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
Are you familiar with the notion that our present life is often one of suffering?
That, because of the Spirit within us, our Spirit’s calling out to God, we find ourselves repeatedly telling our old master, the flesh, “no” over and over again? It’s a concept that plays out in myriad ways in our daily lives.
Think about this captivating example that might catch some in Western culture by surprise — the story of Howard E. Butt Jr., affectionately known as “Buddy.”
Buddy was the eldest son of Howard E. Butt Sr., the visionary behind the H-E-B supermarket chain, a colossal grocery store presence in the United States. Born into immense wealth and influence, Buddy seemed destined to inherit the family business.
But here’s where the story takes a twist. Despite the dazzling financial prospects and the weighty responsibilities associated with his family’s commercial empire, Buddy felt an unwavering calling towards ministry and Christian service.
In the late 1950s, he embarked on theological studies, ultimately becoming an ordained Presbyterian minister. He served as a pastor at the Presbyterian Church in La Jolla, California, for several years.
Now, in the eyes of the secular world, Buddy may have forfeited material wealth and success. Yet, to him, the paramount priority was putting Christ first.
Consider the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of souls who found their way to Christ through his preaching. However, I am sure he looked back and wondered what could have been, in terms of earthly wealth and prosperity.
Think also about teenagers navigating the tumultuous years of high school while remaining steady in their Christian faith. Many of them could undoubtedly achieve great popularity among their peers if they were to abandon their beliefs. Instead, they endure isolation and sometimes even bullying.
The concept of being “heirs with Christ” emerges in this context — those who suffer alongside Him are the ones destined for glory.
Paul reminds us of this truth when he writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
When we compare the trials and tribulations of today on this earth, they pale in comparison to the glory that awaits. Paul goes so far as to say that the two are not even worth comparing.
Here’s the beauty I’ve discovered in the words of the Bible — every word counts. The glory we anticipate isn’t merely a place we go to; it becomes our very condition. We will attain such moral perfection and beauty that the thought of it would astonish us today if we fully grasped its reality.
So, for all those who strive to lead a Godly life today, suffering is an inevitable part of the journey — it’s a promise from God Himself. However, let’s not forget that this suffering is not everlasting. What a glorious day that will be when the suffering gives way to an eternity of unimaginable glory.
One of the many blessings God gives us as believers is the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside us. Through Him, we are able to discern truth from error and know the difference between right and wrong. Learn more from Pastor Jack Hibbs today!
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)
Jehovah is “the Keeper of Israel.” No form of unconsciousness ever steals over Him, neither the deeper slumber nor the slighter sleep. He never fails to watch the house and the heart of His people. This is a sufficient reason for our resting in perfect peace. Alexander said that he slept because his friend Parmenio watched; much more may we sleep because our God is our guard.
“Behold” is here set up to call our attention to the cheering truth. Israel, when he had a stone for his pillow, fell asleep; but His God was awake and came in vision to His servant. When we lie defenseless, Jehovah Himself will cover our head.
The Lord keeps His people as a rich man keeps his treasure, as a captain keeps a city with a garrison, as a sentry keeps watch over his sovereign. None can harm those who are in such keeping. Let me put my soul into His dear hands. He never forgets us, never ceases actively to care for us, never finds Himself unable to preserve us.
O my Lord, keep me, lest I wander and fall and perish. Keep me, that I may keep Thy commandments. By Thine unslumbering care prevent my sleeping like the sluggard and perishing like those who sleep the sleep of death.
“…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11b-13
Where I live October is a transition month. By October summer is all put away. The lawnmower sits idle in the shed, and deck chairs lean against the back of the house. Annual flowers once in full bloom now rot in compost piles, the wooden window boxes from which they came are empty, dusty, and gray. The garden hose is safely away where winter frost cannot freeze remaining water to bulge and crack its lining. Where I live October marks the time when maples once afire with reds and oranges begin looking skeleton, their stick bones arching into grey skies. Mornings turn cold, and you are happy to see the sun for half a day and rarely full-on warm. Geese cruise south in misshapen V’s, and somewhere up river salmon die by the millions after spawning. October is when we lessen outdoor activities and start trying to keep warm and dry. The morning mist and low clouds can get to you. In October the change from fun and sun to glum highlights the difference between happiness and joy of spirit. I have heard that the difference between the two is their source. Happiness derives from external things like merry-go-rounds, ice cream, and walks on the beach, while joy comes from an inner contentment from being known and loved.
Do you know that God loves you? That he yearns for you to invite him more deeply into your life? That he hopes to be your strength and contentment when seasons change?
Help me Lord to rest in your provision, that you know and love and care for me deeply. Help me open my life to you so I may know your joy more fully. Amen.
TODAY: Thank God that despite the change of seasons His love for you is everlasting
“(Jesus said) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…I am coming to you now…so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” (Read John 17)
Friends are about to set off for a cross-country journey and I say, “I’ll be praying that have a good trip.” Our friend responds, “Oh, don’t worry. We always have a good trip. After all, God wants to keep his children happy.”
As the door closes and they leave our presence, his words lay heavy on my heart. Is it true? Does “God want to keep his children happy”? Modern dictionaries define a happy person as one who is fortunate or successful. In the Bible, however, when the word happy is used, it primarily means blessed as in Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” etc. This gives a nuance to the word that we do not usually consider.
Did the Apostle Paul pray for our interpretation of happiness for his friends, many of whom were suffering? “I keep asking God…to give you wisdom…so you may know him better.” And “This is my prayer: that your love may abound…” And “…we have not stopped praying, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will…”
If I am not happy, has God removed his hand of blessing and protection? Carol is slowly recovering from deep grief after her husband’s long and painful battle with cancer and subsequent death. She smiles – but through tears. Happy? No, but at peace.
Terry is making slow but steady progress after long and dangerous surgery. Her pain has been unimaginable. Did God fail his promises? Is he punishing her? Others would not call her situation happy, but she is deeply aware of God’s presence and love.
Simone Weil wrote,
“Joy is the sweetness of contact with the love of God.”
Dear friend, God has far deeper purposes in our lives than happiness. Jesus promised to leave us his peace and joy. Nothing less.
Father, I am so very tempted to look for fleeting happiness as evidence of your presence. But then I look at Jesus’ life and see one sure of your love, your acceptance and your plan for his life. And he was blessed. May I walk in that same kind of blessing.
Ancient prophecy that ‘the nations… will bring your sons’ fulfilled in our times Even before Israel was conquered by both Babylon and the Romans and before the people were scattered to the nations, Isaiah was saying God would bring them back. Not just bring them back to their ancestral homeland but He would do so by the most miraculous and improbable means. The nations would do it, carrying their sons and daughters to their home as a miraculous sign to the people of the earth. After 2000 years of exile, only God could do that.
Michigan Teen Who Clocked Teacher In Head With Metal Chair Arrested On Felony Assault Charges The teacher, who attempted to break up the fight, turned her back to the assailant when the chair was hurled at the educator, striking her in the head and causing her to drop to the floor where she did not move for approximately seven seconds. Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig said “This video perfectly captures the sad state of Education in Michigan – no sense of order or direction, no respect for teachers, and worst of all, NO LEARNING,” adding “Failure to educate young Michiganders is a recipe for increased CRIME, upticks in UNEMPLOYMENT, and SOCIETAL DISORDER.
Can An ‘Independent’ Kennedy Destroy “The Whole Left-Right Demon-Driven Pyschodrama” At the end of last week, Mr. Kennedy intimated that he might run for president on an independent line. If he manages to get that line on the state ballots – and you can easily imagine New York and California trying to thwart him – it will change all the current calculations about the 2024 election.
Fifth Circuit Court Rules Against Biden’s ATF In Ghost Gun Case The Fifth Circuit has partially granted, but essentially denied, the government’s motion to cancel a district court’s injunctions in the Firearms Policy Coalition’s lawsuit (VanDerStok v. Garland) challenging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “frame or receiver” rule. The injunctions will now only apply to two plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Starlink Now Operational Across Entire US As Elon Musk Becomes ‘Uncancellable’ For those living off-the-grid or using Starlink as a network redundancy in case of a grid failure, the SpaceX-owned space internet company announced on X that the service is now available across the Lower 48 after deploying next-generation satellites.
Two Syrian soldiers injured in Israeli air strikes Syrian media reported on Monday might that Israel launched air strikes against several Syrian army posts near Deir ez-Zor. A Syrian military official said that “around 11:50 p.m., Israel attacked … Two Syrian soldiers were injured, property was damaged.”
‘We are in a religious war,’ says ultra-Orthodox MK The left-wing’s “war is not economic, security, or social, it is a religious war. That’s how you have to treat it,” … anti-judicial reform protesters are engaged in a religious war, focused on preventing expressions of Judaism in public spaces.
2 killed, 3 wounded in mafia hit, police shoot-out On Sunday evening, members of the Jerushi crime family hurled an explosive device at a rival’s car near the city of Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel. Two men, who are believed to be associated with the rival Karaja crime family, were pulled out of the burning vehicle and transported to the hospital. One of the victims, age 37, was immediately declared dead, while the other man is in moderate condition and expected to recover.
Netanyahu convenes top security chiefs amid elevated threats Tensions also remain high in Judea and Samaria in the wake of relentless Palestinian terrorism, which Netanyahu and Gallant have charged the Islamic Republic of Iran with orchestrating.
Was Morocco hit by prophetic “earthquake lights”? While scientists cannot explain the phenomenon, the mysterious lights that sometimes appear preceding major seismic events were explicitly described by King David. it is almost assured that earthquake lights have made an appearance in the Holy Land. It may be that when King David wrote Psalms, he was referring to earthquake lights: Your thunder rumbled like wheels; lightning lit up the world; the earth quaked and trembled. Psalms 77:19
MKs petition Netanyahu to improve treatment of Jews at Temple Mount A group of right-wing coalition Members of Knesset led by Simcha Rothman sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai demanding an examination of the treatment of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount by police officers. The letter says that “such a reality, after 2,000 years of exile, cannot happen in the Jewish state”. The MKs called for convening the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to discuss the issue “if necessary.” The letter also related to recent incidents in which religious Jews were attacked while praying at public venues.
Over 50,000 Jewish worshippers attend Priestly Blessing ceremony at Western Wall Over 50,000 Jewish worshippers participated in the biannual Priestly Blessing ceremony (Birkat HaKohanim in Hebrew) at the Western Wall Monday morning. The tradition was started by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gafni, and has continued for 53 years. The Priestly Blessing ceremony is held during feasts of Passover and Sukkot and has attracted large crowds in the past.
Roll call of over 90 nations opens Jerusalem session of Feast of Tabernacles The opening celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem saw representatives of over 90 nations present their flags in the capital’s Pais Arena on Sunday evening. Thousands of pilgrims made their way from all over the world to attend the International Christian Embassy’s (ICEJ) annual event in Israel’s capital, with thousands more watching in live-streams over the internet.
Pope Francis to clergy: Decide for yourselves whether to ‘bless’ homosexual unions The letter sent from Pope Francis contains a direct rejection of Scripture and the Church’s Tradition, regarding the impossibility of ‘blessing’ same-sex unions. Pope Francis has effectively told clergy that they can decide for themselves whether to “bless” homosexual unions.
Philippe’s Track Prompts Tropical Storm Warning Tropical Storm Philippe’s track has prompted new Tropical Storm Warnings to be issued for Barbuda. Philippe is expected to bring heavy, flooding rains to portions of the Leeward Islands later today. Beyond the Leeward Islands, though, Philippe is expected to curve out to sea, dodging the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda in the process.
Millions melt from the Midwest to Northeast as summerlike heat sets records this week It may be the beginning of October, but fall is on pause this week as millions of Americans from the central U.S. to the East Coast face warmer-than-average temperatures, making it feel more like summer with several record highs in jeopardy of being broken.
Typhoon “Koinu” to make landfall in Taiwan on October 4 Typhoon “Koinu” — known as Jenny in the Philippines — formed over the Pacific Ocean on September 27, 2023, as the 14th named storm of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season. The system is forecast to continue strengthening and make landfall in southern Taiwan on October 4.
Record-breaking rainfall swamps New York City, causing widespread urban flooding Record-breaking rainfall submerged streets and disrupted travel across the New York City metropolitan area on September 29, 2023. The deluge set new daily records and made this month the wettest September in New York City’s recorded history.
Data confirms robust weakening of the Gulf Stream A recently published study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters has revealed that the Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Straits has weakened by approximately 4% over the past 40 years. Researchers state with 99% certainty that this is more than what would be expected from random variations, marking the first definitive evidence of significant change in the current.
2 Very Ominous Events That Are Going To Happen This Week You only practice for something if you think that there is a decent chance that it will actually happen. This week, two “tests” will be conducted that sound rather ominous. The first of these “tests” will happen in Russia on Tuesday. Vladimir Putin has ordered the very first “nationwide nuclear attack exercise” in the entire history of his country, and that is making headlines all over the globe…
IDF reportedly strikes Iranian weapons shipment near Damascus The Israel Defense Forces reportedly carried out airstrikes near Damascus after midnight on Sunday, targeting an Iranian weapons shipment that appeared to be making its way to Lebanon.
Is China Pre-Positioning Vast Numbers Of Soldiers, Spies and Saboteurs In U.S. Communities For The Coming War? There has been a dramatic spike in the number of Chinese nationals that are coming across our borders. The vast majority of them are men, and the vast majority of those men are of military age…Of course they know that their court dates will be set far into the future because our system is being absolutely overwhelmed by asylum seekers right now.
New York Deploys National Guard… To File Migrants’ Paperwork. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the deployment of an additional 150 National Guardsmen amid a worsening migrant crisis in the Empire State – but they will be responsible for helping Venezuelans apply for federal employment authorization, not protecting the border.
Is There A Large Group Of Officials At The Pentagon That Actually Believe That Aliens Are Demonic Entities? …Leading UFO researcher Ron James says senior figures in the US government fear aliens are in fact demons. Ron, who is Director of Media Relations for UFO research group MUFON, claims there is “a very large contingent of people” within the Pentagon who opposed the work of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program [AATIP] because they think the UAPs regularly reported by US military sources are piloted by creatures from Hell.
WEF Running U.S Border Crisis from Military Bases in Panama The World Economic Forum (WEF) has taken control of several American military bases in Panama and is orchestrating the flood of migrants that are heading toward the U.S. southern border in their millions. The globalist organization is reportedly running an operation to round up migrants and transport them to the border so they can illegally enter the United States through President Joe Biden’s open border.
“Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?” —James Madison (1788)
Fellow Patriots, on this day in 1922, the governor of Georgia appointed Rebecca Felton to a U.S. Senate seat, making her the first woman in the chamber. In today’s news, California’s governor chose a senator to check even more identity boxes — female, black, and gender-confused. —Mark Alexander
Democrat prosecutors look more like a Monty Python comedy sketch than serious upholders of the law.
Nate Jackson
In the 1975 cult classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” a mob of villagers seizes a woman, dresses her up like a witch, and brings her for “trial.” Regardless of the silly attempts at evidence, they’ve clearly already made up their minds, repeatedly yelling: “She’s a witch! Burn her!” It’s a hilarious scene, but who knew that it would end up being such a prophetically vivid representation of Democrats’ Trump Derangement Syndrome?
It’s a New York City courtroom instead of a village in medieval England, but the result is the same. The “witch” Donald Trump is guilty because the mob angrily insists that he is.
Trump may not be made of wood and he probably didn’t turn anyone into a newt, but he’s a witch who did … something; Democrats are sure of it. The legal persecution of Trump will continue until something sticks.
In this case, the legal details are liable to make your eyes glaze over, so we’ll summarize it thusly: Trump stands accused of civil fraud by means of falsely inflating real estate values.
Sure, Trump almost undoubtedly embellished his assets, often flagrantly and shamelessly. Trump is accused of overvaluing New York City assets by as much as $2.2 billion, including making some downright laughable claims about Trump Tower square footage and valuation. His boasting is the stuff of legend for a reason. Everyone knows he does it. It’s also the way the game is played in the Big Apple.
But did he default on any loans given based on these values? Did he even secure loans based on false valuation? Was anyone defrauded or otherwise victimized? Was any random bystander even truly deceived by his tall tales?
Not as far as we can tell. In fact, the banks made a profit, as they do with most loans. Even Judge Arthur Engoron admitted, “Defendants correctly assert that ‘the record is devoid of any evidence of default, breach, late payment, or any complaint of harm.’”
And that’s entirely beside the point for the Democrat villagers convinced in their bones that Trump is a witch.
Unfortunately, it’s also apparently beside the point regarding New York law. Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy aptly explains the details, if you’re interested. For our purposes here, we’ll simply note that New York Attorney General Letitia “Two-Tiered Justice” James only has to prove that Trump lied, not that any harm was done. To help her case, she wore her contempt for Trump all over her face during yesterday’s first day of trial. Remember, this is the woman who, upon her election victory in 2018, promised to abuse her power in order to take down Trump.
Speaking on that show trial, Engoron is presiding over a bench trial, so he alone will decide Trump’s guilt and sentencing. Engoron is also a lifelong Democrat donor, and he wasted no time literally posing and smiling for the cameras in his courtroom. He seems quite happily predisposed to agree with the prosecution’s request that Trump be fined $250 million and be banned from doing business in New York. He already last week issued a pre-trial judgment revoking Trump’s licenses to operate properties in New York.
Trump certainly knows the score, and he’s not bothering with the niceties of ingratiating himself. “This is a judge that should be disbarred,” he complained Monday. “This is a judge that should be out of office. This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he’s doing. He’s interfering with an election, and it’s a disgrace.”
He also called James “corrupt and racist” — sorry, “CORRUPT & RACIST” — on social media.
Trump’s supporters also know the score, and they don’t care about a single solitary detail of any case against him. Because it is all obviously partisanship, none of Trump’s legal troubles carry the slightest bit of weight. Because it’s transparently political, supporters dismiss all of it and rally around their man.
Democrats are counting on that, of course, to ensure that he’s the GOP nominee. That could backfire, of course, but even pretending to be afraid of it backfiring plays into the strategy. The whole charade works all the better if Trump supporters and fence-sitters start to think Trump really can win next year.
It’s why Democrats are shamelessly arguing a tiny handful of legitimate legal issues amidst a cavalcade of preposterous allegations and distortions of law. Four indictments on 91 charges, as well as civil suits like the one that kicked off in New York Monday, are all engineered to generate support for Trump on the Right and hatred for him everywhere else.
To Democrats, Trump is a witch, and they’ve got a stake ready on which to burn him — preferably as the GOP nominee in the 2024 general election.
California’s calculating governor chose a radical leftist to serve out the remainder of deceased Senator Dianne Feinstein’s term.
Michael Swartz
The death Friday of California Senate icon Dianne Feinstein at the ripe old age of 90 closed one sad chapter and began another.
Feinstein, whose mental and physical fitness for office had become an obvious problem in recent years, had already announced she would (mercifully) not seek another six-year term, but was pushed to finish out the current one by Governor Gavin Newsom due to the Democrats’ narrow Senate margin. “You think Mitch McConnell is going to seat another federal judge? Not a chance in hell,” said Newsom to a fellow Democrat on a “campaign” trip to Idaho in July. “You better wish, you better pray, for her health.” Upon her passing, Newsom was the one tasked with appointing Feinstein’s replacement.
We’ll come back to that successor momentarily, but it’s worth pointing out first that Feinstein is being lionized as a “centrist” Democrat by the mainstream media. They conveniently forget that she’s been a reliable leftist vote in most matters, including leading the charge on the so-called “assault weapons” ban 30 years ago. She was fondly remembered by Democrats and Republicans alike, and considered an “icon” and “legend” among her Democrat congressional peers. Columnist Matt Vespa notes, “She was an unabashed liberal whose professionalism and grace became qualities that irritated the more left-wing elements in the Democratic Party.” That seems to us a fair assessment.
Newsom dutifully promised in 2021 to make up for the loss of then-Senator Kamala Harris to Joe Biden’s presidential ticket — and his appointment of the Hispanic male Alex Padilla to replace her — by appointing a black woman should Feinstein leave office. Perhaps Newsom realized too late that those blacks, to whom he had promised reparations until he saw the price tag, are less than 6% of California’s population.
Or perhaps he saw the opportunity for a massive intersectional win when he replaced Feinstein by plucking the black lesbian president of the radically pro-abortion EMILY’s List, Laphonza Butler, from her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. All this in order to pacify three disparate Democrat affinity groups that can claim Butler as one of their own — and this despite the fact that Butler hasn’t claimed California residency for the past two years. Newsom, the presidential candidate in waiting, had shocked his hard-left base with a surprise veto of a bill favored by transgender cultists, and clearly felt the need to shore up that radical flank.
Newsom says he also chose Butler to keep from giving the advantage of incumbency to anyone already in the race to succeed Feinstein in 2024. “I don’t want to get involved in the primary,” he said. “It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don’t want to tip the balance of that.”
Alas, the black woman already campaigning for Feinstein’s seat called Newsom’s pick “insulting.” That would be Oakland-based Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who posted on X: “I am troubled by the Governor’s remarks. The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election.”
This seems disingenuous at best. Lee, who’s running a distant third in that Senate race behind fellow congressional Democrats Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, would certainly have taken the seat, temporarily or not, had Newsom only asked her.
Moreover, while Newsom named a candidate not already in the race, there’s apparently no agreement by Butler to refrain from running for the seat herself. And since Senate seats have become somewhat nationalized, particularly in the larger states, Butler could leverage her massive pro-abortion mailing list for campaign funding. While Politico calls it “a major undertaking,” it still concedes that Butler “could be a formidable candidate if she chooses to be.”
Unfortunately for Laphonza Butler, Newsom has stigmatized her no matter what. As Tristan Justice writes at The Federalist: “Now it doesn’t matter how qualified Feinstein’s successor might be. Her stint in the upper chamber will always be marked with the asterisk label of an ‘affirmative action hire’ who was explicitly chosen for her sex and race. President Joe Biden’s commitment to pick a black woman as his vice presidential running mate and later for a Supreme Court appointment stuck Harris and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson with the same label. Their appointments would mean far more had the president picked them without an explicit racial litmus test.”
Finally, it’s worth noting that before joining EMILY’s List, Butler had served on the University of California Board of Regents and was president of the massive Service Employees International Union of California, where she helped enact the $15 per hour minimum wage among other “accomplishments,” such as raising taxes on wealthy Californians and thereby chasing them away.
Given her radical credentials, and given that the Golden State has become increasingly unrecognizable during the three decades of Dianne Feinstein’s tenure, Butler seems like a fitting pick to fill her Senate seat.
Gaetz tries to remove McCarthy, SCOTUS denies Trump disqualification ruse, Dem congressman robbed at gunpoint, and more.
Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
Gaetz tries to remove McCarthy: On Monday, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) followed through on his threat to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from leadership. Gaetz raised “clause two A1 rule nine,” wherein he gave notice of his “intent to raise a question of the privileges of House” to declare “the office Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.” After the temporary spending deal, Gaetz made this politically motivated play while claiming that McCarthy “has not fulfilled his promises.” The last time a motion to challenge the speaker was made was back in 1910. In order for Gaetz to be successful in getting McCarthy booted, he’ll need help from Democrats — the same Democrats who back in 2021 launched an ethics probe against him over allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use, and accepting a bribe. The Ethics Committee has yet to produce a report on its findings, though House Republicans on Sunday promised to “seek to expel Gaetz if the ethics committee report comes back with findings of guilt.” Following Gaetz’s motion, House Democrats reportedly erupted in laughter. For good reason.
SCOTUS denies 14A Trump disqualification ruse: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid raised by John Castro, a Republican presidential candidate, to get Donald Trump disqualified from office based upon the 14th Amendment. Castro contends that according to the 14th Amendment’s provision forbidding anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. from holding office, Trump should be disqualified due to the January 6 Capitol riot. Castro lost his case in a lower court, though he has two others pending in courts in New Hampshire and Arizona. We’ve previously debunked his theory.
Dem congressman robbed at gunpoint in DC: Texas Democrat Representative Henry Cuellar was carjacked at gunpoint by three individuals in DC late Monday night. The incident happened outside of Cuellar’s apartment building, where three black men wearing black clothing held a gun to his head and took his cellphone and his Honda C-HR. Police were able to apprehend the suspects and return Cuellar’s car. This incident is now the second criminal attack against a member of Congress in DC this year alone. It serves to highlight the growing crime problem in Democrat-run cities.
Chicago O’Hare International Hotel: Thanks to Joe Biden’s open-border malfeasance, cities across the country are struggling to deal with the influx of illegal aliens. As homeless shelters have filled up, city leaders have run out of places to put migrants. In Chicago, O’Hare International Airport has begun doubling as a shelter for illegals. One of the airport’s terminals has been turned into a makeshift home for hundreds of illegal aliens who arrived by plane, not by bus. In other words, they are there not due to Texas Governor Greg Abbotts’s busing program but because the Biden administration has flown them there, as it has done all across the country. Situations like this never happened under the Trump administration.
Iran official admits to 1983 Beirut bombings: Back in 1983, a bombing at the U.S. embassy in Beirut killed 17 Americans, and another one at a military barracks in Lebanon housing American and French personnel resulted in hundreds of deaths, including 220 U.S. Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors, and three U.S. Army soldiers, as well as 58 French troops. The U.S. blamed the terrorist organization Hezbollah and Iran for the attacks. Iran long denied it, but in a recent interview, Sayyed Issa Tabatabai, representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Lebanon, admitted to Iran’s role in the bombings. “I quickly went to Lebanon and provided what was needed in order to [carry out] martyrdom operations in the place where the Americans and Israelis were,” Tabatabai stated. “With the victory of the Islamic Revolution [in Iran], Hezbollah was established [in the summer of 1982]. For two years, [Hezbollah’s] military base was located in my home. ‘The group’ [supporters of the Islamic Revolution] signed a contract declaring their willingness to become martyrs. Perhaps more than 70 [of them] signed this contract in my home.” There is a reason Iran is widely and accurately designated as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. And it is this historical backdrop that both the Obama and Biden administrations have ignored in order to make a nuclear deal that primarily benefits Iran’s terrorist regime.
Good news — kidnapped girl found safe: A nine-year-old girl, Charlotte Sena, who was abducted on Saturday at a state park in New York was recovered alive on Monday night. The suspect, Craig Nelson Ross Jr., allegedly snatched Charlotte as she was riding her bike. He placed a ransom note in the family’s mailbox on Monday morning, leaving behind a fingerprint that led authorities to discover his identity and location and to make the subsequent arrest. Charlotte was recovered by a SWAT team that descended on Ross’s living quarters, an RV trailer, where she was found safe in a cupboard. State police credited the fast recovery of Charlotte to “a culmination of multiple agencies working together for the common goal of bringing this child home to her loving family.” It’s a rare happy ending to such a case.
Headlines
John Kelly confirms Trump’s “suckers” remark about war dead (The Hill)
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty on federal gun charges (NBC News) | Hunter expected to rely on Second Amendment ruling his dad said should “deeply trouble us all” (Free Beacon)
The $8 billion Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial starts today (CNBC)
Supreme Court weighs CFPB legality in case challenging funding of financial watchdog (Washington Examiner)
Supreme Court threat hovers over new Biden FCC net neutrality push (Washington Examiner)
Voters see Democrat Party as more ideologically extreme than GOP by nine points (Free Beacon)
Pope Francis expresses openness to same-sex blessings in response to cardinal critics (CNS)
Humor: Rep. Bowman pulls fire alarm again while trying to flush urinal (Babylon Bee)
Matt Gaetz is making his biggest play yet by trying to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.
Rich Lowry
The Matt Gaetz moment is upon us, and unless you enjoy politics as absurdist theater, you might want to skip it.
The bomb-throwing Republican congressman from Florida, who has hitherto distinguished himself with sundry attention-getting antics, is making his biggest play yet by trying to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership by offering a so-called motion to vacate.
McCarthy’s alleged offense is relying on Democratic votes to pass a last-minute spending measure over the weekend to avert a government shutdown that would have been blamed on Republicans.
Would it have been better if McCarthy hadn’t had to do this, or hadn’t done it without first putting on the table a Republican version of a stop-gap bill? Sure. But Gaetz and some of his GOP confederates refused to get behind any remotely plausible Republican alternative.
So, Gaetz is the arsonist and the fireman, forcing McCarthy into the expedient for which he maintains McCarthy should be fired.
Joseph Heller would understand.
Since Gaetz’s motion to vacate requires a majority to succeed and presumably has the support of only a small fraction of Republicans, Gaetz himself has to look to Democrats to help him take the speaker’s gavel from McCarthy. Who’s the apostate now?
Giving Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ultimate say over the composition of the Republican leadership of the House is a funny way to show ideological or partisan purity. Indeed, Gaetz reportedly made his initial outreach on behalf of his motion to the Congressional Progressive Cause — because, of course, the most left-wing members of the House are very discerning judges of the quality of Republican speakers.
In other words, Gaetz wants to use a majority of House Democrats to counteract the will of a majority of House Republicans on the question of McCarthy’s fate.
If this works, it should long be studied as one of the most witless acts of partisan self-sabotage in congressional history. Gaetz makes Marjorie Taylor Greene look like Joseph Cannon by comparison.
The escapade, with its echo of past House Republican internal contentions, requires an addition to the famous Karl Marx quote — history repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce, finally as a ginned-up event for some extra notoriety.
The likes of Matt Gaetz believe that Republicans have a problem with the quality of their leadership when the quality of the followership is more the issue.
Republican backbenchers used to be people such as Jack Kemp and Paul Ryan, who became something by promoting ideas that they carefully developed, sincerely believed, and persuaded their colleagues to embrace. Now, the emphasis is on becoming a micro-celebrity via constant outrage.
There’s a reason that Gaetz conducts himself with the thoughtfulness of an anonymous Twitter account — because attention, especially on social media, is his ultimate metric of success.
Congress is merely a platform for the development and enhancement of a personal brand, not an institution to be honored and served. In this sense, Gaetz is a better dressed and much more right-wing version of John Fetterman.
None of this is to say that Speaker McCarthy is above reproach. Another flaw with the motion-to-vacate gambit, though, is that there’s no good alternative. Even Gaetz, the ringmaster of his own circus, isn’t touting anyone else — and for a reason. There’s no one who would obviously do a better job. There’s no one who represents a different philosophical disposition.
With a slender majority and Democrats in control of the Senate and the White House, House Republicans inevitably have limited leverage, and Speaker of the House is inherently a thankless job in these circumstances. It requires corralling a fractious caucus, some members of which will never be satisfied, at a time when there’s a premium on being bombastic and recalcitrant.
And then, there’s the fact that whoever is Speaker has to deal with Matt Gaetz. And who would want to do that?
In a disgraceful attempt to deflect from his lawless behavior, the New York congressman smeared his accusers as Nazis.
Douglas Andrews
Wethinks Jamaal Bowman doth protest too much.
It’s one thing for him to break the law in service to a sleazy political end — delaying a House vote meant to avoid a government shutdown — but it’s another thing entirely to heap one lie atop another, and then, having failed to quell the understandable uproar, to smear his accusers as Nazis.
In case you missed it, Bowman, a member in good standing of not only “The Squad” but also of the Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, got caught red-handed on Saturday when he deliberately pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building.
It’s an insurrection, we tell you!
“I was rushing to make a vote,” Bowman lied. “I was trying to get through a door. I thought the alarm would open the door. I didn’t mean to cause confusion. … I didn’t know it was going to trip the whole building.” He then added another whopper to his layer cake of lies: “I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay the vote. It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did.”
Funny, but we’ve yet to see footage of that frantic congressional evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building, or the mad-dash to the voting buttons in the Capitol next door.
Indeed, there’s an underground tunnel that easily takes members from one building to the other without having to head to an emergency exit. Unfortunately for Bowman. And his patchwork of lies. As we noted yesterday:
In addition to the felony of having falsely pulled a fire alarm, Bowman appears to have been intent on disrupting an official congressional proceeding. And where have we heard that language before? Yep, hundreds of January 6 defendants were arrested and prosecuted on that very same charge, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). Some were even placed in solitary confinement while they awaited trial.
Purely coincidentally, a full 85 minutes elapsed from the moment Bowman pulled the fire alarm until the moment the DC fire marshal declared the building safe. And, as the New York Post reports, “The move came as Democrats were desperately employing tactics to delay the vote, including Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn/Queens) using his privilege to make a speech and forcing a vote on a motion to adjourn.”
This seems awfully convenient, no? Why haven’t the Capitol Police, in their investigation of this caper, confiscated Bowman’s cellphone? Surely he’d like to put an end to any talk of a conspiracy between himself and the House minority leader. Surely he’d offer it up to investigators if it can help clear his good name, right?
Bowman seems to be playing Whac-A-Mole, trying to keep his house of lies from collapsing. But it isn’t working. Indeed, even some of the friendlies are refusing to cover for him. Early yesterday afternoon, for example, Politico’s Nicholas Wu said the following: “Rep. Jamaal Bowman is circulating a list of talking points to fellow Democrats in a bid to stop the burgeoning GOP push to punish him after he set off a House fire alarm during Saturday’s chaotic spending votes.”
This isn’t surprising in and of itself; this is simply how The Swamp works. But one of those talking points went the full Godwin, claiming that the fire-alarm-puller’s Republican accusers are Nazis. As Wu reports: “One suggested response from Bowman’s office to questions about the incident: ‘I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident. Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else.’”
Ignore my lawless behavior, Bowman’s peeps are saying. The Republicans are the heirs to Hitler.
That vile tactic blew up in his face rather quickly, though, and Bowman was forced to walk it back in a passive-voice non-apology: “I just became aware that in our messaging guidance, there was inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent. I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party and neo-Nazis.”
And conservative podcasters. Don’t forget conservative podcasters, Jamaal. Because according to you, the use of the term ‘Nazi’ to smear conservative podcasters like Michael Knowles is perfectly appropriate.
Sadly, it seems, all the congressmen on Capitol Hill are equal, but some are more equal than others.
It’s said for every lie a man tells, he has to tell a hundred more to cover it up. Jamaal Bowman is living proof of this axiom, but this shouldn’t distract from the larger point: What Bowman the Nazi Fighter did by pulling that fire alarm was a felony, and congressional Republicans must hold him accountable.
COVID deferment has come to an end, but don’t blame the Republicans.
Emmy Griffin
Student loan deferment has come to an end. The U.S. Supreme Court in late June overturned President Joe Biden’s executive bribe and, as of Sunday, October 1, those who had not been paying their student loans all along need to resume paying their debts.
Many took advantage of the COVID-era deferment that should have ended two and a half years ago when people were able to go back to work. But the freeze on student loan payments continued, and President Biden led people further down the path of financial burden by promising to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers.
Biden and even then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew that he didn’t have the executive power to forgive that debt, but he tried to do it anyway. Not having to pay student loans during the pandemic acted as a carrot in front of voters who saw loan forgiveness as a way out of a financial hole. Team Biden used those borrowers’ plight to apply pressure on the rest of the government to allow his overreach to stand.
Borrowers got used to not having to account for that student loan deficit in their monthly budgets. They could afford more things and have taken on other debt that they now can’t afford. Adding to the hurt of that renewed financial burden is a terrible economy, bad inflation, and rising interest rates. One does feel sad for them, but at the same time, they made a bet and lost. The twofold bet was that Biden would be able to get away with an unconstitutional act and that the rest of America would be okay with using their tax dollars to cover the cost.
Politically, the blame is thrown at the Republicans’ feet, but as Politico reports, this reversal of student loan forgiveness has been part of the Democrat calculus for a while. As much as Politico tries to paint it as Democrat benevolence in terms of programs to help with repayments, the important political point is buried in the happy talk. Realistically, it’s been a lost revenue stream for the government since the loan repayments stopped. However, the trade-off of that renewed revenue stream will mean a more bearish economy since borrowers are going to have to slow spending on goods and services as a result.
Duping millions of people into going along with their harebrained student loan forgiveness scheme is bad, but it’s only a symptom, and it’s not the actual source of the problem.
The advocates for student loan forgiveness, though wrong on just about every point, are right about a college education being too expensive for the average American. Why do colleges and universities charge so much for higher education? Our Nate Jackson has written about this at length, but between government subsidies, too much unnecessary staff (read: DEI diversity hires), and imprudent spending, the price of a college education is unsustainable. Many people who aren’t of the elite class are going to choose other options than college.
Part of the impetus that spurred on the whole student loan forgiveness scheme came from the ideologically driven premise that college debt hurts students of color more than other students. However, this premise is part of the problem. Racism is not to blame for college debt; rather, it’s the pushing of the need for college diversity on students who can’t achieve academically and yet have incurred college debt.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh recently did an interview with Heather Mac Donald, academic and author of When Race Trumps Merit. Mac Donald addresses the inherent problems with identity politics in college. When merit is replaced by an oppression hierarchy, people who aren’t ready or aren’t able to handle the academic rigor of becoming a doctor or engineer are then funneled into programs that are a waste of their time and money, such as gender or racial studies, which are not exactly financially responsible paths for future careers. Even overpaid DEI professors are culled once their positions fall out of favor.
Democrats have used COVID, systemic racism, and the economy as an excuse to lure borrowers into a false sense of financial security. They will try to spin it as the Republicans’ fault, but the reality is that the Democrats placed power, ideology, and potential votes over the financial well-being of their constituents. It won’t end until feckless spenders are booted out of office and the American public becomes financially literate and perhaps even opts out of the college racket.
“Decoupling” economic growth from a flourishing society in order to fight climate change is the new anti-capitalist vision of Marxism repackaged.
Thomas Gallatin
At the heart of the radical green agenda is Marxism. “Saving the earth” and “fighting climate change” are both merely marketing phrases used to convince populations that the earth is in the midst of an existential crisis, and capitalism is the bogeyman wholly responsible for the fast-approaching calamity.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and yet these Marxists endlessly repeat the warnings of global catastrophe if their prescribed action isn’t taken, and taken sooner rather than later.
Of course, the looming environmental crisis of our day is “climate change” — or, more specifically, anthropogenic climate change: the belief that global warming is primarily caused by human activity tied to the burning of fossil fuels. This view has become the popular scientific dogma of the day thanks almost entirely to computer-based climate modeling, as well as a bullying propaganda campaign that labels anyone skeptical of the approved narrative a “climate denier.”
The trouble is, even if the claims of increasing CO2 emissions being the primary culprit behind the rising global temperatures are correct, the “solution” of net-zero emissions — ending the use of fossil fuels by transitioning toward an economy run solely on renewables — is a pie-in-the-sky fantasy given the modern world’s energy demands and the American Left’s eschewing of nuclear power.
Yet leftist politicians continue to talk of making this impossible transition with the confidence of a snake-oil salesman. That’s because the reality of truly transitioning to a net-zero economy would result in a dystopian nightmare rather than a utopian dream world.
Well, as more Western economies have embraced the net-zero pipe dream and become confronted by the reality that the green energy revolution won’t be able to meet the demands of modern life, “climate policy researchers” have begun to talk of economic “degrowth” and “agrowth.” Both terms will likely become more familiar in the coming years.
A recent poll of 764 of these climate policy researchers found that just 27% believe in the idea of continued economic growth with renewable energy or “green growth.” The rest of these researchers actually oppose GDP growth. “Within the broader post-growth framework,” the survey report found, “degrowth stands as a pronounced stance, critiquing capitalism and advocating for a deliberate and equitable reduction in material consumption and economic activity in high-income countries to achieve more sustainable and socially just societies.”
As noted above, the crux of the issue is not actually one of climate science, but rather one of economic worldview. Anti-capitalism has long been favored by those enamored by Karl Marx, despite capitalism’s record of raising more people out of poverty and deprivation than any other economic system in world history. Furthermore, Marxism fully expressed in communism has produced the opposite — massively increasing rates of human suffering, the stifling of innovation and development, and a hardened gap between the ruling elites and the rest of society.
With climate change, the Western world’s elite ruling class has leveraged the “crisis” as an excuse to consolidate and centralize power while increasingly limiting individual rights and liberties. While fossil fuel may be highlighted as the “threat,” the real threat they see is individual freedom, the right of individuals to think for themselves and make their own choices. This free thinking thwarts those pining for greater authority.
“Degrowth” will soon be sold to the American public as a necessity to combat the climate change supposedly caused by the “excesses of capitalism.” That narrative will inevitably be pushed as the failure of green energy to replace fossil fuels becomes increasingly evident. Americans will be told to abide rolling blackouts because they are doing their part to combat climate change. As everything costs more, Americans will be told that ending consumerism will lead to greater sustainability for the planet and bring about more economic equity.
Ultimately, the climate cult, like Marxism, is fundamentally anti-human. It views humanity as a plague on the planet. The fewer people and the fewer the resources, the better.
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
Climate Scientist Says World Won’t End — Judith Curry bravely says climate change isn’t a “crisis.” She explains how the scientific community became corrupted by “fame and fortune.”
Elon Musk Visits the Border — After seeing the situation at the border to find out what’s really going on, Elon calls for a wall to be built.
The 2024 Ross Perot? — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is hinting at running as a third-party candidate for president.
“Justice Department prosecutors are nonpartisan. They don’t allow partisan considerations to play any role in their determinations.” —Attorney General Merrick Garland
Lack of Self-Awareness Award
“[Republicans] don’t have any evidence of any high crimes or misdemeanors committed by the president. They don’t even have any evidence of any low crimes or anything else. But they’re barreling ahead nonetheless to placate their crazies. But once you put the train on that tracks [sic], it becomes very difficult to stop.” —Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Circling the Wagons
“Democrats need to be resolute in supporting Joe Biden. There’s no reason not to support Joe Biden. He’s done magnificently on behalf of this country. So shut up, and just get behind him the way you should. And be there enthusiastically.” —Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
“[Republicans are] filing a motion … to expel a member who, in a moment of panic, was trying to escape a vestibule? Give me a break!” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) regarding Jamaal Bowman, who willfully pulled a fire alarm
The BIG Lie
“I don’t know why this has gotten so much attention. I was literally just in a rush to go vote, man. That’s all it was.” —Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)
Baghdad Bob
“The president, without the help — without the help — of Republicans, is doing everything that he can to deal with the border.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
“We’re trying to do everything that we can to make sure that we deal with what’s going on at the border.” —Karine Jean-Pierre
“The president — everything that he has put forward … deals with lowering the deficit.” —Karine Jean-Pierre
Swampthink
“We think Bidenomics is clearly working.” —Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jared Bernstein
Demagogue
“We passed gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years. Why? Because we believe that we should do something about the gun violence epidemic in the United States of America with the fierce urgency of now, and not, as some of my colleagues want to do, unleash weapons of war that are not used to hunt deer; they’re used to hunt human beings and shred children.” —House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
For the Record
“Speaker McCarthy had the no-win option of presiding over a so-called government ‘shutdown’ or extending the bloated Biden-Pelosi budget Republicans inherited. The option of allowing the government to ‘shut down’ would have been pinned on Republicans. While not true, it would have been a sticky claim since Republicans couldn’t even reach an agreement with themselves, let alone President Biden and the Democrats. Speaker McCarthy made the right decision. The calls to replace him are nonsensical and counterproductive.” —Tony Perkins
“California governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has picked Laphonza Butler, president of the pro-abortion political action committee EMILY’s List, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Dianne Feinstein. Newsom’s appointment of Butler is equivalent to a Republican governor’s filling a Senate vacancy with the president of the NRA.” —John McCormack
Upright
“Every parent has a right to know what their child is hearing and reading in school.” —Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)
And Last…
“One of the painfully sobering realizations that come from reading history is the utter incompetence that is possible among leaders of whole nations and empires — and the blind faith that such leaders can nevertheless inspire among the people who are enthralled by their words or their posturing.” —Thomas Sowell
Joe Biden has touted the supposed success of “Bidenomics” as vindication of his controversial presidency. Media commentator and economist Mitch Roschelle has warned that if America’s finances take a turn for the worse, it will sink his hopes of reelection.
With the commencement of the impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Joe Biden, three House committees will now pursue key linkages between the president and the massive influence peddling operation run by his son Hunter and brother James.
The impeachment inquiry should allow the House to finally acquire long-sought records of Hunter, James, and Joe Biden, as well as to pursue witnesses involved in their dealings.
I testified this week at the first hearing of the impeachment inquiry on the constitutional standards and practices in moving forward in the investigation. In my view, there is ample justification for an impeachment inquiry. If these allegations are established, they would clearly constitute impeachable offenses. I listed ten of those facts in my testimony that alone were sufficient to move forward with this inquiry.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Monday on FNC’s “Hannity” that New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ civil suit against Donald Trump was part of “a systematic effort to destroy” the former president.
After the initiation of the Biden impeachment inquiry, new messages are deepening concerns over the influence of Chinese figures on the Biden family. Messages from longtime Biden associate Fran Person show the Chinese stepping in to support Hunter’s lavish lifestyle as funds dried up during his divorce. Person wrote Hunter that Chinese businessman Bo Zhang “will help you with what you need.”
Fran Person was not just a close aide to Joe Biden for years, but someone that the First Lady Jill Biden described as a member of the family: “Fran has been like a son to Joe and me. For eight years, we traveled the country, shared holidays together … Fran may be leaving the office, but he will always be a part of our family.”
Fran left the staff of Joe Biden and went to work with Chinese figures . . . and Hunter.
In a July 2017 WhatsApp message, Person told Hunter that Zhang was aware that he was in financial distress during his divorce and would cover his costs. Hunter sounds desperate for the Chinese support as he gushes money to fund his lavish lifestyle: “100K at least gets me until next month.”
Person assures him that Zhang has his back: “He will help you with what you need.”
“I talked to Bo previously about the 37K – he didn’t flinch. I will talk to him about 56K and possibly 100K. It really depends on his liquid assets in the US…I will ask. His only problem is getting large sums out of China (especially right now).”
Hunter appears in distress and presses Person if he knew whether anything was wired or if they were in a “holding pattern.”
Person responds “No holding pattern…he was on his way to the bank this morning. He will be in touch when it’s confirmed.”
“He will help you with what you need. He also mentioned that you should take a trip to China some time this month to just get away for a week or so…just decompress.”
Hunter later schedules the trip.
The concern is that Hunter was receiving money from figures closely associated with foreign government and foreign intelligence, including the CCP. These operatives often look for people who are in desperate situations to exercise influence over them. Hunter Biden’s massive spending and addictions would have been a draw for intelligence services. He offered an obvious entry into potential influence or access with regard to Joe Biden.
At one point, Hunter offers in July 2017 to hold Zhang at his father’s McLean home after Joe Biden left the vice presidency.
Zhang met repeatedly with Hunter Biden, Person, and Eric Schwerin several times.
Person’s message shows him showering Hunter with praise and promises of Chinese funds. In one message, Person told Hunter that he
“selfishly want[s] to work” with him “because I know what the hell your capable of, AND I want to learn from you. I’m putting myself out there right now, and I’m learning quickly. But I’d love to be there with you doing some of this stuff. I mention the 500K on 10M raise be I’m about to get started on that, and I could really use your help. We could knock it out together. I’d think that’d help take some bite out, and you wouldn’t feel like your ‘resorting’ to anything…I’ve got one loyalty brother. That’s to my family. Your family.”
Indeed, at least two transfers of funds to Hunter Biden in 2019 from a Chinese source listed the President’s home in Delaware where Hunter sometimes lived and conducted business.
The latest messages reveal how Hunter Biden’s personal and financial distress may have been viewed as an opportunity for foreign interests. Hunter suggests that he was existing month to month on such payments. The question is what he did in return for such foreign generosity in what is clearly an influencing peddling operation.
On Tuesday’s “Wake Up America,” New York Rep. Claudia Tenney reacts to White House claims that the border crisis is actually the fault of House Republicans. Watch NEWSMAX, an independent news network with a conservative perspective, available in 100M+ U.S. homes.
In what has been likened to a war on consumers – by making their appliances cost more and perform worse – it appears that your electric toothbrush still might be safe.
For now.
But few other appliances found in American households are.
The report confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who recently was in the news for allowing a staff member to park a gas-powered car at an EV charging station to save the spot so her entourage of electric cars wouldn’t have to wait in line, at one point announced that the Biden administration had taken 110 actions on energy efficiency standards in 2022 alone.
And there was the threat of more to come.
One recent order involves gas-powered furnaces.
But Fox News reported, “According to the current federal Unified Agenda, a government-wide, semiannual list that highlights regulations agencies plan to propose or finalize within the next 12 months, the Biden administration is additionally moving forward with rules impacting dozens more appliances.”
And Fox Digital charged, “Over the last several months, the Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled standards to make various appliances…more efficient, and experts have said this would worsen product quality and lead to higher prices.”
Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute said in that report, “It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is either subject to a pending regulation or soon will be.”
He added, “These rules are almost always bad for consumers for the simple reason that they restrict consumer choice.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation noted Biden claimed changes must be made in furnaces to cut “greenhouse gas emissions.”
That announcement alone noted the DOE was working on new rules for 24 appliances.
The DOE also is working on coercing communities to adopt its ideology through building codes that would allow only appliances and features endorsed by Biden.
Hot water heaters also are in the bull’s-eye and one report noted what Biden wants done to clothes washers and refrigerators will cost consumers “billions.”
When the New York Post disclosed Biden’s agenda for ceiling fans, it noted the coercion already was sparking pushback from Republicans – as well as corporations that make the products.
And for very little benefit. One estimate put Biden’s plan in the range of saving consumers $39 in energy costs – over the years-long life of a ceiling fan.
In that report, Lieberman explained, “It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is either subject to a pending regulation or soon will be.”
Helmuth von Moltke, a 19th Century German Field Marshall, is credited with the aphorism, “no plan survives contact with the enemy”. The essence of his observation is this — no matter how meticulously you plan a military operation, you must be prepared to adjust on the fly based on what is happening on the battlefield. Planning is a dynamic, not a static set of unit maneuvers and rules of engagement.
Which brings me to some observations about the U.S. and NATO plans at the outset of the Russian “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine (aka “invasion”). There was an awful lot of hope undergirding the West’s plan to topple Putin and break up Russia. The West bet heavily on the “hope” that the Ukrainian Army was better trained, equipped and led than their Russian counter parts. That turned out not to be true. Russia, with a numerically inferior force, quickly knocked out key military infrastructure in the early days of the war, which included radars, air fields, air defense systems and aircraft. Western planners apparently did not realize that the ability of Ukrainian pilots to target Russian combat aircraft hinged on a ground radar system that Russia obliterated within the first 24 hours of the attack.
Western “hopium” also banked on the Russian military being a motley collection of angry conscripts led by a bevy of fat, corrupt generals raking in cash from criminal entrepreneurial endeavors. When Russia unleashed hypersonic missiles on Yavoriv — a de facto NATO base in western Ukraine near the Polish border — Western planners were caught by complete surprise. Still, notwithstanding the success of that attack, Western intelligence continued to insist during the first few months of the invasion that Russia fielded a Potemkin army and its luck was bound to run out.
The West’s “hope” strategy also bet the farm that the West could easily isolate Russia on the international stage and devastate its economy with sanctions. Whoops!! Instead of isolating Russia and inflicting economic chaos, Russia quickly responded and re-established itself as a leader of the Global South, coalesced with China in a de facto alliance, and ramped up its defense industry to levels not seen since World War II. I think the quote attributed to Admiral Yamamoto at the end of the movie, Tora, Tora, Tora, captures the unexpected results of Western hubris — “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
The West was put on notice over the past week by Russian leaders. Foreign Minister Lavrov, Defense Chief Shoigu, former President Medvedev and Speaker of the Duma Volodin all communicated a simple message — Ukraine must capitulate or it will cease to exist as a nation. I talked about this and other topics today with Judge Napolitano:
Ukraine is the new obsession for Washington’s war hawks. “As long as it takes” remains the mantra of the Biden administration regarding support for Ukraine.
According to reports from September’s U.N. General Assembly meeting, U.S. and G-7 allies expect the war in Ukraine to continue for at least six to seven years. Of course, the other implication is “as much as it takes.” No price tag is too high. No weapons system is off the table. All questions of risk and tradeoffs, along with those who raise them, are causally dismissed.
Ukraine is officially America’s new endless war.
The deep state’s memory is short and rose-tinted. The Biden administration employs the same rhetoric and tactics that the Bush and Obama administrations used to conduct indefinite military engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention undeclared intervention in Libya, Syria, and beyond. With billions flowing from the U.S. to the Ukrainian government in “economic support,” long-term security guarantees, and the reconstruction effort already underway, we can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.
The United States is heading down the same path that mired us in Middle Eastern conflicts for over two decades, all without clearly articulating the objective or how victory is achieved.
Last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. prompted members of Congress to ask “how he plans to win the conflict.” Such deference to the interests of one foreign leader on the receiving end of a massive payday from the American taxpayers should be raising more eyebrows. The Biden administration extends President Zelenskyy unlimited access to America’s checkbook without accountability or communicating U.S. objectives and expectations for success.
When pressed on accountability concerns, the Biden administration heralds the Offices of Inspector General from the Department of Defense, State, and USAID now overseeing the $113 billion in appropriated funds for Ukraine. They point to “a decade of shared experience gained from joint oversight of eight different overseas contingency operations.”
The administration conveniently forgets to mention the spectacular failure of oversight of these overseas contingency operations, and how the same agencies in charge covered up instances of waste, at times deliberately misleading the American public on the progress made in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also fail to mention their opposition to a more formal structure of establishing a Special Inspector General.
Thus far, Congress has been content to placate Ukraine by punting on any conversation regarding an actual strategy. But the winds are shifting. Skepticism from some, and outright opposition from others, continues to grow among fiscal conservatives and foreign policy realists on additional supplemental appropriations. The time is ripe for a national conversation regarding a real strategy for Ukraine.
The American people deserve answers before more of their money is sent to Ukraine. To that end, we are introducing the Define the Mission Act, legislation that would require President Biden to submit a comprehensive strategy to Congress regarding U.S. involvement in Ukraine.
Further, it would require the president to be upfront with Congress and the American people by explaining how Ukraine fits into our national interest, how much more time and money will be expected to achieve our objectives, and how much Europe plans to contribute to the war taking place in their backyard.
Congress owes it to the American people, who are fatigued from decades of war in the Middle East, to hear from their president, not President Zelenskyy, the plan for U.S. engagement in Ukraine moving forward.
“As long as it takes” will no longer suffice.
Republican Mike Lee represents Utah in the United States Senate.
Republican Warren Davidson represents Ohio’s Eighth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
It’s hard to take Attorney General Merrick Garland seriously when he says, with a straight face, ‘We do not have one rule for Republicans and another rule for Democrats.’
Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet is president and CEO of Truth for Health Foundation. Since February 2020, she has been part of the team of frontline physicians treating COVID early at home. With Dr. Peter McCullough, she is a co-author/editor of the Guide to COVID Early Treatment: Options to Stay Out of Hospital and Save Your Life. She’s a past director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. She received her M.D. degree and internship in Internal Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed special training at Johns Hopkins. She appeared on Crosstalk as an independent physician, not as a spokesperson for any healthcare system, pharmaceutical company, insurance plans or political party. She is a patient advocate.
Currently there’s a lot of messaging going out from the White House and others promoting a new COVID shot. What does Dr. Vliet know about the FDA approval process concerning this new booster? Was it only tested on mice?
Dr. Vliet responded by going back to review some history. She noted that none of the COVID shots are fully FDA approved. All of them are in use under the emergency authorization clause and therefore don’t require full clinical studies, a lot of the good manufacturing practices or full disclosure of modifications and changes.
She believes the FDA is playing a deceptive word game when they are announcing the new shot as “approved.” The FDA did not do its full approval process, hence, the shots are not fully approved. What they did is approve the process to manufacture a new booster, they didn’t approve the shot itself. In fact, no masks or test kits were ever FDA approved as well. It’s all a semantics game to deceive people.
The booster is a revision of past boosters but all of the COVID shots are still operating and given license under the emergency use authorization legislation which leaves good manufacturing practices, waves the disclosures and waves the detailed informed consent process that the public should be given.
Why is this still the case with every shot still under the EUA after about 3 years? Dr. Vliet noted that this is the fact that’s being covered up. Those that have been trying to communicate this get censored, shut down and accused of spreading misinformation. She believes it’s all about deceiving people into getting boosters that with each one you receive, there’s more damage from the inflammation of the spike proteins and the lipid nanoparticle toxicity. The result has been autoimmune conditions, the turning off of tumor-suppressor genes which are our natural defense against cancer, damage to the heart, the brain, the reproductive organs, thyroid and adrenal glands, pancreas and the GI tract.
Dr. Vliet had much more to share so become informed by reviewing this important edition of Crosstalk.
There has been a dramatic spike in the number of Chinese nationals that are coming across our borders. The vast majority of them are men, and the vast majority of those men are of military age. Most of the time, when these men are intercepted by U.S. officials they claim that they have come to apply for asylum in the United States. Of course they know that their court dates will be set far into the future because our system is being absolutely overwhelmed by asylum seekers right now. As they wait for their court dates, most of them are released into the United States and are permitted to go wherever they want. So what this means is that thousands upon thousands of Chinese men of military age have been allowed into this country, and we don’t know where they are or what they are doing.
According to Fox News, the number of Chinese nationals that are being encountered at our borders far exceeds anything that we have ever seen before…
So far in fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered nearly 40,000 Chinese nationals on both the southern and northern borders, far surpassing the approximately 23,500 and 27,800 encountered in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, respectively.
In July, more than 6,000 crossed the border, just two months after the COVID-19-era rule that allowed for expelling illegal migrants quickly – known as Title 42 – expired.
Obviously these Chinese nationals do not walk to our borders from China.
So how do they get here?
Well, it is being reported that many of them begin their journeys in the nation of Ecuador…
The Chinese migrants typically start their journey in Ecuador, which is visa-free for Chinese citizens, as per The Diplomat. From there, they head to Necoclí, a town in Colombia’s northern coast, which then leads to the Darién Gap, a 66-mile dense jungle reportedly filled with armed guerillas, drug traffickers and deadly biodiversity. Some who undertake the treacherous journey allegedly pay smugglers up to $35,000 for help.
This is a major national security issue, but the Biden administration isn’t doing anything about it.
Needless to say, this is greatly frustrating many Republicans. In fact, the chair of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives recently told the Daily Mail that he is concerned that China may be sending these men here for a specific purpose…
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told DailyMail.com that there has been a ‘massive increase’ of Chinese nationals tied to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that have gained access to the U.S. by crossing over the border.
And there have been over 17,800 Chinese nationals released into the U.S. this year alone, he claimed.
Green called the ‘stupidity’ of the Biden administration’s border policies currently in place ‘mind-blowing’ because now Chinese spies could act as ‘saboteurs’ in the same manner Russian military men established residency in Ukraine before the invasion.
I think that Green’s concerns are quite justified.
Just as rumors of a potential war between the U.S. and China are reaching a crescendo, we are seeing Chinese men cross our borders in much larger numbers than we ever have before.
A reporter released new video that appears to show hundreds of military-aged Chinese men in Panama heading toward the U.S. border.
Muckraker.com founder Anthony Rubin said on “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday that every day, multiple times a day, groups of men are lining up and getting on buses to continue their journeys.
There appears to be at least some level of coordination to these efforts.
The Chinese nationals posed as ‘tourists’ wandered onto a missile launch site in New Mexico, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. In addition, some reportedly staged as scuba divers in order to get close to a Florida rocket launch site, while others claimed to be staying on an Army base in Alaska.
Th operatives have reportedly claimed to be tourists who are ‘lost’ and unable to find their way to a Burger King or McDonalds coincidentally close to a U.S. military base.
These are just the ones that have been caught.
How many other spies have successfully completed their missions without being caught?
Once migrants are released into this country, they can literally go anywhere.
Lately, there has been a tremendous crime wave in Oakland County, Michigan.
That is quite a long way from the southern border.
It turns out that “transnational gangs” from South America are specifically targeting expensive homes in that area, and so far they have been very successful…
“Transnational gangs” from South America are committing high-end burglaries on upscale homes in Michigan, according to law enforcement.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is sounding the alarm over a rash of burglaries targeting luxurious homes. Bouchard is warning local residents to secure their houses because illegal immigrants are committing home invasions to steal high-end goods.
The sheriff said the burglars are stealing jewelry, precious metals, high-end watches, expensive purses, electronics, money, and safes. Bouchard said the robberies have totaled more than $1 million.
Of course the Chinese migrants that are coming across our borders are not here to rob homes.
They are here for other reasons.
But my point is that once migrants are released into this country, they could end up literally anywhere.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has turned into an immigration hawk after the Biden administration has overwhelmed her state–and specifically New York City–with an unceasing flood of thousands upon thousands of migrants. Appearing on the CBS News program Face the Nation on Sunday, Hochul called for limits on migration at the border and for a “doubling or quadrupling” of Border Patrol agents.
Hochul cast blame on Republicans and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), rather than Joe Biden, ignoring that it is Biden’s policies that have instigated the massive amount of illegal immigration since he took office in 2021.
So will the Biden administration finally do something to address this crisis?
Probably not.
So more Chinese men of military age will arrive with each passing day.
And when a war with the United States finally erupts, they will be ready to carry out their assigned tasks.
Only a very foolish nation would allow the enemy to pre-position tens of thousands of soldiers, spies and saboteurs, but that is precisely what we are doing.
Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “End Times” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book I have written six other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible. I have also started a brand new Substack newsletter, and I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of my articles. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
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