Neil Gorsuch Shows Christians Why We Need to Build up Our Own Elites

Judge Neil Gorsuch’s performance before the Senate has been very encouraging. His knowledge, training and intellectual rigor put the demagogic Democrats to shame. So far he seems like a worthy heir to Antonin Scalia. Let’s hope that America watches these hearings and learns that there is a strong and substantive intellectual case for respecting the Constitution as it was written.

And let’s be thankful for a moment for the existence of Christian or pro-Christian elites. It’s a gravely endangered species, as ruthlessly hunted and rare as white rhinos or tigers, and arguably even more important.

Populism Is Great, But It’s Not Enough

I have written quite a bit in defense of the impulse behind today’s populism, both in Europe and America. Donald Trump’s victory in the primaries over “made man” Jeb Bush, wunderkind Marco Rubio, and self-made legal genius Ted Cruz (among others) was stunning. His defeat of Hillary Clinton was nothing less, I think, than divine intervention. It gave our country what might be its last chance to step back from the brink.

Both victories were possible because Trump saw that our country’s anointed elites — and even the elites within the GOP — are profoundly out of touch with the views, worries, and day-to-day experience of ordinary Americans. That’s true on issues from culture and foreign policy to mass, low-skill immigration.

Europe’s dominant classes are even more disconnected. They shrug at the Continent’s plummeting birth rate, tell their drivers to avoid the “no-go” areas now dotting their countries’ major cities, and count on millions of sullen, barely employable radical Muslims to fund their collapsing pension plans. Yeah, that will work out just fine.

We Need Faithful Elites

As someone who backed Pat Buchanan in 1992, 1996, and 2000, I think have the populist street cred to say this: We also need elites.

We need the right people, with top talent and the best training, to take on the worst that our enemies have to throw at us, and give as good as they get.

We need Christians and conservatives who can argue with icy logic before the Supreme Court, and lovingly stroke the heart strings when speaking to the public.

We need academics rigorously trained in the humanities to pass on the glorious culture that is Christian humanism.

We also need research scientists who can analyze and debunk the grandiose claims of techno-utopians. When some guy in a white lab coat from MIT promises us that mixing the DNA of humans and pigs will allow us to upload our souls onto the Internet and live forever as gods (or something), we need another guy in an even whiter coat who can dismantle those ideas in detail. Just waving the Bible or the Summa Theologica isn’t enough. That’s how we lose.

Learn from the Scopes Monkey Trial

Watch that great piece of anti-Christian (and largely fictional) propaganda, Inherit the Wind. The film shows how in the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” atheist Clarence Darrow used his very slight advantage in scientific knowledge to paint the great William Jennings Bryan as a scripture-blinkered rube.

In fact, historians have pointed out that Bryan’s deepest concern was not for the inerrancy of scripture, but the wicked uses that eugenicists were already making of Darwin. Even as that trial unfolded, Margaret Sanger was conspiring with misanthropic elitists to impose forced sterilization laws in a dozen American states. Their “scientific” basis? Appropriated Darwinism. This toxic pseudo-science even made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, as Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in defense of such forced sterilization laws that “three generations of imbeciles is enough.”

It’s too bad that Bryan didn’t have the science background to put the pseudo-science of eugenics itself on trial.

Where Will the Next Neil Gorsuch Go to Law School?

Imagine if Neil Gorsuch had not been trained in legal and moral thinking at (among other places) Oxford University, by a brilliant scholar and consistent thinker like John Finnis. How would he be doing under hostile questioning by ax-grinding Democrats armed with carefully crafted talking points by dozens of left-wing judicial activists?

Actually, you don’t need to make the imaginative experiment. Just read up on the performance of the poorly prepared attorney picked by the Trump team to defend its first Executive Order on immigration. It was embarrassing. When a conservative administration’s representative can’t out-perform the clowns on the Ninth Circus Court, you know you have a personnel problem.

That problem’s about to get much, much worse. We need to figure out what to do about it. I worked for ten years with Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a nexus for conservative faculty in a dozen different fields. We had members with brilliant records in history, English, law, political science, you name it. One thing those people have in common: Most of them are over 50. A lot are over 60. Some of the best have already retired, or gone to God.

As graduate schools in such fields become more radicalized, as tenure committees use both affirmative action and blatantly political standards in picking future faculty, they are strangling the next generation of conservative elites in the cradle.

Would the next Neil Gorsuch, or Ted Cruz, even get into a top-tier law school? (Harvard Law just eliminated the requirement for the LSATs, freeing its admissions staff to be more arbitrary.)

Would they get recommendations to work at a top law firm? Would such a law firm hire them, given that it was almost impossible to find attorneys willing to oppose the LGBT lobby in Obergefell v. Hodges, for fear of boycotts and harassment? How long will it before membership in the Federalist Society, the lawyers group that drew up President Trump’s “short list” of potential SCOTUS nominees, is a crippling career impediment? Where will find the people with credentials in the humanities to train future mainstream scholars in social sciences and the humanities?

We Need Graduate Schools and Law Schools of Our Own

Conservatives and Christians have made attempts to work around the legal bottleneck, with mixed success. A faithfully Christian law school in Canada, Trinity Western, lost its accreditation because of its commitment to biblical values. While American “alternative” law schools such as Ave Maria and Regent University law schools turn out very competent lawyers, I doubt very much that we’ll be seeing Supreme Court nominees who graduated from either one anytime soon.

We’re about to enter a cultural, political, and legal desert, as the left’s stranglehold over elite institutions exerts its long-term intended effect. Christians and conservatives need to wake up and start pouring money and thought into how we can smuggle our future leaders past the left’s starvation blockade. (For more from the author of “Neil Gorsuch Shows Christians Why We Need to Build up Our Own Elites” please click HERE) http://joemiller.us/2017/03/neil-gorsuch-shows-christians-need-build-elites/

Trump Makes Next Move to Shape Federal Judiciary

President Donald Trump has tapped a federal district judge from his list of potential Supreme Court picks to be his first nominee to a federal appellate court—putting Trump slightly behind President Barack Obama, but ahead of President George W. Bush in shaping the judiciary.

The White House announced Tuesday that Trump intended to nominate U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

Thapar, son of Indian-American immigrants and a former federal prosecutor, now serves as a federal judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky. Bush appointed him in 2008.

The announcement for a nomination comes as Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, is going through his confirmation hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Appeals court judges can be nearly as important as Supreme Court judges since the high court is limited in the number of cases it accepts.

There are 19 appellate court vacancies across the United States that Trump could fill, and 96 on federal district courts, according to Elizabeth Slattery, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

There are also two vacancies on the U.S. Court of International Trade and six on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. There are a total of 677 authorized district judgeships and 179 total court of appeals judgeships.

“This is a great sign that President Trump takes lower courts seriously,” Slattery told The Daily Signal. “The last administration did not make lower court judges a priority, and that ended up being good for conservatives because it has left Trump with a lot of opportunities. There was a lot of thought that the president would wait until the Gorsuch nomination reached its conclusion.”

Given his position on the Trump campaign’s Supreme Court list of 21 names, this could be grooming Thapar for the Supreme Court, said Curt Levey, president of the Committee for Justice, a conservative legal group, and a senior legal fellow for FreedomWorks.

“Everyone on that list was ranked somewhere from good to great as far as being a constitutionalist,” Levey told The Daily Signal. “Certainly if he is qualified to be on the Supreme Court, he is qualified to be on an appeals court. He would be the first Indian-American on the Supreme Court. There is no better way to give him credentials.”

Obama’s first appeals court nomination was on March 17, 2009, naming David Hamilton to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Obama had 49 appeals court judges confirmed to the bench during his two terms. Obama made his first district court nomination on June 25, 2009, naming Jeffrey Viken to the U.S. District of South Dakota. A total of 270 Obama district court nominees were confirmed.

Bush’s first appeals court nomination did not happen until May 9, 2001, when he named Roger Gregory to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That same month, Bush nominated Richard F. Cebull to serve as the judge for the U.S. District of Montana. Bush named a total of 61 appeals court judges that the Senate confirmed and filled a total of 263 vacancies on district courts.

President Bill Clinton outdid both Bush and Obama, naming 62 appeals court judges and 306 district judges.

As for Thapar, before serving on the bench, he was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was previously an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and in the District of Columbia.

Thapar began his legal career in private practice. He clerked for Judge S. Arthur Spiegel on the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and then with Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, to which Trump has selected Thapar to serve on. Thapar received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College in 1991 and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley. (For more from the author of “Trump Makes Next Move to Shape Federal Judiciary” please click HERE) http://joemiller.us/2017/03/trump-makes-next-move-shape-federal-judiciary/

Secret Service Removes Agent Who Didn’t Want to Do THIS for Trump

March 22, 2017/

by Susan Crabtree

The Secret Service will permanently remove a top special agent from her position after an investigation into her Facebook comments that she would rather not defend President Trump or take “a bullet” for him, but some agents are concerned she will simply be transferred to another government job. About two weeks ago, the Secret Service placed the agent’s prior post — the special agent in charge of the Denver District, the top job in that office — on a list of agency openings, according to two Secret Service sources. Kerry O’Grady, the agent in question, is on administrative leave amid an internal Secret Service investigation into her Facebook comments about Trump. Current and former Secret Service agents and officers are worried that top officials at the agency are working to shield O’Grady from being fired. They are worried that she will be transferred to another division of the Homeland Security Department and allowed to serve out her time until she can retire with a pension as the agency has done with other officials in the public crosshairs. (For more from the author of “Secret Service Removes Agent Who Didn’t Want to Do Something Major for Trump” please click HERE) http://joemiller.us/2017/03/secret-service-removes-agent-didnt-want-something-major-trump/

Please Read Part 29:

The Most Dangerous and Treacherous Times in U.S. History! (Part 29)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On March 20, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-most-dangerous-and-treacherous-times-in-u-s-history-part-29

The following recent article revealed that ‘embattled FBI Director James Comey finally acknowledged publicly in congressional testimony that his agency is indeed investigating President Trump’s campaign for alleged ties to the Russian government and collusion regarding the November election.’

It also revealed that the ‘ongoing witch-hunt is probably a blessing in disguise for President Trump’ because Democrats are putting all their eggs in one basket as they obsess over all these fuzzy and at times ‘speculative connections between President Trump and the Russians’ and they are feeding their crazed, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome-suffering base what nowadays passes for red meat,’ but normal people don’t care or they rightly intuit that the ‘farfetched allegations that somehow some Russians hacked the election to favor Trump are nonsense.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Yes, The FBI Is Investigating the Trump Campaign: ‘No, that doesn’t mean the investigation is going anywhere’!-Posted on Front Page Magazine-By Matthew Vadum-On March 21, 2017:

Embattled FBI Director James Comey finally acknowledged publicly in congressional testimony that his agency is indeed investigating President Trump’s campaign for alleged ties to the Russian government and collusion regarding the November election.

The ongoing witch-hunt is probably a blessing in disguise for Trump. Democrats are putting all their eggs in one basket as they obsess over all these fuzzy and at times speculative connections between Trump and the Russians. They are feeding their crazed, Trump Derangement Syndrome-suffering base what nowadays passes for red meat. Normal people don’t care or they rightly intuit that the farfetched allegations that somehow some Russians hacked the election to favor Trump are nonsense.

The absence of evidence of collusion between Team Trump and Russia is overwhelming, for lack of a better word, and unless actual evidence of electoral mischief surfaces the public backlash against those crying wolf at some point is likely to be fierce.

It’s becoming like a continuous television adaption of Hans Christian Andersen’s short story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” for the 24-hour news cycle. Never has so much angst been generated over so little evidence.

Although it has long been FBI policy to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation to avoid smearing individuals who eventually are exonerated of wrongdoing, Comey confirmed his agency is investigating any possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.

I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI as part of our counter-intelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and the Russia’s efforts.

“Because it is an open, ongoing investigation I cannot say more,” Comey told members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in open session. He said the U.S. intelligence community believes Russia acted to help Trump and hurt Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton during the election cycle.

“They wanted to hurt our democracy, hurt her, help him,” he said. 

Comey said it was “a fairly easy judgment” that Trump was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s candidate in the U.S. presidential race. “Putin hated Secretary Clinton so much that the flip side of that coin was he had a clear preference for the person running against the person he hated so much.” 

The FBI director didn’t bother to elaborate on that startling revelation. Perhaps Putin was still bitter over the fact that Hillary Clinton’s Russian “reset” button in 2009 read “overcharged” because of a botched translation into the Russian language.

Comey also said he had “no information” to back up Trump’s explosive claim on Twitter from a fortnight ago that he was wiretapped at the direction of then-President Obama.

At the hearing, committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) agreed there was “no physical wiretap” of Trump Tower but acknowledged it is possible Trump was surveilled by other means. 

Setting aside for the moment the semantic distinction between wiretapping and the more general term surveillance, the indispensable Jeffrey Lord reminds us at the American Spectator, that there have been many mainstream media reports supposedly based on information from intelligence community sources that have indicated wiretapping targeting Trump did indeed take place.

The Left can’t have it both ways, Lord writes, arguing those news pieces that supposedly justified an investigation of the Trump campaign suddenly don’t matter.

Lord explains that Democrats are engaging in sleight-of-hand by arguing that because, as they say, Trump is wrong “about an Obama wiretapping of Trump personally,” the existence of “all those New York Times and Washington Post reports that emphatically state” that communications by the Trump team were indeed intercepted are therefore irrelevant.

Lord then recounts key media reports.

The New York Times reported Jan. 19 that “intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the [Obama] White House.” It added that the FBI, NSA, CIA, and the financial crimes unit of the Department of the Treasury were conducting investigations.

The next day the paper reiterated that “wiretapped communications had been provided to the [Obama] White House.”

On Jan. 12 the paper reported that in its final days the Obama administration “expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.”

In its closing days that administration also “scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government,” the paper reported March 1.

Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.…

As WikiLeaks was pushing out emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee through online publication, American intelligence began picking up conversations in which Russian officials were discussing contacts with Trump associates, and European allies were starting to pass along information about people close to Mr. Trump meeting with Russians in the Netherlands, Britain and other countries.

The Washington Post cited the Wall Street Journal on March 2, reporting that now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions communicated with Russian officials while he advised the Trump campaign: “The contacts were being examined as part of a wide-ranging U.S. counterintelligence investigation into possible communications between members of Mr. Trump’s campaign team and Russian operatives.”

Apart from Comey’s admission of what pretty well everybody already knew at this point – that the FBI is probing Trump’s campaign for alleged ties to the Russian government – the five-hour congressional hearing yesterday yielded little in the way of new evidence.

Democrats on the committee are operating on auto-pilot at this point as they robotically regurgitate the well-worn talking points of their evolving Russian conspiracy theory.

Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) chose to grandstand. “We’ve heard nothing but terribly disturbing evidence of what’s happened to our country at the hands of arguably our greatest adversary.” 

This elicited a response from Comey, who said, “It threatens what is America and if any Americans are a part of that effort, it’s a very serious matter.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) explored the fascinating false-flag conspiracy theory that the Trump White House leaked information in order to discredit the wiretapping investigation or exonerate themselves. The alleged leakers could have “political Munchausen by proxy syndrome,” he said, as they tried to make a mess only they are capable of cleaning up.

In his opening statement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member on the committee, repeated the unfailingly popular left-wing falsehood that Trump called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In July last year Trump “openly appeals to the Russians to hack his opponents’ emails, telling them that they will be richly rewarded by the press,” the congressman claimed.

Of course, that’s not what Trump actually said at the oft-cited July 27, 2016, presser. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said, adding sarcastically: "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

A few minutes later he followed up on Twitter, writing “If Russia or any other country or person has Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps they should share them with the FBI!”

During that press conference that took place during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, NBC reporter Katy Tur shouted a loaded question at Trump to introduce into the mainstream media ecosystem the Big Lie that Trump had personally invited Russia to interfere in U.S. elections.

"Do you have any qualms about asking a foreign government — Russia, China, anybody — to interfere, to hack into the system of anybody in this country?" she asked. Trump didn’t respond to Tur’s question directly, which the mainstream media dishonestly portrayed as Trump inviting foreign powers to hack Clinton’s campaign.

Chairman Nunes asked National Security Agency (NSA) Director Admiral Mike Rogers questions aimed at putting to rest the claim that whatever Russia may have done didn’t actually affect the outcome of the election.

He asked Rogers:

On January 6^th, 2017, the intelligence community assessment assessing Russian activities and intentions in recent U.S. elections, stated that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying. So my question as of today, Admiral Rogers, do you have any evidence that Russian cyber actors changed vote tallies in the state of Michigan?

Rogers replied:

No, I do not, but I would highlight we are a foreign intelligence organization, not a domestic intelligence organization. So it would be fair to say, we are probably not the best organization to provide a more complete answer.

Nunes followed up with, “How about the state of Pennsylvania?” to which Rogers replied, “no, sir.”

Nunes asked the same question four more times about Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, to which Rogers responded, “no, sir,” each time.

“So you have no intelligence that suggests, or evidence that suggests, any votes were changed?” Nunes asked. Rogers replied, “I have nothing generated by the national security industry, sir.”

Nunes then asked Comey if had “any evidence at the FBI that any votes were changed in the states that I mentioned to Admiral Rogers.” 

Comey responded with a simple “no.”

Despite all the noise, the real-life connections between Democrats and Russia remain unexplored. Obama and then-Secretary Clinton had possibly the most pro-Russian policy in U.S. history yet Trump gets accused of being a Russophile.

Nuclear weapon-hating President Obama, who all but apologized to the Japanese for the U.S. atomic-bombing of two cities in World War II during a May 2016 visit to Hiroshima, told outgoing then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2012 to pass on the message to soon-to-be Russian president Vladimir Putin to ease up on the missile defense issue until after the election when Obama would “have more flexibility.”

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton helped Russia gets its hands on 20 percent of the U.S. uranium supply through Uranium One. Russian nuclear agency Rosatom took over the company in 2010 by acquiring a 51 percent stake in it.

Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta and two senior Russian officials were members of the board of energy concern Joule Unlimited. Two months after Podesta was appointed to the board, Rusnano, a company Putin science adviser Andrei Fursenko called “Putin’s child,” announced it planned to plow $35 million into Joule, or one-fifth of all the investment money Joule took in from 2007 to 2013.

And don’t forget that in June 2010, Bill Clinton gave a single one-hour speech for a $500,000 fee in Moscow. The speech was given and paid for by Renaissance Capital, an investment bank said to have ties to the Kremlin.

This is not an exhaustive compilation of examples of Democrats’ long working relationship with the Russian government.

The hearing took place as the Los Angeles Times reported that star news analyst and libertarian hero former Judge Andrew Napolitano has been suspended indefinitely by Fox News Channel for airing “his unverified claims that British intelligence wiretapped Trump Tower at the best of former President Obama.” On-air Napolitano said “Fox News has spoken to intelligence community members who believe that surveillance did occur, that it was done by British intelligence.” 

Citing unidentified sources, Napolitano wrote in a column that a British foreign surveillance agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), “most likely” gave Obama transcripts of Trump’s recorded calls. “By bypassing all American intelligence services, Obama would have had access to what he wanted with no Obama administration fingerprints,” Napolitano wrote.

Fox management disagreed. Afternoon anchor Shepard Smith said Friday that “Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the now-president of the United States was surveilled at any time, in any way.”

In London, Her Majesty’s Government as it’s styled across the pond, denounced the claims, seized upon by President Trump, calling them “utterly ridiculous.” During a joint press conference Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the president threw a spotlight on the story and called Napolitano “a very talented lawyer.”

Napolitano’s theory isn’t completely crazy.

It has at least as much evidence in its favor as the Democrats’ theory that Donald Trump is a puppet of Vladimir Putin.

Source Link:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266172/yes-fbi-investigating-trump-campaign-matthew-vadum

The following recent video revealed that ‘Rep. Trey Gowdy, questioning James Comey during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Monday, appeared to name former President Barack Obama and six of his administration’s top staffers as potential sources of leaks’ about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s alleged collusion with the Russian government during the 2016 election. Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: Gowdy Points To President Obama And 6 Admin. Officials As Possible Source Of Flynn Leaks!-Posted on The Daily Caller-By Christian Datoc, Reporter-On March 21, 2017:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/20/gowdy-points-to-president-obama-and-6-admin-officials-as-possible-source-of-flynn-leaks-video/

The following recent video by Attorney Larry Klayman revealed that 'FBI Director Comey’s demeanor during yesterday’s House Intelligence Committee Hearing' suggests that he is engaged in possible ‘cover up of Intelligence Agency surveillance and leaks.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: FBI Director Comey Engaged In Possible Coverup Of Intelligence Agency Surveillance And Leaks: ‘Comey's Demeanor At House Intelligence Committee Hearing Suggests He Has Something To Hide’!-Posted on Freedom Watch TV-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.freedomwatchusa.org/fbi-director-comey-engaged-in-possible-coverup-of-intelligen

The following recent article revealed that former NSA contractor turned WikiLeaks informant, Edward Snowden noticed some ‘red flags’ during the testimony of 'FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Michael Rogers' on Monday.

It also revealed that Snowden is currently living in asylum in Russia after being charged with 2 violations of the Espionage Act of 1917, for leaking sensitive information about U.S surveillance programs to WikiLeaks, but that didn’t prevent him from weighing in on what was happening stateside by posting tweets referencing the 'coy nature in which the FBI Director answered questions during a grilling from Rep. Trey Gowdy’-You Decide:

Edward Snowden points to ‘red flag’ in Comey, Rogers’ testimony to Congress!-Posted on BizPac Review-By Carmine Sabia-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/03/21/edward-snowden-points-red-flag-comey-rogers-testimony-congress-461574

The following recent thought-provoking video revealed ‘NSA’ documents that prove ‘President Trump surveillance.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: The Alex Jones Show - NSA Docs Show Trump Surveillance!-Posted on YouTube.com-By The Alex Jones Channel-On March 20, 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv6bDt_69D4

The following recent article revealed that on Monday morning, ‘CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller tweeted a reference to the appearance of an Obama administration employee’ who called Donald Trump’s ‘wiretapping’ accusations against the former White House occupant ‘insane,’ but completely ignored InfoWars’ recent reports on President Trump’s surveillance. Surprised?-You Decide:

CBS Ignores Infowars Reports on Trump Surveillance!-Posted on The Post & Email-By Sharon Rondeau-On March 20, 2017:

http://www.thepostemail.com/2017/03/20/cbs-ignores-infowars-reports-trump-surveillance/

The following recent article revealed that ‘Fox News anchor Sean Hannity’ accused Democrats and the media of engaging in a ‘political witch hunt’ in an attempt to damage the Trump presidency. Surprised?-You Decide:

Hannity Accuses Democrats And Media Of ‘Political Witch Hunt’ To Undermine Trump!-Posted on Western Journalism-By Randy DeSoto-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.westernjournalism.com/hannity-accuses-democrats-and-media-of-political-witch-hunt-to-undermine-trump/

The following recent article revealed that, according to talk show host ‘Rush Limbaugh,’ the real message being delivered to President Donald Trump during Monday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing was that if Trump keeps trying to ‘draining the swamp’ of Washington he is risking his presidency, along with stating that the hearings are one part of a carefully constructed narrative trying to tell the American people that Trump’s presidency is ‘illegitimate and unjust.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Limbaugh: House Hearing Sends Trump A Message To Stop Draining The Swamp!-Posted on Western Journalism-By Jack Davis-On March 20, 2017:

http://www.westernjournalism.com/limbaugh-house-hearing-sends-trump-message-stop-draining-swamp/

The following recent video revealed that ‘former CIA agent Tony Shaffer recently stated that Democrats need to be very careful what they wish for’ because the liberal elite and media who want a thorough investigation into Mike Flynn’s phone calls with Russia ‘could lead them straight back to not just the White House but Obama himself.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: CIA Agent Breaks Silence and Blows the Whistle to Reveal Obama’s REAL Identity!-Posted on Tea Party News-On March 20, 2017:

https://www.teaparty.org/watch-cia-agent-breaks-silence-blows-whistle-reveal-obamas-real-identity-224797/

The following recent article revealed that 'Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz’ recently stated on Herald Radio’s ‘Morning Meeting’ that, ‘leaks coming out of Washington, particularly the transcripts of telephone calls between President Trump and foreign leaders, is a threat to national security.’

It also revealed that Dershowitz, who stated that he was dining with his wife and friend Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax last weekend at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., was intercepted by the president for a quick word and that when asked by ‘Morning Meeting’ co-host Hillary Chabot what Trump thought about the leaks, Dershowitz stated, ‘It raises a danger to national security when he can’t be sure that his own conversations that are done in confidence with world leaders will not be leaked.’

Additionally, it revealed that Dershowitz also stated that the ‘House and Senate ought to get to the bottom of this, that there should be an investigation and the leaking has to stop’-You Decide:

Dershowitz: D.C. leaks a ‘threat to national security’!-Posted on GOP USA-By Boston Herald-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.gopusa.com/?p=22126?omhide=true

The following recent article revealed that during his Monday House hearing, 'FBI Director James Comey did everything he could to discredit' President Trump’s assertion that his predecessor engaged in ‘wiretapping’ during the presidential campaign and that on his Monday afternoon show, 'Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Kentucky Senator Rand Paul about Trump’s allegations and Comey’s testimony to the contrary.'

It also revealed that Paul’s answer hit on one obvious, undisputed fact many Trump detractors are missing by stating, ‘Everybody admits that somebody spied on Mike Flynn, and he was part of the Trump campaign, so it sounds like what the president said has already been proven to be true,’ along with, ‘Somebody listened to Mike Flynn’s conversation and leaked it to the press, which is a felony, and you don’t do that unless somehow you eavesdropped on someone’s phone conversation.’

Additionally, it revealed that Paul told Cavuto Paul, ‘the media thinks ‘wiretapping’ means hiding an ‘old-fashioned bug’ inside a telephone, but, ‘If you haven’t looked recently, most of our telephones don’t have wires,’ along with ‘So, ‘wiretapping’ is a broad term for surveillance.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

After Comey testimony, Rand Paul comes to Trump’s defense on ‘wiretapping’ claims!-Posted on BizPac Review-By Scott Morefield-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/03/21/comey-testimony-rand-paul-comes-trumps-defense-wiretapping-claims-461560

The following article revealed that, according to Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, ‘Obama would not have needed a warrant to authorize surveillance on Trump because Obama was the president and as such enjoyed authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’ to order surveillance on any person in America, without suspicion, probable cause or a warrant.

It also revealed that ‘FISA contemplates that the surveillance it authorizes will be for national security purposes,’ but this is an amorphous phrase and an ambiguous standard that has been the ‘favorite excuse of most modern presidents for extraconstitutional behavior,’ but if Obama did order the NSA to prepare transcripts of Trump’s conversations last fall under the ‘pretext of national security,’ to find out whether Trump was communicating with the Russians would have been a good excuse, there would ‘exist somewhere a record of such an order’ and for that reason, if ‘Obama did this, he no doubt used a source on which he’d leave no fingerprints.’

Additionally, it revealed that sources had told Judge Napolitano that the ‘British foreign surveillance service, the Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ, most likely provided Obama with transcripts of Trump’s calls’ and that the NSA had given GCHQ full 24/7 access to its computers, which means that ‘GCHQ, a foreign intelligence agency that, like the NSA, operates outside our constitutional norms’ and has the digital versions of all electronic communications made in America in 2016, including Trump’s, so ‘by bypassing all American intelligence services, Obama would have had access to what he wanted with no Obama administration fingerprints.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Andrew Napolitano: Did Obama spy on Trump?-Posted on FoxNews.com-By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano -On March 16, 2017:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/16/andrew-napolitano-did-obama-spy-on-trump.html

The following recent article revealed that 'Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano' apparently bit off more than he could chew with his claims that ‘former President Obama tapped British intelligence to wiretap Trump Tower’ because allegedly there is a recent  report that ‘Fox News is suspending him indefinitely, according to the LA Times,’ which has fans disappointed, but is it true?

It also revealed that one 'Fox News source told Mediaite late Monday that Judge Nap has not been suspended by the network,' but the judge was ‘conspicuously missing’ from Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings, ‘an event in which he typically would have played a significant role,’ the Times reported. Surprised?-You Decide:

Report Judge Nap was suspended over British wiretapping is denied by Fox News source!-Posted on BizPac Review-By Scott Morefield-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/03/21/report-judge-nap-suspended-british-wiretapping-denied-fox-news-source-461565

The following recent article revealed that, according to McClatchy.com., ‘FBI Director James Comey went on the record Monday to say an investigation into possible Russian influence in the U.S. presidential election is underway and that probe reportedly includes a look into whether far-right websites played a role in contributing to that interference.’

It also revealed that citing the now-standard anonymous sources ‘familiar with the inquiry,’ the article said the 'FBI is investigating whether Russian operatives used far-right news sites' to help spread stories, ‘some fictional,’ favorable to Donald Trump’s bid for the White House, which was allegedly an effort that allegedly produced ‘millions’ of social media posts. Surprised?-You Decide:

FBI probing far-right news sites for involvement in Russia’s alleged interference in US election, sources say!-Posted on BizPac Review-By Tom Tillison-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/03/21/fbi-probing-far-right-news-sites-involvement-russias-alleged-interference-us-election-sources-say-461597

The following recent article revealed that 'Facebook is trying shut down conservative websites' because numerous media outlets and newspapers have done ‘exposés’ lamenting the rise and popularity of ‘fake news’ that supposedly ‘led to the downfall of Hillary Clinton’ and that they complain that conservative sites have a bigger social media reach and garner far more shares than ‘real’ news sites like CNN and ABC News, because ‘conservative allegedly craft false and/or misleading headlines,’ while ‘they, according to them, craft clear, truthful, and unsensational headlines.’

It also revealed that part of the 'mainstream media’s narrative is that conservative websites craft false or misleading headlines in order to get people to click,' which helps to generate ad revenue for that particular site and they explain the whole business model as if it’s some sort of scam, as if conservative political website managers are doing this to ‘get rich’ off unsuspecting internet perusers. Surprised?-You Decide:

Facebook is Trying to Shut us Down, While Propping up the Opposition!-Posted on Eagle Rising-By Philip Hodges-On March 20, 2017:

http://eaglerising.com/41878/facebook-is-trying-to-shut-us-down-while-propping-up-our-competition/

The following recent video revealed that more censorship is coming, along with revealing that ‘Google is allegedly now trying to tighten the noose on the alternative media’ by censoring content on their search engine and YouTube. Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: War on Alternative Media Rages On – Google To Flag “Offensive” Search Results!-Posted on The Daily Sheeple-On March 17, 2017:

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/video-war-on-alternative-media-rages-on-google-to-flag-offensive-search-results_032017

The following recent video revealed that ‘former CIA official Larry Johnson was a guest on CNN with host Brian Stelter yesterday’ and that while they were discussing the Trump wiretapping allegations and Stelter made a claim about Russia Today, and Johnson snapped back with a surprising bit of information, which ‘exposed how the network,  along with other mainstream media outlets, do pre-interviews with guests to control what they say.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Video: CNN Guest Exposes the Number One Way Mainstream News Controls the Narrative!-Posted on The Daily Sheeple-On March 20, 2017:

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/video-cnn-guest-exposes-the-number-one-way-mainstream-news-controls-the-narrative_032017

The following recent revealed that ‘what newspapers are doing between the Print and Online Versions is beginning to really question their integrity and reveals why mainstream media is just not trustworthy any more’ and that, if you Google something, 'it’s the online version that will come up and not the print edition,' so allegedly ‘they can print anything and then post online something completely different to defeat a Google search and mislead the public once again.’

It also revealed that the ‘New York Times’ recently changed what they reported in the ‘print’ edition that clearly stated ‘wiretapped data’ monitoring Trump’s people before the election in Watergate Style probably ‘after realizing what they said might hurt Obama’ and the author asks ‘why is there such a stark difference between online and the print edition? Obviously, this is not a mistake. It appears to be a deliberate alteration of reporting.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

New York Times – Altering the News to Charge Trump!-Posted on Armstrong Economics-By Martin Armstrong-On March 21, 2017:

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/media/new-york-times-altering-the-news-to-charge-trump/

The following recent article revealed that the ‘big losers of the Russian hacking scandal may yet be those who invested all their capital in a script that turned out to be based on a fairy tale’ because in Monday’s Intelligence Committee hearings, James Comey did confirm that his FBI has found nothing to support President Trump’s tweet that President Obama ordered him wiretapped, which ‘was not unexpected, but undeniably an embarrassment for the tweeter-in-chief.’

It also revealed that yet ‘longer-term damage may have been done to the left’ because Monday’s hearing showed that its rendering of the campaign of 2016 may be ‘a product of fiction and a fevered imagination’ and that, ‘after eight months investigating the hacking and leaking of the emails of Clinton campaign chief John Podesta and the DNC, there is apparently no evidence yet of President Trump’s collusion with Russia.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Will Russiagate Backfire on the Left?-Posted on GOP USA-By Patrick J. Buchanan-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.gopusa.com/?p=22114?omhide=true

The following recent article revealed that ‘President Trump has reportedly stationed at least 16 politically appointed aides in several government agencies to monitor Cabinet secretaries’ loyalty,’ according to eight officials in and outside the administration-You Decide:

Trump plants aides in Cabinet agencies to root out saboteurs: 'If you drain the swamp, you better have someone who watches over the alligators'!-Posted on WND.com-By Chelsea Schilling-On March 20, 2017:

http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/trump-plants-aides-in-cabinet-agencies-to-root-out-saboteurs/#eBuCYk3gEORsS0BF.99

The following recent article revealed that ‘Obama subordinated America’s national interests to his notion of global citizenship under the umbrella of strengthened multilateral organizations and international norms’ because he also believed that American power needed to be contained.

It also revealed that ‘President Trump’s stated approach to virtually all issues relating to foreign policy is to put American national security and economic interests first,’ that explains his budget priorities, which would add billions of dollars for defense and border security, while ‘cutting back on programs at the State Department undergirding so-called ‘soft diplomacy’ and President Trump also views such global issues as trade, immigration, climate change and participation in multilateral institutions through the prism of ‘America first.’

Additionally, it revealed that President Trump’s budget blueprint would also ‘reduce U.S. funding contributions to the United Nations and multilateral development banks, while ceasing payments altogether to the United Nations’ climate change programs and it projects more reliance on America’s ‘hard power,’ however, aspirations are one thing and implementation is another thing altogether, and ‘while it is far too early to grade the president’s performance in reaching his stated foreign policy goals, certain trends are emerging that raise concerns’-You Decide:

Trump Administration Foreign Policy at a Crossroads: ‘Some promising developments, but Obama’s shadow remains’!-Posted on Front Page Magazine-By Joseph Klein-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266158/trump-administration-foreign-policy-crossroads-joseph-klein

The following recent article revealed that we got accustomed to it during the presidential election campaign: ‘headlines in major media reminding us that there actually still exists something called the KKK’ and that, on November 1, 2016, only a few days before Americans went to the polls, the Washington Post found it worthwhile to devote an entire story to the fact that the ‘KKK’s official newspaper had endorsed Donald Trump.’

It also revealed that, after Trump won, the Independent, a major British daily, ran a report with the headline ‘Former KKK leader David Duke: 'We won it for Donald Trump,’ in January, the Huffington Post put up an article insisting that ‘President Trump's dad had links to the Klan,’ in February the New Yorker published a long, probing piece in which Evan Osnos sought to find something fishy in the fact that ‘President Trump didn't denounce the KKK’ every ten minutes: ‘for months, as Donald Trump developed his political repertoire, he adopted an uncharacteristic reply for questions about fascism and the Ku Klux Klan: silence, or something close to it’ and, as if all this weren't enough, the A&E network has apparently been running Generation KKK, an ‘eight-part documentary series in which viewers were given a look at the lives of KKK members and their families.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Trump's Nazis? ‘The European media’s twisted tactics in smearing a U.S. president’!-Posted on Front Page Magazine-By Bruce Bawer-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266162/trumps-nazis-bruce-bawer

The following recent article revealed that comedian 'Roseanne Barr' took to Twitter Monday to defend President Donald Trump from unspecified attacks, which she said were really ‘disguised’ attacks on American voters.’ Surprised?-You Decide:

Roseanne Barr: Every Attack on Trump ‘Really a Disguised Attack on American Voters’!-Posted on Breitbart.com-By Daniel Nussbaum-On March 21, 2017:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2017/03/21/roseanne-every-attack-trump-really-disguised-attack-american-voters/

Please Read Part 31:

The Most Dangerous and Treacherous Times in U.S. History! (Part 31)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On March 24, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-most-dangerous-and-treacherous-times-in-u-s-history-part-31

I believe that the above articles and videos relate to and/or further support my following blogs-You Decide:

Nazi Collaborator Soros Continues Multi-pronged War on Trump, Calls Him “Would-be Dictator”!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 5, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nazi-collaborator-soros-...

Obama: Submit to Globalism or Face War, Death, Destruction!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 17, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/forum/topics/obama-submit-to-globalism-...

The Left's Coming Counter-Attack!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On December 8, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-left-s-coming-counte...

CIA Assessment Concludes Putin Was Trying to Help Trump Win White House!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On December 10, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cia-assessment-concludes...

Russian Election Intervention Is Nothing New: ‘The Kremlin’s history of backing the losers’!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On December 14, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-election-interve...

Not Since JFK, Has a President Spit Into the Face of the Globalists, Until Now!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 21, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/not-since-jfk-has-a-pres...

Trump Will Declare the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization! (Part 1)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 16, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/trump-will-declare-the-m...

Saudi Arabia Implicated In Bankrolling of Extremist Terrorist Movements Around The World!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 16, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/saudi-arabia-implicated-...

New Report Exposes Rockefeller Dynasty's Role in 'Climate Scam'!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 5, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-report-exposes-rocke...

Why Democrats Don’t Want To Make America Great Again!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 30, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/why-democrats-don-t-want...

Retired Head of the FBI Tells All about Illuminati, Satanism, Pedophile Rings in U.S. Government!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 23, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/retired-head-of-the-fbi-...

Attention Obama: Ft. Leavenworth is Calling You For Treason!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 10, 2017:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/attention-obama-ft-leave...

Vote Fraud – What They Aren’t Telling You!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 7, 2012:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=4301673%3ABlogPos...

Brainwashing in America: ‘WHY FEW DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY'! (Part 1)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On March 21, 2014:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/brainwashing-in-america-...

Brainwashing in America: ‘WHY FEW DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY'! (Part 3)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On April 7, 2014:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/brainwashing-in-america-...

Faith of Our Forefathers!-Posted on WordPress.com-On May 9, 2010:

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/faith-of-our-forefathers/

Brainwashing in America: ‘WHY FEW DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY'! (Part 4)-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On May 22, 2014:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/brainwashing-in-america-...

Letter to our NM U.S. Senator Tom Udall (re: Shadow Party’s alleged agenda to take down America)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On January 30, 2015:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-u-s-sen...

Response from and to NM U.S. Senator Tom Udall (Re: Shadow Party’s alleged agenda to take down America)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On February 7, 2015:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/response-from-and-to-nm-...

Letter to our NM U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (re: Shadow Party’s alleged agenda to take down America)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On February 8, 2015:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-u-s-sen...

Letter to our NM U.S. Representative Michelle Lujan-Grisham (re: Shadow Party’s alleged agenda to take down America)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On February 13, 2015:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-u-s-rep...

Letter to our NM Governor Martinez (re: The Shadow Party’s alleged agenda to take down America)!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On February 8, 2015:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-our-nm-governo...

The MSM conglomerates are the most prolific and insidious "fake news" propagators in the marketplace of ideas!-Posted on Tea Party Command Center-By Jake Martinez-On November 30, 2016:

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-msm-conglomerates-ar...

PS. Please use the "Share This Email" link below to pass this on to as many people as you can!  

Christians Should Not Surrender the Fight for Our Culture

Whenever I hear Christian leaders talk about the inevitable collapse of the church of America (or elsewhere) I ask myself, “But hasn’t Jesus risen from the dead? Didn’t He ascend to the right hand of the Father? Hasn’t all authority in heaven and earth been given to Him? And aren’t we commanded to go and make disciples in His name and by His authority?”

If so, how then we can speak of any inevitable collapse of the church (or, specifically, of Christian society), regardless of how inevitable that collapse appears to human eyes?

I therefore differ strongly with conservative journalist Rod Dreher who has written, “The culture war that began with the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s has now ended in defeat for Christian conservatives. … Don’t be fooled: the upset presidential victory of Donald Trump has at best given us a bit more time to prepare for the inevitable” (my emphasis; from his new book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation).

The culture war has hardly “ended” and there is nothing “inevitable” about the collapse of Christian society in America, although, without question, the patient is mortally ill and in need of radical surgery and rehabilitation. But the heart is still beating, there are millions of committed believers throughout the land, prayers are ascending to heaven 24/7 for another great awakening, and it’s actually possible that America’s best days are still ahead, regardless of how bleak things look right now (and without a doubt, they look very, very bleak). Are not all things possible to him or her who believes?

A Backsliding Church

What makes today’s spiritual pessimism all the more galling is that, in my view, the biggest reason for America’s current moral and spiritual decline is the backslidden, unengaged, carnal state of the much of the church. In other words, America is messed up because the church has been messed up, because we who profess faith in Jesus have all too often been superficial in our commitment, as a result of which the world has changed us rather than us changing the world.

When it comes to the mainline denominations, in many instances there has been a wholesale departure from the authority of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus, leading to the abandonment of our moral compass.

When it comes to evangelical Christians, we have often preached a narcissistic, “what’s in it for me” gospel, a self-centered message that bypasses the cross and calls for virtually no sacrifice or service, a message that empowers the sinner rather than transforms the sinner, leading to “Christian” rappers who talk about Jesus in the midst of profanity-laced rants (all while still getting high, going to strip clubs, and partying), and to “Christian” models and actresses who strip down in the most seductive poses, simply because it’s part of their job — and I assure you they can find big churches in America who will welcome them with open arms and celebrate their “liberty” in Jesus. (It’s one thing to welcome the worst of sinners into our midst with open arms and without condemnation; it’s another thing to celebrate carnality and compromise.)

Little wonder that the rest of the public is so confused. After all, the church is supposed to function as the conscience of the nation.

Fulfilling Our Mission in the World

When it comes to social issues like abortion and homosexuality, the vast majority of Christian conservatives in our country have no almost regular engagement with women having abortions and engage in very little compassionate outreach to those who identify as LGBT. As for those of us who do get involved in social issues, we tend to do it politically, looking to the government (especially the Republican Party) to fix things, as if passing a law alone would “fix” the desecration of life or reverse the breakdown of the family.

In that regard, Dreher is quite right in urging us not to put our trust in the political system, and I wholeheartedly affirm his conclusion: “We are going to have to change our lives, and our approach to life, in radical ways. In short, we are going to have to be the church, without compromise, no matter what it costs” (his emphasis).

But being the church means heeding the words of Jesus, who calls us out of the world when it comes to participating in sin but into the world when it comes to fulfilling our mission, which is to shine like lights in dark places, to boldly proclaim the message of redemption, to reach out to hurting and suffering sinners, to make a difference in the communities in which we are planted, and to stand for truth and righteousness “without compromise, no matter what it costs.”

After all, we’re here as the Lord’s ambassadors, declaring the gospel to a dying world, and if we back down and retreat, who will reach this generation with the good news?

But to say, “We’ve failed so far so let’s concede the war” is like a coach saying to his team at halftime, “We hardly played at all in that first half, which is why we’re way behind, so let’s quit now before it gets worse.” To the contrary, he sounds a loud wakeup call, urging his team to play like never before, since the rest of the game is still ahead.

As theologian Douglas Wilson said, “I am against surrendering in any case, but I am really against surrendering before the battle is really joined.”

The solution, then, is not to retreat into some kind of monastic refuge but rather to repent of our sins, to give ourselves afresh to the Lord, and to let our light shine before an onlooking, skeptical, and mocking world. That is the gospel way.

In the words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16; for further scriptural exhortations, see here).

The Light the World Needs

I’m all for separating ourselves from the pollution of the world as much as possible. At one point, 95 percent of the families in my home congregation homeschooled their children. And for many years of our marriage, Nancy and I chose not to have a TV in our house. I have other friends who live in shared community, while still others have left business and careers to serve and live among the poorest of the poor. At the same time, I am not for withdrawing from our calling to go into the world and touch the lost.

By all means, then, let us live with a sense of holy urgency. After all, we’re here for a moment and then gone, with eternity ahead of us. And let us make a fresh, complete, and uncompromising commitment to our Lord. But let us stand up, not shrink back, raising our voices for the world to hear and living our lives for the world to see. And if America is determined to go to hell, then let it go to hell over our dead bodies.

As Charles H. Spurgeon famously said, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

To our knees, then, in holistic repentance, and to our feet, in wholehearted obedience. This generation desperately needs the message of new life in Jesus — the message you and I have. Don’t hide it under a basket! (For more from the author of “Christians Should Not Surrender the Fight for Our Culture” please click HERE)    http://joemiller.us/2017/03/christians-not-surrender-fight-culture/

Why the ‘Establishment’ Media Is Finding Itself on Shaky Ground

As a member of The Daily Signal team, I took offense to The Washington Post’s recent questioning of our “legitimacy” as a news organization.

The Washington Post began its story stating that, “In an age of partisan media, the lines between ‘partisan’ and ‘media’ can sometimes blur.”

I wonder if the reporter has taken a look at just how partisan some of our country’s media behemoths actually are. Here is a summary of the ownership, lobbying, and political contributions of several of America’s largest media companies.

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co., which has spent over $70 million lobbying the federal government since 1998. During the 2016 election cycle, individuals and PACs associated with the company contributed $1.6 million to Democrats and $250,000 to Republicans.

NBC is owned by Comcast Corp. In 2014, Comcast spent $17 million in lobbying and hired 128 lobbyists. When it came to the 2016 election cycle, contributions were almost evenly distributed between the two political parties, with Democrats receiving $3.5 million and Republicans $3.3 million.

However, if you look at the contributions related specifically to NBC properties, the vast majority of contributions were to Democrats. The only outlier was NBC Sports.

CBS is owned by CBS Corp., which spent $4,470,000 in lobbying in 2016.

CNN is owned by Time Warner Inc. In 2016, individuals and PACs related to the company gave 87 percent of contributions to Democrats and 11 percent to Republicans. The only year since 1990 that such contributions didn’t heavily favor Democrats was 1996, when contributions were split 50-50.

And then there is The Washington Post, which is owned by billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com.

Among his political donations? A reported $2.5 million was given to support the gay marriage referendum in Washington state. He has also been a vocal supporter of the internet sales tax. The Washington Post editorial pages have reflected similar views on both marriage and taxes.

To say that the aforementioned political contributions are nowhere near “balanced” is an understatement. And while you can’t link every dollar to every instance of bias, most Americans have come to the conclusion that the media is less than trustworthy.

According to Gallup, Americans’ confidence in the media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” is at its lowest point in Gallup’s polling history with only 32 percent saying they have “a great deal or fair amount of trust” in the media.

Also of note, a recent Emerson College poll showed voters find the Trump administration “to be more truthful than the news media.” Forty-nine percent of voters considered the administration truthful, but only 39 percent said the same about the news media.

In addition to a lack of trust among American news consumers, technology is playing a role in the changing and broadening media landscape.

According to a 2016 study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now more people working in internet/digital publishing (outlets like The Daily Signal) than working at newspapers. And the numbers are pretty stark.

In 1990, there were 458,000 people working in the newspaper industry. Fast forward to 2016, and that number had fallen by 60 percent, to 183,000. On the flip side, the number of people working in internet publishing grew from 30,000 in 1990 to almost 198,000 in 2016.

And, as more and more Americans are going online to get their news (44 percent of U.S. adults now get news on Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center), newspaper circulation continues to decline, and the traditional broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have fewer eyeballs watching their morning programs and evening news broadcasts—1 million fewer than last year.

Perhaps it’s little wonder that what is known as the “establishment” media is feeling, well, a little less established than it used to. (For more from the author of “Why the ‘Establishment’ Media Is Finding Itself on Shaky Ground” please click HERE) http://joemiller.us/2017/03/establishment-media-finding-shaky-ground/

Once again, Trumps immigration pause to improve vetting of those who may wish to do us harm was shut down by an Obama justice in Hawaii. U.S. District judge Derrik Kahala Watson, a fellow law graduate of Harvard law school with the former President, the judge went one step further, and proclaimed his injunction covered the entire United States. This was based on the judges interpretation giving those who want to come to our country who are not U.S. citizens the right to travel and freedom of association, rights singularly for U.S. Citizens. Using the claim that the temporary pause of immigration from six countries violates the establishment clause on the basis of religion is absurd as 44 countries that are predominantly Muslim are not on the list.

These rights have been solely given to the citizens of this country for the past two hundred years alone. Obama made appoint to ensure that he met with and had dinner with Obama the night before his ruling. A ruling that was 48 pages long and highly detailed. This judge must have worked all night to get it written, typed and proofread. Obamas shadow government must have had to work overtime to get it done.

This rights were extended to an imam by the justice strictly for the purpose of bringing his family over  because he was Muslim. It was a blatant abuse of judicial power, in effect claiming that if someone who is in our country and an immigrant has family he wants to bring over, and if he Islamic, that there must be a special right granted to bring them here, effectively ending any control over the security of the country and the ri9ght of the people. There would be no limitations on who could come here and would end any control over the borders of the country.

In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the right of association does not include bringing non vetted immigrants to the country. The President had been given specific power over immigration as far as giving the President the right to ban any alien for any reason for any reason whatsoever. The judge in Hawaii never even mentioned this statute. Nor did he mention any prior decision made by any court that gave him this right to circumvent the Constitution or the rule of law.

It was such a misapplication of the law that five judges dissented from reviewing the original decision that has since been rescinded, and have stated about the Hawaii judges decision that it was in fact

 “filled with many, obvious and fundamental errors and went against all precedent”. No matter how we as individuals may feel about the President or the executive order, the President’s decision was well within the powers of the Presidency.”

These same five judges recognize that the President has both constitutional (Article 1 Section 8) and statutory authority (the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act) to control immigration as applied to national security.8USC182 states in part:

“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may, by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem appropriate.”

 A Ninth Circuit  former chief Justice Alex Kozinsky stated

“ There was no basis for the prior Ninth Circuit decision. This Hawaii decision goes further that any court has gone before. Hopefully it will be reviewed, but in the interim, the country’s safety is put into jeopardy because one federal judge decided to anoint himself as the one Supreme Court of the country”.

Law professors from Jonathon Turley to Jeffrey Toobin, liberal law professors have also condemned the original decision and the Hawaii overreach.  There have been countless articles written about the courts  losing credibility, and these injunctions, both the original one and the one that Hawaii and Maryland  have delayed have no precedent, and both injunctions have no historical basis in fact.

Calling it a Muslim ban has been thrown around for the past few weeks, but what if Obamas Christian ban. 95% of all immigrants over the past few years have been Muslim, only 5% Christian were allowed to flee the genocide taking place in the Middle East.

There are many areas that this judge got wrong. Used in the injunction was remarks made by President Trump during his campaign, and ignored the language of the executive order. The justification that the Executive Order in the interest of national security and were applied to these six countries  that are state sponsors of terrorism as designated by Obama with no government to assist in the vetting process.

The judiciary aggressiveness towards this President is based on the premise that the President can not be trusted. Judges must be impartial and pay continual respect to the Constitution, legislation and Supreme Court decisions. The interests of the judicial branch as irrelevant, as the competing interests and intent of the other two branches and the decision must be made about the decisions in our republic.

There is no inherent “right” to immigrate to our country. And how far can the entire argument be taken. Will we allow a rogue federal judge to stop any conflict in the future because it may harm Muslims more than others?  And as in a footnote in Hawaii, will the judiciary now being setting refugee limits contrary to established law? Will the activism of the judiciary turn us into a third world country where everyone must be let in.

This must be fought in the halls of Congress and in the courts that continue to follow the Constitution.