thestream--2020-06-13--How a Marxist Rape Camp Became “The Summer of Love” in Seattle.

I feel like a fevered fantasist in 1993 , hunched over an IBM Selectric , typing single-spaced in a double-wide an apocalyptic end-times novel which I ’ ll self-publish and sell at gun shows .
But I swear , I ’ m just reporting the news .
Two items for your enjoyment : Police have been unable to respond to “ rapes , robberies , and all sorts of violent acts ” occurring in Seattle ’ s East Precinct , which authorities abandoned on Monday , leaving the area in the hands of activists who set up their own police-free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CHAZ ) , Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said Thursday .
The police chief is now working on a plan to reopen the precinct , telling reporters calls for service “ have more than tripled.
” “ These are responses to emergency calls — rapes , robberies , and all sorts of violent acts that have been occurring in the area that we ’ re not able to get to , ” she said .
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan offered a different spin on the Antifa/Black Lives Matter statelet that imposed itself on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle has no idea when the protesters occupying the “ Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone , ” or CHAZ , in her city will disperse .
During an interview with CNN host Chris Cuomo , Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan jokingly stated that the area could hold a “ summer of love , ” alluding to a mass gathering of peace activists in 1967 in San Francisco .
“ How long do you think Seattle and those few blocks looks like this ?
” Cuomo asked .
“ I don ’ t know .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Durkan responded .
How can a city ’ s mayor describe a burgeoning rape camp as a site for a “ summer of love ” ?
Do we really need to ask ourselves that ?
The chief public health official in Pennsylvania during this pandemic ( dumping COVID patients on nursing homes after whisking his own mom to safety ) is a middle-aged dude in a wig who insists he ’ s a woman .
People get banned from media or fired from their jobs for refusing to admit that men menstruate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J.K. Rowling , now fights for her professional life for denying the claim .
Our government pretends in 50 states that men can marry men , and women women .
The marital covenant itself , which claims to bind us for life , is now the weakest legal bond in American law .
Student loan debts are sacrosanct and indissoluble .
But divorce is “ no fault , ” and neither partner can contest his or her abandonment in court .
We pretend that “ kids are resilient ” and divorce doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it doesn ’ t matter that most molestation of young girls happens at the hands … of their mom ’ s new boyfriend .
Since 1973 , our government at every level has pretended that unborn children amount to “ fetal tissue ” or “ products of conception.
” Large parts of the GOP , along with now a lockstep Democratic party , colluded in that great lie .
To justify it , Supreme Court justices lied about the U.S. Constitution .
First they “ discovered ” an imaginary “ privacy ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too many pro-abortion liberals got embarrassed by that fiction , the Court crafted another .
Justice Anthony Kennedy ( who got on the court thanks to Reagan staffers lying to the president , claiming he was pro-life ) penned a poetic “ noble ” lie about America ’ s founding itself .
Deciding Planned Parenthood v. Casey , Kennedy waxed poetic .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
He wrote , in a phrase that will strike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve smoked their second bong : “ At the heart of liberty is the right to define one ’ s own concept of existence , of meaning , of the universe , and of the mystery of human life.
” Those are all just words , after all .
Just empty names we attach to things , as means of getting what we want .
Such is thinking that brought us the chaos in our streets .
Is that what our founders fought for ?
That ’ s what Catholic Integralists insist .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ : they were all secret followers of Hobbes , whether they knew it themselves or not .
For all their talk of virtue and religion , they were scattering seeds of atheism and license , which we see now fully sprouted .
So Integralists agree with the ACLU and Planned Parenthood on what our founding did : it laid the train tracks to nihilism .
But Integralists , and other anti-Americans on the right , disapprove .
Some want instead to impose Catholic sharia .
Leftists rather enjoy the slide down the slippery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they gag on its practical outcomes .
Like rape camps in Seattle .
The anti-American thinkers you ’ ve most likely heard of are Rod Dreher , Patrick Deneen , Michael Hanby , and Sohrab Ahmari .
They differ on some details .
But all agree that American freedom is an ectopic pregnancy , killing our mother country from within .
They claim that the U.S. founders were ( either consciously or unconsciously ) more like Enlightenment radicals than Christian statesmen .
So the concepts of freedom they wrote into our Constitution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birth abortions and sex change operations , fatherless dads and Antifa encampments .
If that were true , then the left would be right , every time .
Their Supreme Court decisions would be perfectly legitimate , and we ’ d have no right to complain .
We ’ d either have to wait for the U.S. to collapse , then build something else on its ruins .
Or else we should simply leave .
But are they ?
Scholar and long-time pro-life activist Robert Reilly disagrees .
In fact , he has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trial , which every American Christian must read .
It ’ s not a quick breeze to be skimmed on the beach .
In fact , Reilly ’ s book could serve as the single textbook in first-rate college course on political philosophy or American government .
It ’ s just that rich and learned .
And it ’ s marvelously clear .
As I wrote on Amazon : The Three Pillars of Freedom Let me sum this rich and convincing book quite simply .
Reilly shows how the very idea of human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Without each of these elements , the freedom we treasure would simply be unthinkable — as in … no one would ever have thought of it all .
• Ancient Greek philosophy , which judges the universe as making sense , in a way that man can perceive via reason .
We are not ruled by capricious gods or mindless cosmic forces .
• Jewish revelation , which taught us that a personal God made all .
And He made us with minds that reflect His own .
His goodness precedes His power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goodness by thinking rationally about His words and deeds .
• The Christian incarnation , in which the Word became flesh in a single human person .
He showed us that each individual is the image and likeness of God , deserving the same respect .
The synthesis of these influences , Reilly shows , laid down the roots of freedom and constitutional government .
That happened not in the Enlightenment or the Renaissance , but during the Middle Ages .
That ’ s where we find the first claims by Christians ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basic rights which no ruler may trample .
Those who do are tyrants , who lose their legitimacy and deserve to be overthrown .
Where the West Went Wrong Reilly shows how that synthesis was shattered , and that vision of freedom lost , by a crucial intellectual wrong turn .
William of Ockham and his followers denied that words like “ mankind ” or “ nature ” had any transcendent meaning .
There were no essences behind things that anchored words in reality .
Instead words only referred arbitrarily to individual , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ names , ” which is why this school of thought got dubbed “ nominalism.
” So how could “ man ” have fallen with Adam , and been redeemed in Christ , if “ man ” is just an empty concept , apart from individual men and women ?
If God ( as Ockham claimed ) isn ’ t bound by His own reason , but could be as capricious as Islam ’ s Allah , how can we speak of a natural law that lets us object to the deeds of tyrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves ?
Why not make ourselves into little tyrants ?
Why not let each of us decide on “ the mystery of human life ” as if we were tiny , arbitrary gods ?
Indeed .
Those are excellent questions .
Thanks to the embrace of nominalism by most modern thinkers starting with Hobbes , we don ’ t have any answers .
Except for Justice Kennedy ’ s , which is just a stoner ’ s shrug .
By a series of twists and turns , Reilly shows how the collapse of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the rise of absolute monarchy and other forms of tyranny .
More hopefully , he shows how America ’ s founders were part of a revival of natural law , and respect for human freedom grounded in virtue , not arbitrary capriciousness .
They wrote with great confidence about “ Nature and Nature ’ s God ” because they believed that reason could show us what God willed for us .
Not the unanchored , arbitrary reason of Ockham and Hobbes , but a reason that disciplines itself by careful reflection on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an orderly , reasonable God Who knows us and loves us .
Get this book .
Read it slowly .
Pass on its lessons to your kids .
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream , and author or co-author of ten books , including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism .

I feel like a fevered fantasist in 1993, hunched over an IBM Selectric, typing single-spaced in a double-wide an apocalyptic end-times novel which I’ll self-publish and sell at gun shows. But I swear, I’m just reporting the news. Two items for your enjoyment:
Breitbart reports:
Police have been unable to respond to “rapes, robberies, and all sorts of violent acts” occurring in Seattle’s East Precinct, which authorities abandoned on Monday, leaving the area in the hands of activists who set up their own police-free “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ), Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said Thursday. The police chief is now working on a plan to reopen the precinct, telling reporters calls for service “have more than tripled.” “These are responses to emergency calls — rapes, robberies, and all sorts of violent acts that have been occurring in the area that we’re not able to get to,” she said.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan offered a different spin on the Antifa/Black Lives Matter statelet that imposed itself on a Seattle neighborhood.
The mayor of Seattle has no idea when the protesters occupying the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” or CHAZ, in her city will disperse. During an interview with CNN host Chris Cuomo, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan jokingly stated that the area could hold a “summer of love,” alluding to a mass gathering of peace activists in 1967 in San Francisco. “How long do you think Seattle and those few blocks looks like this?” Cuomo asked. “I don’t know. We could have a summer of love!” Durkan responded.
Empty Words and Official Lies
How can a city’s mayor describe a burgeoning rape camp as a site for a “summer of love”?
Do we really need to ask ourselves that?
The chief public health official in Pennsylvania during this pandemic (dumping COVID patients on nursing homes after whisking his own mom to safety) is a middle-aged dude in a wig who insists he’s a woman. People get banned from media or fired from their jobs for refusing to admit that men menstruate. The most popular living novelist, J.K. Rowling, now fights for her professional life for denying the claim.
Our government pretends in 50 states that men can marry men, and women women. The marital covenant itself, which claims to bind us for life, is now the weakest legal bond in American law. Student loan debts are sacrosanct and indissoluble. But divorce is “no fault,” and neither partner can contest his or her abandonment in court.
We pretend that “kids are resilient” and divorce doesn’t hurt them. We tell ourselves that it doesn’t matter that most molestation of young girls happens at the hands … of their mom’s new boyfriend.
A Hollow, Stoner’s “Liberty”
Since 1973, our government at every level has pretended that unborn children amount to “fetal tissue” or “products of conception.” Large parts of the GOP, along with now a lockstep Democratic party, colluded in that great lie. To justify it, Supreme Court justices lied about the U.S. Constitution. First they “discovered” an imaginary “privacy” right applying only to sex. When too many pro-abortion liberals got embarrassed by that fiction, the Court crafted another. Justice Anthony Kennedy (who got on the court thanks to Reagan staffers lying to the president, claiming he was pro-life) penned a poetic “noble” lie about America’s founding itself. Deciding Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Kennedy waxed poetic.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
He wrote, in a phrase that will strike college sophomores as profound after they’ve smoked their second bong: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”
Those are all just words, after all. Just empty names we attach to things, as means of getting what we want. Such is thinking that brought us the chaos in our streets.
Catholic Sharia
Is that what our founders fought for? That’s what Catholic Integralists insist. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison: they were all secret followers of Hobbes, whether they knew it themselves or not. For all their talk of virtue and religion, they were scattering seeds of atheism and license, which we see now fully sprouted.
So Integralists agree with the ACLU and Planned Parenthood on what our founding did: it laid the train tracks to nihilism. But Integralists, and other anti-Americans on the right, disapprove. Some want instead to impose Catholic sharia.
Leftists rather enjoy the slide down the slippery, Gadarene slope, except sometimes when they gag on its practical outcomes. Like rape camps in Seattle.
The anti-American thinkers you’ve most likely heard of are Rod Dreher, Patrick Deneen, Michael Hanby, and Sohrab Ahmari. They differ on some details. But all agree that American freedom is an ectopic pregnancy, killing our mother country from within. They claim that the U.S. founders were (either consciously or unconsciously) more like Enlightenment radicals than Christian statesmen. So the concepts of freedom they wrote into our Constitution, if followed logically, lead to partial birth abortions and sex change operations, fatherless dads and Antifa encampments.
If that were true, then the left would be right, every time. Their Supreme Court decisions would be perfectly legitimate, and we’d have no right to complain. We’d either have to wait for the U.S. to collapse, then build something else on its ruins. Or else we should simply leave.
The Real American Founding
But are they? Scholar and long-time pro-life activist Robert Reilly disagrees. In fact, he has published a new book, America on Trial, which every American Christian must read. It’s not a quick breeze to be skimmed on the beach. In fact, Reilly’s book could serve as the single textbook in first-rate college course on political philosophy or American government. It’s just that rich and learned.
The collapse of the synthesis of faith and reason led to the rise of absolute monarchy and other forms of tyranny. But America’s founders were part of a revival of natural law, and respect for human freedom grounded in virtue.
And it’s marvelously clear. As I wrote on Amazon:
The author is supremely well-read and thinks with the clarity of noonday sunlight on an Alpine slope. He grounds the American system and founding in the great philosophic tradition and Jewish-Christian faith, and shows how historic perversions of reason have produced the intellectual, social, and political chaos that now afflict us. Enemies of America, left and right, will fear this book. It’s the antidote to their half-baked complaints and ideological nostrums.
The Three Pillars of Freedom
Let me sum this rich and convincing book quite simply. Reilly shows how the very idea of human freedom grew from specific historical roots. Without each of these elements, the freedom we treasure would simply be unthinkable — as in … no one would ever have thought of it all.
Ancient Greek philosophy, which judges the universe as making sense, in a way that man can perceive via reason. We are not ruled by capricious gods or mindless cosmic forces.
Jewish revelation, which taught us that a personal God made all. And He made us with minds that reflect His own. His goodness precedes His power, and we can learn about that goodness by thinking rationally about His words and deeds.
The Christian incarnation, in which the Word became flesh in a single human person. He showed us that each individual is the image and likeness of God, deserving the same respect.
The synthesis of these influences, Reilly shows, laid down the roots of freedom and constitutional government. That happened not in the Enlightenment or the Renaissance, but during the Middle Ages. That’s where we find the first claims by Christians (like Thomas Aquinas) that persons have basic rights which no ruler may trample. Those who do are tyrants, who lose their legitimacy and deserve to be overthrown.
Where the West Went Wrong
Reilly shows how that synthesis was shattered, and that vision of freedom lost, by a crucial intellectual wrong turn. William of Ockham and his followers denied that words like “mankind” or “nature” had any transcendent meaning. There were no essences behind things that anchored words in reality. Instead words only referred arbitrarily to individual, concrete things. They were simply “names,” which is why this school of thought got dubbed “nominalism.”
So how could “man” have fallen with Adam, and been redeemed in Christ, if “man” is just an empty concept, apart from individual men and women? If God (as Ockham claimed) isn’t bound by His own reason, but could be as capricious as Islam’s Allah, how can we speak of a natural law that lets us object to the deeds of tyrants?
Why feel bound by such laws ourselves? Why not make ourselves into little tyrants? Why not let each of us decide on “the mystery of human life” as if we were tiny, arbitrary gods?
False Freedom Leads to Tyranny
Indeed. Those are excellent questions. Thanks to the embrace of nominalism by most modern thinkers starting with Hobbes, we don’t have any answers. Except for Justice Kennedy’s, which is just a stoner’s shrug.
By a series of twists and turns, Reilly shows how the collapse of the synthesis of faith and reason led to the rise of absolute monarchy and other forms of tyranny. More hopefully, he shows how America’s founders were part of a revival of natural law, and respect for human freedom grounded in virtue, not arbitrary capriciousness.
They wrote with great confidence about “Nature and Nature’s God” because they believed that reason could show us what God willed for us. Not the unanchored, arbitrary reason of Ockham and Hobbes, but a reason that disciplines itself by careful reflection on nature as orderly, the fruit of an orderly, reasonable God Who knows us and loves us.
Get this book. Read it slowly. Pass on its lessons to your kids.
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream, and author or co-author of ten books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism.


thestream--2020-06-13--How To Stop Red States from Going Blue

How To Stop Red States from Going Blue

COVID-19 has shown us how the progressives love power and hate personal liberty .
Yet more and more states keep going blue .
Why ?
After they messed up California , progressives moved to Oregon , then Washington .
Each time they voted for the same liberal policies that had driven them away from their home states .
Remember when Colorado was a conservative haven ?
Now look at it .
Is Idaho next ?
How about your state ?
How did we get here ?
And how do we turn the tide ?
Conservatives remain in all those liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas away from the population centers .
But these conservatives are voted down by the population centers .
Here ’ s how that came to be , and what we can do about it .
Progressives moved to Multnomah County , Oregon in sufficient numbers to elect progressives to local City/County offices .
Those progressives created new programs for low-income housing , where there wasn ’ t a need before .
They built high-density zones and government assistance programs .
Masses came to these magnet programs .
They created a population boom .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gain more voting power than the rest of the state .
In Washington , nine counties control a majority of the seats in the capitol .
Those nine control the other thirty .
In California , three major areas , Los Angeles , San Francisco , and San Diego control the entire state .
They have a veto-proof majority in Sacramento .
The Answer That Could Never Work : Seceding or Joining Another State Some have proposed splitting states apart and leaving the red cities behind .
Even if that were possible — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking — there would be bad news along with the good .
These new states would be well managed financially , have better opportunities , be cleaner and wouldn ’ t have homeless sleeping on the sidewalks spreading health hazards .
The liberals would want to migrate there and the vicious cycle would repeat itself — until all of America is blue .
It ’ s exactly what ’ s happened in Oregon and Washington .
Clean , sane Idaho is now a magnet for Californians .
How long will Idaho last ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then How Do We Stop This ?
Is this an inevitable disease that will kill liberty in America ?
Yes , unless we can stop it from spreading .
In each state ’ s capitol , the State Assembly and the State Senate are appointed proportionately to the population of the state .
So , as states ’ liberal population grows in the city centers , those areas naturally end up with more assembly members and more senators , until they take over that state ’ s capitol .
These population centers then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Liberals attract more liberals and repel conservatives , so once the cycle sets in , there ’ s no stopping it .
It feeds on itself and then spreads .
Now , you notice that ’ s different at the Federal Level .
U.S. representatives are elected proportionally , ( as California grows , other states lose representatives ) , but that ’ s not the case in the U.S. Senate .
In the Senate , every state gets 2 senators .
It doesn ’ t matter if it ’ s California with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Why is this important ?
Because the founding fathers didn ’ t want the most populous states to control the country .
It ’ s part and parcel of the Electoral College — which liberals are of course eager to abolish .
But it ’ s a great balancing method for U.S. politics .
And it could be great on the state level , too .
What if we could change a state ’ s Senate allotment ?
What if Idaho which is still conservative , passed a law stipulating that from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be assigned at the rate of 2 per county , and not proportionally as in California .
Then just as in D.C. , the more populous counties could not control the entire state .
That way , even if Boise County became huge and grew to as many as 15 million people , they would only have 2 senators in their capitol .
Idaho wouldn ’ t end up with just a few liberal counties making decisions for the entire state .
Not Such a Novel Idea I thought this was a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on it .
Here ’ s what I found .
Did you know that until 1964 , all counties in all states had a fixed 1 or 2 senators per county in their state capitol ?
For instance , Los Angeles County in California had only 1 senator with 400,000 citizens , while Alpine County had 1 senator and only 400 citizens .
But those 400 citizens could counter act any nonsense proposed by LA County .
This idea is not new .
It was in fact the rule of law for almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by it , states and counties were protected from the tyranny of mob rule .
Then in 1964 , Reynolds v. Sims came to the Supreme Court .
This was Justice Earl Warren ’ s court .
On it were four of the justices who later gave us Roe v. Wade — the Court that discovered “ a faint shadow ” of privacy that allowed women to kill their unborn babies .
As if you are allowed to kill anyone in private .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Issues of Our Day .
In Reynolds v. Sims , the Court decided to dictate that states had to be governed like a mobocracy .
Warren and the seven other liberals on the court said “ 2 senators per county ” violated the U.S. Constitution , because it wasn ’ t “ one man , one vote ?
” The logic of that escapes me .
If the founding fathers wrote right into the Constitution that Senate should not have “ one man one vote , ” for the nation .
How could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What if we could overthrow that court ruling ?
It ’ s time now to test that ruling again .
What if a Red State passed a law that went back to the original method ?
Then what if they were sued and it went to the Supreme Court .
What if the Court reversed the 1964 decision ?
We don ’ t need amendments .
We simply need a court with strict constructionists .
If Trump wins , we will have that in 2021 .
Once that passes , Red States could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county .
It could stop the tyranny spreading .
It could protect their state .
And it could help protect America .
Neil Mammen is an engineer during the day and teaches the historic and scientific defense of the truth of Christianity at night .
His ministry is called No Blind Faith .
He is an ordained evangelical pastor , and the author of multiple books including Jesus Is Involved In Politics !
Why Aren ’ t you ?
Why Isn ’ t Your Church ?
and Who is Agent X ?
on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bible .

COVID-19 has shown us how the progressives love power and hate personal liberty. Yet more and more states keep going blue. Why?
After they messed up California, progressives moved to Oregon, then Washington. Each time they voted for the same liberal policies that had driven them away from their home states. Remember when Colorado was a conservative haven? Now look at it. Is Idaho next? How about your state? How did we get here? And how do we turn the tide?
Conservatives remain in all those liberal states, mostly out in the rural areas away from the population centers. But these conservatives are voted down by the population centers.
Here’s how that came to be, and what we can do about it.
A Creeping, Self-feeding Disease
Progressives moved to Multnomah County, Oregon in sufficient numbers to elect progressives to local City/County offices. Those progressives created new programs for low-income housing, where there wasn’t a need before. They built high-density zones and government assistance programs. Masses came to these magnet programs. They created a population boom.
Eventually those counties had enough mass to gain more voting power than the rest of the state. In Washington, nine counties control a majority of the seats in the capitol. Those nine control the other thirty. In California, three major areas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego control the entire state. They have a veto-proof majority in Sacramento.
The Answer That Could Never Work: Seceding or Joining Another State
Some have proposed splitting states apart and leaving the red cities behind. Even if that were possible — which it isn’t, practically speaking — there would be bad news along with the good. These new states would be well managed financially, have better opportunities, be cleaner and wouldn’t have homeless sleeping on the sidewalks spreading health hazards. The liberals would want to migrate there and the vicious cycle would repeat itself — until all of America is blue.
It’s exactly what’s happened in Oregon and Washington. Clean, sane Idaho is now a magnet for Californians. How long will Idaho last? Eventually Idaho will become another Colorado.
Then How Do We Stop This?
Is this an inevitable disease that will kill liberty in America? Yes, unless we can stop it from spreading.
In each state’s capitol, the State Assembly and the State Senate are appointed proportionately to the population of the state. So, as states’ liberal population grows in the city centers, those areas naturally end up with more assembly members and more senators, until they take over that state’s capitol. These population centers then control and run the entire state. Liberals attract more liberals and repel conservatives, so once the cycle sets in, there’s no stopping it. It feeds on itself and then spreads.
Now, you notice that’s different at the Federal Level. U.S. representatives are elected proportionally, (as California grows, other states lose representatives), but that’s not the case in the U.S. Senate. In the Senate, every state gets 2 senators. It doesn’t matter if it’s California with 37 million or Idaho with 1.8 million.
Why It Matters
Why is this important? Because the founding fathers didn’t want the most populous states to control the country. It’s part and parcel of the Electoral College — which liberals are of course eager to abolish. But it’s a great balancing method for U.S. politics.
And it could be great on the state level, too. What if we could change a state’s Senate allotment? What if Idaho which is still conservative, passed a law stipulating that from now on, their state senators would be assigned at the rate of 2 per county, and not proportionally as in California. Then just as in D.C., the more populous counties could not control the entire state.
That way, even if Boise County became huge and grew to as many as 15 million people, they would only have 2 senators in their capitol. Idaho wouldn’t end up with just a few liberal counties making decisions for the entire state.
Not Such a Novel Idea
I thought this was a new genius idea until I started doing research on it. Here’s what I found.
Did you know that until 1964, all counties in all states had a fixed 1 or 2 senators per county in their state capitol? For instance, Los Angeles County in California had only 1 senator with 400,000 citizens, while Alpine County had 1 senator and only 400 citizens. But those 400 citizens could counter act any nonsense proposed by LA County.
This idea is not new. It was in fact the rule of law for almost 180 years of American history. And by it, states and counties were protected from the tyranny of mob rule.
Then in 1964, Reynolds v. Sims came to the Supreme Court. This was Justice Earl Warren’s court. On it were four of the justices who later gave us Roe v. Wade — the Court that discovered “a faint shadow” of privacy that allowed women to kill their unborn babies. As if you are allowed to kill anyone in private.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In Reynolds v. Sims, the Court decided to dictate that states had to be governed like a mobocracy. Warren and the seven other liberals on the court said “2 senators per county” violated the U.S. Constitution, because it wasn’t “one man, one vote?”
The logic of that escapes me. If the founding fathers wrote right into the Constitution that Senate should not have “one man one vote,” for the nation. How could it be unconstitutional for a state?
What if we could overthrow that court ruling?
It’s time now to test that ruling again. What if a Red State passed a law that went back to the original method? Then what if they were sued and it went to the Supreme Court. What if the Court reversed the 1964 decision? We don’t need amendments. We simply need a court with strict constructionists. If Trump wins, we will have that in 2021.
Once that passes, Red States could change their state senators to 1 per county. It could stop the tyranny spreading. It could protect their state. And it could help protect America.
Find more resources and get involved here.
Neil Mammen is an engineer during the day and teaches the historic and scientific defense of the truth of Christianity at night. His ministry is called No Blind Faith. He is an ordained evangelical pastor, and the author of multiple books including Jesus Is Involved In Politics! Why Aren’t you? Why Isn’t Your Church? and Who is Agent X? on how to prove God exists without using the Bible.


thestream--2020-06-13--Twenty Critical Questions for BLM Founders

As flames , tear gas , and rifle-fire convulsed American cities , New Yorker reporter Isaac Chotiner sat down with Black Lives Matters co-founder Opal Tometi for an upbeat and uncritical interview .
I have twenty less softball-ish questions I ’ d like to ask Ms. Tometi and her co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza , if they can spare the time .
1 .
Some say Black Lives Matter adopted that name to emphasize the neglected value of African-Americans , not to disparage anyone else .
On the other hand , your Toronto co-founder , Yusra Khogali , wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , white skin is sub-human , ” because people who lack sufficient epidermial melanin are defective in both mind and body .
Which is it ?
2 .
Thousands of people have been injured in riots over the past two weeks , including hundreds of police officers .
Do the lives of black police officers like David Dorn and Patrick Underwood , who were killed , matter ?
How about the bodies of those injured of all races ?
3 .
Ms. Cullors , according to ABC , you said you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” That sounds encouraging .
But you blame the police entirely for “ escalating ” the violence , and say nothing about numerous attacks not only on the police , but on private citizens , many of whom have died , been injured , or lost their businesses , over the past weeks .
What do you say to those who are , in fact , manifestly using violence within the movement you help lead ?
4 .
For Christian black leaders like Martin Luther King , all human lives mattered because we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or because Christ died for us .
As an “ atheist or non-denominational ” movement , as one of you put it , on what fundamental principal is the value of at least some human lives based ?
5 .
Having subbed in numerous public school classrooms , I have found that the broad contributions of African Americans to our society are strongly and rightly emphasized .
What major politicians , sports figures , CEOs or other figures in American society have said that black lives don ’ t matter ?
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Americans deny that value ?
6 .
In the case that brought Black Lives Matters into prominence , Michael Brown assaulted Missouri police officer Darren Wilson and attempted to wrest his gun away , as both a biracial grand jury and the Department of Justice under Barack Obama determined .
Do you still maintain that Brown raised his hands and said “ Don ’ t shoot ?
” despite the mounds of evidence they considered ?
On what grounds do you reject their conclusions ?
7 .
The term “ Ferguson Effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sudden increase in murder rates following riots in that city .
Murder rates had been dropping for decades , then suddenly began to spike immediately after those events .
Did those deaths trouble you , or tempt you to change your narrative focusing exclusively on deaths caused by police ?
8 .
Heather MacDonald argues that “ No government policy in the past quarter century has done more for urban reclamation than proactive policing.
” This , she claims , was largely responsible for the remarkable drop in murder in New York City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She argues that as left-wing politicians dismantled “ broken window ” and other policies , and police have been reined in , America ’ s murder rate began to soar .
The black Harvard economist Roland Fryer has confirmed the link between shaming of the police and a rise in crime rates .
Is none of you worried what crop in pain and destruction of lives ( of every color ) the policies you advocate may be sowing ?
9 .
Chicago just set a 60-year record for murders in a single day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and working-class “ stiffs.
” The last weekend in May , already , at least 92 people were shot and 27 died .
The police were busy manning your protests : Does not even this shake you from your conviction that the police are the biggest problem in the inner city ?
10 .
Some six thousand blacks are killed by other blacks per year in the United States .
Thousands of whites also kill whites .
By contrast , nine unarmed African-Americans are known to have been killed by police last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those few black lives seem to matter so much more in your eyes than these other thousands ?
11 .
Would the deaths of these unnoted , untweeted , little-mourned young black men ( mostly ) matter more if they had been killed by white police officers ?
12 .
Do you not recognize the link which many have pointed out , between the breakdown of American families , especially in the inner city , and the rise of violent crime ?
13 .
Ms. Tometi , you seemed to downplay the destruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ I just don ’ t equate the loss of life and the loss of property.
” I remember how a bankruptcy effected my father .
Have you ever owned a business ?
Have you ever watched a businessman go broke trying to feed his kids ?
14 .
Ms. Tometi , you say that instead of more police , you ’ d like New York to have more social workers , mental health professionals , and educators .
Bill De Blasio says he will cut police funding to do just that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police for past errors .
The policies of Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio have already been blamed in part for tens of thousands of deaths of Covid-19 in New York and beyond , yet neither man seems to have expressed much contrition .
If the policies you demand also result in more not fewer black and other deaths , will you publicly take the knee before the families of those who die ?
15 .
Can you explain why a European-American who has never harmed anyone because of his or her race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happily across racial divides , feel guilty ?
Haven ’ t all our ancestors done both good and bad things ?
Isn ’ t guilt individual in our society , or has that changed ?
16 .
You criticize what you regard as excessive spending on police .
Republicans like Scott Walker in Wisconsin have long criticized public sector unions .
Camden , New Jersey managed to put more police officers on the beat at the same price , bringing crime down and creating greater rapport in the community , by working around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative idea might work in other public sectors as well ?
17 .
7-Sigma Inc has announced that after their factory was destroyed in Minneapolis , they will be moving out of the city with dozens of jobs .
No doubt many more will follow .
What do you say to the people who are losing their jobs ?
18 .
Even while noting that cities around America are ‘ burning , ” Black Lives Matter is encouraging people to sign a petition that states : “ We call for a national defunding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive , but thrive.
” Doesn ’ t all the evidence , including the evidence of our eyes , show that aside from criminals who take tens of thousands of lives in the African-American community a year , conventional businesses are unwilling to invest in neighborhoods that are not kept secure ?
Haven ’ t the last two weeks alone amply proven that point ?
Self and Others 19 .
Great African-American leaders — Frederick Douglas , Booker T. Washington , Martin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Candace Owens — have seen part of their calling as the prophetic office of raising the moral condition of their people .
Why do you , by contrast , speak so little about the responsibilities of black Americans ?
20 .
Is not a tone of outrage directed entirely at the “ Other ” both patronizing and dangerous ?
David Marshall holds a bachelor ’ s degree in the Russian and Chinese Languages and Marxism , a master ’ s degree in Chinese Religions , and a doctoral degree in Christian Thought and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Jesus is No Myth : The Fingerprints of God on the Gospels .

As flames, tear gas, and rifle-fire convulsed American cities, New Yorker reporter Isaac Chotiner sat down with Black Lives Matters co-founder Opal Tometi for an upbeat and uncritical interview. I have twenty less softball-ish questions I’d like to ask Ms. Tometi and her co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, if they can spare the time.
1. Some say Black Lives Matter adopted that name to emphasize the neglected value of African-Americans, not to disparage anyone else. On the other hand, your Toronto co-founder, Yusra Khogali, wrote: “Whiteness is not humxnness. In fact, white skin is sub-human,” because people who lack sufficient epidermial melanin are defective in both mind and body. Which is it?
2. Thousands of people have been injured in riots over the past two weeks, including hundreds of police officers. Do the lives of black police officers like David Dorn and Patrick Underwood, who were killed, matter? How about the bodies of those injured of all races?
3. Ms. Cullors, according to ABC, you said you are “absolutely and always pushing peace.” That sounds encouraging. But you blame the police entirely for “escalating” the violence, and say nothing about numerous attacks not only on the police, but on private citizens, many of whom have died, been injured, or lost their businesses, over the past weeks. What do you say to those who are, in fact, manifestly using violence within the movement you help lead?
Yes, Black Lives Matter
4. For Christian black leaders like Martin Luther King, all human lives mattered because we were made in the image of God, or because Christ died for us. As an “atheist or non-denominational” movement, as one of you put it, on what fundamental principal is the value of at least some human lives based?
5. Having subbed in numerous public school classrooms, I have found that the broad contributions of African Americans to our society are strongly and rightly emphasized. What major politicians, sports figures, CEOs or other figures in American society have said that black lives don’t matter? What reputable poll shows that a significant percentage of Americans deny that value?
6. In the case that brought Black Lives Matters into prominence, Michael Brown assaulted Missouri police officer Darren Wilson and attempted to wrest his gun away, as both a biracial grand jury and the Department of Justice under Barack Obama determined. Do you still maintain that Brown raised his hands and said “Don’t shoot?” despite the mounds of evidence they considered? On what grounds do you reject their conclusions?
Troubling Effects
7. The term “Ferguson Effect” came to describe and explain a sudden increase in murder rates following riots in that city. Murder rates had been dropping for decades, then suddenly began to spike immediately after those events. Did those deaths trouble you, or tempt you to change your narrative focusing exclusively on deaths caused by police?
8. Heather MacDonald argues that “No government policy in the past quarter century has done more for urban reclamation than proactive policing.” This, she claims, was largely responsible for the remarkable drop in murder in New York City and in cities around the country. She argues that as left-wing politicians dismantled “broken window” and other policies, and police have been reined in, America’s murder rate began to soar. The black Harvard economist Roland Fryer has confirmed the link between shaming of the police and a rise in crime rates. Is none of you worried what crop in pain and destruction of lives (of every color) the policies you advocate may be sowing?
Crime and Perspective
9. Chicago just set a 60-year record for murders in a single day, including high school and college students and working-class “stiffs.” The last weekend in May, already, at least 92 people were shot and 27 died. The police were busy manning your protests:
“On Saturday and particularly Sunday, I heard people saying all over, ‘Hey, there’s no police anywhere, police ain’t doing nothing,'” Rev. Michael Pfleger, who pastors St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham said. “I sat and watched a store looted for over an hour,” he added. “No police came. I got in my car and drove around to some other places getting looted [and] didn’t see police anywhere,” Pfleger said.
Does not even this shake you from your conviction that the police are the biggest problem in the inner city?
10. Some six thousand blacks are killed by other blacks per year in the United States. Thousands of whites also kill whites. By contrast, nine unarmed African-Americans are known to have been killed by police last year, one by accident. Why do those few black lives seem to matter so much more in your eyes than these other thousands?
11. Would the deaths of these unnoted, untweeted, little-mourned young black men (mostly) matter more if they had been killed by white police officers?
Violent Crime
12. Do you not recognize the link which many have pointed out, between the breakdown of American families, especially in the inner city, and the rise of violent crime?
13. Ms. Tometi, you seemed to downplay the destruction of property in that New Yorker interview: “I just don’t equate the loss of life and the loss of property.” I remember how a bankruptcy effected my father. Have you ever owned a business? Have you ever watched a businessman go broke trying to feed his kids?
14. Ms. Tometi, you say that instead of more police, you’d like New York to have more social workers, mental health professionals, and educators. Bill De Blasio says he will cut police funding to do just that. BLM also demands contrition from the police for past errors. The policies of Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio have already been blamed in part for tens of thousands of deaths of Covid-19 in New York and beyond, yet neither man seems to have expressed much contrition. If the policies you demand also result in more not fewer black and other deaths, will you publicly take the knee before the families of those who die?
Guilt and Solutions
15. Can you explain why a European-American who has never harmed anyone because of his or her race, and who works and even marries happily across racial divides, feel guilty? Haven’t all our ancestors done both good and bad things? Isn’t guilt individual in our society, or has that changed?
16. You criticize what you regard as excessive spending on police. Republicans like Scott Walker in Wisconsin have long criticized public sector unions. Camden, New Jersey managed to put more police officers on the beat at the same price, bringing crime down and creating greater rapport in the community, by working around police unions. Do you think this conservative idea might work in other public sectors as well?
17. 7-Sigma Inc has announced that after their factory was destroyed in Minneapolis, they will be moving out of the city with dozens of jobs. No doubt many more will follow. What do you say to the people who are losing their jobs?
18. Even while noting that cities around America are ‘burning,” Black Lives Matter is encouraging people to sign a petition that states: “We call for a national defunding of police. We demand investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive.”
Doesn’t all the evidence, including the evidence of our eyes, show that aside from criminals who take tens of thousands of lives in the African-American community a year, conventional businesses are unwilling to invest in neighborhoods that are not kept secure? Haven’t the last two weeks alone amply proven that point?
Self and Others
19. Great African-American leaders — Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, even Malcolm X and Candace Owens — have seen part of their calling as the prophetic office of raising the moral condition of their people. Why do you, by contrast, speak so little about the responsibilities of black Americans?
20. Is not a tone of outrage directed entirely at the “Other” both patronizing and dangerous?
David Marshall holds a bachelor’s degree in the Russian and Chinese Languages and Marxism, a master’s degree in Chinese Religions, and a doctoral degree in Christian Thought and Chinese Tradition. His most recent book is Jesus is No Myth: The Fingerprints of God on the Gospels.


thestream--2020-06-13--Why Do We Kill Each Other?

Why Do We Kill Each Other?

How can the American family not grieve the killing of George Floyd , on May 25 , 2020 , in Minneapolis , Minnesota ?
It is a difficult video to watch because we now know that a man ’ s life was draining into a dirty street while a man wearing a badge of public trust hovered over him .
When the ensuing anti-police protests turned violent , the killings of federal law enforcement officer Dave Patrick Underwood and retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn became part of our national heartbreak .
Why did Cain murder his brother Abel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it because of their differences ?
One was a keeper of sheep and the other a tiller of the ground .
It is amazing that murder came so quickly into Adam and Eve ’ s little family — the human family .
Why do we stab , shoot , and slaughter each other ?
What Does Psychology Say ?
Dr. R. Douglas Fields wrote an article in Psychology Today titled “ Humans Are Genetically Predisposed to Kill Each Other.
” That is a scary thought !
Based on a study of 1,024 mammalian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ are the most relentless yet oblivious killers on Earth … our violence operates far outside the bounds of any other species .
Human beings kill anything .
Slaughter is a defining behavior of our species .
We kill all other creatures , and we kill our own.
” Dr. Fields adds , “ The enormous industry of print and broadcast journalism serves predominantly to document our killing .
Violence exists in the animal world , of course , but on a far different scale .
Carnivores kill for food ; we kill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our parents , our spouses , our brothers and sisters , our cousins , and in-laws .
We kill strangers .
We kill people who are different from us , in appearance , beliefs , race , and social status .
We kill ourselves in suicide … We kill friends , rivals , coworkers , and classmates .
Children kill children , in school and on the playground .
Grandparents , parents , fathers , mothers — all kill and all of them are the targets of killing.
” This topic interests me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighbor .
The killer set it up to look like a suicide .
He got away with it for twenty-five years , or until he confessed his great sin on his deathbed .
My great-grandfather had owned a grove of timber that his neighbor wanted .
What Do Theologians Say ?
Some theologians teach the “ inherited guilt ” view that we humans are sinful and guilty because of the sin of Adam .
Thus , we are born guilty according to the Augustinian-Calvinist tradition .
Other theologians teach the “ inherited sinful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we each “ receive from Adam a sinful nature but later become guilty due to our own sinful thoughts , attitudes , and actions.
” Both views see human depravity as a consequence of sin , that is , all of our human nature has been corrupted by sin .
Without God ’ s grace , we will stay separated from God and our rebellion will only get worse .
Our sinful nature makes sin deadly .
Every daily newspaper proves it .
What Does the Bible Say ?
The Bible presents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the image of God ( Gen 1:26 ) .
Man is a free moral creature having the ability to choose right or wrong .
In the beginning , mankind sat at the pinnacle of all God ’ s creation and could enjoy a personal relationship with the Creator .
Early on , though , Adam and Eve chose to disobey God ’ s command .
Death was the result as they were cast from the garden and barred from the tree of life .
Adam and Eve died spiritually with this sinful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sinfulness of all humanity .
Even the best of the best born into this world have chosen to sin ; therefore , “ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ” ( Rom 3:23 ) .
Sin brought suffering into our fallen world .
Murder is the result of sin and our human depravity .
Is There Hope for Humanity ?
If we are genetically predisposed to kill each other , then apart from God ’ s grace we will figure out a way to destroy the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Tony Evans points to the reason of our hope in his book Life Essentials : “ Now if our problem is a defective , corrupt , and ruined nature , then we need a brand-new nature implanted within us to fix the mess .
That ’ s exactly what God does for us at conversion.
” God ’ s plan of salvation is not based on me trying to nurture my nature from naughty to nice .
God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power over sin and death .
As the Holy Spirit helps us hear and respond to the message of the Gospel , the power of God makes us new creatures in Christ .
Only a Great Awakening of these Scriptural realities will save this generation from itself .
Ron F. Hale is a freelance writer , retired pastor and serves as an interim pastor and guest preacher when invited .
Ron serves on the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee in Nashville , Tennessee .
Contact him at Ronfhale @ yahoo.com .

How can the American family not grieve the killing of George Floyd, on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota? It is a difficult video to watch because we now know that a man’s life was draining into a dirty street while a man wearing a badge of public trust hovered over him.
When the ensuing anti-police protests turned violent, the killings of federal law enforcement officer Dave Patrick Underwood and retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn became part of our national heartbreak.
Why did Cain murder his brother Abel in the book of Genesis? Was it because of their differences? One was a keeper of sheep and the other a tiller of the ground. It is amazing that murder came so quickly into Adam and Eve’s little family — the human family.
Why do we stab, shoot, and slaughter each other?
What Does Psychology Say?
Dr. R. Douglas Fields wrote an article in Psychology Today titled “Humans Are Genetically Predisposed to Kill Each Other.” That is a scary thought!
Based on a study of 1,024 mammalian species, Dr. Fields concludes that humans “are the most relentless yet oblivious killers on Earth … our violence operates far outside the bounds of any other species. Human beings kill anything. Slaughter is a defining behavior of our species. We kill all other creatures, and we kill our own.”
Dr. Fields adds, “The enormous industry of print and broadcast journalism serves predominantly to document our killing. Violence exists in the animal world, of course, but on a far different scale. Carnivores kill for food; we kill our family members, our children, our parents, our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our cousins, and in-laws. We kill strangers. We kill people who are different from us, in appearance, beliefs, race, and social status. We kill ourselves in suicide … We kill friends, rivals, coworkers, and classmates. Children kill children, in school and on the playground. Grandparents, parents, fathers, mothers — all kill and all of them are the targets of killing.”
This topic interests me because my great-grandfather was murdered by a neighbor. The killer set it up to look like a suicide. He got away with it for twenty-five years, or until he confessed his great sin on his deathbed. My great-grandfather had owned a grove of timber that his neighbor wanted.
What Do Theologians Say?
Some theologians teach the “inherited guilt” view that we humans are sinful and guilty because of the sin of Adam. Thus, we are born guilty according to the Augustinian-Calvinist tradition.
Other theologians teach the “inherited sinful nature” view. This view teaches that we each “receive from Adam a sinful nature but later become guilty due to our own sinful thoughts, attitudes, and actions.”
Both views see human depravity as a consequence of sin, that is, all of our human nature has been corrupted by sin. Without God’s grace, we will stay separated from God and our rebellion will only get worse.
Our sinful nature makes sin deadly. Every daily newspaper proves it.
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible presents man as a created being, made in the image of God (Gen 1:26). Man is a free moral creature having the ability to choose right or wrong. In the beginning, mankind sat at the pinnacle of all God’s creation and could enjoy a personal relationship with the Creator.
Early on, though, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command. Death was the result as they were cast from the garden and barred from the tree of life.
Adam and Eve died spiritually with this sinful act. The parade of history proves the sinfulness of all humanity. Even the best of the best born into this world have chosen to sin; therefore, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).
Sin brought suffering into our fallen world. Murder is the result of sin and our human depravity.
Is There Hope for Humanity?
If we are genetically predisposed to kill each other, then apart from God’s grace we will figure out a way to destroy the entire human race and act upon it.
Dr. Tony Evans points to the reason of our hope in his book Life Essentials: “Now if our problem is a defective, corrupt, and ruined nature, then we need a brand-new nature implanted within us to fix the mess. That’s exactly what God does for us at conversion.”
God’s plan of salvation is not based on me trying to nurture my nature from naughty to nice. God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proved His power over sin and death. As the Holy Spirit helps us hear and respond to the message of the Gospel, the power of God makes us new creatures in Christ.
Only a Great Awakening of these Scriptural realities will save this generation from itself.
Ron F. Hale is a freelance writer, retired pastor and serves as an interim pastor and guest preacher when invited. Ron serves on the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee in Nashville, Tennessee. Contact him at [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-14--‘Don’t Mess With the Alamo’: Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush Warns Protesters

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush warned protesters not to “ mess with the Alamo ” on Saturday as vandals have targeted other historical sites around the country .
Bush said his office is monitoring “ social media posts and rumors from protesters who are threatening to come to The Alamo ” and said law enforcement stands ready to protect the historical site , which is located in San Antonio , Texas .
“ The Alamo is the Shrine of Texas Liberty .
And it will be defended .
My office is closely watching the social media posts and rumors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to The Alamo , ” Bush wrote in a statement he posted to Twitter .
“ Rest assured we have already deployed , for several weeks and will continue to do so , the Alamo Rangers in partnership with SAPD , The Department of Public Safety and The National Guard to protect this sacred site , ” he added .
“ My message to the protesters is simple : Don ’ t mess with The Alamo.
” Vandals around the country have recently defaced or destroyed historical monuments .
Protesters in Richmond and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and protesters in Richmond tore down a statue of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis .
Vandals have attacked statues abroad as well .
A Winston Churchill statue was defaced in London , while protesters in Bristol , England , threw a statue of a former slave trader into the city harbor .
Thousands of people have also signed a petition calling for the removal of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester , England .
Bush is the son of former Republican Florida Gov .
Jeb Bush , though unlike his father , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump for re-election in November .

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush warned protesters not to “mess with the Alamo” on Saturday as vandals have targeted other historical sites around the country.
Bush said his office is monitoring “social media posts and rumors from protesters who are threatening to come to The Alamo” and said law enforcement stands ready to protect the historical site, which is located in San Antonio, Texas.
“The Alamo is the Shrine of Texas Liberty. And it will be defended. My office is closely watching the social media posts and rumors from protesters who are threatening to come to The Alamo,” Bush wrote in a statement he posted to Twitter.
“Rest assured we have already deployed, for several weeks and will continue to do so, the Alamo Rangers in partnership with SAPD, The Department of Public Safety and The National Guard to protect this sacred site,” he added. “My message to the protesters is simple: Don’t mess with The Alamo.”
Vandals around the country have recently defaced or destroyed historical monuments. Protesters in Richmond and Boston have toppled statues of Christopher Columbus, and protesters in Richmond tore down a statue of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis.
Don’t mess with the Alamo. pic.twitter.com/oqDM8wUOrT — George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 13, 2020
Vandals have attacked statues abroad as well. A Winston Churchill statue was defaced in London, while protesters in Bristol, England, threw a statue of a former slave trader into the city harbor. Thousands of people have also signed a petition calling for the removal of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester, England.
Bush is the son of former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, though unlike his father, he has committed to supporting President Donald Trump for re-election in November.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-14--How to Speak Like a Christian (and Not Like a Fool, a Bully, or a Buffoon)

“ A fool ’ s gun is soon fired , ” wrote Charles Spurgeon , quoting an old proverb .
He explained : “ He has little to say , but he is in a desperate hurry to say it.
” Here are some of the great preacher ’ s insights on how Christians should speak .
He wasn ’ t aways so sharp .
But he knew that Jesus teaches that what comes out of the mouth can defile a man .
How we speak has eternal significance .
And with Facebook and Twitter … The nineteenth century Baptist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his day .
A great preacher and an industrious writer , he was also a leader of the Protestant Christians outside the Church of England .
Very popular , when he died in 1892 , at the age of 58 , 100,000 people lined the streets of London as his funeral procession passed .
He is famous for admitting “ I am perhaps vulgar.
” He didn ’ t mean he was crude , as the word means today .
He means he spoke the way the average person spoke , and used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help them hear the Gospel .
“ It is not intentional , ” he said , “ save that I must and will make people listen.
” ( The sidebar below gives more of his explanation of what he was trying to do . )
This comes out in one of his last books , published three years before he died .
In The Salt-cellars , he gives hundreds of proverbs with his explanation of each one .
He called it that because he thought proverbs were “ salty.
” He drew spiritual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proverbs are printed in boldface italics .
In a few cases , he only quoted the proverb and didn ’ t say anything about it .
The ones used here are only a sampling of those in the book .
Neither shoot without aim nor speak without thought Or you may do as much mischief by a hasty speech as by a random shot .
Sometimes our words , Hurt more than swords .
Never bray at an ass Let a foolish person have the talk to himself .
Do not imitate his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as melodious as his voice .
One lie makes many One lie must be thatched with another or it will soon rain through .
Lies breed like fleas or aphids .
Why did one of the greatest preachers of the century write a whole book explaining common proverbs ?
He always writes , Charles Spurgeon explains at the beginning of the book Salt-cellars , for “ the spiritual good of my readers.
” A “ lighter form ” like proverbs may reach people essays and sermons won ’ t .
“ Godly sentiments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ common-sense , may become nutriment for the soul , although they may be almost unconsciously received.
” He put moral instruction in the proverbs , as does everyone else .
He put in “ gospel instructions ” too .
Spurgeon used proverbs as a taste of the truth and an invitation to find more of it .
“ The good hope abides with me that I may lure [ readers ] to better things by things which are themselves good .
… Perchance , while amused with the wit and wisdom of men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a diviner light , and may be led to seek after its clearer illumination.
” Never dispute about the wool of a cat See if there is anything in a question before you discuss it , or you may make much ado about nothing .
Never say of another what you would not have him hear This precept would put the extinguisher on many a tattler .
Needles are not sharp at both ends We ought not to be all sharpness ; we must have an eye as well as a point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Never wake a sleeping lion Rouse not an angry man or woman .
Don ’ t stir the fire of strife when it is dying out .
Never bite back at back biters If you do so , they have caused you a serious injury of soul by bringing you down to their level .
Leave them their miserable trade to themselves .
“ Bless them that curse you.
” Never let plain dealing die If all the world should twist and twine , Still be thou straight as plummet line .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opinions We don ’ t want to know how you think it ought to be ; but tell us how it is .
Religious opinions are fickle as the wind ; but the facts of Scripture are firm as a rock .
A clear head is desirable ; but a clean heart is essential .
Never write what you dare not sign An anonymous letter-writer is a sort of assassin , who wears a mask , and stabs in the dark .
Such a man is a fiend with a pen .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the blackest infamy .
Never speak ill of those whose bread you eat Even a dog knows who feeds him .
If he bites his keeper he is likely to be hanged and nobody will pity him .
A lie has no legs , and can not stand ; but it has broad wings , and flies far One hard word brings on another Do not open the ball .
There is no credit in throwing the first stone , for you may be accountable for all that follow it .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a fool Because he misunderstands you , and if trusted , he will lead you into great blunders .
It would seem that his folly is catching , for often if there is one fool in a business there is more than one .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
No wool is so white that the dye can not make it black The best character will be injured by society .
The cleanest reputation can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and malice It is a sort of treachery to do so , like Absalom inviting Amnon to a feast to kill him .
Newspapers are the Bibles of worldlings How diligently they read them .
Here they find their law and profits [ sic ] , their judges and chronicles , their epistles and revelations .
Never find fault with the absent It is cowardly .
Accuse a man when he can defend himself .
On their own merits modest men are dumb Praise of self from a man ’ s own lips @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your tongue outrun your wit : Wise men full oft in silence sit .
Never flog the dead They can not be improved by your remarks , neither can they meet your charges .
Let them sleep on .
When an error is clean dead , do not go on disproving it , lest , like the boy with his top , you set it going again by whipping it .
No answer is also an answer And it will be wise in many cases to accept it as such .
A loud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ generally does .
Loudness is a foe to melody .
He who blows his own trumpet with great vehemence is almost always a fraud .
Never comb a bald head Don ’ t criticize where there is nothing to work upon .
Treat a poor helpless man with tenderness .
Never grumble nor mumble Take things as they come ; Eat crust as well as crumb .
As for mumbling , when men are making a complaining speech , they generally talk so fast that they eat one half of their words and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter much if they whistled , all of them , for they are not worth much .
Once shot you can not stop the arrow “ A word once spoken can return no more ; A wise man sets a watch before the door ; The bird in hand we may at will restrain ; But being flown we call her back in vain.
” — Whitney Nobody can repeat it if it is not said Of the dead say only what is good And if nothing good can be spoken , say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is dead , No more shall be said .
Nothing that is violent is permanent The rushing torrent is soon over , and so is it with other things of the same impetuous character .
Gently goes far .
Never commit what you would wish to conceal Do [ and say ] only that which will bear the light of day .
Never argue for victory , but for verity Controversy would wear a very different complexion if this were observed .
We ought to fight for truth not for party .
David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stream .
After teaching writing in a seminary , he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things .
He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “ Last Things ” column for the New Oxford Review and a weekly column for the English Catholic Herald .
He is finishing a book on death and dying to be published by Sophia Institute Press .

“A fool’s gun is soon fired,” wrote Charles Spurgeon, quoting an old proverb. He explained: “He has little to say, but he is in a desperate hurry to say it.” Here are some of the great preacher’s insights on how Christians should speak.
He wasn’t aways so sharp. But he knew that Jesus teaches that what comes out of the mouth can defile a man. How we speak has eternal significance. And with Facebook and Twitter …
The nineteenth century Baptist minister was one of the giants of his day. A great preacher and an industrious writer, he was also a leader of the Protestant Christians outside the Church of England. Very popular, when he died in 1892, at the age of 58, 100,000 people lined the streets of London as his funeral procession passed.
He is famous for admitting “I am perhaps vulgar.” He didn’t mean he was crude, as the word means today. He means he spoke the way the average person spoke, and used stories and jokes and other ways to help them hear the Gospel. “It is not intentional,” he said, “save that I must and will make people listen.” (The sidebar below gives more of his explanation of what he was trying to do.)
This comes out in one of his last books, published three years before he died. In The Salt-cellars, he gives hundreds of proverbs with his explanation of each one. He called it that because he thought proverbs were “salty.” He drew spiritual insights from these everyday sayings.
The proverbs are printed in boldface italics. In a few cases, he only quoted the proverb and didn’t say anything about it. The ones used here are only a sampling of those in the book.
Neither shoot without aim nor speak without thought
Or you may do as much mischief by a hasty speech as by a random shot.
Sometimes our words,
Hurt more than swords.
Never bray at an ass
Let a foolish person have the talk to himself. Do not imitate his folly. Your silence will be quite as melodious as his voice.
One lie makes many
One lie must be thatched with another or it will soon rain through. Lies breed like fleas or aphids.
Why did one of the greatest preachers of the century write a whole book explaining common proverbs? He always writes, Charles Spurgeon explains at the beginning of the book Salt-cellars, for “the spiritual good of my readers.” A “lighter form” like proverbs may reach people essays and sermons won’t. “Godly sentiments sandwiched in between slices of wit and common-sense, may become nutriment for the soul, although they may be almost unconsciously received.” He put moral instruction in the proverbs, as does everyone else. He put in “gospel instructions” too. Spurgeon used proverbs as a taste of the truth and an invitation to find more of it. “The good hope abides with me that I may lure [readers] to better things by things which are themselves good. … Perchance, while amused with the wit and wisdom of men, some reader may perceive this glow of a diviner light, and may be led to seek after its clearer illumination.”
Never dispute about the wool of a cat
See if there is anything in a question before you discuss it, or you may make much ado about nothing.
Never say of another what you would not have him hear
This precept would put the extinguisher on many a tattler.
Needles are not sharp at both ends
We ought not to be all sharpness; we must have an eye as well as a point — judgment as well as courage.
Never wake a sleeping lion
Rouse not an angry man or woman. Don’t stir the fire of strife when it is dying out.
Never bite back at back biters
If you do so, they have caused you a serious injury of soul by bringing you down to their level. Leave them their miserable trade to themselves. “Bless them that curse you.”
Never let plain dealing die
If all the world should twist and twine,
Still be thou straight as plummet line.
Few men ever repent of being silent
One fact is worth a ship load of opinions
We don’t want to know how you think it ought to be; but tell us how it is. Religious opinions are fickle as the wind; but the facts of Scripture are firm as a rock.
A clear head is desirable; but a clean heart is essential.
Never write what you dare not sign
An anonymous letter-writer is a sort of assassin, who wears a mask, and stabs in the dark. Such a man is a fiend with a pen. If discovered, the wretch will be steeped in the blackest infamy.
Never speak ill of those whose bread you eat
Even a dog knows who feeds him. If he bites his keeper he is likely to be hanged and nobody will pity him.
A lie has no legs, and cannot stand; but it has broad wings, and flies far
First practise at home, then preach abroad
It is not every man that would like to preach to his neighbours from his own door-step
One hard word brings on another
Do not open the ball. There is no credit in throwing the first stone, for you may be accountable for all that follow it.
One has need of much wit to deal with a fool
Because he misunderstands you, and if trusted, he will lead you into great blunders. It would seem that his folly is catching, for often if there is one fool in a business there is more than one.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
No wool is so white that the dye cannot make it black
The best character will be injured by society. The cleanest reputation can be darkened by slander
Never mix mirth and malice
It is a sort of treachery to do so, like Absalom inviting Amnon to a feast to kill him.
Newspapers are the Bibles of worldlings
How diligently they read them. Here they find their law and profits [sic], their judges and chronicles, their epistles and revelations.
Never find fault with the absent
It is cowardly. Accuse a man when he can defend himself.
On their own merits modest men are dumb
Praise of self from a man’s own lips is loathsome.
Ne’er let your tongue outrun your wit:
Wise men full oft in silence sit.
Never flog the dead
They cannot be improved by your remarks, neither can they meet your charges. Let them sleep on. When an error is clean dead, do not go on disproving it, lest, like the boy with his top, you set it going again by whipping it.
No answer is also an answer
And it will be wise in many cases to accept it as such.
A loud horn may play a poor tune
It generally does. Loudness is a foe to melody. He who blows his own trumpet with great vehemence is almost always a fraud.
Never comb a bald head
Don’t criticize where there is nothing to work upon. Treat a poor helpless man with tenderness.
Never grumble nor mumble
Take things as they come;
Eat crust as well as crumb.
As for mumbling, when men are making a complaining speech, they generally talk so fast that they eat one half of their words and whistle the rest. It would not matter much if they whistled, all of them, for they are not worth much.
Once shot you cannot stop the arrow
“A word once spoken can return no more;
A wise man sets a watch before the door;
The bird in hand we may at will restrain;
But being flown we call her back in vain.” — Whitney
Nobody can repeat it if it is not said
Of the dead say only what is good
And if nothing good can be spoken, say nothing, but conclude — Seeing he is dead,
No more shall be said.
Nothing that is violent is permanent
The rushing torrent is soon over, and so is it with other things of the same impetuous character. Gently goes far.
Never commit what you would wish to conceal
Do [and say] only that which will bear the light of day.
Never argue for victory, but for verity
Controversy would wear a very different complexion if this were observed. We ought to fight for truth not for party.
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream. After teaching writing in a seminary, he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things. He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “Last Things” column for the New Oxford Review and a weekly column for the English Catholic Herald. He is finishing a book on death and dying to be published by Sophia Institute Press.


thestream--2020-06-14--Christian Beliefs and Values Under Attack in Canada

Since the Liberal Party won the last two Canadian elections ( 2015 and 2019 ) , Canada has only moved forward on a more radical path .
The party ’ s leader , Justin Trudeau , has created a long list of the kind of “ Doh !
” moments one might see on The Simpsons .
But those aren ’ t our biggest problems .
Beyond the scandals and pushes to control Canadian media , the Liberal government has not been very kind to those who uphold traditional values .
More than any previous government , Trudeau ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive agendas surrounding LGBT , abortion , euthanasia and more .
At times the Party has been openly hostile to Pro-Life views .
We saw that in 2017 when charities were forced to accept abortion or lose grants for hiring summer students .
Over 1500 organizations refused to do so .
They all lost vital income for their programs .
Actions like these were typical of Liberal , “ my way or the highway ” policies .
In their case “ my way , ” simply meant undermining traditional values .
The Conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s official opposition , hoped to topple the Liberals in the 2019 Canadian election .
Surprisingly , however , they were defeated .
Andrew Scheer , the party ’ s current leader , was elected largely because of his socially conservative values .
But but he failed to openly discuss those values openly in public , via the media .
The result was bitterness on all sides .
Those who campaigned felt betrayed , while media outlets hounded him for his beliefs .
He refused to explain or defend any of his values @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem to work for anyone .
His strategy never wavered .
But his warm smile was not enough to win most Canadians .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Now the CP has another leadership election coming up in August .
The rift between those who wish to fight for social values , and those who want to let go of them , is stronger than ever .
The outcome could spell either the end , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the party .
And perhaps for the rest of Canada as well .
For some time now , the CP has been struggling with an identity crisis .
Some members want to embrace a progressive agenda which severs ties to traditional morality while remaining legally and fiscally conservative .
Others want to swing harder right and stand for social values .
The base that pushed for Scheer ’ s election has already demonstrated its force .
Many , however , still want to bank on moving to a more centrist view .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ line that divides the current candidates for leadership .
Out of four candidates , two stand for life and two want the Party to disassociate itself from , or at least ignore , traditional values .
The latter two candidates are Erin O ’ Toole and Peter Mackay .
O ’ Toole is a military veteran with a mixed record at best .
He ’ s promised not to open the abortion debate , yet he also says he wants social conservatives to feel welcome in the party .
We , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he refuses to align himself publicly with any kind of sane values .
Peter Mackay isn ’ t shy about wanting the party to have a more progressive look .
He recently created a stir by referring to Andrew Scheer ’ s Catholic beliefs as a “ stinking albatross.
” The remark was in regard to all the negative attention Scheer ’ s values attracted .
When asked about being pro-life he states , “ I would never lead a party or a government that would advocate for restricting access.
” Mackay has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which may not be too inaccurate .
Two Social Conservatives in the Running The two social conservatives running are Dr. Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan .
Lewis is the only woman and visible minority running .
In her “ no hidden agenda ” platform , she lays out four pro-life policies meant to turn the tide .
They are : ban abortions based on sex , stop coerced abortions , quit funding abortion overseas , and help crisis pregnancy centers .
She handles questions with tact and demonstrates a cool persona .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and stands a good chance at being our next Prime Minister .
Derek Sloan is also a lawyer pushing for change .
The rookie MP ’ s motto is “ without apology ” which says a little bit about his strategy .
He ’ s trying to capitalize on Canadian frustration , and is more than willing to walk into controversy .
After criticizing our current health minister , he has been labelled and called to step down .
This despite the fact that his comments had nothing to do with race .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the kind of chutzpah Canadians need .
Christian beliefs and values are genuinely under attack .
Scheer ’ s tactic of trying to be “ personally pro-life ” but publicly neutral didn ’ t work .
Now the CP has two frontrunners who are not afraid to defend their views openly .
The other two are either unhelpful or unfriendly .
This is a critical hour not only for Conservatives but for the nation as a whole .
If we can not revive proper morality , Canada ’ s stability will only continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any voice for Christian values , and celebrates policies that degrade the way of life .
Even though other parties have tried to fill the void , it ’ s hard to predict any level of success given their failure last election .
So the Conservatives , who stand neck and neck with the Liberals , seem to be our only hope at the moment .
The time for registering with the Conservative Party in order to vote in this election is now closed .
But come August , the outcome of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for future citizens .
Angelos Kyriakides is a freelance writer who lives in Maple Ridge , British Columbia , outside Vancouver .
He has previously served as an urban missionary and youth pastor in Canada ’ s poorest postal code , Vancouver ’ s downtown Eastside , for just under a decade .
His passion is to build up the Body of Christ with truthful perspectives about current events and make Christian faith real in the hearts of today ’ s generation .
He lives with his wife , Sarah , and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a joyful adventure .

Since the Liberal Party won the last two Canadian elections (2015 and 2019), Canada has only moved forward on a more radical path. The party’s leader, Justin Trudeau, has created a long list of the kind of “Doh!” moments one might see on The Simpsons. But those aren’t our biggest problems. Beyond the scandals and pushes to control Canadian media, the Liberal government has not been very kind to those who uphold traditional values. More than any previous government, Trudeau’s office has sought to normalize and celebrate progressive agendas surrounding LGBT, abortion, euthanasia and more. At times the Party has been openly hostile to Pro-Life views.
We saw that in 2017 when charities were forced to accept abortion or lose grants for hiring summer students. Over 1500 organizations refused to do so. They all lost vital income for their programs. Actions like these were typical of Liberal, “my way or the highway” policies. In their case “my way,” simply meant undermining traditional values.
A Rift in The Conservative Party
The Conservative Party (CP), Canada’s official opposition, hoped to topple the Liberals in the 2019 Canadian election. Surprisingly, however, they were defeated. Andrew Scheer, the party’s current leader, was elected largely because of his socially conservative values. But he failed to discuss those values openly in public, via the media. The result was bitterness on all sides.
Those who campaigned felt betrayed, while media outlets hounded him for his beliefs. He refused to explain or defend any of his values, a tactic that didn’t seem to work for anyone. His strategy never wavered. But his warm smile was not enough to win most Canadians.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Now the CP has another leadership election coming up in August. The rift between those who wish to fight for social values, and those who want to let go of them, is stronger than ever. The outcome could spell either the end, or a new beginning, of proper values for the party. And perhaps for the rest of Canada as well.
Some Seek to Embrace a Progressive Agenda
For some time now, the CP has been struggling with an identity crisis. Some members want to embrace a progressive agenda which severs ties to traditional morality while remaining legally and fiscally conservative. Others want to swing harder right and stand for social values. The base that pushed for Scheer’s election has already demonstrated its force. Many, however, still want to bank on moving to a more centrist view. The rift is easily demonstrated by the line that divides the current candidates for leadership. Out of four candidates, two stand for life and two want the Party to disassociate itself from, or at least ignore, traditional values.
The latter two candidates are Erin O’Toole and Peter Mackay. O’Toole is a military veteran with a mixed record at best. He’s promised not to open the abortion debate, yet he also says he wants social conservatives to feel welcome in the party. We, however, will largely not vote for him because he refuses to align himself publicly with any kind of sane values.
Peter Mackay isn’t shy about wanting the party to have a more progressive look. He recently created a stir by referring to Andrew Scheer’s Catholic beliefs as a “stinking albatross.” The remark was in regard to all the negative attention Scheer’s values attracted. When asked about being pro-life he states, “I would never lead a party or a government that would advocate for restricting access.” Mackay has been dubbed “Liberal Lite,” which may not be too inaccurate.
Two Social Conservatives in the Running
The two social conservatives running are Dr. Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan. Lewis is the only woman and visible minority running. In her “no hidden agenda” platform, she lays out four pro-life policies meant to turn the tide. They are: ban abortions based on sex, stop coerced abortions, quit funding abortion overseas, and help crisis pregnancy centers. She handles questions with tact and demonstrates a cool persona. She’s also polling highest among Millennials and stands a good chance at being our next Prime Minister.
This is a critical hour not only for Conservatives but for the nation as a whole. If we cannot revive proper morality, Canada’s stability will only continue to slide.
Derek Sloan is also a lawyer pushing for change. The rookie MP’s motto is “without apology” which says a little bit about his strategy. He’s trying to capitalize on Canadian frustration, and is more than willing to walk into controversy. After criticizing our current health minister, he has been labelled racist and called to step down. This despite the fact that his comments had nothing to do with race. Sloan is young, but he demonstrates the kind of chutzpah Canadians need.
A Critical Hour for Canada
Christian beliefs and values are genuinely under attack. Scheer’s tactic of trying to be “personally pro-life” but publicly neutral didn’t work. Now the CP has two frontrunners who are not afraid to defend their views openly. The other two are either unhelpful or unfriendly.
This is a critical hour not only for Conservatives but for the nation as a whole. If we cannot revive proper morality, Canada’s stability will only continue to slide. Our mainstream media lacks any voice for Christian values, and celebrates policies that degrade the way of life. Even though other parties have tried to fill the void, it’s hard to predict any level of success given their failure last election.
So the Conservatives, who stand neck and neck with the Liberals, seem to be our only hope at the moment. The time for registering with the Conservative Party in order to vote in this election is now closed. But come August, the outcome of this election could mean either life or death for future citizens.
Angelos Kyriakides is a freelance writer who lives in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, outside Vancouver. He has previously served as an urban missionary and youth pastor in Canada’s poorest postal code, Vancouver’s downtown Eastside, for just under a decade. His passion is to build up the Body of Christ with truthful perspectives about current events and make Christian faith real in the hearts of today’s generation. He lives with his wife, Sarah, and their two small children who always make life a joyful adventure.