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
IT HAPPENED AGAIN: Joe Biden trips as he boards Air Force One in Poland.
The symbolic final image of a trip marked by posturing, brinksmanship, more $$ for Ukraine, and the further escalation of a proxy war with Russia. pic.twitter.com/Jkir2o29mF
When there is fear in the air, banks start getting really tight with their money, and right now there is lots of fear in the air. A major credit contraction would be a nightmare scenario for the economy, and as you will see below, there is evidence that this is already starting to happen. Hopefully our leaders can find a way to calm things down, because we all remember what happened during the last financial crisis. Banks decided to substantially tighten their lending standards and that really deepened the economic downturn. So our leaders should be doing what they can to support the stability of the system, but in so many cases they end up doing just the opposite.
For example, on Wednesday U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen publicly admitted that blanket coverage of all uninsured deposits in U.S. banks is not even under consideration…
In response to a direct question about whether the Treasury would circumvent Congress to insure all deposits, Yellen replied, “I have not considered or discussed anything having to do with blanket insurance or guarantees of all deposits.”
When she made this statement, she poured even more lighter fluid on small and mid-size banks all over the country.
Wealthy individuals and large companies have already been pulling billions of dollars out of such banks, and a lot more money will inevitably be pulled out in the days ahead.
Now that these banks are bleeding deposits at an unprecedented rate, what do you think their approach to lending will be?
Needless to say, they are going to be extremely averse to taking risks at this point.
And that means that lending standards are going to be getting a lot tighter.
In response to a tweet in which Joe Biden touted the accomplishments of his administration, Elon Musk warned that “the banks are melting”.
Our banks are definitely in the process of melting, and hundreds of them could soon be in very serious jeopardy.
And just to make sure that hordes of banks will soon be teetering on the brink of disaster, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates once again this week.
As CNN’s Richard Quest has pointed out, our banks “are stuffed to the gills with these government bonds”, and every time rates go up those bonds become even less valuable…
Quest said, “Now, if inflation was your goal and your number one target, then you’d have gone 50 [basis points]. But, obviously, the overriding concern today is the banking sector. And remember, Zain, the problem with the banking sector is that all the banks are stuffed to the gills with these government bonds. Raise the interest rate, and the bond becomes less valuable. So, even today’s action at 0.25% makes things that little bit worse for the banks.”
Later, he added, “More banks are going to go out of business. More state and regional banks in the United States will need to be resolved — to use the technical phrase — they’ll be taken over, they’ll be wound up, they’ll be taken into ownership, all sorts of things.”
So is there evidence that all of this banking turmoil is starting to directly affect the behavior of U.S. consumers?
As Citi’s Paul Lejuez writes in the latest “Citi’s Credit Card Insights” report (available to professional subs), the bank’s credit card data for the 16 sub-sectors it tracks show that total spending in March wk 3 (ended 3/18/23) decreased 10.3%, a big deceleration vs March wk 2 (-6.8%), and driven by a high-single digit decline in transactions. Ex-Food, spending decreased even more, tumbling by 13.0% vs -8.1% in March wk 2.
As Lejuez notes, “This was the first week of data following the disruption within the financial sector, and we were curious if it might have had an impact on the consumer. It sure did” and as Citi goes on to note, the third week of March, and the first week after America’s regional banks imploded, “was the biggest decline in total retail spending we have seen since the pandemic began (April 2020).”
As economic activity slows down, companies all over the nation will be forced to slash payrolls.
We have already been witnessing a tsunami of layoffs in recent months, and it appears that this tsunami is gathering even more momentum.
For example, Walmart has just announced that it will be giving the axe to hundreds of e-commerce fulfillment workers…
Hundreds of workers at five U.S. Walmart facilities that fulfill e-commerce orders are being asked to find jobs within 90 days at other company locations, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters.
About 200 workers at Pedricktown, New Jersey, and hundreds of others at Fort Worth, Texas; Chino, California; Davenport, Florida; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania were let go due to a reduction or elimination in evening and weekend shifts, the spokesperson said.
And Accenture just announced that it will be laying off a whopping 19,000 workers worldwide in the months ahead…
Professional services company Accenture plans to cut 19,000 jobs worldwide over the next 18 months in order to trim costs amid the tumultuous economic environment.
Most of the cuts will impact those working in the company’s non-billable corporate roles, Accenture said in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Even Disney is being forced to slim down. In fact, we are being told that the coming wave of Disney layoffs in April will be a “bloodbath”…
With Disney’s April 3 shareholder meeting — a virtual affair this year — less than two weeks away, some clarity is emerging about the company’s plans to reduce staff and cut costs.
Insiders tell Deadline that multiple rounds of cuts are being prepared. The first one is being targeted for late March, likely next week, we hear. (March 30 or March 31 have been floated as possible dates, but that has not been confirmed.) According to sources, there will be a big wave in late April, described as “the big one” or a “bloodbath,” when a large portion of the cuts are expected to come.
Needless to say, this isn’t normal.
We haven’t seen anything like this since 2008, and every month this crisis just seems to escalate even more.
You know that things are bad when one of the largest employment websites in the entire world starts conducting mass layoffs…
Job search platform Indeed announced on Wednesday that it plans to lay off 2,200 employees, or roughly 15% of its staff.
Indeed CEO Chris Hyams said in a letter shared with employees that the cuts come from nearly every team at Indeed and Indeed Flex, noting that the decisions were carefully made with human resources, the legal department, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging teams.
As economic activity slows down, it is inevitable that many more Americans will suddenly lose their jobs.
Just hope that it doesn’t happen to you.
We have been anticipating that a major economic meltdown was coming, and now it is here.
Unfortunately, most Americans still assume that our leaders know exactly what they are doing, but the truth is that way too often they are taking actions that are making our problems even worse.
***It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “End Times” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book I have written six other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
Matthew 16:18 promises that Jesus Christ is building His church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Church history bears witness to this fact, as the saints in every age have stood for the gospel of God’s grace. In this message, Dr. Stephen Nichols considers what it means to stand firm with the saints of all ages, looking to many examples from history of how the people of God have held true to the faith even when it cost them greatly.
It’s a question you probably don’t hear enough because once you know the answer, you realize how critical apologetics is to having a grounded faith and being able to answer the questions of why you believe what you believe.
The simple Webster’s definition for apologetics are as follows: “a systematic argumentative discourse.” More specifically, Webster continues with: a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity.
Simply put, apologetics is a defense for the Christian faith. I Peter 3:15 states, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” That last portion is also a critical part of apologetics. While debate may occur within conversation, apologetics is not a weapon to wield with insult, disrespect, or scorn. Giving a defense for why you believe what you believe is an opportunity to present your case to support the Truth.
Lee Strobel, a popular apologist and author of A Case for Christ and many other books, says about his own experience with the defense of Christ and his conversion from atheism: “In short, I didn’t become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing. Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take.”
There is always faith that must be a part of the step to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, but God does not discount the evidence for who He is, for what He does, and for what He can do. Finding out this evidence and building a databank of research and information goes a long way in undergirding the walk of faith with logic and rationale. In a nutshell and in an unscholarly way of putting it, this is apologetics.
Strobel also states, “All Christians should be able to articulate reasons why they believe what they believe – not just for the sake of our spiritually confused friends, but also so that we ourselves will have a deeper and more confident faith.”
This confidence comes in knowing that we have chosen—yes, by faith but also by evidence—to follow the almighty God for reasons that are founded, proven, and true. To find truth, one must investigate, analyze, test, and make a determination.
Can you answer confidently why you believe Jesus rose from the dead, and can you do so without citing “the Bible says so”? How about evidence that God created the world versus the theory of evolution? Again, can you pose a quality case for your belief in Creation without reverting to Genesis 1:1 as your main point of evidence?
It is important, yes, without argument, to know your Scripture and to take it as the authority. However, when you are faced with defending why you believe what you believe, citing one source is a potential problem of bias, not to mention if the person you’re in conversation with does not believe in the authority of the Scriptures as the Word of God—and perhaps doesn’t believe God exists—the Bible itself will hold little argumentative influence for them. It will be quickly discounted as a book of myths and legends, perhaps a book of good ideas, but it will not be counted as scientific or authoritative.
This is why it is essential to educate yourself on the other evidence God has provided us through science, mathematics, archaeology, logic, and historical documentation, among other things. Using reason and common sense can take us systematically to the truth of God’s existence, proof of Him as a Creator, evidence for the resurrection, and so much more.
So what are good resources to learn how to defend your faith? There are some great ones out there that you can tap into, and you don’t need to be a scholar to read and understand them.
1. A Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, is a great first book. In it, Strobel provides personal testimony of his journey from hard-core atheism to a deeply committed faith in Jesus Christ. As a journalist, evidence was key for Strobel, and he embarked on a journey to discount Jesus’ authority and, instead, built his life on teaching the truths he found along the way. You can also check out his other books, including The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator.
2. If reading is tough for you, check out Sean McDowell’s YouTube channel or website: seanmcdowell.org. Dr. Sean McDowell is an Associate Professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. Aside from having written over twenty books, he has a growing channel on YouTube that covers a multitude of topics. His approach is not with the intent to convince or proselytize; rather, he asks the hard questions of all his guests and has reasonable discussions. He doesn’t shy away from tough topics like “Can you trust the Old Testament,” “10 Toughest Objections to Christianity,” “Archaeological Finds for the Gospels,” and more.
3. Another great resource book is The Big Book of Christian Apologetics: An A to Z Guide by Normal L. Geisler. This book is encyclopedic as it presents various objections to Christianity, discusses areas of the Bible that can be challenged and may create difficulties as you ground your faith, and gives insights into other philosophies. It’s no small volume, but it’s a must-have book if you want a resource guide written by an expert apologist.
Being able to answer the tough questions is important not only in conversations with others but in our own faith journey. The difficult times will come. The doubts will rise. We will find ourselves challenging our own decision to follow Christ, and without a viable defense, many of us will find our faith and our devotion floundering.
As culture continues to blur the lines, these defenses become even more important. When your family, your friends, and your children ask you, “yes, but why do you believe in God?” we must be able to present a case that isn’t summarized in “because the Bible says so.”
In the end, learning to build a defense for your faith is a lifetime learning process. It’s also an exciting one! As you dig into the evidence that God has infused in every part of this world, its history, its science, and other areas, you will find your faith bolstered by the framework He has given to us. The Scriptures will become more alive, definitive, and authoritative. Apologetics is important—no, they are critical. Take time to learn!
How a Desire to Be Sanctified Testifies to Our Justification
Good Morning,
While it may seem odd to take all three of these at once after giving so much space to justification there is a sense in which it is helpful to see the way the fruits of regeneration brought about by the application of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believer work themselves out in time. Each benefit aids us to better understand not only why effectually calling is effectual, but to know that those who claim Christ as their own are by necessity moved in a way that if there is no real change of mind and body it proves their confession to be one of Judas or Alexander the Coppersmith. To quote Matthew 5:14, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”.
Part of the work of the keys of the kingdom possessed by elders in the church is to examine those seeking membership, either by transfer or by a blessedly new confession of faith. The purpose of the interview is two-fold: 1) It is to protect the flock of Christ from those who may enter in under false pretenses (see Simon Magus), and 2) to protect the individual themselves from making a vow they cannot keep (see Simon Magus). Our form of government in the ARP in Ch. 4.5 notes:
Applicants received by profession of faith into church membership shall be examined by the Session in private with regard to a knowledge of their spiritual need, their faith in Jesus Christ, and their intention to be obedient to Him.
This responsibility is a serious one. To help us to better understand what that all means we have before us today three Q/A’s: …
The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. (Psalm 138:8)
He who has begun will carry on the work which is being wrought within my soul. The Lord is concerned about everything that concerns me. All that is now good, but not perfect, the Lord will watch over, preserve, and carry out to completion. This is a great comfort. I could not perfect the work of grace myself. Of that I am quite sure, for I fail every day and have only held on so long as I have because the Lord has helped me. If the Lord were to leave me, all my past experience would go for nothing, and I should perish from the way. But the Lord will continue to bless me. He will perfect my faith, my love, my character, my lifework. He will do this because He has begun a work in me. He gave me the concern I feel, and, in a measure, He has fulfilled my gracious aspirations, He never leaves a work unfinished; this would not be for His glory, nor would it be like Him. He knows how to accomplish His gracious design, and though my own evil nature and the world and the devil all conspire to hinder Him, I do not doubt His promise. He will perfect that which concerneth me, and I will praise Him forever. Lord, let Thy gracious work make some advance this day!
“Correct me, LORD, but only with justice — not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.” Jeremiah 10:24
Thought
God is love! God is also holy and righteous! If he did not lovingly and tenderly correct us, none of us could survive before his awesome perfection. Yet our God has chosen to give us his undeserved mercy and kindness as he corrects us and molds us to be more like him.
Prayer
Holy and righteous Father, I truly do want to become more like you in my daily character; but please, dear Father, humble and correct me gently for you know how small I am compared to you. In the name of my Savior, your Son Jesus, I pray. Amen.
“Finally, receive your power from the Lord and from his mighty strength.” Ephesians 6:10 (GW)
Ever had one of those days when you felt as though you had nothing left in you; no motivation, no passion, no desire to move forward? Feelings of worthlessness begin to surface and it seems as though you are headed backwards instead of forward. What happened to the fervor and the passion?
If this is you today, I have a word of encouragement for you. The Lord wants you to know that He is still working. Sometimes handling life’s challenges can drain us of our power and our drive to keep going.
Some of us are just in need of good refreshment. I am reminded of the passage in 1 Kings 19 wherein Elijah was on the run from Jezebel after defeating 850 prophets of Baal. This was a great victory for Elijah and other great feats followed. What caught my attention in this story however was that Elijah became fearful when Jezebel sent him a note about what she would do to him. She didn’t come to him face to face, she sent words. On that note, what has the enemy been speaking to you that has you sidetracked?
Elijah came to rest under a tree and prayed that he might die. Upon falling asleep, he was visited by the Angel of the Lord. Elijah was given bread and water and told to eat because the journey ahead of him was great. That spoke volumes to me.
As Christians, we need to stay connected to our power source. When our phone dies or our battery looks low, the first thing we do is connect to the power source. Why not do the same spiritually? Just like a battery needs to be recharged by being plugged into its power source, so do we as children of God. Our feelings and emotions begin to get out of control when we are not connected to our source of power. When I say plug in and recharge, I am referring to our need as believers to fast, pray, and spend time in the presence of the Lord. Find the time to reconnect today. Be strengthened; you have not lost your fire and passion; you are just running low on spiritual fuel. Finally my brethren, receive your power from the Lord and from his mighty strength.
Father, I thank you for the power and the strength that you provide us. I pray that we will not take lightly what you have made available to us. May we be recharged daily so that we can accomplish the works you have given us to do. In Jesus name Amen
By Mary Pinckney Used by Permission From: Be Attitudes: A Devotional Journey To a Healthier and Happier You
Knesset passes law to shield prime minister from court-ordered leave of absence Israel’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law preventing the Supreme Court from declaring a sitting premier unfit to serve and thus forcing him to take a leave of absence. The bill, an amendment to Basic Law: The Government, passed its second and third readings after a long debate by a vote of 61 to 47.
Arabic road signs in Germany Europe seems determined to go all the way down the road to the end of the nation state.
Huge explosion at Texas chemical plant A huge explosion at a chemical manufacturing plant in Texas was caught on video Wednesday afternoon, sparking a blaze that sent black smoke into the sky before being extinguished. The incident happened in Pasadena, outside of Houston, at a plant operated by the chemical multinational INEOS,
Bomb threat made against NY court hearing Trump case A bomb threat was made against a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday just before a hearing on a $250 million lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, with criminal charges possibly coming soon in another case.
“Concerning”: Myocarditis Diagnoses Spiked In Military in 2021, New Data Show Diagnoses of myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, jumped 130.5 percent in 2021 when compared to the average from the years 2016 to 2020, according to data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED). The data was downloaded by a whistleblower and presented to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Myocarditis is a serious condition that can lead to death.
Nationwide Recall Issued For Frozen Strawberries at Major Retailers Following Hepatitis A Outbreak A nationwide recall was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recall affects frozen strawberries that are potentially linked to a Hepatitis A outbreak and have been sold across various retailers. In all cases, the affected individuals reportedly consumed frozen organic strawberries. … brand names in stores, including Costco, Aldi, KeHE, Vital Choice Seafood, and PCC Community Markets
China Gives US Advice On Ukraine After Xi, Putin Pledge To Shape New World Order More important are the broader implications of the two ‘dear friends’ pledging to shape a new world order and signing multiple pacts on economic, technological, and strategic cooperation. These were the words captured in a Reuters headline Wednesday… “China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin set their sights on shaping a new world order …
Is there a Biblical imperative requiring civil disobedience? Moshe Feiglin weighs in Feiglin acknowledged that the obligation to protest was limited. “Protests should not be trying to destroy the state,” he said. “That would drag the society down into anarchy. The protest should not try to erase the concept of law and order or exchange the regime that was established democratically. Protests should be trying to fix without trying to destroy the state.”As a Biblical example, Feiglin pointed to the revolt of Korach.
Strong M6.5 earthquake hits Argentina at intermediate depth A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.5 hit Jujuy, Argentina at 16:00 UTC on March 22, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 209 km (130 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.4 at a depth of 220 km (136 miles).
More than 700 000 people lost power as heavy rainfall and strong winds hit California, U.S. Southern California faces a barrage of extreme weather as record-breaking rainfall, powerful wind gusts, and widespread power outages impact the region. Air travel has also been disrupted, and a man lost his life in Portola Valley when a tree fell on his sewer truck. While the torrential downpour provides relief from the long-term drought, it brings additional challenges, including flooding, flight cancellations, and complications for communities in the mountains still recovering from recent snowstorms.
Musk’s Twitter is a haven for antisemitic propaganda, study shows With antisemitic tweets more than doubling and the slur Kike making a comeback since Elon Musk took over the popular social network, we’ve reached out to Twitter for a response, and all we got in return was a poop emoji
European Spring? Germany Braces For Major Strikes While France Burns The “winter of discontent” that has been sweeping across Europe has now escalated into a “spring of discontent,” with strikes and protests set to spread from France, Greece, and other surrounding countries to Germany.
Amnesty International Admits Ukraine is Using Children as Human Shields Amnesty International has admitted that Ukraine is using children and other civilians as human shields in its war against Russia, launching attacks from populated areas and turning schools, hospitals, and homes into military outposts; all things that Amnesty International says constitute a violation of humanitarian law.
7 Children Paralyzed by Polio Virus Derived From New Gates-Funded Polio Vaccine Seven children were paralyzed by vaccine-derived polio linked to the new nOPV2 polio vaccine developed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which on Thursday announced the news.
Blocked Gov’t Report Finds Fluoride Lowers Kids’ IQ, Case Heads to Court …following a lengthy court battle fought by the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), the conclusive report was finally released on March 15, 2023, and is the culmination of a multi-year systematic review of fluoride’s impact on the developing brain. Resolving that there is no safe exposure to toxic fluoride, the meta-analysis confirmed and strengthened findings in two earlier drafts in 2019 and 2020, with external peer-reviewers unanimously agreeing that prenatal and early-life fluoride exposure reduces IQ in children.
Outrage As A New Proposed Bill In The Knesset In Israel Would Send Christians To Jail For Witnessing To Jews About Salvation In Jesus Christ …Benjamin Netanyahu’s 5th term as prime minister of Israel got off to a rocky start, and so far has stayed there. Now comes the news that 2 members of his government are pushing a bill that would send Christians to jail for telling a Jew how to get saved. And just like that, we are back in the book of Acts. Why is this happening? Because the Church Age is coming to a close, and all the world is preparing itself to receive Antichrist and his coming 7-year kingdom.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Ban, Says There’s No Right to Abortion The Oklahoma Supreme Court has upheld the state’s abortion ban that saves babies from abortions. Instead of striking down the measure, the state’s highest court clarified that abortions should be allow in extremely rare cases to save the life of the mother — something the pro-life movement has always supported.
US government diagnosing chickens with bird flu using fraudulent PCR tests, then slaughtering them There is another engineered plandemic taking place, this time against U.S. poultry. According to the government, avian flu, or bird flu, is sweeping across chicken and turkey farms, which means officials must slaughter these birds in order to keep people from eating their meat and eggs – even though cooked meat and eggs are admittedly safe for consumption.
“A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained.” —Joseph Story (1833)
Bernie Sanders berates the company’s CEO for its big price hike on the coronavirus vaccine.
Nate Jackson
We’re well aware that the COVID vaccines have become a tar baby. It seems as if there’s hardly a quicker way to either end a conversation or send it into a heated dispute than to bring them up. There’s also no faster way to a “fact-check” than to post something about them on social media. The news is that Moderna’s CEO appeared before a Senate committee yesterday.
Everyone knows the name Pfizer. It’s the pharmaceutical company with all the money and all the advertisements, and a majority of COVID vaccines given to the American population came from Pfizer. Yet Moderna was actually first out of the gate with its version, which also has proven a bit more effective and durable than either Pfizer’s or Johnson & Johnson’s. Collectively, Americans have taken more than 250 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine.
None of the vaccines, by the way, are as effective as we were promised in 2020 and 2021. Neither are they as effective or durable as natural immunity, though until recently that was not even allowed to be considered by the thought police and the tyrannical mandaters. The same goes for any talk of side effects.
Donald Trump deserves a share of the credit for initiating Operation Warp Speed, which aided in the quick development of these vaccines. It’s definitely ironic that the most vigorous opponents of these vaccines tend to be his most devoted supporters, though we can thank Democrats for so thoroughly politicizing the vaccines.
In any case, this story isn’t meant to relitigate all that. Take the vaccine if you want. Don’t take it if you don’t want. This is America.
This story is about how Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday that his company is perfectly justified in raising the price of its vaccine from $26 to $130 per jab (though it’ll be $0 for the uninsured or underinsured). “We are losing economies of scale,” he explained. “We must deal with supply chain complexity, and we must assume the wastage risk and cost that the U.S. government used to assume.”
It is true that the government will no longer be buying most vaccines and that Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J will soon compete only in the private sector. It’s also true that each company invested in years of research and development to be able to develop these vaccines as quickly as they did. As Bancel put it, “We made these investments before most people had heard about mRNA.” Recouping and profiting from investments is what capitalism is all about, especially for a company that reported losses of $747 million in 2020. That turned to a net profit of $12.2 billion in 2021, thanks to taxpayer money.
Moderna argues that it gave the government a pretty sweet deal — better than Pfizer did — though Moderna also took at least $900 million from the government for development and Pfizer did not because, as CEO Albert Bourla noted in September 2020, “When you get money from someone, that always comes with strings.” You don’t say.
As if to illustrate that point, the only reason Bancel appeared before the Senate is that the committee’s chairman, Bernie Sanders, hauled him there as “a poster child for corporate greed.” Sanders’s entire goal was to demand answers for the price increase while scolding a capitalist for the cameras. “We are looking at an unprecedented amount of corporate greed, and that is certainly true with Moderna,” Sanders said. “While Moderna may wish to rewrite history, it is widely acknowledged that both Moderna and the NIH [National Institutes of Health] created this vaccine together.”
It’s unclear why Sanders never mentioned Trump.
What is clear is that Democrats are still playing both sides. Just as they promised never to take a vaccine Trump had anything to do with creating, they then mandated that vaccine, ruining public trust. Now senators are decrying “corporate greed” while the Biden administration is working on a plan to financially “relieve” Moderna of any liability regarding patent violations during development of the vaccine.
No wonder pretty well no one likes pharmaceutical companies. If they’re not the literal villains in the movies or the crony capitalists fleecing taxpayers, they’re the ones we all like to gripe about for charging us too much for medication we need, costing us either directly out of pocket or via far higher insurance premiums. That latter factor is why it’s almost hilarious that Bancel promised consumers wouldn’t pay anything out of pocket.
Even Democrat Senator Ed Markey understands that. If people “can afford” the higher price, he complained, “it’s only because insurance premiums are going to be going up for them and for Americans across the country.” If only Markey and his Democrat pals always understood such basic economic principles.
As for pharmaceutical companies, how many lives have been saved or improved by their work? Though leftists may wish it, these companies are not charities. They’re for-profit companies that have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. Saving and improving lives isn’t cheap, and it’s also not wrong to reap a profit for providing such valuable products.
How much is justified or fair? And are there really any good guys in this story?
TikTok before Congress, Fed interest hike, USA Today erases women, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
TikTok before Congress: Is a TikTok ban coming? That is clearly what TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is worried about as he comes to testify before Congress today. Bipartisan support has been growing to address one of the biggest threats to national security in recent years. It’s no secret that TikTok is effectively a massive spy organization for China, sucking up gobs of user data while at the same time fueling culturally and socially destructive agendas. On Thursday, Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is expected to be inundated with questions regarding his company’s long practice of violating Americans’ privacy rights. While TikTok is currently and deservedly in the U.S. government’s crosshairs, other Big Tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter need to be held to account for the same practices.
Interest hike: On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve did what many economists anticipated and raised the interest rate another quarter percentage point. This represents the ninth rate hike since the Fed began its effort to counter 40-year-high inflation. The Fed’s ultimate goal is to see inflation drop back down to 2%, though recent bank collapses appear to have raised concerns that may result in a pause for any more interest rate hikes in the near future. The benchmark interest rate has now risen to 4.75%-5%.
Several GOP-run states pulling out of ERIC: The purportedly non-partisan Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is anything but, according to a growing number of Republican-run states that are dumping the organization that cleans up voter rolls. Half a dozen GOP states charge ERIC with a deep partisan bias favoring Democrats, as they claim the organization has refused to respond to their desired reforms. While ERIC does seek to clean up voter rolls, it also pushes hard for more voter registration, including requiring states to give notice to citizens who aren’t registered. Republicans contend that ERIC is ignoring their growing concerns over greater transparency and accountability. The problem is there is currently no other national organization that exists to help states cross-check with other states in keeping their voter rolls up to date. So far, six Republican-led states have canceled membership in ERIC.
USA Today erases women … again: Clearly intent on pushing fiction as fact, USA Today has included in its annual “Women of the Year” list of honorees Minnesota Democrat State Representative Leigh Finke. Finke is a man who identifies as a woman and is the first openly “transgender” individual to be elected to Minnesota’s state legislature. This is now the second time USA Today has honored a man as a woman of the year. Last year, the Leftmedia rag honored Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, another man who identifies as a woman. Obviously, USA Today has embraced the view that repeating a lie long enough will eventually cause people to believe it is the truth.
The Misinformation Pulitzers: Speaking of bad journalism, for five years in a row the Pulitzer Prize has gone to “journalists” who have peddled misinformation. From The New York Times and The Washington Post patting themselves on the back over coverage of the Russia/Trump collusion hoax to Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project fiction, the motive behind the Pulitzer has never been more transparent. It has become little more than another Leftmedia propaganda tool designed to put a veneer of legitimacy on blatantly misleading reporting. In a sense, the Pulitzer has become the prize for recognizing those who have been the most successful in peddling lies to the American public.
Stanford puts DEI administrator on leave: The latest development in the fallout over Stanford University’s poor handling of guest speaker Kyle Duncan, a federal judge who was incessantly heckled by students and then effectively reprimanded by DEI administrator Tirien Steinbach for daring to show up to speak, is news that Steinbach has been put on leave. Furthermore, Stanford Law Dean Jenny Martinez released a letter criticizing the students who disrupted the speech, adding that the school would mandate an educational program for students on free speech and academic freedom. To Martinez’s credit, she states, “I believe that the commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion actually means that we must protect free expression of all views.” She adds, “Enforcement of university policies against disruption of speakers is necessary to ensure the expression of a wide range of viewpoints.”
Headlines
Bombshell 2018 letter undermines Michael Cohen’s claims in Trump case (Daily Wire)
“Transgender” woman finishes in first place at New York City cycling event, sparks outrage (Fox News)
“Derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny”: West Texas A&M University president cancels student drag show, issues fiery rebuke of drag (Daily Wire)
“I just want to feel like myself,” tearfully admits America’s most famous “trans kid” Jazz Jennings (PJ Media)
Woke diversity training helps soldiers feel “included,” military officials say (Free Beacon)
Kidney transplant controller wants to distribute human organs based on “equity” (The Federalist)
Child mortality is rising at the fastest rate in 50 years (The Hill)
And we MEAN it this time! Earth “nearing point of no return,” greenhouse gas emissions must be cut (NY Post)
America is being hit by a huge surge in blackouts — and it’s only going to get worse (Insider)
CNN has smallest weekly primetime audience in advertiser-coveted demo in over 30 years (Fox News)
“Satire”: Democrats vow to arrest as many political opponents as it takes to defeat fascism (Babylon Bee)
Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s utter dismissal of legitimate questions is a new low for the office.
Douglas Andrews
Just wait. Pretty soon we’ll be told by 51 “senior intelligence officials” that official bank records are nothing more than Russian disinformation.
During yesterday’s briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre abjectly dodged a polite, measured, and legitimate question from Fox News’s Peter Doocy about the Biden family’s lucrative connections to a Chinese energy company.
“House Oversight says they’ve got bank records showing a Chinese energy company paying three Biden family members through a third party,” Doocy began. “What were they paid for?”
Jean-Pierre’s response represented a new low for the White House press secretary’s office: “Look, I, I’m just not going to respond to that from here. Look, we have heard from House Republicans for years and years and years, um, how, uh, how — the inaccuracies and lies when it comes to this issue. And, I don’t even [know] where to begin to even answer that question because, again, it’s been lies and lies and inaccuracy for the past, uh, couple of years, and I’m just not going to get into it from here.”
The payments Doocy referenced, which amounted to some $1.3 million, were made to three Biden family members — Hunter, brother James, and daughter-in-law Hallie — a few months after Joe Biden left office in 2017 as Barack Obama’s vice president. Nate Jackson detailed that last Friday. (Too bad Doocy didn’t ask KJP a follow-up question about “One-Eye” the FBI tipster.)
Jean-Pierre, it’s safe to assume, has been told by her boss’s handlers to double down on the president’s earlier denial about the payments. On Friday, during a very brief Q&A on the White House’s south lawn, a reporter asked him if he had any reaction to House Oversight Committee Republicans’ memo “about your family dealings.”
To which Biden replied: “My family dealings?”
The reporter gamely provided some additional details: “Yes, revealing that Hunter Biden’s business associate sent over a million dollars to three of your family members?”
“That’s not true,” Biden lied said.
But this denial is interesting because Hunter Biden’s legal team had confirmed and defended the legitimacy of the payments a day earlier.
Clearly, the Biden Crime Family needs to get its lies straight.
As for the truth, we understand that Team Biden can’t handle it. But even a whopper would be better than an unwillingness to even respond to legitimate questions about the first family’s influence peddling with our nation’s foremost geopolitical foe. After all, it’s not as if House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer doesn’t have the receipts.
As a reminder, Jean-Pierre’s post is the same one that’s been held by serious journalists and communications professionals such as Larry Speakes, Marlin Fitzwater, Ari Fleischer, Tony Snow, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kayleigh McEnany. But even lefty water-carriers like Dee Dee Myers, George Stephanopoulos, Mike McCurry, Robert Gibbs, and Jay Carney at least tried to answer tough questions.
Not KJP the Quota Hire, though. Jean-Pierre does indeed check three massively important leftist identity boxes — she’s black, she’s a woman, and she’s a homosexual — yet despite winning that woke trifecta, she’s in way over her head as press secretary.
Compounding matters is the fact that her boss is the most corrupt, dishonest, and dementia-addled president in American history.
Where’s the rest of the White House press corps, you ask? Sitting on their hands, and staring at their shoes, and doing whatever they can to cover for Karine Jean-Pierre.
Don’t feel sorry for Doocy, though. It could be worse. A lot worse. He could instead be Today News Africa reporter Simon Ateba, who hasn’t been called upon by KJP for seven months.
So much for diversity, equity, and inclusion among the White House press corps.
“You’re making a mockery of the First Amendment,” he told Jean-Pierre recently. “This is not China. This is not Russia.”
Not only are they turning cities into crime-ridden hellholes, but they’re turning the country into a banana republic.
Emmy Griffin
With the recent hoopla surrounding the potential indictment of Donald Trump, one of the standout comments came from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. While castigating this threat of arrest of a former president and political rival of the current president, DeSantis also made a very pertinent point:
I do know this: The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor. And so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors — they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety. He has downgraded over 50% of the felonies to misdemeanors. He says he doesn’t want to even have jail time for the vast, vast majority of crimes. And what we’ve seen in Manhattan is we’ve seen the crime rate go up, and we’ve seen citizens become less safe.
The Washington Post was quick to point out that “Soros-backed,” or in this case “Soros-funded,” could mean many things. “One of the useful characteristics of the term, certainly, is its vagueness,” the Post’s analyst huffed. “That suffix ‘-backed’ can mean all sorts of things. It can mean, for example, that Soros gave money to a group that then backed a candidate who then won — as it does in the case of [Alvin] Bragg.”
This ridiculous attempt to smear conservatives and acquit leftists will not do. Why would George Soros give money to a DA he didn’t think would back his “reform-minded” criminal justice agenda?
Alvin Bragg — the Manhattan DA in question — is, in fact, a perfect archetype of a Soros-backed DA. Soros is one of the billionaire class with socialist leanings. He has used his power, wealth, and influence to put law enforcers in office who are more intent on pursuing political narratives and social agendas than upholding the Rule of Law and meting out justice.
Soros himself has publicly explained his philosophy on criminal justice, which to put succinctly is to focus on reform rather than punishment of the criminal. What does that entail, exactly? Well, in his worldview, institutions are set up to target people of color or of lower income (i.e., critical theory). Putting district attorneys in positions of power can help intervene in this injustice by, for example, eliminating bail, shortening sentences, and in general castigating society for making these criminals criminals.
As this writer has stated before, this perspective is a gross misunderstanding of the human heart and human condition. The Judeo-Christian worldview — that all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that it is by God’s grace that we do any good at all — is the actual truth. This can be seen by the fact that people who are rich and/or in the racial majority are just as likely to break the law and create injustice as those who are poor and/or in the racial minority. There is already a balancing of scales in the injustice department. All humans are able to commit crime.
The true injustice is that those who have committed crimes are not stopped, that victims of their depravity are given no reprieve, and that more victims are created. Under the tender mercies of DA Bragg, New York City has seen a rise in crime. If criminals know they can get away with their acts of injustice, they will continue to do wrong. We have seen this in California under George Gasćon and Chesa Boudin, in Chicago under Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and in so many other cities around the country.
Alvin Bragg is simply fulfilling the other aspect of this agenda. He is, as DeSantis stated, weaponizing the justice system to mete out a political agenda. This is as banana republic as Russia and Communist China.
A fair system of justice is a cornerstone of what makes America great. If this indictment goes through, that standard goes out the window. Is this really the vision of America that George Soros has in mind? If so, that is all we need to know about him and his supporters.
Even the famed biologist and God denier understands this fundamental truth, and he’s saying as much in unequivocal terms.
Douglas Andrews
With a simply uttered sentence to British journalist Piers Morgan, famed biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins sent those in the shamefully lucrative transgender industry to their fainting couches.
Said Dawkins: “As a biologist, there are two sexes, and that’s all there is to it.”
That’s all there is to it. Now if we can only get the guy to admit that God created us, male and female, in His image.
Morgan’s discussion with Dawkins had been focused on a list of “problematic” words published by the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Language Project, a collection of do-gooding leftist academics looking to impose speech-stifling political correctness upon the public square.
The EBB’s proposed list contains troublingly gendered words such as male, female, man, woman, mother, father, and others that the organization considers to be “harmful terminology.” Instead, it’d like to see us adopt language like “sperm-producing” and “egg-producing” and the roll-right-off-the-tongue “XY/XX individual” to avoid reinforcing “societally imposed ideas of a sex binary” (read: to avoid reinforcing the fundamental scientific truth that there are two sexes).
Morgan certainly seemed to agree with Dawkins. “I mean, it’s incontrovertible,” he said. “There’s no scientific doubt about this.” Nevertheless, he lamented, a “small group of people have been quite successful actually in reshaping vast swathes of the way society talks and is allowed to talk.”
That’s when Dawkins spoke out. “It’s bullying,” he said, referring to the way these science-denying Rainbow Mafiosi had demonized the likes of J.K. Rowling and others. “They’ve stood up to it. But it’s very upsetting the way this tiny minority of people has managed to capture the discourse and really talk errant nonsense.”
Our Emmy Griffin has written about Rowling’s plight, noting that she’s refused to back down to the transgender activists. “She is an example,” Griffin writes, “of a woman using her platform to properly shame those who would endanger other women and children through their dangerous and ‘progressive’ agenda.”
Clearly, Rowling is also an example of the sort of person Dawkins feels compelled to defend. He continued: “There are two sexes. You can talk about gender if you wish, and that’s subjective.”
When Morgan pointed out that there are those who claim there are “a hundred genders,” Dawkins said dismissively, “I’m not interested in that.”
Neither are we, except insofar as those who embrace this science denialism try to impose it upon the rest of us and groom our children.
All of this, of course, as our Mark Alexander has repeatedly pointed out, is an effort by the Left to appeal to the hearts and minds of women, especially in the voting booth. He writes:
When it comes to support for the homosexual agenda, Democrat Party strategists believe female voters are emotionally incontinent dupes and are thus too irrational to discern and reject emotive political bait. And a majority of women have proven those strategists correct, demonstrating themselves to be the most dependable and easily swayed of the collective constituencies that Demos fire up ahead of general elections. Thus, promoting the homosexual agenda, much as the abortion agenda, attracts female voters.
It’s one thing to try to attract voters. It’s another thing to do so by demonizing others and propagating lies from the pits of hell. Ultimately, we must engage and defeat the transgender industrialists no matter how loudly they shriek.
“They believe their cause is that of righteousness,” Griffin writes, “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.”
Are Stanford and other admissions departments so obsessed with DEI credentials that civility and rational thought never enter the picture?
Jack DeVine
As a general rule, it’s a good idea to be wary of anecdotes. Last week, I saw a few snippets about students at the Stanford School of Law behaving badly at a lecture by a Trump-appointed conservative judge. I assumed that the reports were probably true, but also exaggerated and one-sided — like most politically tainted news these days.
Not so. On Monday of this week, The Wall Street Journal carried a blow-by-blow narrative of the event, as recounted by the invited speaker himself, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Judge Duncan’s account offers a disturbing inside look at the mentality and demeanor of both students and faculty at one of America’s most prestigious universities. An invited speaker, he was subjected to a torrent of well-orchestrated contemptuous jeering, vile insults, painted faces, signs and banners, foot stomping, and constant disruption; and when he asked for help in quieting the unruly mob, an associate dean added fuel to the fire.
These were students at Stanford Law — the crème de la crème, America’s future. Their behavior, with the evident support of their Law School leadership, raises serious questions about not just that institution but higher education across the board.
Stanford exudes excellence. It’s the university that competes at the highest levels in a full range of NCAA sports, fielding men’s and women’s teams comprising actual student athletes. Over the years, Stanford has built a reputation as a serious-minded academic institution whose primary claim to college lunacy is a marching band of musicians who wear goofy hats and run around in a mad scramble between formations.
So, what happened to this batch? One would assume that successful candidates for admission to Stanford Law would arrive well-founded in respect, civility, academic curiosity, and overall maturity. But maybe not. Could it be that Stanford’s admissions department is so obsessed with DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) credentials that civilized behavior never enters the picture?
Or worse, could it be that Stanford Law students have simply become so fully indoctrinated in woke thinking that they’ve become angry, righteous activists? If so, that brings us to the question of the program’s leadership — and notably to Tirien Steinbach, the associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
When Judge Duncan asked for help from the Law School staff to quell the uprising, she took to the podium with her own prepared remarks, posing the rhetorical question, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” (Translation: Freedom of speech is fine, but are this judge’s harmful views really worth listening to?) The hoots and cheers of the rowdy students answered her question.
After another fruitless stab at continuing his presentation, Judge Duncan was escorted from the room under the protection of two U.S. marshals.
A few days later, Jenny Martinez, Stanford’s Law School dean, and Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavinge issued a formal apology to Judge Duncan — but their apology in turn was met by another well-planned student protest. Steinbach is on leave.
This entire episode begs the question about Stanford’s School of Law: Who’s running the place? What are the standards and expectations of students, and how are these being communicated and enforced? Is the associate dean for DEI still employed? Based on this event, she certainly seems unsuited to be dean of anything, anywhere. And how about the students? Do they face any consequences? Maybe a round of “Fs” for the course?
Of greater concern are the implications for institutions of higher learning (I use the term loosely) coast to coast. We’re tempted to deduce from last week’s student behavior at Stanford that we could expect nothing better of Yale, Harvard, Michigan, or any other of the law schools around the nation that are producing the next generation of American lawyers, judges, and politicians.
As old guys are inclined to do, I’ve tried to relate the behavior last week of students at Stanford Law to my own life experience as a student 60 years ago. But I can’t. The picture has changed, indelibly, and not for the better. DEI obsession is finding its way not just into American universities across the country but into all aspects of American life, including the U.S. military.
It’s a very slippery slope. Diversity, equity (although I’d prefer equality), and inclusion are not bad societal aspirations, but they cannot be allowed to crowd out the full range of factors — and attendant social responsibilities — that collectively contribute to our full national commitment to liberty and justice for all.
And to Stanford Law students and their associate dean’s rhetorical question: Yes, the juice — free speech — is always worth the squeeze.
Scarlen Valderaz: Should Conservative Wives Be Trad Wives? — Until our country takes on a pro-family stance, there will continue to be a mix of stay-at-home moms and career moms among our conservative spheres.
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.
‘You Know What I Learned Today?’ — Senator John Kennedy slams Joe Biden’s proposed $6.9 trillion budget and the testimony of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to a Senate Committee.
It Keeps Happening to Conservative Speakers at Elite Colleges — The student-led disruptions during a federal district court judge’s talk at Stanford Law School were just the latest example of U.S. universities attempting to prevent conservatives from speaking on campus.
“There is rarely accountability in the political class for devastating financial mismanagement. Worse, many politicos have figured out that there’s a successful career to be built in appearing to ride to the rescue during crises they created.” —Nate Jackson
“Here’s a grim but telling stat to chew on, courtesy of a new paper published by the Crime Prevention Research Center’s John Lott: There are 3,007 counties in these United States, but a stunning 56% of our nation’s murders occur in just 2% of those counties — counties that contain cities like Philly, New York City, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, DC, Dallas, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Houston, and the like. Care to guess which political party runs each of those cities?” —Douglas Andrews
“I love Trump. Like, as a person, I think Trump is funny and insightful.” —Tucker Carlson cleaning up after his “I hate him passionately” text became public
Re: The Village Academies
“If public education wasn’t the unionized outfit that it is, the Democrats wouldn’t care. They would want as much competition as possible. But if you give parents the ability to make purchasing decisions, they might choose an institution that’s not unionized. That’s why the teachers union[s] and the school districts and the Democrats have fought charter schools every step of the way.” —Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL)
“The backlash against extreme sex ed is exploding. Proponents insist they just want to provide information. Nonsense. When lessons include more than biology, someone’s values are being imposed. Comprehensive sex education is an ideology or religion, stressing gender fluidity, sexual experimentation and pleasure seeking, while repudiating parents’ roles and traditional values.” —Betsy McCaughey
“When Hillary Clinton said it takes a village to raise a child that was code for what they really believe, which is that it takes Big Government to indoctrinate a child.” —Gary Bauer
Race Bait Brew
“Coffee is in fact horribly racist, and there’s data to back it up. Every facet of the coffee industry, in fact, is rooted in racism. From the moment the whites viciously stole coffee from Black and Brown People to the present-day Karen sipping her morning cup of white supremacy, whites have been able to drink the fruits of our labor and our culture with impunity.” —an AFRU.com article titled, “Is coffee racist? How drinking coffee perpetuates white supremacy”
Lack of Self-Awareness
“The greatness of a nation isn’t just measured by the strength of its army, the vastness of its geography, or the size of its economy. It’s also measured in the vitality of its culture. A democratic culture — forged in the ability to speak and think freely.” —Joe Biden, who leads the party of censorship and the culture of death
Zeitgeist
“[LGBTQ+ rights are] a core part of our foreign policy.” —National Security Council spokesman John Kirby
And Last…
“There is zero reason why the trans flag should appear on any government building. Zero.” —Sydney Watson
The data is used to launch drone attacks against Russian servicemen, a unit commander told the outlet
Soldiers of Ukraine’s ‘Thor’ special operations group use satellite data provided by the CIA to choose targets when conducting drone strikes against Russian forces, the unit’s commander told the Times.
The 27-man group, which is formally a police special operations unit, functions independently from the Ukrainian army and works in close collaboration with Ukraine’s military intelligence, the GUR, which provides them with ammunition and intel. According to the Times, the unit has complete license to select its missions, where they barrack and when they fight.
The unit’s commander, whose name is said to also be Thor, claims he uses a special application on a tablet that is synced to a CIA satellite to select potential targets for their attacks.
“We select targets in the program, and targets can be placed there both by the CIA satellite and by our own satellite, which our volunteers pay for. Information is collected from all kinds of sources there. We choose, then we arrive and conduct our own reconnaissance,” Thor told the outlet.
Another member of the group told the Times that Thor also intentionally uses drones to maim – rather than kill – Russian servicemen. “These ones are to wound the Russians,” Aleksander, 30, told The Times as he armed a 3D-printed drone with mining explosives. “Take an arm or a leg, he will be a burden on the state forever,” he said.
According to the Times, all members of Thor are veterans of Ukraine’s 2014 military operation against anti-Kiev rebels in the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Both territories, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, were incorporated into Russia last year following public referendums.
Moscow has long accused the US and its allies of being directly involved in the Ukraine conflict and essentially waging a “proxy war” against Russia by continuing to provide Kiev’s forces with increasingly advanced weaponry, ammunition and intelligence.
My first read every day is The Federalist, and there I found a very interesting article by Margot Cleveland. In it, she reveals some research that The Federalist has been doing about the federal government’s plans to monitor speech. Not just the speech of journalists and politicians, but also churches, and even individuals. What would they do with this information?
Excerpt:
Our government is preparing to monitor every word Americans say on the internet—the speech of journalists, politicians, religious organizations, advocacy groups, and even private citizens. Should those conversations conflict with the government’s viewpoint about what is in the best interests of our country and her citizens, that speech will be silenced.
[…]Research by The Federalist reveals our tax dollars are funding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) technology that will allow the government to easily discover “problematic” speech and track Americans reading or partaking in such…
President Biden’s approval rating sank to nearly its lowest point ever in March, as the U.S. economy threatened disaster amid bank collapses and other economic struggles.
Biden’s approval rating currently sits at just 38%, a significant drop from his 45% approval in February, according to a new poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC). The drop comes amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in recent weeks, compounding existing fears of a recession.
“If Biden is doing his job, why in a state like this can you see people really suffering?” Theresa Ojuro, a 29-year-old doctoral student in New York, told the AP, saying she expected “just a little bit more stability with the economy.”
AP-NORC conducted the poll from March 16-20. Researchers interviewed 1,081 U.S. adults, and the study reports a margin of error of 4%.
Biden himself appears unsure about whether he should remain president. While he and his office have long insisted that he “intends to run” in 2024, he has yet to make a formal campaign announcement. Many commentators expected him to formally enter the race shortly after his State of the Union address in February, but he has not done so.
Some members of the Democratic Party have expressed concern with his age, calling for younger blood to lead the party’s ticket in 2024. Biden would be 82 by Inauguration day in 2025.
Biden has nOt had a positive approval rating since August 2021. His numbers hit the lowest point of his presidency in July 2022 amid record high gas prices and inflation when approximately 57% disapproved of his job performance and just 36% approved.
Biden shares his low approval rating with his predecessor, former President Trump. Like Biden, Trump’s approval rating hovered in the high 30s and low 40s throughout his presidency.
Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
Continued interest rate hikes by the Fed could worsen the banking turmoil, according to Bill Ackman
The US economy is facing disaster following another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury’s rejection of full deposit insurance, billionaire investor Bill Ackman has warned.
“When combined with the higher cost of debt and deposits due to rising rates, consider what the impact will be on lending rates and our economy,” Ackman wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “The longer this banking crisis is allowed to continue, the greater the damage to smaller banks and their ability to access low-cost capital,” he added.
The billionaire’s warning follows the US central bank’s decision to raise rates by 25 basis points. On Wednesday, the Fed lifted its benchmark rate to a 4.75%-5% range as it continues to combat inflation.
“Trust and confidence are earned over many years, but can be wiped out in a few days. I fear we are heading for another train wreck. Hopefully, our regulators will get this right,” he said.
Ackman also slammed US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen for walking back plans to support depositors.
Yellen, who previously made assuring comments about protecting regional banks, stated on Wednesday that she had not considered or discussed “blanket insurance” for US banking deposits without the approval of Congress as a way of stemming the threat of further bank runs.
“The longer the uncertainty continues, the more permanent the damage is to the smaller banks, and the more difficult it will be to bring their customers back,” Ackman argued.
Western governments and central banks have sought to prevent a cascade of bank failures after the sudden collapses earlier this month of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US. The turmoil has also hit troubled Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, which has been acquired by its rival UBS in a government-brokered deal aimed at shoring up public confidence in the Western financial system and averting a global crisis.
Taking a stand: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country will not pass a measure proposed by two ultra-Orthodox members of his own ruling coalition that would have made it a criminal offense to persuade anyone to convert to another religion, tweeting “We will not advance any law against the Christian community;” Congress taking on TikTok in Capitol Hill hearing today, amid concerns the Chinese government can utilize it to collect info on users; deadly fungus, called Candida Auris, spreading quickly across the US; New Jersey mom Angela Reading files federal lawsuit after she was treated like a terrorist and labeled a security threat, because of her concerns over sexualized posters in her daughter’s elementary school; how police departments across the country are losing officers in the wake of the “Defund the Police” movement – and what they’re doing to try to bring in new recruits; and CBN celebrates Pat Robertson’s 93rd birthday.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson dissects climate change warnings and the important news stories not getting coverage on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’ #foxnews #fox #tucker
On Thursday’s “Wake Up America,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul gave his thoughts on why the State Department is refusing to hand over documents related to the investigation on the origins of COVID-19. Watch NEWSMAX, an independent news network with a conservative perspective, available in 100M+ U.S. homes.
FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and what she believes to an ‘offset’ to a weak economy as recession fears loom. #FOXBusiness
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