A first for Jesus

Featured

Jesus performs his first miracle at a wedding in Cana —
John 2:1-11

1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
 

Since this wedding was in Cana, Jesus had grown up just miles away. Now Jesus and his first five disciples found themselves at the wedding of family or a close friend. Sadly, whoever invited them now was about to suffer a great embarrassment.
 
Previous to the miracle described below, Jesus had performed no miracles. By performing this miracle, Jesus began to claim his role as Messiah. By fulfilling the request of his mother, He honored the family (the first institution God created for humans on Earth).
 

5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. 9When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus performed this miracle not to quench his own thirst, but to satisfy the needs of others (like his anxious mother, the conquered Israelites of Cana, and two families who would have been embarrassed had the wine run out). And this wasn’t a watery wine. Not to repeat the words of the headwaiter too much, but this was the good stuff. In fact, it was probably the best wine this side of heaven.
 
By turning this water into wine, Jesus took his first steps toward the cross. When He lifted the cup of this wine, did He taste the blood flowing from His scourging?
 

11This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

His disciples believed — and hopefully you will also.
 
Advertisements

A sad day for many American Christians

Featured

The Shocking Speech Wheaton College Doesn’t Want You to Hear

In a 11 January 2019 Black Community News article, Ryan Bomberger provides perspectives on two speakers at Wheaton College.

This is the tale of two lectures at Wheaton College, a Christian evangelical college in the suburbs of Chicago. One was given in September 2017 and the other in November 2018. Though only a year apart, the responses to the two presentations were universes apart. The reaction is very telling and tragic for those who believe that a Christian education is different than a secular one.

The first speech was given by Dr. George Yancy, a philosophy professor at Emory University (huge thanks to Jamie Dean at World Magazine for excellent article on this and uncovering actual audio recording). It was sponsored by Wheaton’s Philosophy department and held in the esteemed Billy Graham Center on campus. It was entitled: “A Post-Racial America? White Gazes and Black Bodies”. It can only be described as an expletive-laced, pornographic, racist, anti-biblical screed. His theme? “To be white is to be racist.” Listen to these shocking excerpts from that speech here.

There was no backlash from Wheaton’s leadership. There were no letters sent out by any staff or student government leaders denouncing him or raising concerns about the hostile, f-bomb-laden speech. There was only internal praise by the school’s own Wheaton Record.

Then there’s that second speech. Wheaton College Republicans courageously invited me to speak about abortion and race. Keep in mind, there’s never been anyone—ever—to address racism and the abortion industry at Wheaton. In fact, no one has addressed the issue of abortion at their thrice weekly chapels but once (briefly) in many years. Wheaton, founded by slavery abolitionists, doesn’t lead whatsoever on the abolition of abortion. One would think a school that (sort of) espouses a prolife worldview, at least in text on its website (“followers of Jesus Christ will uphold the dignity of human beings, from conception until death…”), would encourage students to put that into action by attending the March for Life Chicago or volunteering at a local pregnancy resource center.

Needless to say, I did not speak in the center named after the school’s most famous alum. But I did speak to a standing-room only audience in another Wheaton lecture hall. My multimedia talk was entitled “Black Lives Matter In and Out of the Womb”; it was an expletive-free, fact-based, statistics-driven, Biblically-rooted, deeply personal and grace-filled discussion on the systemic racism of the abortion industry and the hypocrisy of the pro-abortion #BlackLivesMatter movement. As an adoptee and adoptive father who was conceived in rape, I challenged students to see the most vulnerable, the most marginalized, and the most powerless among us as having equal intrinsic worth and God-given Purpose.

Six days later, I was severely denounced by a campus-wide email sent out by two Wheaton staff members and signed by three student government leaders. My entire message was branded as “offensive rhetoric” that made “many students, staff and faculty of color” feel “unsafe” on their campus. And now, the school has cancelled the College Republicans’ next event, because leadership claims their speaker approval process needs to change so Wheaton students aren’t exposed to such factivism (aka truth) again.

(Read more at Black Community News)

While this shows that at least one Christian college has gone full-bore liberal instead of full-bore Christian, this will not be the first time a faithful Christian and pro-lifer has been discriminated against. For examples, refer to my blog posts in

Since Wheaton College so flagrantly contradicted the examples of the Old Testament and the commands of the New Testament, maybe a review of how Christians must not discriminate racially and must not discriminate among Christians is in order.

Galatians 3:28 tells us that “(t)here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In other words, there are no divisions between Christians (no matter the gender, race, or financial status) due to the uniting properties of Jesus Christ. Let me be more clear: Christ makes all Christians into one body. We must not discriminate against the other parts of our own body any more than the mouth should denounce the nose.

In the Old Testament, we receive the example of a leader who did not consider skin tone and a God who stood by his prophet. In Numbers 12:1, we find …”Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married” … In verses 9 and 10, God shows his backing for Moses when we see …”the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed. But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow.” From this, we see that God stood against Miriam’s bigoted disapproval of Moses’ black wife. Not only that — God punished Miriam for her bigotry.

Additionally, Christians are commanded to “(b)e devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.” We should love other Christians like brothers and put the needs of other Christians over our own. Similar commands can be found in 1 Thessalonians 5:11; John 13:34; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:2 and 32; 1 Peter 4:8; and 1 John 4:7.

An Old Testament example of a man who was devoted to his fellow believers comes to us through Joseph, who — when presented with a chance to get back at people who sold him into slavery and thereby caused him to go to prison — said “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

More offerings from Bible Lens in 2018

Featured

Psalms 121:8 — The Lord will guard

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.
Psalms 121:8 NASB

I compiled this image using Bible Lens during March 2018.

Hebrews 11:10 — the city which has foundations

for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:10 NASB

Bible Lens_1547260931219.jpg

I compiled this image using Bible Lens during June 2018.

Galatians 5:22-23 — The fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

I compiled this image using Bible Lens during January 2018.

So who is being racist and who is color blind?

Featured

 

Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee stands by remarks suggesting Jazmine Barnes’ killing may have been a ‘hate crime’

As you can see for yourself in the video segment where a Houston reporter for CBS affiliate KHOU asks Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee about her comments, Rep. Jackson Lee does not back down from having called the murder of Jazmine Barnes a “hate crime” in an article by Fox News.

A Texas Democratic Congresswoman is defending her earlier comments suggesting the drive-by shooting of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes may have been a hate crime, even though both suspects in the case turned out to be black – and not a white individual as police and members of the public initially believed.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, when asked Sunday by a reporter about some of the comments made in the aftermath of the young girl’s death in Houston on Dec. 30, said it was “absolutely not” irresponsible to make that suggestion.

Barnes was shot and killed while sitting in the backseat of her mother’s car. Witness descriptions of a white man in his forties at the scene of the shooting – and a sketch put out by police – prompted widespread speculation a hate crime had happened.

“I believe – and having written hate crime legislation, knowing the criteria, I believe that this should be looked at as a hate crime,” Lee said during a press conference Friday, in a video posted to the Congresswoman’s Facebook page. “We don’t want to have on the street someone who is willing to kill children and possibly kill them in the name of hate.”

The next day, at a rally calling for justice for Barnes, Lee said “do not be afraid to call this what it seems to be — a hate crime,” according to several news organizations.

Prior to the arrests, Barnes’ family lawyer, Lee Merritt, also said “we do believe that it [the murder] was racially motivated in part because our nation at this moment is highly racially charged.”

(Read more at Fox News)

After a fashion, I think that Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee is correct and wrong. She is correct that a murderer of children deserves the most complete and severe punishment. However, she is wrong in initially crafting “hate crime” laws to punish criminals on the basis of their purported hate (or on the basis of race — and assuming that infers hate). I can tell you without wavering that almost no crimes are committed out of love for the victim.

So, if there is no case here for applying “hate crime” law against the perpetrators of a heinous murder of a little girl, why not just fully prosecute every crime? Why give certain groups postmortem advantages due to the density of melatonin in their skin or their choice of lifestyle?

As a Christian, I rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15 NASB). However, I think the “hate crime” model steps beyond empathy with the victim and steps into trying to assume and assign the unseen (that is, trying to guess motives, emotions, and other unquantifiable variables).

Family of man wrongfully accused by activist Shaun King in Jazmine Barnes’ shooting speaks out

In a 7 January 2019 article by ABC affiliate KTRK, the family of a wrongly-accused man pleads for the death threats to stop.

The family of a man whose photo went viral on social media as a possible suspect in the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes is telling everyone to “back off.”

Hailey Cantrell says despite the arrests of two suspects in the murder case, as recent as Monday, there have been threatening comments on her Facebook page regarding her uncle, Robert Cantrell.

“I hear, ‘Someone is going to rape, torture and murder the women and children in your family,” Hailey read from one comment.

Photos of her uncle were widely circulated starting last Friday. In a now-deleted Twitter post, activist Shaun King, who has one million followers, posted Cantrell’s mugshot and wrote, “We’ve had 20 people call or email us and say he is a racist, violent (expletive) and always has been. Just tell me everything you know.”

As a white man with blue eyes, he resembles the sketch the Harris County Sheriff’s Office released last week. Even his niece was afraid it was him.

“I’m not going to lie, I teared up,” said Cantrell.

The sheriff’s office now believes the sketch is of a witness that Jazmine’s sisters remembered and has said all evidence shows the little girl and her family were innocent victims.

Eric Black, 20, is charged with capital murder. Larry Woodruffe, 24, is in jail on an unrelated charge, but believed to be the shooter, according to ABC13 sources. Both are African American.

(Read more at ABC)

It would be nice if we could get back to the standards of “one crime, one punishment” and “assumed innocent until proven guilty.”

Robert Cantrell may have had a history that put him far from purity. However, if he currently resides in jail and two other men have been identified by numerous other sources as the murderers, then nobody should be threatening this man or his family.

barnesfuneral

Community remembers “Princess Jazmine” at her funeral service

An 8 January 2019 Houston Chronicle article lays out some of the events of the Jazmine Barnes funeral (but only the events that don’t reflect badly on local Democrats).

The pint-sized casket was adorned with purple and white flowers, with the words “Princess Jazmine” sewn into the fabric.

Hundreds of mourners wore purple — Jazmine Barnes’ favorite color.

And the pews were filled at The Community Faith Church Tuesday as family, friends, dignitaries and perfect strangers turned out to remember a young life cut short by a gunman who apparently mistook her family for someone else.

Her mother, LaPorsha Washington, her voice raw from tears, read a missive she said was 7-year-old Jazmine speaking from Heaven.

“There are no more tears, pain and sadness, just eternal love,” Washington told the congregation. “Do not be unhappy just because I am not by your side.”

In a case that sparked international outrage, Jazmine was gunned down in her mother’s car about 7 a.m. on Dec. 30 as they drove with her three sisters in northeast Harris County. The dogged manhunt began with a description of a white man seen in a red pickup truck amid growing tensions that the shooting had been racially motivated.

But by the time the funeral began Tuesday, two black men — including one suspected gang member — had been charged with capital murder in the shooting. Investigators said the men apparently thought they were aiming at a group with whom they had an altercation hours earlier.

(Read more at the Houston Chronicle)

Thank Heaven that Christ’s church reached out to the suffering mother of this murdered girl.

Likewise, thank God also for the widespread financial contributions that went toward the funeral expenses of Jazmine Barnes — including dollars provided by Shaquille O’Neal, Officer Kenneth Miles, Deandre Hopkins, and others.

However, one of a number of things this article does not mention was the stump speeches offered by Sheila Jackson-Lee, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and Mayor Sylvester Turner. Admittedly, campaigning at funerals has been a Democrat mainstay well before the Wellstone memorial; however, until the performances of Jackson-Lee, Gonzalez, and Turner, I did not know how much of an art form it was.

Shaq sends best wishes to Marine impaled in freak accident

Shaquille O’Neal has been reported by the Houston ABC affiliate to have sent an encouraging video to a Houston-area Marine who was recently impaled during a freak accident.

A Marine still in the hospital after being impaled in a freak accident around Christmastime got a much needed boost in the form of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.

“Shaq,” who is a friend to one of Fernando Dominguez’s friends, posted a video wishing him a speedy recovery.

“Fernando, it’s Shaq. Get well soon, brother. Everything will be alright. Drink that water. Start working out. Everything will be fine,” the Lakers legend said.

According to Dominguez’s mother, the message brightened his spirits.

The Marine, who suffered his injury on Highway 225 near Scarborough in Pasadena, underwent his sixth surgery since the freak accident occurred in late December.

(Read more at ABC)

While this bit of support has seen less air play, it seems to demonstrate Mr. O’Neal’s giving heart that he would send a supportive message to an injured Marine. Maybe it’s little — but if it gives hope and brightens the Marine’s spirits, it may be more valuable than many medicines.

6 things to know about the new Democrat House

Featured

1. By reviewing the Ocasio-Cortez initial announcement on the “Green New Deal,” we can see her blind spots and her focus

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Suggests Super Wealthy be Taxed Up to 70% to Fund ‘Green New Deal’

In a 4 January 2019 Mediaite article, the basic information on the Anderson Cooper interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in which she first unveils the Green New Deal appears in print.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sat with Anderson Cooper for an upcoming 60 Minutes interview set to air this Sunday, a portion of which has been released as a promotion. In the released segment, Ocasio-Cortez reveals how exactly she suggests paying for the environmental agenda known as the “Green New Deal” — with remarkably higher tax rates for the super wealthy.

Ocasio-Cortez suggests in the clip that in her esteem, people should be doing more to pay their “fair share.” When Cooper pressed on how she could possibly pay for the deal, she pointed to the progressive tax rate system in the 1960s, explaining that if you earn 0 to $75,000 a year, you would only pay 10% or 15% in income tax.

She continued:

“But once you get to the tippie tops, on your $10 millionth, sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60% or 70%. That doesn’t mean all $10 million are taxed at an extremely high rate. But it means that as you climb up this ladder, you should be contributing more.”

(Read more at Mediaite)

From reading this, we can glean:

  • Regarding her view of salaries and rich people
    1. Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t seem to understand that if income (or another reward) is removed, people will likely not produce at the same level
    2. The people earning $10 million are company owners that — when they scale back — may cause many people to lose their jobs. It seems she didn’t learn anything from Obama’s “The Great Recession” or Solyndra.
    3. She objectifies rich people as miniature banks for funding her pie-in-the-sky programs (not as people capable of compassion, mercy, or other laudable traits).
    4. She wants to divide us (the noble “green” voters) from the “rich” (who, according to her, do not pay their “fair share”).
  • Regarding her elevated view of “green” projects
    1. She assumes that “green” projects are so noble that they will escape strong questions by the press
    2. When she does get the muted criticism that this is “radical,” she glosses over the undercurrent of association with the failed states of the USSR, Cuba, Venezuela, and many other broken states by glorying in the title.

Democrats are dangerous to business

2. By reviewing the details of her “Green New Deal,” we can see how it will explode costs and kill jobs

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ is more dangerous than you think

The 3 January 2019 Washington Examiner opinion piece that describes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed “Green New Deal” should be reviewed by all (along with the linked draft resolution).

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., hasn’t officially started her first term in office, but she’s already pushing a massive, far-left proposal that would fundamentally transform much of the economy and push the country closer than ever to socialism.

For several weeks, you might have heard Ocasio-Cortez reference the creation of a “Green New Deal,” but until recently, few people knew what would be included in the plan. In a draft resolution to form a select committee in the House that would help develop legislation to put her plan in action, Ocasio-Cortez finally outlined numerous proposals that she says should be part of future Green New Deal legislation. Taken together, the many ideas included in Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal would be the most radical policy shift in modern U.S. history, dramatically increasing the size and power of government and running up the national debt by trillions of dollars.

According to Ocasio-Cortez, the Green New Deal, which has been endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and at least 40 House Democrats, would eliminate nearly all fossil fuels from the electric grid and force everyone in the country to buy from power companies selling only renewable energy.

This policy alone would create widespread economic chaos. Without government subsidies, renewable energy costs significantly more than many forms of traditional energy generation. My colleagues at the Heartland Institute found that electricity prices are, on average, increasing by 50 percent faster in those states that have created renewable power mandates compared to those that have rejected these economically destructive policies. This is especially troubling news for working-class and lower-income Americans, who spend much larger shares of their income on energy than wealthier families.

Not only is Ocasio-Cortez proposing to eliminate the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the fossil fuel industry in the United States, even though America recently became a net-energy exporter, she’s demanding this transition occur in just 10 years, from 2020 to 2030. This mandate would be virtually impossible to achieve because wind and solar energy sources still rely on back-up generation from fossil-fuel-powered energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.

Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal doesn’t merely advocate for a gigantic shift in the U.S. energy industry. Her draft resolution says one of the proposed House committee’s priorities would be “upgrading every residential and industrial building for state-of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort and safety.” Taken literally, this mandate would cost trillions of dollars. There were about 136 million housing units in the United States in 2017, not including any businesses. Even if it would cost just $10,000 to “upgrade” every home and apartment, an extremely low estimate, this one relatively small part of her plan would cost more than $1.3 trillion.

(Read more at the Washington Examiner)

As much as people have enjoyed the sudden renaissance of jobs caused by Trump’s deregulation, Ocasio-Cortez’s turn towards the bureaucracy of socialism must be resisted. Not only does it abandon our resources of oil, gas, and coal — it cannot do anything to regulate the biggest polluters (China, India, and third world countries).

Additionally, Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed bill plays loosely with tax dollars being collected and handed out. In fact, it is wrong on so many levels, because:

  1. The quickest way to raise the price of a commodity (like electrical power) is to mandate that the public buy that commodity from a monopoly (the green power producers)
  2. The best way to ensure a service (like the installation of green power conduits) is inordinately high-priced involves requiring everyone install them under penalty of law
  3. Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed bill eliminates the use of natural resources (that — through gasoline formulation technology and scrubbing technology — have become increasingly cleaner)
  4. Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed bill eliminates currently good-paying jobs in a time window too short to allow a workable transition

3. If the above issues are not enough, Ocasio-Cortez doubles down on forcing entrepreneurs from New York

Ocasio-Cortez Tax Plan Creates 82.7% Top Income Tax Rate for New Yorkers

If we go to a 4 January 2019 article by Americans for Tax Reform, we find a bleaker picture painted for the job creators of New York.

In an upcoming 60 Minutes interview, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will call for federal income tax rates of up to 70 percent as part of a proposal to create vast new government spending programs.

The current top federal income tax rate is 37 percent, so the Ocasio-Cortez plan will nearly double the tax rate for the top bracket.

New York State has a top income tax rate of 8.82 percent while New York City has a top rate of 3.876 percent. So under this proposal, her constituents would pay a top combined income tax rate of 82.7 percent:

Federal income tax rate: 70.0%
NY state income tax rate: 8.82%
NYC income tax rate: 3.876%
TOTAL: 82.696%

New Yorkers would not be the only ones suffering under the Ocasio-Cortez plan. California taxpayers would pay a top rate of 83.3 percent (70 percent plus the California rate of 13.30 percent).

(Read more at Americans for Tax Reform)

If this is not a formula for speeding the exodus of businesses from New York, I don’t know what is.

Pelosi gives it away to foriegn nations

4. For those concerned with border security, the new House Democrats have nothing. But they do have a nice gift for the dictators of Central America.

Democrat Spending Bill Offers $12 Billion More for Foreign Aid, $0 for Border Wall

A 3 January 2019 Breitbart article outlines the excesses the Democrats have taken to advance socialism and abortion internationally.

The spending bills proposed by House Democrats to end the partial government shutdown offer no funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but provide over $12 billion more in foreign aid than the Trump administration requested, according to a statement on Thursday from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The statement warned the new House Democrat majority of President Trump’s intention to veto the bills, noting that the administration “cannot accept legislation that provides unnecessary funding for wasteful programs while ignoring the Nation’s urgent border security needs.”

The statement reiterated President Trump’s request for “at least $5 billion for border security” and asserted that the Democrats’ proposal “does not come close to providing these necessary investments and authorities.”
The White House then highlighted the billions in funding the Democrats are offering for “unnecessary programs at excessive levels” beyond what the Trump administration requested, including:

  • $12 billion more for “international affairs programs,” including $2.9 billion more “for economic and development assistance, including funding for the West Bank/Gaza, Syria, and Pakistan, where our foreign aid is either frozen or under review.”
  • $700 million more than requested for the United Nations, including restored funding for the United Nation’s Population Fund, which would undermine the administration’s Mexico City Policy that bars the use of taxpayer dollars for foreign organizations that “promote or perform abortions.”
  • Approximately $2 billion more than requested for the Environmental Protection Agency
  • $7.1 billion more than the administration requested for Housing and Urban Development programs

(Read more at Breitbart)

Of course, these Democrats have to know that these measures will not pass the Republican Senate and will not be signed into law by President Trump.

Still, forget reality. These are the Democrats.

5. Democrats know from commercial sources that America wants Border Security

Americans want border security, and the numbers show it

A 5 January 2019 Fox News article on a recent Gallup poll shows that most Americans value border security.

President Trump is far from alone in his determination to secure our borders — according to a recent Gallup poll, Americans view immigration as the second-biggest problem facing the country today.

That’s bad news for the Democrat Party, which is hellbent on opposing the president’s efforts to fix our broken immigration system, especially the border wall he needs in order to get illegal immigration under control.

The Democrats have a very simple, two-part strategy on immigration: first and foremost, they want to keep President Trump from fulfilling his promises to the American people; second, they want to make it even easier for foreigners to enter this country illegally.

With Democrats now in control of the House of Representatives, it’s no surprise that Americans are deeply troubled by the immigration crisis.

Over the past several decades, millions of illegal immigrants have successfully evaded our efforts to enforce immigration laws, putting local economies and welfare programs under tremendous pressure to cope with the massive influx of undocumented workers and their families, most of whom receive at least one form of government welfare.

In fact, illegal immigration costs taxpayers a staggering $134.9 billion a year while contributing only $19 billion in state, federal, and local taxes. At the federal level, medical costs make up the lion’s share of government expenditures on illegal immigrants, while education is the largest single expense that illegal immigration imposes on state and local governments.

(Read more at Fox News)

Although it is the Democrats who seem hellbent on denying border security to America, I have to admit that the Republicans have had ample chances to fix the problem over the past two years.

6. If you don’t live in a major population center, the Democrats do not care about you.

Nolte: Tyrannical Democrats Introduce Bill to Kill Electoral College

According to a 4 January 2019 Breitbart article, the Democrats would like to silence the fly-over states between New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Desperate to bring the Tyranny of the Majority to our representative democracy, on the first day Democrats assumed control of the House of Representatives, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) submitted a bill to kill the electoral college.

“In two presidential elections since 2000, including the most recent one in which Hillary Clinton won 2.8 million more votes than her opponent, the winner of the popular vote did not win the election because of the distorting effect of the outdated Electoral College,” Cohen said in a press release. “Americans expect and deserve the winner of the popular vote to win office. More than a century ago, we amended our Constitution to provide for the direct election of U.S. Senators. It is past time to directly elect our President and Vice President.”

Democrat frustration over losing the presidency when they won the most votes is certainly justified. But it is also their own fault. If these triggered snowflakes would get over their Red State prejudices and dare to live amongst us, that influence might flip enough states. But they refuse to. These snobby bigots find Middle America icky, so they cower together in coastal and big city bubbles.

If you will pardon a small digression… never forget that those who claim to believe in Global Warming also choose to stubbornly live on the very same coasts that are supposed to be underwater already.

Anyway, eliminating the electoral college is the road to tyranny — which is why Democrats and the media desperately want it eliminated.

Trust me, the last place any free person wants to live is in a country where 51 percent of the population can strip the rights away from the 49 percent.

Imagine a country where the only way to get elected president is to appeal to the left-wing extremists who live in large population centers, which is exactly what would happen. In fact this would be the only way to win the presidency because it would be the easiest — the cheapest as far as ad buys, getting out the vote, and that most precious commodity of all: time. Campaigns are going to go to where the most votes are.

(Read more at Breitbart)

While the Democrats know that getting rid of the electoral college would require an amendment to the constitution, I have read elsewhere that Democrats are doing an end-run on the electoral college by getting individual fly-over states to voluntarily give their delegates to the popular winner of the overall presidential election.

Signs the AP is full of liberal sh**

Featured

The Associated Press lede: Signs of GOP unease over shutdown ahead of White House talks

According to a 4 January 2019 Associated Press article, the President should immediately cave on his demand to fund the border wall.

For the second time in three days, congressional leaders arrived at the White House Friday for talks with President Donald Trump amid signs of growing Republican unease over the prolonged partial government shutdown.

The meeting on the 14th day of the shutdown came after House Democrats muscled through legislation to fund the government but not Trump’s proposed wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. As the impasse over border funding dragged on, some GOP senators up for re-election in 2020 voiced discomfort.

But Trump dug in ahead of the meeting, writing in a letter to Congress, “Walls work. That’s why rich, powerful and successful people build them around their homes.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said even though the new Congress has convened since the last session at the White House, “the basic steps that are needed to end this unfortunate standoff really haven’t changed at all.”

McConnell has said measures approved by the House are non-starters on his side of the Capitol without the president’s support.

“Any viable compromise will need to carry the endorsement of the president before it receives a vote,” he said.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is close to Trump, said he spoke to the president Thursday about a potential compromise package that would include border wall money and some way to provide legal standing for the young immigrants here illegally but working or attending school under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“He’s open-minded to this,” Graham said in an interview, but he added the president “hasn’t committed.”

Pelosi has already said she opposes trading DACA for the wall, and it’s unclear if other Democrats and Republicans would be willing to engage in immigration negotiations. But Graham called such a compromise the best way out of the shutdown.

(Read more at the Associated Press)

As for myself, all this article does is make me want to use AP srticles as examples of liberal bias.

Conversely, considering

  1. The American deaths that have occurred at the hands of illegal aliens,
  2. The incivility of the opposition,
  3. And the invasion of diseases across our southern border,

The President does not need to back down.

Central tweets to November

Featured

Tweets important to November

30 November – Luke 6:37

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

28 November – Psalms 87:4

Delight yourself in the Lord ; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

27 November – Jeremiah 33:3

”Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

26 November – Psalms 100:5

For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

25 November – 1 Corinthians 6:20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

23 November – Romans 15:5-6

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6 NASB

22 November – Psalms 100:4

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

21 November – Psalm 9:1

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.

21 November – Isaiah 25:1

O Lord , You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

19 November – Psalm 3:3

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

18 November – Psalm 9:1

But You, O Lord , are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

17 November – 1 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

14 November – 2 Corinthians 12:9

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

13 November – Acts 20:24

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

12 November – 1 John 3:1

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

11 November – Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

11 November – 3 John 1:2

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

10 November – Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

8 November – 2 Corinthians 7:1

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

7 November – Hebrews 9:28

so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

6 November – John 1:14

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

5 November – James 1:2-3

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 November – Ecclesiastes 11:5

Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

3 November – Proverbs 13:20

He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

1 November – Pslam 42:11

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

My most important tweets of December 2018

Featured

December tweets on the verse of the day from the YouVersion app and the Bible Eye app

As I prepare to study my Bible, I generally review the verse of the day (that usually has up to 6 illustrating images) by the YouVersion app. When I find it moving (which is most of the time), I tweet the verse along with the image that most moves me.

At other times, I see a scene that makes me think of a particular Bible verse. Now that the Bible Eye app has been modified to allow the user to pair an image with a verse, I have started doing that.

31 December – James 1:5

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

This is one of several images created through the Bible Eye app.

31 December – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This, like most of the verse-of-the-day images, came from the YouVersion Bible.

30 December – 1 John 4:15

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

29 December – Luke 6:35-36

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

29 December – 1 John 2:6

the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

27 December – Matthew 4:4

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘ man shall not live on bread alone , but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God .'”

27 December – Colossians 1:16

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him.

25 December – Isaiah 9:6

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

24 December – Luke 2:14

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

22 December – Matthew 1:21

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 December – 1 John 4:9

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

22 December – John 3:17

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

19 December – Isaiah 26:9

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

19 December – Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

16 December – Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

15 December – Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

14 December – Matthew 5:17

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

13 December – John 4:20

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

12 December – Mark 8:34

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

10 December – Romans 13:10

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

9 December – Proverbs 5:21

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord , And He watches all his paths.

9 December – Proverbs 13:6

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord , And He watches all his paths.

6 December – 1 Corinthians 16:14

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

4 December – 1 Corinthians 13:2

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

2 December – Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

1 December – Romans 8:37

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

5 reasons to support building the wall

Featured

Call the bluff of the liberals

Reason 1: To call the liberals’ bluff

The liberals (including the press, as demonstrated by the article below) have put together a mesh-mash that reflects poorly on the Trump administration. That mesh-mash includes accusations against President Trump, stories reflecting well on the illegal aliens, and favorably quoting sources from the aliens’ countries of origin. Without making outright statements of “this is wrong and that is right,” the articles push an open-borders, free-healthcare perspective.

Therefore, the first reason to push toward building the wall is to call the liberals’ bluff and start an honest conversation on the topics surrounding immigration, national sovereignty, and law beyond our national boundaries.

Too bad liberals don’t seem to aspire to those goals.

Trump widens demands in wall standoff, threatens Mexico border closure

A 28 December 2018 Reuters article does its best to lay the blame on Trump (starting with the heading [quoted above] and proceeding to quotes from the incoming Mexican President [not included in the blockquote below]).

President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the southern U.S. border with Mexico unless he gets the money he wants for a wall, raising the stakes in a standoff that will present an immediate test next week for the new U.S. Congress.

When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, they plan to quickly approve a spending measure meant to end a partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22, triggered by Trump’s demand for $5 billion in funding for his proposed wall.

Democrats have made clear that the House measure, which would then have to go to the Republican-controlled Senate, will not include $5 billion Trump says is needed for the wall, a central part of his tougher positions on immigration than his predecessors.

“Democrats are united against the president’s immoral, ineffective and expensive wall … that he specifically promised that Mexico would pay for,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement, referring to a Trump 2016 presidential campaign pledge.

(Read more at Reuters)

One of the reasons that I voted for President Trump rests firmly in the fact that Trump takes no guff. This is one instance where it would greatly benefit the Trump administration if he were to remain true to this trait.

Anyway, considering the fact that few of the average Americans seem to be even marginally effected by the shutdown, maybe some government savings are in order.

Pueblo sin Fronteras of Chicago leads the invasion

Reason 2: To expose the liberal organizations in their tactics and motivations

Another reason to push for a border wall is that, in doing so, we might expose the tactics of the liberal organizations that oppose the wall.

As with the article used to illustrate the previous point, the liberal perspective central to its writing suggests some fuzzy anti-Trump and pro-liberal ideas.

Although the following article does start with a statement of fact that exonerates Trump and his Border Patrol, the rest of the article seems to suggest a number of liberal talking points that most Americans will not support.

Guatemalan boy who died in U.S. custody had the flu: state officials

In light of the wailing by liberals regarding the second death of an underage illegal alien brought by a parent invading from Guatemala, we have to wonder whether liberals want us to:

  1. Sue the organizations that obviously have been trolling through communities and suggesting that a child is a ticket for access to Easy Street in the US or
  2. Provide health care to any potential invader to the US

Otherwise, it would seem that their complaints about our protecting our sovereignty are all just proofs that liberalism is a mental disease.

Nonetheless, the account of the death of the Guatemalan boy and accompanying statements by the Guatemalan and “advocacy organizations” found their ways to a 28 December 2018 Reuters article.

The 8-year-old Guatemalan boy who died in the custody of U.S. border agents this week had the flu before he passed away but the cause of his death is still unknown, state officials said on Friday.

Felipe Gomez Alonzo was the second Guatemalan child to die this month while being held by U.S. authorities, sparking outrage from immigration advocates.

In the wake of the deaths, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was traveling to the border to observe medical screenings and conditions at Border Patrol stations while Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate have called for a full investigation.

Gomez fell ill after being detained near the U.S. border with Mexico with his father. The two had traveled to the United States from their remote village of Yalambojoch in Guatemala.

New Mexico’s Medical Investigator’s office said in a statement that nasal and lung swabs during an autopsy found Gomez had influenza B, but said “determining an accurate cause of death requires further evaluation.”

(Read more at Reuters)

Any American who has had a young child knows the trips to the hospital that we experience (even with the multitude of vaccines available). Since early-childhood sickness is a common evil for parents even in affluent America, what would tempt a parent of a more-susceptible Central American family to take a young child on a stressful trip and expose that child to many sources of infection?

Let me suggest that these groups that advocate for “immigrant rights” (meaning “illegal alien rights”) have traveled to Central America and are telling people, “Increase your chances of getting in and remaining in America by bringing a young child.” Why else would these parents bring 6 and 7-year-old children on a 3,000 mile walk in the cold part of the year? When does the flu normally come to the Americas? Do they not know this?

If proof comes forward that these “immigrant rights” advocates have pushed susceptible young parents into making this trip with children, they should be held accountable.

Gustavo Perez Arriaga arrested

Reason 3: To protect America

A third reason to push for a border wall becomes evident through examination of any of a number of articles describing the murder of Americans by illegal aliens.

Although these articles rarely accuse President Trump of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, these articles (especially those covering the death of a law enforcement official) drive home the need to protect our citizens from illegal alien lawbreakers.

Police arrest illegal immigrant suspected in California officer’s killing

One 28 December 2018 Reuters article presents the bare facts on the death of an officer and the apprehension of an illegal alien suspect.

A suspected illegal immigrant accused of shooting to death a California police officer was arrested on Friday after a two-day manhunt that President Donald Trump cited in his push for building a wall on the border with Mexico, officials said.

Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 32, a Mexican national, was arrested in Bakersfield, a city less than 200 miles (320 km) south of Newman where the officer was shot on Wednesday, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said at a news conference.

The shooting and manhunt in California’s agricultural Central Valley entered the national debate over immigration, after Trump tweeted about it in his advocacy for a border wall and Christianson criticized California’s sanctuary law for immigrants.

Arriaga is accused of shooting to death Newman police corporal Sonil Singh after Singh pulled him over on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The suspect, who exchanged fire with Singh, has claimed to be involved with a criminal gang called the Sureños and was trying to escape to Mexico, Christianson said.

On Friday, heavily armed police officers surrounded the Bakersfield home where they believed Arriaga was hiding and he walked out with his hands up, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters.

(Read more at Reuters)

I have to ask this: if we could build a structure that would discourage (even turn back) one or two people who feel entitled to kill our police, why wouldn’t we?

America's collective pocket is being picked

Reason 4: To show even more that we will not be the continued object of financial abuse

One last reason listed in this post for supporting our building the border wall could be expanded into infinity — our need to rein in our habit of throwing cash at everything. In this case, America needs to stop throwing money at regimes that do nothing to further our interests.

In other words, we need to stop sending millions of dollars to countries that support our enemies or send their criminals or otherwise try to confound our systems.

Of course, if we are going to eliminate our international largess, why not pare down our bureaucratic waste? Why not eliminate federal departments that have not improved the overall performance of fields that they duplicate state and local efforts?

Trump threatens to cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador

According to a 28 December 2018 article in The Hill, talks about how Trump “threatened to cut foreign aid” (as if these funds were guaranteed and owed in perpetuity the American people to these foreign nations).

President Trump on Friday threatened to cut foreign aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, accusing the Central American countries of “doing nothing for the United States but taking our money.”

“Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money,” Trump tweeted.

“Word is that a new Caravan is forming in Honduras and they are doing nothing about it. We will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries – taking advantage of U.S. for years!”

This is not the first time that Trump has threatened stop providing foreign aid to countries he says are not doing enough to stop migrant caravans from forming. In October he said that “no more money or aid will be given to Honduras” if a migrant caravan was not stopped.

I want your ideas

Reason 5: To put flesh to other conservative ideas

Since I don’t pretend to have a monopoly on conservative thought, I am open to hearing from other conservative thinkers.

Please either post your ideas on why we should support the building of the wall in the comments or put a link in the comments to your post on the same topic.

Liberal hyperbole

Featured

Bob Woodward hyperventilates

Liberal hyperbole on the wall

Woodward: We’re in a ‘Governing Crisis’ — ‘This Is Not Just Another Government Shutdown’

Bob Woodward again feels a need to broadcast his anti-Trump views through CNN, as reported by Breitbart in a 26 December 2018 article.

During Wednesday’s “New Day” on CNN, journalist Bob Woodward commented on the ongoing partial government shutdown along with Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis’ departure, calling what is going on right now in the White House a “governing crisis.”

“It’s a governing crisis,” Woodward stated. “[W]e better face the reality. This is a dangerous time. This is not just another government shutdown or another example of this impasse. It is something people better think about.

(Read more at Breitbart)

Are we really in a governing crisis? Sometimes I wonder whether we are in a reporting crisis. That is, with the drop in the market over the 22 and 24th followed by the surges on the 26th and 27th, I wonder about the power of the media to both shape and withhold information. I think of the second year of over 90% negative coverage of Trump while they continue to suck up to the head of Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the NSA scandal, the IRS scandal, and too many other scandals to list here.

What would happen if we did not have a partisan press?

tweet straightening out Alexandria

Liberal hyperbole as they try to take advantage of things they oppose

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Jesus was a ‘refugee’ in Christmas tweet

Despite the fact that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez unconditionally supports “a woman’s freedom of choice,” belongs to the party that booed God at its last convention, and makes sport of subverting Christians’ religious rights, she now wants to glom onto the sympathy for the Christ Child as she has been reported by Houston Fox affiliate in a 26 December 2018 article to have claimed the manger-ridden Jesus to be a refugee.

U.S. Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wished her Twitter followers a Merry Christmas Tuesday by referring to the newborn Jesus as a “refugee.”

“Joy to the World!” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “Merry Christmas everyone – here’s to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)”

Mary and Joseph are not depicted as refugees in the Nativity story. According to the Gospel of Luke, Joseph brings the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem so that he may enroll in a census ordered by the Roman emperor Augustus. The couple are forced to take shelter in the stable where Jesus is born due to a lack of room at the inn.

However, in the Gospel of Matthew, Mary and Joseph flee into Egypt with the infant Jesus after King Herod of Judea orders the murder of every boy aged two and under in Bethlehem after the Magi ask him where to find the newborn “King of the Jews.” The Holy Family escape the slaughter and are told by an angel to return to Israel once Herod is dead.

(Read more at Fox)

I can pray for this leader and show love to her; however, I cannot be quiet, because she has been (1) just making political points using the name of Jesus and (2) acting as a vocal opponent to Christian causes like the fight for life and the struggle for religious rights within our society. To remain quiet would mean denying my Christian brothers and sisters.

Liberal hyperbole on a lie

Newsweek falsely reports on Trump visit to troops

Reporters at Newsweek falsely reported in a 26 December 2018 article that President Trump had not visited the troops at the front lines.

Donald Trump is the first U.S. president to not visit troops over the Christmas holiday since 2002. On Tuesday morning, Trump continued the presidential tradition of telephoning military personnel, using the occasion to address the partial government shutdown over funding for his long- promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. But did not visit with any troops in person.

His actions stood in contrast with last year’s, when Trump spoke with wounded veterans at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on December 21, bestowing the Purple Heart on one injured soldier and praising military personnel as “some of the bravest people anywhere in the world.”

But this year he sidestepped that tradition. Between 2009 and 2016, President Barack Obama visited with troops stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, every year over Christmas, NBC reported, while President George W. Bush visited Walter Reed every Christmas between 2003 and 2008, passing on the opportunity in 2002 and 2001.

In yesterday’s call with U.S. troops stationed abroad, Trump used the time to reassert his position that the government shutdown would not end until he received $5 billion for his long-promised border wall.

(Read more at Newsweek)

Sometimes, I wish they would try to check their information instead of just publishing things that help Democrats and hurt conservative Republicans.

President Trump visits the troops

Donald and Melania Trump make surprise visit to US troops in Iraq

In a New York Post article published on the same day, Mark Moore and Nikki Schwab correctly reported that the President and First Lady visited troops in Iraq.

President Trump, who has been criticized for not visiting US troops during the holidays, slipped off to an air base in Iraq on Wednesday.

Trump, wearing a dark suit and red tie, and first lady Melania Trump met with military personnel on Wednesday at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq just west of Baghdad – his first visit with military members in a war zone since he entered the White House almost two years ago.

He told the gathered servicemen and women, many of whom were wearing fatigues, that he has “no plans at all” to pull them out of the country, where they’ve been helping Iraq forces battle Islamic State terrorists.

The commander-in-chief also defended his controversial decision to withdraw the 2,000 US troops in Syria that are leading a global coalition against the terror group.

(Read more at the New York Post)

Thanks to those outlets who do correctly report the news.

Liberals let the truth out

Featured

Mika insults the homosexaul community in an argument against Pompeo

Mika Brzezinski uses an anti-gay slur to challenge Mike Pompeo into attacking the Sauds

In a 13 December 2018 Washington Post article, we find that Mika thinks so little of the gay lifestyle that she can use it as a slur against those with whom she debates. Specifically, the article quotes her in the following way:

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski is facing growing backlash — including criticism from President Trump — after calling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a “wannabe dictator’s butt boy” Wednesday during a segment of the show “Morning Joe.”

The homophobic and vulgar remark was triggered by a less-than-impassioned response from Pompeo about the murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Pompeo had ducked questions in a “Fox & Friends” interview about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the killing.

(Read more at the Washington Post>)

Several things come to mind:

  1. Although Mika likely outwardly adheres to the liberal orthodoxy concerning the importance of paying holmage to homosexuality; however, inwardly she thinks so little of it that she uses it as a curse word.
  2. Rather than arguing for her point, she strikes out with name calling. Therefore, it seems as though she has no argument that will stand against Mr. Pompeo.
  3. Over the years, liberals have lectured Americans that we cannot impose our morality on other societies (or so they argued while we fought wards in Viet Nam, Afghanistan, and Iraq). However, now that we are talking about Mr. Khashoggi, a citizen of Saudi Arabia (and a vocal critic of the current leadership), now they want to apply Western values to the kingdom.
  4. Even though Ms. Brzezinski has purportedly offered a heart-felt apology to the LGBT community, I would question its sincerity. If it took her three days to formulate it, it probably was not from the heart (but from the pocket book).

 

A set of Alec Baldwin tweets using anti-gay slurs

Yeah, Alec Baldwin Really Is a Bigot

In keeping with his on-screen, tough-guy persona (but in contradiction to his off-screen, ultra-left activist persona), the New York Daily News reports in a 3 November 2018 article on a 2018 attack over a parking spot.

Actor and President Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin was arrested for allegedly sucker-punching another man in a fight over a Greenwich Village parking spot, cops said

…

Baldwin was charged with third-degree assault, misdemeanour harassment and physical contact, officials said.

(Read more at the New York Daily News)

Odd thing is that, while one or two early-published articles mentioned the language used by Baldwin, none of them stayed up. In fact, very few articles on the 2018 confrontation remain. Most articles that turn up from a Google search of “Alec Baldwin, photographer, sucker” return links that cover a 2013 brawl Baldwin forced on a photographer.

For example, one 2013 article in The Atlantic offers a defense of Baldwin’s anti-gay rants.

Responding to Andrew Sullivan’s argument, and my own, that Alec Baldwin is—in fact—kind of a bigot, Wes Alwan offers the following defense:

For calling a photographer a “cocksucking fag” in a blowup caught on video, and another journalist a “fucking little bitch” and “toxic queen” on twitter, Baldwin has been roundly condemned as a “bigot” and “homophobe,” despite the fact that he has been a vocal supporter of gay rights. …

These condemnations are grounded in a number of highly implausible theses that amount to a very flimsy moral psychology. The first is the extremely inhumane idea that we ought to make global judgments about people’s characters based on their worst moments, when they are least in control of themselves: that what people do or say when they’re most angry or incited reveals a kind of essential truth about them. The second is that we are to condemn human beings merely for having certain impulses, regardless of their behaviors and beliefs. The third is that people’s darkest and most irrational thoughts and feelings trump their considered beliefs: Baldwin can’t possibly really believe in gay rights, according to Coates, if he has any negative feelings about homosexuality whatsoever. The fourth, implied premise here – one that comes out in the comical comments section following Coates’ post – is that we are to take no account whatsoever of the possibility of psychological conflict. We refuse to allow ourselves to imagine that a single human being might have a whole host of conflicted thoughts and feelings about homosexuality: that they might be both attracted to it and repelled by it. …

(Read more at The Atlantic)

It just contradicts logic that liberals will circle the wagons around someone who continually abuses others by using anti-gay slurs.

Dim bulb Colbert

Colbert’s Gay Trump Joke Went Too Far

One 3 May 2017 article in Time at least carried a title (“Colbert’s Gay Trump Joke Went Too Far“) that suggested this media outlet recognized Colbert had taken a step too far. However, when you read the body of the article (and especially the next two paragraphs), you will see that no such recognization came to Time.

Which brings us to Colbert’s recent, controversial monologue in which he directed a homophobic slur at the President, suggesting sarcastically that he engages in penetrative sex acts with Vladimir Putin. What’s most striking about the monologue, which aired Monday night, is how remarkably unmotivated it feels. Notionally angry at Trump for having treated CBS’s Face the Nation host John Dickerson unfairly, Colbert builds up a head of steam in an instant. It’s just as ginned-up as Fallon’s enthusiasm for the lip-syncing abilities of every one of his guests. “You’re not the POTUS, you’re the Bloatus!” Colbert intones, the umbrage in his voice rising. “You’re the glutton with the button. You’re a regular Gorge Washington!”

It’s not hard to see why Colbert ended up defaulting to a joke that presumes the worst thing you can call a man is gay—the rest of his material wouldn’t get him booked as a guest on The Late Show. The show, like all late-night shows, is structured to privilege Colbert’s sensibility and his wit abone all. But Colbert has little to say beyond broad, bland puns about Trump’s physique, intelligence, and relative popularity.

(Read more at Time)

By the time that Colbert made his “c**k holster” comment in 2017, I had been ignoring his show for a year. Now, I make a point of turning to the Travel channel if I get a hint that his show is about to hit the air.

Since the mainstay of comedy comes through the capacity to laugh at one’s self — not the capacity to crassly bash the “other.”

Although Trump has held the place of “other,” the LGBT community might look to the history of his humor to know that they are not being used.

The loss of the Weekly Standard

Featured

TheWeaklyStandardMeetsTheBowieKnife

The Murder of the Weekly Standard

In a 14 December 2018 commentary by the Weekly Standard‘s co-founder (John Podhoretz) in Commentary Magazine, a true insider explains the demise of what could have been a great conservative production. Bolding is mine for emphasis.

The Weekly Standard will be no more. There is no real reason we are witnessing the magazine’s demise other than deep pettiness and a personal desire for bureaucratic revenge on the part of a penny-ante Machiavellian who works for its parent company.

There would at least be a larger meaning to the Standard’s end if it were being killed because it was hostile to Donald Trump. But I do not believe that is the case. Rather, I believe the fissures in the conservative movement and the Republican party that have opened up since Trump’s rise provided the company man with a convenient argument to make to the corporation’s owner, Philip Anschutz, that the company could perhaps harvest the Standard’s subscriber-base riches and then be done with it.

That this is an entirely hostile act is proved by the fact that he and Anschutz have refused to sell the Standard because they want to claim its circulation for another property of theirs. This is without precedent in my experience in publishing, and I’ve been a family observer of and active participant in the magazine business for half a century.

The creation of the Weekly Standard was my proudest professional moment. When Bill Kristol and I conceived the magazine at the end of 1994, our purpose was to create a publication that would help guide and keep honest the hard-charging Republican party that had scored its stunning lopsided victory over Bill Clinton’s Democrats. This putative magazine would not cheerlead for Newt Gingrich’s Republicans, but instead represent the best thinking about how to lead the country through a new conservative era. We were criticized for not being part of the team from the get-go. Indeed, after the first issue came out in September 1995, a wag at a weekly meeting in Washington chaired by Grover Norquist handed out a parody of the Standard based on the precept that we had already gone off the reservation and weren’t being properly supportive of the Gingrich era.

…

The cessation of the Standard is an intellectual and political crime. I hope and expect its subscribers, tens of thousands of whom have been with the magazine since its very first day, will demand refunds rather than serve as passive participants in this act of politico-cultural murder. If you are a Standard subscriber but not yet a COMMENTARY reader, write to me at johnpodhoretz@commentarymagazine.com. Have I got a deal for you.

(Read more at Commentary Magazine)

I don’t celebrate the downfall of a conservative publication (since there have been some articles that I have applauded); however, when the Standard stood against first Gingrich and then Trump, they lost me.

I understand the importance of a good role model; however, I also believe in the both principles of forgiveness and of allowing the establishment of a track record. Yes, I admit that Trump started as a playboy — nothing I would want my son to emulate. However, his track record from the removal of EPA regulations to his appointment of conservative judges to his protection of Christians, Jews, and other groups has won my vote.

Blame Bill Kristol for the demise of the Weekly Standard

Don’t blame Trump for the demise of the Weekly Standard

Daniel McCarthy of the Spectator USA adds his voice to those explaining the death of a once-great conservative publication in a 14 December 2018 Spectator USA article.

If the Weekly Standard closes down by year’s end, as is widely expected and as Spectator USA first reported, the country will have lost one of its few remaining writer’s magazines. But for most people, the caliber of writing from Andrew Ferguson or Christopher Caldwell or Matt Labash is not what stands out about the Weekly Standard. Its reputation is tied to the Iraq War and to its founding editor’s reinvention of himself as the most acerbic NeverTrumper on Twitter. The latter has led the New York Times and other outlets to blame the closed-mindedness of conservatives toward criticism of Trump for the magazine’s demise.

…

Beyond that, however, think about the brand itself: in the public mind, the name Weekly Standard is associated with one thing that’s unpopular with almost everyone (the Iraq War), and another that’s unpopular with its formerly intended audience of conservatives (opposition to Trump). The person most identified with the brand is Kristol, by far. He stepped down as editor at the end of 2016, but his public persona still defines the magazine: his bitter, flippant, or sarcastic tweets about Trump and Trump supporters are the Weekly Standard’s brand in the public’s eye. Few people look at the masthead of a magazine closely enough to realize when a prominent editor such as Kristol has been replaced by a less prominent once such as Steve Hayes — and because Kristol remains on the masthead as editor-at-large, ordinary readers have even more cause for confusion. (‘Editor-at-large’ sounds a lot like ‘editor’ to most people, but in fact usually means ‘ex-editor.’)

(Read more at Spectator USA)

As I have said in certain forums, the Weekly Standard killed themselves by continually attacking those who would otherwise be loyal customers. In Gingrich‘s time as Speaker of the House, certainly no less than 2 or 3 articles per year were devoted to some mode of “conservative opposition.”

Similarly, now that Trump has established in the least a conservative voice in courts, you would think that the Standard would at least acknowledge his success. However, even with the business-friendly changes implemented by Trump, anyone can find the continually derisive comments and tweets, while none will likely find a complement of Trump.

Four reasons to support Trump

Featured

Trump having signed the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act

Religious Liberty Advocates Praise Trump for Signing Genocide Law

Just as Trump campaigned on providing relief to the downtrodden of the Middle East in their own countries, Breitbart reports in a 13 December 2018 article that Trump has signed the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018, which will fund organizations that provide humanitarian aid to religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq.

Religious liberty advocates praised President Donald Trump for signing into law on Tuesday the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018, which will, among other provisions, fund organizations — including faith-based organizations — that provide humanitarian aid to religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq.

“After two years of hard work by religious freedom advocates, it was a jubilant moment to watch as President Trump signed the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act into law,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement. “While the Trump administration has been working to address the needs of those targeted by ISIS’s genocidal campaign, this new law will give another boost to relief groups, including faith-based groups.”

“Until recently, relief groups have been operating almost entirely on private donations,” said Perkins, who is also a commissioner with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“While a long road is ahead for these genocide victims — today’s bill signing reaffirms that they aren’t walking it alone,” Perkins said.
“This law is enormously significant,” Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and a former USCIRF said in a statement. “It legislates the humanitarian aid policy of the Trump-Pence policy, meaning it cannot be reversed by a future administration policy.”

“Politically, It signals the embrace of Congress for this policy and it creates a precedent for other situations of genocide,” Shea said, noting that even if the United States gave $2 billion dollars to Iraq, it may not reach the genocide victims.

(Read more at Breitbart)

Not only does this fulfill a campaign promise to provide humanitarian aid in the countries and not on our shores — this bill supports the Christians and religious minorities that ISIS has beaten down and driven out of the Middle Eastern refugee camps.

I am thankful for the Christian lives that will be saved in the Middle East due to this bill.

Trump administration protects religious freedom

Religious freedom 2, ObamaCare 0

In a summary of the struggle between Obamacare and the religious, 7 December 2018 New York Post article outlines not only the pain the law has inflicted, but also the help the Trump administration has provided in lifting the onerous portions of the law.

…

Even the Obama administration admitted, when the question finally landed at the Supreme Court, that there were other ways to ensure women had easy access to these drugs and services, whether through public funding or separate health plans.

The government could have easily avoided costly and time-consuming lawsuits, not to mention violations of religious liberty, by stepping back and making a simple fix. But it didn’t. Instead, it issued “change” after “change” to the rule — 11, in all — that did nothing to solve the problem.
So, for EWTN, this fight was necessary. Which is why we opposed the Obama administration mandate years ago, and then joined the Little Sisters of the Poor in its successful efforts before the Supreme Court. It’s also why we pushed the Trump administration to finish the work and permanently protect EWTN.

Yet when the Trump administration did the right thing by creating a rule that protects religious organizations like us from the mandate, state attorneys general raced into court and received nationwide injunctions, delaying the permanent fix we sought for so long. We couldn’t rest until we obtained a final settlement that would remain durable regardless of which administration was holding the regulatory pen.

Now we have that — and a court order leaving EWTN free to follow its faith.

But the fight remains necessary for other people of faith, who face continuing battles to keep and practice their faith at home and in the public square.

The battles continue with Catholic foster care agencies in Philadelphia and Michigan trying to serve their communities while remaining true to their faith. Pregnancy centers in places like California are fighting hard to hold on to their free-speech rights. These are battles with real consequences.

(Read more at New York Post)

Those of us who have a religious objection to paying for another person’s abortion have won another round in the courts. Hopefully, this will put this issue to rest. Additionally, as the Obamacare issue progresses — hopefully Congress will take time to take care of the helpless (like our homeless veterans) while not crippling the rest of us.

I am thankful that the Trump administration has created a rule to protect religious organizations from the mandate.

President Trump delivers Hannakkuh wishes

Trump recognizes anti-Semitism and expresses support for our Jewish citizens

In a 6 December 2018 posting of the “Remarks by President Trump at a Hanukkah Celebration”, Donald Trump spoke these words:

…

We are gathered together this evening to commemorate the triumph of the Jewish people in the face of terrible oppression. Hanukkah is the story of Jewish patriots who fought to reclaim their freedom. More than 2,000 years ago, the Maccabees defeated a tyrant and a massive army and restored the Holy Temple.

After their victory, they found only enough oil to light the lamp in the temple for a single night. Yet, the light burned brightly for eight nights, the miracle of Hanukkah. This year, we light the menorah, we reflect upon the extraordinary resilience of the Jewish people in the face of centuries of oppression.

Our thoughts also turn to the victims and survivors of the anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I was there and it was horrible. And the rabbi was great. He was a tremendous gentleman. In the wake of these evil murders, Americans of all backgrounds have come together to express our unwavering determination to extract the vile poison of anti-Semitism from our world.

Throughout history, we have seen that no darkness can overcome the light of the Jewish faith and that no evil can overcome the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people. So true.

My administration will always stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we will always stand strong with our cherished friend and partner, the state of Israel.

(Read more at The White House)

Since Jesus came to Solomon’s temple to celebrate the Festival of Lights (John 10:22-23) when the religious leaders gathered around him in one of their initial confrontations with him — I commiserate with those (Jewish, Christian, and other) who find themselves under attack for their religion or ethnicity.

From near the beginning of the Old Testament (with Joseph’s being sold into slavery by his brothers), the Bible is full of examples of unfair treatment and accompanying pleas for us to treat people with love. It also tells us to mourn with the mourning. I thank God that we now have a President who calls on the stories common to the Torah and Bible as he commiserates with our Jewish fellow citizens.

Jobless claims at 49-year low

U.S. weekly jobless claims drop to near 49-year low

We can thank Trump’s deregulation for a 49-year-low in jobless claims as reported in a 13 December 2018 Reuters article.

The number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits tumbled to near a 49-year low last week, which could ease concerns about a slowdown in the labor market and economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended Dec. 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Last week’s decline in claims was the largest since April 2015. Claims hit 202,000 in mid-September, which was the lowest level since December 1969.

Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 225,000 in the latest week. Claims shot up to an eight-month high of 235,000 during the week ended Nov. 24.

The Labor Department said only claims for Virginia were estimated last week.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,750 to 224,750 last week.

(Read more at Reuters)

Although there are a number of other dynamics in the business world that both boost and stifle economic growth, Mr You-can-thank-me-now should have known that the regulations of the EPA and his other pet agencies would kill business. Therefore, unless Obama is hopelessly dense, he has no leg to stand on when claiming credit for the growing economy at the same time he acknowledges that Trump has abandoned his environmental regulations.

Nonetheless, I am thankful that Trump has had the foresight to eliminate a number of regulations that tied up business.

<

So what will the Democrats choose — a fake Latino socialist or a real Latino socialist?

Featured

So do liberals prefer a costume Latino to a real one?

Why Robert Francis O'Rourke shouldn't run for president

Beto O’Rourke’s Presidential Campaign Is Going To Wear Us Out

It seems that we haven’t heard enough from the guy with the Latino nickname and Irish surname, as revealed to us through a 12 December 2018 article in the Dallas Observer.

Whatever one wants to call the thing that’s going on in presidential politics right now — the money primary, the silly season or the greatest trick Iowa and New Hampshire ever pulled — Texas finds itself squarely in the thick of things, apparently for the long haul. Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and ex-U.S. housing secretary, has given every indication that he plans to take a shot at the 2020 nomination. In most years, Castro’s anticipated run would be all Texas political junkies had to look forward to as the presidential race heated up. This isn’t most years.

Thanks to his near miss against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in November and a load of fawning national media coverage, Beto O’Rourke, a largely unknown U.S. representative from El Paso as recently as two years ago, now has people acting like he is a serious contender for the nation’s top job.

Tuesday, a straw poll of members by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org showed O’Rourke leading the field of potential Democratic contenders, with 15.6 percent of respondents saying they supported his candidacy. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren rounded out MoveOn’s top five. Castro came in 17th, with just 0.48 percent support.

(Read more at the Dallas Observer)

Looks like the current run of short-attention-span Democrats (aka the liberal version of the rest of America) have chosen Robert Francis O’Rourke.

 

 

Julian Castro

Julián Castro calls Latinos to action amid hints of 2020 run

From reading the previous article, it sounds like Julian Castro should go from calling other Hispanics to action and hinting (as he did in a 12 December 2018 Guardian article) and start the real work of a presidential run.

Julián Castro may have the worst poker face in American politics as the Democratic party prepares for an intense contest to pick someone to try to defeat Donald Trump. Is he leaning one way on whether to announce a presidential bid in coming months? “Well, yeah,” he chuckled when asked the question at a UN gathering this week.

It is no secret Castro has been acting a lot like someone who plans to seek the the White House. On Wednesday he announced the formation of an exploratory presidential committee – a technical step that allows him to begin raising funds.

The former San Antonio mayor and secretary of housing and urban development (Hud) under Barack Obama has already held events with prospective donors for a 2020 campaign. He told Rolling Stone in October that he is “likely” to run.

(Read more at the Guardian)

So, Democrats, what will it be? Do you want this experienced socialist that has been in the wings for years? Do you want an Anglo Barack Obama that is Hispanic in nickname only?

Liberals show their tendency to threaten our freedoms

Featured

Democrat Ted Lieu: ‘I Would Love to Be Able to Regulate the Content of Speech’

In a recent CNN interview that was subsequently reported in a 12 December 2018 Washington Times article, Democrat Ted Lieu revealed his dictatorial tendencies.

Rep. Ted Lieu told CNN on Wednesday that his desire to regulate speech is only thwarted by the U.S. Constitution.

An interview on Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s testimony before lawmakers with House Judiciary Committee took a tyrannical turn when the California Democrat expressed his “love” for the idea of controlling free speech.

The moment happened after host Brianna Keilar asked if Mr. Lieu failed to “press” Google’s CEO on Tuesday regarding the company’s vulnerabilities to “outside interference.”

“It’s a very good point you make,” Mr. Lieu replied. “I would love if I could have more than five minutes to question witnesses. Unfortunately, I don’t get that opportunity. However, I would love to be able to regulate the content of speech. The First Amendment prevents me from doing so, and that’s simply a function of the First Amendment, but I think over the long run, it’s better the government does not regulate the content of speech.”
Viewers on The Washington Free Beacon’s YouTube channel were stunned at the lawmaker’s admission.

(Read more at Washington Times)

This remotely sounds like Barack Obama before he decided to circumvent immigration law by creating DAPA and DACA.

Thankfully, we have been saved from the effects of DAPA and hopefully will see the demise of DACA. Nonetheless, you have to wonder if Rep. Lieu will make a move on the freedom of speech now that the Democrats have the House.

  

Project Dragonfly

Google denies its partnership with the repressive government of China to repress free speech

Report: Google Hasn’t Halted ‘Project Dragonfly,’ Continues to Devote ‘Substantial’ Resources

As a possible preview of the free-speech-killing acts available to Democrats, Breitbart reports in a 12 December 2018 article (at least in the title) how Google may be hiding the development of a tool that the government of China may use to direct searches.

In an article, Wednesday, the Verge analyzed Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s comments about Project Dragonfly, Google’s censored Chinese search app project, during his hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The Verge reported that though Pichai claimed there are “no plans” to “launch a search product in China,” the company is indeed still working on the project.

“[Pichai] made it clear that, whether the company currently has ‘plans’ to launch the product, Google certainly hasn’t halted work completely,” declared the Verge. “In fact, it has continued to devote substantial resources to the project. While saying the effort was ‘limited,’ Pichai at one point said Google had devoted about 100 people to it, although The Intercept has reported the number is closer to 300.”

During the hearing, Pichai repeatedly denied Google’s intentions to launch Project Dragonfly in China, after Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) asked multiple questions about the project.

…

After Marino then asked, “Am I then to understand you have no plans to enter into any agreements with China concerning Google, how it’s used, in China?” Pichai replied, “We currently do not have a Search product there… Right now there are no plans to launch a Search product in China.”

(Read more at Breitbart)

Considering the times Google has been caught lying about its censorship of conservative videographers, lying about conservative cancer survivors, lying to Congress about the bias built into its search engine, lying about meddling in the campaign of Rep. Blackburn, and caught in many other lying events — something tells me not to trust them here.

Is this a demonstration of Democrat duplicity or idiocy?

Featured

Schiff: Trump may face ‘real prospect of jail time’

If you take the words of Rep. Schiff and a 9 December 2018 piece in The Hill, President Trump may have the “real prospect of jail time” ahead of him.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday said that President Trump might “face the real prospect of jail time” after prosecutors indicated last week that he directed illegal payments during his 2016 presidential campaign.

“There’s a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office, the Justice Department may indict him. That he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

(Read more at The Hill)

How can Schiff do this? Is he:

  1. Purposely trying to pretend there was never an FEC ruling that Democrat John Edwards’ hush money was not a violation of campaign finance law?
  2. Trying to invalidate the position of the philanderer-in-chief Bill Clinton (that the President’s personal life remained totally separate from his official life)?
  3. Not remembering the backlash in presidential approval that occurred in 1998 when the House impeached the president on charges many saw as a personal matter?
  4. Not seeing that American commerce has been running like a well-oiled machine now that Democrat regulations have been removed?
  5. Not remembering that “It’s the economy, stupid?”

Since Schiff is a Democrat, maybe:

  1. He has forgotten that the House midterm elections provided a historically-low result for the Democrats and the blue wave turned to a blue trickle.
  2. He has forgotten that some of his Democrats are in Republican states and some barely survived the wrath over Kavanaugh.
  3. He has forgotten that the Republican hold on the Senate has become firmer by several seats.
  4. He has forgotten that (while the House can impeach with a simple majority) it takes 67 votes in the Senate to remove a president.
  5. He has forgotten that Obama broke campaign finance law and was fined $375,00 in 2008 alone

Or maybe there are other things he has forgotten.

Welfare for illegal aliens

Featured

illegal-immigrants-line-up-US-Customs-and-Border-Patrol-640x480

Study: More than 7-in-10 California Immigrant Households Are on Welfare

According to a 4 December 2018 Breitbart article, a vast majority of the illegal aliens in California receive welfare.

The latest Census Bureau data analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) finds that about 72 percent of households headed by noncitizens and immigrants use one or more forms of taxpayer-funded welfare programs in California — the number one immigrant-receiving state in the U.S.

Meanwhile, only about 35 percent of households headed by native-born Americans use welfare in California.

(Read more at Breitbart)

When the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy saying “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8 NASB), he was pointing out the importance of work. Working to support a family establishes the leader of the family. Sacrificing for a family shows the love in one’s heart.

Therefore, when a third party (the US welfare state) steps into the family dynamic, something will give. Someone from the Black Christian community should tell these “immigrants” about the problems the US welfare state has brought by providing only a hand out with no hand up.

The Left, with its short memory, might ask “what hand up?” It seems that they forget that, from the Red Cross to many local hospitals, Christians established a charitable organizations that give to the poor. Additionally, we are the most likely to continue giving. The only thing many on the right ask of these illegals is that they turn and do it the legal way.

73%_Ilegals_on_welfare

63 percent of households headed by a non-citizen reported that they used at least one welfare program

A 2 December 2018 Neil Munro article on Breitbart digs through a study by the Center for Immigration Studies. In that study, almost 2/3 of all households headed by an illegal alien have been found to be using the American welfare system (as opposed to about half of that for native-born Americans).

“In 2014, 63 percent of households headed by a non-citizen reported that they used at least one welfare program, compared to 35 percent of native-headed households,” says the group’s December 3 report, which relies on federal data to track migrant use of welfare.

“A very large share of immigrants are unable to support their own children and turn to taxpayer-funded means-tested programs,” the report says. “In terms of the policy debate over immigration and the implications for public coffers, this is the central concern.”

(Read more at Breitbart)

When someone else pays for a service that another person consumes, two things happen:

  1. The resources of the payer become ever more scarce.
  2. The consumer tends to over-consume.

Whether the health care system or the welfare system is the point of contention, there will come a time when there are too many nickel-and-dime charges to the system. Likewise, there will come a time when the bill will come due for welfare. I don’t know if that bill will manifest by raising limits on who gets the allotments or if they will just close the office, but the bill will come.

illegals

Not a new problem: 2011 study shows 70% of illegal aliens in Texas received welfare

During the Obama administration, a 6 April 2011 Houston Chronicle article found that over 70% of illegal aliens in Texas received welfare.

Thirteen years after Congress overhauled the American welfare system, 57 percent of immigrants with children — those in the country legally or not — use at least one government, welfare program according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies.

In comparison, 39 percent of native-born Americans with children are signed up for welfare, the report found.

In Texas, 54 percent of legal immigrants and 70 percent of illegal immigrants receive welfare assistance, with illegal immigrants generally receiving benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children, according to the study, written by a think tank that favors reducing immigration into the U.S.

Overall, Texas tied with California and New York for the second highest immigrant welfare rates behind Arizona.

We should note that the study takes an expansive view of what constitutes a government welfare program, so programs such as reduced-price school lunches for low-income students are classified as welfare, according to CIS’ methodology.

(Read more at the Houston Chronicle)

What can I say? We have known about this for years, but have done little to change the issue.

Border-related media hyperventilation (or not)

Featured

First, the events the media is hyperventilating over

U.S. closes Mexican border crossing, repels some migrants with tear gas

Reuters slanted the reporting of an illegal alien attack on Border agents so that the aggressors seemed to become the victims.

U.S. authorities shut the country’s busiest border crossing and fired tear gas into Mexico on Sunday to repel Central American migrants approaching the border after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed the asylum-seekers would not easily enter the country.

…

The Mexican government said it had retaken control of the border crossing after nearly 500 migrants tried to cross the U.S. border “in a violent manner,” and vowed to immediately deport Central Americans who attempt to enter the United States illegally.

(Read more at Reuters)

As someone who has seen the commerce that crosses the border both ways continuously, I don’t welcome the shutdown of the border. However, in a nation of laws (that is, in a nation that doesn’t let one class break the law while holding other classes accountable) we need to stick to the law.

The problem is that, from Johnson to George W. Bush, the topic of illegal immigration took a back seat in most political action. Obama (rather than keeping with the law he claimed 22 times not to be able to change), he used memos to establish his DAPA and DACA programs. Now that a Texas lawsuit has paved the way to the end of DAPA, hopefully, a similar fate will meet the other example of presidential fiat. Still, when the dust (or tear gas) settles, will Congress do something? Will they build a wall (other than the walls that surround their gated communities)?

 

12-2obama-tear-gas-migrants-once-month-80-times

The border rushing and tear gas happened in the Obama administration — just not the media hype

Tear gas used once a month at border under Obama

The Washington Times explores in a 26 November 2018 article how the border patrol regularly used tear gas.

The same tear-gas agent that the Trump administration is taking heat for deploying against a border mob this weekend is actually used fairly frequently — including more than once a month during the later years of President Barack Obama’s administration, according to Homeland Security data.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has used 2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, or CS, since 2010, and deployed it 26 times in fiscal 2012 and 27 times in 2013. The use dropped after that, but was still deployed three times in 2016, Mr. Obama’s final full year in office.

Use of CS rose again in fiscal 2017, which was split between Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump, and reached 29 deployments in fiscal 2018, which ended two months ago, according to CBP data seen by The Washington Times.

Border authorities also use another agent, pepper spray, frequently — including a decade-high record of 151 instances in 2013, also under Mr. Obama. Pepper spray, officially known as Pava Capsaicin, was used 43 times in fiscal year 2018, according to the CBP numbers.

The data poses a challenge to the current anger over the Border Patrol’s use of tear gas Sunday to prevent a mob from busting through sections of old border fence in California.

(Read more at The Washington Times)

In addition to the fact that the Obama administration either directed or allowed its border agents to use tear gas as a means of crowd control, there are certain alternative media outlets that have suggested that the tear gas scenes have been staged (refer to the video in the tweet below).

 

If these “tear gas” scenes are nothing but the fabrications of liberal activists, I hope that the alternative media has strong connections with the people.

12-2sandiego

2013: Border Patrol: crowd confronts agents

A 25 November 2013 San Diego Union Tribune article describes a confrontation between border agents and illegal aliens during the Obama administration.

A group of about 100 people trying to illegally cross the border Sunday near the San Ysidro port of entry threw rocks and bottles at U.S. Border Patrol agents, who responded by using pepper spray and other means to force the crowd back into Mexico, federal officials said.

The incident has raised concerns among advocates on both sides of the immigration debate, as well as Border Patrol representatives.

Immigrant-rights groups in San Diego said they didn’t know beforehand about the plan to rush the border, and they worry that desperation is driving homeless deportees to make a bold bid to rejoin their families in the United States.

Border-security groups see this situation as evidence that the border remains unsecured, something they said should be fixed before Congress considers proposals to grant legal status to unauthorized immigrants.

And Border Patrol representatives worry that Sunday’s confrontation could be a political protest, which they said agents want to avoid — especially when it involves the potential for loss of life.

The incident occurred about a quarter-mile west of the San Ysidro border crossing in the Tijuana River channel. No one was seriously injured, no shots were fired and no arrests were made, said Mary Beth Caston, a Border Patrol spokeswoman.
The group first approached a lone agent stationed about 1/8 of a mile north of the border. They ignored his commands to stop, so he fired pepper balls to try to stop them and protect himself, Caston said.

As the crowd kept advancing and throwing rocks and bottles, she said, more agents came to the scene and used other “intermediate use-of-force devices” to push back the group. The agents also contacted Mexican law enforcement.

(Read more at The Washington Times)

 

For the liberals who won’t believe the totals by the Washington Times, please refer to your own San Diego Union Tribune and the PBS in San Diego.

12-2obama-tear-gas-migrants-once-month-80-times

Obama used tear gas at the border, too

A 27 November 2018 National Review article brings up some good points regarding crowd control over the last decade or so.

Making the click-through worthwhile: the Obama administration’s history of using tear gas on the border; the ugly decade for General Motors takes another unexpected turn; the question of whether American voters punish politicians who solve problems instead of rewarding them; and another case of progressive activists focusing on the convenient targets instead of the responsible ones.

From the coverage of the Customs and Border Patrol using tear gas, one could easily be led to believe that this was an unprecedented escalation in tactics from the Trump administration.

Nope

The same tear-gas agent that the Trump administration is taking heat for deploying against a border mob this weekend is actually used fairly frequently — including more than once a month during the later years of President Barack Obama’s administration, according to Homeland Security data.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has used 2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, or CS, since 2010, and deployed it 26 times in fiscal 2012 and 27 times in 2013. The use dropped after that, but was still deployed three times in 2016, Mr. Obama’s final full year in office.

Use of CS rose again in fiscal 2017, which was split between Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump, and reached 29 deployments in fiscal 2018, which ended two months ago, according to CBP data seen by The Washington Times.

Border authorities also use another agent, pepper spray, frequently — including a decade-high record of 151 instances in 2013, also under Mr. Obama. Pepper spray, officially known as Pava Capsaicin, was used 43 times in fiscal year 2018, according to the CBP numbers.

A recent Washington Post article about the use of tear gas by the Border Patrol talks a lot about the Chemical Weapons Convention, the use of poison gas in World War I, and Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons — as if any of that is comparable to the use of tear gas. The Chemical Weapons Convention explicitly says, “Riot control agents may not be used as a method of warfare but may be used for certain law enforcement purposes including riot control.”

As Mr. Geraghty points out in this National Review piece, this is all about seeing that the crowds of “migrants” do not get stopped by anything as inconsequential as a border.

For information on the group supporting the invasion, I suggest reading The people behind the Mexican “caravan” by Bunkerville.

12-2cartel

Things the media should just discuss – violence South of the border

2018: Mexican cartels viscously attack the weak

Audio: Mexican Cartel Gunmen Execute Passengers After Car Chase

When Nancy Pelosi asks what we could fear about illegal immigrants, we might want to refer her to a 21 November 2018 Breitbart article covering the cartel’s murder of the passengers of a truck they had chased. Except for the fact that the cartels play a large part in bringing illegals to America — something that won’t change no matter how lax the Democrats make our laws — this shouldn’t matter to Americans. However, since not enforcing our border (the way the Democrats want) invites them in, they and the following story should be on our minds.

Therefore, consider this story as it was related by Breitbart

A group of cartel gunmen in the Mexican border state of Sonora opened fire on a truck they were pursuing, causing a crash. The attackers rushed to the scene to finish off the passengers on Sunday.

A group of gunmen opened fire during a high-speed chase of another vehicle in Cajeme, causing the truck to lose control and flip over, according to local reports. The gunmen then approached the vehicle and opened fire on the defenseless occupants–killing two and wounding two others, according to eyewitnesses. An audio recording of a call to authorities was on Facebook.

(Read more at Breitbart)

Most would think that the media would inform us of an impending danger on our Southern border. However, it does not fit their narrative of compassion for certain poorly-defined groups (which I could fall into due to my olive-colored skin).

Still, since we live in a world where the media sacrifices safety to their god of social justice and political correctness, we can only take note and hope for an eventual reaction in the populace.

12-2kill3

Things the media should just discuss – imported murderers

Illegal immigrant killed 3 after ‘sactuary’ release from custody

A 11 November 2018 Fox News article details a murder of three that did not have to happen except for the Democrat concept of “sanctuary” cities.

An illegal immigrant accused of a triple murder in Missouri was previously jailed and released in New Jersey on domestic violence charges, authorities said, putting the spotlight on the conflict between local and immigration authorities nationwide.

Luis Rodrigo Perez, 23, a native of Mexico, is charged with fatally shooting two men and wounding two others on Nov. 1 and fatally shooting a woman the next day.

He was being held on domestic violence charges at the Middlesex County Jail in New Jersey in December 2017 and was released in February, NJ.com reported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said they placed a detainer on Perez while he was in custody, but the request was not honored nor was the agency notified when he was let go, said Corey Price, acting executive director of ICE.

(Read more at Fox News)

Although most of us would like to pretend that this happens rarely, truth tells us that MS 13 has been among us from Houston to Boston for years — while more try to stream in among the invaders of the “caravan”.

12-2horrific

Illegal kills man in ‘horrific’ hit and run

As recorded by a 2 September 2018 Breitbart article, one illegal alien killed a North Carolina man in a hit-and-run accident.

Neri Damian Cruz-Carmona, a 26-year-old illegal alien, allegedly left Jamar Rashaun Beach dead on a Raleigh, North Carolina street after he hit the man and fled the scene of the accident, according to police.

Cruz-Carmona turned left in his Honda car and failed to yield the right of way, hitting Beach on his motorcycle and killing him, police say. Following the crash, the illegal alien fled the scene, according to police, leaving Beach dead.

(Read more at Breitbart)

As mentioned in previous posts, I have noted that Christians have a duty to protect the weak (Psalm 82:3; Proverbs 31:8-9; Isaiah 1:17; and other verses — such as those listed at this post’s end) and encourage people to obey the law (Romans 13:1-5; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17; and many other verses).

To further these goals, we must support lawmakers (and laws) that first protect our poor and secondly reward the helping of the poor (wherever they find themselves). Finally, as a nation of laws, we must encourage obedience to the law (until that law can be fully demonstrated to contradict God’s law).

12-2bicyclistkiller

Illegal immigrant kills teen bicyclist in hit-and-run

An 18 June 2018 Daily Caller article reported on the senseless loss of a high school student at the hands of a drunk illegal.

An illegal immigrant was charged on Thursday after killing a high school teen in a hit-and-run in Michigan.

Miguel A. Ibarra Cerda, a 21-year-old Mexican national who was working at a Burrito King in the area, pleaded not guilty to reckless driving causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Cerda, driving a Honda Odyssey minivan, struck 14-year-old Justin Lee as the teen was riding his bicycle. Credo was reportedly driving in excess of speed limits and was on the wrong side of the road when he hit Lee. Witnesses say he sped off immediately after the accident.

Police tracked down and arrested Cerda in Lansing, Michigan, and they believe he was trying to get back to Mexico.

(Read more at the Daily Caller)

Was this illegal alien only committing the crimes that Americans were unwilling to commit?

12-2fbi

Illegal immigrant kills FBI agent and fire marshall, gets only $280 fine, not required to show up in court

According to an 8 July 2018 BizPackReview article, an illegal killed an FBI agent and fire marshall and got away with a slap on the wrist.

An illegal immigrant from Guatemala avoided jail after being convicted of negligent driving for driving for hitting and killing an FBI agent and a fire marshal standing on the side of a highway.

Roberto Garza Palacios, 28, who overstayed his visa, was instead ordered to pay a $280 fine for killing Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Sander Cohen and FBI Special Agent Carlos Wolff in December, the Washington Post reported.

(Read more at BizPackReview)

12-2teargas1

Bible verses mentioned

On protecting the weak

Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
(Psalm 82:3 NASB)

Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9 NASB)

Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:17 NASB)

Honor widows who are widows indeed; (1 Timothy 5:3 NASB)

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.(James 1:27 NASB)


On obeying the governing authorities

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
(Romans 13:1-5 NASB)

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, (Titus 3:1 NASB)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17 NASB)

Thirteen cases of potential midterm Democrat fraud

Featured

So far, the Democrats have or may have provided the following instances of potential voter fraud:

  1. The 15,000 uncounted ballots in Florida are blamed on a broken machine according to Republican Supervisor of Elections, Mike Hogan (Duval County).
    Is there any possibility that Democrats attempted sabotage of the count in this heavily Republican county by damaging the machine?
  2. Georgia Secretary of State Kemp investigates the Georgia Democrat party on suspicion of hacking. Although no details were provided, this act does reflect Georgians’ uneasiness concerning the security of the vote, as reflected by a Atlanta Journal & Constitution poll.
    Georgia nervousness about the polls
  3. A Florida associate of candidate Gillum leaves a box of stolen ballots in a rented car.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  4. Lawyers for candidates Gillum and Nelson sue to allow non-citizens to vote

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  5. One poll worker in Travis County, Texas shares “We don’t check for citizenship.”

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  6. A 17 November 2018 OneNewsNow article provides proofs from Senator Rubio of Democrat vote fraud in Florida
  7. The presence of invading illegals raises the chances of voter fraud in states with liberal voter registration laws

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  8. A 12 November 2018 Daily Caller article reports that Arizona has “FOUND: 213 Uncounted Ballots In Congressional Race Separated By 133 Votes”
  9. Brenda Snipes (who recently announced her resignation in January 2019) oversaw a 9,000 vote difference between voter turnout and number of votes cast on the Broward Elections website.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  10. The University of Wisconsin was recorded on video handing out voter ID’s to foreign nationals

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  11. Empower Texans reports in a 1 November 2018 post on one woman’s experience with voter fraud and Democrats who purportedly denied her vote.
  12. In a 30 October 2018 Facebook post, Paul Bettencourt points out: “84 active registered voters at just this one UPS Store – 22 have already voted!” (This and the following report of fraud can be found at Mark 1:1 blog
  13. Again, at the Paul Bettencourt Facebook page, a second post tells of those committing voter fraud by claiming a UPS Store as a residence when he says, “Can you believe 46 VOTERS have actual Harris County Voter Registrations at this one UPS Store? 8 have already voted in this election! REALLY!!”

Facebook finds itself fighting problems on three fronts

Featured

Facebook investors call on Mark Zuckerberg to resign as chairman following damaging report

A 16 November 2018 article at The Telegraph reports that investors at Facebook do not seem enthused with Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership.

Facebook investors have called on the company’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to step down as chairman, following reports that the company hired a public relations firm to smear its critics by drawing links to George Soros.

The attack on Mr Zuckerberg is set to complicate the daunting challenge facing Sir Nick Clegg, Facebook’s new global head of policy and communications, who joined last month and has been asked to conduct a review of Facebook’s use of lobbying firms.

Jonas Kron, a senior vice president at Trillium Asset Management, a US investor which owns an £8.5m stake in Facebook, last night called on Mr Zuckerberg to step down as board chairman in the wake of the report.

“Facebook is behaving like it’s a special snowflake,” he said. “It’s not. It is a company and companies need to have a separation of chair and CEO.”

Both Mr Zuckerberg and Sir Nick have been under pressure following reports Facebook hired Definers, a Republican public relations firm, to help repair its battered reputation following intense criticism of the social media platform’s handling of a scandal over Russian interference in the 2016 US elections and the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

(Read more at The Telegraph)

Considering the many pro-life groups Facebook has removed without warning, this is not “fitting” or “karma.” Considering the number of conservative campaigns (from Brazil’s Movimento Brazil Livre pages to the Trump pre-midterm ad), they don’t deserve to be heralded as supporters of free speech. They only support one side.

Nonetheless, for Facebook to hire a firm to defend George Soros seems just odd. Maybe this is an indicator that Zuckerberg will not be able to take the firm further left until he takes it off the stock market. With shareholders, he will have to stop his march to the left.

Who knows? With market forces in play, he might have to allow free speech for all. (chuckle)

Do we want to regulate Facebook?

Senators Threaten to Regulate Facebook

Bloomberg reports in a 16 November 2018 article how Senators Coons and Corker have determined to get Facebook to fly straight.

Senators Chris Coons and Bob Corker warned Friday that Congress would impose new regulations to rein in Facebook Inc. unless the social-media company addresses concerns about privacy and the spread of misinformation on its platform.

Speaking in a joint interview on the sidelines of a development forum in Wilmington, Delaware, the two senators said that Facebook probably wouldn’t like what Congress does, so it should come up with a solution first.

Chris CoonsPhotographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
“If they don’t, if they continue to act as if we couldn’t possibly deign to regulate them, they’ll get regulated and they’ll be unpleasantly surprised with how swiftly it may happen,” said Coons, a Delaware Democrat and member Senate Judiciary Committee. “I think they’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

(Read more at Bloomberg)

If Soros wants to regulate social media, we need to watch for Big Brother in Big Social Media

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

When Democrats like Cicilline and liberal globalists like Soros support regulating social media giants, conservatives have to look out for censorship to increase to Big Brother levels. Instead of pushing regulation, maybe conservatives should look toward to a guarantee of the Bill of Rights. Further, we should look toward breaking up the monopolies of social media.

I wish the senators would focus less on the spread of misinformation. Rather, I would have them focus on the full acceptance of free speech (for all parties — not just the liberals).

Since I can judge which news pieces seem viable, maybe they should focus on ensuring all get heard. That is, since I have a habit of verifying news through good sources (e.g., the Wall Street Journal, National Review, or Breitbart), they can make certain that even the gossip publishers can publish. Therefore, in a pinch, we might even accept a story from the New York Times (if corroborating sources exist).

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Leave Facebook?

Some Facebook users are dialing back use over latest scandal

Yahoo Finance suggests in a 16 November 2018 article that people have reached their limit with Facebook.

Expect some Facebook (FB) users to dial back their use of the popular social network and even delete their accounts following the publication of a damning exposé this week.

On Wednesday, The New York Times published an extensive feature that revealed how Facebook management was reluctant to tackle Russia-linked activity on the social network following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, how unprepared Facebook was for the ensuing public fallout, as well the social network’s efforts to wield influence on Capitol Hill. Chief among Facebook’s alleged infractions: employing Definers Public Affairs, a Republican opposition research firm, to accuse left-wing financier George Soros of quietly backing anti-Facebook groups.

“It’s too early to tell the full impact The New York Times story is having — we would have to see in a month — but it will impact [Facebook’s] Daily Active Users and even just the people who are concerned about occasionally logging on and giving clicks and views to a company they might disagree with,” says Altimeter Group analyst Omar Akhtar, who adds the report severely tarnished Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s once-sterling reputation.

(Read more at Yahoo Finance)

As for myself, I have had it with Facebook and don’t use it as a primary means of sharing news. However, I can understand their anger and would suggest use of another platform (such as gab.ai (twitter alternative), vidme (youtube alternative), WordPress (blogger alternative), or Digg (Facebook alternative)).

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Christians persecuted for being Christians

Featured

Separatists kidnap 79 Presbyterian pupils in Cameroon

Separatists kidnap 79 Presbyterian pupils in Cameroon

As reported in a 5 November 2018 Associated Press article, English-speaking separatists kidnapped 79 students and three staff members of a Presbyterian school.

Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said Monday.

North West Region Gov. Deben Tchoffo said the students abducted Sunday night were ages 11-17, and they were taken from Nkwen, a village near the regional capital, Bamenda, along with school staff that included the principal.

“It is rather unfortunate that this is happening, that 79 of our children and three of their staff can be picked up by terrorists,” Tchoffo said. “We have asked our military to do everything and bring back the kids alive.”

A video purporting to show the kidnapped students was posted on social media from a group of men who call themselves “Amba boys,” a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon’s Anglophone North West and South West regions.

In the video, men who identified themselves as the kidnappers forced several boys to give their names and those of their parents. The boys also said they were taken by the armed men late Sunday and didn’t know where they were being held.

The men in the video said they would only release the students once the goal of creating a new state is achieved.

“We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here,” the men said. The video could not be independently verified, but parents said on social media they recognized their children in the recording.

Fighting between the military and separatists increased after the government clamped down on peaceful demonstrations by English-speaking teachers and lawyers protesting what they said were their marginalization by Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year.

(Read more at Associated Press)

Admittedly, these Christians were kidnapped because they were undefended pawns in a larger struggle. Nonetheless, we need to pray for their safety.

Asia Bibi “freed” by Pakistani Supreme Court; however,

Pakistan blasphemy case: Husband appeals to President Trump and UK Prime Minister

Although Asia Bibi (A Pakistani Christian who was sentenced to death for insulting Mohammad because she drank from a “Muslim only” cup) has been freed by the country’s Supreme Court, her life is in danger by radical Islamists. Due to this, her husband has appealed to President Trump and UK Prime Minister May (as detailed in the following 4 November 2018 Associated Press article.

The husband of a Christian woman acquitted eight years after being sentenced to death for blasphemy, but not released after countrywide protests, appealed on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May to help the family leave Pakistan.

Asia Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, in a brief video message said they were in danger in Pakistan.

“Please help us, we are in trouble in Pakistan,” Masih appealed to Trump and May. Masih had previously told The Associated Press by phone that he and his wife feared for their lives. “We are now living under an increased sense of fear.”

Bibi’ lawyer Saiful Malook has already fled the country for safety.

Bibi was arrested in 2009 after she was accused of blasphemy following a quarrel with two fellow female farm workers who refused to drink from a water container used by a Christian. A few days later, a mob accused her of insulting Islam’s prophet, leading to her 2010 conviction. Bibi’s family has always maintained her innocence and says she never insulted the prophet.

Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere rumor of doing so can incite lynchings.

Pakistan’s top court acquitted Bibi on Wednesday of the charges carrying the death penalty, infuriating hard-line Islamists who held three days of nationwide protests demanding her execution. The enraged protesters torched scores of vehicles, blocked highways and attacked government and public property; a radical cleric also threatened to kill the three judges who acquitted Bibi. The protests ended after the government agreed to impose a travel ban on Bibi and allow her case to be reviewed. A review petition was filed in the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the day, police said over 150 people were arrested on charges of arson, vandalism and violence during the protests.

Senior police officer Nayab Haider said that police were using video clips to identify those involved in assaults, torching property and vehicles, and blocking highways.

(Read more at the Associated Press)

For considering the freedom of religion that all people should be afforded, I thank the Pakistan Supreme Court. For defending the rights of someone of another belief, I thank the lawyer who now has to flee Pakistan and hide for his life.

For Asia Bibi’s freedom, both physical and spiritual, I thank God.

Protests delay the release of Christian woman

Protests in Pakistan delay release of Christian woman

You would think that being cleared of charges would be a reason for gaining your freedom. That does not apply to Pakistan. As told by a 2 November 2018 OneNewsNow article, vocal Islamists and the mobs that follow them are preventing Asia Bibi from gaining her freedom.

The release of a Christian woman in Pakistan, acquitted eight years after being sentenced to death for blasphemy, was apparently delayed Friday after talks failed between the government and radical Islamists who want her publicly hanged.

Islamists held rallies Friday across Pakistan against freedom for Asia Bibi and to denounce Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned her 2010 conviction of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Her family has always maintained her innocence and says she never insulted Islam’s prophet.

Since the landmark ruling, radical Islamists have blocked highways and damaged or set fire to dozens of vehicles to pressure the government to stop Bibi’s release from an undisclosed detention facility.

On Friday, over 2,000 demonstrators blocked a key road linking the capital, Islamabad, with the garrison city of Rawalpindi, causing traffic jams. Hundreds also blocked another key motorway, connecting Islamabad with other major cities. No violence was reported during the rallies.

On Thursday, a lawyer representing a local cleric who had raised the initial blasphemy charges against Bibi petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse its acquittal.

Pakistan shut down schools and colleges after radical cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, announced that “talks” between his deputies and the government about Bibi’s fate had failed.

Before dawn Friday, Rizvi told an emotionally-charged rally in the eastern city of Lahore that one of the government negotiators threatened his deputies during the talks that security forces will ruthlessly kill them if they did not disperse peacefully. He asked his supporters to continue sit-ins as authorities summoned paramilitary troops to restore order.

“We are ready to die to show our love for the prophet,” he said.

Rizvi’s envoys had demanded that Bibi be barred from leaving the country but Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry rejected the demand, saying the government will not accept any dictates.

(Read more at OneNewsNow)

Although I am not an expert on the effects of prolonged anger on the human anatomy, certainly the sustained rage that seems to be centered by the Islamist leaders within Pakistan on the case of Asia cannot be healthy for the people. I pray for them.

Asia Bibi flown from Pakistan

Pakistan: Asia Bibi, Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, flown out of the country

Thank God that our sister in Christ has been flown from Pakistan according to a 8 November 2018 post at Jihad Watch.

The Muslim mobs who have been baying for her blood will be newly enraged, and may try to vent their wrath against the Pakistani government.

“Asia Bibi case: Pakistani woman acquitted of blasphemy flown out of country,” by Tom Powell, Evening Standard, November 7, 2018:

A Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy eight years after being sentenced to death has is being flown out of the country for security reasons.

Amid tight security, Asia Bibi left a detention facility in Punjab province for a flight to the capital city Islamabad, officials said. Troops guarded the roads leading to the airport from which she departed.

Her lawyer Saif ul Malook said that she was being flown out of Pakistan with her immediate family but he did not know where they were going.

Authorities last month said they arrested two prisoners for allegedly conspiring to strangle her and since then additional police and troops have been deployed to the facility in Punjab.

(Read more at Jihad Watch)

Thank God that Asia has been evacuated from this situation.

OACAS

Canada offers a life lesson to a timid, quiet Church

According to a 2 November 2018 OneNewsNow article, the Canadian government has unmasked its animus against Christians.

A longtime Canadian activist has been warning for years that Christians are the enemy of the State, and now an allegation of outright discrimination in Ontario is highlighting that ongoing antagonism.

Hoping to foster a child in their home, husband and wife Levi and Amanda denBok applied with Children’s Aid Services (CAS) but were informed via letter that their religious beliefs disqualified them, The Christian Post reported.

The couple shared the rejection letter in a Facebook post, describing how they were asked by a CAS adopting agent what church they attend and if they believe the Bible is true.

In the interview, the husband and wife were asked: “Are you one of those churches that still believes the Bible is true?”

The agent informed the couple that the Bible was written “thousands of years ago” and the world has since changed, the couple claims.

Dr. Charles McVety, who leads Canada Christian College as president, says the married couple’s beliefs don’t match the supposed “values” of the province of Ontario and its leaders. Yet it’s widely known, he says, that CAS favors same-sex couples as foster parents over religious couples.

Such a discriminatory practice would be an eye-opening revelation, since the argument from same-sex couples has been excluding them from fostering children is discriminatory.

McVety has long warned OneNewsNow readers that Canada’s far-left leaders view Christianity and its followers as the enemy of progress.

“There is no neutral ground now. There is no hiding in the corner,” he warned as recently as August.

Asked how Canada got to the point that the government can reject Christians on the basis of their faith, McVety says an apathetic Church led by cowardly leaders is to blame.

The same is happening in the U.S., he warns.

(Read more at OneNewsNow)

We should have seen that the turning of the government on Christians was inevitable. As Christ said:

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (John 15:18-19 NASB)

Anchorage Downtown Hope Center sued by the state for protecting an abused woman

Faith-based homeless shelter investigated after protecting abused women

A faith-based Anchorage, Alaska soup kitchen has come under investigation because it protected a female patron according to a 2 November 2018 OneNewsNow article.

Should faith-based non-profits be free to serve consistently with their faith? That is the question in a federal case in Alaska.

The Downtown Hope Center has been serving Anchorage for more than 30 years. It started out as a soup kitchen and has expanded to not only serve about 150,000 meals each year to the homeless in Anchorage, but also provide job training skills, free clothing, laundry facilities, and showering. It even provides overnight accommodations for homeless women, many of whom have been battered or sexually abused by men.

“The City of Anchorage is now investigating Hope Center because one night a man came to the door and wanted to stay in an overnight shared sleeping facility,” says attorney Denise Harle of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the organization representing Downtown Hope Center.

“He was visibly drunk, he was injured – he had been in a fight – and the director of Hope Center paid for him to get a taxi to the hospital, but did not allow him to stay in the facility with the women,” the attorney continues. “And now Anchorage is going after the Hope Center saying that they have discriminated based on sex and gender identity because this particular biological man identifies as a woman.”

ADF attorneys argue that Downtown Hope Center didn’t deny the individual on that basis. “Regardless, the ordinance specifically exempts homeless shelters,” the legal group states on its website. “ADF attorneys asked the federal district court in Alaska to stop Anchorage officials from misapplying a city ordinance against the ministry.”

Harle shares that the hope is that the court “will very quickly see that Anchorage is trying to infringe on the Hope Center’s religious beliefs – and that is that God made individuals men and women, that a charity is free to protect vulnerable women, and that there is no legal violation in doing that.”
Because this is a federal case, the attorney explains, a decision in this matter would impact people beyond Alaska.

(Read more at OneNewsNow)

I don’t understand how a state employee can even consider suing a homeless shelter because it protected an abused woman. Isn’t the driving force behind the #MeToo movement the desire to protect abused women?

Or is #MeToo just for beating down conservative contenders to office? (Who in #MeToo stood up against the serial abuser Keith Ellison?)

If Black lives matter, why haven’t we heard of these Black empowerment meetings and movements?

Featured

The meeting of the leaders of the Young Black Leadership Summit with President Trump

Although most of us would not have known it from the reporting of the main stream media, the leaders of the Young Black Leadership Summit were meeting in the Oval Office with President Trump when he announced the capture of the mail bombing suspect.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Candice Owens speaks to the Black Leadership Conference

Of course, one CNN lackey noticed and had to put a negative spin on it

It seems that Al Sharpton not only heard of the meeting of the Young Black Leadership Summit, but also found a way to put a negative spin on it. Thankfully, Candice Owens straightened out the issue.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The Black Leadership conference moves to stand in front of the White House

In order that the news gets out, the Black Leadership conference stood in front of the White House. From that vantage point, they told the history of Blacks being under the thumbs of White liberals.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

David Harris

David Harris celebrates the Black community and BLexit

In the following video, David Harris presents the following inspiring message to American Blacks.

I am part of something absolutely amazing and beutiful: the Black community. The Black community in this country shares a camaraderie and a bond where I can travel almost anywhere in the country and, just seeing another Black American, I can get a head nod and give one in return. That just says, “You’re m brother. You’re my sister.”

That bond has been under attack. I believe that we have allowed something to creep into the hearts and minds of Black Americans around this country that chooses to say, “If you don’t think the way I do, you’re no longer my brother. You’re no longer my sister.”

That saddens me. It saddens me to think that Black Americans have allowed ourselves to divide ourselves and ostracize ourselves based on our beliefs.

I am a conservative. And I’m not a conservative because my mother or my father told me to be. I’m a conservative because of what conservative values stand for and I am so excited to see so many other Black Americans wake up to the revelation that they don’t have to think the way their mothers, their fathers, their aunts, their uncles, or their cousins all told them that they had to think: that they can choose to think for themselves.

I’m part of Blexit, which is a family of Black Americans that choose to say, “I can think for myself and I will love my Black brothers and sisters regardless of what their political beliefs are. Blexit is an awakening of the minds of Black Americans that I think that I believe will change the face of America forever.

It’s a movement of love and of understanding and of thought. It’s a movement that says, “I can choose to think and believe how I want based on my own research and will choose to love my brothers and sisters, regardless. I am so excited for what I see taking place in the hearts and minds of Black Americans around the country.

An awakening has stared and Blacks are exiting from the monolithic thought that has kept us in chains and bondage for far too long.

I am David J. Harris, Junior, and I am part of Blexit.

Relevant Verses

Although I know that not all Blacks are Christian (any more than all Whites are Christian), I supply the following verses for encouragement of my Black Christian brothers and sisters.

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36 NASB)

The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master. (Job 3:19 NASB)

The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. (Psalms 103:6 NASB)

Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name. (Psalms 74:21 NASB)

4 things under-reported in the evening news regarding Pastor Brunson, Turkey, and Trump

Featured

Pastor Andrew Brunson and his wife pray for President Trump

US pastor freed from Turkey prays with Trump in Oval Office

A 14 October 2018 Associated Press article shares how Pastor Andrew Brunson prayed with President Trump in the White House after the pastor was released from his 2-year unjust incarceration in Turkey.

Freed American pastor Andrew Brunson fell to one knee in the Oval Office and placed his hand on President Donald Trump’s shoulder in prayer before asking God to provide Trump “supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him.”

Trump welcomed Brunson to the White House on Saturday to celebrate Brunson’s release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey, which had sparked a diplomatic row with a key ally and outcry from U.S. evangelical groups. Brunson returned to the U.S. aboard a military jet shortly before meeting the president. He was detained in October 2016, formally arrested that December and placed under house arrest on July 25 for health reasons.

“From a Turkish prison to the White House in 24 hours, that’s not bad,” Trump said.

Brunson’s homecoming amounts to a diplomatic — and possibly political — win for Trump and his evangelical base. Coming on the heels of the confirmation of a conservative justice to the Supreme Court, Brunson’s return is likely to leave evangelical Christians feeling good about the president and motivated get to the polls in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

(Read more at the Associated Press)

Thank God that Pastor Brunson has returned to the USA. While the pastor was held in one of the most repressive Turkish prisons, there were questions as to whether he would ever come out alive. When he was moved to house arrest, there was question of how many years this might drag out. So, when he was released, the relief felt by many groups was great.

No matter what, we have to thank God for the release of Pastor Brunson, President Trump for his tireless efforts that worked toward the same end, and all of the people behind the scenes who helped it happen.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 NASB)


Trump's tariff plan

Trump’s tariffs against Turkey were instituted to help free Pastor Brunson

As shown by a 10 August 2018 CNBC article, the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration against Turkey were meant to cause enough pain for Turkish president that he might release Pastor Brunson.

President Donald Trump’s move Friday to double metals tariffs on Turkey is only his latest jab against the NATO ally that stems from disagreements over defense policy and the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Trump came into office seeking better relations with Turkey. But as Trump announced his plans to hike tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum to 50 percent and 20 percent, respectively, he acknowledged that “our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!”

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

In a tweet Friday, the president said he would levy tariffs as “their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!” The already-reeling currency plunged even more Friday, dropping 20 percent after Trump’s tweet.

The White House later tried to clarify Trump’s tweet, saying in a statement that he “authorized the preparation of documents to raise tariffs” on metals imports from Turkey.

(Read more at CNBC)

Admittedly, some of the “disagreements over defense policy” centered on allegations that Turkey profited from ISIS oil deals. Still, a large factor in the decision to step up the isolation of Turkey was the unwarranted detention of Pastor Brunson.

The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NASB)

Turkey's Lira collapses under Trump tariffs

Trump’s tariffs against Turkey had a major effect on the nation

As Politico pointed out in a 10 August 2018 article, Turkey suffered currency collapse and industry issues resulting from the tariffs imposed due to the unjust imprisonment of an American pastor, support supplied to ISIS, and warming relations with Russia.

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is doubling tariffs on Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked citizens to convert foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, into local lira — leading to a dramatic drop in the Turkish currency.

“I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar! Aluminum will now be 20% and Steel 50%. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” Trump tweeted.

The lira is at an all-time low against the dollar, according to CNBC. The lira has been dropping for the past several days, which Erdoğan has said is a “campaign” against Turkey, according to the Associated Press.

White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement that the new actions are Section 232 tariffs, which are “imposed on imports from particular countries whose exports threaten to impair national security.”

Trump’s announcement of steeper tariffs is his administration’s latest hit against Turkey.

The president on Aug. 1 issued sanctions against the longtime NATO ally after Turkey continued to detain American pastor Andrew Brunson. Trump warned Erdoğan in July to release the pastor or they would suffer sanctions.

Brunson was arrested in October 2016 by Turkey’s government on charges of aiding a terrorist organization and for espionage. The U.S. and Turkish officials met this week to discuss Brunson’s release, but a resolution was not reached.

(Read more at Politico)

Since Politico and Trump currently stand at polar opposite ends of the political spectrum, we can all assume that Politico published this to point out the suffering of Turkish people and not to help Trump. Nonetheless, since Trump secured the release of Pastor Brunson and President Erdoğan followed the release with hopes that “the United States and Turkey will continue their cooperation as the allies that they are, and fight together against terrorist groups,” we have to assume that not only has Trump’s goal of freeing a pastor (imprisoned during the Obama years) has succeeded, but also that Trump’s diplomacy efforts still advance.

Turkey's Christians find themselves under seige

Turkey has cracked down on Christians

The United Kingdom’s Express produced a 22 April 2016 article on Christian persecution in Turkey at about the same time that Pastor Brunson was first arrested. In that almost prescient 2016 article, the author notes how the government has run roughshod over Christians.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken control of six churches in the war-torn southeastern city of Diyarbakir in his latest move to squash freedom of speech and religious movement. 

The state-sanctioned seizure is just the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel for its 80 million citizens.

Included in the seizures are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years old.

They have now effectively become state property – meaning they are run by the government – in a country with a dire human rights record where about 98 percent of the population is Muslim.

The order to seize the churches was made on March 25 by Erdogan’s council of ministers, according to the website World Watch Monitor.

They claim it was made on the grounds that authorities intend to rebuild and restore the historical centre of the city, which has been partially destroyed by 10 months of urban conflict between government forces and militants from the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). 

(Read more at the Express)