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
Matthew 25:22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
The Two Talents – Charles Spurgeon Audio Sermons (Matthew 25:22-23)
Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 January 31, 1892) was a British Reformed Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the “Prince of Preachers.” In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times a week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon’s which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him after his death.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.
When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he didn’t just sin against her husband. He sinned against God Himself. In this message, R.C. Sproul defends God’s justice as he considers the nature of sin and whom it violates. This message is from Dr. Sproul’s 8-part teaching series Psalm 51. Learn more: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/psalm
20:15 This commandment assumes the legitimacy of personal property. It includes kidnapping as well as taking other things without permission.[1]
20:15 The eighth commandment underscores the importance of human boundaries, responsibilities, and limitations.[2]
20:15You shall not steal The Hebrew verb used here, ganav, is ambiguous—the object of the theft is not definable. Just as in modern law, punishments for theft in ot laws have varying degrees of severity.[3]
20:15 steal. Any dishonest acquiring of another’s goods or assets greatly disturbs the right to ownership of private property, which is an important principle for societal stability.[4]
20:15 The eighth commandment protected the sanctity of property by prohibiting theft.[5]
20:15You shall not steal. This refers to any act by which a person wrongfully deprives another person of his property. It teaches respect for private property.[6]
The eighth commandment (20:15)
20:15. This command was given to encourage the respect of others’ property. This too is an important element in a stable society. It is closely related to the 10th commandment.[7]
20:15 Eighth commandment. The next principle to govern the Israelites’ relationship with God is respect for the property of others. Any individual found guilty of dispossessing another was to be punished in accordance with the value of what they had stolen and the injured party was to be suitably compensated. While other Ancient Near Eastern cultures sometimes invoked the death penalty for theft, the OT consistently rejects such a position, indicating clearly that God values human life and the marital relationship above property.[8]
Do Not Steal (20:15)
20:15. The “right of private property is an important principle for the stability of any society” (Davis, Moses and the Gods, 218). This commandment forbids the taking of any goods or valuables of another without due compensation and any form of dishonest profit or gain at the expense of another.[9]
Ver. 15. Thou shalt not steal.—The Eighth Commandment:—
I. In this Commandment the institution of property is recognized and sanctioned by the authority of God. The institution of property is necessary—
1. For increasing the produce of the earth;
2. For preserving the produce of the earth to maturity;
3. For the cultivation and development of the nature of man;
4. For the intellectual development of man.
II. The institution of property imposes upon all men the duty of industry in their callings; the duty of maintaining independence; the duty of avoiding any, even the least, invasion of the rights of others; the duty of self-restraint in expenditure, as well as of honesty in acquisition.
III. If property is a Divine institution, founded on a Divine idea, protected by Divine sanction, then in the use of it God should be remembered, and those whom God has entrusted to our pity and our care. (R. W. Dale, D.D.)
The Eighth Commandment:—
To steal, I am sorry to say, is a universal temptation, common to all sorts of people. It often springs from the sense of necessity: this it is which, as you remember, gives such tragic power to Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,” whose hero, Jean Valjean, stole a loaf of bread. Again the temptation to steal springs from indolence, or, to use a good, or rather bad, old French-Latin word, laziness; for there are not a few persons who, instead of getting an honest living by working, prefer to get it by what they call their wits, resorting to all sorts of shifts and tricks, which are really stealings. Again, the temptation to steal springs from dissolute or what is called fast living; how many of the embezzlements which so often startle the community spring from the fact that the embezzlers had entered on careers of personal debauchery! Again, the temptation to steal springs from the love of display; how many of the defalcations which land our citizens in prison or in Canada are owing to their passion for equipage, for furniture, for jewelry, for fashion! Again, and chiefly, the temptation to steal springs from the haste to become rich; how true it is that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil! Let us first glance at the case of private stealings. For example: there is the taking advantage of the ignorant in a bargain. Again, there is the taking advantage of the necessitous, when they lie prostrate and helpless, demanding from them, for instance, extortionate interest for the use of money, exorbitant rent for premises or tools, or extravagant prices for commodities. Again, there is the refusing, I will not say lawful wages, but I do say fair wages—that is, just compensation to servants, whether in the family, the farm, the factory, the store, or the bank; for every man born into this world is entitled, by the very fact of his existence upon this footstool of God, to a living. Again, there is the delay in the payment of debts when due. Again, there is the contracting of debts beyond any reasonable possibility of paying them, the indulgence in venturesome speculations, the living beyond income—these, and such as these, morally surveyed, are stealings. Again, there is the practice of endorsing, or going security. It is right for you to help your friend when he is in trouble; but it is not right for you to help him, however much in trouble, if your endorsement of his note is going to cost some other friend of yours his comfortable home. To aid one man by endorsing him may result in stealing from many men. Again, there is the habit of begging for endorsements; for example: tempting one to misrepresent, on the one hand, the amount of assets, and, on the other hand, the amount of liabilities; contracting liabilities without the knowledge of the endorser; keeping up appearances when insolvent; in brief, offering a premium for the use of your name. Again, there is the evading of government taxes and custom-house duties by making defective or ambiguous returns—a mode of stealing which, I regret to say, is not altogether unfashionable among people of position. Once more, there is the lazy subsistence or dependence on charity (and there is a great deal more of this than we at first recognize); the dependence on friends to eke us out, when, if we had been a little less slothful in diligence as well as a little more fervent in spirit, we might not have needed their aid; the sluggard, I take it, is quite a prince among thieves. Let me now speak of the case of official stealings, no matter what the office is, whether public or private, whether in a bank, or in a store, or in an institution, or under the government. Office is in its very nature a trust; and as such it is a sacred thing. And to betray a trust is the worst, because the meanest, kind of stealing. And now let me pass from official stealings to what I may call associated or corporate stealings. There is something in the very nature of the organization of a company which somehow tends to the extinction of personal responsibility. It is well understood that many a man will, as a member of a corporation—no matter what kind, whether a trust company, like a bank or a charitable institution, or an executive company, like a railroad or a telegraph organization—do things as a manager of that company which he would scorn himself for doing as a private individual on his own personal responsibility. In fact, it has become an aphorism that corporations have no souls. And monopolies, or corporations granted the exclusive privilege of manufacturing or selling certain articles of commerce:—what are they but oftentimes organized robberies of society, thefts of your purse and my purse? But there are other kinds of property besides those which we call real and personal, which may also be stolen. For example: There is the stealing of time; and time, you know, or will know, is money. When a man comes and takes up twice the time that is necessary in arranging with me for his own advantage, or even the advantage of a good institution, he steals my time, and in stealing my time, he steals my patience as well as my money. Again, there is the petty larceny of writing a letter of inquiry for your own advantage, and omitting to enclose a postage stamp; for he that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. Again, there is the stealing of another’s time and opportunity and serenity when you keep him waiting and fuming through your own failure to keep your engagement with him punctually. Again, there is the theft of plagiarism, the stealing of ideas, the withholding of credit or praise when credit or praise is due. Again, there is the stealing of reputation or character. Lastly, irreligion is the typical specimen of perfect theft. For while man in relation to his fellow-man has right to own property on his own account, yet man in his relation to his God is but a trustee. Steal not, then, O friend, from a greater than thy neighbour, even thy Divine Master! Language fails you when you undertake to denounce a defaulter against man. But where is your language when you think of a defaulter against Almighty God? (G. D. Boardman.)
Property sacred:—
I. Property as a sacred right. A man’s right in justly-acquired property is a reflection of God’s rights in all His works. All property is the outgrowth of life, the results in houses, harvests, machinery, manufactures, commerce, and art of creative power. But that creative power is the gift of God, and therefore both its rights and responsibilities have their foundation and standard in God Himself. The property belongs to the man, but the man belongs to God. Thus the honest gains of toil, skill, judgment, self-denial, and good fortune are a man’s own by a Divine right of which the civil right is the echo.
II. Property as a sacred trust. The same fact which makes property sacred gives birth to sacred responsibilities. As in old feudal days lands were given by the king on certain conditions of service, so now God’s gifts have always duties attached to them. Sacredly given, they are to be sacredly used.
Application:—
1. As to our use of our money. Is it not significant that God claimed tithes? Not to pay a tenth of His income into the temple treasury God considered a sacrilege in a Jew. Do we give a tenth to God?
2. Our use of ourselves. Wealth is more than money. It comprises all that God gives us, our talents, our influence, our whole self. He who might do good, who might heal and comfort and bless if he would, and yet does not, is guilty of unfaithfulness. (W. Senior, B.A.)
The Eighth Commandment:—
I. We may cause injury to others through lending and borrowing.
II. We shall do wrong to our fellow-men by inflicting injury on property that is open, through kindness of the owners, to the public, as gardens, private picture-galleries, &c. It is mean, dishonourable, to do hurt to such property.
III. Through incurring of debts or obligation to our fellow-men.
IV. The wrongs done in mercantile pursuits. This is done—
1. By selling to customers goods of inferior value.
2. By inferior weights.
3. By the adulteration of merchandise.
4. By false pretences. The placing the best strawberries or apples on top of the measure, &c.
V. Breaches of trust.
VI. Gambling. Property is a trust. You have no right to squander your own, or to lead another to squander what he has in trust. (W. Ormiston, D.D.)
The law of property:—
I. Consider, first, what it means—the rights of property.
1. In a country like this, long occupied and thickly peopled, almost everything belongs to somebody; and most of us possess a few things that we call our own, either earned or inherited, or otherwise received. In a new country the first-comers enter upon unoccupied ground, and each, while making his own claim, recognizes the claims of others. The relations of property are expressed by the possessive pronouns, and it is remarked that these are found in all languages. On what, then, is this right of property grounded? Not on social compact, not on the law of the land, not on the principle of utility, but on the will of God revealed in the constitution of our nature, and in the teaching of His Word. All acquired property is the product of labour, or the fruits of labour; and why do men labour? Is it not for the means of living? If, then, the constitution of our nature is such that we must labour for the means of living, it must be the will of Him who made us that we should receive and possess the fruits of our labour (see Prov. 16:26; Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:10).
2. The principle of possession excludes the principle of communism. If the fruit of my labour is mine, the fruit of another man’s labour is his to do as he will with it. Communism has always ended in disaster; and always must. It is a tissue of mistakes. It is wrong in its original inference that the principle of property is the cause of destitution, whereas the real cause is selfishness and sin; it is wrong in its ruling idea that all should share and share alike, a notion which would tax industrious people for the benefit of idlers, and rob the skilful for the advantage of the incompetent; it is wrong in its proposed method, for force is no remedy, and the circumstances of men can only be mended by mending the men themselves; and it is wrong in its cherished hopes, for if by some fatal success the communists should break down the present social system and suppress private wealth, the result would be to take all heart of enterprise out of the world’s workers, to dry up the waters of progress at their source, and to crush the human race under a final incubus of intolerable woe. Not in the suppressiou of property, but in a wise understanding of its uses, and in a right direction of its powers, lies the redress of human wrongs, with the hope of a good time coming.
II. What it ensures—the use of property.
1. Property has economical uses. It increases, protects, and stores, the produce of the earth.
2. Property has also its moral uses.
(1) Its steady stimulation of labour is alone a mighty helper of our manhood. It is where men have to work that they acquire robustness of frame, alertness of mind, and firmness of moral fibre.
(2) The way in which a man acquires property, and the way in which he uses it—resisting temptation to get it unlawfully, and making it a field for exercise of all the virtues; or dealing oppositely, so as to win it by fraud, and use it for vice—these things make all the difference between a hero and a scoundrel, between a son of God and a child of the devil.
III. What it forbids—the violation of property.
1. There are robberies over and above those which policemen investigate. Private gambling. Betting. Extravagance and petty theft on the part of domestic servants.
2. Fraud, or the withholding of a man’s due. “Trade practices.”
IV. What it involves—the responsibilities of property. We are God’s stewards. (W. J. Woods, B.A.)
The Eighth Commandment:—
I. What it forbids.
II. What it requires.
1. It requires restitution of whatever we have, at any time, unjustly taken or detained. For, that being in right not our own, but another’s; keeping it is continuing and carrying on the injustice.
2. This Commandment also requires industry; without which, the generality of persons cannot maintain themselves honestly.
3. To observe it well, frugality must be joined with industry, else it will be all labour in vain.
4. This Commandment requires in the last place, that we neither deny ourselves, or those who belong to us, what is fit for our and their station, which is one kind of robbery; nor omit to relieve the poor according to our ability, which is another kind. For whatever we enjoy of worldly plenty is given us in trust, that we should take our own share with moderation, and distribute out the remainder with liberality. (Abp. Secker.)
The Eighth Commandment:—
I. Whence doth theft arise?
1. The internal causes are:
(1) Unbelief. A man hath an high distrust of God’s providence: “can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” So saith the unbeliever, “can God spread a table for me? no, He cannot.” Therefore he is resolved he will spread a table for himself, but it shall be at other men’s cost, and both first and second course shall be served in with stolen goods.
(2) Covetousness. The Greek word for covetousness signifies “an immoderate desire of getting”; this is the root of theft. A man covets more than his own, and this itch of covetousness makes him scratch what he can from another.
2. The external cause of theft is, Satan’s solicitation: Judas was a thief; how came he to be a thief? “Satan entered into him.” The devil is the great master-thief, he robbed us of our coat of innocency, and he persuades men to take up his trade; he tells men how bravely they shall live by thieving, and how they may catch an estate.
II. How many sorts of thefts are there?
1. There is stealing from God; and so they are thieves, who rob any part of God’s day from Him.
2. There is a stealing from others.
(1) A stealing away their souls; and so heretics are thieves, by robbing men of the truth, they rob them of their souls.
(2) A stealing away their money and goods from them; and under this head of stealing away other’s money, there maybe several arraigned for thieves. The highway thief who takes a purse contrary to the letter of this Commandment. The house-thief, who purloins and filches out of his master’s cash, or steals his wares and drugs. The house-thief is a hypocrite, as well as a thief; he hath demure looks, and pretends he is helping his master, when he only helps to rob him. The thief that shrouds himself under law, as the unjust attorney or lawgiver, who prevaricates and deals falsely with his client. This is to steal from the client. The churchthief or pluralist, who holds several benefices, but seldom or never preacheth to the people; he pets the golden fleece, but lets his flock starve. The shop-thief; he steals in selling, who useth false weights and measures, and so steals from others what is their due. The usurer who takes of others even to extortion; he seems to help another by letting bim have money in his necessity, but gets him into bonds, and sucks out his very blood and marrow. The feoffe in trust, who hath the orphan’s estate committed to him; he is deputed to be his guardian, and manage his estate for him, and he curtails the estate, and gets a fleece out of it for himself, and wrongs tbe orphan. This is a thief; this is worse than taking a purse, because he betrays his trust, which is the highest piece of treachery and injustice. The borrower, who borrows money from others, with an intention never to pay them again. The receiver of stolen goods. The root would die if it were not watered, and thievery would cease if it were not encouraged by the receiver.
III. What are the aggravations of this sin of stealing?
1. To steal when one has no need. To be a rich thief.
2. To steal sacrilegiously. To devour things set apart to holy uses.
3. To commit the sin of theft against checks of conscience, and examples of God’s justice: this is like the dye to the wool, it doth dye the sin of a crimson colour.
4. To rob the widow and orphan; “ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child”; it is a crying sin; “if they cry unto Me, I will surely hear them.”
5. To rob the poor. (T. Watson.)
The Eighth Commandment:—
I. Stealing by forgetfulness. People with these bad memories borrow things from their neighbours and friends, and forget to return them. Now, to the persons who lend those things, it is just as bad as if a thief should come into their house and steal them. Umbrellas, and books, and things of that kind are most likely to suffer in this way.
II. Cunning, is another branch of it. Did you ever see a counterfeit bank-note? It passes for a good note, though it is not worth a straw. And gold and silver coin are counterfeited in the same manner. The people who make them think themselves very cunning. But they are not a bit better than thieves. But a great many other things may be counterfeited as well as money. When God shall come to reckon with them at last, they will find that the real name for what they called smartness was stealing. This is the name by which God calls it.
III. Those who break the Eighth Commandment by deceit. For instance, a lady goes into a shop to buy a dress. She finds one of the colour she wants. If she could be sure that the colours would not fade she would take it. She says to the shopkeeper, “Will these colours stand?” “Oh, yes, madam, they are the very best colours to wear. They will stand as long as the dress lasts.” The lady buys the dress on this assurance, though all the while the shopkeeper knows the colours will not stand at all. In this way he steals the lady’s money.
IV. Those who break the Commandment by extortion.
V. Those who break the Commandment by violence and fraud. We must resist little temptations. Everything must have a beginning. I remember reading once about a man who was going to be hung for robbery and murder. On the scaffold, he said he began to steal by taking a farthing from his mother’s pocket while she was asleep. Many children begin to steal at the sugar-bowl or the cake-basket. To take the smallest thing that does not belong to us, without permission, is stealing. And, then, there is another thing to do: we must pray to God to keep us from temptation. (R. Newton, D.D.)
True honesty:—
There is an anecdote told of a brave general of the American Revolution, that he one day overheard the remark of a grandson, that “he hoped to be middling honest.” The old gentleman stopped, turned short upon the speaker, and broke out: “What is that I hear? Middling honest! let me never hear again such a word from your lips. Strictly honest is the only thing you ought ever to think of being.”
Praying better than stealing:—
Some poor families lived near a large wood-wharf. In one of the cabins was a man who, when he was sober, took pretty good care of his family; but the public-house would get his earnings, and then they suffered. In consequence of a drunken frolic he fell sick. The cold crept into his cabin, and but one stick was left in his cellar. One night he called his eldest boy, John, to the bedside, and whispered something in his ear. “Can’t do it, father,” said John aloud. “Can’t—why not?” asked his father, angrily. “Because I learned at Sabbath-school ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ ” answered John. “And did you not learn ‘Mind your parents,’ too?” “Yes, father,” answered the boy. “Well, then, mind and do what I tell you.” The boy did not know how to argue with his father, for his father wanted him to go in the night and steal some sticks from the wood-wharf; so John said to his father: “I can pray to-night for some wood; it’s better than stealing I know.” And when he crept up into the loft where his straw bed was, he did go to God in prayer. He prayed the Lord’s Prayer, which his Sabbath-school teacher taught him, only he put something in about the wood, for he knew God could give wood as well as “daily bread.” The next noon, when he came home from school, what do you think he caught sight of, the first thing after turning the corner? A load of wood before the door, his door. Yes, there it was. His mother told him the overseers of the poor sent it; but he did not know who they were. He believed it was God; and so it was.
What is stealing?—
Two old men were once arguing upon the question of venial sin. Their faces one could not forget. One said, “Well, after all you have to say, you will not tell me that the theft of a pin and a guinea are the same.” The other said, “When you tell me the difference between a pin and a guinea to God, I will give you an answer.” It at once settled the point; and there was no more said about venial sin.
The rights of property defended:—
It must be acknowledged that the sufferings and crimes which are incident to the institution of property are so grave as sometimes to provoke the inquiry whether, after all, the institution itself can be defended. Selfishness, covetousness, dishonesty, fierce and angry contention, are among the worst vices of which men can be guilty; and it may almost seem as though we might escape from them all by abolishing the rights of property. What are the grounds, then, on which the maintenance of these rights, in some form or another, can be defended? Archdeacon Paley, in one of the chapters of his “Moral Philosophy,” has illustrated some of the advantages of the institution of property, with his usual clearness and felicity. He shows that it both increases the produce of the earth, and preserves it to maturity. Houses, ships, furniture, clothes, machinery, pictures, statues, books, require a great amount of labour to produce them; the stimulus to production would be altogether destroyed if after they were produced they belonged to nobody, and if people who had done no work were as free to use them as those by whose self-denial and labour they were produced. No mines would be worked, no fields would be cleared, no waste land would be brought into cultivation, no marshes would be drained, unless the men who did the work had the hope either of owning the property which they created, or of receiving in some other form compensation for their labour. The material wealth of the world would almost disappear, and the poorest and most wretched would have even less than they have now, if the rights of property were abolished. But there are other grounds on which the institution may be defended. The rights of property are essential not only to the creation and preservation of material wealth, but to the cultivation and development of the nature of man. It is only because corn belongs to the farmer, and coal to the mine proprietor, and bread to the baker, and meat to the butcher, it is only because clothes belong to the tailor, and houses to the builder, and because the law protects every one of them in the possession of his property until he is willing to part with it, that men work in order that they may get coal, and corn, and bread, and meat, and clothes, and house room. The Indian would sit idle in his cabin if the game he hunted did not become his own. Excessive physical labour is no doubt a great evil; but the evils of indolence are still greater. There are parts of the world where it is hardly necessary for men to work at all in order to get the bare necessaries of life, and the result is a miserable want of physical vigour and a portentous development of vice. We were made to work. It is by work that muscle is created and the whole body kept free from disease. Work as a rule is good for health, and good for morality and happiness too. Moreover, the institution of property supplies a most powerful motive to intellectual exertion. We want food, clothing, and a thousand other things; but they belong to people who will not part with them, except for the results of our own work. Inventive genius is stimulated to improve the processes of manufacture; administrative skill is exercised in lessening the cost of production; merchants watch the rise and fall of the markets in remote countries, estimate the effect of good and bad seasons and of political events on the probable price of commodities. There is not a counting house however small, there is not a workshop in a back court, where business can be carried on without thought. The institution of property secures an amount and variety of intellectual activity for which, perhaps, we have never given it credit. It has also very important relations to the moral life of man. The whole organization of the world is intended to discipline our moral nature; and the very variety of the sins to which the existence of property gives occasion, illustrates the variety of the virtues which it is intended to exercise. (R. W. Dale, D.D.)
Dishonesty in trade:—
If a manufacturer charges you twenty pounds for a hundred yards of cloth and sends you only half the quantity, he as really steals ten pounds as though he broke open your cash box and took out a ten pound note. If he engages to send you cloth of a certain quality and charges you for it, and then sends you cloth which is worth in the market only two-thirds the price, he is just as much a thief as though he stood behind you in a crowd and robbed you of your purse. No one disputes this. The same principle holds in every business transaction. To give short weight or short measure, is to steal. To supply an article of inferior quality to that which it is understood that the buyer expects, is to steal. To take a Government contract and send to Weedon or Portsmouth articles which you know will be worthless, or which you know are of a worse kind than it was understood that you would furnish, is to steal. To take advantage of your superior knowledge in order to pass off on any man articles for which he would never give the price that he pays for them but for his confidence in your integrity, is to steal. To start a company and to induce people to take shares in it by false representations of the amount of the subscribed capital and of its probable success, is to steal. If a workman who is paid to work ten hours, takes advantage of the absence of the master or foreman to smoke a pipe and read a newspaper for one hour out of the ten, he steals one-tenth of his day’s wages. He does the very thing that a shopkeeper would do who gave him fourteen ounces of butter or sugar instead of a pound, or nine yards of calico when the bill charged ten. An assistant in a shop, who instead of caring for his master’s interests as if they were his own, puts no heart into his work, exercises no ingenuity, treats customers carelessly instead of courteously, and so diminishes the chances of their coming again, gets his salary on false pretences, does not give the kind of service which he knows his employer expects, and which he would expect if he were an employer himself. (Ibid.)
An example of honesty:—
Speaking of the early American prairie settlements, a modern historian says: “Theft was almost unknown; the pioneers brought with them the same rigid notions of honesty which they had previously maintained. A man in Mancoupin County left his waggon, loaded with corn, stuck in the prairie mud for two weeks near a frequented road. When he returned he found some of his corn gone, but there was money enough tied in the sacks to pay for what was taken.
Honesty:—
In Abraham Lincoln’s youthful days he was storekeeper’s clerk. Once after he had sold a woman a little bill of goods and received the money, he found, on looking over the account again, that she had given him six and a quarter cents too much. The money burned in his hands until he had locked the shop and started on a walk of several miles in the night to make restitution before he slept. On another occasion, after weighing and delivering a pound of tea, he found a small weight on the scales. He immediately weighed out the quantity of tea of which he had innocently defrauded the customer and went in search of her, his sensitive conscience not permitting any delay.[10]
15.You shall not steal. Here again, this prohibition is to guard the fellowship of the covenant community. Perhaps the original prohibition was mainly directed against kidnapping for slavery (see Joseph’s experience in Gen. 37), but no doubt all sorts of theft are included. The covenant code makes details clear (e.g. Exod. 22:1–4), so no expansion is felt necessary here. In a peasant society where life is hard, any theft of property may lead to death, so theft is a very serious crime. There is a clear relation between this and the tenth commandment.[11]
Ver. 15.—Thou shalt not steal. By these words the right of property received formal acknowledgment, and a protest was made by anticipation against the maxim of modern socialists—“La propriété, c’est le vol.” Instinctively man feels that some things become his, especially by toil expended on them, and that, by parity of reasoning, some things become his neighbour’s. Our third duty towards our neighbour is to respect his rights in these. Society, in every community that has hitherto existed, has recognised private property; and social order may be said to be built upon it. Government exists mainly for the security of men’s lives and properties; and anarchy would supervene if either could be with impunity attacked. Theft has always been punished in every state; and even the Spartan youth was not acquitted of blame unless he could plead that the State had stopped his supplies of food, and bid him forage for himself.[12]
15. This is the eighth commandment. The apostle points out the extent of this precept, Ephes. 4:28. 1 Thess. 4:6.[13]
20:15 You shall not steal. The Israelites were expected to respect the possessions of other people. This commandment reacts against the human propensity to be greedy.[14]
20:15 / The eighth commandment is, “You shall not steal” (see also Deut. 5:19). The law prohibits theft in order to protect the goods and livelihood of the people and to sustain freedom and trust. Stealing is incompatible with living under God’s protection (Ps. 50:16–18) and is a kind of blasphemy (Prov. 30:9). It marks a city as corrupt (Isa. 1:10–23) and brings a curse on the thief and the one who protects him (Zech. 5:3–4; Prov. 29:24).
The law against stealing is common in many cultures. The remarkable feature of Sinai law was that it primarily countered the destructive effects of stealing in a community not by violent suppression of the thief, but by restitution. In other ancient cultures the loss of a hand could result, and penalties for theft were most severe for those in lower economic classes. In biblical law, if restitution was not possible, the severest penalty was debt slavery (until the debt was paid, or for seven years).
The book of the covenant, beginning in Exodus 22, began to establish case law to deal with restitution in specific cases or situations (see the discussion at 22:1–12).
This inner-biblical expansion of the law against stealing created a trajectory that shifted the burden to every level of society. The poor must not steal, but the privileged should make sure it was not necessary for them to steal by “stealing” hope. It was also possible to correlate this move with the exercise of generosity (Job 31:16–40; Ps. 112:1–9). Jesus corroborated this expansion and intensified it by putting the weight of the final judgment on whether or not one cared for the poor materially (Matt. 25:32–46).[15]
The Eighth Commandment.You shall not steal (20:15). All that exists belongs in the final analysis to God, but he has entrusted the stewardship of earth’s resources to particular individuals. Others are required to respect the way in which God has distributed his resources. To ‘steal’ is to take unauthorised possession of what does not belong to one. There is an element of deception involved in the term. When theft is prevalent or unpunished, the life of the community is disrupted.
But misappropriating what belongs to another can take place in ways other than what is technically termed theft. There is fraud, embezzlement, robbery, extortion, and many others, each distinguished by their own characteristics, and each condemned by the implications of this command. In 22:1–15 the outworking of this principle in relation to negligence with another’s property is explored.[16]
15 The eighth commandment prohibits stealing (gānab) either a person or an object. This commandment recognizes that the Lord owns everything in heaven and earth (see Pss 24:1; 115:16), and only the Lord can give or take away. Therefore no human being may despotically enslave or kidnap a fellow human or usurp the rights to property he has not owned or been given.[17]
[1] Coover-Cox, D. G. (2017). Exodus. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 122). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Ex 20:15). Thomas Nelson.
[3] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ex 20:15). Lexham Press.
[7] Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 140). Victor Books.
[8] Alexander, T. D. (1994). Exodus. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 108). Inter-Varsity Press.
[9] Zuber, K. D. (2014). Exodus. In M. A. Rydelnik & M. Vanlaningham (Eds.), The moody bible commentary (p. 143). Moody Publishers.
[14] Alexander, T. D. (2016). Exodus (J. H. Walton, Ed.; p. 103). Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group.
[15] Bruckner, J. K. (2012). Exodus (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.; pp. 190–191). Baker Books.
[16] Mackay, J. L. (2001). Exodus (p. 353). Mentor.
[17] Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (2008). Exodus. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis–Leviticus (Revised Edition) (Vol. 1, p. 483). Zondervan.
While it is true that sin can sometimes seem attractive to our old flesh nature in the short run, it brings with it long-term misery, bondage and ultimately steals our joy. What I would like to share in this devotion is why serving God is far more attractive and enjoyable than buying Satan’s counterfeit claims to happiness. I love what Bible teacher Nancy Leigh DeMoss shared on this point: “Trusting the wisdom of our good, loving heavenly Father is safer and far more attractive than trusting Satan’s deceptive sales pitch and stepping out on our own.”1 Below are just four areas where living for Jesus is so much more attractive than letting sin and Satan rule in your heart.
Whose approval do you want (1)
When we obey God’s commandments not only do we put a smile on God’s face but we get the approval and thumbs up from the Creator of the universe. What a great feeling to know that our actions not only please God but help to advance His kingdom and put Satan on the run!
Faithfulness brings great joy (2)
In the parable of the talents in (Matthew 25) we see how being faithful to what God has entrusted to us is the gateway to true joy in life. While Satan can counterfeit happiness he can’t give you true joy since joy is always a byproduct of obedience to the Lord. In this parable we read the following: “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” I don’t know about you but give me unbridled joy anytime over the very temporary feeling of happiness that Satan offers though sin.
Obedience brings with it very attractive returns on our investment in the kingdom (3)
While it is true that doing it God’s way may bring the disapproval of man and temporary suffering, the Apostle Paul gave us his wonderful perspective in this area when he stated: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). Not only will enduring temporary suffering for Jesus bring us and Him glory but we will be storing up amazing returns in heaven for we read: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). Imagine by investing in the kingdom of God now we will receive, in the future, an “eternal weight of glory!”
You get a great night’s sleep! (4)
One of the most attractive things I find about being a Christian and following Jesus is that I get a great night sleep. Since I go to bed with a clear conscience sleep comes very easy for me. I don’t go to bed with a guilty conscience which is inevitable if I choose to follow after Satan’s schemes. And when our consciences are weighted down from sinning, sleep, I find, is very difficult. And getting a good night sleep is so important because it allows us to wake up refreshed and ready to be used by God to glorify His name. And this to me is the most enjoyable part of life – to be used by God to bring Him glory!
For me enjoying my relationship with Jesus is so much more attractive than temporarily getting some small satisfaction from following Satan’s lies. And when we realize that Satan is the father of lies and death, then the comparison with experiencing the joys of Jesus is really no comparison at all. In closing always remember that Jesus brings joy while Satan entices with sin; which leads to death.
There are plenty of these lame ones, both male and female. You may meet “her that halteth” twenty times in an hour. They are in the right road and exceedingly anxious to run in it with diligence, but they are lame and make a sorry walk of it. On the heavenly road there are many cripples. It may be that they say in their hearts—What will become of us? Sin will overtake us; Satan will throw us down. Ready-to-halt is our name and our nature; the Lord can never make good soldiers of us, nor even nimble messengers to go on His errands. Well, well! He will save us, and that is no small thing. He says, “I will save her that halteth.” In saving us He will greatly glorify Himself. Everybody will ask—How came this lame woman to run the race and win the crown? And then the praise will all be given to almighty grace.
Lord, though I halt in faith, in prayer, in praise, in service, and in patience, save me, I beseech Thee! Only Thou canst save such a cripple as I am. Lord, let me not perish because I am among the hindmost, but gather up by Thy grace the slowest of Thy pilgrims—even me. Behold He hath said it shall be so, and therefore, like Jacob, prevailing in prayer, I go forward though my sinew be shrunk.
“Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.” Psalm 71:9
During my first year of college as a music major, our chorus sang “Go Not Far From Me” by Zingarelli, which is based on verses in Psalm 71. The first part of the song is slow and somber, written in a minor key; the second half modulates to a major key, brighter and filled with joyous praise. Over forty years later, I can still sing my soprano part because it’s such a beautiful, unforgettable song.
At age eighteen, I had no idea what these powerful words meant, but now, I finally understand them in a personal way.
Aging brings not only physical challenges but emotional and mental ones, too. A lifetime of disappointments, betrayals, and even tragic losses can weigh upon one’s soul. If we don’t keep our spiritual focus on Jesus and are not constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit, our souls can dry up and harden in the desert of bitterness.
Like the psalmist, we too can pray to our Father, who will strengthen us when we are weak and powerless. In Isaiah 46:4, he promises,
“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs, I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
Along with our supplication to God, we can continually praise him for all he has done for us. Psalm 71:8 is a good reminder:
“My mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all the day.”
It’s amazing how quickly our spirits can revive from despair to joy when we remember to thank and praise God for his loving care.
Almighty Father, please don’t forsake me as age slowly steals my strength. Help me to trust utterly in your strength. And help me remember to daily praise you and thank you for all your mercies and blessings. Amen.
Whatever your age and whatever the state of your health, invite the Holy Spirit to keep your eyes focused on Christ and his amazing love in both your working and in your resting moments
“And He who sent Me is with Me – He has not deserted Me – for I always do those things that are pleasing to Him” John 8:29
If we have a conscience free of offense, and if we have evidence that we please God, it matters little if men oppose us or what others may think of us. “Enoch, before his translation, had this testimony – that he pleased God.”
It would not be fair for you or me to profess ignorance in this matter of pleasing God. If we had never known before, we know now that it comes from doing always those things He commands – which of course are the things that please Him.
Jesus is saying here, among other things, that God is with Him in the working of miracles. Though men had forsaken and rejected Him, yet God stayed by Him and worked in and through Him.
In the same way, God has made it possible for us to please Him by giving us His Holy Spirit to indwell, enable and empower us for service. With the available enablement, we are without excuse in the matter of doing the “greater things” He has promised for those who love and serve Him.
What better goal for today, tomorrow and all our coming days than to seek to please Him?
Timing of Trump Indictment Says It All – Look What Happened Hours Before There are two justice systems in the United States: one for high-profile Democrats and their friends and families, and another for everyone else. The country has seen a double standard throughout the last few years as the Justice Department has gone after people involved in the chaos on Jan. 6, 2021, with the full force of the government while ignoring the rioters who turned the country upside down a year prior. People can firebomb a church in the country’s capital, so long as they are not Republicans.
Why Is The Establishment So Scared Of RFK Jr.? So, why are the Democrats so afraid of him? RFK Jr. understands issues at a level that most public figures just don’t. His stances are definitely debatable, but they are not unhinged and they don’t come out of nowhere. And this is probably why RFK Jr. is such a thorn in the side of the Democratic establishment.
Does shingles vaccination cut dementia risk? Large study hints at a link “If it is true, it’s huge,” says Alberto Ascherio, an epidemiologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study. “Even a modest reduction in risk is a tremendous impact.” The idea that viral infection can play a part in at least some dementia cases dates back to the 1990s, when biophysicist Ruth Itzhaki at the University of Manchester, UK, and her colleagues found herpesviruses in the brains of deceased people with dementia2. The theory has been controversial among Alzheimer’s researchers.
Putin Reveals New Details On Positioning Tactical Nukes In Belarus Vladimir Putin has given new details concerning his order to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus. Prior and somewhat ambiguous statements from Putin as well as top Kremlin and Belarusian officials had suggested that nukes could already be in Belarus. These past statements have also been subject of widespread speculation and misinterpretation in Western press reports, which was perhaps purposeful on the part of Moscow, or part of strategic ambiguity.
Bank of UnAmerica’: Banking Giant Accused of Going ‘Full Woke’ by Consumer Group A national ad campaign targeting Bank of America over its politicized business policies says the bank has gone “full woke,” pointing to the bank’s race-based home financing and decision to cut off loans to gun manufacturers and fossil fuel industries. Consumers’ Reviews, a consumer advocacy group, launched the “Bank of UnAmerica” campaign this week with nationwide TV ads,
Bud Light sponsoring ‘all ages’ drag queen pride party Bud Light is sponsoring an all-ages Pride event and after-party featuring drag queens in Flagstaff, Arizona, according to advertisements. The after-party is open to “all ages,” and participants under 16 years old require a guardian to attend, according to an online flyer. Flagstaff Pride’s goal is that Together, we support, unite, and strengthen our LGBTQIA2S+ community,”
The academy of hate This was just a commencement speech at a small law school, not really one of the leading institutions of its category. Another run-of-the-mill speech that expresses the new American spirit that is taking over more and more circles in the academia of the world’s most powerful nation and Western academia as a whole. This spirit echoes in Israel as well.
Russia could soon build Iranian drones in Moscow The White House said on Friday that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it is using to strike Ukraine.
Target asks employees to attend ‘queer bingo’ during ‘Pride Week’ Earlier this week, Target asked its employees to attend “Pride Week” events, including “Queer Bingo & Board games.” In an internal email, Target invited employees to its Minneapolis headquarters, “in honor of Pride Week,” to “connect and build community.” “Show your Pride,” the email says. Target’s diversity chief Kiera Fernandez has told employees they can accept DEI initiatives or “leave.” (nice isn’t it?)
Russia has ended ‘safe air protocols’ in Syria, says US military official A U.S. military official claims that Russian troops in Syria have reportedly stopped following the customary de-confliction protocols. The protocols are designed to prevent unintended military clashes between American-led Western and Russian forces in war-torn Syria, located on Israel’s northern border.
‘All of Israel’s leadership and people will unite,” says former Israeli defense minister Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is now part of the opposition and heads the National Unity party, spoke … “We must stress that a nuclear Iran is first and foremost a global challenge, endangering global and regional stability.” Gantz made it clear that Iran’s reach is far beyond Israel and the Middle East.
Minneapolis DFL vice chair calls Walz, DFL Party’s Ken Martin ‘a—holes’ Mike Norton, the vice chair of the Minneapolis DFL, called Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin “a—holes” in a tweet on Monday. “All these a—holes look the other way while Mayor Frey focuses all his energy on trying to take Ilhan’s congressional seat rather than manage the f—ing city,” Norton wrote.
Pat Robertson’s death draws reactions from supporters, critics The death of notable televangelist and former presidential candidate Pat Robertson, who launched the Christian Broadcasting Network and Regent University, has drawn strong reactions from his supporters and critics.
Las Vegas Police Capture Live UFO Sighting On Bodycam With Locals Claiming They Saw ‘8ft-High Aliens’ Walking About Freely Through Backyards Fascinating story coming out of Las Vegas today, police on bodycams recorded UFOs soaring across the skies, and according to the audio they were quite shaken by what they saw. Not only that, local Las Vegas residents said they saw men, a minimum of 8ft high, walking through backyards. Do I believe all that? You bet I do. For over 2 years on our Podcasts, we’ve been warning you will soon see UFOs and aliens on the nightly news, and we are a kitten’s whisker away from that reality.
WHO says it’s one step closer to passing “legally binding” Pandemic Treaty for global authoritarian control over next “health emergency” During the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 76th World Health Assembly (WHA), WHO Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told members the threat of “another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains.” The WHA, which closed its meeting on May 30, moved one step closer to its plan for a “legally binding” Pandemic Treaty that will coordinate the prevention, preparedness, and response to a global health emergency with its member states.
Why Is The Establishment So Scared Of RFK Jr.? …he’s out there, throwing rocks at establishment windows and forcing powerful figures to either explain themselves or prove by their silence that they have something to hide.
Republican rivals react to Trump’s indictment: ‘No one is above the law’ Former President Donald Trump has been indicted over his reported possession of classified documents, leading his current and former Republican presidential campaign rivals to issue statements responding to the news of his indictment
England’s NHS restricts use of puberty blockers for minors England’s National Health Service announced Friday that it will only commission puberty-suppressing hormones as part of clinical research, effectively restricting the use of puberty-blocking drugs for gender transition outside of clinical trials.
Kangaroo Trials’: Israel Denounces UN Commission of Inquiry Report The UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Israel released its third report on Thursday detailing what it called “attacks, restrictions and harassment of civil society actors” by Israel.
DOUGLAS ANDREWSIn the latest example of two-tiered justice, Joe Biden’s Praetorian Guard indicts his main political opponent while continuing to ignore his own clear-as-day corruption.
“There is nothing to these challenges, these suggestions, that somehow [Joe Biden is] not sharp and he’s not capable.” —Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
“In a lot of countries, people who’ve been in office a longer period of time are praised for their wisdom, and I think that Joe Biden rightly says that he has grown very wise in his many decades in public office.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
Non Compos Mentis
“There are going to be a billion people in Africa very shortly. One billion.” —Joe Biden (“The population of Africa reached one billion people in 2009.” —RNC)
“It’s wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills targeting transgender children. … They’re not somebody else’s kids. They’re all our kids.” —Joe Biden
“I will never apologize for standing up for LGDP — LGT — LB-chi — LGBTQ2+ kids’ rights.” —Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
“I rise to commemorate the start of Pride Month by honoring the one and only queen of drag, RuPaul — an artist, a philanthropist, and a barrier-breaker. RuPaul Charles has become an American phenomenon and an icon. Nobody has more charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent than RuPaul Charles.” —Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Swampthink
“I think the accusations of ‘woke’ are grossly overexaggerated.” —Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley
Dezinformatsiya
“Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban transgender women from playing on female sports teams in college.” —ESPN (“Let me fix that, @espn. *Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban biological MEN from playing on FEMALE sports teams in college.” —Kay Ivey)
Dog & Pony Show
“Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution. So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution commonsense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the Second Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom
“Democrats, President Biden, folks in the House and the Senate — we’re Team Reasonable. We’re Team Normal. We’re Team Get Stuff Done.” —House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
The BIG Lies
“There’s always going to be mistakes. … In the main, I think the FBI did it the right way.” —former FBI Director James Comey after the Durham Report confirmed FBI collusion in the Trump/Russia hoax
“The president must be someone who abides [by] the law and our Constitution, and there’s no one else but Joe Biden.” —James Comey
“The idea that the president’s agenda has been restrictive to business investment is just not based in reality.” —Biden economic advisor Bharat Ramamurti
“Having a debt ceiling statute is a threat to us because [Republicans] will keep trying to careen the whole country over a cliff.” —Jamie Raskin
“We have been working to reduce the deficit.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
“Extreme MAGA Republicans … wanted us to spend this week talking about kitchen appliances as part of some phony narrative that Joe Biden and Democrats want to take away gas stoves. Nothing could be further from the truth.” —Hakeem Jeffries
“This group of Republicans is too extreme for the American people.” —Hakeem Jeffries
“I hope that we can all commend the Biden-Harris administration for their actions to prevent serious disorder at the border following the expiration of Title 42.” —Robert Garcia
“We’re focused on securing our border.” —Joe Biden
Spin Doctor
“Busing or flying migrants around the country without any coordination with the federal government … is dangerous and unacceptable. And we’ll continue to be very, very clear about that. It is dangerous and unacceptable because you’re putting people’s lives at risk. … And it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable because you’re actually putting a lot of pressure on these states and … local areas.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
Non Sequitur
“When you hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about all the problems with fentanyl and with gotaways and with smuggling, you know what they don’t ever talk about? They don’t ever talk about the tremendous exportation of American-made guns to Mexican cartels that give them the power and authority to control the fentanyl trafficking into this country.” —Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY)
Race Bait
“When Republicans talk about election integrity, they’re really talking about voter suppression. They’re talking about carrying on the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow by actively disenfranchising black and brown communities.” —Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO)
Hot Air
“We’re … trying to prevent [climate change] from getting worse than it has to, and that’s why we’re focused on more sustainable infrastructure for the future; it’s why we’re getting those EV chargers out there; it’s why we’re making sure there are more excellent and clean public transit options out there.” —Pete Buttigieg
Who’d a Thunk It?
“Obviously we’re just in a dramatically different place with this virus … and that is largely due to the level of populat Belly Laugh of the Week
“There is nothing to these challenges, these suggestions, that somehow [Joe Biden is] not sharp and he’s not capable.” —Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
“In a lot of countries, people who’ve been in office a longer period of time are praised for their wisdom, and I think that Joe Biden rightly says that he has grown very wise in his many decades in public office.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
Non Compos Mentis
“There are going to be a billion people in Africa very shortly. One billion.” —Joe Biden (“The population of Africa reached one billion people in 2009.” —RNC)
“It’s wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills targeting transgender children. … They’re not somebody else’s kids. They’re all our kids.” —Joe Biden
“I will never apologize for standing up for LGDP — LGT — LB-chi — LGBTQ2+ kids’ rights.” —Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
“I rise to commemorate the start of Pride Month by honoring the one and only queen of drag, RuPaul — an artist, a philanthropist, and a barrier-breaker. RuPaul Charles has become an American phenomenon and an icon. Nobody has more charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent than RuPaul Charles.” —Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Swampthink
“I think the accusations of ‘woke’ are grossly overexaggerated.” —Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley
Dezinformatsiya
“Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban transgender women from playing on female sports teams in college.” —ESPN (“Let me fix that, @espn. *Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban biological MEN from playing on FEMALE sports teams in college.” —Kay Ivey)
Dog & Pony Show
“Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution. So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution commonsense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the Second Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom
“Democrats, President Biden, folks in the House and the Senate — we’re Team Reasonable. We’re Team Normal. We’re Team Get Stuff Done.” —House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
The BIG Lies
“There’s always going to be mistakes. … In the main, I think the FBI did it the right way.” —former FBI Director James Comey after the Durham Report confirmed FBI collusion in the Trump/Russia hoax
“The president must be someone who abides [by] the law and our Constitution, and there’s no one else but Joe Biden.” —James Comey
“The idea that the president’s agenda has been restrictive to business investment is just not based in reality.” —Biden economic advisor Bharat Ramamurti
“Having a debt ceiling statute is a threat to us because [Republicans] will keep trying to careen the whole country over a cliff.” —Jamie Raskin
“We have been working to reduce the deficit.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
“Extreme MAGA Republicans … wanted us to spend this week talking about kitchen appliances as part of some phony narrative that Joe Biden and Democrats want to take away gas stoves. Nothing could be further from the truth.” —Hakeem Jeffries
“This group of Republicans is too extreme for the American people.” —Hakeem Jeffries
“I hope that we can all commend the Biden-Harris administration for their actions to prevent serious disorder at the border following the expiration of Title 42.” —Robert Garcia
“We’re focused on securing our border.” —Joe Biden
Spin Doctor
“Busing or flying migrants around the country without any coordination with the federal government … is dangerous and unacceptable. And we’ll continue to be very, very clear about that. It is dangerous and unacceptable because you’re putting people’s lives at risk. … And it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable because you’re actually putting a lot of pressure on these states and … local areas.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
Non Sequitur
“When you hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about all the problems with fentanyl and with gotaways and with smuggling, you know what they don’t ever talk about? They don’t ever talk about the tremendous exportation of American-made guns to Mexican cartels that give them the power and authority to control the fentanyl trafficking into this country.” —Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY)
Race Bait
“When Republicans talk about election integrity, they’re really talking about voter suppression. They’re talking about carrying on the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow by actively disenfranchising black and brown communities.” —Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO)
Hot Air
“We’re … trying to prevent [climate change] from getting worse than it has to, and that’s why we’re focused on more sustainable infrastructure for the future; it’s why we’re getting those EV chargers out there; it’s why we’re making sure there are more excellent and clean public transit options out there.” —Pete Buttigieg
Who’d a Thunk It?
“Obviously we’re just in a dramatically different place with this virus … and that is largely due to the level of population immunity that we have.” —White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha (“Ashish Jha — who repeatedly predicted there’d likely never be herd immunity — now says the reason the U.S. is ‘in a dramatically different place with this virus…is largely due to the population immunity.'” —RNC) ion immunity that we have.” —White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha (“Ashish Jha — who repeatedly predicted there’d likely never be herd immunity — now says the reason the U.S. is ‘in a dramatically different place with this virus…is largely due to the population immunity.'” —RNC)
“History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. … These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed.” —Benjamin Franklin (1774)
In the latest example of two-tiered justice, Joe Biden’s Praetorian Guard indicts his main political opponent while continuing to ignore his own clear-as-day corruption.
Douglas Andrews
Perhaps Merrick Garland isn’t content with his boss’s standing as the least popular president in American history. Or perhaps he’s merely trying to deflect the nation’s attention from a steady stream of whistleblower revelations into the dirty dealings of the Biden Crime Family and the FBI’s dogged efforts to cover them up.
Or perhaps both.
In any case, though, his special inquisitor counsel, Jack Smith, has moved with remarkable speed to pull together a seven-count indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges of having mishandled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. As the Adulterated Press reports, “The federal charges represent the biggest legal jeopardy so far for Trump, coming less than three months after he was charged in New York with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.”
Trump being Trump, of course, he quickly seized the narrative from Team Biden, which appears to have been caught flat-footed by the former president’s social media announcement of the indictment.
Moreover, Team Biden probably wasn’t counting on such a swift and scathing response from both Trump’s supporters and his Republican political opponents. Fox News’s Mark Levin, himself a constitutional scholar, practically threw the kitchen sink at Biden’s Department of Justice and its penchant for meting out two-tiered justice.
Better yet, though, here’s a succinct and spot-on sledgehammer from Trump’s only real competition for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:
The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter? The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias, and end weaponization once and for all.
We suspect Trump would appreciate and agree with every word above, except the part about “The DeSantis administration.”
All of this stems from an August 2022 Department of Justice raid on Trump’s Secret Service-defended Mar-a-Lago home — as opposed to the DOJ’s courteous pre-announced unarmed inspection of Biden’s unprotected garage — whereupon they snatched up documents that they’d previously requested from Trump.
Regarding the Democrats’ endless witch-hunting of the man they fear and hate more than any other — from phony Russia collusion to flimsy impeachments to criminalizing personal infidelity and election-related free speech — Geraldo Rivera makes the obvious point: “If you want to beat Donald Trump, you’ve got to beat him at the ballot box. You can’t beat him with … Stormy Daniels, you can’t beat him, I believe, on a library book that was overdue.”
As for these documents — all of them — why does it seem to be so hard for our elected representatives to not mishandle classified documents? It’s not only Donald Trump and Joe Biden but also by-the-book Mike Pence. And who here believes that if the feds decided to conduct an armed, early-morning raid on the Cheney compound in Wyoming, they wouldn’t find a document or two that George W. Bush’s vice president might’ve taken with him — maybe something to cover his hind end regarding our nation’s flawed intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s WMD program?
The prosecution’s smoking gun — if there is one, and if they’re to be believed — is apparently a 2021 audio recording of the former president allegedly admitting that he had in his possession a classified document relating to a potential U.S. attack on Iran.
Here, we have to marvel at how quickly the Biden DOJ can move when it wants to. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has been on the case for less than seven months, having been appointed last November 18 by Merrick Garland, a demonstrably corrupt two-tiered-justice-dispensing Biden lackey masquerading as our nation’s attorney general. And in that seven months, Smith has put together the first-ever federal indictment of a former American president — a seven-count charge that is still under seal but that sources say includes obstruction of justice, conspiracy, making false statements, and illegal retention of classified documents in violation of the Espionage Act. On the other hand, as NBC News reports: “Probes related to Pence’s and Trump’s handling of classified documents have reached or appear to be reaching their ends. Biden, meanwhile, hasn’t been interviewed.”
So five months after AG Garland belatedly appointed Robert Hur to see if maybe Joe Biden, at some time during his half-century in Washington, might’ve perhaps possibly maybe stashed boxes of classified documents next to the Corvette in his Wilmington garage, or in some office in the Chinese intelligence-gathering building known as the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, Hur hasn’t even interviewed Joe Biden. But Jack Smith can put together a seven-count indictment against Trump in less than seven months.
Don’t even get us started on Hillary Clinton’s willful defiance of the law with her unsecured server on which she emailed classified information, including while on the soil of a hostile foreign country, likely Russia. After being subpoenaed, she so thoroughly bleach-bitted 30,000 emails that they were unrecoverable.
Just stunning. These people. These dirtbags.
To that last charge against Trump — the espionage-related charge — we find it grimly humorous that a man can be fully and uniquely entrusted with our nation’s most sensitive documents up until his last day in office, but immediately becomes a suspected spy if he possesses them the very next day.
National Review’s Andrew McCarthy, himself a former federal prosecutor, lays out in detail what imperils Trump:
Trump has repeatedly insisted that he declassified these documents. It is a peculiar claim, for which there is no documentary evidence and which Trump’s lawyers have declined to repeat in court proceedings. In terms of national security, it would be scandalously reckless to have declassified top-secret documents for no better reason than to keep them as mementos, rather than return them to secure government intelligence files. Moreover, legally, even if Trump had declassified the documents, it would not be a defense against the charges he is likely to face.
The Espionage Act forbids the mishandling of national-defense information not classified information. Even if a document had been declassified, it would still be national-defense information if its contents bear on the national defense — i.e., a document’s classification status is merely evidence that it likely bears on the national defense, it does not settle the question. As for obstruction, in writing the grand-jury subpoena that Trump is alleged to have defied, prosecutors took pains to demand his production of documents bearing classification markings, not classified documents. If the documents were marked classified, the subpoena mandated that they be surrendered, regardless of whether Trump had declassified them.
Another former federal prosecutor, Brett Tolman, who rightly said of the Obama administration’s Crossfire Hurricane efforts, “This was an operation, not an investigation,” was interviewed on Fox News this morning. He harkened back to his first day in the Department of Justice: “I saw a plaque on the wall that said, ‘The hallmark of fairness in the administration of justice is consistency application of the law.’ And … no one should be above the law, but we’re watching, in real time, individuals above the law. You have Hillary Clinton, you have Biden, you have Pence — all possessed classified documents. You have an Air Force retiree that was just prosecuted by DOJ, sentenced to three years for possession of classified documents in his home. It’s inconsistency, and we’re watching it play out in real time.”
Said Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley last night: “If the president in power can just jail his political opponents — which is what Joe Biden is trying to do tonight —we don’t have a republic anymore.”
He’s right. The question now becomes: What are the American people going to do about it?
Remember when Democrats attempted to impeach Trump for what Biden actually did?
Mark Alexander
This week, FBI Director Christopher Wray, under threat of contempt, delivered a June 2020 FBI whistleblower FD-1023 report from an FBI informant to House Oversight Committee members. Notably, this was in FBI hands prior to the 2020 election, but only recently were House members alerted to its existence by an FBI insider tip.
The report pertains to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden — and the latter’s corrupt pay-to-play scheme with Ukrainian oil company Burisma. According to the informant, he has evidence that Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky paid $5 million to both then-Vice President Biden and Hunter in a scheme to stop an investigation of Burisma by former Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin.
After reviewing the report, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said it details “two separate transactions, one that went to Joe Biden for $5 million, one that went to Hunter Biden for $5 million.” She added, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Joe Biden is guilty of bribery.”
But connecting the payment dots to Biden will be very difficult.
That being said, the informant’s claims raise the question: What influence did Joe Biden have that he could use to get Shokin off the case?
Well, in a 2018 interview, Biden himself bragged about threatening then-Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko that he would withhold a billion-dollar U.S. loan guarantee if Shokin was not fired — thus ending an investigation that could have undermined Biden’s future presidential aspirations.
Let’s review…
First, recall the Democrats’ bogus impeachment of Donald Trump, accusing him of threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine if it did not press forward with investigating Hunter Biden. That impeachment began on December 18, 2019, and Trump was rightly acquitted by the Senate on February 5, 2020.
Regarding Biden’s effort to extort Ukraine, I posted a video of him bragging about getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired in 2015 to protect Hunter Biden.
According to Biden: “I got Ukraine. And I remember going over convincing our team … that we should be providing for loan guarantees. … I was … supposed to announce that there was another billion-dollar loan guarantee. And I had gotten a commitment from [Petro] Poroshenko and from [Arseniy] Yatsenyuk that they would take action against the state prosecutor, and they didn’t. So … they were walking out to a press conference, and I said, ‘No, I said I’m not going to — we’re not going to give you the billion dollars.’ They said, ‘You have no authority. You’re not the president. The president said.’ I said, ‘Call him.’ I said, ‘I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars.’ I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion, and I’m going to be leaving here.’ I said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a b**ch. He got fired.‘
If ever there was a public admission of guilt, that was it. Regarding the firing of Shokin, even The New York Times asserted, “Among those who had a stake in the outcome was Hunter Biden … who at the time was on the board of an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch who had been in the sights of the fired prosecutor general.”
This was a far more clear instance of extorting a foreign country for personal and political gain by a sitting vice president than any evidence supporting the phony impeachment accusations against Trump in 2019. It is not apparent why Democrats thought they could pull off their Trump impeachment without resurrecting the Biden extortion, other than Beltway politicos think they are bulletproof. As I have observed, “If it weren’t for double standards, Democrats wouldn’t have any.” That frequently bears repeating.
In January 2020, prior to Trump’s acquittal, I outlined in “Demos Impeach Trump for What Biden Actually Did” further details about Biden’s far more egregious and verifiable actions to extort Ukraine.
Biden responded to the claims: “Where’s the money? I’m joking. It’s a bunch of malarkey.”
Good question, and House investigative efforts to follow the money are well underway. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said: “Biden has lied repeatedly about his family’s business dealings. The allegations contained within the Biden bribery record track closely with [our] investigation into the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes.”
Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) attempted to deflect the accusations, claiming that, in 2020, the Justice Department “terminated the investigation” into the bribery case.
But Bill Barr, who was attorney general at the time, rebuked Raskin, saying: “Mr. Raskin seems confused about the limited scope of Mr. [Scott] Brady’s review. The Pittsburgh office was simply adding evidence to ensure that it was not disinformation before passing it on to one of the already existing investigations underway in the department. … Nothing was closed.” In other words, Raskin, as always, is just blowing smoke.
Yet his proposed 28th Amendment trashing the Bill of Rights is more about raising his own political profile.
Nate Jackson
Democrats truly hate the Second Amendment, and they ultimately want to repeal it. Virtually none of them will admit as much because they know it would hurt them politically, but they’re working in that direction.
Enter California Governor Gavin Newsom, the Democrats’ shadow presidential candidate who has proposed a 28th Amendment to the Constitution as a means to enact some serious gun regulations and bans.
This is truly big news: A Democrat admits that banning guns requires amending the Constitution, and he’s willing to work through the legitimate process of an Article V convention of states to do it.
Then again, it’s hardly praiseworthy to use the Constitution instead of merely unconstitutional laws and executive fiats to actually take away the God-given rights of American citizens.
Newsom says his amendment “permanently enshrines four additions to the laws of our land.” Those are raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, mandating universal background checks, creating a waiting period for all firearms purchases, and — wait for it — banning “assault rifles.”
Let’s address each one.
Newsom says that “if you can’t buy a beer, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun.” There’s certainly room to argue that our methods of determining the right age for legalizing various things is a bit … inconsistent. For example, he doesn’t mention that men and women can join the military — volunteering to give their lives for their country while wielding firearms in battle — at age 18. To say the least, it seems odd to prohibit those same people from owning firearms.
Nor does Newsom mention abortion. “Under California law,” says the state’s website, “anyone in California who is pregnant has a legal right to choose to have an abortion before viability.” Minors don’t need parental consent, and you don’t even have to be a resident of California. So you can take the life of an unborn child at, say, age 13, but you shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun for self-defense until age 21. Got it.
The same is true for “gender-affirming care” for minors in California, which the state has gone to great lengths to protect, even undermining parents and other states. Young teens can lop off body parts, but don’t let an 18-year-old buy a gun!
As for background checks, our Mark Alexander thoroughly explored what that actually means. We’ll sum up with a couple of big points: The vast majority of gun sales already include background checks; the ones that don’t are between individuals, often family members. The danger of expanding checks is the likely creation of a national firearms registry, which opens the door for inevitably bloody confiscation efforts that would likely violate other rights in the Bill of Rights.
Waiting periods for all gun purchases may seem like a reasonable concession to many Americans. Newsom even used the word “reasonable” instead of specifying a number of days. Why, for example, allow a hot-headed ex-boyfriend to run out to buy a gun to assault his ex? How about a few days to cool off first?
Well, turn that scenario around. What if that woman needs a gun today to defend herself or others against a suddenly violent man? Too bad, says Newsom. Wait a few days and good luck.
Newsom began his video by pulling heartstrings with references to mass shootings, yet few if any killers buy a gun and perpetrate their massacres later that same day. Such assaults usually entail careful planning, and assailants would not be stopped or deterred by anything Newsom proposes.
Which brings us to the last plank: banning “assault rifles,” a fabricated term with no legal meaning but that he calls “weapons of war our Founding Fathers never foresaw.” They never foresaw free speech via videos on the Internet, either. What the Founders did understand is that Liberty depends on a citizenry armed with the very weapons necessary to take on tyrannical government. Today, that means the most commonly owned “modern musket” on the market. Americans own an estimated 44 million AR-15s. Newsom only says the word “ban,” but does anyone doubt his amendment would necessitate those aforementioned bloody confiscation efforts?
Beto O’Rourke infamously said, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.” Newsom probably nodded in agreement.
Newsom’s justification is primarily mass shootings, which account for less than 1% of annual murders. Year after year, long guns of any type are used in fewer homicides than hands and feet. Most murders occur in Democrat-run urban centers.
Newsom promises that his proposed amendment leaves “the Second Amendment intact” and respects America’s “gun-owning tradition.” That comment is overlaid with hunters — the only people Democrats seem to think have any reason for owning guns. The Second Amendment was not written to protect hunting.
Finally, Newsom hides behind popular opinion, sharing polling data ostensibly showing “overwhelming support” for all four of his initiatives. This is misleading in several ways. First of all and most importantly, constitutional rights don’t depend on support from media polls. In fact, the Second Amendment in particular exists to protect a minority from a tyrannical majority and the government itself. Other rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are not up for debate based on polls, and they are ensured by the Second Amendment.
Those polls are also misinformation. The Leftmedia is guilty of pollaganda — telling people what to think and then polling them on whether they understood what they were told. Mass shootings receive massive media attention, scaring people everywhere, while the media tells us things that could supposedly save us. Then they ask viewers whether they believe those things could save us.
We mentioned above that Newsom is a shadow presidential candidate and we don’t say so without reason. Joe Biden is proving himself incapable of even standing up straight, and he still may not really be the Democrat nominee for 2024. Newsom is positioning himself to take the mantle. At the very end of his video, he directs viewers to a website for his new political action committee. Any funds from that PAC could be used … to fund his presidential campaign.
So it seems that Politico is right for once: Newsom’s proposal isn’t so much serious as it is “designed to draw maximum public attention.”
The Wall Street Journal breaks a chilling exposé on the popular social media’s dark underbelly.
Emmy Griffin
It has long been acknowledged that social media is anything but a promoter of healthy societal relationships. But this latest exposé by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is absolutely chilling. Investigative journalists found that “Instagram connects pedophiles and guides them to content sellers via recommendation systems that excel at linking those who share niche interests.”
The WSJ teamed up with Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst to conduct their investigative research. What they uncovered was that Instagram in particular and Meta Platforms in general are allowing pedophiles to create a network to buy and sell child sexual material. According to the Journal, Meta accounts for 85% of reported child pornography to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — a nonprofit that helps to identify and take down such images of children.
Meta has sophisticated algorithmic tools in place to track and stop this explicit, exploitative, and illegal activity on Instagram. The algorithms have, in fact, previously taken down 27 similar pedophile networks and actively suppress hashtags that are linked to pedophilic content. However, three WSJ journalists were able to tap into this evil filth with relative ease.
That network literally had menus of content available for viewing and purchase. It even offered “meet ups” with some of these exploited kids. Thanks to Instagram, this content is basically out in the open and can be stumbled upon and continues to be added to your feed. But it’s really even worse than that. As Not the Bee points out, “Instagram’s algorithm also curated pedophilic content and connected people with similar interests, essentially facilitating the sharing of child sexual abuse material.”
Meta’s former chief security officer, Alex Stamos, noted that the ease with which the journalists found this network should “set off alarm bells at Meta.”
Instagram — an image- and video-based platform that creates networks based on keywords or through interactions via videos — is a particularly vulnerable platform for this sort of illicit content to metastasize. However, Instagram has some intrinsic weaknesses that enable this problem to continue. One example the WSJ lists is that even when Instagram slaps a warning label on content that its algorithms have determined is child exploitative content, it still gives the option to view the content anyway.
Another problem is that Instagram is so inundated with reports of content that is against its guidelines that it is backlogged and the content is allowed to remain. Even if Instagram does get around to banning accounts for child sexual content and exploitation, it doesn’t ban the users or devices running those accounts. It’s like the Greek myth of Hercules fighting the hydra — Instagram cuts off one head (account) and three more backup accounts appear in its place.
UMass’s Brian Levine, who worked with the WSJ reporters, said, “Instagram is an on-ramp to places on the internet where there’s more explicit child sexual abuse.”
Instagram is a gateway drug to porn and these sort of crimes against children. In the current culture war dealing with the transgenderism cult and the whole LGBTQ+ movement, pedophilia is the next logical step in the slippery slope of “liberalism.” If the premise and goal of liberalism is individual autonomy and freedom to pursue sexual goals of virtually any kind, then after destroying the gender binary, next is undermining and destroying the protection of children from sexualization and exploitation. If gender doesn’t matter, why should age?
For parents, it is heartening to see that certain states have introduced bills that would prohibit children from accessing social media before the age of 13 and restrict its use without parental consent until age 18. It also is interesting that Biden Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has strongly advised parents to keep their kids off the socials. This bombshell WSJ report underlines some of the darkest aspects of social media. Even pictures of your children are now vulnerable to pedophiles to use and exploit.
Meta needs to do better and more to eradicate child exploitation and porn from its platforms. More urgently, though, our culture needs to not allow this sort of taboo to be normalized.
The hard-left pressure group can’t seem to draw a distinction between this parental rights group and the KKK.
Brian Mark Weber
America seems to be losing its moral compass.
Still, most of us are hopeful that some things will hold firm against the tidal wave of depravity washing over the country. Then again, cultural Marxism is designed to not only change but destroy everything in its path.
This includes obliterating the very idea that parents have a right to protect their children from Drag Queen Story Hour, school lessons about gender fluidity, pornographic books in their schools, and LGBTQXYZ ideology dressed up as cartoon characters and puppet shows. And now, a group of mothers coming together to protect their children is under attack from none other than the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Of course, the money-grubbing leftist reprobates at the SPLC have always targeted conservative values, traditions, and institutions. For that reason, the mainstream media often refers to the disgraced organization as an authoritative source on a range of issues. Indeed, if the SPLC makes a statement or updates its “hate map,” the Leftmedia practically trips over itself to report it.
But now the SPLC appears to have outdone itself. How? By placing parental rights in the same extremist category as the Ku Klux Klan, which it did when it labeled Moms for Liberty a hate group.
We’re not sure what the Moms did to earn this condemnation, but all it takes to end up on the SPLC’s hate list is being conservative, espousing a belief in two genders, or publicly supporting traditional family values such as marriage between a man and a woman.
Or, in this case, simply wanting to keep drag queens away from kids is considered hateful. No one is safe from the Left’s assault on our children.
A cursory look at the 100,000-member Moms for Liberty website reveals nothing that might lead a reasonable person to label it a hate group. As the group’s mission statement explains, these moms are “dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”
Perhaps SPLC has been triggered by former president Donald Trump and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, both of whom have pledged to speak at the upcoming Moms for Liberty summit.
In any case, Senator Ted Cruz laid into the SPLC for it: “I’m gonna say right now the SPLC is a radical left-wing hate group. I’m going to use that term. They hate you. They hate me. They hate America. They hate conservatives. They hate the Constitution. They hate the Bill of Rights. They hate families. They hate moms. They hate dads. They hate anyone who stands up for this country. And I gotta say for the SPLC to go after Moms for Liberty is disgusting.”
Elsewhere this week, a group of Muslim parents in Maryland protested against public schools preventing parents from opting their kids out of a sexualized curriculum. The response? A Montgomery County council member called them white supremacists.
As one might expect, the SPLC doesn’t bother with what’s happening on the Left. Even after cofounder Morris Dees and other executives were fired over internal complaints about sexual harassment and racial discrimination, and one of its staff (antifa) attorneys was charged with attacking police officers, the organization continues to warn the rest of us about the dangers of parental rights while turning a blind eye to what’s happening to our children.
As The Daily Signal reports: “It does not mention how many on the Left champion the idea that children should be able to identify with a gender opposite their biological sex, hide that identity from their parents, and even obtain life-altering drugs without parental consent. Instead, it acts as though the parental rights movement emerged in a vacuum, or worse, is motivated by hatred.”
The SPLC may not have any decency or credibility, but it does have plenty of money.
“The people who run it are grifters,” writes Power Line’s John Hinderaker. “For a ‘poverty’ organization it has a remarkable amount of money stashed in offshore accounts. SPLC literally doesn’t know what to do with all of the money that rich people and corporations shower on it. I am hoping defamation lawsuits can take up the slack.”
Thus far, no one has been able to take on the SPLC in court and win. And let’s be honest: Winning a defamation lawsuit against one extremist organization isn’t going to solve a problem that’s more pervasive than we might like to admit.
Regardless, groups like Moms for Liberty need to keep up the good work. They’re making a real difference where it counts, and they should wear the SPLC’s label of hate not only as a badge of honor but as a sign that the tide may be turning against those who prey on our children.
SCOTUS rebukes Alabama voting map, Biden and the British PM, VA pride flag, and more.
Nate Jackson & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
SCOTUS rebukes Alabama voting map: Are we supposed to segregate voters by race in order to be “not racist”? Yes, according to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 yesterday that Alabama’s election map doesn’t give enough representation to blacks. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the Court’s left wing to tell Alabama that it must make a second of its seven congressional districts majority black. It is true that blacks vote heavily Democrat and that this decision likely means Republicans will lose one seat in Alabama. But why must the law assume people vote a certain way based on their skin color? Isn’t that by definition racist? Previous Supreme Court rulings have declared racial gerrymandering to be “odious.” Why is it different to make Alabama start with two majority-black districts and then fill in the rest? To be sure, gerrymandering is often an ugly and extremely political process, and there’s no question Alabama Republicans drew the lines to their advantage. But as Justice Clarence Thomas so aptly put it, “We place States in the impossible position of having to weigh just how much racial sorting is necessary.”
Biden and the British PM: Rishi Sunak is the British prime minister, and he visited the White House yesterday. Someone should have given Joe Biden one of those cheat sheets because the increasingly non compos mentis president bumbled all over the place. “Well, Mr. President,” Biden began. “Mr. President? I just demoted you. Mr. Prime Minister, it’s great to have you back.” It was Sunak’s first visit. Later, in that mumbling old man voice of his, Biden tried to recall a story about Winston Churchill before apparently forgetting his name: “There’s an awful lot of stories, probably a bunch apocryphal, about the former prime minister, if I could think fast…” At that point, Sunak saved him with a couple of examples and named Winston Churchill. Names are a problem for Old Joe. Back in October, he called Sunak “Rashee Sanook.” Titles are also a problem, as he’s called Kamala Harris “president” on numerous occasions. All those falls are really starting to take a toll.
VA pride flag: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory in recent years, shafting veterans with poor medical care if they could run the gauntlet of interminable wait times. Adding insult to injury, Fox News reports, “American flags flying over the Biloxi National Cemetery and VA Medical Center were replaced with rainbow LGBTQ flags after Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough authorized the flying of such flags above VA facilities.” Veterans fought and died for the American flag and everything it represents. To say the same is not true of the rainbow flag is an understatement, and it’s utterly disgraceful to turn the VA into such a propaganda front for the Rainbow Mafia.
Headlines
LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau suggests 9/11 families should forgive Saudi Arabia: “Nobody’s perfect” (Fox Sports)
Biden admin denies reports that China plans to build spy facility in Cuba to gather intelligence on United States (Blaze Media)
UK universities are helping Iran develop military weapons (Free Beacon)
New York attorney general sues Christian anti-abortion group, calling them terrorists (Washington Examiner)
“Another Bud Light”: Pottery Barn slammed after featuring trans activist Jazz Jennings in video for kids (Daily Wire)
Nike set to groom children with its “gender inclusive” clothing line (Townhall)
Douglas Andrews: Tucker Soars While Fox and CNN Slump — The former Fox News superstar posted some stunning Twitter numbers this week, while his former network slumped and its arch rival fired its CEO.
DeSantis Responds to Newsom’s ‘Small Man’ Jab — The California governor insulted his Florida counterpart as “small” and “pathetic” for sending illegals to the sanctuary Golden State.
Another Lia Thomas Teammate Comes Forward — Paula Scanlan has come forward to speak openly about how things played out, and the truth of it all is so much more terrifying than any of us could have imagined.
Woke Culture Has Gone Too Far — Initially used as a term to empower awareness of systemic inequalities in society, wokeism is now a deeply divisive term.
“There are going to be a billion people in Africa very shortly. One billion.” —Joe Biden (“The population of Africa reached one billion people in 2009.” —RNC)
“It’s wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills targeting transgender children. … They’re not somebody else’s kids. They’re all our kids.” —Joe Biden
“I will never apologize for standing up for LGDP — LGT — LB-chi — LGBTQ2+ kids’ rights.” —Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Dog & Pony Show
“Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution. So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution commonsense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the Second Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom (“California is a beacon for violence because of Newsom’s embrace of policies that champion the criminal and penalize the law-abiding. That is why the majority of Americans rightfully reject his California-style gun control.” —National Rifle Association)
Belly Laugh of the Week
“There is nothing to these challenges, these suggestions, that somehow [Joe Biden is] not sharp and he’s not capable.” —Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
Hot Air
“We’re … trying to prevent [climate change] from getting worse than it has to, and that’s why we’re focused on more sustainable infrastructure for the future; it’s why we’re getting those EV chargers out there; it’s why we’re making sure there are more excellent and clean public transit options out there.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
The BIG Lies
“Extreme MAGA Republicans … wanted us to spend this week talking about kitchen appliances as part of some phony narrative that Joe Biden and Democrats want to take away gas stoves. Nothing could be further from the truth.” —House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
“This group of Republicans is too extreme for the American people.” —Hakeem Jeffries
Who’d a Thunk It?
“Obviously we’re just in a dramatically different place with this virus … and that is largely due to the level of population immunity that we have.” —White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha (“Ashish Jha — who repeatedly predicted there’d likely never be herd immunity — now says the reason the U.S. is ‘in a dramatically different place with this virus…is largely due to the population immunity.’” —RNC)
Observations
“The Democrat Party once advocated a person could be enslaved, not because of the kind of person they were, but based solely on the melanin in their skin. The Democrat Party then advocated a person could be segregated, not because of the kind of person they were, but based solely on the melanin in their skin. The Democrat Party now advocates a person can be elevated or given a job, not because of the kind of person they are, but based solely on the melanin in their skin.” —Peter Heck
“The ideologues who champion Gender Marxism are picking on a target they consider easy. Both the enablers of this ideology and the gender dysphoric men cruel enough to usurp women’s spaces are masters at manipulating a woman’s compassion and empathy to get what they want. They are ultimately abusive narcissists who have succeeded in making women feel not only alone and crazy but like their perfectly legitimate concerns were wrong. That’s why they have run roughshod over women’s sports, women’s locker rooms, women’s rights, and women’s safety.” —Emmy Griffin
“Social media thought police rely on supposedly ‘objective’ sources like the AP when deciding what opinions to silence. It’s a racketeering operation. Media rating organizations hire left-wing former journalists to look at the standards and practices of Leftmedia outfits, declare them to be the gold standard, and then rate those organizations highly for having adhered to their own rules. Conservative outlets, which exist in the first place as a counter to mainstream media bias, often don’t adhere to those same standards and openly declare their bias in order to stand against the Left. So, the leftist journalists who declared themselves gatekeepers use their purported authority to give conservatives demerits for not adhering to left-wing rules.” —Nate Jackson
And Last…
“A federal indictment against a former president for crimes Hillary Clinton was given a free pass on, even though she never had declassification authority and Trump did, is real end-of-the-republic kind of stuff.” —Jeremy Boreing
On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Evening Edit,” author, National Review Contributing Editor, Fox News Contributor, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy stated that there is a double standard between how former President Donald Trump and former
We have simple goals here at LionelNation. Truth, plain and simple. Bold and brave exploration of facts. The epistemology and ontology of the obvious. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Chris Licht tried to bring CNN back to the political center. He was fired because the media are expected to enforce ideological conformity, rather than provide honest news to a large audience.
“Masking guidance: Fully vaccinated guests are not required to wear a mask on the White House grounds. Guests who are not fully vaccinated must wear a mask at all times and maintain at least six feet distance from others while on the White House grounds.”
(Sarah Arnold – Townhall) If you thought Democrats were done pushing the Covid hysteria, think again.
Despite announcing an end to the authoritarian Covid-19 government mandates, the Biden White House requires guests to practice social distancing and wear masks during their visit.
The mandates, however, will only target those who are unvaccinated.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will welcome the NCAA men’s and women’s national championship teams to “College Athlete Day” at the White House on Monday. View article →
Over the last two years, over 5000 United Methodis Church’s (UMC) have decided to disaffiliate from their denomination over their progressive views of homosexuality and acceptance of other deviant sexual theology, according to numbers compiled by UM News. These staggering numbers are in sharp contrast to the previous three years, which only saw around 250 requests to leave.
The UMC has over 30,500 churches in the United States and is the second biggest denomination behind the Southern Baptist Convention. In most cases, however, the UMC is not just letting them leave on peaceful terms but is requesting huge fees to keep their church buildings- sometimes up to half the cost of the property. Some state conventions have refused to offer buyout options, insisting that those choosing to leave must leave their church behind- real estate that is often worth millions- resulting in lawsuits and other legal action.
With the latest exodus, the faithful are by and large all gone, with the remaining churches populated by goatlings with Christian ideations that can’t agree on how badly they hate the bible or on the best way to molest it into affirming the doctrine of demons.
While the main reason for splitting is the long-fought war within the UMC over homosexuality and the UMC’s acceptance of it, it’s of note that the conservatives within the UMC aren’t particularly conservative either. For years the UMC has supported a woman’s right to choose abortion as an option to be considered. In fact, for over 40 years, their Book of Resolutions affirmed the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.
They support strict gun control and even guns being banned altogether. They allow women leadership into the highest level of leadership, condemn capital punishment, and condemn creationism, suggesting that of those leaving, only a fraction of churches would even be worth attending.
With President Donald J. Trump now having been criminally indicted (read the indictment PDF here) with the help of a weaponized, corrupt DOJ, more and more Americans are coming to realize that under the illegitimate Biden regime, the United States of America is now a “banana republic.”
On Thursday evening, the Justice Department notified Trump of the indictment. Trump announced the news on Truth Social. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump said, “even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania.”
As is becoming the norm, Trump is being indicted for the very same thing that Democrats can carry out without any fear of indictment. Thus, we have a two-tiered justice system rooted in selective prosecution. Only Republicans are indicted — often for made-up “crimes” — while Democrats are ignored, even when engaging in felonious bribery, corruption and all-out treason (Mayorkas and the border invasion fiasco, for example).
Jan Markell hosts two guests—Ken Mikle and author Todd Hampson. As we see the day of His return near, we will watch events in our world that may be astounding and even disconcerting. Some of these issues are discussed so that we may redeem the time as we see the day approaching.
The whistleblower said that “it’s not wrong to say that the indictment of Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents is a case of selective prosecution.”
When I was 8 years old I heard the “Onward Christian Soldiers” hymn for the first time. It was at a Wednesday night bible study a friend had brought me to, and immediately I hated the song. Unsaved as I was, I thought the war was about physical, earthly war. I thought as many unsaved people do, that “Religions cause wars,” and that Christianity was the worst instigator of all.
I was wrong. On all counts.
What a difference 54 years makes. I am saved now, and when I sing Onward Christian Soldiers I am struck by the battle language, and the language in the other hymn I hear sung, “Stand up Stand up for Jesus.”
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle see his banners go!
“Masking guidance: Fully vaccinated guests are not required to wear a mask on the White House grounds. Guests who are not fully vaccinated must wear a mask at all times and maintain at least six feet distance from others while on the White House grounds.”
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