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
The opening verses of Hebrews contain some remarkable truths about Jesus, the unique Son of God. In fact, there are eight life-transforming truths we can learn about Jesus in these verses. Let’s see how these are unpacked in the Hebrews volume of the Bible Speaks Today commentary series.
The Majestic Christ
The letter to the Hebrews begins by asserting the greatest single fact of the Christian revelation: God has spoken to man through his word in the Bible and through his Son, Jesus. In Christ God has closed the greatest communication gap of all time, that which exists between a holy God and sinful mankind.
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:1–3
Some first-century Jewish Christians had abandoned their faith because they no longer recognized Christ’s deity and equality with God. The author’s first task is to expound and exalt God’s Son. He reminds them of eight things about Jesus.
1. Jesus is God’s Prophetic Voice
It is naturally important in these circumstances for the author to emphasize the continuity of the Old and New Testaments. Christ does not break with the great Jewish past. He comes to bring it to fulfilment. Without him the Old Testament revelation is partial, fragmentary, preparatory and incomplete. God spoke at different times by different means. He used many and various ways. But in Christ he spoke fully, decisively, finally and perfectly. The first-century Christians must listen to him, the greatest prophet of all times. Ezekiel portrayed the glory of God, but Christ reflected it (1:3). Isaiah expounded the nature of God as holy, righteous and merciful, but Christ manifested it (1:3). Jeremiah described the power of God, but Christ displayed it (1:3). He far surpassed the best of prophets of earlier times, and these wavering Christians must listen to his voice.
‘Attending to the word’ is a key theme in Hebrews, especially in the opening and closing sections of the letter. These Christians cannot hope to press on to mature spiritual experience if they ignore, minimize or despise it. Christ is God’s greatest prophet with a distinctive message for these last days. His coming inaugurated a new era. In him the last days have most certainly begun; the phrase conveys the superiority of the message and the urgency of the times.
2. Jesus is God’s Son
Those Jewish Christians whose faith in Christ was faltering may have come to regard him merely as a good man, a captivating teacher, or an impressive leader. He was all that, but much more. He is the Son of God. The theme of Sonship is a recurrent one in this letter. We are here reminded of the message of the Son (1:2). Later passages discuss the superiority of the Son, his reign, mission, achievement, obedience, nature and perfection.
One interpreter of the letter’s teaching entitles his commentary Sonship and Salvation. It is an excellent reminder of this epistle’s leading ideas. Because these two ideas are inseparably united, apostasy is so serious and disastrous. Without the work of the Son there is no salvation. Those who deliberately and persistently spurn the Son of God (10:29) are inevitably exposed to spiritual atrophy. How can they possibly be brought to repentance when there is no salvation outside Christ? They have refused to walk in the only way ordained by God. They have opposed the truth revealed by God. And they have despised the life approved by God. How can man hope to be saved if he rejects the Saviour?
3. Jesus is God’s Appointed Heir
Christ was appointed heir of all things. Possibly this idea of the inheritance of Christ is drawn from Psalm 2:8, later to be used in the unfolding argument: ‘I will make the nations your heritage.’ But surely by describing Christ as ‘heir of all things’, he intends to convey to us the idea that the Lord Jesus will inherit not only this earth but the entire universe. The Son obviously comes into a rich inheritance. Moreover, in other contexts the New Testament says that believers share this inheritance. The seventeenth-century commentator John Trapp says, ‘Be married to this heir and have all.’
4. Jesus is God’s Creative Agent
The author takes his readers directly from Christ’s destiny in the future to his role in the beginning of creation. He is at pains to emphasize that the Lord we have trusted was no mere Galilean preacher. He shared actively in the creative work of Almighty God. It is all closely linked with the idea of inheritance; in other words, ‘what the Son was to possess he had been instrumental in making’ (Moffatt). Surely a Christ whose hands had shaped the universe and summoned the galaxy of stars into being could hold these Jewish Christians in days of testing and guide their steps through times of adversity. If the chaos before creation could be overcome, surely he could control their destiny and provide their immediate needs.
5. Jesus is God’s Personified Glory
For the Hebrew people the glory of God was a visible and outward expression of the majestic presence of God. When the law was given at Sinai ‘the glory of the Lord’ settled on the mountain. Likewise, the glory of God became manifest at ‘the tent of meeting’; it was a visible sign to God’s people of his continuing presence. Later, when the ark of the covenant was captured, the Hebrew people lamented, ‘The glory has departed.’ Now, says the author of this letter, in these last days this same glory has been seen in the person of Christ who reflects or is ‘the radiance of God’s glory’ (NIV). The word used (apaugasma) can mean either ‘radiation out from’ or ‘reflection back’.
These early Christians knew only too well that their non-Christian Jewish neighbours refused to acknowledge the deity of Christ. Wistfully, they recalled the great moments of their history when God’s glory had been manifest. Some may even have thought with pride about the Jerusalem temple, doomed to destruction in AD 70; surely the glory of God was manifest there in its ceaseless ritual and sacrificial cultus! But the author of this letter reminds his readers that nowhere has the glory of God been more perfectly manifest than in the person of God’s Son. In Christ all the majesty of God’s splendour is fully revealed.
6. Jesus is God’s Perfect Revelation
How can this writer impress upon his readers the message of Christ’s person? He insists that Jesus bears the very stamp of God’s nature. All the attributes of God became visible in him. The stamp vividly presents the picture of an image or superscription on a coin or medal. It exactly and perfectly matches the picture on the die. The verbal form of the word used here (charaktēr) means ‘to engrave’. In other words, if man wants to see God he must look to Christ. How could the first-century Jews, who were opposing these Jewish Christians, hope to know God if they were turning their backs upon Christ in whom God is perfectly revealed?
The terms used in this great introductory passage of the letter clearly expound the unity of Christ’s nature with the Father and yet maintain the distinction of his person. The word translated ‘nature’ (hypostasis) here describes the very essence and actual being of God. As Hughes points out, ‘the radiant light of God’s glory’ suggest ‘the oneness of the Son with the Father’ while ‘the perfect copy of his nature’ maintains ‘the distinctness of the Son from the Father’ though, as this commentator observes ‘oneness and distinctiveness are implied in each’.
7. Jesus is God’s Cosmic Sustainer
This letter’s introductory exposition of the superiority and adequacy of Christ moves on to its dramatic climax as mention is made of Christ’s present work in the universe. He keeps the planets in orbit by his authoritative and effective word of power. It is the author’s compelling way of emphasizing Christ’s equality with God. Every Jew passionately believed that Almighty God kept the entire universe in the hollow of his hand. He is not only creator but sustainer. Quite deliberately this is described as part of Christ’s present role. The word of authority which has been proclaimed by the Lord as prophet is the same word which holds the universe in order.
It is important for the writer to emphasize that Christ’s word is powerful and able to do what he determines. He speaks in the universe and what he commands is done. He has spoken in their hearts and what he demands can most certainly be accomplished whatever opposition and persecution they may encounter. In the strong hands of such a Christ they are eternally secure.
Possibly our vision of Christ is limited. We are in danger of confining him to our restricted experience or limited knowledge. We need a vision of Christ with these immense cosmic dimensions, a Christ who transcends all our noblest thoughts about him and all our best experience of him. These first-century readers would be less likely to turn from him in adversity if they had looked to him in adoration. The opening sentences of the letter are designed to bring them and us to our knees; only then can we hope to stand firmly on our feet.
8. Finally, Christ is God’s Unique Sacrifice
In presenting this impressive opening exposition of God’s Son, the author rightly emphasizes Christ’s work in redemption as well as creation. This is to become a central theme in his later exposition. At this point our attention is turned from who Christ is to what he did. Jesus is ceaselessly ‘the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature’ (JB). He continously upholds ‘the universe by his word of power’. But when he gave himself up on the cross Jesus shed his blood once for all at a single point in time. No repetition of this saving act will ever be necessary, nor can anything that we do serve to procure our own salvation. Christ is God’s unrepeatable sacrificial provision for the greatest problem of mankind—sin. Our author explains that Christ’s saving death on that first Good Friday was a finished work.
Purification for Sins
This cosmic Christ effected such purification entirely alone. Some manuscripts emphasize this aspect of his sacrificial work with the words ‘by himself’. Whether this reading is original or not, the truth is certainly supported in a host of different contexts through the epistle. In his own person he did for sinful man what man could never achieve for himself. The law said, ‘Do this.’ It demanded man’s work. But Christ came and effected by his saving death man’s purification from sin. His message was, ‘Trust this.’ Man was urged to believe in Christ’s work, not his own. It was not to be achieved by the multiplicity of good works, but by Christ’s work.
Sat Down at God’s Right Hand
When this eternal work of purification was brought to its triumphant conclusion in the death and resurrection of Christ, our Lord sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3). The first readers of this letter were not likely to miss the implication of this statement and, if they did, its author was to press home its meaning in a later passage (10:11–12). The Old Testament priest’s cultic work had constantly to be repeated because it was only temporarily beneficial. But Christ ‘offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins’. The priest stood because his task was never complete. He could never hope to bring it to the moment of final achievement. Only Christ’s sacrifice could be eternally effective. He sat down to indicate that the work was finished. On that day when he bore our sins in his own body, he cried, ‘It is finished.’
He has ascended to the throne of God. The right hand is the place of special honour. This sacrificial, saving work is recognized and authenticated by God. He is given the seat of distinctive privilege. The Son who was humiliated on earth (12:3) is enthroned in heaven.
Whilst preserving the important truth of Christ’s essential humanity, this letter presents its readers with a revelation of Jesus in his matchless deity. He is the enthroned Lord, worthy of all our honour and worship. No wonder that, throughout the centuries, Christians have taken upon their lips the confession of a transformed doubter, released from his cynicism: ‘My Lord and my God.’
The Bible is like no other book ever written. It has the power to transform a sinner into a saint. People have attempted to destroy and ban this book from being read for two millennium, yet it still remains the best selling book of all time. No book has been more translated into other languages and given away for free than our precious Holy Bible. And no book can generate more comfort, encouragement and purpose for living than the Bible. Below are four wonderful quotes on the Bible that demonstrate why this book is the most unique, amazing, influential, and transformational book ever penned.
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”1 – Theodore Roosevelt
I am totally convinced that when someone is well versed in the Bible that they will possess wisdom well beyond their years, will be able to cope with the problems of life better than those doctors and psychiatrists that have not read the Bible, and will lead a life full of joy, regardless of the circumstances they may encounter. While a college education may provide you with knowledge, if the Bible is not part of its curriculum, it won’t be able to provide you with the tools you really need to successfully navigate your journey through life.
“A well-marked Bible is the sign of a well-fed soul.”2 – Charles Spurgeon
I believe that the great 19th century English preacher, Charles Spurgeon, understood more than most how nourishment for the soul was perhaps the greatest treasure he could impart to his congregation. He also understood that just as food is needed to physically sustain us, the Scriptures were designed by God to provide spiritual manna for the soul. And owning a Bible that has years of markings in it usually means that the owner has been feasting on the word and finding true nourishment for the inner man.
“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”3 ― Dwight L. Moody
All of humanity has a sin problem and the only antidote for sin is Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit taught through the Bible. And that is why the Word of God is such a powerful tool in helping us overcome sin for we read in (Psalm 119:11): “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Armed with the Bible we have great power to overcome sin and that is why reading the Bible and hiding its rich meaning in our hearts will provide us with the ammunition to say no to sin. But the flip side is also true. Many people love their sin too much and as a result they choose not to go near the Bible because they instinctively know the Bible will condemn their sin and they want no part of this condemnation.
“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”4 ― Charles Spurgeon
One of the best ways to stay close to God is to stay so close to His Word, through diligent study, that after constant use your Bible through repeated wear and tear will need to be replaced. I love this Spurgeon quote because it tells me that the more I study the Bible the more its life flowing words will find safe harbor in my soul and prepare me to stand firm against all the wiles of the devil.
My friends the Bible is the most wonderful love letter that Jesus could ever leave for us. In closing I really like what Abraham Lincoln said regarding the Bible: “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.”5
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1 Corinthians 1:19)
This verse is a threatening so far as the worldly wise are concerned, but to the simple believer it is a promise. The professedly learned are forever trying to bring to nothing the faith of the humble believer, but they fail in their attempts. Their arguments break down, their theories fall under their own weight, their deep-laid plots discover themselves before their purpose is accomplished. The old gospel is not extinct yet, nor will it be while the Lord liveth. If it could have been exterminated, it would have perished from off the earth long ago.
We cannot destroy the wisdom of the wise, nor need we attempt it, for the work is in far better hands. The Lord Himself says, “I will,” and He never resolves in vain. Twice does He in this verse declare His purpose, and we may rest assured that He will not turn aside from it.
What clean work the Lord makes of philosophy and “modern thought” when He puts His hand to it! He brings the fine appearance down to nothing; He utterly destroys the wood, hay, and stubble. It is written that so it shall be, and so shall it be. Lord, make short work of it. Amen, and amen.
“So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Acts 10:33
Even more than Cornelius’ actions, it’s his attitude that inspires me. Cornelius served as a centurion in the regiment based in Caesarea. Although a Gentile, he feared the Jewish God as the one true God. Cornelius worshiped God, prayed regularly, and gave generously to the needy. So, when God sent an angel to Cornelius, he immediately obeyed the angel’s instructions to send for Peter. Cornelius expected God to speak through Peter. He gathered his family and friends in that spirit of expectation. They were ready to listen — ready to obey.
Every day, when I read God’s word, I want to come with that same spirit of expectation. God’s Holy Spirit teaches, corrects, encourages, comforts, and convicts us through His written Word, the Bible. Though recorded thousands of years ago, the Bible remains living and active (Hebrews 4:12) to all who seek truth.
Cornelius also understood that God was present in his home among the group of God-fearing, truth-seekers assembled. Whenever and wherever we seek God diligently and with open hearts, He is present.
God longs to speak to us.
Let us come to Him, ready to listen and expecting Him to speak.
Let us gladly submit ourselves to Him, ready to obey and eager to be molded into His likeness.
Holy God, I surrender myself to you. I believe you speak to those who seek you. Help me to seek you with my whole being. Make me a good listener. Amen.
“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him. “- Psalm 91:1-2 NLT
What is it that we declare about the Lord? Do we, like David, declare “He alone is my refuge, my place of safety”? Do we declare that “He is my God, and I trust him”?
We may say those statements in our minds, say them in our heart of hearts, even say them out loud for all to hear, but do our actions match our declarations? If I say that I trust in the Lord, but my life is riddled with worry, what does that declare about my faith in Jesus.
When we make a declaration on how much we thank God for the gifts, for the talents, for the victories then begin pounding our chests, as if to say, “Look at me. Look what I have accomplished. Look what I have done,” what does that declare about me and my God? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t publicly make our declarations. I just think we need to follow those declarations up with actions that point back to the Most High.
The blessings here promised are not for all believers, but for those who live in close fellowship with God. Every child of God looks towards the inner sanctuary and the mercy seat, yet all do not dwell in the most holy place; they run to it at times, and enjoy occasional approaches, but they do not habitually reside in the presence of God.
That all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all times. He that dwells, in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he that by faith chooses God for his guardian shall find all that in Him, which he needs or can desire.
How is your relationship with God?
Do you come to Him casually and occasionally or do you keep Him close beside you?
Is your life pointed to God at all times?
We can find rest in His shadow. He alone is our ultimate refuge and place of safety. He is our God and we can always trust Him.
By John Grant Used by Permission John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
Biblical red heifer could bring million visitors to Samaria Hundreds of visitors flocked to Shiloh in Samaria’s Binyamin region on Thursday to welcome a biblically pure red heifer. The 22-month-old cow, which was brought to Israel from the United States, found a new home at the Ancient Shiloh heritage site, where the biblical Tabernacle once stood. The discovery of an entirely red such heifer is a rarity. Jewish sources state that only nine were slaughtered in the period from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.. According to the 12th-century sage Maimonides, the Messiah will offer the 10th red heifer. We have returned to the site of the Tabernacle in Shiloh and are bringing back the Jewish past for the future of our people.”
Lightning Strikes NYC Skyscraper A bolt of lightning struck the One World Trade Center during a bout of early-morning thunderstorms. (Watch)
World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Rocket Engine Begins Construction Nuclear fusion propulsion technology has the potential to revolutionize space travel in terms of both speeds and fuel usage. The same kinds of reactions that power the Sun could halve travel times to Mars, or make a journey to Saturn and its moons take just two years rather than eight. It’s incredibly exciting, but not everyone is convinced this is going to work: the tech needs ultra-high temperatures and pressures to function. … the largest ever fusion rocket engine is now being built by Pulsar Fusion in Bletchley, in the UK.
Four groups bid in latest Israel offshore gas exploration tender The ministry said the groups include a total of nine companies, five of which were new to the Israeli market. It did not name which companies took part. Huge deposits of natural gas have been found over the last 15 years in the eastern Mediterranean, turning Israel into an energy exporter. Hoping to add to its reserves, Israel offered licences for four exploration zones made up of 20 blocks in its fourth offshore bidding round.
UN Security Council to hold first talks on AI risks The United Nations Security Council will hold its first formal discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) this week in New York, with Britain to call for an international dialogue about its impact on global peace and security. Governments around the world are considering how to mitigate the dangers of emerging AI technology, which could reshape the global economy and change the international security landscape.
‘Heat storm’ stretches into southern Europe, health alerts issued Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, … a new anticyclone dubbed Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday and could lift temperatures above 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of Italy early this week.
Islamic State and Al-Qaeda plotting terror attacks in UK, government report to warn Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are both plotting terror attacks in the UK, the Government is set to warn on Monday. In an update to Contest, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, the Home Secretary will describe the threat of Islamist terrorism as the “most severe” in the UK, accounting for three quarters of Mi5’s time, according to The Times.
Israel Refuses to Join US in Condemning Anti-LGBT Legislation in Hungary Israel refused to join the United States and 37 other Western countries in criticizing the legislative moves promoted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban against the LGBT community, senior foreign ministry officials said Sunday. According to Walla, Jerusalem did not want to take part in the initiative against Hungary, which regularly blocks moves against Israel in the European Union.
Commissioner Sam Nahmias: We have to nominate and elect President Trump “While Trump was President, seven million jobs were created, we had an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, the bottom 50 percent of households saw their net worth grow by 40 percent,” “During every step of the administration, he did only good for the country,” “This coming election, we all must come out and vote. We have to nominate and elect President Trump. There is no question about it,”
New Russian warship with hypersonic missiles joins Black Sea fleet – report The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet has welcomed a new warship, the missile corvette Tsiklon, TASS reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry last week. Russia’s new Karakurt-class missile corvette ship the Tsiklon is reportedly armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles,
Progressive Democrats boycotting Herzog’s speech are trying to cancel Israel – editorial Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) does not mince words. On Thursday, she announced in a thread of furious tweets that she would boycott President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of the United States Congress, set for Wednesday. “The United States supports and respects the decision of the government of Israel to deny entry to the Tlaib/Omar delegation,” Friedman said in August 2019. “The BDS movement against Israel is not free speech.
Restraint, Derision, and Reprobate minds …not intending to stray far into politics, what I see through the prism of God’s prophetic Word must be interjected here. Anyone being honest as they watch this presidential administration surely has questions like the following: How have we reached such a place in this nation that the top three people in the presidential administration are seemingly unable to demonstrate normal mental function?
Very strong M7.2 earthquake hits Alaska Peninsula, U.S. – Tsunami Advisory issued A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.2 (downgraded from M7.4) hit near the coast of the Alaska Peninsula, U.S. at 06:48 UTC on July 16, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 32.6 km (20.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.4 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Rapid rainfall overwhelms Pennsylvania storm sewers, causing fatal floods, U.S. South Korea faced severe devastation from torrential rain starting from July 9, 2023, causing extensive flooding and landslides. The catastrophic event led to over 30 deaths nationwide, with nine others reported missing. The death toll includes at least nine people who died after a bus became trapped in a flooded underground tunnel located in Cheongju City. The number of casualties from the underpass flooding is expected to rise further as major search and rescue operations continue.
Over 35 lives lost to severe flooding and landslides in South Korea, major SAR operation underway South Korea faced severe devastation from torrential rain starting from July 9, 2023, causing extensive flooding and landslides. The catastrophic event led to over 30 deaths nationwide, with nine others reported missing. The death toll includes at least nine people who died after a bus became trapped in a flooded underground tunnel located in Cheongju City. The number of casualties from the underpass flooding is expected to rise further as major search and rescue operations continue.
Dangerous heat wave expected to set record highs throughout US South and Southwest Last month may have been the hottest June on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but July is already on track to set a similar record. Right now, the U.S. south and southwest, which are already suffering excessive heat, are preparing for conditions to get even worse as a record-breaking heat wave approaches.
Hong Kong Warns Of Japanese Seafood Ban If Fukushima Dumps Nuke Water Into Ocean Last week, the UN nuclear watchdog gave Japan the “greenlight” to dump ‘treated’ radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean. The plan upset China, the biggest buyer of its seafood exports, and has since sparked concerns in Hong Kong.
Massive Explosion Rocks Dow Chemical Plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana Multiple explosions and fires occurred at the Dow Chemical Plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana, late Friday night. Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi revealed to local news station WBRZ that six distinct explosions were detected at the plant around 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Witnesses from the surrounding areas managed to capture videos of massive flames and reported feeling the shockwave from the powerful blasts.
Climategate 2.0: “The science” is dependent on manipulation of facts and data In 2011, nearly two years after similar emails ignited the Climategate scandal, a new batch of 5,000 emails were leaked. These emails were among scientists central to the assertion that humans are causing a global warming crisis i.e., anthropogenic global warming.
Are You Willing To Starve For The Greater Good? Central planners are pulling double shifts. Contriving plans and proposals to control what you consume, how you travel and cook, where your money is spent, and much, much more.
“The Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788)
Stretching a different law beyond belief, the president is still trying to ensnare more voters in a new entitlement.
Nate Jackson
It’s all essentially one big photo op. Kind Uncle Joe Biden smiles for the cameras, promises to help struggling college graduates pay off those student loans, and then with a scowl reassures that he’s not going to let mean, stingy Republicans take away that money.
Vote Democrat. That’s the only message that matters for this new entitlement.
Undeterred by the very Constitution Biden once said stood in the way of his unilaterally offering “forgiveness” for student loans, the president last August used a stroke of his pen to steal hundreds of billions of dollars from taxpayers and give it to college graduates.
Fast-forward to last month, and a 6-3 Supreme Court rightly agreed with Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi circa 2021 — that he had no constitutional authority to do what he did. (That three justices supported him is disgraceful.) As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, “Congress [must] speak clearly before a department secretary can unilaterally alter large sections of the American economy.”
Biden wasn’t deterred by that smackdown either. “I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief,” he promised.
On Friday, Biden found another way, again extending “forgiveness” by using a different law and accounting method to justify his power and money grab.
We won’t get fully into the weeds, but a few details are important. Instead of claiming the HEROES Act provided this mythical authority, as the administration argued before the Supreme Court, the new plan relies on the Higher Education Act of 1965. We know the ‘60s were the heady days of the “Great Society,” but it’s an enormous stretch of even the wildest imaginations involved in crafting those entitlements to say that law gave authority to the secretary of education — whose position didn’t exist until 15 years later — to abrogate contracts for student loans.
The administration claims Biden’s move will wipe out $39 billion in student loans for more than 800,000 borrowers. Yet even his defenders admit there’s no limiting principle to his justification, which means the reality will be far more money for far more people.
You know, just like every other entitlement.
Why? Because Biden’s move expands an Obama-era scheme to base repayment on income, as well as to slash in half the payment duration before the entire remaining balance is forgiven.
The result will be an incentive for borrowers to take out bigger loans to pay for the massive tuition increases that colleges and universities know they can keep imposing. College tuition has been drastically outpacing inflation ever since the federal government got involved in the loan racket.
In 2020, the Congressional Budget Office noted, “Between 1995 and 2017, the balance of outstanding federal student loan debt increased more than sevenfold, from $187 billion to $1.4 trillion (in 2017 dollars).” Today, borrowers hold $1.75 trillion in student loans, and roughly 92% of that debt is in federal loans.
In any case, the Democrats’ strategy was mapped out years ago. They knew it was safer to have Biden play Santa Claus than try to get such a massive new entitlement through Congress. They knew the Supreme Court would eventually strike it down as lawless. They knew Biden would do it again via another means, forcing Republicans once again to take legal action to stop it, ideally next summer before the presidential election. They knew which side student borrowers and their families would be cheering for.
“For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system,” opined Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve.” Borrowers are victims, and Team Biden is heroically saving the day.
Who broke the system? Democrats. Who took out the loans? Students, not taxpayers. Who has constitutional authority for this? No one, really. Blatant redistribution of income like this is unconstitutional.
Never mind all that. This is a strategy aimed at convincing voters that Democrats want to help them and Republicans want to hurt them. It’s Political Handouts 101.
The biggest story of this past week isn’t that the House passed the military spending bill — or even that they passed it with language that beats back President Biden’s woke policies. The biggest story is the one that won’t be told: of House conservatives refusing to give an inch.
Former Congressman Jody Hice, now a special advisor to the president at Family Research Council, was blown away by the sea change in how this new Republican majority is doing business. For the last couple of years, Hice watched his party buckle under Democratic pressure, especially where military policy is concerned. “Progressively,” he told The Washington Stand, “the NDAA bills were becoming more and more woke. And we, as a Republican conference, were compromising to the demands on the Left. To see what took place Thursday night, I was just blown away. This is a major shift — not only from the woke agenda push from this administration — but this is a major shift from the direction of our own conference over the last several years, as it pertains to the NDAA.”
Late Thursday night, Republicans finally went to sleep after accomplishing what seemed impossible only hours before: adding a slew of pro-life, pro-military, anti-gender transition amendments to the bill. Democrats and the media spent the wee hours of the morning blasting the conservative changes, vowing it would never pass with such “poison pills.”
They were wrong.
Barely nine hours later, the entire NDAA — anti-woke language included — had squeaked by in a 219-210 vote, thanks to an even swap of Republicans and Democrats (four) trading sides. Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and Don Davis (D-N.C.) all threw their support behind the GOP-led bill.
Of course, the most jubilant celebration came Thursday afternoon when Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) managed to include language rolling back the Pentagon’s taxpayer funding of abortion — an absolute defiance of the law. In one of the most powerful moments of that debate, mom-to-be Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) stood on the House floor and made it clear: “I am a United States veteran and a woman elected to Congress while pregnant. Advocating for a service member to have a child ripped from her womb completely destroys everything this military stands for.”
As Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) explained on “Washington Watch” moments before that vote, what the Department of Defense did with this sudden policy was nothing but an unconstitutional “end run around many of the pro-life states’ laws and all the hard work that’s been done after Dobbs overturned Roe.”
“This has become a really important issue in the country,” Johnson insisted. And what they’ve done, he explained, is used “executive fiat” through the Department of Defense. Secretary Lloyd Austin “[has] said that they will pay for or reimburse expenses relating to abortion services. So in other words, if a service member or a woman serving is pregnant, and she’s on a base somewhere in a [red state] … then she can travel to a state that provides abortion — and taxpayers will reimburse her for that. That’s a violation of the Hyde Amendment,” Johnson fumed.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made sure to emphasize, “Just to be very clear here, we’re talking about elective abortions. So this is new territory [President Biden is staking out]. For decades, [there] has been a bipartisan position that taxpayers would not be forced to facilitate abortion.”
Obviously, this has been a huge flash point in the Senate, where Coach Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has taken months of heat for holding up certain military promotions until the DOD drops its reckless abortion advocacy. And while Democrats — the president included — blame the senator for everything from recruitment problems to retention, they refuse to even meet with Tuberville. If this delay was really so devastating to military readiness, the coach has said, you’d think Biden would pick up the phone and try to negotiate.
“That’s what this place is about,” he added. “It’s about working with each other, talking it out, getting in situations where you can maybe compromise to a point. I mean, here’s a guy that doesn’t even want to talk.”
He may be forced to, now that Republicans have teed up a 1,200-page rebuke of the last two years of Defense Department radicalism. If Biden wants to blame someone for America’s shrinking force, he ought to look in the mirror.
After all, it’s “the president and his administration [who’ve] injected into the military all of this woke social policy nonsense. … We have ESG and DEI and anything else you can imagine —the funding of drag queen shows on military bases, [the] violation of parental rights. We were able to get amendments … to take care of all of that,” Johnson said. But frankly, “it’s far more contentious than it should be. You know, our military has a very important job,” he insisted. “They’re trained to be a powerful force that wins wars and defends our nation, not experimentation with social policy. And so it’s just completely disingenuous for the president to [blame Republicans or blame Tuberville for these problems]. … [I]t’s not Republicans and conservatives that are inserting this. It was him. We’re undoing the damage that has been done.”
Along with crushing the Biden abortion policy, Republicans also held the line on the avalanche of diversity training and wildly inappropriate mission creep like taxpayer-funded gender transitions. Amendments to:
Outlaw the flying of Pride flags on military property (Norman Amendment #34) passed 218-213;
End the indoctrination of children in Defense Department schools by banning pornographic and dangerous gender ideology books (Boebert Amendment #35) passed 222-209;
Ban taxpayer-funding of gender transition procedures (Rosendale Amendment #10) passed 222-211;
Strip the funding for Chief Diversity Officers or Senior Advisors for Diversity and Inclusion from the ranks (Roy Amendment #30) passed 217-212; and
Outright block the DOD from creating new DEI administrator positions or taking action to fill existing DEI jobs (Burlison Amendment #62) passed 218-213.
One lone Democrat — Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) — voted with conservatives to stop the president’s out-of-control extremism on abortion and transgenderism. And while he refused to comment about the decision, he probably heard from the same constituents that his neighbor Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) did. “The American people I’ve talked to back home don’t want a weak military; they don’t want a woke military; they don’t want rainbow propaganda on bases; they don’t want to pay for troops’ sex changes.”
And yet, as Perkins pointed out, Biden blames Republicans for injecting social issues into the military. “You know, it’s like they poke the bear, and the bear pushes back — and they accuse the bear of being aggressive. The Left has been pushing this stuff for years.” And finally, conservatives pushed back.
“I do want to point out,” Perkins said, “that there’s something unique here under this Republican Congress. … I don’t want people to miss that … a year ago, we couldn’t even have a debate under the Democratic rules. There was no debate. It’s just that you were steamrolled in the Left’s process of getting their agenda through. … [This open dialogue] is something that hasn’t happened in a very long time.
“Yeah, what a concept,” Johnson joked. “We were able to get some real process reforms in that long, drawn-out battle for the speakership in January. And as painful as that process was for everyone, the result was really good. We got transparency again. We eliminated — forever, we hope — the possibility of omnibus spending bills and giant pieces of legislation that no one has read. … It takes a lot more time and effort, but this is what is demanded, and it’s what the American people deserve. And I’m really glad we’ve gotten back to some regular order here.”
In the meantime, Republicans are crossing their fingers that the heavy lifting they’ve done on the NDAA survives the Democrat-led Senate. One thing’s for sure, Perkins said. Biden doesn’t have Tuberville to kick around anymore. If he wants to end the freeze on military promotions, there’s a simple solution now: support this bill. “The remedy’s right here in front of him.”
Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.
With all the problems now besetting our nation, the Democrats are prioritizing a long-failed constitutional amendment.
Douglas Andrews
Democrats don’t have much to run on these days, but one hardy perennial is sure to keep coming up: abortion on demand. Next to reecism, what else do they have?
Sure enough, abortion popped up again recently when two Democrat lawmakers — New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush — unveiled a wacky idea to enshrine a failed amendment into the Constitution despite the empirical fact that it was resoundingly beaten back a half-century ago.
You readers who are nearing retirement age may remember it: the Equal Rights Amendment.
As The Hill reports, “The joint resolution argues that the ERA has met all the ratification requirements to become the 28th amendment to the Constitution, including being ratified by Congress and a majority of states, and simply needs to be certified by Colleen Shogan, the first female archivist in the country.”
We’re not sure what the sex of the national archivist has to do with an illegitimate attempt to circumvent our constitutional process, but whatever. Equal rights!
What’s behind the dusting off of this half-century-old relic of braless women with hairy armpits? After all, women already have equal rights. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone because of sex. And this now includes pregnancy and related conditions, and it includes sexual orientation and gender “identity.”
Might it have something to do with abortion? Mmm, it might.
Ever since the Supreme Court rightly struck downRoe v. Wade last year, the hard Left of the Democrat Party has been eager to resurrect and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
They believe the ERA and the language “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” will protect abortion on demand across all 50 states.
Republicans, though, rightly see the ERA as redundant because of the 14th Amendment, which reads, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
“Equality is wildly popular,” insists Congresswoman Bush. “Equality is so popular today that more than 85% of Americans across all parties support having a gender provision in the Constitution.”
Bush, the most obnoxious and hypocritical Defund Democrat in all of Congress, apparently can’t be bothered by the bloody state of her home district of St. Louis, which has routinely been among the most murderous places in the nation in recent years. “The only way to defeat [the ERA] is by dirty tricks and procedural hurdles,” she added. “We can’t let paperwork keep us out of the U.S. Constitution.”
We’ve set a pretty low bar for Democrats when it comes to constitutional literacy, so it seems that when one of them actually acknowledges that we have a Constitution and that there’s a process by which it can be amended, we feel obliged to note it.
Duly noted.
“If we want to be guaranteed these equal rights under our Constitution, like every American should have, we need to make sure that ERA passes.” So said no less a constitutional expert than actress Lisa Ann Walter, who continued: “And I can’t understand anybody who doesn’t make this a critical voting point in the next election. It’s crazy to me that we’re out there. If you see the old broads like me out there at the women’s marches, we’re carrying signs that say, ‘I can’t believe I’m still doing this.’”
Moving on past this gimmick, we need to remember who we’re dealing with. Because when the constitutional process proves to be insurmountable, Democrats will do what they now always do: They’ll pass an executive order. It’s only a matter of time, especially as we near our next election.
Lastly, we should ask the Democrats to do a bit of self-reflection. Specifically, we should ask them which modern-day movement has been most instrumental in undermining women’s rights. And we should probably ask because we know the Democrats won’t ask. But the truth is that nothing has done more to damage womanhood and women’s rights than men who pretend to be women, whether in popular culture or on the athletic field or in the workplace.
For this, the Left has no one to blame but itself.
Randi “One Sick Lady” Weingarten, dudes can’t bike race as women, Trudeau’s LGBTQ excuses, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
One sick lady: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has initiated a dubiously named “Banned Bookmobile Tour” in which she touts the books that an increasing number of parents have been calling on their school boards to remove from their schools. The books in question promote sexual deviant ideology, often with graphic descriptions and portrayals of sex acts. In short, these books are propagandistic pornography used to normalize sexual deviancy such as “transgenderism.” In an effort to legitimize her case that parents are engaged in a Nazi-like “book banning” movement, Weingarten disingenuously lumps in books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Hunger Games among the list of banned material. The truth is that few parents or schools are seeking to ban either of those books. The real question is this: Why is Weingarten so invested in pushing pornography in schools?
Dudes can’t bike race as women: The Union Cycliste Internationale will no longer allow males to compete in women’s international bike races. Male athletes who identify as “transgender” women will still be allowed to compete with the men in what the UCI now calls the Men/Open category. There is, however, an important caveat. The ban specifically applies to female-identifying “transgender athletes who have transitioned after (male) puberty.” This is a change of policy from the UCI, which had previously allowed “transgender” males to compete with women at reduced testosterone levels. Not surprisingly, that proved problematic, with male “transgender” racers winning competitions, including American Austin Killips winning a stage in a UCI race this year. If the UCI had from the start held to basic scientific reality rather than capitulate to an illogical and ideologically driven agenda, then it could have easily avoided all this muddled nonsense.
The natives are restless: Ben & Jerry’s recent ill-conceived leftist virtue signal has resulted in people calling its bluff. On Independence Day, the leftist ice cream company posted on social media the following message: “The United States was founded on stolen indigenous land. This Fourth of July let’s commit to returning it.” One Native American chief responded: “All right! Pony up!” Chief of the Abenaki Bank Council of Odanak Rick O’Bomsawin argued that the place where Ben & Jerry’s headquarters current sits is “my people’s territory” and “that territory is our homeland.” Interestingly, O’Bomsawin’s claim comes in response to a prior claim from the Vermont-based Nulhegan Ban of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation. So, Ben & Jerry’s virtue signal has not only exposed its own hypocrisy, but it has served to ignite a territorial dispute that, not surprisingly, was often the impetus for the frequent wars fought between different native tribes long before the “white man” ever arrived.
Trudeau’s LGBTQ excuses: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed Canadian Muslim opposition to his government pushing LGBTQ ideology in public schools on the “American right-wing.” Protests recently arose in Canada following a viral video clip showing an Edmonton public school teacher berating Muslim students for having skipped school in order to avoid pride events. LGBTQ ideology is being pushed by Trudeau’s administration in public schools, so he sought to gaslight the public. Opposition is caused by “misinformation and disinformation,” he insisted, “particularly fueled by the American right-wing [that is] spreading a lot of untruths about what is actually … in the curriculum.” Trudeau’s claim mirrors that of the Leftmedia in America, which dismisses objection to LGBTQ ideology in schools as “misinformation” aimed at pushing Muslims to the right. However, as Ismail Royer, director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute, contends: “The left wants to scare Muslims into accepting its indoctrination of our children in exchange for a smile and pat on the head. They insult Muslims by portraying us as having no agency or intelligence but can’t imagine that we’ve weighed the bargain they offer us and rejected it.”
Headlines
Top Democrats reach out to potential Biden replacements, claim he’s not running (Daily Wire)
Top Dems push back after “Squad” member called Israel a “racist state” (Fox News)
Costly typo exposes U.S. military secrets to nation close to Putin (Fox News)
Nonbinary Biden official was traveling on taxpayer dime to secure nuclear facility when luggage heist occurred (National Review)
Hunter Biden’s lawyer demands Trump “cease and desist” from mean posts about him (Free Beacon)
Tucker Carlson launching new media company (PJ Media)
Federal judge rules Oregon’s tough new gun law is constitutional (AP)
California’s new math framework aims to create “equitable outcomes” between students (Free Beacon)
Satire: Biden’s granddaughter relieved to have been disowned after seeing Biden eat baby (Babylon Bee)
A new competitor for the social media giant launched to a lot of hoopla, but Elon Musk’s company is likely safe.
Anthony Brian Logan
Meta has launched an offshoot of Instagram called Threads, and it’s meant to be a direct Twitter competitor. Ten million users immediately signed up to use the platform upon its release, and soon that number swelled to nearly 100 million. Influencers and news media alike have joined in on the marketing campaign to push Threads into the hands of Instagram’s existing audience of 2.35 billion people. While these early numbers are impressive, they do not tell the full and complete story of Threads’ success or lack thereof. Twitter should not feel any threat from Mark Zuckerberg’s latest creation.
Threads is in the perfect position to gain an immediate user base due to having a captive audience. The brand-new social media platform is really just an extension of Instagram. If someone wishes to delete their Threads account, they may only do so by also deleting their Instagram. Instagram also promotes Threads by allowing users to post a direct link to their Threads account in their Instagram bio. This link is separate from the external link that Instagram allows its users to post.
When comparing Twitter to Threads in Google Trends, an interesting phenomenon becomes apparent. Twitter had a consistently higher (and steady) rank in Google Trends except for a very brief period of time. This time frame appears to be about two to three days, at best. This is roughly when Threads was released. News of the Twitter competitor hit the Internet and curious people decided to check it out. After that very short time, however, Google Trends showed that interest in Threads plummeted nearly back to what it was before launch. Twitter remained largely unchanged. The data suggest that people checked out the app due to sheer curiosity and almost immediately checked back out.
Threads has a beautiful interface and it works flawlessly. This is due to backing from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta has endless resources and some of the most brilliant minds on the planet. There was no question that Threads would be a well-oiled machine straight out of the box.
However, there is nothing unique that draws people to the platform. Threads is essentially a barebones version of Twitter. If a Twitter user enjoys their current experience, then there is no need to invest any time on Threads. If an Instagram user does not like the Twitter experience, then they will not like Threads. If an Instagram user becomes introduced to the Twitter experience through Threads, then Threads acts as a gateway to Twitter. The logic is that there is no reason to opt for a knock-off when the real thing is better and just as accessible.
The only reason Threads has so many “users” is because Meta is a walled garden with a captive audience. It’s easy for a daily Instagram user to simply download Threads and have that attached to their existing Instagram profile. And the word “users” is being used here out of convenience. There are not many active users on Threads in comparison to the number of accounts that the platform officially has. Daily active users of Threads were down nearly 20% from Saturday, and the on-platform time spent per user was down 50%. These numbers represent an obviously steep decline in interest and therefore a steep decline in active users.
Barebones (but flawless) tech and zero incentive to adopt are just two issues that Threads faces. Some new adopters of the platform are already complaining about heavy censorship. This was already an issue on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram is so heavily censored that warnings pop up on screen before people post the most benign, but possibly offensive, things. There are also warnings presented to people when they attempt to follow “problematic” (read: “conservative”) accounts. Twitter, on the other hand, does not have the same issue of censorship as most Big Tech platforms ever since Elon Musk took over the company.
Leftist-oriented tech blogs and pundits alike are probably rooting for Threads to occupy the space that Twitter currently does because Threads is sanitized and leftist-friendly. They accuse Twitter of being the “Wild West” of social media.
In reality, Twitter does have censorship, just on things that should be censored — things like child trafficking and other illegal activities. Instagram, on the other hand, has a serious issue with illegal activity on its platform.
One could make the argument that political correctness and good feelings are more important to Meta than actual illegality.
Kids inched forward in 2021-2022 but have fallen further behind in 2022-2023.
Emmy Griffin
Once schools closed, pandemic learning losses were going to be catastrophic. Any teacher could have told you that. It literally set children back years. This has been supported by the results of the Nation’s Report Card test scores and most recently by the Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) findings.
NWEA used 6.7 million public school test scores from third grade to eighth grade over the course of three school years to measure the losses. There were many interesting trends to note in its findings.
First, the third graders didn’t have as bad an academic loss as the rest of the grades. That, even according to NWEA, is a trend that is unexplainable.
The average months behind for every grade was 4.1 months in reading and 4.5 months in math. The eighth-grade cohort was particularly behind. To reach even pre-COVID levels, in reading they need 7.4 more months of schooling and in math they need 9.1 more months of schooling (They basically are behind a full academic year in math).
The saddest stat of all from these findings is that kids fell further behind this past school year (2022-2023) whereas they had made some modest gains the school year before (2021-2022).
The question is, why?
National Review rightly suggests that students have been shown through the actions of the government, teachers unions, teachers, and administrators during the pandemic that their education isn’t important. At least not to the policymakers and cronies who kept schools closed far, far longer than they should have been.
There are other things at play, though, such as the pandemic-era spike in poor mental health, the advent of AI tools, emphasis on political correctness, and woke maxims instead of actual curriculum.
Poor mental health, particularly in the older middle school cohort, is holding many students back. They are fighting depression and anxiety — after all, their whole worlds were turned upside down by the pandemic. Some are even claiming to be struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, bipolar disorder, or multiple personality disorder. Some of these are probably legitimate; however, there is a large group of kids that is claiming mental disorders after self-diagnosing on TikTok. It’s trendy to have a mental disorder, and the vast amount of time kids are spending on social media is directly contributing to the mental health crisis amongst teens. Even Biden’s Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued a warning about kids using social media.
Then there are the new AI tools that have become readily available on the Internet. ChatGPT can literally write essays for kids. If the computer can think for you, why should you have to learn this stuff anyway? The answer is that there is a truth and beauty that is discovered and developed by pursuing your own knowledge to the assigned work and not needing to rely on an external device for your schooling.
Then there is the infiltration of other external influences that are taking up classroom time and, to quote political pundit Andrew Klavan, “turning everything to crap.” Kids are being taught all about equity, racial quotas, victimhood hierarchy, and who among them is the deplorable class. Then there is all the LGBTQ+ extra learning with its plethora of holidays. How can there be time to learn something so trivial as reading and math? Oh, wait…
Then there is the practical problem that faces every teacher everywhere. To help students achieve gains, students need more one-on-one attention. Most classroom sizes are 30+ in public elementary schools. With a class that big, a teacher is doing well to be able to serve the middle. The higher- and lower-achieving students are often left to tread water. If the struggling students are lucky, they are given time with an aid or pull-out groups. The poor, bored students on the academically gifted side are neglected almost entirely. It is better to be average or struggling than to be intellectually astute (at least that is the message most public school kids are getting).
Educating our children, all our children, is vital to a thriving culture. However, there is so much that is polluting the well of knowledge in the public schools. Kids’ academics have been sacrificed already. What’s going to happen next is that standards are going to sink lower, not expectations raised higher.
What is needed for academic growth can only be fixed on an individual level with parents stepping in and making the necessary changes for their child to succeed.
‘How Is That Treatment?’ — Tucker Carlson questions Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson over his vetoing of a bill banning child gender mutilation.
Kamala Harris Blasts Republicans for Attacking DEI — She claims that the attempt to prevent the promulgation of “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” which is cultural Marxism, is a radical attacking of freedom.
An Odd Couple — Representatives Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) team up to promote an effort to give troops suffering from PTSD access to psychedelic drugs.
Biden Bites a Child — Joe Biden bit a young child in a now-viral video during a visit to Finland to celebrate the country’s entry into NATO.
“When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breath clean air and drink clean water.” —Kamala Harris (The White House corrected the transcript to “pollution.”)
The BIG Lies
“When it comes to the fiscal outlook, I think you really need to look at the deficit reduction that this president has presided over. I mean, $1.7 trillion of deficit reduction in his first two years. He just signed legislation to take that deficit down another trillion.” —Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jared Bernstein
“Real wages are up. The buying power of the hourly wage of working people — say middle-wage workers — that’s up 1.6% over the past year.” —Jared Bernstein
“One of the core elements of Bidenomics is putting a focus on the middle class and working people.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Observations
“The left and the liberal media have no desire to find out why the U.S. has become the world’s largest consumer of human trafficking ‘products.’ They don’t want to learn how much of that shameful distinction is a result of our wide-open Southern border or our horrible foster care system, which has become a pipeline to human trafficking of every kind. And it’s been clear for several years that the mainstream media aren’t interested in exposing the rich and powerful men who were frequent flyers to Epstein Island or who go on expensive junkets to foreign countries to have sex with kids.” —Michael Reagan
“We’re still pretending EVs are a new idea rather than an inferior one. But scaremongering about climate and a misplaced romanticizing of ‘manufacturing’ jobs have softened up the public for this kind of waste. … Most EVs are bought by high earners who like the look and feel of a Tesla. And that’s fine. I don’t want to stop anyone from owning the car they prefer. I just don’t want to help pay for it.” —David Harsanyi
“There is some significant chance … that there is a fateful sandbag, wire, or step out there that is going to bring home the fragility of the leader of the free world in a disturbing and undeniable way. Democrats who look past this possibility are running the risk of repeating the Ruth Bader Ginsburg experience of talking themselves into believing everything is fine, until it’s not and they are left dealing with an avoidable catastrophe.” —Rich Lowry
Insight
“Liberty is the hardest test that one can inflict on a people. To know how to be free is not given equally to all men and all nations.” —Paul Valéry (1871-1945)
To prepare for the “spring offensive,” President Joe Biden authorized another $675 million to help the Ukrainian military. After the military progress was halted by the Russians, Biden decided to send controversial cluster munitions to the Ukrainian military.
These munitions are banned by more than 100 nations because of the “large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area.” In many cases, the victims are innocent civilians.
This decision will inevitably lead to an escalation as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his country has a “stockpile of different kinds of cluster bombs.” He vowed, “if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action.”
As the war intensifies, there seems to be zero progress on the diplomatic front. However, we need to pursue peace talks immediately before a nuclear war starts.
President Donald Trump has been sounding the alarm about the irresponsible actions of the Biden administration in Ukraine. He posted on Truth Social, “Joe Biden should not be dragging us further toward World War III by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine—he should be trying to END the war and stop the horrific death and destruction being caused by an incompetent administration.”
Florida Rep. Kat Cammack joins ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the Biden administration’s relationship with big tech companies and the latest CDC data on drug overdose deaths. #FoxNews
FBI Director Christopher Wray endured a barrage of questions from House Republicans this past week. They amply documented how the FBI has ignored shocking evidence of the Biden family’s influence peddling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the rumor mill still churning despite the Secret Service closing its investigation, President Joe Biden blamed the presence of cocaine in the West Wing of the White House on a black man who used to live there.
“One of those suspicious colored fellas used to live here,” Biden said to reporters assembled on the White House lawn as he came outside for his morning recess time. “Black folks are always dealing drugs, which is why I pushed so hard to incarcerate them decades ago. Nobody listened. Now, one of them lived here for years. He was a bad dude. Borfarginbinder.”
Ever since a white powder that later tested positive for cocaine was discovered in the White House, speculation has run rampant that it may have belonged to President Biden’s son, Hunter. “People are trying to say it belonged to my son, but that’s an awful thing to say because my son passed away years ago,” Biden said. “It’s time for us to move on, just like the black fella who lived here before. He doesn’t live here anymore, he just calls me up every day and tells me what I need to do. Mint chocolate chip.”
As Biden was being led away, he was heard muttering about the White House’s former tenants. “Whatever happened to that guy?” he asked. “And what about his wife — the tall, burly fella?”
At publishing time, administration officials also confirmed that drugs found in Hunter Biden’s car and home also belonged to a previous black resident of the White House.
A Babylon Bee subscriber contributed to this report. If you want to pitch your own headline ideas to our staff, click here to check out all of our membership options!
General Florg of the planet Graxon V has visited Earth – but he’s having trouble understanding humans as he’s never encountered a species with so many genders.
To the surprise of no one, the leftist corporate media’s coverage of the 2024 presidential race has been abysmal. Predictably, their reporting is full of omissions, half truths, and wishful thinking. Once again, they only report their preferred narratives, in a desperate attempt to persuade stupid people and gullible news outlets into believing them, including Conservative Inc.
As usual the leftist coastal elites are attempting to shape their perceptions into reality.
Here are the two mainstream narratives thus far.
The first one says that Joe Biden, despite suffering from alarming rates of delirium and senility, while presiding over horrendous poll numberswill unequivocally be the Democratic nominee for President.
The second narrative says that no matter how early it is, Donald J. Trump has an insurmountable lead in the ever-expanding GOP field, and thus will be the Republican nominee for President for a third consecutive time. This despite the fact that the Iowa Caucuses are not occurring for another six months.
Let’s analyze the first leftist corporate media narrative – that Joe Biden is the de facto nominee.
As much as the objective journalists at the New York Times and Washington Post would like the gaffe-ridden career politician to remain in the White House, there are many plausible reasons why Team Biden, to the extent he even has a political operation, should be concerned.
Let’s put aside the fact that under Biden’s watch he has overseen the worst border crisis in U.S. history, the highest inflation in four decades, a historic crime wave in Democrat run cities, a disgraceful and embarrassing exit from Afghanistan, weakness towards China, indecision and mismanagement towards the war in Ukraine, appeasement towards Iran, betrayal against Israel, pathetic pandering in defense of “LGBTQ rights,” including supporting providing life altering puberty blockers to minors, attempting to jail his leading political opponent for the same supposed “crime” that he committed, and let’s not forget, a corrupt family that sold our country out, while raking in millions from China, Russia, Ukraine and Romania.
Yes, the Biden crime family makes the Gambino’s look cleaner than the Huxtables.
If that list wasn’t bad enough, now factor in that even the people who somehow still support Biden’s disastrous job killing, energy industry destroying, unconstitutional student debt canceling, equity agenda, don’t want him to run for re-election.
The geniuses in the media still can’t seem to figure out why Biden is so unpopular. Hmm, let’s see, it may have something to do with the fact that he looks weaker and frailer by the hour, and often says things that make zero sense to anyone on planet earth.
But whenever the question of Biden’s age comes up, the media does their best to prop him up. Case in point—the recent Axios piece that hilariously tries to make Biden seem like a tough and demanding boss who is fully with it. Yes, according to the legacy media, even though Biden often appears unable to read coherently from the teleprompter, or seems constantly confused about where he is, evidently, behind closed doors, he’s really Logan Roy in his prime.
The Axios piece also tries to humanize Biden by informing us that he isn’t always so “folksy” around his staff, and is prone to fits of rage, as if we haven’t seen him randomly start screaming during one of his many divisive speeches about the supposed threats of MAGA Republicans.
The corporate media has barely mentioned that Biden essentially has a non-existent campaign, with no serious operation in place. Instead, they would rather discredit the rising popularity of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., by calling him an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who is not to be taken seriously, and poses no serious threat to the incumbent. Say what you will about some of Kennedy’s peculiar stances, but at least he comes across as articulate and coherent.
And what about the other leftist mainstream media narrative that Trump has all but wrapped up the GOP nomination?
Once again, they would like this to be true, for their own cynical reasons. One, Trump is good for their ratings, and two, because they’re hoping for the same outcome from the 2020 election.
There’s no denying the former president is in a strong position as of this writing, but if past precedent means anything, it’s way too premature to declare the race a done deal—especially when the number two challenger just delivered a historic landslide victory in what was once a swing state.
There is nothing the coastal media elites would like more than to write off Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, before the first GOP debate has even occurred, because they know he has beaten the left on virtually every issue. Whether it was protecting jobs and businesses from draconian COVID lockdowns and unconstitutional vaccine mandates, keeping schools open and athletic dreams alive, removing inappropriate lesson plans that distort America’s history and sexualize children, actually enforcing our immigration laws, fighting for the life of unborn children, eliminating woke ESG, or providing Floridians with a record $2.7 billion tax relief package, the leftist corporate media knows he poses a legitimate threat to the Democrats reign of mass destruction.
Remember, the same people telling us that the DeSantis campaign is already over before it’s even two months old are the same people who have spent the past four years calling him a fascist.
We’re supposed to believe these same partisan journalists who disagree with virtually every single one of DeSantis’s policies, are rooting for his downfall and would never vote for him in a million years will give it to us straight? I don’t think so.
These are the same dishonest hacks who lied to us about the Russian Collusion hoax, the same people who said that the BLM riots that made Minneapolis look like Nagasaki, circa July 1945, were “mostly peaceful,” the same people who advocated for lockdowns and school closures during COVID, and the same people who cover for Biden’s senility and his family’s corruption. But somehow, we’re supposed to believe that they’re fair and impartial arbiters of the state of the 2024 GOP race?
The bottom line is, it’s still way too early to make any predictions, but it’s not too late to stop falling for the corporate media’s propaganda.
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz discusses Biden’s chances in the 2024 presidential election, the first GOP primary debate and Trump defending the president for ducking debates with RFK Jr.
On a recent episode of his show ‘System Update,’ journalist Glenn Greenwald explained how the ‘censorship-industrial complex’ merges corporate media, big tech and the security state to crack down on dissent.
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