27 Oct 2023 News Briefing

In first act, new US House speaker introduces resolution in support of Israel
Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected as the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, replacing Kevin McCarthy. His first act serving in that role was to introduce a resolution in support of Israel, adding that it was “overdue.” “Our nation’s greatest ally in the Middle East is under attack. The first bill that I’m going to bring to this floor in just a little while will be in support of our dear friend Israel,” Johnson said during his acceptance speech. “We’re overdue in getting that done.”

How did Hurricane Otis’ record intensification catch advanced forecast models by surprise?
“This was not a case where some computer forecasts showed a powerful storm, and others said it would be weak, so forecasters took the middle ground,” said FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross. “Not one fancy, modern computer model showed the off-the-charts rapid intensification.”

Universities Celebrate the Mass Murder of Jews
Since Hamas initiated a brutal and barbaric terrorist attack against Israel and the Jewish people on October 7th, many Americans—Jewish and not—have mourned alongside the world’s only Jewish state and have understood the necessity of a swift and decisive military counterattack. But in the green quads and ivory towers of American academia, a very different reaction has been brewing. For the past two decades, the David Horowitz Freedom Center has shone a rare spotlight on the genocidal Jew hatred emanating from our college campuses. Student organizations like the Hamas-funded and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Students for Justice in Palestine have infiltrated our universities and turned them training grounds for the next generation of jihadists.

Nevada teens accused of killing ex-police chief laugh, flip off victim’s family in court
Ayala and Keys are facing murder charges in connection with the fatal hit-and-run crash that killed Andreas Probst, 66, in August. They were also charged with attempted murder, failing to stop at the scene of a crash, battery, residential burglary, grand larceny of a vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

“The Face Of The Digital Censorship Movement”: Matt Taibbi Calls Out Amy Klobuchar
A problem when grappling with the censorship hydra is that it has no public face, no Tipper Gore or Jerry Falwell to personify the topic. Klobuchar, for reasons listed this morning and beyond, is right for this role. She needs to be Red Pencil Amy, Blacklist Amy, Amy “Thought Police” Klobuchar. And longshot or not, removal of her from office in next year’s election or even from Senate leadership positions is a worthwhile goal. The rest of Washington needs to read public sentiment about this issue through a colleague’s public relations dilemma.

Prosecutor Livid After FBI Refused To Pursue ‘Credible’ Biden-Ukraine Corruption Allegations, Grassley Reveals 40 Informants
In two bombshell reports from Just the News, we learn that not only was a prosecutor livid over the FBI’s “reluctance” to pursue credible claims of corrupt Biden dealings in Ukraine (the thing Democrats impeached Trump for asking about), the agency had evidence from more than 40 informants spanning ‘years of investigation,’ which DOJ and FBI officials sought to undermine, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed in a Wednesday letter.

Amir Tsarfati: The Real War Has Not Yet Begun
While I love and support the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and I am thankful for the help that the U.S. is giving to us, I recognize they are just tools in the hand of the One who is truly in control. Some trust in jet planes and some trust in Iron Domes, but I will trust in the name of the Lord our God. The first source of that anxiety comes from being in a nationwide post-trauma. Parents no longer let their kids go out on their own. The other source of our unease is the knowledge that the real war has not yet begun.

IAF targets and kills growing number of senior Hamas commanders
The Israeli Air Force fueled by intelligence from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate is eliminating a growing number of senior Hamas commanders as the terror organization intensified rocket fire on central Israel on Thursday. The Israeli Air Force killed the Deputy Head of Hamas’s Intelligence Directorate, who was responsible for planning the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel together with Yahya Sinwar, the IDF announced on Thursday, naming the target as Shadi Barud.

White House spokesperson: Biden will not apologize for saying civilians will die in war
Krähenbühl asked Kirby whether he thought it was insensitive for the President to say that “innocents will die and that this is the price of the war” and whether Biden would apologize. Kirby said Biden would not apologize and dismissed her assertion that Biden’s comments were harsh “What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields. What’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are. What’s harsh is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon. I could go on and on

White House decries ‘grotesque’ antisemitic campus activities in support of Hamas attacks
The White House denounced “antisemitic messages being conveyed on college campuses” in a statement Thursday, condemning student groups that have praised Hamas’ attack on Israel or “call for the annihilation of the state of Israel.” The statement is the most direct critique President Joe Biden’s office has yet made about inflammatory rhetoric surrounding Israel on college campuses,

Iranians desecrate tombs of Mordechai and Esther
The burial sites of Mordechai and Esther, central figures in the Jewish Purim story, have been desecrated by residents of Iran’s Hamadan province. Residents burned Israeli flags and vandalized the area, creating widespread concerns within the local and international Jewish community.

Israel strikes over 250 Hamas terror targets in 24 hours
Over the past day, Israeli fighter jets struck over 250 Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including terror infrastructure, operational command centers, tunnel shafts and rocket launchers placed in the heart of civilian areas that fired toward Israeli territory throughout the war, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Euthanasia advocates push for drug addicts to be approved for assisted suicide in Canada
Pro-euthanasia lobbyists want Canada’s assisted suicide via lethal injection laws to be extended to drug addicts, which critics warn could lead the nation down a dangerous path nearing “eugenics.”

‘We are facing End Times and end of Israel’ if we don’t vanquish Iranian, Hezbollah, Hamas threats now, veteran IDF officer tells THE ROSENBERG REPORT
It’s not surprising to me that Evangelical Christians are asking if the horrific war that Israel is being forced to fight right now is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and a sign of the End of Days. What is very surprising to me is that more and more Orthodox and secular Israeli Jews are asking me the same questions. Why are they asking? Because they have never seen anything like this war in their entire lives.

‘Acapulco has been destroyed’: Hurricane Otis blamed for 27 deaths as survivors recover from historic storm
Acapulco, known as the Pearl of the Pacific, is recovering after being pummeled by deadly Hurricane Otis, the most powerful storm on record for the Pacific coast of Mexico.

October 28 partial lunar eclipse visible in eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia
A partial lunar eclipse will be visible across the eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, Russia, Asia, Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica on October 28, 2023. The event will peak at 20:14 UTC and will be part of the Saros 146 series.

Maine Massacre Used To Hide And Cover Up Biden Family Crimes
Renewed Calls From Left To Ban AR-15 Just As The Globalists Are Rushing Head First Into Full-Scale Global Tyranny And World War 3 – Maine Massacre Used To Hide Biden Family Crimes.

Is It Just A Coincidence That The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse Are The Same Colors As The Palestinian Flag?
I am going to share something with you that social media is really buzzing about right now.  If you go to Revelation chapter 6, you will find that the colors of the horses that the four horsemen of the apocalypse are riding are white, red, black and “pale”.  But the ancient Greek word that is translated as “pale” in Revelation 6:8 is more commonly translated as “green”.

High Levels of Toxic Metals Found in Foods Sold at Top Fast Food Chains • Children’s Health Defense
Kids are consuming harmful amounts of heavy metals when they eat fast food, according to the nonprofit Moms Across America’s (MAA) report on heavy metals  in foods sold by the U.S.’ 20 top-selling fast food restaurants.

‘Potentially Disfiguring’ Parasitic Disease Spreading Through Local Sand Flies, Warns CDC
A “potentially disfiguring” skin disease that once used to be found almost exclusively among international travelers returning to the United States has now been identified among Americans with no travel history, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Final Countdown: Has An Apocalyptic Confrontation Between The U.S. And Iran Become Inevitable?
It is becoming clear that the U.S. is going to be heavily involved in the war in the Middle East, and it is becoming clear that this is going to mean a direct confrontation with Iran.  Are you ready for that?  Are any of us really ready for such an apocalyptic scenario?

We Are About To Witness One Of The Most Pivotal Moments In Modern History
…When the Israeli invasion of Gaza officially commences, nothing will ever be the same from that point forward. The entire Middle East will erupt in flames and the global economy will go completely haywire.  But Israel doesn’t have a choice in this matter.  If our babies were killed, our women were raped and our grandmothers were kidnapped, we would be going to war with Hamas too.

TikTok Jumps on the Climate Censorship Bandwagon
For some time, climate hysterics have been clamoring for censorship of any ideas that run counter to the narrative that anthropogenic climate change is real and dangerous, and can only be solved with the adoption of globalist and socialist policies.

WEF Confession: Water Crisis Will Succeed in Establishing World Government Where COVID & Climate Change Failed 
A World Economic Forum contributor claimed that a coming water crisis will succeed in establishing a world government where the COVID plandemic and the climate change narratives failed.

Why isn’t this front-page news? Half of the young men who got myocarditis after the jab now have permanent heart damage… 
Dr. Drew, who initially raised concerns about fear-mongering during the COVID pandemic before facing pressure to change his stance, is back in the spotlight. He’s discussing a groundbreaking study that he finds so shocking, he can’t believe it isn’t headline news nationwide.

The Hi-Jacking of Christianity
Modern Christianity bears very little resemblance to the Christianity that one will find in the Book of Acts. The true forerunners of this thing that we call Christianity would have a hard time recognizing what is “practiced” in most of American Christendom today. The dudes we read about in the 1st Century church would not even be welcomed in most American congregations today.

Māori Government prosecutes four high-ranking New Zealand officials for committing crimes in response to the covid pandemic
The Māori Government has sentenced Christopher Hipkins, Andrew Little, Ashley Bloomfield and Christopher James to 10 years in prison for committing crimes in response to the covid pandemic.  The court also sentenced 118 Members of Parliament to prison for supporting and facilitating the four criminals’ actions. After hearing all the evidence, the Māori Government issued a statement prohibiting the importation, sale and use of the mRNA BioNTech medical technology and all derivatives in New Zealand.

Persecuted Preist Tried To Warn the West: ‘Islam is a Danger for the Future, One Mosque in Europe is More Dangerous Than a Nuclear Power Plant’ 
Father Samuel, undeterred by left-wing persecution, courageously forewarned the West about the impending threats posed by Islamic immigrants – a clarion call that now rings ominously true as we grapple with the repercussions of mass Islamic immigration in the Western world.

Dueling U.S. and Russian Draft UN Security Council Resolutions Fail to Pass
Secretary Antony J. Blinken addressed the October 24th United Nations Security Council Ministerial Meeting on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question. He minced no words in calling for the Security Council to “unequivocally condemn Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack against Israel – babies riddled with bullets; young people hunted down and gunned down with glee; people, young people beheaded; families burned alive in a final embrace; parents executed in front of their children; children executed in front of their parents; and so many taken hostage in Gaza.”

27 Oct 2023

Headlines – 10/27/2023

‘We are facing End Times and end of Israel’ if we don’t vanquish Iranian, Hezbollah, Hamas threats now, veteran IDF officer tells The Rosenberg Report

With new speaker, US House passes measure backing Israel in ‘barbaric war launched by Hamas’

Group of GOP Senators Puts Pressure on McConnell with New Bill That Funds Aid to Israel But Not Ukraine

Pentagon says 900 US troops heading to Mideast, 2 Iron Dome batteries to Israel

DeSantis is sending some weapons to Israel in move that could bolster him in the GOP primary

What a potentially wider Israel-Hamas war could mean for the US economy, already facing pocket-book stressors – An escalation could plunge the U.S. into a recession, experts said

Israeli troops briefly raid northern Gaza to ‘prepare’ for an expected full-scale incursion

Israeli tanks conduct ‘targeted’ Gaza raid; U.N. says ‘nowhere is safe in Gaza’

Israel’s Strikes on Gaza Are Some of the Most Intense This Century

Nine Arab countries condemn the targeting of civilians in Gaza; Israel launches overnight raid

Israeli troops, tanks launch ground attack on Gaza as authorities say over 7,000 killed

IDF kills 5 Hamas commanders; Gallant: Israel will win, next 75 years depend on it

Prime Minister Netanyahu: ‘All Hamas men are dead men walking – in and outside of Gaza’

Israeli Airstrikes Kill Al Jazeera Reporter’s Family In Gaza

Hamas Armed Wing Says ‘Almost 50’ Israeli Hostages Killed In Raids

Press conference about Hamas hostages interrupted by air raid sirens

‘Our patience is up’: Hostages’ families blast government inaction at Tel Aviv rally

Qatar agrees to review Hamas ties after Gaza hostage situation resolved – report

The ‘Gaza metro’: The mysterious subterranean tunnel network used by Hamas

Hamas tunnels under Gaza stretch miles, holding hostages and weapons

Israeli tech workers bring innovation, AI to search for hostages held in Gaza

Negotiations Ongoing to Release ‘Many’ Israeli, Foreign Hostages in Gaza; Possible Release ‘In Days’

Gazan Workers Describe Inhuman Treatment at Israeli Detention Centers Since Outbreak of War

‘This is increasingly becoming a children’s crisis’ in Gaza: UNICEF spokesperson

The Gaza Healthcare System Is Reportedly on the Brink of Collapse

White House says Gaza health ministry is ‘a front for Hamas,’ again denies Palestinian casualty data

IDF: Gaza resident says Hamas preventing evacuations; thousands return north

Hamas Blocking Civilian Evacuation in Gaza – “They are shooting at people”

EU Summit Calls for ‘Humanitarian Corridors and Pauses’ in Gaza

UN agencies reduce Gaza aid operations as fuel runs out

US and Gulf nations target ‘secret’ Hamas investment portfolio worth up to $1 billion

Treasury warns war compensation fund nearly empty

Government directorate lays out rehabilitation plan for war-ravaged Gaza communities

Israeli Army Recommends Airbnb to 125,000 Displaced Israelis

With memories of atrocities in Africa still vivid, asylum seekers are helping Israel

Border Authorities Are Counting Palestinian Migrants as Other Nationalities

House Republicans Issue ‘Evicted Act’ to Instantly Deport Palestinian Illegal Aliens from U.S.

‘Squad’ Dems under fire for refusing to vote to condemn Hamas terror: ‘Complete disgrace’

Terrorist Apologist Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Extensive Fundraising Ties to Hamas Insiders Exposed by Watchdog Group

Suspect breaks into LA Jewish family’s home, shouts ‘Kill Jews’ and ‘Free Palestine’

Being Israeli in California After Hamas’ Attack: Now I Know What ‘Progressive Trolls’ Are Like

Jewish students shelter in NY college library as demonstrators pound on doors, shout ‘free Palestine’

Democrats’ divisions on Israel-Hamas war boil over in Michigan as Detroit-area Muslims feel betrayed

Left Holds ‘Queers for Palestine’ Rally Despite Israel’s Pro-LGBTQ+ Laws

Dershowitz: The Gay and Trans ‘Students for Palestine’ Should Go Volunteer in Gaza

ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt: Antisemitism Has Been ‘Normalized’

Pro-Hamas sentiment shocks European Jews, rekindling fears about their future

Turkey’s Erdogan Tells Pope: International Silence on Gaza ‘Embarrassing’

National security adviser defends saying Middle East region was ‘quieter’ days before Hamas attack

Commentary: Jake Sullivan’s embarrassing essay shows how clueless Team Biden’s been on the Middle East

Pro-Palestinian Instagram account locked by Meta for ‘security reasons’

Israel gives out QR code linking to images of Hamas atrocities ahead of UN session

Surveillance soldiers warned of Hamas activity on Gaza border for months before Oct. 7

Many Israelis accuse government’s of inept, chaotic response to October 7 massacre

Lapid says government not functioning, still ‘in shock’ from Hamas assault

Former Shin Bet chief: We warned against the Gaza concept – Ami Ayalon says Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of building Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority has blown up in our faces

Strikes by Islamists on US bases in Syria and Iraq raise fears of escalation

19 U.S. troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following attacks in Iraq and Syria

Broken Lebanon cannot afford war, and Hezbollah knows it

U.S., Russia veto each other’s U.N. resolutions on Israel-Gaza war

China vetoes ‘evasive’ US proposal as UN Security Council remains deadlocked on Israel-Gaza war

Israel Blasts Russia, China At UN Security Council Amid War; ‘If You Faced Similar Attacks…’

Iran foreign minister to meet with Guterres ahead of UN vote on Israel-Hamas War

Moscow hosts Hamas delegation and Iran’s deputy FM, prompting Israeli outrage

At UN, Iran Warns US Will ‘Not Be Spared’ if War Continues

Biden faces dueling pressure to go tough on Iran but soft on war in Gaza

Iranian court orders US to pay $420 million in damages for failed hostage rescue bid in 1980 operation

Qatar sentences 8 Indians to death, reportedly on charges of spying for Israel

Sudanese paramilitary group says it has seized country’s second-largest city

Sudan warring sides resume peace talks in Saudi Arabia

Armenia on verge of signing peace deal with Azerbaijan, PM says – The truce would come after weeks of warnings the two countries could be on the brink of a new conflict

GOP Sen. Lee floats kicking Turkey out of NATO over Erdogan’s Hamas stance

Russia prison population plummets as convicts are sent to war

White House: Russia is executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders

Robert Fico Formally Appointed as Prime Minister of Slovakia – Immediately Ends Military Aid to Ukraine, Says Russia and the US Must Agree on Peace Terms

Washington Post CIA Article Signals That U.S. Preparing To Jettison Ukraine

US, SKorea, Japan Blast NKorea Arming Russia

US Military Flexes Nuclear Muscles in South China Sea To Support Ally

China says US has no right to get involved in its problems with Philippines

Lawmakers Question Navy Over Bureaucratic Delays for Taiwan Weapons

Taiwan Monitors Chinese Carrier Group in Pacific

Rumours swirl after China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, is sacked – The government is trickling out news of a political bombshell

Nigeria’s Supreme Court refuses to void president’s election and dismisses opposition challenges

Patricia Bullrich, Third Most Voted in Argentina Election, Endorses Javier Milei Against the Peronist ‘Mafia’ – to Save Capitalism and Stop Hyperinflation

FTX founder Bankman-Fried set to testify on dramatic fall of crypto empire

Billionaire politicians have become ‘shockingly common’ around the world, new study finds

American Oligarchy: Meet the Billionaire Mega-Donors Behind the Biden Presidency

Prosecutor says Biden bribery claim was credible enough for further investigation, but FBI resisted

America First Legal: DHS Cybersecurity Agency Rushed to Discredit Hunter Biden ‘Laptop from Hell’ Story

Mike Johnson Acknowledges God’s Plan in Speakership Victory: ‘I Don’t Believe There Are Any Coincidences’

Meet the evangelical activist who’s had a ‘profound influence’ on Speaker Mike Johnson

Matt Gaetz Claims Kevin McCarthy Was Exposed as ‘Swampy’ Saboteur to Speaker Vote

“Every Time Someone Ascended, He Would Knife Them in the Back” – Rep. Nancy Mace Tells All on Kevin McCarthy’s Sinister Actions During Speaker Fight

The Hill: Is Trump now the ‘Shadow Speaker’ of the House?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Resolution to Censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for Anti-Semitic Behavior, Terrorist Apologies, and Leading a Capitol Insurrection

New York Republicans Offer Motion to Expel George Santos From Congress – Santos faces 23 counts of federal charges that include conspiracy, wire and credit card fraud, false statements and records, as well as aggravated identity theft

Ryan Fournier: Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Worked as an FBI Informant, Wore a Wire to Record All Conversations with President Trump

Trump: Meadows ‘Weak,’ ‘Coward’ If He Took Plea Deal

Prosecutor Accuses Trump of ‘Threatening’ Mark Meadows In DC Election Trial

Jack Smith Asks Judge Chutkan to Impose Stricter Gag Order on Trump, Send Him to Jail If He Talks About Witnesses

NY judge suggests Trump again violated gag order: ‘I don’t want anybody killed’

Trump attacks judge in NY fraud case who fined him $15,000

Fed-Up Trump Storms Out of Courtroom, Leaves Secret Service Agents Chasing After Him

DOJ Inspector General Finds ‘No Evidence’ of Wrongdoing by Trump in FBI HQ Decision

Colo. judge rejects Trump’s bid to toss lawsuit aimed at keeping him off 2024 ballot

In Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman, He Reveals How He Believes Votes Were Switched in Georgia’s 2020 Election

Biden says he’s not concerned Johnson might overturn 2024 election results

Mike Johnson Slammed ‘FBI Subsidiary’ Twitter for Pre-Musk Censorship

A year after Musk’s Twitter takeover, X remains mired in turmoil

Grandpa Google? Tech giant begins antitrust defense by poking fun at its status among youth

The Beatles: ‘final’ song Now and Then to be released thanks to AI technology

Artificial Armageddon? The 5 worst case scenarios for AI, revealed

October 28 partial lunar eclipse visible in eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia

5.9 magnitude earthquake hits near Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia

5.9 magnitude earthquake hits west of Macquarie Island

5.6 magnitude earthquake hits near Balleny Islands region

5.5 magnitude earthquake hits near Lospalos, Timor Leste

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Vallenar, Chile

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Kabalo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand

5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near Vao, New Caledonia

5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Birjand, Iran

5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Santa Monica, Philippines

Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka erupts to 23,000ft

Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts 22,000ft

Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 20,000ft

Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 20,000ft

Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 15,000ft

Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft

At least 27 killed by ‘disastrous’ Hurricane Otis, damage seen in billions

Hurricane Otis: evastating blow to Acapulco, Mexico, that tore through high-rises and inundated roads

Hurricane Otis grew into a monster storm, catching meteorologists by surprise

Tornado causes minor damage at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston

To meet pollution regulations, Irish farmers consider slaughtering as many as 41,000 cows

Out of Juice: Honda and GM Halt Joint Venture to Develop Affordable Electric Cars

New Report Reveals Electric Vehicles Will be Far More Expensive Without Government Incentives

A Cruise car hit a pedestrian. The company’s response could set back California’s new robotaxi industry

Goldie Hawn: ‘An alien touched me and it felt like the finger of God’

‘Reminders everywhere’: Halloween crush haunts survivors one year after Itaewon crowd disaster

Maine governor says 18 killed in shooting attacks at bar, bowling alley

‘Never seen anything like this’: Maine city grapples with aftermath of mass shooting

Maine community riddled with fear as shooting suspect’s whereabouts remain a mystery: ‘Absolutely terrifying’

Maine mass shooting prompts news organizations to rapidly shift from the war abroad to the war at home

New Speaker Says Prayer a Proper Response to Shootings

Maine mass shooting: Suspect made disturbing ‘recent’ threats before mass shooting; death toll rises

Maine Shooting Suspect Heard Voices, Received Mental-Health Care Before Massacre

Police Took Suspected Maine Shooter for Evaluation in July, Yellow Flag Law Not Triggered

Nashville Police Chief’s Son Wanted For Shooting 2 Officers Found Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound After High-Speed Car Chase

Philadelphia: Woman in Hoodie Shoots and Kills SEPTA Bus Driver While He Was Driving Bus: Police

‘TikTok Narco Queen’ Executed in Broad Daylight in Chile

Oklahoma Teen Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Shooting Five Year Old Girl as Part of Gang Initiation

Pedro Argote, man who allegedly killed Maryland judge Andrew Wilkinson, found dead: Officials

CNN Claims 525 ‘Mass Shootings’ for 2023 Using Misleading Data

Kamala Harris Trashes Second Amendment and Praises Australia’s Massive Gun Confiscation

New York City’s Overreach: Federal Judge Strikes Down ‘Unconstitutional’ Gun Restrictions

Dozens of DC officers make more than $100,000 in overtime, some outearn mayor amid police shortage

Texas Lawmakers Vote to Let Local Police Arrest Migrants

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Considers Handing Out Free Tents for Illegal Immigrants to Camp in City Parks

Smuggling Migrants Toward the U.S. Is a Booming Business – Services to help people cross borders in Latin America have thrived on demand; ‘We don’t see ourselves as traffickers’

Nicaragua Is Weaponizing Illegal Migrants to Gain Leverage Against the Biden Admin, Experts Say

Germany to Begin ‘Large Scale’ Deportations, Says Scholz as Country Faces Record Number of Illegals

Pakistan prepares deportation centres as deadline for Afghans looms

Man Arrested for Breaking Arms Off Jesus Statue and Swinging From Crucifix Outside Boston Church

Head of megachurch, in prison for sex abuse, is charged with producing child pornography

Florida Takes Battle to Ban Minors From Drag Shows to the Supreme Court

UFC fans threaten to Boycott the sport after announcing Bud Light deal after partnering with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney

The Cannabis That People Are Using for Anxiety Is Probably Making It Worse

‘Guided Missile Drugs’ Could Be Big Pharma’s Secret Weapon

Brazil Scientists Developing New ‘Vaccine’ For Cocaine Addiction

Repeat COVID vax worsens immune response, could ‘enhance’ dengue, international research suggests

Covid shots may slightly increase risk of stroke in older adults, particularly when administered with certain flu vaccines

Senate passes amendment to ban federal mask mandates on commercial flights and public transit

Scientists urge WHO to declare health emergency for planet

WHO Leader Dr. Tedros Says “Disinformation” Eroded Trust Between People and WHO

Source: http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php

Mid-Day Snapshot · October 27, 2023

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

THE FOUNDATION

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” —Cesare Beccaria

On this day in Patriot history in 1787, “Publius” published in a New York newspaper the first of 85 essays explaining and advocating for the U.S. Constitution. They were later compiled as The Federalist Papers. Our company, Publius Press, and original publication name, The Federalist, took cues from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay as we endeavor to defend the Constitution and American Liberty. —Mark Alexander

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

• The Maine Manhunt and Biden’s Bogus Ban Plan
• Jamaal Bowman’s Sweetheart Deal
• Et Tu, UFC?
• Executive News Summary
• States Sue Meta to Protect Their Children
• Israel’s Difficult Choices
• DAILY FEATURES: Videos, Best of Right Opinion, Short Cuts, Memes, and Cartoons.

ON THE WEB

• Ron Helle: Grassroots Devotional: Taproot
• RCI: Mega-Jolt: The Costs and Logistics of Plugging in EVs
• The Pop Culture Contrarian Podcast: Just Say No to Genocide

FEATURED ANALYSIS

The Maine Manhunt and Biden’s Bogus Ban Plan

As predictable as the sun rising in the east, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris called for banning and confiscating firearms.

Nate Jackson

A massive manhunt is still underway in Maine in search of 40-year-old Robert Card after he allegedly massacred 18 people and wounded 13 more on Wednesday in Lewiston. He opened fire with what looked like an AR-15 at a bowling alley and then a bar. We all know where the conversation immediately turns.

But first, the 18 people killed, not all of whom have yet been publicly identified, were innocent men and women minding their own business and having fun on a Wednesday evening. Their lives were senselessly cut short by a man who recently spent two weeks in a mental health facility after what Maine law enforcement said was “hearing voices and [making] threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.”

Card is enlisted in the Army Reserve and was a firearms instructor.

Obviously, there were some serious failures in the system leading up to Wednesday’s mass murder.

Democrats have no interest in fixing those problems, of course, because they’d rather pass more gun laws and regulations to take guns from everyone but their own armed security. And nothing they do is ever enough. Joe Biden said so in a statement yesterday: While celebrating last year’s passage of bipartisan legislation funding red flag laws among other things, and this year’s establishment of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, he said, “It’s simply not enough.”

Today, in the wake of yet another tragedy, I urge Republican lawmakers in Congress to fulfill their duty to protect the American people. Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to enact universal background checks, to require safe storage of guns, and end immunity from liability for gun manufacturers. This is the very least we owe every American who will now bear the scars — physical and mental — of this latest attack.

Put another way, Wednesday’s massacre was the fault of (A) congressional Republicans and (B) gun manufacturers, not the sociopath who actually pulled the trigger or the system already in place to prevent men like him from accessing firearms.

To help make the political point, Biden once again used flags as political rags by ordering flags to half-mast through Monday — which, notably, he did not do for the 33 Americans killed by Hamas jihadists on October 7. Any flags at half-mast after that massacre were ordered by state governors, not the president, as we can only surmise he didn’t want to anger his anti-Semitic constituents.

Clearly aware that merely banning the sale of a weapon when tens of millions are already privately owned by law-abiding American citizens, Kamala Harris said the quiet part out loud: Confiscation is next. “Let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated,” she said while gesturing to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who happened to be with her.

A few years back, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama advocated the same thing.

What, exactly, did “our friends in Australia” demonstrate? That a forced gun buyback program can disarm a great number of people. In the 1990s, Australian authorities confiscated roughly 650,000 guns. Again, there are tens of millions here, and a culture of Second Amendment-defended Liberty to go with it.

Australia also never had the culture of violence that exists in American urban centers, so that nation’s gun ban did little to change anything. Other than Australia was one of the worst countries in the world when it came to COVID lockdowns. What were unarmed citizens going to do?

Biden routinely mocks that Americans will need more than an AR-15 to take on a government armed with F-15s and nuclear weapons. Tell that to the 3% of American colonists who used the most common firearms of the day to defeat the world’s greatest empire.

As for confiscating guns here, which other Democrats have infamously called for, here’s a short video that illustrates how that would probably work out.

Another useful bit of information: Rifles of any type and shotguns combined are used in less than 3% of all homicides. Yet the Leftmedia will avoid reporting that truth, and Biden has never let facts get in the way of his political agenda.

In any case, Mark Alexander called Biden’s “assault weapons” ban “a distraction from the real murder and violent crime epidemic nationwide — black-on-black violence.”

Instead, Alexander predicts, “I suspect the White Supremacy label will emerge in the Maine case.”

He adds:

Despite Biden’s “assault rifle” dog whistle, what Demos and their Leftmedia publicists do not want you to focus on, as I have thoroughly documented before, is the inconvenient truth about race and violence. The reality is, if they actually believed “black lives matter,” they would not continue to propagate failed urban policies that proliferate the black-on-black culture of violence, which accounts for a grossly disproportionate amount of violent crime nationwide.

Some leftists effectively if not explicitly support some murders, like the Israeli lives taken by Hamas jihadists. Most leftists ignore most murders because black lives don’t actually matter as much as political agendas. Nearly all leftists use a select few murders committed by a tiny number of deranged white men armed with a rifle with certain cosmetic features to advocate policies that will do nothing but empower government and endanger more lives.

Tell us again who the compassionate people are.

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Jamaal Bowman’s Sweetheart Deal

The House rep is charged with only a misdemeanor. With a fine and apology, he gets a clean record in three months. Hello, two-tiered justice.

Emmy Griffin

When New York House Congressman Jamaal Bowman pulled that fire alarm on September 30, he wasn’t banking on a few things. One, that he would be filmed, i.e. caught in the act. Two, that his story wouldn’t hold water in light of the evidence. What he did bank on was a lenient sentence. So he insisted that he pulled the fire alarm thinking it would open the doors. He claims that he most certainly was not trying to delay a House vote.

DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has charged Bowman with a misdemeanor: One count of pulling a fire alarm. This misdemeanor generally has a minimum sentence of six months jail time, but for Congressman Bowman, he only has to pay $1,000 and write an apology letter to the Capitol Police. After doing both these things, the charges will be dropped against him after three months. In other words, his crime will be expunged.

Bowman’s statement upon his guilty plea was defiant: “I’m thankful for the quick resolution from the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office on this issue and grateful that the United States Capitol Police General Counsel’s office agreed I did not obstruct nor intend to obstruct any House vote or proceedings. I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped.”

There are several big hitches in Bowman’s attempt to pass this charge off as being held accountable. The first big red flag is that the official affidavit written by the Capitol Police states that they do think Bowman’s pulling the fire alarm was an intentional act to disrupt the workings of Congress. They based this on Bowman’s actions both during and after the incident. But the DC attorney general is only fining him? Something doesn’t add up here. That something is two-tiered justice.

The video of Bowman pulling the fire alarm was released to the public yesterday. Does this look like a man who is bewildered and trying to open a usually open door, as he claimed? Does this look like a man who, as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted yesterday, committed “what appears to have been an inadvertent action”?

No. From what the video shows, he didn’t even attempt to open the door. Instead, he deliberately pulled down warning signs and then pulled the alarm with no hesitation.

It’s convenient that the video wasn’t released until after Bowman’s slap on the wrist was made public. The court of public opinion might have put more pressure on the AG. Ultimately, the timing of the video release seems to rub the American people’s noses in it. There is one set of rules for the Left, and one set for the rest of the population.

Why bother to even charge Bowman if they so clearly don’t care about justice being served? Former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy points out that the only reason Democrats are allowing him to be charged at all is to protect the “Squad” member. This misdemeanor — which is the Left’s sorry excuse for “accountability” — shield’s Bowman from future prosecution. To charge him again with this crime would be considered double jeopardy.

Bowman was quick to shift attention away from himself and back toward the Republicans. He said: “I think we all know that Republicans will attempt to use this to distract everyone from their mess. But I look forward to putting this behind me and to continue working hard to deliver for New Yorkers.”

Sadly for him, Republicans have settled on a new House speaker, and so that particular absurd political theater is no longer a useful distraction for him. Bowman is now front and center. People can see his actions and judge for themselves. Based on the video, his story and misdemeanor charge are shown for the façade they are.

The Democrats protect those who are politically useful to them. That’s why Jamaal Bowman and Hunter Biden get the kid-glove treatment and former Governor Andrew Cuomo is disgraced. It’s all about power, and the Democrats are showing once again that they have a huge majority of it.

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Et Tu, UFC?

Having thrown in with Bud Light on a record-breaking sponsorship deal, Dana White and UFC might be setting themselves up for a spinning back kick.

Douglas Andrews

Dana White is a smart dude, and heretofore he’s been a great businessman. So why on earth would he risk his UFC® brand by throwing in with Bud Freaking Light?

From its humble, hardscrabble beginnings in 1993 as a professional mixed martial arts organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization has, as its website points out, “revolutionized the fight business and today stands as a premium global sports brand, media content company, and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world.”

Just how flush is UFC? The organization reportedly makes more than $1 billion a year. But that’s chump change, a sucker’s share, a rusty pug’s purse. Earlier this year, a single publicly traded company, TKO Group Holdings, was formed to house both UFC and Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, and the total value of that entertainment colossus is $24.1 billion, with UFC accounting for just over half of it.

And yet. As CNBC reports: “Bud Light will again become the official beer sponsor for the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a six-year marketing partnership, the companies announced Tuesday. The sponsorship deal is ‘well into the nine figures,’ and the largest in the mixed martial arts promotion’s history.”

Why, Dana? Why?

“Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC’s original beer sponsors more than 15 years ago,” said White on Tuesday. “I’m proud to announce we are back in business together.”

If White were in better touch with his UFC customers, and if A-B were that eager to ink a deal, he’d have added a condition to the pending partnership: He’d have demanded that Bud Light first make amends, that the company first issue an apology to its customers.

Fat chance of that. As part of the deal, which goes into effect on January 1, Bud Light gets “exclusive and prominent branding at UFC fights and events, as well as in-arena promotion. In addition, the brewer will collaborate on original content for UFC’s digital and social channels.”

In other words, UFC fans are gonna be seeing Bud Light everywhere. And if you’re like us, everywhere you see a Bud Light banner, you’re going to see Dylan Mulvaney subliminally. We can’t help it. We can’t unsee her him.

What was White’s reason for giving a big middle finger to his loyal fan base? “There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light,” he said, “most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for. I’m looking forward to all of the incredible things we will do in the years ahead.”

Is he now? In fairness to White, that alignment he spoke of is real. Donald Trump Jr. tried to point this out on his “Triggered” podcast back in April, taking some serious flak while noting that Anheuser-Busch, its employees, and its Political Action Committee gave “about 60 percent to Republicans” in the last election cycle — which is a remarkably strong share in today’s climate of rank corporate wokeism. But then in June, just as the Mulvaney fiasco was dying down, they gave a $200,000 kiss to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

White, though, had his price. And the price was somewhere north of $100 million over six years, the value of UFC’s Bud Light deal. As he told Sean Hannity earlier this week: “They employ 65,000 Americans. They have thousands of vets that work for them. They spend $700 million a year with U.S. farmers using their crops to make their products.”

All that is true, but there’s a reason why A-B, which was acquired by Belgium-based InBev in 2008, lost $27 billion in market value after partnering with Mulvaney. Why? Because customers saw that grotesque little marketing ploy as a big-time betrayal. And who can blame them? As our Mark Alexander rightly noted, “This is the fault of woke corporate management, not the consumers who embody the free market.”

Ever since then, A-B has been getting a crash course at the School of Hard Knocks. With news of White’s spit-swapping dalliance with Bud Light, some UFC fans seem ready to take to the Octagon. They’re threatening a boycott. As commentator Robbie Starbuck opines:

Lighting that money on fire would have been less embarrassing than what’s about to happen. Fighters are gonna hate this. Fans will hate it. The customers aren’t coming back @budlight. Period. You made your bed with men who think they’re women, now sleep in it. I get that Dana thinks he has to take the easy money but this damages the UFC brand and puts his fighters in bad spots where they WILL speak out against it. Watch. Embarrassment awaits.

In classic White fashion, though, he punched back against his critics, calling them “dummies” and seeming unconcerned that these were also his customers: “I saw some other f***ing a**hole today saying, ‘Oh, it sounds like they wrote him a script on what to say.’ Nobody writes me a script. Nobody tells me what to say. Ever.”

In other words, Shut up, he explained.

It’ll be interesting to see whether UFC fans take his advice or give him the Bud Light treatment.

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Executive News Summary

GDP rises, the Appropriated Press’s selective stylebook, Lee statue secretly melted down, and more.

Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler

Cross-Examination

• GDP rises: Third-quarter GDP numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday came in higher than the expected 4.3%, rising to 4.9%. While that number looks like an indication of strong economic growth, the economy is not entirely healthy. Job Creators President Alfredo Ortiz called the number a “mirage created by unprecedented deficit spending.” Ron DeSantis also weighed in: “Today’s GDP numbers are reflective of the wider Biden economy — inflated. Much of last quarter’s growth was driven by unsustainable government spending and monetary policy. In reality, consumer confidence is falling, inflation is still nearly double the average of the last 30 years, our oil reserves are at a 40-year low, auto loan delinquencies and credit card debt are near all-time highs, and more Americans are forced to take on multiple jobs to cover basic expenses. Bidenflation is killing the average American’s bottom line, and things will only get worse in the months ahead as credit dries up and gas prices increase even further because of Biden’s anti-energy policies.”
• Doling out retribution: On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it had killed Hamas’s head of intelligence, Shadi Barud, in a targeted airstrike. Barud was said to have planned and orchestrated Hamas’s murderous attack on innocent Israelis. Three other Hamas military leaders were also killed in targeted strikes. Meanwhile, the U.S. military conducted airstrikes in eastern Syria, targeting Iranian weapons depots and ammo storage facilities in response to 19 attacks leveled against American military personnel in Iraq and Syria. It’s a needed shot across the bow after Team Biden’s red line.
• The Appropriated Press’s selective stylebook: It’s no secret that our mainstream media suffers from an acute case of moral relativism, but its bouts seem to become more severe, more debilitating, when the news of the day involves a conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Such is the case with the Associated Appropriated Press, which modestly calls itself “the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news,” and which recently issued “verbal guidance on the Israel-Hamas coverage” in which the terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” are to be avoided like a story about the White House’s cocaine business. Interestingly, the AP does acknowledge that terrorism is “the calculated use of violence, especially against civilians, to create terror to disrupt and demoralize societies for political ends,” but it becomes downright squeamish when applying the term to noble Hamas freedom fighters who shoot fleeing young concertgoers in the back and decapitate Jewish babies. Luckily for the AP, though, that troubling term is always available for affixing to pro-Trump political protesters, or when it gleefully reports that a lachrymose RINO has called a fellow Republican a “legislative terrorist.”
• Harvard “task force” for anti-Semitic students: Harvard University clearly has a racism problem. Not only has the Ivy League school effectively thumbed its nose at the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against its race-based admission policies that discriminated against Asians, but the school is now actively harboring anti-Semites. Harvard is seeking to protect the 30+ student groups that signed letters blaming Israel for Hamas’s unprovoked murderous attack against Israelis. The university announced plans to create a task force that will aim to assist these students in navigating the backlash they have received for publicly endorsing anti-Semitism. That assistance will include instructions on how to respond to online harassment. But the truth is, it is not these anti-Semitic students who are under threat; rather, they are the threat, as demonstrated by the protests and rallies they’ve held at universities across the country, captured in a series of videos.
• Belly Laugh of the Day: Speaking of the anti-Israel protesters, at one of these rallies a pro-Palestinian protester with a bullhorn called for a boycott of several big American businesses. She shouted out the names of several companies, including Starbucks, Disney, Walmart, and Nike. Several observers note that the speaker was in fact wearing a pair of Nike shoes even as she was calling for its boycott. The hypocrisy runs strong in this one.
• Racism solved, Lee statue secretly melted down: Who knew it’d be this easy? And why didn’t anyone think of it years ago? On Saturday, the dual stains of slavery, our nation’s original sin, and racism, the stubborn vestige of that sin, were scrubbed away, removed from our dark history, expunged from our record and our daily life, when a statue of one of history’s most brilliant generals, Robert E. Lee, was, as The Washington Post giddily reports, surreptitiously “cut into fragments and dropped into a furnace, dissolving into a sludge of glowing bronze.” Yep, that’ll do it. That’ll end racism. Lee, of course, was a Confederate, and he was thus on the wrong side of history even though he opposed the institution of slavery. And the magnificent statue of him that once stood in Charlottesville — the one whose scheduled removal was the basis for protests and counterprotests in 2017 that resulted in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer and the ongoing false smearing of Donald Trump — is now gone. “Well, they can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again,” gloated Andrea Douglas, the executive director of Charlottesville’s black history museum, as she watched pieces of oxidized history being fed into a 2,250-degree furnace. “There will be no tape for that.” Yep, problem solved.
• Trump’s best poll numbers ever, and some of Biden’s worst ever: There’s nothing like a string of indictments and gag orders to boost one’s presidential prospects. A recent Harvard Caps Harris poll of 2,116 registered voters showed Donald Trump getting 39% support, Joe Biden 33%, and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 19%. This reminds us of a three-way race in 1992 — a race that included independent businessman Ross Perot also pulling 19% of the vote and bleeding support away from the incumbent president, Republican George H.W. Bush — which vaulted Democrat Bill Clinton into the White House with just 43% of the vote. Elsewhere, in an even more significant Morning Consult poll in the election-deciding swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Trump leads Biden 47% to 43%. Pollster and former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway called these numbers “the best” of Trump’s political career. Even more ominously for the enfeebled 80-year-old incumbent, respondents said the economy was their most important issue, and they disapproved of Biden’s handling of it by a whopping 65% to 14%. Finally, a new Gallup poll showed Biden’s support among Democrats dropping 11 points in a single month, from 86% to 75%. No wonder gelato tycoon Dean Phillips is getting into the race.
• Communist China’s new purge: It was just over a year ago, at a meeting of China’s Communist Party Congress, when 79-year-old former Chinese President Hu Jintao was hoisted by the armpit and “escorted” out of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People by one of current President Xi Jinping’s henchmen. At the time, NBC News called it “a moment of unexpected drama during an otherwise highly choreographed event.” Things in China today are decidedly less dramatic but perhaps no less significant. As National Review’s Jim Geraghty writes: “In the past few months, several top Chinese government officials have suddenly disappeared; one day, they stopped making public appearances and showing up at meetings, and their replacements were announced months later. It looks like something akin to a purge is occurring within the top level of the Chinese government, with Xi Jinping removing anyone he’s not 100 percent certain is completely loyal to him.” The disappeared aren’t just any schlubs, either. They include China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang; the commander of the PLA’s Rocket Force, Li Yuchao, along with its political commissar, Xu Zhongbo; and finally, Defense Minister Li Shangfu. It looks to us like Xi might be getting a bit twitchy, perhaps due to the precarious position of his country’s economy.
• The Florida Man Games: Coming February 2024 in St. Augustine, Florida, the first (and possibly annual) “Florida Man Games.” The event aims to capitalize on the Sunshine State’s famous — or infamous — reputation with a competition that aims to be “the most insane athletic showdown on Earth.” The objective is to have fun with those “Florida man” news reports of bizarre and crazy stories often involving individuals with guns, drugs, alcohol, gators, or any number of humorous things. For example, several of the competitions listed include “Weaponized Pool Noodle Mud Duel,” “A Catalytic Converter, 2 Bikes, And A Handful Of Copper Pipes: Race Against Time,” and “Beer Belly Florida Sumo.” In other words, it is an event for rednecks poking fun at themselves for being rednecks.

Headlines

• Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder suspends campaign, endorses Donald Trump (Fox News)
• Speaker Johnson supports $14 billion for Israel, but says America “cannot be dropping money out of helicopters” (Fox News)
• IDF tanks, troops briefly enter Gaza in second limited overnight raid ahead of ground op (Times of Israel)
• Rashida Tlaib employed Hamas activists, had “extensive fundraising ties” to Hamas supporters (Hot Air)
• California city the first in U.S. to condemn Israel, accuse Jewish state of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza (New York Post)
• More Americans are raiding retirement funds for emergencies (USA Today)
• Humor: Seventy-six sacrificial goats delivered to pizza parlor for Hillary Clinton’s birthday party (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.

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States Sue Meta to Protect Their Children

Attorneys general from 33 states sue Facebook’s parent company for addicting children to its products and misleading the public about the potential harm.

Brian Mark Weber

When social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter burst onto the scene, they found an enthusiastic audience among people of all ages.

At the time, it all seemed so harmless. Keeping in touch with friends, sharing travel pictures, and engaging in discussions on a range of topics made us feel connected to others.

Years ago, though, we began to sense that something wasn’t right, especially with our kids. We didn’t have the evidence to back up our gut feeling, but we didn’t like seeing them spending every waking moment on a phone or computer. Then, during COVID, the teachers unions locked our kids out of school, and their mental health began to suffer right before our eyes.

Now we’re beginning to see some hard evidence about the negative effects of social media on our young people, and there’s no way to sugarcoat it: Children are suffering because of social media — socially, emotionally, and mentally.

Earlier this year, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stressed that adolescents aren’t ready for social media platforms, and that they’re harmful to their relationships and self-perception. Murthy also issued an advisory in May, citing a link between social media and mental health among young people. “I’m issuing this advisory,” he said, “because we’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I’m concerned that social media is contributing to the harms that kids are experiencing.”

In addition, a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that social media has a profoundly negative impact on brain development in young people.

With mounting evidence, some states have seen enough, and they’re fighting for our children.

“Dozens of U.S. states filed a lawsuit against Meta and its Instagram social media platform on Tuesday, accusing the multinational technology conglomerate of contributing to the mental health crisis in American youth by making them addicted to its products,” The Daily Wire reports. “Attorneys general from 33 states, including California and New York, filed the complaint in the Northern District of California federal court, claiming Meta violated federal children’s online privacy and state consumer protection laws.”

In part, the lawsuit claims that Meta “has profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans.” Moreover, “Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” and “in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms. It has concealed the ways in which these Platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.”

The states, though, aren’t the only ones going after Mark Zuckerberg’s Big Tech behemoth.

According to National Review: “A Meta whistleblower released documents in 2021 that provided evidence that the company knew Instagram to be addictive and harmful to youth mental health. Since then, the media company has faced many lawsuits filed by school districts and states. Hundreds of school districts are currently suing Meta over concerns that the platforms encourage cyberbullying and distract students.”

Instead of taking responsibility, social media giants such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and others are hoping they’ll be protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was passed by Congress back in 1996, before the Internet had so fully insinuated itself into our lives. The law protects Internet service providers, streaming services, and social media sites from holding any responsibility for third-party content created by their users. Despite efforts by the Justice Department during the Trump administration, little has changed. But school districts are working hard to make their case in court.

“In the new lawsuits,” reports The Wall Street Journal, “school districts and families contend that the social-media companies have created an addictive product that pushes destructive content to youth — and that a product, unlike content, doesn’t enjoy Section 230 protections.”

States taking action include Arkansas and Utah, where children under 13 are banned from accessing social media, while teens under 18 who want to access certain sites need parental approval. Meanwhile, California — the home of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and one-party Democrat rule — passed an Age-Appropriate Design Code to further restrict teens from accessing Meta platforms.

Now that parents, schools, and communities have irrefutable evidence that social media platforms and algorithms are harming our children, it’ll be interesting to see how this battle to protect our kids progresses through the courts. There are measures we can take in the meantime, however — and parents waking up to the dark reality of Meta is an important first step.

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Israel’s Difficult Choices

Israel is at a moral disadvantage because it cares about preserving human life.

Cal Thomas

When Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was struggling over when to order the D-Day invasion of Europe in 1944, he wrestled with uncooperative weather, but also worried that any more delays beyond the one-day delay he had already ordered could possibly lower morale and reduce troop readiness.

For Israel, more delays in invading Gaza and destroying Hamas’ ability to commit new acts of terror against the Jewish state is only one of several considerations faced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his military leaders.

Israel is at a moral disadvantage because it cares about preserving human life, while its enemies celebrate death in the pursuit of eliminating the Jewish state and ultimately the best-case scenario for them, which is martyrdom.

Here are just some of the difficult choices Israel must make, none of them good.

— Invade now and risk the deaths of more than an estimated 200 hostages, along with considerable Israeli troop casualties.

— Invade now and risk opening a new front on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, potentially facing a barrage of missiles from that terrorist group’s large stockpile.

— Invade at a future date, possibly losing troop readiness and lowered morale, but also losing support from nations that initially condemned the terrorist attack.

— Pay a ransom for the release of hostages in money or in a terrorist prisoner exchange (or both), which in the past has done nothing to quench the thirst for more blood by its enemies.

Israel faces continued threats from its many enemies, which include much of the world’s media that almost always faults Israel for anything bad that occurs in the region. The New York Times’ reporting on the supposed Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital that allegedly killed hundreds of people was taken directly from the Palestinians and not fact-checked. When Israel proved the report a lie, the Times felt it necessary to print an “editor’s note” which said its false report “left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” Who would have thought that a false report might leave an incorrect impression? The Times’ bogus report and screaming headline also added fuel to the fire, causing worldwide demonstrations against Israel before the truth was revealed that a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket was to blame.

Hamas and its terrorist allies appear to have studied at the Josef Goebbels school of propaganda. His most famous line has been appropriated, not only by Hamas, but also by many in the media: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

And not just the State, but even terrorist organizations that manipulate the media and many of our once-great universities that suppress the truth about many things.

Whatever Israel decides to do — or not do — it will almost certainly be condemned. If it goes into Gaza, it will be blamed for killing civilians. No matter that Hamas uses them as human shields and has prevented many from leaving Gaza for that purpose. If Israel fails to go in, it risks repeated attacks in the future, as it has in the past. It is almost a no-win situation.

©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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VIDEOS

• Dana White Slams UFC Fans — After receiving backlash from fans for signing a $100 million sponsorship deal with Bud Light, UFC owner Dana White calls them dumb.
• Light on Crime Goes Wrong — Reality hits hard as a woke district attorney in New Orleans was carjacked by armed robbers.
• ‘What You Don’t Do Is Alarming’ — Senator Mike Lee grills Biden administration officials over policies relating to unaccompanied minors where many have gone unaccounted for.
• Security Footage of Jamaal Bowman Undermines Plea Deal — Democrat Representative Jamaal Bowman is seen removing warning signs directly before he pulls the fire alarm in the House office building.
• PopCon #19: Just Say No to Genocide — On October 7, evil terrorists invaded the homes and towns of peaceful Israeli citizens, killing scores of women, children, and men without mercy. The event has been likened to America’s 9/11, though, per capita, the scale of those killed in Israel soars in comparison.

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BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

• TIM GRAHAMTV News Warns About the New ‘Extremist’ Speaker
• GARY BAUERBiden Stands With Palestine
• DAVID HARSANYIPolls Showing Support for Israel Hide Some Ugly Truths
• JOSH HAMMEREmboldened Global Jihad Is Final Nail in Coffin of Mass Migration Delusion
• VICTOR DAVIS HANSONPremodern Diversity vs. Civilizational Unity
• ERICK ERICKSONDear Marc Rowan, Et Al.

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.

SHORT CUTS

Leftist Babble

“Gun violence has terrorized and traumatized so many of our communities in this country. And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.” —Vice President Kamala Harris

“I urge Republican lawmakers in Congress to fulfill their duty to protect the American people. Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.” —President Joe Biden

Belly Laugh of the Day

“I understand the Constitution.” —Joe Biden

Non Compos Mentis

“In celebration and recognition of Intersex Awareness Day, we affirm the United States’ commitment to promoting and protecting the human rights of Intersex persons globally. … Intersex persons often face stigma and discrimination in accessing education, healthcare, and legal recognition, and are subjected to medically unnecessary surgeries. These harmful practices, which can cause lifelong negative physical and emotional consequences, are a medical form of so-called conversion therapy practices in that they seek to physically ‘convert’ Intersex children into non-Intersex children.” —Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller

The BIG Lie

“I was not trying to disrupt any, you know, official government proceeding, so I’m glad, you know, the investigation found that that was the case. The misdemeanor charge of pulling the alarm, I admitted that from the very beginning. So, you know, gotta take responsibility.” —Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

Spend-o-Rama

“Vacations from history never work out. We thought we were enjoying one with the federal budget: Interests rates were low and would always stay that way, so why not keep spending money we don’t have? … Interest payments have roughly doubled to $650 billion. That’s beginning to approach what we spend on the Department of Defense — except, of course, we don’t get one tank or airplane from making interest payments. At this pace, payments on the federal debt are on track to become the second biggest federal program after Social Security.” —Rich Lowry

A Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut

“What’s harsh is the way Hamas is using people as human shields. What’s harsh is taking a couple of hundred hostages and leaving families anxious, waiting, and worrying to figure out where their loved ones are. What’s harsh is dropping in on a music festival and slaughtering a bunch of young people just trying to enjoy an afternoon. I could go on and on. That’s what’s harsh.” —National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responding to a reporter asking for Joe Biden to apologize for being “harsh” in saying he doesn’t trust Hamas information

For the Record

“The ‘Minister of Health’ in Gaza might as well be the chief medic for terrorists.” —Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)

Observations

“Israel has a right to exist; a right to defend itself. We have members in this body that do not believe that. Members in this body that cannot muster the courage or the strength to condemn the slaughtering of babies but have the audacity to repeat a vile and disgusting lie that Israel bombed a hospital. They are not worthy of serving in this body. … Those members should resign in disgrace.” —Congressman Michael Lawler (R-NY)

“The easiest moral place to stand is in the middle. Standing in the middle is comforting. It grants you the illusion that you are being evenhanded, that you see nuance and complexity where others see black and white. It is flattering to be in the middle — no one hates your viewpoint enough to make you their opponent, and yet you get to stand apart from everyone, tut-tutting both sides. When it comes to Israel and its terror-backing enemies, the West has, for some decades, taken precisely that position.” —Ben Shapiro

“Israel is at a moral disadvantage because it cares about preserving human life, while its enemies celebrate death in the pursuit of eliminating the Jewish state and ultimately the best-case scenario for them, which is martyrdom.” —Cal Thomas

“How many young people working as engineers or carpenters or starting a new business or at home tending to a new family support Hamas? Very few, one imagines. What about the literature majors or those pursuing international relations degrees or Ph.D.s in one of the social pseudosciences? There is little hope for those who attend hermetically sealed ideological laboratories of higher ‘learning,’ where identitarianism, intersectionality and other iterations of Marxism — most contingent on some form of antisemitism — are taught.” —David Harsanyi

“At its core, Marxism is a philosophy rooted in resentment, devoted to the abolition of religion and the replacement of God with government. For the diehard Marxist, there is no ‘truth,’ no ultimate arbiter of ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ no natural law, no divine source of fundamental human dignity or inherent individual rights. There is only power and whatever it takes to wield it to bring about the ‘revolution.’ It is no coincidence that antisemitism festers in this climate.” —Laura Hollis

“The job of universities is to pursue truth. But this is impossible when they do not believe truth exists. Thinking that the point is bringing together people rather than pursing truth is an exercise in ideology, not scholarship, and leads only to the social, cultural and spiritual degeneration we are experiencing. If we want to save our country, let’s save our places of learning.” —Star Parker

“If you really want to change the institutions, you have to stop hiring from the Ivies when there are plenty of fine, capable and academically gifted graduates … from Middle American families who raised these kids with a work ethic and whose values align with the nation, not the Nazis. Hire the kids who worked part time at Chick-fil-A instead of the kids whose fathers got them fellowships at liberal elite institutions.” —Erick Erickson

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The S&P 500 could fall another 5% and test a critical support level that has previously marked the bottom, Bank of America says | Business Insider

Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images

• The S&P 500 could fall another 5% to test a critical support level, according to Bank of America.
• BofA’s Michael Hartnett highlighted the S&P 500’s 200-week moving average as a key line in the sand.
• It has marked the bottom for stocks in 2022, 2018, 2016, and 2011.

---

The S&P 500’s 10% decline since the end of July is putting the index within striking distance of a critical technical support level, according to Bank of America.

Investment strategist Michael Hartnett said in a Thursday note that 3,941 is a key level to watch for the S&P 500, as that represents the index’s rising 200-week moving average. A sell-off to that mark would represent another 5% decline from the current level of about 4,143.

The 200-week moving average measures the average price of the S&P 500 over the past four years, and it’s been consistently rising ever since 2012. The S&P 500 has had a tendency to test this line during periods of market stress over the past decade.

Market sell-offs in 2016, 2018, and 2022 hit the S&P 500’s 200-week average almost to the penny, with the index swiftly bouncing off of that level to then go on and continue its multiyear uptrend.

The 200-week moving average was briefly violated and did not hold as initial support during the COVID-19 sell-off in March 2020.

A continued decline to the 200-week moving average looks more likely as the S&P 500 equal-weight index dipped below a level that Hartnett flagged as critical.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 recently broke below a shorter-term technical support level: the 4,180 to 4,195 range, according to Fairlead Strategies’ Katie Stockton.

But there are signs that investors are starting to take advantage of the recent downturn in mega-cap tech stocks, with Hartnett observing that the tech sector saw its largest inflow in eight weeks after investors purchased $2.0 billion worth of stocks.

“Investors ‘buying-the-dip’ in tech,” he said.

TC2000

Read the original article on Business Insider

Source: The S&P 500 could fall another 5% and test a critical support level that has previously marked the bottom, Bank of America says

Israel to ‘expand’ Gaza ground operations Friday night, IDF says

Ground forces are “expanding their operations tonight,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters shortly after Gaza lost power and internet access.

Source: Israel to ‘expand’ Gaza ground operations Friday night, IDF says

‘Something Bad’s Coming’: Tucker Carlson Warns America Is on ‘Brink of Collapse’ | The Western Journal.

‘Something Bad’s Coming’: Tucker Carlson Warns America Is on ‘Brink of Collapse’

Tucker Carlson warned earlier this week he feels America is on the “brink of collapse” as he discussed the country’s immigration and foreign policy stances, spending and social division.

Carlson was addressing a crowd at the Daily Caller News Foundation Gala on Tuesday when he shared some ominous thoughts.

He said when then-candidate Donald Trump sparked calls for the government to work on behalf of the people in early 2016, he expected elected officials to straighten up, at least for a little while.

“The opposite happened. It’s crazy,” he said.

Carlson said the cost of living, the inability of younger Americans to start families and the basic failure of the country to maintain a standard of living should be inspiring politicians to change course.

They are not, he claimed.

You can say you care about America, but if you’re sending $100 billion to foreign countries right now, you’re lying. pic.twitter.com/jFmBlAW3qG

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 25, 2023

“If something really dramatic in your country happens — like young people can’t, I don’t know, get married, you know, or buy houses, or have any hope for a future that approaches, you know, the middle-class upbringing they had — then you’ve got a huge problem, and someone should be responding to that,” he argued.

“If your economy is, like, on the brink of collapse, you know, if your country is literally bankrupt, I hope someone would say that,” he added.

Carlson recalled his upbringing and said he is “fundamentally” a rich kid” but that he understands that people are struggling to afford food.

He then ripped the federal government for focusing on persecuting its political enemies rather than coming together to fix America’s deep social and fiscal issues.

“Let’s start with pretending you care,” Carlson said. “But you know what doesn’t work? Saying we’re going to spend $100 billion in other countries.”

“I don’t care how virtuous the case those countries make is, and I don’t care how much I personally may agree or disagree with what those countries are doing,” he continued.

“That is immaterial. The job, the moral duty of the people running a country is to look out for the people in that country, period. That’s always true.”

“When every person — 350 million Americans — everyone, regardless of political affiliation, can feel that something bad’s coming. Everybody knows that,” Carlson stated.

“I mean, if you’ve been to church once in the last year, have you thought about the end times recently? Yes, you have. Because you can feel that abrupt change is coming and that’s very disconcerting,” he added.

Carlson said while Americans from all backgrounds are worried about the future, no one is advocating to bring them together or to reassure them.

He said that the country is also currently being led by people who are not honest or competent, and that the problem is bipartisan.

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The post ‘Something Bad’s Coming’: Tucker Carlson Warns America Is on ‘Brink of Collapse’ appeared first on The Western Journal.

Biden Admin Under Fire For Allowing Iranian Foreign Minister to Enter US – Conservative Review

The Biden administration is facing questions from Congress about its decision to grant Iran’s foreign minister entry to America to attend United Nations meetings this week, with one lawmaker saying that all U.S. officials who approved the visit “should be fired.”

The post Biden Admin Under Fire For Allowing Iranian Foreign Minister to Enter US appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

https://www.conservativereview.com/biden-admin-under-fire-for-allowing-iranian-foreign-minister-to-enter-us-2666086214.html

Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to apologize for his Christian faith after new backlash: ‘I am a Bible-believing Christian’ – Conservative Review

House Speaker Mike Johnson is making no apologies for his strong Christian faith.

Almost immediately after the Louisiana Republican won the speakership on Wednesday, Democrats and the media began hammering him. One issue in particular — gay marriage — has received more attention than others.

In the mid-2000s, Johnson was an attorney for a conservative Christian legal advocacy group, today known as the Alliance Defending Freedom. During his tenure with the organization, Johnson defended a traditional Christian view of marriage and negatively spoke about homosexuality. At the time, most politicians did not openly support gay marriage, many states had laws against gay marriage, and it was around the time that the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that sodomy laws are unconstitutional.

Johnson is facing backlash for his comments because CNN unearthed them after he became speaker. The news outlet, however, failed to establish the social and political context in which Johnson made the comments. The failure to contextualize allowed CNN to claim that Johnson’s “anti-gay rhetoric was harsh.” In reality, it was normal for the time.

Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Johnson about the backlash on Thursday. In response, Johnson defended his Christian worldview.

“I am a rule-of-law guy. I made a career defending the rule of law. I respect the rule of law. When the Supreme Court issued the Obergefell opinion, that became the law of the land,” Johnson said.

“But I also genuinely love all people regardless of their lifestyle choices. This is not about the people themselves. I am a Bible-believing Christian,” he declared. “Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it — that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe, and so I make no apologies for it.

“That’s my personal worldview,” he clarified.

Johnson went on to explain that there are differences between personal convictions and the law, but his only agenda as speaker is “to do what’s best for the American people and to defend the rule of law.”

Speaker Johnson Sits Down with Sean Hannity youtu.be

https://www.conservativereview.com/speaker-mike-johnson-refuses-to-apologize-for-his-christian-faith-after-new-backlash-i-am-a-bible-believing-christian-2666085097.html

JPM CEO Dimon Dumps $140 Million In Shares After Slamming Fed Forecasts | ZeroHedge News

For the first time in his long and tempest-ful tenure at the CEO of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon has decided the time is right to dump 1 million shares in the mega-bank.

According to a regulatory filing Friday, Dimon and his family will dispose of 1 million of the bank’s shares, which amounts to around a $140 million haul, and the CEO’s “first such stock sale during his tenure at the company.”

It has been a great trade as Bloomberg reports, the increase of more than 250% in JPM’s shares during Dimon’s tenure has helped turn the executive into a billionaire.

In early 2009, Dimon bought 500,000 shares in the bank as a sign of confidence amid a stock slump. He made an identical move in 2016, spending about $38 million on the two rounds of purchases.

Dimon and his family currently hold about 8.6 million JPMorgan shares, meaning the planned sale would represent less than 12% of their holdings in the New York-based bank. His net worth totals about $2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Of course, Dimon’s filing claims this is all pre-planned and being done for tax reasons and diversification (etc., etc.) with the bank reassuring investors in a statement that Dimon “continues to believe the company’s prospects are very strong and his stake in the company will remain very significant.”

But, we couldn’t help but notice the coincidental timing of the stock sale, just hours after Dimon highlighted the fact that forecasters have missed the mark on their economic outlooks, and there’s still reason for caution moving forward.

In a panel at the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the banker called out governments and central banks, and said some more humility should be in order.

“Prepare for possibilities and probabilities, not calling one course of action, since I’ve never seen anyone call it,” Dimon said, per multiple media reports.

“I want to point out the central banks 18 months ago were 100% dead wrong,” Dimon added.

“I would be quite cautious about what might happen next year.”

Ironically, as Apollo’s Torsten Sløk points out in his latest note, it’s not just The Fed that is as often as always wrong, the market is also almost always wrong about what the Fed will do beyond the next FOMC meeting.

The market is currently pricing that the FOMC will start cutting rates in June 2024

As Sløk notes, looking at the chart, it is remarkable how mean reverting the error is.

When rates are low, the market is systematically pricing that the Fed will soon hike.

When rates are high, the market is systematically pricing that the next move from the Fed is to cut.

Maybe the Fed will cut rates next summer. Maybe not.

For now, Sløk warns, investors should be planning on rates staying higher for longer.

Does Dimon’s stock dump signal his lack of faith in The Fed’s ability to pilot the ship through the stagflationary storm ahead?

“Fiscal spending is more than it’s ever been in peacetime and there’s this omnipotent feeling that central banks and governments can manage through all this stuff,” Dimon said.

“I am cautious about what will happen next year.”

…or is it all just coincidental timing? Will Dimon ‘diversify’ away from the dollar into bitcoin? Oh, the irony.

Source: JPM CEO Dimon Dumps $140 Million In Shares After Slamming Fed Forecasts

‘I Make No Apologies’: New House Speaker Mike Johnson Boldly Says Bible Is His Worldview | Faithwire

‘I Make No Apologies’: New House Speaker Mike Johnson Boldly Says Bible Is His Worldview

Just-installed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is making clear he is “a Bible-believing Christian.”

During an interview Thursday evening with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Johnson said he has been asked by members of the media for his positions on myriad issues. In response, he has told them to turn to Scripture to truly understand his perspective on the matters of the day.

“Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious: what does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’” he explained. “I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it — that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe, and so I make no apologies for it.”

During his wide-ranging conversation with Hannity, Johnson revealed the ways his faith informs his actions as a politician — including in how he carried himself during his meeting with President Joe Biden.

“It was cordial and pleasant,” the speaker said of their time together. “I have no problem with President Biden as an individual. You respect the office; it’s a biblical admonition that you give honor where honor is due, and that’s the respect you have for the office. But he and I agree on almost no policy.”

Listen to the latest episode of CBN’s Quick Start podcast

https://art19.com/shows/quick-start/episodes/81da895c-4765-486b-964f-09179f5db8e9/embed

The conversation then turned to some of Johnson’s past comments on homosexuality and his decision to hold to the scriptural view that marriage is a holy institution between one man and one woman for life.

“I genuinely love all people, regardless of their lifestyle choices,” Johnson said. “This is not about the people themselves. I am a Bible-believing Christian.”

He continued, “Everybody comes to the House of Representatives with deep personal convictions, but our deep personal convictions are not going to become law. This is a big body of people — there’s 435 members in the House. You have to argue and find consensus and all that. So, I have no agenda other than what’s best for the American people and to defend the rule of law, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Since his ascension to House speaker, Johnson has put his faith centerstage.

The Louisiana lawmaker brought his Bible with him to his first speech as speaker. During his address before his legislative peers, he told his fellow congressmen and women he believes they are all called by God and ordained to hold the positions they hold at the time in which they hold them.

“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this,” he said. “I believe that Scripture — the Bible — is very clear, that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us, and I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment, in this time. This is my belief.”

“I believe that each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts that God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great country — and they deserve it,” the lawmaker continued. “And to ensure that our republic remains standing as the great beacon of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it.”

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA): "Scripture, the Bible, is very clear: God is the one that raises up those in authority. All of us … [Marxism and Communism] begin with the premise that there is no God." pic.twitter.com/VCh4kKHdQC

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 25, 2023

Back in January, when the Republicans were struggling — much like they did this fall — to find a House speaker, Johnson was one of a handful of conservative lawmakers who met to pray for God’s intervention after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed numerous times to secure the votes he needed to take on the leadership role in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) posted a photo earlier this week of Johnson and a small group of Republicans who prayed before McCarthy successfully — and finally — earned enough votes to become speaker.

“In January,” Steube wrote, “Congressman Mike Johnson joined me on the House floor while we were in a deadlock over who our next Speaker would be. We lifted up the speaker’s race to the Lord and asked for his divine guidance. Immediately after the prayer, 14 members changed their votes, ultimately leading to Speaker McCarthy securing the gavel by the end of the day.”

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRepGregSteube%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02m3LhBh4o9jiWwH8n6EH8mjf3nDdUncS2WSb3FUDxWPZGorSd7FZxx87TzWTvoVFDl&show_text=false&width=500

The Florida legislator went on to describe Johnson as “a strong conservative” and “a strong Christian.”

“He’s not afraid to look to his faith for guidance,” Steube added. “America needs that more than ever in the U.S. House.”

​ ***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

BREAKING: Far-Left CNN Officially Closes Its CNN’s World News Headquarters in Atlanta After More Than 35 Years (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit

CNN’s Kate Bolduan dropped a bombshell announcement on Friday, revealing that CNN would be closing its CNN Center headquarters in Atlanta. The decision comes in the wake of declining viewership and increasing financial pressures.

“Before we go today, we are marking an important moment today in CNN’s history. Today’s show will be the final broadcast from the CNN Center in Atlanta,” said Bolduan.

While the broadcaster had already moved its weekday anchors to New York or Washington, D.C., the CNN Center in Atlanta still housed significant operations, including digital and CNN International.

“We anchor the show out of New York, but the control rooms of this show and much of our editorial staff has always been in Atlanta at that iconic building at the CNN Center, also known as CNN’s World News Headquarters,” said Bolduan.

“Starting Monday, our team there will move to a new home just a couple of miles away. But it’s actually the new home is actually the place where CNN founder Ted Turner started the network back in 1980.”

END OF AN ERA: CNN's @KateBolduan reveals @NewsCentralCNN will be the final show produced from the CNN Center in Atlanta as staff will be moving to a new building.

Almost none of CNN's shows are actually anchored/hosted there anymore, but large parts of the staff have stayed. pic.twitter.com/MT0BJajdGb

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 27, 2023

The mainstream media environment has transformed dramatically over the past several years, with outlets becoming more polarized and less committed to objective journalism. CNN, once a beacon of straight news, has increasingly become a platform for left-leaning opinion and propaganda.

The closure was first announced earlier this year.

AJC reported:

After more than 35 years, CNN is leaving its downtown mainstay in stages this year, with the entire operation moving back to renovated space at the 30-acre Turner Techwood campus in Midtown, according to a CNN spokeswoman.

CNN Center for many years served not only as a corporate headquarters but also an international calling card for Atlanta. It was equal parts home to Ted Turner’s original 24/7 news channel and tourist attraction — the network’s logo a fixture of the Atlanta skyline.

But CNN’s move out of its namesake office building has been years in the making. CNN effectively moved its headquarters to New York years ago, and the hulking CNN Center has been slowly hollowed out.

AT&T, CNN’s former parent company, sold CNN Center in 2021 to Florida-based real estate firms CP Group and Rialto Capital Management for nearly $164 million as a cost-saving move. Neither company responded to requests for comment Thursday on how CNN’s announcement will affect the building’s operations, its other tenants and its food court.

CNN’s new owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, is now prepping smaller space at its Midtown Techwoodproperty, which Ted Turner purchased in 1979 to startCNN. Techwood houses departments for other cable networks including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and truTV as well as sports programming.

The post BREAKING: Far-Left CNN Officially Closes Its CNN’s World News Headquarters in Atlanta After More Than 35 Years (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

DeSantis Slams Biden For Charging Americans Evacuees From Israel While Paying To Fly Illegal Immigrants

‘Americans fleeing a warzone are somehow gonna get a bill? It isn’t right,’ DeSantis said

Source: DeSantis Slams Biden For Charging Americans Evacuees From Israel While Paying To Fly Illegal Immigrants

Congress’ Approval Rating Plummets To Near All-Time Low – Conservative Review

Americans’ approval of Congress has plummeted by 4 points

https://www.conservativereview.com/congress-approval-rating-plummets-to-near-all-time-low-2666084939.html

What is the Future of Israel? Part 1 | Reformed Forum

What is the Future of Israel? Part 1

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss the future of Israel? With geopolitical affairs in the Middle East as they are currently and the end times speculations that arise and questions as to how Christians should think of the nation-state of Israel, we consider some history, some dispensational views, and some Reformed views.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Biden spotted holding a note card with reporters’ photos and names to call on at joint presser | FOX news

President Biden was apparently caught once again using a cheat sheet of reporters after a picture of him holding a note card with their images went viral.

During his joint press conference with Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday, the leaders took questions from four reporters, two from each of their respective countries. Nearly 24 hours later, an image from the press conference began circulating online that appeared to show the president carrying a note card with the reporters’ names and faces.

The names on the list included PBS correspondent Laura Barrón-López, USA Today White House correspondent Joey Garrison, Australia’s Channel 10 Network Political Editor Ashleigh Raper and The Australian’s Jeff Chambers. All four were the reporters who asked questions at the event.

Barrón-López had a notable exchange with Biden when he rejected the premise of her question about the implications of the Palestinian death toll, saying he has “no confidence” the numbers from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry are truthful.

BIDEN REFUTES PBS REPORTER’S QUESTION ON HAMAS-PROVIDED GAZA DEATH COUNT: ‘I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE’ IT’S TRUTHFUL 

A similar note card appeared during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April. That cheat sheet had the photo, name and name pronunciation of Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian under “Question #1,” along with what appeared to be a pre-written question.

“How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?” Biden’s note read.

Subramanian was, in fact, called upon first and asked, “Your top economic priority has been to build up U.S. domestic manufacturing in competition with China, but your rules against expanding chip manufacturing in China is hurting South Korean companies that rely heavily on Beijing. Are you damaging a key ally in the competition with China to help your domestic politics ahead of the election?”

The White House did not respond for a comment to Fox News Digital regarding Biden’s reliance on a note card when calling on reporters at Wednesday’s press conference. The four reporters also did not respond for a comment on whether their questions were previewed ahead of time.

BIDEN ‘GIVEN A LIST’ OF REPORTERS IN POST-MIDTERM PRESS CONFERENCE: ‘PEOPLE THAT I’M SUPPOSED TO CALL ON’ 

Biden has frequently been mocked for his reliance on cheat sheets and note cards to work through press conferences. At his first formal press conference as president in March 2021, Biden was seen handling a card that had statistics and talking points to use. In another image, Biden was consulting a list of pre-selected reporters along with their photos.

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For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.

Source: Biden spotted holding a note card with reporters’ photos and names to call on at joint presser

“Vaccine” killed 3.5X more Americans than COVID virus

10-27-2023 • https://kirschsubstack.com by STEVE KIRSCH

Executive summary

The irresponsible attacks by an LA Times journalist Michael Hiltzik on MSU Professor Mark Skidmore’s paper motivated me to run my own survey of my readers to see what the actual harm numbers really are.

Over 10,000 readers responded.

The survey clearly showed that the COVID vaccines have killed 3.5 times as many people as COVID. This is a disaster.

I’ve had expert statisticians and epidemiologists review the survey, the methodology, and the results. None could find any errors.

I’m willing to put a million dollars on the table that this is right and that the vaccines have killed more people than COVID. Any takers? If not, why not?

When I called Professor Norman Fenton and informed him of the 3.5X figure he calmly replied “I’m not surprised.”

The results of this survey are entirely consistent with the surveys by others as well as individual anecdotes that would have been very unlikely for me to have located if the vaccine didn’t kill at least 3.5X more people than the virus.

Read Full Story

WAYNE ROOT: This Jewish Republican Responds to the Dumbest & Most Dangerous Thing Obama Has Ever Said. | The Gateway Pundit

By Wayne Allyn Root

I’m Obama’s college classmate at Columbia University, Class of ’83. We’ve both had interesting political careers since graduating from Columbia. We stand as polar opposites on every issue.

My classmate Obama clearly learned well at Columbia (even though he was rarely, if ever seen there by anyone- classmates or professors). I’ve already written about Obama aka “the ghost of Columbia.” I believe he spent his two years, after transferring to Columbia, at our sister school in the old Soviet Union- studying communism.

And at Columbia at the time, the big strategy everyone talked about was called “Cloward-Piven.” It was a plan created by two Columbia professors to destroy America and capitalism and turn America into a socialist Big Brother country.

Obama learned well. You’re watching Obama right now, in his third term, carrying out this plan.

I’ve studied and watched Obama for fifteen years. I know how he thinks. Trust me, two themes dominate his life- a hatred for America and a hatred for Israel. Everything he says is a lie, a con, a scam, subterfuge. Watch his actions. His actions are always intended to damage and destroy the two nations he hates- America and Israel.

But in this commentary, I want to respond to Obama’s most recent opinions about the Israel-Hamas conflict. And in particular, one Obama statement. Obama just lectured Israel on their military strategy- warning Israel not to inflict civilian casualties…knowing that in war that’s impossible…it has never been avoided in any war in history…and specifically in this case, knowing that Hamas and all Islamic radicals use women, children, the elderly as “human shields” to purposely increase civilian deaths (and then blame Israel).

Obama knows all this. Obama knows Hamas wants lots of civilian death. Obama knows Hamas hides their headquarters and military camps inside schools, churches, mosques and hospitals. Yet he warns Israel to avoid civilian casualties.

That tells you where Obama stands.

But this was Obama’s most disturbing warning. He argues that if Israel kills civilians “it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations.”

I must respond to that evil, ignorant, dangerous, preposterous statement by Obama.

First, when Obama talks about further hardening Palestinian attitudes for generations, let’s examine how preposterous that idea is. The Palestinian people hate Israel and Jews. Not just in Palestine, but in America. Have you seen the demonstrations across our country? In every American big city, on every elite college campus, Palestinians and Muslims chant about death to Israel, death to Jews, and celebrate the mass murder of Jews by Hamas.

Shockingly, that’s in America. So, maybe Obama should address the hate and obsession with Jews by Muslim-Americans. These are “hate crimes” against American Jews.

Secondly, the idea that Obama is worried about “hardening Palestinian attitudes” is absurd. How can their attitudes be any “harder” than mass murdering and slaughtering 1,400 Jews…slicing children’s throats, beheading babies, burning Jews to death…mutilating bodies after death…and I actually watched a video of Hamas soldiers cutting a baby out of the stomach of a pregnant Jewish woman (who was alive at the time) and knifing the baby to death.

Do you think Palestinian attitudes could possibly get any “harder?” I wonder why Obama didn’t address that?

Third, what about Israeli and Jewish attitudes? Why isn’t Obama worried about them? When Hamas mass murders in demonic and barbaric ways that haven’t been seen since the Holocaust, do they ever worry if they’re “hardening Jewish attitudes” for generations to come? How come Obama doesn’t worry about that?

Fourth, what about our great country- the United States. Did we ever worry during WWII about firebombing German and Japanese cities? It was a war. We bombed and bombed until major enemy cities were turned to rubble. We killed the enemy- and many millions of civilians were “collateral damage.” Millions of German and Japanese civilians died. That’s what happens in war. Obama knows that. Yet he only holds Israel responsible. Isn’t that telling?

Didn’t we kill civilians in Vietnam? What about the two decade long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Didn’t America kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in the bombings? Didn’t Obama himself conduct a drone war that resulted in thousands of Muslim civilian deaths? I guess he forgot all of that.

Did Obama ever warn Ukraine about civilian deaths? Did he ever mention that killing Russians might “harden Russian attitudes for generations?”

Lastly, after the Alamo…after Pearl Harbor…after 9-11…events where thousands of Americans died…did America fight back? I don’t remember anyone demanding peace, or ceasefires. I seem to remember we went to war…rained down hell upon our enemies…and got revenge.

And I don’t remember anyone in America worrying about if our response would “harden our enemies’ attitudes for generations.”

Why is it always different with the Jews? Why would Obama be angry at Israel for responding in self-defense to one of the worst terror attacks in world history? Why is only Israel always supposed to show restraint? Why indeed.

Because Obama hates Israel. He always has.

This is Israel’s Alamo. And they’re gonna respond exactly as they should. They will rain down hell, and they will kill the enemy. That is their right.

And Obama should shut the hell up.

Wayne Allyn Root is known as “the Conservative Warrior.” Watch Wayne’s TV shows- “America’s Top Ten Countdown” on Real America’s Voice TV Network on Saturdays at Noon ET…and Wayne’s daily TV show on Lindell TV 2 at 7 pm ET at FrankSpeech.com. He is also host of the nationally-syndicated “Wayne Allyn Root: Raw & Unfiltered” on USA Audio Network, daily at 6 pm ET. Wayne’s latest book is a #1 bestseller, “The Great Patriot BUY-cott Book.” You can order here: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Patriot-BUY-cott-Book-Conservative/dp/099173372X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1676215826&sr=8-1

The post WAYNE ROOT: This Jewish Republican Responds to the Dumbest & Most Dangerous Thing Obama Has Ever Said. appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

People are fleeing California and New York. Here’s where they’re moving. | Business Insider

Austin is a popular destination for former Californians.Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images

• Over 100,000 Californians made the move to Texas between 2021 and 2022.
• Californians also left for Arizona and Washington, while New Yorkers flocked to Florida.
• Many cited rising housing and living costs as reasons for making the move.

More than 8.2 million Americans moved to different states between 2021 and 2022, 100,000 of whom moved from California to Texas.

New US Census migration data showed that thousands of Americans are leaving California and New York in favor of Florida and Texas. Insider determined the top 10 state-to-state migration flows for 2021 and 2022, all of which were over 48,000 people.

The top four migration flows for 2021 and 2022 were the same as last year, though Californians’ moves to Nevada, Washington, and Oregon were more popular last year.

The California-to-Texas move remained high for 2021 and 2022, but on the flip side, only 42,000 Texas residents moved to California. Many have moved citing cheaper housing and living costs, as well as a better work-life balance.

Of the top 10 moves, five were from California to other states. In addition to Texas, Californians have flocked to Arizona, Washington, and Nevada in high numbers. Over 74,000 left for Arizona, some of whom cited the state’s lower cost of living, lower taxes, and employment opportunities.

Over 91,000 New Yorkers and about 50,000 Californians relocated to Florida during this period, with many moving for the more tax-friendly policies and warmer weather. According to a new study by Zillow, the Sunshine State is the second most-valuable real-estate market nationwide behind California, worth about $3.85 trillion.

This influx of wealthy newcomers, though, has pushed some middle-class residents out of the state in search of affordability. Over 51,000 Floridians moved to Georgia from 2021 to 2022 — and one real-estate agent previously told Insider that many are relocating to southern cities including Knoxville, Tennessee, and Greenville, South Carolina.

Another major move over the last few years has been from New York to New Jersey because many New Yorkers have continued to get priced out of the five boroughs and have begun searching for less expensive housing across the river.

As New York City has become more expensive and elusive, Jersey City, New Jersey has attracted thousands of New Yorkers into new housing developments. In doing so, Jersey City is now the second-most expensive city for renters in the US, which has contributed to the city’s affordability crisis, according to Zumper’s October 2023 National Rent Report.

Similarly, many New Yorkers have moved east to Connecticut, which has become a remote-work hub. Many moved to communities with easy access to New York City without paying city prices — and many have stayed remote.

With many people moving to smaller states such as Tennessee, Utah, and South Carolina as well, the exodus from larger states may continue.

Have you made a similar move in the past year or two? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@insider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Source: People are fleeing California and New York. Here’s where they’re moving.

‘WISHY-WASHY’: Biden admin called out for ‘soft-peddling’ Iran threat

National security analyst Dr. Rebecca Grant joined ‘FOX & Friends First’ to discuss the Biden administration’s policy stance on Iran as U.S. forces continue to face regional threats. #FOXNews

Source: ‘WISHY-WASHY’: Biden admin called out for ‘soft-peddling’ Iran threat

However Much You Hate The Media, These 7 Moments In Israel Coverage Prove It’s Not Enough – Conservative Review

These seven failures from the past few weeks should dispel any benefit of the doubt you have left for the corporate media’s honesty.

https://www.conservativereview.com/however-much-you-hate-the-media-these-7-moments-in-israel-coverage-prove-its-not-enough-2666082368.html

7 Ways DOJ Obstructed The U.S. Attorney Investigating Biden Family Corruption – Conservative Review

The roadblocks detailed by Scott Brady were so outrageous that at one point a lawyer for the minority party asked whether he was speaking in hyperbole. He wasn’t.

https://www.conservativereview.com/7-ways-doj-obstructed-the-u-s-attorney-investigating-biden-family-corruption-2666083245.html