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
Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.
In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word “evangelical.” In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the “solas” of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.
Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word “evangelical” has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.
Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority
Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church’s life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.
Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church’s understanding, nurture and discipline.
Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliches, promises and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God’s truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God’s provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preacher’s opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.
The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God’s grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.
Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.
We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.
Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith
As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.
Thesis Two: Solus Christus
We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.
Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel
Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches. God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.
Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.
Sola Fide: The Erosion of The Chief Article
Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ’s imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.
Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ’s cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.
While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ’s substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God’s children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ’s saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.
Thesis Four: Sola Fide
We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.
We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.
Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion of God-Centered Worship
Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God’s and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.
God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God’s kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.
Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.
We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.
A Call To Repentance & Reformation
The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ’s kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.
We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the “gospels” of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure to adequately tell others about God’s saving work in Jesus Christ.
We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God’s Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church’s worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism.
Quite often, the Christian who struggles with the assurance of his or her salvation is actually struggling with feelings… versus facts. You may not feel like a Christian; however, if you have accepted Jesus Christ then, the fact is, your salvation is secure and sure. Not only that. The fact is that you are loved, forgiven and accepted by the God of the universe.
You may not feel God’s presence. While it may be frustrating for us, from our human perspective, more often than not, God meets Christians with only “a still, small voice”… if that. The problem is, we expect God to meet us, instead, in grand, emotional and miraculous ways. At those times of struggle, it’s helpful to remember 1 Kings 19:11-12, “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
When we question God’s work in our life, the assurance of our salvation and the implications of faith, sometimes that question reflects a classic Christian problem, and that is the problem of missing the clear teaching of the New Testament on God’s grace made possible in Jesus Christ. There is no way to “fall off the path”… simply because of God’s grace and love for you.
Grace is a function of God’s love; it is not based on our actions or behavior. As Christians, we have been called to live in the freedom of Christ—His gift to us. The fact is, as hard as it is to accept at certain times, Christ has already paid for our sin, struggles and guilt. Shame should lead us back to God, but it often causes us to turn from Him.
As a Christian, your natural desire is to please God—even when you continue to mess up and to struggle—not because He will punish you if you don’t please Him, but because of His great love for you. The point is this: Our obedience comes from freedom… not freedom from obedience.
Remember that no one is always content or happy or even aware of God’s work in his or her life. (Aside from actual life right now, the Bible is full of examples—David in the Psalms, Job and Paul, among others). The problem with being human is that so often our feelings (or lack of them) get in the way. So, if I don’t feel like a Christian today… if I don’t feel joyous today… if I don’t feel loving today… if I don’t feel God’s presence today, then, it must follow that I’m not living my life as a Christian and something must be wrong. That mistaken thinking is just not true! Just because you don’t feel a certain way today has nothing to do with the facts—of God’s presence, of His acceptance, love and forgiveness, or of your salvation.
Remember that no one is always content or happy or even aware of God’s work in his or her life.
As an aside, the problem of feelings is especially true if we’re in the midst of pain, stress or trouble. This tends to directly “color” our view of life which, in turn, affects our relationship with God. Other things affect our relationship with God—our relationships with our family (especially with our parents), past issues, physical pain, relationship/job/family problems, anxiety, depression and the like.
Let me ask you a few questions: If you knew you were forgiven, no matter what, would you then find the joy restored? If you knew that God loved you and accepted you, no matter what, would you then be free? If you knew that you belonged to God and that He would never let you go, no matter what, would it be easier to worship and serve Him as Lord? If you answered “yes” to those three questions, then your problem is solved. Why? Because if you are a Christian, you are forgiven. You are loved and accepted. You belong to God and He will never let you go. Check out the following Scriptures (among others)… Matthew 11:28-29; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1-2; 8:28-39; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 as well as 1 John 1:9.
When Christians struggle with the assurance of their salvation, it reminds me of a swimmer who is drowning. The more that swimmer flails his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to save his life, the closer he comes to drowning… When, all along, if the swimmer were just to relax and let the water hold him up, he would be safe. The water—God Himself—can hold you up and you can trust in that fact.
1 Kings 9:2 — Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, was one of only three kings to reign over the United Kingdom. Even though he was a Davidic heir to the throne and reigned for 40 years, God only appeared to him twice. We need to be grateful that we have God’s entire revelation, and that we have direct access to God.
1 Kings 9:4 — Integrity of heart … having a heart attitude of obedience brings blessing (yes, I know you’ve heard this before).
1 Kings 9:7 — We have a prophecy that has been fulfilled, but God in His mercy returned Israel to the land – not just once (Ezra/Nehemiah) but twice (modern state of Israel).
… “king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities” [really they were mere villages. “It is a genuine Eastern trick to dignify a small present with a pompous name” (Thomson). But עִיר is a word of very wide meaning]
“in the land of Galilee.” גּלִיל lit., circuit, region (like Ciccar, 1 Kings 7:46), hence often found as here with the art. = the region of the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1; 1 Macc. 5:15; Matthew 4:15), so called because it was inhabited by Phoenicians (see 2 Samuel 24:7, and Strabo, 16. p. 760), originally designated but a small part of the considerable tract of country later known as the province of “Galilee,” viz., the northern part in the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 20:7; 2 Kings 15:29; Isaiah 9:1. Cf. Jos., Ant. 5.1.18). It is easy to see why this particular region was surrendered to Hiram.
(1) It was near his country (2 Samuel 24:7);
(2) the people were Phoenicians, allied to Hiram, but strangers to Solomon, both in race and religion;
(3) Solomon could not with propriety alienate any part of Immanuel’s land, or convey to a foreigner the dominion over the people of the Lord. Leviticus 25:23 forbade the alienation of the land; Deuteronomy 17:15 the rule of a stranger.
1 Kings 10:1 — God’s power attracts spectators and causes others to bless the LORD (1 Kings 10:9).
1 Kings 10:22 — Jewish connections to Tarshish have extended for many years. Soon we’ll see a man of Tarshish have an encounter with Jesus!
1 Kings 10:28 — Just when things were going well – Deuteronomy 17:16 specifically warned about going to Egypt to multiply horses.
Acts 8:27 — Speaking of obedience, Philip obeyed the angel that gave him a divine appointment.
Acts 8:31 — Be a guide to someone on how to read the Bible today! Start preaching Jesus (Acts 8:32)!
Psalm 130:4 — Amen!
Proverbs 17:2 — Divine social mobility.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. (John 16:22)
Surely He will come a second time, and then, when He sees us and we see Him, there will be rejoicings indeed. Oh, for that joyous return! But this promise is being daily fulfilled in another sense. Our gracious Lord has many “agains” in His dealings with us. He gave us pardon, and He sees us again and repeats the absolving word as fresh sins cause us grief. He has revealed to us our acceptance before God, and when our faith in that blessing grows a little dim, He comes to us again and again and says, “Peace be unto you,” and our hearts are glad.
Beloved, all our past mercies are tokens of future mercies. If Jesus has been with us, He will see us again. Look upon no former favor as a dead and buried thing, to be mourned over; but regard it as a seed sown, which will grow, and push its head up from the dust, and cry, “I will see you again.” Are the times dark because Jesus is not with us as He used to be? Let us pluck up courage; for He will not be long away. His feet are as those of a roe or young hart, and they will soon bring Him to us. Wherefore let us begin to be joyous, since He saith to us even now, “I will see you again.”
Brandon Holthaus, Pastor of Rock Harbor Church in CA and host of ‘Tip of the Spear’ Ministry joins David to discuss Bible prophecy, church & state issues, cultural Marxism, the 2024 election, and battle for control.
Who knows how many volumes have been written by Christians through the centuries? Spurgeon’s works alone are 63 volumes, which are equivalent to the ninth edition of theEncyclopedia Britannica. Unlike Spurgeon’s works, not every Christian’s writings have been preserved, or been worth preserving.
Wesley said we ought to be people of one book, but students of many. With Scripture being our Book of books, we’d do well to learn from those Christian writings that have seemed to rise to the top, and withstand the winnowing of time.
These “devotional classics” span time, denomination or tradition, and genre, for lack of a better term. They come from Ante-Nicene, Nicene, post-Nicene periods, from the Middle Ages, and from Reformation, Enlightenment, Awakening, and modern periods. They were written in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. Their authors are early bishops, martyrs, monks, scholastics, reformers, separatists, mystics, puritans, pastors, and missionaries. They are from the Eastern and Western church, reformers who were in the Roman Catholic church, reformers who came out, and reformers who remained in. They are Anglican, Congregationalist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Baptist. And they write sermons, poems, confessions, prayers, autobiographies, letters, and general treatments of the Christian life.
What is the value of reading these dusty treasures? I can think of two reasons.
First, the value of reading some of the best devotional works is of inestimable spiritual value. A.W. Tozer wrote, “After the Bible the next most valuable book for the Christian is a good hymnal. Let any young Christian spend a year prayerfully meditating on the hymns of Watts and Wesley alone and he will become a fine theologian. Then let him read a balanced diet of the Puritans and the Christian mystics. The results will be more wonderful than he could have dreamed.”
Second, to be truly helpful to our generation, we should live with these past saints. Much of modern Christianity has made a host of the non-culture we call secularism, and to the degree that it has become identified with this non-culture, it has become a non-religion, simply an eclectic set of parochial pieties, idiosyncratic moralisms, prejudices and assumptions. Reading these classics is a way of hearing what generations other than our own have said. T.S. Eliot pointed out in Tradition and the Individual Talent that to enter into the stream of historical understanding is to begin to know more than the thoughts of your own generation.
“This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional. And it is at the same time what makes a writer most acutely conscious of his place in time, of his contemporaneity.”
You only understand your times, and can speak to them effectively, or dare I say it, with relevance, if you have viewed your own generation from the perspective of other generations. You will only know what is distinctive (for good or ill) about your generation if you have regularly inhabited a world that transcends your particular time and place. Failing this, you are just an echo-chamber for the thoughts of our day, and if they be in error, you are a repeater-station for widely accepted error.
Someone might be understandably skeptical about the notion of orthopathy, or right loves. But let him vigorously work his way through these classics, and he will find a similarity of sentiment across the ages that seems to fit very well with the idea of orthopathy, and in many cases, makes the pieties of our age seem foreign. Don’t take my word for it. Live with Christians from other ages, and then decide whose piety is the odd one out.
Should we read writings from doctrinal traditions quite different from our own? We sit at their feet not because we want to embrace all their errors, nor because we seek to re-make them in our image (or vice-versa). A bee can find nectar in the weed as well as in the flower, said the holiness preacher Joseph H. Smith.
Finally, reading these works will mean some spiritual effort, which I heartily encourage. Again, Tozer: “To enjoy a great religious work requires a degree of consecration to God and detachment from the world that few modern Christians have experienced. The early Christian Fathers, the mystics, the Puritans, are not hard to understand, but they inhabit the highlands where the air is crisp and rarefied and none but the God-enamored can come.”
Sen. Cruz to Newsmax: Biden, Dems ‘Funded the Death Squads’ on Oct. 7 Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaking with Newsmax’s John Huddy, accused President Joe Biden and Democrats of having “funded the death squads” that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and of funding “the war that’s been waged against Israel every day since then.” “It’s indisputable,” he argued
Collapse Shuts Mountain Highway Two days after a crack first appeared in a mountain highway connecting Idaho and Wyoming, the road collapsed in a “catastrophic landslide,” officials said. The road connecting Victor, Idaho, with Jackson, Wyoming, was closed at the time because of a mudslide in another area, and no one was injured in the collapse Saturday.
Jeff Landry raises possibility of sending more National Guard troops to Texas border Gov. Jeff Landry said Monday he would like to speak with his Texas counterpart about the possibility of sending more National Guard troops to the border as Louisiana’s three-month deployment nears its end. In March, Louisiana began sending three rotations of 50 Louisiana Army National Guard soldiers each to Texas to help secure the border against illegal crossings — a potent political issue for Republicans like Landry and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Other states have also sent troops to Texas.
It Leaked From A US-Backed Lab “Whether the pandemic started on a lab bench or in a market stall, it is undeniable that U.S. federal funding helped to build an unprecedented collection of SARS-like viruses at the Wuhan institute, as well as contributing to research that enhanced them,” “Advocates and funders of the institute’s research, including Dr. Fauci, should cooperate with the investigation to help identify and close the loopholes that allowed such dangerous work to occur.
Iran reveals presidential election candidates Iran’s Interior Ministry has released a final list of six candidates who will compete in this month’s presidential election. The election was called after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
Senate Blocks ‘Trojan Horse’ Bill Targeting Rights Of Parents, Christians, and The Unborn Conservative leaders pointed out that the bill’s vague wording could clear the way for minors to undergo transgender surgeries, as well as receive puberty blockers and procure abortions. The bill’s text reads, in part, that it is designed “to protect an individual’s ability to make decisions about their body, medical care, family, and life’s course.”
Europe shifts far to the right in dramatic parliamentary elections The dramatic elections to the EU parliament on Thursday, according to early results and exit polls, take the continent in a new direction with the far-right parties gaining most seats although not winning a clear majority.
Belgian Prime Minister announces resignation following election results Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced his resignation on Sunday night, in the wake of the results of the elections for the local parliament as well as the elections for the European Parliament. In both cases, the right-wing and extreme right-wing parties achieved great success, defeating the liberal camp led by De Croo.
IDF Home Front Command on war with Hezbollah: ‘We are ready’ Air-raid sirens sounded in towns on the northern border throughout the day on Sunday. “If the IDF needs to go to war in the north, we are ready. We have made great efforts to achieve this in recent months,” the Home Front Command head stated at the MuniWorld Conference in Tel Aviv.
The Cries of Byai Phu Men bearing tattoos deemed to be politically offensive screaming in agony as their skin is burned off with lighted petrol. Women, men and children beaten brutally when answering questions barked at them by the soldiers, irrespective of what actually came out of their mouths. I wish I could give you the details of the demonstration this weekend that’s been organized to protest these foul atrocities, but there isn’t one. These horrors didn’t afflict Palestinians in Gaza, and they weren’t carried out by Israeli troops. They occurred in the village of Byai Phu in the state of Rakhine in the far west of Burma,
Noa Argamani Was Held Captive in Al Jazeera Contributor’s Home Several of the family members were killed during the operation including 36-year-old Al Jazeera contributor Abdullah Al-Jamal. According to the Quds news agency, Al-Jamal was also identified as a staff writer for the U.S. outlet The Palestine Chronicle. Al-Jamal’s wife was also killed during the rescue mission.
After Gantz’s resignation | Ben Gvir to Netanyahu: Add me to the War Cabinet National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Sunday evening sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the resignation of Benny Gantz and the National Unity Party from the coalition. “As a minister in the government, chairman of a party and a senior partner in the coalition, I hereby demand to join this cabinet,
‘Nazis are not welcome here in South Dakota,’ says governor Kristi Noem Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, noted that the Nazis sought to rally at the capitol without a permit shortly after “we just celebrated the 80th commemoration of D-Day, when the take-back of Europe from Freedom-hating Nazis began.” The Nazi ralliers “were escorted away by Highway Patrol officers,” the Republican governor said. “Nazis are not welcome here in South Dakota.”
Historic floods, tenfold increase in wildfires, and now a potential extreme drought make triple suffering for Brazil After historic floods recently claimed 172 lives in coastal Brazil, the country now faces a new crisis as fires rage through the Pantanal wetlands. These fires have surged nearly tenfold compared to the same period last year, setting the stage for a potential catastrophe worse than the devastating fires of 2020. With severe to extreme drought conditions expected, the situation is becoming increasingly dire.
Shallow M6.2 earthquake hits Pacific-Antarctic Ridge A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge at 09:55 UTC on June 9, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Less than 5% of abortions are sought for rape, incest, or ‘medical emergency’: report Abortions sought for rape, incest, and “medical emergencies” account for less than five percent of abortions in the United States, according to updated statistics released on May 24 by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, providing context to some of the most common arguments invoked against state pro-life laws.
“Damage Control Underway”: Cargo Ship Hit By Missile In Gulf Of Aden In Suspected Attack By Houthi Rebels More than six months since the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to defend the critical maritime chokepoint Bab al-Mandab Strait from Iran-backed Houthis and ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, we’re witnessing yet another alarming development. Late Saturday, rebels targeted a Western-linked cargo ship with missiles. This underscores the ongoing threat to the shipping lane and the utter failure of Biden’s disastrous foreign policies.
10,000 California Fast Food Workers McFired Thanks To $20 Minimum Wage: Report Nearly 10,000 California fast food workers have been fired thanks to the state’s new $20 minimum wage, according to the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA), which slammed Governor Gavin Newsom for the law that went into effect April 1.
Exclusive: Farmer Movements the Vanguard Against ‘Degrowth’ Green Agenda The farmer movements are leading the charge against the “degrowth” agenda of the far-left and neo-liberal elites, which has used the green agenda as a pretense to impoverish the people of Europe, a French Member of the European Parliament said.
“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” —James Madison (1788)
ON THIS DAY in 1854, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, celebrated the graduation of its first class. Established in 1945, it is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies.
The DOJ has hit a whistleblower with four felony charges, while other doctors line up to save children.
Nate Jackson
These days, the only law of the land is whatever Joe Biden’s Department of Two-Tiered Justice says it is. That’s true regarding January 6, Donald Trump, pro-life activists, parents of public school kids, Catholics, and anyone who dares oppose the Rainbow Mafia.
Dr. Eithan Haim is discovering that truth, good and hard.
“In February 2022,” Haim said, “the Texas attorney general released an opinion that so-called gender-affirming care for children could constitute child abuse under Texas law.” Shortly thereafter, Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) publicly promised to stop providing such “treatment” to minors.
In May 2023, Haim anonymously blew the whistle because so-called sex-change procedures were still being performed on minors as young as 11 at TCH. Based on information Haim provided, Christopher Rufo reported at the time, “The Houston-based children’s hospital — the largest in the United States — has secretly continued to perform transgender medical interventions, including the use of implantable puberty blockers, on minor children.” He said TCH also “openly promoted ‘gender-affirming care’ to its physicians.”
Once Haim and Rufo exposed the story, the Texas legislature immediately outlawed the practice.
In January 2024, Haim publicly identified himself as the whistleblower. He felt forced to do so because he says he’s been subject to a very expensive “blatant attempt at political intimidation” by the Biden administration. He received a visit from Department of Health and Human Services agents within a month of Rufo’s May 2023 report, at which time he was told he “was a ‘potential target’ of an investigation involving alleged violation of federal criminal law related to medical records.”
But Haim didn’t disclose individual patient records. Rufo says, “I can confirm that nothing in the information provided to me identified any individual; all the documents were, in fact, carefully redacted.”
Instead, Haim blew the whistle on lies and abuse being perpetrated by a hospital that supposedly operates under the same “do no harm” oath that all doctors should uphold.
Never mind all that. Social Justice Department jackboots are after him, and — now that it’s “Pride Month” — the DOJ has indicted Haim. “Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari began threatening Haim with prosecution” soon after the HHS agent visit, Rufo says. “Now, Ansari has made good on those threats. [Last] week, U.S. marshals appeared at Haim’s home and summoned him to court to face an indictment on four felony counts of violating HIPAA.” He’s due in court today.
Meanwhile, in February 2023, Jamie Reed similarly but not anonymously blew the whistle on St. Louis Children’s Hospital for the same thing. “By the time I departed,” she wrote, “I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to ‘do no harm.’ Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care.” Specifically, Reed was appalled by the drastic increase in adolescent females seeking “treatment.” Six months later, The New York Times corroborated her allegations.
Yet Reed hasn’t had a visit from HHS or DOJ. Maybe that’s because she’s a self-identified “queer woman” who is “politically to the left of Bernie Sanders.”
I shouldn’t have to say this, but experimenting on and mutilating children is bad. Yet the Rainbow Cult is intent on grooming young people to create new acolytes, so this Frankenstein work continues.
Fortunately, there is growing resistance, and Haim and Reed aren’t alone. The “Doctors Protecting Children” declaration has been signed by the conservative American College of Pediatricians, the Catholic Medical Association, and many other doctors and health leaders. “Responsible informed consent is not possible” with minors, it says, because of the “extremely limited long-term follow-up studies of interventions, and the immature, often impulsive, nature of the adolescent brain.” It adds that gender dysphoria can most often be resolved without the “serious long-term risks” of so-called “affirming” care.
We knew this already, but it’s great to see the American College of Pediatrics hold a press conference to say so. “Transition affirmation is not proven to be safe or effective long term,” said Dr. Andre Van Mol at that press conference. “It does not reduce suicides. It does not repair mental health issues or trauma.”
He added, “There is always a more honest way to deal with gender confusion than the chemical sterilization and surgical mutilation of healthy young bodies.” Amen to that.
If nothing else, let’s dispense with the “consensus” leftists usually like to trot out when they’re busy trashing science.
As for Garland, we should all be grateful that he did not secure a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court as the supposed “moderate” Barack Obama proclaimed him to be. He’s been a leading goon for the injustice perpetrated by the Biden administration, and he ought to be impeached.
If you’re “fact-checking” whether Biden pooped himself, you’re losing: The video was everywhere. During a D-Day ceremony, Joe Biden shook hands with French President Emmanuel Macron and then looked like he was about to sit down without a chair to sit in. Jill Biden discreetly covered her mouth to say something like, Joe, knock it off! Stand up! (She’s the real monster, by the way, for perpetuating the elder abuse.) People joked that maybe Biden had just soiled his pants because, well, it was a joke. It also wasn’t the first time Biden has been the, er, butt of such a joke. Did anyone actually assert or believe that he 100% did have an accident? Who knows. But the Leftmedia “fact-checkers” were out in force to challenge this “right-wing conspiracy theory.” PolitiFact, Snopes, USA Today, and The Daily Beast (more than once) all ran so-called “fact-checks” about the incident, though the very fact that they felt so compelled to do so illustrates two things: Leftists have no sense of humor, and Biden soiling himself is just that believable.
Israel rescues hostages, faces the haters: In a daring raid on Saturday, the Israel Defense Force rescued four civilian hostages held by Hamas terrorists since October 7. They were being held in two apartment buildings in Nuseirat. The IDF special forces officer commanding the operation was killed, and Hamas says 100 Gazans were also killed. The Western media and leftist politicians focused on that rather than the fact that no one would have died if Hamas hadn’t taken and held hostages in the first place. Kamala Harris grieved the “innocent lives” lost in the raid. What’s her evidence that they were innocent? The IDF says most of those killed were either firing weapons or otherwise assaulting the soldiers. And if these hostages had been held in an apartment for eight months, just how “innocent” were other residents? Tragically, one victim was freed only to learn that his grieving father had died the day before, without knowing that his son would live. Meanwhile, here in Washington, DC, Hamas-loving, masked thugs protested outside the White House, calling for more dead Jews, vandalizing monuments, and clashing with police — all miraculously without a single arrest.
Israel’s Benny Gantz quits war cabinet, upsetting Israel’s power balance (National Review)
Qatar issues ultimatum to Hamas: Take deal or get out (Hot Air)
PragerU beats Google: On Friday, the Google app store removed PragerU’s app for purportedly violating its rules on “hate speech.” Google said that a review found “content or speech asserting that a protected group is inhuman, inferior or worthy of being hated.” That content was a documentary on Hamas in which various interviewees had less than nice things to say about the terrorist group. As PragerU put it, “According to Google, sharing the stories of a former Palestinian refugee, an Arab Muslim born in Israel, and brave U.S. Navy SEALs who witnessed the horrors of Muslim extremism constitutes ‘hate speech.’” Fortunately, someone at Google tapped into some common sense. “After further re-review,” Google told PragerU, the suspension was declared to be in error, and the app was reinstated. Unfortunately, Google-owned YouTube has still demonetized more than 200 of PragerU’s videos, including videos on the Ten Commandments, for various violations of its nebulous and very left-wing standards. Big Tech speech suppressors never do really get the message.
Politics
Hunter Biden prosecutors rest case: The prosecutors in Hunter Biden’s trial for three gun-related felonies rested their case Friday. In addition to his ex-wife and two ex-girlfriends (one of them his late brother’s wife) testifying regarding the messier details of Hunter’s addiction to crack before and after his gun purchase, prosecutors also called to the stand an FBI chemist and a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. The former explained the forensic evidence of crack in the pouch in which the gun was disposed by Hallie Biden in a dumpster. The latter testified that Hunter’s text messages to drug dealers in October 2018 — the time of the allegedly illegal gun purchase — contained numerous slang references to crack. He also confirmed that pictures located on Hunter’s all-too-real laptop showed crack pipes and other paraphernalia. The defense began with Hunter’s daughter Naomi, who testified that her father seemed “hopeful” in October 2018 and that the same month, she did not find anything crack-related when borrowing his truck. Not exactly stunning stuff. The trial is expected to wrap up this week. All Joe Biden could say when asked if he would decline to pardon his son was, “Yes.”
Humor: As prosecution rests, Hunter Biden asks if this is a good time to go out back behind the dumpsters for a minute for no particular reason (Babylon Bee)
Grounds for a mistrial? We already knew that Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 trumped-up felony charges in a New York court was rigged from the outset. A George Soros-funded prosecutor ran for office on the promise to get Trump for something, details to be worked out later. A Biden-donating judge “randomly” ended up presiding over the case. Well, here’s a new one. According to the New York Post, “Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan revealed Friday that a Facebook user claiming to be a ‘cousin’ of a juror in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial suggested he had advanced knowledge of last week’s guilty verdict.” The Facebook user in question is Michael Anderson, who describes himself as a “Transabled & a professional s*** poster.” He said, “My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted.” The post was later deleted. It is not yet known whether he, in fact, had inside knowledge, but if a juror is found to have communicated a verdict ahead of time, it could provide grounds for a mistrial when Trump already has more than enough evidence to overturn the verdict on appeal.
Two-tiered justice for Bannon: Nearly two years ago, Judge Carl Nichols sentenced former Trump White House aide Steve Bannon to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the sham House committee “investigating” the January 6 riot. Bannon was (understandably) found in contempt of Congress, and after the conviction was upheld on appeal, Nichols, a Trump appointee, has ordered him to surrender on July 1 to begin serving his sentence. It’s another case of two-tiered justice. More than a dozen Democrats have ignored congressional subpoenas, including Attorneys General Merrick Garland and Eric Holder, and they were not punished. Garland has refused Congress’s subpoena for audio recordings of Joe Biden’s conversation with Special Counsel Robert Hur about Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, and he opined at length over why he shouldn’t have to obey. Congress may hold him in contempt for that. Holder, as you may recall, was not punished for sharing false information with the Republican House about the Obama administration’s gun-running operation to Mexico. But when the legal misfit is a Trump guy, Garland’s DOJ stepped in to make the incredibly rare (the first in 40 years) executive enforcement of a legislative subpoena.
Rainbow Mafia
Nashville killer manifesto: On March 27, 2023, a “transgender” woman pretending to be a man murdered six innocent people at The Covenant School in Nashville. From the outset, her motivation was pretty obvious, and it was made all the more so by the preposterous effort by the FBI to bury whatever “manifesto” she had written explaining herself. Beyond anti-Christian, sexually confused factors, as well as that she was taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), scraps of her writings were unearthed last November, revealing that she was motivated at least in part by anti-white hatred. The Tennessee Star has uncovered even more, showing that the killer was obsessed with her “imaginary penis” and the “torture” of being sexually confused, which included being “misgendered” by people who declined to endorse her fantasies. Her journals also revealed intense anger aimed at conservatives, Christians, and God, primarily for her upbringing in those traditions. In large measure, we already knew these things. The scandal is that anyone thought we shouldn’t know.
Kids scuff up pride mural: Who could have seen this coming? Out in Spokane, Washington, the oh-so-tolerant left-wing devotees to the Rainbow Cult painted one of their hideous pride flags all over a big intersection in town. Call us crazy, but Christians have more respect for our religion than to paint a cross where people would drive over it, but whatever. Well, the entirely predictable result was that, on multiple occasions, someone vandalized it. After much shedding of tears and gnashing of teeth among the Rainbow crowd, they repainted it. The paint was hardly dry, however, when a bunch of teen boys rode rented scooters all over the mural, likewise leaving scuff marks everywhere. An incredulous local news reporter caught it on tape. The scooter company, Lime, promised to (writer holds back uproarious laughter) ban the offenders from ever using their scooters again and to make the mural a “no-ride zone.” Here’s a pro tip: Quit defacing public property with flags celebrating the deviant use of private parts.
Satire: Kids arrested for driving scooters over Pride flag wishing they had burned American flag instead (Babylon Bee)
Around the Nation
Biden eases final fuel economy standards in light of slower electric vehicle adoption (Washington Examiner)
Arizona AG launches investigation into alleged “pay-to-play” scheme involving Katie Hobbs (The Federalist)
Just another Chicago weekend… At least 45 shot, eight fatally (WLS)
Around the World
The Right makes gains in EU elections, Germany and France reckon with political realignment (National Review)
Belgium’s prime minister abruptly resigns (RedState)
Iran OKs six candidates for presidential race, but again blocks Ahmadinejad (AP)
South Korea to restart “unbearable” loudspeaker broadcasts in response to North Korea’s sewage balloons (Sky News)
If you’re homosexual and don’t agree with transgenderism, apparently, you’re a bigot.
Emmy Griffin
Gays Against Groomers has been speaking out against the transgenderification of children. The organization is totally against drugging kids with hormones and convincing them to mutilate themselves in pursuit of the lie that they are the opposite gender. Gays Against Groomers believes that transgender activists are taking advantage of kids by taking them down extreme and harmful paths of more reality denial.
Well, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has decided that Gays Against Groomers has become loud and influential enough to add to its “hate map.” Also added to the map are doctors and nonprofits that are against the trans agenda.
The SPLC has a troubling depth of association with the Biden White House, seemingly acting as the chief smear campaigner against conservative groups that are standing up against this administration’s radical culture war agenda.
Team Biden and the transgender activists have been pushing the lie that people who disagree with their radical agenda are killing kids. As The Daily Signal’s Tyler O’Neal observes, “By warning about the ‘increase’ of ‘anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups,’ [the SPLC] is ratcheting up the alarmist rhetoric and demonizing Americans who dare to dissent from its transgender agenda. It’s also scaring donors into ponying up cash in what a former SPLC employee described as a ‘highly profitable scam.’”
Recall that the SPLC was behind the FBI witch hunt against conservative traditional Catholics who attend the Latin mass. It also labeled Moms for Liberty — which advocates for parental input in schools and fights against the intentional transgender grooming of children in the education system — a hate group.
Adding Gays Against Groomers to the hate map is interesting on three fronts.
One, it’s an example of the Left eating its own.
Two, it’s a clear illustration of the civil war going on within the Democrat Party. The intersectional coalition is fracturing. That fracture is between the radical leftists and the moderate/classical Democrats. The intersectional coalition’s interests and beliefs are too divergent to be united under the same banner for long.
Three, it shows a huge chink in the armor. The transgender ideology is completely antithetical to the gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals’ insistence that being homosexual is inherent from birth. Transgenderism preaches that you can be a different gender or that you’re born in the wrong body — i.e., that you’re a mistake.
As our Nate Jackson wrote a few years ago: “By the way, we use the term ‘life choices’ because that’s exactly what’s going on here. The ‘born this way’ mantra of homosexuals is built on the smallest sliver of truth regarding innate traits or desires, but that is undermined by the ‘born the wrong way’ slogan of the ‘transgendered.’ And we don’t reject all of this celebration out of hate, as the Left alleges, but out of love of truth and compassion for the people lost to gender dysphoria of one sort or another, or manipulated by a movement bent on grooming new recruits.”
Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals who disagree with the new world order on sexual sin’s hierarchy of disorders are now on the hit list hate list. It’s yet another display of the Biden transgender agenda’s authoritarian reach through the SPLC.
The charge that Republicans are somehow working to cut off access to contraception amounts to an outlandish conspiracy theory.
Rich Lowry
We don’t know who they are or where they are. All we know is that some place or other, a shadowy group of powerful Republicans is meeting to figure out how to ban contraceptives.
For all we know, they also might be scheming to cover up what really happened at Area 51 and to obscure the identity of the real assassin of JFK.
If the Bilderbergers aren’t involved, they should be.
The Democratic charge that Republicans are somehow working to cut off access to contraception is so ludicrously unfounded that it amounts to an outlandish conspiracy theory. Yet this allegation undergirds the Democratic effort to pass a sweeping new “Right to Contraception Act” through Congress.
Sure, contraception is already legal in every state and no one is trying to ban it, but you can’t be too careful. The contraception act is supposedly a — ahem — prophylactic measure.
The political play clearly is to offer legislation with numerous provisions that Republicans can’t support and then when they vote against it, as all but two Republicans did in the Senate, to say: “See? We told you so. Republicans hate contraception so much that they blocked the ‘Right to Contraception Act.’”
The Democratic maneuver generated the desired headlines all over the media about Republicans opposing a bill to protect contraception.
A key piece of the Democratic fear-mongering is that Justice Clarence Thomas said in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the constitutional right to contraception, should be overturned. This doesn’t mean that Thomas himself is hostile to contraception or supports bans of it — only that he thinks Griswold is constitutionally defective.
It’s an enormous leap to go from this stray remark to any serious threat to contraception. For the Thomas view to be effected in the real world, the Supreme Court would have to take up a landmark contraception case, which isn’t in the offing; he’d have to get four other votes to overturn Griswold, when that isn’t assured; and the justices would have to not find another constitutional source for a right to contraception, even though Thomas himself held that out as a possibility.
All that said, let’s assume against all expectations that the Griswold decision is rendered a smoking ruins by Thomas and his colleagues sometime soon. Where in these United States would a serious Republican official propose to restore Connecticut’s Comstock law that was at issue in that 1965 case and prohibit anyone from using “any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception”?
Even if Republicans are quietly harboring an intention to do this, they’d be swiftly and decisively rebuked by voters if they ever tried to act on it, and that’d be the end of the war on contraception.
Again, though, all that is theoretical, not to say utterly fantastical. In reality, even the Trump administration spent roughly $1.8 billion on domestic family-planning in fiscal year 2020.
The source of the GOP opposition to the Democratic contraception legislation is sincere and doesn’t reflect any secret agenda. Republicans consider the bill, correctly, a Trojan horse (no pun intended, really) for radical measures that couldn’t pass on their own. The legislation would wipe away conscience protections, make it impossible to cut off contraception funding to organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide abortions, and define contraception so broadly that it could cover abortifacients.
With Senate Democrats desperate to make the most of their post-Dobbs political advantage on abortion and related issues, there’s no room for good-faith objections. No, it’s all demagogy, all the time. “Thanks to Donald Trump and the right-wing MAGA Supreme Court, Americans now have to question whether or not they’ll have access to something as basic and widely supported as birth control,” Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Of course, they don’t have to question any such thing, but Democrats want them to question it, based on innuendo and shoddy, politically motivated reasoning.
We need leaders with the wisdom to recognize the threat posed by China to the interests of the U.S. and the world order.
Brent Ramsey
To its lasting credit, the Congress in 2000 was ahead of its time. In a bipartisan effort, it passed into law the permanent creation of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission as part of the FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed the bill by a margin of 353-63, and the Senate passed it by a margin of 97-3. Twenty-four years ago, our Congress, on both sides of the aisle, had the wisdom to recognize the threat posed by China to the interests of the U.S. and the world order.
The commission was created “with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative actions.” The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission website contains vital information for those concerned about our future.
For decades, the bipartisan commission has documented in exquisite detail the preparations the PRC is making to dominate the world. The typical annual report runs to 600+ pages of detail on what the PRC is doing to dominate militarily and economically. The two elements of Chinese power are inseparable.
Areas of study for the commission that are particularly germane to the issue of the PRC’s military power are (some quotes truncated for the sake of brevity):
“The portion of trade in goods and services with the U.S. that the PRC dedicates to military systems or systems of a dual nature that could be used for military purposes.”
“The acquisition by the PRC of advanced military or dual-use technologies from the U.S. by trade (including procurement) and other technology transfers, especially those transfers, if any, that contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems, or that undermine international agreements or U.S. laws with respect to nonproliferation.”
“Any transfers … to the military systems of the PRC made by U.S. firms and U.S.-based multinational corporations.”
“An analysis of the statements and writing of the PRC’s officials and officially-sanctioned writings that bear on the intentions, if any, of the Government of the PRC regarding the pursuit of military competition with, and leverage over, or cooperation with, the United States and the Asian allies of the United States.”
“The military actions taken by the Government of the PRC during the preceding year that bear on the national security of the U.S. and the regional stability of the Asian allies of the U.S.”
“The extent to which the trade surplus of the PRC with the U.S. enhances the military budget of the PRC.”
“An overall assessment of the state of the security challenges presented by the PRC to the US and whether the security challenges are increasing or decreasing from previous years.”
So, what has the commission learned about China in the ensuing years? In a nutshell, everything that China does has a military purpose. The Chinese economy and its military objectives are completely intertwined. In China, there is no private sector that exclusively serves its own purposes; everything in China serves the state. The military and the economy are inextricably intertwined. Corporations bow to the needs of the military and the state. The purpose of the economy is not to improve the standard of living for Chinese citizens; the purpose is to strengthen China militarily to the point that it can dominate the world, including the United States. Readers are encouraged to read the 2023 Executive Summary.
Here are some concerning highlights from the Executive Summary:
“The rivalry between the U.S. and China was intensifying.”
“The new normal is one of continuing, long-term strategic and systemic competition.”
“Beijing continues to reject cooperation with the U.S. on fundamental questions of national security, economics or trade.”
“Beijing, in a continuing and deepening effort to challenge the existing international order, seeks to create a new one that will be aligned against the U.S. and its democratic allies in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere.”
“China continues to pour resources into its unprecedented military buildup. The People’s Liberation Army places particular emphasis on achieving technological breakthroughs in missiles, space, undersea warfare, and artificial intelligence, among other areas, in hopes that these might enable it to deter or defeat the forces of the United States and its allies.”
“The CCP regime has also become more aggressive in attempting to persuade or coerce others into accepting its own antidemocratic definition of legal concepts and in trying to enforce its own laws on foreign soil, such as through the establishment of illegal, covert ‘police stations’ in other countries, including the United States. Its espionage activities have continued unabated. In 2023, the CCP regime continued the methodical and ruthless destruction of Hong Kong’s once-vibrant civil society, completing its transformation into a Chinese — rather than an international — city.”
“China continues to ramp up pressure on Taiwan, seeking to increase its diplomatic isolation and to impose economic costs. Beijing’s bellicosity is causing growing concern in Europe as well as in Asia.”
“European governments increasingly recognize that they have a role to play in helping to dissuade China from attacking Taiwan. But the U.S., the EU, and individual nations in both Europe and Asia all need to do much more, in collaboration with one another, to counter China’s aggressive policies overseas and continuing mercantilism at home.”
To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Despite decades of increasingly glaring warnings about the increase of China’s military power and its intentions to rule the world, the recommendations contained in the 2023 report prove that nothing the U.S. has done in the past has slowed down China from its goal of military and economic domination first of Asia and then the whole world. If anything, as President Xi Jinping ages, it becomes increasingly more obvious that war is on the horizon. In a few days, Xi Jinping will turn 71. The clock is running down for him to realize his dreams of world domination by the PRC.
The threat from China is growing every day. Citizens must awake to this reality and insist that our nation’s leaders act now to prepare America for the inevitable conflict with China.
Joe Biden’s Senior Moment of the Week (Vol. 97) — Even though he was barely alive when Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy in 1944, Biden looked even older than the D-Day veterans by his side.
Biden’s Slowing Down — Corrupt, incompetent, chronic liar Joe Biden definitely “shows signs of slipping” — but it’s not “behind closed doors.”
A Dangerous Moment, With Douglas Murray — Murray describes what he has witnessed in Ukraine and Israel, why the West must ensure victories in both wars, and his reaction to the campus protests across the U.S.
Humor: Coming Soon: ‘The Real Housewives of Congress’ — You’ve seen “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Now enjoy even more backstabbing, vicious, sassy drama from the bleach blonde bad-built butch bodies of Washington, DC!
“I don’t have anything against slanted coverage. I really don’t. … I would have something against it at most other times in American history, but not right now. F**k your objectivity. The real objectivity in this country right now is we’re either going to have a Constitution or we’re not.” —Democrat strategist James Carville
“I had to remind him [50 Cent] that he is a black person so he can’t vote for Donald Trump.” —”comedian” Chelsea Handler
Non Sequitur
“The former president, Donald Trump, handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. … I mean, look at the Dred Scott decision. This is not the first time that we know the Court can make decisions that violate the civil rights of the people.” —Kamala Harris (“In 1857’s Scott v. Sanford case, the Supreme Court ruled that one group of human beings were the legal property of a preferred group of human beings. … In 1973’s Roe v. Wade case, the Supreme Court ruled that one group of human beings were the legal property of a preferred group of human beings.” —Peter Heck)
For the Record
“Joe Biden’s new executive order isn’t a solution to the border crisis; it just perpetuates the crisis. If Biden and the Democrats get their way, America will be getting one new foreign lawbreaker — ahem, migrant — for every two U.S. births. Yes, the Democrats are trying to replace you for their own political gain.” —Catherine Salgado
Lawfare
“In their efforts to save ‘democracy’ — a concept that’s been stripped of any meaning — Democrats have justified deploying the state to punish and destroy political enemies. For many progressives, the legal system isn’t merely a tool for criminal justice but a way to exact political justice. [Merrick] Garland is one of the leaders in this fight.” —David Harsanyi
“Biden is delighted that his own former prosecutor, a left-wing judge, and a Manhattan jury may well keep Trump off the campaign trail. So, it is past time for the media and Democrats to drop this ridiculous ruse of Biden’s White House ‘neutrality.’ Instead, they should admit that they are terrified of the will of the people in November and so are conniving to silence them.” —Victor Davis Hanson
“The press is upset at the rise of disinformation and misinformation. They should, instead, perhaps examine their own role in that rise. But they will not. The press corps, collectively, lacks the basic humility it demands in others.” —Erick Erickson
“The Rubicon, truthfully, is a shallow, inconsequential river in Italy. That it is so shallow helps explain why Julius Caesar was able to cross it so easily. At this juncture in American history, it no longer suffices to speak of crossing a Rubicon. We are now rapidly crossing great seas — perhaps even circumnavigating the globe. You might call President Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrat-lawfare complex our modern-day Magellans.” —Josh Hammer
Pro-war EU politicians have been“punished”in theEuropean
parliamentary elections, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said on Monday.
The comments come as the results of EU parliamentary elections which wrapped up on Sunday, reveal a significant voter swing to right-wing and conservative parties, particularly in France and Germany, where they are projected to beat out the ruling coalitions of President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, respectively.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Snowden argued that the defeat of pro-war politicians in the elections is“not a good sign for [US President Joe] Biden,”suggesting that Washington is the one that decides when the conflicts begin and end.
Over the weekend, hundreds of millions of people are estimated to have taken part in the parliamentary elections across 27 EU member states. According to preliminary results, support for conservative and right-wing parties has grown significantly, as people are increasingly opposed to the bloc’s policies, especially those regarding immigration, the climate, military support for Ukraine, and sanctions on Russia.
In France, the right-wing National Rally, previously led by Marine Le Pen, received more than 30% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party only managed around 15%, prompting the French leader to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap general election.
In Germany, Scholz’s ruling Social Democrats received their worst results in decades with just 14% of the vote, according to projections, while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to finish in second place with an estimated 15%. The center-right CDU-CSU alliance is projected to win around 30% of the vote.
Similar results were seen for conservative parties in other EU states as well, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed that the bloc will continue on a“pro-Ukraine path,”as her centrist faction is projected to remain the largest group in the European Parliament with an estimated 26% of the seats.
With growing worldwide pressure surrounding God’s chosen nation in news reports hourly, the word picture drawn by the prophet Joel comes ever-clearer into focus:
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:1–2)
This indictment by the God of Heaven, when dissected, is against the entire world of nations. The history of the Jews and the diasporas they suffered is well documented. This hatred poured out on the Jewish people is inexplicable…apart from Jesus’ Words:
All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. (Matthew 24:8–10)
The world of nations, used by Satan to assault God’s chosen people with his hatred, have, throughout history, driven the Jewish people out of the land God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob forever. They have scattered and divided God’s land of promise to the four winds of the earth. They have divided that land, just as the prophet Joel said.
For this reason, God will bring all nations of earth to the Valley of Jehoshaphat—that is, to the killing field of Jezreel or Armageddon.
The modern-day leaders of the nations hostile to Israel are carrying out Joel’s prophecy. They are the “Armageddon architects.”
The exponential ramping-up of hatred of Israel on a global scale–even among Western nations—is a sure signal of where this generation stands on God’s prophetic timeline. One recent report of such anger against the Jewish State–disguised as wanting only to secure peace for Israel and its Israel-hating neighbors—makes the point that God’s judgment as given in Joel 3:1–2 can’t be far off.
Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez led a group of European states in recognizing Palestine as a state on Tuesday, saying the move was a step towards focusing “all our efforts to implement a two-state solution and make it a reality.”
Spain, Norway, and Ireland recognized Palestine as a state on Tuesday, making official by writ the announcement made by the group last week. The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, was the first among the group to move on the morning, claiming his position was that giving Palestine international recognition would “help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace.”
He said Palestine includes “West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor,” and has its capital and “legitimate government of the Palestine National Authority” in East Jerusalem…
Israel responded, saying the group is “rewarding terrorism” by giving Palestine the veneer of legitimacy around the world so soon after the October 7th terrorist attacks. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a message addressed to Sánchez: “You are complicit in inciting the Jewish genocide and war crimes”…
Speaking in Madrid on Tuesday, Sánchez defended the outrage-provoking move by insisting he was working for peace. Further, he said, asserting Palestine is a state puts Spain in a club with “more than 140 countries that already recognize Palestine” worldwide. (“Spain, Norway, Ireland Formally Recognise Palestinian Statehood,” by Oliver JJ Lane, Breitbart News Network)
But God is not mocked, nor is He fooled. The nations of the world are led in this genocidal madness by the god of this world—Lucifer.
There is only one remedy for such hatred and rebellion: Joel says God will deal with the Israel-haters and all other anti-God forces on the plain of Megiddo, which Napoleon called the greatest natural battlefield on earth.
The rebellious globalist architects who want to build a world apart from God’s governance will lose this battle instantly, when the returning King of all kings simply speaks the Word with the all-powerful sword of His mouth. Again, I believe those words will be the same He spoke that calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee those millennia ago: “Peace, be still.”
Israeli special forces raided two buildings in central Gaza on Saturday, rescuing four hostages. People in the war-torn region are responding today in three ways.
Many are jubilant. In Tel Aviv, beachgoers cheered when a lifeguard reported the rescue over the PA system; some television anchors broke into tears while announcing the news. One of the four hostages, Noa Argamani, was able to see her terminally ill mother. Her father said, “Today is my birthday, and a gift like this I never believed I would get.”
Some are grieving the death of a commander in the country’s elite Counter-Terrorism Unit who was killed during the operation.
And many are mourning the loss of civilians who died during the operation. The Israeli military reported that Hamas sought to fire at Israeli forces behind civilians. Israeli airstrikes and ground forces then hit the militants. According to local Gaza health officials, scores of Palestinians, including women and children, were killed. Palestinians living in the area described it as one of the worst days of the war. Some voiced anger at Hamas for holding hostages in residential buildings.
Venomous spiders are crawling up the East Coast
How we interpret events depends largely on the ways they affect us personally. Some examples:
A man in Mexico has died from a bird flu strain never before seen in humans.
Severe weather is continuing with flood threats in the Plains and record heat in Florida.
Florida authorities are warning of shark dangers along the Gulf Coast after three people were attacked.
Giant, venomous yellow spiders are making their way up the East Coast.
A large chunk of Wyoming’s Teton Pass road collapsed over the weekend, severing a well-traveled commuter link.
In each case, I confess that my first thought was that none of these stories affects me directly since I don’t live where any of them are occurring. I suspect you may have responded in the same way unless one of the stories relates more directly to you.
Why do we see the world through such a personal prism?
Impressing you with my humility
Darwin was right in his assertion that the survival instinct is basic to life. Friedrich Nietzsche was also right in noting that the “will to power” is central to human nature.
Taken together, these forces move us to exercise agency and power for self-preservation and personal advancement. This is not speculation or criticism but a fact of our fallen human nature, as true for me as it is for you.
Christians often try to hide our quest for the protection and promotion of self, but even this works in their service. As a minister, I am more likely to advance myself by appearing humble and compassionate than by appearing self-centered and power-hungry.
This is not always so—some leaders in dangerous times are trusted precisely because they seek and wield power effectively. According to a biography I’m reading of World War II’s famous General George Patton, his soldiers called him “Old Blood and Guts” and followed him with gratitude for his courageous audacity.
Five steps to culture-changing compassion
Precisely because we want what is in our personal best interest, we are drawn to the altruistic compassion of others. And because it is so unique, such compassion is a “brand differentiator” and “force multiplier,” to use marketing terms.
When we meet felt needs, we earn the right to meet spiritual needs. When we genuinely care for people whether they care for us or not, we become the change we wish to see and catalysts for the spiritual awakening our culture needs so desperately.
One: Admit that we cannot do so in our own capacities.
As I admitted, the survival instinct and will to power are basic to us all.
Two: Seek the character formation of the Spirit.
Submit daily to his control (Ephesians 5:18) and ask him to manifest Christ in us (Romans 8:29) through the “fruit” of his character (Galatians 5:22–23).
Three: See people as immortal.
C. S. Lewis was right:
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
Four: View problems as opportunities.
The needs of others are invitations to compassion on our part. And they reveal our character: to learn if you are a true servant, see how you respond when you are treated like one.
Five: Serve others and trust the results to God.
You often cannot know the difference you make on this side of eternity, but every act of kindness in Jesus’ name plants a tree you’ll never sit under in souls who can never be the same. John Bunyan claimed,
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fox News contributor Joe Concha calls out Biden’s ‘lies’ and says that we’re looking at the first one-term Democratic president since Jimmy Carter.Subscribe …
More than a decade ago, I did an interview with Mark Bauerlein about his book, The Dumbest Generation. Last week we focused our attention on his new book, The Dumbest Generation Grows Up. The ignorance and faulty logic of young people in college has now made its way into the young adult culture.
He reminds us that social commentators predicted that the millennial generation would make a significant impact on society because they were coming of age in the Digital Age. Back then, professor Bauerlein was warning that smartphones and computers were having a negative impact on his students and young adults.
He explains the millennials “grew up in a world of their own” and “it didn’t provide them with the tools to handle the ordinary pains of life once they had to leave that world. Most of them had no religion to give shape and direction to their mortal careers, no doctrine to explain suffering when it came.” On one side you had the “nones” who rejected religion. On the other side you had Christians who adopted the Christian Smith description of “moralistic therapeutic deism.”
We also talked about the cancel culture. They may have protested Charles Murray and Heather MacDonald, but they may never have a read a word written by them. They just knew they were supposed to protest these people when they showed up on campus.
A majority (51%) in one survey said they were justified in shouting down a speaker if the speaker utters “offensive and hurtful statements.” And the university faculty and administrators also failed them because many of them could not even explain why certain college courses were necessary.
The dumbest generation has grown up, but it doesn’t appear that too many of them have grown up emotionally or intellectually.
Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz resigns from the government even as the war with Hamas is still underway, while Israelis celebrate the historic rescue of four hostages from Gaza who were taken captive on October 7th; Chris Mitchell explains how Gantz’s resignation could affect the Israeli government, what new elections would mean for Israel, why the hostage rescue means so much for the Israeli people, details about the rescue, and how Israelis feel about the Biden Administration’s relationship with their country; Southern Baptists facing major issues at their convention this week, including the role of women in ministry, handling sexual abuse, and more; European voters give right-wing candidates major victories in EU elections, shaking up the political establishment; and how suburban women could play a key role in determining who wins the 2024 Presidential race.
“Well, I think that it’s no secret Joe Biden’s committed many crimes, and I think that you’re going to see a report very soon.”
U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
“Well, I think that it’s no secret Joe Biden’s committed many crimes, and I think that you’re going to see a report very soon.”
House Oversight Committee chief Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., used that comment over the weekend to explain that the House referrals to the Department of Justice for Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, James, for perjury are “just the beginning.”
He was responding to a question from Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.
In a transcript reported byReal Clear Politics,she cited the criminal referrals for perjury, and asked about referrals for “FARA, for money laundering, for corruption, for influence peddling…”
“Well, we’re just beginning, Maria. And a lot of those crimes that the Bidens have committed, the statute of limitations has run out. That was one of the complaints that the Irish whistle-blowers said when we had them testify in our committee,” Comer explained.
“But we’re going to deal with those and we’re going to deal with Joe Biden. Remember, this is an investigation of Joe Biden. Hunter Biden, Jim Biden, Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer, these are all witnesses in an investigation of Joe Biden. This was always about Joe Biden.
“Now, we’re going to do everything we can to hold Hunter Biden and all the different shady associates accountable. This is just the beginning. But the next step will be accountability for Joe Biden. And I think everyone that’s kept up with this investigation will be very eager to see what the next step is.”
He said the present criminal referrals are “the first step.”
“Everything that we refer to the Department of Justice is within the statute of limitations. In fact, there’s five-year statute of limitations. So, if Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice doesn’t take this up in an appropriate manner, then the next administration and a new attorney general certainly can.
“The investigation’s already been done. And with these criminal referrals, we published a 60-page report of nothing but hard evidence that no one has made a comment disputing anything we provided in the evidence.”
He said the next report will be “an interim report that updates everyone on the crimes that Biden and his administration have committed throughout this investigation and through the years of the Obama/Biden administration.”
TheHillreported, “The interview comes after GOP leaders of the impeachment investigation into Biden asked the Justice Department this past Wednesday to bring criminal charges against the president’s son, Hunter, and his brother, James, accusing the duo of lying to lawmakers during conversations with investigators.”
It explained, “The criminal referrals escalate the stakes of the impeachment inquiry.”
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(RNS) — ‘I am stepping away from my pastoral duties and am submitting to a healing and restoration process established by the elders,’ Evans said in a statement.
“No one any longer claims that Christopher Steele’s dossier was factual. No one insists that Hunter Biden’s laptop was likely “Russian disinformation”, or that “Anonymous” was a courageous “top-ranking” administration official. All these hysterias, it is tacitly admitted, were cooked-up left-wing canards to emasculate the Trump candidacy and presidency.”
(Victor Davis Hanson – American Greatness) Do not expect the radical left to survey the wreckage of socialism and communism in history and accept that statism impoverishes people and erodes their freedoms. There will never be admissions by our elite that progressivism exists mainly for the acquisition of power by the utopian and virtue-signaling few, who ensure that they are never subject to the baleful implementation of their ideological agendas on the rest of us.
Still, leftists look around at what they have done to America in the last four years and implicitly know that the plan did not work, the people detested it, or both.
How do we know this? By a variety of barometers.View article →
“No one any longer claims that Christopher Steele’s dossier was factual. No one insists that Hunter Biden’s laptop was likely “Russian disinformation”, or that “Anonymous” was a courageous “top-ranking” administration official. All these hysterias, it is tacitly admitted, were cooked-up left-wing canards to emasculate the Trump candidacy and presidency.”
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