House Freedom Caucus Throws Wrench Into Congress’ Government Spending Fight

The House Freedom Caucus has issued a list of demands for 12 appropriations bills that will be considered by Congress in September, which must be passed to avoid a government shutdown, according to a press release issued on Monday.

The Caucus has often clashed with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans on government spending, arguing for more cuts and the inclusion of conservative priorities in legislation. On Monday, the Caucus issued four demands of the appropriations process, indicating that they will not vote for a spending bill excluding their demands in a narrowly divided House, according to a press release.

The Caucus announced it would not support any funding bill that does not “include the House-passed ‘Secure the Border Act of 2023’ to cease the unchecked flow of illegal migrants, combat the evils of human trafficking, and stop the flood of dangerous fentanyl into our communities.” The Secure the Border Act, passed by the House in a party-line vote on May 11, includes provisions to construct a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico and bars asylum applications from migrants who entered the country illegally as well as from those who transited a “safe” third country, which have been strongly opposed by Democrats, who control the Senate.

President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the Secure the Border Act if it ever passes Congress.

The Caucus’ second demand is that House Republicans “[a]ddress the unprecedented weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI,” likely referring to the GOP’s broad criticism of the prosecution of former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Trump has been indicted by DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith in two jurisdictions, Miami and Washington, D.C., related to his possession of classified documents and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Its third demand is that appropriations bills be used to “end the Left’s cancerous woke policies in the Pentagon undermining our military’s core warfighting mission.” Congressional Republicans have previously criticized the Department of Defense for advertising aimed at recruiting LGBTQ individuals and reading lists including books by race-conscious authors.

The Caucus’ final ultimatum is that it will “oppose any blank check for Ukraine in any supplemental appropriations bill.” Biden submitted a supplemental request for monies to Congress on Aug. 10 that included $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, which has been opposed by many in the Caucus who argue that the United States should not spend its money to support the country in its response to ongoing Russia’s invasion.

Congress will need to pass all 12 appropriations bills by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. The Caucus has warned that it will not vote for a continuing resolution, a stop-gap measure that temporarily funds the government, at current levels of spending, which it opposes — a demand likely to be opposed by Senate Democrats.

“[W]e don’t support any kind of play to jam against the holidays that would allow Senate Democrats to gain leverage, [such as] an omnibus, or a long-term continuing resolution,” said a spokesperson for McCarthy to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Any short-term CR would only be necessary as a way to continue working through regular order on bills that include Republican priorities.”

The White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

ARJUN SINGH

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: Freedom Caucus Tanks Gas Stove Ban In Payback For Debt Ceiling Vote

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Over 1,000 School Districts Hiding Students’ Gender Identities from Parents

A new report is sounding the alarm on the growing number of schools embracing transgender ideology and keeping parents in the dark. According to Parents Defending Education, at least 1,040 U.S. school districts have adopted policies instructing or encouraging faculty and staff to keep students’ gender identities a secret from parents. Those districts include over 18,000 schools responsible for nearly 11 million students. The vast majority of those school districts (593) are in California.

Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand, “I am grateful to Parents Defending Education for their attempt to quantify this problem. It is important to support with evidence what many parents know by instinct or experience: our educational system that is supposed to work with parents will often work around parents instead.” She added, “At this point, parents need to assume they will be deceived by their school if their child makes a gender identity declaration to a teacher or counselor at school.”

Commonly called “Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Policies,” such dictums have been the subject of controversy and even protest across the nation, with parental rights organizations such as Moms for Liberty and Mama Grizzly forming to combat the policies and others like them. Speaking on the role of parental rights organizations, Kilgannon commented, “[I]f we have the ability to do so, we must engage with people and systems that view this parental deception as good for children. Obviously, something is very wrong if some people can believe the answer is government first, parents second or never.”

A recent example of the ongoing controversy may be found in New Jersey, where a state judge last week blocked a trio of school districts from enforcing a policy requiring faculty and staff to inform parents of students’ gender identities at school, effectively forcing the school districts to keep parents in the dark. The judge wrote that the policies, “if implemented, will have a disparate impact on transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary youth.” Those policies would require teachers, coaches, and other staff to inform a student’s parents if that student used a bathroom that didn’t correspond to their biological sex, requested different pronouns be used in addressing them, or asking to play on a sports team that didn’t correspond to their biological sex.

The controversy over “Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Policies” comes as debate continues on why an increasing number of children are identifying as transgender or non-binary. One study from earlier this year, for example, classified the increase as part of “a socially contagious syndrome,” stating that it’s likely that “common cultural beliefs, values, and preoccupations cause some adolescents (especially female adolescents) to attribute their social problems, feelings, and mental health issues to gender dysphoria. That is, youth[s] … falsely believe that they are transgender…”

While some theorize that standard peer pressure, coupled with the social popularity of transgenderism, is largely responsible for the increase in children identifying as transgender, others — like Mama Grizzly founder Stacy Langton — allege it’s largely rooted in the sexual grooming of children by teachers.

Kilgannon commented, “[T]his is where our own action as parents are so important. We must be present to our children, engaged with them, being the most important person in their lives. … [L]ike everything in life, it starts with ourselves and our relationships to the people God has put in our lives, especially the children we are blessed with and responsible for.”

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLES: 

11th Circuit Reinstates Alabama Law Protecting Minors from Gender Transition Hormones

Michigan Ads in Red States Promote Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage

Calif. Library Kicks Out Event Speaker for ‘Misgendering’

Leftist Muslim Activist Who Once Attacked ‘Gay Ideologies’ Now Blames GOP for Muslim Opposition to LGBTQ

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. ©2023 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

House of the Rising Son: Alexander Soros takes control of his father’s $25 billion funding empire.

New York hedge fund manager George Soros has long been one of the most politically powerful individuals on earth. Since the mid-1980s in particular, he has used his immense influence to help reconfigure the political landscapes of several countries around the world—in some cases playing a key role in toppling regimes that had held the reins of government power for years, even decades. Vis à vis the United States, a strong case can be made for the claim that Soros has affected American politics and culture more profoundly that any other person in living memory. Armed with a multi-billion-dollar personal fortune, he has cast himself as a missionary with a semi-divine mandate to transform the world and its institutions into something which he deems better—by promoting all manner of leftwing values and political agendas.

But George Soros is 93 years old, and he understands that it’s now time for him to pass the baton of his crusade for radical leftism to someone younger. Hence, a couple of months ago he officially named his 38-year-old son, Alexander Soros, as board chairman of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the $25 billion philanthropic empire through which the elder Soros has funded the Left for decades. “We think alike,” said George Soros when discussing Alexander’s prospects as his successor. Alexander, meanwhile, told The Wall Street Journal that he considers himself to be an even “more political” person than his father. Thus, his ascent to the top of the OSF hierarchy suddenly makes him one of the most consequential human beings anywhere on the planet. Let us examine, then, exactly who Alexander Soros is.

Background

Alexander “Alex” Soros was born in 1985 to the famous leftwing financier George Soros, who was then 55 years old, and the latter’s second wife, historian Susan Webner.

The fourth of five children from George Soros’ first two marriages, Alex was raised in a 14-room house on an estate in upscale Katonah, New York. The family also owned a duplex apartment in Manhattan. From pre-K through grade 12, Alex attended King Low Heywood Thomas, an elite private school located in Stamford, Connecticut.

Alex and his younger brother Gregory rarely saw their father when they were children. A 2012 New York Times profile quoted Alex saying, “I was very angry at him [the father], I felt unwanted. He had a very hard time communicating love, and he was never really around.” “He was there, but he wasn’t there,” Alex said on another occasion. “He was thinking about [financial] markets the whole time.” Most of Alex’s childhood days were spent under the supervision of a Chinese immigrant nanny named Ping.

At a young age, Alex was introduced, through his father, to figures like Hillary ClintonNelson Mandela, and Bono. He claims that he began to engage with his father more during his teenage years, in conversations that sometimes included debates about the merits of Karl Marx’s ideas. In particular, the boy grew closer to his father after his mother filed for divorce in 2004, when Alex was a freshman at New York University (NYU). “In a way, he [George Soros] took fathering more seriously after the divorce,” the son recalls.

Between 2004 and 2006, Alex worked part time at his father’s Open Society Institute, later renamed the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which has long been one of the world’s leading funders of leftwing groups and causes.

Alex graduated from NYU with a BA degree in history in 2009, before later obtaining both an MA and PhD in history from UC Berkeley in 2018. He also served stints as: (a) a post-doctoral fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities at Bard College, a school whose activities and programs had already been bankrolled by his father for a number of years; (b) an honorary fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University in Budapest, an institution founded by his father in 1991; and (c) a visiting fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, a nonprofit educational institute whose relationship with George Soros, who was one of its board members, dated back to at least 1989.

In his young adulthood, Alex was best known for his high-profile social life. As a Daily Mail headline once put it: “Gorgeous models, NBA pals and hide-and-seek at his mansion: Welcome to the lavish life of investor George Soros’ playboy son.” Indeed, he garnered much media attention simply for attending extravagant parties with celebrities in places like the Hamptons and Cannes.

A New Sense of Purpose

When he reached his early to mid-twenties, Alex Soros resolved to bolster his credibility and become known for something other than hobnobbing with celebrities. Toward that end, he traveled, on his own initiative, to remote parts of the Amazon rainforest to meet with indigenous leaders for the purpose of drawing public attention to their needs.

Rising New Philanthropist for the Democratic Left

Soros began to make a name for himself as a philanthropist in 2010, when he contributed nearly $74,000 to Democrat candidates during that year’s midterm election cycle. At the time, he stated that America “will be better off if Democrats keep control” (of the U.S. House and Senate). He especially took issue with Republicans’ “extreme” rhetoric on social issues, stating: “I am the son of a Hungarian Jew who survived the Nazis … my politics are shaped by my family history and being Jewish. I was raised to sympathize with other minorities and targets of bigotry.” Asserting further that the then-ascendant Tea Party movement was “a movement of intolerance,” Soros articulated his hope that “my donations will help combat this intolerance.” He also noted that he felt an inner sense of “conflict” about contributing large sums of money to political campaigns as a matter of principle, stating: “I do not believe that elections should be privately financed. Ultimately, that’s incompatible with democratic principles.” “I detest the idea that money is speech,” he would elaborate in 2012, “but if the other side is going to do it, you have to do it.”

In 2011, Soros joined the OSF board of directors. Initially, however, he was scarcely noticed in that role. “Alex used to come to board meetings, but he hardly spoke,” recalls former OSF president Aryeh Neier.

Also in 2011, Soros and his younger brother Gregory collaborated to launch the Soros Brothers Investments firm, where Alex served as a managing partner.

In 2011 as well, Alex Soros joined the board of Global Witness (GW), an organization dedicated to exposing human-rights abuses by mining companies and governments around the world. In its self-description, GW says: “We want justice for those disproportionately affected by the climate crisis: people in the global south, indigenous communities and communities of colour, women and younger generations. We want corporations to respect the planet and human rights, governments to protect and listen to their citizens, and the online world to be free from misinformation and hate.”

While still a graduate student at UC Berkeley, Soros in April 2012 launched an eponymous philanthropy called the Alexander Soros Foundation (ASF). His objective was to fund “more experimental and perhaps controversial projects that larger mainstream foundations might not be able to take on.” As InfluenceWatch.org reports, ASF’s “stated mission is to promote social justice and human rights, though its grants also focus on environmentalism, education, cultural causes, and more.” In July 2012, Soros told The Wall Street Journal: “I don’t want to become a full-time philanthropist, because I don’t think it is a job, per se. I think it is something one should do—a responsibility.”

Shortly after its launch, ASF awarded grants to the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Make the Road New Yorkboth of which support increased levels of immigration to the United States, as well as amnesty for illegal aliens currently residing there.

In 2012, Soros contributed slightly more than $400,000 to Democratic campaigns and political action committees during that year’s election cycle.

During the 2014 election season, Soros matched his 2012 output by donating yet another $400,000 to Democratic campaigns and PACs.

In April 2015, Politico reported that Soros had poured $1.2 million into the preceding three election cycles, including support for Friends of Democracy, “a super PAC started by his half-brother Jonathan Soros, who has focused his political efforts on getting money out of politics.”

In August 2015, Soros attended a Hollywood fundraiser for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, an event that featured the presence of luminaries like Tom Hanks, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian.

In 2015 as well, Soros took a full-time role with OSF. “He worked with George’s longtime adviser, Michael Vachon, and others, to hone his public speaking and political skills,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “He emerged as his father’s deputy.”

In a January 2016 interview with Forbes magazine, Soros publicly identified himself as “an avid supporter of many progressive politicians, including Gavin Newsom, who is running for Governor of California in 2018, Tammy Duckworth, who is running for Senator in the state of Illinois in 2016 election cycle, and Hillary Clinton.”

By May 2016, Soros had contributed $1 million to the pro-Clinton political action committee, Priorities USA.

In August 2016, Soros took to Instagram to post a photo of himself and Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine after an exclusive dinner that the two had shared. “Love this man!” read the post. “Was great to have dinner with a man we need to call one day #vicepresident@timkaine last night! He is definitely the real deal! #clintonkaine2016#strongertogether.” As noted by Breitbart News, Soros’ Instagram account, by that point in time, had also featured photos of Soros alongside such high-profile Democrats as Barack ObamaChuck SchumerNancy PelosiValerie JarrettCecile RichardsAl FrankenElizabeth WarrenKirsten Gillibrand, and Keith Ellison.

During the 2016 election season, Soros donated more than $4.5 million to Democratic campaign committees and political action committees. The leading recipient of his largesse was the Senate Majority PAC, a political action committee associated with Senator Chuck Schumer, which took in $3.5 million from Soros between August and November of that year. Soros also gave $1 million to Priorities USA Action$127,800 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and $133,400 to the Democratic National Committee Services Corporation. Among the individuals whose campaigns Soros supported with the $5,400 maximum contributions allowable by law were Hillary ClintonChuck SchumerRuss Feingold, and Keith Ellison.

In 2017, Soros donated $650,000 to Democratic causes. This included the legal maximum of $33,900 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in April, plus contributions to such notable Democrats as congressional candidate Jon Ossoff (Georgia) and Senators Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Jon Tester (Montana), Maria Cantwell (Washington), and Chris Murphy (Connecticut). And during the 2017 gubernatorial primary campaign in Virginia, Soros donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrat Tom Perriello. who ultimately was trounced in the primary race by establishment-backed Ralph Northam.

Also in 2017, Soros gave $500,000 to the International Crisis Group, on whose board of directors he sat.

As of 2017 as well, Soros was also an active board member with the Open Society FoundationsBend the Arc Jewish Action PAC, Global Witness, Libraries Without Borders, Central European University, and the Gordon Parks Foundation. In addition, he was a trustee with the Alexander Soros Foundation.

In early 2018, Soros donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, a Democrat who ultimately was defeated by Republican Ron DeSantis and was later arrested for a drug-fueled encounter with a homosexual male prostitute.

By September 2018, Soros had contributed almost $3 million to Democratic committees during that year’s midterm election cycle. This included a $100,000 donation to an independent expenditure committee supporting Rep. Keith Ellison‘s bid to become attorney general of Minnesota – nearly half of all the money raised by that committee.

In June 2019, Soros was among 19 liberal-left philanthropists to publicly endorse the imposition of “a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest 1/10 of the richest 1% of Americans.”

On October 21, 2019, Soros hosted a dinner event in his own home to benefit the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), which sought to redraw America’s nationwide election map in a manner that would benefit Democrats at the polls. The three featured guests at this event were NDRC chairman Eric Holder, former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, and former President Barack Obama.

During the 2020 presidential election season, Soros gave $700,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in support of Joe Biden’s White House bid.

In September 2021, Soros and his father spent time with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On September 9, Alex Soros tweeted a photo of the three of them smiling together, with a caption that read: “In Pelosi we trust! Was good seeing @SpeakerPelosi this weekend.”

In 2022, Soros was named president of Democracy PAC, which had served as his father’s major campaign-spending vehicle since 2019. Among other things, this political action committee had backed the election campaigns of numerous district attorneys and law-enforcement officials who viewed the criminal justice system as inherently racist and therefore sought to reduce the incarceration rates of nonwhite minorities. All told, the PAC had funneled more than $80 million to Democratic organizations and candidates during the 2020 election cycle, and was re-seeded with an additional infusion of $125 million by George Soros in January 2022 – money that would be used to help Democrats in the midterm elections later that year.

In December 2022, Soros attended a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron at the Biden White House.

From 2018 through March 2023, Soros gave approximately $5.7 million to left-leaning political action committees and Democratic campaigns. Also during that same period, he met at least 9 times with Chuck Schumer (who served some of that time as Senate Majority Leader), and at least 8 times with Nancy Pelosi (who served some of that time as House Speaker). Further, Soros contributed a combined total of more than $130,000 to Pelosi’s congressional campaign and to a Super PAC victory fund associated with Pelosi.

By early July 2023, Soros had visited the Biden White House at least 20 times since the new administration was installed in January 2021. Among the officials with whom Soros had met were Madeline Strasser and Nina Srivastava (advisors to White House chief of staff Ron Klain); Hazel Castillo (National Security Council staff assistant); Mariana Adame (advisor to Steve Ricchetti, counselor to President Biden); Kimberly Lang (national security advisor); Jonathan Finer (deputy national security advisor); and Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe.

Soros’ Views on Israel, the Jewish People, & Anti-Semitism

In a July 2012 interview with Philanthropy News Digest, Soros articulated his thoughts regarding the American Jewish community’s perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

“When it comes to Israel and Palestine, I believe in consistency. If there’s one problem I have with the American Jewish community, it’s that it is at times rather inconsistent on the subject. I think that Jews have supported progressive causes because of the better part of their nature and that’s a great legacy; it’s really a part of Jewish exceptionalism. But I worry when Jews in America start to support policies in Israel which they wouldn’t support in America, which don’t allow for separation of church and state, which don’t give full rights to people who are technically living under occupation, and which don’t allow for immigration of people who aren’t Jews, or for non-Jews to become citizens. This is a problem because it gives credence to the old adage that Jews are liberal or left-wing only for their own self-interest; that they want a color-blind society with all these different ethnic groups because it makes them safer. So I think that whether you keep your values consistent is a true test. A lot of Americans Jews do support one thing here and another thing there, and that’s inconsistent.”

In 2012 as well, Soros:

  • donated at least $200,000 to the Jewish Council for Education and Research, a leftwing super PAC that strongly supported both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns
  • was one of the nation’s top donors to J Street, a Jewish organization highly critical of Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians and Hamas terrorists

In an April 2018 interview with the Israeli news outlet Ynetnews, Soros charged that conservative criticisms directed against his father were largely motivated by Jew-hatred:

“Since I was a child, I realized that—beyond all political reasons—the attacks against my father have an anti-Semitic tone. I read what they said about him in Hungary. They described him as the creator of an international Jewish plot. All the Elders of Zion and the Protocols in one man, in my father. They asked how dare this man come to central and Eastern European countries and dictate norms to them; who is this immigrant fighting against the discrimination of Muslims in America. They stepped up the attacks on him because they saw how influential he was.”

In the same interview:

  • Soros asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “ties with radical right-wing, anti-Semitic and corrupt elements contradicts Israel’s commitment as a Jewish state.”
  • When asked whether some of the money that he had donated to J Street might possibly have been used to support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions movement, Soros answered: “In my opinion, the call for boycott and divestment of Israel is wrong. This movement is trying to follow in the footsteps of the South African precedent. Israel is a different story. I believe the occupation is bad, but we can’t hold every Israeli accountable for the occupation.”

On July 31, 2020, Soros authored a piece for NBCnews.com about his family’s “fight to eradicate systemic racism in America” in the face of what he portrayed as widespread anti-Semitic opposition. Some key excerpts:

“The senseless killings of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans while in police custody have sparked the largest and most diverse mass protests in the history of the United States. You might think everyone would now be focusing on how to fix a system that has mercilessly subjugated, brutalized and killed Black and brown people in this country. But you would be wrong.

“Instead of trying to come together and figure out how America can live up to its promise of equality for all, too many people prefer to stoke the flames of anti-Semitism. The wave of outrage over systemic racism has provoked anti-Semitic accusations that Jews — specifically my father, George Soros — are organizing the protests behind the scenes. […]

“Blaming Jews for mass civil rights movements is a textbook white supremacy tactic that has been around for longer than anyone reading this article has been alive. The logic is simple: Those who promote these lies want you to believe that Black and brown people are not smart or strategic enough to organize such actions themselves, so Jews must be pulling the strings.

“This construct also ties into the abhorrent ‘replacement’ conspiracy theory that flourishes in the darker corners of the internet, such as on 4chan, Gab and Reddit’s now-suspended The Donald subreddit: Evil Jewish financiers want to somehow replace white people with supposedly more pliant people of color.

“This despicably racist online poison uses ideas and imagery that are directly drawn from the anti-Jewish propaganda of Nazi Germany — although the ‘replacement’ theory remains a distinctly American manifestation of white supremacy.”

Bend The Arc

In anticipation of the pivotal 2016 elections in the United States, Soros in April 2015 co-founded and became chairman of Bend The Arc Jewish Action PAC, a political action committee “focused on representing the views of Jewish Americans” on domestic policy issues like immigration, sexuality, and social change of a leftwing variety. “There’s an opportunity to launch something that actually speaks to what the American Jewish community cares the most about and to show the narrative of what the real American Jewish experience is,” Soros stated at the time. (The Bend The Arc Jewish Action PAC is affiliated with Bend The Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice (BTA), an organization that grew out of the June 2011 merger of the California-based Progressive Jewish Alliance and the New York-based Jewish Funds for Justice.)

Contempt for Donald Trump

Soros was deeply upset by Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. “When Trump was elected,” said Soros in April 2018, “I wasn’t surprised—I was sad. Since Trump’s election, I have been waking up every morning and saying to myself, the world is in danger. I have to do whatever I can to prevent that danger.”

Later in 2018, reports emerged that packages containing pipe bombs had been shipped to prominent Democrats like George Soros and former President Barack Obama. Blaming President Trump for having created a political atmosphere in which such potentially destructive acts could take place, Alex Soros wrote an October 2018 op-ed in The New York Times claiming that this “profoundly disturbing” development was a manifestation of “the new normal of political demonization that plagues us today.” Characterizing Trump as someone who sought to foment “division and hate,” Soros added: “We must find our way to a new political discourse that shuns the demonization of all political opponents. A first step would be to cast our ballots to reject those politicians cynically responsible for undermining the institutions of our democracy. And we must do it now, before it is too late.”

In the same op-ed piece, Soros again suggested that opposition to the work of his father and the Open Society Foundations was rooted in a breed of “anti-Semitism” promoted and fostered by Trump:

“[S]omething changed in 2016. Before that, the vitriol he faced was largely confined to the extremist fringes, among white supremacists and nationalists who sought to undermine the very foundations of democracy.

“But with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, things got worse. White supremacists and anti-Semites like David Duke endorsed his campaign. Mr. Trump’s final TV ad famously featured my father; Janet Yellen, chairwoman of the Federal Reserve; and Lloyd Blankfein, chairman of Goldman Sachs — all of them Jewish — amid dog-whistle language about ‘special interests’ and ‘global special interests.’ A genie was let out of the bottle, which may take generations to put back in, and it wasn’t confined to the United States.”

Supporter of Joe Biden for President

On July 3, 2020, Soros touted the many benefits that he believed America would reap if Joe Biden were to be elected president that November:

“While European pundits are correct to doubt that the old transatlantic alliance will simply return to its pre-Trump state, they are underestimating what a Biden victory would mean for US foreign policy. The Democratic Party is still a party of values, and a Biden administration would pursue a full reset after four years of Trump, restoring America’s historic commitment to responsible leadership on the world stage.

“Whereas Trump has spent his time in office starting fights with Europe over climate change, trade, and human rights, Biden would bring America back to the diplomatic table. The United States would rejoin the Paris climate agreement, pursue new trade deals, and participate in cooperative efforts to ensure that technological innovation conforms with human-rights standards.

“In the European Union, America’s image is at an all-time low, thanks to the Trump administration’s slow, incoherent, and ineffective response to the covid-19 crisis, a major part of which comprised blaming other countries, rather than cooperating with them. Instead of combating the crisis using the resources of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other multilateral organisations, the US banned travel from Europe without warning and announced it would defund the WHO. One of Biden’s first foreign-policy objectives would surely be to rectify this and to treat covid-19 as the global crisis it is. That means leveraging international cooperation to protect Americans from the pandemic (and its attendant economic devastation), as well as leading global efforts to combat the threat.

“With Biden in the White House, European telecoms firms such as Nokia and Ericsson would be recognised and supported as the transatlantic alliance’s 5G champions, and the US would help Europe wean itself off Russian gas as it worked on a clean-energy transition. A Biden administration would also recognise the wisdom of negotiating a renewal of the New START nuclear-weapons agreement with Russia when it expires in 2021. And it would pursue other forms of arms control to advance European and US security interests and prevent a new arms race.”

Combating America’s “Systemic Racism” and Supporting the “Black Lives Matter” Movement

On July 13, 2020 —  seven weeks after the infamous May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis — the Open Society Foundations announced their intent to advance the cause of “racial justice” by channeling $220 million toward the mission of “merging organizations and leaders building power in Black communities across the country.” “This is the time for urgent and bold action to address racial injustice in America,” said Alex Soros. “These investments will empower proven leaders in the Black community to reimagine policing, end mass incarceration, and eliminate the barriers to opportunity that have been the source of inequity for too long.”

On July 31, 2020, Soros authored a piece for NBCnews.com titled “My Father, George Soros, Is White Supremacists’ Favorite Target. But They Won’t Stop Us.” Some key excerpts:

“The senseless killings of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans while in police custody have sparked the largest and most diverse mass protests in the history of the United States. You might think everyone would now be focusing on how to fix a system that has mercilessly subjugated, brutalized and killed Black and brown people in this country. But you would be wrong.

“Instead of trying to come together and figure out how America can live up to its promise of equality for all, too many people prefer to stoke the flames of anti-Semitism. The wave of outrage over systemic racism has provoked anti-Semitic accusations that Jews — specifically my father, George Soros — are organizing the protests behind the scenes. […]

“Blaming Jews for mass civil rights movements is a textbook white supremacy tactic that has been around for longer than anyone reading this article has been alive. The logic is simple: Those who promote these lies want you to believe that Black and brown people are not smart or strategic enough to organize such actions themselves, so Jews must be pulling the strings.

“This construct also ties into the abhorrent ‘replacement’ conspiracy theory that flourishes in the darker corners of the internet, such as on 4chan, Gab and Reddit’s now-suspended The Donald subreddit: Evil Jewish financiers want to somehow replace white people with supposedly more pliant people of color.

“This despicably racist online poison uses ideas and imagery that are directly drawn from the anti-Jewish propaganda of Nazi Germany — although the ‘replacement’ theory remains a distinctly American manifestation of white supremacy. […]

“The hatred, which is ripping apart the fabric of this country, does not deter my father or me…. [F]or us, the surge in online attacks on my father and me in the wake of the renewed energy around the Black Lives Matter movement is simply one more installment of a long, ugly story — the predictable reaction of those whose power and position are threatened by the demands of justice.

“And we are not stopping. Earlier this month, our Open Society Foundations announced a $220 million commitment to help achieve racial equality in America, building on our existing work with groups engaged on issues including voting rights, education, drug policy reform and ending the blight of mass incarceration of Black Americans.

“We will continue to fight to eradicate systemic racism in America. And we will never stop fighting the bigotry of those who sow discord, spread lies and engage in hateful, anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

Conclusion

Alexander Soros is the new leader of the $25 billion philanthropy that, at the direction of his father, has done more in recent decades to fund leftwing organizations than virtually any other entity on earth. Among the most significant of those beneficiaries are organizations that:

  • accuse America of routinely violating the civil rights and liberties of racial and ethnic minorities
  • depict the U.S. as a nation whose enduring racism must be counterbalanced by racial and ethnic preferences in favor of nonwhites
  • portray the American criminal-justice system as racist and inequitable
  • call for the recruitment and training of activist leaders to help foment massive social change
  • disparage capitalism while promoting a dramatic expansion of social-welfare programs funded by ever-escalating taxes
  • support socialized medicine in the United States
  • strive to move American politics to the left by promoting the election of radical political candidates
  • promote leftist ideals and worldviews in the media and the arts
  • seek to inject the American judicial system with leftist values
  • advance leftist agendas by infiltrating churches and religious congregations
  • promote open borders, mass migration, a watering down of existing immigration laws, increased rights and benefits for illegal aliens, and ultimately amnesty for all illegals
  • depict virtually all American military actions as unwarranted and immoral
  • advocate America’s unilateral disarmament and/or a steep reduction in its military spending
  • promote radical environmentalism
  • oppose the death penalty in all circumstances
  • promote women’s right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand
  • favor global government which would bring American foreign policy under the control of the United Nations or other international bodies
  • support drug legalization
  • pressure mortgage lenders to make loans to undercapitalized borrowers, a practice that helped spark the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008
  • exhort the U.S. and Israel to negotiate with, and to make concessions to, Arab terrorist groups and regimes that have pledged to destroy America and Israel alike:

George Soros already has proudly told us that he and his son “think alike.” Thus, there is every reason to expect that Alexander will dutifully follow in the cataclysmically destructive footsteps of his father.

EDITORS NOTE: This Discover the Networks column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Impeachment Bias: The Troubling Trio Blocking Justice in Texas

In the turbulent landscape of American politics, the battle for justice often gets lost in a sea of partisan rhetoric. In a glaring example of this, the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a disturbing turn, with three Democratic senators at the heart of a contentious debate. While Paxton’s lawyers have called for these senators to recuse themselves, their unwavering bias remains a troubling impediment to a fair trial.

Senators Nathan Johnson of Dallas, Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, and José Menéndez of San Antonio stand accused of blatant partiality in the Paxton impeachment trial. Their public statements have left little doubt about their preconceived notions regarding the case. But what makes this situation all the more absurd is that while these three Democrats continue to assert their influence, they refuse to allow Senator Angela Paxton, the attorney general’s wife, to exercise her right to vote in the same trial. The glaring hypocrisy is impossible to ignore.

The Accused Trio’s Troubling Statements

The crux lies in the unabashed bias exhibited by Senators Johnson, Gutierrez, and Menéndez. Paxton’s legal team has meticulously collected a series of damning statements made by these senators that demonstrate their discriminatory stance against the attorney general.
For instance, Senator Roland Gutierrez’s appearance on MSNBC, where he boldly claimed that the evidence against Paxton was irrefutable, raises questions about his impartiality. In the realm of justice, it is essential for senators acting as jurors to approach a case with an open mind, willing to consider all evidence before making a judgment. Gutierrez’s public proclamation has undermined the very essence of a fair trial.

On the other hand, Senator Nathan Johnson has used his social media platform to air his bias. A tweet reacting to a political action committee’s donation to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick not only violated a gag order issued by Patrick but also further demonstrated Johnson’s predisposition against Paxton.
These senators’ actions fly in the face of their constitutional duty as jurors in this impeachment trial. The foundation of democracy rests upon a fair and unbiased judicial process, and the actions of these senators threaten to undermine that foundation.

Double Standards: Allowing Bias While Denying Rights

The refusal to allow Senator Angela Paxton to participate in the trial makes the situation even more baffling. While Paxton’s legal team has demanded the recusal of three Democratic senators due to their blatant bias, they simultaneously argue that if Angela Paxton is required to step aside, those who have displayed bias against the attorney general should also be disqualified. The logic behind this plea is clear: if impartiality is the standard, it must apply to all parties equally.
Yet, the Democratic senators have not extended the same courtesy to Senator Angela Paxton. Her disqualification from voting in the trial due to a perceived conflict of interest was a decision that was not only swift but also one that has been met with little resistance from her Democratic colleagues.
This glaring double standard raises questions about the true intentions of these senators. Are they genuinely interested in upholding the principles of justice and fairness, or are they simply using their power to push a partisan agenda?

The Bigger Picture: Paxton’s Impeachment

Amidst this circus of bias and double standards, the real issue is the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The charges against Paxton center on allegations that he abused his position to benefit a wealthy Austin businessman and campaign donor, Nate Paul. This case deserves a fair and impartial trial, free from political posturing and partisan biases.
The Senate’s previous disqualification of Senator Angela Paxton due to a conflict of interest has already raised concerns about the fairness of this trial. But the refusal to reciprocate this gesture by disqualifying senators who have openly demonstrated bias only deepens those concerns.

A Battle for Justice

The battle for justice in the Paxton impeachment trial is not just about one individual’s fate but the integrity of the American justice system. Fairness, impartiality, and due process must be upheld at all costs. Senators Nathan Johnson, Roland Gutierrez, and José Menéndez must take a long, hard look in the mirror and consider whether they are truly fit to serve as jurors in this case.

Their actions have cast a dark shadow over this trial, and it is incumbent upon them to act responsibly and recuse themselves in the interest of justice. It is not a sign of weakness to admit bias; it is a testament to the strength of our democracy when individuals step aside to ensure a fair and just process.

©2023. Amil Imani. All rights reserved.

Honoring the Last Flight of James A. Richmond, Combat Pilot, FAA Test Pilot and an American Hero

“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veterans doesn’t have that problem.” — President Ronald Reagan


Lieutenant Colonel James A. Richmond USAF (Ret.) took his “Last Flight” on April 5, 2023, after bravely battling cancer for over five years. During this time, he continued to serve his test pilot community faithfully and proudly as a mentor and leader, a fellow with the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and a Civil Air Patrol volunteer and advocate.

Here is Lieutenant Colonel Richmond’s ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and a tribute to his life by his wife Patricia and daughter Laura:

Born into a ranching family in Fredericksburg, Texas, he was a cowboy who always looked to the skies.

He graduated from the USAF Academy in 1964, the USAF Test Pilot School in 1971, and shortly thereafter was stationed overseas where he was shot down during a mission in the Vietnam War. For his courage during his missions, he was awarded several medals, including the Purple Heart. During his time in the Air Force, he also served as an attaché in Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) before finishing his Air Force career at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

After retiring from the Air Force, he continued to serve as a test pilot with the Federal Aviation Administration until 2015. During his time with the FAA, he took on many roles and responsibilities, including working with the United Nations Development Programme in Indonesia and as part of the United States’ reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Jim was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1986 as part of the Voyager Around the World Team and the Wright Master Pilot Award in 2014. After retirement he couldn’t stop doing what he loved and continued to consult on aviation safety, sometimes from a hospital bed while receiving cancer treatment.

Jim’s life centered around faith, family and country.

He loved life, travel and adventure and could often be found planning his next trip to scuba with sharks in South Africa, skiing with his family in Alaska, or catching up on the latest National Geographic from his leather chair in Fredericksburg, Texas. After losing the ability to eat he decided to become the family’s gourmet chef, always in search of the next great recipe. After losing the ability to speak, he took on the roll as the family’s historian and spent countless hours writing down both his own and his ancestor’s stories. He is the ultimate vision of hope, strength, and love.

 

He is survived by his wife Patricia of 54 years, daughter Laura, daughters Jennifer and Amanda, 5 grandsons, Leif, Finn, Liam, August and Bodhi, brother Jule Richmond, sister Alma Sue Richmond and many beloved nieces and nephews. They know he continues to fly and has now earned his own wings in Heaven.

©2023. Dr. Rich Swier, LTC, U.S. Army (Ret.). All rights reserved.

A Sense of Betrayal

Past deeds of heroism are no justification for present acts of subversion.


Thy destroyers and thy demolishers shall emerge from within thee. – Isaiah 49:17

A situation has been created with centers of power with authority without responsibility…this is not democratic…the Supreme Court is one of those centers Lt-Gen (res.) Moshe “Bogey” Yaalon, in an address to “Jewish Leadership” faction in Likud, 19 August, 2009.

The Supreme Court… is the only barrier against regime tyranny and dictatorship—Lt-Gen (res.) Moshe “Bogey” Yaalon, Maariv, 14, February, 2023.

I write these lines with a heavy heart, with a profound sense of sadness, and after much soul-searching, however, I feel that I have no alternative but to convey the sense of anguish that I feel.

During operations in enemy territories—at times completely alone—I found myself, not infrequently, in high-risk situations. These were dangers that I accepted unreservedly because I believed wholeheartedly in the necessity of the missions, and in the commanders who assigned them to me. I never had any shadow of doubt as to their commitment to the Zionist enterprise or their devotion to the national security of Israel and to the personal security of Israelis.  It was crystal clear to me that their orders were not tainted by any ulterior motives or sectorial bias—but reflected only considerations that impinged on mission success.

Vitriol & Vilification

Accordingly, the recent behavior of many senior members—past and present—of Israel’s security establishment came as a severe shock to me, rocking the very foundation on which I have built my life in this country—which I chose to make my home.

For example, it was appalling to hear the vitriolic vilification by Maj-Gen (res.) Amiram Levin of the army in which he served for over three decades. According to Levin, “The IDF has begun to be party to war crimes in a profound process reminiscent of processes that took place in Nazi Germany.” It would, of course, be intriguing to discover just how the actions of the IDF today differ substantially from those when Levin served. And if there is no such difference, what do the accusations say about the accuser?

Not less disturbing were the words of scorn and contempt from my former commander, Mossad director Shabtai Shavit, leveled at over half the nation, to whose defense he devoted almost his entire adult life. According to Shavit, the political preferences of the majority of the Israeli public prove that: “we have a people with no moral backbone“.

Lamentably, Shavit, found it necessary to affix his signature to a letter, endorsed by an array of other former senior security personnel—including several forced to resign under a cloud of disgrace—that supported the dereliction of duty by IDF reservists—allegedly in the “defense of democracy”—despite the fact that the measure was patently intended to bolster the ruling oligarchy.

Concocting motives

Again, it would be intriguing to know if those former security experts were actually alive to just how ludicrous the text, to which they attached their signature, actually was. It read: “The legislative process [promoting judicial reform] violates the social contract, that has existed for the last 75 years between the Government of Israel and the thousands of reserve officers and soldiers in the armed forces on land, in the air, in the sea, and in the intelligence services, who volunteered for many years of reserve duty to defend a democratic State of Israel“.

Yeah, right! As if what motivated IDF soldiers in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s was the knowledge that High Court justices had a vital role to play in determining their successors, and that it was imperative that unelected bureaucrats—appointed legal counselors—had the authority to void decisions of elected governments.

After all, who could doubt that without being secure in the inviolability of those building blocks of the regime (which, by the way, did not even exist back then!!):

  • IAF pilots would not have taken off to attack enemy airfields in Sinai;
  • IDF troops would not have stormed fortified Syrian positions on the Golan;
  • Israel’s wildly outnumbered armored units would not have valiantly thwarted the Syrian advance into the North of the country;
  • Agents of the Mossad and the General Security Service would not have risked their lives to uncover enemy secrets and defend those of Israel.

Adopting a puerile attitude of “Look what you made me do!” they accuse the Netanyahu-led government of: “crushing the common foundation of Israeli society, ripping the nation apart, dismantling the IDF, and inflicting a mortal blow on Israel’s security“.

Past heroism does not justify present subversion

In fact, precisely the opposite is true!

Those who purposely inflict grave damage on Israel, its security, its economy, and its international standing are none other than those who refuse to accept the voters’ verdict. It is none other than those, who under the thin and tattered guise of “patriotism” and “commitment to democratic values” call for the abandonment of vital positions in the national security system, for deliberately inflicting harm on the economy, and for an international boycott of the country’s elected leaders.

There is no disputing that many of the former senior security experts, who oppose the current government, have played an important role in molding the history of the State of Israel. But their illustrious past does not confer ownership of the state on them, nor grant them the right to veto policy decisions of elected governments. Their expertise in security does not provide them with special expertise in governance. Certainly, their past heroism does not justify their present subversive incitement.

So, although once I considered them exemplary figures, worthy of great admiration, today, lamentably, I confess their behavior arouses nothing but a bitter sense of personal betrayal.

©2023. Dr. Martin Sherman. All rights reserved.

U.S. Proposes New ‘Programming’ to Queer Up Foreign Nations

While Americans struggle to meet their daily needs and obligations, this is what the Democrats are squandering our money, our taxpayer dollars, on.

U.S. proposes new ‘programming’ to queer up foreign nations

‘Some countries have experienced significant backsliding’

By WND News Services, August 6, 2023 at 6:23pm

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) released new guidelines and recommendations for addressing and promoting LGBTQ programs in foreign nations.

Some of these programs include appointing LGBTQ “focal point” leaders and aiming to support youth during their “self-identification.”

“USAID plays a crucial role in agenda setting, promulgating norms and precedents, and encouraging multi-sectoral investments that support LGBTQI+ inclusive development globally,” the framework reads.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recommended new LGBTQ advancements and programs for its 100+ locations across the globe, according to a new policy framework released Wednesday.

The USAID aims to promote pro-LGBTQ policies and increase the presence of LGBTQ “programming” via its mission locations throughout the world, which include Africa, South America and the Middle East, according to the 2023 “LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy.” These programs include appointing LGBTQ “focal point” leaders, integrating LGBTQ “inclusion” into crisis response and working with foreign local LGBTQ groups to influence and drive policy.

“USAID plays a crucial role in agenda setting, promulgating norms and precedents, and encouraging multi-sectoral investments that support LGBTQI+ inclusive development globally,” the framework reads. “While recent momentum in some countries toward repealing and reforming laws that criminalize same-sex conduct—including many anti-LGBTQI+ laws inherited from colonial powers—is cause for cautious optimism, some countries have experienced significant backsliding.”

Keep reading.

AUTHOR

RELATED ARTICLE: Subsidized Uterus Transplants for Biological Men

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump’s Mugshot: The Face That Launched the Second American Revolution

“Issue the orders, sir, and I will storm hell!” — Major General Anthony Wayne, Revolutionary War Patriot.

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature. The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.” — Ben Franklin

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.” — Samuel Adams

“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” — William O. Douglas

“It’s not tyranny we desire; it’s a just, limited, federal government.” — Alexander Hamilton

“But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.” — John Adams

“The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.” — George Washington

“Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it.” — Thomas Paine

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” — John F. Kennedy


Trump Mug Shot Released

FULTON COUNTY JAIL — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released the mug shot of former President Donald Trump on Thursday after he surrendered to authorities.

Trump had his fingerprints and mug shot taken at the Fulton County Jail a week after a grand jury handed down a 13-count indictment that included an alleged violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. The former president was released on a $200,000 bond.

As of Thursday, at least 11 of the 19 people charged appeared at the jail to be booked.

[ … ]

Trump’s former attorney, John Eastman, surrendered to authorities Tuesday and had his mugshot released the same day. Another co-defendant, Scott Hall, also surrendered Tuesday with his mug shot being released as well.

Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was booked and released Thursday on a $100,000 bond. He is charged with racketeering and soliciting a violation of an oath by a public officer.

Read more.

AUTHOR

RELATED ARTICLES:

WATCH: President Trump Defiant After Leaving Jail

TANKED: Fox News Debate Numbers Are In And They Are Dismal, A Mere 4.5% Of What Trump Got

Waiting On Trump and His Mugshot: The Face of the Second American Revolution

House Judiciary Chairman Launches Probe Into Corrupt Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Hours Before Trump is To Be Arrested

Biden Regime Removes 27 Chinese Entities from ‘Unverified List’

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

How to Win a Local Political Fight

Citizens Can Win (and Have Won) by Playing their Cards Right


Citizens are often faced with contentious fights about local issues — ranging from whether their community should host an industrial wind facility, to whether their community should host undocumented immigrants.

Even though many of these matters originated at state or federal levels, local citizens should still speak up about their position.

Some may believe that it is a waste of time to fight the powers that be. However, if few say anything, politicians will conclude (rightly or wrongly) that the majority of the public supports the matter at hand. Worse, the proponents will take the lack of pushback as a clear signal that they can go further yet — i.e., instead of one wind facility, they will now go for three.

What legal basis do citizens have to fight these matters? One powerful argument is called Home Rule. Basically, it means that local citizens have more say over what happens in their community (on many issues) than state or federal legislators. (Here is a good explanation as well as a list of Home Rule states.)

What about the frequent situation where your local representatives are carrying the water for state or federal agencies? The word “representatives” is key, as ultimately their legal obligation is to act in the best interest of local constituents — not be supporting virtue signaling for higher-ups.

Most State Constitutions (or State Statutes) impose a legal obligation on local representatives to specifically protect the Health, Safety, and Welfare of their constituents. These are broad terms (e.g., see here) so looking for violations of any of these three matters can be fertile grounds for making a case.

There are two general options for such fights: shotgunand rifle. The shotgun strategy is to throw out a broad range of complaints and see which ones stick to the wall. The rifle tactic is to decide ahead of time what is the key weakness of the opponent’s case, and specifically target that. (I favor the latter as usually being more effective.)

How do citizens know the weaknesses of their adversaries’ case? Let them tell you!

It’s a good idea at the beginning of a contentious issue, to get your opponents to show their hand. (When I say opponents, I primarily mean community leaders/legislators who should be objective.) A simple way to do that would be to email the primary opposition parties, and politely ask them to clarify for you what their top three (3) reasons are that justify their actions. Getting their response in writing is key.

Three BIG benefits here: 1) it can expose a rift in the adversary ranks [e.g., if they indicate different or conflicting priorities], 2) it gives you a superior indication as to where you should focus your efforts against, and 3) it makes it very hard for those people to come up with new reasons after they have spelled out their best ones (in other words this method can minimize playing whack-a-mole).

As an example, doing this for representatives who are advocating a wind project in a local community, reveals that their number one reason was the supposed financial benefits that such a facility would bring. However, their beliefs were entirely based on what the wind developer told them (i.e., a biased, one-sided story).

Once citizens knew that economics was the key matter, they researched what financial liabilitiesthere could be (see here), and found out that the net economic impact was almost always negative— and typically very negative! Making that case (in a professional manner) is a much smarter strategy than bombarding local representatives with a slew of objections. (See here and here for more info.)

Of course getting allies to support your effort viaorganization, good communication, etc. are also ingredients of a successful campaign (e.g., see #4, #5, and #6 here).

Here is a fine example (by two women) of how to speak to local representatives. If you check out their online Dropbox listed, research and focus came before their talking.

Some of my favorite quotes that apply here:

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Meade

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”  — Samuel Adams

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” — Milton Friedman.

Be proactive, be professional, be precise, be persistent — and you will likely prevail.

The bottom line is that citizens CAN win these fights…

©2023. John Droz, Jr. All rights reserved.

VIDEO: The Global War on Farming—Control the Food, Control the People

Dutch legal philosopher Mrs. Eva Vlaardingerbroek spoke recently at an American farmers convention. Her speech should be seen as a warning for the U.S.

It’s a very good speech about what’s the situation for Dutch farmers right now, what is coming to America, and with excellent questions of the American farmers at the end.

WATCH: “The Global War on Farming: Control the Food, Control the People” Eva Vlaardingerbroek, Dutch farmers advocate and international political commentator.

Sponsored by: Callicrate Banders/No-Bull Enterprises, Colorado Independent Cattlegrowers Association, Kenzy Backgrounding , MW Cattle Co., Bob Baker, Sullivan Ranch, Solid Foundation Ranch, Hyde Farm, Hemmert Ranch, First Northern Bank of Wyoming, Cattle Country Video (Torrington Livestock)

©2023. Matthys van Raalten. All rights reserved.

House Judiciary Committee Launches Probe Into Fani Willis Over Trump Indictments

The House Judiciary Committee is launching an investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her conduct related to her indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Willis indicted the former president on Aug. 14 for allegedly violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, several counts of conspiracy, making false statements and more when allegedly interfering in the state’s election. The Republican-controlled committee is probing Willis over whether she coordinated with the Department of Justice when charging Trump, according to a letter from House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan.

The letter also questioned whether Willis’ indictment against Trump was politically motivated, referencing several instances leading up to the indictment. For instance, the letter mentions a new campaign website launched just days before the charges were brought where Willis touted her investigation into the former president.

Additionally, the letter references a grand juror who made media appearances “bragging” about the then-potential charges, as well as the Fulton County clerk’s office briefly posting a document containing charges nearly identical to those in the indictment, which was issued hours later.

The potential probe comes after special counsel Jack Smith indicted the former president in two other cases, one of which follows a similar line of questioning than that of the Georgia case — alleged election interference in 2020. The committee’s investigation comes the same day that Trump is set to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail.

“News outlets have reported that your office and Mr. Smith ‘interviewed many of the same witnesses and reviewed much of the same evidence’ in reaching your decision to indict President Trump,” the letter reads. “The House Committee on the Judiciary thus may investigate whether federal law enforcement agencies or officials were involved in your investigation or indictment.”

The letter requests documents related to Fulton County’s communications with federal prosecutors, Department of Justice officials and Executive Branch personnel.

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene argues state Republicans could additionally launch a similar investigation into Willis’ conduct, according to CNN. Green has also been pushing the congressional committee to probe the district attorney.

“I’m going to be talking to (House Judiciary Chair) Jim Jordan, (House Oversight Chair) Jamie Comer, and I’d like to also ask (Speaker) Kevin McCarthy his thoughts on looking at doing an investigation if there is a collaboration or conspiracy of any kind between the Department of Justice and Jack Smith’s special counsel’s office with the state DA’s,” Greene told CNN. “So, I think that could be a place of oversight.”

The indictment leak drew mass criticism across the internet, and Willis later dodged a question, claiming she’s “not an expert on clerks’ duties.”

Along with Trump, 18 other individuals were indicted over their alleged attempts to overturn the election, including attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, as well as former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Willis did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

MARY LOU MASTERS

Contributor

RELATED ARTICLE: ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Trump’s Georgia Prosecutor Isn’t Being Truthful

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PODCAST: “Will there be a civil war?”

In a widely viewed interview last night, Tucker Carlson asked Donald Trump more than once: “Will there be a civil war?”

Mr. Trump deflected, simply noting that there’s a lot of “passion” and “hatred” out there. What’s also true is that Team Biden seems to be intent on inflaming those sentiments.

For example: Biden’s administration is launching so-called COVID “protocols” involving renewed mandates for masks, lockdowns and mail-in ballots. Its Central Bank Digital Currency will allow government control of our money. And fourteen mostly Democratic-run cities plan to end consumption of meat and dairy products and ownership of private vehicles by 2030.

President Biden’s proposed entrusting of our military to General C.Q. Brown, a man who believes the United States is a systematically racist country, raises the further question: Would the armed forces be weaponized to violently suppress prospective resistance?

AUTHOR

Frank Gaffney, Jr.

Founder and Executive Chairman.

EDITORS NOTE: This Center for Security Policy podcast is republished with permission. All rights reserved. © 2023 Center for Security Policy.

Climate Change in the UK.

(These are my views as a woman living in England, on how the culture and spirit of my country has changed over 50 years.  Why the country does not feel protected or strong any more, how it has lost, and is losing it values and decency, and how we are daily losing our free speech.)


“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said; Let there be light and there was Light.” —  Genesis: 1:3

I went on a short trip recently.   A short trip down memory lane, and a journey back to a part of the UK I hadn’t visited for some time.

Cumbria, which is in an area also known as The Lake District in the North of England, is an area of outstanding natural beauty, and is famous for its lakes and mountains, with Scafell Pike being the highest mountain in England, and Lake Windermere the largest lake.

The area is also known for its famous artists and writers who once resided there, such as William Wordsworth, John Ruskin, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Beatrix Potter.

It was a place that was once well known to attract many romantics and philosophers.

Recently, The Lake District has become part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Leaving the M6 motorway northbound, which is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom, but solely located in England, visitors to The Lake District enter a mountainous region which mainly attracts those who like outdoor pursuits, such as hiking, boating and camping.

Its small villages, isolated farms and landscape are noticeably free from the many 5g tower masts which stand on almost every corner of the inner cities of the rest of the United Kingdom.    It was incredibly refreshing to drive through miles of open landscape witnessing the green patchwork fields which the country is known for.  It was nice not to hear the daily dose of ambulance sirens driving past my home, and it was especially nice to walk along a traditional promenade at the particular remote town where I stayed, without the usual commercialism which attacks us on a daily basis.   It was like stepping back in time.

One couple on our trip took a train journey to Carnforth Station which is where they filmed the 1945 movie ‘Brief Encounter’ The station which is now a Heritage Centre is advertised as an experience of total nostalgia.

However, the couple kept referring to the film ‘Close Encounters’ by mistake, which is about aliens landing on the earth.

Everything felt quite quintessential and normal for a short while, but life since my last visit has unfortunately changed.   Whilst the landscape remains unaltered, and almost cosseted in protecting a traditional image in part, an awareness of some of the people, made up of residents, but mainly tourists, in some of the more popular towns I visited had most certainly altered.

For the short time I spent in Keswick, Kendal, Windermere and Bowness on Windermere, there was an overwhelming feeling of being displaced, not just by the sheer volume of other cultures and visitors, but by what I can only describe as an aggressive uncaring and somewhat downcast spirit, which was far removed from the more genteel polite society which once seemed to reside there.

Were we really having a close encounter of the 3rd kind?

The view from Lake Windermere

Of course, our relationships with others, has changed considerably over the last few years.   Is it me, or are we now all naturally more suspicious of each other?

During 2020-2022, people who we once considered quite normal and considerate, turned out to be quite prepared to discriminate and aggressively betray others based solely on their own fears and false information being fed to them.

Some friends became enemies, and those who we thought may be enemies, became friends.

Rebel rousers; those who appeared to be independent and free thinkers, turned out to be quite the opposite and were completely programmed by the media without question, and the un-noticed ordinary person down the street turned out to be the clear rational thinker; the one who questioned or researched facts themselves.   They didn’t go along with a crowd mentality.

Aside from the obvious decline in morality and ethics which you could visibly witness on the streets, I wondered if this genuinely was the reason for my uneasiness, and the slight distance which I felt from my fellow man?

Natural Beauty

The UK, of course, has many other areas of outstanding natural beauty. (AONB) which do not come under UNESCO.    A relatively new charitable organization called The National Association for AONBs has listed the 46 areas of outstanding natural beauty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, for which it offers to protect and conserve based on the love of our countryside.

Who lives there?

Overview map of the UK’s Areas of Outstanding Beauty (landscapesforlife.org.uk)

AONB are designated areas which are protected under the 1949 National Parks and Access to Countryside Act which is enhanced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

An Act of Parliament passed in 1949 to conserve the most sensitive areas of the UK was passed as a result of two reports.   The Hobhouse Report and John Dower Report commissioned to respond to the wish of the public to have access to land for recreation.

The National Association for AONB state:

  • Their vision is to make sure that these areas are valued and secure.
  • Their mission is to support and develop a network of ambitious partnerships that have a strong collective voice.

Like UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) they are very focused on ‘climate change’

I feel it is very important to keep a watch not only on the above Acts of Parliament but also on the most recent Environmental Improvement Plan issued by the UK Government, with again, a particular emphasis on Climate Change, Reaching Net Zero Domestically and Reducing Agricultural Emissions through new farming schemes.

Environmental Improvement Plan (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The conservation and protection of our beautiful countryside together with an emphasis on reducing pollution should never be at the expense of restricting access to freedom of movement or targeting the farmers who produce our food in these areas under the guise of ‘Climate Change’ which can also be questionable based on the research and the facts produced by other expert meteorologists and climatologists outside of what and who governments promote on this subject.

In his book Cobalt Red, the author Siddharth Kara also throws light on cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its exploitation, where adults and children suffer and die daily mining cobalt which is a component to every lithium-ion rechargeable battery that powers our smartphones, tablets, laptops and electric vehicles.

The all-electric smart green utopia being pushed by our governments  has many dirty secrets.

It is alleged that the climate change industry makes 1.5 trillion a year.

Cobalt mining for Big Tech is driving child labor, deaths in the Congo | The Independent

The charitable organization of NAAONB, like many others, has good intentions at its heart, but the government has proven that outside of its own vested interests, it does not.   Their mouths say one thing and their actions say another.

Land grabbing and the displacing of people, most especially towards the indigenous inhabitants of any country, appears to be an item on another person’s road trip and on an Agenda which some people may not be aware of.

We must never forget the division, the heartache and the inhumane restrictions which were recently enforced on people lives, whilst the implementors of such rules, knowingly walked free.

If these same people really claim to care for the environment, then why don’t they care so much for people?

“We cannot stay home all our lives; we must present ourselves to the world and we must look upon it as an adventure.” — Beatrix Potter

Living in the Present

Living in the present moment and appreciating it, whilst not forgetting or overlooking what evil can, and is doing, in our world today, is a lesson which I personally strive to maintain and live by.

My short trip to the Lake District presented me with many signs, and opportunities to take note of.

On a very positive note, I especially appreciated the time I spent with my sister and the fun that we had staying in a lovely hotel.   We should always maintain where possible these relationships

However, there were two other instances which impacted me.

One was the very serious young waitress who served us each morning and evening in the hotel who we just couldn’t get to smile, even with the most pleasant conversation that we tried to instigate with her.

It was only on the last morning that she cracked a small little grin.   But what a delight to see it.

Her attitude towards her job, to ensuring that people were happy with her service and that she was attentive to them at all times was impeccable.  She took it very seriously but it almost seemed to be a pressure upon her.

Behind her sad face, I appreciated her dedication to her role and her work ethic.    I wondered what sadness lay inside her heart and what hope she may have lost unknown to us, and yet here she was in this world which attempts to instil fear in us and destroy us every day.   Her standards were still high. She was an overcomer.   Head and shoulders above those with absolutely no scruples.  That type of beauty shows up the ugliness.

The other instance was on our last short visit to a town called Keswick.

It was dull and very busy, people were pushing and shoving, littering the streets with food and drink.   It was the school holidays and there were lots of bored children.  I was inwardly sighing at the sheer number of heavily tattooed men and women, and they could have been such nice people for all I knew. It was a far cry from the surrounding beauty of the area, and I noticed the downward pull which was trying to take me with it.

However, as were walking away a voice pierced the air which made some people stop and listen.

A young girl was singing.  Her voice was so loud, clear and pure without the use of a microphone or speaker, that it seemed to pierce through the chaos in a superior fashion.   It was naturally beautiful with a very special message.

The song she was singing was the classical Nessun Dorma (Let No One Sleep) and although she sang in Italian, people seemed to understand the message.

Some people came to a standstill and tears filled their eyes.

Others walked past as if she was not there at all, indifferent, laughing or shouting and oblivious to the people who wanted to listen.  Why couldn’t they get the message?   It was like light cutting through darkness.

It is believed Nessun Dorma is really a response to the upheavals of World War I, a place of such cruelty and horror, but that somehow Love and Hope still exists.

We should be in no doubt that we are in a final war with evil.  It is cunning and sly and comes as an angel of light pretending to care about people’s health and the environment, but it can only use these issues together with those who align to it, for its own selfish advantage and agenda.  There is an awful lot of cruelty and horror taking place in this beautiful world.

Does Love and Hope still Exist

I do believe that for those who can see through these plans there is a great deal of light which has come to this earth to show us this darkness, and for that we should have great hope that all will be revealed.

Our brief encounters may turn to close encounters of the genuine kind.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  Romans 8:18

Rest and be thankful.   William Wordsworth

SOURCES:

Overview map of the UK’s Areas of Outstanding Beauty (landscapesforlife.org.uk)

About the NAAONB, its Charitable Status and Strategic Plan and Business Plan (landscapesforlife.org.uk)

Home : Lake District National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Centre – World Heritage List

World Heritage Centre – Climate Change and World Heritage (unesco.org)

About the NAAONB, its Charitable Status and Strategic Plan and Business Plan (landscapesforlife.org.uk)

Famous Artists, Poets & Writers – Visit Lake District

Collaborative Climate Action :: National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (landscapesforlife.org.uk)

Cobalt mining for Big Tech is driving child labor, deaths in the Congo | The Independent

©2023. Shirley Edwards. All rights reserved.

As Border Crisis Surges, Biden Auctions Off Border Wall Building Materials

On the afternoon of Friday, August 18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly released the latest U.S. southern border numbers, which indicate that the number of migrant apprehensions surged 33% in July over the previous month of June. At the same time, reports surfaced Sunday that the Biden administration is auctioning off unused border wall materials as a result of President Biden halting the wall’s construction on his first day in office in January 2021.

The Border Patrol reported capturing over 132,000 individuals trying to cross the border in July, with officials saying the volume of families with young children is seeing a significant rise over previous months. The number of children encountered at the border almost doubled in July from the previous month, with over 60,000 reported.

During testimony before Congress in July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that “unlawful entries … have consistently decreased” along the southern border. However, Mayorkas was likely referring to the fact that his department allows foreign nationals to “schedule” their arrival at a port of entry through a mobile app called CBP One, which then allows them to be released into the U.S. without acquiring a visa or other entry permit. Breitbart reported Sunday that almost 200,000 migrants have been released into the U.S. since the beginning of the year by DHS simply by using the CBP One app.

All told, since President Biden took office, there have been 5.5 million illegal migrant encounters at the southern border. Of these, the Biden administration has released 2.1 million migrants into the U.S. Additionally, approximately 1.5 million illegal migrants have entered the U.S. after successfully evading the Border Patrol. Statistics show that border encounters are happening at a rate that is three times higher under Biden than under the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, Fox News reported on Sunday that the Biden administration is currently auctioning off border wall materials that have been sitting unused since Biden ordered a halt to the construction of the wall on his first day in office. Steel beams that were intended to support 30-foot-tall panels are being listed for sale on GovPlanet, a military surplus online auction site. So far, about $154 million worth of border wall materials have been offloaded for sale by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Former President Trump had originally spent about $15 billion to construct 450 miles of barriers along the southern border. About 250 miles of the wall were under construction at the time that he left office.

As a result of Biden halting construction of the border wall, states like Arizona have resorted to using old shipping containers to patch up gaps in the wall. A later investigation found that the Department of Defense was spending $47 million per year to store unused building materials in southwestern states along the border.

Ken Blackwell, former mayor of Cincinnati and undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, was candid in his assessment of the Biden administration’s border policies.

“The Biden administration are champion supporters of a number of things, [among which is] this false notion that you can have a nation without borders,” he told The Washington Stand. “We’ve seen not only an increase in border crossings, we’ve seen an increase in ‘gotaways,’ we’ve seen a marked increase … in the number of military age Chinese [nationals] coming into the country. Our chief adversaries are laughing at this clown car called the Biden administration.”

Blackwell continued, “What we see is an administration that is keen on expanding the welfare state, denigrating citizenship, and creating [an increase in] not only the numbers of folks who are wards of the state, but folks who are hooked on the largesse of the federal government. [W]hat [the Biden administration is] doing is expanding the voter pool for supporting the expansion of the welfare state, which is controlled by the elite of the administrative state.”

Blackwell, who currently serves as senior fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at Family Research Council, called for an accounting of the actions of top Biden administration officials.

“The solution to the border crisis has to be that we begin to hold some folks responsible,” he underscored. “I would start with impeachment proceedings for Homeland Security Secretary [Mayorkas]. Because if you turn a blind eye or award bad behavior, all you’re going to get is more bad behavior. Right now, there are key players within the Biden administration, whether it’s the head of Homeland Security or the Attorney General — they think they are immune to punitive action.”
AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Border Patrol just uncovered a terrifying reality at the border

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘Faith in Jesus Christ Alone’: How Americans Agreed Christianity Is Core to Conservatism

In the years leading up to the birth of the nation we know as America, political discourse was exercised in pubs, in the pages of newspapers, in the town square, and on the steps outside courthouses. The patriots who forged America would define and refine together what liberty means and what responsibilities are carried with it, how men are governed and by what authority, and what a nation is and what it means to be an American.

Today, that same patriotic spirit that burns in the hearts of conservatives articulates itself largely on social media. On Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and even on less mainstream sites like Gab or former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, conservatives carry on the work of their forefathers and clarify ideologies, debate traditions, and ask what it means to be an American conservative. Just as early American patriots made their voices heard in the streets of Boston, Philadelphia, and Annapolis, so American conservatives made their voices heard on Twitter last week, resoundingly declaring that Christianity is core to conservatism.

Lizzie Marbach, a former Trump 2020 campaign staffer and current Ohio pro-life advocate, tweeted last week, “There’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.” The tweet itself garnered a moderate amount of notice and many social media users agreed with Marbach, who was essentially repeating longstanding (and, honestly, pretty basic) Christian doctrine. And then along came Max Miller. The Republican congressman from Ohio and former Trump staffer reposted his fellow former Trump staffer’s tweet with his own derisive commentary, saying, “This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far.”

First of all, it is important to note that Marbach is not a sitting legislator, nor even a government employee. Her tweet did not advocate, endorse, or even remotely suggest the suppression or persecution of any religious group or set of religious beliefs. This makes Miller’s comments all the more infuriatingly ironic: while claiming to support “religious freedom,” a sitting U.S. congressman told an American citizen to delete her profession of one of the most fundamental doctrines of her faith — a faith shared, by the way, by an estimated 70% of Americans.

Miller, who describes himself on Twitter as a “proud Jew,” was instantly ridiculed, shamed, and flatly contradicted by conservatives. Political commentator and podcast host Matt Walsh asked, “Do your constituents know that you consider basic Christian teaching to be ‘bigoted’? They do now I guess. Good luck in the next election!” Journalist Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, posted a meme reading, “[T]he best time to delete this tweet was immediately after sending it, the second best time is now.” Media personality and former GOP congressional candidate Lauren Witzke quipped, “Mask off moment.” Countless others commented simple variations of “Christ is King.”

Miller went further than merely airing his ignorance, though; he complained to Marbach’s employer, Ohio Right to Life, where his wife is a board member, and she was fired from her position as communications director. Ohio Right to Life stressed that Marbach wasn’t fired due to “any single event,” but even the ol’ post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy might be a bit of a stretch in application to this particular scenario.

In 2020, President Trump famously said, “It’s called ‘we do a little trolling.’” Well, trolling works. After the torrent of purely-digital backlash from Americans, Miller was forced to apologize. He said, “I posted something earlier that conveyed a message I did not intend. I will not try to hide my mistake or run from it. I sincerely apologize to Lizzie and to everyone who read my post.” Now, whether the apology was sincere or simply a PR necessity in the wake of denigrating the beliefs of over two thirds of Americans is not yet clear, though it’s worth noting that Miller did not delete his tweet calling expression of Christian thought “bigoted” and ordering an American Christian to “delete” her tweet, nor has he apologized for his role in having Marbach fired.

In fact, Marbach herself showed Miller just how “bigoted” and threatening Christians are by publicly forgiving him. She tweeted, “Max, I accept your apology 100%. However the truth is that it is not me from whom you need forgiveness, but God himself. I genuinely pray you seek him and find salvation!” She also posted the text of Matthew 18:21-35, in which Christ tells the parable of the unforgiving servant and instructs His disciples to forgive others not just seven times but “seventy-seven times.”

Aside from Miller’s appalling behavior and lackluster attempt at an apology, this episode demonstrates the commitment of conservatives to Christian ideals. Those who do not identify as Christian — atheists and agnostics, even some of Miller’s fellow Jews, were among his detractors — but as conservatives recognize the inherent truth that, without Christianity, there is nothing to conserve. The entirety of the conservative movement is founded upon distinctly Christian principles, traditions, and culture: liberty, order, virtue, duty, sacrifice, and all those noble ideals Americans have fought, bled, and died for over the past 250 years. These ideals were practiced, preached, preserved, clarified, and dogmatized by Christianity.

While nations and empires have risen and fallen, while the Roman republic decayed into tyranny, while kingdoms and races warred across medieval Europe, while European powers pioneered new lands, while the dream called America was realized, while bloody revolutions felled and founded new cultures and governments, while world wars raged, and even now into the present age, Christianity has stood strong, lovingly maintaining the doctrines laid out 2,000 years ago by a Carpenter from Nazareth, Who was also told, “Delete it,” in the parlance of the day, and lost far more than just His job.

Just as American patriots once agreed on what liberty is while sitting around their drinks in pubs, just as they once proclaimed what they knew to be true in the pages of their newspapers and gazettes, just as they once shouted their common beliefs in the streets, so too have today’s American patriots, speaking in today’s town square, agreed that conservatives must not condemn or denigrate Christianity but embrace it.

Hopefully, today’s patriots will continue following in the footsteps of their forefathers and will not be content with pub-table conversations, printed words, and marching in the streets, but will speak at the ballot box too and elect representatives who respect and even share their beliefs, the beliefs that this nation was built upon.

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.