There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Critical Race Theory rightly calls us to recognize that the effects of sin can be magnified throughout the institutions and social structures erected by individuals, leading to social systems that embody unjust racial prejudices. However, by focusing on sin as embodied with or without intent in social systems, proponents of CRT lose sight of what makes sin so wrong in the first place: that individuals who bear a moral accountability before God break his moral law.
In the 1970s and 1980s, many Americans recognized that the Civil Rights Movement had disarmed much of the overt racism of America’s past but that subtle forms of racism still existed. However, they disagreed on how to identify, define, and address those subtler forms. One school of thought that arose in response to these questions is Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Legal scholar Derrick Bell is generally considered the founding father of CRT. He argued in his 1970 book, Race, Racism, and American Law, that whites have always been racist and only allowed for black rights when it benefitted whites to do so. In his 1987 book, And We are Not Saved, he writes even more explicitly that “progress in American race relations is largely a mirage obscuring the fact that whites continue, consciously or unconsciously, to do all in their power to ensure their dominion and maintain their control.” Other scholars—most notably Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Harris, and Patricia Williams—built on Bell’s work with sophisticated analyses of identity and the “lived experience” of racial expression.
The primary tenets of CRT are encapsulated well in Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic’s reader Critical Race Theory. Racism, these authors argue, is the everyday experience of black Americans. The idea of “race” itself is a social construction that fostered a system of white ascendancy, and it continues to psychologically and materially benefit the dominant group. Because whites are the beneficiaries of this prejudiced system, they are not only incompetent to speak about race or racism but also are complicit in systemic racism to the extent they participate uncritically in the system. Whites are encouraged to participate critically in the public square by exposing the racial disparities prevalent in our nation’s policing, sentencing, and incarceration. Additionally, whites are encouraged to advocate minority groups’ voting rights by eliminating gerrymandering and using legislation or social pressure to change speech norms that are seen to perpetuate racism.
Although CRT finds many supporters in the black intellectual community, many prominent black thinkers reject CRT as a flawed theory. In their view, this way of thinking actually perpetuates racism and harms society. Such critics of CRT include economists (Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and Glenn Loury), political scientists (Carol M. Swain, Wilfred Reilly), political commentators and activists (Derryck Green, Alveda King), professors of linguistics (John McWhorter), professors of divinity (Robert Smith, Jr.), public intellectuals (Coleman Hughes), and elected officials (Tim Scott), among others.
Further, many Christians—including some of the black commentators enumerated above—criticize CRT from a distinctively evangelical point of view. While they often acknowledge that CRT can be a useful tool for analyzing power dynamics, they ultimately reject CRT as being fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith. Indeed, although CRT offers some valuable insights, it usually functions as an ideology, which is a form of intellectual idolatry. As such, CRT should be rejected.
Here are four reasons why.
Defining Racism: Personal Prejudice or Cultural Embeddedness?
Many of the difficulties that we have in speaking about racism today arise because interlocutors are defining the concept differently. Although proponents of CRT recognize an individual’s racial prejudices as racist, they focus almost exclusively on the West’s historic cultural “system.” As the works of Richard Delgado, Robin DiAngelo, and many others demonstrate, once the primary focus of racism is its systemic manifestations, each white citizen is implicated as a “racist,” whether or not he or she is personally prejudiced.
This systemic emphasis contrasts sharply with an evangelical understanding of sin. Because sin begins with the corruption of an individual’s heart, morally culpable racial injustice is rooted primarily in individual racist acts or intentions. Such racism occurs when a person thinks, feels, acts, or speaks in a prejudiced manner toward another person merely because of that person’s ethnic heritage. Racism, in a Christian context, is first and foremost a movement of the will.
Burton outlines three new religious movements vying for dominance, none of which would call itself a religion but at least two of which are widely described in religious terms.
The book takes us on a journalistic tour of some examples of “pick & mix” religion before describing three movements that Burton describes as religions. I’ll briefly outline them below, but the book deserves a wide reading. She doesn’t draw conclusions but helps you get inside the head of the way people in our cities—and to some extent our churches—are thinking and feeling.
She writes about Millennials in the US, and we’ll return to the applicability of her work, but the overarching story is that just like the printing press was not just a contributing factor to the rise of Protestantism but deeply affected its character (it’s a religion of books), the internet is doing the same thing.
It remains to be seen if we get another major stream of Christianity developing. What we have got are endless moulding and changing sets of beliefs that can be bolted together to form ways of life. To give us: meaning, community, ritual and purpose. That’s the definition of religion she’s working with, a semi-unified set of beliefs and practices that hit those four buttons. It’s not that different from what I mean when I talk about story though that is more explicitly the meaning and purpose sections of her definition.
Burton calls this bolt-on approach “intuitional” religion as opposed to “institutional.” Strange Rites shows us that it’s an American invention that predates the internet but has been turbo-charged by it. I would contend the internet has also spread it around the world and beyond Millennials to the first supra-national generation: Gen Z.
Burton outlines three new religious movements vying for dominance, none of which would call itself a religion but at least two of which are widely described in religious terms in cultural comment:
Social Justice Movement
Or, if you’ll forgive the terrible pun, the “Great Awokening.” The intersecting movements and concerns that want to see racial, economic, sexual, and political justice. The precise definitions of justice morph and meld with time, but it tells a story that we need to make a better world. There is a desire to create a paradise where everyone enjoys the fruits of an equal society (who wouldn’t want that?) and narratives of punishment and repentance for wrongdoers. Redemption is found through the transformation of culture.
Notably for Christian observers there is no language of forgiveness, and it is materialist in every way.
Techno-Utopianism
Blending with “Transhumanism” or other similar movements. Harder to notice and with less adherents, the followers of this movements are particularly powerful as they are associated with Silicon Valley and “Big Tech.” Think Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. The story here is to transcend our bodies’ limitations through ever-increasing uses of technology. Redemption is found in new “bodies.”
Again, this is entirely materialist in outlook. While the Social Justice Movement is loudest in the discourse, the Techno-Utopians probably have the biggest effect on our daily lives. Look for example at how your phone is changing you.
After decades of living in a relatively low inflation environment, it is hard for most Americans to believe that things have gotten so bad so quickly. In fact, even though I write about this stuff almost every day, it is hard for me to believe it. We are watching prices spiral out of control all over the nation, and we know precisely who is to blame. During the pandemic, our politicians in Washington have been borrowing and spending money at an unprecedented rate, and this has pushed our national debt up to 28 trillion dollars. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has been pumping trillions of fresh dollars into our financial system, and this has resulted in the Fed balance sheet nearly doubling over the course of this pandemic. I have used the term “economic malpractice” to describe what our leaders are doing, but it is actually far worse than that. They are literally in the process of destroying our economy, and even after so many experts have pointed out their colossal errors they still won’t stop. They just keep creating more money, and now we have a horrific inflation crisis on our hands.
Following Joe Biden’s town hall on Wednesday night, the Daily Mail spoke to a restaurant manager in Manhattan named John Stratidis. According to Stratidis, rising costs and rising wages will mean that consumers will have to pay more for their meals. In fact, he is warning that New Yorkers could end up “paying $40 or $50 for a hamburger”…
‘When minimum wage goes up, who do you think is going to pay for that? The customer. Everything is going to go up just to be able to stay in business. When we give more money, the prices go up and when the prices go up who’s going to pay for that?
‘They’re going to be crying about it, and saying “it’s too expensive”. That’s inflation. You’re going to be walking in somewhere to eat something and paying $40 or $50 for a hamburger.’
Obviously, we aren’t at that point yet.
But if we stay on the path that we are currently on, we will eventually get there.
In some tourist traps, prices for burgers are already completely insane. For example, one Las Vegas restaurant is now selling a burger that costs $100…
Located on the casino floor and a few steps from the poker lounge, Posh Burger offers seven burger choices, ranging from a $12 traditional hamburger to a $23 half-pound “super deluxe” waygyu steak burger, plus the option of a $16 vegetarian Impossible burger.
For diners looking to play out their high roller fantasies, an eye-catching $100 menu highlight is dubbed the Posh Royale Burger and created with wagyu beef, truffle, foie gras, gold dust, a garnish of lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and the secret Posh sauce.
That is crazy, but that isn’t even the most expensive burger around.
In the Netherlands, one luxury chef is actually selling a burger for $6,000.
I still remember the days when you could get a nice, thick fancy burger with all of the fixings for less than a dollar.
Sadly, those days are long gone, and food prices are now rising at a frightening pace all over the country.
The other day, billionaire John Catsimatidis made headlines when he warned that there would be a double digit spike in food prices “by October first”…
Catsimatidis said that he expects a 10 to 14% spike in food prices by October first.
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster asked Catsimatidis if he is going to be forced to pass the extra costs onto consumers.
“You have to pass it on otherwise you’re not doing your duty to guard your country, your employees and your company,” he responded.
But at least housing is still affordable, right?
Actually, CNN is reporting that home prices are 23 percenthigher than they were at the same time a year ago…
The median price for an existing home in June hit an all-time high of $363,300, up 23% over last year. That marks 112 straight months of year-over-year gains.
23 percent in one year!
Has your paycheck gone up by 23 percent over the past year?
If not, you are rapidly losing ground.
Renters are not faring much better. In some of the hottest rental markets around the country, rents have risen by more than 20 percent. The following example comes from the New York Times…
Kaitlin Cindrich is facing a $200 monthly increase in rent this August if she and her husband can renew their apartment lease in Provo, Utah. That 25 percent jump is not something she expected, and the 21-year-old fears she may have to skip doctor appointments for her autoimmune disease to keep up with the payments.
Still, she acknowledges there isn’t much choice but to pay more. “We are hoping to stay because everything is so expensive right now that I would be paying the same whether I’m here or somewhere else,” Ms. Cindrich said.
Some markets are seeing more moderate increases, but overall we have seen rental prices increase by 9.2 percentup to this point in 2021…
Data from Apartment List, a listing site, confirms the trend visible in the Zillow numbers: So far in 2021, rental prices nationally have grown 9.2 percent, compared with the 2 to 3 percent that is typical from January to June. According to the most recent data available, prices were higher than economists at Apartment List would have expected had prepandemic trends persisted.
So what will the rest of 2021 look like?
Will rental prices have risen by a total of 15 or 20 percent by the time the year is through?
The Biden administration continues to insist that inflation is “low”, but hardly anyone believes them.
A new internal poll from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) shows growing concerns about rising inflation in a number of battleground districts ahead of 2022.
Seventy percent of respondents said they were either “extremely or very concerned” about rising prices and the rising costs of living, according to the polling memo released Thursday. Additionally, 60 percent of voters said they disapproved of President Biden‘s handling of rising prices and the higher cost of living. On top of that, the poll found that 42 percent of people polled were more likely to blame Biden and congressional Democrats for rising prices. Ten percent said they were more likely to blame congressional Republicans.
If you are in the 30 percent that is not very concerned about inflation, you should be, because it is going to absolutely suck the life out of your standard of living.
Meanwhile, more shortages continue to pop up throughout our economy.
Back-to-school shopping is always a nightmare. This year, expect it to be even worse.
While parents may be used to encountering shortages of items like sneakers, backpacks and gadgets later in the season -— which typically lasts from mid-July through the end of August — products are expected to be in tight supply even earlier. That means shoppers could find themselves picking over the handful of ugly backpacks and bento lunch boxes with missing pieces left at the store as early as this month.
In the new book that I just released, I have an entire chapter about hyperinflation and shortages. Everyone could see this coming from a mile away, but our leaders just couldn’t help themselves.
Whenever a major crisis comes along, their only answer is to create, borrow and spend more money.
Many are comparing this to the Jimmy Carter era of the 1970s, but the truth is that what we are facing is much worse than that.
We are literally witnessing our nation commit slow-motion economic suicide, and it is absolutely horrifying to watch.
Worldly Desires Breed Like Nettles Matthew 13:3–9; Mark 4:3–9; Luke 8:5–8; 1 Timothy 4:15; Revelation 3:2
A strange plant needs more care than a native of the soil. Worldly desires, like a nettle, breed of their own accord, but spiritual desires need a great deal of cultivating.
THOMAS MANTON
Ritzema, E., & Vince, E. (Eds.). (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
God Hates to See People Eager to Accept Dignities 1 Kings 1:5; Matthew 23:1–12; Luke 14:7–11; 18:9–14; Philippians 2:5–8; Hebrews 5:5
God hates to see men ready to accept dignities, even when it is His will that they should accept them, but it is not His will that they should do so eagerly and promptly.
JOHN OF THE CROSS
Ritzema, E. (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Reformation. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
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Last year, during our trip to Israel, I had the opportunity to visit En Gedi. The word En Gedi means “spring of the wild goat.” En Gedi is a lush and vibrant oasis in the middle of the Judean Wilderness. What makes it so remarkable is its close proximity to the Dead Sea. Everything in the surrounding area is lifeless. Yet, wild goats feed off the verdant plants that grow at En Gedi. A steady flowing stream of water rushes through the middle of the oasis. Surrounding this stream are rocky cliffs spotted with caves. It is in those caves where David hid while on the run from King Saul in the Old Testament.
1 Samuel 24:1-2 says,
When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.
In those caves, frightened and alone, David penned at least two psalms, Psalm 57 and 142.
Many of us know what it’s like to be at the end of our rope, to feel stuck with nowhere to turn.
In Psalm 142, David cries out to the Lord for help and hope:
With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. (Ps. 142:1-2)
He tells the Lord exactly how he is feeling and what he is going through. He says, “My spirit faints within me” (Ps. 142:3); “I am brought very low”; and “Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!” (Ps. 142:6).
While few of us have been on the run from our enemies as David was, many of us do know what it’s like to be at the end of our rope, to feel stuck with nowhere to turn. We know what it feels like to be in despair or to feel lost and alone. We know what it’s like to be afraid. We know what it’s like to face something so frightening, we can’t imagine any way around it. We know what it’s like to look for help and find none (Ps. 142:4).
In the midst of that terrifying circumstance, David turned to the LORD God. He turned to the great I Am for help and hope.
For those of us who find ourselves with similar emotions to what David writes about in Psalm 142, there are three comforting things we can remember from this passage.
1. God knows us intimately.
In verse three, David writes, “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!” Our God is an omniscient God. He knows all things. He knows the end from the beginning. He is never surprised or caught off guard by the circumstances of our lives. And he knows us intimately. As David wrote elsewhere,
O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. (Ps. 139:1-4)
God knows just what to do in all circumstances. And he knows what is best for us. John Calvin encourages us to rest in the fact that God knows:
God knew the way to deliver him, while his own mind was distracted by a variety of thoughts, and yet could not conceive any mode of extrication. The words teach us, when we have tried every remedy and know not what to do, to rest satisfied with the conviction that God is acquainted with our afflictions, and condescends to care for us, as Abraham said — “The Lord will provide.” (Genesis 22:8.) (John Calvin’s Commentaries on the Psalms 119-150)
2. God is our refuge.
David turned to God because he knew God was his refuge. “I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living’” (Ps. 142:5). The Hebrew word for refuge is machaseh, which means hope, place of refuge, shelter, or trust (Strong’s Concordance, 4268). David put his trust and hope in God.
In the midst of your current trial, wherein do you place your hope and trust? It’s easy to turn to false refuges, to run and hide in metaphorical caves, or to seek out hope in created things rather than in the Creator. But those false refuges will only let us down. God alone is our place of safety. And it’s only in God that we find all we need. Like the Levites who had no land of their own, God is our portion; he is our inheritance. He is our Father and we are his children. We can call on him anytime and anywhere and know that he hears us. We can trust him to be our refuge and hope in times of trouble.
3. God will deliver us.
David ends his psalm with confidence. “The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me” (Ps. 142:7). The armies that surrounded David were stronger than he was, but he knew God was stronger still. He knew and expected that God would deliver him. He knew he would once again be surrounded by God’s people.
Though the effects of the fall ravage our lives, though sin seems to have a grip on us, though evil appears to be winning, God is our deliverer. We only have to look to Christ and what he has accomplished for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He brought us from death to life. He redeemed us from slavery to sin. He made peace for us with God. He gave us the gift of his Spirit to change and transform us. Because of Christ, we too can face the hard circumstances of life with confidence, not in ourselves, but in who Christ is for us.
Dear friend, when life is hard, cry out to God in lament. Tell him your sorrows and fears. Ask for his help and deliverance. Put your hope and trust in him, for he is your refuge and portion.
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. (Numbers 6:24)
This first clause of the high priest’s benediction is substantially a promise. That blessing which our great High Priest pronounces upon us is sure to come, for He speaks the mind of God.
What a joy to abide under the divine blessing! This puts a gracious flavor into all things. If we are blessed, then all our possessions and enjoyments are blessed; yea, our losses and crosses and even our disappointments are blessed. God’s blessing is deep, emphatic, effectual. A man’s blessing may begin and end in words, but the blessing of the Lord makes rich and sanctifies. The best wish we can have for our dearest friend is not “may prosperity attend thee,” but “the Lord bless thee.”
It is equally a delightful thing to be kept of God; kept by Him, kept near Him, kept in Him. They are kept indeed whom God keeps; they are preserved from evil; they are reserved unto boundless happiness. God’s keeping goes with His blessing, to establish it and cause it to endure.
The author of this little book desires that the rich blessing and sure keeping here pronounced may come upon every reader who may at this moment be looking at these lines. Please breathe the text to God as a prayer for His servants.
“It is the Lord Who goes before you; He will [march] with you; He will not fail you or let you go or forsake you; [let there be no cowardice or flinching, but] fear not, neither become broken[in spirit—depressed, dismayed, and unnerved with alarm]”. Deuteronomy 31:8 (AMP)
Jesus, You are the Way and You are the way-maker. I will follow You as You go before me and prepare the way for what is ahead in Your plan.
I know that You will see to every detail so that what needs to be done will already be done before I arrive…the path revealed, the direction confirmed, the way established. I trust in You to unlock the doors that need to be opened, loosen the things that need to be untied, and remove the hindrances that need to be taken away.
I ask You to provide for all that is needed as I walk along your appointed path. Open my eyes to see the way You are leading, give me the understanding to take the right steps, strengthen me with the patience to move at the right pace, and work within my words and actions to say and do things in the right way.
I trust in You to do what no one else can do, in ways that no one else can work, doing the wonders no one else can perform. Lord, I thank You that You will make a way!
Our Father is always trying to get us to the place of spiritual discoveries…God has challenging futures for us.—William Brattle Oliver
God will make a way where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me. —Don Moen
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5&6
I thought my daredevil days were behind me until I ended up on a black diamond trail at a ski resort near Lake Tahoe.
We had discovered skiing while living in northern California in the early 1990s, and at the time found it to be quite exhilarating. I had not grown up around the sport and I was solid “bunny slope” material. My confidence soared when I graduated to green, then blue, runs and for a moment, I thought I had really improved. Then one day, while skiing with my husband, we hopped off the lift and started down a trail.
While honing the tuck, and trying to keep my elbows in, I cruised past my husband who was patiently waiting by a small sign at a fork. Trying my best to maneuver through the challenging terrain that included moguls and narrower and icy rides, I heard my husband catch up yelling, “You are on a black diamond, called JABOOM!!” Immediately, I felt defeated and thought, “How did I end up on a black diamond? How did I miss staying on the right path?”
God’s Word tells us that he will guide along the straight path, but that it is our choices that keep us on the path or force us to go a different route. Often, while thinking we are following God, we discover we have somehow left the path. Today’s verse reminds us that to keep our path straight, we must take action.
First, by choosing to trust God’s reliability and his Word and believing what he says.
Secondly, when we do not see the entire picture, we must not lean on our own limited understanding.
Lastly, we must have a submissive and humble heart that seeks to be conformed to the image of Christ, so that we can grow and be led to the path that is God’s absolute best for us! Jesus said that there is a path that leads to life, and he promises to guide us and show us all the roads we are to travel in this world.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for directing my path as I follow your commands and trust you with all of my heart. When I do not understand, please help me to rest in your promises and to continue to seek your guidance by submitting to you. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Before every decision you make this day, ask God to direct your thoughts and your paths so that you remain in his will.
I set out to look for truth on the borderland where Greece and Asia meet, and found it here. You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s, and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment, provided always that the critic knows the subject and does not go beyond the limits of science and of justice.
WILLIAM M. RAMSAY*
Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Grace Looks to Eternity Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 12:22
Grace looks to eternal things and does not cling to those which are temporal, being neither disturbed at loss nor angered by hard words, because she has placed her treasure and joy in heaven where nothing is lost.
THOMAS À KEMPIS*
Ritzema, E., & Brant, R. (Eds.). (2013). 300 quotations for preachers from the Medieval church. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
“Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants.” —Alexander Hamilton (1787)
The speaker’s investigation was always a partisan charade. Rejecting two GOPers proves it.
Nate Jackson
From the moment the shirtless guy with the horned hat appeared on television in the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, Democrats have insisted it was all Republicans wearing the costume. In other words, they’ve used the disgraceful actions of a few to tar an entire party.
“The violent domestic attack on Congress on January 6th was the worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday, “and the worst domestic assault on American Democracy since the Civil War.”
She might want to consult with President Joe Biden, who can’t decide if the ridiculous Civil War hyperbole applies better to the Capitol riot or to voting integrity legislation.
A big key to the Democrats’ partisan theatrics was Pelosi’s call for a “9/11-type” commission to investigate what happened in the Capitol riot. She and her fellow Democrats had already decided what happened, of course — within days, they impeached President Donald Trump for “inciting violence.”
But now Democrats want to find out if that spur-of-the-moment incitement was actually planned by the “white supremacists” running rampant across the fruited plain — the ones that supposedly justified spending $500 million on stationing National Guard troops in our capital for several months. Per Pelosi, “We need a comprehensive investigation as to who organized this attack, who paid for it, how they nearly succeeded in overthrowing a presidential election, why they did it and how we must organize ourselves to prevent anything like it from ever happening again.”
Was it organized or was it incited? Make up your mind.
When her commission idea failed to launch, Pelosi fell back on a select committee with bipartisan membership to give a patina of legitimacy to her fraudulent probe. Now, that committee too is falling apart.
On Wednesday, Pelosi rejected two of the five Republicans chosen by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on the committee. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio were apparently two too many Jims.
“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations,” said Pelosi. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
Respect. Integrity. Truth. All three are such foreign concepts to Pelosi and her fellow Democrats that it’s no wonder she made what even she acknowledged was an “unprecedented decision.”
Jordan said: “It doesn’t surprise me. … This is all about attacking President Trump again.”
Banks added that Pelosi’s afraid because he’d demand to know “why the Capitol was vulnerable on that day when we had intelligence for weeks leading up to January 6 that told us that something dangerous would happen.”
McCarthy responded exactly as he should have. He called Pelosi’s move an “egregious abuse of power” that “has broken this institution,” and he warned that unless she “reverses course … Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts.”
Again, the Democrat plan from January 6 forward has been to tar Trump on his way out of office and to bludgeon Republicans all the way until November 2022. The Capitol riot was indeed a dark moment in American history, and though Republicans rightly opposed creating this committee, they weren’t wrong to ultimately play along and attempt an honest investigation. But Pelosi has shown her cards, and there’s nothing legitimate or honest about her game.
Two separate spending atrocities will push us ever closer to the fiscal brink.
Douglas Andrews
There’s a lot of profligate spending going on in Washington these days, but approximately $1 trillion of it was forestalled Wednesday afternoon, when Senate Republicans used the filibuster to block debate on an as-yet unresolved bipartisan “infrastructure” bill.
We use scare quotes around the word “infrastructure” because, thanks to the Democrats, the word no longer means what any of us think it means. But to the Republicans’ credit, this measly trillion really doessound like infrastructure: Around $400 billion is slotted for baseline “transportation” funding, and $579 billion will go to new transportation projects, water, broadband, and improving our power grids. Is there still plenty of room in which to shovel and hide pork? Sure. But it seems that the really ridiculous stuff — the Kirsten Gillibrand-type stuff — has been yanked out.
Recall that back in April, the New York Democrat asserted: “Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure.” With thinking like that, it’s a wonder we’re only $29 trillion in debt; only $85,000 per citizen in debt; only $227,000 per taxpayer in debt.
Lawmakers expect to reach agreement on the unfinished legislation by early next week, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s gambit to get a head start on the bill’s passage went down in flames yesterday. As The Wall Street Journal reports:
The vote failed, with 49 in favor and 51 against, short of the 60 needed to open debate. [Schumer] switched his vote to no, which he said gave him the option to bring the bill up again.
Senate Democratic leaders had hoped to start the process Wednesday of moving both the infrastructure bill and a separate $3.5 trillion package of child care, education, antipoverty and climate provisions expected to pass with only Democratic votes.
The failed vote Wednesday pushed the timeline for both deeper into the summer, although lawmakers involved in the infrastructure negotiations said they expected to have enough of an agreement in place to move forward by Monday, if Senate Democratic leaders agree to schedule another vote.
This is just the infrastructure bill, though. The real behemoth, the real outrage, is the Senate budget proposal: that $3.5 trillion package of non-infrastructure, Big Government spending. There’s even word that Democrats will try to include amnesty for illegal aliens within the package. That bill is likely to pass the Senate and become law without a single Republican vote, as Democrats plan to avail themselves of every accounting trick necessary to skirt the Senate’s existing budget-reconciliation rules and thereby avoid a Republican filibuster.
Worse yet, that $3.5 trillion sticker is what we might call the base price. With taxes, title, and dealer prep, the Democrats’ used car salesmen are likely to soak our children and their children for something like $5 trillion, according to an independent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Why? Because socialist Bernie Sanders chairs the Senate Budget Committee. As the Journal’s editorial board writes: “The budget will be built on phony assumptions and gimmicks. Democrats know their proposed tax hikes and dubious ‘pay-fors’ won’t come close to fully funding ‘every major program that President Biden has asked us for’ — as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed.”
That would be the same President Biden who, as our Nate Jackson noted on Tuesday, went out to reassure the American people about the economy and saw the stock market drop 700 points. It’s also the same Biden who recently said: “There’s nobody suggesting there’s unchecked inflation on the way. No serious economist.” Except, that is, for some serious economists.
As South Carolina Republican Congressman Ralph Norman put it, “Spending $3.5 trillion and expecting it to combat inflation is like throwing gasoline on a fire and hoping it goes out.”
In short: This is fiscal rape, and we taxpayers are the Sabine women.
“History has shown time and time again,” wrote former Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn in his 2012 book The Debt Bomb, “that debt can bring nations to their knees. Great powers such as Britain, Spain, France, the Ottomans, the Soviet Union, and the Roman Empire declined economically before they contracted, collapsed, or were conquered.”
Beijing refuses to allow even a modest investigation by its puppet into the Wuhan lab.
Thomas Gallatin
In what should come as a shock to absolutely no one, the Chinese Communist Party rejected the World Health Organization’s second-phase study plan for investigating the origin of COVID-19. Recall that last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admitted that his organization had been “premature” in its push to dismiss the lab leak theory as “extremely unlikely.” As we noted previously, the WHO was happy to tout Beijing’s dubious claims following its initial COVID origin investigation in which UN investigators essentially ruled out the possibility that the novel virus leaked from a Wuhan lab — a lab that just happened to be researching coronaviruses.
China’s vice minister of the National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, asserted that he was “shocked” by the WHO’s request for greater access to the Wuhan lab and its research. “It is impossible for us to accept such an origin-tracing plan,” he stated.
Unsurprisingly, the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s biosafety lab, Yuan Zhiming, claimed, “I want to emphasize that … the Wuhan Institute of Virology has never designed, made or leaked the novel coronavirus.” Does anyone believe he would admit to anything else? This is a communist dictatorial regime that’s currently engaged in the systematic enslavement and genocide of more than a million Uyghur Muslims. It also has a long history of murderous oppression. It’s a good bet that Yuan doesn’t want to get suddenly “disappeared.”
In a further demonstration of the Chinese government’s lack of credibility, Beijing is still ridiculously reporting that the country’s death toll from COVID is only 4,636, a total that has remained unchanged for months.
Zeng contended that China’s refusal to allow access to the Wuhan lab was because “we are opposed to politicizing the tracing work.” That’s rich. No country has done more than China to politicize the novel virus, and it continues to do so, even pushing the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was a U.S. creation intentionally released in Wuhan. It’s awfully interesting that China now wants to push the natural origin theory as the only serious option to research.
Will the WHO continue to press and investigate the lab leak theory as part of its overall investigation into the origin of COVID? It may attempt to do so, but China is holding all the cards and has made its position clear. And since Beijing can control what and what does not get investigated within Wuhan, any evidence leading to scientific certainty for the origin of COVID will likely remain out of reach, as will serious efforts to hold China accountable for this devastating plague.
Everything is downstream from education, and it’s time to end the union chokehold.
Arnold Ahlert
Right now there is a debate about the pros and cons of putting cameras in classrooms. Some believe they are necessary to prevent our children from being indoctrinated, and/or to check teacher competency and the appropriateness of subject matter. Others insist that it would ultimately end up hurting the children themselves if a poorly thought-out comment was leaked online. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong debate: Either way, the presence of unionized teachers remains a constant — one that has proven to be a spectacular failure over the course of decades.
In the “good” old days, that failure largely centered around sheer incompetence. Prior to the pandemic, test results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed further declines in reading and math scores that followed a decade of stagnation. Despite these realties, most parents remained either unaware of or resigned to the status quo that saw American students routinely underperforming in comparison to their international peers.
Unions and their allies always had a litany of excuses for those failures, with a lack of funding topping the list, despite the fact that America spends more money per pupil on primary and secondary schools than any other major developed nation in the world.
Then came the pandemic, and the true nature of teachers unions became impossible to ignore. “Even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization warned that the harm from continued school closures dramatically outweighs the threat posed by COVID, unions successfully fought to keep campuses shuttered, while ensuring their members still get paid,” columnist Robert Fellner explains. “Rather than doing everything they could to ensure students could return to the classroom as quickly as possible, unions exploited this terrible crisis for their own gain.”
Indeed, and few did more to exploit the situation than United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which held returning to classrooms hostage to a litany of progressive political demands that included putting a moratorium on charter schools and defunding police. It also forged a collective bargaining agreement that prohibited schools from requiring face-to-face online instruction — and allowed teachers to work only four hours per day.
When some parents took educating their children into their own hands and formed “pods” or “micro-schools,” they were deemed “racist” and “privileged” for doing so by unionists and their allies — who ultimately revealed that the equal sharing of misery was all that mattered.
Now the utterly bankrupt and highly politicized nature of these unions has become impossible to ignore. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has proposed an end to standardized testing. The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, approved a plan to push Critical Race Theory in all 50 states — and to attack those who oppose its implementation. And both the NEA and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) have aligned themselves with Black Lives Matter, with the latter organization asserting that “until people of African descent are treated with dignity, humanity, and respect in all areas of our society and the barriers to their safety and health and full participation in the economy and wealth creation are dismantled, all lives do not matter.”
That BLM advocated for the “disruption” of the nuclear family before removing that agenda from its website? That it openly supports the communist regime in Cuba? That its Utah chapter labeled the American flag a “symbol of hatred”? None of this matters to the NEA, whose delegates pledged to “join with Black Lives Matter at School and the Zinn Education Project” for a “national day of action” on George Floyd’s birthday, whereby recruited teachers would hold political demonstrations and “teach lessons about structural racism and oppression.”
Teachers unions also support the entirety of the LGBTQ agenda, one that includes familiarizing children as young as six and seven with gender “fluidity,” and having them participate in drag queen story hours.
How do they get away with all of it? As the campaign contribution-tracking website Open Secrets reveals, teachers unions have given Democrats “at least 94 percent of the funds they contributed to candidates and parties since as far back as 1990, where our data begins.”
In short, teachers unions operate a de facto monopoly, with the full quid pro quo support of the Democrat Party. And anyone who opposes their agenda can expect to endure unrelenting, full-throated accusations of bigotry, transphobia, etc.
Thus, the first question is obvious: Why are Republicans allowing it to happen? The answer is as simple as it is depressing: Because they are largely a collection of spineless, go-along-to-get-along milquetoasts. Thus, while a number of mostly GOP-controlled states have proposed or passed laws banning the teaching of CRT and “transgender” participation in sports, unionized teachers are signing pledges to defy banning CRT, and the Biden administration is threatening schools that don’t abide the “transgender” agenda with a loss of federal funding.
It’s time for a paradigm shift. States with Republican majorities should enact measures stating that once a teachers union contract expires in any city or town in the state, it will not be renewed. Instead, teachers will be hired on a case-by-case, meritocratic basis.
The timing couldn’t be better for such an effort. The public has never been more aware of the contempt teachers unions have for their concerns, and the disruption such a move would engender has already been preceded by the disruption of teachers unions keeping kids out of school for more than a year. There is little doubt millions of parents dread a return to the status quo, with a substantial majority of them opposing CRT, along with countless others appalled by an agenda of sexualization that often includes no opt-out clauses for parents who object.
By definition, unions protect and promote the interests of their members. Thus, even under the best of circumstances, children and parents are a secondary consideration — when they’re not being outright dismissed with contempt by “woke” unions and their allies on local school boards.
Now that teachers unions have become completely political, and education itself has devolved into the wholesale indoctrination of children — the most infuriating aspect of which is teaching American students to despise their own nation — it’s time to end the unions’ stranglehold.
Nothing could be more “win-win” for Republicans. The overwhelming majority of Americans want children to learn how to think, not what to think, and allowing contracts to simply expire could be the foremost reframing of an argument in the history of the nation. In short, instead of taking their usual reactive position to an agenda framed by Democrats, Republicans could force Democrats into that position. Make them defend teaching children that color matters more than character, that testing and standards don’t really matter, and that sexual dysphoria should be championed in lieu of biological reality.
Everything is downstream from education. Unions and their Democrat Party allies have made it clear they want a socialist/Marxist future for America and that they have full control over its implementation. It’s time for Republicans to disabuse them of their ambitions — in no uncertain terms.
Quite simply, “Putting Children First” is the mother of all winning campaign slogans.
We’re buying Chinese solar panels and paying for Beijing’s coal addiction.
Lewis Morris
Joe Biden has managed to fundamentally reverse America’s energy fortunes in a remarkably short time. When Donald Trump left office, America was a net energy exporter, something that hadn’t happened in the entirety of Biden’s half-century in politics. Gas prices were reasonable, and America was leading the way toward cheaper, cleaner energy.
But Biden, at the direction of his leftist overlords, is intent on smashing all of that. And, unfortunately for America, he is succeeding. If current White House policy continues, America will relinquish all its energy gains, all while subsidizing the worldwide energy dominance of China and Russia.
For starters, consider the Democrat goal of eliminating fossil fuel carbon emissions from electricity production in 14 years. That would require converting 60% of our electricity-generating power plants. Thank goodness there’s nuclear power to take up the slack.
Just kidding.
Nuclear is out — way out. The greens hate nuclear as much as they hate fossil fuels, even though it is the safest, most potent form of energy we have. We can barely keep open the nuclear plants we have now. So good luck trying to get a new one built, let alone a whole wave of nuke plants that would be needed to replace the fossil fuel-fired electricity plants that Democrats want closed.
No, according to the greens and the Democrats, the only way forward is wind and solar. This is foolish in the extreme. It’s simply not currently possible to power the entire country on windmills and solar panels — not to mention Democrats want to force the entire U.S. automotive fleet to convert to electric by 2035. The cost for all that additional demand would be astronomical and lead to a level of economic upheaval from which the United States may not recover. The greens say it would be worth it to save the Earth. But would it save the Earth?
No, not even close. Because while America has led the world in carbon emissions reduction for two full decades, we are but one piece of the pie. China, Russia, and India are emitting CO2 at record levels, and the trend shows no sign of abating. China, in fact, is on a coal spree, building on average one new coal-fired power plant every week. Russia’s Vladimir Putin shows zero interest in saving the climate, and India, the world’s second most populous country, is in an ecological tailspin.
What makes this tale a Shakespearean tragedy is that China has cornered the world market on solar panel production and will soon do the same with wind turbines if left unchecked. But wait, there’s more. China is using its fossil fuel-heavy industry and slave labor pulled from its persecuted Uyghur Muslim population to build the solar panels that it is selling to the U.S. Just how does that settle with the social justice warriors in our midst? Probably just fine since “journalists” have done their part to bury the truth about China’s evil regime and leftists are really in it just to gain power and make themselves feel better.
Biden’s energy plan, which fulfills the wish list of the Left, is diametrically opposed to everything the U.S. needs from its energy policy. It is cost-prohibitive, it relies on government subsidies to drive an industry that does much better when left alone, it shatters American energy independence, and it will have no net positive impact on the environment.
Other than that, it should work out fine.
The energy plan in place before Biden came along wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing. Now Biden’s fix is going to need a fix — a big one.
She was responsible for the infamous “Dear Colleague” letter that uncut the standard of innocent until proven guilty.
Thomas Gallatin
Joe Biden is looking to erode students’ due process rights after Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, successfully worked to restore them. Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department is Catherine Lhamon, who held the same position during Barack Obama’s presidency. It was Lhamon who was responsible for producing the infamous 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter that significantly reduced the due process rights of students accused of sexual misconduct.
Lhamon argued that the judicial standard of innocent until proven guilty should not apply within the college and university setting, as trials there are not criminal proceedings. The results of this dubious and dangerous directive were several instances of falsely accused students successfully suing schools for violating their civil right to due process.
In her recent hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Lhamon was pressed by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) as to her views on the standard of innocent until proven guilty. Her response clearly indicated that her views haven’t changed over the last four years. “There isn’t a presumption of innocence in the existing Title IX regulation,” she answered. “My view is that civil rights investigators, investigators at schools, need to start from the presumption that the facts are what they are. … They shouldn’t be assuming somebody is guilty because a person has been accused. … They should be open to the possibility that the person is not [guilty].”
That’s turning the U.S. standard of justice regarding the accused entirely on its head. One should be “open to the possibility” an accused person is not guilty? What is this, the Spanish Inquisition? While Lhamon obfuscated and refused to say what she would seek to change, she made it clear in a social media post what she thought of DeVos’s Title IX rule change that restored basic due process rights to students. She lamented that it was a return “to the bad old days, that predate my birth, when it was permissible to rape and sexually harass students with impunity.”
That’s a flat-out lie that serves to disparage the notion of a balanced and fair system of justice, as well as the nation she’s ostensibly supposed to serve.
Should Lhamon return to her previous position of power, she will undoubtedly seek to undo the progress made under DeVos and reinsert her own deeply flawed and unjust standards, reestablishing college kangaroo courts that resulted in a slew of deserved lawsuits. But more disconcerting is the attempt to spread the poisonous notion that due process rights are somehow inadequate and unjust. If this idea takes hold in America’s colleges and universities, it won’t take long for it spread beyond, eventually infecting our criminal legal system.
A nationwide crime surge is the all-too-obvious result of the Left’s war on law enforcement.
Douglas Andrews
Muriel Bowser has a problem. Crime in the city she was elected to run, Washington, DC, is spinning out of control. And Mayor Bowser has no one but her fellow Democrats to blame. After all — and despite their ridiculous attempt to shift the blame — they’re the ones who drank the “Defund the Police” Kool-Aid.
“A pair of headline-grabbing shootings dragged the district into the spotlight over the weekend,” reports the Washington Examiner, “renewing focus over the city’s decision to cut millions of dollars from its police budget in response to pressure from activists.”
One of those shootings resulted in the tragic and all-too-common death of an innocent child — in this case, six-year-old Nyiah Courtney, who was riding her scooter during a drive-by that left five adults injured.
The other shooting got a lot more attention, because it no doubt frightened some wealthy, white, privileged progressives out to catch a Saturday night ballgame at Nationals Park. Gunshots rang out just outside the park, and the ensuing chaos caused league officials to call the game.
Bowser no doubt got an earful for the latter incident, but in a few days she and her fellow city leaders will likely have forgotten the name of Nyiah Courtney.
So it goes.
Tom Cotton recognizes the injustice of this. Last month, the Arkansas Republican senator addressed our current crime wave at the National Press Club. He began:
Five years ago, I spoke at some length on the subject of crime and violence in our streets. At the time, our nation was in the grips of the Obama crime wave of 2015-2016. We experienced the steepest two-year increase in murder in half a century and a significant rise in violent crime. That crime wave resulted directly from the Obama administration’s pro-criminal and anti-police policies. Federal malfeasance compounded the harm inflicted by the “Ferguson Effect,” itself the acute consequence of heightened anti-police activism and anti-enforcement policies at the local level.
I warned at the time that the criminal-leniency proposals being adopted across the nation are not merely wrong. They are dangerous. They threaten a return to the worst days of the 1990s, when law-abiding citizens lived in fear of their lives. Based on the number of unsolved murders, rapes, and other serious crimes, I contended that, far from the fabled “over-incarceration problem,” America had an under-incarceration problem. Woolly-headed critics across the political spectrum condemned me for saying this.
Cotton then said, “I was right then, and I’m right now.”
The senator rattled off some sobering statistics about the current crime wave, including last year’s largest single-year increase in murder on record, with murder rising nationwide by an astonishing 25%. He continued: “This violent crime wave surprised many people. After all, starting in 2017, our nation got a reprieve from the criminal-leniency policies of the Obama administration. Violent-crime rates turned around and began declining in the first three years of the Trump administration, largely because of increased federal prosecutions of drug trafficking, gun offenses, and other violent crime. A 46 percent increase in federal funding to local and state law enforcement and a crackdown on illegal immigration also helped matters.”
Cotton then noted that hard-left prosecutors, many with campaigns funded by George Soros, won elections in cities like Chicago, Philly, and San Francisco, and they adopted far more lenient criminal justice policies. All of a sudden, district attorneys stopped prosecuting shoplifters and other petty criminals, and entire categories of misdemeanors.
Once again, the theory of broken-window policing was put to the test. And again it proved true. “Leading Democrats called to ‘defund the police,’” he said, “and at least 20 major cities agreed, slashing their police departments to the tune of $840 million. New York City alone shifted nearly $1 billion from the NYPD, and Los Angeles cut funding to its police department by $150 million.”
What did these people think would happen?
Cotton calls this attack on law enforcement “nothing less than the gravest assault on the rule of law in modern times. The simple fact is that today’s Democrat Party is pro-riot, anti-cop, and anti-prosecutor. Democrats today have more sympathy for violent criminals than for innocent victims.” And he rightly blames the gated-community elitists for it — elitists who always seem to escape the consequences of their ruinous policies.
“Policing is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time,” Cotton said. “Weak policing, weak prosecuting, and weak sentencing hurts blacks more than any other group of American citizens. African Americans tragically constitute approximately half of all murder victims and regularly suffer the brunt of damage resulting from riots.”
As for solutions, Cotton boiled it down to the Three Ps of law enforcement: police, prosecutors, and prisons. If, as the Left likes to say, we don’t “reimagine” our current approach in these three critical areas, our current crime surge will become commonplace, and regular folks will continue to bear the brunt of it.
J.K. Rowling, beloved author of the Harry Potter book series, has been fighting back against the wave of hate from transgender ideologists ever since she spoke out about the dangers transgenderism poses to women dating back to 2019. Most recently, she has been facing a rampage of Twitter vitriol from trans activists — and even receiving a death threat.
But she refuses to back down. She is an example of a woman using her platform to properly shame those who would endanger other women and children through their dangerous and “progressive” agenda.
This particular spat was started by an activist deviant who on July 18 tried to call out Rowling for “ignoring porn” posted to a Twitter thread reserved for children to upload artwork for The Ickabog, a book she was writing.
Rowling confronted this activist with a resounding refute, stating: “I’m not sure how these tactics — using porn as a weapon against women you dislike, not caring that children get caught in the crossfire and then misrepresenting what really happened — are supposed to help trans people. Nor do I see how what you’ve done here helps correct the impression that the end game for you & your ilk is to intimidate women out of speaking up for our own rights, no matter how low you have to go to do it.”
The next day, she was threatened with a pipe bomb in her mailbox. When questioned if this threat was about her stance on transgenderism and the dangers gender dysphoric men pose to biological women in bathrooms and changing rooms, she half-sarcastically replied: “Yes, but now [that] hundreds of trans activists have threatened to beat, rape, assassinate and bomb me I’ve realised that this movement poses no risk to women whatsoever.”
Rowling, as she put it, is among those who have violated a central tenet of transgenderism: that a person’s gender “identity” is to be determined. This type of thinking allows men who claim to be women to go into women’s spaces. It confuses language through use of pronouns that match their gender “identity.”
Whenever anyone puts up a fight against these trans activists, they are met with similar hate and abuse. Abigail Shrier, an American journalist and author of the book Irreversible Damage, has also faced cancellation for pointing out the phenomenon of teen girls “transitioning.” Her book was removed from the shelves at Target. Most recently, her book was subjected to cancellation by the American Booksellers Association, which apologized to the public for promoting this “violent” book.
Shrier has also been highlighting the influx of male inmates to female prisons in California in her capacity as a journalist. These male prisoners include those who were serving time for rape, murdering women, and other similarly violent crimes. They are allowed to be in these women’s prisons simply for claiming that they are women. They have not undergone any hormone treatment or transition therapy or surgery. They are fully male bodies allowed to be cell mates with women, and stories of horror have inevitably begun to leak out.
However, there is a victory in California that’s worth sharing. An appellate court heard a case regarding legislation that included a clause to penalize healthcare workers that did not use a person’s preferred pronouns. It was ruled 3-0 that this bill was overly broad and violated free speech.
The judge further stated, “The pronoun provision at issue here tests the limits of the government’s authority to restrict pure speech that, while potentially offensive or harassing to the listener, does not necessarily create a hostile environment.”
It’s a small victory, but the hate is already rolling in.
It’s so important to highlight these battles in the culture war. The trans activists, and those who support the causes of transgenderism, are by and large aggressive, loud, and hateful in their speech and actions. They believe their cause is that of righteousness, and they fall into a trap that many on the Left do: They live in a world of ideas and theories, and when those theories are put to the practical test, they fail utterly and destroy those in their path — namely, the most vulnerable.
Our hope is that more brave women continue their fight to stand up for womanhood and that people like J.K. Rowling and Abigail Shrier continue to use their platform to expose and confront the violent words and actions of these activists.
Rand Paul says he will seek criminal referral from DOJ over Anthony Fauci testimony (Washington Times) | Fauci vs. Paul and three other takeaways from the Senate COVID-19 hearing (Daily Signal)
Department of Education walks back ties to group pushing Critical Race Theory in schools (Fox News)
Entrapment ruse? FBI informants had bigger role in Governor Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot than thought (Washington Examiner)
Health
White House weighs pushing masks (again) as COVID cases increase (Fox News)
Big three U.S. drug distributors along with Johnson & Johnson reach landmark $26 billion opioid settlement (CNBC)
Judge orders California to include Larry Elder him on gubernatorial recall ballot (Daily Wire)
The Karma Chronicles
U.S. women’s soccer team takes stunning loss after kneeling for BLM at Olympic opener (Daily Wire)
Other Notables
Disney moves more than 2,000 jobs out of California and to Florida citing the latter’s pro-business policies (Not the Bee)
Families struggle to cope with inflation egged on by statist policies (The Federalist)
Enjoy this two-minute compilation of Democrats spouting all sorts of conspiracy theories about voting machines that would get “right-wing extremists” kicked off social media (Not the Bee)
Closing Arguments
Policy: Why free online porn should be banned (National Review)
Policy: The war on foster care: Ideologues stand in the way of getting help for children with severe trauma (AEI)
Humor: Brave U.S. women’s soccer team kneels during entire Olympic match, loses 303-0 (Genesius Times)
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Politicized Language — “Social justice” activists are changing and redefining many words, including “birthing people,” “equity,” “mistress,” “violence,” and “racism.”
Dump the Ethanol Mandate — America is losing thousands of high-paying jobs while our fuel supply is becoming less reliable. The cause? The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Insight: “When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.” —Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Re: The Left: “Before the rise of social media, most Americans who used the internet for news bookmarked a variety of pages and then visited them individually. Over time, as social media grew and as people began to access stories they liked through an algorithmically controlled newsfeed, Americans used social media for news. This centralized the mechanism for information dissemination. Now, the left sees an opportunity: If all the news is accessed in one place, by restricting access in that place, the news monopoly once held by legacy media can be reestablished. All that will be required is labeling everyone they don’t like ‘misinformation.’” —Ben Shapiro
Observations: “Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela — a roster of tyrants — all support the Cuban dictator and warned the U.S. not to interfere. This is a clear sign the U.S. needs to provide help.” —Betsy McCaughey
Non compos mentis: “Transactions aren’t capitalism. Capitalism is a system that prioritizes profit at any & all human/enviro cost.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez regarding her $1.4 million merchandise ruse
Hot air: “It is not a mystery that China and the U.S. have many differences. But on climate, cooperation is the only way to break free from the world’s current mutual suicide pact.” —Climate Czar John Kerry (“It would be a grave mistake to prioritize climate change at the expense of allowing religious repression to fester and grow around the world.” —Mike Pompeo)
And last… “If Democrats in Washington cared about illegal immigration, they would be trying to finish Trump’s wall — a great infrastructure project. Instead, they’re trying to shove a massive amnesty plan into their infrastructure bill.” —Gary Bauer
Stadium-sized asteroid to whizz past Earth on July 24, Nasa puts it in dangerous category The orbit of 2008Go20, which is close to Earth, has been classified as Apollo, that holds the most dangerous asteroids. The asteroid is cruising at over 8 kilometres per second, which is around 28,800 km/hour, a speed so high that anything coming in its way will suffer extreme catastrophe. The near-Earth object (NEO) is 20 meters wide and will be zooming by at a distance of 28,70,847,607 km, eight times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
Typhoon In-fa churns in West Pacific on course toward China, Taiwan The West Pacific was brimming with tropical activity on Wednesday, as portions of China were enduring downpours from slow-moving Tropical Storm Cempaka. AccuWeather meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the most intense threat in the basin, Typhoon In-fa, which was churning in the western Philippine Sea with winds equivalent to Category 2 hurricane …
Whitmer Kidnapping Defendants Claim Entrapment After 12 FBI Informants Involved In Plot FBI informants were involved in nearly every aspect of the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor Whitmer, starting with its inception Another FBI ‘informant’ advised the militia group on where they should plant explosives, and offered to procure as many as were needed. “If you’re not down with the thought of kidnapping,” someone else replied, “don’t sit here.”
Rand Paul Asks DoJ To Investigate Fauci For Lying To Congress A clearly frazzled Dr. Fauci hurled insults at Sen. Rand Paul (a medical doctor) – “you don’t know what you’re talking about”, he shouted. However, after the dust settled, several reporters, including a reporter for the Washington Post, stepped up to point out that Dr. Fauci was, in fact, wrong. As we reported as far back as March, the NIH – which Dr. Fauci has been in charge of for decades – helped finance ‘gain-of-function’ research involving bat coronaviruses (research overseen by Dr. Shi ‘Batwoman’ Zhengli) via a third-party: EcoHealth Alliance. Sen. Paul responds. “And I will be sending a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a criminal referral.”
Kerry: US Must End Climate ‘Suicide Pact’ by Cooperating With Beijing China’s ‘green’ supply chains use slave labor. Kerry told listeners that the only way to calm tensions with Beijing is through cooperation on climate change, even as the United States and China compete on human rights, trade, and the future of democratic Taiwan.
Franklin Graham sends Big Tech a warning straight from Bible: ‘This reminds me of the Tower of Babel’ The Rev. Franklin Graham has a warning for Big Tech that dates from centuries before the first keystroke. “Silicon Valley and the big tech companies are working on Artificial Intelligence, and some believe AI can one day answer all of the questions of life,” Graham posted on his Facebook page … “This reminds me of the Tower of Babel, in the Old Testament, when men got together and thought they could build a tower to reach Heaven,” he wrote. “They believed they could attain this by their own work and ingenuity. But God sent confusion upon them and confounded their efforts.
Unprecedented floods worldwide: ‘Washing away the enemies of Israel before Messiah’ In the last week, heavy rains and flooding have hit separate sections of the globe with disastrous effects. While some Biblically unsophisticated onlookers associated the flooding with the deluge in the age of Noah, two noted Israeli mystics noted that the floods were, on fact, carrying out a pre-Messiah function that, while it will be massively destructive, will not threaten the entire world. “According to the Midrash, the rivers that witnessed the cruelty of the haters-of-Zion will also exact punishment for that cruelty, and all the cruelty against the jews since the Babylonian exile.”
Why Is Support for ‘Freedom of Worship for Jews’ on the Temple Mount So Controversial? Bennett’s statement, made on Tisha B’Av—the day on the Jewish calendar that commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples that existed on the Mount—was an eye-opener for a number of reasons. But it came in the context of what appears to be a shift in policy by the new government in that, for the first time since the city was unified in 1967, it is acknowledging that Jews are being allowed to pray at the holiest place in Judaism.
Conservative powerhouse restored to California governor’s recall race A judge’s order is restoring conservative talk-show host Larry Elder to the ballot for California’s looming recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom. “California judge rules that the election law Elder allegedly violated DID NOT EVEN APPLY to a recall election AND even if it did, Elder ‘SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIED.’ I will be on the ballot,” Elder said on social media.
Hamas flags fly on Temple Mount Maor Tzemach, chairman of the Lach Yerushalayim organization denounced the display: “Freedom of worship is not freedom of incitement and terrorism,” Tzemach posted on Facebook. “The Israeli government that allows the freedom of incitement in the Temple Mount must fight the terrorists that are taking over the Temple Mount before blood is spilled in the streets of Jerusalem!” Many in the crowd reportedly chanted, “We shall sacrifice our lives for Al-Aqsa.”
Exclusive: Is satellite footage of attacked Iran facility being blocked? It is starting to look like certain US satellite imagery services may have withheld high-resolution images of Iran’s nuclear facility at Karaj on June 23, which Tehran eventually blamed on Israel. Although services like Maxar provided high-resolution images of the Natanz nuclear facility within several days of its being hit in July 2020, nearly a month after the Karaj attack, they have not done so.
Largest known comet sprouts tail on its inward journey A huge comet making its journey towards the solar system has begun to show a tail. A newly released image shows the fuzzy coma, confirming that it is indeed a comet and may be one of the largest ever discovered.
1 killed, 10 injured in explosion at Gaza City market An explosion was reported at the Al-Zawiya market in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, killing one person and injuring 10 others, according to Palestinian media. The injured were transferred to Shifa Hospital in the coastal enclave. The Palestinian killed in the incident was identified by Palestinian reports as Atta Saqallah.
IDF arrests two suspects who infiltrated into Israel from Lebanon IDF soldiers arrested two suspects in northern Israel Thursday morning after they were spotted crossing the border from Lebanon into Israel overnight, the military said in a statement. The two were reportedly migrant workers and were questioned at the site where they were arrested. During about five hours of searches, IDF soldiers isolated the area where the two suspects until the suspects were caught.
160 French olim arrive in Israel on special flight A group of 160 French Jews who made aliyah to Israel arrived on Wednesday at Ben-Gurion Airport on a special flight from Paris organized by The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Aliyah and Integration Ministry. The new immigrants were accompanied on the flight by Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, who was returning from a tour of the Jewish community in France due to growing interest in aliyah in that country.
Covid: China rejects WHO plan for second phase of virus origin probe China has rejected terms proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to further investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on China to be more co-operative about the early stages of the outbreak, including with audits of laboratories. Zeng Yixin, deputy health minister, said it showed “disrespect for common sense and arrogance towards science”.
U.S. to delay reopening of Jerusalem consulate to Palestinians at Israel’s request At Israel’s request, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will delay reopening the American consulate in Jerusalem as a de facto mission to the Palestinians until the government passes a budget, according to the Walla website. The U.S. decision follows requests from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry.
Historic crop loss as severe frosts hit Brazil Farmers across Brazil are reporting widespread crop loss due to severe frosts affecting the country over the past 3 weeks. After several destructive cold waves, another blast is expected over the weekend, July 24 and 25, followed by yet another at the end of the month.
Catastrophic floods caused by extremely heavy rains claim lives of at least 29 people in Henan, China At least 29 people have been killed and 7 others remain missing after heavy rains affecting China’s central province of Henan since July 16 intensified on July 20, 2021. 25 of them died and 7 remain missing in Henan’s capital Zhengzhou after massive floods caused by a month’s worth of July rains in just one hour. 4 people died in severe floods that hit the city of Gongyi on the same day.
Biblical flooding devastates mainland China Shocking new footage out of Zhengzhou, China, shows a trainload of stranded passengers waiting for help as devastating floodwaters rise within the train car.
Canadian farmers report MASSIVE crop damage from heatwave Canadian farmers in different provinces reported massive damage to their crops as a result of a heatwave in the country. The heatwave caused many areas to record searing temperatures in late June 2021. Aside from damaging crops, it also caused the deaths of many people and triggered wildfires across the region.
Whistleblower: Hasbro mandating “critical race theory” for all employees, claims white kids are privileged and inherently racist Hasbro, a popular toy manufacturer, is mandating all its employees to accept “critical race theory” and apply it throughout the company. The company’s new training manual suggests that white kids are privileged, biased and inherently racist. The material demeans “white kids” and judges them on the color of their skin, imparting racist guilt on children as young as three and four years old.
UK chief science advisor admits that 60% of people admitted to UK hospitals are “fully vaccinated” On July 19th, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a news conference alongside Sir Patrick Vallance, Britain’s Chief Scientific Adviser. When Sir Patrick took the mic, he admitted that the “fully vaccinated” are being hospitalized en masse for covid-19 and are falling severely ill to the “delta variant.
Amazon using videos from Ring doorbell devices to create the largest civilian surveillance network in the US ..“Ring video doorbells … pose a serious threat to a free and democratic society.” This is the warning of Lauren Bridges, a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. In an opinion piece she wrote for The Guardian, she said that around one in 10 police departments in the United States have direct access to video footage from the Ring doorbells after Amazon partnered with more than 1,800 local law enforcement agencies. These partnerships are growing at an alarming rate.
NEW WORLD ORDER Plan Explained by a 1930s Cartoon The New World Order plan, designed by the freemasons from the beginning (early 1800s), is shown in this 1930s cartoon. Everything the government is doing to deceive the people is perfectly explained in this 1930s cartoon. There are NO COINCIDENCES!
Why Are Soros And Gates Buying UK COVID Testing Company? A consortium of investors led by the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are buying UK-based COVID testing company, Mologic, which has developed a 10-minute coronavirus test – and is best known for its deep-nostril swab test for the virus.
Marie Claire Magazine pressures Hollywood to depict more parents having abortionsPosted: 22 Jul 2021 06:29 AM PDTThe fashion magazine Marie Claire published a piece pressuring the entertainment industry to depict more parents having abortions because “[c]ountless studies have highlighted the importance of representation in media.”Although there was a steep increase in the number of abortions depicted in film from 2019 to 2020, writer Danielle Campoamor still believes it’s not enough, because the storylines featured in movies and TV shows have “done nothing to remedy the discrepancies between the fictional characters who have abortions and the real patients who seek out the services.”According to a study released in December of last year by the group Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, 31 shows featured characters who underwent abortions while 12 movies showed the same.Continue reading Marie Claire Magazine pressures Hollywood to depict more parents having abortions at End Time Headlines.
A 62-mile wide “Mega-Comet” has just entered our solar systemPosted: 22 Jul 2021 06:13 AM PDT(OPINION) – Did you know that an absolutely gigantic comet that is at least 62 miles wide is cruising through our solar system right now? Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is already closer to the sun than Neptune, but scientists are assuring us that it is absolutely no threat to our planet.If that is true, that is great news, because it appears that this is the biggest comet ever discovered. It is being projected that it will make its closest approach to the sun in January 2031, and after that it is expected to head on a path that will eventually take it out of our solar system.Continue reading A 62-mile wide “Mega-Comet” has just entered our solar system at End Time Headlines.
Huge magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes off the coast of PanamaPosted: 21 Jul 2021 04:48 PM PDTThe United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck 49 km south of Punta de Burica in Panama at a depth of 10 km. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have said there is no current threat of a tsunami.Historically, Panama has very rarely been affected by tsunamis. In total there have only ever been 4 classified tidal waves since 1882, resulting in the deaths of 100 people.The biggest tsunami officially recorded was in September 1882, according to data provided by world data.info A tidal wave up to three metres high crashed onto land and wiped out 100 people, as well as destroying vast areas.Continue reading Huge magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes off the coast of Panama at End Time Headlines.
CNN’s heavily promoted town hall event with President Biden lit up social media for all the wrong reasons on Wednesday night as everything from crowd size to moderator Don Lemon’s performance was roasted.
Political and economic commentator Trish Regan comments on the sparring between Rep. Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and how Pelosi’s attitude on the January 6th select committee is emblematic of a new ‘woke’ America which desires to ‘shut down and cancel’ essentially half the country, entirely on political differences. – with Newsmax’s Joe Pinion
In this episode, Dinesh argues that the Biden administration is moving in a fascist direction in attempting to unify the state and the private sector in censoring opponents and forcing citizens into a regime of Covid conformity. Journalist Laura Loomer joins Dinesh to describe what it’s like to live as a “nonperson,” the most banned woman in the world.
Residents of Hudspeth County, TX, say illegal immigrants have been flooding across the border at unprecedented levels and bringing with them an influx of crime and death.
Pastor David Jeremiah asserted in a sermon that cancel culture involves a series of “unbiblical” beliefs that mirror what Jesus said would foreshadow the end times.
(Brian Flood – Fox News) CNN’s heavily promoted town hall event with President Biden lit up social media for all the wrong reasons on Wednesday night as everything from crowd size to moderator Don Lemon’s performance was roasted.
Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Epstein kicked things off by pointing out the tiny crowd. “CNN was very careful to not show that no one showed up for the Biden Town Hall and that most of the room was empty,” radio host Mark Simone noted.
Host of ‘The Candace Owens’ Show’ joins ‘The Ingraham Angle’ to discuss the Biden administration walking back their endorsement of critical race theory #Ingraham #FoxNews
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