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
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.Micah 7:19
God never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature; His anger is only according to His office. He loves because He is love; He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them.
What a choice promise is this—”He will subdue our iniquities”! He will conquer them. They cry to enslave us, but the Lord will give us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain.
As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! “All their sins”—yes, the whole host of them; “thou wilt cast”—only an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; “into the depths of the sea”—where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the “depths” shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Some years ago on one of his broadcasts, Bill Maher defined faith as “the purposeful suspension of critical thinking.”1 Similarly, Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson and others have defined faith as “believing something in the absence of evidence.”2 But are these definitions of faith accurate?
In preparation for a lecture I recently gave on this topic, I decided to check the world’s foremost authoritative source for all things pertaining to the English language, namely, the Oxford English Dictionary. Featuring 20 volumes and over 21,000 pages of content, the OED isn’t the typical dictionary you’re likely to find in an average household. But thankfully, it’s now accessible through an online subscription, so I created my own account, and began investigating the true meaning of the English word “faith.”
One thing that becomes clear with an exhaustive dictionary of this kind is that just about every word in the English language happens to have multiple definitions. And, as it turns out, the word “faith” is sometimes used in a variety of ways. Sometimes it refers to an oath of loyalty (as with “a good-faith promise”), but it can also refer to a system of religious belief, such as “the Muslim faith.” But among all the varying definitions I was able to discover in the OED, one I was not able to find was the idea that faith is “believing something in the absence of evidence.” In fact, what I actually found was the complete opposite. According to the OED, one of the definitions of faith is this: “Belief based on evidence, testimony, or authority.”3
Among the citations included as an example of this definition of “faith” is a selection from a book by Isaac Watts written in 1725 titled, Logic, or The Right use of Reason in the Inquiry after Truth. Here’s the relevant passage:
When we derive the evidence of any proposition from the testimony of others, it is called the evidence of faith; and this is a large part of our knowledge. Ten Thousand things there are which we believe merely upon the authority or credit of those who have spoken or written of them. It is by this evidence that we know there is such a country as China, and that there was such a man a Cicero who dwelt in Rome. It is by this that most of the transactions in human life are managed. According as the persons that inform us of any thing are many or few, or more or less wise…and credible, so our faith is more or less firm or wavering, and the proposition believed is either certain or doubtful…4
Let me ask you this: Have you ever been to Antarctica? If not, why do you believe it really exists? Well, if you think about it, you likely believe in the existence Antarctica because of the evidence of so many trustworthy witnesses who have written and spoken about it, and they’ve never been contradicted. According to Isaac Watts, faith isn’t believing in something in the absence of evidence, but instead rests on the credibility and trustworthiness of others. And as he states, the more witnesses you have, and the more credible their testimony, the more firm you will become in your faith.
In this light, faith is an entirely reasonable and rational thing. In fact, it is something we can not live without. I discussed this with Australian historian and NT John Dickson a couple of years ago, while I was hosting the WHI, and here is what he had to say during that interview.
Faith, in its original meaning, really comes down to confidence or trust. That’s the root idea of the word. The idea that it’s sort of blindly accepting things without evidence is a brand new definition in the history of the world. You can actually date when this started to happen, when people started to use faith as “believing things without evidence”—it was in the 1800s. Now, I have never looked through the microscope at the things biologists tell me are going on in cells. So everything I know about the nature of the cell I got from my science teacher and from the science textbook—and I accepted it! So even someone like Richard Dawkins…is relying on his buddies in physics to know about the speed of light or the cosmic background radio waves that are detected. He’s never actually gone and tested that himself. He’s relying on testimony from academic journals or his friends down the road in Oxford, he’s relying on their testimony. He judges them to be worthwhile, valuable, trustworthy, and he believes it.5
In addition to using the OED, another way of verifying this point is by using the Google’s Ngram viewer, which is a tool that charts the occurrence of words or phrases in all the books Google has scanned from the 1500s to the present. So if, for example, you type in the popular phrase “leap of faith” you’ll see that it doesn’t actually come into use until the 1920s.6
Now, I was able to find one section of the OED that defined faith as the “belief or confidence…without any evidence or proof.” But, as it turns out, this is the definition that appears under the phrase, “blind faith.”7 The word “blind,” you see, is the key term of this phrase, since it ends up modifying the kind of faith that is involved. But if faith always meant belief in the absence of evidence, why would anyone have felt the need to add this particular modifier? For if by definition, faith is a kind of blind leap, then the phrase “blind faith” would be completely redundant.
Another question I decided to investigate was the nature of the word faith as it appears in the Greek NT. In other words, is the original Greek word for faith similar to the English word as defined by the OED, or is it closer to the definition given by the likes of Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson? As it turns out, the Greek word for faith is pistis, which is defined by one prominent lexicon as “that which evokes trust and faith.”8 In its verbal form it also means “to consider something to be true, and therefore worthy of one’s trust.”9 Another form of this word means “to be sure about something because of its reliability…[to] be convinced.”10 That’s the way the first century Jewish historian Josephus used the word when he wrote to say, “I have demonstrated…and confirmed the truth of what I have said, from the writings of the Phoenicians and Chaldeans.”11 Aristotle used this word when he wrote to say that “True theories are the most valuable for conduct as well as for science; harmonizing with the facts, they carry conviction.”12 And a first century writer by the name of Strabo used the word pistis when he said, “This investigation…only confirms us the more in our belief.”13 In each of these cases, therefore, the Greek word for faith, just like it’s English counterpart, is not viewed apart from, but is supported by evidential considerations.
Furthermore, in John chapter 10, Jesus himself says, “If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me, but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me” (10:37-38). Here it seems clear that Jesus does not view faith as some kind of blind irrational leap, but instead recommends that people believe on the basis of what they see and hear him do.14
The problem, however, is that few seem to be aware of the distinctive nature of the Christian faith claim, including among Christians themselves. In fact, after interviewing nearly a hundred individuals at a variety of Christian gatherings over the past few months, the overwhelming majority seemed to think that faith is not something that can be established by evidence or objective considerations. To them, faith is not something you cannot see or prove, it is not cognitive, but something you just know intuitively, deep down in your heart—it is gut thing that just cannot really be explained—in fact, according to one person, “It’s sort of like grabbing air.”
Another young Christian told me, “I think if there wasn’t some semblance of blind trust to faith, then it’s no longer faith—it simply becomes evidence.” Oddly, the well known atheist Richard Dawkins said something nearly identical to this in a public debate with John Lennox: “We only need to use the word faith when there isn’t any evidence.”15 So then, how is it that Richard Dawkins’ definition of faith ended up winning the day, even in Christian circles? How did faith come to be thought of as the absence of evidence? This is a question I’ll be exploring over the next few programs on my podcast.
According to Christian apologist Greg Koukl, this newer definition of faith as “believing in something that you can’t prove” happens to be deeply entrenched in contemporary Christianity. And so, after reflecting on this for some time, Koukl ended up concluding that we should probably stop using the English word “faith” altogether. In fact, in a lecture he gave titled, “Truth Isn’t Ice Cream, Faith Is Not Wishing,” Koukl said this:
I’ll go to churches and make presentations and give all the reasons why it makes good rational sense to put your trust in Jesus Christ…And then Christians will come up to me afterwords and ask, “If what you say is true, if all these facts are really so, then where is the room for faith?” And I realize when they say that have a conviction deep down inside that somehow faith and facts do not go together. You exercise faith when you don’t have the facts. But that is not a biblical understanding of faith…Biblical faith is trust based on what you have good reason to believe is true.16
In my humble opinion, this confusion about true meaning of “faith” lies at the heart of our ever increasing secularism—because if faith God is no more rational than believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy, then why should anyone bother going to church? And why should one particular expression of faith be valued over and above all the other options?
Is faith irrational? In 1 Pt 3:15, Peter famously says, “always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” If with Peter you agree that Christians can and should be able to give reasons for their faith, then I believe your faith is reasonable and rational. However, if you believe that faith is a leap in the dark for which no reasons can ever be given, then I am convinced that your faith, by definition, is irrational.
The great need of the hour is for Christians themselves to go back and to reexamine the true foundations of our faith. For example, in Acts 26, Luke records Paul’s defense of the Christian faith before governor Festus and king Agrippa, and as he was speaking, Festus told Paul that he was out of his mind and that his great learning was driving him insane. But in his response, Paul simply said this, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; on the contrary, what I am saying is true and reasonable. For the king knows about these matters, and I also speak to him with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.”
2. You can listen to these soundbites (as well as the above quote from Bill Maher) on Episode 2 of The Humble Skeptic podcast.
3. See definition 7b of the word “faith” in the OED.
4. Isaac Watts, Logick, Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth. With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error, in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as Well as in the Sciences (J. Buckland, London, 1772) II., ii., 9. This book was first published in 1725.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
I have a great life; Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior who’s granted me salvation, unshakable peace, hope, encouragement and contentment.
I am blessed.
Yet, somehow, I manage to complain about ridiculous ‘first world’ problems in my life that really aren’t problems.
From an eternal perspective, whining should never exist. So, why do I do it? Despite how disgusted I am with my sinfulness, the compulsion to whine or complain always seems to lurk beneath the surface. It’s unnerving when I see myself so clearly.
Throughout the week, my composure gradually unravels and it is exhausting. At week’s end and as I come before the cross of Christ at church on Sunday, all the grievances I had been carrying throughout the week pierce my wretched heart. The first notes of worship music fill the air and my eyes fill with tears, drawing my shame out into the open.
Yet, it’s not condemnation I’m receiving from the Lord. It’s mercy, love and forgiveness. My heart bursts with profound gratitude as my lips say, ‘Thank you, God’, again and again. I don’t deserve his sweetness washing over me but I humbly receive it. As service draws to a close and my voice sings praises to God, I am lifted up and restored.
Having been saved, we as believers in the living Christ can flip griping on its head with an attitude of gratitude. In light of eternity, we have so much to be grateful for! We serve a mighty and sovereign God who can do the impossible. Let us not hesitate to verbalize our gratefulness to him, “…with all wisdom, and as you (we) sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (v.16), as well as when we pray.
Father God, I ask you to forgive me when I grumble. There’s no reason for it in light of all you have done and continue to do for me. Holy Spirit, help me to have supernatural self-control over my whining so that I may, instead, praise you in a spirit of profound gratitude. It’s in Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
When you are tempted to complain about something trivial, sing a song of thanksgiving to your heavenly Father instead.
Trump, Babylon Bee back on Twitter; Christian Post still banned Donald Trump is back — at least on Twitter. The former president is one of several high-profile accounts that were reinstated by Twitter, along with The Babylon Bee, Dr. Jordan Peterson and Kathy Griffin, among others.
UMC pastor files complaint against election of openly gay bishop A United Methodist Church pastor has filed a complaint against the UMC Western Jurisdiction’s College of Bishops over a recent decision to elect an openly gay bishop, which is in defiance of denominational rules.
More than 160 people killed after shallow M5.6 earthquake hits near Jakarta, Indonesia A shallow earthquake, registered by the BMKG, USGS and EMSC as M5.6, hit West Java, Indonesia at 06:21 UTC on November 21, 2022. All agencies are reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The quake resulted in the deaths of more than 160 people. The number is expected to rise.
A Shocking 37% Of Real Estate Agents Couldn’t Afford October Office Rent The Federal Reserve has hiked 375bps in just six meetings this year. Mortgage rates have followed suit, skyrocketing from a low of 2.7% in February to 7.35% earlier this month. The aggressive tightening of monetary conditions has sparked an affordability crisis — sidelining millions of potential homebuyers while existing home sales crash to the worst level since 2008.
American Academy of Pediatrics says children cannot consent to tattoos but can consent to mastectomies There is no federal minimum age for tattoos, and the rules vary from state to state. Some, like New York, require a young person to be 18 or over, while others allow those 14 and over to get inked with parental consent. According to the New York Times, about a dozen, including West Virginia, Ohio, and Vermont, have no minimum age as long as there is parental consent.
New Zealand and Scotland’s Progression into a Life Controlled by Digital IDs New Zealand’s Managed Isolation and Quarantine (“MIQ”) program were keeping records of its staff during the “pandemic” using a JNCTN app. Now, JNCTN-produced software tools are seeking to serve as digital ID verification for staff of other organisations.
Another day, another disgraceful walk-back for the American president.
Douglas Andrews
The crown prince ain’t Corn Pop.
That has to be the lesson learned by phony-tough Scranton Joey Bagadonuts Biden last week, when his administration granted Saudi Arabian Crown Prince-turned-Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman immunity from a lawsuit over his regime’s 2018 murder and cutting up into little pieces of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.
It was yet another shameless curtsy capitulation from this craven commander-in-chief who, during a Democrat presidential primary debate in 2019, vowed to get tough with the Saudis. “We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price,” he warned, “and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.” In an interview that year, Biden also called it “flat-out murder.”
Of course, honor and dignity and the keeping of one’s word don’t matter to Joe Biden. Recall that he went hat in hand to Saudi Arabia back in July and claimed to have raised the issue of Khashoggi’s murder with the crown prince at the start of their meeting. “And it was exactly — I was straightforward and direct in discussing it,” Biden stumbled. “I made my view crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights, is this consistent with — inconsistent with who we are and who I am? I’ll always stand up for our values.”
Uh-huh.
Biden’s latest slink-away didn’t sit well with Khashoggi’s former fiancée, Hatice Cengiz. And it shouldn’t have. “Jamal died again today,” she said on Twitter minutes after the news became public. She added later, “We thought maybe there would be a light to justice from #USA but again, money came first.”
Nor did it sit well with Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan, who verbally took Biden out back behind the gym:
In granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values. He is granting a license to kill to one of the world’s most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.
While legitimate heads of government should be protected against frivolous lawsuits, the Saudis’ decision to make MBS prime minister was a cynical, calculated effort to manipulate the law and shield him from accountability. By going along with this scheme, President Biden is turning his back on fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people — and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world — deserve better.
If only The Washington Post were as tough on this president regarding matters of inflation, illegal immigration, energy independence, woke education, rampant crime, military unreadiness, and the Biden Crime Family’s influence peddling as it is this particular pet peeve. Not that we condone what the Saudis did. We deplore and denounce it. But we’d also like to see the Post put a sock in the self-aggrandizement.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council leaped to Biden’s defense: “This is a legal determination made by the State Department under longstanding and well-established principles of customary international law. It has nothing to do with the merits of the case.”
And to this we say … he’s got a point.
Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton agreed with the Biden administration’s decision to grant immunity: “What the administration has touted this week in granting sovereign immunity to Mohammed bin Salman is in keeping with the … custom of lawsuits involving foreign heads of state. It would have been a major break if those customs did not grant that kind of immunity.”
Cotton is making the case for Thomas Sowell’s constrained version of the world — a world in which human nature is enduring, flawed, and self-centered rather than malleable and perfectible, as it is in the progressive’s unconstrained version, as embodied by compulsive liar Adam Schiff, a California Democrat: “I don’t support the granting of immunity,” he said. “We ought to put our value on life not oil and I think this is a tragic decision.”
Cotton is right and Schiff is wrong. We often have to make the best of bad choices.
Virginia Democrat Mark Warner agreed with Cotton, putting it this way: “The reason why there was a grant of sovereign immunity, even to leaders we don’t like, is as much to protect American leaders and American diplomats when they’re posted abroad from being subject to Saudi Arabian law or Russian law or South African law.”
Fair enough. But it doesn’t absolve Joe Biden from the shame of this latest embarrassing walk-back.
Will any benefit come out of Biden’s decision? Maybe. As The Wall Street Journal reports: “OPEC oil producers are discussing an output increase, the group’s delegates said, a move that could help heal a rift between Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration and keep energy flowing amid new attempts to blunt Russia’s oil industry over the Ukraine war.”
As the company’s stock value plummeted and the woke mob wasn’t pleased, someone had to go.
Nate Jackson
The bottom line is always the bottom line. That’s the unavoidable reality of business in our free market capitalist system. Thus, when Disney ousted CEO Bob Chapek and brought back his predecessor, Bob Iger, for a two-year interim stint, it’s because the entertainment giant was suffering financially and had to change course.
Many conservatives are eager to tout the favorite “go woke, go broke” slogan as an explanation, but we’re not so sure that’s what happened here.
Yes, Disney has gone ridiculously woke under Chapek. “Strange World,” the Disney movie hitting theaters tomorrow, is the company’s first full-feature cartoon to showcase an “out” gay character. This isn’t a side character, as most of Disney’s LGBTQ characters have been in recent years; this is a main character and his sexual proclivities are reportedly a key part of the story. Recent movies “Onward” and “Lightyear” had gay characters, but less prominent. Clearly, Disney has an agenda to grow this representation.
It’s also true that those movies disappointed at the box office, and Disney has faced somewhat of a backlash from parents who’d rather not have their children indoctrinated by entertainment. Identifying with characters in fiction is a powerful recruitment tool for the groomers.
Under Chapek, Disney parks no longer greet “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” The company famously fired conservative actress Gina Carano for having the wrong opinions. Meanwhile, it thanked the ChiComs for being able to film “Mulan” in Xinjiang — the same region where genocide is happening.
Chapek also managed to pull off the feat of angering parents in Florida over the state’s parental rights bill (falsely smeared by the media as the “Don’t Say Gay” law), but only after also irritating his Rainbow Mafia allies for not being sufficiently dedicated to The Cause.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that this past year in particular has brought big bad numbers for Disney’s stock. It once had a market cap of $366 billion, but that’s now in the $160 billion range. Chapek took a successful business in the wrong direction, and he’ll leave with a severance package worth more than $23 million for his trouble.
But the wokeness at Disney didn’t start with Chapek. It started with Iger, who took over in 2005 and built Disney into the juggernaut it is today. Iger bought Marvel and Star Wars, as well as Pixar and 21st Century Fox, greatly expanding its empire. He also started the company down the Rainbow Road. In fact, it was partly at Iger’s loud urging that Chapek finally jumped aboard the train to take on Florida in the aforementioned kerfuffle.
In reality, argues political analyst Jim Geraghty, “Chapek wanted to make Disney less woke, and his efforts didn’t improve the company’s bottom line.”
Indeed, going woke may have hurt Disney, but the board appears to be answering that by returning to the guy who started the company’s leftist activism. And its stock jumped 6% on the announcement.
Here at The Patriot Post, we work hard to ensure an accurate and penetrating analysis of the week’s news, policy, and opinion — all from a constitutional perspective. Reader funding alone has kept our analysis coming for more than 26 years, allowing us to reach a vast reader audience with the message of Liberty without the limitations of a subscription fee. We humbly request your support for this mission as we work to meet our daily operating budget requirements. From each of us here, our sincerest thanks for your support. —Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
CBS finally validates Hunter Biden’s laptop, another assault with a vehicle, Afghanistan postmortem, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
CBS finally validates Hunter Biden’s laptop: It only took the mainstream news media outlet two years and two elections — including the last one putting Republicans on the cusp of taking over control of the House and launching investigations into the Bidens — before CBS News finally decided to do some investigative journalism on Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. And to the surprise of no one who paid attention to the scandal when it broke back in fall of 2020, CBS has determined the contents of the laptop are indeed 100% authentic. In other words, that’s contrary to Joe Biden’s false claim that the information on the laptop was Russian disinformation. It was telling for the network that had long documented Biden’s history of lying — lying that cost him prior presidential aspirations — to simply take Biden at his word. Everyone knows Biden was the mainstream media’s preferred candidate, and the MSM did not want to report on anything that could damage his election chances. Now, with the 80-year-old Biden on his way to becoming a lame-duck president, CBS sees the coast is clear to admit inconvenient truths. Is it any wonder Americans’ trust in the media industry has sunk to its lowest levels in generations?
Another assault with a vehicle: One person was killed and 19 other injured when a black SUV smashed into an Apple store in Hingham, Massachusetts, on Monday. The driver of the SUV was taken into custody by police. A construction worker who was working on the store was killed. Apple expressed shock and offered condolences over the loss of life and to those injured. Police are investigating the incident as a criminal act and have charged the 53-year-old driver with “reckless homicide by motor vehicle.” Video footage of the incident suggests that it was an “intentional” attack. This latest vehicular attack comes just days after sheriff’s recruits in Los Angeles were intentionally hit by a vehicle while they were training. Furthermore, this comes nearly one year after another murderous individual plowed his vehicle into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six people. Is this type of vehicular homicide becoming a growing trend?
Afghanistan postmortem: The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) recently released its latest audit of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, which Joe Biden brought to a disastrous and humiliating end in August 2021. SIGAR observed that America’s $145 billion effort to build a stable democratic government was a failure. The SIGAR report includes a quote from U.S. Army War College associate professor Chris Mason: “U.S. efforts to build and sustain Afghanistan’s governing institutions were a total, epic, predestined failure on par with the same efforts and outcome in the Vietnam war, and for the same reasons.” The report further observed the primary reason for the collapse of the Afghan government following the 20-year war: “The Afghan government failed to recognize that the United States would actually leave. Over nearly 20 years and three U.S. presidencies, the United States had vacillated on the issue of military withdrawal. The result was that the Afghan government was fundamentally unprepared to manage the fight against the Taliban as the United States military and its contractors withdrew.” The SIGAR report serves as a stinging rebuke of U.S. policy that wasted billions of dollars and thousands of lives on a nation-building effort that was essentially doomed from the start. The report concludes: “If there is one overarching lesson to be learned from the totality of this tragedy, it is that any future U.S. reconstruction mission similar in scale and ambition to that in Afghanistan is likely to be difficult, costly, and defined by the real possibility of an unfavorable governance outcome.”
Headlines
“I have to kill this guy before he kills us”: Army vet says “combat mode” kicked in during nightclub shooting (Daily Wire)
Legal lotto: Atlanta City Council to pay $1 million to family of man shot by police after firing Taser at officers (National Review)
Georgia Democrats cry “voter suppression” over a law that will restrict ballot harvesting plans (The Federalist)
World Cup teams back down on rainbow armbands after FIFA threats (Daily Wire) | Raw courage: As Iranian government murders protesters, Iran’s soccer team refuses to sing anthem at World Cup (Daily Wire)
Biden admin tells people they are approved for student loan cancellation even as court battles rage (Daily Wire)
Judge rules Jen Psaki must be deposed in lawsuit over alleged collusion with Big Tech to censor speech (Fox News)
AP fires reporter responsible for fake story alleging Russian missiles hit Poland (PM)
Policy: The naïve case against nuclear power (National Review)
Humor: Soccer team apologizes for running up the score in 2-0 blowout (Babylon Bee)
The Biden administration is using executive orders to circumvent SCOTUS, Congress, and the will of the American people.
Emmy Griffin
The consequences of the midterm red trickle are still to be realized. But one blow that’s coming down the pike is the president’s continuing enforcement of radical policies concerning abortion and so-called gender-affirming healthcare. As Joe Biden put it in a speech after the midterms, he has concluded that the people must like his policies since the red tsunami never appeared. So he’s doubling down on what he was already doing.
Just how will he do that after losing the House and potentially continuing to have a tie in the Senate? Through executive orders and through the overinflated power of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Biden proved from the get-go that he is not going to be shy about using executive orders, even if he doesn’t ultimately have the power to dictate some of those orders.
Through the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. ObamaCare, HHS is able to use the Section 1557 rule to force physicians and hospitals to perform abortions. HHS issued an advisory using the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) as justification for trying to re-nationalize abortion instead of letting it be legislated by the states post-Dobbs. According to National Review: “This notice advised hospitals and physicians that EMTALA required them to ‘stabilize’ ‘people in labor’ by performing emergency abortions. It pointedly stated that ‘when a state law prohibits abortion … that state law is preempted.’ It also declared that EMTALA’s anti-retaliation provision would protect physicians from discipline by their Catholic-hospital employers if they performed abortions in defiance of the Catholic Church’s Ethical and Religious Directives.”
In other words, HHS is attempting to circumvent SCOTUS and state law while infringing on the religious liberties of hospitals and physicians. It is truly despicable.
HHS is also using Section 1557 to advance gender transitions, more euphemistically known as “gender-affirming care.” Section 1557 can force medical establishments to provide a ballooning list of medical interventions for the gender-confused. It also will force insurance to pay for these medically unnecessary and harmful procedures. Not just for “transgender” individuals, either, but also for nonbinary-identifying individuals, eunuchs, and potentially someone identifying as disabled and hurting their healthy body to do it (transableism).
The radical gender ideology that is slipping ever further down the slope of madness is dictating our children’s education, dictating female safety, and now dictating our healthcare. This pathology is dragging our culture down into the abyss and destroying our younger generations. President Biden and HHS are happy to help this ideology along. What does that say about their leadership?
HHS and the president’s EOs also have major institutional backing. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health are all going to back up whatever this administration pushes. They are in lockstep.
Other institutions aiding and abetting this horrendous agenda are universities and medical schools teaching students that their highest prerogative is to fight back against systemic oppression in healthcare. The Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” is seen as antiquated. These schools are also making sure their graduates are thoroughly indoctrinated in “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in order to set the stage for the excusing of racially discriminatory healthcare.
This ideological takeover of healthcare is furthering our cultural decline, making a mockery of our government’s checks and balances, making a joke of the academic integrity of our universities, and creating a healthcare environment that stifles the religious and moral concerns of physicians and patients.
After a hypocritical conference of the world’s elitists, here come the climate reparations.
Thomas Gallatin
The United Nations global climate chance conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, known as COP27 ended this past weekend with much of the usual handwringing over the state of the global climate. Of course, the leftist elites who represent most of the leading economies in the developed world referenced rising CO2 emissions as an undeniable existential threat to the planet, while simultaneously promising to deal with the supposedly looming catastrophe.
And deal with it they did … in the way globalist elites have been doing for decades now, which is to make vacuous promises and throw other people’s money at the problem. UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres vociferously praised the conference nations for signing yet another climate change agreement, this one titled the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, in which wealthy Western nations — basically the U.S. and western Europe — promise to establish a fund to address “loss and damage” done by climate change.
Guterres called the agreement an “important step towards justice.” Predictably, he added that “clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust.” Yeah, you could call it a signal. The plan is to have First World nations like the U.S. deposit billions of dollars into the fund, which is effectively a reparations payment to Third World countries.
This is, of course, nothing other than a wealth redistribution gambit that effectively blames Western capitalistic economies for supposedly damaging the climate and harming developing countries. How exactly this twisted concept comes to fruition is based almost entirely on a Marxist-inspired climate mythology.
What is ignored is the fact that over the last quarter-century more people have been lifted out of abject poverty than at any time in the history of the world — thanks to capitalism. But this is an inconvenient fact for the globalist elites who rule the world according to their own self-important, self-centered, and self-defeating ideology.
Rather than encouraging developing economies to adopt Western capitalistic economic models, these globalist elites spurn such wise action in order to paint themselves as the do-gooder saviors of the planet. Nothing could be further from the truth. Climate change is their false god, and they are increasingly demanding that nations bow down to it. They themselves are the prophets of this false climate change religion, which demands not only financial sacrifice from wealthy capitalistic nations but increasingly the embrace of anti-fossil fuel polices that make no practical scientific sense.
Interestingly, this latest agreement does not call for an end to fossil fuels, but it does encourage nations to speed up their energy transition to “clean power generation.” That’s likely because China, the world’s largest CO2 emitter, has absolutely no interest in cutting back on its carbon footprint anytime soon. Furthermore, China is making big bucks making batteries for the Western world.
In the end, COP27 amounted to little other than a shakedown of Western economies — especially the U.S. — by the developing world. Joe Biden’s climate czar, John Kerry, promised last month that the U.S. would not get into “some sort of legal structure that is tied to compensation or liability” over climate effects. “That’s just not happening.” In reality, Kerry was more than willing to go along with the wealth redistribution scheme and signed onto the plan. And this after not getting any concession from other countries and especially China to cut their CO2 emissions.
With every one these climate change conferences, it becomes more evident that the real agenda has much more to do with advancing global socialism than any climate concern. Wealth redistribution and the acquisition of power are the actual goals.
Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” like getting rid of the Native Americans.
Michael Swartz
Arguing that two decades is long enough for schools to keep Native American mascots and imagery, the state of New York has mandated that its schools and districts must drop these particular symbols by the end of the school year or face the possible forfeiture of state aid.
Whether districts contend that they’ve kept the symbols over the years because of strong community support or because their mascots and logos are respectful to Native Americans, the state’s Department of Education is no longer accepting excuses, according to a memo issued last week.
The controversy reached this point when the Cambridge Central School District was petitioned by a citizen in 2020 to address the fate of its “Indians” logo and mascot, which according to court documents dated from the 1950s. In June 2021, the district’s board of education voted to retire the “Indians” moniker, but weeks later, at the first board meeting that included newly elected members, the vote was made to rescind the previous board’s decision.
As Dillon Honyoust, one of those new board members and a member of the Onondaga Nation, stated in his court affidavit: “I … spoke with other Native Americans in the community, all of whom agreed with my sentiments that the District’s long-standing mascot and logo represents Native American strength, honor, (and) pride, just as it is a source of identity, strength, honor, and pride for students and alumni of the District. To me and many Native Americans in the Cambridge community, the ‘Indians’ nickname and logo has always been a positive symbol to portray the strength of Native American heritage.”
However, despite the community support for the name, the courts have not been kind to the school district. Its lawsuit against the state was dismissed in June of this year, although the district is still planning to appeal.
Political analyst Rick Moran sees through all the controversy, though. “The villains in this drama are the radical anti-traditionalists who never met a tradition they didn’t try to destroy,” he writes. “Native American activists see the mascots as a wedge issue that gets them publicity and sympathy from left-wing donors. Meanwhile, those communities who have taken pride in their Native American mascots and don’t see the need to change them are either going to have to obey the state department of education or go to court.” Remember, this had been suggested guidance for more than two decades, but the state never felt a need to act on it — until now.
Over the last few decades, we’ve seen countless high schools and colleges move away from Native American mascots and imagery, with that ripple effect finally reaching the professional ranks. There, the National Football League’s Washington Redskins dropped that name after 80-plus years to become the Commanders, and Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team switched this past season to become the Guardians after 106 seasons as the Indians. But in soothing the hurt feelings of a few activists, these professional teams antagonized and alienated a fanbase that was passionate about the old name and the “identity, strength, honor, and pride” the name evoked. (For now, MLB’s Atlanta Braves and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs have largely held to their names and imagery, despite calls for both to follow suit.)
In this case, though, the threat of withdrawing state aid is a significant stick to Cambridge and the few dozen other school districts that have held onto their politically incorrect names and logos. Even as we celebrate the week of Thanksgiving with its rich history of Pilgrims and Native Americans, the state of New York is trying to cancel the Indians instead of allowing local schools to honor them. And once the Native American imagery is cleansed, can other names deemed offensive to some — such as the Patriots or Warriors or Fighting Irish — be far behind?
High school names and mascots are meant to inspire school spirit. This writer’s particular alma mater is the home of the Vikings, while others in our league are the Bulldogs, Panthers, Patriots, Locomotives, Bluestreaks, Tigers, Golden Bears … and Indians. In fact, that town itself was named for a local chief.
These schools tend to have decades of tradition involved in their names. It seems to us that the state should ignore the perpetually offended and instead allow the kids and their communities to continue to take pride in their teams and their mascots.
Douglas Andrews: A New Report Calls Out Our Woke Military — Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Chip Roy are sounding the alarm on the Obama-Biden social experiment that’s ruining our military.
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
‘A Cloud of Illegitimacy’ — Back in 2019, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries exposed himself as an “election denier” when he refused to accept the results of Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory.
Beware the Political Fearmongers — The midterm elections weren’t the red tsunami that conservatives hoped for, and in response, there are some on the fringes of the political spectrum who are exploiting fear to foster harmful political messages.
“In almost every act of our lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business or in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.” —Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995)
Upright
“In a recent essay for The Atlantic, Brown University economist Emily Oster calls for an end to this era of bad feelings, advising us to let bygones be bygones when it comes to COVID-19. … As one who believes in not holding grudges, I appreciate the impulse behind Oster’s call. We should strive for less recrimination and more forgiveness. … But Oster omits an essential step. Before there can be a reconciliation, there needs to be an accounting. Those who messed up must reckon with how they went wrong. Politicians and public health authorities whose decisions caused serious harm need to acknowledge what happened.” —Jeff Jacoby
For the Record
“Nancy Pelosi will rightfully go down as one of the greatest speakers in the history of the U.S. House. I’m not sure I would agree with Pelosi on a single policy issue; that’s not the point. As far as leadership ability and political smarts, Pelosi ran circles around the bumbling Republicans of her time. She got things done for the left in a way no recent Republican leader could for the right. When the stakes were highest, she was able to corral her votes. Simultaneously, when the far left went too far, she was willing to slap them down. There’s a name for all this. It’s called leadership. Republicans are desperate for a leader like this in the House.” —Neil Patel
“Republicans love to hate Pelosi, and often for good reason. She was tough and even mean sometimes. On issues like COVID and congressional member stock-trading, she helped break trust with the American people. More broadly, she pushed through many policies that will hurt America badly. This record is nothing to celebrate. But as a purely political matter, Pelosi has been by far the greatest congressional leader of our time. She ran her caucus with tight control. Nobody really crossed her, and she got things done. The gap is so huge that the House Republicans she’s gone up against were really never in her league.” —Neil Patel
Tone-Deaf
“I’m sick of this s***. How many people need to be murdered? How many lives torn apart? Until it actually stops? We don’t have to live like this. And we don’t have to die like this.” —Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot regarding the Colorado Springs mass shooting (“As the mayor of Chicago, you should probably sit this one out.” —Alana Mastrangelo)
And Last…
“The quest by the Democratic leadership and media to link a horrifically evil shooting at a Colorado gay club to anyone who doesn’t support a progressive social agenda is ongoing and terrible for the country. It’s a cynical game only one side plays, and it’s trash.” —Ben Shapiro
“Actual bravery: Iranian soccer players refusing to sing the anthem, and risking jail or worse. Fake bravery: Europeans threatening to wear rainbow armbands to the cheers of the media, then backing down the minute they were threatened with a yellow card.” —Ben Shapiro
Under the leadership of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Republicans will start every day in Congress by reciting a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, dumping the equivalent of holy water on the left who will no doubt protest the move.
McCarthy made the vow on Monday as the GOP is set to take back control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) exits stage left.
The House Minority Leader was nominated last week to be the next Speaker of the House. He received 188 votes compared to former Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Biggs’ (R-Ariz.) 31. He has to get 218 votes in order to clinch the position. The vote for that will be held in January.
Despite not quite taking the gavel yet, McCarthy is vowing ahead of the formal vote that things are about to change, “Next year, Republicans will start every day of Congress with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. No exceptions.”
Kevin McCarthy: Republicans Will Start Every Day of Congress with Prayer and Pledge ‘No Exceptions.’
Great start. Unite America with a prayer and a pledge..
Second plus for McCarthy. I didn't think he had the kind of guts he's showing: Republicans will start every day in the new Congress with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said.
The vow by McCarthy comes after national faith leaders joined with former President Trump, offering a prayer for the nation ahead of Election Day. At least as far as the House is concerned, those prayers appeared to have been answered.
During the National Faith and Values Prayer call, which was hosted by the American Cornerstone Institute, participants emphasized that the country must urgently turn back to God and His ways, according to Breitbart.
“If the Lord is God, we need to follow in our whole heart. … It’s time to stop living with one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the world,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins asserted during the call, speaking of the prophet Elijah’s “epic confrontation” with the prophets of Baal.
“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word,” Perkins intoned.
“I really believe that … this is the message,” he stated. Perkins prayed that the people of the country “will humble themselves, will seek Your face, [and] will turn from their wicked ways.”
According to Breitbart, Trump remarked during the call that “you can see the fingerprints of the Almighty on all of our national triumphs.”
Last year, I promised that when I became Speaker, I would remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee based on her repeated anti-semitic and anti-American remarks.
“I’ll keep that promise. One thing I have said from the very beginning is Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector. Why would we ever give him a security clearance and the secrets to America? So I will not allow him to be on Intel. You have Adam Schiff, who lied to the American public time and again. We will not allow him to be on the Intel committee either,” he stated.
“Look, Congresswoman Omar, her anti-semitic comments that have gone forward, we’re not going to allow her to be on Foreign Affairs, but we’re also going to stand up to what’s happening not just in the halls of Congress, but what’s happening to our higher education institutions, the antisemitism that’s going on these campuses and others. We’ll investigate that as well and stop this to make sure that America does have the freedom that we said we would keep, and we will stand up to it as we move forward,” McCarthy said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
The border is also going to be front and center under McCarthy who reportedly plans to visit it just days before Thanksgiving.
Headed to the Southern border this week, where I’ll share our gratitude for brave border patrol personnel and send a message to Joe Biden that a Republican majority will use every tool at our disposal—from the power of the purse to power of the subpoena—to secure the border.
“When I become Speaker, we’re going to move a hearing down on the border, and I’m going make it bipartisan on both sides. Another promise I’ll make you — I will not allow [Biden] to ignore it. As Speaker, I’ll have the meeting there. Then make them all show and see what’s happening,” he said during the first presidential cattle call for Republicans in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Since the firestorm began, Bure issued a long statement, saying, “I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do.”
(The Patriot Post) It’s not acceptable to stand for marriage as American society had always defined it before 2015. Cultural commentator Katrina Trinko recounts the latest Rainbow Mafia assault.
Candace Cameron Bure, of “Full House” and “Fuller House” fame, is speaking out about her desire to make Christmas movies that involve … wait for it … Christ.
But of course, just because the former Hallmark Christmas movie queen refused to bow the knee and pledge to make movies about LGBT couples, she’s now in a firestorm of a media controversy.
“Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank,” tweeted “One Tree Hill” actress Hilarie Burton Morgan. View article →
“Warming on a global scale started to run out of steam over 20 years ago, and the stunt can only be pulled for so long before the disconnect with reality becomes too obvious.”
(Frank Bergman – Slay) The official data used for “global warming” fearmongering has been exaggerated by up to 50 percent over the last 50 years, bombshell new evidence has revealed.
The new groundbreaking research, compiled by two atmospheric scientists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Dr. Roy Spencer and Professor John Christy, shows 50% less warming over 50 years across the eastern United States than official data claims.
The new evidence deals a major blow to the widespread use of regularly adjusted global and local surface temperature datasets showing increasingly implausible rates of warming. View article →
Congressman Matt Gaetz continues to push back on weak, RINOs like Kevin McCarthy as plans for the transfer of power are under way in the House of Representatives.
On Twitter, Gaetz suggested doing what many Americans have called for regarding the January 6th sham committee….release every second of footage.
Gaetz said, “While Kevin McCarthy has said he would disband the January 6th Select Committee, I would repurpose it. I would take over their snarky little Twitter account, and pump out 14,000 hours of video so the American people can see what really happened.”
On our first day of Republican control of the House of Representatives, we should take over the @January6thCmte and release every second of footage that will exonerate our Patriots! pic.twitter.com/VoECuiZURr
Gaetz spoke with Dr. Darren J. Beattie of Revolver News to discuss the alleged federal informants who participated in January 6th that the sham committee refuses to address.
The Gateway Pundit reported on unhinged, and now unemployed, Liz Cheney holding on to evidence, including call records.
In July 2022 TGP contributor Cara Castronuova released whistleblower documents, text messages, and audio transcripts of FBI informant James Knowles’s communications with his FBI handlers on January 6. The evidence exonerates Trump supporters and the Proud Boys of any conspiracy or planning to storm the US Capitol, to enter the US Capitol, or to overthrow official proceedings.
Antisemitism rising in America: two men arrested in New York City for plan to murder Jews, as threats increase across the country; “So many miracles:” Ukrainians tell how God helped them in dangerous situations during the Russian occupation, as relief supplies are sent to places like the recently-liberated city of Kherson; Azerbaijan becomes the first Shi’ite majority Muslim country to open an embassy in Israel; Dr. Don Colbert, author of the upcoming “Dr. Colbert’s Healthy Brain Zone,” talks to CBN’s “Healthy Living” program about steps you can take to prevent Alzheimer’s; and Pastor Sheril Leggett of Forever Grateful Ministries offers encouraging words for those who may be going through a difficult time during the Thanksgiving holiday on CBN’s “Prayer Link” program.
“The evidence for a direct vascular or heath risk from eating meat regularly is very low, to the point that there is probably no risk. You have to eat large daily amounts of processed red meat before a risk becomes measurable.”
(Paul Sacca) Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) released a study titled: “Health effects associated with consumption of unprocessed red meat: a Burden of Proof study.” The paper was published in Nature journal in October.
The scientists declared, “We found weak evidence of association between unprocessed red meat consumption and colorectal cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and ischemic heart disease. Moreover, we found no evidence of an association between unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke.” View article →
President Biden’s backers are laying the groundwork to discredit and downplay any forthcoming revelations from Hunter Biden’s laptop after House Republicans announced plans to launch a federal investigation last week.
Ron Filipkowski, a former Republican and now ardent Democrat who pledged this month that he will be “forever grateful” to President Biden for saving the country from a second Donald Trump term, issued a tweet thread Monday arguing that while he has admittedly “avoided” the Hunter Biden subject for “a long time,” there is no evidence to tie the first son’s business dealings to the president.
“It’s quite clear that Hunter was a very serious drug addict that went completely off the rails and did a lot of crazy stuff,” Filipkowski wrote. “It also seems clear that he frequently used his dad’s name and alleged connections to make money and gain access. If the point is to embarrass, humiliate, & trash Hunter, that won’t be hard. But who cares? The only thing that makes any of this relevant for a congressional inquiry is whether Joe Biden was directly involved or [benefited] financially from what Hunter was up to. That is the problem for them. On that score, the evidence is sorely lacking.”
“From what I have seen, which is a lot, they are going to have an extremely difficult time tying Hunter’s activities to Joe, and if they fail to do that, it will backfire on them to waste so much time, resources and hype on an exercise to show that Hunter was a corrupt drug addict who leveraged his family name for his own benefit,” he said.
Republican Rep. James Comer, who is the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee, and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who is expected to soon chair the Judiciary Committee, alleged at a press conference Thursday that President Biden was actively involved in overseas business dealings alongside his son Hunter.
Last month, about two dozen left-wing social media influencers were invited to the White House to learn about Biden’s accomplishments ahead of the midterm elections. Now that Republicans have retaken control of the House, many of those same influencers are downplaying an investigation into the Biden family as a “nothingburger.”
“I don’t give a flying f*ck about Hunter Biden’s laptop,” Joanne Carducci, who tweets under the handle @JoJoFromJerz, tweeted Thursday.
Carducci, who has repeatedly described the 2016 presidential election as “stolen” and routinely pushed the discredited “pee tape” claim from the infamous Steele dossier, was pictured hobnobbing with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff during the Oct. 21 event at the White House.
Scott Dworkin, who also attended the Oct. 21 event, tweeted Thursday that “no one with a brain” cares about Hunter’s laptop.
“Mueller She Wrote’s” Allison Gill, who also attended the Oct. 21 event, tweeted Friday: “BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy’s plan to tackle high food prices is to investigate Hunter Biden.”
The creators behind the anti-Trump group MeidasTouch, who were also at the Oct. 21 White House event, according to Politico, said Thursday that the investigation into Hunter and other Republican efforts “will turn Congress into a clown show.”
Occupy Democrats’ Grant Stern, who also reportedly attended the Oct. 21 event, recently called the Hunter Biden speculation “stupid” and made a joke Friday about what the laptop may contain.
During Thursday’s press conference, Comer, citing whistleblowers, asserted that the Biden family “flourished and became millionaires by simply offering access to the family.”
The Republicans released a report Thursday saying they have uncovered evidence of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., wire fraud, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, money laundering, tax evasion and other crimes.
The White House responded by accusing congressional Republicans of promoting “long-debunked conspiracy theories.”
“Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans’ top priority is to go after President Biden with politically motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories,” Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel’s office, said Thursday. “President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans’ priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge.”
The CDC started a vaccine monitoring program back at the very beginning of the COVID shot rollout in December of 2020. You might remember it; the program was called V-safe. People were asked to install the V-safe app on their smartphones and then self-report if they have any negative effects from the experimental mRNA shots, which were released to the public under an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.
A lot of people were eager to help, because world governments had scared many folks very badly over the virus. Many thought that the COVID shots were a medical miracle in late 2020. So, more than 10 million people downloaded V-safe on their smartphones, and then proceeded to get vaccinated.
That’s a huge sample size for a medical study. With 10 million people participating in the V-safe self-reporting system, it gives an extremely accurate statistical model to use when studying the 230 million Americans who have had at least one COVID shot.
Masking and social distancing should be encouraged or even mandated once more in public in order to protect people from COVID-19 and from the possibility of suffering from “Long COVID,” according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The board overseeing a southeastern Arizona county whose Republican leaders had hoped to recount all Election Day ballots on Friday delayed certifying the results of last week’s vote after hearing from a trio of conspiracy theorists who alleged that counting machines were not certified.
The three men, or some combination of them, have filed at least four cases raising similar claims before the Arizona Supreme Court since 2021 seeking to have the state’s 2020 election results thrown out. The court has dismissed all of them for lack of evidence, waiting too long after the election was certified or asking for relief that could not be granted, in increasingly harsh language.
But Tom Rice, Brian Steiner and Daniel Wood managed to persuade the two Republicans who control the Cochise County board of supervisors that their claims were valid enough for them to delay the certification until a Nov. 28 deadline.
They claimed the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission allowed certifications for testing companies to lapse, and that voided the certifications of vote tabulation equipment used across the state.
That came despite testimony from the state’s elections director that the machines and the testing company were indeed certified.
“The equipment used in Cochise County is properly certified under both federal and state laws and requirements,” state Elections Director Kori Lorick told the board. “The claims that the SLI testing labs were not properly accredited are false.”
The move is the latest drama in the Republican-heavy county in recent weeks, which started when GOP board members Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd voted to have all the ballots in last week’s election counted by hand to determine if the machine counts were accurate.
Crosby also defended a lawsuit he and Judd filed against the county elections director earlier this week seeking to force the hand-count. They dropped the case against Lisa Marra on Wednesday.
“If our presenters’ request is met by the proof that our machines are indeed legally and lawfully accredited, then indeed we should accept the results,” Crosby said. “However, if the machines have not been lawfully certificated, then the converse is also true. We cannot verify this election now.”
For newly minted Twitter CEO and owner Elon Musk, overhauling the controversy-plagued social media site is serious business. And now he says “priority #1” is removing child sexual exploitation content from the platform.
Since the firestorm began, Bure issued a long statement, saying, “I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do.”
“Warming on a global scale started to run out of steam over 20 years ago, and the stunt can only be pulled for so long before the disconnect with reality becomes too obvious.”
“The evidence for a direct vascular or heath risk from eating meat regularly is very low, to the point that there is probably no risk. You have to eat large daily amounts of processed red meat before a risk becomes measurable.”
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