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
“And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!’”
I love the Bible! Its honest accounts of actual events and situations give me great encouragement and hope. Gideon’s story is a prime example. Gideon was a farmer, but his ability to farm was severely hindered by marauding bandits from Midian. For seven long years, these violent robbers swooped down and stole Israel’s crops, leaving the nation frustrated and hungry. But God had a plan. He wanted Gideon and three hundred men to deliver Israel. That’s right—God chose a farmer and a minuscule army to stop their enemy’s reign of terror.
The Angel’s prophetic greeting to Gideon, “You mighty man of valor,” is almost laughable. Gideon was not a mighty man of valor. He’d never led a military campaign, had no record of military service and, as far as we can tell, Gideon hadn’t even been in a fistfight. But the Lord knew what He would accomplish through Gideon and his men. The best part of God’s plan was that Gideon was the most shocked and surprised of all.
If you and I were about to go to war, we’d gather forces equipped with an impressive arsenal and therein would be our downfall. Confidence in human means is never a good thing when confronted with evil.
Can the Lord do something extraordinary with you and me? He can, but apparently, it depends on how weak we are. Are you weak today? Me, too. Let’s look to God to do a great work so that, in the end, we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Awaiting His Return,
– Pastor Jack
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And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be. (Exodus8:23)
Pharaoh has a people, and the Lord has a people. These may dwell together and seem to fare alike, but there is a division between them, and the Lord will make it apparent. Not forever shall one event happen alike to all, but there shall be great difference between the men of the world and the people of Jehovah’s choice.
This may happen in the time of judgments, when the Lord becomes the sanctuary of His saints. It is very conspicuous in the conversion of believers when their sin is put away, while unbelievers remain under condemnation. From that moment they become a distinct race, come under a new discipline, and enjoy new blessings. Their homes, henceforth, are free from the grievous swarms of evils which defile and torment the Egyptians. They are kept from the pollution of lust, the bite of care, the corruption of falsehood, and the cruel torment of hatred, which devour many families.
Rest assured, tried believer, that though you have your troubles you are saved from swarms of worse ones, which infest the homes and hearts of the servants of the world’s prince. The Lord has put a division; see to it that you keep up the division in Spirit, aim, character, and company.
As a young girl, I looked forward to potluck dinners in the basement of our small church.
I would stand at the top of the stairs and inhale the smell that was wafting its way up from the kitchen, causing my mouth to water and then I’d race down as fast as I could.
The various and sundry dishes seemed to stretch on forever.
My favorite thing to do, before it all began, was to walk up one side of the tables and down the other, trying to see all that was there. If I stretched my neck and stood on my tip toes I could just get a glimpse of what was in the those wonderful smelling dishes.
The good old standbys always brought a smile to my face; fried chicken, orange jello and deviled eggs. But other dishes like vegetables or weird salads would make me wrinkle my nose and rejoice that at this dinner I didn’t have to have a “no thank you” helping. And then there were the desserts, as usual the ladies of our church had out done themselves with warm brownies fresh out of the oven, enormous cakes, and pies galore.
My joy of potluck dinners was born out of a love for food and fellowship. My favorite thing about potlucks was that my parents weren’t as attentive to my eating habits which enabled me to eat whatever I wanted. This meant that I could forego the vegetable dishes and fill up on desserts to my heart’s delight.
I also enjoyed the freedom to be able to pick and choose what I wanted to eat. At home there weren’t a lot of choices. I had to eat a little of everything, even if I didn’t like it. I learned early in life not to complain because that would only get me more!
My love for potluck dinners was raised to new heights, when I realized for the first time that if I put something on my plate and didn’t like it, I didn’t have to eat it! That was never the case at home. The mantra, “Clean Your Plate” had been adopted by my parents, and there was no hope of changing it. Believe me, I tried.
Recently when I sat down to spend some time in the Scriptures; I was struck with the fact that I have a tendency to love God’s Word, like I love potluck dinners! Let me explain . . .
I choose to feast on verses like Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT) “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
But turn my nose up at verses like Matthew 5:44 (NLT) “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
My desire for things that are easy and tasteful hinders me from developing strength and depth as His disciple. And I can’t help but wonder if this is what Paul was alluding to in 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NLT) “I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready. . .”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there are verses in the Bible that don’t have any value but the point I’m trying to make is that we hamper God’s work in our life when we pick and choose what we like and don’t take it ALL into account.
God’s Word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. I readily confess that I don’t like to be cut open, to have my sin held up to the light of His Word. It’s so much easier to steer clear of God’s cleansing work in my life and focus on His unending love and faithfulness. But God desires so much more for me and for you!
My question to you is this: Are you approaching God’s Word like you approach a potluck dinner? Do you find yourself choosing the verses in God’s Word that are tasty and appetizing and avoiding those that seem distasteful or hard?
Lord, I confess in my heart of hearts I have approached your Word like I do a potluck dinner. I have feasted on Your grace and avoided Your commands. Thank you for extending Your mercy to me and open my eyes and my heart to ALL that you want to teach me. Amen.
After more than 500 years, God’s promise of a land for His people was about to be realized. A new generation would receive the promise rejected by their parents and longed for by multiple generations before them. Israel’s arrival at the Jordan River (Joshua 1:2) brought them to the brink of their inheritance. But this inheritance would not be handed to them on a platter—they would have to fight for it. Across the river stood the towering city of Jericho.
Russia expels U.S. diplomats Russia announced Thursday that it was designating two U.S. diplomats as “persona non grata,” ordering them to leave within seven days due to allegations of “illegal activity” with a Russian national who was charged with collaborating with a foreign government.
‘Quickly turned horrific’: Family hears woman screaming as she’s euthanized! After a short night’s sleep, I was woken up by a nurse who told me that Alexina was doing very badly,” Stulens said. “Then the doctor took some syringes and we were asked if we wanted to say goodbye.” Stulens and his daughter were told to wait outside, so they went onto the terrace, but what they thought would be a peaceful death quickly turned horrific: they heard screaming.
Here’s China’s first step if war with US breaks out The 2023 Department of Defense Cyber Strategy outlines how both nations are equipped to launch a series of cyberattacks targeting the U.S. critical infrastructure and defense networks in the event of war. The revelation underscores the escalating global cyber conflict and places added urgency on the United States to bolster its own digital defenses. According to the unclassified summary made public on September 12, the tactics intended by China and Russia aim to “target our critical infrastructure,”
Texas AG Sends Threatening Warning to Biden After Being Cleared From Impeachment Charges On Saturday, Paxton released a letter to the Biden White House, telling the president to “buckle up” after defeating the “sham impeachment.” “The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General, and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House,” Paxton’s letter read. “The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt,”
Humans to Achieve Immortality by 2030, Google Engineer Claims Kurzweil spoke with the YouTube channel Adagio, discussing the expansion in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing “nanobots.” These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages and make us immune to diseases like cancer. The predictions that such a feat is achievable by 2030 have been met with excitement and skepticism, as curing all deadly diseases seems far out of reach, the Daily Mail notes.
“We Dare Not Keep Silent”: ATF Releases Anti-Gun Rule For Public Comment Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced its intent to move the United States “as close to Universal Background Checks as possible without additional legislation.” After much speculation on how far-reaching the rule would be, it has finally arrived, and it’s worse than expected.
Macron Is Not Wrong About China, The U.S. Should Worry Not so long ago, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s Beijing visit, many in the U.S. reacted to his expressed desire to avoid confrontation with China with indignation, labeling the leader a fool and a puppet. [T]he weight of Europe in the world is shrinking,” he acknowledges, claiming that “[t]he next two decades are going to be crucial because China will use them to become the first global power.”
Turkey Could ‘Part Ways’ With The EU: Erdogan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the EU if necessary, following the release of a European Parliament report rejecting the possibility of Turkey joining the EU soon. The report instead suggested the EU explore “a parallel and realistic framework,” such as a customs union, to determine its ties with Ankara. “
Two Russians, American Reach Space Station Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut docked with the International Space Station on Friday after blasting off from Baikonur amid raging tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine. Earlier Friday Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft.
EU may become as hooked on China batteries as it was on Russian energy The European Union could become as dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it was on Russia for energy before the war in Ukraine unless it takes strong measures, a paper prepared for EU leaders said. The document, obtained by Reuters, will be the basis of discussions on Europe’s economic security during a meeting of EU leaders in Granada in Spain on Oct. 5.
Iran’s Security Forces Out in Force a Year after Mahsa Amini’s Death Iranian security forces cracked down on protests in Kurdish areas of the country on Saturday and briefly detained the father of Mahsa Amini, a year after the young woman’s death in custody set off some of the worst political unrest in four decades. The Revolutionary Guards detained a dual national suspected of “trying to organize unrest and sabotage”, the official news agency IRNA reported, one of several arrests of “counter revolutionaries” and “terrorists” reported.
North Korea’s Kim Heads Home after Week-Long Visit to Russia Kim Jong Un was heading home by train on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported, after a week-long visit to Russia that included talks with President Vladimir Putin on closer military and other cooperation.
Shameful: UNESCO classifies ancient Jericho as ‘Palestinian heritage site’ The Heritage Committee of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced on Sunday that one of the newest entries on the organization’s list of global heritage sites is Tel a-Sultan in Jericho. The UNESCO member states decided that the tel will be considered a “Palestinian world heritage site.”
Saudi Arabia halts talks on peace deal with Israel In a significant setback to normalizing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the government in Riyadh has reportedly informed the Biden administration that it was suspending all related discussions, an Israeli official from the Prime Minister’s Office revealed to the London-based Saudi news outlet Elaph on Sunday. The Arab news medium, which is viewed by many as a public broadcaster for Jerusalem and Riyadh, cited the anonymous official as blaming Israel’s “extremist” government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Saudi Arabia also expressed concerns that the current Israeli government is obstructing a peace process with the Palestinians.
As Israel enters period of high holidays, Hamas threatens with new terror intifada Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, threatened the Jewish state with a new terror intifada during a high-level meeting in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Saturday. Al-Arouri who met with Jamil Mazhar, deputy secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to coordinate attacks against Israel, vowed to “return to the intifada in order to achieve national unity and the settlement of the Palestinian home on national and democratic bases.”
First-ever ‘National Prayer For Life’ event in Israel to protect unborn babies to be held this Friday One of the most heartbreaking things that Lynn and I have discovered since we began visiting Israel as a family in 2003, and then became Israeli citizens in 2014, is just how widely accepted abortion is as a form of birth control. And the number of unborn babies that have been murdered here over the past 75 years. Abortion was first legalized by the Knesset – Israel’s parliament – in 1977.
James Dickey: The flimsy legal theory seeking to keep Trump off the ballot the recent petition filed in the Minnesota Supreme Court seeking to keep former President Donald Trump off of Minnesota’s 2024 primary and general election ballots, and also UMLC’s new case against the “Don’t Say Felon” speech code created by the legislature to shut down certain political speech in the days leading up to Minnesota elections.
Low Mississippi River limits barges just as farmers want to move their crops downriver A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn and soybeans downriver to the Gulf of Mexico. The transport restrictions are a headache for barge companies, but even more worrisome for thousands of farmers who have watched drought scorch their fields for much of the summer. Now they will face higher prices to transport what remains of their crops.
Italy’s Great Replacement: Over 10,000 Military-Age African Men Invade the Shores of Lampedusa in Three Days European Union elites are once again utilizing mass migration to replace European populations, resulting in shocking demographic impacts that profoundly affect European countries’ national and cultural identities. Migrants are being used by the left-wing elites and those posing as conservatives to dilute host cultures, ensure more votes, and seize power.
Publishers Discourage Submissions From White, Able-Bodied People. Book publishers and literary agents are actively discouraging submissions from white and “able-bodied” people, preferring instead to support those from perceived “marginalized” or “under-represented” backgrounds, an investigation has found.
UN Secretary-General is unfit to be lecturing the world about hate speech and disinformation The United Nations (“UN”) is developing a Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms in preparation for the Summit of the Future in 2024. And, since February, Secretary-General António Guterres has been pushing this particular agenda at every given opportunity. Is António Guterres, who through his Portuguese political allies is implicated in the Casa Pia Scandal, even fit to suggest a “code of conduct” that would be imposed on the world?
Why are the Freemasons collecting the DNA of your Children? The Freemasons have long stood at the epicentre of numerous conspiracy theories, their secretive nature adding fuel to the fire of speculation. Now the introduction of the MYCHIP (MasoniCHIP) program, dressed up as a benevolent child protection tool, has provoked further debate. But could there be concealed objectives beyond the surface?
Globalists Make New Push For COVID Concentration Camps With it now undeniable except to the sheep who still get their news and information from the MSM that over the past several years, there’s been an astonishing uptick in the number of young and previously healthy men and women and children who’ve been dying suddenly and unexpectedly, pay close attention to the fact that a new CDC study confirms much of what we’ve been witnessing with the alarming fact that getting ‘the jab’ has lowered the life expectancy of men by an average of 24 years, this at a time when fighting age Chinese men continue to flow into the country over joe biden’s wide-open Southern border.
“We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty.” —Fisher Ames (1807)
Fellow Patriots, yesterday in 1789 was one of the most important days in our nation’s history, as our Constitution was ratified. It also happens to be the day we at The Patriot Post celebrate our own birthday in 1996. Today, as every day, we analyze the news most important to American Liberty. —Mark Alexander
Rather than addressing the substance of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, the mainstream media attacked the investigators.
Douglas Andrews
Suppose you were a Democrat. And suppose you were a member of the mainstream media. But we repeat ourselves.
Mark Twain’s original quip noted the symbiosis between idiots and members of Congress, but it’s clearly a plug-and-play observation, clearly transferable to relationships among other institutions. And perhaps nowhere is this more the case than with the mutually beneficial relationship between the Democrat Party and the mainstream media, through which the former gains a guard dog against legitimate oversight and the latter gains an undeserved air of respectability.
More evidence of this cozy relationship emerged in recent days, as House Republicans announced that they’d launched an impeachment inquiry into the Biden Crime Family. The reaction was both swift and predictable: Rather than responding to the substance of the allegations against Joe and Hunter, the Denialist Democrats denounced the inquiry and continued to trumpet their laughable “not a shred of evidence” claims.
More remarkably, though, the White House demanded an investigation of the investigators. And the mainstream media obliged.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s statement was matter-of-fact: “Through our investigations, we have found that President Biden did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings,” he said, adding that “these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.”
This was too much for the White House Counsel’s office. In a 14-page memo from spokesman Ian Sams to “editorial leadership at U.S. news media organizations,” the Biden White House challenged their mainstream media water-carriers with the following subject line: “It’s Time For The Media To Do More To Scrutinize House Republicans’ Demonstrably False Claims That They’re Basing Impeachment Stunt On.”
Leftmedia bias is nothing new, of course, but the paternalistic tone of the White House memo shows the level of subservience that Democrats expect from our ostensibly independent press. Exhibit A would be a bizarre “Facts First” “fact-check” of Speaker McCarthy’s statement.
As National Review’s Becket Adams writes: “Out of the more than 2,300 words published by CNN, not one points to a single falsehood, lie, or even inaccuracy spoken by McCarthy during his announcement. In fact, the article concedes nearly all the speaker’s chief points. Instead of fact-checking McCarthy as the article promises, the reporters dedicate their efforts to reminding readers, repeatedly, that eyewitness testimony and suspicious bank activities are not necessarily evidence that the president engaged in an international influence-peddling operation.”
Seems odd for a “fact-check” not to fact-check the facts, no?
Perhaps the most hilarious of CNN’s charges against McCarthy is in response to his statement that “The President did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings.”
This is a factual assertion — one that even the White House has had to walk back in recent weeks. And yet CNN can’t even muster the nerve to acknowledge it, instead stating, “Joe Biden’s unequivocal denials of any business-related contact with his son have been undercut over time.”
“Undercut over time.” Indeed, just like the mainstream media’s credibility.
The whistleblowers hurt Hunter Biden’s feelings by exposing him, while the rest of us will feel the heat.
Nate Jackson
They say the best defense is a good offense, and that philosophy is how Hunter Biden is tackling his growing legal problems.
After that sweetheart plea deal of his fell apart, Hunter — and his dad — were left scrambling. For one thing, Hunter Biden was just indicted last week on that felony gun charge that could no longer be swept under the rug. That’s awfully uncomfortable for Joe Biden, who’d love little more than to obstruct gun rights for law-abiding Americans.
Also last week, Hunter sued over the exposure of the laptop he still swears wasn’t his. He wants to distract people with outrage over embarrassing crack and prostitute pictures, but the real scandal, of course, was what the laptop revealed about his dad’s corruption.
This week, Hunter Biden is suing the IRS over the whistleblowers’ disclosure of his tax records. Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler were the two IRS whistleblowers who blew the lid off Hunter’s tax escapades. Now the president’s son’s feelings are hurt.
Shapley and Ziegler “willfully, knowingly, and/or by gross negligence, unlawfully disclosed Mr. Biden’s confidential tax information,” Biden’s lawsuit claims. “Mr. Biden has no fewer or lesser rights than any other American citizen, and no government agency or government agent has free rein to violate his rights simply because of who he is.” Even so, the complaint adds, “The IRS and its agents have conducted themselves under a presumption that the rights that apply to every other American citizen do not apply to Mr. Biden.”
That’s funny because the Biden Crime Family’s entire enterprise is built on the assumption that the Bidens play by a different set of rules simply because of who they are, and that justice doesn’t apply to them. Not too many Americans can cheat on their taxes to cover for their ill-gotten gains from peddling the vice president’s influence and then get away with it because the prosecutor helped by running out the clock on the statute of limitations.
From a broader perspective, Hunter’s lawsuit alleges that the whistleblower’s behavior is “undermining Americans’ faith in the IRS.”
What a howler!
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and it’s $80 billion windfall for tens of thousands more IRS employees did plenty to undermine what little faith remained in the IRS. For good reason.
One of Joe Biden’s many false campaign promises was to not raise taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000 a year — his totally arbitrary line for sanctimoniously waging class warfare. To that promise, he added one about not auditing more Americans under that threshold.
So much for that.
“There is no way to identify the complete population of taxpayers that meet the criterion of $400,000 or more specified by the current Treasury Secretary,” said the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) in a new report. And remember, the whole point of that additional $80 billion for the IRS was to “invest” in recovering even more money that Americans are allegedly hiding from the government. In other words, more audits is the goal.
Except something tells us they’ll figure out a way to never audit Hunter Biden.
One last note about not raising taxes. Bidenomics has meant vast new taxes in the form of inflation. We’re all paying 17% more on the average basket of goods than we were in 2021, and that’s a low-ball estimate on many staples of life for American families. On top of that, property and sales taxes are far higher because of higher valued goods and homes.
While we’re all paying tons more, the Bidens are lying and suing to cover for how much they were paid just for being Bidens. Nice work if you can get it.
Another Biden autobio lie: Did you know that Joe Biden used to be a college professor? Neither did we. Nor the rest of the country for that matter. In fact, it would appear that his “professorship” only ever existed in the age-addled mind of Joe Biden. While giving a speech at Prince George’s Community College, Biden falsely claimed: “I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years … and I used to teach political theory.” Biden did receive an honorary professor title from Penn after he left the vice presidency, and according to his own tax filing record, Biden did receive over $900,000 from the university between the years of 2017 to 2019. But it “involved no regular classes and around a dozen public appearances on campus, mostly in big, ticketed events.” In other words, at best he was paid to give a few speeches on campus. Next thing you know, he’ll want us to call him Dr. Biden.
Texas AG Paxton acquitted: On Saturday, the Texas Senate voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton of all 16 articles of impeachment that the state house raised against him. Following his acquittal, Paxton blasted the “sham impeachment,” asserting that it had been “coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan” and that “his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House.” He added, “The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt.” All 12 of the Lone Star State’s Senate Democrats and two Republicans voted to convict, while 16 Republicans voted to acquit. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversaw the vote, also criticized the process. “With virtually no time for 150 members to study the articles,” he observed, “the Speaker and his team rammed through the first impeachment of a statewide official in over 100 years.”
Biden will “recover” Ukraine’s economy: The White House released a statement from Joe Biden in which he announced the appointment of the “New U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.” Biden appointed Penny Pritzker to serve in this role. Given Biden’s economic “recovery” record here at home, which has resulted in a sustained high inflation rate making Americans poorer and has led to a growing poverty rate in the U.S., folks in Ukraine would be wise to run away from Bidenomics as fast as they can.
A horrendous crime and coverage of it: Two black teenagers stole a car in Las Vegas, joyriding in it while filming themselves deliberately causing another car to crash. Far worse, they then deliberately ran over a cyclist, who happened to be a retired police chief, killing him. Video of the incident literally looks like something from the video game Grand Theft Auto. The teens have been apprehended for this horrendous crime. However, nearly as egregious has been the media’s coverage of the crime — the Las Vegas Review-Journal simply noted that the police chief was killed in a “bike crash.”
Whitmer would-be kidnappers acquitted: Three men who were among those charged in the plot to kidnap Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been acquitted. The three men, Eric Molitor, William Molitor, and Michael Null, were charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and fire arms possession during the commission of a felony. The three did not realize that the dozen other men, who have been found guilty, with whom they were engaging with, were plotting to kidnap Whitmer and put her on trial for treason. A jury found the three defendants not guilty after a two-week trial.
Avoiding a government shutdown? On Sunday, members of the Freedom Caucus reached a tentative agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to join with the rest of the Republican majority on a funding deal to avert a government shutdown. The Republican bill contains some domestic spending (growth) cuts, and it includes some illegal immigration provisions, but does not include the E-Verify requirement for employers. The Democrat-controlled Senate is expected to balk at the bill, but McCarthy has successfully put pressure for a government shutdown onto the Democrats.
Headlines
Hunter Biden sues IRS, alleges agents tried to ‘target’ and ‘embarrass’ him (Fox News)
Navy ends digital recruiting program over drag queens (The Federalist)
Kim Davis penalized $100K (even though the couple got a marriage license) (Not the Bee)
Chuck Schumer axes Senate dress code following criticism of Fetterman’s hoodies (New York Post)
Arrest made in ambush killing of LA Sheriff’s Deputy (Fox News)
$20 an hour for fast-food work in California (National Review)
Satire: Auto CEOs struggling with whether to replace striking workers with robots or Mexicans (The Babylon Bee)
The veep’s political stumbling has the Democrat rank and file souring on her.
Emmy Griffin
President Joe Biden is no spring chicken, and most Americans, if they were honest with themselves, agree that his mental faculties and physical frailty are a concern. (Not to mention, he is a corrupt politician.) But the Democrats are kind of stuck with Biden because the heir apparent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is a dumpster fire of a backup.
Between her gaffes, inane statements, and rotating door of staff, she has a reputation for not being very well prepared for anything regarding her White House duties. The only thing she does seem to speak somewhat competently on — which is to say, without making a word salad — is the issue of abortion. But even on that issue, she manages to give away the game.
Democrats have long tried to sell the lie that their party does believe in abortion limits (i.e., gestational age limits usually defined by viability). Republicans have pointed out, correctly, that this is incorrect. The Democrat Party platform even indicates that they are for no limitations on abortion — even until birth.
Harris was being interviewed on CBS’s show “Face the Nation” when the interviewer, Margaret Brennan, asked, “What week of pregnancy should abortion access be cut off?” Harris refused to answer but instead steadfastly repeated that she wanted to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade.
Brennan was trying to get the vice president to put less radical Democrats’ and independents’ fears to rest regarding the accusation that the Democrats are okay with late-term abortions. Harris failed utterly.
Harris’s inability to do her job well has made her a liability for the Democrat Party. There have been several pieces written of late calling for her not run in 2024, or for Biden to choose another running mate.
You know she’s deeply unpopular even amongst her own party when the likes of Congresswoman Nanci Pelosi (D-CA) won’t explicitly endorse her. Pelosi was recently interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, to whom Pelosi repeated the idea that the American people don’t understand that Harris really is politically astute — almost as if Pelosi were trying to convince herself of this as well.
Is she Biden’s best choice? “He thinks so, and that’s what matters,” Pelosi replied. Besides, the job description of the vice president is that “you don’t do that much.”
Even if she doesn’t “do that much,” Harris’s regular displays of incompetence aren’t going to help the Democrats.
In 2020, Biden made sure everyone knew Harris was chosen as vice president because she was a black woman, not because people liked her or because she was a good politician. More recently, “The View’s” Sunny Hostin declared the obvious — that Kamala Harris is vital to Biden’s reelection to keep the black vote. On the subject of having another more astute running mate subbed in, Hostin exclaimed, “We’re not interchangeable.”
Hostin inadvertently hit at the heart of the issue for the Democrats. When identity politics is employed to pander to a minority, you either choose wisely the first time or live with the consequences.
Let’s just hope the pitiful Biden/Harris ticket is so disliked after four years of bad policy, a flagging economy, and being the laughingstock of the world that the American public chooses a more competent leadership duo.
We all now know what is on the line — and it isn’t just Hunter’s fate as a free man.
Josh Hammer
Thursday’s indictment of presidential prodigal son Hunter Biden on three gun-related criminal counts is the latest twist in the long, winding and rapidly escalating saga that is the Biden crime family.
The indictment, served up by U.S. Attorney — and now “special counsel,” despite the fact 28 Code of Federal Regulations Sec. 600.3 requires that a special counsel be “selected from outside the United States Government” — David C. Weiss, comes a month and a half after Weiss’ obfuscatory plea agreement was summarily rejected by Judge Maryellen Noreika. That prior plea deal, curiously, would have handled the same gun crimes for which Hunter has now been indicted with a slap-on-the-wrist pretrial diversion agreement. Fact is, Hunter transparently lied that he was “not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance” when he filled out a Firearms Transaction Record to purchase a Colt revolver in 2018. It is indisputable that Hunter was a drug addict at the time he purchased the firearm; he openly admitted as much in his ill-advised 2021 memoir.
True, the third count of Weiss’ indictment, invoking the federal provision (18 U.S. Code Sec. 922(g)(3)) that criminalizes possession of a firearm when one is “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance,” is arguably unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s current Second Amendment jurisprudence; in fact, just last month, a panel of the conservative-leaning U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held just that. But Delaware is not part of the Fifth Circuit, which only covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. A criminal defense on such grounds, moreover, would put someone named “Biden” in the highly ironic position of advancing a maximalist, National Rifle Association-style Second Amendment argument. And even if Hunter did make such an argument, the first two counts of the indictment would remain untouched. In sum, the three criminal counts could in theory — and assuredly only in theory — yield up to 25 years in the slammer.
At first blush, Weiss’ 180-degree turn over the course of a mere month and a half gives off the impression of someone who got their hand caught in the cookie jar, and who is now penitent. Under this theory of the case, Weiss was thoroughly embarrassed by Judge Noreika’s rejection of his murky, sweetheart plea agreement, and he now seeks to redeem himself. That is a plausible explanation, but it is probably wrong.
Zoom out a little bit. Earlier this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the commencement of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the “big guy” implicated in Hunter’s myriad shady overseas businesses dealings. There is increasing evidence that Joe knew all about, at minimum, and probably even personally profited from Hunter’s foreign dalliances with Ukrainian oligarchs, Romanian tycoons, Chinese investors, and others. At the same time, the senescent octogenarian faces increasingly vocal calls from Democratic Party voters, ruling class elites, and Regime-approved media apparatchiks alike to pack it in and not seek reelection next November. On Tuesday evening, for instance, Regime stenographer David Ignatius used his Washington Post column to argue, in straightforwardly titled enough manner: “President Biden should not run again in 2024.”
Perhaps Hunter had a little chat with his father, wherein Don Corleone — sorry, the president of the United States — instructed his addlebrained son to take one for the team and be a useful fall guy. The Weiss indictment sure does make for a nice, shiny distraction amidst all the smoke now engulfing the “big guy.” Is this indictment intended to make McCarthy and House Republicans forget about the impeachment inquiry they just opened? Even worse, is this where the Weiss “special counsel” probe somehow ends — thus letting Hunter off scot-free for his significantly more dastardly, possibly money laundering- or Foreign Agents Registration Act-implicating business pursuits overseas?
Ultimately and perhaps most importantly, the Biden Regime’s handling of the Hunter indictment will tell us everything we need to know about the Regime’s nature. It will be a moment of truth — a “put up or shut up” moment. If Weiss ends his investigation here, content with his firearms charges and willing to look the other way as to Hunter’s presidential impeachment-adjacent foreign bribery and corruption, then the Regime will necessarily vindicate the conservatives who have long lambasted its “two-tier system of justice.” That same conclusion also holds if Hunter somehow avoids all jail time, in a possible future plea agreement, for firearms offenses that would certainly land anyone else in prison for years.
Weiss’ indictment has thus clarified the stakes. We all now know what is on the line — and it isn’t just Hunter’s fate as a free man.
As the evidence of wrongdoing continues to pile up against Joe Biden, the Democrats and their Leftmedia enablers continue to deny it.
Douglas Andrews
We got to hand it to former Illinois governor and two-time Democrat presidential loser Adlai Stevenson. The eggheaded orator may have gotten smoked twice by Dwight Eisenhower, but he’s still credited with one of the great campaign quips of all time.
“Governor Stevenson,” shouted an enthusiastic supporter, “every thinking person in America will be voting for you!”
To which the candidate replied, “I’m afraid that won’t do. I need a majority.”
The quote is almost certainly apocryphal, but it has nonetheless withstood the test of time as an assessment of the idiocy of the American voter. How else to explain, for example, the steady drumbeat of today’s Democrats as they try to defend the indefensible Joe Biden from charges of influence peddling?
“There is precisely zero evidence of any wrongdoing whatsoever,” says Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin, adding that Republicans are “claiming without evidence that [Joe and Hunter Biden] engaged in an influence-peddling scheme.”
One can’t help but wonder: Is he serious?
We wondered the same thing recently about Raskin’s fellow House Democrat Dan Goldman, who claimed, “There is not a shred of evidence of a single conflict of interest of President Biden ever doing anything in connection or in relation to Hunter Biden’s business ventures other than advocating for the removal of a prosecutor general who was advantageous to Burisma.”
The “evidence” is hiding in plain sight, as Adam Schiff might say. Or haven’t the Democrats been paying attention to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who notes:
We found 170 major bank violations. These were from six major banks, and they alleged that the Bidens were, among other things, money laundering, and receiving suspicious wires from state-owned entities. … The bank is alleging that the Bidens took a suspicious wire from the Chinese government, and then laundered it through these shell companies. Many laws were broken there.
We also learned nine Biden family members have received money from foreign entities, including the President’s granddaughter, who received a wire that had been laundered to the shell companies from Romania days after the President left Romania when he was Vice President. That’s hard to explain.
The Bidens received over 20 million dollars. My question to you: What did they do to receive that money? No one can answer that question.
What sort of evidence are Raskin and Goldman and their fellow Democrats looking for? Or are they simply so utterly convinced of the idiocy of the American people in general — and Democrat voters specifically — that they think they can get away with such ridiculous utterances?
“‘No evidence,’ has become the mantra of liberal media and congressional Democrats,” writes the Washington Examiner’s editorial board. “It is ludicrous. Evidence of influence peddling is substantial. The question isn’t whether it happened but who was involved, to what extent, and whether it was ‘merely’ unethical or actually illegal. But let’s be clear: Unethical influence peddling occurred. Everybody knows it. The proof has already been made public.”
The Examiner’s board continues:
We know that Joe Biden kept email accounts under three aliases and that, on some occasions, his vice presidential work was part of the secret account email exchanges with Hunter Biden or his associates.
We know that he let his son use Air Force Two as a ferry to China when there was no reason for Hunter Biden to be on the trip. On the trip, Hunter Biden met representatives of Chinese state-controlled businesses that gave him a deal worth millions of dollars. We know that Joe Biden met his son’s close friend and business partner Devon Archer just before a major vice presidential trip to Ukraine, as Hunter Biden and Archer were joining the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma.
Indeed, we know a lot of concrete things about the Biden Crime Family and its wrongdoing. And if none of this is “evidence,” then what is it?
Sadly, though, it’s not just the House Democrat homers making these claims. Get a load of this post last week from the ostensibly objective Associated Press: “Since gaining the House majority, House Republicans have aggressively investigated Biden and his son, claiming without evidence that they engaged in an influence peddling scheme.”
“If the legacy political media were doing their job defending ‘democracy,’” writes columnist David Harsanyi, “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.”
He’s right, of course. Not only are there two tiers of justice in our current system, but two tiers of journalism.
Adlai Stevenson was right, too. Politicians from both parties seem content to prattle on about “the wisdom of the American people,” but that’s nothing more than pandering. The truth is, a thinking person’s majority is becoming an increasingly heavy lift.
‘That Is How It Happened’ — A resurfaced clip from 2005 shows Joe and Hunter Biden discussing business in front of the camera.
Jennifer Granholm Throws Staff Under the Bus — The energy secretary blamed her now-infamous electric vehicle charging fiasco on her “young” staffers, saying they showed “poor judgment.”
History According to Joe Biden — When the 80-year-old president tells a story about his (very, very long) life, odds are the details have been exaggerated beyond recognition or are entirely made up.
Is China Paying American Law Firms to Sue the Government? — At a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) notes third-party litigation funding and asks witnesses if China paid American law firms for these lawsuits.
“When you hear of the two-tiered justice system I would argue that Hunter Biden is getting … the worst of it because his last name is Biden, not the other way around.” —Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY)
Grand Delusions
“[Biden] deserves not only the thanks and appreciation but the support of the American people for what he’s been able to get done for us.” —Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)
The BIG Lie
“On my watch, the deficit already has fallen by over $1 trillion — one trillion so far. I signed legislation to reduce the deficit by another trillion dollars over the next decade.” —Joe Biden
Demagogue
“The country should know the facts. They should know the choice between Bidenomics and MAGAnomics. … Look, their plan — MAGAnomics — is more extreme than anything America has ever seen before.” —Joe Biden
“I’m gonna get those gas prices down again, I promise ya.” —Joe Biden
Braying Jenny
“I’m still waiting on a thank-you note from [the Republican Party of New Mexico]. Way to use my call to action around #gunviolence as a fundraiser instead of using it as an opportunity for immediate action to save New Mexican lives.” —New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Observations
“It’s part of the upside-down political insanity of our times that parents are now being told they are not allowed to have sexually graphic books removed from their own public schools.” —Michael Reagan
“Is anyone in the Republican Party thinking about the big picture? Is anyone connecting the dots so Chamber of Commerce politicians can appreciate how balancing the budget by cutting spending isn’t going anywhere if we don’t stop the government from controlling our children?” —Gary Bauer
“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%.” —Douglas Andrews
“Democrats only like illegal immigrants when they’re in someone else’s backyard.” —Brian Mark Weber
Face mask mandates are coming back and this is the situation: Fight them, resist them, mock them and demand the bureaucrats who issue them stand down and step aside — or America will soon see its next nationwide lockdown and loss of liberty. The face masks are the gateway for tyrants.
The end times is a mysterious, frightening, and controversial subject. Many have attempted to answer questions about the timing of Christ’s return, the rapture, the Great Tribulation, and other biblical prophecies, and countless groups and apocalyptic prophets have spawned since Jesus’s resurrection. We’ve seen its ugliest expressions in groups such as David Koresh and the Branch Davidians or Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre, and we’ve seen more popular evangelical perspectives like the “Left Behind” series from Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and similar books from well-known pastors such as John Hagee and Dr. David Jeremiah.
Indeed, Christians have been wrestling with eschatology, particularly the book of Revelation, for centuries. In “Revelation & the End of All Things,” author Craig Koester points out that the church fathers were divided on how to interpret the book either as future predictions or timeless spiritual truths. Justin Martyr (ca. 100-165), Irenaeus (ca. 130-200), Victorinus (died 304), and Jerome (ca. 342-420) all shared a futurist view — each with their own nuances — of Revelation, believing that John’s visions pointed to a future cataclysm and redemption that would take place on the earth. On the other side, Origen (ca. 185-254), Dionysius (died ca. 264), and Augustine (354-430) interpreted Revelation more as a book pointing to present spiritual realities rather than future physical events.
After inheriting centuries of diverse spiritual, historical, political, and polemical interpretations of Revelation, the fiery reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) came to a different conclusion. Early on in his ministry, he believed that the book was “neither apostolic nor prophetic,” confessing that he could “in no way detect the Holy Spirit produced it” and that “Christ is neither taught nor known in it.” Luther eventually changed his mind about the book and taught that Revelation outlines a series of events between Christ’s resurrection and return and that the harlot and the beast represent past popes and the papacy itself. He later shifted his focus by teaching the book’s message of faith and hope in God’s promises.
Leaving Behind Eschatology
Like the young Luther, I was disillusioned by the end times, and it was something I avoided for years. My eschatological journey looks something like this: frightened during childhood, confused during college, and disinterested after graduation.
I grew up reading the “Left Behind” books as a kid, and I was terrified by the rapture. If I called for my mom when I was at home and didn’t hear a response, the thought that she may have been raptured and I was left behind plagued my mind.
Toward the end of college, I developed a strong interest in theology, so I decided to take a class on the book of Revelation. While I found it intriguing, I was ultimately left dissatisfied. I saw so many conflicting theories on how Jesus would return, numerous doomsday cults and bizarre end times fringe groups that have spawned over the centuries, and the obsessive, belligerent type of Christian who always had predictions about who the antichrist was or which country was going to initiate nuclear holocaust.
After that class, I concluded that I should stay away from all the controversies surrounding the end times and just focus on loving Jesus and living for Him in my day-to-day life. I often thought, “With so many different theories and interpretations, how can we know what’s true? And why should we even bother studying such a confusing and frightening subject that breeds conflict and division? Jesus is going to return anyways, so why bother trying to figure out all the details?”
The Purpose of Eschatology
But I began to realize something. Loving Jesus and longing for His return are inseparable. The gospel message encompasses more than just the atonement, eternal life, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s mission was to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43), announcing the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel — the promised seed, the promised land, and the promised kingdom. The gospel is inherently eschatological, pointing to the return of King Jesus, the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom of righteousness, the deliverance from this present evil age, and the restoration of all things.
The biblical word that embodies this gospel message is “maranatha.” Marantha is an Aramaic term meaning “the Lord has come,” “the Lord is coming,” or “Come, Lord!” depending on the word’s pronunciation. This longing for the Lord to return and fulfill His promises begins in Genesis 3:15 when God prophesied of the snake-crushing seed of the woman and ends in Revelation 22 with the Spirit and the Bride collectively saying, “Come Lord Jesus!”
Dalton Thomas, founder and president of the missions organization Frontier Alliance International (FAI), describes the maranatha message as follows: 1) that the body of Christ would grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ in perfect unity and knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:11-16); 2) that the gospel of the kingdom would reach all the nations (Matthew 24:14); and 3) that Christ would return to establish His kingdom in Jerusalem and exalt Israel to its promised preeminence as God’s chosen people (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 25:31; Luke 1:32-33; Romans 11:25-32).
Jesus compared the signs of the end of the age to birth pains (Matthew 24:8). We will know Jesus is coming soon when we start seeing these “contractions,” and he commands us to watch and be ready as he returns like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:36-44). But don’t get obsessed with the birth pains and miss the central purpose of it all — new life. As the pain and pressure of birth culminates in a beautiful child, the apocalyptic pain and pressure at the end of the age reveals the resurrected, glorified Son of God reigning in righteousness, reconciling all things to Himself, and presenting the church to Himself as His bride in spotless splendor.
The heart of the maranatha message is an intense yearning and desire for Jesus Christ — to see His unfiltered glory annihilating the curse of sin and death brought upon all creation by Satan and his cosmic forces of darkness. And that is why every Christian should study the end times — to know and love Christ as He truly is.
Final Thoughts
My eschatological journey is far from over, but here’s how I would summarize what I’ve gathered along the way:
The gospel is undeniably eschatological.
Do not be afraid of eschatology. Embrace it.
You can understand eschatology. Just follow where Jesus pointed us to — the Old Testament prophets (see Matthew 24:15).
Don’t miss the forest for the trees. The primary goal of studying eschatology is cultivating a deeper love and desire for the return of our Lord and Savior.
Teacher in classroom with basket of apples teaching wrong math. | Getty Images/ selimaksan
The famous English author G.K. Chesterton once speculated that “We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which furious party cries will be raised against anybody who says that cows have horns, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening mob with the news that grass is green.”
In the pageant of human history, few other predictions have been quite as prophetic as this one from the jolly giant of G.K. In August 2020, woke activists and Critical Theory scholars took to (then) Twitter to argue that 2 + 2 can equal 5, “howling down” those who argued it makes four.
One account, Wokal Distance, which works to expose the dangers of Critical Theory, compiled screenshots of these arguments. Of particular note was a comment by a Math for America “master teacher” named Joe Herbert, who argued that “Math is actually not universal. Treating it as such upholds white supremacy.”
In other words, if you believe that 2 + 2 = 4, and only 4, and always 4, then you might be a white supremacist.
How could this happen? Where did this insanity come from? It’s the product of a serious illness. The symptoms of a mentally and spiritually deadly infection. Answer: It’s from the woke mind virus. Solution? Defeat it. The stakes? Civilizational.
Elon Musk, tech entrepreneur and owner of X (formerly Twitter), agrees, claiming in a post that “The woke mind virus is either defeated or nothing else matters.”
Of course, from a Christian perspective, we can have confidence that all sinful ideologies will ultimately be destroyed when Jesus Christ returns as the risen and conquering King. But in the meantime — from this day until that final day — Christians should join the fight to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
This includes defeating the woke mind virus, which continues to have serious — even disastrous — consequences on our lives in America. Let’s consider a few.
Suppression of free speech and free thought
One of the primary concerns conservatives have with the “woke” ideology is its tendency to stifle free speech. While they purport to stand for tolerance and inclusivity, the woke wield cancel culture as their weapon of choice. Individuals who hold differing views — whose minds are still uninfected — are vilified, silenced, canceled, investigated, and lose their jobs. This tactic is self-fulfilling: It creates a climate of fear, wherein people are afraid to express their opinions for fear of retribution (and intentionally so) and then choose to censor themselves. The suppression of free speech undermines one of the fundamental principles of a free society.
Identity politics and division
Conservatives see clearly that woke ideology, which is weaponized Critical Theory, exacerbates identity politics. It divides society into competing groups based on race, gender, and other characteristics. They argue that individuals should be judged on their character and actions rather than their group identity.
As conservative scholar Victor Davis Hanson explains, “Most of America is exhausted from being smeared as racists or hearing that a wonderful country — the most free, just, equitable, affluent and leisured in civilization’s history — must continually pay penance for its past and present. The public is more tired of projectionist hypocrisy. Those who scream the loudest are usually the most guilty of woke crimes.”
Erosion of meritocracy
One of the major achievements of the woke mind virus is that it has all but destroyed the principles of meritocracy and individual achievement. Its myopic obsessions with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) quotas have led to the promotion of individuals based on their identity rather than their qualifications or abilities. This approach harms both individuals and organizations, as it results in less qualified individuals being placed in positions of authority.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my pilot, or heart surgeon, chosen based on whether or not they check a box on the intersectionality chart or help fill a DEI quota — I want them chosen for their experience and competence.
If we don’t defeat the woke mind virus, it’s only a matter of time before planes start, literally, falling from the skies.
Ideological indoctrination
Woke ideology has infiltrated educational institutions, pushing a twisted, divisive set of beliefs onto students. This kind of ideological indoctrination stifles critical thinking and discourages dissenting viewpoints. Conservatives instead advocate for a more balanced and open educational environment that encourages students to think for themselves and engage in respectful debate.
And it’s not just conservatives. John McWhorter, a self-described liberal and linguist at Columbia University, describes the woke ideology as a religion rather than a political project. He argues that this ideology is not only performative but also harmful to the people it claims to support. He’s not wrong.
The antithesis of Christianity
Professor Owen Strachan rightly understands that the woke mind virus isn’t just a matter of misguided thinking but the product of sinful hearts, those 24/7 idol factories in our chests. He explains,
“In the final analysis, wokeness as taught by many is less a direct response to the Gospel and more a reworking of justice and equity to form a this-worldly religion. What does all this mean? It means that the worldview of wokeness is not a Christian one where God is Creator and Ruler, but an atheistic one where man is divinized.”
Conclusion
What’s the antidote to mind-corrupting, nation-destroying, false gospel?
The true Gospel — both preached and applied. The Church must proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ, crucified, dead, buried, and risen again as the only and final atonement of sins for all who repent and believe. Then Christians must take this message out of the pews and into the public square, calling on politicians, CEOs, professors, publishers, and the media to reject wokeness and submit to Christ instead.
We must deliver the antidote of renewed minds in Christ, following Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:2:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Because if we don’t, while the Church will never fail, our country just might. So let’s get out there and deliver the Christian antidote to the woke mind virus, starting today.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
Iran and the U.S. are exchanging prisoners today after the Biden administration freed up $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Officials say five prisoners sought by the U.S. in the prisoner swap were flown out of Tehran this morning.
Nancy Pelosi and her personal camera crew ready for filming on Jan. 6.
On Sunday President Donald Trump sat for an interview with Kristen Welker from NBC’s Meet the Press.
During the interview President Trump argued that “Nancy Pelosi is responsible for January 6th.”
President Trump: “Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security. She turned down 10,000 soldiers. If she didn’t turn down the soldiers, you wouldn’t have had Jan. 6.”
Trump on Meet The Press: ‘If Pelosi Didn’t Turn Down Soldiers, There’s No Jan. 6’ [WATCH] https://t.co/E8FYzlggKs
Of course, President Trump was right. And there is plenty of evidence to back him up.
President Trump asked for the National Guard three days in advance of January 6. Pelosi turned him down.
Pelosi refused to turn over information about her culpability in the security breakdown during the Jan. 6 riot for over a year to congressional investigators.
Steven A. Sund, the Capitol Police chief on that fateful day, not only confirms her culpability along with the rest of the Democratic leadership. Sund reported that Pelosi utilized him as a scapegoat and forced him to step down as Police chief. We all know now she was just trying to obfuscate her own responsibility for the attack.
House Republicans later found text and email evidence that Pelosi staffers secretly DECREASED security at the US Capitol on January 6.
This explosive story is spreading fast…
House GOP members found texts and emails from Pelosi staffers proving they forcefully decreased J6 security measures despite objections from Capitol Police and Sergeants at Arms
Real BRICS Threat + The Worst Macros I’ve Ever Seen
In many recent articles and interviews, I’ve warned that Powell’s “higher for longer” war against inflation will actually (and ironically) lead to, well… greater inflation.
That is, the rising interest expense (nod to Powell) on Uncle Sam’s fatally rising 33T bar tab will inevitably need to be paid with an inflationary mouse-clicker at the Eccles Building.
I’ve also consistently maintained that Powell’s war on inflation is mostly just optics, as he secretly seeks inflation to help pay down that bar tab with an increasingly inflated/debased USD.
As John Williams recently argued, true inflation using an honest (rather than the openly bogus BLS) measure is now closer to 11.5% rather than the officially reported headline rate of 3.7%.
This should come as very little surprise to those whose eyes are open to the Modis Operandi of debt-soaked/failed regimes. As former European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker confessed: “When the data is too bad, we just lie.”
But even for those who still believe the current Truman Show inflation (and “soft landing”) narrative out of DC, the Bezos Post or legacy media A, B, or C, there’s more fire adding to the inflationary flames than just bogus narratives and calming platitudes.
In particular, I’m talking about oil-driven inflation, and nothing burns faster.
Scary Flames in the Oil Supply
Left or right, the dumb out of DC just keeps getting dumber.
Between rising rates (nod to Powell), which make capex investing untenable for US oil producers, and a Weekend at Bernie’s White House, which has spent years effectively legislating US oil into oblivion, US energy supply is falling, and we all know that weakening supply leads to higher prices—and inflation.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, whom that same White House called a “pariah state,” has not been warming to Biden’s awkward fist-pumps and increased production pleas, but rather joining other OPEC leaders in cutting, rather than expanding, oil production.
Gee, what a geopolitical shocker…
Net result, both national and global oil inventories are falling, and falling hard.
The Awkward Oil Two-Step
The once “go green” White House realized that the world, and inflation scales, still revolves around oil, especially after sanctioning Western Europe’s former energy supplier in one of the most short-sighted (i.e., stupid) policy decisions since the Iraq war.
This may explain why Biden changed his stripes and why there was a sudden pivot toward allowing greater US shale output in 2023 by pumping more cash into those shale fields at a pace not seen in 3 years.
Unfortunately, however, this may be too little too late (like Powell’s QT) to prevent oil price shocks and higher inflation into year end, thus adding insult to an already injured (and rising) US CPI measure of inflation.
As oil supply tightens, oil prices, and hence inflation rates, rise together with bond yields and interest rates—a perfect storm for over-inflated bond, stock, and real estate markets.
Those prices and inflation rates would be even worse if Chinese oil demand rises—which is why current Western headlines are literally praying for China to implode first. This might explain why The Economist has had two consecutive cover stories about an imploding China.
See how big media and big government sleep together?
Tying it Together
Regardless, we need to tie all this together.
If, as I see it, inflation (however misreported) becomes obviously more real and felt, the consequent rising bond yields will make the USD stronger and Uncle Sam’s bar tab more expensive, which hardy bodes well for America’s twin deficit black-hole of unpayable debt unless…
…Unless the Fed starts printing more fake and inflationary money to buy its own IOUs and weaken its export-killing, and BRICS-ignoring, USD.
Again, no matter how I turn the macros, the Fed will eventually have no choice but to pivot toward more instant liquidity and hence more inflationary policies to save/monetize its broke(n) bond markets.
Once this inevitability becomes a headline, the temporarily rising USD will be seen for what most of the informed world already recognizes—just another fiat monster backing a world reserve currency in the hands of a nation whose debt to GDP and deficit to GDP ratios mirror that of any other banana republic.
Reality is Hard to Look at Directly, But not for the BRICS
Many in the US or EU may not wish to see this. Bad news, like death and the sun, is hard to stare into.
But the BRICS nations, no strangers themselves to embarrassing balance sheets, are seeing this clearly.
Although I never bought into the gold-backed BRICS currency hype, I have zero doubt that this amalgam of commodity-heavy nations has a common enemy in the current US-dominated (and USD-driven) international trade system, whose hegemonic days are now numbered and whose alliances, as we warned from day-1 of the Putin sanctions (economic suicide), are forever de-dollarizing away from DC.
Moreover, the BRICS don’t need an “official” gold backed currency to trade their real assets in gold rather than Dollars. All they have to do, as Marcus Krall and I recently discussed, is request payment for their exports in gold.
The BRICS+ nations are hardly the perfect marriage of unlimited trust and efficient coordination. Nevertheless, they share an existential threat from an over-priced USD and negative-returning UST.
Never has the phrase the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” found a better home than among the rising list of BRICS+ actors who recognize that their very survival hinges upon escaping the suffocating death of paying > $14T of USD-dominated debts whose rising costs (rates) they can no longer afford lest they become vassals of DC.
As Luke Gromen recently observed, from the perspective of the BRICS nations, it’s “either hang together or hang separately.”
A Changing Petrodollar?
China, for example, can not abide forever by a petrodollar system of oil purchases. As the world’s largest oil importer, it mathematically recognizes that it will eventually run out of dollars to buy that oil.
In short, China needs to come up with a better plan—outside the Greenback.
And they will.
By the way, have you noticed the next BRIC in the wall? It’s Saudi Arabia.
See a trend? See a looming change in oil currencies?
Just saying…
As I warned months ago, this Saudi trend away from DC and closer to Shanghai could eventually be a key driver in slowly unwinding the current petrodollar system between a once “friendly” US-Saudi relationship toward a now weakening relationship which hitherto ensured the global demand (and hence the survival) of an otherwise debased paper Dollar.
If the petrodollar system radically or even slowly unwinds, this will do far more to destroy demand and the inherent purchasing power of the USD (and send gold skyrocketing) than any gold-backed BRICS trade currency.
And yet with all the recent sensationalism preceding the BRICS summit in South Africa, almost no one saw this—at least not in the legacy media.
Imagine that…
Other Tricks Up the BRICS Sleeve: More USD Assets than Liabilities
Aside from knee-capping the USD via a shift (gradual or sudden) in the petrodollar trade, it’s worth noting that but for South Africa, the remaining BRICS nations have more USD assets than liabilities, which means they can start dumping USTs to the detriment of Uncle Sam in order to raise USDs.
Many idealogues and US-thinktankers still think the US has all the power over these silly little BRICS nations who allegedly suffer from a dollar shortage.
The chest-puffers still see the USD as all-powerful and all-controlling, after all, just ask Iraq or Libya…
But the dollar-forever crowd is missing the forest for the trees or the basic math of fantasy debt.
If you haven’t noticed, the US just added an extra $1.9 trillion of insane borrowing to the back end of 2023.
And they did this as rates are rising and with the Fed still in full QT/suicide mode.
This mathematically places downward price pressure on bonds and hence upward cost pressure on yields, a scenario America simply can’t play out for much longer at $95T+ in combined public, household and corporate debt.
If the BRICS nations chose to add a layer of US asset dumping to this toxic mix, the ramifications for Uncle Sam would be even more staggering/painful for a debt-based system already on the cliff’s edge.
This is Bad, Really Bad
To repeat: The macros, no matter how I turn them, have never been this bad, this vulnerable and this foreseeable.
The US is now trapped in a vicious circle of debt for which there is no way out other than a currency-destroying return to more artificial, QE “stimulus” and the mother of all inflationary waves.
The horizon is now clear: Yields are up, twin deficits are up, inflation, even the mis-reported kind, is up, and yes, GDP is up too, but as I recently wrote, debt-driven GDP growth is not growth, but just debt.
Unless DC cuts spending at record levels (which kills election results for political opportunists and thus won’t happen), the only tool Washington DC has is more fake money and more real inflation, which means the Dollar in your wallet, checking account or portfolio is about to insult you.
Massive crowds pictured streaming across the US southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas on Sept. 18, 2023. (Bill Melugin video screengrab)
The border invasion is worsening.
Over 7 million illegals walked across the US southern border in Joe Biden’s first three years in office.
The numbers are growing. Bill Melugin reported on Monday that he witnessed the largest mass crossings he had ever seen last night in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Republicans are too weak to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or Joe Biden for their destruction of the US international border and the preventable invasion.
FOX News border expert Bill Melugin reported: “One of the largest mass illegal crossings we have ever seen took place in Eagle Pass, TX this morning, w/ Border Patrol sources telling us over 2,200 people crossed there since midnight. It happened right next to the port of entry, as illegal immigrants continue to ignore Biden admin messaging of “do not come”, & do not fear the promised “consequences” for crossing illegally. Videos from source in MX & our FOX drone team on US side.”
The videos in this tweet are shocking.
This is a planned invasion and destruction of our country. All thanks to the Democrats and weak Republicans.
BREAKING: One of the largest mass illegal crossings we have ever seen took place in Eagle Pass, TX this morning, w/ Border Patrol sources telling us over 2,200 people crossed there since midnight. It happened right next to the port of entry, as illegal immigrants continue to… pic.twitter.com/NDFX17r4vU
Ben Bergquam published video from the Darien Pass in Panama last week. Over 4,000 people in one day passed through the area on their way to the open US border.
Breaking: Lajas Blancas, Darien, Panamá, on the anniversary of 9/11 is completely overrun. Over 4000 people in one day all heading to America because of the invitation that Joe Biden, Secretary Mayorkas and the Democrats have sent to the world! Rather than protecting America,… pic.twitter.com/bXdsqhTPw7
— Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News (@BenBergquam) September 12, 2023
Send them all to Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.
All Aboard The Illegal Express.
New Fox News video of a FerroMex train leaving Zacatecas today and heading to the U.S. southern border.pic.twitter.com/LemlqE2wQr
PALM BEACH, FL — Trump is courting controversy again after bragging during an interview with Megyn Kelly that he could abort a baby on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters.
“MAGA voters are LOYAL and they will STICK WITH ME NO MATTER WHAT,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social account. “I could literally support the murder of a baby with a HEARTBEAT on FIFTH AVENUE and it wouldn’t make a difference because my voters know we’re going to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AGAIN. I will abandon everything my voters stand for and I will still have the BIGGEST most BEAUTIFUL election win in history!”
Many are questioning the wisdom of Trump’s forceful betrayal of pro-life values. “On the surface, it would seem counterproductive to offend nearly all of your supporters,” said D.C. consultant Adam Kinnunen. “But Trump knows better than anyone that there are good people on both sides of the baby murder issue. Perhaps courting both sides will work for him. We really have no idea what we’re talking about though, so you probably shouldn’t listen to us.”
Early polls after Trump’s statement indicate he has lost support, plunging from 97.8% support among conservative Evangelicals to a woeful 97.7%.
At publishing time, the Trump campaign was reportedly preparing to push this new strategy even further, with plans to require rally attendees to wear masks, show proof of vaccination, and pledge allegiance to the Pride flag.
In Disney’s upcoming reboot of 1937’s Snow White, will the Prince kiss the sleeping princess? Or will he obtain her consent first?
Historically, Americans have been apathetic about the whole political and moral processes of this country. And guess what! Now it has bitten us squarely on the butt.
Look who’s in charge of the presidency, and of blue and even purple states. Look at how these leaders’ policies have turned morality upside-down, where perversion is mainstream and lawlessness is encouraged. To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, there’s never been a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
For far too long we farmed out the task of maintaining our liberty to politicians of whom at least half are of questionable moral character. Let’s just put it this way: lots of them are compromised. They’re bought off, blackmailed, or both.
Are they all this way? No, there are some good ones whose actions match their speeches. However, many have mastered the skill of saying what their constituents want to hear only to later stab voters in the back.
How are voters stabbed in the back? By these hacks not doing what they were elected to do. In the case of Republicans, it means simply beating Democrats and defending the Constitution.
But over and over again, Republicans have caved to the Democrats, leading many conservatives to start asking, “Why is it when Republicans control the White House and Congress, we make little progress with our policies, while the Democrats’ agenda advances even when they’re out of power?” This has led many to the conclusion that there is no two-party system — only a Uniparty.
Both parties are merely different sides of the same coin. This Uniparty serves the purpose of protecting and enriching the interests of Washington, D.C. while ignoring the well-being of people.
Former president Donald Trump received pushback from prominent pro-life leaders over the weekend when he said he opposes Florida’s heartbeat abortion ban and added that he wants to work toward a nationwide compromise on the issue, perhaps around 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Ukraine has dismissed all its Deputy Defense Ministers in a reshuffling following the exit of Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who was recently replaced by Rustem Umerov. The Head of the Ukraine National Security Council indicated Ukraine may pivot to a sea war to attack Crimea. Speaking to NBC’s Kristin Welker, President Donald Trump said that Ukraine could have avoided the war. “I just want people to stop being killed,” Trump said.
Kyiv Post claimed the dismissals are “standard procedure that occurs whenever the head of the ministry changes,” while at the same time reporting that Deputy Defense Minister denied his resignation and wanted to stay in office.
Public figure Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar was accused of “disseminating false information regarding the liberation of Andriivka (south of Bakhmut) by Ukrainian defenders,” Kyiv Post reported. Maliar explained that the misinformation stemmed from a breakdown in communication among several information sources. “I do not publish such information without coordination and agreement with the military. Currently, there is a communication breakdown among several information sources reporting directly from the scene.”
In an interview with CBS News President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out any compromise solution to the territorial dispute with Russia: “No. This is our territory.”
Speaking to CNN, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley admitted that a Ukrainian victory in the war is a “very high bar” and would take a “very long time.”
“There’s well over 200,000 Russian troops in Russian-occupied Ukraine. This offensive, although significant, has operational and tactical objectives that are limited, in the sense that they do not — even if they are fully achieved — they don’t completely kick out all the Russians, which is the broader strategic objective that President Zelensky had,” Milley told CNN Sunday. “That’s going to take a long time to do that. That’s going to be very significant effort over a considerable amount of time,” he said.
The Financial Times reported that “the idea that Ukrainian forces, lacking any air cover, would storm through Russian lines was always going to be more of a Hollywood plotline than reality. But three months into the counteroffensive, Zelenskyy and his government are dealing with the reality that it has not achieved the desired decisive breakthrough — and are girding themselves for a drawn-out war.”
Ukrainian officials recognize that “the war will be a slow grind”, FT reports. “The question is whether Ukraine’s western backers, who have dug deep into their weapons stockpiles, are committed to giving the country the support and ammunition over the longer haul.“
As the counter-offensive on the Zaporizhiya front continues to inch forward faced with massive Russian defenses and heavy artillery and drone bombardment, Ukraine may be considering shifting its strategy to attacking in the Black Sea to threaten Crimea.
Writing in Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council head Aleksey Danilov wrote that “the complete or partial elimination of the Russian Black Sea fleet, which is a solvable problem, would significantly accelerate the process of finding a way out of the war.”
Fearing a “slow unraveling of a carefully woven web of foreign assistance,” Danilov called for the Biden Regime to bypass democratic elections and “enshrine military assistance to Ukraine in long-term cycles and legislation.”
Danilov will settle for nothing short of Regime change in Moscow, writing that “Putin and his war are a cancerous tumor” which must be “removed completely and permanently.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukraine lost 3000 men in the week of Sept. 9-16, putting Ukrainian losses in the counter-offensive at approx. 75,000 if the Russian claims are accurate. The advisor to the acting head of the Russian-occupied Donetsk People’s Republic (DRP), Yan Gagin, estimated that half a million Ukrainians have died.
Ukraine could have reached a peace deal with Russia before the conflict began, President Donald Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker Sunday. “That’s something that could have been negotiated,” Trump said. “Because there were certain parts, Crimea and other parts of the country, that a lot of people expected could happen. You could have made a deal. So they could have made a deal where there’s lesser territory right now than Russia’s already taken, to be honest. And you could have made a deal where nobody was killed. They had a deal. They would have had a Ukraine country. Now nobody even knows if Ukraine is going to be totally taken over.”
Trump noted that “something’s going on, and it’s not good for Ukraine. Because the news is no longer reporting about the war. The fake news. They don’t report about the war anymore. You don’t find much reporting. That means that Ukraine’s losing. Okay? I see very little reporting from NBC, your network. I see very little reporting from NBC, ABC, from CBS, from anyone about the war. It used to be you’d go and you’d watch, even a couple of months ago, you’d watch all of this great strategy. The Spring Offensive never happened. Ukraine’s Spring Offensive never happened, because they were met with a wall of armaments and bombs.”
“Here’s my attitude on the war: I just want people to stop being killed”, trump said. “You know, I was asked by that ridiculous CNN group during my town hall, “Whose side are you on?” I said, “I’m on the side of people stop being killed.” I don’t want to see people killed. They’re being killed by the thousands and thousands and thousands. And that’s the side I’m on, I don’t want — And you know what? People like that answer, to be honest. And I stay with that same answer. I want people to stop being killed.”
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