There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
In this featured post, New Testament scholar Michael J. Kruger shares five misconceptions that many have about Christmas story. These include:
1. There Was a Star the Night Jesus was Born 2. There Were Three Wise Men 3. There Was No Room for Them in the Inn 4. Jesus Was Born in a Barn or Stable 5. Jesus Was Born on December 25th
Kruger writes:
“These five misconceptions remind us that sometimes our picture of scriptural stories is shaped more by popular perceptions and modern retellings than by the text itself. But when we take a closer look at the biblical clues, a wonderful—and hopefully more accurate—picture emerges of what happened that night nearly 2,000 years ago.”
Christmas – there’s no other holiday in which music plays such a major role. And what a blessing that so much of the music of Christmas centers around the incarnation of our Savior! At no other time of the year are you likely to turn on a secular radio station or walk into a store and hear songs about Jesus. It’s one of the things that makes Christmas music so special.
In December 2015, I published my first collection of some of the best of the best carols and songs of the season, Top 10 Best Christmas Songs of All Time. It became an annual favorite here on the blog, and soon birthed a volume two of Top 10.
This year, instead of multiple volumes of Top 10, I’ve decided to collect all my favorites here in one list and continue adding to it as the years go by.
(Note: I do not necessarily endorse all of the songwriters or performers listed below, the churches/organizations they represent, any other songs they may have written or performed, or their theology. If you decide to follow any of these people or groups, check out their theology first to make sure it’s biblical.)
1. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
This one is my all time favorite because of the awesome gospel theology wrapped in ribbons of beautiful wording. Just a few of my favorite phrases:
God and sinners reconciled Veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail th’ incarnate deity Mild, He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth
2. It’s About the Cross
This is my favorite “non-carol” Christmas song. The beginning of the story is wonderful and great, but it’s the ending that can save you and that’s why we celebrate. The incarnation of Christ has always been about the cross and the resurrection.
3. Handel’s Messiah
Yes, I know it’s way more than one song, but, having performed it several times, I can honestly say I love the whole thing. Much of it is Scripture (verbatim) set to some of the best music ever written for a choir. Phenomenal.
4. Glorious Impossible
One of the more recent Christmas songs out there, it’s chock full of allusions to Scripture and the gospel. I think the Gaither Vocal Band does a really nice job on it.
5. Angels We Have Heard on High
It adequately handles the Christmas narrative, but I have to admit, I love this song for the chorus. It has a beautiful, intricately-woven, nearly ethereal sounding harmonic structure, and a simple, yet profound message: “Glory to God in the highest.”
6. Jesus, What a Wonderful Child
6. Jesus, What a Wonderful Child– Sometimes a great song is packed with good theology, and sometimes a great song expresses one simple idea. Jesus, What a WonderfulChild is one of the latter. If you’ve read the title, you’ve got the main idea. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun!
7. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
I love how this song captures the idea that when Jesus came the first time, “we didn’t know who You were.” And nobody does it like Mahalia Jackson.
8. Christmas Offering
This song draws the parallel between the offerings of the wise men and our offering of worship, the gift our King most desires.
9. Christ is Born
I know, I know, it’s twangy and most people don’t like Southern Gospel music. That’s OK, I do. And you’ve gotta love a Christmas song that starts out with the Fall of Man.
10. Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy
This is another one that made the list because of the music. The lyrics are a simple retelling of the journey of the magi, but the music just takes you right out to the desert and plops you down on a camel’s back.
11. Joy to the World
As Christians, many things in this life bring us sadness and discouragement: grief over our sin, prodigal children, death of loved ones, persecution, suffering. There is no better antidote to our sorrows than to focus on the joy we have in Christ. This is a beautiful, classical-style rendition of Joy to the World.
12. Light of the Stable
I love this song’s upbeat focus on Jesus as Light, King, and Savior. I can almost imagine myself in Bethlehem, bowing down before my infant King.
13. Silent Night
What Christmas music collective would be complete without Silent Night? Does your congregation sing this hymn at your Christmas Eve service or other special worship times? Grace Community Church does, and they sound just lovely.
14. Come on Ring those Bells
Were you even a Christian in the 80’s if you didn’t have Evie’s Christmas album? This song probably sounds cheesy to younger ears today, but approaching the birth of Christ as “the greatest celebration of them all” definitely has a nice ring to it. (Yes, I went there. :0)
15. Go Tell
There’s an undeniable evangelism motif in the story of Christ’s birth. Gabriel told Mary about Jesus. The angels told the shepherds the good news. And the shepherds…well they told everyone what they’d witnessed. That’s the theme of this Great Commission toe-tapper: GO. TELL.
16. O Little Town of Bethlehem
In the eyes of the world, Bethlehem was nothing special. It wasn’t the center of commerce or the seat of governmental power. It was just a little town of no consequence. Until…Jesus. This song, sung so delightfully by these four brothers in Christ, reminds us that Jesus is what makes the ordinary… extraordinary.
17. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
In a magnificent use of metaphor, this song casts Jesus Himself as the beautiful “star” of Bethlehem. And indeed, for Believers, Jesus is that “star divine,” lighting and guiding the way “unto the land of perfect day,” when we finally see Him, in all of His glory, face to face.
18. Ordinary Baby
Jesus was fully God, but sometimes we forget that He was also fully man. And not just fully man, but an ordinary, nondescript man. He was approachable, not elite. Personable, not intimidating. Accessible to kings and paupers alike. The Erwin siblings deliver this simple song with smooth and mellow charm.
19. We Are the Reason
The tradition of Christmas time gift giving is an homage to the gifts the wise men gave Jesus. But what about the “greatest gift of our lives” that Jesus gave us? He gave all He could give to us: His life, forgiveness of sin, salvation. Avalon handily dusts off this CCM classic and freshens it up for a 21st century audience.
20. O Holy Night
Christ, the thrill of hope, entered our darkened world on that holy night so long ago. As the soft, plaintive melody gradually swells into a great and glorious crescendo, we are reminded of how long the world pined away in sin and error, punctuated by the resplendent arrival of her Savior and King, much the same way we await His second coming today.
21. Sing We the Song of Emmanuel
One of the reasons I’m not crazy about contemporary Reformed worship hymns as a genre is that so many of them sound like funeral dirges. There’s no joy. They’re slower than Christmas. Not this one. This is a song about a joyful event that actually sounds joyful. Hope alive, let the gospel ring! Sing it with joy in your heart and a smile on your face!
22. He Who Is Mighty
Another contemporary one I’ve grown to love in recent years. A modern day Magnificat. Indeed, Christ has “shattered the darkness and lifted our shame,” and Holy is His name.
Bonus Nomination: Best Christmas Album
This is largely a nostalgic, rather than theological, nomination. My favorite Christmas record album growing up was Have a Happy Holiday with Lorne Greene. If you appreciate a classic, masculine baritone, you’ll want to grab a copy. (I still have mine!)
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.Numbers 23:23
How this should cut up root and branch all silly, superstitious fears! Even if there were any truth in witchcraft and omens, they could not affect the people of the Lord. Those whom God blessed, devils cannot curse.
Ungodly men, like Balaam, may cunningly plot the overthrow of the Lord’s Israel; but with all their secrecy and policy they are doomed to fail. Their powder is damp; the edge of their sword is blunted. They gather together; but as the Lord is not with them, they gather together in vain. We may sit still and let them weave their nets, for we shall not be taken in them. Though they call in the aid of Beelzebub and employ all his serpentine craft, it will avail them nothing: the spells will not work, the divination will deceive them. What a blessing this is! How it quiets the heart! God’s Jacobs wrestle with God, but none shall wrestle with them and prevail. God’s Israels have to prevail against them. We need not fear the fiend himself, nor any of those secret enemies whose words are full of deceit and whose plans are deep and unfathomable. They cannot hurt those who trust in the living God. We defy the devil and all his legions.
When we first meet Mary in Luke’s gospel, it is on the occasion when an archangel appeared to her suddenly and without fanfare to disclose to her God’s wonderful plan. Scripture says, simply, “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27).
“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Christmas is coming! There are loved ones to see, gifts to give, baking to share. We prepare our homes for the celebration. Yet even more important than this outward preparation is the preparation of our heart. The Advent season is a beautiful reminder to prepare our hearts, as we prepare our homes, to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus! Today we light the first of the four candles in the Advent wreath, the candle of Hope.
Is your heart filled with hope? Do you have a confident expectation of your tomorrow? What happens when the road ahead is filled with loss and stress weighs your shoulders down? When confident expectation in life’s tomorrow dwindles, what can you do? How can you walk in hope when you feel hopeless inside?
In one word the answer to confident expectation is “JESUS”…the Jesus of Christmas.
Hope in Jesus comes from more than just a belief that He was once a baby in a manger. This hope in Him has been called “an anchor for the soul”. It is something deep within that secures you through the storms of life. Putting your hope in Jesus will give you these four things.
Hope for Help
We are invited to come to Him and confidently ask for help. Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “to come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Hope to Overcome
Things that leave one feeling powerless and hopeless come in many forms. With Christ’s strength you can overcome great obstacles, and faith in Jesus gives hope and help to overcome. 1 John 5:4 says, “and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
Hope for Power
Sometimes in life we find ourselves with a task that simply looks too big for us. We do not just need a cup of God’s strength added to our own; rather we need His strength in us to do what we need to do. He will give it! 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Seeing our weakness as the entry point of God’s strength gives access to His power!
Hope for Eternity
When we put our faith and hope in Jesus, it not only gives us help, strength and power where we walk today but it also gives us hope for life after death. It is a confident expectation of the ultimate “tomorrow”.
The God of Hope sent His son to be our Savior. He is only one prayer away. If you want the confident expectation of His strength and wisdom in your today and His help and hope for your tomorrow, you need only ask. Just tell Him…
Dear God, I have gone my own way and have put my hope in so many things that have disappointed me. Thank you that you sent Jesus, that first Christmas long ago, to be my Savior. I believe He came for me. Forgive me and come into my life today. Show me how to live in the confident expectation of how You can impact my life, my character and my circumstances. I place my hope in You right now and ask You to make Yourself known to me in my life right where I walk. I thank you. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen
How do you feel going into this Christmas season? Excited? Scared? Joyful? Lonely? Worried or delighted? How will you invite God’s hope into your situation?
How do you feel going into this Christmas season? Excited? Scared? Joyful? Lonely? Worried or delighted? How will you invite God’s hope into your situation?
Speaker Johnson Refuses to Budge on Border Security after Meeting with Ukraine’s Zelensky After meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson doubled down on his commitment to securing America’s borders. Johnson has asserted that he will not negotiate on aid for Ukraine until the federal government produces a border security plan.
Democrats Combine All Their Gun Control Plans Into One Comprehensive Bill Democrats have reintroduced previously failed proposals representing an exhaustive list of almost all of the gun control bills they have been pushing. The bills would nullify current laws and establish stricter gun regulations. “Senator Warren’s bill is a laundry list of unconstitutional liberal gun control fantasies
Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Demanding Harvard, MIT Presidents Resign The resolution, … is authored by House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; the three other lead sponsors are Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and two Jewish American Democrats, Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida.
The World, And Much Of The Church, Are Leading Followers Of Jesus To The Slaughter For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their desires and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.”
Joe Biden: ‘Without Israel, Jews wouldn’t be safe anywhere’ “We continue to provide military assistance until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful.” The whole world, public opinion can shift overnight. We can’t let that happen.”
IAF destroys Jabalia launch site firing rockets at Sderot The Israeli Air Force overnight Monday destroyed a launch site in Jabalia from which rockets were being fired toward the western Negev city of Sderot, one of several launch sites attacked over the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip. they located 250 rockets, shells and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as other weapons and military equipment.
Why the images of Hamas prisoners sparked outrage The murder and rape of Israelis on Oct. 7 led to a spike in antisemitism, not anger against Hamas. And yet, the world can’t tolerate photos of defeated Palestinian terrorists. the pictures that really upset him (and, apparently, others throughout the world) were those depicting Palestinians who had surrendered to the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF recovers bodies of two hostages from Gaza After an identification procedure carried out by medical officials and military rabbis together with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, today (Tuesday) IDF and Israel Police representatives informed the families of Eden Zakaria and (SGM) Ziv Dado, who were taken hostage by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7th, that their bodies had been recovered and returned to Israel.
IDF destroys explosives lab, defeats terrorist squad in Jenin On Tuesday morning, an IAF strike eliminated a terror squad in Jenin after the terrorists threw explosives and fired at IDF troops on the ground. The IDF 636 unit spotted the terrorists as they launched an attack which was then thwarted by a strike from an IAF aircraft.
IDF has begun pumping seawater into Hamas tunnels in Gaza IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, in a statement last week, hinted at the effectiveness of this method, describing the flooding of the tunnels as “a good idea,” although he refrained from discussing the operation’s specifics. Both the military and the Prime Minister’s Office has maintained a policy of not publicly disclosing details about their efforts to dismantle the tunnel infrastructure.
550+ rabbis confirm: Jews don’t want ceasefire More than 550 rabbis—all named—have responded with their own letter. “There is not broad support within the Jewish community for a ceasefire. Not now,” the second group wrote. “More than 20% of the above-mentioned letter signatories signed anonymously. Beyond demonstrating a lack of courage, it is hard to substantiate and verify an ‘anonymous’ petition,” they wrote. “Further, the majority of pro-Israel Americans, especially clergy of all denominations, believe that a ceasefire before the eradication of Hamas leadership and a return of all hostages is a grave danger to global security.”
Netanyahu: We are preparing for the possibility of war with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel is preparing for the possibility of war with the Palestinian Authority forces, against the background of discussions about concessions for the Palestinians and the issue of allowing Palestinian workers into Israel.
Israel rejects allegations of unlawful use of white phosphorus shells against Lebanon The Israel Defense Forces officially rejected allegations made in a Washington Post report on Monday, claiming that the Israeli army unlawfully used U.S.-made white phosphorus shells. “The IDF uses only legal weapons. The main smoke shells used by the IDF do not contain white phosphorus. Similar to many Western armies, the IDF also has smoke shells that contain white phosphorus, which are legal under international law,” the IDF stated.
Iranian-backed Houthi terror militia strikes Norwegian-owned vessel on the Red Sea The Houthis, an Iranian-backed Yemenite terror militia, struck the Norwegian vessel STRINDA with an anti-ship cruise missile in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on Monday. “The [motor tanker] STRINDA reported damage causing a fire on-board, but no casualties at this time,” the Norwegian vessel was in international waters
Israel must respond to increased attacks by Hezbollah, War Cabinet Minister Gantz tells Blinken Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz reportedly informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday that Israel had no alternative but to respond forcefully to the increase in Hezbollah attacks on Israel’s northernmost border. The Iranian-backed terror proxy Hezbollah recently stepped up its attacks on northern Israeli border communities, which has led to Israel responding by targeting various positions of Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon.
Severe floods hit Bolivia, leaving at least 8 people dead Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms since December 10, 2023, have led to floods and river overflows in Bolivia, particularly in the Potosi and La Paz Departments, causing fatalities, missing persons, and widespread damage.
More Americans Preparing For Doomsday Apparently both the left and the right are preparing for “doomsday,” whether that is societal collapse, civil war, and EMP, Armageddon, or just any event that would require self-reliance rather than dependence on government entities.
Scotland’s wind turbines secretly use generators powered by “fossil fuels” In February, Scotland’s power sector was criticised after it was revealed that dozens of giant turbines have been using diesel generators. The information came from a whistle-blower who said the “environmentally friendly” windmills were only turning thanks to hydrocarbon fuels, commonly referred to as fossil fuels.
“We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.” —John Adams (1797)
Born on this day in 1887, we remember World War I Medal of Honor recipient Alvin Cullum York, a fellow Tennessean. On October 8, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, York would distinguish himself as a fearless leader. In later life, he observed, “I think any man who talks against the interests of his own country ought to be arrested and put in jail, not excepting senators and colonels.” —Mark Alexander
According to another Rasmussen/Heartland poll, nearly one in five Democrats also want Donald Trump to be imprisoned, exiled, or executed if convicted for his claims of election fraud. Executed? Sheesh.
Do you know what the difference is here? Trump failed in his legal and sometimes cockamamie attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The voters who committed fraud succeeded.
Some 21% of Rasmussen respondents “say they filled out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child,” while “19% of those who cast mail-in votes say a friend or family member filled out their ballot, in part or in full, on their behalf.” Rasmussen adds, “Furthermore, 17% of mail-in voters say that in the 2020 election, they cast a ballot in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident.”
These are just the people who admit to illegal activities, too — the real numbers could be far higher. That said, Rasmussen’s automated (non-human-voice) polling methodology tends to elicit truthful responses because every respondent hears the exact same question asked in the exact same way.
Either way, this is no small matter. The Heartland Institute’s Justin Haskins called the survey results “nothing short of stunning.” No kidding. The Narrative™ about the 2020 election was as utterly false as the 2016 lie about Trump’s collusion with Russia.
“For the past three years,” Haskins notes, “Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true. This conclusion isn’t based on conspiracy theories or suspect evidence, but rather from the responses made directly by the voters themselves.”
With his trademark caps lock key turned on, Trump took to Truth Social to call it “THE BIGGEST STORY OF THE YEAR,” and he might not be wrong. In fact, had he and his administration done more about it when then-Attorney General William Barr was warning that the mass mail-in ballots of 2020 were “playing with fire,” Trump might still be president.
Might. Rasmussen does add a significant caveat: “Nearly equal percentages of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters admitted to fraudulent activities.” However, a far higher number of Democrats cast ballots by mail, and younger voters and minorities — who skew heavily Democrat — were “significantly more likely to admit to engaging in fraudulent election activity” than were older or white voters.
In 2020, Democrats across the country realized they could win more elections by changing the rules by using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse and then screaming about “voter suppression” if anyone reined it back in. Rules changes included vastly expanding mail-in ballots with woefully inadequate verification, which a bipartisan 2005 report from the Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, warned “remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.” Other nations don’t seem to be so deluded as to let their elections be determined by mail.
And we do mean determined.
As our Mark Alexander wrote just three months ago:
Of the votes cast in 2020, 43% (66 million ballots) were cast by mail — and a majority of those were in states where authentication of the person receiving and casting the ballot is not required. Of all those who voted in person, 66% voted for Trump versus 42% for Biden — which is to say that 58% of Biden ballots, almost 47 million votes, were cast by mail.
If even a few percent of those voters committed fraud — say, by illegally voting absentee in a particular swing state — it could have changed the election result. Remember, Biden won by 43,000 votes in three swing states, which is precisely why the Left has renewed attacks on the Electoral College.
Memo to the Left: The election system created by the Founders in the Constitution is not the problem. Rigging elections with mail-in ballots is.
Americans are increasingly guilty of civic ignorance and are becoming more dishonest while gradually abandoning the objective truth and moral guidance of Christianity — and states mail out ballots for any reason, including nine states that do it in bulk without voters even asking for ballots.
What could go wrong?
If Republicans don’t begin shouting about election integrity from the rooftops, they deserve the defeat they are by default accepting.
Pitiful Hunter speaks, Israel snubs Biden’s plan, Ford halves Lightning production, NY Dems steal seats, and more.
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
Poor, poor, pitiful Hunter speaks! Hunter Biden exposed himself this morning on Capitol Hill, taking to a microphone and railing against “MAGA Republicans” for having unfairly picked on him. “For six years,” he whined, “I’ve been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer: ‘I am here.’” He was there, alright, but only long enough to denounce those MAGA Republicans. Then he disappeared, skipping his agreed-upon deposition before the House Oversight Committee. We suppose this qualifies as acceptable behavior for a Biden, but only because they’ve set the bar so low. Setting aside the hookers and the blow and the money-grubbing and the narcissistic nude selfies and the schtupping of his deceased brother’s wife, Hunter recently took to a podcast to blast his GOP critics as “motherf***ers” who are “trying to destroy a presidency” and “trying to kill me.” This is what a shrink might call projection. This morning, with attorney Abbe Lowell at his side, he gave us a more carefully worded screed: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma. Not my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist.” He went on to say how proud he is of his degrees from Georgetown and Yale Law School, and how mean his MAGA Republican critics have been to impugn his character and invade his privacy and mock his struggle with addiction. “There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing,” he continued. “They explain naked photos of me during an Oversight hearing.” Strangely, he neglected to mention that he’s now under multiple indictments from the Biden Justice Department. There’s an old legal expression that Hunter and his legal team seem to be employing here: When you have the facts, you pound the facts. When you have the law, you pound the law. And when you have neither, you pound the table.
Israel snubs Biden’s plan: While Joe Biden likes to talk of bringing Unity™, what he has done during his time in office is encourage more division not only across the country but even within his own party. Is it any wonder then that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants little to do with the Biden administration’s postwar plan for Gaza? On Tuesday, the two leaders clashed as Biden insisted that Israel cannot be allowed to control Gaza and that an eventual two-state solution must be the long-term goal. Biden even threw Israel under the bus by claiming, “They’re starting to lose [U.S. and European Union] support by indiscriminate bombing.” Netanyahu quickly rejected Biden’s plan: “After the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers, I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism, and finance terrorism. … I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo.” That was a reference to the 1993 Oslo Accords that established the Palestinian Authority, which was subsequently overtaken by Hamas in 2007. Netanyahu is right to be wary of embracing any deal that offers the promise of a two-state solution, which the Palestinians have never agreed to pursue. Furthermore, he sees a Democrat Party divided over support for Israel versus Gaza and cannot trust that the Biden administration would actually prioritize Israel’s sovereignty rights.
Ford halves Lightning production: Beginning in January, Ford Motor Company will effectively cut the production rate of its all-electric F-150 Lightning trucks in half. Ford’s electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where it makes the Lightning, will drop its production of the truck from 3,200 per week to roughly 1,600 a week. The reason? The basic economic principles of supply and demand. According to a Ford spokesman, “We’ll continue to match production with customer demand.” Ford’s production cut comes on the heels of the automaker canceling some $12 billion in EV investments. While Ford has continued to see sales of its Lightning grow, hitting a record high in November of 4,400 sold, it’s far from a significant percentage of its overall truck sales. Through the third quarter of this year, Ford had sold 561,110 F-Series trucks, and of those, combined with October and November sales, just 20,365 were Lightnings.
COP28 waffles on fossil fuels: Earlier today at the COP28 Summit in Dubai, government ministers from nearly 200 countries agreed to a deal that calls for a movement away from fossil fuels. It was a lukewarm victory for the green movement, especially after a previous proposal went down in flames amid heated and widespread backlash. As CNBC reports, “The latest proposal published by the UAE earlier on Wednesday called for ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.’” Still, a funny thing happened on our way to a fossil fuel-free future. As PJ Media’s Rick Moran writes, “Squabbling delegates … have failed to agree on a plan to phase out fossil fuels, leaving the issue in limbo and calling into question the entire COP process as a venue to deal with climate change.” That phaseout plan was what the greens were looking for, but sanity seems to have prevailed. At least for the time being.
Sununu endorses Haley: Nikki Haley reeled in New Hampshire’s biggest endorsement when the state’s popular and charismatic governor finally made it official: “We are all in on Nikki Haley!” said Chris Sununu at a raucous campaign event yesterday. Haley, though, has a lot of ground to make up. Forty days away from the primary, she’s polling at just under 19% in the Granite State, well behind Donald Trump at 44% but comfortably ahead of Chris Christie at 13% and Ron DeSantis at a woeful 9%. It’s no surprise that Sununu didn’t endorse Trump. He doesn’t like the former president, a reality that might have something to do with his family’s decades-long connection to the Bushes. “People know that we have a country to save,” said Haley at a New Hampshire diner this morning, “and they know that it’s time for a new generational leader. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a ‘Live Free or Die’ country?” Sununu added: “This isn’t just, ‘Let’s get behind a candidate that can win.’ That’s obvious. This is really getting behind the best-qualified person to be president of the United States.” What he meant to say, of course, was that Haley is the best-qualified person besides Trump. And we’re not so sure Haley can win — not when she’s trailing Trump nationally by 48 points. Haley, however, touts her head-to-head numbers against the decrepit incumbent, Joe Biden, noting that she’s beating him in one poll by 17 points. But that cuts both ways: What centrists and moderates find appealing in a candidate is often at odds with what primary voters find appealing. And primary voters are the ones who decide presidential primaries.
What the heck happened to Georgia? A stunning new battleground poll from CNN shows Donald Trump leading Joe Biden 50-40 in reliably blueish Michigan, a state Biden carried 51-48 in 2020. It’s the latest in a steady stream of bad polling news that has the Democrats in full freakout mode. The same CNN poll, however, showed something equally stunning in the other direction: Whereas Trump leads Biden by 10 points in Michigan, his lead in normally red Georgia is just half that, 49-44. So what gives? Has Georgia really become less reliably red than Michigan? Consider Georgia’s blue creep during the past quarter-century: Trump lost Georgia by 0.2% in 2020 after having won it by 5% in 2016. Romney won it by 8% in 2012, McCain won it by 5% in 2008, and Bush won it by 16% in 2004 and by 12% in 2000. Perhaps part of that trend is due to Georgia having swapped spit with Hollywood in recent years, thereby attracting a more “progressive” cohort of voters. And perhaps part of it is due to the undoing of the Great Migration of the 20th century — the return of blacks from the Rust Belt back to the South as economic decay afflicts the blue states of the Midwest and the Northeast while job opportunities abound in the red states of the Sun Belt. Another possible explanation for Michigan’s shift is the “throw the bums out” attitude of citizens under Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer, while Georgia prospers under the steady and competent Republican governorship of Brian Kemp.
New York Democrats steal seats: New York Democrats have successful orchestrated a district map coup, as the state’s Court of Appeals agreed to throw out the current court-ordered map and order the redrawing of a new one. The trouble is, the new redrawn redistricting map will have to pass New York’s Democrat-controlled legislature. Back in 2014, the Empire State passed a constitutional amendment that banned the partisan gerrymandering of election districts and created a 10-member bipartisan redistricting commission. However, when the commission deadlocked over a new district map, the Democrat-run state legislature stepped in and gerrymandered its own redistricting map. With the court ruling, Democrats are now in position to effectively guarantee that their gerrymandered map — likely resulting in Republicans losing at least four House seats — will be the one agreed to, at least temporarily. This is a coup since the court effectively green-lighted the Democrats’ map even as the issue works its way through the appellate courts. Though the Democrats’ gerrymandered redistricting map will likely be thrown out in the end, it will be too late for a change before the 2024 election.
Wisconsin pro-life firebomber arrested: Last year, a pro-life center in Madison, Wisconsin, was firebombed by a member of the militant pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge. DNA evidence at the scene led to the arrest of a 29-year-old biochemist by the name of Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, who eventually pleaded guilty to the crime. Roychowdhury is now facing a minimum of five years to a maximum of 20 years in prison. He is set to be sentenced in February. Roychowdhury should be classified as a domestic terrorist since the DOJ’s National Security head Matthew Olen observed that he had “used an incendiary device in violation of federal law in connection with his efforts to terrorize and intimidate a private organization.” There have been more than 100 attacks on pro-life centers and organizations across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but so far the only pro-abortionist charged with any of these crimes is Roychowdhury.
Headlines
House GOP advances impeachment inquiry resolution, teeing up vote (The Hill)
Biden’s latest tall tale involves a brain aneurysm, a helicopter, and Ronald Reagan (Daily Wire)
Biden admin sends billions to California’s over-budget, behind-schedule “train to nowhere” (Fox News)
Inflation slowed to a 3.1% annual rate in November (CNBC)
ADL reports staggering 337% increase in anti-Semitic incidents (Hot Air)
Virginia Democrat featured in streamed sex acts online says she’s the victim (Fox News)
Texas woman denied abortion of baby with fetal anomaly leaves state to obtain one (Daily Wire)
Hamas officials begin to flee foreign countries amid fears that Israel is about to kill them (Daily Wire)
Humor: With Alex Jones returning to X, journalists concerned they’ll no longer be only source of misinformation (Babylon Bee)
The truth comes out, yet politicians and scientists continue to whistle past the graveyard.
Emmy Griffin
UK-based publication The Telegraph is reporting that a quarter of COVID mRNA vaccine recipients experienced an unwanted “nonsense protein” that is aggravating their immune system’s response to the vaccine.
It’s a temporary reaction, and the genetic gobbledygook created by the vaccines roughly 25% of the time seems to be harmless in this vaccine. However, there is a real fear that in subsequent mRNA vaccines that this nonsense protein could become a rogue protein. Rogue proteins are the culprits behind degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis.
This insistence that the COVID mRNA vaccines are totally harmless even with this protein “glitch” seems like a dubious claim. Hot Air’s David Strom echoes this sentiment, stating: “With billions of doses having been distributed, it seems very unlikely to me that the researchers can categorically state that none of the nonsense proteins did anything harmful. The claim, in fact, seems quite implausible since they freely admit that in future mRNA vaccines this could easily not be the case.”
One might also ask, why report about the “nonsense proteins” at all if they are harmless? Perhaps, as Strom also speculates, scientists are still under tremendous pressure to happy-talk the mRNA vaccines to maintain political peace.
It’s also pretty telling that this information was brought to public attention from a UK-based publication. It’s almost as if American media would rather stuff all controversy about the vaccines under the rug. That, and Americans are so over COVID at this point that many will shrug at yet another story about bad vaccine side effects. Really, the biggest issue with COVID vaccines is not that there were side effects; it’s the dictatorial mandates and bully tactics of the leftists to force the hands of those who didn’t want to take the vaccine. That must not be forgotten.
The mRNA vaccine technology was always an experiment. It was a Hail Mary pass during an uncertain time.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane. The COVID vaccines were developed with an assist from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spearheading Operation Warp Speed, which essentially was reducing government hurdles to production and approval.
This was Trump’s initiative, ergo Democrats claimed at the time they wouldn’t dare touch a vaccine that Trump had a hand in creating. When President Joe Biden came to office in January 2021, that vaccine became victory laurels for President Biden, who immediately started bullying states into dictating the distribution of the vaccines.
Most of us who were following the latest news on COVID’s ravages — particularly out of countries like Italy — knew in March 2020 that COVID was mostly affecting the elderly and immunocompromised. Yet this was not how the vaccines were distributed. Vocation was the first determining factor, but it didn’t take long for power to get to the heads of Team Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
By September 2021 — less than a year after Biden took office — the president started declaring that vaccines should be state mandated (by law the federal government cannot issue such mandates). In a speech with possibly the worst optics of this presidency (which is saying something), Biden declared that those who were still hesitant about getting a COVID vaccine were causing the pandemic to continue. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” he thundered.
That rhetoric spurred companies to start enforcing vaccine mandates. People had to obtain vaccine passports and proof of vaccination to continue working at certain companies or to travel anywhere. Many people were also forced to put on a mask — even toddlers. The military discharged thousands of warriors because they refused to comply with the vaccine mandate, only now offering a weak mea culpa.
Also in late 2021, enforcers came after school children even though schools were not superspreaders of the virus. In fact, most children suffered only mild symptoms, but there were talks that bureaucrats were going to add COVID vaccination as a coming-back-to-school prerequisite, which then turned into threats of making the vaccine requirement permanent.
As this was going on, vaccine side effects were starting to come to light. First, there was an ever-growing spate of young healthy men and women experiencing serious heart problems after taking the mRNA vaccine and its boosters. They had heart problems such as myocarditis, pericarditis, and cardiac arrhythmia that led to heart attacks and heart failure.
Next, studies started to come out about pregnant women and the COVID vaccine consequences for their unborn and future children. The mRNA vaccines have been known to disrupt a woman’s menstrual cycle and show up in the breast milk that is being given to her tiny baby. (Perhaps other unknown side effects are still to be documented.) These studies came out in late 2022. As this writer stated at the time, the truth about the COVID vaccine and its side effects has been a slow trickle, and lots of it is not so good.
Three years after the vaccines were made, companies like Pfizer are starting to face a reckoning.
Late last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the Lone Star State was suing Pfizer specifically for misrepresenting the efficacy of the COVID vaccines and the subsequent boosters. Pfizer claimed that its vaccine was 95% effective in preventing COVID. This over-representation of the efficacy of the vaccine was quickly debunked by real life. Ironically so, in some cases, like when quadruple-vaxxed President Biden still got COVID not once but twice.
Most of the American population is cooling down on COVID vaccine boosters. People know the vaccines aren’t working the way that politicians, Big Pharma, and leftist alarmists promised they would. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 17% of the population in late 2023 is even bothering to get a booster.
As more information continues to trickle out about the vaccines and their side effects, one thing is for certain: mRNA technology in general and the COVID vaccine in particular need more tweaking to prevent unintended consequences. Furthermore, mandating the vaccines was a stupid and reckless move that preyed on a scared population and further divided the country. Thanks, President Unity™.
With Russia and Ukraine at a stalemate, and with Volodymyr Zelensky in need of more billions, the time is right for a negotiated settlement.
Douglas Andrews
If Congress doesn’t cough up $61 billion more to Ukraine, and if it doesn’t do so before heading off on holiday break, Joe Biden says they’ll be giving Russian President Vladimir Putin “the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.”
Maybe it’s just us, but this doesn’t seem like the best way to win friends and influence people. In any case, Biden’s warning was a none-too-subtle swipe at Republicans, who are increasingly disinclined to trust him in matters of finance or foreign policy, and who aren’t at all eager to keep writing blank checks for a black hole of a foreign war. Still, that didn’t stop Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from making his third trip to the U.S. this year with tin cup in hand.
“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine,” said Biden. “We must prove him wrong.” Then he vowed to Zelensky, who was standing at the lectern to his right, “I’ll not walk away from Ukraine and neither will the American people.”
That’s a bold promise to make on behalf of the American people, especially when it comes from a president so deeply unpopular.
Biden’s teleprompter must’ve been in the repair shop yesterday afternoon because he simply stared down at his prepared remarks during the presser, rarely looking up at any point during his speech. One word that kept coming up, though — both in Biden’s speech and in Zelensky’s — was “freedom.” Clearly, this was arranged in advance, and shrewdly so. Few words in the English language wield as much power.
Perhaps Biden’s best barb came when he noted that the Russians themselves are cheering the American intransigence: “If you’re being celebrated by Russian propagandists,” his handlers wrote, “it might be time to re-think what you’re doing. History will judge harshly those who turn their backs on freedom’s cause.”
When asked by a Ukrainian journalist about next year’s NATO summit and what Zelensky hoped to see come out of that summit, he wisely punted to Biden. “NATO will be in Ukraine’s future,” said Biden, “no question about that. But as we said … Ukraine will become a member of NATO when all allies agree and conditions are met. Right now, we have to make sure they win the war.”
What Biden is proposing is a $110 billion package of funding for Ukraine, Israel, and “other national security priorities,” as the Associated Press put it. Ukraine’s share of the loot would be $61 billion, and that would come on top of the $113 billion that Congress already committed to the country in January — money which the Biden administration says has nearly run out.
We know what you’re thinking: chump change. And, in a way, you’re right, especially given that our nation is nearly $34 freaking trillion in debt. But, hey, a hundred billion here, a hundred billion there, and pretty soon we’re talking about real money.
Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance, for one, isn’t overly enthusiastic. As he put it Monday, if you want to secure your own southern border before helping Ukraine to secure its border with Russia, you’re cast as “a Putin puppet,” adding: “I think it’s disgraceful. I think it’s grotesque.”
Another Republican senator, Arkansas’s Tom Cotton, had a similar take about the importance of securing our southern border: “Joe Biden seems to care more about other countries’ borders than he does our own.” Cotton, who unlike Vance favors support for Ukraine, nonetheless notes that the people streaming across our southern border are not nursing mothers with babies; they’re military-age males, and that’s why even the FBI is alarmed.
Zelensky is in a tough spot. The American people are largely sympathetic toward his country and its war with Russia, but they’re largely sick of funding it. And they’re especially sick of funding Ukraine’s teachers and professors and other civil servants. And given the way Joe Biden has managed things, it’s easy to understand Zelensky’s frustration. “Biden has essentially slow-walked us, back-peddled us, incrementally provided Zelensky just enough to keep from losing but not enough to help him win,” said Florida Republican Congressman and former Green Beret Michael Waltz. “How can we in good conscience go home to our constituents, tell them that they need to dig deeper in their pockets for tens of billions of dollars more, when we have no strategy, we’re stuck in a stalemate … and our own border is out of control?”
There’s that word again: the border. We’re sensing a trend. “I just don’t think Democrats appreciate, specifically, how committed Republicans are to securing our southern border,” said Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt.
As for the stalemate, the question now becomes: Do we fully fund Ukraine and fight for Russia’s utter defeat, or do we try to stop Putin where he is and ensure that Ukraine, while not made whole again, is still a viable country? As Waltz says, “Those are two different questions.” The Federalist’s John Daniel Davidson advocates for stopping Putin where he is, writing:
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the war in Ukraine is an unwinnable quagmire, and that for all the calls we hear for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, what’s really needed is a ceasefire in Ukraine, where the solution today is more or less what it was before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022: a negotiated settlement. …
The United States isn’t going to risk World War III to guarantee Ukraine’s 1991 borders, and the sooner Senate Republicans and the Biden administration make that clear to Zelensky, the sooner we can start working out what a post-war settlement could look like for Ukraine and Russia.
It’s hard to imagine a negotiated settlement involving Joe Biden, but who knows? Maybe the Russians are ready. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon says that with our help, Ukrainian forces have taken 300,000 Russians off the battlefield with about 130,000 killed. And with the Javelin missiles we’ve been sending, the Ukrainians have also destroyed about half of Russia’s tanks.
Congress is scrambling to get something done before its members head home for the holidays, but a Christmas miracle appears unlikely.
Given this fiscally perilous time, we think that’s a good thing.
The Leftmedia promotes a fringe, racially exclusive Girl Scouts-like organization to push its woke narrative.
Thomas Gallatin
As if the Girl Scouts didn’t have enough competition on their hands from the Boy Scouts of America opening their organization to accept girls, watch out because here comes the alternative group called Radical Monarchs “gaining fans in US cities!” At least that’s what the Leftmedia is claiming.
So, what is this organization known as the Radical Monarchs? Well, if you thought the Girl Scouts had a leftist bent, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. The Radical Monarchs are effectively a neo-Marxist, racially exclusive group. To put it another way, they are anti-white communists.
According to Bloomberg, “First established in 2014 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Radical Monarchs is a troop for Black and Brown girls — as well as children who identify as nonbinary — from 8 to 11 years old.” So, it’s not exclusively for girls, but whites need not apply.
We know you’re wondering when you might catch a glimpse of these Monarchs out in front of your local grocery story selling cookies. Well, they’re more likely to be handing out copies of the Communist Manifesto, since they are supposedly “an alternative” to the 1.7-million-strong Girl Scouts that are “gaining steam.”
The near-decade-old Radical Monarchs boast a whopping 104 current members across the entire country. At this rate of growth, it’ll take a century before the Girl Scouts even realize the Radical Monarchs exist.
Indeed, there are at least 10 other Girl Scout alternative organizations with higher membership numbers than the Monarchs, including AWANA, American Heritage Girls, and Frontier Girls. Furthermore, none of these organizations handicapped their growth potential by eliminating the largest racial demographic in the country from participating.
The real question is, why are Leftmedia outfits like Bloomberg, ABC News, and PBS even covering the existence of this minuscule organization that amounts to little other than a woke club for black and brown girls?
One reason is to raise the profile of this radical leftist group that seeks to indoctrinate young girls into becoming the next generation of woke social justice warriors. Furthermore, it serves to push the Left’s critical race theory narrative of an America that is too white and doesn’t contain enough non-white safe spaces for people of color.
In truth, what the Leftmedia is doing is pushing leftist propaganda. This group’s existence would hardly have made a story in the local paper let alone gained any national recognition. The Leftmedia is intentionally inflating its relevance as part of a dubious narrative it desperately wants people to unquestioningly accept as legitimate.
The way to deal with climate change is to adjust to it.
John Stossel
United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry says it will take trillions of dollars to “solve” climate change. Then he says, “There is not enough money in any country in the world to actually solve this problem.”
Kerry has little understanding of money or how it’s created. He’s a multimillionaire because he married a rich woman. Now he wants to take more of your money to pretend to affect climate change.
Bjorn Lomborg points out that there are better things society should spend money on.
Lomberg acknowledges that a warmer climate brings problems. “As temperatures get higher, sea water, like everything else, expands. So we’re going to maybe see three feet of sea level rise. Then they say, ‘So everybody who lives within three feet of sea level, they’ll have to move!’ Well, no. If you actually look at what people do, they built dikes and so they don’t have to move.”
People in Holland did that years ago. A third of the Netherlands is below sea level. In some areas, it’s 22 feet below. Yet the country thrives. That’s the way to deal with climate change: adjust to it.
“Fewer people are going to get flooded every year, despite the fact that you have much higher sea level rise. The total cost for Holland over the last half-century is about $10 billion,” says Lomberg. “Not nothing, but very little for an advanced economy over 50 years.”
For saying things like that, Lomberg is labeled “the devil.”
“The problem here is unmitigated scaremongering,” he replies. “A new survey shows that 60% of all people in rich countries now believe it’s likely or very likely that unmitigated climate change will lead to the end of mankind. This is what you get when you have constant fearmongering in the media.”
Some people now say they will not have children because they’re convinced that climate change will destroy the world. Lomborg points out how counterproductive that would be: “We need your kids to make sure the future is better.”
He acknowledges that climate warming will kill people.
“As temperatures go up, we’re likely to see more people die from heat. That’s absolutely true. You hear this all the time. But what is underreported is the fact that nine times as many people die from cold. … As temperatures go up, you’re going to see fewer people die from cold. Over the last 20 years, because of temperature rises, we have seen about 116,000 more people die from heat. But 283,000 fewer people die from cold.”
That’s rarely reported in the news.
When the media doesn’t fret over deaths from heat, they grab at other possible threats.
CNN claims, “Climate Change is Fueling Extremism.”
The BBC says, “A Shifting Climate is Catalysing Infectious Disease.”
U.S. News and World Report says, “Climate Change will Harm Children’s Mental Health.”
Lomborg replies, “It’s very, very easy to make this argument that everything is caused by climate change if you don’t have the full picture.”
He points out that we rarely hear about positive effects of climate change, like global greening.
“That’s good! We get more green stuff on the planet. My argument is not that climate change is great or overall positive. It’s simply that, just like every other thing, it has pluses and minuses. … Only reporting on the minuses, and only emphasizing worst-case outcomes, is not a good way to inform people.”
Big Business and Big Brother — We are on the brink of the biggest merger in history. If we don’t stop it, our constitutional rights could become a relic of the past.
Left vs. Right: Freedom — Politicians on both the Left and the Right say their side values freedom more than those across the aisle. But how can this be? Because the Left and the Right have different definitions of “freedom.”
“I had a cranial aneurysm. … President Reagan was nice enough to send … Helicopter One to take me down [to Walter Reed], but it couldn’t fly.” —President Joe Biden
“[Republicans] are asking for very severe, very draconian immigration policy changes.” —Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
“I feel like the underlying trend lines in inflation are good. We’ve seen grocery prices come down. We’ve seen prices at the pump come down. We’ve seen some of the core areas moving back down to pre-pandemic levels.” —National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard
Hot Air
“We are again witnessing another moment in which the persuasive force of evidence, and with it Earth’s future, hangs in the balance — all because some extremist political voices, holdout nations, and vastly vested interests have declared war on facts and science; all because they distort, for political and personal gain, what science and common sense dictate we humans must do in order to put our house in order.” —climate czar John Kerry
“There’s a mental health crisis around the world … that we hear people talking about. I think that one of the main reasons for that is that young people look at the fact that we are not yet solving the climate crisis. … Solving the climate crisis is a poly-solution. We know what to do.” —Al Gore
A Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut
“Elite universities … have gone from being centers of excellence to institutions pushing political agendas. … Good intentions have morphed into a dogmatic ideology and turned these universities into places where the pervasive goals are political and social engineering, not academic merit. … They should abandon this long misadventure into politics, retrain their gaze on their core strengths, and rebuild their reputations as centers of research and learning.” —CNN’s Fareed Zakaria
For the Record
“I have confirmed now from multiple sources that the search committee that led to President [Claudine] Gay’s appointment excluded non-DEI eligible candidates from the process.” —Harvard alumnus and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman
“Even if Harvard’s Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth step down, and even if the presidents of the top 200 leftist universities all resigned, it wouldn’t solve the problem. … Anti-Semitism will continue to fester on these campuses after they are gone unless and until we deal with the neo-Marxist indoctrination that is being pushed on our children and grandchildren at these colleges and universities.” —Gary Bauer
“Regarding the current pool of women heading Ivy League universities, there are very smart women in the academic marketplace, but apparently they have to dumb down the pool when the selection process comports with the leftist DEI narrative.” —Mark Alexander
“As secretary of state, MIT canceled my campus speech about the CCP because it ‘risked offending’ Chinese students. Now these schools justify rampant antisemitism because of a ‘commitment’ to free speech?” —Mike Pompeo
“Anti-Zionists claim that Israel’s origins are illegitimate. Of all the world’s 200-plus countries, the only country anti-Zionists declare illegitimate is also the only Jewish one. That’s pretty much all you need to know about their motives.” —Dennis Prager
Useful Idiot
“[Israel’s] starting to lose … support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place.” —Joe Biden
“I think [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] has to change … this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.” —Joe Biden
Non Compos Mentis
“It’s been 65 years [days] since the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. 65 years [days].” —Joe Biden
“We also need Ukraine to make changes to fix the broken immigration system here — we also need Congress to make the changes to fix the broken immigration system here at home.” —Joe Biden
Belly Laugh of the Day
“We for sure gonna lose if we don’t have Joe [Biden].” —Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)
Dumb & Dumber
“With lax Republican gun laws across the country, we’ve gotta take very seriously anybody who’s making any kind of violent threats, especially genocidal threats. Having said that, where does Elise Stefanik get off lecturing anybody about anti-Semitism when she’s the hugest supporter of Donald Trump, who traffics in anti-Semitism all the time?” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
“I think what you’re seeing … is absolutely the result of capitalism and what happens in capitalism to the people at the bottom rungs. The biggest driver of why folks are on the street is because they lost their jobs, income or were evicted from their homes, usually for not being able to pay the rent. So you have major landlords literally causing folks to lose their homes, and real estate speculation making it impossible for folks to find an affordable place to live.” —San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston
“I’m a Michigander. This is football season. I don’t usually compliment Ohio, but hats off to the people of Ohio who rejected all the [abortion] misinformation and codified this right for women in that state just south of us.” —Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D)
“Anyone who’s worked as a journalist at the [New York Times] knows that journalists there are absolutely allowed to loudly espouse political opinions, you just have to espouse the right political opinions. Right wing opinions are fine, left wing opinions are not.” —The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz
“My own personal ethics on life are, I think, enough to keep me going on the right path.” —Anthony Fauci on no longer being a practicing Catholic
Political Futures
“It doesn’t make any difference to the public whether this case gets tried before or after Election Day. It makes a difference to Democrats.” —former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy shooting down Trump special prosecutor Jack Smith’s rationale for attempting to bypass the normal appeals process
“Ron DeSantis is running as the true-blue conservative in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. And he’s learning the hard way that Republicans don’t nominate true-blue conservatives. … It’s not that Republican voters aren’t generally conservative. It’s simply that they’re not thoroughly, consistently and single-mindedly conservative.” —Daniel McCarthy
Hunter Biden stated that he is exempt from participating in a deposition, citing the ‘illegitimacy’ of the House committee that issued the subpoena. Hunter Biden believes he is above the law.
During a press conference, Hunter said he welcomed questions from the House Oversight Committee regarding their investigations into his criminal family. But there’s a catch: Hunter insists he will NOT testify behind closed doors for his deposition as required by the House Oversight Subpoena. Instead, he said he would only welcome inquiries in public.
“I’m here…to ensure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family do not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence, & lies…I have made mistakes in my life and wasted the opportunities and privileges I was afforded…I am making amends,” Hunter Biden said.
“James Comer, Jim Jordan, Jason Smith, and their colleagues have distorted the facts by cherry-picking lines from a bank statement, manipulating texts I sent, editing the testimony of my friends & former business partners, & misstating personal information that was stolen from me. There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing. They have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life, so much so that their lies have become the false facts believed by too many people.”
“Hunter Biden defied a lawful subpoena today, and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings. There will be no special treatment because his last name is Biden. Joe Biden & his family must be held accountable for their corruption,” House Committee on Oversight and Accountability wrote on X.
HOLDING HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT
Hunter Biden defied a lawful subpoena today, and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings. There will be no special treatment because his last name is Biden.
“As our committees were today prepared to depose Hunter Biden, he chose to make a public statement on Capitol Hill instead where he said his father, Joe Biden was not financially involved in his family’s business dealings. Exactly how was Joe Biden involved? Evidence shows Joe Biden met with Hunter’s business associates and his name was at the center of the family business strategy,” Rep. James Coomer said in a statement.
“Today, the House will vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution to strengthen our legal case in the courts as we face obstruction from the White House and witnesses. Today’s obstruction by Hunter Biden reinforces the need for a formal vote. President Biden and his family must be held accountable for their corruption and obstruction. And we will provide that to the American people.”
Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.
We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden.
According to Stephen Miller, if the DOJ declines to prosecute, the House should impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The House must refer Hunter Biden to DOJ immediately for criminal contempt of Congress. If DOJ declines to prosecute, impeach Garland. https://t.co/hW6KsGa1C3
It can be recalled that Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were charged and convicted of contempt when they refused to submit to a Congressional subpoena for testimony from the politically motivated, sham January 6th Committee.
Donald Trump Jr. cooperated with Congress’ request for a deposition, providing testimony in a private session for over 40 hours.
“Hunter Biden just refused to show up for his congressional testimony. I’m looking forward to the same amount of outrage from the media as they’d have if I blew off any of my 5 congressional subpoenas… but since they’re covering for Joe Biden & his corruption I won’t hold my breath,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.
Hunter Biden just refused to show up for his congressional testimony. I’m looking forward to the same amount of outrage from the media as they’d have if I blew off any of my 5 congressional subpoenas… but since they’re covering for Joe Biden & his corruption I won’t hold my…
First son Hunter Biden made a shameless plea for public sympathy outside the Capitol on Wednesday — skipping a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee under the threat of being held in contempt. “For six years, I’ve been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Well, here’s my answer, ‘I am here,’” said Hunter, 53. “Let…
The Ukrainian president touted his country’s supposed military success on Fox News
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has contradicted frontline developments by claiming that Russian troops have failed to capture a single village from Kiev’s forces this year. The Ukrainian leader talked up his country’s supposed military achievements in an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Tuesday.
Zelensky is visiting Washington this week to urge continued military assistance for Kiev in 2024. Political clashes on Capitol Hill have caused a White House request for more than $110 billion in foreign security spending, including over $60 billion for Ukraine, to be blocked.
Speaking in English, Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian forces had “destroyed mostly [the] Russian fleet that was situated in our waters and near… occupied Crimea.” Kiev has launched several successful attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet using Western-provided cruise missiles, although Moscow’s forces have repelled numerous other assaults.
Zelensky further claimed that Ukraine had killed 20,000 members of the now-disbanded Wagner private military company, and that “Russia did not occupied [sic] any Ukrainian village during this year.”
The Ukrainian leader made the assertions despite evidence to the contrary on the battlefield, with Wagner fighters playing an important role in the fighting for the Donbass city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). The Zelensky government had declared the city an invincible “fortress” and reportedly ignored repeated US calls to pull troops out. After losing control of the city in May, Zelensky downplayed the significance of the settlement, declaring that it no longer existed and remained “only in our hearts.”
In early 2023, Kiev also lost control of Soledar in Donbass. Fox News host Baier did not dispute Zelensky’s claims that Russia had enjoyed no success in the conflict.
According to Western media, Kiev’s bid to retain Artyomovsk significantly impacted its summer counteroffensive, having needlessly drained Ukrainian manpower and resources. The push to break through Russian defensive lines, which started in June and according to Russia estimates cost Ukraine over 125,000 casualties, failed to yield significant territorial gains for Kiev.
Zelensky and his aides publicly clashed with Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, after he described the frontline situation as a “stalemate” in early November. The president’s office finally acknowledged that no progress was being made by the end of the month.
A profile of Zelensky published by Time magazine in late October said his close associates believe him to be delusional. His belief in a Ukrainian victory over Russia is “immovable, verging on the messianic,” according to the outlet.
Hunter Biden on Wednesday arrived in DC and gave a press conference on Capitol Hill where he revealed he will only answer questions under his own rules despite a congressional subpoena.
Congressional Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden for a closed-door deposition related to his influence-peddling and family corruption.
Hunter Biden on Wednesday said he will only testify “at a public hearing.”
“My father was not financially involved in my business,” Hunter Biden said in the presser.
Hunter tacitly admitted that his father Joe Biden was involved in his overseas businesses in other ways.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer on Wednesday announced GOP lawmakers will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings after Hunter Biden brazenly defied a lawful subpoena.
“Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” Comer said.
“We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden,” Comer added.
“Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings. We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden. As our committees were today prepared to depose Hunter Biden, he chose to make a public statement on Capitol Hill instead where he said his father, Joe Biden was not financially involved in his family’s business dealings. Exactly how was Joe Biden involved? Evidence shows Joe Biden met with Hunter Biden’s business associates and his name was at the center of the family business strategy,” a joint statement by House Oversight Chairman and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said.
🚨🚨🚨
Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.
We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden.
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Despite the heavy controversy caused by her responses to questions regarding antisemitism on campus while testifying before Congress, Harvard has confirmed that Claudine Gay will stay on as University Führer.
“We remain steadfastly loyal to our dear leader,” the Harvard University board said in a collective statement. “While the last few weeks have been a difficult time, she has inspired all of us to press on toward the goal of creating a great and glorious Harvard, free of any pollution or impurity. Heil Claudine Gay! Harvard Über Alles!”
Gay has fought back against allegations of antisemitism and plagiarism in recent weeks, surviving widespread calls for her firing or resignation. “Nein nein nein nein nein!” Gay shouted while pounding on the podium after being asked if she would resign due to the scandal. “Our university faculty has never been more united than it is this day! We all share in the great struggle to advance our noble cause! We will not be deterred! We will not be defeated! Long live a great and glorious Harvard!”
Despite public outcry, the school’s board expressed its unanimous support for Gay. “Never in our school’s history have we had such strong leadership,” the board’s statement said. “With Claudine Gay as Harvard University Führer, we will reach new heights and the greatness of our school has no bounds!”
At publishing time, Gay also announced the creation of a new Sigma Sigma fraternity for students to instill a greater level of pride and passion in the school’s students.
Babylon Bee subscriber Matthew Sjoquist contributed to this report. If you want to pitch your own headline ideas to our staff, click here to check out all of our membership options!
Here is a comprehensive list of the only instances it is acceptable for men to shed a tear.
SCOTUS will hear Fischer vs. United States, the lawsuit questioning the unconstitutional 1512(c)(2) charges used by the Biden Department of Justice to abuse and punish January 6 protesters who came to Washington DC to protest the stolen 2020 election.
The case involves three j6 defendants: Jake Lang, who we have reported on extensively here at The Gateway Pundit, Garret Miller, who pleaded guilty to 11 other criminal charges and was sentenced in February, and Joseph Fischer, who, like Lang, continues to await trial.
The news broke this morning.
MASSIVE news out of the Supreme Court this morning.
The Court will hear Fischer v. United States, a January 6 case challenging the scope of section 1512(c)(2), which criminalizes obstruction of an official proceeding. Two of the four charges President Trump faces in his DC case… pic.twitter.com/8R8GmudItA
January 6th Defendant Jake Lang (pictured above) was arrested in January 2021 and is currently sitting in the DC Gulag today after three years without trial.
Lang’s decision to move his arguments to the Supreme Court follows a split ruling in the DC Court of Appeals in April.
As reported by The Gateway Pundit, two of three judges on the appellate panel ruled against U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who dismissed the 1512 felony obstruction charge in three separate cases against January 6th defendants.
Perhaps most notable among the affected was Jacob Edward Lang — widely known by TGP readers through multiple eyewitness accounts of his repeated efforts to save lives during the onslaught of violence near the U.S. Capitol tunnel where Rosanne Boyland was killed.
The split ruling reinstated the felony obstruction charge against Lang and two others: Garret Miller, who pleaded guilty to 11 other criminal charges and was sentenced in February, and Joseph Fischer, who, like Lang, continues to await trial.
Lang, who is charged with multiple felonies, filed his petition to the United States Supreme Court —asking that the 1512 felony obstruction charge be dismissed.
The filing begins with a question:
“Whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that application of 18 U.S.C. Section 1512(c)(2), a statute crafted to prevent tampering with evidence in “official proceedings,” can be used to prosecute acts of violence against police officers in the context of a public demonstration that turned into a riot, resulting in so “breathtaking” an application of the statute as to run afoul of Van Buren v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1648 (2021).”
As was extensively detailed in The Gateway Pundit, the 1512 Felony Obstruction charge was repurposed specifically for January 6th defendants.
Although Lang’s filing specifically seeks clarification in a case such as his (where violence was involved), a SCOTUS ruling on the matter is likely to have far-reaching impact on hundreds of non-violent J6ers — Many of whom are currently facing the prospect of years in prison, along with the permanent loss of their 2nd Amendment rights.
The ruling will also have an impact on President Trump’s case and the bogus charges filed against the former US President.
The 1512 charge was a unique charge used by the DOJ to specifically target Jan. 6 protesters, many whose only crime was walking through the open door on the US Capitol and leaving the Capitol after several minutes. It is undeniably a political charge used only for Jan. 6 Trump supporters.
Attorney Norm Pattis, who, along with Steven Metcalf, filed the petition on behalf of Lang, says the current application of the 1512 statute is yet another example of government misuse of law as a means to “crush dissenters.”
“We are asking the court to step up and rein in an out-of-control Justice Department,” says Pattis.
Jake shared exclusively with The Gateway Pundit upon hearing the news, “This moment in American history stems from nearly three years of the worst political persecution this country has ever seen-the moment of vindication is finally arriving!”
“I am so grateful to my legal team, my family, The Gateway Pundit and the entire J6 community throughout the grueling political persecution over 1200 Americans have suffered through.”
President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will host a Commit to Caucus Event in Coralville, Iowa, on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tune into RSBN LIVE at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Hunter Biden’s legal team set up a podium on Capitol Hill Wednesday, where the First Son decided to make his case in the court of public opinion, as opposed to appearing in a closed-door deposition by House investigators.
Hunter Biden and his lawyer Abbe Lowell are here.
Hunter says he’s open to testifying at a public hearing. But won’t testify where Comer and Jordan want him to in a behind closed doors setting pic.twitter.com/Lt1ShcNtBH
“Let me state as clearly as I can,” said Hunter. “My father was not financially involved ion my business. Not as a practicing lawyer. Not as a board member of Burisma. Not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman. Not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist.”
Watch:
Hunter Biden moves the goalposts again: “My father was not financially involved in my business” pic.twitter.com/n9L3miu2h8
Last week, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan warned Hunter that he would face contempt of Congress if he skips out on today’s closed-door deposition, after his lawyer demanded it to “prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”
“Contrary to the assertions in your letter, there is no ‘choice’ for Mr. Biden to make; the subpoenas compel him to appear for a deposition on December 13. If Mr. Biden does not appear for his deposition on December 13, 2023, the Committees will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” reads the letter, issued a week after his attorney, Abbe D. Lowell suggested that Hunter should instead be allowed to testify publicly.
Hunter was subpoenaed on Nov. 8 to appear for a deposition before the committee. In response, Comer said: “Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else,” adding “Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13.”
Comer and Jordan are investigating extensive evidence that the Biden family was running an international influence peddling scheme, raking in tens of millions of dollars from foreign business partners despite no obvious product or service in exchange.
House lawmakers are also seeking testimony from Hunter’s uncle James Biden, as well as multiple former business associates.
Beginning with verses that declare the Son, this section of the Advent flow of verses I’ve selected focus Him as the Second Person of the Trinity. Christ is preeminent. Always and forever.
Let us exult in verses which proclaim a truth that should enlarge our heart and shake our soul with wonder.
He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became Son of Man that we might become sons of God. He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, was reared in obscurity, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which He was born, and that in His childhood. He had no wealth or influence, and had neither training nor education in the world schools.
His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluential. In infancy, He startled a king. In boyhood, He puzzled the learned doctors. In manhood, He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows, and hushed the seas asleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine, and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book, yet all the libraries of the country could not hold all of the books about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters together.
We should talk about Jesus often and be clear about his identity, resisting every temptation to make him peripheral, secondary, or assumed. And we may find that talking about Jesus often brings his preeminence to have a deeper bearing on our lives. It helps to remind us of his role in two things we deeply care about — the gospel and the glory of God.
Institute for Creation Research devotional: Preeminence of Christ Christ is also preeminent in our reconciliation, “having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself” (1:20), so that He can “make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27).
CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL! Chapter 4 excerpts from Warren Wiersbe’s “BE” series
Colossians 1:13–20
The false teachers in Colossae, like the false teachers of our own day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would simply dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In their philosophy, Jesus Christ was but one of many “emanations” that proceeded from God and through which men could reach God. It was this claim that Paul refuted in this section. Probably no paragraph in the New Testament contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus Christ than this one. We can keep ourselves from going on a detour if we remember that Paul wrote to prove the preeminence of Christ, and he did so by using four unanswerable arguments. He holds all things together (v. 17). “In Him all things hold together” (NIV). [T]he Christian has an answer: Jesus Christ! Because “He is before all things,” He can hold all things together. Again, this is another affirmation that Jesus Christ is God. Only God exists before all of Creation, and only God can make Creation cohere. To make Jesus Christ less than God is to dethrone Him.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 114–116). Victor Books.
Editor’s Note: Pastor Roger Barrier’s “Ask Roger” column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions at roger@preachitteachit.org.
Dear Roger, Our Bible study group was discussing how and why God could justify sending good people to hell. We all agree that someone like Adolf Hitler ought to be in hell. But we also agreed that we know many non-Christians who are better people than many Christians. It seems so unfair for God to send some bad people to heaven while some good people end up in hell. How can this be? Thank you, Kelly
Dear Kelly, We have to stick really closely to the Bible to deal properly with your question. From my perspective I feel that most people believe they will go to Heaven or Hell based on how good or bad they were on earth. While most people think it will be close, they do believe that they’ll make it to Heaven. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).
In Romans 3-7 Paul shows us how all have sinned and are guilty. In Romans 1-2 Paul shows us why good men and women aren’t good enough for God’s heaven. Good people need forgiveness for their sins just like everyone else. Christians have their sins forgiven at the cross. Because of God’s grace and mercy Christians will never face their sins again. Not so with those who died without a Savior.
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