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 great 19th century British missionary and explorer to the continent of Africa, David Livingstone, once said: “I’d rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God, than on the throne of England, out of the will of God.”1 And in yesterday’s devotion I shared how Moses chose the will of God over the great privileges of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, for we read: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
Down through the centuries great men and women of God have understood that the safest and most joyous place to be is in the will of God. Corrie Ten Boom said it well when she proclaimed: “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.”2
I have learned over the years in my walk with the Lord that God’s plans for my life are far better than my own plans. Pastor Greg Laurie echoes this thought well: “God’s plans for you are better than any plans you have for yourself. So don’t be afraid of God’s will, even if it’s different from yours.”3
While it is true that being in the will of God may bring temporary pain and suffering the blessings far outweigh any of the negatives. Below are just three of the amazing blessings that being in God’s will, will allow us to experience.
We will experience the joy of the Lord
In the parable of the talents, from (Matthew 25), if you remember one of the servants was given five talents. He was wise and traded with them and made another five talents. This is a good example of using our skills and abilities to do God’s will by investing wisely the gifts He has entrusted to us. Just listen to how the Scriptures give us the results of this wise servant: “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” (Matthew 25:20-21). And we read about this joy in (Psalm 16:11): “…In Your presence is fullness of joy…” Doing the will of the Lord, I believe, will allow us to experience awesome joy that this world can’t offer us, nor can it obtain.
We will accumulate great treasures in heaven
In the beatitudes we see a good example of what happens to a believer when they choose to do God’s will by taking a stand for Jesus. (Matthew 5:11-12) shares the following: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” He we see again that joy accompanies obedience to doing the will of the Lord. But in addition, we are promised a great reward in heaven. Just what is this reward is not easy to discern but I know it will be special beyond our wildest imagination.
We will bring glory to God
When we do God’s will we become reflectors of His glory to the world around us. I believe we were created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And when we are living in the center of God’s will we radiate the glory of the Lord to all those we come in contact with; both Christians and non-Christians. And in closing, I really get excited by knowing that when I am in the will of the Lord, I put a smile on the face of God!
1:19 In the face of false teachings, Paul insists that in Christ the completeness of deity (“all the fullness”) dwells. The very essence of God dwells in Christ. Notice the even stronger statement in 2:9.
1:19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The “fullness” language here and throughout the letter is reminiscent of its use in the OT, where it was said that God “filled” the temple with his presence. For instance, the prophet Ezekiel exclaims, “I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (Ezek. 44:4). Jesus not only bears God’s glory, but all that God is also dwells in him. He possesses the wisdom, power, Spirit, and glory of God. To say that all this divine fullness dwells in Jesus is to say that he is fully God (see also Col. 2:9).[2]
1:19 all the fullness. A term likely used by those in the Colossian heresy to refer to divine powers and attributes they believed were divided among various emanations (see Introduction: Background and Setting). Paul countered that by asserting that the fullness of deity—all the divine powers and attributes—was not spread out among created beings, but completely dwelt in Christ alone (cf. 2:9).[3]
1:19fullness: The opponents of Paul, and later the Greek Gnostics, seem to have used this word as a technical term for the sphere between heaven and earth where a hierarchy of angels lived. The Gnostics viewed Christ as one of many spirits existing in this hierarchy between God and all people. However, Paul used the term fullness to refer to the complete embodiment of God. Christ is the only Intercessor for human beings and fully embodies all of God’s nature (1 Tim. 2:5). No other intermediary, whether person or group, is able to stand in our place before the Father. Only Jesus can do this.[4]
1:19 Darby translates verse 19 as follows: “For in Him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell.” The King James tradition could make it sound as if at some point in time the Father (notice italics for words not in the Greek) was pleased to make all fullness dwell in the Son. The real meaning is that the fullness of the Godhead always dwelt in Christ.
Gnostic heretics taught that Christ was a kind of “halfway house” to God, a necessary link in the chain. But there were other, better links on ahead. “Go on from Him,” they urged, “and you will reach the fullness.” “No,” Paul answers, “Christ is Himself the complete fullness!”
All fullness dwells in Christ. The word for dwell here means to dwell permanently, and not simply to visit temporarily.[5]
1:19. The sixth description of the exalted Christ is that all God’s fullness dwell[s] in Him. Later Paul wrote, “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (2:9). Colossians 1:19 is one of the most powerful descriptions of Christ’s deity in the New Testament (cf. Heb. 1:3). “Fullness” (plērōma), a key word in Colossians, is used in 1:19 and 2:9. (The verb plēroō is used in 1:9, 25; 2:10; and 4:17.) The noun means “completeness” and is used of a wide range of things including God’s being (Eph. 3:19), time (Gal. 4:4), and grace in Christ (John 1:16). This full and complete Deity is said to “dwell” (katoikēsai, “abide lastingly or permanently”) in Christ.[6]
19 The reason for this primacy is spelled out: Jesus Christ is ‘the place’ in whom God in all his fullness was pleased to take up residence. All God’s qualities and activities—his Spirit, word, wisdom and glory—are perfectly displayed in Christ. Further, this indwelling in Christ ‘in bodily form’ (cf. 2:9) is not temporary but permanent. Since Christ is the one mediator between God and the world of humanity and has brought the Colossian Christians into a relationship with his Father, they need not fear those supernatural powers under whose control human beings were supposed to live. Neither need we be afraid of the same or similar powers in the present day.[7]
1:19 This starts with “for” (hoti). It states God’s will for the Messiah which is (1) the fullness of deity to be revealed in Him (cf. v. 19) and (2) the reconciliation of all things through Him (cf. v. 20).
“that the Son has in himself the full nature of God”
NJB
“all fullness to be found in him”
This is a play on the word “full” (plerōma), which was used by the false teachers to describe the angelic levels between the good high god and sinful matter (cf. 2:9; Eph. 1:23; 3:19; 4:13). This was a startling statement to describe a carpenter from Nazareth who was executed for treason! To see Jesus is to see God![8]
19. Note, however, the words, “that he might have.” These words show that this high honor possessed by the Son was a matter of design, the Father’s good pleasure. Hence, the text continues, For in him he [God] was pleased to have all the fulness dwell.
This delight of the Father in the Son was evident even during the old dispensation, yes, even before the world was founded (Ps. 2:7, 8; John 17:5; Eph. 1:9). During the period of Christ’s sojourn on earth it manifested itself again and again (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28). It was indeed God’s good pleasure that in his Son all the fulness should dwell. The powers and attributes of Deity were not to be distributed among a multitude of angels. The divine supremacy or sovereignty, either as a whole or in part, was not to be surrendered to them. On the contrary, in accordance with God’s good pleasure, from all eternity the plenitude of the Godhead, the fulness of God’s essence and glory, which fulness is the source of grace and glory for believers, resides in the Son of his love, in him alone, not in him and the angels. It dwells in him whom we now serve as our exalted Mediator, and it manifests itself both in Creation and Redemption.
Explanatory passages are:
John 1:16, “For out of his fulness we have received grace upon grace.”
Col. 2:3, “in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are stored up.”
Col. 2:9, “For in him all the fulness of the godhead dwells bodily.”[9]
God with us in Christ (verse 19)
Verse 19 concerns the coming of God to dwell with men, foreshadowed from the earliest days of the exodus by the tent in the wilderness. Now it is in Christ that the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.
As we have seen, ‘fullness’ is a characteristic word of the Colossian letter; as a concept it played a large part in second-century Gnosticism, and even at this early stage was evidently becoming a major theme of the visiting teachers. Now the word ‘fullness’ (plēroma) can mean a supplement, that is, something added to supply a deficiency, or it can mean a complement, that is the full number that makes up a whole, for example a ship’s company. The distinction between the two meanings may help to clarify the difference between the apostolic teaching and the new teaching. For Paul there was nothing whatever of the Godhead that was not in Christ; the full complement of divine attributes is to be found in him. But for the new teachers, union with Christ did not of itself bring anyone into such fullness of divine life; there was still room (and need) for a supplementary work of God. This could be thought of by saying that God had still more of himself to give than Christ, or that Christ was not received in all his fullness at conversion. However this was thought of, for Paul it represented a serious misunderstanding. The work of the teacher is to lead people to find their fullness in Christ alone: he does not possess anything beyond Christ to give to his people.
The aorist infinitive (‘to take up his dwelling’) gives verse 19 a reference to the incarnation that is hard to deny. But the present tense in 2:9 (‘in him the whole fullness … dwells bodily’) reminds us that the Christ of history is now at God’s right hand. Incarnation (verse 19) prepares the way for atonement (verse 20), but now we are to seek the fullness of God in Christ above, and not on earth (3:1f.)
In the developed Gnosticism of the second century it was axiomatic that a holy God could have no direct dealings with the material world which was thought of as necessarily evil. As a result, numerous gradations of spiritual beings were considered necessary to span the all but infinite gulf between God and man. Whatever ideas of this sort were circulating in the Lycus valley in Paul’s day, it was inevitable that even the Christians would be influenced by them (in no age are Christians uncontaminated by the pagan thought-forms of their day). The new teaching brought by the visitors undoubtedly included something of this pagan colouring; it is possible, for instance, that they spoke of additional mediatorial powers assisting in the supreme work of bringing the fullness of God’s wisdom, love and power, to the sinful.
Over against these rather ‘natural’ ideas, the startling words of Paul affirm that it was God’s pleasure to make Christ the permanent dwelling place of his divine fullness, so that he should be the one mediator between heaven and earth. The apostolic teaching always takes with the utmost seriousness both the full deity and the complete and perfect humanity of Christ, for only so can he be the sufficient mediator between God and man. This apostolic view forbids a devotion to a human Jesus who is not Christ the Lord, just as it rules out the idea of a ‘spiritual’ Christ known chiefly as a miracle-worker rather than as a suffering servant.
When I was making final revision of this paragraph, The Myth of God Incarnate, a symposium edited by John Hick, had attracted considerable attention. Probably not many who know of the stir caused by this book will have read it (a difficult task for anyone), but the immediate impression given by the imprecise title is not far wrong. The re-interpretation of the doctrine of the incarnation attempted by Maurice Wiles and John Hick turns out to be an abandonment of the truth as formulated in the Nicene Creed (ad 325) and the Chalcedonian Definition (ad 451). One thing the book does not make clear is what view the authors hold of God, an important point if we are trying to understand what is meant by saying that in Christ God became man. If we are pantheists, and identify the universe with God, there will be no difficulty in calling Christ divine, for the same could be said of anyone. But pantheism is incompatible with theism in which a clear distinction between Creator and creature is made. If this contrast between man and his Maker is true, as Christian theism has always affirmed, then the doctrine of the incarnation makes a claim for Christ that has been made for no other human being.
By itself verse 19 is striking enough as a description of a unique and unrepeatable act of divine condescension, but it is only by seeing this verse in its context that the full implications of what Paul is saying become clear. It is the fullness of the Almighty God who is Maker of heaven and earth that was pleased to dwell in Christ. What this paragraph demonstrates is that such a belief in Jesus as God incarnate was an essential part of the earliest Christian message.[10]
19. Because it hath pleased the Father that in him. With the view of confirming what he has declared respecting Christ, he now adds, that it was so arranged in the providence of God. And, unquestionably, in order that we may with reverence adore this mystery, it is necessary that we should be led back to that fountain. “This,” says he, “has been in accordance with the counsel of God, that all fulness may dwell in him.” Now, he means a fulness of righteousness, wisdom, power, and every blessing. For whatever God has he has conferred upon his Son, that he may be glorified in him, as is said in John 5:20. He shews us, however, at the same time, that we must draw from the fulness of Christ everything good that we desire for our salvation, because such is the determination of God—not to communicate himself, or his gifts to men, otherwise than by his Son. “Christ is all things to us: apart from him we have nothing.” Hence it follows, that all that detract from Christ, or that impair his excellence, or rob him of his offices, or, in fine, take away a drop from his fulness, overturn, so far as is in their power, God’s eternal counsel.[11]
1:19 / Paul goes on to say that God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. There are two significant problems connected with the translation and interpretation of this verse.
The first problem is with the meaning of fullness (plērōma). In 2:9, plērōma is equated with all of God’s nature as it dwells in Christ (“for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”). On this basis one is justified in giving it the same meaning as in 1:19 rather than seeing it in some Gnostic way in which plērōma is regarded as the totality or fullness of aeons emanating from God and filling the space between heaven and earth. Nevertheless, one aspect of the false teaching in Colossae was that it gave undue prominence to those supernatural powers that filled the universe by regarding them as intermediaries between God and the world. Paul corrects this by affirming that the full nature of God dwells in Christ exclusively.
The second issue centers around the subject of pleased. The Greek literally reads “because in him (Christ) was pleased all the fullness to dwell.” At least three possibilities have been suggested: (a) to make Christ the subject, thus giving the meaning that he (Christ) was pleased that all the fullness of God should dwell in him; (b) to make plērōma the subject, resulting in a translation adopted by the rsv (“for in him all the fulness was pleased to dwell”); and (c) to regard God as the subject. Hence the niv: For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him).
The main argument against this third view is the introduction of God as the subject in a hymn that concentrates on Christ (God has not been mentioned since 1:15). But the Greek text does permit it, and the meaning has support elsewhere in Scripture (cf. Christ’s baptism and transfiguration). These technicalities, however, should not detract from the essential truth that Paul wishes to stress, namely, that Christ is the dwelling place (katoikēsai, “to take up residence”) of God. As such, another factor of Christ’s sovereignty is established.[12]
19 The first word of this verse in Greek (hoti) can be translated softly as “for” (NIV) or more strongly as “because” (CEB). Each explains the relationship of v. 19 to v. 18: that is, the Son is preeminent because God’s fullness dwells in him. But one might opt instead for a softer relationship and take all of v. 18 as grounded in the Father’s decision to locate all of the fullness in the Son. The sentence is not as clear in the original as the NIV’s translation might suggest: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” The CEB’s translation is a little less expansive: “Because all the fullness of God was pleased to live in him.” A wooden rendering would be: “Because/For in him was pleased all the fullness to dwell.” Strict grammatical readings insist that it was the fullness that is both pleased and indwells, but the more expansive translations turn the fullness into the fullness of God and make it God the Father being both pleased and choosing to indwell. The evidence that, in a kind of personification of the Father, the fullness (plērōma) was pleased to indwell boils down to just a few important parallels (1 Cor 10:26; Col 1:19; 2:9; Eph 1:23; 3:19; 4:13). We begin with Colossians, where the parallel expression in 2:9 has “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”; here it is clear that the fullness is God’s/the Father’s. The same general idea is found at Eph 3:19 (“fullness of God”) and less clear but probably the same at 1:23 (“the fullness of him” or “the fullness of the one”). Because of the indwelling of God’s fullness in the Son, Eph 4:13 transfers the fullness to the “fullness of Christ.” Our conclusion, therefore, is that it is the Father’s fullness, or “God in his fullness,” that is pleased to become incarnate in the Son. Hence, the NIV’s “the fullness of God” makes explicit what is most likely at work in Paul’s syntax.360 The Father as the subject of “pleased” is found elsewhere in Paul (Gal 1:15; 1 Cor 1:21; 10:5), but its presence in the baptism of Jesus gives it a more concrete depth (Isa 42:1; Mark 1:11 and pars.).
But what might fullness (plērōma) mean? A handful of texts in the Old Testament sketch for us a good option: God’s glory fills the temple and in fact the whole earth, and thus glory is God’s extension of himself to fill other spaces (Ps 72:19; Isa 6:3; Jer 23:24; Ezek 43:5; 44:4). This usage approximates what Ephesians 1:23 says: “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Once again, Dunn finds similar ideas in Jewish wisdom. Thus, “For wisdom is a kindly spirit … because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said” (Wis 1:6–7). It is entirely reasonable to speculate that the halakic mystics at work at Colossae were boasting that they had found “fullness” in their mystical encounters with the angels, leading to the inference that Paul’s locating the plērōma in Christ is a polemical move against the mystics (cf. 2:8–9, 16–23).
The term plērōma expresses Paul’s theology of incarnation with a powerful sense of revision: as Zion echoes temple and was the mountain where God was pleased to dwell (Ps 68:16 [LXX 67:17]; Isa 8:18), so now God dwells in the Son. Hence, we have here a christological revision of temple theology, with echoes of new-creation theology. This divine glory indwells364 the Son. The verb is only used three times by Paul, one in which Christ indwells the believer (Eph 3:17) and two in Colossians, where it refers to divine fullness indwelling the Son (1:19; 2:9). But the idea of God’s covenanted presence is found in a number of places in the Old Testament (Lev 26:12; Ps 68:17), reminding of the routine presence of God among Israel most especially in the tabernacle and temple, with its intensive manifestation in the glory of God filling the holy of holies. Hence, for Paul to speak as he does evokes God’s fullness taking on new form in indwelling the Son, that is, in the incarnation.366 Indeed, the language parallels the incarnational language of John 1:1–18. But in light of the mutual indwelling theme of John 10:38 and 14:10 as a paradigm of how Jesus and the earliest Christians thought of the relationship of the Father and the Son, we ought to think less of essences transferred from Father to Son, the way one might move water from a bottle into a glass, and more of the Father’s fullness indwelling and interpenetrating the Son alongside the Son’s indwelling and interpenetrating the Father (and the Spirit). In other words, it would be more accurate to think more in terms of perichoresis. Hence, Dunn’s summary does not take us far enough: “that the wholeness of God’s interaction with the universe is summed up in Christ” and that the “thought is not yet of incarnation, but it is more than inspiration; rather, it is of an inspiration … so complete … as to be merging into the idea of incarnation.”368 New Testament historical scholarship fears the use of later Christian theological reflection, most especially Nicaea and Chalcedon. That fear at times misses the organic flow from New Testament into Christian orthodoxy. In this case, I believe perichoresis attempts to unfold what is at work by logical implication in the Father’s fullness indwelling the Son.[13]
19 The statement that God decreed the preeminence of Christ over every order of being is now repeated in different terms—terms which may have been calculated to appeal with peculiar force to the Colossian Christians in their present situation. “In him it was decreed that all the fullness should take up residence.” The impersonal “it was decreed” has been adopted as a provisional rendering. But the Greek verb is not impersonal: it means “decreed,” “was well pleased” and implies a subject. Then who or what was well pleased? When the good pleasure or will is God’s, there is precedent for the omission of the explicit name of God: “he was well pleased” would mean “God was well pleased” (cf. KJV: “it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell”). On the other hand, the clause as it stands offers an explicit subject for the verb: “the fullness was well pleased to take up residence in him” (cf. RSV: “in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell”).159 One cannot decide certainly whether “God” or “the fullness” is the more probable subject: P. Benoit, for example, prefers to take “God” as the subject; E. Käsemann declares this construction “not permissible” (on exegetical and theological, not on grammatical, grounds).161 Before it can even be considered which of the two constructions is the more probable, the meaning of “fullness” in this clause must be considered. So far as the letter-writer’s intention is concerned, its meaning is not in doubt: the sense is repeated more fully in Col. 2:9: “it is in him [i.e., in Christ] that all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.” If then Col. 1:19 is construed to mean that “in him all the fullness of deity was well pleased to take up residence” (that is, presumably, at his exaltation), this is tantamount to saying that God himself (RSV “all the fulness of God”) was pleased to dwell in him. There is then no substantial difference in meaning between the two constructions.
The Greek word translated “fullness” (plērōma) is one that Paul and other NT writers use in a variety of senses. The peculiar force of its use here has been thought to lie in its probable employment in a technical sense by the heretical teachers at Colossae. In the mid-second century the word was used by Gnostics of the Valentinian school to denote the totality of aeons (divine entities or emanations),163 and it is conceivable that it bore some such meaning in incipient forms of gnosticism in the mid-first century. We must constantly remind ourselves that we have no knowledge of the Colossian heresy apart from inferences drawn as cautiously as possible from the argument and wording of this letter, but it would make sense in the present context if the heresy envisaged powers intermediate between the supreme God and the world of humanity, so that any communication between God and the world, in either direction, had to pass through the spheres in which those powers exercised control. Those who thought in this way would be careful to treat those powers with becoming respect. But the whole of this theosophical apparatus is undermined here in one simple, direct affirmation: the totality of divine essence and power is resident in Christ. He is the one, all-sufficient intermediary between God and the world of humanity, and all the attributes of God—his spirit, word, wisdom, and glory—are disclosed in him.[14]
19 Were one to ask on what grounds the resurrected Christ should reign supreme, an answer would be forthcoming in vv. 19–20. First of all, he should have first place in all things because it pleased God “to have all the fullness dwell in him.” One might ask, however, the fullness of what or whom? If one may appeal to 2:9 (and there is no convincing reason not to), then the answer is clear enough—the fullness of deity, i.e., of God himself (note NIV’s, “his fullness”). “Fullness” (plērōma, GK 4445) functions here as a “circumlocution for God” (Garland, 93). It was God’s pleasure to dwell fully and completely in Christ. Although articulating it differently, John 1:14 expresses a similar idea: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us …, full of grace and truth.” In Christ a wedding between deity and humanity occurs. He is the incarnate image of God (cf. again v. 15). If the Philippians “hymn” highlights Jesus’ humanity (see esp. Php 2:6–8; cf. 2 Co 8:9), this “poem” emphasizes his divinity.
20 Lest a person be tempted to forget, however, this verse reminds that “the Lord of glory” (1 Co 2:8) was subjected to tremendous agony on the cross (2 Co 13:4). Christ’s ministry of reconciliation was costly indeed. Why should God’s Son have first place in all things (v. 18)? It is not only because of his resurrection (v. 18) or incarnation (v. 19), but it is also because of his crucifixion (v. 20). It would be difficult to exaggerate the centrality of the cross in Paul’s theology (cf. Ro 3:23–25; 5:8–9; 14:7–9; 1 Co 1:18–25; 2:1–2; 15:3–4; 2 Co 5:14–15, 21; Gal 2:20–21; 5:11; 6:12; Eph 2:13–16; Php 2:6–8; 1 Th 4:14; 5:9–10). The cross will feature again in this letter in 1:22 and 2:11–15. For Paul, the cross graphically and persuasively demonstrates the depth of God’s love; the humble, radical obedience of Christ to the Father on behalf of humanity; and the seriousness of sin and the fallen human condition.
It pleased God, the “hymn” contends, to reconcile (i.e., to restore or restitute) all things to himself through Christ (cf. 1:22; Eph 2:16). That there existed a need for restitution between the Creator and the created presupposes a schism and a resulting chasm between the two. Paul believed that this division was due (in large part) to human rebellion against God and the good (see esp. 2:13–14, as well as 1:13, 21; 3:7; cf. Ro 3:23; 6:23; Eph 2:1, 5). The divine solution to the human predicament, Paul propounded, was to turn an instrument of execution (i.e., a Roman cross) into an implement of peace. Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6; Eph 2:14), has effected peace between God and humanity through his bloody (i.e., sacrificial) death on the cross. As 1 Timothy 2:5–6 puts it, Christ Jesus, the One who “gave himself as a ransom for all people” (cf. Mk 10:45), is the “mediator between God and human beings” (TNIV). Where spiritual disconnect and disquiet exist, he comes to bring peace and reign in peace (3:15; cf. Ro 5:1; Eph 2:13–17).
Despite claims to the contrary, the scope of God’s reconciling work in Christ is universal. Be that as it may, reconciliation with God through Christ is not a foregone conclusion. The proclamation and reception of the gospel are the means through which people are reunited with God (cf. 1:5, 23). Those who embrace God’s grace through Christ in the word of the gospel are reconciled to God; those who choose not to do so remain estranged from God and stand outside the realm of his salvific rule (see 1:13, 21; 4:5).[15]
[1] Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Col 1:19). Thomas Nelson.
[6] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 673–674). Victor Books.
[7] O’Brien, P. T. (1994). Colossians. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1267). Inter-Varsity Press.
[13] McKnight, S. (2018). The Letter to the Colossians (N. B. Stonehouse, F. F. Bruce, G. D. Fee, & J. B. Green, Eds.; pp. 160–162). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
[15] Still, T. D. (2006). Colossians. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians–Philemon (Revised Edition) (Vol. 12, pp. 293–294). Zondervan.
Encouragement to the few Christians and Christian ministers in America who still know and believe that the truth is more important than friendships, denominations, “unity,” pragmatism, family, and even their own lives.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The Narrow and Difficult Way – Pastor Patrick Hines Podcast (Matthew 7:13-14; Jeremiah 15)
▶️Pastor Patrick Hines has recently had a brand new book published, called, “Earth’s Foundational History – Part 1: Genesis Chapters 1 Through 5.” (Paperback – May 4, 2023) https://cutt.ly/16RCeZ0
These two books are also available on Amazon. All proceeds go directly to Pastor Hines:
▶️Am I Right With God?: The Gospel, Justification, Saving Faith, Repentance, Assurance, & The New Birth https://cutt.ly/S6RCbuM
▶️Redrawing the Battle Lines: 23 Sermons on Critical Issues Facing the Church https://cutt.ly/m6RCTi0
We subscribe to the Westminster Standards as our doctrinal statement. It consists of the following documents:
The Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Larger Catechism The Westminster Shorter Catechism
We also believe that Christian Worship is to be regulated and defined by God’s Word, the Bible.
Our worship services are designed to please and honor the Triune God of the Bible. We place Scripture reading and the preaching of the word of God at the center of worship along with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are God’s gifts to His church and ought to always be at the center of Christian worship. We are a congregation that loves to sing God’s praises, recite His Word back to Him, and actively engage in hearing and learning from God’s Word.
We embrace and promote a comprehensive Christian world and life view.
There is no area of life which is not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is to God and His law which all people, including governments and civil rulers, will answer. The Word of God embraces and informs the way we view marriage, the family, children, education, politics, worship, law, government, war, the church, missions, evangelism, and worship. In the world today there is a battle of opposing worldviews. There are basically only two positions: God’s Word and man’s ideas. We stand positively for Biblical truth and negatively against man’s ideas which are opposed to Biblical truth.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind.
Because all men fall short of obeying God’s law, all men everywhere are in need of divine grace and salvation from God. This salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for sinners, was buried, rose again, and is alive today seated at God the Father’s right hand.
We Worship God Together as Families.
We offer nursery during the morning worship service for newborns and infants but encourage people to keep as many of their children as they can with them for morning worship. The audio of the service is in the nursery via speakers. There is also a crying room with a video screen and audio of the sermon. We offer Sunday school classes for all ages, but worship together as families. We do not offer “children’s” church.
All who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are members of an evangelical church are cordially invited to participate with us in the Lord’s Supper.
For the elect’s sake those days be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)
For the sake of His elect the Lord withholds many judgments and shortens others. In great tribulations the fire would devour all were it not that out of regard to His elect the Lord damps the flame. Thus, while He saves His elect for the sake of Jesus, He also preserves the race for the sake of His chosen.
What an honor is thus put upon saints! How diligently they ought to use their influence with their Lord! He will hear their prayers for sinners and bless their efforts for their salvation. He blesses believers that they may be a blessing to those who are in unbelief. Many a sinner lives because of the prayers of a mother, or wife, or daughter to whom the Lord has respect.
Have we used aright the singular power with which the Lord entrusts us? Do we pray for our country, for other lands, and for the age? Do we, in times of war, famine, pestilence, stand out as intercessors, pleading that the days may be shortened? Do we lament before God the outbursts of infidelity, error, and licentiousness? Do we beseech our Lord Jesus to shorten the reign of sin by hastening His own glorious appearing? Let us get to our knees and never rest till Christ appeareth.
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.” Psalm 25:4
I have a horrible sense of direction. No internal compass. As a child I was told my eyes faced north, the back of my head faced south, my left hand pointed west, and my right hand east. But no one explained they had purposely positioned me so this would be true. Later I learned to look for the sun. That gave me an idea where westward sort of was, so I had some sense of direction.
Today, we seem to no longer have a moral compass in our society. We have laws, but the goal now seems to be who has the smartest lawyer who can find a way for the law not to apply to their situation. Children are taught over-tolerance in school, to the point that all behavior is okay and acceptable.
When the Hebrew nation left Egypt, they had a physical guide–God’s compass-ion. Because He cared for them, He guided them safely in the way they needed to journey.
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.Nehemiah 9:19
In our life journey, the Bible is our best compass. When we look to the Son, Jesus, as our example, we get our moral and spiritual bearings. He shows us which way we should go. He is the Way (John 14:6). Because of His compass-ion, once we accept him as our Savior, He embeds an internal compass in our souls called The Holy Spirit to be our guide.
I may not know north from south at times, but I know Who to look for to point the way, be it a decision I need to make, a direction my life needs to go, or whether I should just stand, be still and wait. I look for the Son.
If you are feeling a bit lost today, seek the Compass-ion of God. Let Him direct your path. He won’t steer you wrong.
“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5
Life can be so confusing. We have many choices as we decide the values governing our lives. So how will we find the best way ? and much more importantly, God’s way ? to live? We ask God to show us! Our hope is in him. Our salvation is in him. So why not ask him to guide us and teach us his truth? Why not expect that he will make his will known to us? If our hearts are open to his truth and we seek his path, he will make his will known. So, as we seek the answers to our questions, and as we seek to know God’s truth from the Scriptures, let’s invite God to help us:
O mighty God, the only accurate guide to life, please help me know your will more completely. I want to live for you and to please you. I want others to know of my allegiance to you not just through the words I speak but also through the character of my conduct. I want my life to demonstrate that you are guiding me, and my hope is in you! In Jesus’ name, I ask this. Amen.
Israel Says It Found 16 Tons of Rocket-Making Substance Headed From Turkey to Gaza Israel‘s customs authority said on Thursday it found 16 tons of material used for rocket production during an inspection of a shipment from Turkey headed to Gaza, which the ruling Hamas group dismissed as a fabrication. The customs authority said it had stopped for inspection in July two containers carrying 54 tons of what were supposed to be bags of plaster.
49,000 Jews visited Temple Mount, 236 removed by police The Beyadenu movement, which monitors and promotes Jewish activity on the Temple Mount, reports that 49,000 Jews ascended the Temple Mount this Jewish year. Tom Nisani, Beyadenu CEO, commented: “Despite police limitations, the nation of Israel continues to ascend to its beating heart!” According to information collected by Beyadenu guides, who are on site every day, 49,000 Jews ascended the Mount this Jewish year, in comparison to 51,644 last year, which was a leap year with 13 months.
Nadia Matar & Yehudit Katzover: ‘To safeguard the entire land, we must apply sovereignty’ “Thirty years ago, they sold us a tragic plan that brought havoc and destruction on the State of Israel, claiming that if we give parts of our homeland to a terrorist and bring him in with his terrorists and turn him into the head of the local Arabs who live in the Land of Israel – without asking the Arabs, by the way – and create this Palestinian Authority, that there will be peace,” Matar began. “Very quickly it blew up in our faces – literally – and people understood that giving parts away of Eretz Yisrael, of the Land of Israel, will not bring peace but exactly the opposite.
Hunter Biden indicted on federal firearms charges US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was indicted Thursday on federal firearms charges, The Associated Press reported. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm in October 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction to crack cocaine, according to the indictment filed in federal court in Delaware by a special counsel overseeing the case. Last week, the Justice Department said that special counsel David Weiss intends to seek an indictment against Hunter Biden relating to gun charges.
Blinken: Peace deal with Saudi Arabia must include Palestinian statehood Blinken said during the podcast that for the deal with the Saudis to move along, Israel and the Palestinians “must resolve their differences” with the result being a two-state solution. The Secretary of State added that he believes the Saudis have made that demand clear to Israel as well. “That’s clearly something that’s important to the Saudis in doing any kind of deal. It would be important to us, too. But I think every country involved, if this is to move forward, will clearly find significant tangible benefit in it…That’s the goal,” Blinken was quoted as saying.
Dead Sea inscription confirms biblical reference researcher claims The announcement last week of researchers finding a cache of four 1,900-year-old Roman swords in a cave in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert overshadowed what may have been an even more remarkable find discovered in the same cave: a paleo-Hebrew inscription written in ink on a stalactite in the ancient script typical of the First Temple period.
Rosh Hashanah: The Message of the Shofar Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is considered a day for introspection and repentance, one of the High Holy Days, the most sacred days on the Jewish calendar. But strangely, the Bible tells us very little about this day. Here is the full description of this festival, mentioned only twice in the Torah:
Ahead of Fall Feasts, government announces Israel’s population approaches 10 million The bureau also announced that Israel’s population is expected to reach 10 million by the end of 2024, some 16 million by 2048, and to have doubled by 2065. According to statistics, 73% of the Israeli population define themselves as Jewish, 21% as Arab and about 5% as neither Jewish nor Arab.
Biden Finally Personally Addresses Impeachment Inquiry – He Didn’t Help His Case “Now, best I can tell they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,” the president said, according to The Hill. In essence, Biden told donors there is no basis for this inquiry and it’s just a politically motivated stunt to try to embarrass him.
Minnesotans Experience Below-Normal Temperatures, Early Frost A cold front pushed through Minnesota on Monday, dropping temperatures significantly. Minnesota Public Radio reports: With clearing skies Tuesday night, the stage is set for the coolest overnight Tuesday night into early Wednesday of this season potentially. We’ll have widespread 30s and patchy frost north and potentially the first 40s in the Twin Cities urban core. Temperatures as much as 10 degrees below normal for the time of year have been forecast for many areas in the state.
Palo Alto Networks Founder: “Only a few dominant players will survive the cyber consolidation” “In the end, every computing infrastructure market that matures undergoes significant consolidation, with only a few key players remaining,” Nir Zuk added in an exclusive interview with Calcalist, as Palo Alto continues to expand its Israeli offices, that are already responsible for annual revenue of around $1.5 billionhttps
Arizona Election Case Headed to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Panel and Maybe U.S Supreme Court The interview with Attorney Kurt Olsen shed light on the ongoing battle for election integrity in Arizona and the upcoming Ninth Circuit showdown. It underscored the importance of transparency, adherence to the law, and the tireless efforts of individuals and organizations dedicated to safeguarding the democratic process. As these legal battles continue, the nation will closely watch the outcomes, which have far-reaching implications for the future of American elections.
Bill Gates Pushes National ID System The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pushing a national identification system that will enhance the slave state for the ruling class. The Seattle-based Gates Foundation, guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, has actively endorsed the Modular Open-Source Identification Platform’s (MOSIP) undertakings with a $10 million pledge.
EU Chief Calls for Global Digital IDs and New U.N. Body to Govern AI The world needs international digital ID systems like coronavirus passports and Artificial Intelligence should be regulated by a global body similar to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.
CA To Remove Kids From Parents Who Oppose Disfiguring Them The California legislature passed a bill Friday that would threaten parents with losing custody of their children if they question their child’s supposed desire to undergo disfiguring hormone regimens or surgeries to appear more like the opposite sex.
COVID Cancellations Are Back: California High Schools Cancel Football Games Esparto High School near Sacramento confirmed that it canceled a game after it stated that six players tested positive for COVID-19. It also stated that multiple players were also injured and that it didn’t have enough players for a game.
mRNA Vaccines Now Headed for Shrimp Shrimp are slated to become the latest food source exposed to messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, courtesy of ViAqua Therapeutics, an Israeli-based biotechnology startup. The company has secured $8.25 million in funding from venture capitalists for its oral RNA-based shrimp vaccine, which is intended to target white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), according to Dr. Mercola.
50 US Lawmakers Reintroduce ‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’ to Protect ‘the American Way of Life’ Fifty U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail Central Bank Digital Currency while protecting innovation and any future development of true digital cash. This is in direct opposition to the Globalists and the WEF agenda that seeks to enslave and remove all personal freedoms and privacy with CCP-style credit scores and surveillance.
YouTube Censoring Evidence Of Ukrainian Troops Embracing Nazi Symbols If you have some genuine information about Nazis in Ukraine, YouTube will prevent you from posting. I tried repeatedly tonight to upload the second video below to YouTube. No deal. The algorithm identified the Nazi content and refused to allow me to upload the video to my YouTube channel. So much for free speech (I had to use Rumble). Repeated denials from Ukraine enthusiasts in America and Europe collapse in the face of these videos and images. This is not AI manufactured content. It is an honest presentation of what some of the units in the Ukrainian Army are celebrating and embracing enthusiastically.
“If individuals be not influenced by moral principles; it is in vain to look for public virtue; it is, therefore, the duty of legislators to enforce, both by precept and example, the utility, as well as the necessity of a strict adherence to the rules of distributive justice.” —James Madison (1789)
Fellow Patriots, in today’s news, the president has achieved a dubious distinction with the felony gun-charge indictment of his son, Hunter. And we know how detrimental masking was for kids the first time around. Are we really going to stand for it happening again? —Mark Alexander
With the felony gun-charge indictment of his son Hunter, the president has achieved a dubious distinction.
Douglas Andrews
Joe Biden made a little history yesterday, becoming the first-ever sitting president to have a child indicted by a grand jury. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
A few months ago, when Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg brought a bogus “campaign finance” charge against Donald Trump, the mainstream media was breathlesslytrumpetingthe news that Trump is the first current or former president to ever be indicted. Strange, though; they don’t seem to be nearly as eager to report Joe Biden’s dubious distinction.
As those clever headline writers at The New York Post put it, Son of a Gun.
As The Wall Street Journal reports: “Biden’s indictment, filed in federal court in Delaware, follows the collapse in late July of a plea deal that he hoped would resolve a five-year investigation into his business dealings and taxes. As part of the agreement, the younger Biden, 53 years old, planned to plead guilty to a pair of misdemeanor tax charges and avoid prosecution on a gun charge if he remained drug-free and promised to never own a firearm again.”
Happily, that sleazy attempted plea deal ran up against an honest judge.
As for this indictment, there are three felony counts pertaining to Hunter Biden’s purchase of a .38 special in 2018 from a Delaware gun shop: making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed federal firearms dealer; and possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user or is addicted to a controlled substance.
It’s that third count, possession, which National Review’s Andrew McCarthy finds noteworthy, because it converts this from a “lie and try” case to a “lie and succeed” case. “By charging the unlawful-possession count,” he writes, “prosecutors will be able to prove how the gun was obtained and mishandled if the case eventually goes to trial.”
But let’s refrain from lauding the bringer of this charge, sweetheart Special Counsel David Weiss, because this guy had to be brought kicking and screaming to do so. As we noted weeks ago and as McCarthy notes now: “It was Weiss and Weiss alone who delayed bringing one of the most straightforward felony gun cases you’ll ever see. Weiss wasn’t being blocked. He was stalling.”
All this could net him 25 years in federal prison and $750,000 in fines, both of which are highly unlikely. Indeed, we doubt Hunter Biden will spend so much as a minute in federal prison — not with Merrick Garland running our nation’s Department of Justice. And, heck, if push ever came to shove, we suspect Hunter’s dad could strike an interesting plea deal.
None of this can be good for Joe’s mental state, which was shaken this week by news of a Republican impeachment inquiry and which is coming under increasing scrutiny by the voting public. Indeed, a recent Fox News poll shows that 61% of Americans don’t think our current president has the mental soundness to serve as president, while only 36% say he does.
Ever wondered what percentage of the American people can be categorized as low-information voters? There’s your answer: 36%.
Will this be the only charge against Hunter? Maybe and maybe not. Apparently, some tax-evasion charges are still on the table, perhaps in California, where he’s been living in recent years, or in DC, where he lived while the Big Guy was Barack Obama’s vice president. And what about the FARA charge — the seemingly cut-and-dried charge that he failed to publicly disclose his foreign relationships as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act? A FARA charge would be especially fitting, given that it’s the same charge that those scummy Crossfire Hurricane hoaxers used to imprison some of Donald Trump’s team members.
Hunter Biden super-attorney Abbe Lowell says there’s ambiguity in the gun statute as it pertains to possession while addicted, but this sounds like a stretch, especially given all the laptop evidence of Hunter’s drug use during that time.
The more interesting challenge — indeed, the ironic challenge — for Lowell and the rest of Hunter’s legal team is whether they’ll challenge the underlying statute as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. How odd it might be, then, as Hunter Biden’s high-priced lawyers try to worm his way out of this one. As constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley points out, “He would have to challenge a law that his father has enthusiastically supported and use cases that his father has vigorously condemned under the Second Amendment.”
Time will tell how all this plays out, but our strong sense is that the fix is still in. As we wrote last week when word of this looming indictment broke, the gun charge “is very narrow, very tightly drawn, and thus designed to keep the investigation of Hunter Biden free and clear of any crimes that might implicate the Big Guy.”
As McCarthy adds today: “Since it’s already getting into late 2023, and the Biden-family influence-peddling scheme had to wind down in 2018-19 when the Biden presidential campaign ramped up, most of the case is already time-barred. And as the statutes of limitations continue ticking away, they are not just ticking as to Hunter Biden; they are ticking as to everyone, including the president.”
In sum: Washington is a rigged town, and this CYA indictment is just further proof.
Biden aide Ian Sams implies they need to be lectured on going soft on Republicans.
Tim Graham
When Biden aide Ian Sams wanted to leak his strongly worded memo to “Editorial Leadership at U.S. News Media Organizations,” he chose CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy, who is one of many enthusiastic White House spinners at CNN. Darcy and CNN didn’t have enough self-respect to push back on Sams for implying they needed to be lectured on going soft on Republicans.
Instead, in reporting this administration’s “breaking” list of demands, the incredibly servile Darcy claimed Sams was right.
“While news organizations have published innumerable fact checks on the matter, they have also often failed to robustly call out the mis- and disinformation peddled by Republicans in their coverage,” wrote Darcy. It’s “frustrating officials in the Biden White House who believe that the news media should be doing more to dispel lies that saturate the public discourse.”
Try to figure out how the press can publish “innumerable fact checks” and yet they still “robustly” failed to “call out” misinformation. Neither the Sams memo nor the Darcy report elaborated on which “lies” about the Bidens are “saturating” the discourse.
Conservatives on Twitter mocked this memo, as if the pro-Biden media needed a public whipping, as if they haven’t been carrying barrels of Biden water for years.
One could suggest that the Republicans are rushing into impeachment and devaluing its seriousness. But you could not credibly forward this argument if you are a Democrat or a member of the “mainstream media,” which twice devalued impeachment against Donald Trump.
The “PBS NewsHour” doubled down on the Darcy spit-and-polish approach by putting Sams on taxpayer-funded TV so he could repeat all the Carvillesque talking points in his memo.
No “fact-checker” at PBS was going to lift a finger as Sams proclaimed the polar opposite of the truth: “The truth is that the president was never in business with his family and that these lies and false attacks that are coming from Republicans, with no evidence, no evidence to back them up, are in fact lies.”
PBS co-host Amna Nawaz should have at the very least challenged Sams to specify what’s a “lie,” and make him answer for Joe Biden’s lies in the final 2020 presidential debate: “My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are you talking about, China … the only guy who made money from China is this guy (Donald Trump). He’s the only one. Nobody else has made money from China.”
Washington Post “Fact Checker” Glenn Kessler gave Biden four Pinocchios on that lie … on Aug. 1, 2023.
Biden also denied Trump’s allegation in the first 2020 debate that Hunter made “a fortune in Ukraine, in China, in Moscow and various other places.”
Back in August 2019, Biden boldly proclaimed: “I have never discussed with my son, or my brother, or anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses, period.” The contents of the Hunter Biden laptop underlined the dramatic dishonesty of this statement, as has the testimony to those supposedly “lying” House Republicans. They documented that Joe Biden lied about never discussing the family influence-peddling business on at least 16 occasions. He lied to reporters. In a perfect world, one would expect the entire media would object and correct the record.
The Sams memo implies that our “objective” media are far too objective. That’s ridiculous. But it’s clear that Democrats — inside and outside the White House — expect journalists to practice 100% compliance with Democrat spin. Professionalism equals propaganda.
UAW strikes, Dems beginning to bail on Biden, Hunter sues over (not) his laptop, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
UAW strikes: Failing to come to an agreement on Thursday, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced the initiation of a workers’ strike, which hit all Big Three Detroit automakers today. “The world is watching. And the UAW is ready to stand up,” Fain stated. “This is our defining moment.” Meanwhile, the Big Three automakers have been struggling with slumping sales, likely due to high inflation; Joe Biden’s war on fossil fuels, which has kept gas prices high; and the push for EVs, which are higher priced and not nearly as popular as gas-powered vehicles.
Dems beginning to bail on Biden: Earlier this week, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius finally jumped on board a growing sentiment among Democrats: “Joe Biden should not run again in 2024.” Ignatius joins a group of Leftmedia pundits that is reading the tea leaves and concluding that the age-addled Biden is a threat to the Democrats holding onto the White House. As Ignatius puts it, “If [Biden] and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Trump.” Leftmedia outfits from The Atlantic to Politico to The New York Times have increasingly been willing to publish columns calling for Biden to step aside. Of course, the problem that Ignatius included while at the same time glossing over is Kamala Harris. Democrats know Harris is no more of a winner than Biden, but how do they dump her without being called out as racist and sexist?
Hunter sues over (not) his laptop: On Wednesday, Hunter Biden raised a lawsuit against Garrett Ziegler, a former White House aide to Donald Trump, and his nonprofit Marco Polo. Interestingly, Hunter’s legal team attempts to maintain the fiction that Hunter’s infamous laptop isn’t his laptop, while at the same time claiming that the material obtained from the laptop belonged to Hunter. They allege that Ziegler violated state and federal law when he published the contents of Hunter’s laptop. Hunter’s legal team further asserts that the data published was “to at least some extent … tampered with, manipulated, altered, copied and damaged.” It’s an argument that boils down to, “It’s not Hunter’s, but it is Hunter’s.”
Biden’s DOJ wants ban on its social media contacts lifted: On Thursday, the Justice Department requested that the U.S. Supreme Court lift the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold an injunction against federal agencies communicating with social media companies. In his decision, Judge Terry A. Doughty noted that the federal government agencies had pressured social media companies to censor speech on their platforms, which was possibly “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history.” While the Fifth Circuit in its decision revised Doughty’s injunction, it upheld it. Now the Biden administration is seeking to get the injunction lifted expressly because it wants to censor Americans’ speech, all under the guise of limiting the spread of “misinformation.”
Amazingly, common sense prevails in California: A bill classifying child sex trafficking as a serious felony passed the California legislature on Wednesday. The Golden State’s legislature unanimously approved SB 14, which will allow the state to pursue life sentences under the “three strikes” provision. State Senator Shannon Grove, a Republican who authored the bill, responded to its passage by stating, “SB 14 will serve to protect future generations by stopping people from engaging in this horrific crime.” Furthermore, it “will send a direct message to those committing this horrific crime of selling our children for sex in the state of California that we will no longer stand by and tolerate this, and you will serve a lengthy prison sentence.” Newsom is expected to sign SB 14 into law.
Headlines
Key testimony alleges Biden met with son’s business partner, Kazakh bank official (Daily Wire)
Speaker McCarthy demolishes AP reporter over false report that House has “no evidence” for Biden impeachment inquiry (PM)
Biden says Republicans want to impeach him to “shut down the government” (National Review)
Biden berated for claiming he taught “political theory” at University of Pennsylvania (Fox News)
Remember that promise of no new audits below $400,000? The IRS doesn’t (Hot Air)
August wholesale inflation rises 0.7%, hotter than expected (CNBC)
No evidence that UFOs have extraterrestrial origins, NASA finds (Washington Post)
Chinese shipbuilding capacity over 200 times greater than U.S., Navy intelligence says (Fox News)
Former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis ordered to pay $100,000 to gay couple over refusing to sign their marriage license (Not the Bee)
Satire: White House says there is no direct evidence that Hunter Biden actually exists (Babylon Bee)
The party is increasingly in favor of raunchy behavior and content, even for kids.
Samantha Koch
Is nothing sacred anymore? Is nothing off limits for displays of deviancy, adult-rated entertainment, or graphic content?
High school boys wandering inside after football practice might have more decency in their locker room banter than the conversations taking place within the meeting rooms of our congressional buildings these days.
Topics of discussion that used to happen in the kind of bars with images of scantily dressed women on the door are now part of the daily dialogue between parents and their children’s teachers.
Novels that we used to have to actively seek out in adult-rated bookstores are now easily accessible on the shelves of our kids’ classrooms, often handed out by their teachers. This obscene material is now deemed as educational and informative.
The birds and the bees used to be the conversation that parents dreaded in raising their kids. Now those chats are a walk in the park in comparison to the depravity our kids are exposed to by just walking out the front door or looking for something harmless to do.
During a September 12 Senate hearing on “banned books,” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy read aloud excerpts from the books All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Both books are or were accessible in numerous middle and high schools across the country, though both have been taken or kept off of the shelves of countless school libraries due to their detailed descriptions of sexual acts between teenagers, often accompanied by graphic illustrations.
Yet we cannot expect these books to stay out of the hands of our school-age children, as Democrats appear to be unanimous on the false notion that removing explicit materials from libraries meant for kids is a repeat of the book burnings of the 1930s, and that not allowing children to view or read this content is censorship of the worst kind.
This debate around setting boundaries for children when it comes to adult material has gone from moral to political. Leftists have decided that boundaries of any kind are oppressive, and they are now relentlessly pushing corruption and degeneracy as a normal way of life.
School board meetings used to be an organized event for parents to connect with the leaders of the district in which their child was being educated. Such meetings were a place to work together for the common agenda of fostering an environment for success, going over budgeting and goals, and planning for the future. Today, every available minute allocated for the community to vocalize their concerns is taken up by parents reading aloud the latest shocking book or assignment filled with content that the district leaders say is inappropriate for the room full of adults to hear.
Family-friendly restaurants have become favorite venues for sexually explicit drag shows, where grown men dressed as hyper-sexualized caricatures of women shake prosthetic versions of our reproductive anatomy in front of a room full of patrons, and kids are usually targets of the show, in one way or another.
Sporting events are not safe from this agenda either. MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers took some heat in June after inviting one of the nation’s most brazen groups dedicated to promoting an immoral and degenerate society, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, to a family night and celebration of Pride Month. Parents watched from the sidelines as these “performers,” loosely dressed up as nuns, openly mocked the crucifixion of Jesus while pole dancing on a homemade cross.
Even grocery shopping has been pulled into the marketplace of perversion, as Target demonstrated with its Pride Month collection of rainbow-covered clothing items and Satanic accessories for the whole family.
We used to occasionally have kids shut their eyes or plug their ears to avoid questionable messaging during a TV program, or look away from an adult-themed billboard in order to protect their eyes and ears from absorbing concepts that are too young to understand. Those days are over.
We cannot trust that the book a young student pulls from the shelf at their school library isn’t one that should only be sold in an adult paraphernalia shop. We can’t take the family to a sporting event, restaurant, or community gathering without being hyper-focused on what’s being casually pushed from the shadows right on to the direct path of families.
There seem to be fewer opportunities for true, clean time out with the kids.
And how much farther down this path society spirals now largely depends on how you vote. The parties are now distinctly divided on valuing morals and boundaries versus advocating for no limits on what anyone and everyone in society should be exposed to at any time.
It’s COVID 2.0: Return of the Mask Mandates, and we’re letting it gain a foothold even after we know masking was a terrible and ineffective decision. It was especially detrimental when it came to the educational and academic development of our children.
In the United Kingdom, a recent study found that post-pandemic, the instances of speech delays and communication issues in young children are at the highest levels they’ve ever been. In the UK alone, one out of every five children has a language and speech delay. The biggest contributing factor is masking. Though this study is the latest one, it’s hardly news.
Our Thomas Gallatin reported last year that the Centers for Disease Control secretly went in and changed the milestone speech standards for children by age. Speech pathologists and therapists were seeing a 300% increase in the number of children needing help due to pandemic policies. So the CDC changed the standard. The original milestone that parents and physicians would reference to make sure a child’s language development was on track was 50 words by 24 months. Now, the CDC has shifted the goalpost so that the 50-word mark needs to be met by 30 months.
Changing the standard because 75% of children aren’t meeting it is not only appalling but a disservice to parents who could have gotten their children help earlier. It’s also a cover-up for policymakers’ negligence.
Of course the CDC, which is partially at fault for endorsing the mask mandates in the first place, would happily move the goalpost. Others who bear an equal share of the blame include Dr. Anthony Fauci and the teachers unions.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has gone through an interesting evolution throughout this debacle of policy mandates that have deeply hurt all our children academically. She first used the masking as a half-hearted measure to open up schools again. Then it was found that the AFT and the National Education Association (NEA) colluded with the CDC and heavily influenced policy surrounding mask mandates. After the pandemic panic was over and people went about addressing the shameful conduct of public officials during the pandemic, Weingarten denied her involvement and responsibility.
Now she is back in the news with her latest attacks on parental rights. Weingarten labeled school choice advocates and the rhetoric of parents fighting for their rights over their children as segregationists. (Side note: When a leftist resorts to the racism dogwhistle, she’s losing the argument.)
Using the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as her source on this accusation, she said in an interview: “I was kind of gobsmacked when I was talking to [the] Southern Poverty Law Center, and they showed me the same words, ‘choice,’ ‘parental rights’ — an attempt to divide parents versus teachers. [At] that point, it was white parents versus other parents, but it’s the same kind of words.”
Weingarten and the SPLC have intentionally misled people. Parents fleeing schools has nothing to do with segregation. The parental-rights movement is specifically anti-government indoctrination in nature. Parents of all races and creeds are fleeing the government schools as they are able. Calling it segregationist is ridiculous when people understand that there is, in fact, a large and growing group of black families that is starting to homeschool.
What is really going on here is that Randi Weingarten and her ilk are terrified of losing their tyrannical power they have over teachers, parents, and schools. With the loss of power comes a loss of government funds and a loss of political influence.
Weingarten has been rightly smacked for her insane commentary, and if there were any justice in the world, she would be out of a job right now.
Weingarten’s position on masking — one that we fully expect to see reemerge as the 2024 election draws nearer — is manifestly harmful to children of all ages. The only proper response by a sane and educated public is to never mask again (caveats obviously apply for those with cancer, terminal/chronic illnesses, etc.). The tradeoffs are too great. Plus the masking mostly doesn’t even work.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was all for illegal immigration, until the hordes started showing up in his town.
Brian Mark Weber
Democrats have controlled the immigration issue for decades, and their success is no surprise.
With the media serving as their mouthpieces, RINOs bending over backwards to look like compassionate conservatives, and businesses lobbying Congress for cheap labor, everyone in power who pushed for open borders got their way. And all the while, Democrats touted the benefits of unlimited immigration, handed out cash, expanded “voting rights,” and offered benefits to those breaking the law.
Without any pushback from Republicans, and with the narrative parroted by the Leftmedia, Democrats took even bolder steps. A case in point: Throughout his tenure, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has proclaimed the Big Apple’s status as a sanctuary city for illegals. Politically, it was a no-brainer. Adams had nothing to lose. As long as the masses of migrants remained in states bordering Mexico, he and others could appear to be compassionate — and nothing matters more to a Democrat than appearances.
In fact, back in October, Adams gushed on social media: “There is a reason that Lady Liberty sits outside of NYC’s harbor. This is the place where we ensure we live up to the expectations of what it is to be an American, an American citizen, or a country that welcomes those fleeing prosecution and persecution.”
What a tear-jerker.
But all that changed when two Republican governors, Texas’s Greg Abbott and Florida’s Ron DeSantis, started busing illegal aliens to cities like Chicago and, yes, Adams’s New York. Surely, he welcomed the migrants with open arms, right?
Wrong. Funny how politics works. All it takes is a little resolve from the other side to expose a big-city mayor as a fraud. Adams immediately changed his language and his tone.
“It’s going to come to your neighborhoods,” Adams warned. “All of us are going to be impacted by this. I said it last year when we had 15,000. I’m telling you now with 110,000. The city we knew we’re about to lose. And we’re all in this together.”
That’s tough language coming from the leader of a sanctuary city. If you’re on a bus from Austin to Yonkers, you might think twice about getting off that bus. Adams’s rhetoric was so shocking that some Leftmedia talkingheads compared him to Donald Trump.
Now that’s winning, as The Donald would say.
It gets even more delicious: Adams himself spent more than $50,000 in city funds to send migrants to other states and to China in 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, Chicago’s mayor, the unfortunately named Brandon Johnson, wants to move illegals into the suburbs. How rich.
Yet this president and his handlers are going all in on illegal aliens as political pawns. As Christopher Bedford writes at The Federalist, Biden “knows that while his national media allies are happy to turn a blind eye, sanctuary city mayors can’t tolerate the real-life consequences of their party’s policies. In short, the president knows his immigration policies are hurting Americans.”
Bedford adds: “The White House knows this, and they’re trying to hide it; to sanitize it; to keep it out of the view of their children. The White House knows this, and they’re using it to punish their opponents.”
Just this week, more than 100 House Democrats sent a letter to Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to encourage them to “use all the tools available to provide stability to undocumented individuals.” And back in May, five Democrat senators sent a similar letter requesting the “lawful permanent resident status for immigrants who are vital contributors to their American families and our communities.”
The letters make it seem as though we have secure borders and we’re turning people away.
But the opposite is true. So true, in fact, that the Biden administration is ordering the release of illegals onto the streets in places like Arizona and decreasing the number of migrants being sent back to Mexico.
Of course, immigration has always been about politics. But now that a big-city leftist mayor’s ox is being gored, it’s a whole new ball game — and the Democrats are on defense.
What we’ve known all along is now a proven fact: Democrats only like illegal immigrants when they’re in someone else’s backyard. For too long, weak-kneed Republicans were afraid to call them out for their hypocrisy. Now, that hypocrisy is there for everyone to see.
‘I’m Going to Go to Bed’ — President Biden called for a nap during a rambling, 26-minute international press conference in Vietnam that capped off his whirlwind trip to Asia.
“Those same words that you heard in terms of wanting segregation post-Brown v. Board of Education, those same words you hear today. I was kind of gobsmacked when I was talking to [the] Southern Poverty Law Center, and they showed me the same words, ‘choice,’ ‘parental rights’ — an attempt to divide parents versus teachers. [At] that point, it was white parents versus other parents, but it’s the same kind of words.” —American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten
Non Compos Mentis
“I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government. So look, look, I got a job to do. Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day, not a joke, not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day.” —Joe Biden
Baghdad Bob
“Republicans in Congress … have spent all year investigating the president. That’s what they have spent all year doing, and have turned up with no evidence — none — that he did anything wrong.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
For the Record
“If the legacy political media were doing their job defending ‘democracy,’ outlets would be deploying teams of crack journalists to track down leads and find out if there is any evidence related to Biden’s wrongdoing, as they did with Trump, rather than playing defense for the most powerful man in the world.” —David Harsanyi
“If you can get the vice president and future president on the phone, that is access, not the ‘illusion of access.’ … What is now indisputable is that Hunter Biden was selling access to his father; if you doubt that, call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414 and ask to speak to Joe Biden. My guess is that they will not patch you through to the Oval Office immediately.” —Jim Geraghty
Grand Delusions
“You’ve heard us talk about Bidenomics and how we believe [it] has turned the economy around.” —Karine Jean-Pierre
“House Democrats are fighting to make life better for everyday Americans. More money, more time, more freedom.” —House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
“I strongly support President Biden. He has an incredible track record of success and accomplishments on behalf of the American people.” —Hakeem Jeffries
“Our administration … continues to focus on raising pay and lowering costs for workers and middle-class families.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
The BIG Lies
“There is no blocking of [oil and gas] production in the United States.” —Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
“I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years and I used to teach political theory.” —Joe Biden
Belly Laugh of the Day
“I don’t think people give her enough credit. … People don’t understand — [Kamala Harris is] politically astute. Why would she be vice president if she were not?” —Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Food for Thought
“Possession of firearms has been lawful in the United States since the country was founded. And yet we did not have the problem with gun violence even just a few decades ago that we have now. Why aren’t we asking ‘why?’ What has changed? We should be at least as interested in explaining the violence as we are in passing laws trying to prevent it.” —Laura Hollis
“Fewer Americans are willing to conform their behavior to established norms for purposes of preserving a civilized society. As the consequences of diminished self-restraint multiply, the calls for more external restraints — more and larger government — will increase.” —Laura Hollis
The White House quietly edited a transcript of Biden’s remarks at a community college in Maryland after another racist slip-up.
Joe Biden on Thursday delivered remarks on his failed economic agenda dubbed “Bidenomics” at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland.
Biden’s speech was a total disaster. He lost a few battles with his teleprompter and began shouting out of nowhere.
Then this happened….
Joe Biden suggested blacks and Hispanics don’t have high school diplomas.
Biden falsely claimed he created millions of new jobs since he was installed in January 2021.
People going back to work after Democrats forcefully shut down businesses during Covid is not job creation.
“We’ve seen record lows in unemployment, particularly, and I’ve focused on this my whole career, particularly for African-Americans and Hispanic workers and veterans—You know, the workers without high school diplomas! And the lowest unemployment rate for women now!” Biden said.
WATCH:
BIDEN: “We’ve seen record lows in unemployment, particularly, and I’ve focused on this my whole career, particularly for African-Americans and Hispanic workers and veterans—You know, workers without high school diplomas!” pic.twitter.com/j6bnzTYtKo
The White House quietly added the word “and” after ‘African American, Hispanic and veteran workers’ to make his statement sound less racist.
The White House transcript reads: “We’ve seen record lows in unemployment particularly — and I’ve focused on this my whole career — particularly for African Americans and Hispanic workers and veterans, you know, and the workers without high school diplomas.”
This isn’t the first time Joe Biden has said something like this.
Four years ago on the campaign trail, Joe Biden asserted that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
“We have this notion that some how if you’re poor you can not do it. Poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids,” Biden said before pausing, catching himself, and adding “wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids,” Biden said.
WATCH:
Joe Biden slip-up in Iowa tonight.
“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
Hunter Biden leaves court on July 26 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
Prominent Republicans believe the indictment of Hunter Biden is too good to be true.
President Joe Biden’s son was indicted on felony firearms charges in a federal court in Delaware on Thursday.
The younger Biden faces three criminal counts for allegedly lying about his ongoing crack cocaine addiction on an application to purchase a gun in October 2018, Fox News reported.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could spend up to 25 years in jail — but this may not be the justice his detractors are looking for.
The first son is currently under investigation for several schemes, including shady business deals, influence peddling and tax evasion, but so far, special counsel David Weiss has only collared Hunter Biden for this one incident.
As Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz pointed out, choosing to prosecute only the gun crime is “like getting Jeffrey Dahmer on littering.”
Matt Gaetz: “Getting Hunter Biden on the gun charge is like getting Jeffrey Dahmer on littering.” MTG wants Biden inquiry to take a “long time” Dem Dan Goldman says Hunter should be held accountable if he committed crimes. “You don’t hear any Republicans” saying that about Trump pic.twitter.com/fAQsmcm6BH
While it would be satisfying to see Hunter Biden behind bars, the problem is that it would do nothing to untangle the sprawling web of corruption and criminality he’s caught up in — and it’s likely that his father sits like a spider at the center of it all.
Will Hunter Biden be convicted?Yes No
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Going after the younger Biden for gun charges that he almost walked away from with no jail time seems like just the kind of scheme the Democrats love to concoct, especially when it will take the heat off of Joe Biden.
As House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer noted, the gun charges stem from “the one crime you can’t tie Joe Biden into,” ABC News reported.
“Mountains of evidence reveals that Hunter Biden likely committed several felonies and Americans expect the Justice Department to apply the law equally,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement posted Thursday.
“Today’s charges are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.”
🚨STATEMENT🚨
Today’s charges against Hunter Biden are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.
Weiss and the DOJ can point to the indictment and pretend they’ve done their due diligence while the “big guy” happily remains in the White House, suddenly above all suspicion. Case closed.
Rep. Andy Biggs is warning Republicans not to get taken in by this.
“The Hunter Biden indictment on federal gun charges is a move to make you think that the DOJ is fair,” the Arizona Republican posted to X.
“Don’t fall for it. They’re trying to protect him from way more serious charges coming his way!”
The Hunter Biden indictment on federal gun charges is a move to make you think that the DOJ is fair.
Don’t fall for it.
They’re trying to protect him from way more serious charges coming his way!
Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, also warned Republicans to see it for what it is — a “smokescreen.”
“Don’t fall for it. This is a fig leaf designed to deflect attention away from the real problem: the Biden family is selling out U.S. foreign policy for their own family’s private financial gain,” Ramaswamy posted to X.
He went on to urge Americans not to “fall for the trick” Democrats may be pulling to get the age-addled, unpopular Biden out of the running in 2024.
“It’s also no accident that today’s indictment comes at a moment when President Biden’s own popularity within the Democratic Party is cratering,” Ramaswamy continued.
“I predict this is the first step for the Democrat Party managerial class to pressure Joe Biden out of the race. Biden will become a sacrificial pawn in service to the deep state that wants to keep power at all costs.”
Today’s indictment of Hunter Biden is a smokescreen. Don’t fall for it. This is a fig leaf designed to deflect attention away from the real problem: the Biden family is selling out U.S. foreign policy for their own family’s private financial gain. That’s really what’s wrong, and… https://t.co/8TvIUM9Mgd
These Republicans are all correct, but they have missed another important part of the equation: This indictment will shield Joe Biden from one of the main arguments in favor of former President Donald Trump.
The Democrats can leverage the Hunter Biden charges against claims that Trump is being unfairly pursued with his four concurrent indictments.
They’ve set up the narrative that the justice system is working as it should and that the lack of charges against the president firmly demonstrates that his hands are clean.
If Trump faces legal troubles while Joe Biden goes on without a charge against him, well, that’s just because Trump is a bad orange criminal and Joe Biden is not.
What’s especially frustrating is that the Republicans have held back when it comes to pursuing charges against Biden.
There has never been more evidence of a corrupt president, and yet the GOP is playing right into Democrats’ hands by pussyfooting around with a toothless impeachment inquiry.
As usual, the Democrats are way ahead of the Republicans and have them right where they want them ahead of a presidential election.
Joe Biden and his henchmen have all the pieces in place to make sure he suffers no real consequences for his actions — and this indictment of Hunter Biden without his father all but proves it.
Law professor Jonathan Turley, saying he does not believe that a case for impeachment has yet been made against President Joe Biden, maintained there is “clearly a need for a probe into a growing array of allegations facing the president.”
Predictably, Joe Biden, along with his advisers, economists, and media mouthpieces, has been embracing what was supposed to be a negative phrase — Bidenomics — and spinning it as something good. But no matter how you try to spin it, portraying Bidenomics as a positive economic force is the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig.
Mark Twain once said (with attribution elsewhere): “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” You can pull up all kinds of charts, graphs, and other amalgamations of numbers to try to prove almost any point you want, but that doesn’t replace reality.
You don’t need charts, graphs, economists, or anything else to see what is going on.
Biden is trying to brand Trump’s presidency as MAGAnomics, saying Trump’s fiscal policy was inferior to his own. If we take out the COVID-19 debacle that was so poorly handled but certainly an exceptional situation to be normalized for, and we ask people if they were better off in 2019 or 2023, what do you think the answer would be?
Never mind the administration’s talking points about job “reclamation” or “creation”; when did people have more fear of losing their jobs — today or 2019?
Looking at personal savings, when did Americans have more in their bank accounts? Notably, the personal savings rate was in the high 8% to mid-9% range in 2019. As of July 2023, it was just 3.5%.
When did Americans have more crushing debt loads, today or 2019? Well, we know the answer to that is today, with credit card debt alone exceeding $1 trillion.
And when did Americans feel as though they were getting crushed by the cost of everyday living, 2019 or today?
You don’t need a degree or a chart to know the reality of these answers.
As writer David Marcus posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Under MAGAnomics, people have more money to buy things. Under Bidenomics, the government has more money to buy things.”
Without a doubt, Biden stepped into a situation where the previous administration made some suspect economic decisions. But he made each and every policy worse, from adding stimulus money to attacking traditional energy sources. These are the issues that have been at the center of creating the worst inflation seen in more than four decades.
Moreover, during his administration, Biden has done nothing to correct course and steer our fiscal ship in the right direction. The debt, deficits, and energy are the main issues that will keep inflation sticky.
The national debt topped $32.96 trillion this month, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, while the federal deficit is projected to be a whopping $2 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year.
On the energy front, just last week the Biden administration canceled “the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
None of that sounds promising for Bidenomics or America’s fiscal future.
The American people don’t need manipulated statistics or talking points gaslighting them about their lived reality. If Biden wants some economics that work, the only thing he can do is exactly the opposite of everything he has been doing.
Family Research Council’s vision is a prevailing culture in which all human life is valued, families flourish, and religious liberty thrives. —– Sep. 15, 2023, at 8:30 P.M. ET Please note: The start time is subject to change.
Melissa Fleming is the “Chief Communicator” for the United Nations since 2019.
Her bio on her substack page says she promotes a peaceful, sustainable, just and humane world. This is how she describes herself. In real life she is anything but that.
Fleming is a power-obsessed narcissist whose goal is to contral everything that you think, read, or hear.
Fleming went viral this week on social media after a recent speech she made was made public. The woman is a stone-cold tyrant. Worse than that she is too arrogant to see how vicious she sounds to the masses. And she claims her expertise is communications?
Melissa wants to control what you think and what you can say online.
Melissa Fleming: Of course, firings at Twitter have left us with no one to call to flag content that is abusive or even incitement to violence. We’re now seeing that almost anyone can promote disinformation for the price of a blue tick…
… We do feel like we are in an information war and that we need to massively ramp up our response. So we’re creating at the UN a central capacity to monitor and also have the ability to rapidly react when miss and disinformation and hate speech is threatening not just our people, our operations, but also the issues and the causes that we’re working on. But also, we are going to be gearing up our verified initiative around climate change and developing this UN code of conduct on information integrity on digital platforms, hoping to set global standards that we can all advocate around so that we can collectively work for a more humane Internet.
In a second video that popped up online this week, Melissa Fleming claims, “We own the science and we think the world should know it.”
Is this Orwellian censorship part of illegal partnership the fascists at @Google and @Youtube signed with @UN to suppress information and censor info that contradicts their lies, as admitted by UN comms czar @MelissaFleming at the evil @WEF? Help expose these tyrants. @elonmuskpic.twitter.com/9D62m2sCDO
Archaeologists and theologians are working together to analyze recent discoveries and explain what happened to the ancient city of Sodom found in the Bible’s Old Testament book of Genesis.
America has been defeated from within – without firing a shot by the party of treason.
Border numbers for the month of August are going to be 230,000, the highest month for 2023, after the treasonous White House claimed they had stopped the flow.
NEW: Watch as Border Patrol mass releases hundreds of illegal migrants to a city street in San Diego as CBP facilities are overcrowded. Migrant: “It’s no problem if I go to Chicago?” BP agent: “You can do whatever you want, you’re free.” These are Biden’s buses, not Texas.
President Trump to show his support for the dignity of every woman that is under assault in today’s increasingly nonsensical culture wars. Sep. 15, 2023 at 7:00 P.M. ET Please note: The start time is subject to change as the event timeline is updated.
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