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 Dissenter) The world today is flooded with distorted depictions and representations of Jesus Christ. In a quest for relevancy and appeal, modern culture, and even most modern churches, have twisted the figure of Jesus into something more palatable, more in line with human desires and ideologies. This false Jesus is worshiped and revered by most of the world, yet he bears little resemblance to the true savior and king, Jesus Christ, revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.
This false Jesus is a mere shadow, stripped of divine majesty and eternal significance. So who is this real Jesus, son of God and man, that every knee will bow to and every tongue will confess?…
Scripture proclaims Jesus as the eternal King who sits at the right hand of God, ruling over all creation (Revelation 19:16). He is not a mere moral teacher offering human wisdom. The shallow view that reduces Him to a self-help guru ignores His divine authority, His lordship over all things seen and unseen. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13), not a mere guide to better living. View article →
CRN’s homepage contains a list of professing Christians to keep an eye on. Scroll down to WARNING. The list contains many people you’ll want to mark and avoid as per Rom 16:17-18
Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be redeemed among the nations. (Numbers 23:9)
Who would wish to dwell among the nations and to be numbered with them? Why, even the professing church is such that to follow the Lord fully within its bounds is very difficult. There is such a mingling and mixing that one often sighs for “a lodge in some vast wilderness.”
Certain it is that the Lord would have His people follow a separated path as to the world and come out decidedly and distinctly from it. We are set apart by the divine decree, purchase, and calling, and our inward experience has made us greatly to differ from men of the world; and therefore our place is not in their Vanity Fair, nor in their City of Destruction, but in the narrow way where all true pilgrims must follow their Lord.
This may not only reconcile us to the world’s cold shoulder and sneers but even cause us to accept them with pleasure as being a part of our covenant portion. Our names are not in the same book, we are not of the same seed, we are not bound for the same place, neither are we trusting to the same guide; therefore it is well that we are not of their number. Only let us be found in the number of the redeemed, and we are content to be off and solitary to the end of the chapter.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
If you have difficulty living the Christian life, it’s because your priorities are wrong. If your priorities are right, your life will be right.
If your first priority is God, the rest of your life will fall into place. There is incredible power in having the proper priorities. As a matter of fact, you could sum up the problem of most people’s lives with this one sentence: They fail to put first things first.
He didn’t say seek Him first, but after your second cup of coffee. He didn’t say seek Him first, but after you’ve read the paper or watched your favorite morning news show. He didn’t say seek Him first, but not before your spouse and/or family. He didn’t say seek Him first but not before your career, career goals or work. He didn’t say seek Him first just behind any personal goals and dreams you might have.
He didn’t say seek Him first just behind all the church work and church stuff you’ve got to accomplish first. He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if all your personal needs and desires are satisfied. He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if you don’t have anything better to do. He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if you feel like it. He didn’t say seek Him first if you feel Him close on the mountaintop or if you’ve hit rock bottom in the valley. He didn’t say seek Him first, but only after you fret and worry about it first
He said seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness.
Have you substituted busyness for seeking God, and in doing so allowed something other than God to be your first priority?
How can a Christian make God his or her number one priority? How do I go about seeking the kingdom of God first? The Bible gives us perspectives on how we can make the Lord our first priority.
We simply must put the spiritual priorities of life ahead of the material ones. The world tells us the priorities that matter, but Scripture puts God first in our lives. When we do, everything else that matters falls into place.
In order to be in God’s will, we have to be in His Word. Devotional time is important, but more important is daily reading of the Word, saturating our minds with it and then taking quiet time to listen how God speaks to us about what we have read…. Abiding.
What is it (or who is it) that you are putting before your relationship with God?
By John Grant Used by Permission John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Walking in peace, with your heart calm even when life is not, is one of the wonderful benefits of the Christian life.
God reminds us to pay attention to what is going on within our hearts and to make some intentional choices.
Your heart is the well-spring of all of your life. It is the place from which your reactions, your attitudes, your actions all bubble up from. All that you are as you walk through this day, with whatever it holds, will spring from your heart. That’s why God tells us specifically to guard that well-spring.
We are wise to check what is residing in that well-spring especially when we find peace has vanished and worry and stress has taken it’s place.
Among the many things we find in our hearts there will always be one of two very specific things in the lead. Faith or Fear. One will always be on the top of the heap. They cannot both occupy the same place. If faith resides there your well-spring will pour out peace and confidence in God’s care for you, even in the midst of uncertain times.
If fear resides there anxiety and depression will be the natural outward flow. Faith or Fear. Every day we choose. Many times a day we choose.
Faith over-rides Fear. Fear over-rides Faith.
God tells us exactly what to do when fear grips our hearts and takes over our minds. Left unchecked it will scatter our faith and our peace like confetti in the wind and leave us anchor less in the storms of life. Yet God in His love gives us specific instructions as to what to do.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
What a simple formula! Not easy – but simple. Worry is a call to prayer. The moment you become aware of that churning anxiety over ANYTHING, go immediately to your Heavenly Father. Present your requests to Him. Then turn your thoughts and prayers to thanksgiving.
• Thank Him for His promise to never forsake you. • Thank Him for the power of His name. • Thank Him for His intimate knowledge of every detail of your life. • Thank Him for His track record in your life when He has been there for you in the past. • Thank Him that He works all things together for your good as you trust Him. • Thank Him that He is at work establishing His kingdom in your life.
Your faith and trust in God will over-ride your fear and His peace will actually put a guard around your heart and mind so fear cannot over run you. It’s supernatural and it’s real.
Father God, I confess that I often allow Your peace to slip from my heart. Fear is often my first response to challenges that come my way. May I be conscious today of choosing to trust You with every detail of my life. Help me to have faith to leave the question marks in Your control and to trust You to carry me and to sustain me with your peace that is beyond understanding. Today I choose to put my trust in You. I choose to walk in Your peace. Fill my heart with childlike faith today I ask in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
500 m (1 640 feet) long earth crack opens in Cocotitlán, Mexico A significant earth crack, measuring approximately 500 m (1 640 feet) in length and 3 m (10 feet) in depth, appeared recently in the cultivated lands of Cocotitlán, State of Mexico, raising concerns among its residents.
Strong and shallow M6.3 earthquake hits Colombia A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit central Colombia at 17:04 UTC (12:04 LT) on August 17, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Shallow M6.0 earthquake hits central Mid-Atlantic Ridge A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit central Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 16:41 UTC on August 17, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Scoop: Biden wants new housing program for migrant families The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve a temporary housing program for migrant families that illegally cross the southern border — a plan that would give them more freedom than traditional detention, Axios has learned.
BREAKING: US to Send F-16s to Ukraine U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has sent letters to Denmark and Norway assuring that the Biden government would expedite approvals for all transfers of F-16s to Ukraine. In the letters Blinken said that the F-16s would transfered once Ukrainian pilots have completed the Danish and Norwegian lead training program:
49 Out of 52 Leprosy Diagnoses Occurred after COVID Vaccines. There has been an increasing prevalence of leprosy after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, with 49 out of the 52 people – 98 percent – transferred to the specialist Leprosy Clinic at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London (HTD) in 2021 being referred after the vaccine.
What the Media Won’t Tell You About the Maui Fires. There are many underreported or even un-reported stories about Maui wildfires and the aftermath at Lahaina, as we have come to expect of mainstream media. A video has surfaced by the author of the book The Deep State Encyclopaedia, Really Graceful, that aims to give a voice to the Maui residents in their eyewitness accounts and also reveals facts that the media has buried.
Net Zero Zealots are a threat to South Korea’s industrial sector and economy South Korea is Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The country relies on coal and nuclear power to produce around 70% of its electricity, with “renewable energy” accounting for around 15%. South Korea’s industrial sector accounts for 40 per cent of total energy consumption.
Using public health policies, the Pandemic Industry is on the road to global fascism The Pandemic Industry is developing international instruments and processes that will entrench the destructive covid practices in international law. Public health, presented as a series of health emergencies, is being used, as it was in Nazi Germany, to facilitate a fascist approach to societal management.
“I am commonly opposed to those who modestly assume the rank of champions of liberty, and make a very patriotic noise about the people. It is the stale artifice which has duped the world a thousand times, and yet, though detected, it is still successful.” —Fisher Ames (1789)
Fellow Patriots, on this day all the way back in 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child born on American soil to English parents. In today’s news, children seem to be at the center of a great many cultural disputes because the Left politicizes everything. —Mark Alexander
Joe Biden has chalked up a string of miserable failures — and one stunning success.
Douglas Andrews
Ever notice that when Joe Biden finds himself in a tough spot, he plays the patriot card?
It’s a shrewd move, politically speaking, because who among us is rooting for their country to fail? Indeed, who among us isn’t stirred by thoughts of American exceptionalism? (Aside from Democrats, we mean. To them, American exceptionalism is no different than British exceptionalism or Greek exceptionalism.)
To be sure, Joe Biden and his handlers spend most of their time doing what Democrats have been doing for years: trying to wreck it, trying to fundamentally transform it, trying to finish the job that Barack Obama began in earnest on January 21, 2009.
But when Joe Biden gets the feeling that his poll numbers aren’t where they should be, or that his objective awesomeness is underappreciated by the American people, that’s when he gets angry and stands up the ol’ “Don’t bet against America” straw man.
He did it again during a speech Wednesday from the East Room of the White House on the one-year anniversary of his signature piece of legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act. It was a fitting moment, now that we think of it, given that the very name of this legislation is a lie.
Apparently, Biden had gotten wind that certain 2024 Republican presidential candidates were saying the country is worse off under his, er, leadership. Never mind the polling that shows just how deeply unpopular Biden and his policies are, nor how somewhere around 70% of the American people think we as a nation are heading in the wrong direction. Never mind all that.
“They’re telling us America is failing,” Biden spouted. “Let me tell you, they’re dead wrong. They’re dead wrong. America isn’t failing. America is winning. And I’ve said a thousand times … there is no quit in America.”
Got that? This president wants you to ignore his corruption, his cognitive decline, his utter incompetence, and instead remember that there’s no quit in America.
Then he snarled: “Name me a single objective we’ve ever set out to accomplish that we’ve failed on. Name me one, in all of our history. Not one!” Biden continued, “It’s never been a good bet to bet against America, and it’s still not a good bet today.”
Well, cancer for one. In fact, didn’t Biden himself personally vow to “end cancer as we know it” during the Obama years?
But, again, this is a really clever rhetorical trick: piggybacking on the greatness of America. In advertising, we call it borrowed equity: enhancing the appeal of the mediocre by tethering it to the exceptional. And we can’t let him get away with it.
Matt Margolis at PJ Media did what everyone else was thinking: He came up with a list of objectives that Joe Biden has set out to accomplish and failed on. The eight-item list won’t surprise anyone: bone-crushing inflation, runaway government spending, Bilk Back Broker, the border calamity, energy independence, the COVID pandemic, the permanent rigging of our electoral system, and a disgraceful cut-and-run from Afghanistan.
In fairness, though, we can think of one thing that Joe Biden set out to accomplish and succeeded on beyond his wildest dreams: self-enrichment. Bestselling author and investigative journalist Peter Schweizer notes that the Biden Crime Family has raked in more than $30 million from individuals with direct ties to Chinese intelligence.
Indeed, when it comes to profiting personally while selling out his country, it’s never been a good bet to bet against Joe Biden.
The retail giant is reporting sharply lower sales, and corporate America may be paying attention.
Brian Mark Weber
In a world that’s going woke, sometimes it feels like we’re fighting a losing cause.
Then again, some recent developments might give hope to Patriots everywhere that they’re making a difference in the battle to save the soul of our country. For years, the counterculture of the Left specialized in activism. It made sense for a lawyer whose goal was to tear down our institutions, corrupt our political system, and mock our values. They haven’t changed, but the rest of us are finally starting to take a stand.
The difference is that our side is fighting for what’s moral and decent and right. We’re fighting to protect our children.
One part of this new movement is the ongoing boycott against Bud Light. Some on our side said it was too little, too late, but the brand continues to take a beating at the checkout line. All these months later, Anheuser-Busch can’t even give away Bud Light. More important than beer sales, though: We’ve sent a clear message across corporate America that we’ve had enough.
It’s one thing when beer executives deliberately insult the very people who made their product successful in order to appease the Rainbow Mafia. It’s quite another when a company like Target celebrates Pride by selling one-piece “tuck-friendly” swimsuits even for youth.
And when the Leftmedia tried to cover it up as nothing more than “misinformation,” we knew it had to be true.
They can claim it wasn’t in the children’s section, and that the label didn’t specifically mention children as the target market, but they can’t claim that it isn’t meant for children. Target knows it got caught red-handed, and now it’s putting the public relations machine into high gear.
According to The Wall Street Journal: “Target said shopper backlash over its Pride Month collection, as well as cautious consumers, pushed sales sharply lower in the most recent quarter. The retailer said it expected sales to decline again in the current quarter and lowered its profit goal for the full year. Executives said they would still mark Pride Month next year but with a more focused assortment of merchandise.”
Nothing like hitting them where it hurts. While the loss in profits may be modest compared to Target’s overall sales, it’s enough to get executives’ attention, and enough to send a powerful message.
In terms of numbers, “Target’s revenue for the three-month period ended July 29 was $24.8 billion — 4.9% lower than this time last year and worse than the company’s predictions,” the New York Post reports. “The figure was slightly under the $25.2 billion economists expected, though the dip isn’t surprising considering Target’s stock lost nearly $14 billion as the Pride month controversy grabbed headlines.”
Conservative boycotts of businesses and products are clearly beginning to make a difference. If nothing else, the next marketing exec or CEO might think twice before bowing to the woke mobsters.
“The lesson from Bud Light and Target is twofold,” writes Kimberly Ross at the Washington Examiner. “Conservative consumers should finally recognize the power they hold. And corporations must think twice before shoving politics down their customers’ throats.”
She adds: “Not everything needs to be political. But if businesses large and small choose a political ideology, they should prepare for their customers to react as a political force. After all, consumers hold strong opinions, too.”
Thanks to social media, conservatives now have the ability to share information and come together when companies cross the line. As The Spectator’s Amber Athey writes, “PublicSq, an app that gathers non-woke brands into one convenient platform, has exploded in popularity over the past few months,” and “Consumers’ Research launched a text program called ‘Woke Alerts’ that sends messages to subscribers when brands make politically leftwing moves.”
In some cases, it’s not about boycotting; it’s simply about supporting those companies that stay out of politics altogether.
And it’s about time. For as long as anyone can remember, the American people chose products based on their quality and affordability while putting aside their politics. Now, though, it seems that the woke Left has poked a sleeping bear.
Biden pseudonyms, “Sound of Freedom” beats “Indiana Jones,” KSM might avoid the death penalty, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
Biden pseudonyms: As Republicans on the House Oversight Committee continue digging into the Biden family’s corruption, they have unearthed emails that appear to reveal then-Vice President Joe Biden using a number of pseudonyms. One email in particular that was sent by John Flynn, who at the time was working for VP Biden, was a daily schedule addressed to “Robert L. Peters.” The email was reminding Biden of a scheduled prep time for a phone call with the then-president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. Interestingly, Hunter Biden, who at the time just happened to be on the board of Ukraine energy company Burisma, was CC’d on that email. Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Thursday sent a records request to the National Archives and Records Administration seeking to get all unredacted records related to Biden’s official duties while serving as vice president over the time that corresponds with Hunter’s business in Ukraine. Was Biden’s use of pseudonyms an effort to cover up his corrupt business dealings with his son? It certainly appears that way.
“Sound of Freedom” beats “Indiana Jones”: Despite all the Leftmedia smears and ludicrous reporting that a film depicting a true story shedding light on the problem of child sex trafficking was rather promoting a QAnon conspiracy, “Sound of Freedom” has raked in over $173 million at the domestic box office. That number bests the fifth Indiana Jones movie, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” whose domestic total comes in at $172,775,069 as of August 16. Disney, which owns the Indy films, spent nearly $300 million on “Dial of Destiny,” whereas “Sound of Freedom” was made on a $14.5 million budget. Making matters worse for Disney, the woke company at one point owned the rights to “Sound of Freedom” when it acquired 20th Century Fox, only to shelve it and eventually sell it off. Seeing its success, Disney may be regretting that decision.
Bidenflation hits Bernie’s minimum wage: As a “solution” to mitigate Bidenflation making everything more costly, socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) and Democrat Senator Bobby Scott (VA) are proposing raising the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour. However, as is always the problem with leftist economics, the “solution” would only serve to make costs rise. For example, according to analysis from the Heritage Foundation’s Rachel Greszler, a $17 minimum wage would send child care costs jumping up 20% across the U.S. That 20% would add an extra $4,185 per year in child care cost for a family with two children. With American families on average $2,700 poorer now thanks to Bidenflation, raising the minimum wage would only serve to make everything even less affordable.
Trump cancels Georgia “proof”: Following his fourth indictment, and arguably the most politically motivated as well as weakest of the litany of charges that have been raised against the former president, Trump posted on social media that he would soon present a “detailed but irrefutable” report on alleged election fraud in Georgia during the 2020 election. Trump boasted: “Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others – There will be a complete EXONERATION!” Trump scheduled a press conference on Monday, August 21, for the big reveal. Well, last night, Trump nixed the event on the advice of his lawyers, who warned that his report could lead to an obstruction charge as an effort to taint the jury pool.
Illegal lab: The discovery of an illegal lab in Fresno County, California, made headlines recently after county public health inspectors reported finding a facility in a warehouse containing unauthorized biological agents, bodily fluid samples, infectious diseases including COVID, and some 1,000 mice. The lab in Reedley did not have permission or permits to operate, but Prestige Biotech and Universal Meditch Inc. back in 2018 had the necessary permits from the health department to use live mice for testing. However, over the next several years, it appears that the facility at the warehouse was illegally expanded into a lab that engaged in conducting biological testing. Fresno authorities are also seeking to correct misinformation that has been reported regarding the lab, noting specifically that there is no evidence of the lab being connected to a foreign government.
KSM might avoid the death penalty: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, is seeking to avoid the death penalty with a plea deal. He is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. According to a letter from the Pentagon and FBI sent to the families of victims, “The Office of the Chief Prosecutor has been negotiating and is considering entering into pre-trial agreements.” The letter continues by noting that no deal has been finalized, “and may never be finalized[;] it is possible that a [pre-trial agreement] in this case would remove the possibility of the death penalty.”
Headlines
Hurricane Hilary now powerful Category 4 hurricane, significant impacts expected in California, Southwest (Fox Weather)
North Dakota police officer’s bodycam footage shows moment he was ambushed (Fox News)
Delaware judge dismisses Hunter Biden tax charges, setting stage for additional charges from special counsel (National Review)
Donald Trump releases video calling for other Republicans to drop out of the race and embrace unity (Not the Bee)
Official who ignored request for water during Maui inferno: “Water requires conversations around equity” (RedState)
Maui emergency management admin resigns day after questioned about sirens not sounding during Lahaina fires (Fox News)
Apple restores all of Glenn Beck’s podcasts from iTunes (PM)
Red Cross asks male blood donors if they are pregnant (National Review)
Mortgage rates hit highest level in over 20 years in blow to homebuyers (NY Post)
Humor: Prince immediately regrets waking Rachel Zegler with a kiss after she starts ranting about the patriarchy (Babylon Bee)
This race is very, very far from over yet. As the aphorism from the world of sports goes, that’s why they play the game.
Josh Hammer
If one is to believe the prevailing narrative from Donald Trump’s current campaign to retake the White House, the 2024 Republican presidential primary might as well be over. The former president has been consistently dominating the top-line horse race polling for months now, the argument goes, despite (or perhaps because of?) the fact he has now been criminally indicted four separate times, by three different prosecutors, in four different jurisdictions. Therefore, the Trump triumphalists shout from their rooftops, the other candidates should just drop out right now. “Spare your dignity and coronate Trump today!!!”
This argument is absurd for approximately a million different reasons.
First, and perhaps most important, the last time I checked the calendar, it still said, “August 2023.” While commentators, campaign operatives and political junkies with apparently nothing else better to do in their free time are already intensely following the Republican presidential primary, the same is simply not true for the vast majority of Americans who largely tune out the news during the dog days of summer. A political party’s first televised presidential primary debate marks the unofficial beginning of its normal, non-activist voter base paying attention in earnest. Yes, Trump has maintained a stubborn lead in the national horse race polls for months now. But it is still ridiculously early.
Second, and perhaps next important, it is totally unclear what shape Trump might find himself in six months from now, to say nothing of one year from now. Many of the former president’s “coronate him today!”-style enthusiasts tend to suppose, because of the thoroughly unjust nature of the ruling class’s sprawling multistate legal persecution of Trump, that he will be inevitably exonerated from all charges and acquitted of all legal woes.
Trump’s supporters are right on the unjustness of the Regime’s jihad against Trump — though the former president’s often-myopic conduct, from his ignoring a grand jury subpoena in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents retention case to the outlandish, infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the Fulton County, Georgia case, makes it all-too easy for his foes. But Trump’s supporters are wrong about the very nature of these four indictments, each one of which necessarily involves a different judge and a different juror pool, and all of which present differing likelihoods of guilt, acquittal or some sort of ultimate plea deal. In the interim, furthermore, Trump will be strapped for time as he is forced to physically jet off to courtrooms in four jurisdictions, and his campaign and supporting super PAC will continue to have their coffers bled dry with ever-mounting legal bills.
Third, there is a low but non-zero possibility that, at some point next year, the result of at least one of these criminal cases will be Trump in handcuffs in a prison cell. This is truly the stuff of third-world banana republics, and no American patriot should wish this outcome no matter what his partisan leanings or candidate preferences may be. But we have already crossed the Rubicon here — reached the point of no return. It is all uncharted waters, henceforth. Trump will try to delay all four criminal trials until after election season, but he will probably be unsuccessful in that effort. And while he could indeed pardon himself for his own federal crimes if he is found guilty in one (or both) of Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith’s two indictments and (against all odds) elected president again, he would have no such luck on the state-level charges — particularly in Georgia, the most perilous of all four indictments.
The idea that now is the time to coronate Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, therefore, is simply ridiculous. But Trump’s continued polling dominance, especially in national horse race metrics, is also undeniable. For that reason above all else, next week’s first GOP presidential primary debate in Milwaukee matters a lot to every other candidate not named “Donald Trump.” And it matters a lot regardless of whether Trump decides to show up for it — which is unclear, as of this writing.
Every Trump rival who will be in Milwaukee is presumably preparing in earnest for the big night, but the stakes are clearly highest for Trump’s top rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Despite sky-high (perhaps unreasonably high) expectations at the time of formal campaign launch and a supporting super PAC touting massive sums of cash on hand, the DeSantis operation has thus far underperformed at the national level. Partially, that can be blamed on the fact that DeSantis, who has an extraordinarily impressive gubernatorial track record and a telegenic young family seemingly made for Inauguration Day photo ops, has thus far been whacked with more negative advertising expenditures than Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden combined.
DeSantis will need to resist taking the inevitable debate moderator bait about the Mar-a-Lago-dwelling elephant in the room (or not in the room, as the case may be), and confidently redirect the conversation back to his own terrain. He will need to use his time on stage to tell his own compelling political story: someone who made the nation’s third-largest — and formerly purple — state a deep-red bastion, and who can similarly engender both economic recovery and restore civilizational sanity on the national stage, if given the opportunity. He will need to do this while simultaneously reminding people, perhaps when former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie inevitably attacks him, that he can be a bare-knuckle brawler when the time calls for it. DeSantis is the same man whose frequent COVID-era sparring with a deeply hostile Florida press corps made for many viral social media moments, after all.
Ultimately, Republican voters want someone who will fight for them — for their priorities and their values. And they need to be inspired to believe in someone. Barack Obama is in one sense the last person alive Republicans should take advice from, but perhaps there was a kernel of truth to be found in the success of his ubiquitous “Hope” branding from 2008.
Donald Trump remains the favorite to capture the Republican presidential nomination. He was always going to be. But this race is very, very far from over yet. As the aphorism from the world of sports goes, that’s why they play the game.
The lack of adhering to Scripture is deeply contributing to Germany’s embrace of sexual sin.
Emmy Griffin
Christian podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey had a very interesting interview earlier this week. She talked to Father Calvin Robinson, an Anglican priest, on the topic of blasphemy in the Church.
They went through several examples worldwide, including the deeply heretical “sparkle creed” here in the U.S.
One example was a German pastor declaring that “God is queer.” Father Robinson then made the offhand comment:: “Why does all heresy seem to start in Germany? A lot of the heresy around the Protestant movement began in Germany. Same with the Roman Catholics. We’ve got their bishops now out there now pushing for female priests and bishops and for approval of gay marriage — all kinds of things that go against the Scriptures. There’s something really, really wicked at the heart of Germany. I don’t know what it is.”
It prompted the question: What exactly is going on in Germany that is evoking this particular response from a priest from the UK? Are Germans and the Protestant/Catholic Church in Germany really struggling?
The short answer is “Yes” on all three counts — the German people, the German Protestant Church, and the German Roman Catholic Church are struggling mightily against the heresy of the LGBTQ+ agenda (which contradicts explicit teaching from the Bible) and particularly the transgender agenda (which is also a Marxist version of gnostic dualism).
The German people have fallen hook, line, and sinker for the LGBTQ+ agenda (read: Queer Marxism) that actively seeks to sexualize children to justify its own perversion.
Reduxx writer Genevieve Gluck has been publishing article after article after article uncovering increasingly dark evidence of this Queer Marxism in Germany. Perhaps the worst was the infiltration of a sex education group that wanted daycares to have “sexual games” and nude “exploration rooms.” But all the articles describe horrific attacks against children and those that would use and abuse them.
As for the German Protestant Church, there are a lot of indications that this community has been ripe for a cultural and cultish takeover. According to The Christian Post, “A new study from the theologians at the University of Leipzig finds that only 1.6% of the German population reads the Bible at least once a day, and only 3.2% read it every week, despite half of its population identifying as Protestant or Catholic.” Why is this relevant to the LGBTQ+ dilemma within Christian teaching? Well, if you don’t know what the Bible actually says, then those who have an agenda to pervert and divert the Church (which we here in America call the “deconstructionists”) have a much easier time planting the original lie, “Did God really say?”
Many Germans who claim to be Christians don’t believe that the Bible is even relevant to their everyday lives. If you don’t believe the Bible and its teachings, how can you claim to be a Christian? And why bother?
German Catholics have an even bigger fight ahead. The American Conservative described a vote by the Catholic Church leaders in Frankfurt, Germany, who voted 168-28 to “adopt a draft statement on sexuality that includes a resolution saying that ‘same-sex partnerships who want to take the risk of an unbreakable common life … should be able to see themselves placed under the blessing of God.’” In other words, they voted to ignore God’s design for marriage — one man and one woman— and bless same-sex marriages.
The implications for the rest of the German Catholic Church is probably going to be a schism at some point in the near future because, even to this day (the American Conservative article was written in 2021), the German bishops are steadfastly refusing to come under the authority of the Pope in Rome.
It is sad to see a country where some of the riches traditions of the Protestant Church have sprung turn into a country where the term “Christian” is merely a cultural distinction, not an actual following of the faith. Then again, the Protestant Reformation began in Germany 506 years ago, so there’s still hope.
One way to get along with China, and to regain its respect, is to deal with it exactly the way it deals with the United States.
Victor Davis Hanson
Imagine if the United States treated China in the same way it does us?
What if American companies simply ignored Chinese copyrights and patents, and stole Chinese ideas, inventions, and intellectual property, as they pleased and with impunity?
What if the American government targeted Chinese industries by dumping competing American export products at below the cost of production — to bankrupt Chinese competitors and corner their markets?
What would the communist Chinese government do if a huge American spy balloon lazily traversed continental China — sending back to the United States photographic surveillance of Chinese military bases and installations?
How would China react to American stonewalling any explanation, much less refusing to apologize for such an American attack on Chinese sovereignty?
Envision a U.S. high-security virology lab in the Midwest, run by the Pentagon, allowing the escape of an engineered, gain-of-function deadly virus.
Instead of enlisting world cooperation to stop the spread of the virus, the American government would lie that it sprung up from a local bat or wild possum.
Washington would then make all its relevant military scientists disappear who were assigned to the lab, while ordering a complete media blackout.
America would forbid Chinese scientists from contacting their American counterparts involved in the lab, despite the deaths of more than 1 million Chinese from the American-manufactured disease.
And what if during the first days of the pandemic Washington had quietly prevented all foreign travel to the United States, while keeping open one-way direct flights from America to major Chinese cities?
How would Beijing respond if American biotech company warehouses were discovered in rural China with unsecured vials of deadly viruses and pathogens?
Would China be angered that it was never notified by an American company that it had left abandoned COVID and HIV viruses and malaria parasites in its facilities — along with rotting genetically engineered dead rats littering the floors with hundreds more lab animals abandoned in laboratory cages?
What would Chairman Xi Jinping have done if American-made fentanyl was shipped in massive quantities to nearby Tibet on the Chinese border? And what if it would be deliberately repackaged there as deceptive recreational drugs and smuggled into China, where it annually killed 100,000 Chinese youth, year after year?
What if 10,000 Americans this year illegally crossed the Indian border into China and disappeared into its interior?
What if an allied Asian nation — such as South Korea, Japan, or Taiwan — went nuclear. And what if, in North-Korean style, it serially blustered to send one of its nuclear missiles into the major cities of China?
What if almost monthly China discovered an American military operative teaching incognito at a major Chinese university or among the ranks of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army?
Would China object if an American femme fatale agent was sleeping with a high-ranking Chinese official of the Chinese communist politburo?
Or what if one of the chauffeurs of its top ranking Chinese officials was a nearly two-decade-long American agent?
What would be the Chinese reaction if there were 350,000 American students attending schools all over the Chinese nation, with perhaps 3,000-4,000 of them actively engaged in national security espionage on behalf of the United States?
These “what-ifs” could be expanded endlessly. But they reflect well enough the great asymmetry in the bizarre Chinese-American relationship.
Obviously, China would not tolerate America treating it as it does the Americans.
Why then does the imbalance continue?
Do naive Americans believe that the more China is indulged, the more it will respond in kind to American magnanimity?
Does the U.S. believe that the more China is exposed to our supposedly radically democratic and free culture, the sooner it will become a good democratic citizen of the global community?
Are we afraid of China, because it has four times our population, and believes its economy and military will overtake ours in a decade?
Are we terrified that its Chinese government is completely amoral, utterly ruthless, and capable of anything?
Or are our political, cultural, and corporate elites so compromised by their lucrative Chinese investments and joint ventures, that they prioritize profits over their own country’s national security and self-interest?
And did the Biden family — including President Joe Biden himself — in the past receive millions of dollars from Chinese energy and investment interests?
Did Hunter Biden’s quid pro quo decade of grifting result in millions in Chinese money filling the Biden family coffers — all in exchange for the current Biden and past Obama administrations going soft on Chinese aggression?
No one seems able to explain the otherwise inexplicable.
But one way to get along with China, and to regain its respect, is to deal with it exactly the way it deals with the United States.
Anything less, and America will continually be treated with even more Chinese contempt — and eventually extreme violence.
Flashback: When Dems Were Cool Calling Elections ‘Stolen’ — Hillary Clinton bemoans “bad actors” who say “every election is stolen” because it “wounds us as a democracy.” Yet back in 2018, she said of Stacey Abrams, “If she had a fair election, she already would have won.”
“I want to say one thing to your children. I know some really great ice cream places around here and daddy owes you, so talk to me afterwards.” —Joe Biden
Grand Delusions
“Joe Biden, when I’ve been around him … when I’ve seen him on the news, he’s absolutely 100% with it. And he’s got his recall, his cognitive ability. … He’s fine and he’s doing a good job. I think folks are making a bigger deal out of it than it is.” —Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)
The BIG Lies
“The economy is great. It’s the goldilocks economy. I’ll tell ya, I’ve been watching or participating in economic policy for at least 30 years, and I don’t recall an economy that is this good.” —former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich
“This law [the Inflation Reduction Act] is helping families save thousands of dollars in energy bills every year.” —Joe Biden
“When it comes to the Inflation Reduction Act, as great as it has been, the best is yet to come!” —Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
“[Democrats] will be able to articulate a whole host of accomplishments to say to the American people, ‘Trust us!’ We mean what we say, we say what we mean in terms of our efforts to put people over politics.” —House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
“[Republicans] have done a pitiful job of trying to make any case that something untoward has happened… There is zero evidence linking President Biden personally to anything, and there’s zero evidence of political interference.” —Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA)
Dezinformatsiya
“Florida’s Black history curriculum teaches children slavery was beneficial for Black people.” —CNN headline (“If you haven’t learned that a significant portion of the media’s time is specifically dedicated to manipulating black people into feeling victimized and continue to fall for it when it happens, I’m not sure what to tell you.” —Allie Beth Stuckey)
Re: The Left
“People like Al Gore and Greta Thunberg have often literally screamed their apocalyptic vision of a near future world where the oceans rise and the earth burns. How many times have these charlatans claimed that earth will end in X number of years if we don’t immediately stop carbon emissions, only for the date to come and go without even a hint of remorse for the deceit they’ve peddled? And how many children suffer despair and anxiety because they’re repeatedly warned the world is ending?” —Thomas Gallatin
“I urge our government to welcome displaced Hawaiians with more than just open arms. They deserve five-star hotel accommodations, luxurious meals, free health care and child care. Why? Because that’s how we should treat Americans. And yet, it’s how we’re currently treating the migrants. ‘America First’ has been wrongly maligned due to the left’s deliberate misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the principle. It’s about preserving a nation’s dignity, offering help and utilizing resources wisely, without exhausting them. The American people’s welfare must not be sacrificed for Ukraine or the migrants crossing our borders.” —Armstrong Williams
Insight
“If I want to be free from any other man’s dictation, I must understand that I can have no other man under my control.” —William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan refused to comment Friday about whether the Biden family’s business ventures in China posed a “national security issue,” as Republicans allege.
It begs the question, after his 2020 campaign in which his handlers called “lids” on his campaign activities after 9:30 a.m. each day, his frequent Sun’s Out, Guns Out beach trips, and his frequent breaks from his hectic schedule: How much time has Biden actually spent on the job?
Biden just took a 10-day vacation, he took a long weekend off this past weekend, and he’s going on another vacation. Either being president is the easiest job in the world, where even a person with stage 5 dementia can do the job, or our country is being run by a group of radical leftists operating in the shadows. This is a very dangerous situation. I hear people refer to the 25th amendment, which is, in fact, available exactly for a situation like this. But no one in Biden’s cabinet, the VP, or Democrats on Capitol Hill are troubled by this. They are getting the results they want. That’s all that matters to them. And those who drafted, adopted, and ratified the 25th amendment couldn’t have imagined that we would be dealing with such a totalitarian movement.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., discusses the U.S. economy, the Georgia Senate’s latest move to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and the Biden family’s business dealings. #foxbusiness
Hunter Biden reportedly crashed at the White House for two weeks after U.S. Attorney David Weiss announced he had reached a plea deal with the first son.
On June 20, Weiss, now a special counsel, announced a sweetheart plea deal in which Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes and receive pretrial diversion for a felony gun crime. The next day after that now-defunct deal was announced, Biden went to the White House, where he stayed for two weeks.
The plea agreement was made public on June 20. One day later, the president and first lady welcomed houseguests from California to the White House: Hunter Biden, along with his wife and young son. They stayed for the next two weeks, according to two people familiar with the arrangement — a visit that included Hunter’s controversial appearance at a state dinner honoring the Indian prime minister, two getaways to the presidential retreat at Camp David and an Independence Day celebration.
Surprisingly, most White House staffers were unaware that Hunter Biden and his family were staying at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for two weeks.
As the Post noted, Hunter Biden’s visit overlapped with the shocking discovery of cocaine near the West Executive Entrance of the White House, not far from the Situation Room. The Secret Service investigated the incident, but claimed it could not identify the person responsible for bringing the illicit substance inside one of the world’s most secure buildings.
Hunter Biden and his family left the White House on July 5 after spending the Fourth of July holiday at Camp David.
Meanwhile, CNN reported on Thursday that Hunter Biden is a “sensitive topic,” one that is “mostly verboten” inside the West Wing, despite the political ramifications of Hunter’s legal troubles and the allegations stemming from congressional investigations
“Hunter Biden is not a topic of discussion in campaign meetings,” a senior aide said told CNN. “It’s just not addressed.”
“I’ve heard reports that [Biden is] very obsessed with the negative coverage of Hunter. He’s concerned about it. It’s an irritant and that’s understandable,” Avlon said. “But not one that the allies around him are going to want to raise, because it will derail a conversation into some place dark.”
On Thursday, a federal judge dismissed Hunter Biden’s misdemeanor tax crimes after Weiss petitioned the court to vacate the charges. Weiss, however, intends to refile the charges (and perhaps additional charges) in other jurisdictions.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US billionaire Elon Musk has referred to Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow entrepreneur, as a “very promising” Republican candidate running for president in 2024.
Officials confirmed Sunday that at least 96 people have died as a result of the fires that have ravaged Maui, and hundreds more remain missing. Fires also continue to burn throughout the island as of Monday, although officials have contained about 85 percent of the fire that tore through the historic beach town of Lahaina.
In a video message shared to Trump’s Truth Social account Monday, the former president extended his “sympathy and warmest regards” to all of those who have been affected by the wildfire, which is among the deadliest in U.S. history.
“The death caused by this catastrophic event will be far worse than ever expected now that houses and cars and other areas are being inspected,” Trump said in his message. “The sad thing is, it should never have happened. Our government was not prepared. And very importantly, the aftermath is going very poorly with the governor of the island wanting to do nothing but blame it on global warming, and other things that just happen to pop into his head.”
What are the chances of an EMP attack? Child human trafficking is at its largest point in US history. Evangelical churches as splitting and in free fall. And the people coming for your children and arresting street preachers. All this and more on this special “Best of” episode of The Global Lane. CBN News. Because Truth Matters™
James Comer calls on the National Archives to release unredacted copies of records from when Joe Biden was Vice President. Specifically, requesting special access to emails related to Hunter Biden, Burisma and Ukraine, Kilmeny Duchardt reports. Watch NEWSMAX, an independent news network with a conservative perspective, available in 100M+ U.S. homes.
The emergency response unit for the District of Columbia has rejected a records request seeking details about its response to a cocaine discovery in the White House last month.
The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (EMS) announced on Friday that it was withholding 19 pages of documents sought under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The request was submitted by Jason Leopold.
Leopold requested the following:
A copy of the request and/or radio call for a Hazmat team by US Secret Service to respond to a white powdery substance found at the White House.
A copy of the final report of the Hazmat team’s testing of the white powder that was determined to be cocaine found at the West Wing of the White House.
Photographs of the substance, should any exist.
Emails referencing the cocaine/white powdery substance found at the White House.
Final incident reports/after-action reports referencing the white powdery substance determined to be cocaine that was found at the White House. (Date Range for Record Search: From 07/03/2023 To 07/05/2023)
In its response letter to the FOIA request, Christina Dalton, Information and Privacy Officer for D.C. Fire and EMS stated that it was denying the request under two specific statutes.
The first statute cited ostensibly prevents the disclosure of “investigative techniques and procedures not generally known outside of the government.”
The second statute cited by the D.C. Fire and EMS presents even more questions. They claimed that the release of the 19 pages was being withheld because they contain a “specific vulnerability assessment.” They further stated that preventing the release of this information is “intended to prevent or to mitigate an act of terrorism.”
D.C. Official Code § 2-534(a) (3) (E) – Cavestigatory Records/ Investigative Techniques” – Investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, including the records of Council investigations and investigations conducted by the Office of Police Complaints, but only to the extent that the production of such records would disclose investigative techniques and procedures not generally known outside of the government.
D.C. Official Code § 2-534(a) (10) – “Emergency Response Plan” – Any specific response plan, including any District of Columbia response plan, as that term is defined in § 7-2301(1), and any specific vulnerability assessment, either of which is intended to prevent or to mitigate an act of terrorism, as that term is defined in § 22-3152
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a bag of cocaine was discovered in the West Wing of the White House. Recent claims suggest it might belong to an individual closely associated with the Biden family. According to sources per New York Post, President Biden may know the identity of this individual.
In a report published by Soldier of Fortune, publisher Susan Katz Keating cited information from three security sources.
“All three sources independently told Soldier of Fortune the same name, which arose from an investigation into the incident. The sources currently work for a U.S. government agency, and are not authorized to speak to the media,” Keating wrote.
Susan Katz Keating is an award-winning writer and investigative journalist who has covered military, defense, and security issues. Over the years, she has written for various publications such as Washington Times and Washington Examiner and has reported from several conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Northern Ireland. Keating has a reputation for her in-depth reporting on U.S. military and related matters.
Keating’s sources indicate that even though the Secret Service officially announced the conclusion of the investigation due to a “lack of physical evidence,” they had, in fact, managed to identify a suspect. This suspect, it is claimed, was subsequently reported to Joe Biden.
One of these sources told Keating, “If you want the name, ask Joe Biden. He knows who it is.” A different source was quick to clarify that the individual in question was not the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
“It was someone within the Biden family orbit, and it wasn’t Hunter,” said a second source.
(The Dissenter) The world today is flooded with distorted depictions and representations of Jesus Christ. In a quest for relevancy and appeal, modern culture, and even most modern churches, have twisted the figure of Jesus into something more palatable, more in line with human desires and ideologies. This false Jesus is worshiped and revered by most of the world, yet he bears little resemblance to the true savior and king, Jesus Christ, revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.
Truth2Freedom's Blog 