August 28 A Barrier to Peace

Scripture Reading: Psalm 85:1–13

Key Verse: Psalm 85:2

You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;

You have covered all their sin.

Sin robs you of peace with God because it places a barrier between you. Author and Bible teacher Kay Arthur states, “Sin will take you further than you ever want to go.” She is right. The enemy entices us to sin. When we do, we suddenly find we have drifted further from God than we would have thought possible.

A lack of peace often indicates that there is something wrong within a person’s life. It could be that he is believing Satan’s lie by thinking that God has abandoned him. Nothing could be further from the truth. God’s love for us is eternal.

Another reason we lose our sense of peace is because of sin. The way to reclaim the joy and peace that sin has stolen is to humble ourselves before the Lord in prayer and ask Him to forgive our transgressions.

The psalmist wrote, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.… Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:1, 12). King David wrote these words to the Lord after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Anguish over his sin motivated David to pray for forgiveness and for the restoration of the joy of his salvation.

God heard David’s prayer and restored him. The Lord will do the same for you. His peace and joy await those who turn to Him.

Lord, forgive me of my sin. Destroy every barrier that blocks me from Your presence. Restore the joy of my salvation and give me peace.^[1]

---

^[1] Stanley, C. F. (2006). Pathways to his presence (p. 251). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

August 28 A Personal Invitation from God

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:18–21

Key Verse: Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

The Bible typically portrays sin as black or dark, but in Isaiah 1:18 (nasb), the imagery changes: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”

In Bible times, these colors were some of the brightest colors that could be produced, and they were absolutely colorfast. You didn’t just wash out a scarlet stain from a piece of cloth. If the material was dyed with scarlet, it stayed red. The idea of something dark red becoming as white as snow or wool was certainly out of the question.

Yet that is what Christ’s red blood does to your sins. It wipes them away completely, and all God sees when He looks at you is purity—no spots or smudges of unrighteousness soiling the fabric of your life.

You can find a good example of this spiritual principle in science. If you take a white card with a big red dot on it and look at it through a special red photographic light filter, you cannot see the spot at all. The entire card appears white. Through the filter of Christ’s blood, you are “eternally white” in the eyes of God.

Does God see you through the covering of Jesus’ blood, or are you still trying to scrub out the flaws in your heart and life by your own effort? You were not designed to be self-cleaning. Let Him do the job.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the invitation to be washed white as snow. I accept. Wash away the crimson stains of my sin. Remove all the spots and smudges.^[1]

---

^[1] Stanley, C. F. (1999). On holy ground (p. 251). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Share this:

Mish: Here’s The Many Ways That Democrats Are After Your Money | ZeroHedge News

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk,

Democrat candidates are lining up with numerous radical schemes to take your money.

Cornucopia of Schemes to Take Your Money

The Democrats are competing with each other with ideas to take your money and waste it.

For example, Senator Ron Wyden proposes taxing your money before you even have it.

Rethinking Capital Gains

Please consider Democrats’ Emerging Tax Idea: Look Beyond Income, Target Wealth.

Biden Plan

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the candidate most prominently picking up where Mr. Obama left off, has proposed repealing stepped-up basis. Taxing unrealized gains at death could let Congress raise the capital gains rate to 50% before revenue from it would start to drop, according to the Tax Policy Center, because investors would no longer delay sales in hopes of a zero tax bill when they die.

And indeed, Mr. Biden has proposed doubling the income-tax rate to 40% on capital gains for taxpayers with incomes of $1 million or more.

But for Democrats, repealing stepped-up basis has drawbacks. Much of the money wouldn’t come in for years, until people died. The Treasury Department estimated a plan Mr. Obama put out in 2016 would generate $235 billion over a decade, less than 10% of what advisers to Sen. Warren’s campaign say her tax plan would raise.

That lag raises another risk. Wealthy taxpayers would have incentives to get Congress to reverse the tax before their heirs face it.

Wyden Plan

Instead of attacking favorable treatment of inherited assets, Mr. Wyden goes after the other main principle of capital-gains taxation—that gains must be realized before taxes are imposed.

The Oregon senator is designing a “mark-to-market” system. Annual increases in the value of people’s assets would be taxed as income, even if the assets aren’t sold. Someone who owned stock that was worth $400 million on Jan. 1 but $500 million on Dec. 31 would add $100 million to income on his or her tax return.

For the government, money would start flowing in immediately. The tax would hit every year, not just when an asset-holder died. Mr. Wyden would apply this regime to just the top 0.3% of taxpayers, said spokeswoman Ashley Schapitl.

There are serious challenges. Revenue could be volatile as markets rise and fall. Also, the IRS would determine asset increases annually, requiring baseline values and ways to measure change. That’s easy for stocks and bonds but far more complicated for private businesses or artwork.

The rules would have to address how to treat assets that lose instead of gain value in a year, and how taxpayers would raise cash to pay taxes on assets they didn’t sell. Under Mr. Castro’s proposal, losses could be used to offset other taxes or carried forward to future years.

Warren Plan

The most ambitious plan comes from Sen. Warren of Massachusetts, whose annual wealth tax would fund spending proposals such as universal child care and student-loan forgiveness.

The ultra-rich would pay whether they make money or not, whether they sell assets or not and whether their assets are growing or shrinking.

Ms. Warren, who draws cheers at campaign events when she mentions the tax, would impose a 2% tax each year on individuals’ assets above $50 million and a further 1% on assets above $1 billion. Fellow candidate Beto O’Rourke has also backed a wealth tax, and it is one of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ options for financing Medicare-for-All.

Won’t Stop There

Expect more and more radical ideas to pay for nonsense like the “Green New Deal”, an idea that will cost an estimated $51 to $93 trillion.

Elizabeth Warren backs the Green New Deal so she is the most desperate to raise the most money the fastest.

They claim this a tax only on the wealthiest citizens. It won’t stop there. It never does.

Source: Mish: Here’s The Many Ways That Democrats Are After Your Money

Chick-fil-A director’s peace offering to ‘stressed out’ Popeyes employees goes viral FOX news

https://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?id=6072843572001&w=466&h=263

Popeyes may have started the viral “chicken war” but one Chick-fil-A location used their chicken sandwiches as a peace offering.

In the heat of the battle, a Popeyes in Greensboro, N.C. ran out of chicken sandwiches, and one Chick-fil-A fanatic, who was in line to try the competitor’s new spicy chicken sandwich, captured a special moment that has gone viral — and turned into several funny memes, FOX 4 News reported.

In the shot, a Chick-fil-A director was caught handing out chicken sandwiches to the Popeyes in Greensboro, North Carolina, to help the “stressed out” workers across the street.

POPEYES ANNOUNCES CHICKEN SANDWICH HAS SOLD OUT MONTH EARLY, EXPECTED TO BE GONE BY END OF WEEK

Jené Walker candidly shared on Facebook that she was in line at Popeyes when the director came across the street to give chicken sandwiches to Popeyes’ employees and even offered to give customers a free chicken sandwich on him. She called it the “funniest, yet nicest thing” she’d ever seen.

Jené Walker captured a Chick-fil-A employee walking over to a nearby Popeyes and handing out free sandwiches to Popeyes employees. (Courtesy of Jené Walker)

The manager at the Chick-fil-A store said the man in the photo, Nick, has been friends with the Popeye’s employees for a very long time and the workers will usually come over to Chick-fil-A for breakfast, but weren’t able to since the launch of the spicy chicken sandwich Aug. 12.

“Chick-fil-A,” Walker wrote. “I promise to NEVER cheat on you!! You’ve shown loyalty to me…even when I was about to be disloyal to y’all. I love y’all forever.”

And, for the record, Walker told Fox News she has not tried Popeyes’ new sandwich.

Walker’s post has been shared over 17,000 times and spawned several memes.

CHICK-FIL-A CEO PROMISED DAD HE’D UPHOLD CHRISTIAN VALUES, STAY CLOSED ON SUNDAYS

One that has been shared over 80,000 times says: “Shirley, you come work for us and you can go to church on Sundays.”

And Walker took her shot at one, too:

“Chick-fil-A:…But why y’all have to come after us? We stay in our lane. Popeyes: IDK, I just work here. I love y’all. I told them to go after McDonald’s and Wendy’s.”

Source: Chick-fil-A director’s peace offering to ‘stressed out’ Popeyes employees goes viral

Trump Lets Veterans Hospitals Have Bibles Again — Pulpit & Pen

[The Daily Signal] The VA revised directives to permit religious literature, symbols, and displays at agency facilities following a string of incidents in recent years in which individual medical centers banned Christmas carols and a Christmas tree, chapels removed Bibles, and chaplains faced restraints on religious expression.

Generally, the VA had inconsistent policies across the country.

Officials designed the changes to protect the religious freedom of veterans and their families.

The new guidelines, which went into effect last month, referred to the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing a cross-shaped memorial to World War I dead to continue standing on public land in Bladensburg, Maryland.

The high court’s decision highlighted the important role that religious symbols plays in the lives of Americans and their consistency with constitutional principles.

To continue reading, click here…

[Editor’s Note: This article was written by Fred Lucas and published at The Daily Signal]

via Trump Lets Veterans Hospitals Have Bibles Again — Pulpit & Pen

THE GREAT CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE: Mosul Goes from 15,000 Christians to 40 Following Obama’s Presidency — The Gateway Pundit

ISIS terrorists torched an 1,800 year-old church in Mosul according to reports in July 2014. (Ammon News)

** July 2014: ISIS Removes Crosses From 30 Mosul Churches – Turns Orthodox Cathedral Into Mosque
** July 2014: 1,800 Year-Old Church Torched by ISIS in Mosul
** July 2015: ISIS Blows Up Ancient Orthodox Church in Mosul – 4 Children Killed
** April 2016: ISIS Blows Up Historic Clock Church in Mosul

There were 15,000 Christians in Mosul, Iraq before ISIS took control of the third largest Iraqi city in 2014.
Now there are just 40 Christians left.

AINA reported, via Religion of Peace:

Before ISIS, Mosul was home to 15,000 Christians. In July, Mosul was home to about 40. Any questions?
“This cultural genocide, thanks to the indifference of Europeans and many Western Christians more worried about not appearing ‘Islamophobic’ than defending their own brothers, [has] sadly worked,” The Gatestone Institute wrote.

Mosul, the third-largest city in Iraq and home to one of the largest Christian populations in the region before the rise of, and persecution by, ISIS, now has the reputation of celebrating Christmas, minus the Christians. And yes, political correctness — fear of calling out Islam for what it often is — is in large part to blame.

The Voice of the Martyrs lists nine major radical Islamic groups, including Al Shabab, Boko Haram, al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and the Taliban, responsible for persecuting Christians from Afghanistan to Kenya to Libya.

And in America, it’s become this, a headline from The Tennessee Star: “Miss Iraq Says Ilhan Omar Exporting ‘Muslim Brotherhood Agenda’ to America.”

Former Miss Iraq, Sarah Idan, went on to say, during an interview on “The Sara Carter Show” that was widely reported, “Ilhan Omar does not represent me as a Muslim, does not represent millions of Muslims in the Middle East. You know, like in Arab countries, we call her the Muslim Brotherhood.”

But be careful how you speak about Rep. Omar. As Jeanine Pirro learned, after her employer Fox News chastised her questioning of Omar’s ability to simultaneously embrace both Islamic principles and the U.S. Constitution, too much talk can get you suspended.

via THE GREAT CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE: Mosul Goes from 15,000 Christians to 40 Following Obama’s Presidency — The Gateway Pundit

Why I Am A Christian: Freedom (Stott) — The Reformed Reader

“If the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (John 8:36 & Gal. 5:1 NLT).  John Stott wrote well about this  freedom we have in Christ:

“The fifth reason why I am a Christian is that I have found Jesus Christ to be the key to freedom. …And freedom is a great Christian word.  Jesus Christ is portrayed in the New Testament as the world’s supreme liberator.  …Freedom is a good modern word for ‘salvation.’  To be saved by Jesus Christ is to be set free….”

I well remember, as a very new Christian, being shown this verse and being introduced to what are called ‘the three tenses of salvation’. They go like this:

Firstly, I have been saved (or freed) in the past from the penalty of sin by a crucified Saviour.
Secondly, I am being saved (or freed) in the present from the power of sin by a living Saviour.
Thirdly, I shall be saved (or freed) in the future from the presence of sin by a coming Savior.

It is a simple structure, which encapsulates what the Bible means by ‘salvation’; and it enables us, whenever the word occurs, to ask ourselves which tense of salvation is in mind: past, present or future. The fact that we have been saved frees us from guilt and from God’s judgment. The fact that we are being saved frees us from bondage to our own self-centeredness. And the fact that we shall be saved frees us from all fear about the future.

In the rest of this chapter (5) Stott explains the different biblical nuances of what “freedom in Christ” means.  It’s an edifying chapter – well worth reading!

John Stott, Why I Am a Christian (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2003), 87.

Shane Lems
Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Hammond, WI, 54015

via Why I Am A Christian: Freedom (Stott) — The Reformed Reader

August 28 The Great Liberator

Scripture reading: John 8:31–36

Key verse: John 8:32

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus is life’s Great Liberator, and one of the ways He rescues us is to free us from bondage to sin. If you are struggling with a particular sin, He will help you when you surrender and repent.

1. C. Sproul addressed the issue of sin:

The reason we continue with these pockets of repeated sins is because we have a heartfelt desire to continue them, not because we have a heartfelt desire to stop them. I wonder how honest our commitment is to quit. There’s a tendency for us to kid ourselves about this anytime we embrace a pet sin. We need to face the fact that we commit the sin because we want to do that sin more than we want to obey Christ at that moment. That doesn’t mean that we have no desire to escape from it, but the level of our desire vacillates. It’s easy to go on a diet after a banquet; it’s hard to stay on a diet if you haven’t eaten all day …

I think what we have to do is first of all be honest about the fact that we really have a conflict of interest between what we want to do and what God wants us to do. I think we have to feed our souls with the Word of God so that we can get what God wants us to do clear in our mind and then build a strong desire to obey.

You find freedom in Christ when you surrender and lay aside the sin that besets you. Obedience is the threshold, and the Great Liberator knocks.

Father, I surrender my will and the sin that so easily besets me. Create within me a desire to live in obedience to You.^[1]

---

^[1] Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 251). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Trump accuses Fox News of ‘heavily promoting Democrats,’ urges followers to watch something else

In tweets, the president said the conservative network is “letting millions of GREAT people down!”

Source: Trump accuses Fox News of ‘heavily promoting Democrats,’ urges followers to watch something else

Democrats Pass Resolution Applauding ‘Nonreligious Americans,’ Criticizing Churchgoers

The Democratic National Committee passed a first-of-its-kind resolution Saturday recognizing the “ethical soundness” and “importance” of religiously unaffiliated Americans while contending such voters “share the Democratic Party’s values.”

Source: Democrats Pass Resolution Applauding ‘Nonreligious Americans,’ Criticizing Churchgoers

Christian Hong Kong Protesters Turn Out in Thousands, Sing Famous Hymn in Defiance | Faithwire

As pro-democracy demonstrators continue to mount a mass resistance against China’s communist rule in Hong Kong, the region’s Christian community has started to rise up.

Religious Liberty Is in Danger in Hong Kong

Amongst the throes of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields, a sweet melody of worship can be heard echoing through the city’s central district. Gathering in peace and prayer, thousands of Christian protestors can often be heard belting out the 1974 hymn, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.”

The unofficial anthem of Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement is “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.” The underground church…

Posted by Melissa Strzala on Sunday, August 25, 2019

Not only is this a show of devotion to Jesus in the midst of tumult and political tyranny, but the singing of this worship song also offers the community a level of immunity, thanks to a Hong Kong law of public assembly that makes exceptions for religious gatherings.

Treatment of a Christian pastor in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/QQRHf8lVgP

— Steve Yates (葉望輝) (@YatesDCIA) August 26, 2019

In these volatile days of Chinese agents, facial recognition and mass arrests, this protection is a welcome comfort for the Christian community, who not only stand in unity with their fellow protesters but also solidarity with the much-persecuted Christian community back in mainland China.

I’m in Hong Kong at a rally of Christians singing against the extradition bill. More to come about Christian fearing Chinese takeover for @firstthingsmag! pic.twitter.com/1PDo8TBHVH

— Alessandra (@alessabocchi) August 23, 2019

Last Friday, thousands upon thousands of believers gathered in Chater Garden for the first political rally organized by the Christian community. According to Religion News Service, the central motto of the gathering was “Salt and light, for justice we walk together.”

‘Christ Will Stand By Us’: Christian Leaders Hold Strong as Hong Kong Protests Rage

An accompanying press release to the event described its aim as helping to “provide all Christians a platform to express themselves outside the church, hoping people would safeguard Hong Kong by singing, praying, worshipping God and at the same time speaking up for justice and standing together with all the Hongkongers in difficult times.”

China has continued to stay tight-lipped on its plans to quell the political protests and has shown no intention of scrapping the extradition bill that sparked the mass action in the first place. In her latest comments, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, said that she was “not accepting the demands,” of protesters who insist on the bill being completely withdrawn.

“We have to say ‘no’ to violence, end the chaotic situation with law enforcement,” she added, according to the Guardian. “We will not give up on the platform for dialogue.”

Fears were stoked in recent weeks after large numbers of military vehicles and troops were shipping into the border region with Hong Kong. So far, however, no major offensive has taken place to rid the city of protestors.

Source: Christian Hong Kong Protesters Turn Out in Thousands, Sing Famous Hymn in Defiance

Epstein’s Own Lawyers Tell Court He Likely Died By “Assault” As Federal Case Dropped | ZeroHedge News

Epstein’s own defense team doesn’t buy the suicide narrative, apparently, as one of his lawyers on Tuesday voiced deep skepticism that he hanged himself while addressing a final hearing in a Manhattan US District Court on Tuesday, which was held to formally dismiss the charges as is typical when the accused is deceased, but also to still allow testimony of some of the victims.

Defense lawyer Reid Weingarten told Judge Richard Berman during the hearing that Epstein’s injuries are “far more consistent with assault” than suicide, especially given the broken bones in his neck discovered during the autopsy after he was found dead in his jail cell on Aug. 10. This after it was previously revealed that Epstein’s defense attorneys had successfully lobbied for him to be taken off suicide watch on July 29, about a week before he was found dead in his cell, according to ABC News.

Reid Weingarten. Image source: Getty/CNBC

“Weingarten cited the defense’s own medical sources. Broken bones were found in Epstein’s neck during an autopsy after he died Aug. 10,” reports CNBC. “Such fractures are somewhat more common in cases of strangulation than in hanging.”

Weingarten explained to the judge that Epstein didn’t at all appear suicidal during discussions and interactions the evening before his apparent early morning hours death. “We did not see a despairing, despondent, suicidal person,” the lawyer said.

Tuesday’s proceedings were held to allow about 20 women, many choosing to remain anonymous during testimony, to tell the court and the world what happened to them at the hands of the wealthy sex predator and human trafficker.

Judge Berman wrote of the hearing, “The Court believes that where, as here, a defendant has died before any judgment has been entered against him, the public may still have an informational interest in the process by which the prosecutor seeks dismissal of an indictment.”

Attorney David Boies who represents several of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex abuse victims, including
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, (pictured next to him on the left) walks into court for a special hearing Tuesday. ⁦@jkbjournalist⁩ ⁦@MiamiHerald⁩ #PerversionOfJustice pic.twitter.com/nJnMpKkkP3

— Emily Michot (@EmilyMichot) August 27, 2019

But ironically, this week’s District Court hearing marked the close of the federal criminal case, given Epstein’s “conveniently-timed” death. Reports CNBC:

Another Epstein lawyer, Martin Weinberg, told Berman that the defense team had prepared a “significant” motion to dismiss the case, and that the lawyers were not approaching the case with a “futile, defeatist attitude.”

Weingarten said Berman had a “pivotal role to find out what happened.”

“We want the court to help us find out what happened,” Weingarten said.

“We’re skeptical of the certitude” of the finding of suicide by hanging by the New York City medical examiner, the lawyer said.

There are “significant doubts” regarding “the conclusion of suicide,” Weingarten said.

Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey told the judge that Epstein’s death is already subject of “an ongoing and active grand jury investigation.” Comey explained, “It is not the purview, respectfully, of the court to conduct an investigation into uncharged matters.”

Image source: New York Times

But Tuesday’s proceedings and formal dismissal of the case on the grounds that the accused is deceased doesn’t necessarily mark an end of the road “nothing to see here” point in the saga, given a number of Epstein’s accusers have filed significant lawsuits against his estate, to say nothing of potential cases against his associates and enablers.

Source: Epstein’s Own Lawyers Tell Court He Likely Died By “Assault” As Federal Case Dropped

Epstein Lawyers Question Suicide Ruling, Say Pedophile Billionaire Was Not ‘Despairing, Despondent’ — The Gateway Pundit

One of Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers said he and other attorneys for the billionaire pedophile “did not see a despairing, despondent, suicidal person,” adding that they are “skeptical” he committed suicide in a maximum security prison.

Lawyer Reid Weingarten also told Judge Richard Berman in U.S. District Court in Manhattan during a hearing on Tuesday that the injuries suffered by Epstein are “far more consistent with assault” than suicide. An autopsy found that Epstein had broken bones in his neck after he died Aug. 10, injuries more common in strangulation than hanging.

Weingarten said when he and other defense attorneys talked with Epstein shortly before his death, “we did not see a despairing, despondent, suicidal person.”

“We want the court to help us find out what happened,” he said.

The case has been ignored by the mainstream media, who have buried the story after the ruling of suicide came down. In the hearing, prosecutors were seeking to dismiss the child sex trafficking charges against Epstein because of his death.

Weingarten said the judge had a “pivotal role to find out what happened.”

“We’re skeptical of the certitude” of the finding of suicide by hanging by the New York City medical examiner, the lawyer said, according to CNBC.

There are “significant doubts” regarding “the conclusion of suicide,” Weingarten said.

But Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor, told Berman that Epstein’s death was already the subject of “an ongoing and active grand jury investigation.”

“It is not the purview, respectfully, of the court to conduct an investigation into uncharged matters,” Comey said.

On Wednesday, a new report came out in the New York Post detailing what investigators found when they raided Epstein’s house in 2005.

Newly surfaced video from a 2005 police raid on Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling Palm Beach estate offers a disturbing glimpse into the late pedophile’s tastes — including photographs of scantily clad underage girls, according to reports.

Detectives investigating Epstein’s alleged sexual relationships with young girls enter the mansion with guns drawn and read a search warrant to the house manager.

“The court, being satisfied of the existence of said ground [for search] set forth in the affidavit and that the laws of the State of Florida have been violated in or on a premises known and described as follows, to wit 358 El Brillo Road,” one detective reads, according to footage obtained by CBS 12.

The officers then sweep through the $16.4 million waterfront compound, where they come across a photo of a girl who appears to be about 6 years old bending over in a short dress with her behind exposed, according to the Daily Mail. Authorities blurred the image.

Another photograph features a girl who appears to be about 15 posing in a tiny bikini — hanging right above a naked girl lying on a beach, the video shows.

via Epstein Lawyers Question Suicide Ruling, Say Pedophile Billionaire Was Not ‘Despairing, Despondent’ — The Gateway Pundit

Here Is The List Of Obama-Era Russiagate Docs Sought By AG Barr | ZeroHedge News

As the Trump DOJ attempts to sift through exactly what the Obama administration was pulling during the 2016 US election, Attorney General William Barr and his team of investigators are pursuing the following information, according to RealClear Investigations‘ Paul Sperry.

• Agendas for former CIA chief John Brennan’s secret interagency task force meetings on alleged Trump-Russia collusion in the spring, summer and fall of 2016, which he sent in envelopes to FBI Director James Comey, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

• A series of papers that task force, known as the “fusion cell,” drafted for the White House.

• A classified August 2016 document Brennan hand-delivered in a sealed envelope to Obama containing information from someone Brennan described as “a critical informant close to Putin.” The informant is  believed to have beeen a Russian source recycled from a largely debunked dossier compiled by ex-British agent Christopher Steele for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

• An email exchange from December 2016 between Brennan and Comey in which Brennan is said to have argued for using the Steele dossier in early drafts of the task force’s January 2017 intelligence assessment, which spread the narrative that Vladimir Putin personally ordered a hacking operation to harm Hillary Clinton’s election chances against Donald Trump.

• All drafts of the Russia intelligence assessment, or ICA, along with classified footnotes revealing the sourcing behind it.

• Confidential source reports, known as FD-1023s, summarizing briefings between FBI agents and the informants and assets they jointly handled with the CIA, including Christopher Steele, Felix Sater, Azra Turk, and ex-Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, who apparently lured Trump campaign advisers George Papadopoulos and Carter Page overseas, where he secretly tape-recorded them.

• Transcripts of conversations Halper recorded prior to July 31, 2016, in which Papadopoulos allegedly “denies any illegal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia,” according to Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

• Copies of all FBI, CIA and State Department records related to Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious Maltese professor whose statements regarding Papadopoulos allegedly triggered the original Russia-collusion probe.

• Diplomatic cables between Australia and the U.S. that mention former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer’s tip to the FBI that Papadopoulos allegedly bragged about Mifsud telling him the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

• Queries former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice and U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power made to the NSA between January 2016 and January 2017 to unmask the identities of Trump figures caught up in upstream collections, or intercepts, of foreign nationals — including logs that remain under lock and key at an Obama Foundation storage site outside Chicago.

• An Obama “interagency memorandum of understanding” signed by the FBI and CIA enabling outside contractors — including possibly Clinton campaign contractor Fusion GPS — to gain “improper access” (per a court opinion) to raw FISA data from November 2015 to April 2016.

• Classified notes from late spring 2016 of Comey briefing White House officials on “the [Carter] Page information.”

• At least four previously undisclosed, sealed Comey memos memorializing his conversations with Trump that are said to document the investigative steps taken by the FBI, as well as the codename and true name of a “confidential human source” — and evidence obtained from this source, including the identification of at least one Trump target.

• Allegedly rejected FISA applications for warrants to spy on Page filed in June and July of 2016.

• FISA applications to monitor Papadopoulos, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort in 2016 — in addition to all versions of the Page applications that were approved from October 2016 to June 2017, along with supporting materials.

• All summaries of interviews the FBI conducted with Steele in 2016, known as FD-302s, as well as the unredacted 302 reports of the FBI’s dozen interviews with Justice official Bruce Ohr, who provided back-channel briefings from Steele after the FBI terminated him in November 2016.

• FBI 302 reports summarizing 2016 meetings with Russian oligarch (and FBI informant) Oleg Deripaska, who reportedly scoffed at the idea that Trump colluded with Moscow when agents visited him in New York.

• FBI 302s of agents’ Feb. 10, 2017, interview with Mifsud during which the Mueller Report says Mifsud lied to agents.

Source: Here Is The List Of Obama-Era Russiagate Docs Sought By AG Barr

SPERRY: Intel Agencies Still Withholding Documents Related to Spygate More Than Three Months After Trump’s Declassification Order — The Gateway Pundit

President Trump gave US Attorney General William Barr authority to declassify key intelligence files related to the Spygate scandal more than three months ago and US intel agencies are still withholding documents from investigators.

According to investigative reporter Paul Sperry, the source of the logjam is the ODNI [Office of Director of National Intelligence].

President Trump is in the process of shaking up the agency which is full of Deep State “establishment” types working to protect Barack Obama.

DNI chief Dan Coats recently resigned along with his deputy, Sue Gordon, who was dubbed Brennan’s BFF, but there is still a bottleneck at the agency.

Among the documents still under lock and key include material on Joseph Mifsud, the fake Russian (CIA/FBI asset) who approached Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos in an attempt to plant evidence during the 2016 election.

According to a Real Clear Investigations report by Paul Sperry, the material still under wraps includes:

• Evidence that President Obama’s CIA, FBI, and Justice Department illegally eavesdropped on the Trump campaign — cases separate from the FBI’s disputed FISA court-approved surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
• An August 2016 briefing CIA Director John Brennan hand-delivered in a sealed envelope to Obama, containing information from what Brennan claimed was “a critical informant close to
  Putin.” The informant is believed to have actually been a Russian source recycled from the largely debunked dossier compiled by ex-British agent Christopher Steele for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
• An email exchange from December 2016 between Brennan and FBI Director James Comey, in which Brennan is said to have argued for using the dossier in early drafts of the task force’s much-hyped January 2017 intelligence assessment. That spread the narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the alleged Clinton campaign hacking to steal the election for Trump.
• Copies of all FBI, CIA and State Department records related to Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious Maltese professor whose statements regarding Papadopoulos allegedly triggered the original Russia-collusion probe.
• Transcripts of 53 closed-door interviews of FBI and Justice Department officials and other witnesses conducted by the House Intelligence Committee. The files were sent to the agency last November.

James Clapper, who previously ran the ODNI, has been in the media pushing the bogus argument that Trump’s declassification order ‘compromises sources and methods.’

According to sources who spoke to Sperry, Barr has not demanded the documents from the intel agencies, rather he has simply requested the files hoping for their cooperation.

Trump’s 3rd year in the White House is coming to a close so Barr better hurry up because the Deep State is trying to run out the clock before the 2020 election.

Read Paul Sperry’s full report here to see the 8 candidates in the running to permanently replace Dan Coats.

BREAKING: U.S. Intel Gatekeeper Dragging Feet on Trump-Russia Files, Insiders Sayhttps://t.co/GAlmhBTz6e

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) August 28, 2019

via SPERRY: Intel Agencies Still Withholding Documents Related to Spygate More Than Three Months After Trump’s Declassification Order — The Gateway Pundit

EXCLUSIVE: Mueller Gang Caught in Major Lie – Withheld Evidence from Innocent Russian Woman Then Incarcerated Her! — The Gateway Pundit

The Mueller Gang set up an innocent woman and then lied about it by withholding pertinent information.

Today this woman sits in prison when exculpatory evidence withheld by the Mueller gang would have exonerated her!

On July 18, 2018, the New York Times reported the following in an article entitled “Maria Butina, Suspected Secret Agent, Used Sex in Covert Plan, Prosecutors Say” –

Maria Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent, admitting that she was part of a Russian effort to influence U.S. politics. But she was hardly a shadowy figure. Here’s what her online profile revealed.

For four years, a Russian accused of being a covert agent pursued a brazen effort to infiltrate conservative circles and influence powerful Republicans while she secretly was in contact with Russian intelligence operatives, a senior Russian official and a billionaire oligarch close to the Kremlin whom she called her “funder,” federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

This too was all a lie and a setup!

After Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne’s latest public revelations about his relationship with Maria Butina, Internet Sleuth Rosie Memos went back to examine the pleadings in the Maria Butina case.  A link to the document used by Rosie Memos is attached here.

For background the judge told DOJ they HAD to disclose Brady material to her lawyers, they claimed there was none. pic.twitter.com/j5v4vawpG3

— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) August 23, 2019

Butina’s lawyers are saying here that Butina was set up by “dangles.” Dangles are, for instance, the roles that Stefan Halper and the Australian Ambassador Downer, etc., played in Operation Russian Collusion in actions with George Papadopoulos, an entrapment operation, basically.

Mueller and Weissmann withheld information in the Enron related court cases in the early 2000’s.  So they must have felt that they could do it again!

Butina’s lawyers were asking the Mueller team to present any evidence regarding these “dangles” through a process called “Brady material,” which basically means, if you have any exonerating evidence, now is the time to cough it up and show it to the Court. It’s a really big no-no if some exists and the Government fails to provide it.

Butina’s lawyers specifically mentioned Patrick Byrne as the dangle.

Byrne had a “non-standard agreement” with the @FBI and assisted the government by kindling a manipulative romantic relationship with her, all under instruction from the highest levels of DOJ. pic.twitter.com/VEUa587S13

— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) August 23, 2019

The government’s dangle, Byrne, did not believe that Butina was a spy.

He continued to inform of her activities and the government never stopped her yet shes been charged now with being a national security threat? The two of them lost touch and it was the FBI In 2016 that told Byrne to re-connect. pic.twitter.com/5jd6RQWf2k

— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) August 23, 2019

The question is why is Byrne coming forward now?  It’s doubtful that he is feeling remorse.  He sounded a bit crazy when he was on FOX News.  Perhaps he is concerned about being indicted himself?  Maybe he just wanted to use this news to suggest that Hillary was spied on as well.  That statement that Byrne made was quite hard to swallow.

So now Butina sits in a jail cel, remember this girl was held in solitary, and her defense lawyer has no jurisdiction which must be maddening because HE WAS RIGHT. WHY would Byrne make this up? pic.twitter.com/afNQN4JTYf

— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) August 23, 2019

The Mueller gang denied the existence of any Brady material in this case.  This was a material, significant and an outright lie.

Mueller and the Deep State don’t care about the fact that a young women is set up, thrown in solitary confinement or thrown in prison.  For the corrupt, criminal and liberal Deep State the end justifies the means.

Hat Tip D. Manny

via EXCLUSIVE: Mueller Gang Caught in Major Lie – Withheld Evidence from Innocent Russian Woman Then Incarcerated Her! — The Gateway Pundit

FREE VIDEO: Harder Truth — Reformed Perspective

Documentary
9 min / 2003

This film changed me.

It is a video, taken in the womb, of an abortion. It is evil uncovered and brought into the light. Just as it took pictures of dead Jews, stacked like cordwood, to drive home the horror of the Holocaust, and it took the newspapers carrying pictures of the lynched teen Emmett Till to reveal the wickedness of what was happening in the American South, so too, visuals are important in the abortion debate.

Ours is a visual culture and graphic pictures of bloody, broken, tiny bodies communicate what abortion really is (Eph 5:11). These images cut through words like “choice,” “rights” and “freedom” and make plain the fact that abortion is murder.

While this short video, Harder Truth, is one I believe should be widely shared and seen, it contains pictures that are deeply disturbing so it should be shown with care. When you share this, the audience should be warned about what they are about to see.

And what are they going to see? While there is no verbal narration, the film begins with two minutes of text detailing what is going to be shown and why it is being shown. Then there is two minutes of a baby in the womb, developing from zygote to fetus. Then, just after the 4-minute mark, we see what an abortion actually is and what it does to the baby. The final four minutes of the film show remains of aborted babies: bloody broken bodies, tiny detached arms and legs, and crushed skulls.

I’ve shown this at dozens of presentations and, as the video itself suggests, when I show it I tell the audience that anyone who wants to look away should feel very free to do so. I also find that, while the film is very short, its nine minutes of content can be overwhelming and I often show only a middle selection of two or three minutes.

The toughest consideration in showing this film is, how young is too young? As pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf notes, girls as young as 12 can, in many jurisdictions, get an abortion without their parents’ knowledge or permission. Twelve is very young. But if they are old enough to get an abortion isn’t it important they know the real truth of it?

I’ve been asked why I bother showing this to pro-life audiences. After all, we don’t need to be convinced abortion is wicked, do we? Well, yes, we do. Abortion happens in even 100% pro-life churches too, and the reason it does is because sometimes those pro-life convictions are only an inch deep. That shouldn’t surprise us. Abortions are all done behind closed doors. The victims are invisible. We might hear that 100,000 babies are murdered each year in Canada, and ten times that amount in the US, but those are just numbers, and too big for us to really fathom. So when a young teen finds herself pregnant and, mistakenly or correctly, thinks her parents will disown her if they ever find out, will inch-deep convictions stop her from taking the “solution” the world is readily offering?

So there is a need then, to show even our Christian, pro-life, young people, the grim reality of what abortion is.

Every bit as important, we need to tell our daughters that we will love them and will help them if they ever have an unplanned pregnancy.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF AN ABORTION.

via FREE VIDEO: Harder Truth — Reformed Perspective

Blatant Blasphemy Cheered in Hollywood — David Fiorazo

From decades of sacrilegious horror movies to The View and Joy Behar (who has a history of attacking Christians), to late night TV comedians such as Jimmy Kimmel who loves mocking VP Mike Pence and conservatives, to mega-music stars like pro-LGBT singer Taylor Swift who mocks Christians in music videos, there’s one group Hollywood finds it acceptable to offend: Christians.

It’s not only acceptable, but cheered on by those who are the masters of their own domain and have no room for the one true God. But they’re now taking the blasphemy to a whole new level and it makes you wonder why Hollywood doesn’t mock and insult Islam and their prophet Muhammad.

The Bible says,

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 2 Peter 3:3

Don’t be surprised that haters, mockers, and scoffers are around us, but we can choose whether or not to be around them and allow their influence in our lives.

In a long line of movies and television shows making fun of Christians and the Bible, AMC’s ‘Preacher’ takes aim at Jesus in its final season on TV. It portrays God as a villain and Jesus Christ as a dope-smoking, gun-toting flawed human being. And a few seasons ago, it was worse.

Remember, if people didn’t watch this trash, it wouldn’t be on television.

An August 2017 episode of Preacher depicted Jesus having gratuitous sex with a married woman the night he is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Then His disciples come by the woman’s house and demand:

“Where the hell have you been? We’ve been worried sick.”

Nice. Why does this matter? According to the Scriptures, Jesus lived a holy and sinless life on earth for 33 years. So if He actually sinned then He could not be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away our sins. We would have no hope of eternal life, His sacrifice on the cross would not atone for sin, and the Bible wouldn’t be reliable and true.

Jesus could not have purchased our salvation if He sinned because He wouldn’t have been the spotless Savior, but a sinner just like the rest of us. They can try rewriting history, but that won’t refute the biblical evidence or change the truth.

Hollywood has become hostile and continues to attack the very heart of Christianity and mock the very faith that could save them if they only repented of their sins and believed.

The Bible warns that in the days prior to the return of Christ:

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, …conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— …Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:2-5

But we invite them into our homes and millions of us keep buying what Hollywood is selling. We support liberal elites by watching their TV shows, going to the movies, watching their awards shows, listening to their music, and going to their concerts.

Am I saying to boycott all entertainment? No, even though some have done this and are much happier, not having those distractions and garbage in their lives. I’m saying we should be much more selective about what we allow into our hearts and minds.

In Romans chapter 8, the Apostle Paul explains why believers shouldn’t strive after worldly things:

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; Romans 8:5-7

We have to fight to renew our minds rather than conform to this world. With all that bombards us, we have an uphill battle. It’s not just Hollywood, but the government school system, media, and big tech companies that have groomed a generation of liberals, atheists, humanists, and progressives.

You might wonder how a loud, proud minority of powerful influencers continue their agenda practically unchallenged, taunting and mocking the faith of billions of people in a country that was founded upon its principles and values.

Because when God is rejected and truth is redefined, just about anything goes.

*video courtesy of Freedom Project Media

via Blatant Blasphemy Cheered in Hollywood — David Fiorazo

Biden’s Campaign Now So Weak Even His Wife Says Other Candidates ‘Might Be Better’ — The Gateway Pundit

Before Joe Biden jumped into the 2020 race, this very columnist wrote a piece headlined: “Biden will run and Biden will win.”

The premise of the brilliant piece was that while all the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination moved hard left — offering socialist programs like free health care and free college and pushing trillion-dollar projects and 70% tax rates — Biden would waltz in, play the sane moderate, be embraced by the mainstream media, and sweep to victory.

It all may still happen, but he’s certainly not running away with the race (one recent poll showed him statistically tied with Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren).

There have been three big developments in recent weeks that have left Biden treading water.

First, he has proved to be a pretty awful candidate, not at all the self-assured — even slick — politician he once was. At 76, Biden is prone to gaffes and misspeaks often, sometimes multiple times in a week.

His mistakes are covered widely, even by outlets predisposed to support him — and the stumbles just keep coming.

At the latest Democratic Party debate, Biden at one point blurted out “go to Joe 3-0-3-3-0.” Apparently, he meant to tell viewers they should text “Joe” to 30330, but he looked out of it with the blunder. There are plenty more: In New Hampshire, he said he loved it there … in Vermont. Then he said, “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” Then he … Oh, you get the point.

His string of on-camera flubs has generated headlines like this one from Vanity Fair: “Biden advisors worry the gaffes are becoming a problem.”

And that’s becoming a problem.

The second big twist involves Biden’s old boss. The former vice president casts his candidacy as, essentially, the third term of Barack Obama. But Obama quietly urged him not to run and, as it turns out, isn’t much of a friend.

“The two men spoke at least a half dozen times before Biden decided to run, and Obama took pains to cast his doubts about the campaign in personal terms,” The New York Times wrote in a piece headlined “Obama’s and Biden’s Relationship Looks Rosy. It Wasn’t Always That Simple.”

“‘You don’t have to do this, Joe, you really don’t,’ Obama told Biden earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the exchange.”

Obama has still not endorsed his former White House partner, saying he wants to stay out of the fray and allow Democrats to pick their candidate. That forced Biden to make the embarrassing claim that “I asked President Obama not to endorse, and he doesn’t want to. Listen, we should — whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.”

Behind the scenes, Obama aides and supporters say the former president is worried that Biden will actually tarnish his legacy rather than build on it. Sure, if Biden wins the nomination, Obama will no doubt endorse him then, but it’s still beyond bizarre that the guy Biden supported for eight years isn’t there for him now. The message it sends to Democrats is deafening.

And the third big development came just last week and quickly got swept under the rug. Biden’s wife, Jill, said her husband might not be the best candidate, but hey, she told voters, “maybe you have to swallow a little bit” and vote for him anyway.

“Your candidate might be better on, I don’t know, health care, than Joe is,” Jill Biden said on MSNBC, “but you’ve got to look at who’s going to win this election, and maybe you have to swallow a little bit and say, ‘OK, I personally like so-and-so better,’ but your bottom line has to be that we have to beat Trump.”

During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, she said: “I know that not all of you are committed to my husband, and I respect that. But I want you to think about your candidate, his or her electability, and who’s going to win this race. So I think if your goal — I know my goal — is to beat Donald Trump, we have to have someone who can beat him,” she said.

Biden has been painted as the inevitable candidate since before he even entered the race. That inevitability is long gone. And as the list of gaffes keeps growing, his fundraising is falling off — the biggest danger in what will be the most expensive campaign in history.

The fact that Obama tried to dissuade Biden from running and won’t endorse him hurts — a lot.

But when you’re not wowing your own wife with your incredible campaign speeches, you’ve got a problem. And when you’re wife goes out there and tells Democrats that they just have to hold their noses when they vote for her husband, you’ve got a really big problem.

*Joseph Curl ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2014 and covered the White House for a dozen years. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter at @JosephCurl. A version of this article ran previously in The Washington Times.

via Biden’s Campaign Now So Weak Even His Wife Says Other Candidates ‘Might Be Better’ — The Gateway Pundit