at migrants.
A woman pleaded guilty Monday to setting her newborn on fire and leaving her in the middle of a New Jersey street.
An ethnic Muslim former prisoner of the Khmer Rouge regime on Monday told a court that he was forced to witness the execution of a woman whose liver was then removed and cooked in front of him.
Two Israeli soldiers said to be using a traffic app mistakenly entered a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, sparking clashes that killed one Palestinian and wounded 15 people.
The Russian Defense Ministry says it has sent additional radars and drones to the air base in the government-controlled area in Syria which Moscow uses for its bombing operation.
The Islamic State has executed eight Dutch members of the jihadist group, whom it accused of trying to desert, activists said Monday.
BBC
About 8,500 migrants are stuck in worsening conditions on the Greece-Macedonia border at a camp designed to support just 1,500 people.
A Dutch former prisoner-of-war held in Nagasaki when the US dropped an atom bomb on the city has won compensation from the Japanese government. Willy Buchel, 95, was the first ex-prisoner of war to receive such a payment. He will receive $9,700.
New research gives the first evidence that Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome. The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak.
A powerful former ally of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has launched a party to challenge his 35-year rule. Joice Mujuru said the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party had been formed because “Zimbabwe is a broken country”.
Hundreds of young men in India’s Bihar state have been made to strip down to their underwear while appearing for an army recruitment test in an attempt to prevent cheating. Officials said 1,159 candidates participated in Sunday’s hour-long written examination to join the Indian army.
The US embassy in Baghdad has warned the risk of the Mosul Dam collapsing is “serious and unprecedented” and has urged people to be ready to evacuate. Maintenance work was disrupted after the dam was briefly seized by militants from so-called Islamic State in 2014. If the dam burst, floodwaters could kill 1.47 million Iraqis living along the River Tigris.
WND
THE NASA scientist who recently claimed the space agency has plans for a spaceship to get to Mars in just three days, has stepped it up a notch by now claiming that they will able to get it there in just 30 minutes. Phil Lubin announced in a video blog for NASA – NASA 360 – that they are working on laser propulsion technology which could get a spacecraft from Earth to Mars in as little as three days.
Four students were injured after a 14-year-old allegedly walked into the lunchroom at Madison Junior/Senior High School in Middletown, Ohio, and started firing, authorities said.
White House Says It Has Not ‘Reached’ Determination That ISIS Slaughter of Christians Is Genocide
Asked on Monday if Islamic State terrorists are carrying out a campaign of genocide against Syria’s Christians, White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said the word genocide “involves a very specific legal determination that has, at this point, not been reached.”
Note Addressed to Jewish God Found in Latest Release of Clinton Emails
Despite wishful thinking that Obama’s adviser may have spiritual leanings, officials ultimately said that the attachment in the email containing the note to Hashem was actually a joke sent to Clinton by an aide.
Putin boosts Russian campaign to smash ISIS by deploying warships into sea
VLADIMIR Putin is bolstering his campaign to smash the heinous Islamic State (ISIS) by deploying Russian warships to combat terror groups from the sea.
DAY THE EU FELL APART: Leaders rip chunks out of each other on worst day of migrant chaos
As tear gas rained down on rioting migrants in Greece and France bickering countries squabbled over who should take the blame for the spiralling crisis which shows no sign of slowing. Once again the cavernous divisions between different EU countries were laid bare for all to see, with Angela Merkel angrily defending Germany’s role in the chaos amid sniping from other member states.
King Abdullah Meets Two Fringe Jewish Groups to ‘Re-launch’ Peace Efforts
For reasons we’ll discuss shortly, no news outlet other than Jordan’s own media covered the meeting. We opted to report on it because of our dedication to raising the red flag when the enemies of the Jewish State appear to regroup and scheme yet another attack on their favorite target.
Ukrainian Jews Flee To Israel Amid Anti-Semitic Attacks in War-Torn Ukraine
Over 100 Ukrainian Jews fled war-torn Ukraine and arrived in Israel on Tuesday, February 23. Many Ukrainian Jews have been leaving their country of birth due to violence and frequent anti-Semitic attacks.
‘We will participate’: Saudi military admits US coalition mulling ground invasion in Syria
Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that the US-led anti-ISIS coalition has held a “political” discussion about a potential ground troop deployment in Syria. Riyadh’s statements have been criticized by Damascus as destructive and a threat to regional security.
ASTEROID TO MISS EARTH
Last month, NASA reported that near-Earth asteroid 2013 TX68 might come very close to Earth on March 5th–as little as 11,000 miles away. Since then, researchers have collected more data and refined their calculations of the asteroid’s orbit. Now it appears that the 30-meter space rock won’t reach Earth until March 8th, and when it does, it will miss our planet by a wide margin of 3 million miles.
Is the San Andreas Fault about to shift? Unprecedented amounts of Carbon Monoxide released into the atmoshphere along the West coast of the US
On February 27th enormous amounts of Carbon Monoxide leaked into the atmosphere along the West coast of America see above…it’s the amount of Carbon Monoxide which is simply stunning. It is well understood that large amounts of Carbon Monoxide is released into the atmosphere before an earthquake, however the amount of Carbon Monoxide release on the 27th of Feb is as far as I can tell unprecedented. This release of Carbon Monoxide could be an indication of an imminent major quake along the volatile San Andreas Fault
‘Bright flash’ seen in skies over Scotland
Police received a large number of calls after a big, bright flash was seen, with people reporting seeing a blue, white or green light, with some saying they also heard a rumbling sound. There is speculation it could have been a meteor or may have been a sonic boom. The light appears to have been seen as far south as Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders and Newcastle.
Moderate earthquake, 5.7 mag has occurred near L’Esperance Rock in New Zealand
A moderate earthquake magnitude 5.7 (ml/mb) has occurred on Monday, 229 km SSE of L’Esperance Rock, New Zealand (142 miles). A tsunami warning has not been issued (Does not indicate if a tsunami actually did or will exist).
EARTHQUAKE RATTLED PARTS OF WNC OVERNIGHT MONDAY
Earthquake officials tell WHKP News that a 2.5 magnitude quake shook the Burnsville (North Carolina) area about 9:38 Monday evening.
China to lay off five to six million workers, earmarks at least $23 billion
China aims to lay off 5-6 million state workers over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution…Beijing’s boldest retrenchment program in almost two decades. China’s leadership, obsessed with maintaining stability…will spend nearly 150 billion yuan ($23 billion) to cover layoffs in just the coal and steel sectors in the next 2-3 years.
Fighting infections with viruses, as antibiotics fail
When doctors told Christophe Novou that his leg would have to be amputated at the hip due to a raging bacterial infection, the 47-year-old Frenchman thought about killing himself. …That’s when an article about a clinic in Georgia offering an obscure treatment for hard-to-treat infections using live virus — something called phage therapy — caught his eye.
Only 15 percent say they have benefited from ObamaCare
Just 15 percent of people say they have personally benefited from ObamaCare, although more than one-third believe it has helped the people of their state, according to a poll released Monday. Most Americans — a total of 56 percent — say they haven’t felt directly affected by the Affordable Care Act. Among those who have felt affected, more people say the law has hurt them than helped them, according to polling…
US Army will have laser weapons by 2023
The US Army is planning to deploy the first laser weapons in 2023, it has been revealed. Mary J. Miller, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, told the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities ‘I believe we’re very close,’ when asked how close the Army is to developing offensive and defensive directed-energy weapons.
Law firm in new legal threat over UK air pollution
The UK government has been warned to drastically reduce air pollution or face renewed legal action. In April the Supreme Court ruled an immediate plan was needed after the UK breached EU limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The government said it was committed to cleaning the air and had delivered its plans accordingly.
Study shows Zika ‘might cause’ Guillain-Barré syndrome
New research gives the first evidence that Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome. The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak. The Lancet authors say they developed the neurological problems around six days after Zika infection.
Jordanian Waqf minister: No negotiations with Israel over Temple Mount cameras
Jordanian Waqf Minister Hail Daoud denied Israeli reports on Tuesday about progress in Israeli-Jordanian negotiations over surveillance cameras on the Temple Mount, claiming that such negotiations have never taken place. …Hail emphasized that Jordan, and not Israel, had demanded to install surveillance cameras on Temple Mount under Jordanian inspection in order to defend al-Aksa and document Israeli infringements on religious rights.
America’s strong support for Israel remains steady, poll finds
The American public remains strongly pro-Israel, with even those aged 18-29 saying they are more sympathetic to Israel than the Palestinians by a more than 2:1 margin, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. According to the annual survey…62 percent of the public say their sympathies lie more with Israel than the Palestinians, and only 15% say they are more sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Iran’s nuclear chief: Israel isn’t a state, therefore its not a threat
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, has dismissed Israel as a threat to the Islamic Republic, saying Tehran’s lack of recognition of the Jewish state renders its warnings as “empty threats.” “We essentially do not see [Israel] as a state, therefore it’s not a threat to Iran,” London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed quoted him as saying in an interview published Monday.
Despite initial ruling, Venezuela seeks to silence U.S. website
Is a U.S. website causing the collapse of the Venezuelan economy? That’s what Venezuela’s Central Bank seems to want to prove as it pursues legal action to shutdown http://www.dolartoday.com. The bank blames the website for runaway inflation and a plummeting currency.
Israel arrests two Palestinian ‘snipers’
Israel’s military announced Monday the arrests of two Palestinian brothers accused of being “snipers” who shot and wounded two civilians and two soldiers in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Russian warplanes sit idle on Syria base during cease-fire
Dozens of Russian warplanes sat idle Tuesday on the tarmac at this Russian air base in Syria on the fourth day of a cease-fire brokered by Moscow and Washington.
A New York judge just ruled that the FBI can’t force Apple to unlock iPhones
A federal judge in Brooklyn has ruled that the government can’t force Apple to help break an iPhone’s passcode security. No, it’s not the San Bernardino shooting case, a similar situation where the FBI is seeking to compel Apple to provide custom software to help it access data on a criminal’s iPhone.
Abortion Case Returns to Supreme Court after Scalia’s Death
The Supreme Court will hear a major abortion case on Wednesday which involves the right of certain states to enforce regulations against abortion clinics. ABC News reports that the case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, involves a Texas law enacted in 2013 which requires clinics that perform abortions to meet the standards of outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers. The law also requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
U.N. Security Council to vote on new North Korea sanctions Tuesday: U.S.
The U.N. Security Council plans to vote on a resolution on Tuesday that would dramatically expand existing U.N. sanctions on North Korea in response to its Jan. 6 nuclear test, the U.S. mission to the United Nations said on Monday.
Clashes break out as France begins clearing Calais migrant camp
Clashes with police broke out on Monday as work got underway to clear part of the shanty town outside Calais in northern France where migrants are trying to reach Britain.
Zika is expected to infect 1 in 5 Puerto Ricans, raising threat to rest of U.S.
Zika has landed forcefully in America, in one of its poorest and most vulnerable corners, a debt-ridden territory lacking a functioning health-care system, window screens and even a spray that works against the mosquitoes spreading the virus in homes, workplaces, schools and parks.
Headlines – 3/1/2016
‘Architecture will play critical role in any proposal to divide Jerusalem’
Sisi: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict feeds international terror organizations
Palestinian official: Israel and Hamas both hoping for chaos in West Bank
‘Palestinian Authority collapse a question of when, not if’
Netanyahu slams Gaza disengagement during Sharon memorial
Women activists to launch freedom flotilla to break the siege on Gaza
Israel ‘very concerned’ by rising Iranian power in Syria, Ya’alon says
Iran’s nuclear chief: Israel isn’t a state, therefore its not a threat
Turkish FM: Normalization with Israel could come ‘within days’
Report: Assad regime using Israeli drones against Syrian rebels
Why the War in Syria Is Only the Beginning
Saudi official: US-led coalition discussed possible Syria ground incursion
White House says committed to Syria cease-fire despite reported violations
Syrian army takes land east of Damascus during fragile truce
In rebel-held Aleppo, residents suspect Syria truce a trick
UK to send troops to Tunisia to help stop ISIS crossing Libyan border
Pentagon expands cyberattacks against ISIS
White House wants increase of Syrian refugees
Canada Has Officially Met Its Target of Resettling 25,000 Syrian Refugees
Woman Arrested in Moscow Holding Child’s Head, Claiming to Be Terrorist
Zarif: Iran will continue to develop missile program
UN Security Council to vote on new North Korea sanctions
Russia holds up vote on US-drafted North Korea sanctions resolution at UN
Hillary Clinton’s Emails: The Final Batch Released
At least 2,079 Clinton emails contain classified material
Lynch: No ‘artificial deadline’ on DOJ’s Clinton email probe
N.Y. judge backs Apple in encryption fight with government
Google says it bears ‘some responsibility’ after self-driving car hit bus
Energy price slump sends eurozone into deflation
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Neiafu, Tonga
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Yonakuni, Japan
5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Jiquilisco, El Salvador
Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador erupts to 22,000ft
Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 20,000ft
Karymsky volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 17,000ft
Sheveluch volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 17,000ft
Santa Maria volcan in Guatemala erupts to 14,000ft
Damaged Peru pipeline leaks 3,000 barrels of oil into Amazon region
Zika is expected to infect 1 in 5 Puerto Ricans, raising threat to rest of U.S.
Fighting infections with viruses, as antibiotics fail
Poll: Only 15 percent say they have benefited from ObamaCare
President Obama faces pivotal week in fight to replace Antonin Scalia
Abortion Case Returns to Supreme Court after Scalia’s Death
Scalia showdown is opening round of long fight over Supreme Court’s future
U.S. court test on abortion reflects success of strategy shift
Australian Cardinal Denies Deflecting Child Sex Abuse Blame
Anti-Gay Stickers At High School In Indio Touch Off Debate: Hate Speech Or Free Speech?
Kids Are Facing Criminal Charges for Using Gun Emoji
4 hurt as student opens fire in Ohio school cafeteria
Prophetic Revelation and the Modern Media
RICO Lawsuit Filed Against Former Leaders of Mars Hill Church…
“Restored” Hillsong pastor Pat Mesiti pleads guilty to assault
Is The Emerging Church History, or Has it Entered Your Church?
Prophecy watchers morphing into a mixed Apocalyptic bag
Should We be Concerned About the World if it’s All about to End?
Have the U.S government, Saudi Arabia and their allies been secretly plotting a massive ground invasion of Syria? Earlier this month, defense ministers from 49 countries gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium to talk about what to do in Syria. As you will see below, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister is now admitting that a ground invasion was discussed at this meeting. Of course the goal of any invasion would be regime change in Syria, and that is something that the Syrian army, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are simply not going to allow. So what the U.S. government, Saudi Arabia and their allies are contemplating could literally be the spark that sets off World War III. (Read More…)
The ceasefire in Syria is a joke. Turkish military units continue to mass along the border, and militants are pouring across the border to attack targets in northern Syria. The Prime Minister of Turkey is now openly admitting that his government is supporting the militants that are trying to overthrow the Syrian government, and the Turkish government has also made it abundantly clear that they have no plans to stop shelling the Kurds on the other side of the border. So despite the “ceasefire”, the truth is that the threat of World War 3 breaking out in the Middle East is greater than ever. (Read More….)
Frontrunning: March 01
- Trump, Clinton poised for big wins on Super Tuesday (Read More)
- U.S. Index Futures Signal Equities to Rebound After Monthly Drop (Read More)
- Barclays Plummets as Bank Slashes Dividend in Plan to Shrink (Read More)
- Glencore Tumbles to Loss, Promises Accelerated Debt Reduction (Read More)
- The Angry Americans: Trump, Sanders and the Aftershocks of 2008 (Read More)
- Euro sinks as weak data piles pressure on European Central Bank (Read More)
- China’s PMI Reports Show Slowdown Deepening as Services Slip (Read More)
- China Manufacturing Slows More Than Expected (Read More)
- China’s Central Bank Can’t Shed a Culture of Secrecy (Read More)
- Greece’s Creditors Said to Face Impasse Over Terms of Bailout (Read More)
- OPEC watching Iran, Russia, unlikely to cut output in June (Read More)
- Oil near two-month high on China demand hopes, easing supply glut (Read More)
- 1MDB Scandal: Deposits in Malaysian Leader Najib’s Accounts Said to Top $1 Billion (Read More)
- The Rise and Fall of Commodities Hedge Fund King Willem Kooyker (Read More)
- NYSE Owner ICE, CME Group Mulling Bids for LSE (Read More)
- Fed’s Dudley sees risks to U.S. economic outlook tilting to downside (Read More)
- Barclays Falls Under SEC Spotlight for Asian Hiring (Read More)
- New bin Laden documents show a suspicious, pressured al Qaeda (Read More)
- U.S. small business borrowing at lowest level since 2014: PayNet (Read More)
The Briefing
1) One-word religious labels becoming less helpful in predicting votes, excepting the “nones”
A closer look at religion in the Super Tuesday states, Pew Research Center (Michael Lipka)
Meet the ‘Nones,’ the Democratic Party’s biggest faith constituency, Washington Post (Michelle Boorstein)
2) Bernie Sanders has a long political career that evidences his true religion: Revolution
Bernie’s Religion Is the Revolution, US News (Harry Jaffe)
Bernie Sanders Is Jewish, but He Doesn’t Like to Talk About It, New York Times (Joseph Berger)
In Long Political Career, Sanders Relies on Son as a Constant Witness, New York Times (Jason Horowitz)
3) Euthanasia of autism patient demonstrates the erasure of all moral lines in Europe
Europe’s ‘cure’ for autism is euthanasia, New York Post (Charles Lane)
4) The Oscars are an occasion to reflect on Hollywood’s expanding and shrinking influences
The Oscar Farce, Wall Street Journal (David Thomson)
In other news…
What’s the Point of Moral Outrage?, New York Times (Jillian Jordan, Paul Bloom, Mo She Hoffman, and David Rand)
Why Abortion Clinics in the U.S. are Rapidly Closing, Washington Post (Danielle Paquette)
Neutral Parenting Would Encourage More Girls to be Scientists and Engineers – Top Private School Headteacher, Telegraph (Lucy Clarke-Billings)
Trump’s rise is the return of the demagogue, The Guardian (Jill Abramson)
Transgender students’ access to bathrooms is at front of LGBT rights battle Washington Post (Emma Brown and Moriah Balingit)
Catholic leaders win some, lose some in Italy’s new gay unions measure Religion News Service (Rosie Scammell)
The Liberal Millennial Revolution The Atlantic (Derek Thompson)
Order Out of Chaos; World Government Out of World War
The war in Syria is now escalating into a wider conflict that is drawing into it Russia, China, the US, the UK and NATO, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and a host of lesser players – a war that (like WWI and II) could morph into World War. From A to Z, this war is very complicated and made even more confusing by the propaganda and disinformation in the Establishment-controlled Western media. This issue will try to differentiate the “good guys” (if there are any) from the “bad guys.”
For starters, this war was triggered by US foreign policy – a policy that has been intentionally spawning wars and revolutions in the region for decades – but even more so in the Obama years. On the surface, “thinking people” would suspect that the conflict is primarily about Middle East oil and gas; the continuation or decline of the petrodollar; the war on terrorism; and American hegemony (domination) of the region via its puppet state – Saudi Arabia – and control of the price of oil.
But these motives are only partially correct. These may all be part of America’s motivation for overthrowing governments and fomenting revolutions throughout the region. However, since we helped overthrow the Shah of Iran in 1979 and helped to install the fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini in power – triggering the modern-day fundamentalist Muslim jihadist movement – there has been an even larger agenda behind America’s evil foreign policy.
It is about keeping the war on terror alive in order to impose draconian police state controls (and ultimately dictatorship) on the people in America and around the world. And it is about precipitating major chaos in that region (or in Eastern Europe) that will lead to WWIII (a war they need because of their crumbling financial empire). Out of the rubble of that war, the American/European globalist establishment believes it can install its world government – called the New World Order (and other names).
(Excerpt from McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, November 2015)
Daily Digest
March 1, 2016
THE FOUNDATION
“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.” —James Madison (1788)
TOP RIGHT HOOKS
Time for Us to Vote
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It’s Super Tuesday, and that means those of us here in our humble shop will be voting in either the Tennessee or Georgia primaries. And just in case it hasn’t been clear, we will not be voting for Donald Trump. Not that we don’t expect him to win “yuge” today, maybe even sweeping all 11 states — in addition to ours, Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will vote. But America’s First Principles aren’t always guided by a majority, or even a dominant plurality. It wasn’t a majority that fought for American independence, but, as Sam Adams described it, a “tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” All we can do is our best to light those brushfires, and to defend Liberty at every turn.
None of the states today are winner-take-all, which means strong second- or third-place finishes for Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will still net them some of the 595 delegates up for grabs. (Trump currently leads 82, 17, 16, respectively, needing 1,237 to win.) Regardless, Cruz and Rubio face incredibly long odds as things stand. John Kasich and Ben Carson will also be on the ballot.
“We’re getting people into the party that they’ve never had before,” Trump boasted Tuesday. “I can tell you the one person Hillary Clinton doesn’t want to run against is me.” The first claim is probably true; the second … perhaps, perhaps not. Mark Alexander speculated yesterday that “it’s likely that some of Trump’s primary voter support is coming not from Republicans but from Clinton crossovers, who want to ensure Trump is her opponent.” There’s evidence of the switch, if not the motive, at least in Massachusetts, where 20,000 Democrats quit the party to vote GOP.
On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton is likely to win big almost everywhere, but that may not mean Bernie Sanders packs up and goes home. He’s what National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru calls “a cause candidate” whose motivation isn’t winning but sending a message. It’s likely the only thing standing in Clinton’s way now is an indictment over her email.
Final Batch of Clinton Email Released
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The State Department released the last batch of emails from Hillary Clinton’s homebrew email server Monday. It marks the last of the 52,000 emails now in the public record. In total, more than 2,000 emails were redacted at some level. While State says none of the documents were marked classified, figures in the intelligence committee said the information was classified at the time. It’s a distinction Clinton likes to exploit against low info voters.
In this last batch of 3,900 emails, 261 were redacted by State. Those redacted emails described meetings Clinton had with world leaders, including Mid-East leaders after the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 — sensitive information that should have been protected from foreign spies. Most importantly, these emails show Barack Obama knew of Clinton’s private email and Clinton was well aware that she handled classified information through it. One email was classified because it was because it was an exchange between the chief executive and his cabinet member. On April 22, 2012, Clinton emailed her staffer Jacob Sullivan about a document that was emailed her: “If it’s not classified or otherwise inappropriate can you send to the NYTimes reporters who interviewed me today?” She had to ask, implying that she never fostered a culture where sensitive information was automatically forbidden from the technology.
At the beginning of this email debacle, Clinton admitted that her team deleted an additional 30,000 emails, saying they were personal. But if the vetted emails have 2,000 classified emails, what do the 30,000, which were recovered by the FBI and are being reviewed, reveal about the woman who wants to run this country?
Justice Clarence Thomas Speaks
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“Ms. Eisenstein, one question.” And with that, Justice Clarence Thomas broke his 10-year silence on the bench. The last time Thomas asked a question during oral arguments was Feb. 22, 2006. He reportedly keeps silent out of respect for the lawyers presenting their cases. Perhaps he spoke up because of the recent death of his longtime colleague and friend Antonin Scalia. The two were ideologically close, and perhaps Thomas felt he needed to be a louder conservative voice on the bench.
The court was hearing the oral arguments to Voisine v. United States, a challenge to the law forbidding anyone convicted of domestic violence from owning a firearm. Assistant Solicitor General Ilana Eisenstein was presenting the state’s defense, about to wrap up, when Thomas piped up. “This is a misdemeanor violation,” Thomas said. “It suspends a constitutional right. Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?”
Thomas long has been a quiet supporter of the Second Amendment. For years, government has argued it could curtail the right to bear arms for the sake of public safety. A domestic violence incident might not have anything to do with firearms. A felony might not have anything to do with violence. Yet a conviction in either results in the loss of Second Amendment rights. As Reason’s Jacob Sullum notes, Thomas is implying legislators have been too quick to strip self-defense rights from citizens. For the record, Eisentein couldn’t think of another example where a misdemeanor resulted in the permanent loss of a constitutional right.
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FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump University: A Model for Making America Great?
By Paul Albaugh
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For all of the self-hype about Donald Trump’s great successes as a businessman, his business failures are even more instructive. While failure in business can certainly be overcome and there can be valuable lessons learned from mistakes, there are also instances when the business itself becomes more important than the people it’s supposed to be helping or serving. One such example is Trump University.
Thankfully, during the last Republican presidential debate, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz finally started going after the frontrunner instead of each other. Rubio landed a good punch, sarcastically conceding that he didn’t “know anything about starting a fake university.”
Naturally, Trump defended his creation of Trump University. During an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he insisted he would do it all over again because, he boasted, “98% of the people who took the courses approved the courses” and “said they were great.” As usual Trump left out many, many details.
What exactly was Trump University? David Marcus notes, “To understand what Trump University was, it is important to understand what it wasn’t — namely, a university.” In fact, a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general in 2013 forced Trump University to change its name to Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. It turns out that Trump U was operating illegally as a non-accredited university and did not offer any degrees or well-rounded curriculum. Trump ignored warnings dating to 2005.
What did it offer? It offered educational products, some with a price tag of $35,000, which were designed to teach students how to make big profits in real estate. At the lower levels, seminars were offered to teach students how to flip properties but they were designed to upsell the student to the next higher level course. Indeed, upselling was the name of the game, and many students were coaxed into paying a hefty price for useless information.
It was a classic bait-and-switch scam — a lie, a fraud. People paid generous sums of money to attend these courses that benefitted not the students but the businessman Donald Trump. And his outfit is now the defendant in three lawsuits.
In Trump’s introductory video for Trump University, he states, “We are going to have professors and adjunct professors that are absolutely terrific — terrific brains, successful. We are going to have the best of the best. Honestly, if you don’t learn from them, if you don’t learn from me, if you don’t learn from the people that we will be putting forward — and these are all people who are going to be handpicked by me — then you are just not going to make it in terms of the world of success.”
Fact-check time.
First, according to Michael Sexton, the top executive for Trump University, “None of the instructors at the live events were handpicked by Donald Trump.” That’s right — none.
Second, as mentioned before, Trump boasted of the 98% approval rating from those who took the courses. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, he went on to claim that Trump University had an A rating from the Better Business Bureau. Yet the Better Business Bureau rated Trump University a D- in 2010. In addition, Trump University closed its seminars in Texas in January 2010, following a “civil investigative demand” mailed to Trump’s corporate offices after Texas assistant Attorney General Rick Berlin began a probe of whether Trump’s operation was in violation of Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act. Instead of responding and returning the requested documents, Trump University ceased doing business in Texas.
Third, Trump claims he has helped so many people but in recent TV ads courtesy of the American Future Fund, the people giving testimony present a far different picture.
In the first ad, one single mom says she “made a huge mistake trusting him.” She thought that she would get the best — the best experts, advice and contacts. But she ended up paying more than $35,000 for what amounted to “just a fake” and “got hurt badly” by Trump.
In the second ad, a man tells how he was “duped by The Donald” into believing he was attending a legitimate university because of its name. He explains that at the $1,495 seminar the professors pressed for students to increase their credit lines so they could afford the higher priced courses and become part of a group who would receive access to some of Trump’s condos, which could be flipped quickly for a profit. In addition, there were promises of access to “hard money lenders” but no contacts were ever provided.
Finally, in the third ad, another man states that he fell for Trump University because he thought he could use the information to earn extra money to pay off debts. After the first two seminars, he was convinced by the presenter to increase his credit card limit so he could afford the $25,000 Gold Elite program. But again the hard money lenders did not exist. He found himself unable to get financing unless he had a deal with a seller and he couldn’t make a deal unless the financing was in place. He asked for help but was told to work harder. In the end he had to sublet his house and move into a studio apartment due to accumulation of debt and because the billionaire huckster refused to refund any of his money. “Trump is just a fraud, a misrepresentation, a BS artist,” the man says.
In line with Trump’s usual desire to silence dissent, he is demanding the ads be pulled.
Is Trump University a model for greatness or a model for failure? People who hoped for a brighter future were told they could gain valuable information and the tools for success from Trump University. But they were lied to and essentially robbed. The man they thought they could trust betrayed them. And this is just one example of Trump’s misdoings and deceitfulness in business. Check out the debacle of Trump Mortgage for another, or ask the questions of his unreleased tax returns for still one more.
So as voters head to the polls for Super Tuesday and beyond, the question is simple: Is Trump the kind of man who will help make America great again?
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For more, visit Patriot Headline Report
OPINION IN BRIEF
Thomas Sowell: “Trump’s acting like a bull in a china shop may appeal to some voters but, in the world as it is, he may well cost us our last chance to recover from the great dangers into which the Obama administration has gotten this nation. We already have an ego-driven, know-it-all president who will not listen to military or intelligence agency experts. Do we need to tempt fate by having two in a row? Despite Donald Trump’s string of primary vote victories, he has not yet gotten a majority of the Republican votes anywhere. But although most Republican votes are being cast against him, the scattering of that vote among so many other candidates leaves Trump with a good chance to get the nomination. Everyone understands that the best chance for stopping Trump is for that fractured majority vote to consolidate behind one candidate opposed to him. But who will step aside for the good of the country? When we think of American military heroes who have fallen on enemy hand grenades to save those around them, at the cost of their own lives, is it really too much to ask candidates — especially those who present themselves as patriots — to give up their one political chance in a zillion this year for the sake of the country? Voters have a responsibility too. They might well ask themselves: Do I plan to use my vote to vent my emotions or to try to help save this country?”
SHORT CUTS
Upright: “What continues to amaze is the strong backing of Trump by so many evangelicals. If their church members behaved as Trump does, they would receive a serious talking to by the deacons or pastor and if they didn’t repent and change their ways they might face expulsion. With Trump, most evangelical leaders have remained largely silent, offering neither criticism nor praise. This is what can happen when some pastors who are called to a different kingdom and a different King settle for an earthly kingdom and lesser king.” —Cal Thomas
Good question: “Donald Trump’s popularity among voters has mainly to do with his tough stance on immigration. Or so I’m told, daily. And yet the populist Right (to use a term of convenience) will stand for his ‘jobs Americans won’t do’ act? Here’s a candidate who says, I have no choice but to hire illegals because there are jobs that Americans just won’t do. That’s okay with the Trump army?” —Jay Nordlinger
The authoritarian: “Russia is out of control and the leadership knows it. That’s my problem with Gorbachev. Not a firm enough hand. … When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak … as being spit on by the rest of the world.” —Donald Trump in 1990
For the record: “Trump’s campaign slogan may be about making America great again, but his speeches are always about how we’re losing all the time — and to whom we’re losing. Pessimism goes hand-in-hand with a zero-sum view of the world, in which every person’s gain is somebody else’s loss. So it’s no wonder that Trump’s world-view is fundamentally adversarial: we’re going to win again by throwing out those other SOBs who are beating us, and we’re going to make them pay.” —Robert Tracinski
Almost an endorsement: “I don’t think people have any idea what Trump would do. He might wind up being the most magnanimous, inviting and generous person you could imagine. Who knows?” —former GOP Senate leader Trent Lott, now a lobbyist, proving the establishment is going to be just fine with Trump
And last… “I wish everyone would stop falling in love with candidates. These guys are contractors. We hire them for a four-year gig and if they’re good, we renew ’em for another four years.” —Jim Geraghty
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
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For evangelical voters, backing Donald Trump is a mistake
What Wouldn’t Jesus Do?
How to Fight the 7 Deadly Sins with Confidence
As followers of Jesus, we’ve been given a simple mission regarding sin: search and destroy. Put it to death.
How to Cope with Deep Grief
Losing someone you love can cut into your heart so viciously it forever redefines who you are and how you think.
8 Charts on Which Evangelicals Will (and Won’t) Vote Trump on Super Tuesday
Leaders seem to have little influence on voters. Church attendance might have much more.
Christian Parents Must Accept Their Adult Child’s Choices, Even If They Don’t Approve, Billy Graham Says
Christian parents must accept their child’s decisions whether they approve of them or not, the Reverend Billy Graham wrote in a recent post.
Billy Graham: The Bible Is the ‘Most Important’ Book and Christians Need to Understand It
No other book is as important as the Bible and Christians need to make an effort to understand it, the Rev. Billy Graham advises.
Anne Graham Lotz shares difference prayer makes
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted ‘An Evening with Anne,’ featuring Anne Graham Lotz, renowned author and speaker and daughter of Billy Graham. More than 900 guests attended the Feb. 25 event hosted by Women’s Life.
Multi-site churches, holographic pastors and virtual relationships
Feb 29, 2016 12:03 pm | Marsha West
Writing for Grace to You, Cameron Buettel examines a “new generation of pastors who can be in two places at one time [by] using technology—high-def videos, and even holograms—to beam their Sunday morning sermons to remote ‘satellite’ churches that belong to their congregation.” We are in the age of the multi-site “church.” Buettel gives Steven […]
The post Multi-site churches, holographic pastors and virtual relationships appeared first on Berean Research.
The Young “Messiah”: Christians delight in really bad fanfiction
Get ready for another collection of unbiblical dialog and drama that NEVER HAPPENED. The Young Messiah is the movie that will be releasing March 11 in theaters across the nation (Just in time for Resurrection Sunday!), but the world premiere happened in January at the Billion Soul Network’s NAR-based Synergize 2016 conference.” “Young Messiah is […]
The post The Young “Messiah”: Christians delight in really bad fanfiction appeared first on Berean Research.
Prophecy watchers morphing into a mixed Apocalyptic bag
“Apocalyptic scenarios sell. No wonder there is a temptation to enhance Scripture with extrabiblical and alternative future scenarios. Postmodern teachers are rapidly leaving Sola Scripture to add in mystical components, and the prophecy circuit teachers are no exception.” The intro paragraph above was written by researcher Sarah Leslie in 2013. The image is from […]
The post Prophecy watchers morphing into a mixed Apocalyptic bag appeared first on Berean Research.
“The moment you speak something out you give birth to it”
Amiee Byrd, author and contributor on Mortification of Spin, has written a review of Positively Powerless. I’ll get to Aimee’s review in a moment but before I do, a short synopsis on the Power of Positive Thinking is in order. Positive thinking is based in the so-called Law of Attraction which is the principle that like attracts like. […]
The post “The moment you speak something out you give birth to it” appeared first on Berean Research.
A Missive Against False Teachers
This piece was originally posted on Apprising Ministries: Just as in times past there were false prophets in Israel, there are now false teachers among us. They’ve cunningly introduced destructive heresies. They even deny the Lord who, through His atonement bought them. By doing these things these false teachers will bring swift destruction on themselves! […]
The post A Missive Against False Teachers appeared first on Berean Research.
Mike Bickle among “those pastors who want to join the Catholics in unity”
IHOP-KC director, Mike Bickle, desires to include the Catholic religion in the Body of Christ. John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire points us to the promo Bickle and a Catholic did for the Onething 2015 conference. As previously reported, “Reformed pastor,” author and speaker Francis Chan was among the speakers at the conference. “The Bible […]
The post Mike Bickle among “those pastors who want to join the Catholics in unity” appeared first on Berean Research.
Your Soul For A–Pronoun?
Peter Jones of truthXchange reminds us that: We were promised by early homosexual rights advocates that granting personal sexual freedom would not change society. History has proven otherwise. Sexual radicals now demand “non-offensive” pronouns: “ze (he or she) laughed; I called hir (‘heer’); hir eyes gleam; that is hirs; ze likes hirself (‘heerself’).” This, of course, […]
The post Your Soul For A–Pronoun? appeared first on Berean Research.
Francis Chan’s not afraid of the big bad wolf, says “I still love Mike Bickle!”
In a piece I wrote entitled The Prosperity Preacher and the Pied Piper of IHOP I warned the Body of Christ that it had become evident that popular preacher Francis Chan had started moving away from Christian orthodoxy and offered proof of this. One thing I found problematic was that Chan chose to unite with and […]
The post Francis Chan’s not afraid of the big bad wolf, says “I still love Mike Bickle!” appeared first on Berean Research.
The Daily Discovery (March 1, 2016)
ARTICLES I LIKE FROM AROUND THE WEB:
(Click title to go to full article)
Decency for President – “As the father of three daughters, I reserved the right to interview their dates. Seemed only fair to me. After all, my wife and I’d spent 16 or 17 years feeding them, dressing them, funding braces, and driving them to volleyball tournaments and piano recitals. A five-minute face-to-face with the guy was a fair expectation. I was entrusting the love of my life to him. For the next few hours, she would be dependent upon his ability to drive a car, avoid the bad crowds, and stay sober. I wanted to know if he could do it. I wanted to know if he was decent.”
Socialism Is Evil – “In a recent blog post I urged the biblical basis for the spirituality of the church. One of the points I made is that while the church does not meddle in civil government, it most certainly may speak against social evils. Christians and pastors can and should speak out on evils such as racism, government sponsored torture, or, in this case, socialism. I bring up socialism because I have noticed that it is becoming fashionable for Christians to denounce capitalism and laud socialism as a more biblical alternative.”
Why this election makes me hate the word ‘evangelical’ – “It wasn’t even intentional on my part. I just noticed a few weeks ago that I had stopped describing myself to people as an ‘evangelical.’ I had begun, subconsciously, to say that I am a ‘gospel Christian.’ When I caught myself doing this, I wondered why and the answer wasn’t long in coming. The word ‘evangelical’ has become almost meaningless this year, and in many ways the word itself is at the moment subverting the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Against Donald Trump: Why Evangelicals Must Not Support Trump – “The rise of Donald Trump among some evangelicals is an understandable, even if unsettling phenomenon. The alienation and despair that he has both fostered and exploited is a pervasive feature of some corners of American life. But no one is more susceptible to such hopelessness about our political class than working-class, rural, white evangelicals, who have been tutored more by the grievance and resentment theater of both conservative and evangelical talk radio than by the good news of the Gospel. As Ben Domenech has astutely explained, having lost every culture war such evangelicals are now fighting on the only terrain they have left: political correctness. And Donald Trump is their gift to the world.”
Tools I Use to Get Things Done – “ove tools. I especially love good tools. I love to explore different tools, to try them, and to choose the ones that do the job the best. In my case, the tools I use tend to be related to writing and publishing and they come in both hardware and software varieties. I outlined my preferred productivity tools in Do More Better and if you read that book you will find some detail on Evernote, Todoist, and Google Calendar. Today I want to tell a little about some of the other tools I use in case they are of interest to you.”
SERMON:
Paul Luedke – Humanity’s Heritage of Hope
VIDEOS:
Gay Parents? What Does the Bible Say?
Do you believe the bible?
“All death can do to the believer is deliver him to Jesus. It brings us into the eternal presence of our Savior.” – John MacArthur
The post The Daily Discovery (March 1, 2016) appeared first on Entreating Favor.
Just 3 of 478 Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since San Bernardino Are Christian
Monday, the Washington Examiner reported that the White House is looking to further expand the number of Syrian refugees it admits.
“We want to make sure that we can increase our numbers of refugees that are able to settle here,” Felicia Escobar, Obama’s special assistant for immigration policy, said Mondayaccording to the Washington Examiner.
The Prophecies Have Come to Pass
The prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah have come to pass.
Donald Trump Is a Scam. Evangelical Voters Should Back Away
Trump, an admirer of Vladimir Putin and other dictatorial leaders, may claim to be your friend and protector now, but as his history indicates, without your full support he will turn on you, and use whatever power is within his means to punish you. This is a critical time in American history and we call on all Christians to pray for personal repentance, divine forgiveness and spiritual awakening for our nation. It is not the time for Donald Trump.
Editors’ Note: The Christian Post has not taken a position on a political candidate before today. We are making an exception because Trump is exceptionally bad and claims to speak for and represent the interests of evangelicals.
We the senior editors of The Christian Post encourage our readers to back away from Donald Trump.
As the most popular evangelical news website in the United States and the world, we feel compelled by our moral responsibility to our readers to make clear that Donald Trump does not represent the interests of evangelicals and would be a dangerous leader for our country.
Trump claims to be a Christian, yet says he has never asked for forgiveness.
While God, in His wondrous creativity, has drawn people to Himself through the saving grace of Jesus Christ in many different ways, there are certain non-negotiable actions needed to become a Christian: One must repent of their sins and follow Christ as Lord and Savior. Trump doesn’t talk this way, even when urged to.
Further, his words and actions do not demonstrate the “fruit of the spirit.”
Trump is a misogynist and philanderer. He demeans women and minorities. His preferred forms of communication are insults, obscenities and untruths. While Christians have been guilty of all of these, we, unlike Trump, acknowledge our sins, ask for forgiveness and seek restitution with the aid of the Holy Spirit and our community of believers.
On Sunday, Trump’s apparent reluctance to disavow David Duke until late in the day was extremely distasteful. The Ku Klux Klan is an evil, unholy movement representing the worst of America. Anyone who will not immediately denounce their support is unfit to be president.
Trump claims he will “protect Christians.” We already have a Protector, and He is not Trump.
The grievances of Trump’s supporters are legitimate. Politicians for too long have promised to represent the best interests of all Americans before an election, only to represent the interest of their cronies after the election. But Trump’s followers are being fooled into believing that he can help them.
Trump’s Major Electability Problem
Oscars 2016
What do this year’s Oscars reveal about the culture and why Christians must join the conversation? Listen Now | Download
Check Out
Blogs
Online Education: Relation-less Education | Adam Johnson, The Scriptorium Daily
“Why attend a ‘brick and mortar’ institution? Why walk away from the benefits and discounts offered by online education? Because those discounts come with a cost–a savings accomplished by gutting education of its heart and soul–the relationship between teacher and student, in which not merely information, but a way of life is imparted through an ongoing relationship. ”
Tools I Use to Get Things Done | Tim Challies
Tips from the master.
I outlined my preferred productivity tools in Do More Better and if you read that book you will find some detail on Evernote, Todoist, and Google Calendar. Today I want to tell a little about some of the other tools I use in case they are of interest to you.
Yes, life is scary. No, it’s not time to panic | Joel J. Miller
“Whatever survival benefit we gain from fear-induced stress, it hardly compensates for the emotional and spiritual turmoil we suffer in exchange. We can’t get away from fear-mongering pundits, politicians, activists, and trolls. But we don’t have to buy what they’re selling.”
12 Amazing Benefits of Exercise | Fitness Pal
#1: Relieves Stress & Anxiety. Exercise releases norepinephrine, which can regulate and reduce your stress response. It can also improve overall mood and alleviate depression through endorphins that provide feelings of euphoria.
New Book
Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide edited by Cameron Cole and Jon Nielson.
Kindle Deals
Stop Loving the World by William Greenhill ($2.99)
Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. ($4.99)
The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs by Sebastian Traeger and Greg D. Gilbert ($1.99).
Biblical Words and Their Meaning: An Introduction to Lexical Semantics by Moisés Silva ($1.99)
Becoming Worldly Saints: Can You Serve Jesus and Still Enjoy Your Life? by Michael E. Wittmer ($1.99)
Video
Election 2016: “Our Hope Is in the Living God Who Reigns Yet”
Don Carson reflects on the dilemma facing Christians in the US elections.
A La Carte (March 1)
Today’s Kindle deals include Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go To Heaven? by Mohler, Keller, and others ($1.99); Biblical Words and Their Meaning by Moises Silva ($1.99); Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber ($0.99); John Calvin’s Sermons on 1 Timothy ($2.99); Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley ($3.99); The QuickNotes Dictionary of Bible Places ($2.99); The MacArthur Topical Bible ($3.99). Amazon has a new list of monthly deals that cross all genres and may be worth looking over.
This month’s Logos deal is 101 of John Piper’s Look at the Book videos completely free. You can add Finish the Mission for $1.99 and enter to win a whole Piper collection. Also, last Friday Lexham Press released a new book called Church History for Modern Ministry. You can check it out here; if you want to buy it, click this link and you’ll get it for just $5.99.
Christian Audio’s free book this month of Jen Pollock Michel’s Teach Us to Want.
Reassurance: The Needed Component in Reconciliation
I think you will appreciate this one, a lesson on reconciliation drawn out of the narrative of Joseph and his brothers.
Lamentations
Bifrost Arts has a new album out that features songs of lament. You can listen to it at all at Bandcamp.
The Downward Spiral of My Discontent
You can identify with this, I’m sure: “I find myself feeling Eeyore-like with a black cloud over my head and a target on my back. My already full plate doesn’t seem able to hold anything else and I’m speeding down the slippery slope of self-pity. At the same time, I’m exasperated with myself for my despondency.”
Marble Race
There’s something mesmerizing about this very long marble race.
Putting Off Putting On
New from our Visual Theology shop is an infographic on putting off and putting on. You can get the high-resolution digital download for just $1.99!
This Day in 1942. 74 years ago today, Kent Hughes was born. Happy Birthday to you, Kent!
ZION 8K
ZION 8K (and I confess, I have no idea what 8K signifies) is the latest video in a great project titled More Than Just Parks.
Online Education: Relation-less Education
“Why attend a ‘brick and mortar’ institution? Why walk away from the benefits and discounts offered by online education? Because those discounts come with a cost—a savings accomplished by gutting education of its heart and soul—the relationship between teacher and student, in which not merely information, but a way of life is imparted through an ongoing relationship.”
God intends to use human prayers to accomplish his most ultimate and universal purposes. —John Piper
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Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:36 AM PST A new study published in the Aug. 2014 journal Ecological Indicators explores the effects that Fukushima’s nuclear accident is having on marine life, an issue that the public and scientists have pondered and worried about since the meltdown occurred in 2011. Three and a half years have passed since a 15-meter tsunami, triggered by a major earthquake, dismantled the power supply, causing the meltdown of three of Fukushima’s Daiichi reactors in Japan. The “double quake,” which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, shook the Japanese mainland for a solid three minutes, releasing radioactive material into the air, reaching as far as the U.S. West Coast, and possibly beyond. Scientists have blamed population decline and genetic damage in animals, insects and wildlife living near the site on the release of radioactive material. One example is the pale grass blue butterfly, a common butterfly species found in Japan. Reduction in size, slow growth and a high mortality rate appear to plague the species in the region surrounding Fukushima, according to a report by Tech Times. READ MORE The post Marine wildlife are dying from ‘long-term, chronic exposure to radionuclide-contaminated water’ from Fukushima appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| DEVELOPING: Iran gears up for chemical war
Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:28 AM PST Iranian military officials on Monday held an unveiling ceremony in Tehran for five new domestically produced pieces of military equipment, with the hardware indicating the leading state sponsor of terrorism is earnestly preparing for chemical warfare. The state-run PressTV reported the five new tools of war included a “Pars Cam detector device, an explosives and drugs detector device, anti-shock and explosion-proof polymer covers, a new generation of NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suits, and a production line for Obidoxime Chloride, a medicine for countering chemical agents.” The new equipment was displayed on domestic TV. READ MORE The post DEVELOPING: Iran gears up for chemical war appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Asteroid with the potential to release 1 million tons of TNT will zoom past Earth next week
Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:21 AM PST Eight days from now a 100-foot-diameter asteroid named “2013 TX68” will fly past Earth for the second time in recorded history. One hundred feet is about the size of a blue whale, but to be clear, 2013 TX68 is not considered a potentially hazardous asteroid and poses no catastrophic threat to human life on Earth. Still, NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has had its eye on this space rock since it was discovered in 2013. The NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey first spotted 2013 TX68 on Oct. 6, 2013 while it was passing at a distance of 1.3 million miles away. Now, according to the latest updates on the asteroid’s location and orbit, the CNEOS has estimated that “2013 TX68” will fly past Earth on March 8 at a safe distance of 3 million miles away. That’s a distance of about 12.5 times farther away than the Moon is from Earth. Unfortunately for asteroid spotters, this means that we likely won’t have a chance to see the asteroid upon its closest approach. READ MORE The post Asteroid with the potential to release 1 million tons of TNT will zoom past Earth next week appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Fighters From Turkey Are Pouring Into Syria And Attacking Targets Despite The Ceasefire
Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:15 AM PST (Michael Snyder) The ceasefire in Syria is a joke. Turkish military units continue to mass along the border, and militants are pouring across the border to attack targets in northern Syria. The Prime Minister of Turkey is now openly admitting that his government is supporting the militants that are trying to overthrow the Syrian government, and the Turkish government has also made it abundantly clear that they have no plans to stop shelling the Kurds on the other side of the border. So despite the “ceasefire”, the truth is that the threat of World War 3 breaking out in the Middle East is greater than ever. At times it is difficult to see the dividing line between the Turkish military and the radical jihadists that are hopping back and forth across the border with the full support of the Turkish government. Over the weekend, militants from Turkey that crossed over into northern Syria were supported by artillery fire from the Turkish military as they attacked a key Kurdish town…READ MORE The post Fighters From Turkey Are Pouring Into Syria And Attacking Targets Despite The Ceasefire appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| BBC News faces $80 Million budget cuts over 4 years
Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:09 AM PST Heavy cuts look set to strike BBC News as part of a wider corporation plan aimed at saving £550 million by 2021-22. A BBC spokesman said: “No decisions have been taken and no recommendations have yet been made.” The cuts are a result of Harding’s “Future of BBC News” project, launched in January and spanning three months. In a BBC blog post to staff in January, Harding outlined the aims of the project. He said: “We are going to have to make choices [because] we can’t afford to do everything.” READ MORE
The post BBC News faces $80 Million budget cuts over 4 years appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| NASA Finally Bows to the Name of Jesus After Censorship
Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:32 PM PST In June 2015, members of Johnson Space Center’s Praise and Worship Club said attorneys for NASA’s legal department told them they could not use the name Jesus in announcements appearing in the space agency’s newsletters. The club’s leadership was also told that “NASA would be censoring all future club announcements that featured the name ‘Jesus.’” Consequently, until the AFA Action Alert in February 2016, the name “Jesus” was conspicuously absent from the Johnson Space Center newsletters containing announcements from the Praise and Worship Club. Immediately after AFA launched an Action Alert, “NASA censors ‘Jesus’ from newsletter,” NASA responded. It would not deny our claims, but simply stated it “does not prohibit the use of any specific religious names in employee newsletters or other internal communications.” You can see the club’s newsletter announcements and timetable here. This week, NASA, sent a copy of its latest newsletter to AFA. In the February 16 issue, one week after AFA’s alert, NASA included the name “Jesus” in the Praise and Worship club’s newsletter announcement! READ MORE The post NASA Finally Bows to the Name of Jesus After Censorship appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| Total solar eclipse will occur March 8th and March 9th
Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:18 PM PST A full total eclipse will occur in just over a week’s time, on March 8 and March 9. A full solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun and almost completely blocks the light of the sun. This is different from the more rare Supermoon lunar eclipse that occurred in September when the moon passed through part of earth’s shadow. The Epoch Times said the eclipse will be partially viewable to folks living in Australia, East Asia and Southeast Asia and will begin at 23:19 UTC on March 8. Folks living in the aforementioned regions of the world can expect the highlight of the show, which will only last about 4 minutes, at about 1:59 UTC on March 9, The Epoch Times explained. The full experience will only be available for residents of Indonesia, however. READ MORE
The post Total solar eclipse will occur March 8th and March 9th appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| New billboard technology could soon track your movements, behavior
Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:14 PM PST With digital advertising long tapping into users’ mobile habits, traditional advertisers have felt left in the dark ages. But billboards are about to get smart, and technology would allow them to know where you’ve been and where you go after you see them. Advertising giant Clear Channel Outdoor Americas, which owns tens of thousands of billboards across the country, announced Monday that it will be debuting a new kind of consumer-tracking system called Radar. Following in the footsteps of targeted advertisements seen on the web, Radar will tap into data from several partner companies to determine what kinds of advertisements will be displayed on a billboard screen. Just as importantly, the system will also track how good of a job the ads are doing at convincing people to look up the brand on their phones, or go out and shop. “In aggregate, that data can then tell you information about what the average viewer of that billboard looks like,” Andy Stevens, senior vice president for research and insights at Clear Channel Outdoor, told the New York Times. “Obviously that’s very valuable to an advertiser.” READ MORE The post New billboard technology could soon track your movements, behavior appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
Featured Blogs
Our Time is Short
What is The Gospel?
God made everything out of nothing, including you and me. His main purpose in creation was to bring him pleasure.
The chief way in which we as humanity do this is through loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
Instead of this, we have sinned against our loving Creator and acted in high-handed rebellion.
God has vowed that he will righteously and lovingly judge sinners with eternal death.
But God, being merciful, loving, gracious, and just, sent his own son, Jesus Christ, in the likeness of man to live as a man; fulfilling his perfect requirements in the place of sinners; loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
And further, his son bore the eternal judgment of God upon the cross of Calvary, as he satisfied the eternal anger of God, standing in the place of sinners. God treated Jesus as a sinner, though he was perfectly sinless, that he might declare sinners as perfect.
This glorious transaction occurs as the sinner puts their faith (dependence, trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ as their substitute. God then charges Christ’s perfection to the sinner, and no longer views him as an enemy but instead an adopted son covered in the perfect righteousness of his son.
God furnished proof that this sacrifice was accepted by raising Jesus from the dead.
God will judge the world in righteousness and all of those who are not covered in the righteousness of Christ, depending on him for forgiveness, will be forced to stand on their own to bear the eternal anger of God.
Therefore, all must turn from sin and receive Christ Jesus as Lord.
What Is the Gospel?
There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the gospel.
The gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness–or lack of it –or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.
The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith–and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him–and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.
The Gospel In A Nutshell
Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He is none other than the Creator of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through His own Word, first of all sent forth; that this Word is called His Son, and, under the name of God, was seen “in diverse manners” by the patriarchs, heard at all times in the prophets, at last brought down by the Spirit and Power of the Father into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and, being born of her, went forth as Jesus Christ; thenceforth He preached the new law and the new promise of the kingdom of heaven, worked miracles; having been crucified, He rose again the third day; (then) having ascended into the heavens, He sat at the right hand of the Father; sent instead of Himself the Power of the Holy Ghost to lead such as believe; will come with glory to take the saints to the enjoyment of everlasting life and of the heavenly promises, and to condemn the wicked to everlasting fire, after the resurrection of both these classes shall have happened, together with the restoration of their flesh. This rule, as it will be proved, was taught by Christ, and raises amongst ourselves no other questions than those which heresies introduce, and which make men heretics.
Tertullian, “On Prescription Against Heretics,” Chapter XIIl
The Gospel on 5 Fingers
If you picked up a hitchhiker (not that I recommend doing that) and he saw a Bible on your car seat and said, “I’ve heard about this thing called the Gospel – can you explain it to me before you drop me off in one minute up the street?” What would you say?
Can you explain the gospel in 30 seconds? In one minute? In five minutes?
Here’s one way I have found helpful. The five main components of the gospel can be remembered on 5 fingers of one hand. Here they are:
1) Jesus’ birth
2) Jesus’ life
3) Jesus’ death
4) Jesus’ resurrection
5) Jesus’ ascension
Obviously each point can be elaborated on depending on how much time you have. Here’s the short version:
1) Jesus’ birth – Jesus, God himself, the creator of the universe, the Messiah, became a human being – took on flesh, and was born of a virgin.
2) Jesus’ life – Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to his Father. Though he was tempted in every way as we are, he never once sinned.
3) Jesus’ death – on the cross, Jesus himself took all our sins and paid for them. God the father counted all our sins to Jesus as if he himself had personally committed them. Then Jesus bore God’s wrath towards sin – the punishment we deserved – as a substitute for us.
4) Jesus’ resurrection – within 3 days, Jesus rose physically from the dead, proving that his sacrifice for sins have been accepted by God, since the punishment for sin was death. Jesus was seen by numerous people after he rose including 500 at one time (1 Corinthians 15).
5) Jesus’ ascension – Jesus ascended physically into heaven where he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. And someday he will return to the earth.
That’s the gospel, the good news, and if we believe in Jesus Christ and this good news and call upon him he will save us from our sins and give us eternal life.
That’s a simple way to remember the gospel – five fingers. Even a child can do it. So ask God to give you opportunities to share his good news today.
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Resource Links
CanIKnowGod.com is a website inspired by LifesGreatestQuestion.com, with new content, images, audio and video that will help you understand more about who God is and how to know Him. The site is mobile responsive and has an infinite scroll which makes for a very user-friendly experience. After you indicate a decision on CanIKnowGod.com, you are directed to a page that details what it means to have a new and transformed life through Jesus Christ. There’s even a Facebook page for daily updates, encouragement and scripture sharing.
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
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