“The church does not determine what the bible teaches. The bible determines what the church must teach.” — Charles Spurgeon
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Daily Archives: September 27, 2024
“If a church is to be truly successful and useful, it must be unlike anything else we find in life.” — Alistair Begg
“The legalist thinks he’s spiritual, because he observes a law; the antinomian thinks he’s spiritual, because he doesn’t. Both define the Christian life by what they do with regard to the law rather than stressing the need for the Spirit’s empowerment to conform us to Christs’s likeness.” — John MacArthur
September 29 – Never Give In! | VCY
TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Isaiah 57:15-59:21
Philippians 1:1-26
Psalm 71:1-24
Proverbs 24:9-10
Isaiah 57:15 — This is a great memory verse to add to your list. The plan for revival is what Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6, i.e. understanding Who God is and who we are.
Isaiah 58:5-7 — Does God prefer sackcloth and ashes or action? God wants us to loose the bands of wickedness, set free the oppressed, feed the hungry, clothe the needy. Is Isaiah teaching social justice? No, he’s teaching personal justice. We find that the more important religion is to a person, the more likely that person is to give. Is Isaiah talking about giving money to the panhandler? If you’re thinking about giving a couple bucks so that you feel better, then I think that’s what God is talking about in vs. 5. It’s “tokenism!” In vs. 7 God talks about a radical idea; “bring the poor that are cast out to thy house!” Wisconsin State Rep. Dale Kooyenga has been a passionate advocate for SafeFamilies, an interesting church-based alternative to foster care.
Isaiah 58:13 — Romans 14:6 answers the question of what day is the Sabbath for believers. Just like Jesus expanded adultery from the act to the thought in Matthew 5:28, Paul expanded the Sabbath to every day. Do we idolize our own pleasure, or do we delight ourselves in the LORD (Isaiah 58:14)? With the average working American spending just 2 minutes a day on religious activity, it’s hard to say we are fulfilling this call at all.
Isaiah 59:2 — Why aren’t my prayers answered? Because God does not hear us when we sin.
Isaiah 59:7 — Over one billion babies have been estimated to have been killed by abortion worldwide.
Philippians 1:9 — What was Paul’s thoughts towards the Philippians? Was he jumping into correcting their heresy like he did with the Galatians, or was he dealing with serious sin like he had to with the Corinthians? No, his prayer for the Philippians is that their “love may abound yet more and more.” Les Ollila shared how studying 1 Corinthians 13 changed his view of his life. If we do not have love, we have no reward.
Philippians 1:21 — For me to live is Christ, to die is gain!
Psalm 71:1 — In whom is your trust? This Psalm is the senior citizen prayer (Psalm 71:9, Psalm 71:18).
Proverbs 24:10 —
Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
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.
Heavenly Alchemy | VCY
Your sorrow shall be turned into joy. John 16:20
Their particular sorrow was the death and absence of their Lord, and it was turned into joy when He rose from the dead and showed Himself in their midst. All the sorrows of saints shall be thus transmuted, even the worst of them, which look as if they must forever remain fountains of bitterness.
Then the more sorrow, the more joy. If we have loads of sorrow, then the Lord’s power will turn them into tons of joy. Then the bitterer the trouble the sweeter the pleasure: the swinging of the pendulum far to the left will cause it to go all the farther to the right. The remembrance of the grief shall heighten the flavor of the delight: we shall set the one in contrast with the other, and the brilliance of the diamond shall be the more clearly seen because of the black foil behind it.
Come, my heart, cheer up! In a little while I shall be as glad as I am now gloomy. Jesus tells me that by a heavenly alchemy my sorrow shall be turned into joy. I do not see how it is to be, but I believe it, and I begin to sing by way of anticipation. This depression of spirit is not for long; I shall soon be up among the happy ones who praise the Lord day and night, and there I shall sing of the mercy which delivered me out of great afflictions.
https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2024/09/27/heavenly-alchemy/
Rest in All Thy Goings | VCY
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee restExodus 33:14
Precious promise! Lord, enable me to appropriate it as all my own.
We must go at certain times from our abode, for here we have no continuing city. It often happens that when we feel most at home in a place, we are suddenly called away from it. Here is the antidote for this ill. The Lord Himself will keep us company. His presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. This means far more than it says; for, in fact, it means all things. If we have God present with us, we have possession of heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where Thou wilt!
But we hope to find a place of rest. The text promises it. We are to have rest of God’s own giving, making, and preserving. His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march, yea, even in the midst of battle. Rest! Thrice blessed word. Can it ever be enjoyed by mortals? Yes, there is the promise, and by faith we plead it. Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father who rested on the seventh day from all His works. To be with God is to rest in the most emphatic sense.
https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2024/09/27/rest-in-all-thy-goings/
Our Boundless God | Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL
While we all realize that when God spoke the word, He brought our entire universe into existence, it isn’t hard to ponder on the fact that His resources are indeed boundless. So, the question before us is this: why don’t we see more of a mighty move of God in our day and age?
I believe that the late pastor and theologian A. B. Simpson gives us the answer when he said: “Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small. Our expectations are too limited.”1
Sometimes when we look at all the miracles that Jesus performed, we see God’s boundless resources on display, but say to ourselves, yes, but Jesus was God and thus we should expect that. However, the Scriptures are full of examples of real-life people, just like us, who also performed amazing deeds with the help of our God. Men like Moses, Samson, Daniel, Elijah, and many others, through faith and prayer, did great exploits for the Lord. And to me, two of the most encouraging verses in the Scriptures which demonstrate that we too can perform mighty exploits for Jesus are (James 5:17-18): “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
Imagine how powerful prayer must be if another human being, just like us, could have the power to control the weather! I agree with Simpson when he said: “…Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small. Our expectations are too limited.” There is just no telling what we can do for the kingdom of God when we are totally sold out for Jesus. Our job is to appropriate God’s mighty resources through obedience to the Word, faith in God, and believing prayer. For this type of an individual, there is just no telling what he or she can do for God.
My friends, I leave you with the following quote, from the great missionary, Hudson Taylor, to meditate on: “Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.”2
1My Ten Favorite Quotes by A. B. Simpson – Flowing Faith
2 Hudson Taylor – Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will… (bibleportal.com)
The post Our Boundless God appeared first on Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
Source: Our Boundless God
27 Sept 2024 News Briefing
Netanyahu Rejects Ceasefire Rumors with Hezbollah: ‘Fight Will Continue with Full Force’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly denied reports on Thursday suggesting that Israel was close to agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. As Netanyahu traveled to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, his office released a statement dismissing the claims as false. “The news about a ceasefire is incorrect. This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to,” read the official statement.ps://israfan.com/p/netanyahu-denies-ceasefire-hezbollah
New Trump campaign ad: ‘Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.’
‘It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Even the liberal media were shocked Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners and illegal aliens,’ a hard-hitting new Trump campaign ad says.
IDF kills next top commander, bombs Hezbollah supply routes amid continued rocket fire on Israel
Thursday afternoon IDF said it had carried out a targeted strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, with social media footage showing damage to one apartment in a multi-story building. The IDF later confirmed it had killed Muhammad Hussein Sarour, the head of Hezbollah’s aerial array, which operates the terror group’s drones, cruise missiles and anti-aircraft missiles.
FBI data indicates anti-Jewish ‘hate crimes’ increased by 63% in 2023
According to crime statistics released by the FBI on Monday, 63% more incidents of single-bias anti-Jewish “hate crimes” occurred in 2023 than in 2022. While there were 1,122 reported anti-Jewish hate crime incidents reported in 2022, there were 1,832 such incidents in 2023.
Israel on verge of all-out invasion of southern Lebanon, Netanyahu vows ‘full force’ — but Biden, Macron, UN demanding immediate ceasefire for 21 days
All signs point to an imminent and all-out invasion of southern Lebanon by Israeli Defense Forces. But U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and other European and Arab leaders are demanding that Israel immediately accept a ceasefire that would last for at least 21 days.
Ben-Gvir threatens to freeze role in coalition amid reports of 21-day ceasefire
a truce ‘conveys weakness, endangers the security of your citizens, and proves that you do not intend to win.’ If a truce is signed, Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party would “relieve itself of any commitment to the coalition,” including voting in the Knesset and attending cabinet meetings, the right-wing leader warned. “The most basic and understandable thing is that when your enemy is on his knees, you do not allow him to recover, but work to defeat him,” Ben-Gvir said.
‘They destroyed my country’: Syrians celebrate attacks against Hezbollah
Many Syrians are celebrating Israel’s operations against Hezbollah because of the terror group’s role in atrocities during its civil war. During the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, Hezbollah assisted the government of Syria’s Alawite president, Bashar al-Assad, as part of the Iranian-Shia so-called “axis of resistance.” Hezbollah perpetrated numerous atrocities as they were deployed in various areas in Syria to crush Sunni resistance. “The pagers exploded. What great news. We Syrians aren’t used to hearing such good news,” one person wrote.
Sirens in central Israel: Missile fired from Yemen intercepted by Arrow system
Sirens were sounded early Friday morning, around 12:40 a.m. throughout Gush Dan, the Shfela (Lowlands) and the Sharon regions. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the sirens were sounded after a missile was launched from Yemen. “The missile that was fired from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the ‘Arrow’ Aerial Defense System. Sirens and explosions were heard following the interception and falling shrapnel,” the IDF statement said.
Criminal charges to be announced Friday in Iranian hack of Trump campaign, ABC News reports
Federal law enforcement officials plan to announce criminal charges on Friday in connection with an alleged Iranian hack of emails from members of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign, ABC News reported on Thursday, citing sources.
‘Serious mistake’: Politicos react to call for Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
Israeli political leaders on Thursday for the most part expressed strong opposition to a U.S.-France proposal for a 21-day ceasefire with Iran’s Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah. “The most basic and understandable thing is that when your enemy is on his knees, you do not allow him to recover, but work to defeat him,” said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Children were shot and burned alive on October 7, forensic evidence shows
Police cyber and forensics teams work tirelessly collecting hundreds of thousands of video clips and testimonies across communities near the Gaza border to uncover facts about Hamas’ brutal killing of children. Warning: viewer discretion is advised
US War Profiteers Bring World To Brink Of Armageddon
“In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” Such were the words of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate Republican who previously served in the US Army as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II.
China Covered Up Sinking Of Newest Cutting Edge Nuclear-Powered Submarine
China’s newest highly touted and cutting edge nuclear-powered submarine has sank at a shipyard near Wuhan. It was to be the newest sub to join China’s fleet of six nuclear-powered attack subs. The sinking, which reportedly occurred in either May or early summer, constitutes a serious setback for the People’s Liberation Army which has rapidly sought to expand its naval power and technology. President Xi has for years been overseeing a modernization of the PLA Navy. Satellite photos by Planet Labs appear to confirm that the submarine sank.
Video/Pic: Voting machine hacked in just seconds, hackers could change ‘anything’
The electronic voting machine Hursti used in his demonstration was last used in 2012. Hursti described the voting machine as the “worst voting machine used in the United States” due to its “many vulnerabilities” and explained that it was previously used in places like Virginia and Maryland.
Thousands of duplicate ballots sent out in swing state
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) has demanded an investigation after the city of Madison, Wisconsin, mistakingly sent out 2,215 duplicate absentee ballots across 10 city wards. On Tuesday, the Republican representative released a statement on X, formerly twitter, saying, “The City of Madison clerk said the duplicate absentee ballots were sent to one ward yesterday. Now, they say it’s 10. There needs to be an independent investigation now, not after the election.”
Political payback? Congress probing FCCs quick approval of radio stations to Soros group
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee opened an inquiry Thursday into the Federal Communications Commission’s expedited approval of a deal that would give Democrat megadonor George Soros a large stake in more than 200 U.S. radio stations, alleging the body was in an effort to “interfere in the 2024 election and politicize” a body that is supposed to be independent.
Communist takeover: The war on families and the war on children
During an interview in 1984, KGB informant and later defector Yuri Bezmenov explained the four stages of a communist takeover of a country. Roger Starbuck who made the documentary ‘The War on Children’ believes that the USA is in the final stage, the normalization stage.
Macron Calls for New European Order
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a “new international order” during his speech at the Sant’Egidio International Meeting for Peace in Paris yesterday and spoke of “rethinking” relations with Russia amidst the war in Ukraine.
Governments and shadowy organizations secretly collaborate to silence dissent
This international collaboration is spearheaded by the Biden-Harris administration in the US and the UK’s Counter Disinformation Unit (“CDU”) – now known as the National Security and Online Information Team (“NSOIT”), which leads the UK’s government’s response to “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
Francis-appointed Synod adviser appears to defend homosexual ‘desire’ in Vatican newspaper
Father Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., whom Pope Francis named a spiritual assistant for the October session of the Synod on Synodality, penned an article for the Vatican newspaper in which he appears to defend homosexual “desire” and claims that homosexual individuals “rightly desire to express their affection” in contradiction to Catholic teaching.
Hurricane Helene’s massive 20-foot storm surge ‘unsurvivable,’ NWS says
The time to prepare for the onslaught of Hurricane Helene is essentially over as the monster storm continues to gain strength and sets its sights on Florida’s Big Bend region, where it will unleash a potentially “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge, catastrophic hurricane-force winds and flooding rain.
Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida as a devastating Category 4 storm.
Helene made landfall around Taylor County, between Tallahassee and Tampa. Because of the storm’s massive size, Helene brought a significant risk of life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula and Florida’s Big Bend region. Helene’s impact will be felt well beyond the coastal area of the Big Bend, with hurricane-force gusts likely across Tallahassee and into Georgia as the storm races inland overnight into Friday morning. The storm’s combination of speed and size means it will hold its strength farther inland than most hurricanes.
Colorado Meat Factory Accused of ‘Trafficking’ Haitian Migrants
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) has accused the JBS SA meat processing plant in Greeley of “trafficking” migrants from Haiti.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office denies reports of impending ceasefire.
“The reports of a ceasefire are not true,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “This is a French-American initiative that the Prime Minister has not even responded to. The reports of an instruction to moderate the fighting in the north is also the opposite of the truth. The Prime Minister instructed the IDF to continue the fighting with full force and according to the plans presented to him. “As well, the fighting in Gaza will continue until all of the goals of the war are achieved.”
Biden says Second Amendment was ‘never’ meant ‘to be absolute,’ takes aim at guns.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced new executive actions Thursday aimed at reducing gun violence. In addition to attacking Republicans, Biden also spent time during Thursday’s press conference touting the work his administration has done to reduce violent crime overall. Gun control critics, meanwhile, argue that Biden’s executive orders were an effort to distract from his administration’s poor record when it comes to reducing crime in major metropolitan cities.
Headlines – 9/27/2024
US defense secretary vows to continue military aid to Israel amid Hezbollah conflict
Macron says France stands by Lebanon, calls to deescalate, doesn’t mention Hezbollah
Macron calls for Israel-Hezbollah truce, says Lebanon can’t ‘become new Gaza’
Macron calls on US to pressure Israel to accept Lebanon ceasefire plan
Commentary: America’s rivals are piling on the pressure all at once
French official: Joint ceasefire call followed ‘very high level’ talks between US, France and Israel
Israel’s initial dismissal of US’ ‘breakthrough’ Lebanon ceasefire deal creates confusion
US: We announced Lebanon ceasefire initiative because Netanyahu told us he was on board
US, frustrated, says ceasefire plan rejected by Netanyahu had been coordinated with him
Netanyahu Rejects Reports That Israel Has Accepted Ceasefire with Hezbollah
Netanyahu Defiant as World Leaders Press for Israeli-Hezbollah Truce
Israel is inflicting ‘unimagined blows’ on Hezbollah, Netanyahu says while US pushes for ceasefire
Netanyahu vows to keep hitting Hezbollah ‘full force’ as his allies pan truce report
Despite Foreign Pressure, Both Israel and Hezbollah Have Reasons to Reject a Truce
Hamas Stopped Responding to Gaza Cease-fire, Hostage Deal Proposals, Diplomatic Source Says
Iran faces dilemma of restraint or revenge for attacks on ally Hezbollah
IAF chief: Preventing all weapon transfers from Iran to Hezbollah now a top priority
Over 90,000 people in Lebanon had to flee Israel’s bombardments this week
‘We always felt safer here’: Tel Aviv unmoved by Hezbollah missile attack
As war widens and costs mount, Israel’s economy is in ‘serious danger’
Taiwan prosecutors say 4 questioned so far over exploding pagers linked to Hezbollah
As Netanyahu Arrives in New York, Protesters Calling for Hostage, Cease-fire Deal Gather Outside UN
At UN, Abbas lays out 12-point vision for post-war Gaza, beginning with permanent ceasefire
Leader of Palestinian Authority denounces Israeli Gaza offensive at UN, insists: ‘We will not leave’
Israeli ambassador: Eighty percent of Palestinians supported 7 October
Israeli strike on Gaza school kills at least 11, health ministry says
Biden-Harris DOJ Says UNRWA Terrorists Should Be Immune from Lawsuits
Johannesburg, South Africa, to Rename U.S. Consulate Street After Palestinian Hijacker
Report: Tsunami of ‘Open and Aggressive’ Antisemitism Swamping Germany
Shin Bet, police thwart Israeli citizens’ plan to bomb Jewish holy sites in north
Five Israeli Settlers Charged With Attack on Palestinians, Left-wing Activists in West Bank School
Yemen’s Sidelined Leader Scolds U.N. for Minimizing Iran Role in Houthi Chaos
US sets reward for info on Iranian behind plot to assassinate John Bolton
Sudan military offensive sparks new fighting in Khartoum as cholera outbreak worsens
Hack of Public Wi-Fi Broadcasts ‘Islamophobic’ Message Warning of Terror Attacks Across UK
New Chinese nuclear submarine reportedly sank in blow to naval ambitions
China’s Newest Nuclear Submarine Sank, Setting Back Its Military Modernization
Chinese officials cover up sinking of country’s newest nuclear-powered submarine tied to pier
Panicked Pacific Leaders Meet at U.N. After China’s ‘Concerning’ ICBM Test
Ukraine Discovers Starlink on Downed Russian Shahed Drone: Report
Russian missiles and drones target Kyiv for 5 hours and hit Ukraine’s power grid
Kyiv Launches Mass Drone Attack on Russia Day After Putin’s Nuclear Warning
Kremlin says changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine are intended as a warning to the West
House Oversight Committee Investigates Zelensky’s ‘Taxpayer-Funded’ Trip to Pennsylvania
US Sanctions Crypto Exchange Group Accused of Helping Russia
Russia’s economy is signaling a fate worse than recession
Argentina’s poverty rate spikes in first 6 months of President Milei’s shock therapy
Commentary: The Stage Is Being Set For The Greatest Period Of Chaos In US History
More high-ranking officials in Secret Service stepping down amid agency turmoil
Trump: ‘Deep State’ Ignored Jan. 6 Request for Troops
Appeals panel signals skepticism over NY civil fraud case against Trump
Hillary Clinton defends ‘deplorables’ comment: ‘Too kind a word’ for some Trump supporters
New York Mayor Eric Adams charged in Turkey bribery, fraud scheme
NY officials scramble over possibility of removing Mayor Eric Adams from office: sources
Far-left, anti-cop activist next in line for NYC Mayor if Eric Adams resigns
Andrew Cuomo eyes NYC mayor job
Rudy Giuliani Disbarred in D.C. Over 2020 Election Claims
747,000 ineligible voters removed from North Carolina registration rolls
Madison city clerk highlights election security after 2k duplicate ballots sent
Two Minnesota House races are misidentified on ballots already delivered to voters
Multiple Iranians Indicted in Hack of Trump Campaign
Nolte: Laura Loomer Threatens Suit Unless CNN’s Cooper Personally Retracts Fake Trump Photo
Mark Zuckerberg Claims There Is No Direct Link Between Social Media and Teen Mental Health Crisis
Robot fires tear gas and then runs over man during police standoff
Comet on 81,000-year trip becomes a new light in the night sky
Earth to be blasted by solar storm that could take out power grids
Strong and shallow M6.3 earthquake hits Mauritius – Reunion region
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near West Chile Rise
5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near San Miguel Totolapan, Mexico
Swarm of over 100 earthquakes hits Hanford nuclear site near Tri-Cities in Washington, U.S.
Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 24,000ft
Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 20,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 15,000ft
Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 15,000ft
Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft
Hurricane “Helene” expected to bring catastrophic and deadly storm surge to Florida Big Bend, U.S.
Big Bend braces for Cat. 4 hurricane, 132 mph winds, 20 foot storm surge
‘Uninhabitable for weeks or months’: Why Helene’s hurricane category matters
Officials’ grim request for those riding out Helene in Florida: Mark your bodies so we can ID you
John makes a comeback; to pay Acapulco, Mexico a 2nd visit with torrential rain
Record-breaking rains leave 11 dead in Japan’s quake-stricken Ishikawa Prefecture
NY Climate Doomsayers Hope to Lip-Sync the Planet to Safety with ‘Environmental Drag Show’
Giorgia Meloni Calls for Global Action Against Child Slavery and Human Trafficking at UN Assembly
Texas woman confesses to drugging kids to traffic them across US border
Haiti Scolds Americans over Springfield Concerns, Demands Reparations at U.N.
Tim Walz’s education appointee, Macalester professor backs ‘overthrow’ of United States
Toyota promotes DEI, supports child sex changes, divides employees by race and gender: report
Diddy plans to testify at criminal trial, lawyer confirms: ‘He’s very eager to tell his story’
Democrat Senators Warn Against Harris’s Plan to End Filibuster to Codify Roe v. Wade
It’s Something in the Water: NIH Confirms Fluoride Exposure Linked to Lower IQ in Children
Ablechild: 1970 Hearing Reveals ADHD as Government-Funded Drug Experiment on Children
Israeli AI startup forges $18m partnership with AstraZeneca for cancer drug trials
Covid Shots May Increase Risk of Brain Clots, Strokes, Especially Combined with Flu Shots
Bears, baboons, tigers are getting COVID vaccines at zoos across the U.S.
COVID Virus Is Evolving Resistance to Antiviral Treatment, Studies Show
Mid-Day Snapshot · September 27, 2024
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
“If we resort for a criterion to the different principles on which different forms of government are established, we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a limited period, or during good behavior.” —James Madison (1788)
IN TODAY’S DIGEST
- Executive News Summary
- Featured Analysis: The Real Reason for Zuckerberg’s Shift
- More Analysis
- Best of Right Opinion
- Best of Videos
- Short Cuts
- Memes and Cartoons
EXECUTIVE NEWS SUMMARY
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
- Helene continues deadly onslaught across Southeast (Fox Weather)
Politics
- Kamala Harris heads to Arizona to counter border criticism (Arizona Republic)
- Trump’s “troubling” civil case judgment: The book on the 2024 presidential campaign should include a chapter on a catastrophic strategic blunder by the Democrats: their lawfare campaign against Donald Trump. In the court of public opinion, it’s already clear that this weaponization of political differences has blown up in their faces. And now it appears to be doing so in the court of judicial opinion, where the civil lawsuit brought by Trump-hating Attorney General Letitia James is finally undergoing some much-needed scrutiny. As the New York Post reports, “A panel of New York appeals court judges appeared skeptical about the gargantuan $454 million civil fraud judgment Donald Trump was dealt after he was found liable for business fraud — with one jurist calling it ‘troubling.’” They don’t say. Trump is trying to reverse or reduce this ridiculous February judgment by cartoonish Judge Arthur Engeron, which his lawyers rightly called “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional” when they made their case before a five-judge panel of a Manhattan appeals court yesterday. Three of those five must side with Trump, who has vowed to take the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
- Rudy Giuliani disbarred in Washington: It has been quite the fall from grace for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was officially disbarred from Washington, DC’s Bar Association on Thursday. This is Giuliani’s second disbarment after New York State removed his law license this past July. Both disbarments are tied to Giuliani’s support and legal defense of Donald Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims. This decision wasn’t surprising given the conclusion of the June report by the DC Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility: There was “clear and convincing evidence” that Giuliani “violated Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct” and “should be disbarred.” The DC Bar Association also contended, “Giuliani’s effort to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election has helped destabilize our democracy.” That, of course, sounds more like a Democrat political narrative than an actual legal claim. Regardless, Giuliani faces charges of election interference in Georgia and was ordered to pay a ridiculous $148 million fine to two election workers in the Peach State for defamation. This is yet another example of the lawfare that Democrats have waged against Trump supporters.
- Newsmax, Smartmatic settle defamation lawsuit (Axios)
- If you’re losing The New York Times… Kamala Harris continues to dodge real journalists, avoid unscripted events, and spew economic nonsense, but these decisions finally seem to be catching up to her. For example, The New York Times’s Reid Epstein wasn’t at all impressed with Harris’s Wednesday interview with MSNBC’s friendly Stephanie Ruhle. Indeed, Epstein’s frustration bubbled up in the following assessment: “Ms. Harris responded to the fairly basic and predictable questions with roundabout responses that did not provide a substantive answer. Instead of offering any explanation for why Mr. Trump polls better on the economy — a matter that has vexed Democrats as President Biden has overseen a steadily improving economy — Ms. Harris instead blasted Mr. Trump’s record. … She said nothing about why voters think Mr. Trump and Republicans would be better on the economy.” Kamala Harris wants to run out the clock, but recent polling indicates that she may have already hit her high-water mark.
- Good news: Another one dumps Dems: A recent Fox News poll shows Kamala Harris’s margin among Hispanics has shrunk since August from 18 points to 11, and her disappearing margin among black men is equally alarming. A New Yorker named Sammy Ravelo embodies this trend. Ravelo, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a father, Gulf War vet, 9/11 first responder, and retired NYPD lieutenant, and he recently announced that he’s done with the Democrat Party. “I left the Democrat Party, and the sky didn’t fall. The sky is still blue today,” he posted. “To my friends and their families … it’s time to start re-registering as Republicans. It’s time to leave the party that favors criminals over law-abiding citizens. If you are a Dominican cop, firefighter, correction officer, or sanitation worker, you should be a Republican. The Democrat Party is no longer a viable party for us.” Ravelo’s defection didn’t go over too well with those on the Left, but he took it in stride: “The funny thing,” he said, “is that the attacks are coming from the same people who preach ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.’”
Security
- China’s newest nuke-powered sub sinks: In an embarrassing report that exposes the state of China’s navy, Beijing’s first Zhou-class nuclear-powered submarine sank while docked at port. The incident likely occurred sometime between May and June, and the Chinese navy sought to keep it quiet. “It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside,” stated a senior U.S. defense official. “In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption.” China currently has a fleet of six nuclear-capable submarines, and according to the Pentagon, Beijing’s policy is to keep one of those subs at sea at all times.
- U.S. icebreaker fleet falling further behind Russia, China (Washington Times)
- Netanyahu threatens Iran in fiery UN speech (NY Post)
Around the Nation
- Cheating Dems sent out 2,200 duplicate ballots in Madison: Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes went into Joe Biden’s column by a razor-thin 11,000 votes in 2020. So it stands to reason that the Democrats are worried about the Dairy State’s status this cycle. We say this because the polling in the state is essentially tied now, and because an infamous ABC News-Washington Post poll just two weeks prior to the 2020 presidential election showed Donald Trump trailing Biden there by a ridiculous 17 points. Evidence of the Democrats’ desperation appeared this week in the liberal college city of Madison, the state’s second-largest city, where we learned) that more than 2,200 voters there were sent duplicate absentee ballots. Not to worry, though. The city clerk is “rectifying a data processing error” and working to ensure “safeguards” prevent double voting. Color us less than convinced. Democrats value nothing above political power, and Madison has had its share of electoral “problems” in recent years.
- North Carolina pulls 747,000 people off of voter registration rolls (Washington Examiner)
- Lefty Nantucket gets mugged by illegal immigrant reality: Four illegal aliens residing in Nantucket, Massachusetts, were arrested in the last 48 hours and charged with sex crimes against children. These arrests raise to at least six the number of illegal aliens arrested for crimes on the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket this month. “I think many people are concerned about the violent illegal population,” observed Toby Brown, chair of the Nantucket GOP. “The biggest thing is obviously not knowing anybody’s history if they’re here illegally.” He added, “The legal immigrants will even discuss that.” Brown noted that while most of the recent migrants have been fine, “It’s such a small island that I find that things have gotten a little worse here on Nantucket.” Maybe this will help these leftist enclaves face the inherent problem of unchecked mass migration.
- Michigan legislature creates tip line for students to turn in parents for “improperly stored guns” (Woke Spy)
- Cuomo ramps up mayoral plans after Adams’s indictment (Politico)
Culture
- Black-market abortion pills are flooding the country: A new report released by the American Life League (ALL) found that the Food and Drug Administration’s dubious decision last year to green-light the mail delivery of abortion pills has opened the door for black-market drug dealers. The report states, “The abortion pill drug cartel is alive and well, especially in so-called ‘abortion-free’ states.” ALL found that “cartel-style networks” selling black-market abortion pills have spread to all 50 states. “Anyone can buy these unregulated, non-prescribed abortion drugs,” ALL observes. “They are marketed over the internet to unverified customers from unauthorized, unvalidated suppliers, with no oversight as to drug quality, purity, or suitability of recipient.” This represents a serious threat to women’s health, as illustrated by a woman’s recent death in Georgia connected to abortion pills. The FDA’s decision to lift restrictions on the abortion pill was politically motivated, and its consequences were worse than many may have initially realized.
- New York barred from censoring pro-life groups’ abortion pill reversal promotion (Christian Post)
Misc.
- U.S. could be inches away from another economic crisis as massive port strike looms (Daily Caller)
- Bill Gates and other leftist mega-donors fund plan to inject climate hysteria into newsrooms (Daily Wire)
- Stem cells reverse woman’s diabetes — a world first (Nature)
For the Executive Summary archive, click here.
Follow Thomas Gallatin and Jordan Candler on X/Twitter.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
The Real Reason for Zuckerberg’s Shift
Nate Jackson
Mark Zuckerberg is the cofounder of Facebook and chairman and CEO of its parent company, Meta. In that position, he may be more responsible than any other individual for the systemic suppression of free speech in America today.
So forgive me if I don’t trust him when he apologizes — even multiple times — for that suppression, or when he acts as if he’s turning over a new leaf and abandoning politics.
The proof’s in the pudding, pal.
Stop censoring and suppressing the speech of The Patriot Post and countless other conservatives, and we’ll talk. Quit algorithmically hiding our content from our 746,000 followers — people who’ve said, “I want to see Patriot Post content” — and I’ll believe your change of heart.
The New York Times broke the news a couple of days ago with this headline: “Mark Zuckerberg Is Done With Politics.” The subtitle adds, “He was once a backer of liberal causes. Then everyone seemed to turn on him. Now he wants to stay away from politics — if that’s possible.”
The story recounts Zuckerberg’s history of activism for various left-wing causes that the Times describes in the most benign terminology possible. It details how he grew disillusioned with that activism and the people pushing him into it because of its detrimental effects on his business.
He now says he wants to appear “neutral,” though the Times adds an interesting nugget: “Privately, Mr. Zuckerberg now considers his personal politics to be more like libertarianism or ‘classical liberalism,’ according to people who have spoken to him recently.” It adds that he and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have been appalled by the rise of anti-Semitism at Harvard, their alma mater.
Zuckerberg also had two phone calls with Donald Trump over the summer in what the Times says people interpret “as an attempt to repair a long-strained relationship between the two men.” After the first assassination attempt, Zuckerberg even expressed some admiration, saying, “Seeing Donald Trump get up after being shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Indeed it was.
He added, “On some level as an American, it’s, like, hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that’s why a lot of people like the guy.”
Don’t get me wrong, Zuckerberg’s ostensible change of heart is a welcome one. He even has the appropriate humility to know it will take a long time to repair broken trust. “I think it’s going to take another 10 years or so for us to fully work through that cycle before our brand is back to the place that it could have been,” Zuckerberg said recently, “if I hadn’t messed up in the first place.”
Here, it’s worth remembering how he messed it up. I believe that history starts all the way back in Genesis 3 with the one I’ve long argued was the first “fact-checker” — Satan.
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” the serpent asked Eve. She explained the prohibition, and he fact-checked her: “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Satan twisted the truth, making it a lie, which is often what Leftmedia “fact-checkers” do.
So, how does that have anything to do with Zuckerberg? Well, a few years back, Zuckerberg followed the advice of his fellow left-wingers and installed the “independent third-party fact-checker” feature on Facebook. Those ostensibly neutral self-appointed arbiters of truth would become Zuckerberg’s gatekeepers of information. They would decide what could and could not be said on Facebook, and Zuckerberg could absolve himself under the fiction that he and his company weren’t the ones doing the censoring.
The dirty little secret was that Facebook was paying the fact-checkers. That belied their independence, of course, but it also motivated them. They would only be worth their money if they kept finding things to censor and suppress. Furthermore, these “fact-checkers” were and are almost universally left-wing hacks from Leftmedia outlets. They’ll check a few Democrat things now and then for the sake of pretense, but their bread and butter is disagreeing with the opinions of conservatives.
Another dirty secret still is that Facebook doesn’t always censor speech by removing the page of an “offender,” which would be clear and obvious. It most often suppresses content via algorithms based on “strikes” implemented by the “fact-checkers.” Our social media director, Andrew Culper, has detailed several instances of this on our page. Post the “wrong” thing, and fewer people will see your content. It’s censorship by shadow-banning, and you might not know it other than decreased interaction with your content.
Unless and until Zuckerberg embraces an Elon Musk-like devotion to free speech, there is no reason to trust him or his company. He can become apolitical all he wants, but if Facebook is still suppressing the free speech of anyone to the right of Karl Marx, then it’s nothing more than virtue signaling meant to shore up some problematic business trends.
Follow Nate Jackson on X/Twitter.
MORE ANALYSIS
- Emmy Griffin: The Decoding and Fallout of the Eric Adams Indictment — Are the New York City mayor’s charges part of a witch hunt, evidence of a Democrat quid pro quo, justice, or all of the above?
- Douglas Andrews: The Left Picks Another Awful Martyr — The case of convicted murderer Marcellus Williams is the latest example of the leftist fetish for false martyrs.
- Brian Mark Weber: Kamala’s Lone Consistent Policy Position — Harris’s hard-left instincts have once again put the Senate filibuster in her crosshairs.
- Tim Young: Illegal Immigrants Replacing Americans in the Job Market in Three Easy Steps — Asylum seekers are sent to towns all over the country and given assistance in finding work.
- Mark Alexander: Profiles of Valor: Mercy Among Mortal Enemies — An enemy fighter pilot escorted the crew he was ordered to shoot down to safety.
- Ron Helle: God’s ‘You’ Imperatives — Let me relate a few commands (not suggestions) we should keep in mind so that as Christians we aren’t lone rangers.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- David HarsanyiHarris’ Attack on the Filibuster Is an Attack on the Constitutional Order
- Erick EricksonDemocrats Support Foreign Interference to Stop Trump
- Tim GrahamWhen Reporters Are Just Explainers, Not Investigators
- Josh HammerThe Amy Wax Inflection Point for ‘Elite’ Higher Education
- The Washington Stand’Suicide Pod’ Death Should Remind Us of What Makes Life Worth Living
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.
BEST OF VIDEOS
- Harris Dodges Softball Questions — Kamala Harris finally addressed the Free Beacon report on her supposed McDonald’s job but declined to provide evidence.
- ‘Have You Ever Seen Anything Like This?’ — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) questions witnesses about the politicization of the FBI and condemned the agency’s handling of whistleblowers.
- OB-GYN Busts Myths on Miscarriages and Late-Term Abortions — Dr. Christina Francis is combating media misinformation about abortions and miscarriages.
- Head Shot: Brett Favre Has Parkinson’s — The Green Bay Packers legend seems convinced that it’s in part due to the repeated concussions and hard hits he took.
- Hate Crime Hoax Judge — A Democrat judge allegedly ordered his staff to pose as Trump supporters and commit hate attacks.
- PopCon #63: Am I Racist? — Matt Walsh has done it again in his newest documentary film, “Am I Racist?” presented by The Daily Wire.
SHORT CUTS
Lack of Self-Awareness Awards
“We just need to move past the failed policies that we have proven don’t work.” —Kamala Harris
“One must be serious and have a plan — and a real plan that’s not just about some talking point ending in an exclamation at a political rally, but actually putting the thought into what will be the return on the investment.” —Kamala Harris
“I believe we shouldn’t be constrained by ideology and instead should seek practical solutions to problems.” —Kamala Harris
The BIG Lies
“When it relates to anybody making less than $400,000 a year, your taxes will not go up.” —Kamala Harris
“Donald Trump has no intention of lowering costs for the middle class. In fact, his economic agenda would actually raise prices.” —Kamala Harris
“Real wages — wages adjusted for inflation — are rising so that families are getting ahead.” —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Delusions of Grandeur
“Over the past three and a half years, we have taken major steps forward to recover from the public health and economic crisis we inherited.” —Kamala Harris
Word Salad
“Let that then inspire us by helping us to be inspired to solve the problems.” —Kamala Harris
Belly Laugh of the Day
“Donald Trump, being the socialist that he is…” —billionaire leftist Mark Cuban
For the Record
“The costs of illegal immigration now exceed $1 billion annually in 16 of the 50 states. … All told, the costs of illegal immigration to the American public are estimated to be $150 billion a year.” —Laura Hollis
“Trump is finally briefed on the Iranian threats in the same week that the Biden/Harris administration allowed the Iranian president to come to the United States to give a speech at the United Nations.” —Gary Bauer
And Last…
“Eric Adams has now been indicted. He should probably go stab someone at a New York subway station so the prosecutors release him quickly.” —Ben Shapiro
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)”.
Blinken to Israel: Don’t Fight Back, You’ll Only Make It Harder for Yourselves | Breitbart
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel that fighting Hezbollah would only make it more difficult to return more than 60,000 displaced Israelis to their homes, as he pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The Times of Israel noted:
During his meeting with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer earlier today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s belief that an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah will only make it more difficult to accomplish the objective of returning evacuated Israelis to their homes along the northern border.
…
“A diplomatic settlement will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes… further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective more difficult,” Blinken told Blinken, according to the US readout.
President Joe Biden is backing a 21-day ceasefire proposal that the administration insists it cleared with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, but which the Netanyahu government denies that it approved. Hezbollah has not commented.
The Biden administration has tried to use diplomacy for nearly a year to resolve the conflict that erupted when Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror organization, began shooting projectiles at Israeli cities, totally unprovoked.
At first, Israel retaliated only by firing at the sites from which it was attacked. Then it began targeting Hezbollah leaders and weapons caches throughout southern Lebanon. It is now preparing a ground assault in Lebanon.
Israel’s goal is to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River and to restrict its ability to fire on Israeli civilians. Alternative, it also hopes that continued military pressure will force Hezbollah to agree to stop shooting at Israel.
Hezbollah has been unreceptive to diplomatic efforts, insisting that Israel agree to a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, and that Israel abandon a key military post on the Israeli side of the border, which Israel has flatly refused to do.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, approved in 2006, mandates that Hezbollah leave the border with Israel and be disarmed. The United Nations failed to enforce its own resolution as Iran armed Hezbollah for years.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Source: Blinken to Israel: Don’t Fight Back, You’ll Only Make It Harder for Yourselves
HIGH ALERT! Biden Delivers WARMONGERING RANT At The UN, RAMPS UP WW3 With Russia & China – SF461
As supposed US President Joe Biden delivered a warmongering rant at the United Nations General Assembly, demanding an escalation of war against Russia and Iran and threatening China, he was joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has driven hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainian men to their deaths on behalf of neocon globalists such as Biden, Kamala, and the Cheneys. “Russia can only be forced into peace,” he said. Better greenlight a few more billions in arms deals then – it’s only the American taxpayer who has to fund it, after all.
Fox News Primetime Recap – Sept. 26, 2024
Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld bring Fox News viewers their fresh takes on the top news of the day. #foxnews
The ‘Border Czar’ Finally Shows Up for Work | The NEWSMAX Daily (09/27/24) – YouTube
Today’s 20-min top headline news brief includes:
[1:45] -VP Harris campaigning in AZ, scheduled to visit the border. Donald Trump has 2 events in Michigan today.
[4:50] -Trump Sr. campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski: “We cannot have complacency when it comes to people’s personal protection.” [Newsline]
[7:31] -“We must be careful about words we use”: Democrat calls out inflammatory rhetoric. [American Agenda]
[10:40] -Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt and Trish Reagan expose Kamala’s ‘twists and turns’ in economic speech. [Rob Schmitt Tonight]
[16:06] -Illinois Democrat Jonathan Jackson explains he supports Harris’s economic proposals. [National Report]
[20:24] -Former NYC police commissioner Bernie Kerik: “The Bidens have done much worse than NYC Mayor Adams.” [Wake Up America]
— Read on www.youtube.com/watch
Acting U.S. President Stops By White House To Pick Up Paycheck | Babylon Bee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite fighting an ongoing war with Russia, acting U.S. President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy appeared to be in high spirits as he dropped by the White House to pick up his most recent paycheck.
Though it required him to take valuable time away from campaigning on behalf of U.S. politicians, Zelenskyy was eager to stop by the Oval Office to personally receive his paycheck from his underling, Joe Biden.
“I love money,” Zelenskyy told members of the White House Press Corpse as he picked up his check with a sly wink.
When asked why he doesn’t use direct deposit, Zelenskyy said he feels nostalgic about picking up a check in person. “There’s nothing quite like holding a check for a couple billion dollars in your hand,” he said.
In recent weeks, Zelenskyy had been quite busy on the campaign trail, making the case to voters why they should give him a second term as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. Reports indicated he had traveled all over — flying from Ukraine to Pennsylvania to New York and back again. But he was sure to make time to swing by Washington, D.C. to get paid.
“Thanks, Joe!” he said, waving goodbye to the official White House Payroll Clerk as he left for another whirlwind trip to Ukraine.
At publishing time, Zelenskyy had reportedly asked for a pay raise. “It’s tough when you live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “Bombs are expensive.”
BIG NEWS: We made a movie, and you can watch the trailer NOW:
Click here to find out how you can watch the movie when it releases on October 11
https://babylonbee.com/news/acting-us-president-stops-by-whitehouse-to-pick-up-paycheck/
Revealed: Big Brother’s Facebook Censorship Dashboard | ZeroHedge
On Wednesday, America First Legal (AFL) revealed documents that shed new light on the collaborative efforts between Facebook and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic used to censor free speech.
The documents, obtained through litigation against the CDC, expose detailed onboarding materials used to train CDC employees on a specially designed Facebook portal aimed at curbing what they labeled “Covid & Vaccine Misinformation.”
Via AFL:
These documents reveal how Facebook, on the heels of extreme pressure from the Biden-Harris White House (including from Rob Flaherty, a current senior Harris Campaign staffer) to remove specific posts, responded:
- Facebook created a new “end-to-end workflow” so that government officials could submit links for removal from Facebook;
- Facebook only gave access to the portal to approved government and law enforcement personnel;
- The new portal dramatically increased the efficiency of the censorship machine by allowing up to twenty links at a time to be referred for censoring;
- By moving from email chains to a Facebook-hosted portal, the new system also made it harder for organizations like AFL to provide oversight to individual censorship requests;
- Each censorship request automatically generated a ticket number so that the government could track if Facebook complied with its censorship demands;
- The documents further show how Facebook explained precisely what content it would remove and what it needed from the CDC in order to censor certain narratives within the bounds of its “community standards.”
The documents also highlight the United Kingdom’s role in shaping the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach to online censorship. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg’s admission that Facebook only engaged in censorship after extreme pressure from the Biden-Harris White House underscores the external pressures leading to Facebook’s mass censorship.
More via AFL:
Part A: Censorship Made Easy
The documents expose an onboarding presentation given by Facebook employees to CDC staff on May 19, 2021. Facebook trained CDC staff on how to use the platform’s “Government Reporting System.” This came in response to profanity-laden demands from senior Biden–Harris White House officials exposed by the House Judiciary Committee. As their “End-to-end workflow” described, if “Government requests,” then “Facebook processes.”
These slides show how closely the Biden-Harris Administration’s CDC and Big Tech coordinated to censor speech they disagreed with. The onboarding included a “government user experience” demo. As part of the “End–to–end workflow,” Facebook streamlined the process to make it easy for the government to censor the American people.
Step 1 – Access to Account
First, Facebook granted “Access to CRS.” These slides showed CDC employees how to sign up, register, and login to the new portal.
Only “government-issued or law enforcement email address[es]” were allowed to use this system.
Step 2 – Submit Posts with Links
Prior to Facebook creating the portal, the CDC had been sending spreadsheets over email with links for Facebook to remove, but with this portal, post reporting would be standardized and fed into one system. Additionally, moving the censorship requests to a Facebook-hosted portal created a loophole in government recordkeeping requirements. Using this system permits government actors to evade federal law requiring meticulous keeping of federal records, thereby preventing the public from using existing tools like FOIA to see what the government is doing behind the scenes.
At this point, CDC employees could select their “Reason for reporting.” These included “COVID Misinformation,” “Vaccine Discouragement,” and “COVID Vaccine Misinformation.”
Facebook’s system allowed users from “authorized government agencies” to refer up to twenty links at a time for Facebook to remove across its platforms. Users could also submit additional comments.
Step 3 – Confirmation and Job Reference Number
The third step for the new portal was called “Final landing page: transparency,” where users would get a confirmation message, a ticket or reference number, and be able to access the “Help Center.”
The confirmation message read that “you should receive a response shortly,” which reaffirms the initial promise on the first slide: “Government requests … Facebook processes.”
Part B: Insights into Facebook’s Community Standards
The briefing also included a summary of Facebook’s “Community Standards.” They stated that they only removed information deemed “false” by “public health authorities.” Despite the many, many, examples of these “authorities” later being proven wrong, all it took was a government determination by the Biden-Harris administration for Facebook to begin censoring the American people’s speech.
Facebook’s policy was to censor statements that made “false claims about masks” (now shown to have been nearly useless), which discouraged “social distancing” (now known to have been fabricated by Dr. Anthony Fauci). If an individual was a “repeat offender” of the government’s ever-shifting determinations on “misinformation,” their account’s reach would be reduced or removed from their site altogether.
Facebook bragged that since the beginning of the Pandemic, which began only a year before the presentation, they had removed more than “16 million pieces of content.”
Remember — Facebook’s policy was only to remove posts if the government had declared something to be false.
The Constitution prohibits the government from censoring the American people, but Facebook and other social media companies went out of their way to make it easy for the Biden–Harris administration to “flag” posts for censoring. With a custom portal allowing the government to submit up to twenty links at a time, the Biden-Harris Administration and Facebook worked together to violate the First Amendment rights of countless Americans.
Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director:
“These documents show–definitively–the architecture behind the systems that political appointees and governmental bureaucrats used to unconstitutionally censor the free speech of Americans online. The right to speak–to even question authority–is so fundamental to our national identity, yet in the name of a public health crisis, Biden Administration officials worked with major companies to silence dissent. The American people need to review these documents and understand just how far our leaders in Washington went to violate the First Amendment to our Constitution,” said Gene Hamilton.
See the full slide deck here.
Source: Revealed: Big Brother’s Facebook Censorship Dashboard
Ten Philosophical Challenges Christian Students Face at Secular University | Cross Examined
The Christian student who attends a secular university will encounter very recognizable challenges to his/her Christian faith. As a professor who has taught in a secular university for 24 years, attended faculty meetings where professors discuss how to deconstruct the faith of Christian students, and seen firsthand the animosity administrators have toward Christianity, I am giving you an inside look at the workings of the secular university.
Did God Really Say . . . ?
I have outlined these ten challenges to illustrate the original temptation in order to show that they follow a similar strategy and that little has changed. “Did God really say? . . . You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:1). God knows the day you eat you will be as God knowing good and evil. The Tempter states a conclusion: you will not surely die (Gen. 3:5). This directly contradicts what God said.
Next, the Tempter gives an argument to support the conclusion. His argument besmirches the character of God (God knows you will be like him) and says you will not die because you will be like God. The specific way you will be like God is by knowing good and evil. God knows good and evil as the creator: he determines what is good for a human by creating them with a specific nature. Humans can never know good and evil that way. But, in order to believe God lied, they must put themselves in the place of God. This act of autonomy[1] makes them their own gods.
This same strategy is at work in each of these Ten Challenges that the Christian student will face at the secular university. They question what God said, besmirch God’s character, and teach the student to be autonomous.
The Enemy’s Strategy: Question what God said, insult God’s character, and teach the student to be a law to themselves.
In my CrossExamined podcast Frank and I discuss these steps. You will hear that we keep returning to the law of non-contradiction and self-referential absurdity. Sin is a contradiction. It doesn’t make any sense. How can the intellectuals of our age miss this?
An education should make you wise by teaching you to fear the Lord and shun evil.
Instead, current university education teaches students that sin has no consequences because they can determine what is good and evil. It presents self-contradictory philosophies as if they will bring us happiness and meaning. It tells us to go out and change the world with this nonsense.
It is a new dark age of the mind in which the secular intellectual’s only conceptual framework is “power” and they spend their time praising the basest and most perverted human behaviors. It perfectly follows the decline into debauchery outlined by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1.
Ten Challenges For Christians Going to Secular University
Number 10: Academic Skepticism.
Knowledge about the “big questions” is not possible. There are only different opinions. Each opinion is equal to every other. The biggest mistake is to think your opinion counts as knowledge, which is what Christianity does. With this comes Fideism, the teaching that faith just means “blind belief.” This is a denial that God is clearly revealed in all his works of creation and providence.
Number 9: Religious and worldview pluralism.
All religions are equal. The only problem is when one religion claims to be the only way. Comparative religion says that each religion was invented to preserve power. This can be deceptive in that it seems pro-religion, but it is only pro-religion to be anti-Christian. The student is taught to be tolerant of everything except not to tolerate exclusive truth claims. This is a denial that the only way to be restored to God is through the vicarious atonement of Christ.
Number 8: Scientism.
If knowledge is possible, it is due to naturalism that claims only material causes can explain the world. The creation does not reveal the creator. Humans are mere animals, advanced, but only animals. This is also coupled with climate change claims about the need for a centralized state to take away technology that pollutes. The student is told that the end of the world is near unless human civilization is stopped. Humans are viewed as evil and a cancer on the world. This is simple atheism. It is a denial of God the Creator, who sovereignly rules over the material world and created man in his own image to have dominion.
Number 7: Pragmatism.
What works is what is true. This is the same as saying, “What satisfies is what is true.” Universities often encourage their students to get involved in community outreach, which is reduced to having a pragmatic benefits for their community. “What satisfies” is a statement about what that person views as “good.” Pragmatism denies any “highest good.” It makes education about (1) being a contributor and not about (2) learning to fear God and develop in wisdom and godliness. This is a denial that the purpose of education is to increase our godliness.
Number 6: Higher Criticism.
The Bible was composed merely by men, re-edited through the centuries, with the purpose of preserving power and the patriarchy. This undermines the idea of sola scriptura by taking away the Bible. There is no “historical Jesus.” There are Gnostic Gospels that were kept out for political purposes. This is a denial that we need redemptive revelation and a denial of God’s work to preserve the Bible he inspired.
Number 5: Existentialism.
There is no essence or human nature. There are no universals. There is only personal experience. Each person makes their own meaning. This is used to promote infinite genders and “finding your own identity.” The world, in itself, is without meaning, and meaning is whatever we say it is. This is a denial that the world is full of meaning because it reveals God.
Number 4: Cultural Relativism.
Foucault has been cited 1.4 million times, 70% more than any other author in history.[2] He teaches that crime and insanity are culturally determined by the powerful to keep power. Students are told they only think the way they do because of how they were raised. This is used to promote political agendas like “Limits on immigration are immoral!” This is a denial that there is a moral law that applies to all humans at all times.
Number 3: Marxism of various kinds.
According to Marxism, all of history is a conflict between the oppressors and the oppressed. At first, the target is white men, but soon, you realize that the real enemy is Christianity. The last 500 years have been Christian oppression of women, slaves, the colonized, racial minorities, sexual minorities, and the list goes on. This view teaches envy as a virtue and uses the problem of evil to discredit Christians. This is a denial of the providential rule of God. This one relies on the problem of evil. All evil is due to private property and can be overcome by a centralized state that redistributes wealth.
Number 2: LGBTQ+.
The homosexual movement uses Freudian tactics to convert the student to believe that there are infinite genders, that gender is whatever you say it is, that God did not create humans as male and female, and that marriage is not between a man and a woman. The story is that the young person had to repress their sexual desires, which led to neurosis, anxiety, and depression, and it was only when they could freely express their sexual desires that they found freedom and self-love. It relies on “conversion” stories and “religious experiences” to imitate Christianity. You find your identity in your basest urges. This is a denial that gender and sex are determined by God the Creator.
Number 1: Activism.
Progress toward perfecting human nature through revolution. Oppressed groups and their allies should rise up and overthrow the systematically racist, unjust system built by Christianity. Professors teach their students that the world they live in was built by white Christian men to perpetuate inequity and that the students have been personally wronged by this system. The students are told that the noblest person is the activist who protests and, when needed, burns down the cities. The student is presented with heroes who did just that. This is a secular version of the Great Commission. It is a denial of the transformative power of the Gospel.
Be Prepared
What can a Christian student do? First, know this list and be prepared. Knowing the enemy’s strategy is half the battle. Second, the next half of the battle, is being able to show why these philosophies are in error. Here are some important ways to do that:
- Know Romans 1:18-21. Be able to show it is clear that God exists so that unbelief is without excuse.
- Know why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Ecc 12;13-14).
- Know why sin leads to death.
- Know why the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
- Know the Biblical Worldview of Creation, Fall, and Redemption (Gen 1-3).
- Know why vicarious atonement through the death of Christ is necessary for redemption (John 1:29).
- Know what the historic Christian church has taught (for example, the Westminster Confession of Faith as a doctrinal statement of the Reformation). Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
- Be a member of a local Bible-believing Church.
- Be involved in campus ministry.
- Have friends and family with whom you can be accountable.
Footnotes:
[1] [Editor’s Note: “Autonomy” means “self-law” and refers to being self-governed. In this context, autonomy is also an implicit rejection of God’s law and governance; it is being “self-governed” in contrast to being governed by God and His laws].
[2] [Editors Note: As of 24 September 2024 Google Scholar reports 1,409,360 citations of Michel Foucault. See, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AKqYlxMAAAAJ&hl=en]
Recommended Resources:
How Philosophy Can Help Your Theology by Richard Howe (DVD Set, Mp3, and Mp4)
Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek
Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)
Dr. Owen Anderson is a Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Arizona State University, a pastor, and a certified jiu-jitsu instructor. He emphasizes the Christian belief in God, human sin, and redemption through Christ, and he explores these themes in his philosophical commentary on the Book of Job. His recent research addresses issues such as DEIB, antiracism, and academic freedom in secular universities, critiquing the influence of thinkers like Rousseau, Marx, and Freud. Dr. Anderson actively shares his insights through articles, books, online classes, and his Substack.
The post Ten Philosophical Challenges Christian Students Face at Secular University appeared first on Cross Examined.
LIVE: Trump delivers remarks on inflation and the economy at a Michigan rally
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump delivers remarks on inflation and the economy at a campaign event in Michigan. #foxnews
Source: LIVE: Trump delivers remarks on inflation and the economy at a Michigan rally
Watch Live | President Trump speaks in Michigan.
Real Journalism, Right Now: Is journalism dead? It’s certainly sick, but we found signs of life
Image Source: pexels.com
By Warren Cole Smith – Posted at MinistryWatch:
Published September 20, 2024It is not hard to find evidence for the conclusion that journalism is dead. A 2021 Gallup Poll said that just 21 percent of Americans had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers. For TV journalism, the number was even worse: 16 percent. Of the 16 institutions Gallup asked about, only the U.S. Congress had lower scores.
But is real journalism dead, or has it just been drowned out? Fake news, cable news punditry, and well-financed disinformation campaigns masquerade as journalism so convincingly that we have almost lost the ability to tell the difference between these practices and true journalism.
But they are not journalism. That’s not to say that they are not real, and they have become pervasive in our media ecosystem. Like kudzu that invades a forest, they threaten to choke out healthy discourse.
So, what is true journalism? First, it includes boots-on-the-ground reporting. Too many publications have discovered that opinion and punditry will attract eyeballs and notoriety that they no longer invest in the time, travel, and talent necessary for good reporting. They throw red meat to their base. Or they engage in what I call “drive by journalism”: a few bits of original reporting to create the illusion of real journalism. But these approaches rarely moves the needle in important conversations. These approaches merely amplify the noise in the echo chamber.
https://www.christian-heritage-news.com/2024/09/real-journalism-right-now-is-journalism.html
Will The Obamas Have Him Offed?
In today’s video we react to new allegations agains the Obama’s with their involvement with Diddy.
Truth2Freedom's Blog 