Daily Archives: November 14, 2023
Absolute Assurance | VCY
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He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.Hebrews 13:5
Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord’s ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord’s company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune.
We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than almighty Goodness.
Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.
His Workmanship | Daily Thoughts about God.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Often times, feelings of inadequacy flood our souls and cause us to compete with others.
We struggle to measure up. We struggle with the feeling of not being good enough. We work so hard to become notable and significant that it becomes a gruesome task to be better than the next person.
When in ministry, it is very important to overcome this mindset. Otherwise, we allow ministry to become a battle ground. This was never the Lord’s intent. He desires that we celebrate with those who celebrate; that we applaud our brothers and our sisters for their accomplishments. He even desires that we come alongside them and help them to reach their full potential.
In doing this, we find that He is not a respecter of persons. What we make happen for others, He will help make happen for us. The scripture text tells us that we are all His workmanship. He has an appointed task and assignment for each of us. We must find our purpose in Him and allow that purpose to be fulfilled. If we focus on another person’s assignment, our task remains undone and the people we could reach remain lost.
My prayer for you is that you recognize the greatness that is on the inside of you. Every one of us has been created with specific intent. Seek the Lord this year concerning your assignment in the Kingdom.
Are you aware of your purpose?
Father, I pray that the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened to see the truth of your love for us as you guide us with your eyes upon us and lead us to that place of purpose that you have created for us. Help us to run the race that you have set before us, knowing that the prize is not given to the swift or the strong, but to the one that endures until the end.
By Mary Pinckney
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• Works of Beauty – by Marilyn Ehle
• Feelings of Inferiority – by Charles Stanley
• My Life Has Purpose – by Helen Lescheid
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photo credit: Rafael Edwards Creative Commons license.
The post His Workmanship can be found online at Daily Thoughts about God.
God Accomplishes What Concerns You | Daily Thoughts about God.
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138: 7-8
David walked through trouble on a regular basis. His psalms express the struggles and disappointments he faced, yet in the end, he always turned his focus back to God. The key to his victorious attitude was strong faith in the Lord.
David was confident in God’s purpose. That’s why he could say, “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me” (Psalm 138:8). By keeping our focus on the Lord and His purpose, we can stay strong when we walk through trouble.
He relied on the Lord’s power. In times of difficulty, we can trust God to deliver us too—though the outcome may not be what we expect. Remember, our Father will sustain us through the trial, walking with us every step of the way.
David believed the promises of God. He penned today’s two verses to repeatedly remind himself what the Lord would do. We also need some specific promises from Scripture that will anchor us in times of trouble. The truths of the Bible are our most valuable possession when the storms of life assail us.
God assumes responsibility for accomplishing what concerns you in times of trouble. Your job is to believe that the Lord will fulfill His purpose, has power adequate to the task, and will keep every promise He has made. Keep walking with your eyes on Him.
By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• God does Big Things with Small Deeds – by Max Lucado
• God Does the Heavy Lifting – A Devotional by Claire Colvin
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The post God Accomplishes What Concerns You can be found online at Daily Thoughts about God.
14 Nov 2023 News Briefing
Biden Admin Thinks Israel Seeking Pretext For Wider War In Lebanon: Axios
Some top level members of the Biden administration have warned that Israel could be seeking to provoke a broader war with Hezbollah with an aim toward drawing the United States into a deeper conflict with Iran and its proxies.
10 Examples From 10 Different Cities Of The “Mad Max” Environment That Now Reigns In America’s Streets
It isn’t just your imagination. We really are witnessing a full-blown societal meltdown. I could provide countless examples to prove my point, but for this article I have selected just 10. #1 Theft has become so rampant in Washington D.C. that CVS has replaced toilet paper and paper towels with “framed photos” of those products and a buzzer that customers must press to buy them… In other words, the capital of the most powerful nation in human history has been reduced to Third World-style security systems to sell basic goods.
Planet Earth Is Armed To The Teeth… And The Word Of The Day Is ‘Escalation’
The trigger on a gun need not be large for the gun to be deadly. The Gaza Strip is 25 miles long and only 7.5 miles wide at its widest point. The Gaza trigger has been pulled. We do not yet know the damage it will cause. So far, escalation seems to be the word of the hour. Gaza’s war has already escalated beyond the Middle East — drawing in Russia, China, Europe, and the United States. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), and you will be praying for peace on earth.
“We Might Need To Let It Burn”: Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game
Firefighting is a whole new game in the electric vehicle era. In fact, departments across the U.S. are finding out that the best way to “fight” such fires are to simply let them burn, according to a new report by the the Wall Street Journal. The report points out that EV fires, unlike traditional gas-fueled car fires, are more enduring, challenging to extinguish, and prone to reigniting, according to firefighters and experts.
Gallant: Hamas has lost control of the Gaza Strip
Hamas has lost control of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proclaimed on Monday, as the Israel Defense Forces said its troops were continuing to deliver “significant blows” to the Palestinian terror group. “There is no force of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every point. … Terrorists are fleeing south. Civilians are looting Hamas bases.
US Hints at More Strikes Unless Iran-Linked Groups Halt Attacks
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday left open the possibility of more strikes against Iran–linked groups if attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria don’t stop, hours after overnight US air strikes in Syria. The US military carried out its third air strike in as many weeks in Syria late on Sunday, targeting a training facility near the city of Albu Kamal and a safe house near the city of Mayadeen.
Construction progresses at Russian plant for Iranian drones – report
The White House said Russia and Iran appeared to be deepening their defense cooperation and that in addition to supplying drones, Tehran was working with Moscow to produce Iranian drones. Satellite imagery shows progress in the construction in Russia of a plant that will mass produce Iranian-designed kamikaze drones
IDF soldiers share photo in conquered Hamas parliament
IDF soldiers of the Golani Brigade shared a historic photo on Monday showing the Israeli flag inside the Hamas parliament building in Gaza. In the moving picture, the team of soldiers can be seen proudly waving Israeli flags in the terrorist organization’s legislative council building.
The IDF’s network-based machine is winning in Gaza
Field officers are activating fighter jets, UAVs, tanks and navy ships, eliminating targets minutes after their detection. “IDF troops identified a terrorist cell barricaded inside a house in the area that posed a threat to the forces. IDF troops directed an aircraft and fired at the terrorists, killing the terrorists,” the military stated on Sunday. “In addition, following the identification of an anti-tank missile launched from a weapons storage facility inside a building, a fighter jet struck the source of the fire.
Scientists announce: Site of Noah’s Ark shows human activity between 5500-3000 BCE
A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ)has been researching an area in which they believe lie the remains of Biblical Noah’s Ark.
Father of fallen IDF soldier to Biden: “Stand back Mr. President, don’t pressure us.”
“There are rumors, now, that you’re putting pressure on Israel, to hold off, to cease the offensive. If those rumors are true – I hope they’re not – but if they’re true, I respectfully ask of you, here on my son’s grave, cease and desist. Stand back Mr. President, don’t pressure us. Let us do what we know how to do, what we must do – defeat evil. This is a war of light against darkness, of truth against lies, of civility against murderous barbarism.
As international pressure grows for ceasefire, Israel seeks appointment of former UK PM Tony Blair as humanitarian coordinator for Gaza
According to the report, Israel has discussed the issue with Blair in recent weeks but no official agreement has been made. “Mr. Blair maintains an office in Israel and he continues to work on matters tied to Israel and the Palestinians. Understandably, he has conversations with people in the region and other places in order to see what can be done, but he was not given or offered the role,” Blair’s office said in a statement to Ynet.
Northern front inches closer to full-blown war as one Israeli dies, 20 injured in bloodiest day so far
This Sunday saw another peak in the violence on Israel’s northern border, as 14 Israeli civilians and seven soldiers were injured by attacks carried out from Lebanese territory, while rockets were fired at the outskirts of Haifa. The Hezbollah terror organization claimed responsibility for the attack, using an anti-tank missile that killed one and injured 13 civilians near Dovev on Sunday.
‘Our partnership is the future of us all against these savages,’ Netanyahu tells IDF Bedouin soldiers
Benjamin Netanyahu visited on Monday the Israel Defense Forces Desert Patrol Battalion 585, known as the Bedouin Patrol Battalion. Israel’s Bedouin community in the southern part of the country did not escape the cruelty of Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, with over 20 members murdered and some were also kidnapped. Bedouin soldiers fought heroically in the face of the brutal Hamas assault.
At Least 31 Dead After Significant Flooding, Experts Warn an Event Like This Only Happens Once a Century
Floods caused by torrential rainfall have killed at least 31 people in various parts of Somalia, authorities said Sunday.
Meteorological Tsunami Hits Cardoso Beach: A Call for Research
An unexpected meteorological tsunami hit Cardoso Beach in Laguna, southern Santa Catarina, on a regular Saturday afternoon, causing waves to surge across the coast, dragging cars in its wake. This rare phenomenon, which is linked to atmospheric changes, stirred the beachside community due to its unpredictability and potential destructiveness.
Shallow M6.1 earthquake hits near the coast of Papua New Guinea
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit near the coast of Papua New Guinea at 07:43 UTC on November 13, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Storm Debi leaves a trail of disruption across Ireland and Northern Ireland
Storm Debi hit Ireland and Northern Ireland on Monday, November 13, 2023, leading to extensive power outages, road network disruptions, and flooding, exacerbating the challenges faced by residents and emergency services in these regions.
Satellite data show a graben-like formation that cuts through part of Grindavík, Iceland
…Since midnight UTC today, around 900 earthquakes have been detected. The seismic activity is concentrated on the region of the intrusion, between Sundhnúkur and Grindavík at a depth of about 2 – 5 km (1.2 – 3.1 miles).
China’s spy agency claims ‘gene weapons’ that target specific races are being developed by ‘certain’ countries in eerie warning
China claims terrorists have ‘armed’ themselves with AI-created genetic weapons that target specific races. Ministry of State Security released a statement on WeChat announcing that ‘certain’ non-governmental organizations recruited Chinese ‘volunteers’ to collect biodiversity distribution data under the guise of biological species research.
IDF Soldiers Pictured With Israeli Flag Inside Gaza Parliament Building
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were pictured alongside Israeli flags in the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City on Monday, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007.
Soldiers Find Arabic Copy Of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ Inside Children’s Room In Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found an Arabic copy of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” — in a children’s room at a home inside Gaza — as its forces continue to root out Hamas terrorists inside the territory.
A new law is about to kill free speech and democracy in Australia
The Australian Government has recently introduced in Parliament a new law proposal to ban officially unapproved online content. Digital companies are expected to adopt a code of conduct which will see them censor speech based on broad, vague and far-reaching directives.
EXPOSED: Klaus Schwab & WEF’s Secret Blueprint to Control Every Aspect of Your Life
Klaus Schwab took $6,000 in seed money in 1971 and transformed the World Economic Forum (WEF) from a humble gathering of academics into the most exclusive club in the world. The WEF now rakes in $390 million, annually.
Bankrupt WeWork Could Accelerate CRE Crisis As It Prepares To Dump 40 NYC Office Tower Leases
Manhattan’s largest private office lessee, WeWork, has collapsed into bankruptcy. Court papers indicate plans to abandon dozens of office lease agreements across the metropolitan area, which might worsen the commercial real estate crisis.
Inside the Islamic Threat: Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Radical Agenda and Ismail al-Wahwah’s Ominous Legacy
Despite Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s façade as a benign nonprofit social organization, the stark contradiction arises when examining the explicit calls for violence against the West and non-Muslims by its leaders, notably exemplified in Ismail al-Wahwah’s rhetoric.
Online First for The Lancet Commission on Medicine – Preventing Healers From Becoming Killers
Now 77 years after the Nuremberg Medical Trial, which charged 23 leading German doctors and and administrators for participating in war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Lancet says “the health professions must now have the moral backbone to prepare students to safeguard against and report atrocities, address institutional racism and antisemitism, defend against unethical research, and report abusive doctors so that this will never happen again.”
The German Greens are competing to be the world’s greatest energy transition retards
The Green Party of Germany profess to believe that unless Germans can achieve net zero in the coming decades, they face a civilisational catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. Yet everything they have done just makes electricity more expensive, reduces the grid’s reliability and does nothing about carbon dioxide. It is like they want to be the world’s greatest energy transition retards.
“Israel Seeking to Appoint UK’s Tony Blair as Gaza Humanitarian Coordinator”
The Israel Times has reported that Israel is seeking to install former British prime minister Tony Blair as a humanitarian coordinator for the Gaza Strip, according to a report Sunday, out of a desire to improve the humanitarian situation inside the Palestinian enclave and reduce international pressure as it continues to wage its war on Hamas. Is he really the best man for the job given his past experience?
How the woke agenda prepared the ground for the public to accept dystopian covid restrictions
Ramesh Thakur argues that the spreading dominance of the woke agenda was a key enabling environment in 2020 for the covid interventions. In this essay, he describes eleven ways the Kingdom of Woke prepared the way for the Dystopia of Covid restrictions. What I am suggesting, Thakur writes, is that the first wave of restrictions on culturally sensitive topics helped to prepare the ground for the second on covid restrictions.
Headlines – 11/14/2023
Jordan’s king rejects any Israeli plan to occupy parts of Gaza
FM expects international pressure on Israel to rise significantly ‘within 2-3 weeks’
U.N. observes minute’s silence for 101 staff killed in Gaza
IDF says 2 more troops killed fighting in Gaza; death toll in ground operation at 46
IDF Continues to Defeat Hamas in Gaza; Palestinian Civilians Loot Abandoned Hamas Bases
Photos: Palestinian Women, Children Joined Hamas in Looting in October 7 Attack
Hamas discussed releasing 70 hostages in return for 5-day truce
‘Psychological terror’: IDF notifies family of hostage Noa Marciano that Hamas aired clip of her
IDF: Hamas operated command center, likely held hostages under Gaza kids’ hospital
Biden urges ‘less intrusive action’ at Gaza hospital, calls on Hamas to free hostages
Top Biden aide: US concerned about civilian casualties in fight for Shifa Hospital
EU slams Hamas use of hospitals and civilians as human shields, as IDF nears Shifa
Israeli Troops Prepare to Clear Massive Hamas Terror Tunnel Complex Beneath Hospital
Israel Uncovers Hamas HQ in Children’s Hospital; Weapons, Evidence of Hostages
Gallant: Hamas has lost control in Gaza; gunmen who fired from hospital entrance killed
Medics And Patients, Including Babies, Stranded As Battles Rage Around Gaza Hospitals
Al-Shifa: WHO says Gaza hospital unable to bury dead bodies
Archbishop of Canterbury makes ‘moral cry’ for Israel-Hamas ceasefire
LTA council member removed after he claimed ‘Hitler would be proud of Netanyahu’
Pro-Terror Teenagers Admit They Learned to Hate Israel on China’s TikTok, Zuckerberg’s Instagram
Netanyahu Compares ‘Misguided’ Student Protesters to Nazi Supporters
‘Anxious and tense’: Jews on edge after terrifying Brazilian terror plot foiled
In many Jewish families, generational fractures over Israel and Gaza
Jerusalem conditionally backs including Gaza aid in US security package for Israel
Rep. Ilhan Omar To Introduce First Bill To Block U.S. Weapons For Israel Since Gaza War Began
IDF: Iron Dome intercepted rocket fired at army post along Lebanese border
US strikes Iranian assets in Syria for third time in weeks
8 dead in U.S. strikes on Iran-backed targets in Syria, war monitor says
What Could Go Wrong? Biden Admin Considers Giving Iran Access to Another $10 Billion
Russia ‘alarmed’ by reports of Ukraine’s role in Nord Stream attack
Argentina’s Annual Inflation Hit 143% Ahead of Election
White House pressed on San Francisco homelessness cleanup ahead of Xi visit
First Photos of Cocaine Found at Biden White House Released
Speaker Johnson: Impeaching Biden, Mayorkas Slow Process – We have to do it in the right manner
Jack Smith Had Secret Meeting with Trump’s Lawyers Ahead of DC Indictment: Book
Jack Smith’s team says Trump wants a ‘carnival’ at his election interference trial
On Veterans Day, Trump pledges to root out ‘vermin’ if given a second term
Donald Trump’s use of the word ‘vermin’ draws more comparisons to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini
Liz Cheney says RNC chair ‘collaborating’ with Trump’s ‘Nazi propaganda’
Ga. lawsuit on alleged weakness in Dominion machines set for trial, with a push for paper ballots
Nepal to ban TikTok as it ‘disturbs social harmony’
Humane’s Ai Pin is a $700 Smartphone Alternative You Wear All Day
AI has ushered in a formidable new frontier in contemporary warfare
6.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
5.7 magnitude earthquake hits the Kermadec Islands region
5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Tajikistan
Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 23,000ft
Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 22,000ft
Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 21,000ft
Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 20,000ft
Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 15,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala eurpts to 14,000ft
Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft
Ibu volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft
Italy’s Mount Etna volcano spews lava fountain into the sky above Sicily
‘Earth Cracking Open’: Shocking Videos Surface From Grindavik, Iceland Ahead Of Volcanic Eruption
Magma Beneath Grindavík At 800 Metres Below Surface
Sneak Peek: Here’s What’s Inside the Two-Year ‘Controligarchs’ Investigation
House Kills Mayorkas Impeachment Resolution While Preparing to Punt Border Fight to 2024
Ranch in Mexican Border City Turned into Cartel Killing Field
Child Psychiatrist Sentenced to 40 Years for Using AI to Create Child Porn
As ‘The Marvels’ Bombs, Disney Doubles Down on Pushing LGBTQ Streaming Shows
AI could predict if you will have a heart attack 10 years before it happens, study suggests
Feds keep hidden books on vaccine injury reports, barely follow up: investigation
OB-GYN Drops Alarming Miscarriage Data Before Congress: “I’ve Never Seen This Before”
Robert Malone testifies on lack of informed consent, vax injuries in front of Congress
Mid-Day Snapshot · November 14, 2023
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
THE FOUNDATION
“It is a just observation that the people commonly intend the Public Good. This often applies to their very errors. But their good sense would despise the adulator who should pretend they always reason right about the means of promoting it.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788)
| On this day in Patriot history in 1910, the aptly named Eugene Fly became the first pilot to take off from a ship, the USS Birmingham, launching the proud tradition of naval aviation. In today’s news, we mourn the loss of five U.S. Army personnel killed in a helicopter crash, reminding all of us that serving in the military is dangerous business. We’re grateful to those who say “send me.” —Mark Alexander |
IN TODAY’S DIGEST
- San Francisco’s Summit Shape-Up
- Blacks and Bidenomics
- Another Setback for Biden’s Green Dream
- Executive News Summary
- Training for War Is Deadly Business
- MIT Has a Pro-Hamas, Anti-Semitic Problem
- Hitler’s Islamofascist Heirs
- DAILY FEATURES: Reader Comments, Videos, Best of Right Opinion, Short Cuts, Memes, and Cartoons.
ON THE WEB
- Mark Alexander: Profiles of Valor: Shadrach and Wilson
- Mike Rhinehart: What Can Be Learned Through Art and Grace
- In Brief: The ‘White Privilege’ Smear
FEATURED ANALYSIS
San Francisco’s Summit Shape-Up
Democrats are furiously cleaning up their squalid city, but only to impress a communist dictator and some other foreign dignitaries.
Michael Swartz
It’s all hands on deck for the Democrats as they race to clean up the filthy, feces-ridden city of San Francisco in advance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, which Gavin Newsom bestie Xi Jinping will be attending.
Over the last few years, the city has developed, shall we say, a reputation as a crime- and drug-infested magnet for the homeless, with tent cities lining its byways. Clearly, it wasn’t fit for the world stage in its normal state. Even Newsom, the California governor and wannabe presidential candidate, admitted as much: “I know folks are saying, ‘Oh they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town.’ That’s true because it’s true. But it’s also true for months and months and months before APEC, we’ve been having conversations.”
So, they’ve been having conversations. But this time those conversations turned to cleanup, and it’s a sprucing that has proceeded apace: Streets that just weeks ago teemed with tents and sleeping people who chose to live out of doors have yielded to amenities like a skateboard park and outdoor café. As The New York Times put it, “San Francisco had the air this week of teenagers frantically cleaning up after a house party with their parents on the way home.”
Obviously this is a welcome surprise for those who live in the City by the Bay, but it’s also led to questions about motive. We all know Joe Biden is trying to burnish his reelection hopes by hosting a successful and fruitful APEC conference — which will include the aforementioned visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But consider the future presidential prospects of one Gavin Newsom, who is running a shadow campaign of his own, waiting in the wings for a reason to make his grand entrance. San Francisco is where he began his political career, and it’s certain he wanted the city cleaned up for showing out as well. After all, one of Newsom’s signature issues when he was a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors and later mayor was an initiative he sponsored known as Care Not Cash, intended to reduce cash aid for homeless welfare recipients and instead provide them with housing and services. Perhaps it has worked too well as an attraction?
Regardless, once the foreign dignitaries — a number estimated to be 30,000 for this 21-nation confab — have left, will San Francisco return to its state of squalor? The obvious question was asked by local business owner Adam Mesnick. “If the city is able to create an illusion that it’s clean and runs effectively and humans are in shelters, even if it’s just for APEC, why is that not sustainable for the longer term?” he asked. On X, another resident noted: “They managed to clean up San Francisco using existing budgets in just a matter of days to prepare for Xi’s visit. No one can explain why they couldn’t have done this a long time ago.” It’s simple, explained the writers at Not the Bee: “The leaders in San Fran did this because they care more about impressing a commie dictator than they do about keeping the streets safe for their citizens. … You see exactly where the priorities are.”
Finally, as Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said: “For years, San Francisco residents have had to put up with rampant homelessness, open-air drug use, assaults, and feces-lined streets, all in the name of some twisted progressive notion of equity. But suddenly, when the genocidal communist dictator comes to town, the ideas of equity suddenly vanish and the streets get cleaned up. That’s very weird. What kind of message does that send? It means California politicians like Gavin Newsom know that San Francisco is an embarrassment, and they don’t care about the residents; they only care about impressing Xi Jinping. If it weren’t so sad, it would actually be funny.”
Needless to say, this Potemkin piece of San Francisco may stay relatively neat for awhile. More than likely, though, the blight will begin to spread once again from those corners of the city to which the homeless were shooed off to while Xi Jinping and Joe Biden were in town. The action may shift to different areas for awhile, but without the massive intervention of law and code enforcement, along with help for those who are willing to accept the first step on a long journey toward sobriety, we’ll find San Francisco having to once again panic-clean for its next big event — perhaps the NBA All-Star Game in 2025.
It’s a question of leadership, a quality this once magnificent city hasn’t seen in a long time.
Standing Firm
Since the dawn of our nation, Liberty has been threatened by those who promote tyranny, and those who seek to empower themselves. We rise every day tasked with a mission to “support and defend” our Constitution and the Liberty it enshrines. The future of Liberty rests on all our shoulders, and with God’s help we will keep moving the line forward.
Today, please support The Patriot Post’s mission so that we can continue to grow our ranks and meet the enemies of Liberty with both numbers and resolve.
Thank you for all you do to sustain Freedom for the next generation.
Blacks and Bidenomics
Joe Biden is losing support among blacks because his economic policies are hurting people of every color.
Nate Jackson
We’ll believe it when the votes are counted a year from now, but polls are showing that blacks are souring on Joe Biden. Donald Trump is getting 22% of the black vote according to a recent New York Times-Sienna College poll. How could that be? “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump,” Biden eloquently opined in May 2020, “then you ain’t black.”
Even so, Trump received the votes of about 12% of “you ain’t blacks” in 2020, including an impressive 19% of black men, because he did so much for blacks in economic terms. By contrast, Democrats have done nothing but impoverish blacks in inner cities, where young black men slaughter each other in horrifying numbers, and yet Democrats can usually count on winning roughly 90% of the black vote.
“You’ll see Joe Biden get at least 92% of the African American vote in the general election,” predicted South Carolina Democrat Representative James Clyburn this week. “That I am confident of.”
Clyburn, you may recall, almost single-handedly saved Biden’s failing candidacy from the ash heap in the 2020 Democrat primaries. After finishing a dismal fourth and fifth in Iowa and New Hampshire respectively, Biden won South Carolina thanks to Clyburn’s endorsement and efforts to get out the black vote.
Now, Clyburn is offering his two cents on why Biden is struggling with blacks in the polls. Biden has “unfinished business” in that Democrats “have not been able to renew the Voting Rights Act,” he says. Why? “Because this conservative, MAGA-leaning Supreme Court has desecrated the Voting Rights Act, and we have not been able to get the Republicans in the Congress to renew it. And so a lot of black people are disappointed that that has not gotten done.”
On top of that, Clyburn says, “A lot of black people are disappointed that we were not able to renew that part of the Rescue Plan and the child tax credit.”
“It’s just this war and that lyin’ son of a b**ch Johnson!” Jenny’s abusive boyfriend told her in “Forrest Gump.”
Those may be factors, but there’s an 800-pound gorilla in the room Clyburn is missing, and we’ll return to the old wisdom of another James — Carville, that is — for the answer: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
According to another poll from the Financial Times and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, 70% of voters think Bidenomics is hurting their bank accounts. The Financial Times also says just 14% of Americans believe Biden has made them better off.
Citing the NYT poll we noted at the beginning, The Wall Street Journal reports that blacks in particular are not fans of Bidenomics in part because “wage gains have cooled more dramatically for Black workers than other Americans.” Unemployment is also a factor. After dipping to “a record-low 4.7% in April,” the Journal says, “the rate rose to 5.8% in October.”
When wages and employment are down, inflation hurts even more.
Today’s inflation report says inflation cooled to 3.2% from last month’s 3.7% on an annual basis, and during October inflation didn’t grow at all, which is good news. The bad news is that inflation is still 3.2% on an annual basis, and the drop was fueled largely by falling gas prices, which have been volatile for years now. Without volatile food and energy, core inflation rose 4% year over year. The worse news is that since Biden took office, cumulative inflation is approaching 18%.
It doesn’t matter what color you are, high inflation hurts.
Heck, even illegal immigrants are increasingly leaving because the economy isn’t what they’d hoped.
But the Journal says blacks feel it more acutely in certain areas: “Some Black Americans have faced higher inflation than the national average, likely because they spend a greater share of their income on items like transportation and housing that have seen especially steep price increases.”
All that said, we hate to go all Debbie Downer, but it’s going to take more than high prices and employment issues to change the 90-10 voting split for blacks. They’re not going to abandon the party of abortion and racial grievance just because eggs and milk cost too much. Liberty is colorblind, but until people of all colors choose it over the divisive rhetoric and redistributive policies of Democrats, not much will truly change.
Another Setback for Biden’s Green Dream
A first-of-its-kind small nuclear power plant project just got the axe.
Thomas Gallatin
The only truly viable means of replacing fossil fuel-based power production is via nuclear power. Of course, the conundrum for the climate cultists is the fact that their denunciation of nuclear power is almost as pronounced as their objection to fossil fuel.
Nevertheless, Joe Biden was so determined to push his “net-zero emissions by 2050” green dream that his administration was willing to embrace nuclear power — at least behind the scenes.
Yet Biden’s green dream once again has been hit by a cold dose of reality.
It all started two weeks ago when Danish wind energy company Ørsted announced that it was pulling the plug on its massive wind farm projects off the coast of New Jersey. Dubbed Ocean Wind I and II, the wind farms were part of a massive green energy initiative for New England that was projected to produce enough electricity to power 10 million homes.
The reason given by Ørsted had everything to do with costs, as the company said the project was no longer financially feasible, even with taxpayer dollars. One wonders if it ever could have been financially feasible without massive government handouts.
Now, Biden is getting more bad news. Oregon-based nuclear power company NuScale Power, the only company in the U.S. to have a certified design for the building of small modular reactors (SMRs), has just canned its years-long project to construct six SMRs at the Idaho National Laboratory. The first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant would have provided power to more than 300,000 households.
The Biden administration had intended for NuScale Power’s SMR plant, which had been slated to come online by 2029, to replace several coal-fired plants that are scheduled for closure. The advanced nuclear power plant would have provided needed supplemental support for wind and solar operations being developed.
Before shuttering those coal-fired power plants for good, the Biden administration might want to make sure it actually has the capability to produce reliable energy to meet the nation’s growing power demands. SMR technology does offer promising and exciting electricity-producing potential, and nuclear power has long been a proven energy-producing technology.
The trouble is the amount of government red tape. The regulatory costs associated with the development and construction of nuclear reactors has been nearly cost prohibitive. But investing in nuclear technology makes a whole lot more sense for true environmental and energy stewardship than does relying on the inherently and notoriously unreliable wind and solar power sources.
Executive News Summary
Is Johnson picking up where McCarthy left off?; Mayorkas avoids impeachment; Target invites more shoplifting; and more.
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
- Is Johnson picking up where McCarthy left off? Soon we’ll see whether House Speaker Mike Johnson learned anything from the experience of his predecessor. That lawmaker, Kevin McCarthy, was booted from the speakership last month for failing to follow through on his promise to bring 12 individual appropriations bills to the House floor rather than ramming everything through in a single massive and infuriating omnibus bill. Johnson has unveiled “a two-step short-term spending proposal that would keep money flowing to federal agencies into early next year, in a bid to stave off a partial government shutdown late next week,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “The measure wouldn’t impose spending cuts, and it also wouldn’t implement tougher anti-immigration rules at the U.S.-Mexico border, which some Republicans had said was critical to get their support.” If this doesn’t sound like a belt-tightening series of individual bills, that’s because it isn’t. Johnson called this proposal “a necessary step” but vowed that things will be different next year. “The Budget Control Act of 1974 spells this out into law,” said Johnson, referring to the proper congressional budgeting process, “and nobody’s followed it here for years. And that’s why we have the economic crisis we have — that combined with Bidenomics.”
- National Climate Alarmism Assessment: With much fanfare, the Biden administration is releasing the latest cult report on the global climate, officially known as the National Climate Assessment (NCA). Of course, the sole purpose of the report is to continue to push climate alarmism with solely political “solutions.” The Biden administration is playing up all the usual woke nonsense regarding the report by focusing on the supposed disparate impact of climate change on favored minority groups. Demonstrating that this assessment is more about getting people to believe in their favored narrative rather than resting on actual science, Vox reports that the administration is “including an accompanying podcast, art series, and even a poetry anthology compiled by two poet laureates and a climate scientist” to sell it to the American people. Fearmongering in order to justify more authoritarian measures is the real motivation behind this report.
- Half-trillion-dollar cost for illegals: How much is Joe Biden’s immigration crisis costing American taxpayers? Well, according to a new interim report released by House Republicans, the welfare cost for illegal aliens is roughly $451 billion. “Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the report notes. Open-border proponents have long claimed that illegal aliens are a net economic good for the country, and whatever they cost is recouped in them paying taxes. However, the report states, “Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents.” Medical costs are a significant factor. Dr. Robert Trenschel, chief executive officer of Yuma Regional Medical Hospital, says that “migrants often require three times the amount of human resources to resolve their cases and provide them with a safe discharge.”
- Mayorkas avoids impeachment: In a 209-201 vote, the House decided against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday. The impeachment resolution had been raised back in May by firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene over Mayorkas’s “willful admittance of border crossers” in violation of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Greene’s impeachment effort failed when eight Republicans joined Democrats to block it. Following the vote, a frustrated Greene slammed her Republican colleagues by saying: “I’m outraged. I can assure you that Republican voters will be extremely angry that they’ve done this.” While Mayorkas deserves impeachment, even if the Senate then ousted him, it would likely do little to change the Biden administration’s de facto open-border policy. Furthermore, Greene is known for little other than throwing rhetorical bombs and simply lacks the respect of the party, which is needed in order to get significant actions like an impeachment realized. Finally, keeping Mayorkas as the face of Joe Biden’s border malfeasance serves as a political liability for his reelection bid.
- Hamas and hospitals: Like thunder following lighting, so is the Left’s call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas due to concerns over collateral loss of innocent human life. Hamas, of course, uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, counting on Western governments to pressure Israel into stopping its campaign against the jihadi terrorist organization. The latest example of this scenario is the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where intense fighting has surrounded its grounds and Israeli forces have placed the hospital under siege. That’s because Hamas built its headquarters in a tunnel complex under the hospital, all in order to propagate the claim that Israel is targeting civilians. Unfortunately, much of the Leftmedia dutifully reports it as if the villains are the Israeli forces for daring to lay siege to the hospital and root out Hamas terrorists. The White House knows this is the case, yet Joe Biden’s response was predictably disgraceful: “It’s my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital. The hospital must be protected.”
- Target invites more shoplifting: “We don’t tell big retail how to do their jobs. They shouldn’t tell us how to do ours.” So said Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper in an X post brimming with frustration. The retail giant of “tuck-friendly” swimsuits and other wokeish wearables seemed genuinely interested in curbing the shoplifting problem that cost it more than $1.2 billion this past year alone. But no. Instead, Target seems more concerned with bad publicity than stopping bad actors from stealing its stuff. “I can’t make this stuff up,” said Sheriff Cooper. “Recently, we tried to help Target. Our Property Crimes detectives and sergeant were contacted numerous times by Target to help them with shoplifters, mostly who were known transients. We coordinated with them and set up an operation … and then were told by their head of regional security that we could not contact suspects inside the store; we could not handcuff suspects in the store; and if we arrested someone, they wanted us to process them outside, behind the store.” Apparently, Target would rather encourage thieves than risk a law-and-orderly social media post. For this, it’ll get what it deserves — and so will its customers.
- Leftmedia hack shills for Biden: No one ever accused former White House correspondent John Harwood of journalistic professionalism, but his latest bout of bias would make even the water-carriers at MSNBC blush. “Biden needs expert political guidance,” began his X post innocently enough. But then the derangement kicked in: “Voters are unhappy. Trump could win despite his flagrant criminality and deranged mental state.” Apparently, the sorry Harwood — who was let go by CNN last year and before that had been rightly rebuked for his bias during a 2015 Republican debate and for his private communications with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — sees the “flagrant criminality” and the 91 felony counts against Trump as purely legit and not the least bit politically motivated, but he can’t bring himself to even mention the clear-as-day influence peddling of the Big Guy and his Biden Crime Family. And he calls Trump “deranged” while somehow looking past the cognitive wasteland that is Joe Biden’s brain. But Harwood wasn’t finished. “Journalists need to better convey 2 realities: the US economy is doing well, not poorly; Biden at 80 is handling the job effectively right now.” As one fed up reader of Harwood’s X post replied, “Journalists need to do a better job lying for the regime.”
- “Trans women” displace real women: Anything a woman can do, a man can do better, right? Wrong. And demonstrably so. Take child-bearing, for example: We’ve yet to meet a man who can, er, carry a woman’s water on this front. But that didn’t stop a charitable organization named Endometriosis South Coast from proudly announcing that Steph Richards, a “transgender” dude who demands females pronouns, was its new CEO. If you’re unfamiliar with endometriosis, it’s a disease that affects the lining of the uterus — which is a reproductive organ that women have and men don’t. As for Richards, he describes himself as “an intersectional feminist and human rights activist,” and he’s pictured on an ESC social media post alongside a quote that reads, “Isn’t it ridiculous that I’ve got to my 40s before any medical professionals even mentioned endometriosis?!” It sure is ridiculous, “Steph,” but not for the reason you think. Conservative women rightly called it “a shocking appointment,” while Richards trolled back, “Enjoy conservatives falling apart.”
Headlines
- Supreme Court announces new ethics code (Roll Call)
- Photos of cocaine found at White House released (PJ Media)
- Senate Republicans demand Biden DOD rescind abortion policy that inspired Tuberville’s holds (Daily Signal)
- Biden mulls approval of fresh $10 billion for Iran (Washington Free Beacon)
- Hamas envisioned deeper attacks, aiming to provoke an Israeli war (Washington Post)
- National media finally notice DC crime wave after Biden granddaughter marginally involved in 863rd carjacking incident of 2023 (Washington Free Beacon)
- Voting group founded by Abrams, once led by Warnock, faces financial scrutiny (Politico)
- Women ousted from sorority after backing lawsuit to remove “transgender” member (Fox News)
- Over 16,000 sign petition condemning “non-binary and transgender extravaganza” Macy’s Parade (National Review)
- Major beauty pageant files for bankruptcy days before competition with “trans” women (Townhall)
- “Grow up”: Cartoonist speaks out after Washington Post censors Hamas drawing (National Review)
- Policy: Transformative legislation for higher education (National Review)
- Humor: Newsom deploys giant can of Febreze over San Francisco to mask poo smell (Babylon Bee) | Newsom assures homeless they can resume pooping on sidewalks once his boss leaves (Babylon Bee)
For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.
Training for War Is Deadly Business
A Black Hawk crash that claimed five elite warriors on Friday reminds us of the risk, the sacrifice, and the necessity of military service.
Douglas Andrews
Yesterday, the Defense Department released the names of the five special-operations warriors who died Friday night when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Cyprus.
“The MH-60 Black Hawk was conducting aerial refueling training when the aircraft experienced an in-flight emergency resulting in the crash,” the Pentagon said Monday, adding that there were “no indications” that the crash was caused by enemy or hostile actions.
The five U.S. Army crew members were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 160th SOAR is also known as the Night Stalkers for its pioneering work and unmatched proficiency in nighttime attack, assault, reconnaissance, infiltration, and exfiltration in support of our nation’s elite special operations units.
Perhaps nowhere is the gritty and harrowing work of the Night Stalkers better captured than in Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Durant’s book In the Company of Heroes. Durant was the pilot of “Super Six Four,” the second of two Army Black Hawks shot down by RPGs in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3, 1993 — the site of a battle in which 18 Americans were killed, including the two Delta Force special operators, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, who earned posthumous Medals of Honor for their efforts to save the gravely wounded Durant, who ended up being taken captive and held for 11 days by Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid.
Friday’s Black Hawk crash made for a gut-wrenching Veterans Day weekend at Fort Campbell and all across our nation’s tight-knit special ops community. It was, according to the brief Department of Defense press release, “routine flight training,” but there’s nothing “routine” about nighttime aerial refueling, nor is there anything routine about the deadly serious business of training for war. “Routine” is driving to work or going to the grocery store or picking up the kids from school.
A Congressional Research Services report casts a light on the human cost of military service: “From 2006 through 2021, a total of 19,378 active-duty service members have died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Of those who died, 24% were killed while serving in in what the Department of Defense (DOD) categorizes as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) — primarily within the territories of Iraq and Afghanistan. The remaining 76% died during operations categorized as Non-Overseas Contingency Operations (Non-OCO). The categories with the highest number of active-duty service member deaths were accidents, self-inflicted wounds, and illnesses or injuries.”
But if we as a nation want peace, our warriors must train for war. Si vis pacem para bellum, as the Latin goes.
“We mourn the loss of these five incredible soldiers, each of them a national treasure,” said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. “They hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations.”
Braga continued: “This is devastating news that reverberates across the entire Special Operations community. Every loss is tough, but in this case, service to the nation is truly a family business and it’s hard to express the amount of sorrow that we all feel right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, their loved ones, and their fellow soldiers. Like the Special Operations community always does, we will wrap our arms around them, grieve with them, and promise to never forget them.”
At the end of his riveting book, Mike Durant includes a piece of Scripture, Isaiah 6:8, just below a picture of the Night Stalker memorial wall at Fort Campbell: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
Send me. Send me. These are fitting words for capturing the spirit of service and the selfless sacrifice of our nation’s all-volunteer military.
MIT Has a Pro-Hamas, Anti-Semitic Problem
A problem it refuses to mitigate because it doesn’t want to deport the many foreign national students leading these protests.
Emmy Griffin
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a student body that is one-third foreign nationals. They flock to MIT for the reputedly excellent math and engineering programs. However, an inexcusable clash started by pro-Palestinian (read: pro-Hamas and anti-Semitic) protesters, who physically prevented Jewish students from getting to class, turned more volatile with the arrival of counterprotesters. The administration feared that violence would erupt, and so it gave all the students a choice: Leave now or get suspended.
Many student did comply. Those who did not participated in “talks” with the admin and staff. After threats of suspension were made and the students didn’t obey, one would think that punishment would be carried out immediately.
Not so.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth later wrote an explanation: “Members of my team have been in dialogue with students all day. Because we later heard serious concerns about collateral consequences for the students, such as visa issues, we have decided, as an interim action, that the students who remained after the deadline will be suspended from non-academic campus activities. The students will remain enrolled at MIT and will be able to attend academic classes and labs.”
In other words, because these students would lose their visa and be deported, MIT lessened the punishment and allowed them to continue to go to classes with the Jewish students against whom they hold such animus.
This is what has been allowed to continue in MIT classrooms because these “protesters” weren’t punished. It’s been a week since the initial volatile protest, and they are using their privilege of still being allowed to attend classes to interrupt students trying to learn and teachers trying to teach. There are no real consequences because MIT is afraid the malcontents will be deported. The exasperated expressions on the students’ faces in the linked video says it all.
It prompts the question: Just how many of these anti-Semitic protesters are foreign nationals? If one were to judge by Kornbluth’s decision, the answer must be many or most.
If that’s the case, then MIT really is failing its student population in extraordinary ways. Foreign nationals are not American citizens; they have to abide by the same rules as all the other students. If they cannot abide by those rules, they should not attend school in the U.S. MIT has let these dangerous and threatening students reign as the cry-bullies they are, and the tiny Jewish population (and those other students who are just there to learn) are subject to the tyranny and whims of these anti-Semites and the apathy of their administration. It is shameful.
Hitler’s Islamofascist Heirs
A mob of Hamas supporters marched through the streets of New York City, marring Veterans Day.
Gary Bauer
This past Saturday was Veterans Day — a time when we honor the sacrifice and service of our military veterans. Sadly, a mob of Hamas supporters marched yet again through the streets of New York City, marring what should have a time of respect and reflection for many Americans.
The Islamofascist heirs of Adolf Hitler marched through the streets of Manhattan, chanting slogans that would have made any German Nazi in the 1930s proud. Calls for a second Holocaust filled the air, as did chants of “Allahu Akbar!”
The pro-Hamas marchers carried many flags, but not the Stars and Stripes. They carried flags of terrorist organizations and of radical Islam. They tore down the American flag and put up Palestinian flags. They also burned American and Israeli flags.
Jewish residents of New York City were advised to shelter in place over the weekend for their own safety. In 2023. In New York City!
Meanwhile, across the pond, Remembrance Day was observed in England. Hundreds of thousands of pro-Hamas Muslims marched in London displaying the same ugly conduct as their brethren in New York.
British veterans were told not to wear their medals or any evidence of their military service because they were at risk of being attacked. Britain’s war memorials had to be surrounded by police to protect them from vandalism.
Everyone but the willfully blind can now see that western nations have a fifth column of people who hate Judeo-Christian civilization and intend to bring us down. Now more than ever, we need strong no-nonsense leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, instead of the fools who govern us today.
READER COMMENTS
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
VIDEOS
- Dems Claim Voter Fraud After Republican Wins Governorship — It’s interesting how the mainstream media doesn’t label Democrats who raise objections to an election outcome as “insurrections” or “election deniers.”
- Great Moments in Unintended Consequences — The year: 2008. The problem: Oakland has too many guns! The solution: Offer $250 for every gun turned in to the police, no questions asked. Sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?
- Will This Finally Do It? — Perhaps the only thing more shocking to American Jews than the barbarity of the October 7 terror attack is the magnitude of the pro-Hamas sentiment here in the U.S. Will this finally be enough to convince American Jews to stop voting for the people that enable these atrocities?
- An Anti-Semite Attacks Anti-Semites — A woman drove her car into the building of what she believed to be a Jewish school, but actually was the school of a Jewish hate group.
- Pelosi Trial Begins: Right-Wing Conspiracies to Blame? — The federal trial for Paul Pelosi’s hammer attacker is underway. His defense lawyer concedes that he did it, but says he was consumed by “right-wing conspiracy theories.” It’s a weird strategy, but no weirder than the unicorn costumes we learned he was carrying in his backpack that night.
- Satire: Brain-Eating Zombie Apocalypse Overtakes Government and Media — The Biden administration has issued a statement saying, “Our hearts go out to the zombie community today as they are under attack right now and really suffering.”
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- DENNIS PRAGERThe Little Box That Could Change America
- CAL THOMASAttitudes of Gratitude and Ingratitude
- CHRISTINE FLOWERSPro-Abortion Election Victories Cause for a Shudder
- DANIEL MCCARTHYBy the Time Abortion Makes the Ballot, the Battle’s Over
- THE WASHINGTON STANDMembers Sour on Speaker Johnson’s Fiscal Lemonade
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.
SHORT CUTS
The BIG Lie
“[Filthiness] is not a issue that we’ve been sitting around waiting to solve.” —San Francisco Mayor London Breed
Straight From the Horse’s Mouth
“I know folks say, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place [San Francisco] ’cause all those fancy leaders are coming into town.’ That’s true because it’s true.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom
Demagogues
“We need another four years to continue to finish the job. … We have to be honest about the brick wall of MAGA extremism that we continue to run into when we’re trying to get things done for the American people.” —Biden Campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler
“This conservative, MAGA-leaning Supreme Court has desecrated the Voting Rights Act, and we have not been able to get the Republicans in the Congress to renew it. And so a lot of black people are disappointed.” —Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) regarding black constituent polling
“There is a full-on intent by some very powerful people to attack so many of our hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights. And it is time that we then show them that we understand that the American people do believe in the foundational ideals of our country, which include the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have our government tell her what to do; the freedom of our young people in particular to be free from the fear of gun violence and the need for reasonable gun safety laws; the freedom of people to be able to love who they love proudly and without judgment; the freedom of people to be able to have access to opportunity where we are not afraid to discuss diversity and equity and inclusion, understanding that that is part of how we will create a stronger economy and a stronger nation.” —Vice President Kamala Harris
Leftmedia Hacks Shill for Biden
“Biden needs expert political guidance. … Trump could win despite his flagrant criminality and deranged mental state. [J]ournalists need to better convey 2 realities: the US economy is doing well, not poorly. Biden at 80 is handling the job effectively right now.” —journalist John Harwood
“Joe Biden’s economy is, honestly, pretty amazing: How come he doesn’t get credit?” —Salon’s Kirk Swearingen
Non Compos Mentis
“What would a second [Trump] term look like? It would look a lot like Vladimir Putin.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
“President Harris is here to make sure we do this the right way.” —Joe Biden
Belly Laugh of the Day
“I feel so grateful that [Biden is] the man in charge of our country right now. He has the right temperament and experience.” —Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
Village Academies
“The problem with our college students isn’t a lack of education. It’s what they’re learning. That they’re being indoctrinated with neo-Marxist, anti-Western ideology. … There is a disturbing link between higher education and higher levels of anti-Semitism. Our colleges and universities are breeding grounds for Jew-hatred.” —Gary Bauer
For the Record
“When the intellectually indolent cannot defend the indefensible, they pull the race card.” —cartoonist Michael Ramirez after his work was censored by The Washington Post
TODAY’S MEME
For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.
TODAY’S CARTOON
For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive.
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
Kayleigh McEnany: This is a spiritual and moral catastrophe that must be addressed
The ‘Outnumbered’ panel discussed the surge in threats against Jewish people nationwide as many fear for their safety amid the war against Hamas. #FOXNews
Source: Kayleigh McEnany: This is a spiritual and moral catastrophe that must be addressed
Why Israel Matters
My heart breaks over the shocking carnage Hamas carried out in Israel. At the time of this writing, at least 1,200 people in Israel, including more than 30 Americans, have been slaughtered by Hamas terrorists. As the war in Israel continues to escalate, it is disturbing to see anti-Israel protests and a rise of antisemitism around the globe, especially while innocent civilians, including children, the elderly, and the disabled, were mercilessly slaughtered by the Islamic jihadists of Hamas. Now more than ever, it is important to understand why Israel matters and why it is the center of global discussion.
Source: Why Israel Matters
Can’t make it up! Hunter Biden will be teaching a course on “Fake News” at Tulane University
Guys, this is one of those stories where I have to go to lengths to remind you that you are, indeed, reading NOT the Bee.
Source: Can’t make it up! Hunter Biden will be teaching a course on “Fake News” at Tulane University
Eight NEW Biden Family Scandals ABC, CBS, NBC Are Hiding | Newsbusters
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s Nov. 8 subpoena of Hunter and James Biden and Special Counsel David Weiss’s Nov. 7 congressional testimony actually forced the networks to — very briefly — break out of their rut of refusing to report on Biden family scandals.
On November 8, all three network (ABC, CBS, NBC) evening news programs relayed the bombshell development but only spent 100 seconds total on it, and dutifully repeated the debunked White House line of there’s “no evidence” directly linking to the President. It was whisked away by the next day, as none of the network morning shows touched the story.
Weiss’s closed-door testimony before Congress was also covered — barely. The November 7 edition of NBC Nightly News spent a scant 59 seconds on Weiss — which was still better than ABC and CBS. They did zilch on Weiss’s appearance before Congress.
But for those very brief exceptions, the networks have continued their hiding of Biden family scandals over the last few months.
Some of the cases that have been censored in just the last month include the discovery of checks actually written out to President Joe Biden himself, something Biden’s supporters and Comer’s critics have been clamoring for and insisted didn’t exist.
The following are eight new developments in the Biden family corruption scandal, over the past two months, the networks have censored:
Joe “Big Guy” Biden Got $40,000 Check From Brother James Via “Laundered” China Money
On November 1, the New York Post reported:
President Biden received $40,000 in “laundered” funds from Chinese government-linked CEFC China Energy, according to a memo released Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee.
The 2017 transfer from first brother James Biden and his wife Sara to the future president allegedly involves the same business deal in which Joe Biden was called the “big guy” and penciled in for a 10% cut — and would be the first proven instance of the commander-in-chief getting a piece of his family’s foreign income.
The $40,000 went through a “complicated financial transaction” just weeks after first son Hunter Biden threatened his father’s wrath in a July 30, 2017, text message to a CEFC employee, the Republican-led Oversight Committee said in the memo.
The money ended up in Joe Biden’s bank account on Sept. 3, 2017, via a check labeled “loan repayment” from his younger brother, who partnered with Hunter in the venture.
“Remember when Joe Biden told the American people that his son didn’t make money in China?” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a video posted to X. “Well, not only did he lie about his son Hunter making money in China, but it also turns out that $40,000 in laundered China money landed in Joe Biden’s bank account in the form of a personal check.”
Comer, a leader of the House impeachment inquiry into Biden’s role in his relatives’ foreign dealings, said, “Even if this $40,000 check was a loan repayment from James Biden, it still shows how Joe benefited from his family cashing in on his name — with money from China no less.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Used a Pseudonym on Over 82,000 E-Mails, Including One Notifying Hunter About Phone Call with Ukranian President
On October 31, the New York Post reported:
President Biden sent or received up to 82,000 pages worth of private emails while serving as Barack Obama’s vice president, the National Archives disclosed late Monday as part of a lawsuit brought by a conservative organization.
The Archives revealed that the trove of correspondence spanned all eight years of Biden’s vice presidency and included messages to or from three shadow email addresses: “robinware456@gmail.com,” “JRBWare@gmail.com” and “Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov,” according to a joint filing with the Georgia-based Southeastern Legal Foundation.
“The fact that as vice-president, Joe Biden sent 82,000 pages of emails from alias email addresses is shocking,” Southeastern Legal Foundation General Counsel Kimberly Hermann told The Post. “The American public has a right to know what is in those emails. SLF remains hopeful that now that we have confirmed that the emails exist, NARA will fulfill its legal obligation and produce them in a timely and transparent manner.”
It is unclear what topics are covered in most of the emails or who else was looped in on the messages. However, at least 10 missives were sent between May 18 and June 15, 2016, and cc’d first son Hunter Biden — with one on May 26 notifying Hunter of a scheduled phone call the next day between the vice president and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the first son’s abandoned laptop shows.
Then-vice presidential aide John Flynn included Hunter on the missives in the months following Joe Biden’s threat in December 2015 to withhold $1 billion in US loan guarantees from Kyiv unless Poroshenko fired Ukrainian Prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma Holdings owner Mykola Zlochevsky.
The president’s son served on the Ukrainian natural gas company’s board from 2014 to 2019, earning an annual salary of roughly $1 million — despite having no prior experience in the energy industry. Ukraine’s parliament dismissed Shokin in March 2016.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
U.S. Attorney Claims He Was Blocked During His Probe of Hunter, “Never In His Career” Seen Anything Like It
On October 30, the Wall Street Journal reported:
House Republicans continue to unpack the Justice Department’s botched Hunter Biden probe, and evidence is mounting of interference from the top. The latest testimony comes from an Oct. 23 Judiciary Committee interview with former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.
In January 2020, then Attorney General Bill Barr tapped Mr. Brady to vet information related to Ukrainian corruption, and to pass along credible material to offices with ongoing investigations. That included Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who for five years has been probing Hunter’s foreign business operations, including his work for the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. Mr. Brady says in the transcript we’ve reviewed that FBI headquarters and Mr. Weiss’s office made this very difficult.
…
Mr. Brady describes a “reluctance on the part of the FBI to really do any tasking” related to “allegations of Ukrainian corruption broadly and then specifically anything that intersected with Hunter Biden and his role in Burisma.” He says “FBI Headquarters had to sign off on every assignment, no matter how small or routine,” and that this sometimes required “17 different people,” mostly at the headquarters level. Local agents had to “go pens down sometimes for 2 or 3 weeks at a time before they could re-engage,” he says. He’d “never in [his DOJ] career” seen anything like it, and on a “fairly regular” basis had to go to the deputy AG’s office for help.Mr. Brady says his office was informed by “members of the Pittsburgh FBI team” that they had been instructed by headquarters not to “affirmatively share information” with the Brady team. He says he was “surprised” to learn from public reporting in October 2020 that the FBI had possessed Hunter’s laptop since 2019, since his team had asked the FBI for anything it had on Hunter and Burisma, and the laptop would have been “helpful.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Biden-Appointed U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada Claims He Couldn’t Charge Hunter Because He Was “Resource-Strapped”
On October 26, the New York Post reported:
Los Angeles US Attorney Martin Estrada told lawmakers that he refused to “partner” with federal prosecutors from Delaware last year to charge first son Hunter Biden with tax fraud — saying his office was simply too “resource-strapped” to assign anyone to the case.
Estrada, an appointee of President Biden, confirmed he balked at charging his boss’s son with ducking taxes linked to foreign income in Tuesday testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, according to a transcript reviewed by The Post — partially confirming the claims of IRS whistleblowers.
DC US Attorney Matthew Graves, another Biden appointee, also recently confirmed to the panel that he declined Delaware US attorney David Weiss’ request to team up on charges, with Graves saying it would have been too difficult for his office to “get up to speed on everything.”
…Weiss reportedly considered not charging Hunter Biden, now 53, at all after Graves and Estrada turned down his requests, then changed his mind when IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and case agent Joseph Ziegler came forward this year to allege irregularities in the investigation.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Got $200,000 Check From James Biden On Same Day His Brother Got Check For Same Amount From Hospital Firm
On October 20, the New York Post reported:
President Biden received a $200,000 check in 2018 from his younger brother James on the same day that he received the same amount from a US hospital chain by promising to secure a Mideast investor, bank records obtained by Congress show.
“This summer, Joe Biden said: ‘Where’s the money?’ Well, we found some,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a video posted Friday afternoon to X.
Comer said that James Biden wrote the check to his powerful brother as a “loan repayment,” without providing further context. “Even if this was a personal loan repayment, it’s still troubling that Joe Biden’s ability to be paid back by his brother depended on the success of his family’s shady financial dealings,” the chairman said.
James Biden received a total of $600,000 in loans from since-defunct rural hospital operator Americore Health in 2018.
The firm’s bankruptcy trustee said in a July 2022 court filing that James Biden “procured the $600,000.00 in loans from Americore … based upon representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Form Shows FBI Knew Hunter’s Laptop Was Legit, Even Before the 2020 Election
On October 9, the Daily Caller reported:
The FBI knew the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop featured in the New York Post’s reporting ahead of the 2020 presidential election were real, according to a newly released FBI FD-302 form summarizing the bureau’s interview with Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Tony Bobulinski.
The FBI interviewed Bobulinski on Oct. 23, 2020 after the New York Post’s story contained emails from the Hunter Biden laptop archive Bobulinski was copied on, the FD-302 form states. Bobulinski told the FBI he knew the emails were legitimate and had records of the emails on multiple cell phones, the form asserts.
“In addition, the New York Post recently published Hunter Biden emails in which Bobulinski was copied. Bobulinski’s name was not redacted from the published emails, which put his name in the public domain and caused significant concern for his family’s safety,” the document reads. The FD-302 form’s contents were first reported by the New York Post. “Nonetheless, Bobulinski was aware that the emails published by the New York Post were legitimate because Bobulinski was copied on them and had records of the emails on his own cellular devices,” the document adds.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Names Hunter Crony to Head Agency That’s Supposed to Protect Whistleblowers, Like the Ones Who Alleged Interference in the Biden Investigation
On October 4, the New York Post reported:
President Biden selected an old legal colleague of his son Hunter Biden to helm the US Office of Special Counsel, whose primary purpose is protecting whistleblowers — like the ones who have alleged political interference in the five-year-old probe of the presidential scion.
Hampton Dellinger, nominated by Biden for the post of US Special Counsel Wednesday, worked on the Crisis Management and Government Response team at Boies Schiller Flexner in 2014.
Hunter Biden tapped that firm to assist Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings in 2014 and had dinner with Dellinger and others in March that same year, emails from his abandoned laptop show. The younger Biden served on the board of Burisma from 2014 to 2019. It is unclear whether Dellinger did any legal work on Burisma’s behalf.
Back in July, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and other Republicans urged current Special Counsel Henry Kerner to probe claims of retaliation by IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and agent Joseph Ziegler. Those whistleblowers have accused the Justice Department of meddling and favoritism in the sprawling inquiry of Hunter Biden.
“The president thumbed his nose at SSA Shapley and SA Zeigler with the nomination of his son’s former law partner to an agency overseeing their whistleblower cases,” Shapley’s legal team said in a statement to The Post. “Dellinger should immediately let Congress and the American people know that if he is confirmed, he will recuse himself from any involvement in the whistleblowers’ cases who have risked their careers to expose preferential treatment for the president’s son and the nominee’s former law partner.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Met with Hunter’s Mexican Business Partners
On September 26, the Washington Examiner reported:
Hunter Biden appeared to receive help from his father on several occasions as he pursued business deals in Mexico during the last few years of Joe Biden’s vice presidency. The complicated business ventures included an effort by Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that paid Hunter Biden for a board position, to buy up parts of a Mexican-owned energy conglomerate that was looking to privatize.
…Hunter Biden and his business associates appeared to be interested in targeting Mexican investors since at least 2010. Among them were Carlos Slim and his son, Carlos Slim Jr.; the elder Slim, a Mexican billionaire, was at one point the wealthiest man in the world.
Miguel Aleman Velasco and Miguel Aleman Magnani also appeared to develop close business relationships with Hunter Biden and his business partners, particularly Jeff Cooper, one of Hunter Biden’s closest business associates at that time. Aleman Velasco was a former high-ranking Mexican politician, and his son, Aleman Magnani, was the president of Interjet, at the time a Mexican airline.
Hunter Biden, Cooper, and their former business partner, Devon Archer, appeared to lean on Aleman Magnani to help them explore business opportunities in Mexico, including how to profit off the privatization of Pemex, a state-owned oil and gas company in Mexico. Burisma appeared interested in bidding on assets that Pemex was preparing to sell.
In February 2014, Hunter Biden and Cooper arranged a lunch with then-Vice President Joe Biden at the White House, emails from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop show. Joe Biden met with both Aleman Velasco and Aleman Magnani, along with Cooper, at the White House for lunch and posed for pictures with them.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Source: Eight NEW Biden Family Scandals ABC, CBS, NBC Are Hiding
The Watchman’s Bagpipes: Questions About “The Chosen”
TBC NOTES
May 1, 2023
T. A. McMahon
Questions for Those Christians Enamored with The Chosen
Those involved in the production of The Chosen claim that the series does not add to God’s words (condemned in Proverbs:30:6). How can that be true when the actor who portrays Jesus says things and does things not found in the Bible?
We’re told that the backstories given throughout The Chosen were all made up by the series screenwriters, yet we’re also told that the made-up stories encourage people to read the Bible. How can anyone who is new to reading the Bible discern that which is true? Especially when The Chosen and the Bible contradict each other, which they do continually.
Did Jesus need help from His disciples (such as Matthew) in preparing the Sermon on the Mount?
Was the Word of God as given through the Holy Spirit insufficient in presenting the character of Jesus until the motion picture medium was invented?
Where in Scripture do we find Jesus “entertaining” children by “blowing raspberries”?
Is it possible for anyone to replicate the Son of God, the Son of the Highest, the Son of the Blessed, the Lord thy God, the Lord of the Sabbath, thou Son of God most high, the Word who was with God and was God, the Lamb of God, the only begotten Son, the Messiah, the Christ, the eternal I Am, who was before all things and by whom all things consist, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, who is God our Savior, and who is the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior?
Those are just a few questions that came to my mind regarding The Chosen. These kinds of questions will continue for the next few newsletters. My purpose is to get those being seduced by this series (produced by Mormons pretending to be biblical Christians) to really think about what they’re watching. Send me some questions you would ask those who are in fact controlling the program’s content and those who are enamored with it.
http://watchmansbagpipes.blogspot.com/2023/11/questions-about-chosen.html
Kirk Cameron Calls Out Scholastic for Pushing Explicit LGBTQ+ Content Onto Kids – Daily Declaration
Kirk Cameron has accused library legend Scholastic of blurring the line between indoctrination and education.
Working alongside newly created book fair alternative and non-profit Sky Tree Fairs, Cameron said Scholastic was behind a flood of material appearing in school libraries which contained age-inappropriate content.
“Ever wondered how all the sexually explicit, morally disgusting, and dangerous books get into our children’s schools, classrooms, and libraries?
“Sky Tree Fairs, and I did a deep dive and discovered [that] the real wolf in Grandma’s clothing is [Scholastic].”
In a bold thread on X, Cameron backed his claims using screenshots and links of what appears to be LGBTQ+ propaganda marketed as sex education.
Cameron’s first example was the 2022 Scholastic book Welcome to St. Hell which, he said, “glamorized gender transitioning to middle schoolers.”
Another example was the book Melissa.
Written by a “Queer”, “defund the police” trans activist, Melissa is aimed at the 8-12-year-olds, and blatantly encourages gender dysphoria among boys.
Next on the list was a Scholastic title called Rick.
Targeted at the same age group, the contents feature a “grandfather and grandchild coming out as trans to one another.”
A screenshot shows the grandfather telling the grandchild to keep his cross-dressing fetish a “secret.”
If adults sharing sexual fetishes with kids and telling them to keep it a secret wasn’t enough of a red flag, consider Scholastic’s Heartstopper.
Cameron said the Brave Books title got rejected for an ad on Facebook because it depicted “people in explicit or suggestive positions or images that show nudity or cleavage.”
None of these titles are just a glitch in the system, the American actor and homeschooling dad explained.
“Scholastic has published a list of their 100+ LGBTQIA+ books on their website. (This list is not exhaustive as we found many other LGBTQ-themed books not on it.)”
“Scholastic could once be trusted. This is no longer the case,” he added.
“They’re pushing sexualised and gender-confusing content for minors into schools and libraries.”
Parents who jump without question, when woke educators say jump, are being hoodwinked, Cameron also implied.
Better Alternative
The Growing Pains actor told The Daily Wire that he was partnering with SkyTree because kids are being taught to self-destruct,
“[They’re] being exposed to sexually explicit, race-infused, and gender-confusing children’s books, while being told this is what it means to be educated, that this is the reason they go to school.
“These books, published and distributed by Scholastic, are taking children down a path that will eventually destroy them and their families.”
Stepping up as a replacement, SkyTree Book Fairs said its existence is a “response to parents and librarians who were tired of sifting through books from Scholastic and looking for an alternative.”
“You may be thinking that Scholastic’s LGBTQIA+ books just slip through the cracks, but absent-minded oversight is not the case for Scholastic.
“Just like Disney and Target, Scholastic has bought into woke ideology as its mission for book fairs.”
For an example, look no further than Scholastic’s 2023 LGBTQ+ 12-page, “Read with PRIDE” resources guide for grades K-3.
As is often the case, substance trumps appearances.
Recall how FBI agents forced the agency to mothball its version of LGBTQ+ safetyism and therapeutic indoctrination in 2021.
Agents slammed forced participation in the movement via mandated LGBTQ+ “guidance”, compelling LGBTQ+ speak, and “encouraging agents to be LGBTQ+ allies.”
Breaking the news on December 22, former agent Kyle Seraphin recounted to The Daily Caller: in-house “reviews were so negative of this training, that the [FBI] just removed it, and didn’t tell anybody.”
Not only were agents told to lie by enabling an LGBT person’s “preferred identity”, they were told to treat a trans person having their identity affirmed surgically, “like a pregnancy.”
While the Office of Diversity and Inclusion was dormant under Trump, it’s back under Biden.
Writing for the NY Post in May this year, former FBI agent, James A. Gagliano lamented how the agency of Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity had become the woke poster-child for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Outright politicisation has destroyed the FBI, Gagliano said.
This all ties in with Kirk Cameron’s exposing of Scholastic in three significant ways.
The company — like every education organisation colonised by the far-left mindset — now seems more occupied with coddling the LGBT than they are teaching ABCDs.
Backlashes work.
Consult any outdoor survival manual: what looks harmless on the surface can be harmful underneath.
___
Originally published at Caldron Pool.
The post Kirk Cameron Calls Out Scholastic for Pushing Explicit LGBTQ+ Content Onto Kids appeared first on Daily Declaration.
As a Christian, Here are My Thoughts on Jordan Peterson’s “Most Inspiring Speech He Has Ever Given” – Daily Declaration
Jordan Peterson recently gave a talk on ‘Tilting the world toward Heaven and away from hell’ that some people are calling ‘The most inspiring speech he has ever given’.
It was given at the recent ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) conference in London. ARC is an organisation begun by Peterson, which aims to offer a more compelling and hopeful vision for human society and human flourishing than what we’re hearing from many corners of (secular) society.
Peterson is always thought-provoking, and this speech is no different. I had a listen, and here are my thoughts, as a Christian:
1) Christians will resonate with much of Peterson’s talk
Peterson aimed to offer a better vision of human identity and flourishing than what our hedonistic, self-focused secular society offers us. Here is some of what resonated with me:
- Take responsibility for your own life, and the lives of those around you
Peterson is big on this:
And so, by the time you start to operate as an adult, you can take responsibility for yourself… And then you take responsibility for your partner, and they do that with you, and the two of you take responsibility for your children. And that gives you the satisfaction and the adventure and the responsibility and the burden and the meaning of your family. And you embed that in your community, and you take responsibility for that, and you take responsibility beyond that for your town, and for your city, and your state. And you do that all in as balanced and harmonious a manner as you can.
In a culture where identity is increasingly found in your feelings, in entitlement and a victim mentality, I found his call to personal responsibility – and being responsible to those around you – refreshing. It echoes our God-given responsibility as stewards of creation (Gen 1:27-28; cf. Prov 6:6-1).
- A meaningful life isn’t found in hedonism but in responsible service of others.
One of Peterson’s reasons for responsible living is that it’s meaningful.
A meaningful life isn’t found in being self-focused and hedonistic, but in responsible service. He’s going against the cultural flow with such a call: the western zeitgeist is all about comfort, and ease, and seeing responsibility as a burden more than a privilege. But hedonism doesn’t lead to a meaningful life: on the contrary, he says,
[M]eaning in your life doesn’t emerge as a consequence of your pursuit of your proximal hedonic subjective narrow purely self-serving goals and drives . There’s nothing in that that’s nourishing.
This aligns with God’s intent for humanity, that we not be selfish and chase our desires (e.g. 1 Peter 4:2-6), but to look outside ourselves, and serve others.
- Being made in the image of God is not ‘foolish superstition’, but one of the most profound truths in human history.
It’s no small thing for a public intellectual of Peterson’s standing to unashamedly declare that:
‘[Modern western societies] regard those [Biblical] propositions as something approximating primitive superstitions, when in fact, they’re the most brilliant intuitions into the fundamental structure of reality that have ever been offered. We’ve predicated our civilization on those presuppositions…’
As a Christian, I say a hearty ‘Amen!’. Being made in God’s image is the only firm ground for universal human rights and dignity (which is why the Western world has such values, but the rest of the world less so).
- We can make a positive difference to the world if we align our lives to our divinely-given identities.
Peterson wants us to act in line with our ‘divine responsibility’, as this will change the world:
‘[To] the degree that each of us acted out in the confines of our own lives, [we will] tilt the world towards heaven and away from hell’.
Again, as a Christian, there is much to affirm. As human beings, God has made us in His image and stitched his morality throughout the fabric of reality. To varying degrees, even fallen humanity can see some of the goodness and value of that morality – albeit, those who have come from a Christianised culture more so than others. If we live in line with that morality, society would indeed be better.
2) But his talk raised several questions in my mind:
- What exactly does it look like to act as God’s image bearers? And says who?
Peterson made a lot of assertions about God, but it left me wondering: how do I know that what he says is true and worth believing?
Now, he brought in his own experience and professional authority as a psychologist – and I’m more than happy to defer to his psychological authority on psychological matters.
But when it came to his discussing Biblical issues – whether Jacob’s ladder, Abraham, and even the image of God – I was often left wondering how he came to his conclusions. There wasn’t much exegetical argument to back up his Biblical claims. And some of his arguments about Abraham seemed quite novel and unusual, at least as far as traditional evangelical interpretations go:
‘The biblical book [of Genesis] details out the life of Abraham. And I mentioned this when the conference opened. Abraham begins his life with all his proximal hedonic needs satiated, and the voice of God comes to him and says, says, ‘Go out into the world, get away from what’s merely infantile and satiating, and have the adventure of your life.’
Have the adventure of your life?
That’s an unusual interpretation of what God was telling Abraham. While it might be true as far as it goes (maybe God did, alongside his other plans for Abraham, send him on this ‘adventure’), it did feel like he was reading his interpretation into the text, rather than drawing it from the Biblical passages. [1] Thus, the question of truth – and God’s will – comes into play: is that what God was saying through the life of Abraham? Life is an ‘adventure’ that you must embark on?
- Does meaning only come from our actions? If so, what about those who can’t do meaningful actions?
While heartily I agree that living a responsible life in service of others is more meaningful than a hedonistic self-focused life (and Peterson made this point well), I was left wondering about those who can’t take meaningful, responsible actions: are their lives still meaningful? For example: babies, or those with dementia, or significant disabilities?
- Could we find a stable identity in our doing of things – even good, responsible things?
Should our core identity be based on our actions, our responsibilities, or our achievements? While psychologically speaking, it’s better than an identity based on our internal feelings, is a responsibilities-based identity stable enough? This is not a theoretical question for me. I grappled with this personally on an existential level when I had the proverbial ‘mid-life’ crisis: I realised that in the face of certain death, temporal, this-worldly identity and meaning were flimsy.
Again, let me say that there was much to love about Peterson’s talk. But maybe my concerns are around not so much what he said, but what he didn’t say. While he did mention the Bible, I think his talk would have been so much stronger if he brought in Jesus:
3) Why Jesus solves the problems raised by Peterson
As I was listening to Peterson, I resonated with much of what he said. But I couldn’t help thinking: what you’re saying is good, but is it enough to achieve what you’re after? Namely: True meaning. A stable, positive identity. And a world where suffering is ameliorated.
I think that only Jesus provides – in a truly satisfying way – the things that Peterson is looking for. [2]
When it comes to identity, in Jesus we find a stable identity that we don’t have to earn (and thus risk losing by our own or other’s actions), but an identity that is given to us, that Jesus has won for us at the cross. Nothing – not even our death – can take that identity away (cf. Rom 8:35-39).
When it comes to meaning, Jesus gives us meaning that will never fail. Why? Because it’s not based on us or our actions, but on what He’s done for us: forgiving our sins, and raising us to new (spiritual) life, as we look forward to new (physical) resurrection life. This means that the question that destroys modern notions of meaning – ‘what’s it all for?’ – has a compelling and rock-solid answer.
When it comes to tilting the world toward heaven, and away from hell, Jesus will make that happen. And in the meantime, by His Holy Spirit, He will use us to do good to others (Gal 6:10), sacrificing ourselves for our neighbours, and loving our enemies.
Furthermore, the very reason we have values and morals of the West – universal human rights, democracy, fair trials, etc – the very ‘air we breathe’ – is because of Jesus. Without Jesus, it’s hard to see how the values both secular and religious Westerners hold dear could have arisen.
Not so much what was said, but what wasn’t said
While Peterson’s talk was inspiring in many ways – and his vision of personal responsibility and sacrificial service is way better than the ‘You do You’ nonsense that we’re swimming in right now – I couldn’t help but feel that there was something, or rather Someone, missing: Jesus.
My hope and prayer is that the person and work of Jesus become more and more front and centre in Peterson’s life and work.
Because that would truly be revolutionary.
___
[1] I realise Peterson has given many lectures on the Bible, which are available online. Perhaps he gives his reasoning and exegesis in those lectures.
[2] Of course, doing the things that Peterson suggests will provide meaning, service, and a better life to some measure. He is taking advantage of the wisdom that God has stitched into the fabric of reality. But, as he’s putting the jigsaw pieces together of what a truly flourishing society looks like, I think he’s missing the ‘Jesus piece’, if I can put it that way.
___
Originally published at AkosBalogh.com. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
The post As a Christian, Here are My Thoughts on Jordan Peterson’s “Most Inspiring Speech He Has Ever Given” appeared first on Daily Declaration.
When Government Proposes to Control Our Words, the Church Ought Not Be Speechless – Daily Declaration
God created three institutions for the betterment of society. And to each, He gave a specific function.
God created the family for the propagation of life. He created government for the protection of citizens. And He created the church for the proclamation of the Gospel.
A society will be healthy to the extent that each of these institutions functions effectively.
Strong families, competent governments and vibrant churches are the three-fold cord of prosperous communities.
Dysfunction occurs when one of those components ceases to operate effectively – whether through family breakdown, government corruption, or a church that becomes lukewarm or apostate.
Chaos occurs when one of those institutions usurps the roles and responsibilities of the others and starts to operate in areas for which it was not intended.
Overreach
You’ve probably heard the term “nanny state”. It’s a term of derision used to describe a government that has taken upon itself decisions that would ordinarily be made by families.
For instance, parents tend to get upset when the local school starts teaching their kids about gender fluidity. People instinctively understand that it is the role of parents — not a stranger employed by the State — to talk to children about sex.
Or what about a church that goes beyond teaching family life principles and starts directly interfering in people’s relationships? When that boundary is breached, the church devolves into a cult.
We could spend hours talking about various Popes in the Middle Ages who spent more time politicking than preaching — even commanding armies — and, as a result, impoverished both the church and the broader community.
For a society to prosper, it not only needs strong families, competent government and a vibrant church; it needs family, government and church to stay within the limits of that for which they were intended.
During the pandemic, Australia wrestled with two significant problems. The first problem was Coronavirus — a disease that originated in China and that was allowed to spread around the world by the Chinese Communist Party.
The second problem, which in my view was much bigger than the first, arose because of the government’s response to Coronavirus.
Western governments tried to control a virus that originated in China by employing methods promoted by China and, as a result, the whole world now looks a lot more like China – an authoritarian regime.
In attempting to manage the pandemic, our State and Federal Governments massively overreached. And they have never apologised for it.
They usurped the authority of the family and of the church, trampling civil liberties, destroying trust, and breaching the good faith necessary for a free society to operate.
When the State determined who could or could not visit our homes, as it did during the pandemic, it had moved well beyond the bounds of its authority.
When the State dictated who could or could not worship in church, as it did during Covid, it assumed authority it was never meant to wield.
And when the State mandated, as it did, that perfectly healthy people needed to undergo a medical procedure or else lose their freedoms, it became a danger to the very citizens it was intended to protect.
When the government seeks to control every area of life — including even your home life and your spiritual life — we call it totalitarianism. The totality of our lives was monitored, regulated and subject to the State. But worse, we were denied control over even our own bodies.
Scope Creep
In truth, government overreach had been going on for years before Covid. The so-called nanny state had gradually undermined family structures, and anti-discrimination laws had already imposed a new morality that undermined the church.
All of this has happened incrementally, and so most of the State’s encroachments have been met with little more than a shrug.
Sure, some people got upset over this issue or that, but they were generally dismissed as overly excitable types who needed to worry less about politics.
The result has been that both the family and the church now stand severely weakened right when we need them most — to stand against government overreach directed toward individuals.
The big question confronting us right now is not one of whether to be vaccinated or not vaccinated but, rather, whether government should be allowed to determine what is true and what is not.
The Albanese Government’s proposed misinformation laws would give them power (through ACMA) to compel social media companies to remove comments they deem untrue.
The government announced this week that it would consider an exemption for religious organisations. How generous. How benevolent. How evil. It is not the government’s place to hand out exemptions as if free speech is a gift they choose to bestow on deserving groups.
It concerns me that the church seems to have nothing to say about this.
The church failed to defend an individual’s bodily autonomy against the power of the government during Covid. And now has nothing to say about an individual’s right to free speech.
Preachers say: we don’t want to get involved in politics.
Imagine their surprise when they discover bodily autonomy and freedom of speech are not ideas that arose from a government. They are divine rights communicated in Scripture. (Big hint… this is why these rights are common only in Western countries founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic).
Incidentally, this is why so many Christians are confused about cultural issues. They are highly motivated but poorly educated, hugely inspired but barely instructed.
If the church will not defend freedom of speech, who will? Your child’s school? Your teenager’s university? The media? Big tech? The entertainment industry? Corporate bosses?
And if the church will not speak out, what bulwark is left between an individual and the all-powerful State when the next “for your own good” mandate is issued? As it surely will be.
___
Originally published at The James Macpherson Report.
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Hamas Says All The AK-47s Found In Gaza Hospital Were Strictly For Medicinal Use | Babylon Bee
GAZA — As reports began to come out that Israeli Defense Forces had discovered a Hamas weapons depot hidden in a Gaza children’s hospital, a spokesman for Hamas was adamant that all of the AK-47s found in the hospital were for medicinal use only.
“These were clearly medical machine guns,” said Ali Mohammed Al Mohammed. “By confiscating these weapons, they are depriving sick children of the life-saving medical care that these rifles, rockets, and bombs provide. Only people who are truly heartless would take these weapons away from children who are ill. Death to Israel, thank you.”
As Israel continues to receive a mixture of support and criticism for its ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the discovery of a cache of weapons in a children’s hospital was a sobering reminder of what the IDF is up against. When pressed on the matter, the Hamas spokesman refused to admit the weapons stockpile was for use in the war. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Mohammed said. “The weapons were clearly labeled ‘Surgical AK-47s and Explosives.'”
“Why would we hide our weapons in a building with innocent children? That’s ridiculous! We only allow essential, life-saving therapeutic weapons in the children’s hospital. We’re not monsters. Glory to the blood-soaked martyrs. Thank you.”
At publishing time, Hamas had sent a formal request to have all of the weapons returned to them immediately. “We really need them back,” Mohammed said. “And by ‘we,’ I mean the sick children, of course. Yes, not referring to ourselves, the vengeful mujahideen. Totally the sick children.”
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‘Is God Real?’: Famed Author Lee Strobel Explores Proof of God and the Bible | Faithwire
Lee Strobel’s journey from atheist journalist to Christian apologist has been told in literary and theatrical form through “The Case for Christ,” with the prolific author and preacher continuing to share the Gospel throughout his multi-decade career.
Now, Strobel is out with another compelling project titled “Is God Real?: Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life” — a book probing humanity’s most pressing question.
Strobel said the idea for his latest book came from an intriguing source.
“[The publisher] discovered something interesting,” he told CBN Digital. “They said, ‘We found that 200 times a second, around the clock, someone on planet Earth is typing into a computer search engine, basically the question: ‘Is God real?” And they said, ‘Why don’t you do a book addressing that?’”
Strobel said he loved the idea and took them up on the offer, diving into research and evidence found in science, history, and philosophy that “points toward the truth of Christianity.”
Watch Strobel explain:
“I love doing this project because I think it reflects a real curiosity in our culture about who God is,” Strobel said. “I think it’s incumbent on Christians to … always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have, and to do it gently and respectfully.”
Strobel made it clear that blanket claims from atheists that God doesn’t exist simply have no backing, regardless of where people fall on the theological scale.
“One thing that cannot be said by anybody legitimately is, ‘There is no evidence for God,’” he said. “You can say, ‘I don’t believe the evidence.’ You can say, ‘I reject that evidence.’ You can say, ‘I’m smarter than that evidence,’ but we can’t say that there is no evidence.”
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start”
The prolific author said discoveries in cosmology, the universe’s origin, physics, and other issues have offered newfound insight that he believes points to the existence of the Almighty.
Even biology and DNA, he said, point “compellingly toward not just the existence of a creator, but a creator who happens to match a description of the God of the Bible.”
In the end, Strobel said God so radically transformed his life years ago that he’s now on a mission to honor the Lord.
“I just want to spend the rest of my life helping people meet Jesus and have him transform their lives,” he said. “And open the doors of heaven for them.”
Watch Strobel explore these themes and learn more about “Is God Real?: Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life.”
WORLDVIEW: New Age Movement (Part 2) | VCY
Welcome to Apologetics with Carl Kerby.
Today, we’re talking about worldviews. The New Age Movement may conjure up memories of the hippie era, but its philosophies continue to permeate modern society.
For example, the New Age Movement promotes the postmodern idea that there’s no right or wrong – instead, one’s own experience produces “truth.” In fact, the New Age Movement holds that the mind creates its own reality – that everything we see is really an illusion. At first, this seems like a stretch; do people really believe that? But think about issues like abortion and transgenderism; aren’t people trying to create their own realities? In addition, the New Age Movement promotes the notion we can become gods; today, we witness many who insist their self-autonomy is supreme and refuse to be subject to any authority.
As Colossians 2:8 warns believers, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy … after the tradition of men … and not after Christ.”
What does New Age philosophy say about Jesus Christ? We’ll discuss that another time. Until then, for more information, go to http://www.hopetools.net. Stay bold!
Carl Kerby is the founder of Reasons for Hope and co-creator of the DeBunked apologetic video series. His radio feature, Fast Facts, is heard weekly on VCY America, Saturdays at 9:25 AM Central.
Does Anyone In Congress Care That A Quarter Of A Million Illegal Immigrants Were Arrested In October? – Conservative Review
Customs and Border Protection announced it had apprehended nearly a quarter of a million illegal aliens at the U.S.-Mexico border in October.
Another Black Monday? | VCY
Kerby Anderson
Two economics professors at Johns Hopkins University are warning that we could be facing tough economic times soon. These men aren’t doom-and-gloom economists, but sober-minded individuals concerned about the policies of the Federal Reserve.
We all know drivers who one minute floor the accelerator and then slam on the brakes. That is my metaphor for what has been happening over the last few years.
Back in March 2020, the government significantly increased the money supply to send money to US citizens during the pandemic. The M2 money supply “grew at an unprecedented, annualized rate of 16.5%.” That was more than three times the appropriate rate for the Fed’s inflation target.
Two years later in March 2022, the Federal Reserve changed course and started tightening the money supply by increasing the federal-funds rate. This “quantitative tightening” contracted the money supply. The economists explain that this was the most extreme contraction since 1933.
They point to the fact that the Federal Reserve “ignored the huge acceleration in the quantity of money and thus failed to anticipate the ensuing inflation.” You might remember when inflation began to show up in early 2021, we first heard that it was merely transitory and caused by the disruption of supply-chains.
Now that the Federal Reserve has pumped the brakes, these economists argue that we are facing the opposite problem. “The money supply has been contracting for 18 months, and soon, after the overhanging extra money from 2020-21 has been used up, spending will plunge, and inflation will fall” they believe even into deflation.
Their evaluation should be a warning to all of us that we may be facing some tough economic times in the future.
Spurgeon on “Reconciling” God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility – Rooted Thinking : Rooted Thinking
There has been no shortage of debate amongst Christians about the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Because of our finite perspective – and our insistence on having a theology that logically makes sense to us – we are tempted to downplay, diminish, or even outright reject one of these truths in favor of the other. In his little book, A Defense of Calvinism, Charles Spurgeon cautions us against this error:
Not a Straight Line
“The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read one Book of the Bible, “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once to Antinomianism or fatalism.”
Converging at the Throne of God
Spurgeon continues, “That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent or contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be in eternity. They are two lines that are so neatly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.”
May the Lord grant us humility to embrace the truths of His Word, even when we cannot fully understand or comprehend how those truths might “work” or fit together.
The post Spurgeon on “Reconciling” God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility appeared first on Rooted Thinking.
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