“Christians have nothing to be smug about; we are not righteous people trying to correct the unrighteous. Just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” — R.C. Sproul
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Daily Archives: August 21, 2024
“We should no more tolerate false doctrine than we would tolerate sin.” — J.C. Ryle
“The greatest threat to biblical Christianity today is not atheism, militant Islam, the sexual revolution, or a hostile public square. The greatest threat to biblical Christianity today is weak, soft, man-centered, sin-affirming, ear tickling, flesh-pleasing, self-help theology.” — Owen Strachan
“Jesus rebuked the Pharisees not because they were overly zealous for orthodoxy but because they invented their own.” — Burk Parsons
Sanctification Explained Simply | Gentle Reformation
What is Sanctification? That’s a $5 theological word for a lot of people. Simply put it’s the Christian’s growth in holiness. (See the excursus at the end of this article for a more theological definition and discussion).
But there’s a view of sanctification that I’ve found immensely helpful, one that my chaplain on the ship helped me understand.
There is a danger in sanctification—a false pride that can creep in. The old enemies of legalism and self-reliance can make the cross fade into a distant memory. This often happens when people see sanctification as a stairway upwards. They imagine that they were saved at a certain point, and as they climb the stairs of holiness, they become increasingly aware of their progress. They feel they’re getting better and better, seemingly ascending into heaven. Their self-perception becomes one of self-improvement.
Can you picture it? Stairs going upward, rising into the clouds, as the cross becomes smaller and smaller beneath them. Self-reliance and pride in their own holiness grow, while thankfulness and reliance on God seem to diminish. In their own eyes, they are sanctified. Sadly, to many around them, their pride and legalism can be seen a mile away.
I am convinced that this is the exact opposite of how the Spirit works to sanctify us. Sanctification isn’t a stairway upwards to higher and higher rungs of holiness. No, sanctification is a downward soul work.
Now imagine a different picture: Stairs descending downward, spiraling deeper through the heart. As the Holy Spirit confronts us with His Word and the situations in our lives, we see how much more we must die to sin. When He strengthens us to put away drunkenness, we rejoice in putting on sobriety. But then, He confronts us with the lust that resides in our hearts. And yet, the Spirit doesn’t leave us alone in that battle. He shows us the beauty of Jesus, and we see our sins for the putridness they are. With grief and hatred, we turn from them and turn unto God. We rejoice even more in the cross because we realize He saved us from ourselves. But the Spirit doesn’t stop. He will not stop. Those obvious sins of the flesh are confronted again and again—idolatry, hatred, contention, outbursts of wrath, heresies, murders, revelries, and the like. Each time, the Spirit shows us just how far from holiness we were by ourselves and how desperately we needed the cross.
This is a dangerous moment in the Christian life. Will the Christian think their renewal is finished? Will they believe they’ve reached the top of the sanctification ladder? Will they rest assured that they’ve climbed the hill and claimed ultimate victory? If so, the cross has become too small. They’ve underestimated the corruption of their hearts.
The Holy Spirit will not call for a ceasefire until our sanctification is fully realized on the other side of glory. Our view of the work of Christ and the radical nature of our sin must increase, not decrease, as we live our Christian life.
The Holy Spirit eventually comes after the respectable sins—those subtle, socially acceptable transgressions. He stirs up in us a hatred for how we are still like the world in our anxiety, discontent, impatience, thanklessness, pride, selfishness, rudeness, lack of self-control, irritability, suspicions, unkindness, judgmentalism, envy, jealousy, gossip, slander, and covetousness. As we go deeper and deeper into our hearts and the patterns of our thinking, we find that there is so much more radical work to be done. We need to confess our sins not less, but more. Our need for the blood of Jesus has not lessened! Our desire for glory increases because the Holy Spirit makes us more and more aware that we are not finished yet. But in this deeper awareness, something remarkable happens. As we look deeper into our need for sanctification, we are forced to look not to ourselves but upward. We see how glorious the finished work of Jesus is and how desperately we need the cross of Christ.
Picture this final image: A downward path leading into the depths of the heart, but with the cross radiating above, growing larger and more glorious as we descend. Progressive sanctification becomes not a drudgery of never-ending war against ourselves, but a grace-filled journey that reveals the depths of God’s love in sending Jesus to die for us, to rise from the dead, and to send His Holy Spirit.
Praise God for the powerful working of His Holy Spirit in your life, Christian. Have you ever felt like you’ve reached the top of the stairway? Do you find yourself less reliant on the cross? Never become dull to the dangers of sin. Stay vigilant. Stay sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He works in your life. Remember, the downward road of sanctification magnifies the glorious sacrifice of our Lord. This downward renewal shows you just how deep and wide the love of Christ Jesus is for you.
A theological excursion on what the Westminster Larger Catechism says about sanctification.
“Sanctification is a work of God’s grace”
Sanctification is fundamentally the work of God. It is not something we accomplish on our own. Rather, it is the gracious work of God in our lives. We do not naturally deserve sanctification, but God, in His lovingkindness, chooses to sanctify us. This process is an expression of His undeserved grace toward us.
“Whereby they whom God hath before the foundation of the world chosen to be holy.”
Sanctification is intended for God’s people—those whom He has chosen from eternity past. This choice is significant, as it highlights a key aspect of sanctification: we are “chosen to be holy.” At its core, sanctification is about holiness, a moral separateness that sets us apart from the common for a royal purpose. Just as Abraham was set apart from all other people, Israel from all other nations, David from all other citizens, and Aaron as a priest, so too are Christians set apart for God’s glory.
In one sense, then, the Christian is already sanctified, having been chosen to be God’s people for His glory. However, while we may understand sanctification in this definitive sense, we often think of it in a temporal, ongoing process. The Larger Catechism addresses this when it says:
“Are in time through the powerful operation of his Spirit.”
As we live our lives within the chronology of time, the Holy Spirit works powerfully within us. From the moment we are called, justified, and adopted, we are infused with grace and enabled to perform good works to God’s glory. The process of sanctification is not static; it is dynamic and ongoing.
But how does the Holy Spirit work to sanctify us over time?
“Applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God.”
The Holy Spirit applies to us the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. Through this application, we receive the remission of sins, redemption, and the cleansing of our souls. Additionally, the Spirit gives us the living hope of resurrection and the justification that has been accomplished through Christ. This sanctifying work touches every part of our being, conforming us to the image of God. As we grow in righteousness and holiness, the old self is gradually put to death, and the new self, reflecting the image of Christ, is put on. This is the active, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying us in both body and soul.
“… Having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin and rise unto newness of life.”
We are not merely saved from wrath and then left to our own devices. The Holy Spirit places within our hearts the seeds of repentance and all other saving graces. These graces are not left dormant; they are actively stirred up, increased, and strengthened by the Spirit. As a result, we grow in our faith in Jesus Christ and our repentance unto life. Over time, we find Jesus increasingly wonderful and our sin increasingly loathsome. The Spirit’s sanctifying work involves making us more holy, often through trials, tribulations, prosperity, and adversity alike.
https://gentlereformation.com/2024/08/21/sanctification-explained-simply/
DAILY WIRE HOST OPENS UP ABOUT HIS PATH TO SALVATION
Daily Wire Host Opens Up About His Path To Salvation | WRETCHED TV Episode 2331
It’s Witness Wednesday! Join us as Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan shares his remarkable story from Jewish upbringing and agnosticism to Christianity. This episode explores the significance of Klavan’s conversion and offers valuable insights on engaging with people from various religious backgrounds.
DAILY WIRE HOST OPENS UP ABOUT HIS PATH TO SALVATION
FAITH VS. ATHEISM: A CANDID CONVERSATION AT GEORGIA TECH
It’s Witness Wednesday at Georgia Tech! Todd engages with Sarah, a former Methodist who’s grappling with serious doubts. Listen in as they dive into a candid conversation about faith, truth, and the existence of God.
Wretched Radio is hosted by Todd Friel. On the show you will hear live witnessing encounters and discussions of tough theological issues and various topics in the Christian community. You might even have a laugh.
Wretched Radio | Air Date: August 21, 2024
FAITH VS. ATHEISM: A CANDID CONVERSATION AT GEORGIA TECH
August 23 – Orion and the Pleiades | VCY
TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Job 8:1-11:20
1 Corinthians 15:1-28
Psalm 38:1-22
Proverbs 21:28-29
Job 8:1 — A second speaker arises and some have questioned how tall he was.
Job 8:6 — Does God respond to the upright? Yes (Proverbs 15:8), but does He respond on our timetable? That is the problem with Bildad’s argument. Because his premise is faulty (if you are upright, God responds when you want Him to), his conclusion is also faulty (because God did not respond when you wanted Him to, you are not upright).
Job 9:2 — The question of the ages, repeated by the Philippian jailor a couple thousand years later (Acts 16:30)! Job realizes God’s superiority to man (Job 9:3-15).
Job 9:16 — Job lays out his problems with God, emphasizing his desire for mercy (Job 10:2). Job is a hurting individual who is struggling with his innocence (Job 10:7).
Job 11:2 — Zophar is frustrated with Job, but sadly he uses God as a weapon (Job 11:5). Today, too many people use God as a tool to force others to do what they want done. Instead of letting God justify Himself, we try to co-opt God into fighting for our agenda.
1 Corinthians 15:1 — Time to get back to the basics! Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again! Yes, this is the truth that saves people from separation from God (1 Corinthians 15:2).
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — Listen to “For I Delivered” by Earl Martin:
1 Corinthians 15:6 — Five hundred people saw a dead man alive and all at the same time! The former skeptic, Josh McDowell, was bothered by this statement:
Are you telling me that no skeptic among those profound Jewish leaders examined those witnesses? Paul’s whole reputation would have been ruined if his assertion were not true.
1 Corinthians 15:20 — Yes, He is Risen!
1 Corinthians 15:22 — Paul repeats his argument from Romans 5:17 – One man brought death, but another Man brought life!
Psalm 38:1 — The Psalmist utters the cry of Job, but for a different cause (Psalm 38:15). Despite the suffering, we, like the Psalmist, will hope in the LORD (Psalm 38:15).
Proverbs 21:28 — Yes, the evil will be punished and the good rewarded, but notice that the word “shall” is used and not “is.”
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.
From Every Sin | VCY
He shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
Lord, save me from my sins. By the name of Jesus I am encouraged thus to pray. Save me from my past sins, that the habit of them may not hold me captive. Save me from my constitutional sins, that I may not be the slave of my own weaknesses. Save me from the sins which are continually under my eye that I may not lose my horror of them. Save me from secret sins; sins unperceived by me from my want of light. Save me from sudden and surprising sins: let me not be carried off my feet by a rush of temptation. Save me, Lord, from every sin. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Thou alone canst do this. I cannot snap my own chains or slay my own enemies. Thou knowest temptation, for Thou wast tempted. Thou knowest sin, for Thou didst bear the weight of it. Thou knowest how to succor me in my hour of conflict; Thou canst save me from sinning and save me when I have sinned. It is promised in Thy very name that Thou wilt do this, and I pray Thee let me this day verify the prophecy. Let me not give way to temper, or pride, or despondency, or any form of evil; but do Thou save me unto holiness of life, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me abundantly.
21 Aug 2024 News Briefing
What’s Really Happening With Monkeypox
The World Health Organization (WHO) acted as expected this week and declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). So, a problem in a small number of African countries that has killed about the same number of people this year as die every four hours from tuberculosis has come to dominate international headlines. This is raising a lot of angst from some circles against the WHO.
Putin Opens Russia As Haven For Westerners Fleeing ‘Destructive Neoliberal Ideas’
Under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, Russia is relaxing temporary residence requirements for foreign citizens wishing to escape “destructive neoliberal ideas…which run counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” state news agency TASS has reported. Under the terms of the decree, foreigners will have the privilege of applying for temporary residence “outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws.”
Harris’ Unrealized Gains Tax Would Obliterate The U.S. Economy
On Tuesday, it was announced that Presidential candidate Kamala Harris would be supporting President Joe Biden’s tax proposals for 2025, which include a 44.6% capital gains rate and a 25% tax on unrealized gains.
Harris Polls “Much Less Rosy” Than Reported, SuperPAC Admits
The founder of the main outside spending group backing Kamala Harris for president says their own internal opinion polling is “much less rosy” than public polls – and has warned Democrats that they face much closer races in key states.
Supreme Court Hits Back At ‘Extreme Gender Ideology,’ Bans Males From Female Sports In Several States
The Supreme Court upheld two lower court injunctions Aug. 16 blocking the Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX antidiscrimination polices that would have allowed male public school students who identify as female to compete in girls’ sports and use their restrooms and locker rooms. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce new Title IX provisions for transgender students.
Democratic Party Platform Takes Pro-Israel Stance Amid Rising Internal Opposition to Jewish State
Biden and … Harris believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Their commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad,” the platform reads. Biden said the anti-Israel protesters outside the convention falsely accusing the Jewish state of genocide “have a point.”
Iran Warns Planned Attack on Israel Unrelated to Gaza Ceasefire Talks, Intent on ‘Punishing the Aggressor’
“Iran’s support for the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and stopping the Zionist regime’s [Israel’s] onslaught against the Palestinian people has no direct connection with Iran’s legitimate right and punishing the aggressor and responding to the aggression,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters
Netanyahu demands swift release of living hostages, control of ‘security assets’
Israel will continue to press for a truce deal that will free as many living hostages as possible while retaining security control over key areas of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed during a meeting with families of captives and fallen soldiers in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
As currency plummets, desperate Lebanese flee economic ruin
Lebanon plunged into darkness amid fuel shortage, as country teeters on brink of economic collapse; inflation at record highs, currency craters and with water shortages looming, many Lebanese flee abroad; fears of war with Israel, which could devastate economy further, also rising
The new leaders of the Free World
It is becoming increasingly clear that the war in Gaza is not only a regional conflict but is tied directly to an effort by extremist regimes to tilt the global balance of power in their favor. To accomplish this grand strategic goal a group of countries—a radical entente,—is working together to expel the U.S. from the Middle East and block Israel from achieving its objective of undoing Iran’s proxy strategy aimed to take over the region.
New US nuclear strategy focuses on Chinese threat
Joe Biden in March quietly approved a highly classified strategic nuclear plan for the United States, marking a significant shift in America’s deterrent strategy by focusing more closely on China’s rapid nuclear expansion, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Yemen’s Houthis planned mass attacks on US warships, Israeli ports
The Houthis in Yemen planned to carry out massive attacks on American warships and Israeli ports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing the Iranian terror proxy group and European officials. The attacks would have come in response to last month’s targeting killing of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Israeli strikes on terror targets in the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.
75-rocket barrage hits northern Israel after IDF strike on Hezbollah arms depot rocks eastern Lebanon
Hezbollah claimed it launched “intense rocket barrages” at two IDF posts on the Golan Heights on Tuesday morning in retaliation for Israeli strikes on weapons warehouses of the terror group in the Bekaa Valley, deep within Lebanese territory, the evening before. Israel Defense Forces reported said about 55 launches were detected crossing into Israel’s Golan Heights on Tuesday morning. No casualties were reported,
US intelligence officials say Iran is behind Trump campaign hack
U.S. intelligence agencies on Monday said that Iran was responsible for hacking into former President Donald Trump’s campaign network. While Iran was suspected to be the source of the recently discovered hack, it was the first time government officials confirmed the regime’s involvement.
Has God supernaturally thwarted Iran & Hezbollah from launching apocalyptic missile attacks against Israel? Or is the attack still coming?
Why hasn’t the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah, its terror proxy army in Lebanon, launched thousands of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and suicide drones at Israel? Yet, so far, the attack has not come. Why not? Palestinians, and Arabs throughout the Epicenter, are baffled that apocalypse-level attacks have not yet come.
British founder of LGBT ‘pride’ group charged with over 30 counts of child sex crimes
A patron of Educate and Celebrate, the now defunct government-funded gender identity group allowed into thousands of schools across the U.K., has been charged with multiple accounts of sex abuse against children. Stephen Ireland, who is also the founder of gay pride in Surrey, is facing more than 30 charges, including rape of a child under 13,
Danny Danon Returns as Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Amid Heightened Challenges
Danny Danon has resumed his role as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, stepping into the position during a time of significant turmoil for the nation. Danon, who previously served as Israel’s UN ambassador from 2015 to 2020, replaces outgoing ambassador Gilad Erdan, becoming the first Israeli diplomat to hold the position twice. Danon emphasized the dire circumstances facing Israel, noting that the country is currently under attack on seven fronts and that 115 Israelis remain in captivity,
Biden says DNC anti-Israel agitators ‘have a point,’ rips Trump as ‘not worthy’ of Oval Office
Biden delivered his highly anticipated address to the Democratic National Convention “Those, those protesters out in the street, they have a point,” Biden told the crowd
Connecticut declares state of emergency after 2 killed and ‘hundreds’ evacuated during flash flooding
The governor of Connecticut declared a state of emergency after historic flooding left two dead and prompted hundreds of evacuations over the weekend, he said in a Monday news conference.
Planned Parenthood Offers Mobile medication-based abortion services on Streets of Chicago During DNC
America’s biggest abortion company is peddling its deadly services at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers (PPGR) announced on social media last week that it has teamed up with the Chicago Abortion Fund and a Windy City-based hot dog stand to carry out medication-based abortion services and vasectomies for free as the Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday and Tuesday.
Christians in Pakistan ‘terrified’ of more violence
Christians in Pakistan are living in fear of more violent attacks a year after a wave of severe anti-Christian persecution.
Church of England dropping the word ‘church’ to be more ‘modern’
The Church of England is increasingly dropping the word “church” in favor of “relevant and modern-sounding” descriptions such as “community,” a new study suggests.
So Hundreds of Thousands of Those “Jobs” Were Completely Fake?
Every month, it is almost always the same story. The government releases a number that indicates that the U.S. economy has been creating plenty of “jobs,” and then later on, that number is dramatically revised lower. But by the time it is revised lower, nobody really cares anymore. The fake numbers that are initially released month after month have given the American people the impression that the economy is performing far better than it actually is.
Silver Trumpets Blown on Temple Mount/Shocking Shroud of Turin Discovery/Did an Earthquake Prevent an Attack on Israel?
Yesterday, I wrote about how law enforcement authorities were bracing for enormous anti-Israel protests, and it is a good thing they were prepared to intervene because on Monday, a group of crazed protesters successfully breached the security perimeter that was supposed to protect the DNC…
EXCLUSIVE: Million Person March Coast to Coast against SOGI announced for Canada
The Canadian government secretly funded ANTIFA and other leftist groups, disguised as “anti-hate” organizations, to counter and disrupt last year’s peaceful protest, following a strategy similar to that used in Germany to silence political dissent.
Haifa readies world’s largest underground hospital
The rows of hospital beds with adjacent oxygen units line the underground parking lot. Four operating rooms, a maternity ward and a dialysis center are among the facilities that Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus has set up three levels down in its parking garage.
How Big Tobacco Engineered Our Food to Addict Children
The cigarette giants, RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris, bought out the food industry, repurposed scientists to create addictive ultra-processed foods, and manipulated the Food Pyramid through corrupt institutions, turning American children’s diets into a dangerous science experiment.
Exposing The New York Times: A Legacy of Antisemitism and Deception
In February 2024, Natasha Frost, a New York Times reporter, triggered a significant breach of privacy and incited widespread harassment against over 600 Australian Jews by leaking their personal information from a support group, highlighting The New York Times’ continued pattern of antisemitic actions and disinformation.
Revisiting the last time Tedros the Terrorist declared Mpox an international health emergency
In May 2022, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared monkeypox, now called mpox, a PHEIC despite the majority of the expert panel advising against it. This decision raised concerns about Tedros’s objectivity and possible external influences.
Pandemics and vaccine agenda: They are programming the public to accept a genocide of global proportions
On Friday, the World Health Organization declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern (“PHEIC” pronounced “fake”) for the second time in two years. It was known that a tabletop exercise in May 2021 had “predicted” a monkeypox outbreak to occur almost to the day when Tedros the Terrorist unilaterally declared Mpox a PHEIC in May 2022. The tabletop exercise “predicted” the death of 270 million people. According to Dr. David Martin, the new variants that will kill will be in the vaccines.
Violent Criminals Will be Released to Make Space For Social Media Thought Criminals
The Labour government is set to release thousands of criminals, including those convicted for violence, in order to make room for prisoners sentenced in connection with rioting, which includes people who made inflammatory posts on social media. Yes, really.
Source: https://www.raptureready.com/2024/08/21/77426/
Headlines – 8/21/2024
IDF recovers bodies of 6 hostages from Gaza, including one hitherto presumed alive
Six hostages’ bodies retrieved from Gaza tunnels, says IDF
‘They could have been saved’: Relatives of returned dead hostages voice deep frustration
Hostage’s mother claims Mossad chief told her deal ‘impossible’ because of politics
Netanyahu demands swift release of living hostages, control of ‘security assets’
Meeting hardline hostage relatives, Netanyahu says ‘not sure there will be a deal’
Netanyahu, accused of ‘abandoning’ hostages, says cease-fire deal may not happen
Report: Netanyahu recently met with Smotrich twice to try and persuade him to support hostage deal
Netanyahu accuses Hamas of being ‘completely obstinate’ in Gaza cease-fire talks
US official says Netanyahu’s ‘maximalist’ remarks not helpful in reaching hostage deal
Hamas says Biden shows ‘blind bias’ toward Israel in cease-fire talks
Blinken urges ‘maximum flexibility’ from Israel and Hamas in hostage-ceasefire talks
After Israel trip, Blinken meets Egypt’s Sissi as he looks to shore up ceasefire deal
Biden says Hamas ‘backing away’ from hostage-ceasefire deal, as Blinken heads to Egypt
Starmer speaks with Netanyahu, discusses urgent need for ‘regional de-escalation’
Revolutionary Guard says wait for Iran’s retaliation against Israel ‘could be long’
Iran says it will not take ‘hasty action’ against Israel for killing of Hamas political leader
IRGC founder to ‘Post’: Iran unable to sustain long-term war with Israel – exclusive
For second straight night, Israel said to launch airstrikes in Lebanon’s Baalbek
Hezbollah fires 115 rockets at Israel after IDF hits weapons depots in east Lebanon
Gallant: Israel’s ‘center of gravity’ gradually moving from Gaza to the northern front
Blinken: US won’t accept a long-term occupation of Gaza
Israel strikes market and school in Gaza, killing at least 20 Palestinians
Twelve killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school, civil defence says
Gaza City footage shows scale of destruction caused by Israeli bombardments
Countries fueling Israel’s Gaza war may be complicit in war crimes, experts warn
Amid troop shortage, IDF begins calling up 15,000 previously released reservists
Israeli diplomat laments ‘institutional support’ Chicago providing to anti-Israel protesters
Chicago Democrats let anti-Israel protesters march, but block pro-Israel Jews during DNC
13 protesters arrested after clashing with police at Gaza ceasefire rally near DNC
Cook County State’s Attorney Preemptively Announces that DNC Protesters Will Not Be Prosecuted
New fencing goes up outside DNC a day after pro-Palestinian protesters breach outer barrier
Democratic National Convention hotels ‘hit with bomb threats and anti-Semitic notes’
Heavy Police and SWAT Response to Gunman Barricaded in Store Near DNC Convention in Chicago
Anti-Israel protesters disrupt Orthodox Jewish group’s DNC side event about domestic antisemitism
Candace Owen’s father in law Lord Farmer distances himself from her antisemitic rant
German cookie company apologizes for forced labor of Jews during Holocaust
Belarusian president claims Ukraine is ‘pushing’ Russia to strike with nuclear weapons
Fierce fighting in Russia as Ukrainian forces attempt to seize more territory
Ukraine Has Destroyed or Damaged All 3 Bridges over Russia’s Seym River, Russian Sources Say
Russia says captured key hub of New York in east Ukraine
Russia Hunts Down Deserters to Backfill Its Massive War Losses
Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat
Report: Venezuela Gets Rich Sending Oil Tankers to U.S. Even After Sham Election
Another Titan Linked to Fraud Trial Missing in Superyacht Disaster
Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down Hunter Biden’s Bid to Dismiss Federal Tax Indictment
Stephen Colbert Mocks DNC Day One: Biden Proved He Can Stay Up Past 8 P.M.
Warnock tells Democratic National Convention that election is choice between promise, peril
Report: DNC Speakers Mention ‘Trump’ 130 More Times than ‘Crime,’ ‘Inflation,’ and ‘Border’ Combined
ABC presidential debate moderator links Trump to KKK in DNC interview
Republican leader in Montgomery County swatted after publicly endorsing Kamala Harris
Grassley, Loudermilk: DHS Must Stop Interfering in Inspector General Investigations
RNC asks Supreme Court to block 41,000 Arizona voters over citizenship proof
Trump attorney was targeted by hackers, sources say
Climbers narrowly escape death after eruption at Mount Dukono, Indonesia
Mudflows impact 497 buildings in Issyk-Kul district, Kyrgyzstan
Waterspout outbreak off the coast of northern Italy and Sardinia
Six people missing and one dead after tornado sinks luxury yacht off Sicily
Sunday’s massive rainfall may have been most in Connecticut history: NWS
Texas Grid Faces Biggest Test of Summer With Extreme Heat
5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near Shikotan, Russia
5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea
Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 23,000ft
Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 20,000ft
Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 19,000ft
Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 15,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 14,000ft
Santa Maria volcano in Guatemala erupts to 14,000ft
Lewotobi volcano in Indonesia erupts to 10,000ft
A North Carolina woman dies after going on a Vodou retreat in Haiti. Her son wants answers.
Accused serial killer dubbed ‘vampire’ and suspected of killing 42 women escapes custody
Sen. Blackburn rolls out resolution condemning ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris
291,000 of migrant children may be unaccounted for under Biden-Harris admin: DHS report
Trump proposes death penalty for human trafficking
Kate Cox, Texas woman denied an abortion, announces she’s pregnant again
Arizona Supreme Court clears way for voters to decide on constitutional right to abortion
Beyond Restoring Roe: Democrats See Moment to ‘Reimagine’ Abortion Rights
Campaigners strongly criticise Scotland’s assisted suicide plans
Mid-Day Snapshot · August 21, 2024
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
THE FOUNDATION
“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” —George Washington (1753)
| ON THIS DAY in 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state upon President Dwight Eisenhower signing an executive order. |
IN TODAY’S DIGEST
- Executive News Summary
- Featured Analysis: It’s Still the Obama Party
- More Analysis
- Best of Right Opinion
- Best of Videos
- Short Cuts
- Memes and Cartoons
EXECUTIVE NEWS SUMMARY
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Politics
- Schumer ignores Jew-haters in his midst: For a guy who says he’ll always “stand up to anti-Semitism,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sure has a funny way of showing it. After all, there he was yesterday, speaking to the faithful at the Democratic National Convention, pointing to a little piece of bling on his lapel and telling the gullible that he’s “wearing this blue square to stand up to anti-Semitism” — all while ignoring the filthy Jew-hating mob outside the convention. As The Washington Free Beacon reports, “Schumer’s comments come as anti-Israel protesters have descended on the DNC, displaying Hezbollah flags and harassing an Orthodox Jewish group that held a convention event on anti-Semitism on Tuesday. The protesters chanted, ‘Brick by brick, wall by wall, Zionism has got to fall,’ disrupting the event organized by the Jewish group Agudath Israel of America.” Why, it’s as if Schumer were trying to paper over this hatred so as not to stir up resentment among his party’s pro-Hamas base.
- Democratic National Convention draws 20 million on first night, surpassing RNC viewership (Deadline)
- Kamala Harris accepts DNC’s ceremonial nomination for president 100 miles away from convention site (NY Post)
- Ex-Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham says he mocked his supporters as “basement dwellers” (NBC News)
- DNC platform endorses radical plan to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants (Daily Wire)
- Satire: Black people turned away in droves as Democrats require photo ID to enter convention (Babylon Bee)
- COVID revisionism: There’s a good argument to be made that the primary reason Donald Trump lost the 2020 election was the COVID pandemic. If it weren’t for COVID, Americans would not have suffered through nearly four abysmal years of a Biden/Harris administration. Democrats know COVID helped get them into the White House, so they look upon the pandemic with nostalgia rather than revulsion. Democrats have been highlighting COVID during their convention as if it was the best part of the Biden/Harris administration. Democrats present the story of the pandemic as Trump’s disaster and Biden/Harris as the nation’s saviors. In doing so, they spin fabrications about both Trump’s comments and actions and Democrat leaders’ responses. Just one example of this is a claim by Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA): “[Trump] told us to inject bleach into our bodies, peddled conspiracy theories across the country.” They spin forced school shutdowns that dragged on for over a year and a half, especially in blue states, and blame Trump for the negative impact this had on kids. The truth is that it was Democrats who kept on insisting on keeping kids out of school and at home. Trump continuously called for the opposite. But Democrats are always on the right side of revisionist history.
- A rift in Big Labor? At the Republican National Convention last month, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien did what no labor boss had ever done: he showed up and gave a speech. Big Labor has long acted as a super PAC for Democrats, and this campaign season is no different, so O’Brien’s willingness to speak at the RNC appears to have him put him at odds with the DNC and fellow union boss, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain. O’Brien was not invited to speak at the DNC. On Tuesday, Fain, who spoke at the DNC the night before wearing a “Trump is a scab” T-shirt endorsing Kamala Harris for president, questioned O’Brien’s rationale for speaking at the RNC: “I mean, if the Republican Party gave me a reason to believe they cared about workers, we would, you know, entertain things like that. But I don’t see any evidence of that.” Fain falsely accused Republicans of voting against “every piece of legislation … that pertains to making things better for working-class people.” O’Brien, for his part, noted that he is “a lifelong Democrat, always will be a lifelong Democrat.” However, unlike Fain, O’Brien did not endorse either candidate because there are a lot of Teamsters who support Donald Trump.
- KY governor yearns for someone to rape a loved one of JD Vance: Andy Beshear is a unique political animal: a twice-elected Democrat governor of a deep-red state. But while he’s carefully cultivated a “sensible centrist” brand, he let the mask slip yesterday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when he expressed his desire that one of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s family members be subjected to a rape — you know, as a means of empathy training. “JD Vance calls pregnancy resulting from rape ‘inconvenient,’” said Beshear. “Inconvenience is traffic. I mean, it is a — make him go through this.” In fairness to Beshear, he clearly said “him,” so perhaps he was hoping Vance would be raped into pregnancy. Because, as the Democrats point out, men can get pregnant. Beshear was apparently referring to a comment Vance made back in 2021 about abortion exceptions for rape and incest. In response, Vance posted on X: “What the hell is this? Why is Andy Beshear wishing that a member of my family would get raped?!? What a disgusting person.” It’s hard to argue with Vance’s assessment.
- ABC News debate moderator ties Trump to KKK: We wish the Left would make up its mind. Is Donald Trump the second coming of Hitler or the second coming of former Democrat Senator Robert Byrd? It would appear to be the latter if we’re to believe ABC News host and upcoming presidential debate moderator Linsey Davis, who on Monday, during an interview with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, suggested a connection between Trump and the Ku Klux Klan due to a planned campaign stop in a particular Michigan town. “As you know,” said Davis to Whitmer, “former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan, tomorrow. Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump.” If Davis were just any Leftmedia hack, we might just shrug our shoulders. But she’ll be co-moderating ABC’s presidential debate in Pennsylvania next month. We wonder: Why didn’t Davis mention that Joe Biden himself spoke in Howell in 2021?
- Another lie: Tim Walz did not use IVF to start family, as he’s repeatedly claimed in attacks against Trump ticket (Daily Wire)
- RFK’s running mate suggests ticket may drop out, join forces with Trump to stop Harris (Fox News)
Economy
- SHOCKER: Jobs numbers adjusted downward by 818,000: There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the after-the-fact downward adjustment of jobs numbers during Democrat presidential administrations. The latest example came late this morning when Joe Biden’s Bureau of Labor Statistics revised downward its jobs-created number for the year through March by a whopping 818,000, including a drop of 115,000 manufacturing jobs. As CNBC reports, job growth so far this year has been 30% lower than first reported. We’ve got to hand it to them, though: This is an audacious example of cooking the books. And, as is the case with all such corrections, for every 10 people who’ve heard about the millions of jobs created under Joe Biden’s swell economy, only a small fraction of them will hear about this, er, correction. Indeed, 818,000 is a HUGE number, the biggest such downward in 15 years. Which would put the last one right smack dab in the middle of the [checks notes] job-killing Obama administration. Imagine that.
- Noncompete ban tossed: U.S. District Judge Ada Brown struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s recent rule banning employers from using noncompete agreements to prevent employees from leaving their jobs to join a rival company. Brown ruled that the FTC had gone beyond its authority in creating the new rule, writing, “The role of an administrative agency is to do as told by Congress, not to do what the agency thinks it should do.” The FTC trotted out its ban back in April. It was understandably popular with workers, offering them more freedom to move between companies. Furthermore, the FTC estimated that the ban would increase employee salaries. Following the introduction of the new rule, a Dallas-based software company, Ryan LLC, sued the FTC, arguing that the rule disincentivized employers from investing in and providing training and skill development for their employees. Judge Brown also ruled that the FTC “lacks statutory authority to retroactively invalidate millions of existing contracts.” The FTC says it will appeal the decision.
- Ford delays new EV plant, cancels electric three-row SUV as it shifts strategy (CNBC)
- Consumers are putting off home improvement projects (Morning Brew)
Culture
- Hate map of leftists: A new group named the New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) bills itself as “a watchdog organization mobilizing Americans to confront intolerance double-standards by establishment institutions, civil rights groups, universities, and socially-conscious brands.” It is a grassroots nonprofit that heralds “real tolerance” as its creed. Taking a page from the infamous Southern Poverty Law Center, NTC also provides a “hate map” on its site. The difference is NTC’s hate map pointedly observes that the methodology it uses to classify an organization or individual for its hate map is that they have “promoted, inspired, or directly engaged in physical violence against those with whom they disagree.” The group adds, “This list was compiled through an extensive review of extremist group publications and materials, and reports by the public, law enforcement, field sources and the news media.” Currently, 192 organizations or individuals are listed on the NTC hate map, including the SPLC.
- Cal State, University of California ban encampments, impose protest rules (EdSource)
- DNC turns women’s restrooms into “all-gender” rooms, offers Islamic prayer mats in prayer room (Christian Post)
- Abortion, trans surgeries on children: Five notable provisions in the Democratic Party platform (Christian Post)
Misc.
- Biden approves nuclear strategy refocusing on China threat (The Guardian)
- DHS loses track of 32,000 migrant kids (Washington Times)
- Emmy nomination to terror-tied Gazan journalist under fire (Washington Free Beacon)
- Ukraine is on the verge of banning Ukrainian Orthodox Church (National Review)
For the Executive Summary archive, click here.
Follow Thomas Gallatin and Jordan Candler on X/Twitter.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
It’s Still the Obama Party
Nate Jackson
Many Americans suspect that Barack Obama has been running a shadow administration for most, if not all, of the last three and a half years. He didn’t trust Joe Biden not to “f*** things up,” so he’s been pulling the strings and making the real decisions while the old puppet shuffled out to be the face of Obama’s third term.
We all saw Obama help Biden off the stage a couple of months ago, even if the “fact-checkers” told us they were just being pals. As it turns out, that walk off the stage was stagecraft. It was the symbolic version of what Obama was really doing behind the scenes — engineering a coup against his former sidekick.
So, when the former president took the Democratic National Convention stage late last night in his adopted hometown of Chicago to deliver a stemwinder, it felt more like he was stealing the whole convention. Yes, Angry Joe flipped on a TV Land rerun Monday night (before heading out on vacation), and yes, Komrade Kamala will accept the nomination Thursday night, but this is Barack Obama’s party.
Maybe Kamala Harris knows that, which is why she skipped last night to hold a rally at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee — which just happens to be the location of the Republican National Convention last month.
Like Biden, Obama didn’t start speaking until after 11 p.m. Eastern, and it was largely because the night was chock-full of every Democrat rising star or turncoat Republican organizers could find. (No one cares what former Representative Adam Kinzinger thinks, though former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham landed a few blows against her old boss, Donald Trump.)
Notably, Barack also followed his wife, Michelle — the woman of color millions of Democrats wanted to pursue the nomination instead of Harris. Mrs. Obama certainly played that race card, too. Railing against Trump for daring to talk about illegal aliens taking black jobs, she asked, “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
Whatever happened to her 2016 admonition that “when they go low, we go high”? It was never true, of course, but someone should play that video for her.
Speaking of going low, Michelle laid out what will become the centerpiece of Democrat and Leftmedia strategy to ensure Harris beats Trump. “It’s his same old con,” she complained of Trump’s campaign plan. “Doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.” As usual, that’s just projection.
I could go after a lot more in Michelle Obama’s remarks, but two other comments bear highlighting. “No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American,” she said. “No one.” This is from the wife of the guy whose broken-record line is about the “right side of history,” as if he does indeed get to define the word American. “We have a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long,” the former first lady also said. “You know what I’m talking about: It’s the contagious power of hope.” She added, “Hope is making a comeback.” Not if Democrats win, it’s not.
Most notable for Michelle might be the two words she never once uttered: “Joe Biden.”
So, back to Barack Obama. He, too, was guilty of projection. “The other side knows it’s easier to play on people’s fears and cynicism,” he said. It’s certainly true that Trump behaves more like a Democrat than he exudes Ronald Reagan’s trademark optimism, but Democrats have been masters of fear and cynicism for decades.
“They will tell you that government is inherently corrupt,” Obama added, as if his administration didn’t sic the IRS on Tea Party groups or run illegal guns to Mexican drug cartels or try to rig the 2016 election with phony allegations of Russian collusion. As if his party didn’t spend Trump’s entire four years siccing the deep state on the president in an attempted coup and as if his party hasn’t rigged the justice system against Trump just for the utterly cynical but great branding of running a “former prosecutor” against a “convicted felon.”
Then there was Obama’s obvious penis joke. Noting Trump’s “weird obsession with crowd sizes,” he looked down at his hands and gestured smaller. The crowd roared with approval at the intended double entendre. But it was just minutes after Michelle Obama had lectured about pettiness being “unpresidential” and in the same sentence as Barack disparaging Trump’s “childish nicknames.” Nothing riles up a crowd like brazen hypocrisy.
As for the guy whose wheelchair he just pushed off the cliff, he said, “History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. I am proud to call him my president but even prouder to call him my friend.”
Julius Ceasar called Brutus a friend, too.
“The torch has been passed,” Obama said, implying that it had been passed from him to Harris, whom he seems to forget has been the vice president for the last three and a half years.
“Don’t boo, vote,” he admonished the crowd at one point. That’s a regular refrain for him, but make no mistake: Now that Democrats have pushed Biden to the ash heap of history, they will do everything in their power to rally their voters (and their “voters”) to deny Trump a second term. Don’t underestimate the power of Obama charisma to motivate their base, the Leftmedia to tilt coverage toward the “inspiring” woman of color, and the backroom ballot counters to make sure tallies are just where they need to be.
Follow Nate Jackson on X/Twitter.
MORE ANALYSIS
- Douglas Andrews: The Not-So-Great Walz of China — Kamala Harris’s pick for vice president has been cultivated by the Communist Chinese. Does anyone care?
- Emmy Griffin: Good News: Higher Ed Is Learning — Colleges and universities are trying new strategies to make their students more productive members of society.
- Thomas Gallatin: School Choice Popularity Expands — Giving parents more freedom for their kids’ education is a winning policy issue for Republicans.
- Jack DeVine: The Big Reveal — What would a Harris administration look like?
- Scarlen Valderaz: The American Diet and Medical System Are Killing Us — Americans nationwide are beginning to make different choices when it comes to food and household items.
- B.B. Bell: GEN Gary Luck, Everything I Ever Wanted to Be — Where does America find such incredible and fearless servants of the people?
- RNC: Kamala Crosses 10 Million Known Illegal Border Crossings — Border Czar Kamala Harris has welcomed criminals into our country with open arms.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- Ben ShapiroKamala Harris’ Authoritarian ‘Joy’
- Byron YorkKamala Harris, Joe Biden, and the Border
- Ian HaworthConservatives Must Break the Cycle of Complaining About the Media
- Betsy McCaugheySen. Schumer and Elite Academia Betray Jewish Students
- Star ParkerThe Nation Needs a Great Reawakening
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.
BEST OF VIDEOS
- Schumer Ignores Anti-Israel Protests While Denouncing Anti-Semitism — The Senate majority leader conveniently avoided the elephant in the room of anti-Israel protests happening just outside the DNC.
- ‘My Brother-in-Law Lives in Howell — He’s Not Some Neo-Nazi’ — Rep. Byron Donalds defended Donald Trump visiting the controversial town of Howell, Michigan, while decrying and disavowing racism and bigotry.
- ‘We Are Very Proud of Bidenomics’ — The Trump campaign drops a savage ad using Kamala Harris’s own words against her.
- Disney’s ‘Snow White’: New Trailer, Same Woke Feminist Disaster — The entertainment giant is still prioritizing its agenda over classic storytelling.
- Foucault: Patron Saint of Child Indoctrination — Logan Lancing and Dr. Jordan Peterson discuss the most cited scholar, Michel Foucault, and how his work paved the way for placing power and perversion at the center of postmodern philosophy.
SHORT CUTS
Non Sequitur
“As you know, former President Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan… Many people are aware that a month ago in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump.” —ABC News’s Linsey Davis
Non Compos Mentis
“JD Vance calls pregnancy resulting from rape ‘inconvenient.’ … I mean, it is a — make him go through this.” —Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
Braying Jenny
“JD Vance likes to talk about how he’s from Ohio, but as soon as he could, he ran away to Yale and Silicon Valley, cozying up with billionaires while trashing our communities.” —Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
The BIG Lies
“When folks marched with tiki torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, and literally chanted, ‘Jews will not replace us,’ what did Donald Trump do? … He said what? ‘There were good people on both sides.’” —Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
“Donald Trump said, and I quote, ‘There were very fine people on both sides.’ My God. That’s what he said. That is what he said and what he meant.” —Joe Biden
“Trump when in Europe would not go to the [service members’] gravesites. … He called them ‘suckers and losers.’” —Joe Biden
“[Trump’s] promising a bloodbath if he loses, in his words. And that he’ll be a dictator on Day One, in his own words.” —Joe Biden
“During the pandemic, Kamala and I helped states and cities get their schools back open.” —Joe Biden
“There are fewer border crossings today than when Donald Trump left office.” —Joe Biden
“[This] administration … has less crossings at the southern border on a daily basis than were happening at the end of the Trump administration.” —Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Delusions of Grandeur
“We’ve gone from economic crisis to the strongest economy in the world.” —Joe Biden
“Kamala and Tim will continue to take on corporate greed and bring down cost of food.” —Joe Biden
“Kamala has been offering the American people enlightened proposals and visionary leadership.” —Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
“You want to talk about inflation? Inflation went up in every country after COVID, but we brought inflation down in this country.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
“It turns out, [Joe Biden’s] really good at being president of the United States.” —Pete Buttigieg (“Biden is SO GOOD, in fact, that Democrats booted him off the ticket in the most humiliating way possible.” —RNC)
Dumb & Dumber
“Violent crime has dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years. And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office — instead of a convicted felon.” —Joe Biden
“Protecting the First Amendment right. That’s what we’ve done. We’ve done that. Here’s what the failure is: an extreme Republican Party that doesn’t believe in democracy, an extreme Republican Party that attacked this country, an extreme Republican Party with Gov. Abbott attacking the city of Chicago. That’s what’s extreme. That’s what the failure is.” —Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
Belly Laugh of the Day
“Part of the reason why we ran a little late is because every single person got rounds of applause for what they were saying.” —DNC Chair Jaime Harrison
And Last…
“Biden is known in his career as being one of the best eulogy givers at funerals. And now they’re making him come and give his own career eulogy.” —Republican strategist Scott Jennings
MEMES & CARTOONS
For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.
For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive.
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
BREAKING: Biden and Harris Were Cooking the Books the Whole Time! 1 Million Jobs VANISH in Downward Revision – Trump Responds to Fraudulent Jobs Numbers (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were cooking the books the whole time and lying to the American people.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will downward revise jobs AGAIN on Wednesday by up to 1 MILLION!
According to Bloomberg, payrolls growth between April 2023 to March 2024 was up to 1 million weaker than previously reported.
source: Bloomberg
Bloomberg reported:
US job growth in the year through March was likely far less robust than initially estimated, which risks fueling concerns that the Federal Reserve is falling further behind the curve to lower interest rates.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. economists expect the government’s preliminary benchmark revisions on Wednesday to show payrolls growth in the year through March was at least 600,000 weaker than currently estimated — about 50,000 a month.
While JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasters see a decline of about 360,000, Goldman Sachs indicates it could be as large as a million.
There are a number of caveats in the preliminary figure, but a downward revision to employment of more than 501,000 would be the largest in 15 years and suggest the labor market has been cooling for longer — and perhaps more so — than originally thought. The final numbers are due early next year.
Such figures also have the potential of shaping the tone of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at week’s end in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Investors are trying to gain insight as to when and how much the central bank will start lowering interest rates as inflation and the job market cool.
President Trump responded to the new report that the jobs numbers under Biden and Harris are fraudulent.
“There has been a report that the jobs numbers are fraudulent,” Trump said. “That’s a terrible insult to our economy.”
WATCH:
Not only are the jobs numbers fraudulent, all jobs recovered post-Covid under Biden-Harris went to foreign-born workers – including illegal aliens.
Per the Center for Immigration Studies: All employment growth has gone to the foreign-born. 183,000 fewer U.S.-born Americans are working than in 2019, before Covid. Yet, the number of immigrants (legal and illegal) working is up 2.9 million over 2019.
Kamalanomics: Screw Americans at all costs then lie about it with fraudulent jobs reports.
The post BREAKING: Biden and Harris Were Cooking the Books the Whole Time! 1 Million Jobs VANISH in Downward Revision – Trump Responds to Fraudulent Jobs Numbers (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
So Hundreds Of Thousands Of Those “Jobs” Were Completely Fake? | The Economic Collapse
Every month, it is almost always the same story. The government releases a number that indicates that the U.S. economy has been creating plenty of “jobs”, and then later on that number is dramatically revised lower. But by the time it is revised lower, nobody really cares anymore. The fake numbers that are initially released month after month have given the American people the impression that the economy is performing far better than it actually is. Now we are about to get another major revision to the employment numbers which only happens once per year…
Once a year, the BLS benchmarks the March payrolls level to a more accurate but less timely data source called the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which is based on state unemployment insurance tax records and covers nearly all US jobs. The release of the latest QCEW report in June already hinted at weaker payroll gains last year.
On Wednesday, everyone is expecting that we will be told that hundreds of thousands of fake “jobs” that were originally reported never actually existed at all…
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. economists expect the government’s preliminary benchmark revisions on Wednesday to show payrolls growth in the year through March was at least 600,000 weaker than currently estimated — about 50,000 a month.
While JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasters see a decline of about 360,000, Goldman Sachs indicates it could be as large as a million.
Why don’t they just try to give us an accurate number in the first place?
By now, everybody pretty much realizes that the initial monthly employment numbers are usually grossly overstated.
So why not just tell us the truth?
Of course telling us the truth would destroy the carefully crafted illusions that they have worked so hard to create.
Even though large corporations are conducting mass layoffs all over the nation, we are supposed to believe that everything is just fine.
Unfortunately, we have reached a point where even the official government numbers are starting to show signs of trouble. It takes about 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with population growth, and the initial number that we were given for last month was well below that level…
Employers added 114,000 jobs last month, which was far below the Dow Jones estimate of 185,000.
The unemployment rate also edged higher to 4.3 percent – the highest level since October 2021.
It should be obvious to everyone that more Americans are unemployed these days.
In fact, most of you probably know someone personally that is looking for a new job right now.
According to a survey that was recently conducted by the New York Federal Reserve, an all-time record high 28.4 percent of all U.S. adults are currently looking for work…
The New York Federal Reserve’s latest poll of consumers found 28.4% of respondents were looking for a job — the highest reading since March 2014 and up from 19.4% a year ago. That includes both individuals already out of a job and ones currently employed but seeking new roles.
The readings, from the New York Fed’s thrice-annual Survey of Consumer Expectations Labor Market Survey, add to evidence that the U.S. economic outlook is worsening, even as some economists dial back their odds of a recession.
A 9 percent increase in one year is absolutely terrible.
Why aren’t more people talking about this?
We are definitely moving in the wrong direction very rapidly, and many are concerned that this could have troubling implications for the financial markets. If the employment revision that we get on Wednesday is large enough, it could potentially spark another round of selling on Wall Street…
While the stock market has now recovered, a data revision showing a large decline could reignite fears that the economy is headed for a downturn.
‘Markets, having recently experienced a growth scare that led to concerns that the Fed is behind the curve, will be monitoring Wednesday’s release of the benchmark revision to see if the market’s initial reaction was, in fact, correct,’ Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, told Bloomberg.
It is getting very difficult for even the most blind optimists to deny where things are heading.
The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has been falling for 29 months in a row.
You would think that just about everyone would be getting the message by now.
At the same time that economic activity is slowing down, most Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet due to our seemingly endless cost of living crisis.
According to a brand new survey that was just released, 82 percent of Americans believe that “their money does not go as far as it used to”…
A growing number of Americans are pumping the brakes on spending as they continue to face elevated prices for everyday necessities like food, rent and auto insurance.
New findings published by Empower show that 62% of Americans feel their purchasing power and income in relation to prices is decreasing due to persistent inflation. Another 82% said their money does not go as far as it used to. Additionally, 79% of respondents noted that many household goods like cereal and chips are dwindling in terms of serving sizes.
Our standard of living has been going down.
Everyone can see that.
When our leaders started creating, borrowing and spending money like crazy during the pandemic, I relentlessly warned my readers that this would create tremendous inflation, and that is precisely what happened.
Now I am warning that a truly terrifying economic horror show is in front of us.
The people that are running the system literally do not know what they are doing, and now all of us will get to suffer the very bitter consequences of their very foolish decisions.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
The post So Hundreds Of Thousands Of Those “Jobs” Were Completely Fake? appeared first on The Economic Collapse.
11 Examples That Show That We Are Truly Living In Very Strange Days | End Of The American Dream
Every day, we are literally being bombarded by news stories that indicate that the world that we live in is going completely nuts. We are constantly having to deal with unprecedented political chaos, economic turmoil, escalating global conflicts, frightening pestilences and historic natural disasters. I find myself using the word “chaos” a lot these days, because that is what we are witnessing all around us. Yesterday, I shared some really crazy things that have taken place within just the past week, and today I have an even longer list of really crazy things to share with you. The following are 11 examples that show that we are truly living in very strange days…
#1 It is being reported that an unidentified celestial object that is more than 27,000 times larger than Earth is traveling through our galaxy at approximately a million miles per hour…
A “UNIQUE” celestial object has been caught hurtling through space at one million miles per hour – so fast it may leave the galaxy, according to Nasa.
The colossal object – roughly 27,306 times the size of Earth – was spotted by citizen scientists who were analysing data from Nasa’s WISE telescope.
So far, scientists have not been able to tell us what this object is or where it originated.
But everyone agrees that this is a really big deal.
The “citizen scientist” that first spotted this object was amazed that nobody had discovered it previously…
“I can’t describe the level of excitement,” said Martin Kabatnik, a citizen scientist from Nuremberg, Germany.
“When I first saw how fast it was moving, I was convinced it must have been reported already.”
#2 An extremely rare “doomsday fish” was just discovered near the coast of southern California, and there is a lot of speculation about what this could potentially mean…
Kayakers and snorkelers exploring the Southern California coast spotted an extremely rare oarfish, nicknamed a “doomsday fish” since they are seen in some parts of the world as harbingers of imminent disasters. It’s one of less than two dozen confirmed sightings of an oarfish in the state in over 120 years, according to UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The oarfish is a “strikingly large, odd-looking fish” with a long, silvery, ribbon-shaped body, according to the Ocean Conservatory. The fish can grow to more than 30 feet long, and have large eyes and “foreboding” red spines in a crown-like cluster. Typically, these fish are deep-sea dwellers and thrive in waters that are the least explored by scientists.
#3 Did you know that mastodons once roamed the plains of Iowa? I didn’t either, but apparently they did…
Archeologists in Iowa believe they have unearthed an ancient mastodon skull dating back to when the first humans were roaming the Earth.
Discovered in the southern part of the state, the find is Iowa’s first well-preserved mastodon, according to the University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist. Scientists and local community members recently undertook a 12-day excavation at the site, which yielded “several mastodon bones,” primarily from the skull.
#4 According to Not The Bee, an absolutely gigantic statue of a Hindu deity has just been unveiled in Houston, Texas…
This can’t be good.
A Hindu temple just unveiled a statue of their demonic Lord Hanuman … in Texas.
It is being reported that this statue is 90 feet tall.
So if you are 6 feet all, this statue is 15 times taller than you.
Apparently it is now the tallest statue of this particular Hindu deity in all of North America…
According to the temple’s website, the statue is now the largest image of Lord Hanuman the monkey god in North America.
Lord Hanuman is said to be a loyal servant of the god Rama, and one of literally millions of gods recognized in Hinduism.
#5 It is being reported that the Secret Service is investigating an allegation that during a recent Trump campaign event in North Carolina a female agent actually abandoned her post in order to breastfeed her baby…
The Secret Service is investigating a report that a female agent reportedly left her post at a Trump campaign event in North Carolina to go breastfeed.
The Secret Service acknowledged the allegations and issued a statement to Fox News Digital stating that an investigation was underway.
“All employees of the U.S. Secret Service are held to the highest standards. While there was no impact to the North Carolina event, the specifics of this incident are being examined. Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
#6 In Illinois, a massive outbreak of oak leaf itch mites is “creating plague-like conditions all over the state”…
Illinois saw what was described as a “biblical” arrival of cicadas earlier this year. In early to mid-May, millions of periodical cicadas began to emerge from the soil in northern Illinois for the first time in 17 years, creating plague-like conditions all over the state.
Although the winged critters have stopped wreaking havoc on the city’s streets, there’s a sting in the tail.
Speaking to NBC, cicada expert Dr Gene Kritsky said: “A particular mite known as the ‘oak leaf itch mite’ can be seen in vast quantities following a cicada emergence.”
#7 A video that was posted by an unnamed farmer on social media is creating quite a stir. He says that aluminum levels in his soil are far higher than usual, and he claims that his heirloom seed crops are “failing”…
American Farmer says he’s tested his soil and it has 5x the amount of aluminum it used to have. The GMO seeds grow fine, all his heirloom seed crops are all the sudden failing
For those that have watched his video, do you believe him?
It will certainly be interesting to see if any other farmers come forward with similar accounts.
#8 As if we didn’t have enough deadly diseases to be watching for, now the CDC is warning that “parvovirus B19” is something that parents in the U.S. should be concerned about…
A respiratory disease known as parvovirus B19 is on the rise in the U.S. among all age groups, according to a recent advisory from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC issued the health alert on Aug. 13 after European public health authorities reported “unusually” high numbers of cases in 14 countries during the first quarter of 2024, the advisory said.
The virus typically causes a blotchy rash on the cheeks that appears as if someone has slapped them — hence its nickname, “slapped cheek disease.”
#9 Do the Chinese know something that we don’t? It is being reported that they have been conducting widespread “emergency infection disease response drills”…
In recent months, local health authorities have conducted emergency infection disease response drills across China.
On Aug. 15, Dingxi City in Gansu Province, a district in Yancheng City in Jiangsu Province, and Lingchuan County in Shanxi Province carried out emergency drills for the outbreak of “pneumonia of unknown cause,” according to an official notice.
A staff member of the Gansu provincial government’s health hotline told the media on Aug. 15 that the national-level authorities had ordered officials in 10 provinces to conduct emergent infectious disease drills by the end of August.
#10 During an interview on Sunday, the president of Belarus claimed that Ukraine invaded Russian territory because they are trying to get the Russians to use nuclear weapons…
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko claimed in an interview posted on Sunday that Ukraine’s invasion of Russia is an attempt to “push” Moscow to hit it with nuclear weapons.
“Such escalation on the part of Ukraine is an attempt to push Russia to asymmetric actions. Let’s say to use nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview with local outlet Rossiya, according to a translation by BelTA. “I know for sure that Ukraine would be very happy if Russia or we used tactical nuclear weapons there. They will applaud it.”
Let us hope that the Russians keep their cool, because once nuclear weapons are used all of our lives will dramatically change.
#11 Meanwhile, the Russians continue to take more territory in eastern Ukraine. In fact, we are being told that the Russians just captured the city of New York…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again admitted the situation in Ukraine’s east is “difficult” amid a continuing Russian troop advance in the Donetsk region. He said this Tuesday as Moscow announced the capture of the key town of New York, or Niu-York.
The defense ministry hailed the fresh capture of “one of the largest settlements of the Toretsk agglomeration,” calling it a “strategically important logistics hub.” It sits just south of the large industrial town of Toretsk, which has long been eyed by Moscow as a prime strategic goal in the region.
I am entirely convinced that this conflict in Ukraine is not going to end well.
Of course the same thing could be said about so many things that are going on in our world today.
Global events appear to be building up to a grand crescendo, and the remainder of this year promises to be quite chaotic.
So if you think that things are strange now, just hold on tight, because I have a feeling that they are about to get a whole lot stranger.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
The post 11 Examples That Show That We Are Truly Living In Very Strange Days appeared first on End Of The American Dream.
On the Chicago DNC | CultureWatch
Shocking scenes are coming out of Chicago right now:
While I watched a fair amount of the RNC in Milwaukee last month, I cannot bring myself to watch too much of the DNC now being held in Chicago. For those not in the know, the acronyms refer to the Republican National Convention and the Demonic National Convention – also known as the Democratic National Convention.
But I have seen enough to greatly fear for my country if the Dems should win on November 5. And there is plenty that can be said already, with two more days of it to go. Biden of course was put out to pasture last night. And as I am typing the Obamas are speaking. I have my volume quite low at the moment.
Some general things can be said about their convention thus far. One thing so very telling is the fact that the organisers have put up walls everywhere and there is very heavy security there. They are even demanding that everyone seeking to enter provides legit ID.
Pity that the Democrats refuse to do the same for America where it really matters – at the southern border. Recall how they keep telling us that demanding IDs is racist. Now all of a sudden it is a very real necessity, without a touch of racism! And walls are now a great thing!
And of course businesses are boarded up in Chicago as we speak. But the Dems have long been soft on crime there. Even with some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, this Democratic town had 23 shootings over the weekend – 5 of them fatal.
Indeed, there is a10% rise in violent crime there, while at the same time there are now 1700 less cops in Chicago. What the Dem have done in Chicago, Kamala and Co want to do for America. And she and Biden have been doing it for three and a half years now.
We have drug cartels bringing in tons of fentanyl through the southern border. This is now the biggest killer of 18-24-year-olds in America. But open and porous borders – the hallmark of Border Czar Kamala – is not just allowing huge amounts of deadly and illicit drugs to pour in, but countless illegals, child traffickers, terrorists and violent criminals.
There is of course a large and growing anti-Israel bloc within the DemocratParty, and there are thousands of protesters outside the convention supporting Hamas, terrorism and ugly antisemitism being allowed to march – but pro-Israel marchers were not allowed.
And what is missing at the convention is equally noteworthy. I can’t seem to see many American flags there. There has been no mention of the migrant crime epidemic in the US. There is no mention of the economic disaster America is facing. Just one fact: Inflation is up 20% under Biden and Harris – 19.4% to be precise over the past 3 ½ years. The cost of living crisis is a direct result of Biden and Harris.
They even had an apostate priest there praying for peace and unity! Cardinal Blase Cupich gave the invocation – but not a word about Catholic moral teaching. He did not even mention the name of Jesus! Yet he is the Pope’s Cardinal in America.
It also seemed that the number one topic so far at the convention was this: Trump. How many times was his name mentioned so far? That is all they have to talk about. They sure do not have any Biden/Harris accomplishments that they can talk about.
And one last point: ‘joy’ and ‘vibes’ are not what will save America and make it great again. Just sayin’.
The abortion sacrament
One of the main ways we see the demonic on full display in Chicago is the constantly heard mantras on the right to kill babies. How many speakers already have we heard worshiping at this diabolical altar? As one social media friend, Michele Hriscko Cook put it: “They couldn’t go more than a few minutes without bringing up their sacrament of child sacrifice.”
And the abortion giant Planned Parenthood is offering free abortions and vasectomies at the DNC. I kid you not. Already dozens have happened there. As prolifer Lila Rose said on the first day: “Ten helpless babies have been sacrificed so far at the DNC death cult.”
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has left both Islam and atheism, and I now a Christian, said this about the Democrats and abortion:
Freedom of choice, so called, is one of her campaign’s core freedoms. There is something distinctly tortured about the way she delineates these freedoms. The child has no right to live, but the mother has a right “to make decisions about her own body.” This right presumably entails making decisions about the child’s body. Restricting the right to bear arms, like the right to life, is rephrased as a kind of reverse freedom: in her speeches, the state restricting the ownership of firearms is “the freedom to be safe from gun violence.” (This is of course the same state that fails to protect citizens from a variety of lawless acts like robberies and illegal border crossing.) Now, one may hold a variety of positions on the citizenry’s freedom to bear arms—but it is a freedom! Presumably, Saudi Arabia’s (recently overturned) female driving ban gave women the “freedom to be safe from car accidents.”
She continues:
Kamala Harris has been busier distancing herself from her earlier, left-wing positions than articulating her new ones. But on one issue she has been consistent: abortion. We already know why the far left in the Democratic party talk about abortion so much. The conventional answer is that it’s their most popular issue.
Except that the Democrats’ stance on abortion does not mirror the views of the American public. Abortion is a very divisive issue on which intelligent people of good will vociferously disagree. However, only a tiny fragment of the population, mostly housed in the identity politics sections of academia, think that abortions should be legal up to or even past birth. Yes—past birth. And yet, these post-birth abortions have been legalized by several blue states, including, recently, in Tim Walz’s Minnesota. (Worse still, they have backing from medical journals corrupted by the woke, which have in turn been decried even by moderate liberal media outlets.) Look carefully at the changes Walz made to this statute. You see, late-term abortions are risky processes because the baby is typically viable. Abortionists usually manage to sever the child’s limbs and crush its skull before it emerges from the womb, but not always. Prior to Walz’s intervention, whenever babies were born alive, the doctor was then required to switch goals from killing the baby to helping it live.
Any sensible person will be shocked at the logic here. Surely birth did not somehow turn “a mass of cells” into a person. If we are required to nurture and protect a newborn, surely the same is required for a baby in a different location. Walz-style extremists have caught up with the logic of this—but they’ve made the inference in the other direction. If you have a right to kill a baby at nine months into the pregnancy, surely a few seconds later you still have the right to kill a baby. Hence the deletion in Minnesota of the requirement to “preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.”
Her closing words are these:
The Democrats used to be apologetic and embarrassed about abortion. Remember “safe, legal, and rare?” What happened to “rare?” Democrats have made this election a referendum on the moral character of this country. They ask voters to reject Trump because of his personal moral and ethical flaws. If the American people—despite agreeing with Trump on most policy issues—side with the empty pant-suit DEI hire and her Midwestern Moloch of a sidekick then we’re even further down the road to hell than many of us thought. https://www.restorationbulletin.com/p/the-abortion-election
Spiritual takeaway
The pro-death religion being seen so clearly at the DNC should be enough to convince any sensible person, any moral person, and certainly any Chrisian, what a demonised group of people these really are. Cheering, celebrating and promoting the murder of millions of children comes straight out of the pits of hell. That and the push for all things homosexual and transgender is also something we could be discussing here.
Perhaps the most relevant biblical passage on all the convention is Exodus 23:2. It says this: “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” That pretty well sums up what we are seeing in Chicago right now. All these shouting and excited delegates cheering on every form of evil is really so shocking to behold.
What Billy Graham once said is worth repeating here: “If God doesn’t soon bring judgment upon America, He’ll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!” We need to pray for the Democrats and for America. We can plead with God for his mercy and grace.
But if he brings judgment instead, it will be well-deserved.
Obvious afterword
The usual zombie trolls will not get this, so I am not trying to reach them here. But for those who still have a brain and a heart, here are a few words which should be all rather evident: To highlight the very obvious evils enshrined in the Democrat Party and in Baby Hating Kamala and Tampon Tim Walz is not to say the alternative is all sweetness and light.
No, Trump and the Republicans are not perfect and they will NOT usher in the Kingdom. But on so many key issues, the difference between the two parties is still the difference between night and day. As I have said so often before, if you are waiting for a perfect candidate or a perfect party, they will never arrive – not in this fallen world.
So in this sense we ARE left with choosing between the lesser of two evils, end of story. But I have spelled this out in more detail elsewhere, as in this piece: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2024/07/08/on-choosing-between-evils/
Final thought
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his running mate Nicole Shanahan are of course former Democrats. But the Dems wanted nothing to do with them, so they are now running as Independents. But there is now talk that they might drop out of the Presidential race and support Trump, especially if he can have a role in his administration. They are quite concerned about the risk of a Kamala win. An interesting development which could well swing the election to the Republicans. We will see how that pans out.
[1767 words]
The post On the Chicago DNC appeared first on CultureWatch.
BREAKING: 818,000 Jobs That Joe and Kamala Claimed to Have Created Aren’t Actually There! Largest Downward Revision to Employment in 15 Years | The Gateway Pundit
The 818,000 jobs that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden claimed to have “created” over the last year aren’t actually there.
The nonfarm payroll growth was revised down, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday.
This is the largest downward revision in 15 years.
CNBC reported:
The U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the 12-month period through March 2024, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
As part of its preliminary annual benchmark revisions to the nonfarm payroll numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the actual job growth was nearly 30% less than the initially reported 2.9 million from April 2023 through March of this year.
The revision to the total payrolls level of -0.5% is the largest since 2009. The numbers are routinely revised each month, but the BLS does a broader revision each year when it gets the results of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
CNBC’s Rick Santelli reacted to the news:
CNBC’s Steve Liesman said you’d have to go back to 2009 to see a bigger revision back when the economy was in freefall.
The post BREAKING: 818,000 Jobs That Joe and Kamala Claimed to Have Created Aren’t Actually There! Largest Downward Revision to Employment in 15 Years appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
His TRUE Beliefs Just Got Exposed…
How Biden and Harris raised oil and gas prices, and caused inflation | WINTERY KNIGHT
Before we look at the Biden-Harris administration’s actions on oil and gas, let’s review how prices are set in a free market economy. When supply goes down and demand stays the same, then prices rise, because more people want to buy a resource that has become more scare, so sellers can raise the price. Now, has the Biden-Harris administration taken action to reduce the supply of oil and gas?
Well, consider what he did right after taking office in January 2021.
CNBC explains:
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a series of executive orders that prioritize climate change across all levels of government and put the U.S. on track to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.
Biden’s orders direct the secretary of the Interior Department to halt new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters, and begin a thorough review of existing permits for fossil fuel development.
[…]On his first day in office last week, Biden had the United States re-enter the Paris accord. He also cancelled the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Keystone XL pipeline would have allowed us to purchase oil and gas from Canada, which is much better than buying it from Russia, the Middle East, etc. Biden loves Russia. One might even say that he colludes with Russia to help them invade Ukraine – by helping them build their military. Biden gave approval for Russia to construct the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, so that they could sell all their oil and gas to European countries.
Nord Stream 2
That’s what Democrat voters voted for in 2020: a pipeline for Russia, so they could sell oil and gas and invade Ukraine.
European countries are desperate for oil and gas, after having exchanged their conventional energy sources for green energy sources. Green energy sources produce low amounts of energy, and are inconsistent, while costing more than conventional energy sources. Since the green plan didn’t work out, the Europeans have to enrich Russia now. They make a show of being made at Russia, but they (like Biden) aren’t willing to develop their own energy.
How did American energy producers respond to having their lease applications denied, and their existing leases and pipelines canceled?
Biden’s moratorium on oil and gas leases won’t end fossil fuel extraction since industry leaders currently hold undeveloped leases. Drilling on public lands generates billions of dollars in revenue but comprises roughly a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil and gas producers have strongly opposed Biden’s move and are expected to challenge the order in court.
“Penalizing the oil and gas industry kills good-paying American jobs, hurts our already struggling economy, makes our country more reliant on foreign energy sources, and impacts those who rely on affordable and reliable energy,” Anne Bradbury, president of the American Exploration and Production Council, said in a statement.
Environmental groups, who have long pushed for the changes sought by Biden, praised the orders.
Has Biden learned his lesson from the huge spike in gas prices? Is he concerned about the widespread inflation that is caused by the spike in energy prices?
Nope!
The Federalist notes:
CBS News revealed the Biden administration canceled more oil and gas leases across the country this week as soaring gas prices reached new heights Wednesday.
The Department of Interior canceled plans to drill in more than 1 million acres in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, arguing “lack of industry interest,” on top of canceling a pair of leases in the Gulf of Mexico over “conflicting court rulings.”
[…]The administration’s relentless animosity towards fossil fuels, showcased in its repeated cancelation of oil and gas projects, has chilled investment in the capital- and labor-intensive industry. This keeps production down despite rising demand at home and turmoil in markets abroad.
[…]In Alaska, upon inauguration Biden canceled leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is forecast to hold between 4 to 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil. He closed another 7 million acres from the state’s National Petroleum Reserve off from development last month.
What happens when investors see that the Biden administration is taxing, regulating and blocking oil and gas development? They say “we would do better investing our money elsewhere”. Oil and gas producers get the message very quickly, and they stop creating new energy sources. That’s how supply dries up. And when supply is reduced, prices go up.
Biden tried to fix the rising prices by getting Russia and the Middle East to drill more, and by stealing the strategic oil reserve, which is primarily designed for use during a crisis. But Biden considers his falling poll numbers a crisis. And begging our enemies to produce the oil that we should be producing seems right to him.
The president has turned to the nation’s emergency petroleum reserves for desperate political capital ahead of the November midterms… With no plans announced to restock the emergency supplies, Biden ordered the self-proclaimed “unprecedented” release of 1 million barrels of oil a day onto the market for the next six months beginning Sunday.
The new Democrat strategy is actually the old Democrat strategy used by Democrat President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s: to impose price controls on oil and gas:
Gas Lines
That led to massive gas lines in the 1970s, because suppliers shut down when they realized they couldn’t make enough money to stay in business. There was no money to be made in producing energy, so energy companies just slowed down or stopped producing. Would you go to work if the government took 80% of what you earned?
People in America would line up around the block for gas, and they could only get a certain limited amount. Gas was only sold during certain hours of the day.
Gas Lines
I’m sure that the young people won’t have heard about the results of setting price controls, but it’s in the first few chapters of Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics”. But if their teachers have no ability in economics, then how would the student learn it? They can’t.
Democrats Kick Off Night 2 of the DNC | Faith Nation -August 20, 2024
Democrats Kick Off Night 2 of the DNC & the US Urges Hamas to Accept a Ceasefire. Want more news from a Christian Perspective? Choose to support CBN: https://go.cbn.com/ugWBn CBN News. Because Truth Matters™
Source: Democrats Kick Off Night 2 of the DNC | Faith Nation -August 20, 2024
Can The ‘Kamala Koup’ Re-Invent The Least Popular VP In Recent Memory?
Because Biden’s been disappeared, replaced by a Kamala Harris bathed by the media to appear as newly-fallen snow. Will it work? Also today, did Zelensky give Putin more than a black eye with his incursion into Russian territory? Finally…Zelensky did Nordstream? That’s what the WSJ claims…
Truth2Freedom's Blog 