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on: April 18, 2018, 01:29:08 PM
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Two Minutes With The Bible
From The Berean Bible Society
Free Email Subscription
For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com
_______________________________________________
Choosing Commissions
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
How foolish and wrong it is for any of us to use “snatch-grab” methods, as Pastor J. C. O’Hair called them, in ascertaining our Lord’s will for us! What right have we to choose some particular segment or segments of our Lord’s instructions to the eleven in the forty days between His resurrection and ascension, and to apply only these to ourselves or to the Church today?
Nothing could be clearer than the fact that our Lord “showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). In those forty days then, one Person, our Lord, spoke to eleven men, and gave instructions as to the program they were to carry out after His ascension. In every single case it is crystal clear that these commands were not directed to others, who were to live at some future date, but to the apostles, who were to commence to carry them out after His departure, when the Holy Spirit had endued them with power.
This is emphasized by the phraseology found in all five records of the so-called “Great Commission”: Matt. 28:19: “Go ye,” Mark 16:15: “Go ye,” Luke 24:48: “Ye are witnesses,” John 20:21: “So send I you,” and Acts 1:8: “Ye shall be witnesses.” How preposterous, then, to argue, as so many hard-pressed theologians have done, that one or more segments of the great commission are to be carried out by another generation at a later time!
By what rule of hermeneutics or logic have we the right to exclude from the interpretation of these commands the very persons to whom our Lord gave them, and if this commission is binding on the Church today, what authority have we to choose which part or parts we shall obey? |
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on: April 18, 2018, 01:27:59 PM
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Two Minutes With The Bible
From The Berean Bible Society
Free Email Subscription
For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com
_______________________________________________
Practical Instructions For Our Teens
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
Scripture Reading:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
— Ephesians 6:1,2
In all likelihood mom and dad have been impressing upon you the importance of only dating and marrying those who are saved. You may think that they are being narrow-minded, but the truth is, your parents are looking out for your spiritual well-being. The Word of God is quite clear when it comes to the matter of separation:
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14).
Some Christian young people feel strongly that there is no harm in just dating the unsaved. But why become emotionally involved in a relationship that has no future? Furthermore, it is unfair to the unbelieving party who will never understand your reasoning for breaking off the relationship. We have seen too many tragic cases where these types of associations end up in unequally yoked marriages that fail. So, may we encourage our young people to heed the godly counsel of their parents, for in so doing, you will spare yourself a lifetime of heartache.
But where can a Christian young person find Mr. or Mrs. Right? Since faithful believers do not frequent worldly establishments your search must begin where the Lord’s people gather. You must take the initiative to regularly attend church services, conferences, youth groups and camp meetings. In the meantime, a young man should be working toward financial stability while the young ladies learn to cook. After all, there is a limitation to McDonald’s! |
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23
on: April 18, 2018, 01:26:19 PM
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From Grace Gems:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
Everything is FREE and Public Domain.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
___________________________________________ All this I have done for you--do you love Me?
("Every Day!" Author unknown, 1872)
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8
"Do you love Me?" John 21:17
Does not Jesus in thus appealing to me, in effect say:
"For you, I left the realms of glory, and the adoration of ten thousand times ten thousand holy ones!
For you, I became incarnate, took on the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
For you, I obeyed the law, and wrought a perfect righteousness for your justification.
For you, I endured the cross, and despised the shame.
For you, I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to those who plucked off the hair.
For you, I endured the crown of thorns, and gave My hands and My feet to be nailed to the tree.
For you, I shed My blood, and laid down My life!
I loved you with a love of pity and compassion--when you were dead in trespasses and sins!
I opened your eyes, revealed to you your sinfulness and guilt, and awakened your cry for mercy.
I sought you in your wanderings--and found you!
I brought you up out of the horrible pit, and miry clay--and set your feet upon the rock.
I have loved you with an everlasting love--and therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you!
All this I have done for you--do you love Me?"
"We love Him, because He first loved us!" 1 John 4:19 |
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24
on: April 18, 2018, 01:25:11 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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From Grace Gems:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
Everything is FREE and Public Domain.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
___________________________________________ Is the young man safe?
(James Smith)
"Is the young man Absalom safe?" 2 Samuel 18:29
Young men are exposed to dangers--the greatest dangers. They are in danger of falling . . .
into sin,
into infidelity,
and into Hell!
Their danger arises . . .
from their corrupt passions--which are apt to be fierce and fiery;
from their inexperience--the path of life is new and strange to them;
from false friends--who feed their vanity, and gratify their lusts;
from wicked associates--which are often fascinating, and always injurious;
from Satan the seducer--who watches them, lays in wait for them, and seeks their destruction.
In a wicked world like this,
with deceitful hearts like ours, and
with such evil influences acting upon us,
we are all in danger--but the young especially, and young men most of all.
"Is the young man safe?"
Absalom was not safe, nor are many young men now.
If they are mirthful, vain, or foolish;
if they are selfish, conceited, or covetous;
if they are careless, reckless, or indifferent
--then they are not, they cannot be safe!
There is no real safety, but in vital union with Christ. Until a young man is . . .
convinced of sin,
sensible of his danger,
and embraces Christ--
we cannot pronounce him safe.
The shipwrecked sailor is not safe until he is picked up by the life-boat, or otherwise conveyed on shore. Just so, the lost sinner is not safe as he is floating on the treacherous waters of this world, until the life-boat of free grace picks him up, and brings him to Christ as the harbor of safety! |
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25
on: April 18, 2018, 01:22:35 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-18-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________
Politicians have played a shell game28 for years, making contractual promises to public labor unions that are impossible to meet, using sleight-of-hand accounting gimmicks to hide the truth, even as they negotiated ever larger pensions with the unions with no way to fund them, hoping to be retired when it blew up.
For example, pension administrators used a baseline growth projection of 7.5% in 2016, but actual growth was only 1%. And while growth outlook for this year is significantly better, pension funds still face a massive and growing shortfall.
Pension reform is desperately needed. Illinois is rapidly spiraling toward bankruptcy, with fully 25% of general fund revenues allotted to public employee pensions, and state legislators fighting tooth and nail against Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s efforts at reform. Due to fiscal mismanagement, overly optimistic growth projections and escalating costs, California faces a staggering $153 billion shortfall to CalPERS29, the state employee retirement system. The Los Angeles Unified School District alone has a $15 billion funding deficit30 to its health care plan, which covers both current and retired employees, who pay no premiums for their insurance.
Nationwide, states have just 66% of assets on hand needed to meet pension obligations, and many states have under 50%; Kentucky and New Jersey are worst off, with just 31% of needed funding.
The Pew study notes that even if pension funds had met 2016 growth estimates, there would be a significant shortfall because state governments are not providing enough funding. Efforts to require state employees to increase their own contributions to their retirement are met with fierce resistance, even as they enjoy retirement plans far superior to those of the private sector workers whose taxes fund these pensions. This despite the fact that taxpayers are paying twice as much31 into public employee pension plans as a share of state revenue than just a decade ago.
And many pensions are borderline criminal. Oregon’s lavish pension plan gives Joseph Robertson, the retired head of Oregon Health & Science University, a pension of $76,111 per month. In Scranton, Pennsylvania, an astonishing 58% of police and firefighters are on disability pensions, long before the normal retirement age. As reported by The New York Times, the average age of retired Scranton police officers is 44.9 years old.
Facing these daunting deficits, some politicians have turned to risky investments to try to rapidly make up the shortfall. That is a path fraught with danger, and could lead to an even greater collapse.
Democrat politicians and their labor union cohorts continue to resist meaningful reform, saying that the states made a deal with the unions, and if higher taxes and fewer services are the price, then so be it.
Other politicians look to the federal government — itself sporting a $21 trillion deficit — for a bailout. It’s hard to imagine legislators from fiscally responsible states agreeing to higher taxes on their constituents to bail out irresponsible states.
The most logical and fair path is to put all new state employees into a defined-contribution plan like a 401(k) and give them responsibility for their own retirement, ending pensions in future negotiations.
This, however, is far easier said than done. From 2010-2016, labor unions gave $1.1 billion to Democrat politicians32 and leftist advocacy groups, and they expect rewards for their payouts, including protection for their extravagant pensions. Unfortunately for taxpayers, the relationship between labor unions and Democrats is an incestuous one, giving the taxpayer no seat at the negotiating table.
Even Democrat hero FDR opposed public-sector labor unions33 as being unfair to the employer: the taxpayers. Of course, when it comes to Democrats and labor unions, they learned well the axiom of socialist playwright George Bernard Shaw, who smugly noted, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.”
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Barbara Bush, RIP36 — The former first lady and mother of another president died Tuesday at age 92.
‘Little Pink House’: Putting a Spotlight on Government Abuse37 — A new movie hitting theaters this week tells of the saga that went all the way to the Supreme Court.
AP U.S. History Textbook Promotes Leftist Bias38 — Textbook blames political differences in America on racism, bigotry and sexism.
Comey and the Lebron James Model39 — Attempting to make the MSM’s new poster boy lovable by portraying him as a neighborly sports fan.
Video: James Comey’s ABC Interview in 100 Seconds40 — Former FBI Director James Comey is clearly “untethered to the truth,” but this is funny.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Michelle Malkin: Return of the Feckless Chick-fil-A-Phobes41
Star Paker: Trump’s Vitally Important Anti-Poverty Initiative42
John Stossel: Hidden Taxes43
Walter Williams: A Mayor’s Most Important Job44
L. Brent Bozell & Tim Graham: Comey’s Pocket Stuffers in the Press45
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion46.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Michelle Malkin: “Move over, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Another unhinged liberal pathology is back: Chick-fil-A-phobia. Perhaps, in the interest of public health, the CDC should launch a weekly C-F-A-P surveillance report to map the recurrence of this culturally infectious disease. Early-onset symptoms include fear of pressure-cooked poultry, allergic reaction to waffle potato fries and an irrational hatred of cow costumes. Anti-Christian prejudice and coastal elitism are common comorbidities associated with this debilitating progressive condition. Ground zero for the latest outbreak? The headquarters of The New Yorker magazine. This week’s issue online features the bigoted lament of writer Daniel Piepenbring, who decries the fast-food chain’s ‘creepy infiltration’ of the Big Apple and warns against the company’s ‘pervasive Christian traditionalism.’ Chick-fil-A opened its fourth location in the city last month. The largest franchise in the country, it seats 140, employs 150, and, along with the other NYC locations, donates an estimated 17,000 pounds of food to a local pantry for the homeless and hungry. The company is reportedly on track to become the third largest fast-food chain in the world. What are the Chick-fil-A-phobes so afraid of? … If leftists only want to eat and drink at a global fast-food company whose progressive CEO shares their Democrat-supporting, gun-grabbing, open-borders, gay marriage-boosting values, they should stick to Howard Schultz’s Starbucks cafes. Oh, wait…”
SHORT CUTS
For the record: “Yesterday was the worst day of the year for many Americans — TAX DAY. But as you are slamming your fist on the table, keep in mind that the taxes you filed are based on the old Obama code with higher tax rates. Be certain to remind your friends and family members about this fact if they complain that the Trump tax cut didn’t make any difference for them. Next year, your tax situation will likely be significantly better thanks to President Trump’s historic tax cuts and tax reform.” —Gary Bauer
For higher taxes, vote Democrat: “We’ll look at some of those resources going to people who are not going to use them to grow the economy. … I think certainly we’ll look to have revenues as opposed to simply creating more debt.” —Democrat Minority Whip Steny Hoyer with a promise if Democrats regain congressional majorities
The consequences of nonconformity: “I think the Clintons were connected to [NBC News head] Andy Lack, connected at the hip. I think that they didn’t want anybody in their prime time or anywhere in their lineup supporting Bernie Sanders. I think that they were in the tank for Hillary Clinton, and I think that it was managed, and 45 days later I was out at MSNBC.” —Ed Schultz
Alpha Jackass: “Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. … I’m happy the witch is dead. can’t [sic] wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million iraqis [sic] have.” —Fresno State University professor Randa Jarrar
And last… “Starbucks [is] shutting down all its stores to teach employees about racial diversity. The same employees ordered to talk to customers about race in 2015. This is overkill. Just treat everyone with the same respect as humans and customers.” —Charles Payne
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher |
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on: April 18, 2018, 01:21:21 PM
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-18-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________
The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Apr. 18, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55427-mid-day-digest
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Pompeo’s meeting with Kim Jong-un makes clear Trump’s strategy is working.
Comey tees up Democrats’ 2018 “morality” play.
Barbara Bush, RIP.
Public employee pensions are fueling a fiscal crisis in many states.
“Little Pink House” movie puts the spotlight on government abuse.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.” —George Washington (1796)
IN BRIEF
Trump Makes Progress on North Korea1
It was recently revealed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo, nominated to serve as secretary of state, secretly met over Easter weekend with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un2 with the intention of laying groundwork for a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim to negotiate denuclearization of the rogue nation.
“Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!” Trump stated via a popular social media site. Speaking to reporters from his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida, where he has been meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump further elaborated, “We’ll either have a very good meeting or we won’t have a good meeting. And maybe we won’t even have a meeting at all, depending on what’s going in. But I think that there’s a great chance to solve a world problem.”
It was also announced that North and South Korea have agreed to talks aimed at finally ending the Korean War, which has never formally concluded, as both sides signed an armistice in 1953 but not a peace treaty. Trump offered his “blessing to discuss the ending of the war,” but an official end will require an agreement from the U.S.
What can be made of these developments? First, this is a further indication that Trump’s sanctions against North Korea are having the desired outcome and that Trump’s tariff threats against China are also reaping a desired effect3 — convincing Beijing to rein in Kim. Trump alluded to this while praising Chinese President Xi Jingping, stating, “He’s been incredibly generous. President Xi has been very strong on the border — much stronger than anyone thought they would be. … The goods coming into North Korea have been cut down very substantially.”
Second, while Trump would most certainly welcome North Korean denuclearization, he has no intention of entering into an Obama-like Iran deal4. It is clear that any deal will get done on Trump’s terms, for the benefit of America, or there will be no deal. And he is clearly not afraid to ratchet up the pressure. Finally, the fact the Pompeo has been strategically involved in this process speaks volumes to his competence for heading the State Department. He clearly is the right man for the job5.
If Trump is able to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear threat as well as an official end to the Korean War, he will have achieved more diplomatically than any president since Ronald Reagan.
Comey Tees Up Demos’ 2018 ‘Morality’ Play6
In the now-infamous ABC News interview7 promoting his new book, disgraced former FBI Director James Comey pontificated on Donald Trump. The interviewer was George Stephanopoulos, former White House communications director for Bill Clinton, and he asked Comey, “You write that President Trump is ‘unethical,’ ‘untethered to the truth.’ Is Donald Trump unfit to be president?” Comey answered, “Yes, but not in the way I often hear people talk about it. I don’t buy the stuff about him being mentally incompetent, or early stages of dementia. He strikes me as a person of above-average intelligence, who’s tracking conversations and knows what’s going on. I don’t think he’s medically unfit to be president. I think he’s morally unfit to be president.”
And there it is, the foundation Democrats and the Left are seeking to build as the core of their political platform for the 2018 midterms8: “Trump is not fit for office because of his lack of morality.” The plan appears to be using this not as a “get the vote out” message to a Democrat base that is already chomping at the bit to hit back at Trump, but it is instead designed to discourage conservatives from supporting Republican candidates. The mainstream media’s drum-banging on Trump’s lack of moral character has been especially aimed at conservative evangelicals. The question posed: “How can you willing give your support to such an immoral man and still claim to be committed to promoting morality? Isn’t that hypocritical?”
It may prove to be an effective campaign tactic; time will tell. However, it first presumes that Trump’s lack of high moral character was an unknown issue, when the fact is it has been well known since long before he decided to run for office. Second, it assumes that conservative evangelical voters are essentially cultish followers of personality rather than focused on the issues. Conservatives in general tend to be more issue-driven than emotionally driven in their politics, and evangelicals are no exception. In fact, many evangelicals who did vote for Trump made the decision by weighing the options between two heavily flawed and morally compromised candidates, looked at where they stood on the important issues, and chose accordingly.
Finally, Democrats and the Left have been engaged in this anti-Trump #Resistance ever since he won the election. Comey’s assertion that Trump is “morally unfit for office” is yet another salvo from anti-Trumpers in their ongoing fight to get him removed from office. But the Democrats have a problem. What is it that Democrats are offering the American people, other than more anti-Trump vitriol? So far, they have come out against the obviously beneficial Republican tax cuts, against securing America’s border, against legislation on DACA, against the Rule of Law (see California declaring itself state a sanctuary haven for illegal aliens), and against Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Instead, Democrats and their cohorts in the mainstream media have doubled down on riding the anti-Trump train, projecting that it will carry them on a blue wave back into congressional power. Will it work? They hope so, but of course if it doesn’t they can always blame the Russians.
Top Headlines9
Taxpayers are getting an extra day to file because of an IRS technical glitch (NBC News10)
Cruz introduces legislation to make individual tax cuts permanent (The Washington Free Beacon11)
Feds taxed and borrowed $4.47 trillion since last tax day; $12,737 for every man, woman, child in U.S. (CNS News12)
McConnell quashes Trump’s plan to claw back spending deal (The Hill13)
FBI agent faces prison after pleading guilty to leaking classified documents to media — Hillary Clinton and James Comey had no comment (The Daily Wire14)
Judge buys FBI’s bogus rationale for hiding leaked Comey memos (The Federalist15)
Starbucks to close 8,000 stores for an afternoon to give staff “racial-bias” training (ABC News16)
Philadelphia Starbucks customer: Supposedly racist manager “is an SJW feminist of the highest order’ (The Daily Wire17)
Dick’s Sporting Goods will destroy assault-style rifles pulled from shelves (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette18.)
Tennessee legislature removes $250,000 dedicated to Memphis in budget as punishment for Confederate statue removal (The Tennessean19)
Policy: How to rein in student mobs (National Review20)
Policy: Facebook’s use of data may annoy you, but IRS handling of your sensitive information is truly chilling (Reason21)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report22.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Public Employees Resist Pension Reform Even as Crisis Looms23
Louis DeBroux
"Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” —Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
For years, state and local politicians have ignored a looming fiscal crisis24; namely, rapidly exploding deficits to public-sector employee pensions. Unfortunately, ignoring the problem does not make it go away, and now politicians, public employees and unsuspecting taxpayers face a brutal reality.
According to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, states face a collective pension funding shortfall of $1.4 trillion25. To put that into perspective, that amounts to roughly three times the annual budgets of California, Texas, New York and Florida … combined.
States must now choose among unpleasant options: cut back on other government services like education, public safety and parks to redirect funds to public employee pensions; raise taxes (angering voters and slowing economic growth); or reducing lavish public employee benefits (angering powerful unions).
The painful process is already underway. States like Arizona26, Oklahoma27, West Virginia and Kentucky face or have faced teacher strikes if demands for massive pay increases — as much as 20% immediately — are not met. Oklahoma’s teachers have been striking for more than a week, and West Virginia’s returned only after securing a 5% pay raise, even as state leaders warned of budget cuts elsewhere, including Medicaid, to pay for the raises. |
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27
on: April 18, 2018, 01:19:51 PM
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-17-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________
When asked if he should have advised Trump that the FBI knew the real collusion with Russia was perpetrated by Clinton and the Democrat Party29, the delusional Comey responded, “No.”
He also concluded it was “unlikely” Trump colluded with Russians to swing the election and went on to offer a lot of political speculation about Trump — just as he did a lot of speculating in 2016 as FBI director, when he should’ve been dealing objectively with facts.
When asked if Trump should be impeached, Comey replied, “I think impeaching and removing Donald Trump from office would let the American people off the hook and have something happen indirectly that I believe they’re duty-bound to do directly.”
In other words, Comey knows there was no impeachable offense in connection with “Russian collusion,” and since he could not swing the election to Clinton in 2016, Americans are “duty-bound” to defeat him in 2020.
All that having been said, as I have noted before, James Comey is a case study of what happens to once-right-minded citizens who don’t properly maintain their political immunity against Potomac swamp fever. They devolve through metamorphosis into bureaucratic political hacks, and when they lead an agency as powerful as the FBI, they are a formidable threat to the future of Liberty30.
He has become a sad caricature of a once-reputable and admirable FBI director — one who is demonstrably “untethered to the truth.”
I should reiterate here that the disgraceful corruption of FBI leadership has cast a long shadow on the 12,484 special agents and 2,950 intelligence analysts in the FBI, most of whom steadfastly abide by their constitutional oaths and live up to the FBI motto: Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity. Indeed, most FBI agents, whose reputations are being sullied by the corrupt actions of a few high-ranking officials, are deeply offended both personally and professionally by that corruption.
Top Headlines31
New Report: How social media giants Facebook, Twitter, YouTube suppress conservative speech (CNS News32)
Trump’s war powers to be limited under new Senate resolution (The Washington Times33)
Trump asking Arab nations to replace U.S. military in Syria after defeat of ISIS (The Hill34)
Trump puts the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley’s announcement (The Washington Post35)
Ex-CIA chief says Obama rejected cyber action against Russia for election meddling (The Washington Free Beacon36)
China engaged in massive theft of U.S. technology, analysts reveal (Fox News37)
The Supreme Court just handed the Trump administration a loss on immigration — and Gorsuch was the tie-breaking vote (Business Insider38.)
California agreed to send National Guard troops to the border but won’t let them do anything (Hot Air39)
Laura Ingraham’s audience 20% higher than before boycott (The Daily Wire40)
Evil Christians oppress secular New Yorkers with delicious chicken sandwiches (The Babylon Bee41)
Policy: Trump’s pardon of Scooter Libby was the right thing to do (City Journal42)
Policy: Some thoughts, facts and charts for Tax Day (American Enterprise Institute43)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report44.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
AP U.S. History Textbook Promotes Leftist Bias49 — Textbook blames political differences in America on racism, bigotry and sexism.
Video: Is America’s Tax System Fair?50 — Is the U.S. tax system fair? Are the rich paying too little or too much? What about the middle and lower class?
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Hans von Spakovsky: Will the FBI Apply the Same Rules Against McCabe That It Applies to All of Us?51
Caleb Verbois: Whither Congress?52
Cal Thomas: Welfare Reform Again53
Stephen Moore: The Trillion-Dollar Myth54
Dennis Prager: The New York Times Best-Seller List: Another Reason Americans Don’t Trust the Media55
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion56.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Hans von Spakovsky: “It’s official: McCabe lied. The new report from the Justice Department inspector general concludes that Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, lied to then-FBI Director James Comey, to other FBI agents, and to officials of the Office of the Inspector General. Some of those lies came when McCabe was under oath. What did he lie about? Unauthorized disclosures about the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The information was leaked to a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. The inspector general has completed his work. The question now is, will the Justice Department prosecute McCabe? Or, put another way: Will the FBI and the Justice Department follow the same rules they apply to members of the public who lie to a federal agent? Remember, the only charge brought against Gen. Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor to President Donald Trump, was lying to the FBI, a felony. And Flynn wasn’t even under oath when he supposedly lied to the FBI. Given that recent history, failure to prosecute McCabe would tell the American people that officers of the Justice Department and the FBI think they are above the law.”
SHORT CUTS
Upright: “Do not fall for identity politics. … Identity politics I think was a craft of the Left. … We should stop playing identity politics. I believe in inclusive aspirational politics that brings people together.” —House Speaker Paul Ryan
The BIG Lie: “Women are dying because we are losing elections.” —DNC Deputy Chief Keith Ellison
Alpha Jackass: “People will rot in hell for besmirching the reputation, the integrity and the professional history of [Comey and Mueller].” —Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)
Fake news: “I’m so furious I can barely write this email. President Trump is inches away from firing Robert Mueller and derailing the entire Russia investigation. … I need a MASSIVE 24-hour fundraising surge to send [Republicans] a powerful message: If they let Trump fire Mueller, we’ll kick each and EVERY one of them out of office.” —a Nancy Pelosi fundraising email deceptively titled, “Mueller FIRED”
Someone’s not telling the truth: “Throughout the [Clinton email probe] process I did what I always do: rise above politics and uphold the law. At no time did I ever discuss any aspect of the investigation with anyone from the Clinton campaign or the DNC. I have known James Comey almost 30 years. Throughout his time as director we spoke regularly about some of the most sensitive issues in law enforcement and national security. If he had any concerns regarding the email investigation, classified or not, he had ample opportunities to raise them with me both privately and in meetings. He never did.” —ex-Attorney General Loretta Lynch
Late-night humor: “Most Americans said they still like Facebook, but they don’t trust it. So basically, people feel the same way about Facebook as they do about the McRib.” —Jimmy Fallon
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher |
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28
on: April 18, 2018, 01:18:54 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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The Patriot Post Digest 4-17-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Apr. 17, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/55401-mid-day-digest
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Today is Income Redistribution Day. Here are a few facts for you.
Comey’s “Higher Loyalty” was to Hillary Clinton.
A new AP U.S. history textbook slanders Donald Trump and his supporters.
Is America’s tax system fair? Nope, but not how leftists insist.
Plus our Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.” —John Marshall (1819)
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Tips for Income Redistribution Day1
By Lewis Morris
It’s that time of year again. Hard-working Americans are reminded just how big a bite Uncle Sam takes out of their paychecks. The government acts like it’s doing the public a favor by giving back some of the money people overpaid in taxes during the year. And statists grouse about how the rich and corporations are gaming the tax system and not paying their fair share.
Happy Income Redistribution Day!
Thanks to the Demo-gogues, the false narrative that the rich don’t pay their fair share is engrained into the American psyche. Leftists have been pushing this myth for many years in an effort to justify even higher taxes on upper-income earners and corporations to pay for entitlement programs that buy votes.
The next time you hear someone rant about the rich not paying their fair share, throw some facts at them.
Every year, the Tax Foundation releases its Facts and Figures report2, a collection of state and federal tax data that compares tax rates across the country and breaks down just how much people are actually paying in taxes. The most updated information covers the 2015 tax year.
The top 1% of taxpayers earned 21% of all adjusted gross income in 2015, and paid 39% of all income taxes. Their average tax rate was 27.1%, almost twice the rate for all taxpayers nationwide. This group of 1.4 million people is carrying a big chunk of the tax burden for the 141 million taxpayers nationwide.
Looking further down, the top 10% paid 71% of all income taxes, and the top 50% paid 97% of all income taxes. The bottom 50% of taxpayers earned 11.3% of all income, but paid only 2.8% of the taxes. Fair share, indeed.
Leftists don’t seek fairness in the tax system, though. That’s just a phrase that fits nicely on a bumper sticker, to be rolled out whenever the issue of tax cuts arises. Democrats operate under the assumption that all the money belongs to the government. That is what they are saying when they use terms like “tax rebate” or phrases like “the government cannot afford tax cuts.”
It is this same backwards mentality that helped spark the American Revolution in the first place. Democrats might want to refresh their memory of history3. Otherwise, they’re doomed to remain on the wrong side of it.
The debate over last year’s tax cuts saw leftists pull out all the stops in their perpetual class war. They claimed that the money didn’t exist to pay for the cuts and that the government has a revenue problem. In real life, the government has a spending problem4, but that didn’t stop the media from spreading Nancy Pelosi’s message that the tax cuts would lead to the end of the world5.
When it became obvious that middle-income earners were going to enjoy $1,000 bonuses, millionaire Pelosi shrugged off the bonuses as “crumbs.” When more than 200 American companies announced salary increases, new hiring and major expansions thanks directly to the tax cuts, Democrats called the changes insignificant — and they look foolish6 doing it.
This is the last year that people will be filing their taxes under the Obama rates. That means we have yet to see the full impact of the tax cuts on the economy. But the new individual and corporate rates are already having a positive effect, which is bad news for “progressives.” Like a virus, they only seem to prosper when things are going badly.
What a pleasure it is to see them disappointed.
Comey’s Higher Loyalty Was to Hillary Clinton7
By Mark Alexander
The airwaves are full of Leftmedia spin8, ad nauseam, praising FBI Director James Comey’s9 defamatory and petulant perspective on Donald Trump10 from his Higher Loyalty11 book tour.
Clearly, Comey had a “higher loyalty” to Hillary Clinton12 than to his oath “to support and defend13” our Constitution. The interviews reveal more about his abject and reprehensible bias14 while FBI director than about anything Trump has done. Across the board, political observers conclude there was no “bombshell” in Comey’s book.
But what is clear is that Comey’s bias set the tone for Barack Obama’s15 deep state FBI operatives to influence the 2016 election in Clinton’s favor. Though Comey has been condemned for his “on again, off again” Clinton investigation review just prior to the election, in fact, as we noted at the time, Comey used the window after absentee voting had ended and before the general election vote to exonerate Clinton16.
Of course, it was also Comey’s political corruption that led to the investigation into Trump17 after his election in order to disable his presidency.
What follows are a few of what I believe were the most revealing Comey comments from his ABC interview with Bill Clinton’s18 former communications director, George Stephanopoulos.
When asked, “You write that President Trump is ‘unethical,’ ‘untethered to the truth.’ Is Donald Trump unfit to be president?” Comey insisted, “I think [Trump] is morally unfit to be president.”
Indeed, Trump’s moral failings are considerable. We have noted those failings19 since he first declared his candidacy, and he does not help his case by engaging in sophomoric name-calling20.
However, it is equally clear that Comey was ethically unfit to be FBI director. He was grossly biased and negligent in his exoneration of Clinton, even though he claimed she was “grossly negligent21,” and his investigation of Trump was based on fake information funded by Democrats.
Comey was, and remains, a “Trump hater,” much as his fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe22 and senior investigators Peter Strzok and Lisa Page23, all of whom colluded in an effort to ensure Clinton would win in 2016.
Perhaps the best indication of Comey’s personal bias was his repeated reference to being greatly influenced by his wife (as was McCabe). According to Comey: “My wife and girls marched in the Women’s March the day after Trump’s inauguration. My four daughters, probably all five of my kids, wanted Hillary Clinton to be president. I know my amazing spouse did.”
All the while, he was, ostensibly, directing the investigations of Clinton’s communications coverup24 and the corrupt Clinton Foundation25 activities while she was Obama’s secretary of state26.
Stephanopoulos asked about the fact that Comey leaked27 the fake Trump dossier to the media, knowing full well it was funded by Trump opposition28, and he then asked Comey about Trump’s reference to him as “the leaker.” Comey replied, “Look, it’s true. … I gave an unclassified memo to my friend and asked him to give it to a reporter. That is entirely appropriate.” (Only in Comey’s deluded justification.) |
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on: April 18, 2018, 08:34:10 AM
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Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
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The Conclusion of the Matter
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
The spiritual life of Solomon can, to a great degree, be traced through his writings as recorded in the Bible. They are not straightforward history but are rather in a poetic style that reveals his inner thoughts throughout his life. At the beginning of his reign over Israel, he asked God for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9), and he subsequently became renowned for his wisdom (e.g., 3:28; 4:29).
Unfortunately, as is well documented in Scripture, his thirst for human wisdom led him into compromise and disobedience, setting the stage for national apostasy and idolatry upon his death. The book of Ecclesiastes chronicles a series of experiments that he conducted in search for the highest human good, but each forced him to conclude that “all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, etc.), that there is no humanly discernible pattern in the affairs of men. However, he concludes, life is the gift of God and should be enjoyed (3:13). Furthermore, he recognized the eventual judgment of God and concluded it best to live in obedience to God’s commands (e.g., 3:16-17).
Our text summarizes the entire book of Ecclesiastes. Here is the secret of human fulfillment. Note the two complementary commands, “fear God” and “keep his commandments.”
A true reverence for God necessarily results in obedience to His commands. Wise Solomon knew it, and Christ and the New Testament writers reinforced it (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2; etc.). Life’s harsh realities and seeming paradoxes are at times incomprehensible to us. Only by adopting a proper attitude toward life and God can we cope. JDM
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on: April 17, 2018, 07:14:23 AM
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Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
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Tragic Ignorance
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3)
There are several important doctrinal truths about which unbelievers—and sometimes even Christians—seem tragically ignorant, with an ignorance affecting their very lives and destinies. Perhaps the most tragic is that mentioned in our text. Paul was writing specifically of the Jews, but the same ignorance is found in countless others—people who seek to earn salvation by their own religious and moral works rather than through faith in the imputed righteousness of Christ, who died for their sins.
There is also widespread ignorance concerning death and life beyond the grave. “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). With respect to Christian life and ministry, Paul says: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). Yet, most Christians neglect to develop or use their gifts, mainly because of ignorance concerning their proper function as described in 1 Corinthians 12, 14; Romans 12:3-21; Ephesians 4:7-16, and other key passages.
We urgently also need to be instructed concerning the deceptions of the wicked one: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). For all who seek instruction rather than ignorance, let them study God’s Word, for “all scripture . . . is profitable for . . . instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). HMM
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