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
10:43must be your servant. Leadership among God’s people should be characterized by serving the people and acting for their best interests, not by assuming that the people are to serve the leaders. These principles apply not only to leadership in the church but also in all relations (e.g., in civil government, the civil authority is to be “God’s servant for your good” [Rom. 13:4; cf. 1 Sam. 8:11–20; 12:3–5]).[1]
10:43 not this way among you. There is no place in the church for domineering leaders (cf. 9:35; Mt 23:8–12; 1Pe 5:3–6; 3Jn 9, 10).[2]
10:43
NASB
“But it is not this way among you”
NKJV
“Yet it shall not be so among you”
NRSV
“But it is not so among you”
TEV
“This, however, is not the way it is among you”
NJB
“Among you this is not to happen”
These translations reflect a Greek manuscript variant. In some manuscripts (א, B, C*, D, L, W) the PRESENT tense is used (cf. NASB, NRSV, TEV), which is also found in the parallel in Matt. 20:26. However, in other manuscripts (A and C3) the FUTURE tense is found (cf. NKJV and implied in NJB).
“ ‘whoever wishes to be great’ ” Jesus does not discourage greatness or ambition, but defines true greatness as service and humility (cf. Matt. 20:26; Mark 9:35).
“servant” This is the term diakonos, which later becomes the office/function of deacon. All believers are called to serve (cf. Eph. 4:11–12).[3]
10:43 / Your servant is very similar to the saying in 9:35 and was undoubtedly an emphasis in Jesus’ teaching. In addition to the parallels in Matt. 20:26–27 and Luke 22:24–27, cf. also Matt. 23:11–12; Luke 14:11; 18:14, for similar thoughts. The term servant here (diakonos in Greek) is the same word used elsewhere in the nt to refer to various types of church ministries and indeed is the most common word to refer to church leaders and workers in the nt. We derive our word deacon from it. In v. 44, the term slave (doulos) is used as a synonym, though it refers to one who is in slavery, whereas servant can mean anyone who performs tasks for others.[4]
[4] Hurtado, L. W. (2011). Mark (p. 177). Baker Books.
20:26must be your servant Another paradoxical statement of role-reversal (compare Matt 19:30; 20:16). Rather than exercising authority, a godly leader willingly becomes a servant of others.[1]
20:26 — “ … whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”
Christian leadership is never about exercising power over someone or putting someone in his or her place; whenever it comes to that, the “Christian” element has vanished. Christian leaders are always servants first.[2]
20:26 “whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave” Jesus did not condemn their ambition for greatness, but defined its true parameters in light of one’s commitment to Him. In Jesus’ kingdom leadership is servanthood (cf. 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43)![3]
26. It shall not be so among you. There can be no doubt that Christ refers to the foolish imagination by which he saw that the apostles were deceived. “It is foolish and improper in you,” he says, “to imagine a kingdom, which is unsuitable to me; and therefore, if you desire to serve me faithfully, you must resort to a different method, which is, that each of you may strive to serve others.” But whoever wishes to be great among you, let him be your servant. These words are employed in an unusual sense; for ambition does not allow a man to be devoted, or, rather, to be subject to his brethren. Abject flattery, I do acknowledge, is practised by those who aspire to honours, but nothing is farther from their intention than to serve. But Christ’s meaning is not difficult to be perceived. As every man is carried away by a love of himself, he declares that this passion ought to be directed to a different object. Let the only greatness, eminence, and rank, which you desire, be, to submit to your brethren; and let this be your primacy, to be the servants of all.[4]
20:26whoever wants to become great … must be your servant. Jesus has already responded to the disciples’ query about greatness, clearly a status question (18:1). Here he defines greatness in such a way as to derail all attempts to assume or claim status prerogatives. As Ulrich Luz suggests, “The issue … is not to present a new way to greatness—a more noble way than that of authority and power; it is rather that the desire to be great is itself to be eliminated, since even the most subtle desire for greatness for oneself corrupts genuine service.”[5]
[1] 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 (Mt 20:26). Lexham Press.
UN ‘Summit of the Future’ Will Set The Stage For New Global Order In 2024 A research director at The Heartland Institute and New York Times bestselling author on Independence Day unleashed a warning to Americans that they may soon be losing their independence. Justin Haskins has written at The Federalist about a series of proposals to be considered at the United Nations next year, only weeks before the 2024 presidential election. One especially has grabbed his attention, the one regarding “emergencies.” “The proposal might be the biggest attempted power grab in the history of the United Nations. If approved, the United States as we know it could cease to exist,”
IDF strikes targets in Lebanon after rocket launch There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the rocket fire and no immediate responses from the Lebanese army or the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL). Tensions have been high along the border after the Hezbollah terror group pitched two tents on the Israeli side of the demarcation line. It was reported on Sunday that the group removed one of the tents.
Secret Service Confirms Cocaine Was Found In West Wing Phone Cubby Hours After Hunter Biden Visit The good news is that since every visitor to the White House is logged and every square inch of the premises is under constant video surveillance, the mystery won’t last long… unless of course the White House webcam operator was previously in charge of the the Jeffrey Epstein suicide cams all of which “broke” just before the famous pedophile “killed himself.”
China taking credit for Putin not using nukes in Ukraine war Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use nuclear weapons during the invasion of Ukraine, with Beijing now determined to take credit for keeping Moscow’s nuclear threats in check, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
What the Wagner Revolt in Russia Means for China, Mideast Countries, and Beyond The question marks about the situation are compounded by reports that General Sergei Surovikin, the former top Russian military commander in Ukraine, knew in advance of Prigozhin’s planned revolt.Another senior military officer, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, appeared on video, chatting with Prighozin after the Rostov-on-Don takeover. Rather than wanting to replace Russia, China hopes to emerge as the dominant power in the region with Russia as its junior partner.
French journalist apprehended with 3 grenades at border crossing The journalist, who was in possession of an official journalist ID card, drove from the city of Jenin to the crossing this afternoon. Upon inspection of his vehicle, Ministry of Defense security guards discovered a gas grenade and two additional grenades used for riot dispersion. Police forces arrived at the crossing to safely dispose of the grenades.
As Russia cracks down on political dissidents, former Moscow chief rabbi branded ‘foreign agent’ Thousands of Russian Jewish families wait for permission to immigrate to Israel. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt was declared a “foreign agent” by Russia over the weekend amid Moscow’s growing crackdown on political dissidents. Goldschmidt previously served as Moscow’s chief rabbi in the Jewish community for three decades and as the acting president of the Conference of European Rabbis.
Netanyahu praises IDF Operation Home and Garden in Jenin, says more to come Netanyahu hailed the Israel Defense Forces for eliminating “many terrorist infrastructures” and preventing more attacks originating from the Palestinian terror hub. The prime minister stressed there would be more future IDF operations against the considerable terror network in the Jenin area.
From COVID to Ukraine: The experiment of godless Western liberalism has failed With the project to destabilize Russia backfiring, the Regime of the West is facing a dramatic loss of face. Combined with deepening economic problems, ballooning debt and civil strife between the parallel cultures which now compose its nations, the Western world is in the process of a second great disenchantment. What is ‘disenchantment’? the Encyclopedia Britannica notes, it has a definition … “the supposed conditions of the world once science and the Enlightenment have eroded the sway of religion and superstition.”
Ransomware criminals are targeting nation’s schools, dumping kids’ private files online The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts. “Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser at a school in Minneapolis. Other victims talked about wetting the bed or crying themselves to sleep.
Deadly flash floods sweep Lahore after record rainfall, Pakistan Seven fatalities were recorded in Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, following record-breaking rainfall that led to severe urban flooding and substantial infrastructure damage across various areas.
Storm Poly – Strongest summer storm on record hits the Netherlands An exceptional summer storm named Poly by the German Weather Service wreaked havoc in the Netherlands on July 5, 2023. Recognized as the strongest summer storm ever and the overall strongest since January 2018, Poly brought record-breaking wind speeds to the country, causing widespread damage and claiming at least one life.
Western Leaders Have Effectively Embraced Ukrainian Nazism As all wars do, the war in Ukraine has produced volumes of propaganda. The most popular theme is that Volodymyr Zelensky (genetically Jewish but without any Jewish religious or cultural ties) opposes the “Hitler-like” Putin. Indeed, Zelensky has accused Putin of Hitler-esque antisemitism, a claim that garners support from American Jews and the media. Israelis, however, do not support this assertion. They know the truth, which is that Ukraine has deep roots in Naziism, a relationship Ukraine celebrates to this day.
CDC Altered Minnesota Death Certificates that List a Covid Vaccine as a Cause of Death Someone (who needs to remain anonymous) was able to obtain the death certificates from Minnesota for all deaths that occurred from 2015 to the present, which presented the opportunity to see if the CDC is being entirely honest about the US death data. Unsurprisingly, the CDC is not.
Flashback: Chemtrails, vaccines and the many diseases they cause Aerial spraying of bacterium DNA particles via chemtrails was deployed on Chinese and Korean populations in 1946. Although the bacterium can lay dormant for decades, it can be triggered by vaccines. Many veterans of the war later developed multiple sclerosis.
Green Murder: We have a crisis but it’s not a climate crisis “We have a problem with a crisis. It’s not a crisis of climate. It’s a crisis of common sense. It’s a crisis of government policy. It’s a crisis of education … Green policy leads to people dying … We are killing people with green policies,” Professor Ian Plimer said.
“Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters.” —Samuel Adams (1775)
When it comes to defiling the White House, the Biden Crime Family surpasses even the Clintons.
Douglas Andrews
No one wants to talk about it, but Donald Trump had a coke habit when he was in the White House.
Actually, it was a Coke habit — a Diet Coke habit. If we’re to believe The New York Times, he’d guzzle a dozen cans a day. Further, he apparently had a “Diet Coke” button on the resolute desk in the Oval Office — a button Joe Biden removed on his first day in office, even before he executive-ordered the Keystone XL pipeline out of existence. Trump’s Coke habit was so serious, in fact, that CNN saw fit to chastise him about it in a full-length article.
In light of this, we have to wonder whether there are any limits to the corruption of the Biden Crime Family. That a bag of cocaine had been found over the weekend in a West Wing cubby used by guests and White House staffers isn’t surprising, given the people we’re talking about. Heck, we thought the Clintons defiled the White House. But these folks? The incessant lying; the grifting; the rainbow-colored lights and flags besmirching the people’s house; the cross-dressing sicko flashing his “boobs” on the White House lawn; the despicable deadbeat grandpa and grandma in the Oval Office; the crack-smoking, hooker-schtupping, money-grubbing, influence-peddling first son; and now a bag of blow finds its way into the West Wing.
No, the discovery of the cocaine isn’t the thing. The dismissiveness of the discovery is the thing — both by the authorities and by the mainstream media.
As Politico’s Daniel Lippman reports (emphasis added), “One official familiar with the investigation cautioned that the source of the drug was unlikely to be determined given that it was discovered in a highly trafficked area of the West Wing.”
Come again?
Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton asked about this in a letter yesterday: “Illegally possessing cocaine is a crime under federal law. If the Secret Service discovers the identity of the individual who brought illicit cocaine into the White House complex, will they make an arrest under this provision?”
They’d darn well better find the owner of that coke, and they’d darn well better make an arrest. For Joe Biden’s sake. Because there he was, clear as day, on June 20, 1991, way back when he was still lucid, taking to the Senate floor to pontificate on the evils of cocaine: “If you have a piece of crack cocaine, no bigger than this quarter, you’re caught with that, you go to jail for five years,” he bragged.
Well, Joe? What have you got to say now? When asked about it yesterday at the end of a tightly controlled press event, he just sat there and grinned. Have some coke and a smile, Uncle Joe.
But the need for an arrest isn’t just a matter of tamping down the strong and corrosive sense among everyday Americans that there are two tiers of justice in this country — one for those on the Left and another tier for those on the Right.
To understand why this goes well beyond the preferential treatment being afforded this Democrat president and his family and friends, let’s conduct a simple thought experiment: Let’s imagine that the substance found by the Secret Service wasn’t cocaine, but anthrax. Given this scenario, are we really to believe that someone could’ve come into the White House and carried out an assassination attempt without the Secret Service being able to identify the would-be assassin?
Apparently, the Secret Service is looking at security footage and White House visitor logs. Hmm … ya think?
“As you know,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the self-proclaimed “historic” White House press secretary, “the president and the first lady and their family were not here this weekend, as you all reported on this and as you also know that they left on Friday and returned just yesterday. Where this was discovered is a heavily traveled area where many White House, West Wing — I should be even more specific — West Wing visitors come through this particular area, I just don’t have anything more to share.”
Asked by a journalist whether Biden was committed to getting to the bottom of this, KJP replied: “The Secret Service is getting to the bottom of it and that’s what matters, and it’s under their purview. The president thinks it’s very important to get to the bottom of this. That’s why the Secret Service, which is under their purview, is looking into this. And they’re going to look into what happened this weekend. So the president thinks this is incredibly important to get to the bottom of this.”
We’ll see about that.
Occam’s Razor tells us that Hunter Biden is an obvious suspect, but no Russian hookers were found near the blow, so this would be a departure from the first son’s standard practice. But remember: This is the guy who so loved cocaine that there’s video of him weighing the precious stuff on that FBI-verified “Russian disinformation” laptop computer of his.
As Colin Rugg remarked upon reviewing footage of Hunter watching fireworks from the White House on July 4, “I’m not saying Hunter Biden snorted cocaine at the White House but if he did, I would expect it to look exactly like this.”
Strangely, Joe Biden passes long stretches of mind-numbing stupor with rare and brief bouts of lucidity, like when it’s necessary to read a primetime speech long after snuggerbunny time. Could the coke have been his? Could it have been the performance-enhancing drug that got him through that interminable State of the Union Address?
As Ron DeSantis put it, “The Biden administration has been blowing it on multiple fronts, but I guess that’s now a bit more literal than I thought it was.”
The Associated Press warns about the “wrong” sorts of people identifying with the word “patriot.”
Nate Jackson
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism,” warned George Washington in his 1796 Farewell Address. Washington was a man who dedicated his life to his country and loved it dearly. He knew a thing or two about real patriotism.
“Gentlemen,” he said to an audience 13 years earlier in 1783, “you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.”
With that setup, for obvious reasons, your humble Patriot Post team was intrigued by an Associated Press story about how a “polarized” America is having trouble with the word “patriot.” We’ve written a fair bit about the subject of patriotism over our nearly 27 years in operation, so we couldn’t pass up this story.
But the AP article isn’t a deep-diving investigative report. It’s a hit piece by what the late Rush Limbaugh dubbed the “drive-by media.”
For starters, says the AP, the definition of the word “patriot” is in the eye of the beholder:
Today, the word and its variants have morphed beyond the original meaning. It has become infused in political rhetoric and school curriculums, with varying definitions, while being appropriated by white nationalist groups. Trying to define what a patriot is depends on who is being asked.
Naturally, many beholders are people the AP doesn’t like very much. “Far-right and extremist groups have branded themselves with American motifs and the term ‘patriot’ since at least the early 20th century,” the AP notes. After the requisite name-dropping of Timothy McVeigh, the article continues, “Many right-wing groups have called themselves ‘patriots’ as they’ve fought election processes, LGBTQ+ rights, vaccines, immigration, diversity programs in schools and more. Former President Donald Trump frequently refers to his supporters as ‘patriots.’”
Can it get any worse? they must be thinking.
We’re not here to defend the nation’s paltry handful of actual white supremacists but to rebuke the Left’s mischaracterization of virtually all Republicans as such.
In any case, how do the AP’s trio of intrepid journalists know that the “wrong” people are choosing the word? By appealing to the experts at the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as in academia. The writers just don’t bother including a single word identifying or even hinting at the ideological bent of the supposed experts opining on the subject. We’ll dispel the mystery: Those experts are far-left extremists who view anyone to the right of Karl Marx with contempt.
Lest you think we’re totally unfair, we’ll acknowledge that the AP gets a couple of things right. The opening paragraph sets up a widely agreed definition of the word “patriot” by recounting “the courage of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for independence from Great Britain.” It also notes festivities honoring “the military and those who sacrificed in other conflicts that helped preserve the nation’s freedom over its 247-year history.”
Later, the article quotes Republicans like “former Reagan-era education secretary Bill Bennett” who want to instill patriotic curriculum in schools.
But the AP scribes conclude with a rebuttal by a Democrat “who previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard,” a fact included so as to thwart any challenge to his view. Moreover, on the subject of curriculum, it is leftists in public K-12 schools and colleges and universities who are teaching kids to hate America because of its supposedly systemically racist and oppressively capitalist past.
As the AP paraphrases the favored Democrat, “Saying one curriculum is ‘patriotic’ suggests that others currently in use are not.” Well, if the shoe fits. There’s nothing patriotic about, say, the 1619 Project or critical race theory more generally. Teaching love of America, warts and all, is by definition more patriotic.
The AP and the rest of the Leftmedia are too busy treating “patriot” like the new “Nazi” while running op-eds that someone wrote from the fainting couch after enduring the ghastly sight of … lots of American flags.
It’s not just school and the media. Earlier this year, Joe Biden’s Department of Defense — which oversees the Patriots who voluntarily give their lives to defending the flag and the Liberty it represents — prohibited certain flag displays.
Don’t even get us started on that garish “progressive pride” flag display at Biden’s White House recently, which dishonored the U.S. flag and made a mockery of patriotism.
True patriotism won’t flourish in more people without better instruction on what it is. The Associated Press and the experts cited fall woefully short of anything resembling helpful analysis. For that instruction, we suggest you start here.
And remember these other immortal words from Washington’s Farewell: “The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.”
Biden’s not done with student loans, NIH grants $3M to mutilate kids, lawlessness breeds child hoodlums, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
Biden’s not done with student loans: Fresh off a deserved spanking from the U.S. Supreme Court over his unconstitutional college loan debt cancellation scheme, Joe Biden has stubbornly decided to double down. The Department of Education has concocted a new rule for school loan repayments dubbed Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE). It revises the current Revised Pay-As-You-Earn (REPAYE) income-based loan repayment program. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona explained, “It will cut monthly payments to zero dollars for millions of low-income borrowers, save all other borrowers at least $1,000 per year, and stop runaway interest that leaves borrowers owing more than their initial loan.” The Biden administration cites the Higher Education Act of 1965, claiming it effectively gives the DOE secretary the power to forgive student loans. Inconvenient fact: The DOE as currently configured didn’t exist in 1965. This latest gambit will likely be headed back to the Court. In the meantime, Democrats see it as a favorable campaign issue.
Biden to hide new regulations from public review: Back in April, Joe Biden signed a little-noticed executive order that doubled the cost threshold requirement for triggering an economic impact review for a new regulation. Ironically, citing high inflation (which he caused) as the reason, Biden upped the required regulation review threshold from $100 million to $200 million. Ryan Young of the Competitive Enterprise Institute now observes that Biden is effectively working to ensure “fewer challenges to rules, less transparency and a freer hand for the executive branch to act without the legislature and the judiciary checking them.” Biden is working to hide the number of burdensome and controlling regulations his administration is foisting onto the American people.
NIH grants $3M to mutilate kids: Republican Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio recently slammed the National Institutes of Health over its funding of a program titled “TRANS-NIH RESEARCH SUPPORT.” The program began in September 2021 and NIH has funneled over $3 million in taxpayer money to it. The aim is to create a “Trans Health Guide” and “expand the local workforce of gender-affirming care providers” and “advance equity and reduce mental health disparities for TGD youth through … systemic changes that increase access to gender-affirming care.” Paul charged the NIH with using “taxpayer money to fund dangerous and controversial youth transgender research.” Rubio added, “The NIH should not use U.S. taxpayer dollars to encourage or promote transgenderism in children, especially when that means subjecting kids to damaging and irreversible surgeries and hormones.” In a sane world, that would go without saying.
Are hiking paths racist? Evidently they are in Oregon — at least that’s the claim of a hiker and black Shakespearean actor, Tyrone Wilson, one of the founders of what amount to segregationist hiking groups named “Unlikely Hikers,” “OutGrown,” and “People of Color Outdoors.” Wilson ironically advertises his “anti-racist” hiking groups as recreational communities for “people who are more afraid of encountering a person with a prejudice than a mountain lion.” In other words, he perpetuates the leftist myth that even the hiking trails are a vestige of “white supremacy.”
San Francisco’s lawlessness breeds child hoodlums: A group of baseball bat-wielding kids have been attacking and robbing mothers and nannies with young children in one of San Francisco’s wealthier neighborhoods. The gangs of kids who assault and threaten these young moms are just the latest element of San Francisco’s growing crime problem. Youths are increasingly involved in violent crime because the city has effectively permitted it. Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow and former prosecutor Charles Stimson explains why these kids are getting away with these crimes: “People do not report these crimes because when you have a DA who’s pro criminal and not going to enforce the law, the cops aren’t going to go out and arrest somebody when they know the case is going to be no papered.” Failure to hold people accountable for their bad actions will only ensure more bad behavior.
American Spirit: Woman retires after 74 years at same store: Ninety-year-old Melba Mebane recently retired from a Dillard’s department store in Tyler, Texas, where she had worked for the past 74 years. Store manager James Saenz praised her work ethic and character. “Melba sets the tone for everything, every expectation, every customer service quality that we look for in a luxury experience,” he said. “She provides all of it to the team. Can you imagine how many people she coached and taught and trained to aspire to be more?” Astoundingly, Mebane never missed a day of work during her 74 years at the store. She was “not just a salesperson,” Saenz added. “She’s a mother. She guides you. She gives you advice on life. She’s amazing.” Ginger Wimbs, who worked with Mebane for the past 33 of those 74 years and called her “my dear friend,” said, “She loves people and she loves to work.” Dillard’s honored Mebane with a “Beyond Excellence” award, and a plaque featuring her photo hangs on the wall of the store. We hope Mebane’s story and work ethic inspire many more young people today to see work as not merely a means to a paycheck but as an opportunity to serve others.
Headlines
Biden DOJ appeals ruling barring officials from communicating with social media companies (National Review)
The cruelty is the point: Biden orders White House staff to deny granddaughter’s existence (Free Beacon)
Democrats ramp up pressure on Biden to pack the Supreme Court after latest rulings (Fox News)
Biden personally met with SPLC staff six times, foreshadowing renewed attacks on parent groups (Daily Signal)
“Sound of Freedom” takes top spot at box office on Fourth of July (Daily Wire)
Soros charity to slash workforce by 40% (Free Beacon)
CDC gives guidance for trans people “chestfeeding” kids, accused of failing to consider possible health risks (Fox News)
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoes bipartisan bill protecting women’s sports (Daily Wire)
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro backs off $100 million in private school vouchers (National Review)
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declares ban on recording without consent unconstitutional (FM News 101 KXL)
U.S. Navy says Iran tried to seize two oil tankers, fired on one (NBC News)
Mercenary warlord Prigozhin breaks silence following Belarus exile in message to Russian people (Fox News)
Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray are separating to date other people — without moving out or divorcing (NY Post)
Policy: CBO report illustrates the cause of our debt problem: It’s the spending, stupid! (The Federalist)
Satire: Democrats confused by parades where everyone wears clothes and doesn’t swing sex toys around (Babylon Bee)
Humor: New White House janitor Günter Hiden arrives to clean up leftover cocaine (Babylon Bee)
Finding a husband or a wife can truly be a difficult proposition.
Emmy Griffin
Roughly 25% of American men and women in their 40s have never been married. In approaching this subject, it needs to be made clear that although there are some significant cultural problems adding to the difficulty for this generation finding husbands and wives, there are also a significant number who are single because of life circumstances, not for lack of desire.
Let’s break down the breakdown, and perhaps the solution will be made more evident in the diagnosis.
According to a recent Pew Research analysis of census data, that quarter of 40-year-olds who have never married is five percentage points higher than in 2010. It prompts two big questions: Why is this demographic growing? Is marriage no longer a worthwhile institution?
Many people would agree that marriage is a good thing. According the Scholars Strategy Network: “Marriage has historically provided many benefits. Individuals who are married enjoy better physical and mental health, have more social ties and higher household incomes, accumulate more wealth, and raise children who do better in terms of health and social outcomes than children of unmarried parents.”
However, the institution of marriage has been slowly collapsing.
Historical Roots
One can usually trace the start of the destruction of marriage in American culture to the enshrining of no-fault divorce. This law was enacted in 1967 for the first time by then-California Governor Ronald Reagan. He would later describe it as the biggest mistake of his political career. In a less direct way, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” that really took root in 1964 actually incentivized not getting married and also having children out of wedlock.
The 1960s were largely regarded as the start of the sexual revolution. There were many pieces of the puzzle coming into play that helped to facilitate the undermining of marriage. Contraceptives were made legal and widely available, reducing the consequences of sex outside of marriage. The divorce rate started spiking, and today more than half of marriages are ending in divorce.
In 2015, another blow was struck against the institution of marriage: the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling that nationalized the idea that marriage could be between anyone and not just a man and a woman. Up until that point, it was a state issue and arguably should have remained so. In 2022, Democrat and Republican lawmakers codified Obergefell by signing the deceptively named Respect for Marriage Act. Marriage is no longer defined as a legal union between a man and a woman. It is now a legal union with someone you love, which has led to some strange and sad extremes like people marrying themselves.
Marriage was and always will be between a man and woman starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is an institution ordained by God even though the Left continues to refine and ultimately degrade and defile it. This facilitated the breaking down of the institution of marriage and the very meaning of marriage. Subsequently, the breakdown of masculinity and femininity has led many to delay or avoid the institution altogether.
Delaying
Both men and women are putting off getting married as an intentional choice. For some, marriage is seen as an afterthought, something that comes after you find success in a career. Women in particular are sold the feminist lies that dismiss and marginalize men. Men are not naturally inclined to commitment. It is a virtue that is developed over time, often taught by fathers. Men and women also delay getting married because they do not want children, which is one of the primary purposes of marriage.
Forgoing
As a consequence of the sexual revolution, contraceptives, and the breakdown of marriage as an institution, cohabitation has become a popular choice. Pew says, “In 2022, 22% of never-married adults ages 40 to 44 were cohabiting.”
The truth is that cohabitation benefits no one. People in this situation are roommates with benefits. There are few incentives to stick around when the going gets tough, and the relationship lacks the trust and commitment of marriage. Men and women have also been duped into the player lifestyle, i.e., sleeping around and never committing.
Life Circumstances
There are also plenty of never-married men and women who have sought marriage. They have lived moral and upstanding lives and faithfully pursued relationships that just didn’t work out. Sadly, life doesn’t always conform to the plans we have for it. These bachelors and bachelorettes are part of the statistic, though their circumstances are vastly different.
There is a marriage crisis that is unaddressed in the Unites States. Even a loving, committed marriage can be challenging at times. Those in power, namely leftists, are doing everything in their power to destroy what dignity is left in marriage. To quote our own Nate Jackson: “Marriage isn’t easy and can be downright hard. Joining two independent, imperfect people together in holy matrimony doesn’t always go well. It’s not a condemnation but rather a lament for the human condition to observe that the traditional, intact nuclear family no longer describes most American homes.”
It should be lamented, but that doesn’t mean we cannot turn the cultural tide around. Marriage is an institution that brings stability, is best for the raising of children, and is established by God. And since marriage is God’s, it would not at all be surprising if this dire straight for middle-aged men and women (which in many ways speaks for the culture more broadly) turns into a revival and renewal. That is something to cling to as we continue to weather these treacherous cultural waters.
Regardless of their political preferences, Supreme Court justices ought to be able to agree on constitutional fundamentals.
Jack DeVine
The U.S. Supreme Court finished its term last week with a trifecta of landmark rulings: one disallowing race-based admissions to universities, another confirming an individual’s First Amendment right to follow her conscience in producing artistic work, and a third rejecting the president’s executive order on student debt forgiveness.
Each ruling was decided by a 6-3 vote, along conservative/progressive lines. Each was expected, and each was profoundly important in its own way.
As usual, the Court’s actions were politically controversial. The “progressive” Left, anticipating the outcomes, was primed and ready with prepackaged outrage about right-wing extremism, racism, callousness, etc. On the other side, conservatives were fully supportive of what they considered to be sound and sensible rulings.
But why 6-3 votes? Why not 9-0? Politics aside, the three matters at issue seem constitutionally simple and straightforward. Should we not expect preeminent jurists sitting on the highest court of the land to set aside their political preferences and evaluate each case solely on its legal merits?
Of course, that’s a loaded question. We know the answer: Our U.S. Supreme Court, contrary to the clear intentions of our Founders, has become thoroughly politicized. The current Court’s three leftist members were selected by Democrat presidents based on their “progressive” bona fides and are seen as representatives of that segment of the American populace. And frankly, the same partisan alignment is true of the six conservative members.
But it’s a question worth asking, for several reasons. The Court has not always been this partisan. The primary reason for lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court is to free the justices from political pressures. Over the years, we’ve seen justices refine their thinking, often supporting positions they once would have rejected out of hand. Their job is to rise above the political fray of the moment and reach objective, apolitical conclusions, every time.
Consider each of last week’s decisions:
The Court’s ruling on race-based university admissions is nothing less than a reinforcement of our Constitution’s guarantee, to every citizen, of equal protection under the law.
America was founded on that principle, asserted in the Declaration of Independence (celebrated this week), implemented in the Constitution, and reiterated unambiguously in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Delivering on the promise of true equality has not been easy. Over the past 60 years, affirmative action policies and practices have arguably contributed to remarkable advancement for minorities; but it’s no surprise that mechanisms intended to level the playing field by tilting it down in one direction result in an uphill tilt in the other.
It is clear now that perhaps well-intended university admissions practices to prevent discrimination against blacks have had the unintended consequence of discriminating against Americans of Asian descent. That’s unconstitutional. And as Chief Justice John Roberts keeps reminding us, the best way to prevent discrimination is to stop discriminating.
It’s an easy call — a perfect candidate for 9-0.
In the case of the artist unwilling to produce a design (a same-sex wedding website) at odds with her religious convictions, the Court confirmed that the First Amendment guarantees her that right. The sexual orientation of those who asked her to do so is irrelevant. Another good candidate for a 9-0 vote.
And regarding student loan forgiveness, the constitutionally prescribed separation of powers is about as clear as it can be. The president (and perhaps three Supreme Court justices) may support the concept of loan forgiveness, but only Congress can decide that taxpayers should foot the nearly half-trillion-dollar bill. This one is a third slam dunk — a sure-fire 9-0 candidate.
An independent, apolitical judiciary is central to the health and stability of our government. But right now, public confidence in our Supreme Court is at an all-time low. That’s not an accident; it’s a political calculus — and it’s bad for the country.
What started as a fierce (and at times violent) reaction by the Left to the Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has ballooned into a concerted attack on the Court itself. It’s working. Convincing Americans that their Supreme Court justices and the Court’s rulings can’t be trusted has proven to be an effective political tactic; it was a major factor in the 2022 midterm elections, and Democrats surely plan to fan those flames again in 2024.
Our Supreme Court justices cannot fix political hyperpartisanship, but they can refuse to be drawn into it. Like all American citizens, they have every right to hold and express whatever views they choose. But they simultaneously have a responsibility to render apolitical judicial decisions.
And a few 9-0 votes on contentious but obvious issues would speak volumes about national unity.
Jimmy Lai is a remarkable man, and a hero of freedom.
John Stossel
This week, while we celebrate the work of America’s founders, I honor a living freedom fighter: billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai.
When Communist China crushed freedom in Hong Kong, Lai could have gone anywhere in the world and lived a life of luxury. But he chose to stay in Hong Kong and go to jail.
A new documentary, “The Hong Konger,” tells his story.
Lai grew up in poverty in China.
“My mother was (imprisoned) in a labor camp,” he recalls. “We were just 5 or 6 and managing ourselves without an adult in the household. When I was 8 and 9, I worked in the railway station carrying people’s baggage.”
There he learned about a little British-controlled island near China called Hong Kong, where people were less poor. So he went there “in the bottom of a fishing junk, together with maybe 100, maybe 80, people, and everybody vomiting.”
Once in Hong Kong, he was amazed at how plentiful food was. “I never saw so many things for breakfast. I was so moved. I was crying.”
He got a job in a sweatshop. “We had to wake up before 7 and worked until 10 p.m. But it was a very happy time … a time that I know I had a future.”
The chance to have a future makes such a difference.
At the time, Hong Kong was an unusually free country. Police enforced law and order, but otherwise, the British rulers left people alone. That allowed people to prosper.
“The British gave us the institutions of freedom,” says Lai. “Rule of law, free speech, the free market … That created the best in the world. That was very enlightening for me.”
Lai eventually saved enough money to start a clothing business. “I started a very small factory. Eventually we became one of the biggest sweater factories in Hong Kong.” Gradually, his clothing business, Giordano, made him rich.
Lai assumed that the Communist Chinese, seeing the prosperity in Hong Kong, would leave the island alone. After all, even the Communists were embracing some capitalism.
“I thought China is going to be changed,” says Lai. “China is going to be like Western country that I’ve been to. I was very excited.”
But then came the Tiananmen Square massacre. That inspired Lai to start a media company. Media are important, he said, because they deliver information, “which is choice, and choice is freedom.”
Lai’s media business thrived. He covered Chinese government abuses when other Hong Kong media wouldn’t. “Everybody was so chickened out, so scared. They went into self-censorship to avoid offending the Communists.”
Even foreign investors kept quiet to protect their investments in China.
Then, in 2020, China passed a “national security” law that declared it illegal for Hong Kongers to criticize the Chinese government.
“It became impossible for media to survive!” complained Lai. “Whatever we say can be sedition.”
A conviction for sedition would mean jail time, three years to life.
But Lai kept his paper open.
“If we just surrender,” he said, “We will lose the rule of law. Lose the freedom. We will lose everything.”
Hong Kong did lose its freedom, but Lai still refused to leave. “I came here without anything. … I owe freedom my life. … Don’t think about the consequences. Do what is right.”
For publishing the truth about the Communist government, Lai was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail. Chinese officials say they may add more years. Still, Lai says he doesn’t regret his decision to stay.
“It would be so boring just being a businessman. I want to make my life more meaningful and interesting. That’s why I got into the trouble I got into today. And I’m happy to have it.”
Happy?
Jimmy Lai is a remarkable man, and a hero of freedom.
You can watch the whole documentary about him at FreeJimmyLai.com.
Douglas Andrews: Is Democrat Extremism Alienating Minorities? — Whether the issue is racial animus, radical transgenderism, or unchecked illegal immigration, the GOP is becoming more appealing to minority voters.
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
Moms for Liberty Labeled a ‘Hate Group’ — The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled Moms for Liberty a “hate group,” and the media goes along with this nonsense.
“I am a Catholic — baptized, raised, and confirmed. The fundamental tenets of my faith compel me to defend a women’s right to access abortion. I am proudly part of the faithful large majority of US Catholics who support legal protections for abortion access.” —Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
A Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day
“The left is missing the crisis happening [with] men today and we need to talk about it openly and without fear. We cannot avoid the biological/evolutionary differences between men and women.” —Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Re: The Gender Cult
“I think it’s the most unfair group walking the planet right now. They have a playbook that only they’re playing by. No one else gets to see this playbook, but we’re being judged by everything that’s in this playbook.” —former NBA player Gilbert Arenas regarding LGBTQ+
For the Record
“Contrary to what most Americans assume, affirmative action has never helped poor kids. In fact, Harvard favors wealthy kids. Only 3% of the student body come from low-income families. A staggering 67% come from families in the top fifth of the nation’s earners, per data provided by Harvard researcher Raj Chetty. Nearly three-quarters of Harvard’s Black and Hispanic students come from high-earning families.” —Betsy McCaughey
“Many Democrats believe packing the Supreme Court is justified simply because they disagree with certain decisions of the Court. Let that sink in.” —Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
“The Biden Admin’s Afghanistan report is a cover-up. They try to pass the blame but don’t explain why they abandoned our conditions-based approach. Or why they left Bagram Air Base before evacuating civilians. Or why they arbitrarily selected 9/11 as a final deadline. A complete failure of leadership. The catastrophic handling of Afghanistan encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine. Weakness is provocative, and we’ll be paying for these mistakes for years.” —former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Observations
“There is … a palpable gloom that has taken over the country. … This doesn’t feel like Ronald Reagan’s Morning in America. It feels like dusk. It feels like Biden’s big bills are coming due soon and that it will take a long, long time to pay them off. … Biden wants to strike up the band on the economy and his record as president, but few Americans feel like celebrating his ‘achievements.’” —Stephen Moore
“When an entire generation is as poorly prepared for the responsibilities of citizenship as today’s young people are — including the ultimate responsibility of defending the nation — the blame falls heaviest on their elders. Our institutions shaped this youth cohort, and the leaders at the top of our institutions utterly failed them.” —Daniel McCarthy
“I don’t know if social media made people monsters or just gave them the opportunity to expose themselves to the world.” —Derek Hunter
And Last…
“I do know this — and I think the American people can see it — the Washington managerial elite, the establishment, if you will, is working harder than an ugly stripper to cover up whatever happened.” —Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) on the Biden corruption cover-up
An eyewitness with stunning claims about the Biden family scandals has come forward on a video, yet so far ABC, CBS and NBC have yet to report on them.
Israeli professor and former Israeli army officer Dr. Gal Luft in a 14-minute long video (released by the New York Post on late Wednesday night) claimed he was about to testify to the House Oversight Committee on the Biden family receiving payments from Chinese officials but was arrested in Cyprus, before he could deliver that testimony.
On July 5, the New York Post’s Miranda Devine reported the following:
The “missing witness” from the Biden corruption investigation, Israeli professor Dr. Gal Luft, has laid out his bribery allegations against the president’s family in an extraordinary video filmed in an undisclosed location while he’s on the run.
In the 14-minute recording, obtained exclusively by The Post, the fugitive former Israeli army officer claims he was arrested in Cyprus to stop him from testifying to the House Oversight Committee that the Biden family received payments from individuals with alleged ties to Chinese military intelligence and that they had an FBI mole who shared classified information with their benefactors from the China-controlled energy company CEFC.
The self-proclaimed fall guy says he provided the incriminating evidence to six officials from the FBI and the Department of Justice in a secret meeting in Brussels in March 2019 — but alleges that it was covered up.
Devine then quoted Luft from his video:
“I, who volunteered to inform the US government about a potential security breach and about compromising information about a man vying to be the next president, am now being hunted by the very same people who I informed — and may have to live on the run for the rest of my life on the run …”
“I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. I have no political motive or agenda … I did it out of deep concern that if the Bidens were to come to power, the country would be facing the same traumatic Russia collusion scandal — only this time with China. Sadly, because of the DOJ’s cover-up, this is exactly what happened …”
“I warned the government about potential risk to the integrity of the 2020 elections … Ask yourself, who is the real criminal in this story?”
After noting that House Oversight Chairman James Comer says Luft remains a “potential witness,” Devine continued her report:
It remains to be seen whether Luft is the man who will bring down the Bidens, but he is not going quietly into the sunset.
He is determined to tell the American public his version of the truth.
Calling himself “patient zero of the Biden family investigation,” Luft, 57, says he is innocent of charges of conspiring to sell Chinese weapons to Kenya, Libya and the UAE, of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and of making a false statement.
He says he was forced to skip bail in Cyprus in April while awaiting extradition “because I did not believe I will receive a fair trial in a New York court.”
Now he is challenging the government to release the minutes of the Brussels meeting and make public the evidence against him.
…
Luft says he told the DOJ and the FBI in Brussels that Joe Biden, soon after his vice presidential term ended, had attended a meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC, with his son Hunter and officials from CEFC. Luft’s account of the former VP’s presence at that meeting was corroborated 21 months later when the FBI interviewed another attendee, Biden family associate Rob Walker, according to recent testimony before Congress.
Luft disclosed during the Brussels interview that CEFC was paying $100,000 a month to Hunter and $65,000 to his uncle Jim Biden, in exchange for their FBI connections and use of the Biden name to promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative around the world — and that the money was being funneled through Walker.
While the broadcast networks have yet to utter a word on this amazing development, FNC’s Fox & Friends did jump on the story this morning.
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz joined ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss the growing presidential candidate field ahead of the highly anticipated 2024 election. #foxbusiness
Through the Russia/Ukraine crisis the UK government has been among the most bellicose in urging Ukraine to fight Russia to the last man. UK politicians openly talk about being “at war” with Russia. But yesterday Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, UK Chief of the Defence Staff broke the bad news to tough-talking UK: They have no tanks! They have no army! It was all just bluster! Also today, CNN puzzled by anyone opposing government censorship. Watch today’s Liberty Report:
A new study preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) in The Lancet suggests COVID vaccines caused deaths.
The paper, published as a pre-print, shows 74% of deaths post-vax could be attributed to the vaccine being a cause of death.
THE ABSTRACT
Background: The rapid development and widespread deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, combined with a high number of adverse event reports, have led to concerns over possible mechanisms of injury, including systemic lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and mRNA distribution, spike protein-associated tissue damage, thrombogenicity, immune system dysfunction, and carcinogenicity.
The aim of this systematic review is to investigate possible causal links between COVID-19 vaccine administration and death using autopsies and post-mortem analysis.
Methods: We searched for all published autopsy and necropsy reports relating to COVID-19 vaccination up until May 18th, 2023. We initially identified 678 studies and, after screening for our inclusion criteria, included 44 papers that contained 325 autopsy cases and one necropsy case. Three physicians independently reviewed all deaths and determined whether COVID-19 vaccination was the direct cause or contributed significantly to death.
Findings: The most implicated organ system in COVID-19 vaccine-associated death was the cardiovascular system (53%), followed by the hematological system (17%), the respiratory system (8%), and multiple organ systems (7%). Three or more organ systems were affected in 21 cases. The mean time from vaccination to death was 14.3 days. Most deaths occurred within a week from the last vaccine administration. A total of 240 deaths (73.9%) were independently adjudicated as directly due to or significantly contributed to by COVID-19 vaccination.
Interpretation: The consistency seen among cases in this review with known COVID-19 vaccine adverse events, their mechanisms, and related excess death, coupled with autopsy confirmation and physician-led death adjudication, suggests there is a high likelihood of a causal link between COVID-19 vaccines and death in most cases. Further urgent investigation is required for the purpose of clarifying our findings.
They basically were looking for the “cleanest” proof of death, but it’s likely that all 71% of the cases (25 out of 35) died from the vaccine; it’s just harder to “prove” that.
THE RESEARCHERS
Nicolas Hulscher University of Michigan at Ann Arbor – School of Public Health
Paul E. Alexander Government of the United States of America – Department of Health and Human Services
“Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”? George Orwell, 1984
The Venn diagram above perfectly captures the zeitgeist of our current dystopian world better than any academic drivel disguised as a scientific study or any regime media produced propaganda disguised as journalism. In fact, these three novels capture everything that has gone terribly wrong in our world, and I put the blame at the feet of totalitarian governments and an apathetic fearful populace who went along because it was the easiest path to follow.
These three novels, considered among the top 100 novels ever written, were penned between 1931 and 1953, during three distinct periods, which are reflected in the themes and story lines of their dystopian worlds. They were supposed to be works of fiction, providing warnings of what could happen if we made the wrong choices and trusted the wrong people. Sadly, they became user manuals for today’s authoritarian dictators in how to control, condition and cow a population of indoctrinated sheep, as displayed during the covid pandemic exercise.
Knowing the fate of the three protagonists in these novels does not provide much hope for those trapped in the same nightmarish dystopia we are experiencing today. The three protagonists in these dystopian novels have more similarities than differences. Montag, the fireman who burns books in Fahrenheit 451, is the protagonist who begins to question his life, his profession, and why he and most of the population are deeply unhappy. His curiosity about the books he previously burned leads him into conflict with his family, his bosses, and society. He murders his boss and becomes a fugitive among the other rebels who love books and refuse to knuckle under to the totalitarians blowing up and burning their world.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday pressed the U.S. Secret Service for details regarding its ongoing investigation into the discovery of cocaine at the White House.
The Secret Service confirmed that cocaine was found in the West Wing of the White House on Sunday, believed to have been brought in by someone who works there or had authorization to be there. This development has prompted Republican lawmakers to raise broader questions about security and drug use at the presidential residence.
In a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Mr. Cotton urged the agency to promptly provide information regarding the specific location within the White House complex where the substance was found.
“The American people deserve to know whether illicit drugs were found in an area where confidential information is exchanged,” wrote Mr. Cotton (pdf).
The letter posed a series of questions to Ms. Cheatle, seeking clarification on the security of the complex and requesting the Secret Service’s plan to address any identified security flaws.
“If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any security flaws,” wrote Mr. Cotton, who is a member of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism.
He also requested a “complete list” of individuals who can enter the White House without undergoing full security screenings as well as those who are subject to lesser security screening requirements than those entering the West Wing, along with “the reasons such individuals are not subject to complete screening.”
Mr. Cotton also asked for data on the Secret Service’s use of K-9 screenings and information about audits conducted on their security procedures.
The letter additionally inquired about the frequency of encounters with illegal drugs at the White House complex over the past five years. Citing a section of the U.S. Code, Mr. Cotton asked whether the Secret Service would exercise its authority to make warrantless arrests for offenses committed in their presence or for any felony under federal law if the individual responsible for bringing cocaine into the White House is identified.
The Republican senator gave the Secret Service director until 5 p.m. on July 14 to respond. He also requested a briefing on the matter and the provision of classified or law enforcement-sensitive answers to his questions.
White House Tight Lipped
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre avoided providing specifics when asked several times about the location where the cocaine was found and the potential consequences that might emerge from the Secret Service’s investigation.
She informed reporters on Wednesday that the substance was discovered in a “heavily traveled” area of the West Wing, which is routinely accessed by visitors and staff.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on July 5, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
She expressed confidence in the Secret Service’s investigation but would not be drawn to provide further details, repeatedly saying the probe is “under their purview.”
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, told The Epoch Times on Wednesday they are going to do their best “to identify who may have brought it in.” He said the illicit substance was found in an area closed to the public but accessible by staff, the media, guests, and others with business in the West Wing during the security screening process.
“There’s a multitude of individuals who come through this area. It’s an open area for individuals who are authorized to be in the West Wing,” Mr. Guglielmi said.
Responding to the news, former President Donald Trump, a candidate for the 2024 presidential election, took to Truth Social to express skepticism.
“Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter and Joe Biden,” Mr. Trump said on Wednesday.
Ms. Jean-Pierre noted that the president and his family were at Camp David over the weekend.
“They left on Friday and returned just yesterday,” she said at Wednesday’s press briefing.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, another 2024 candidate, expressed disbelief during an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s nationally syndicated radio show on Wednesday. Pence said it would be “wall to wall” media coverage if cocaine had been found in the West Wing during the Trump–Pence administration.
“I mean, if the news accounts I read are right, this was in, this was not in the White House complex, right?” Pence said. “This was in the residence itself, if I understand,” he added. “It was in the library in the White House.”
“We ought to know in real-time who brought and left cocaine on a table in the residence in the White House, but I’m not holding my breath,” he added.
The White House was briefly evacuated on Sunday night after the Secret Service found the illicit substance, which at the time it described only as an “unknown item.” The discovery of the mysterious substance in the West Wing prompted the dispatch of a hazmat team as well as the D.C. Fire Department and EMS.
Judge Jeanine Pirro joined Rose Unplugged to discuss the Biden Crime Family and her new book: “Crimes Against America: The Left’s Takedown of Our Republic”
Judge Jeanine talked about Abraham Lincoln’s prediction about whether or not America would die and how she might die.
“The only thing that could defeat us is if we were to die by suicide. If our death could be inflicted by ourselves,” Judge Jeanine said of Abraham Lincoln’s prediction.
“We are no longer a sovereign nation,” Judge Jeanine said. “We are literally a globalist landing spot with benefits.”
In a direct challenge to Twitter, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is about to launch his own comparable social media platform “Threads.” And if you were unaware of this momentous news until now, do not feel bad. Outside of the “Big Tech” echo chamber, few others have heard about it either. Moreover, expect the world we live in to be little different on Friday, the day after the much ballyhooed Threads Thursday launch.
It is altogether telling that Zuckerberg and his kind think they can somehow neutralize the reach of Twitter, for which they have total disdain ever since it was purchased by multi-billionaire Elon Musk. Upon taking the helm, Musk proceeded to clean house and rescue Twitter from the mire of leftie censors and manipulators who had thoroughly stifled and choked the voices of Conservatives and Patriots. Instead, Musk contends for free speech for all, not fearing an open exchange of ideas on the Twitter platform. Among “Big Tech” and its Fake News lackeys, the outrage against Musk has been venomous and incessant ever since.
This pattern is actually a repeat of other events which transpired in recent decades. In the late 1980s, America was stunned to suddenly hear the frank and refreshing honesty of Rush Limbaugh over the AM radio airwaves. Prior to his daily three hour program, the only “news” of National issues that was available to the American people was filtered through the near monopoly of the “networks,” along with the New York Times and Washington Post. It was nearly impossible to gain access to the facts in any other manner.
However, Limbaugh combined his inimitable sense of humor with a surgical precision in spotlighting the happenings of the day, seeing through the bias, “connecting the dots,” and explaining all of it in stark clarity for the Nation. Suddenly, leftists had lost their critically necessary media/information monopoly, by which they had been steadily encroaching on the morals and traditions of America’s history and founding. Finally, Americans were getting the truth. Something drastic had to be done! Amazingly, the leftist political apparatus presumed it could simply out muscle Limbaugh on the AM talk radio venue.
Several nearly comical flailing attempts followed, all of which stumbled along for a few years before shutting down. In the mid 1990s former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle was put in front of a microphone. Surely, being the consummate leftist Democrat D.C. insider, he could outwit Limbaugh, a mere commoner who had gained a voice. Eventually, the plug was pulled on the pathologically insipid Daschle debacle.
How many Americans have actually bothered to read the Constitution, let alone the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights (a quick read at 462 words)?
Take a few minutes and read those words for yourself—rather than having some court or politician translate them for you—and you will be under no illusion about where to draw the line when it comes to speaking your mind, criticizing your government, defending what is yours, doing whatever you want on your own property, and keeping the government’s nose out of your private affairs.
In an age of overcriminalization, where the average citizen unknowingly commits three crimes a day, and even the most mundane activities such as fishing and gardening are regulated, government officials are constantly telling Americans what not to do.
Yet it was not always this way.
It used to be “we the people” giving the orders, telling the government what it could and could not do. Indeed, the three words used most frequently throughout the Bill of Rights in regards to the government are “no,” “not” and “nor.”
Compare the following list of “don’ts” the government is prohibited from doing with the growing list of abuses to which “we the people” are subjected on a daily basis, and you will find that we have reached a state of crisis wherein the government is routinely breaking the law and violating its contractual obligations.
For instance, the government is NOT allowed to restrict free speech, press, assembly or the citizenry’s ability to protest and correct government wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the government continues to prosecute whistleblowers, persecute journalists, criminalize expressive activities, crack down on large gatherings of citizens mobilizing to voice their discontent with government policies, and insulate itself and its agents from any charges of wrongdoing (or what the courts refer to as “qualified immunity“).
The government may NOT infringe on a citizen’s right to defend himself. Nevertheless, in many states, it’s against the law to carry a concealed weapon (gun, knife or even pepper spray), and the average citizen is permitted little self-defense against militarized police officers who shoot first and ask questions later.
This “would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians,” the NGO says
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned the US
against supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions which have been banned in more than 100 countries due to the severe risk they pose to civilian populations.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NGO sounded the alarm over media reports that the US government is considering whether to approve deliveries of the deadly weapons, which Kiev has been requesting for months. The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a senior White House source, that Washington was expected to greenlight the move. CBS said on Wednesday that the US could make a decision as early as this week.
A reporter from NPR wrote on Twitter that it could be done as soon as Thursday.
“Transferring these weapons would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international opprobrium of their use,” HRW stated.
Cluster munitions are banned in more than 100 countries because, when they explode, they release small bomblets over a wide area. Some of these fail to detonate on impact, posing serious risks to civilians for many years after the fighting is over. The US has not joined the ban but has prohibited exports of this ammunition with a ‘dud’ rate of more than 1%. The restriction could be lifted by a waiver from US President Joe Biden.
Despite widespread concerns about the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, in late June, Laura Cooper, US deputy assistant secretary of defense, said they “would be useful” against strong Russian defensive positions.
According to a Politico report in the same month, this assessment was also shared by a number of US officials who believe that those arms would make Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive – which Moscow says has failed to gain any ground – more successful.
In late March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov described calls to supply Kiev with the controversial munitions as dangerous, warning that those shipments may lead to an escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
DEVELOPING STORY: It’s official – the bag filled with a white powdery substance found inside the White House was in fact cocaine.
“The substance was found Sunday evening in a small, zippered bag in a highly trafficked part of the West Wing and prompted a brief evacuation, according to a U.S. Secret Service official,” NBC News reported.
The cocaine was found by officers during “routine patrols” of the White House, a Secret Service official said. It led to a massive security scare that included hazmat teams.
Cocaine in the White House. Topless transgender activists on the front lawn. Now comes word that the Bidens are telling staffers to ignore Hunter's 4-year-old daughter. Shameful! Nothing but White Trash living in the White House.
An eyewitness with stunning claims about the Biden family scandals has come forward on a video, yet so far ABC, CBS and NBC have yet to report on them.
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