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
When dealing with sin in the church, there are two ditches on either side of the road that we must avoid.
On the one side is the ditch of greasy ‘grace’ in which sin is minimised, overlooked, and even covered up. On the other side is the ditch of haughty ‘holiness’ in which the sinner is condemned without mercy.
Both ditches must be avoided if we are to find spiritual health and vitality. This, however, is easier said than done.
Slippery Slope
Greasy grace is incredibly destructive since it allows a deadly spiritual cancer to spread unchecked, putting a pretty band-aid on a lethal disease. In the words of the Lord through Jeremiah,
“They superficially treat the fracture of My poor people saying, ‘All is well! All is well!’ when nothing is well.” (Jeremiah 6:14, my translation).
Greasy grace fails to confront sin or correct the sinner, and without any real evidence of true repentance and change, it sweeps everything under the rug.
Not only is this a stench in God’s nostrils, making a mockery of the blood of Jesus; it is also a terrible disservice to the offending party who, rather than receiving life-giving and life-saving correction, is given a pat on the back and a smile.
This is anything but love. The dying person is given a bill of good health.
As for those who have been sinned against, including those who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their spiritual leaders, the situation is even worse. They are simply told to get over it. “After all,” the compromised leaders say, “who are we to point a finger? Just forgive and move on. Plus, you don’t want to hurt the ministry of this powerful man of God.”
In the worst and most extreme cases, a sexual predator is allowed to continue hurting others while the victims of abuse are now painted as the guilty parties for daring to bring an accusation against “God’s anointed.”
This is downright evil, as the victims are discarded and discounted rather than being helped and healed.
Crushing Condemnation
Unfortunately, it is human nature to go from one extreme to the other, in this case running from the perils of greasy grace into the arms of haughty holiness. With a self-righteous, unforgiving attitude, haughty holiness looks down on the guilty sinner, as if to say, “We would never have done what you did!” Consequently, those who fall short must be tarred and feathered.
There is no place for true repentance, no place for restoration, no place for redemption. Once pronounced guilty, you are guilty for life, branded and marked and ostracised. There is no mercy. There is no compassion. There is no empathy. Only anger, judgment, and condemnation.
You are consigned to the dog house for good, and you can never be rehabilitated. (I actually know of pastors who were removed from leadership because of alleged pride in their lives, then given the job of church custodian to teach them humility.)
To be sure, there are sins which have lasting consequences.
If you murder someone, God can completely forgive you, but you will go to jail (or suffer the death penalty) for your crime. If you sexually abused children, even if you served time in prison and experienced a radical change of life and were truly a new person, you could never work in children’s ministry.
Such are the lasting consequences of sin.
Today, in light of one ministry scandal after another, some of which involved seriously abusive relationships, there has been much repentance and soul-searching among leaders.
Did we not listen when someone came with an accusation?
Did we fail to provide a safe environment for those who had been sinned again?
Did we encourage a “Don’t touch the anointed” kind of culture?
These are issues the church must get right if we are to be a safe haven for the wounded and the hurting, let alone become a holy bride worthy of God’s Son.
But how do we do this without opening the door to false accusations and slander? How do we put processes in place that will protect both the congregant who was sinned against as well as the leader who was falsely accused?
Scales of Justice
The simple principle is that serious concerns and accusations should be taken seriously, vetted in a supportive, non-threatening environment. But then both sides must be heard equally and fairly, not presuming guilt or innocence.
That’s why biblical law required that every matter be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses, especially when a leader was being accused (see Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19).
But it also made provision for witnesses to be vetted, with severe penalties for those who bore false witness (see Deuteronomy 19:16-20).
In that light, we should remember that the Ten Commandments forbade bearing false witness against our neighbour (Exodus 20:16), a sin that is literally detestable in God’s sight (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Let us, then, open the door to hear serious accusations and complaints without at the same time welcoming in the devil, who is the accuser of God’s children.
We must also realise that, in our zeal to hear from those who have been sinned against, we have often failed to show mercy to the repentant offender, failed to be redemptive, failed to say, “There is still hope for your life!”
In some cases, of course, those who sinned grievously while in public ministry can never return to public ministry. But there can still be redemption and hope and a meaningful life for them, perhaps serving as a cautionary tale for others. And in some cases, there can be restoration to public ministry and service in humility and the fear of the Lord.
The truth is that every one of us lives by God’s mercy every single day of our lives, and “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13). As recipients of mercy and forgiveness, we want to lead the way in showing mercy and forgiveness.
And as those who have been the objects of redemption, we want to offer redemption to all. That is the true grace of God.
How, then, do we weave all these strands together?
First, we do not minimise or excuse sin for a moment, and under no circumstances do we sweep unrepentant sin under the rug.
Second, we create a culture and environment that is friendly to those who have been sinned against and unfriendly to those who continue in hurtful sin.
Third, where there is repentance, we offer heartfelt love and compassion, thereby offering hope and pointing the way to restoration.
This is how we reflect the character of Jesus to the world, and this is how we demonstrate the beauty of the Body of Christ.
Ezra 5:11 — “Who said you could build this?” Interesting the response back – “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.” Servants of not just a regional territorial god, but the God of all that is on earth and all that is above the earth!
Ezra 6:7 — The Israelis knew they had:
authority from God (Ezra 5:11)
atonement for their fathers (Ezra 5:12), and the
auspice of Cyrus to build!
God used the researchers of Babylon (Ezra 6:1-2) to find the records and confirm His will!
Darius —
protected them from interference (Ezra 6:7)
provided the resources needed, and
preferred the sacrifices
Was he a devout believer? No! He had enough issues without ticking off whoever this “God of heaven” was!
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 — Just as God was the confidence of the Israelis, He is the giver of increase to the Christian. Our enemy is not Team Apollos or Team Paul, but the world, the flesh, and the devil. Apollos and Paul are “laborers together” (1 Corinthians 3:9).
1 Corinthians 3:13 — The Bema Seat that we read about in Romans 14:10 is discussed here. What will be revealed is what has been done in the Christian life. Christians will be judged, not on the economy and not on the politics of this world, but on what has been built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ! Rewards and losses will be measured out as the fire tests our work.
Psalm 29 — Notice the structure of the Psalm – 2X the expression “Give unto the LORD” is used, 3X the expression “voice of the LORD” is used, there’s a center keynote, then 3X the expression “voice of the LORD” appears, followed by two descriptions of the LORD. A modified chiasm. In vv. 1-2, we give strength to Him; in vv. 10-11, He gives strength to us! What an amazing God we serve!
Proverbs 20:26 — For those wanting to keep religion out of politics, we need some good leaders who will follow the teaching of Proverbs. The good ruler does not let the wicked take over his city. You may not be a ruler of a city, but if you are a leader in your family, do not let the wicked take over your family!
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As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. (Psalm 17:15)
The portion of other men fills their bodies and enriches their children, but the portion of the believer is of another sort. Men of the world have their treasure in this world, but men of the world to come look higher and further.
Our possession is twofold. We have God’s presence here and His like-ness hereafter Here we behold the face of the Lord in righteousness, for we are justified in Christ Jesus. Oh, the joy of beholding the face of a reconciled God! The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ yields us heaven below, and it will be to us the heaven of heaven above.
But seeing does not end it: we are to be changed into that which we gaze upon. We shall sleep a while and then wake up to find ourselves as mirrors which reflect the beauties of our Lord. Faith sees God with a transforming look. The heart receives the image of Jesus into its own depths, till the character of Jesus is imprinted on the soul. This is satisfaction. To see God and to be like Him-what more can I desire? David’s assured confidence is here by the Holy Ghost made to be the Lord’s promise. I believe it. I expect it. Lord, vouchsafe it. Amen.
The Fuse Of The Gog-Magog War Is Beginning To Burn The world right now is holding its collective breath. Will Hezbollah unleash a full offensive, and what part might Iran play in this war if it breaks out? Hezbollah has at least 150,000 missiles and rockets pointing south into Israel, and many of those projectiles are locked on Tel Aviv. A war would certainly devastate Lebanon, but would also do serious damage to Israel. Turkey is turning up the heat on Israel in a major way. Earlier this week, they issued a threat of invading Israel. This is a stunning development.
Armageddon Notwithstanding I’d be lying if I told you that things are not tense in Israel right now, nationally and personally. As always, one of the ways to get through it is with humor, even when the situation is far from funny. One of the best social media posts I saw was on Friday asking what traditional pre-Armageddon food one should prepare for Shabbat, the sabbath.
Terrorists who murdered three Israelis eliminated near Tulkarm The IDF on Sunday released more information on the elimination of nine terrorists on Saturday in two IAF strikes in the area of Tulkarm. Following the precise elimination of a terrorist cell that was on its way to carry out a terror attack, the security forces initiated a counterterrorism operation in the Tulkarm area.
Israeli forces in Gaza discover Hamas tunnel under Egyptian army post One of the smuggling routes—which soldiers discovered early last week and that was large enough for vehicles to drive through—was dug directly underneath an Egyptian army position on the border, photos show.
Enough Is Enough: NATO Must Suspend Cooperation With Turkey When it comes to NATO, Turkey—under the brutally authoritarian rule of its diehard Islamist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—has stood out as the alliance’s greatest liability. Indeed, had Turkey not joined NATO in 1952, when it was ruled by a secular, Western-oriented government, there’s no question that it would even be a candidate for membership in the present day. What Erdoğan has done is to leverage Turkey’s membership to undermine the alliance from within, functioning almost as a fifth column.
‘We strike in Beirut, Yemen, wherever necessary’ – Netanyahu warns “Iran and its minions are looking to surround us in a stranglehold of terrorism. We are determined to stand against them on every front and in every arena – near and far,” Netanyahu said at the state memorial ceremony for Ze’ev Jabotinsky. “Whoever seeks to harm us will pay a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said, echoing the words that Gallant had uttered hours earlier.
Talkin’ Tropics: Tropical Storm Debby strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico As of Sunday evening Debby is tracking north skirting the coast of Florida before making landfall in the Big Bend area as a Category 1 hurricane by Monday morning. The storm will be very loaded on the right side thus increasing rainfall across Florida as well as a tornadic threat across the First Coast. Furthermore, Debby will slow down near Jacksonville and with it bring heavy and possibly flooding rainfall.
CENTCOM chief in Mideast to mobilize against Iranian attack Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), arrived in the Middle East on Saturday amid sky-high tensions as Israel prepares for an imminent attack by Iran and its terrorist proxies.
Temple Mount sheikh who mourned Hamas chief could lose Israeli residency Ekrima Sabri has a long history of anti-Israel activity and is already under indictment for incitement to terrorism. Israeli Interior Minister Mose Arbel (Shas) said Friday that he intends to revoke the residency permit of a sheikh who publicly mourned the death of terror leader Ismail Haniyeh in a sermon earlier that day at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
Netanyahu says he is ‘prepared to go far’ to secure release of hostages Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, said that he is “prepared to go very far to release all of our hostages, while maintaining the security of Israel.” He also slammed media reports that portrayed Israel as rejecting the proposed agreement while Hamas has accepted it.
Netanyahu said he will not pursue normalization with Saudis before US election Contrary to previous reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to wait to pursue normalization with Saudi Arabia until after the US 2024 election, … Netanyahu is reportedly waiting for the election outcome to see if Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump will be elected.
Why did Biden admin override 9/11 plea deal? With Biden stepping down and Kamala trying to gain traction in the elections, the Democrats realized their timing was too early. Biden officials had taken to claiming that this was a decision made purely by the military courts and that no one in the administration was involved. That’s obviously not true.
Iran rejects world leaders’ calls for restraint, expected to strike Israel on Monday Iranian officials said they will strike Israel even if it means all-out war. Iran has rejected calls from world leaders to show restraint following its threats against Israel, and US officials say Iran may strike as early as Monday. According to the Wall Street Journal, Iranian officials said they will strike Israel even if it means all-out war. Israel is currently bracing for a potential attack from Iran after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Foreign ministers in Lebanon and Jordan traveled to Iran to persuade Iran to back off from its threats.
POLL: For first time in decades, Jewish voters shifting to GOP A recent poll conducted by Richard Baris has revealed a significant shift in Jewish voter preferences, suggesting that former President Donald Trump’s unwavering support for Israel is resonating with this traditionally Democratic-leaning bloc. While Vice President Kamala Harris still leads among Jewish voters with 52.7% to Trump’s 45.9%, this margin represents a dramatic narrowing of the gap compared to historical voting patterns.
Harris’ potential running mate Shapiro shifts Middle East stance amid criticism Kamala Harris … several top picks for her potential Democratic vice presidential nominee are being considered. Among them is Josh Shapiro, the Governor of Pennsylvania, who is now facing criticism for his previous skepticism about the attainability of peace in the Middle East. Facing criticism of alleged pro-Israel bias, Shapiro told reporters on Friday that his opinions on the Middle East have changed, and he now supports the two-state solution. “I was 20,” Shapiro said during a news conference. “I have said for years, years before October 7, that I favor a two-state solution – Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully side-by-side,
As Israel prepares for dual retaliation, US looks to renew cooperation with regional partners to thwart attack Israel’s defense and security leaders held a series of meetings over the weekend to prepare for a possible multi-front attack scenario involving Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and the Iranian regime. Both Iran and the terrorist organization Hezbollah have promised to launch retaliatory attacks against Israel following the high-profile killings of Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a few hours later.
England on the Brink: PM Vows Action Against Anti-Immigration ‘Extremists’ British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has vowed that police have his full support in taking on “extremists” as anti-mass migration protests and riots have broken out across the United Kingdom following the mass stabbing at a children’s dance party in Southport earlier this week.
The Wheels Have Started To Come Off For The U.S. Economy, And The Worst Is Yet To Come For a long time, there was a lot of denial about the direction that the U.S. economy was heading. The Biden administration and the mainstream media just kept insisting that everything was just fine even though everyone could clearly see that it wasn’t. But now reality is setting in.
Anti-Immigration Protests In UK Spreads As Elon Musk Warns “Civil War Is Inevitable” European countries on the front lines, such as Greece and Italy, have been overwhelmed with migrants over the years due to failed open-border policies facilitated by radical leftist politicians. These unaccountable leaders (elected & unelected) have created the perfect storm of migrant crime and chaos across the continent.
The Paris 2024 “Woke-Lympics” – A Descent into Perversion, Blasphemy and Abuse of Women The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony has ignited a firestorm of controversy, lambasted as a grotesque display of woke extremism, degeneracy, and satanic overtones. Far from a celebration of athletic prowess and unity, this event has been widely criticized as a blasphemous, perverse spectacle that mocked Christianity and celebrated the macabre. It smacked of cannibalism, ritualistic Satanism, and all sorts of disgusting themes, epitomizing evil debauchery.
13,000 Aliens Enter New York illegally from Canada Thirteen thousand unvetted aliens have entered the US illegally through Canada. They wound up in New York City. Canada is a faster way to get to the number one sanctuary city of New York.
The Fuse Of The Gog-Magog War Is Beginning To Burn The name Hezbollah has been all over the news. Hezbollah was founded by Iran in 1982 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Iran has many proxies in Iraq; however, the three major terror organizations they control are Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. Hezbollah means “Party of Allah,” and it is Iran’s strongest proxy.
Iran warns Hezbollah will begin deliberately target Israeli civilians The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told CBS News in an exclusive on Friday that the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah would begin deliberately targeting Israeli civilians – claiming that it had not done so until now.
The pandemic-vaccine industry is desperate; for the next “pandemic” they want to use police and even NATO to force vaccination on people New Zealand has included enforcing vaccination uptake using law enforcement in its latest version of the country’s pandemic plans published on 12 July. A week earlier, Gates-funded and World Health Organisation favourite Dr. Peter Hotez suggested that Homeland Security and the Justice Department should be enlisted against “anti-vaxxers” in the US. And internationally, Hotez said, NATO should be deployed against those who refuse to get vaccinated.
“The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife.” —Thomas Jefferson (1821)
ON THIS DAY in 1884, the cornerstone was laid for the Statue of Liberty, which became a world-renowned beacon for freedom in America.
Editor’s Note: Until August 19, I remain on leave to spend a chunk of time with my family. That includes celebrating my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary this week. Don’t forget to cherish and enjoy such things. Cheers, from my family to yours.
Harris undemocratically secures delegates: On Friday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison announced that Kamala Harris had secured enough delegate votes to become the party’s presidential nominee. Harris responded by stating that she was “deeply grateful” and “honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for the President of the United States.” She further added, “I will officially accept your nomination next week, once the virtual voting period is closed. But already I’m happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination.” And it all happened without Harris earning a single primary vote. Now the coronated Harris will have to go and win actual votes from the American public while at the same time ridiculously warning the public of Donald Trump’s supposed “threat to democracy.” This despite the fact that he won the Republican nomination through people actually voting for him.
Harris declines Fox debate with Trump, wants ABC News debate instead (Townhall) | Trump says he will either debate Harris on Fox News or “won’t see her at all” (NY Post)
The Harris veepstakes lean toward Shapiro: Speculation about which straight white male will appear on the bottom of the Kamala Harris ticket is reaching a fever pitch, and all signs are pointing toward Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. As Politico reports, the announcement will likely be made at a Tuesday campaign event in Pennsylvania. That state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, is believed to be the favorite, but a 30-year-old quote of his might well hurt him with the Democrats’ Jew-hating base. In a collegiate op-ed he wrote at age 20, he said that the Palestinians “do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the U.S. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.” In any case, it looks like Shapiro’s strength as a crucial swing-state governor offers the Harris campaign an enticing balance to her own hard leftism.
Stephanopoulos loses it when Rep. Donalds refuses to back off on Kamala’s “blackness” (RedState)
ActBlue money laundering? Democrat super PAC ActBlue, which raked in over $4 billion in donations during the 2020 election cycle, is being accused of election fraud by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. According to Miyares, his “office has become aware of multiple serious allegations that ActBlue (and its affiliates) have engaged in fraudulent, deceptive, and/or otherwise illegal activities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and/or have aided and abetted others in doing so.” These illegal actions include hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from individual donors “in volumes that are facially implausible.” Many of these donations are attributed to senior citizens who have self-identified as retired or unemployed and are connected to “suspicious” addresses. “Taken together, these circumstances appear to indicate that contributions via ActBlue are being made from fictional donors or dummy accounts, or that information reported by or through ActBlue may be fraudulent,” Miyares explained. Virginia isn’t the only state suspicious of ActBlue, as both Missouri and Wyoming have recently launched their own investigations.
Ninth Circus Circuit reverses its Arizona voting-integrity decision: Last week, we reported on a big win for voting integrity in the swing state of Arizona, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s residents must provide proof of citizenship before they can register to vote. This week, we follow up with some inexplicably bad news. As RedState reports, “In a stunning reversal from its ruling on July 18 … the court now says that the documentation is not necessary.” Apparently, the two election-interferers, Judges Kim McLane Wardlaw and Ronald Gould, “misunderstood the extent of confusion and chaos that would be engendered by a late-stage alteration to the status quo of Arizona’s election rules.” Republican Senate President Warren Petersen has vowed to seek an emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court “to make sure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
Justice Gorsuch responds to Biden’s targeting of SCOTUS: In an interview with Fox News, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was asked to weigh in on Biden’s Court-changing agenda that includes term limits on justices and an enforceable ethics code. Gorsuch wisely responded by avoiding addressing what he observed is a “political issue during a presidential election.” However, he did offer a word of caution: “What does [an independent judiciary] mean to you as an American? It means that when you are unpopular, you can get a fair hearing under the law and under the Constitution. If you are in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights. You are popular! It’s there for the moments when the spotlight is on you, when the government’s coming after you. And don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions? Isn’t that your right as an American?” Gorsuch then said, “And so I just say, be careful.”
Security
Major Biden-Harris mistake gave Taliban $239 million in U.S. aid (Townhall)
Israel braces for imminent attack from Iran: “Israel went into a new workweek in a state of deep uncertainty on Sunday, with the potential for attacks by Iran and the militant groups it supports already causing disruptions for many.” So reports The New York Times as the Jewish state braces for a potential multifront attack from Iran and its terrorist proxies. As the Times continues, “A number of international airlines have suspended flights to and from Israel pending expected retaliation against the country by Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. That has left tens of thousands of Israelis unable to come home.” All this is the result of increased tensions from a recent soccer field massacre of children by a Hezbollah rocket, which was followed by targeted assassinations by Israel. As the BBC adds, “Several countries have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East.” Never fear, though: As Fox News reports, Joe Biden “will meet with his national security team in the Situation Room today.” His toothless message to Iran will likely be, “Don’t.”
U.S. to send jets and warships as Iran threatens Israel (BBC)
Students gearing up for Round 2 of pro-Palestinian protests (The Hill)
Migrant airline entries paused: The Biden administration’s program that has flown in upwards of 30,000 migrants a month from four countries was put on pause last month over whistleblower allegations of fraud. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications. DHS will restart application processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards.” The program, which was begun in 2022, initially allowed individuals from Venezuela to be flown directly into the U.S. if they met certain conditions. It has since been expanded to include individuals from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua. The alleged fraud is not from applicants but from migrant sponsorship groups. As Fox News reports, “The internal report found that forms from those applying for the program included social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers being used hundreds of times in some cases.” In several instances, numbers belonging to a dead person were repeatedly used, as well as the same physical address, and the same phone number of a sponsor was used on over 2,000 forms, while other forms contained nonexistent sponsor zip codes.
Illegal alien accused of sexually assaulting 14-year-old Texas girl (Breitbart)
Olympics
British swimming great slams “cheating Chinese” at Olympics: There have been plenty of thrilling moments at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and more than one infuriating one. Among the latter is the cloud of suspicion hanging over some of the athletes from the genocidal regime of Communist China — specifically, a bunch of cheating Chinese swimmers. Why is this important? Because, as CNN reports, “China’s internet exploded with joy and pride Monday after the country’s swimmers ended the United States’ decades-long reign in the men’s 4×100 meters medley at the Olympics.” But two of the four men on the Chinese relay, Qin Haiyang and Sun Jiajun, were among 11 swimmers who were allowed to swim despite testing positive for a banned substance. Why were they given this free pass? Because the China Anti-Doping Agency said the positive tests were due to food contamination. Uh-huh. Said British breaststroke gold medalist Adam Peaty, whose team finished fourth in the 4×100 relay and thereby without a medal, “We’ve got to have faith in the system, but we don’t. It’s just got to be stricter. What I’ve said from the start is that it is fraud. If you’re cheating, it is fraud.” It is cheating, and it is fraud, but it isn’t at all surprising when we consider the source.
Misc.
Oil giant Chevron says adios to California after 145 years; TX Gov. Abbott invites them to “drill baby drill” (RedState)
Kamala Harris’s husband admits to impregnating babysitter while cheating on first wife (Daily Wire)
Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good loses contested reelection bid by 370 votes, recount confirms (The Federalist)
Pelosi says U.S. should add Biden to Mount Rushmore — despite rumors she angled for his ouster (NY Post)
Hunter Biden sentencing scheduled for week after election (Daily Caller)
Let’s start with the good news: It could’ve been worse — a lot worse.
When the markets opened on Wall Street this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,103 points, or nearly 3%. But in Tokyo, the Nikkei average began down 6% and proceeded to fall further, ending the day down 12% and thereby marking its worst day since the crash of Black Monday in 1987. So, again, it could’ve been worse.
These bad tidings come courtesy of Bidenomics, which has so far printed some $7 trillion in money we don’t have. This inflation-inducing profligacy, coupled with Friday’s awful jobs report and the Federal Reserve’s decision last week not to cut interest rates, has spurred fears of a recession.
And rightly so. Just in time to make Kamala Harris account for it. The New York Post’s Charlie Gasparino wonders, “Could an economic ‘Black Swan’ of a recession upend the November election?”
When Gasparino refers to a black swan, he’s referring to an event that author, mathematician, and stock trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb describes in his eponymously titled book. According to Taleb, a black swan is first and foremost an outlier — one whose occurrence is outside the realm of our expectations. Second, its impact is extreme. And third, its occurrence is followed by explanations that we humans concoct with certitude after the fact.
Indeed, we can hear the Harris team now: Our policies rescued the American people from Donald Trump’s recession, so Republicans should spare us their fearmongering about a recession.
But to those who prattle on about “the Trump recession,” a bit of intellectual honesty is in order. Yes, the American economy went into recession under Trump, but it was entirely driven by the COVID-19 calamity — the global fear, the once-in-a-century death toll, the economic uncertainty, the subsequent lockdowns and layoffs and job losses, all of it. The other part of the Trump recession that must be noted is that our nation’s recovery from it was the fastest in history.
As for what lies ahead, Gasparino says none of it is good for the Biden/Harris regime or for the Harris campaign. He writes:
Even before Friday’s shockingly worrisome jobs report (unemployment ticking up to 4.3%, a slowdown in hiring followed by a 610-point drop in the Dow) that’s what some savvy market analysts and economists told me could be happening.
They see some weird stuff in the economic data that hasn’t been factored into the recent Dow and the Nasdaq run-ups to record territory. Given the supreme importance of the economy to voters, it could turn a neck-and-neck race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris strongly in favor of Trump. It’s Harris and her boss, Sleepy Joe Biden, whose policies created this possible mess.
Things are messy alright, and not just economically. As Florida Republican Congressman Mike Waltz put it on Fox News this morning: “People know what worked, for their wallet, what worked for their family’s safety, and worked for world peace. And that was President Trump’s leadership and his policies, and that is all we should be talking about from now until November.”
Waltz is right. Polling consistently shows the economy to be number one among voters’ concerns. And economic issues don’t bode well for Harris. A recent ABC News poll is emblematic: “Trump leads Biden by 10 points in trust to handle the economy, 11 points on inflation.”
If we do slide into a recession, though, we can be sure that the mainstream media will do its best to inoculate Harris as not responsible for the ruinous economic policies of her boss. And we can be sure that Google will lie through the teeth about its corrupt search engine, which will likely take a simple search query like “recession” and spit out results for the aforementioned “Trump recession” while ignoring the current administration’s destructiveness.
As for his black-swan assessment, Gasparino says such a downturn, if it comes, would be unexpected based on lazy high-level readings of the economic data, whose headline metrics — such as a strong stock market and low unemployment — appear to be sound on their face. (Remember: Joe Biden’s “strong” record on stocks and jobs is due largely to having come into office at the height of the Trump recovery and simply riding its coattails before his policies got around to wrecking things.)
To that point: “I’m not sure that labor market was ever sustainable,” said economist Nick Bunker. “It was built on the back of a huge Covid shock. It was amazing to see but it was never going to stick around long.”
Are we there yet? No, not exactly. But, as National Review’s Dominic Pino reports, “The July jobs report triggered the Sahm rule, named for former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm, which is a recession indicator. The Sahm rule says that a recession is beginning when the three-month average of the unemployment rate is 0.5 percentage points greater than the twelve-month low point. Now we know that the average of May, June, and July is 0.53 percentage points greater than the twelve-month low point.”
Beyond the politics, none of this is good news for the American people, who feel the effects of Bidenomics most acutely. But inasmuch as some brief economic pain might help remind voters what’s at stake, and might thereby usher in an economically friendlier Trump administration, maybe a spoonful of castor oil is just what the doctor ordered.
Mark Alexander: The Truth About Trump and Project 2025 — We applaud the extraordinary integrity of The Heritage Foundation and its exceptional quadrennial Mandates for Leadership.
Thomas Gallatin: Google’s Blatant Election Interference — The Big Tech company not only hides search results for Donald Trump but also promotes Kamala Harris.
Emmy Griffin: Championing the Tomboys — Stop driving athletic girls toward the transgender lie by calling them man-ish.
The True Cost-of-Family Breakdown — Professor Melissa Kearney has published numerous academic studies related to the economics of families and childbearing.
‘Replace DEI With DEI’ — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, has a new meaning for DEI.
“This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy.” —Kamala Harris
“Does anyone think Kamala can handle a recession? She can’t even handle taking a question from the press.” —RNC
“She is beyond word salad. She is now churning out word slaw.” —Ben Shapiro
Shot/Chaser: Part II
“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class.” —Harris campaign
“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” —Kamala Harris, 2019
Dumb & Dumber
“Such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president. … You’ve got Teddy Roosevelt up there. And he’s wonderful. I don’t say take him down, but you can add Biden.” —Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
“The democratic world must stand up for the rule of law in Venezuela and oppose Maduro’s assault on the electoral process and free speech. The right-wing attack on democratic institutions anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (Spoiler alert: Maduro is a Marxist.)
For the Record
“At the end of the Trump Administration, Iran was isolated, broke, and weak. Under the Biden-Harris team, Iran has made hundreds of billions from oil sales to fund terrorism. Of course Iran wants a second Biden-Harris term.” —former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Upright
“I think we ought to replace DEI with DEI. … Three things that America desperately needs to bring back to its government, to its education, to its businesses, to its industry, to every corner. Three words that need to be brought back in this country. And those words are these: Discipline, excellence, and intelligence. That is what needs to come back to America.” —North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R)
And Last…
“If Kamala Harris and the Democrats’ vision for America is the new normal, then it’s high time to #MakeAmericaWeirdAgain.” —Jennifer Galardi
During his “My Take,” Monday, “Varney & Co.” host Stuart Varney analyzed the intensifying stock market selloff as fears of slowing U.S. growth rattle financial markets around the world.
STUART VARNEY:It’s amarket selloff, and here’s what’s behind it.
First, an economic slowdown that points to recession. The housing market is in deep trouble.
The DNC is paying online influencers to attend their convention this year in Chicago.
The Kamala Campaign is allegedly paying its online influencers and celebrities $20,000 each to attend the DNC Convention in Chicago in August.
An email is being sent to their top influencers to pay them to come to the Chicago DNC.
Democrats value their online influencers. And they know they have no real grassroots support – especially with their weak candidates and dangerous agenda.
You would think that with the Democrats owning the Marxist media they would not be so interested in supporting their online personalities. But that is not true. Democrats understand that paying their online influencers is an investment.
Republicans don’t see things this way.
Here is a copy of the email that is being sent around.
Via Dom Lucre
Dom Lucre posted this on Sunday.
🔥🚨BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Kamala Harris is allegedly paying influencers and celebrities $20,000 each to attend the DNC convention through PR agents.
There is an email that is being sent to influencers from public relation managers who got paid by the campaign to inform… pic.twitter.com/Q94RYz8gZ4
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) August 5, 2024
Dom Lucre released a video on Sunday on this program.
Democrats understand media.
For the record – The Gateway Pundit has been around for nearly 20 years. We can write essays on how the DNC and Republicans support and value their online influencers.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s Democratic presidential nomination guarantees an all-out effort to change who she is, who she has been, and in what she believes.
The Democrats are smart enough to know that a San Francisco radical with a history of strange attitudes and unpopular positions cannot be elected president. Experienced Democratic professionals remember that George McGovern, Michael Dukakis, and John Kerry were all defeated due to their radical views and odd demeanors.
McGovern gave “1,000 percent” support to vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton just before he dumped him. Dukakis looked like Alfred E. Newman in a tank. John Kerry windsurfed and went goose hunting in a brightly colored hunting outfit more appropriate for a Hollywood Halloween party.
In Harris’s case, there will be an all-out effort to move her to the center and make her seem normal.
For Republicans, the key will be to simply let Harris’s own words and images remind the American people who she really is. Attacking her will not be effective. Communicating her own words will be.
The clearest example comes from just before Harris became a candidate for president.
Her biggest weakness is her disastrous and disputed role on illegal immigration and the border. There is no question about her commitment to open borders and illegal immigrants. Just consider what she told NBC’s Lester Holt on June 8, 2021, when he questioned Harris about the border crisis.
She said, “We’ve been to the border. So, this whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border.”
Holt responded, “You haven’t been to the border.”
Harris’s baffling response: “And I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t, understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border.”
In fact, Harris didn’t visit the border until June 25, 2021, and she never returned.
A year later, on Sept. 11, 2022, “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked Harris if she considered the border secure, despite a record 2 million people illegally crossing it.
With a straight face, Harris said, “We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration.”
I suppose Harris’s version of a secure border means 1.9 million illegal crossers in FY 2021; 2.8 million in FY 2022; 3.2 million in FY 2023, and 2.4 million in FY 2024, so far.
The Harris record on the border is so bad there is a concerted Democrat-propaganda media effort to deny she was ever in charge.
When President Joe Biden assigned Harris to solve the border crisis back in 2021, Democrats and the national media dubbed her the border czar.
Now, the Democrats are pretending that never happened.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies recently asserted: “She was never assigned the position of border czar; they are making that up.”
To help assuage this clear weakness, Harris’s allies in the news media are trying to rewrite history as well. Stef W. Kight with Axios recently wrote, “In the past few days, the Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the ‘border czar’ title — which she never actually had.”
However, the same story included an editor’s note which acknowledged, “This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a ‘border czar’ in 2021.”
This memory hole effort has been followed by virtually every other media outlet.
Harris’s affection for illegal immigrants goes far beyond an open border. She wants to offer Medicare-for-All to every resident of the United States – even if they are here illegally.
On May 12, 2019, she told Jake Tapper on CNN, “Let me just be very clear about this. I’m opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education, or public health, period.”
So, Harris is for free health care and free education for everyone who crosses the open border illegally. She reinforced this commitment at the first Democratic presidential debate in 2019. Harris raised her hand when she was asked “if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants.”
This support for illegal immigrants getting tax paid services is the natural result of her position as California attorney general, where she did not consider illegal entry a crime. In her own words during the 2019 presidential primary debate, she said, “being an undocumented immigrant is not a crime. To suggest that undocumented immigrants are criminals is an absolute mischaracterization of the issue.”
Vice President Harris isn’t just a San Francisco radical on policies. She is also at times simply incoherent.
The heart of the 2024 campaign will be the Harris’s team trying to convince you she is someone else. The Trump team has the benefit of decades of quotes and videos that prove exactly who she is.
It will be a fascinating contest.
For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolicy and made available via RealClearWire.
Vice President Kamala Harris isplacing her experience as a “top cop” front and center as she looks to “prosecute” her GOP opponent and press her case for why she should win the presidency in November – but the legal career she’s leaning on is “devoid” of achievement, critics say, and she owes much of her success to networking.
Her nearly three-decade rise up the ranks has included numerous bumps along the way – including failing her bar exam on the first try in 1989.
Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who passed the California bar the same year on his first try, described Harris as a “political opportunist” who was in “the right position, the right place” at the right time. By making calculated moves, she was able to leap from district attorney to attorney general to senator to vice president – and perhaps beyond.
“Networking,” Terrell said, is what catapulted Harris’ career. “Let’s face it, she got to her position not on academic achievement. She got to her position as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president, because of networking.”
Terrell added that the guidance of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who has openly discussed his extramarital relationship with Harris during the 1990s, also aided Harris’ political rise.
“She has no outstanding achievement as a lawyer, as a trial lawyer, her record is devoid,” Terrell said. “… From my perspective, listening to her speak, listening to her approach to matters of public concerns… I don’t think she’s an academic heavyweight. I just don’t see what’s propelling her to this current political status. It’s pure networking and politics and being in the right place, at the right time.”
Harris has leaned on her experience as the Golden State’s “top cop” after announcing her candidacy for president in the aftermath of President Biden dropping out of the race.
“As a tough prosecutor, Kamala Harris dealt with men like Trump all the time: Rapists, con men, frauds, criminals – she’s used to guys like Trump, used to putting them in their place,” a narrator for a pro-Harris ad released this week states.
Following Biden’s exit from the race, Democrats have begun to push the narrative that the election is now pitting a “Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” referring to former President Trump, who was found guilty in a New York criminal case earlier this year.
“The contrast in this race could not be clearer – a prosecutor versus a convicted felon. A champion for American’s fundamental freedoms versus a man who has tried to rip them away at every turn. Let’s get to work,” Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., wrote on X.
“November 5: the Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., also chimed in.
Harris, who will turn 60 in October, spent 27 years in the legal world, which kicked off with her failing the bar exam.
Harris’ failure made national news in 2020, when she was running on the Biden ticket for the White House while simultaneously juggling her Senate duties, most notably serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In that capacity, Harris questioned Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who was selected by Trump to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Republicans are scrambling to confirm this nominee as fast as possible because they need one more Trump judge on the bench before Nov. 10 to win and strike down the entire Affordable Care Act,” said Harris during the nomination hearing. “This is not hyperbole. This is not a hypothetical.”
Harris’ questions and exchanges with Coney Barrett were not nearly as fiery as herdemeanor during previous hearings, including the battle surrounding Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination in 2018. As the 2020 election cycle loomed over the hearings, social media commenters pointed out that the then-vice presidential nominee had failed her bar exam, while Coney Barrett finished first in her class while attending Notre Dame Law School.
“Kamala Harris failed the bar 1st time. Amy Coney Barrett 1st in her class,” one social media post at the time read. “I rest.”
The social media comments spurred outlets such as USA Today to publish fact checks that revealed Harris did in fact fail the bar exam on her first try, while Coney Barrett graduated top of her class. While the New York Times reported in a 2016 profile on Harris that she failed the exam, and had recently consoled a young law student who also failed the test, telling her: “It’s not a measure of your capacity.”
Harris attended historically Black college Howard University as an undergraduate, and earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, which Terrell noted is an excellent law school – making it “kind of odd” for a student to fail the bar exam on their first try.
After passing the bar, she launched her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office as a deputy DA in 1990. In the late 1990s, she moved over to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as assistant DA, then to the San Francisco city attorney’s office, before running in 2004 to become San Francisco’s top cop. She was elected as San Francisco DA and served in the role for about seven years, in that time building a friendship withthen-Illinois Sen. Barack Obamaand rubbing elbows with fellow Californian, Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Her meteoric rise in politics only grew from there, clinching the California attorney general position in 2011, when Gov. Jerry Brown led the state, thenwinning her Senate run in 2016after longtime Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her retirement from politics.
Days after Obama endorsed Biden for president in August 2020, Biden announced Harris would join him on the ticket. Harris, who has been called “the Female Obama,” has had a long friendship with the 44th president, including being among the first elected Democrats in the nation to endorse his first run forpresident in the 2008 election– snubbing Hillary Clinton in favor of the then-Illinois senator.
“We did it, Joe,” Harris famously said in a phone call with Biden after polls showed the pair won the election.
Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election, afterBiden bowed out of the race, which was shortly followed by him endorsing his veep.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden said in an X post following his withdrawal from the race. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
The 46th president had faced mounting pressure from his Democrat allies and legacy media outlets to bow out of the race since June 27, when he delivered a botched debate performance against Trump that was riddled with garbled remarks and where the president lost his train of thought and appeared more subdued than during other recent public events.
The debate reignited concern among conservatives and critics thatBiden’s mental acuity had slipped, while it marked the beginning of a pressure campaign among Democrats to oust Biden.
There were some massive news stories over the weekend:
Debby strengthened into a hurricane overnight and may bring “catastrophic flooding” to Florida.
Kamala Harris earned enough votes to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
The US sent jets and warships to the Middle East as Israel prepares for severe and perhaps imminent Iranian retaliation.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked a plea deal for the accused September 11 plotters.
But I would guess that none of these feel as personally relevant to you (unless you live in Florida) as the financial news of recent days that is causing many to wonder if a recession is imminent:
The Dow closed down more than 600 points on Friday.
The Nasdaq fell 10 percent below its record high on disappointing earnings from Amazon and Intel.
Investors fear that the Federal Reserve made a mistake by keeping interest rates at current levels.
The cacophony of bad news is sparking a global sell-off. Earlier today, Japanese stocks suffered their biggest one-day drop in history. European stocks have fallen more than 2 percent in early trading this morning.
Many have been struggling financially for some time. In a new CNN poll, 39 percent of US adults said they worry they won’t be able to make ends meet. The percentage of past due credit cards is at its highest level since 2012. Young adults are discouraged, and sixty-year-olds are “staring at financial peril.”
How is the Christian faith relevant to times like these?
Humans have four fundamental needs
New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof writes that the Chinese term for “crisis” (weiji) is composed of the characters for “danger” (wei) and for “opportunity” (ji). Accordingly, he notes, “We’re in a period of great danger but also one pregnant with opportunity for a new path—if we can seize it.”
The path we have been on for generations isn’t working. Secularism by definition values only this world and thus measures success by materialistic means. But this is what philosophers call a “category mistake,” akin to asking how much the number 7 weighs or the color of a C scale. In this case, we are using creation as if it were the Creator, valuing the means as the ends.
And this does not work because it cannot work.
Humans have four fundamental needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. None can be met fully by material possessions. No matter what we have, it isn’t enough. There’s always more to own, more people to impress, more races to win.
In a consumption-based economy, we are conditioned to be consumers who choose what we want now over what we want most. In a post-Christian culture, we are conditioned to be existentialists who choose what we want in this world over what we will want in the next.
However, the financial anxiety of these days offers us, in Kristof’s terms, an “opportunity for a new path.”
“He bestowed on us at once every good grace”
St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1797) described God’s love for man:
He gave him a soul, made in his likeness, and endowed with memory, intellect, and will; he gave him a body equipped with the senses; it was for him that he created heaven and earth and such an abundance of things. He made all these things out of love for man, so that all creation might serve man, and man in turn might love God out of gratitude for so many gifts.
But he did not wish to give us only beautiful creatures; the truth is that to win for himself our love, he went so far as to bestow upon us the fullness of himself. The eternal Father went so far as to give us his only Son. When he saw that we were all dead through sin and deprived of his grace, what did he do? Compelled . . . by the superabundance of his love for us, he sent his beloved Son to make reparation for us and to call us back to a sinless life.
By giving us his Son, whom he did not spare precisely so that he might spare us, he bestowed on us at once every good: grace, love, and heaven; for all these goods are certainly inferior to the Son (my emphasis).
The God who “is” love (1 John 4:8) loves us more than any human can. He loved us before he made us. He created our race knowing that we would cost him the life of his Son. He loves us despite sins we do not know we have committed and those we do not yet know we will.
To prove this love, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Billy Graham commented: “We cannot save ourselves; even one sin, the Bible teaches, would be enough to keep us out of heaven. Nor can a Savior who is less than God save us, for only God can forgive sin and make us part of his family forever.”
And this is just what Jesus has done. He would do it all over again, just for you.
“We are of such value to God”
We’ll say more across the week about the transforming relevance of God’s love for us. For today, let’s close with this reflection by St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380):
“We are of such value to God that he came to live among us and to guide us home. He will go to any length to seek us, even to being lifted high upon the cross to draw us back to himself.”
In her view, “We can only respond by loving God for his love.”
Do you agree?
NOTE: You have a choice every night before you turn off the lights: Will you replay the day’s stress or embrace the peace that comes from God’s wisdom? We imagine you’d like to choose the second option more often! This is why we want to send you a unique and powerful new 365-evening devotional book by Janet Denison called Wisdom Matters. Get your copy today.
Today’s top headline news brief from NEWSMAX includes:
* Hurricane Debby hits Florida as heavy rain goes up and down the East Coast.
* Airlines cancel or delay thousands of flights due to severe weather.
* Special guest Michaelah Montgomery steals the show at President Trump’s Atlanta rally.
* Rep. Byron Donalds defends Trump’s NABJ comments from a fired up George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ “This Week.”
* Kamala Harris’ VP announcement is imminent.
Israel on high alert as Iran is set to launch strikes which could take place over multiple days, possibly with cruise and ballistic missiles, along with drones, Iranian leaders have reportedly told Arab diplomats they don’t care if their attacks trigger a war, according to The Wall Street Journal, Hezbollah threatens to potentially attack major centers like Tel Aviv; Chris Mitchell talks about the possibility of Iran attacking during Tisha B’Av, a day when Jews lament the loss of their first and second Temples , concerns that Hezbollah will hit civilian targets, how Israel could strike back at Iran, the mood of the Israeli people, and the role of the Bible and faith in God at this perilous time; “Inviting God back to Tennessee:” state prayer movement, which began with a bipartisan resolution that includes “Jesus Christ is Lord” culminates in Nashville with gathering of Christians, looking for a revival in the state and beyond; Hurricane Debby comes ashore in Florida, bringing heavy rains and potentially catastrophic flooding; and how a Christian couple is working to bring hope to the south side of Chicago, amid all of the gun violence in the city, through their flower shop, called Southside Blooms, which hires at-risk neighborhood youth.
Want more news from a Christian Perspective? Choose to support CBN:
anchor Charles Payne criticized the economic policies enacted by the Biden-Harris administration on Monday as the stock market plummeted at the beginning of trading.
The U.S. stock market had its worst opening since 2021 on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 dropped as much as 3% and 3.4% after a Friday jobs report revealed that the unemployment rate climbed to 4.3%,accordingto NBC News. Payne said President Joe Biden’s administration policies directly resulted in the current global market downfall.
“This is not because of a once-in-a-century element that no one saw coming and had to lock down an entire global economy. This is because of policies that triggered 40-year high inflation that have now taken a massive toll on the economy,” Payne said onFox
News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
Payne also placed blame on the Federal Reserve for its monetary policy decisions taken under the leadership of Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Consumer Price Index is up roughly 20% since Biden took office in January 2021, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)data, with real wages going down 1.9%. Payne criticized the Biden-Harris administration for touting the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which he said is “stoking inflation.”
'It's Nuts!': Fox Business' Charles Payne Unloads on Biden-Harris Admin's Economic Policies As Market Tanks pic.twitter.com/ah6tE4T18U
“The main focus here was all the money that not only did Biden and Harris pump into the economy that continue to gush in. And ironically they brag about things like the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s stoking inflation! They brag about all the money they’re giving the world, to the richest corporations, to build factories here. Well guess what? We gave $8.5 billion to Intel and you know what we got in return? They’re gonna get rid of 15,000 workers. Is that smart? Is that really brilliant? Is that what should really be done with taxpayer money, stoking inflation and losing jobs? It’s nuts!”
“What you’re seeing right now in the stock market is what Americans have been feeling for the past three years. It’s just a manifestation of it right now,” Payne continued.
Economistsagreedin August 2023 that the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act did not deserve credit for bringing down inflation, and that its name instead reflected the politics of the day.The White Houseand the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)saidduring its August 2022 passage that it would combat inflation and lower costs for American families.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign doubled down on the Biden administration’s policies by blaming Republican nominee Donald Trump of bringing the U.S. toward “the brink of recession.”
“Donald Trump failed Americans as president, costing our economy millions of jobs, and bringing us to the brink of recession … We’ve made significant progress, but Vice President Harris knows there’s more work to do to lower costs for families,” Harris campaign spokesperson James Singersaidon Friday.
Payne said the Trump administration oversaw the “shortest recession in history” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic rather than its policies.
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Join us for a compelling conversation with Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and creator of the Ark Encounter. In this exclusive interview, Ham discusses the pressing challenges facing Christians in today’s increasingly secular society.
Key topics include:
The erosion of objective truth in America
Consequences of removing God from schools and homes
Defending faith in a skeptical world
The importance of biblical literacy
Ham, known for his 2014 debate with Bill Nye, shares insights on maintaining strong Christian values amidst cultural opposition. As a leading voice in creationism, he offers a unique perspective on reconciling faith and modern challenges.
Whether you’re a firm believer or simply curious about the intersection of faith and culture, this interview provides thought-provoking commentary on some of the most critical issues facing our society today.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the most influential Christian thinkers of our time as he addresses the struggles and opportunities for people of faith in an age that often seems to reject God.
Like, share, and subscribe for more exclusive content on faith, culture, and contemporary challenges.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s stock market fell by nearly nine percent, while India’s tumbled just under three percent. Taiwan similarly experienced its worst day for 57 years, while crypto makrets have also suffered heavy losses.
There are likely a myriad of reasons behind the downturn, including the possibility of Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies, geopolitical tensions and the need for correction in what some believe is an overheated stock market.
Last week, the Dow Jones also saw significant losses, driven by significant losses in technology stocks. The fall followed a disappointing jobs report that underscored the inherent weakness of the Biden economy.
The falls have triggered fears of an economic recession, a reality that would likely prove a major setback to Kamala Harris’s campaign ahead of November’s all-important presidential election.
While the Biden regime has repeatedly boasted about creating millions of jobs and presiding over a booming economy, most Americans realize the truth is anything but.
Since seizing office in January 2021, Biden has overseen soaring levels of inflation that have depleted the savings of ordinary Americans and made everything more expensive.
The economy remains an issue of critical importance for voters, with recent polling data from Pew Research indicating that 73% of Americans view the economy as a top priority in the run-up to November.
For a long time, there was a lot of denial about the direction that the U.S. economy was heading. The Biden administration and the mainstream media just kept insisting that everything was just fine even though everyone could clearly see that it wasn’t. But now reality is setting in. Last week we got some numbers that Wall Street really didn’t like, and a massive temper tantrum ensued. The panic that we witnessed on Friday was quite breathtaking, and many are concerned that it could bleed over into the new week. Investors are desperate for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but so far the Fed has not moved.
U.S. job growth cooled sharply in July while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest level in nearly three years.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 114,000 jobs in July, missing the 175,000 gain forecast by LSEG economists. The unemployment rate also unexpectedly inched higher to 4.3% against expectations that it would hold steady at 4.1%.
It marked the highest level for the jobless rate since October 2021.
Please keep in mind that the U.S. economy must produce at least 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with population growth.
So even if we did add 114,000 jobs last month, we would still be losing ground.
But the only reason why the official figure showed an addition of 114,000 jobs last month is because the birth/death model added 246,000 jobs to the final number…
Of course, we can’t possibly forget that every jobs number is highly manipulated and rigged, and July was no difference with the Birth/Death model adding a ridiculous 246K “statistical” jobs to the unadjusted print. Which it does not translate apples to apples, one can confidently say that the actual adjusted payrolls number would be far, far smaller had it not been for this ongoing fabrication.
It isn’t difficult to get a positive employment report every month when you are “adjusting” the final number by about a quarter of a million jobs that you just “assume” are being created somehow.
That’s because the rise in unemployment triggered the so-called Sahm Rule, an indicator that is used to provide an early recession signal. The rule stipulates that a recession is likely when the three-month moving average of the jobless rate is at least a half-percentage point higher than the 12-month low.
Over the past three months, the unemployment rate has averaged 4.13%, which is 0.63 percentage points higher than the 3.5% rate recorded in July 2023. The Sahm Rule has successfully predicted every recession since 1970.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell responded to a question about the rule at a news conference Wednesday following the Fed’s decision to keep the key interest rate unchanged. “It’s not like an economic rule where it’s telling you something must happen.” He continued, “what we think we’re seeing is a normalizing labor market and we’re watching carefully to see if it turns out to be more.”
Unfortunately, it appears to be inevitable that the unemployment rate will go even higher because large companies all over America continue to shed workers.
Months after the federal government gave Intel $8.5 billion in grants to help bring back chipmaking to the U.S., the company said it is cutting 15% of its workforce, which translates to around 17,000 jobs.
The tech company announced the job cuts as part of a massive cost-cutting and restructuring plan.
Of course Intel is far from alone.
Businesses from coast to coast have fallen on hard times, and business bankruptcy filings have risen by more than 40 percent during the past 12 months…
Over the past year, business bankruptcy filings are up 40.3 percent, and have now reached a number not seen since the second quarter of 2020, at the peak of lockdowns. American households are following along, with total bankruptcy filings up 16.2 percent in the past year, including 132,710 new filings in the second quarter of 2024 alone.
The last time business bankruptcy filings were this high was during the lockdowns in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
But we don’t have any lockdowns to blame the current wave of bankruptcies on.
What we are witnessing now is really quite scary.
Hordes of businesses are failing, and commercial real estate values have been crashing hard…
Brookfield owned Gas Company Tower in Downtown LA has plummeted over $400M in value
The skyscraper was recently valued at $214.5M
It was appraised at $632M just 3 years ago
This is a commercial real estate apocalypse
Right now, our banks are sitting on gigantic mountains of commercial real estate loans that have gone bad.
For many of those banks, it is just a matter of time before they go belly up.
But don’t just take my word for it. Recently, a number of prominent experts have been warning that a tsunami of bank failures is on the way…
The echoes began in May.
Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Capital Group predicted a regional bank failure “every day or every week.”
Days later, Newmark Chair Howard Lutnick warned, “Every single weekend a regional bank is going to go bye-bye,” and predicted 500 to 1,000 failures in 2025 and 2026 — as did alternative lenders speaking at the same event. In June, PIMCO’s head of global private commercial real estate joined the chorus.
Yes, this is really happening.
A tremendous amount of financial chaos is in our future, and most people are going to be completely blindsided by it.
There is one thing that the Federal Reserve could do to mitigate the damage.
If the Fed started cutting interest rates immediately, that would certainly help.
But so far, the Fed has refused to budge.
We are being told that the Fed “might” give us a rate cut in September.
That isn’t going to do the job.
We need help now, because major problems are already starting to erupt all around us.
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