The Good Book is the world’s most widely distributed book. It is also the world’s best seller. And now sales of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are rising.
The Wall Street Journalreports on this recent up-tick in sales. The headline declares: “Sales of Bibles Are Booming, Fueled by First-Time Buyers and New Versions.” And the subtitle notes: “Publishers attribute a 22% jump in Bible sales this year to rising anxiety, a search for hope, or highly focused marketing and designs.”
The WSJ quotes one Kansas Christian bookstore manager who said of Bible customers, “They’re looking for hope with the world the way it is, and the Bible is what they’re reaching for.”
This is a great trend. The Bible has played a key role in the life of our nation.
This gets back to a key question: What is the purpose of life? The Bible has the answer to that.
Erwin Lutzer, long-time pastor of Moody Church and bestselling author, once penned these words, in his book, Exploding the Myths That Could Destroy America: “An atheist’s logic tells him that he is of no more value than a baboon or a grain of sand, yet his life contradicts such a conclusion. He may provide for his wife and family, and if you were to steal his car he would want you to be punished—all this because he is created in the image of God….We are still coasting on the values derived from our rich Judeo-Christian heritage.”
It’s hard to live without purpose. But life does have meaning. And we find that purpose in the pages of the Holy Scriptures.
The Bible says God created us, and we will give an account before Him one day. In the 4th century, St. Augustine wrote his classic book, Confessions. On the very first page of that influential volume, he writes, “You have made us for Yourself, Oh God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
It’s natural to assume that life has a purpose, a meaning to it. But that itself is just an assumption—predicated on a Judeo-Christian concept that God made us, and, therefore, life has meaning.
But if life is merely an accidental product of time, matter, and chance, then life has no design—and thus no real meaning. And that’s the view adopted by many hardcore evolutionists. In some cases this is so they can live as they please. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World (1932). He was the grandson of Thomas Huxley (Darwin’s bulldog, who did much to promote the cause of evolution).
In a 1944 book, The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley wrote, “The liberation we desired was…liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom…The supporters of these systems claimed that in some way they embodied the meaning (a Christian meaning, they insisted) of the world.”
Huxley was basically saying they wanted life to be meaningless because then then they could pursue sexual lusts without restraint.
But what the unbeliever doesn’t seem to understand is that God’s rules are for our good. God the Creator of all has made certain boundaries that are helpful for us.
Ultimately, the question—what is the purpose of life?—can only be answered by the author of life, that is, God Himself. Surely, if there’s a God, there is a purpose to life. And he’s revealed that in the Bible, which is His Word.
I like the purpose that the Pilgrims gave us in the Mayflower Compact of 1620. They said that their voyage was “for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”
The Scriptures have had major impact on Americans through the ages—including many of our presidents.
President John Adams, one of the founders of our nation, and its second president, said: “I have made it a practice every year for several years to read through the Bible.”
Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth president of the United States, declared: “Hold fast to the Bible as the anchor of your liberty; write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives.”
Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president of the United States, observed: “If a man is not familiar with the Bible, he has suffered the loss which he had better make all possible haste to correct.”
Ronald Reagan, fortieth president of the United States, said of the Scriptures: “It is my firm belief that the enduring values presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, and refresh our souls.”
It will be great news for the nation if this new increase of interest in the Bible continues.
ARLINGTON, Va. /PRNewswire/ — NumbersUSA, the nation’s largest single-issue advocacy group, congratulates President-elect Donald Trump and members of the 119th Congress on behalf of our millions of grassroots activists and supporters.
Donald Trump won a decisive victory based on the top two issues for voters — the economy and immigration — which are inextricably tied.
President-elect Trump has a clear mandate from the American people to restore the credibility of our immigration system, ensuring that it functions first and foremost in the interest of the American people.
Trump has promised to reestablish the rule of law, both at the border and in the interior of the country. His running mate, JD Vance, has promised that “we’re done importing foreign labor, we’re going to fight for American citizens and their good jobs and their good wages.”
These messages resonate with voters appalled by the past four years of the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies, which have brought in the largest number of immigrants – both legal and illegal – of any single-term administration in history.
America was on pace to add 35 million new foreign residents in a single decade, an unsustainable increase that would make it harder for Americans to afford housing, secure good-paying jobs, and improve their quality of life.
NumbersUSA looks forward to working with President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect Vance, and members of both parties in Congress to make reforms that limit immigration a reality.
On day one in office, Trump can end programs put in place by the Biden administration that incentivized and rewarded illegal immigration. As Speaker Johnson has indicated, the priority for the House of Representatives is to reintroduce and pass H.R. 2 – a crucial first step.
We also urge the Trump administration and Congress to effect more lasting reforms by pushing for NumbersUSA’s Great Solutions in legislation.
About NumbersUSA
NumbersUSA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that supports a balanced immigration system that welcomes the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, is responsive to acute refugee crises, attracts those with extraordinary ability and talents, addresses temporary labor shortages, and protects the most vulnerable. As America’s largest single-issue advocacy group, focused exclusively on immigration reform, NumbersUSA has 8 million grassroots supporters spread across every congressional district. Founded by Roy Beck in 1996 to promote civil debate on the immigration recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform – chaired by civil rights icon Barbara Jordan – NumbersUSA continues to advocate for immigration policies that ensure Americans’ safety and promote economic fairness, while protecting the environment and quality of life.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)2024-12-05 05:10:372024-12-05 05:10:37NumbersUSA Looks Forward to Helping to Restore Immigration Credibility
Abolishing the Department of Education: A Critical Necessity
Conservative policymakers have long criticized the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that its centralized authority undermines parental and state control of education. Since its creation in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the department has been labeled a costly failure, unable to achieve its stated goals despite decades of effort and ever-increasing budgets.
A Failed Experiment
As federal control over education expanded, the results have been catastrophic. Testing scores have steadily declined, global proficiency rankings have plummeted, and public trust in the system has eroded. In stark reality, only 26% of eighth graders perform at or above grade-level proficiency. The growing disconnect between funding and results highlights the system’s inefficiency. Federal spending per student rose from $11,221 in 1979 (adjusted for inflation) to $17,700 in 2023, yet student performance has stagnated or declined.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that 13-year-olds recently scored their lowest math proficiency levels in over 30 years. Similarly, the number of high school seniors who did not read a single book for pleasure nearly quadrupled between 1976 and 2021—tragic! These statistics paint a grim picture of a system that fails to prepare students for a competitive and increasingly globalized world.
A Bureaucratic Overreach
Critics argue that the Department of Education prioritizes bureaucratic interests over student success. Despite contributing only 9% of overall education funding, the federal government controls 90% of education policies, stifling local and state innovation. Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has called for its closure, stating, “We spent over $1 trillion…and we’ve gotten nothing but worse results.” She advocates redirecting federal funds directly to parents through block grants, empowering them to choose the best educational options for their children.
The department has also faced backlash for imposing controversial social policies, including promoting gender ideology and critical race theory (CRT) in curricula and forgoing grades or discriminating based on skin tone when grading in the name of race equity. Some school systems stooped as low as segregating students by skin tone in the name of DEI.
Ensuring Safeguards in a Decentralized System
Dismantling the department raises concerns about potential disparities among states. Critics worry that blue states may adopt radicalized policies that could undermine national unity and educational standards. Some propose legislative safeguards to prevent this, ensuring baseline standards that preserve American identity and historical accuracy while banning DEI, CRT, Social Justice Activist Training, All Ages Comprehensive Sex Education, Gender Fluidity, the 1619 Project, Parental Rights Violations, Gender and Sexual Orientation Counseling, Planned Parenthood education programs, and more.
While the task of decentralizing education is immense, it offers an opportunity to lift up America’s children and secure the nation’s future while stripping power from the teacher unions, which have promoted a Marxist agenda in government schools for far too long.
Make Your Voice Heard-Set the Stage for January 20th!
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00ACT For America!http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngACT For America!2024-12-04 15:10:532024-12-04 15:11:4274% of 8th Graders in Trouble, Our Kids Deserve Better!
Perhaps the only disappointment for those of us elated with the outcome of this month’s presidential election was the muted, downcast response from the Left at Donald Trump’s massive victory. We’d expected angry riots from purple-haired Antifa goons; emotive demonstrations of impotent and self-righteous defiance by Handmaid’s Tale cosplayers; and, maybe best of all, delicious cable news highlight reels reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s surprise defeat in 2016. The quiet sobbing we got instead came as somewhat of a surprise.
For the Left, it all seemed to end, as it did at Kamala Harris’s victory party at Howard University, with a whimper. There was no defiant or fiery speech that night; in fact, the candidate wasn’t seen at all, unwilling to face even the dedicated supporters who had worked hardest for her candidacy. Over the next few days, while there was some hissing and a few entertaining misfiring synapses at MSNBC and CNN — including some angry denunciations of elements of the Democrat coalition — the emotion seemed forced and perfunctory.
For many, though, the downbeat response to Trump’s victory seemed out of place, given the feverish severity of how Democrats had articulated the stakes of this election. In her final month, Harris’s campaign dispensed with messaging on any issues, leaning hard into explicit comparisons of Trump with Adolf Hitler, and of MAGA politics with fascism and Nazism, evoking the specter of American death camps in the event of the ex-president’s victory.
Using a strategically-timed news hook from former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly, Harris stared gravely into the camera outside her residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory, warning that her opponent was no longer simply a “threat to democracy” but, as a Hitlerian-Nazi-Fascist, was openly dedicated to its destruction. The setting, too, was significant: rather than simply reaching down into the rhetorical gutter at a campaign stop, she used the trappings of her role as vice president to make an official pronouncement on a rival domestic political leader, using language typically reserved for foreign enemies with whom we are at war. The bloody result of a Trump victory, Harris and her media surrogates assured us, was certain.
While some in the press had never been shy of slandering Donald Trump as a “fascist,” the message coming from the candidate herself marked a serious escalation.
After all, when faced with an enemy that would extinguish all freedom in America and usher in a holocaust, procedural resistance in courtrooms or acts of civil disobedience are plainly inadequate. With the evil of a Hitler, there is no negotiation, comity, civility, or ordinary politics; only violent resistance is commensurate with the threat.
Some on the Left received the message clearly, as intended. Even before Harris herself began referring to him as a “fascist,” Trump had already been the attempted victim of two failed assassinations. Immediately following the first shooter’s very near miss, the New Republic all but endorsed this violent, final solution to the Trumpian problem, revealing a menacing, monochrome drawing of the former president on its cover complete with Hitler mustache. And below the image — subtle, in the color of dried blood — was the headline, “American Fascism: What It Would Look Like” in faux-Germanic typeface. Scandalously, law enforcement disappeared any information about the would-be assassins’ motives, saving the Democrats from having to address the fact that their manifestos dovetailed too closely with the party’s messaging.
David Reaboi is the president of Strategic Improvisation, a communications company focused on clients in the national security world. He also is a Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellow and a former Vice President for Strategic Communications for the Center for Security Policy. His work appears at The Federalist, Claremont Review of Books, PJMedia and other publications.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Center For Security Policyhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngCenter For Security Policy2024-12-04 14:52:362024-12-04 14:56:07Why Didn’t They Riot?
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Peter Navarro will be rejoining his administration as his senior counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.
Navarro was a former trade adviser to Trump in his first administration. He previously served four months in federal prison after he failed to comply with a Jan. 6 Committee subpoena, instead invoking executive privilege to decline to testify and turn over documents to the committee. Trump wrote Wednesday in a Truth Social post that Navarro has been treated “horribly by the Deep State” and will help advance his agenda in a second administration.
“The Senior Counselor position leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills. His mission will be to help successfully advance and communicate the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas,” Trump wrote.
“Peter is not just a superb, Harvard-trained Economist, he is a noted author of more than a dozen bestselling books on strategic business management and unfair Trade. He did a superb job for the American People in my First Term. Peter will do even better as Senior Counselor to protect American Workers, and truly Make American Manufacturing Great Again,” he continued.
Ahead of serving time in prison in the summer of 2024, Navarro was arrested by FBI agents in June 2022 at Ronald Reagan National Airport and charged in the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. The Trump official previously told the Daily Caller that his time in prison was “dangerous” and not like the “Club Fed” experience others had described it to be.
Navarro previously told the Daily Caller that his time in prison has not been like the “Club Fed” that many are describing it to be.
RNC crowd jumps to its feet when Peter Navarro says the Biden administration tried to break him — and failed. He was released from prison this morning.
Trump’s newest senior counselor for Trade and Manufacturing was able to leave prison in July ahead of the RNC convention and make an appearance where he was greeted with a standing ovation.
“This morning, I did walk out of federal prison. If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you,” Navarro said in his speech. “Here’s how I got in prison. The legislative branch came for me first. Your favorite Democrat Nancy Pelosi created your favorite committee, the sham January 6th committee which demanded that I … violate executive privilege. What did I do? I refused.”
“I went to prison so you won’t have to. I am your wake up call,” he added.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Daily Callerhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Daily Caller2024-12-04 14:31:452024-12-04 14:45:43Trump Says Peter Navarro Will Join His Second Administration
How is Russian propaganda organized? The same as anywhere else, just bolder and more unrestrained.
Modest propaganda dilutes the truth with lies. They add a drop of tar to a barrel of honey – so that honey can still be consumed, but why would you want to?
In Russia, we have over a long period become gradually accustomed to tar. A spoonful for President Putin, for former Defense Minister Shoigu, for Foreign Minister Lavrov – and gradually, by Archimedes’ law, all the honey has been displaced, leaving nothing but pure tar. A whole barrel.
In the realm of official mass media (radio, television), there is simply no truth left. Even on the entertaining Russian show “Field of Wonders,”[1] heroes of the “special military operation” have already appeared. Now, we can absolutely say that what is black on TV is white, and vice versa.
You see, the word “propaganda” stands in opposition to honest information, and there’s practically none left in legal sources. This is no longer propaganda; it is simply the imposition of a single ideology in Russia. It is an experiment, akin to Gianni Rodari’s story of building a land of liars within a federation.[2]
Honest information in Russia is now literally punishable by law. The so-called “foreign agents” are minor nuisances compared to the extremist and undesirable organizations. Anyone, even a 70-year-old grandmother who does not support the Russian government, can be labeled an extremist.
And working in an honest media outlet is outright criminalized.
It Is Easier And Less Costly To Believe The Propaganda
In neighboring Belarus, dictator Lukashenko went even further – reading truthful news is a crime there. We are successfully moving down the same path.
By now, there is no point in analyzing new propaganda techniques used to deceive viewers, listeners, and readers. Just different shades of tar in a single, huge barrel.
Don’t want tar? Then read the blocked and throttled internet, where only Telegram remains accessible, a platform the government could not control a few years ago and decided instead to use as one of its propaganda outlets. It is our only lifeline.
Of course, you can get truthful information – Telegram and its dedicated channels. But Telegram is not like a familiar TV you turn on during dinner, and the government exploits this. There is a habit, you see… a lazy press of a button, and no effort from even the most heroic journalists can compare.
Information should lead to conclusions. Often, conclusions lead to street protests in some countries. Try a solo protest in Russia. If you are lucky enough to get beyond your own doorstep – that is a win. But you will not stand with a poster for long; they will arrest you and send you to the police station.
If you are unlucky, you will be tried and sentenced to ten years. So many simply give up. It is easier and less costly to believe the propaganda, to sincerely love Big Brother (in the form of cameras on every corner helping the authorities identify dissenters) than to read the scary truth every day.
The truth is frightening. But propaganda sings about how “you are Russian, and you are lucky.” And who would not want to believe that more?
Here is what Russian propaganda says: here is the enemy – in yellow and blue, under the flag of the EU or the USA. And here is how to fight the undesirables: an ad for enlistment in the “special military operation” on every corner, offering money to impoverished Russians.
In addition, they explain that you are doing the right thing. And if getting off the couch is still scary, if there is any self-preservation instinct left – people are encouraged to inform on others. That is also very easy and “right” in the world of Russian propaganda.
Interestingly, there is a gradual replacement of idols in Russian media. Some public figures are too morally upright and are seen as role models. If a public opinion leader does not support Putin’s policies, he/she is automatically an enemy. They must be urgently replaced with someone loyal, while the former is labeled a “foreign agent.”
As you know, the English have been caring for their lawns for 300 years, so every blade of grass grows next to another – and here, for 30 years, they have been grooming brains so every convolution aligns perfectly. People are not grass; they adapt faster.
We Always Have To Prove Something, Or Face Fines Or Arrests
There are no special paths for Russian propaganda. Everything has been thought up before us.
It is no coincidence that so many Nazi techniques are repeated – from slogans to the incredibly popular blond singer who, since the beginning of the military operation, is shouting in his songs, “I’m Russian, I’m lucky,” with his compatriots, intoxicated by propaganda, echoing him.
It is simpler that way.
And the primary tactic has not changed over the years. Deceive and intimidate.
First, deceive with lies, and then intimidate those who do not believe.
To make your brain explode from what you have just read, let me tell you this: Russian propagandists love to echo, “Where were you ten years ago?!” They ask this question as in that old joke: “Have you already quit drinking cognac in the mornings? Yes or no? Look me in the eyes! Have you quit or not?”
Agree, caught in such a situation, you feel confused. The remarks that propaganda uses trap Russians, denying them the chance to say, “But I never drank!” There is only a definitive answer that places you in an utterly absurd position: “Yes, I quit, so I was indeed drinking endlessly but stopped,” or “No, I did not quit.”
And both are the worst possible answers.
These are classic rhetorical traps.
So it is with propagandists – they ask meaningless questions designed to provoke inflammatory responses.
The main question long posed to Russians, and picked up by many, is not about where we were ten years ago but what happened in 2014 and who was responsible for the events.[3]
(Read about what happened in 2014)
That question – “What actually happened?” – propagandists carefully sidestep, because the answer is known, and it instantly shatters their entire scheme.
Or another favorite question of Russian propagandists: “Why don’t you love your homeland?” It carries similar demagoguery and can be phrased differently, but the essence remains the same: my compatriots are put in a position of having to justify themselves. We always have to prove something, or face fines or arrests.
Russian propaganda successfully equates the homeland with the authorities. For them, as for the Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, “As long as Putin lives, Russia lives too,” and should Putin disappear, Volodin believes, the whole country should vanish as well.
But the homeland is something completely different – it is not the government.
The government long ago stole elections from the people, tortures people in prisons, and sends troops to other countries.
And if an ordinary Russian disagrees, they must come to love a truncheon in the back, which prison guards (the Russian police enjoy torturing liberals) will inflict upon them.
We are constantly placed in false conditions.
The Russian Parliament Changes Laws Every Year To Suit Themselves
If you do not support the army, do not draw a “Z” on your forehead, they call you a traitor to the motherland, and hopefully, it does not lead to a 25-year sentence.
For decades, Russians have been distracted from what is really happening in the country.
They do not answer questions about why the dollar was 30 rubles ten years ago, but today it is 98. What happened to doubling the GDP? Why is food importation banned, even though the West did not prohibit it – our own authorities create all the conditions for escalation.
Propagandists serve the authorities and hope that the average citizen’s memory is that of a fish, that we remember nothing of what happened yesterday.
For example, that not long ago Putin promised not to change the constitution but ended up rewriting it to suit himself.
That the chief propagandist mentioned above, Vladimir Solovyov, once said: “We cannot dream of seizing Ukrainian Crimea!” Turns out we can.
The authorities and their henchmen say many things, but in the end, they only do what benefits them.
The Russian parliament changes laws every year to suit themselves, hoping we will not be able to count how many people have been deprived of their right to be elected, contrary to the constitution.
And from every angle, we hear – “Where were you ten years ago, why don’t you love the Motherland?!”
It is simple.
We were in the Motherland and do not confuse it with the president.
Those who disagree with the “Putin regime” have been diligently remembering how those who seized power have been looting the country, hiding behind words about how enemies are everywhere.
Those Who Ask Questions Are Either Deliberately Ignored Or Arrested
These enemies, as a consequence, turned out to be the Russian opposition and most public opinion leaders, among them world-renowned people (poets, artists, journalists, musicians) who do not share Putin’s views.
It happened that they were unprepared to tolerate conflicts igniting on neighboring lands.
I still do not understand why we had to invade Ukraine.
First Moldova, then Georgia, and now Ukraine, and nowhere has the protection of Russians led to anything good.
In Turkmenistan, Russians were successfully betrayed, sold out for gas contracts.
And today, as in 2022, it seems that Russian authorities are once again in urgent need.
We understand that for them, people are unimportant; imperial ambitions are far more valuable.
And when given a chance to ask the propagandists an inconvenient question, do not expect reasonable answers. Everything is predetermined: “Enemies of the regime are not engaged with.”
Those who do not believe Putin are not worthy of Russian citizenship.
This is the tragedy – there is no one to hold accountable.
Those who ask questions are either deliberately ignored or arrested.
Under worse circumstances, they are killed.
But some are still alive here. Some even resist. Although not everyone lives to see the end.
AUTHOR
Elvira Vikhareva
Elvira Vikhareva is a renowned Russian opposition politician based in Russia. In 2023, she was poisoned with heavy metal salts.
SOURCES:
[1] The Field of Wonders is a Soviet, later Russian adaptation of the U.S. game show Wheel of Fortune.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Middle East Media Research Institutehttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngMiddle East Media Research Institute2024-12-04 13:51:062024-12-04 13:59:26The World Of Russian Propaganda by Elvira Vikhareva
A man was escorted out of an Edison, New Jersey Town Council meeting by police after the council banned the display of American flags at meetings.
The Town Council should be banned.
The left hates this country and means to destroy it.
David Asman: Americans died for the right to fly our flag freely. These are not representatives. They are unAmerican fascists. There’s no room for shameful behavior like this in a U.S. town council.
A New Jersey lawyer was tossed out of a town council meeting by cops last week for waving an American flag to protest a “stupid” new rule that bans so-called “props” from being used during the meetings.
Joel Bassoff, a local resident and attorney, was ordered to be removed from the Edison Township Council meeting after he pulled out the star-spangled banner while addressing council members on Nov. 25, footage obtained by New Brunswick Today shows.
Bassoff was among the slew of furious locals who were voicing their objections over the township’s new ordinance that prohibits them from using any props — including the flag and even the US Constitution — during the public comment section of town meetings.
Joel Bassoff, a local resident and attorney, was ordered to be removed from the Edison Township Council meeting after he pulled out the US flag while addressing council members on Nov. 25.Joel Bassoff, a local resident and attorney, was ordered to be removed from the Edison Township Council meeting after he pulled out the US flag while addressing council members on Nov. 25. NB Today/YouTube
“I’m holding up an American flag to represent the constitutional values,” Bassoff said during the meeting as Council President Nishith Patel banged his gavel to give him an official warning.
“It’s my constitutional right to do this,” the lawyer continued. “If you get sued, you will lose. My suggestion to you is that you get a second opinion from competent counsel because you are wrong.”
“You are interfering with the decorum of this meeting by interfering with the right to speech of a member of the public. And it should stop now,” Bassoff raged as other residents cheered in support.
Seconds later, two cops approached Bassoff as the council president called for him to be removed from the chambers.
One resident could be heard shouting “Shame on you” as Bassoff agreed to step away from the podium.
Bassoff was among the slew of furious locals who were voicing their objections over the township’s new ordinance that prohibits them from using any props. Bassoff was among the slew of furious locals who were voicing their objections over the township’s new ordinance that prohibits them from using any props. NB Today/YouTube
After the lawyer tried to take his seat again, the council president ordered cops to toss him out altogether.
Earlier in the meeting, another resident was also removed from the proceedings after holding up the US Constitution.
“To consider the American flag and the Constitution a prop when someone raises it is an insult to what the flag is, what the flag stands for and what this country is,” another resident, Maryann Hennessey, told council members.
“For you to consider the use of the American flag a prop is disgusting.”
The apparent prop ban, Ordinance 2239, was recently enacted in a bid to establish rules that maintain decorum at the township’s often raucous meetings.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Geller Reporthttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Geller Report2024-12-04 07:18:262024-12-04 07:18:26New Jersey: Man Thrown Out of Town Council Meeting for Waving American Flag to Protest New Ban
Pray for the people of South Korea. The pro-liberty movement is in support of President Yoon and his issuance of martial law in an effort to break the back of the corrupt bureaucracy that is suffocating the country. Now, Parliament has cancelled the call for martial law and with it, the hope of reestablishing the will of the people. It’s confusing, reading all this from afar, but our sources, decidedly on the side of liberty, have asked for prayer.
More of Biden’s infamous “legacy.” In their final days, the Democrats are burning down the house.
South Korea’s president declared Tuesday that he has put his country into a state of martial law because his government’s top opposition party is sympathizing with North Korea and anti-government activities.
President Yoon Suk Yeol made the announcement in a late-night TV address, according to CNN.
Yoo said he made the declaration in response to a motion by the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, to impeach top prosecutors and reject a government budget proposal, the news outlet also reports.
Martial law is the temporary replacement of civilian rule by military authority, typically in response to a crisis such as war or natural disaster. However, Yoon did not say what measures he would take
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements … I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in the national address.
Parliament voted to lift the declaration hours later. All members present voted in favor of lifting the declaration, BBC reported.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik said the country’s lawmakers will “protect democracy with the people” and said that police and military personnel to withdraw from the national assembly grounds, according to CBS News,
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Geller Reporthttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Geller Report2024-12-04 06:37:572024-12-04 06:52:12Biden’s Legacy of World Chaos: South Korea President Declares Martial Law Then Korean Parliament Overturns it
Ceasefires with terrorists always play out the same way. An elaborate series of understandings are reached through an extended process of negotiations.
The terrorists start violating them within 24 hours.
If Israel is involved, the world immediately blames Israel.
Biden’s Lebanon ceasefire lasted approximately 4 days. During that time, Hezbollah began advancing back to its old positions, setting up rocket launchers, fortifying and preparing to launch new attacks. All in violation of the ceasefire. Israel responded by taking out the incoming forces and Hezbollah is back to firing rockets into Israel.
So much for the ceasefire.
The first part played out in predictable fashion (anyone who thought Islamic terrorists would honor a ceasefire is either hopelessly ignorant or naive) and so is the second part. Israel argues that it’s acting within the terms of the ceasefire. Israeli negotiators ensured that Israel would have the right to act against Hezbollah forces operating south of the Litani river unilaterally. That was the basis on which the Israeli cabinet approved the ceasefire.
The problem is nobody cares.
Every single agreement that Israel has signed with Arab Muslim enemies were violated with the complicity of the ‘international bodies’ that were tasked with implementing them. That began with Israel’s War of Independence when the Jordanian and Egyptian forces were allowed to continue attacking Israeli civilians in Jerusalem and near the Gaza border while any Israeli response was immediately condemned as a war crime.
75 years later nothing has changed.
The Biden administration and France’s Macron have warned Israel to stop unilaterally attacking Hezbollah and to take complaints about ceasefire violations to an international committee that will do nothing except warn Hezbollah that it’s been spotted.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire is back to being an exchange of fire.
There’s been a rise in two prominent areas: secularism and Bible sales. While seemingly at odds, is it possible the two go hand-in-hand?
The Wall Street Journal wrote that “Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year.” According to the outlet, there are several potential factors for why this is the case. Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, believes “people are experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence [and] election cycles.” All of which “feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be okay.” Maybe Crosby is right. People want to know they’re going to be okay, and so they’re turning to the Bible.
Others have speculated that the rise in Bible sales can be attributed to influencers on social media. Cely Vazquez, whom WSJ described as an artist and influencer, has used her platform to share that she “recently bought her first Bible.” Likewise, the outlet highlighted Amber Cimiotti, another social media figure who thinks podcasters and TikTokers play a major role in the growing number of people buying Bibles.
WSJ also noted how several publishing houses found the customers largely responsible for the surge in Bible sales were members of Gen Z, college students, and younger people alike. And it’s not just religious publishers seeing the Bibles fly off the shelves, but mainstream retailers too — including Amazon. Observers are puzzling over what’s causing it in light of recent surveys that have found that at least 28% of American adults claim to be religiously unaffiliated. That doesn’t exactly scream an increased demand for religious material.
Ultimately, it’s more than likely that all of these factors laid out by WSJ played a part in the increase of people buying Bibles. Rev. Blaine Crawford of Irvington Presbyterian Church told WSJ that he has seen a recent increase in Scripture study groups. He remarked that God’s word is a “grand epic story of the great questions of life. What do we do with grief or anger, what are we here for, where is the world going? The Bible provides a counterpart in a conversation about what we’re doing at this time.”
As people made in the image of God, we were never meant to be away from Him. The reigning theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is not that life has no meaning, but that apart from Christ, the source from which our purpose derives, there is no meaning. As The Post Millennial wrote, “Experts and industry insiders attribute the growth in Bible sales to societal anxieties and a search for hope.” But I don’t think the experts are the only ones who could have figured this out. Rather, Christians should understand this to be the case better than almost anyone. After all, Christians are to be the people who understand their sin and need of a Savior. We ought to be at the frontlines of an anxious culture offering them the hope of the gospel.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins put it this way: “Obtaining a Bible is the first step; the second step is to read it and then understand it. As Philip helped the Ethiopian leader understand the Word, pray that those who are turning to the truth for hope will have others who can help them understand the Good News contained within the pages of the Bible.” Guest host Jody Hice also commented on the news that the Bible is in higher demand on Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” Simply put, he stated, it’s “tremendous news!”
Pastor Jay Johnson, FRC’s National Prayer Director, agreed. As he emphasized, “I certainly rejoice at that news, and [I’m] just grateful that … there’s a demand” for the word of God. “There [are]people all over looking for hope, and people are guiding them to God’s word.” But according to Johnson, “it’s not just to know the Bible [and] not just to read the Bible, but to know God. And I think that’s the beauty of God’s word.” He also referenced FRC’s Bible reading plan, Stand on the Word, noting that it’s “a great resource for people to engage in reading God’s word.”
Both agreed that it’s important to read and study the Bible, but beyond Scripture, Johnson urged that “it’s also very vital to find a church that is teaching and preaching the word of God.” It’s important “to get engaged with a local church where they can study with others.” Especially because, as Hice and Johnson agreed, it can be difficult to stay focused when reading the Bible. It can be hard to get started, particularly for people who are new to picking up God’s word like the 22% or so this year. “I just want to encourage people,” Johnson said, “to start out by praying and asking for divine guidance.”
On behalf of everyone here at FRC, we believe in the life-giving, soul-saving power of God’s word. It’s the reason we start every morning as an organization in prayer and Bible study. And so, whether you’re new to reading the Bible or have been reading it nearly your whole life, now is the time to open it up and study it, know it, and ask the Holy Spirit to write it on your heart. And as we read of the 22% increase of people who are cracking open the pages of Scripture, let us pray that God opens their eyes, ears, and hearts to the glorious truth of the gospel.
It’s no wonder this fallen world is full of broken people looking for hope, answers, and truth. And this hope, these answers, and the truth we all crave is found in the Bible. The riches are there, free of charge. All you have to do is read and, by God’s grace, believe.
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.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Family Research Councilhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFamily Research Council2024-12-04 05:45:572024-12-04 05:55:14Could People Starved for Hope Be Causing the Increase in Bible Sales?
The Biden administration has gone into overdrive securing progressive policy goals from the impending Trump administration 2.0. From confirming progressive judges, to constraining American energy with environmental red tape, to simply spending every last unjustified dollar, the Biden administration is committed to ensuring their policies carry on into the Trump administration for as long as possible.
“It comes [down to] setting land mines and making it more difficult for the incoming administration to reverse those changes,” said Cato Institute policy analyst Tad DeHaven. “It matters or else they wouldn’t be doing it.” The American people have decisively rejected the Biden agenda. So, naturally, the Biden administration has responded by forcing their agenda upon Americans even harder, right down to January 20.
Employees
Across the bureaucracy, career government employees are lining up lawyers and setting up to lobby against mass firings, reports The Washington Times. At the end of Trump’s first term, by executive order he created a new class of federal workers (Schedule F) which would be easier to hire and fire. The Biden administration undid Trump’s change, and now the bureaucracy is afraid Trump might reinstitute it.
Employees in two divisions of the Justice Department are also rushing to unionize, according to the Times. This would make it more difficult to fire them. It also provokes the question, why? Shouldn’t their unimpeachable integrity and relentless pursuit of nonpartisan justice be enough to protect their positions?
Rulemaking
While executive branch employees rush to protect their jobs, executive branch agencies rushed to protect their progressive policies. For instance, the U.S. Department of Education is rushing to finalize a proposed rule canceling student loans for people with “financial hardships,” which it previously expected to finish in 2025.
Regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency have been particularly busy. They announced $3 billion in grants to facilitate a rule that requires local municipalities to replace lead pipes within 10 years. They finalized a rule on November 12 to fine oil and gas companies for “wasteful methane emissions.” They are also rushing to impose penalties and reach settlements with companies accused of violating their environmental regulations. The EPA also plans to grant California a waiver to enforce its rule banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.
Meanwhile, bureaucrats in the U.S. Department of Energy are hurrying to complete a study on liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, which is expected to conclude that they are not “consistent with the public interest” because of their climate impact. This won’t directly stop the Trump administration from restoring America’s energy exports, but it could help anti-fossil fuel activists challenge the Trump administration in court. “Biden’s decision on LNG is the most consequential thing he can do on climate and fossil fuels before Trump takes office,” declared Fossil Free Media spokeswoman Cassidy DiPaola.
Other environmental rules the Biden administration is rushing to finalize include “narrowing the scope of an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” “restricting drilling, mining and livestock grazing across nearly 65 million acres … to save an imperiled bird,” and “finaliz[ing] three rules restricting the release of toxic chemicals.”
“From what we can tell, they’ve done a very good job lining this stuff up, so there’s not a whole lot at risk of getting punted into the next administration,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities. “I think everyone learned that lesson in 2016.”
The flurry of administrative rulemaking aimed to meet a late-November deadline, marking 60 days from the inauguration. Rules passed within 60 days of Trump taking office are subject to the Congressional Review Act, which means that the incoming Republican majority could block them, along with Trump’s approval.
Judges
Another area requiring cooperation between the administration and Congress is judicial appointments. Senate Democrats are hurrying to confirm Biden-nominated judges to the federal bench, leaving few slots open for Trump to fill.
Positions in the federal judiciary, which are tenured for life, are officially not partisan, but it is generally acknowledged that judges appointed by Democratic presidents tend to lean more progressive, while appointees by Republican presidents tend to lean more conservative. This means that the federal judges President Biden can get through a lame-duck Democrat-controlled Senate in the final days of his administration will likely look favorably on his progressive policies.
Before the Senate left for Thanksgiving break last week, Democrats and Republicans reached a compromise deal to vote on as many as 14 nominees for district court appointments, but not to vote on four appellate court nominations.
Spending
The Biden administration is also hurrying to spend the remaining money allocated by Congress’s stimulus spending in 2021-2022, so that it won’t be available to the Trump administration. The Washington Times cites unnamed officials who plan to spend the remaining $46 billion available in fiscal year 2025.
Foreign Policy
The Biden administration is also spending its lame-duck session making major foreign policy moves — which it declined or refused to make earlier — in hopes of constraining President-elect Trump’s diplomatic options. Biden is trying to spend $6.4 billion in aid for Ukraine — funds Congress allocated in April but have not been spent — and cancel $4.65 billion in debt owed by Ukraine to the U.S. Biden also permitted Ukraine to fire longer-range missiles into Russia, provoking further Russian escalation. The Biden administration is also working hard to finalize another major loan to Ukraine through NATO, before Inauguration Day.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Biden administration pressured Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah before Trump took office.
Why It Matters
The Biden administration is hoping to outfox the incoming Trump administration in a high-stakes, bureaucratic game of hot potato. Every time the White House changes hands, the incoming administration seeks to undo the rules adopted by their predecessors. Thus, in 2021, the Biden administration reversed administrative actions taken by the outgoing Trump administration, just as the Trump administration, in 2017, had reversed policy moves made by the Obama administration.
This back-and-forth has gone on at least since President Bill Clinton reversed President Ronald Reagan’s Mexico City Policy, but it has recently expanded to cover an ever-growing number of issues. “It’s unfortunate but expected that [Biden officials] will try to throw as many roadblocks at what President-elect Trump has pledged to do,” said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance.
The reason why competing administrations play increasingly critical games of bureaucratic football is that they realize the legislative branch lacks either the ability or the will to stop them. And the sad truth of the matter is that progressives — with greater buy-in from employees of the executive branch and greater faith in the government’s problem-solving capabilities — are usually better at playing the game than conservatives. To the extent that there is a “Deep State” in “The Swamp,” this is it.
Ordinary Americans don’t spend their lives obsessing over politics, except for occasionally wondering why voting for good people never seems to produce the desired results. In my conservative opinion, the answer resides not in electoral results but in the long-term executive and judicial strategies that round out our system of checks and balances (and which is currently tilted in favor of the executive branch).
This is why bureaucratic maneuvering like these by the Biden administration matter. When President Trump takes the keys and slides behind the wheel on January 20, the success of his whole administration will depend on how quickly he can take America from zero to 60. This question — and particularly Trump’s first 100 days — will set the momentum for the next four years. And this question depends on how adroitly his deputies can remove these roadblocks thrown in their path by the Biden administration.
If Trump wants to return America to the prosperous, cruising state of 2019, he must undo four years of rulemaking by the Biden administration, and he only has four years to do so. Can his bureaucracy work faster than Biden’s? We’ll soon find out.
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.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Family Research Councilhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFamily Research Council2024-12-03 18:41:282024-12-03 18:42:245 Ways the Biden Administration Is Working to ‘Trump-Proof’ Washington
“Iran to open hijab clinic, framing defiance as mental health issue” at Iran International, November 13, 2024
We’re seeing echoes of the Soviet Union and other tyrannies, now in the Islamic Republic of Iran. With total regime power over the people, where dissent is outlawed, disagreement with regime policies can be and is treated as crime, and now, mental illness. This is what sharia is.
“Iran student strips in protest over strict hijab dress code” by Akhtar Makoii at The Telegraph, October 3, 2024
“Libya introduces morality police to crack down on women’s dress and ‘strange’ haircuts” by Lilia Sebouai at The Telegraph, November 11, 2024
And, speaking of hijabs, here’s a story about a non-Muslim American woman asking her Muslim neighbor how to wear one “properly” at a mosque when attending a funeral –
“Watch what happens when a woman asks her neighbor how to wear a headscarf at a mosque” by Terry Baddoo at USA Today, October 31, 2024
Editor’s Note – The non-Muslim woman is naïve, not aware of what forced head-covering means in Islam (second-class citizenship).
“Egypt’s disappearing women” by Mariam Wahba at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), November 14, 2024
Coptic Christian women in Egypt are all too often kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and coerced into marriage. So-called “feminists” in the West all too often remain silent.
“‘I will convert your sister into a Muslim’: Faizan threatens and abducts a married Dalit woman at knifepoint, attempts to convert her to Islam” by OpIndia Staff, 9 November 2024
Love jihad again
“Schoolgirl, 14, ‘dragged behind a bush and raped while waiting for the bus’ after man, 40, approached her asking for directions” by Miriam Kuepper at The Daily Mail, October 27, 2024
The accused is a 40-year-old Pakistani man. This crime took place in the northern Italian city of Bolzano.
Only the brave intervention by the girl’s boyfriend prevented the murder. The parents had planned to forcefully send their daughter to Iraq to marry an older man and threatened to kill her if she did not go along.
Under the Iranian regime’s strict enforcement of Islamic Law, the Baha’i minority, and especially its women, are mercilessly persecuted (this is perhaps why the international headquarters of the Baha’i faith is located in Haifa, Israel).
Under Islamic doctrine, a woman’s voice is considered “awrah” – literally, a woman’s private parts that are not to be seen in public. Here, that is extended to her very voice. The Taliban seek to literally erase women from public life.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Clare M. Lopezhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngClare M. Lopez2024-12-03 18:26:212024-12-03 18:28:12VIDEO: Women Under Sharia — Islam’s Control Over Women Never Ceases to Amaze
Who is Robby Starbuck? Better yet, who is the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)?
Until recently, you might not have known either of them. But today, the two are locked in a heavyweight battle reminiscent of Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier—a clash that could reshape corporate America.
In the Red Corner is Robby Starbuck, a conservative firebrand determined to free corporations from the grip of progressive ideology.
In the Blue Corner is the HRC, a decades-old powerhouse wielding its Corporate Equality Index (CEI) to enforce compliance with LGBTQ+ standards.
Let’s start with the man in the red corner who is quickly becoming a household name for fomenting terror in the LGBTQ+ movement and corporate America.
A former music video director turned conservative activist, Robby Starbuck has become an unexpected force in reshaping the cultural and corporate landscape of America.
Over the past year, his efforts have not only persuaded some of the biggest companies in the world to abandon their allegiance to the Human Rights Campaign, but they’ve also sparked a reckoning that could redefine the future of corporate diversity initiatives.
In a world where institutions like the HRC once seemed untouchable, Starbuck’s rise is a story of persistence, strategy, and a deep connection to a movement that’s tired of “woke capitalism” dictating the rules.
Unlike most influential figures, Robby Starbuck didn’t come from a political background. He built his career directing music videos for some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.
But disillusionment with Hollywood’s values and a growing concern for the future of his family led him to an unlikely second act: political activism.
In 2020, Starbuck began speaking out on social media against policies he believed were eroding American freedoms. His fiery rhetoric earned him a large and loyal conservative following.
But it wasn’t just his words that made him stand out—it was his ability to galvanize action.
Now, let’s move to the blue corner: The Human Rights Campaign, a heavyweight in the LGBTQ+ advocacy world, wielding its Corporate Equality Index (CEI) like a championship belt to enforce conformity in corporate America.
But critics have long argued that the HRC’s influence went beyond advocacy. Companies that failed to score high risked public backlash, boycotts, and reputational damage. For years, the CEI was untouchable, a powerful tool to enforce conformity to progressive ideals.
Maybe a trip down memory lane will help. In 2021, the Hallmark Channel found itself in the crosshairs of the HRC and other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.
Known for its family-friendly holiday movies, Hallmark initially resisted demands to include LGBTQ+ characters in its Christmas programming, citing its commitment to traditional values.
But the HRC, leveraging its CEI, brought its full influence to bear. Advertisers, fearing a low CEI score and potential public backlash, threatened boycotts.
Under this pressure, Hallmark capitulated, incorporating LGBTQ+ storylines into its programming. The move pleased some but alienated a significant portion of its core audience.
The backlash was swift. Many viewers felt betrayed by the channel they had trusted to reflect their values.
Sensing an opportunity, GAC Media announced in August 2021 that it would relaunch its Great American Country Family channel with a renewed commitment to faith-based, family-friendly programming.
The move resonated with viewers disenchanted by Hallmark’s shift, and GAC’s popularity surged. By the 2022 holiday season, Hallmark saw a noticeable decline in viewership, while GAC gained ground as a viable alternative.
The Hallmark Channel’s capitulation and the rise of GAC Media illustrate both the power of the CEI to influence corporate behavior and the early rumblings of a cultural pushback.
Years later, this backlash would find its most vocal champion in Robby Starbuck, whose efforts have escalated this resistance to unprecedented levels.
Over the past six months, corporations like Walmart, Ford, and Harley-Davidson have publicly withdrawn from the CEI, citing a range of reasons from shifting priorities to legal concerns. These moves, encouraged by Starbuck and others, signal a significant cultural shift.
For the HRC, it’s more than a setback—it’s an existential threat.
“When corporations stop playing the game, the whole system crumbles,” Starbuck said in a recent podcast interview. “The HRC built its empire on fear. I’m showing companies they don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Starbuck’s influence extends beyond the boardroom.
His ability to connect with grassroots conservatives has made him a rising star in the movement against “woke capitalism.” Through social media campaigns, interviews, and direct appeals to corporate leaders, he’s become a voice for those who feel silenced by progressive agendas.
But Starbuck’s work isn’t without controversy. Progressive activists have accused him of fostering division and undermining inclusivity. The HRC, for its part, has responded by doubling down on its mission, calling the corporate withdrawals “temporary setbacks.”
What’s Next for the HRC—and for Starbuck?
As the HRC scrambles to maintain its influence, the larger question remains: Is this the beginning of the end for woke corporate governance? And what role will Robby Starbuck play in shaping this new era?
For many conservatives, Starbuck represents hope—a reminder that one determined individual can challenge even the most entrenched institutions. For others, his rise is a cautionary tale about the power of populist movements to reshape culture.
Love him or hate him, Robby Starbuck is a name you’ll want to remember.
In a time of great cultural and corporate upheaval, his story reminds us that the most unlikely figures can have the biggest impact. And as the Human Rights Campaign faces one of its toughest battles yet, one thing is clear: The rules of the game are changing—and Robby Starbuck is rewriting them.
If you want to learn more about How the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index works, click here.
AUTHOR
MARTIN MAWYER
Martin Mawyer is president of the Christian Action Network, which he founded in 1990. Located in Lynchburg, VA, CAN was formed as a non-profit educational organization to protect America’s religious and moral heritage. He is the author of several books, including You Are Chosen: Prepare to Triumph in a Fallen World.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Majority Reporthttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngMajority Report2024-12-03 17:54:002024-12-03 17:55:44Robby Starbuck: The Man Bringing Corporate America to Its Knees—and Choking the Life Out of HRC
The day before the election, Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined countless other liberals in mocking Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the latter’s suggestion that America reduce its high levels of fluoride.
“I was a little shocked that one of their closing arguments for Donald Trump was take the fluoride out of water,” Klobuchar told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Nov. 4. “I guess they’re ending with more cavities.”
Skepticism of fluoridated water had been lumped in by the liberal establishment with a host of other heterodox views, often dubbed “conspiracy theories,” held by Kennedy and his allies.
Kennedy has harshly criticized fluoride, calling it a neurotoxin and an industrial byproduct. He’s claimed the mineral can cause arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.
He has pledged that the Trump White House will recommend to communities that they remove it from their drinking supplies immediately after Trump takes office. Trump appeared to co-sign the proposal, saying it “sounds alright to me.”
CNN’s Abby Phillip invited Harvard-trained epidemiologist Dr. Syra Madad onto her show the same day to deride Kennedy’s fluoride criticisms: “I do think there are some rocks to be thrown, frankly, at RFK Jr.”
Madad called Kennedy “dangerous” and said his views on fluoride were “against science.”
“It is safe. It’s not toxic,” Madad told the panel.
“When you look at adding in additional amounts of fluoride, even then, the studies have not proven any significant health adverse effects,” she continued.
But numerous other health officials and toxicologists believe Madad is wrong.
“I think that there is sufficient data now, largely from the epidemiological literature in multiple populations, done by different investigators, that early life exposure to fluoride is associated with an increased risk of IQ loss,” Dr. Linda Birnbaum, a board-certified toxicologist and former director of the National Toxicology Program (NTP), told the Daily Caller.
Birnbaum headed the NTP, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), from 2009 to 2019. She is now an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Public Health, in addition to still contributing research to HHS.
During her tenure, the NTP conducted a systematic review of the published scientific literature on the association between fluoride exposure and neurodevelopment. It found that exposure to higher levels of fluoride — levels it categorized as 1.5 milligrams per liter of water or higher — are associated with lower IQ in children.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has declared, “… the data support a consistent inverse association between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ.”
In the meta-analysis by NTP, 52 of 55 studies revealed a decrease in children’s IQ with an increase in fluoride. Internal…
The review said there was insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion about the effects of exposure at 0.7 milligrams per liter, which is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) current recommended level for U.S. community water supplies.
However, Dr. Birnbaum told the Caller, the NTP is running a comprehensive meta-analysis of the data that will likely show the linked drop in IQ rate is occurring at rates well below the 1.5 milligrams per liter number.
In fact, while Dr. Birnbaum maintained she hasn’t yet seen the newest version of the meta-analysis, older versions she did see show “that it’s quite clear that there may be really no safe level of fluoride just like there’s no safe level for lead,” she said.
Nearly all of the studies the NTP reviewed concluded the mineral was neurotoxic, Stuart Cooper, executive director of the Fluoride Action Network, told the Daily Caller.
The 1.5 number, which the NTP concluded with “moderate confidence” leads to lowered IQ in children, is in line with the World Health Organization, whose current guidelines suggest maintaining levels below that concentration will prevent dental fluorosis, a yellowing or visible calcification of the teeth caused by excessive fluoride exposure.
Cooper argued that the NTP’s report was partially political.
“If you were actually doing a real systematic dose response analysis of a Health Hazard Assessment, do you think you would just magically land on 1.5, which happens to be the World Health Organization’s number?” he asked. “It would be like point 82763, you know, I mean, it wouldn’t be 1.0, what happened? [The report] just coincided miraculously with the World Health Organization? That’s where politics was kind of embedded into this document.”
Cooper, who has spent over 14 years ringing alarm bells about fluoride, says his organization has repeatedly requested supporting studies from the CDC and the American Dental Association (ADA) that prove fluoride is safe but “after 80 years they had nothing.”
“They couldn’t confirm. They have no studies showing that low levels is safe for the developing brain. So here they are exposing 200 million Americans, 2 million pregnant women, 300,000 exclusively bottle-fed infants right at this very second to fluoridation in the drinking water. We have 64 studies showing that that’s harmful, that poses an extreme risk. They have zero studies confirming safety. And yet they want you to ask me what more evidence do I need to find.”
The CDC lauds fluoride as a landmark innovation in preventing tooth decay and caries, otherwise known as cavities. The agency calls community water fluoridation one of the “top ten public health achievements of the twentieth century.”
Thanks to water fluoridation in the U.S., the CDC claims “dental caries declined precipitously during the second half of the 20th century.”
But that precipitous drop has occurred in both fluoridated countries and non-fluoridated alike. Countries with no community water fluoridation like Iceland, Italy and Japan, have all seen even steeper drops in cavities, according to data from the WHO.
“Although the prevalence of caries varies between countries, levels everywhere have fallen greatly in the past three decades, and national rates of caries are now universally low. This trend has occurred regardless of the concentration of fluoride in water or the use of fluoridated salt, and it probably reflects use of fluoridated toothpastes and other factors, including perhaps aspects of nutrition,” KK Cheng, a professor of public health and the Director of the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Applied Health Research, wrote in the British Medical Journal.
— Fluoride Action Network (@FluorideAction) March 18, 2016
Some western communities did remove fluoride from their water and actually saw their cavity rates decrease. Buffalo, New York, a city which removed fluoride in 2012, saw their rates of cavities for people between the ages of 12-65 drop, according to data from the National Institutes of Health.
Nine years after removing the mineral from their water supply, however, Buffalo began fluoridating again in September after families sued the city in a class action lawsuit, alleging their children had to receive more dental care as a result of the fluoride halt.
Despite the many studies and experts expressing concern over the mineral, CNN and Dr. Madad continued to push both its safety and efficacy in reducing cavities.
“Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, it’s not a man-made mineral,” Madad told CNN.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral. It is an ionized form of the element fluorine. Yet Kennedy Jr. called it “industrial waste” in a Nov. 2 tweet.
On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President…
Fluoride does occur in nature, and in fact many of the studies evaluated in the NTP report were from international communities in China and India who do not fluoridate their public water supply, but simply have high natural levels of the mineral in their groundwater.
But the specific type of fluoride that’s added to American public water supplies is often a chemical byproduct from the fertilizer industry, Cooper explained.
Phosphate fertilizer giants, like The Mosaic Company, produce the precursor to fluoride as a byproduct of their fertilizer production process and then sell it off to dental supply companies and municipalities for their water supply, Cooper told the Caller.
Cooper says the byproduct is known within the industry as “scrubber liquor,” because it’s literally scrubbed from the side of smokestacks.
The chemical companies make a nice profit from this side business, Cooper told the Caller, however he added that if it were banned in public water supplies, it likely wouldn’t hurt their bottom line.
“It wouldn’t be a big deal for them if it went away economically, because they could just replace it with other markets, including in Africa and China, where they’re seeing an increase in fluoride toothpaste. They actually still use the same product, but it’s refined to pharmaceutical grade,” Cooper said.
While many public health agencies still sing the praises of fluoride’s anti-cavity benefits, some dentists say it’s not as effective in treating cavities as the CDC and others profess.
Dr. Staci Whitman, a Portland-based dentist, said she used to be militantly pro-fluoride until she started looking into it.
“I never questioned what my professors in dental school told me. I never questioned the data that was presented to me. I absolutely thought anyone that spoke out against it was lulu tin foil hat brigade, just a total kook,” she told the Caller.
Staci actively participated in pro-fluoride campaigns, handing out pamphlets detailing the benefits of the mineral and attending lectures and debates on the topic. It was at one of these debates where Dr. Whitman had an epiphany.
“I realized that these people representing antifluoride, if you will, they were very articulate, very professional, had a ton of science and data that I had never seen, never had even heard, never even knew there was potentially an issue with water fluoridation. It wasn’t even on my radar.”
Then, Dr. Whitman began to read. “I don’t know if I can support this anymore,” she realized. “And that was when I thought water fluoridation maybe worked, and now we know it really doesn’t. We know that fluoridated countries have the same decay rate as non-fluoridated countries.”
The vast majority of European countries do not fluoridate their water.
“Most of those countries have banned the practice because they view it as a medical experiment. It’s the only chemical we add to the water supply that’s not intended to treat the water. It’s intended to treat the consumer,” Cooper said.
Florida once again leading the way w/wise public health recs from @FLSurgeonGen
Almost all of Europe (gray👇) decided decades ago against fluoridating water; benefits unclear w/access to topical fluoride
Dr. Whitman said she went along with fluoridation because everybody else did.
“I literally was just making it up. I was just seeing what my professor said, which I would say, ‘Oh, look at you. No cavities. You must have grown up in a fluoridated community.’ I was just saying it because everyone else did. It was observational. That’s not science.”
Dr. Whitman pointed to the latest findings on community water fluoridation from the Cochrane Report, a systematic review of research in health care and health policy which she calls “the gold standard.”
Cochrane reviewed 21 studies of community water fluoridation and found the practice “may slightly increase the number of children who have no tooth decay in either their baby teeth or permanent teeth.”
However, “these results also included the possibility of little or no difference in tooth decay,” the report added.
Cavities are the largest chronic disease globally, affecting both fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities alike, Dr. Whitman explained. Fluoride, she told the Caller, is not the problem. Rather, it’s the food we eat.
“No one gets cavities because of lack of fluoride,” she said.
“Ancestrally, we didn’t have fluoride in our lives. Look at the skulls from 10 or 12,000 years ago. The teeth are pristine. So what changed it was our diet. It was an agricultural revolution and the industrialized revolution we started adding sugar and flour into everything. So fluoride is just a cop out for our issue with our food system and big food and the big sugar industry.”
Dr. Whitman explained she’s not necessarily anti-topical fluoride, and pointed to the widespread availability of fluoridated toothpaste as further evidence for the unnecessary nature of water fluoridation. But she also recommended hydroxyapatite, a calcium and phosphorus based teeth cleaner that is used in Italy, Japan and other western European countries, as a fluoride alternative.
Our teeth, Dr. Whitman explained, are comprised of hydroxyapatite, not fluoride. The use of the alternative can prevent the development of dental fluorosis, which affects 40 percent of teenagers in America today, according to the CDC.
It can also prevent the much more serious skeletal fluorosis, which can severely distort a person’s bones. While communities across the United States add fluoride to their water supplies, governments in India and China and other communities with high natural levels of fluoride have spent millions of dollars on research and removal efforts, Cooper told the Caller.
“The government and many nonprofits have been working for decades to solve that problem. It’s just, it’s just really difficult, and it’s difficult to filter out, and that’s why we get to this point here in the United States where … we voluntarily add it, we self-inflict this harm,” he said.
Both Cooper and Dr. Whitman pointed to the embedded nature of the mineral in standard dental practices as a barrier to change the public perception on its potential harms.
“I don’t think there’s a nefarious action. I think most dentists just don’t know the issue very well,” Cooper said. “When I talk to them at city halls and I talk to them at legislative hearings, the average dentist has been working with topical fluoride their whole life in their dental office. They learned one day in dental school, they heard about the benefits of water fluoridation as settled science, and they believe it, and they care about children.”
Still, he said, the American Dental Association, who publicly endorse water fluoridation, are too deep in defending the practice to change course.
“At this point, it’s a lie that’s too big to fail,” he said. “If they now admit that they were not only wrong, but that many millions of children were harmed by this, there would be a grand loss of trust in the American Dental Association. And unfortunately along the way, as the dental lobby is really wealthy and powerful, they co-opted government in support of this.”
Both experts argued the burden of proof should be on the pro-fluoride side, especially considering the high stakes surrounding neurodevelopment.
“I am trained as a dentist to fix teeth, but I can’t fix a brain,” Dr. Staci said. “We only have one shot at developing a child’s brain.”
Cooper concurred.
“The cavity can easily be filled, but damage to the brain is permanent and has lifelong consequences. There are no second chances with brain development, and we have a large volume of government-funded research that now shows that fluoride at the levels experienced in Florida communities is neurotoxic. That’s the scientific consensus. There is no contradictory science. And we have government-funded research showing that for decades, and they knew it, we have been overexposing infants to water fluoridation,” he concluded.
The American Dental Association, in fact, receives millions of dollars from corporations that produce fluoride products, an ADA memo requested by Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2010 revealed.
“These dental product companies were giving different grants … but they were also giving millions of dollars to pay for the ADA’s endorsement of their products,” Cooper said. “You see that ADA seal of approval? Well, the one rule the ADA has to get that seal of approval is your product must contain fluoride. So even if you make a really great Xylitol toothpaste, they’re not going to put their stamp of approval unless you also add fluoride.”
Cooper lauded the Trump administration and Kennedy Jr. for taking action and drawing publicity to the issue.
“What the Trump administration is doing, what RFK is doing is on water fluoridation, is common sense that elected officials ought to be doing at every level,” he said.
Now, some public health officials are following Trump and Kennedy’s lead.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s Surgeon General, officially recommended against community water fluoridation last month, citing “the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure.”
Adding fluoride to water increases the risk of neuropsychiatric disease in children and reduces their IQ. We can strengthen teeth without consuming this neurotoxin.
The data are consistent, adding fluoride to our communities’ water must stop.
His recommendation follows a landmark September decision from United States District Judge Edward Chen in Northern California forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to more strictly regulate the levels of fluoride in water under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
“The scientific literature in the record provides a high level of certainty that a hazard is present; fluoride is associated with reduced IQ,” Chen, an Obama appointee, wrote in his decision.
Still, some communities, like Buffalo, New York, are doubling down. Nine years after removing the mineral from their water supply, Buffalo began fluoridating again in September.
Others still express doubt that the studies showing high levels of fluoride linked to neurotoxicity are in any way relevant to the levels at which American water is fluoridated.
“Fluoride can certainly be toxic,” Dr. Ryan Marino, a board-certified toxicologist and professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, told the Caller.
“Acute fluoride toxicity is one of the worst poisonings I can think of. However, the levels of fluoride used for dental health benefits in American drinking water are significantly below the levels that could even start to cause harmful effects and toxicity, and the levels we use have never been shown to cause harmful effects or toxicity,” Dr. Marino concluded.
But given the recent California ruling and Kennedy Jr.’s anti-fluoride campaign, Cooper is hopeful the tide is turning.
“There’s decades of science that we’ve been doing our best to get out there, but it’s been stifled by mainstream media and the ADA,” Cooper said. “Finally, now they can’t keep the lid on it anymore, and it’s just like they don’t know what to do. They’re in a panic.”
The Daily Caller contacted the CDC, the ADA, the NTP, HHS and Dr. Syra Madad for comment but did not hear back by publication.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Daily Callerhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Daily Caller2024-12-03 15:57:502024-12-03 16:09:09RFK Jr. Wants Fluoride Out Of Water — And It’s Not Nearly As Crazy As His Detractors Claim
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) blew through tens of millions of dollars on investigations that ultimately resulted in no jail time for anyone, according to public spending records.
Over the last several years, the DOJ has opened investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents and Hunter Biden’s drug use while purchasing a gun. Following Biden’s pardon of his son Sunday night, all three cases have now resulted in a wash of charges, costing taxpayers over $55 million, according to financial disclosures from the special counsel’s office.
Special counsel David Weiss, who was tasked with investigating the president’s son, spent $2,297,976 from October 2023 to March 2024 on his work, according to financial disclosures from the special counsel’s office. From August 2023 to September 2023, Weiss’ investigation cost taxpayers another $182,683, the financial statements show. Spending reports for costs since March 31, 2024, have not been released, as of early December.
Weiss first brought charges against Hunter Biden in September 2023, alleging that he knowingly lied about his drug use on a federal background check form before purchasing a Colt Cobra.
“For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded,” Biden writes, announcing that he has pardoned Hunter.
For the last year, he and his staff have insisted that he would not pardon his son. https://t.co/RETQUhUc1t
A Delaware jury convicted Biden in June and he was set to face his sentencing Dec. 12, eleven days before the presidential pardon.
The president, after months of claiming he would not pardon his son, wrote Sunday that he decided to do so because he believes his son was unfairly targeted because of their relationship. Weiss pushed back on the president’s accusation in a court filing Monday, additionally challenging Hunter Biden’s request to dismiss the California indictment in light of the pardon.
Special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated the 82-year-old president’s handling of classified documents, spent $2,475,303 from October 2023 to March 2024, $2,809,637 from April 2023 to September 2023 and $615,962 from January 2023 to March 2023, according to financial disclosures from the special counsel’s office. Hur ultimately decided to not charge Biden for his handling of classified documents, arguing that a jury would see the octogenarian president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Over his investigation, Hur conducted a five-hour interview with the president in which he appeared to forget when his vice presidency began and ended and the date of his late son’s death.
Since special counsel Jack Smith began his investigation into Trump in 2022, the DOJ has spent roughly $47.5 million on the operation, financial disclosures show. The investigation is expected to cost more than $50 million, as the latest spending reports detailing costs since September have not yet been released.
After Trump won the 2024 election, Smith moved to dismiss all charges brought against the president-elect in his election interference case.
“Dismissing the appeal as to defendant Trump will leave in place the district court’s order dismissing the indictment without prejudice as to him,” Smith wrote. “The appeal concerning the other two defendants will continue because, unlike defendant Trump, no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Daily Callerhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Daily Caller2024-12-03 15:36:442024-12-03 15:38:42DOJ Blows Through Tens Of Millions On Biden Investigations, No One Ends Up In Jail
