thestream--2020-06-25--The Truth About White Jesus Statues

The Truth About White Jesus Statues

What , exactly , did Jesus look like ?
Was he black ?
Brown ?
White ?
Red ?
Yellow ?
We know that he was a first-century , Galilean Jew .
But , beyond that , no reliable description of his appearance has been left for us .
There is a statement recorded in the Mishnah , the earliest code of Jewish law ( compiled roughly 220 A.D. ) attributed to Rabbi Ishmael , who lived from 90-135 AD .
He said , “ The children of Israel … are like boxwood , neither black nor white but of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2:1 ) .
So , according to a rabbi who lived within one century of Jesus , the Israelites are “ like boxwood , ” neither black nor white but somewhere in between .
This would be in keeping with other Middle Eastern peoples of the past and present .
As for the notion that Jesus was black , based on Revelation 1:14-15 , that is a complete misreading of the text .
Describing John ’ s vision of a glorious Jesus , the text states that , “ The hair on his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white as snow , and his eyes were like blazing fire ” ( Revelation 1:14 ) .
But the text does not say that Jesus had wooly hair .
Rather , it pictures his hair as “ white like wool , white as snow.
” This is not speaking of the texture of his hair ( any more than the texture of hair is being compared to snow ) .
Rather , it is speaking of the color of his hair .
And even so , this is a glorious vision not meant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course , you believe that a sharp , double-edged sword came out of his mouth and that his face shone like the sun .
That being said , Jesus was certainly not white .
( For the record , many translations of the Bible , including the King James Version , render Revelation 1:14 with , “ His head and his hairs were white like wool , as white as snow.
” From this you could argue that Jesus was lily white , since it says his head was white .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
How , then , did we end up with a white Jesus in Europe and America ?
There are two answers to this question , one quite innocent and the other not nearly as innocent .
( You might be in for a surprise .
Keep reading ! )
Every Culture Wants a Jesus Who Looks Familiar The innocent answer is that it is common for other people groups to imagine Jesus to be just like them .
Just do a search for “ images of Chinese Jesus ” or “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see a Jesus who looks Chinese or a Jesus who looks Eskimo .
This is no surprise .
After all , according to the gospel , the Son of God took on human flesh and became one of us .
It ’ s only natural that we envision him to look like us .
Back in the 1970s , I attended a black megachurch in Brooklyn with a friend I had met in college , himself an African American .
The first thing that struck me was the mural on the wall , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
When I asked my friend about it , he said to me , “ When you look at a class picture , what ’ s the first thing you look for ?
It ’ s your own face in the crowd .
It ’ s the same with people coming here .
They ’ re looking for a Jesus they can identify with.
” That ’ s also why many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as white .
The white artists conceived of a Jesus who was just like them .
That ’ s also why some of the medieval depictions of Jesus portrayed him and his followers as wearing medieval garb .
That was the garb that they knew .
The problem is when that image is now exported to other cultures , and so the Jesus we preach in India or Africa is a white Jesus .
That can lead to spiritual and cultural confusion , especially if the white race is also associated with conquest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thornier .
( To help you relate to some of the challenges , if you ’ re a white Christian , ask yourself how you would relate to a black Jesus .
Or an Indian Jesus . )
But here ’ s the big surprise when it comes to white images of Jesus .
The historic contrast was not between a white Jesus and blacks .
It was between a white , Gentile Jesus and Jews .
This was graphically illustrated by Prof. Bernard Starr in his book Jesus , Jews , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Erased Jesus ’ Jewish Identity & How Today ’ s Artists Are Restoring It .
( For relevant articles by Starr , see here and here . )
Starr pointed to famous medieval and renaissance paintings of Jesus , where he was depicted as a handsome , fair-skinned , Gentile European , surrounded by devilishly-ugly , hook-nosed Jewish teachers .
Those evil Jews !
If you think I ’ m exaggerating , just look at this one painting , Christ Among the Doctors , by Albrecht Dürer .
( By “ doctors ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” as in rabbis and Jewish teachers . )
Interestingly , Starr also pointed to artists in Africa and other dark-skinned cultures who depicted a dark-skinned but also non-Jewish Jesus .
How interesting !
So , a major reason that white artists depicted Jesus as white was because they forgot about his Jewish ( and Middle Eastern ) roots .
Not only so , but since the Jews were viewed as demonic and evil , Jesus had to be different than them , hence a white , non-Jewish Jesus .
( Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , non-Jewish Jesus . )
Are You at Home With Yeshua — a Rabbi and the Jewish Messiah of the Scriptures ?
BLM activist Shaun King , who ridiculously called for the removal of statues depicting a white Jesus , tweeted , “ Experts have long since said this is likely the most accurate depiction of Jesus .
“ White Americans who bought , sold , traded , raped , and worked Africans to death , for hundreds of years in this country , simply could not have THIS man at the center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his tweet an image created in 2001 by forensic anthropologist Richard Neave .
As the BBC reported , Neave “ created a model of a Galilean man for a BBC documentary , Son of God , working on the basis of an actual skull found in the region .
He did not claim it was Jesus ’ s face .
It was simply meant to prompt people to consider Jesus as being a man of his time and place , since we are never told he looked distinctive.
” So , contrary to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not what , “ Experts have long since said … is likely the most accurate depiction of Jesus.
” This is simply a 2001 image created by one expert , and it was not of an African man but of a Galilean Jew .
As the BBC also noted , “ And what about Jesus ’ s facial features ?
They were Jewish .
That Jesus was a Jew ( or Judaean ) is certain in that it is found repeated in diverse literature.
” So , the real question for the cultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likes of Shaun King , is this : Would you be at home with a Jewish Jesus ?
With Yeshua , the son of Miriam , called rabbi rather than reverend ?
Would you be at home with him ?
This is also a great question for Christians worldwide .
Do you follow the Jesus-Yeshua of the Scriptures or a Jesus whom you have created in your own image ?
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pass the Trump Test ?
Connect with him on Facebook , Twitter or YouTube .

What, exactly, did Jesus look like? Was he black? Brown? White? Red? Yellow? We know that he was a first-century, Galilean Jew. But, beyond that, no reliable description of his appearance has been left for us.
There is a statement recorded in the Mishnah, the earliest code of Jewish law (compiled roughly 220 A.D.) attributed to Rabbi Ishmael, who lived from 90-135 AD. He said, “The children of Israel … are like boxwood, neither black nor white but of an intermediate shade” (m. Negaim 2:1).
So, according to a rabbi who lived within one century of Jesus, the Israelites are “like boxwood,” neither black nor white but somewhere in between. This would be in keeping with other Middle Eastern peoples of the past and present.
As for the notion that Jesus was black, based on Revelation 1:14-15, that is a complete misreading of the text. Describing John’s vision of a glorious Jesus, the text states that, “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire” (Revelation 1:14).
But the text does not say that Jesus had wooly hair. Rather, it pictures his hair as “white like wool, white as snow.”
This is not speaking of the texture of his hair (any more than the texture of hair is being compared to snow). Rather, it is speaking of the color of his hair. And even so, this is a glorious vision not meant to be taken literally — unless, of course, you believe that a sharp, double-edged sword came out of his mouth and that his face shone like the sun.
That being said, Jesus was certainly not white. (For the record, many translations of the Bible, including the King James Version, render Revelation 1:14 with, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.” From this you could argue that Jesus was lily white, since it says his head was white. That, too, is a gross misunderstanding.)
How, then, did we end up with a white Jesus in Europe and America?
There are two answers to this question, one quite innocent and the other not nearly as innocent. (You might be in for a surprise. Keep reading!)
Every Culture Wants a Jesus Who Looks Familiar
The innocent answer is that it is common for other people groups to imagine Jesus to be just like them. Just do a search for “images of Chinese Jesus” or “images of Eskimo Jesus.” You will see a Jesus who looks Chinese or a Jesus who looks Eskimo.
This is no surprise. After all, according to the gospel, the Son of God took on human flesh and became one of us. It’s only natural that we envision him to look like us.
Back in the 1970s, I attended a black megachurch in Brooklyn with a friend I had met in college, himself an African American.
The first thing that struck me was the mural on the wall, depicting Jesus and his disciples as black.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
When I asked my friend about it, he said to me, “When you look at a class picture, what’s the first thing you look for? It’s your own face in the crowd. It’s the same with people coming here. They’re looking for a Jesus they can identify with.”
That’s also why many pictures and statues of Jesus depict him as white. The white artists conceived of a Jesus who was just like them. That’s also why some of the medieval depictions of Jesus portrayed him and his followers as wearing medieval garb. That was the garb that they knew.
The problem is when that image is now exported to other cultures, and so the Jesus we preach in India or Africa is a white Jesus. That can lead to spiritual and cultural confusion, especially if the white race is also associated with conquest and colonization. Now the issue becomes thornier. (To help you relate to some of the challenges, if you’re a white Christian, ask yourself how you would relate to a black Jesus. Or an Indian Jesus.)
We Forgot Jesus is Jewish
But here’s the big surprise when it comes to white images of Jesus. The historic contrast was not between a white Jesus and blacks. It was between a white, Gentile Jesus and Jews.
This was graphically illustrated by Prof. Bernard Starr in his book Jesus, Jews, and Anti-Semitism in Art: How Renaissance Art Erased Jesus’ Jewish Identity & How Today’s Artists Are Restoring It. (For relevant articles by Starr, see here and here.)
Starr pointed to famous medieval and renaissance paintings of Jesus, where he was depicted as a handsome, fair-skinned, Gentile European, surrounded by devilishly-ugly, hook-nosed Jewish teachers. Those evil Jews!
Would you be at home with a Jewish Jesus? With Yeshua, the son of Miriam, called rabbi rather than reverend? Would you be at home with him?
If you think I’m exaggerating, just look at this one painting, Christ Among the Doctors, by Albrecht Dürer. (By “doctors” Dürer meant “doctors of the law,” as in rabbis and Jewish teachers.)
Interestingly, Starr also pointed to artists in Africa and other dark-skinned cultures who depicted a dark-skinned but also non-Jewish Jesus. How interesting!
So, a major reason that white artists depicted Jesus as white was because they forgot about his Jewish (and Middle Eastern) roots. Not only so, but since the Jews were viewed as demonic and evil, Jesus had to be different than them, hence a white, non-Jewish Jesus. (Or, in other cultures, a black, non-Jewish Jesus.)
Are You at Home With Yeshua — a Rabbi and the Jewish Messiah of the Scriptures?
BLM activist Shaun King, who ridiculously called for the removal of statues depicting a white Jesus, tweeted, “Experts have long since said this is likely the most accurate depiction of Jesus.
“White Americans who bought, sold, traded, raped, and worked Africans to death, for hundreds of years in this country, simply could not have THIS man at the center of their faith.”
King included in his tweet an image created in 2001 by forensic anthropologist Richard Neave. As the BBC reported, Neave “created a model of a Galilean man for a BBC documentary, Son of God, working on the basis of an actual skull found in the region. He did not claim it was Jesus’s face. It was simply meant to prompt people to consider Jesus as being a man of his time and place, since we are never told he looked distinctive.”
So, contrary to King’s claim, this is not what, “Experts have long since said … is likely the most accurate depiction of Jesus.”
This is simply a 2001 image created by one expert, and it was not of an African man but of a Galilean Jew.
As the BBC also noted, “And what about Jesus’s facial features? They were Jewish. That Jesus was a Jew (or Judaean) is certain in that it is found repeated in diverse literature.”
So, the real question for the cultural iconoclasts of our day, including the likes of Shaun King, is this: Would you be at home with a Jewish Jesus? With Yeshua, the son of Miriam, called rabbi rather than reverend? Would you be at home with him?
This is also a great question for Christians worldwide. Do you follow the Jesus-Yeshua of the Scriptures or a Jesus whom you have created in your own image?
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


No Lives Matter

We live in a puzzling time .
White-led rioters who chant the trademark of a Marxist cult , Black Lives Matter , are tearing down statues of Abraham Lincoln .
And Catholic missionaries .
And Union soldiers who were active abolitionists .
And monuments to women ’ s suffrage .
And Spanish poets .
Leftists blew up the City/County Building ( controlled by a Democrat governor and mayor ) in Madison , Wisconsin .
Law enforcement personell were ordered to stand down and do nothing .
So said multiple law enforcement/public safety sources confirmed by radio host Vicki McKenna .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not thinking straight .
You might be forgiven for engaging in some radical speculation as to what ’ s really going on .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Here are a few potential explanations , in escalating order of likelihood .
Of course , aspects of more than one may be true at once .
Christians are finally waking up to their hypocrisy on this issue — led by the violent revolutionaries of Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Planned Parenthood .
I find this one unlikely for reasons I offered in the form of a rhyming couplet on Twitter : 2 .
The Lizard Men Have Abandoned Us Shape-shifting alien Reptilian overlords have guided human affairs since we left the caves .
But they got sick of being insulted by David Ickes and his followers .
So they ’ ve abandoned us , to see how we do on our own .
They ’ re waiting for Ickes to publicly beg for their return .
China is funneling money , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations , to violent radicals .
The Chinese Communist Party wants chaos in our streets to prevail till the election .
Its strategic goals ?
• To give it a free hand in repressing Hong Kong .
• To give it a free hand in military conflicts with India .
4 .
We Have to Pretend to Be Haiti Rioters are attacking anything associate with white culture , no matter what it stands for .
Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant must be punished for the crime of Emancipating While White .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slaves rose up and emancipated themselves , and ruled the South after that as a black republic , like Haiti .
To do that , we ’ re going to keep trashing cities till each them looks like a piece of Haiti .
The Democrats are in tight control of the rioters , and have given them carte blanche for certain targets , not others .
They will stop short of obeying Shaun King and attacking churches to rip out white pictures of Jesus .
The goal is to tempt President Trump into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left pretends he is .
To goad Trump into federalizing the National Guard , then blaming collateral casualties ( kids from ricocheting bullets ) on him .
Then hang those dead civilians around his neck like anchors on election day .
Conversely , Trump is holding back , like the Democrats playing “ chicken , ” with each convinced that the first party to fire on the rioters loses in November .
The rioters are in the saddle , not the Democrats .
They aren ’ t even targeting white culture but all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primitives leading these mobs hate all sculptures .
In fact , they resent all vertical structures .
They don ’ t know how to sculpt or build , and they hate anyone who does .
They ’ re enraged by the existence of art or culture itself , except for propaganda emblems that support their nihilist cause .
As gnostics who live in a secondary reality of ideological fantasies , they view the real world God made with loathing .
It has too many complexities and inequalities , too many diverging ideas and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they want to smash it .
They crave destruction for its own sake , like the demon-haunted villains of Dostoevsky ’ s The Possessed .
They are thundering like Gadarene swine to the very bottom of their own slippery slope .
And pulling the country after them .
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 .

We live in a puzzling time. White-led rioters who chant the trademark of a Marxist cult, Black Lives Matter, are tearing down statues of Abraham Lincoln. And Catholic missionaries. And Union soldiers who were active abolitionists. And monuments to women’s suffrage. And Spanish poets.
Leftists blew up the City/County Building (controlled by a Democrat governor and mayor) in Madison, Wisconsin. Law enforcement personnel were ordered to stand down and do nothing. So said multiple law enforcement/public safety sources confirmed by radio host Vicki McKenna.
No one is covering this! MPD command telling cops to STAND DOWN. THIS WAS PLANNED–access to CCB was CLOSED OFF by the rioters around 5pm. Police KNEW the CCB would be firebombed. That’s a FEDERAL CRIME. They did NOTHING. Cops were prohibited from using gas. READ THIS. SHOCKING. pic.twitter.com/TWMPlRzjT0 — Vicki McKenna (@VickiMcKenna) June 24, 2020
And the outcome was predictable.
The city of Madison KNEW the CCB would be firebombed. The rioters blocked access to the building. There were juvenile inmates in this building. A fire investigator examining the scene remarked it was only by fast action by deputies that the entire building didn’t go up in flames pic.twitter.com/CDtsrNnweu — Vicki McKenna (@VickiMcKenna) June 24, 2020
People are not thinking straight. You might be forgiven for engaging in some radical speculation as to what’s really going on.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Here are a few potential explanations, in escalating order of likelihood. Of course, aspects of more than one may be true at once.
1. Systemic Racism is Real.
Christians are finally waking up to their hypocrisy on this issue — led by the violent revolutionaries of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, and their allies at Planned Parenthood. I find this one unlikely for reasons I offered in the form of a rhyming couplet on Twitter:
No Lives Matter, this I know/
Because Charles Darwin taught me so./
If I pretend that some lives do,/
That’s just political Kung Fu. — John Zmirak (@JZmirak) June 24, 2020
2. The Lizard Men Have Abandoned Us
Shape-shifting alien Reptilian overlords have guided human affairs since we left the caves. But they got sick of being insulted by David Icke and his followers. So they’ve abandoned us, to see how we do on our own. They’re waiting for Icke to publicly beg for their return.
3. China’s Trying Regime Change
China is funneling money, perhaps via George Soros’s globalist organizations, to violent radicals. The Chinese Communist Party wants chaos in our streets to prevail till the election. Its strategic goals?
To elect its longtime crony, Beijing Joe Biden.
To give it a free hand in repressing Hong Kong.
To give it a free hand in military conflicts with India.
4. We Have to Pretend to Be Haiti
Rioters are attacking anything associate with white culture, no matter what it stands for. Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant must be punished for the crime of Emancipating While White. We’re obliged to pretend that black slaves rose up and emancipated themselves, and ruled the South after that as a black republic, like Haiti. To do that, we’re going to keep trashing cities till each them looks like a piece of Haiti.
5. Both Parties Are Playing Chicken
The Democrats are in tight control of the rioters, and have given them carte blanche for certain targets, not others. They will stop short of obeying Shaun King and attacking churches to rip out white pictures of Jesus. The goal is to tempt President Trump into acting like the “fascist” the left pretends he is. To goad Trump into federalizing the National Guard, then blaming collateral casualties (kids from ricocheting bullets) on him. Then hang those dead civilians around his neck like anchors on election day. Conversely, Trump is holding back, like the Democrats playing “chicken,” with each convinced that the first party to fire on the rioters loses in November.
6. Hulk No Like Vertical Structures
The rioters are in the saddle, not the Democrats. They aren’t even targeting white culture but all culture. The mostly white, educated primitives leading these mobs hate all sculptures. In fact, they resent all vertical structures. They don’t know how to sculpt or build, and they hate anyone who does. They’re enraged by the existence of art or culture itself, except for propaganda emblems that support their nihilist cause.
As gnostics who live in a secondary reality of ideological fantasies, they view the real world God made with loathing. It has too many complexities and inequalities, too many diverging ideas and institutions that frustrate their will. So they want to smash it. They crave destruction for its own sake, like the demon-haunted villains of Dostoevsky’s The Possessed. They are thundering like Gadarene swine to the very bottom of their own slippery slope. And pulling the country after them.
My vote is 6).
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--2020-06-25--I Am Not a ‘Black Woman’: Actress Priscilla Shirer’s Message on Race and Identity is as Relevant Now

I Am Not a ‘Black Woman’: Actress Priscilla Shirer’s Message on Race and Identity is as Relevant Now as It Was in 2017

“ I do not describe myself as a black woman , ” Priscilla Shirer , actress and founder of Going Beyond Ministries , told an audience in 2017 .
“ [ T ] hat gives too much power to my blackness .
I don ’ t want black , my race , to be the describing adjective , the defining adjective of who I am as a woman .
I ’ m not a ‘ black woman.
’ I am a Christian woman who happens to be black.
” Shirer , Pastor Tony Evan ’ s daughter , delivered a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Word .
It ’ s as relevant today as it was in 2017 .
Shirer insists she will not let her race define her .
“ It is going to be that I am a woman who believes every single thing that my God has declared to be true , and I will stand firmly on the promises of His Word because I will be girded in truth .
“ So you may be a black woman , a black man , a white woman , a white man , but that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if your race or if your political group is going in a different direction than the Word of God , you don ’ t choose your blackness or your whiteness or whatever culture you are .
You do not choose that or your political persuasion over what it is that God ’ s Word declares to be true.
” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .

“I do not describe myself as a black woman,” Priscilla Shirer, actress and founder of Going Beyond Ministries, told an audience in 2017. “[T]hat gives too much power to my blackness. I don’t want black, my race, to be the describing adjective, the defining adjective of who I am as a woman. I’m not a ‘black woman.’ I am a Christian woman who happens to be black.”
Shirer, Pastor Tony Evan’s daughter, delivered a powerful message about race and God’s Word. It’s as relevant today as it was in 2017.
Shirer insists she will not let her race define her. “It is going to be that I am a woman who believes every single thing that my God has declared to be true, and I will stand firmly on the promises of His Word because I will be girded in truth.
“So you may be a black woman, a black man, a white woman, a white man, but that should not define you, so that if your race or if your political group is going in a different direction than the Word of God, you don’t choose your blackness or your whiteness or whatever culture you are. You do not choose that or your political persuasion over what it is that God’s Word declares to be true.”
Watch:
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.


thestream--2020-06-25--FSU Senate President Criticized Black Lives Matter in a Private Chat. Here’s What Happened Next

The student government Senate president at Florida State University in Tallahassee , Florida was removed from his position earlier this month after he was accused of making transphobic , racist , and “ anti-abortion ” comments .
Jack Denton , 21 , was voted out of his position after his texts from a private group chat were leaked to a fellow senator .
He denounced the organizations Black Lives Matter , ACLU and Reclaim the Block in the texts , saying that these organizations promote causes such as transgenderism and abortion .
“ What happened with me at Florida State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution , ” Denton told the Daily Caller News Foundation .
“ Public universities like Florida State are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas and free expression .
Expression should be encouraged , not shut down.
” Tyson Langhofer , director of the Center for Academic Freedom with the Alliance Defending Freedom is now advising Denton .
Langhofer represented Young America ’ s Foundation and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in a 2016 case which resulted in several policy changes at California State University , Los Angeles .
“ Our goal is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to challenge any unconstitutional or improper application of these student policies , ” Langhofer told the DCNF .
“ Because the bottom line is students don ’ t give up their religious freedom when they step onto a public university campus.
” Denton , who is a rising senior studying political science , describes himself as a devout Roman Catholic .
The group chat where he sent the messages in question is a Catholic Student Union group chat where students usually send prayer requests or share their faith in other ways .
Please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
In the wake of the death of George Floyd , one unnamed student used the chat to encourage others to donate to a series of organizations and charities .
Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck , video shows .
“ BlackLivesMatter.com fosters ‘ a queer affirming network ’ and defends transgenderism .
The ACLU defends laws protecting abortion facilities , ” Denton said in the texts .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sisters may be supporting an organization that promotes grave evils , I have sinned through my silence.
” “ I just want to make it explicitly clear that black lives matter , ” Denton told The Daily Caller News Foundation .
“ I think any decent human would agree with me on that point .
However , Black Lives Matter , the organization , advocates for things that are explicitly anti-Catholic.
” But , what began as text messages sent to a group of fellow Catholic students soon devolved into something Denton said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a routine virtual Senate meeting that Denton was presiding over on June 3 , another senator , Khundavi Gnanam , made a motion of no confidence in Denton as Senate president .
Gnanam was sent screenshots of Denton ’ s text messages by another person in the group chat .
Denton , who had not been given forewarning of this motion , temporarily ceded his authority to Ahmad Daraldik , the president pro tempore of the Senate .
The meeting then went into an hour of debate .
“ I just think these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medley Neyra , a senator who claims to be the first transgender woman to serve in the legislative body .
“ Those sorts of opinions shouldn ’ t be shared in public chats with other students.
” “ We live and die by our choices and to say your opinion , say your belief in such a public setting with such strong wording as ‘ grave evils , ’ you can have your opinions and say them , but you should be held responsible for those choices , ” said Daniel Ryan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also senators who spoke in defense of Denton .
“ We may disagree with what he said or how he said it , but it is important to express that we protect people ’ s individual right to express their beliefs , ” said James Bateman .
The senate failed to reach the required two-thirds majority , voting 21-16 in favor of removing him from his position as president of the Senate .
Denton remained president of the Senate .
Several student organizations rallied in the aftermath of the failed vote to remove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The goal was to force another vote .
“ Denton ’ s words send a dehumanizing message to womxn , trans , queer , and black students at FSU , and prove that he is unfit to hold the office of Senate President , ” reads a June 4 editorial published in Spire Magazine , Florida State University ’ s student paper .
“ The Spire staff as a united front would like to announce our support for the removal and/or resignation of Jack Denton from the SGA senate.
” Emily Pacenti @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comment further .
“ Denton ’ s comments were explicitly racist , transphobic , and anti-choice , referring to the transgender community and the pro-choice movement as ‘ grave evils , ’ ” the Florida State University Pride Student Union said in a statement DCNF .
“ We as the Pride Student Union condemn these comments made by the Senate President as an act of blatant discrimination.
” “ As the president of the SGA Senate , an influential position within student government , Denton ’ s comments reflect problematic biases that could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Black organizations on our campus , ” the Florida State University College Democrats said in a statement sent to the DCNF .
The pressure from these groups led to the creation of a petition to call an emergency meeting .
After more than 50 % of the senate signed the petition , Denton scheduled an emergency meeting slated for June 5 .
In the run-up to the meeting , though , senators who voted against removing Denton as senate president were pressured to vote in favor of the measure .
Senators were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote them out in the next election if they didn ’ t vote against Denton .
“ Someone posted in one of the Florida State University class Facebook pages the list of all the senators who voted to not remove me as senate president , ” Denton said .
“ It was really this mob mentality , like we got to force these people to act this way despite the way they voted two days ago.
” The June 5 emergency meeting attracted so many viewers that the Zoom capacity had to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the meeting , according to Denton .
The meeting was public , meaning Florida State University students were able to voice their opinions .
“ There ’ s a difference between having viewpoints and having beliefs that can negatively affect others , ” said Emery Lowden , a student .
“ I ’ m not trying to attack you .
I ’ m trying to educate you.
” “ The things Jack Denton has said have hurt a lot of people , ” Lauren Callahan said .
Callahan mentioned that she is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community and organized the petition that led to the meeting .
“ I think it ’ s disgusting how you ’ re using religion to defend and uphold your hate and prejudices and biases , ” student Gigi Cruz said .
“ I don ’ t feel safe with you as president , ” said student Valentina Brown .
“ You are condemning our identities , an integral part of our selves and our nature.
” The meeting , which mainly consisted of students condemning Denton , lasted for about six hours .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I got through that Friday night meeting without the grace of God to put it quite bluntly , ” Denton said .
“ I could not have sat through six hours of people just spewing hate and telling me how terrible of a person that I am without the prayers and encouragement from dozens and dozens of people.
” “ It was appalling to see the level of vitriol aimed at Jack for , again , just simply stating a fact about what Catholic views are , ” Langhofer said .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others that you have to do this .
He said , I just want you to be aware of what Catholic teaching is on this.
” Thirty-eight senators , or 86 % , voted to oust Denton at the end of the meeting .
Florida State University declined to comment on the Senate ’ s decision to remove Denton as president , calling it a student government matter .
Denton appealed the senate ’ s decision to the Florida State University Supreme Court on Thursday , according to Langhofer .
He is alleging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy , university policy , and his rights under the First Amendment .
“ He wants to be reinstated and finish out his term , ” Langhofer said .
“ He deserves to be in there .
He was elected properly and he didn ’ t do anything to be removed.
” Meanwhile , Denton ’ s replacement , Ahmad Daraldik – who had been president pro tempore of the senate – has faced criticism of his own .
Daraldik , who is a Palestinian-American , allegedly said “ F*** Israel ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Israeli government actions in Palestine to Nazi Germany ’ s genocide of the Jews , according to a Change.org petition to remove him from the senate .
More than 8,000 people signed that petition .
“ These comments are revolting and separate comments made about Israel are absurd , ” said Republican State Rep. Mike Caruso in a letter to Florida State University Student Governance & Advocacy director Dr. Danielle Acosta , Ph.D. Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida State University penned a statement in support of Daraldik , which was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats , Spire Magazine editor-in-chief Emily Pacenti , and Hannah Llende , executive director of the Florida State University Pride Student Union .
“ Ahmad , who has personally lived under Israeli military occupation , has the right to feel frustration and dissatisfaction with the state that illegally occupies his family ’ s home in the West Bank , ” the statement said .
“ The coordinated smear campaign against Ahmad Daraldik is rooted in anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.
” Several Jewish students spoke out against Daraldik during a senate meeting last Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Daraldik took place .
“ It is not okay to discriminate , it is not okay to make anti-semitic comments , and it is also not okay to support one minority but not another , ” said Amanda Press , a Jewish student .
“ I believe that you should be removed because quite frankly the words that you have used upon my people , upon me , and just in general are not okay.
” Daraldik defended himself saying that he made the comments when he was living in Palestine “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I went through is not personal belief , ” said Daraldik .
“ That ’ s a reality , a reality I faced as a child .
The reality I faced from the age of nine until the age of 14 was living under an occupation , living under a government in a militant regime that believes my voice , my presence does not deserve to exist.
” The vote of no confidence in Daraldik failed with 19 out of 41 senators voting in favor .
Daraldik did not return the DCNF ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am aware of a controversy involving the FSU Student Senate President who has posted offensive anti-Semitic rhetoric online , ” said Florida State University President John Thrasher in a statement after the vote to remove Daraldik failed .
“ I want to take this opportunity to unequivocally state that we will not tolerate discrimination against groups or individuals.
” 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 @ @ @ @

The student government Senate president at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida was removed from his position earlier this month after he was accused of making transphobic, racist, and “anti-abortion” comments.
Jack Denton, 21, was voted out of his position after his texts from a private group chat were leaked to a fellow senator. He denounced the organizations Black Lives Matter, ACLU and Reclaim the Block in the texts, saying that these organizations promote causes such as transgenderism and abortion.
“What happened with me at Florida State is egregious and an egregious attack on the Constitution,” Denton told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Public universities like Florida State are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas and free expression. Expression should be encouraged, not shut down.”
Tyson Langhofer, director of the Center for Academic Freedom with the Alliance Defending Freedom is now advising Denton. Langhofer represented Young America’s Foundation and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in a 2016 case which resulted in several policy changes at California State University, Los Angeles.
“Our goal is to advise him on what his options are to challenge any unconstitutional or improper application of these student policies,” Langhofer told the DCNF. “Because the bottom line is students don’t give up their religious freedom when they step onto a public university campus.”
Denton, who is a rising senior studying political science, describes himself as a devout Roman Catholic. The group chat where he sent the messages in question is a Catholic Student Union group chat where students usually send prayer requests or share their faith in other ways.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, one unnamed student used the chat to encourage others to donate to a series of organizations and charities. Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck, video shows.
“BlackLivesMatter.com fosters ‘a queer affirming network’ and defends transgenderism. The ACLU defends laws protecting abortion facilities,” Denton said in the texts. “If I stay silent while my brothers and sisters may be supporting an organization that promotes grave evils, I have sinned through my silence.”
“I just want to make it explicitly clear that black lives matter,” Denton told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “I think any decent human would agree with me on that point. However, Black Lives Matter, the organization, advocates for things that are explicitly anti-Catholic.”
But, what began as text messages sent to a group of fellow Catholic students soon devolved into something Denton said was completely unexpected.
June 3
One hour into a routine virtual Senate meeting that Denton was presiding over on June 3, another senator, Khundavi Gnanam, made a motion of no confidence in Denton as Senate president. Gnanam was sent screenshots of Denton’s text messages by another person in the group chat.
Denton, who had not been given forewarning of this motion, temporarily ceded his authority to Ahmad Daraldik, the president pro tempore of the Senate. The meeting then went into an hour of debate.
“I just think these statements are unacceptable,” said Deía Medley Neyra, a senator who claims to be the first transgender woman to serve in the legislative body. “Those sorts of opinions shouldn’t be shared in public chats with other students.”
“We live and die by our choices and to say your opinion, say your belief in such a public setting with such strong wording as ‘grave evils,’ you can have your opinions and say them, but you should be held responsible for those choices,” said Daniel Ryan, another senator.
However, there were also senators who spoke in defense of Denton.
“We may disagree with what he said or how he said it, but it is important to express that we protect people’s individual right to express their beliefs,” said James Bateman.
The senate failed to reach the required two-thirds majority, voting 21-16 in favor of removing him from his position as president of the Senate. Denton remained president of the Senate.
June 4
Several student organizations rallied in the aftermath of the failed vote to remove Denton from his position as Senate president. The goal was to force another vote.
“Denton’s words send a dehumanizing message to womxn, trans, queer, and black students at FSU, and prove that he is unfit to hold the office of Senate President,” reads a June 4 editorial published in Spire Magazine, Florida State University’s student paper. “The Spire staff as a united front would like to announce our support for the removal and/or resignation of Jack Denton from the SGA senate.”
Emily Pacenti, editor-in-chief of Spire Magazine declined to comment further.
“Denton’s comments were explicitly racist, transphobic, and anti-choice, referring to the transgender community and the pro-choice movement as ‘grave evils,’” the Florida State University Pride Student Union said in a statement DCNF. “We as the Pride Student Union condemn these comments made by the Senate President as an act of blatant discrimination.”
“As the president of the SGA Senate, an influential position within student government, Denton’s comments reflect problematic biases that could lead to unfair treatment of our LGBTQ+ and Black organizations on our campus,” the Florida State University College Democrats said in a statement sent to the DCNF.
The pressure from these groups led to the creation of a petition to call an emergency meeting. After more than 50% of the senate signed the petition, Denton scheduled an emergency meeting slated for June 5.
In the run-up to the meeting, though, senators who voted against removing Denton as senate president were pressured to vote in favor of the measure. Senators were being threatened with people saying they would vote them out in the next election if they didn’t vote against Denton.
“Someone posted in one of the Florida State University class Facebook pages the list of all the senators who voted to not remove me as senate president,” Denton said. “It was really this mob mentality, like we got to force these people to act this way despite the way they voted two days ago.”
June 5
The June 5 emergency meeting attracted so many viewers that the Zoom capacity had to be expanded and more than 700 people viewed the meeting, according to Denton.
The meeting was public, meaning Florida State University students were able to voice their opinions.
“There’s a difference between having viewpoints and having beliefs that can negatively affect others,” said Emery Lowden, a student. “I’m not trying to attack you. I’m trying to educate you.”
“The things Jack Denton has said have hurt a lot of people,” Lauren Callahan said. Callahan mentioned that she is a member of the Florida State University queer community and organized the petition that led to the meeting.
“I think it’s disgusting how you’re using religion to defend and uphold your hate and prejudices and biases,” student Gigi Cruz said.
“I don’t feel safe with you as president,” said student Valentina Brown. “You are condemning our identities, an integral part of our selves and our nature.”
The meeting, which mainly consisted of students condemning Denton, lasted for about six hours.
“I don’t know how I got through that Friday night meeting without the grace of God to put it quite bluntly,” Denton said. “I could not have sat through six hours of people just spewing hate and telling me how terrible of a person that I am without the prayers and encouragement from dozens and dozens of people.”
“It was appalling to see the level of vitriol aimed at Jack for, again, just simply stating a fact about what Catholic views are,” Langhofer said. “He didn’t even say to the others that you have to do this. He said, I just want you to be aware of what Catholic teaching is on this.”
Thirty-eight senators, or 86%, voted to oust Denton at the end of the meeting.
Florida State University declined to comment on the Senate’s decision to remove Denton as president, calling it a student government matter.
The Aftermath
Denton appealed the senate’s decision to the Florida State University Supreme Court on Thursday, according to Langhofer. He is alleging that there was a violation of Senate policy, university policy, and his rights under the First Amendment.
“He wants to be reinstated and finish out his term,” Langhofer said. “He deserves to be in there. He was elected properly and he didn’t do anything to be removed.”
Meanwhile, Denton’s replacement, Ahmad Daraldik – who had been president pro tempore of the senate – has faced criticism of his own.
Daraldik, who is a Palestinian-American, allegedly said “F*** Israel” and “stupid Jews,” and compared the Israeli government actions in Palestine to Nazi Germany’s genocide of the Jews, according to a Change.org petition to remove him from the senate. More than 8,000 people signed that petition.
“These comments are revolting and separate comments made about Israel are absurd,” said Republican State Rep. Mike Caruso in a letter to Florida State University Student Governance & Advocacy director Dr. Danielle Acosta, Ph.D.
Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida State University penned a statement in support of Daraldik, which was co-sponsored by the Florida State University College Democrats, Spire Magazine editor-in-chief Emily Pacenti, and Hannah Llende, executive director of the Florida State University Pride Student Union.
“Ahmad, who has personally lived under Israeli military occupation, has the right to feel frustration and dissatisfaction with the state that illegally occupies his family’s home in the West Bank,” the statement said. “The coordinated smear campaign against Ahmad Daraldik is rooted in anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.”
Several Jewish students spoke out against Daraldik during a senate meeting last Wednesday in which a vote of no confidence in Daraldik took place.
“It is not okay to discriminate, it is not okay to make anti-semitic comments, and it is also not okay to support one minority but not another,” said Amanda Press, a Jewish student. “I believe that you should be removed because quite frankly the words that you have used upon my people, upon me, and just in general are not okay.”
Daraldik defended himself saying that he made the comments when he was living in Palestine “under an oppressive occupation.”
“What I went through is not personal belief,” said Daraldik. “That’s a reality, a reality I faced as a child. The reality I faced from the age of nine until the age of 14 was living under an occupation, living under a government in a militant regime that believes my voice, my presence does not deserve to exist.”
The vote of no confidence in Daraldik failed with 19 out of 41 senators voting in favor. Daraldik did not return the DCNF’s emails seeking comment.
“I am aware of a controversy involving the FSU Student Senate President who has posted offensive anti-Semitic rhetoric online,” said Florida State University President John Thrasher in a statement after the vote to remove Daraldik failed. “I want to take this opportunity to unequivocally state that we will not tolerate discrimination against groups or individuals.”
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--2020-06-26--This Week at War: Making an Impact

This Week at War: Making an Impact

Thousands of American troops are still at war or training in hotspots around the globe .
Tragically , our nation has lost another soldier who was serving our country in the Middle East .
According to the Department of Defense , U.S. Army Spc .
Nick Bravo Regules “ died June 23 , 2020 , in Jordan while supporting operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility , from a non-combat-related incident.
” His death is being investigated by the Pentagon , but is not suspected of being related to COVID-19 , according to the Army Times .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Army Times reporter Kyle Rempfler wrote .
“ He joined the Army in May 2017 as a nodal network systems operator and was assigned a battery at Fort Bliss in March 2018 , according to the Army.
” Spc .
Nick Bravo Regules was just 20 years old .
Please pray for this fallen soldier ’ s family , friends and fellow troops .
In Iraq , American forces continue to target the world ’ s most dangerous terrorists .
The above video , which was released this week by the Pentagon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently hammering an ISIS training camp in Iraq .
There was no immediate word on how many terrorists were eliminated in the airstrike .
The United States has also increased the bounty on new ISIS terrorist leader Amir Muhammad Sa ’ id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla to $ 10 million , according to this CNBC report .
“ Al-Mawla — also known as Hajji Abdallah and Abu- ‘ Umar al-Turkmani — succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the leader of ISIS following Baghdadi ’ s death during a U.S. military operation in October 2019 , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Al-Mawla helped drive and justify the abduction , slaughter , and trafficking of members of Yazidi religious minority groups in northwest Iraq , and he oversees the group ’ s global operations.
” Please pray for our courageous troops fighting terrorism overseas as well as their families here at home .
All across the country , U.S. National Guard service members are continuing to quietly fight the war on COVID-19 .
From operating coronavirus testing sites and supervising supply missions to securing nursing hopes and running food banks , brave soldiers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hand to those in need .
In Bladen County , North Carolina , some schoolchildren who would normally eat their breakfast and lunch at school have been getting free meals from their state ’ s volunteer warriors .
These National Guard heroes are helping countless families dealing with unemployment and economic hardship .
“ The National Guard has stepped in and provided our district the opportunity to support children through natural and healthy eating habits , ” Elizabethtown Middle School principal Jamal Dunham said .
“ We would not have been able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making without the help of the National Guard.
” These types of stories don ’ t normally make headlines , but the compassion displayed on a daily basis by our military deserves our attention and gratitude .
Thank God for our brave men and women in uniform .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
National Guard troops also continue responding to civil unrest .
In our nation ’ s capital , 400 soldiers were activated this week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down during protests .
Rioters unsuccessfully tried to pull down a statue of President Andrew Jackson on Monday night in Lafayette Park , which is just steps from the White House .
“ The National Guard soldiers activated this week will not be armed , but will serve as ‘ uniformed deterrence ’ in support U.S. Park Police in protecting any key monuments to prevent any defacing or destruction , ” according to a report by WRC-TV in Washington .
Please keep the brave men and women of the National Guard in your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep all of us safe .
A dozen brave airmen serving with the Alaska Air National Guard returned to their home state on Monday after spending many months at war in Kandahar , Afghanistan .
Welcome home , heroes !
Thank you for risking your life overseas to defend our freedom .
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream .
He is co-author of 8 Seconds of Courage , Brothers Forever , Fire in My Eyes and the forthcoming Three Wise Men .
Follow Tom on Twitter @ TSileo and @ @ @ @ @ @

Middle East
Thousands of American troops are still at war or training in hotspots around the globe. Tragically, our nation has lost another soldier who was serving our country in the Middle East.
According to the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Spc. Nick Bravo Regules “died June 23, 2020, in Jordan while supporting operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, from a non-combat-related incident.” His death is being investigated by the Pentagon, but is not suspected of being related to COVID-19, according to the Army Times.
“This was Regules’ first deployment,” Army Times reporter Kyle Rempfler wrote. “He joined the Army in May 2017 as a nodal network systems operator and was assigned a battery at Fort Bliss in March 2018, according to the Army.”
Spc. Nick Bravo Regules was just 20 years old. Please pray for this fallen soldier’s family, friends and fellow troops.
In Iraq, American forces continue to target the world’s most dangerous terrorists. The above video, which was released this week by the Pentagon, shows U.S. and French war planes recently hammering an ISIS training camp in Iraq. There was no immediate word on how many terrorists were eliminated in the airstrike.
The United States has also increased the bounty on new ISIS terrorist leader Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla to $10 million, according to this CNBC report.
“Al-Mawla — also known as Hajji Abdallah and Abu-‘Umar al-Turkmani — succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the leader of ISIS following Baghdadi’s death during a U.S. military operation in October 2019,” the State Department said in a statement. “Al-Mawla helped drive and justify the abduction, slaughter, and trafficking of members of Yazidi religious minority groups in northwest Iraq, and he oversees the group’s global operations.”
Please pray for our courageous troops fighting terrorism overseas as well as their families here at home.
Coronavirus
All across the country, U.S. National Guard service members are continuing to quietly fight the war on COVID-19.
Soldiers & Airmen with the @DelawareNG helped the @FoodBankofDE during today’s drive-thru food pantry at the @MonsterMile in Dover. These @USNationalGuard members distributed much-needed food to address the demand for food assistance amid COVID-19. (📸: Capt. Brendan Mackie) pic.twitter.com/3cN0Lf7H0w — Delaware National Guard (@DelawareNG) June 25, 2020
From operating coronavirus testing sites and supervising supply missions to securing nursing hopes and running food banks, brave soldiers and airmen are spending each day lending a hand to those in need.
When COVID-19 caused schools to close, the @NCNationalGuard helped make sure that kids that relied on school lunches received the meals they needed. #InThisTogether https://t.co/rvQpbvDifZ — National Guard (@USNationalGuard) June 23, 2020
In Bladen County, North Carolina, some schoolchildren who would normally eat their breakfast and lunch at school have been getting free meals from their state’s volunteer warriors. These National Guard heroes are helping countless families dealing with unemployment and economic hardship.
“The National Guard has stepped in and provided our district the opportunity to support children through natural and healthy eating habits,” Elizabethtown Middle School principal Jamal Dunham said. “We would not have been able to make the impact we’re making without the help of the National Guard.”
These types of stories don’t normally make headlines, but the compassion displayed on a daily basis by our military deserves our attention and gratitude. Thank God for our brave men and women in uniform.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Civil Unrest
National Guard troops also continue responding to civil unrest. In our nation’s capital, 400 soldiers were activated this week to protect monuments from possibly being pulled down during protests. Rioters unsuccessfully tried to pull down a statue of President Andrew Jackson on Monday night in Lafayette Park, which is just steps from the White House.
“The National Guard soldiers activated this week will not be armed, but will serve as ‘uniformed deterrence’ in support U.S. Park Police in protecting any key monuments to prevent any defacing or destruction,” according to a report by WRC-TV in Washington.
Please keep the brave men and women of the National Guard in your prayers as they follow orders and help keep all of us safe.
Coming Home
A dozen brave airmen serving with the Alaska Air National Guard returned to their home state on Monday after spending many months at war in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Master Sgt. Bryce Weight, of the @176thWing, holds his daughter with her welcome home sign in hand upon his return from a deployment in support of Operation Freedom Sentinel. Welcome home! https://t.co/r4frQXzwfq pic.twitter.com/NT1UijIGSK — National Guard (@USNationalGuard) June 24, 2020
Welcome home, heroes! Thank you for risking your life overseas to defend our freedom.
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is co-author of 8 Seconds of Courage, Brothers Forever, Fire in My Eyes and the forthcoming Three Wise Men. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-06-26--It’s Not Mindless Violence We’re Seeing. It’s a Violent Mindset.

At this moment in history , Americans are being overwhelmed by fear , anger and anxiety .
Fear of having a lifetime of work destroyed by vandals , whether that work is a business or reputation .
Anger at seeing cherished national monuments desecrated .
Anxiety over threats to destroy their homeland .
“ If this country doesn ’ t give us what we want , we will burn down this system and replace it , ” Hawk Newsome , president of Black Lives Matter ’ s chapter in greater New York .
Newsome ’ s threats , despite their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the current chaos .
Both represent a mindset .
A mindset the radical Left has advocated for more than a century .
That mindset was best articulated by philosopher Herbert Marcuse of the Neo-Marxist Frankfurt School .
Founded in 1918 in a Germany ravaged by World War I , the Frankfurt School sought to implement Marxist ideas by peacefully integrating them into society .
Marcuse provided an example with his landmark , “ Repressive Tolerance.
” Marcuse rejected two mainstays of American society : the Judeo-Christian ethic and the idea of individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their place , Marcuse advocated a Marxist approach that favored ostensibly oppressed groups at the expense of everybody else .
As a result , Marcuse ’ s essay contains the seeds of cancel culture , identity politics , campus speech codes and violent anarchism .
“ A policy of unequal treatment would protect radicalism on the Left against that on the Right , ” he wrote .
“ Liberating tolerance , then , would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.
” That policy would extend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as of discussion and propaganda , of deed as well as of word , ” Marcuse wrote .
Such a policy , he added , would demand “ the withdrawal of toleration of speech and assembly from groups and movements.
” Which ones ?
Those that not only “ promote aggressive policies , armament , chauvinism , discrimination on the grounds of race and religion ” but also “ oppose the extension of public services , social security , medical care , etc.
, ” Marcuse wrote .
Opposition , he added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions on teachings and practices in the educational institutions.
” Marcuse even justified violence and described police as instruments of state oppression .
“ There is a ‘ natural right ’ of resistance for oppressed and overpowered minorities to use extralegal means if the legal ones have proved to be inadequate , ” he wrote .
“ Law and order are always and everywhere the law and order which protect the established hierarchy ; it is nonsensical to invoke the absolute authority of this law and this order against those who suffer from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If they use violence , they do not start a new chain of violence but try to break an established one.
” Marcuse ’ s influence permeates the universities .
In discussing Antifa , NYU Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat referred to a protest last year .
Antifa pelted independent journalist Andy Ngo with so-called milk shakes laced with quick-drying cement .
Ngo suffered a brain hemorrhage and went to a hospital .
“ Throwing a milkshake is not equivalent to killing someone , ” Ben-Ghiat .
“ But because the people in power are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , any dissent against right-wing violence , backfires.
” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
K-Su Park , now an associate law professor at Georgetown , even challenged the American Civil Liberties Union to reconsider its approach to the First Amendment after the 2017 riots in Charlottesville , Va .
The ACLU represented Jason Kessler , who organized the “ Unite the Right ” rally and sued that city for revoking his permit to protest .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country is on a level playing field , that at some point it overcame its history of racial discrimination to achieve a real democracy , the cornerstone of which is freedom of expression , ” Park .
“ Other forms of structural discrimination and violence also restrict the exercise of speech , such as police intimidation of African-Americans and Latinos .
The danger that communities face because of their speech isn ’ t equal.
” At the time , Park was a fellow with UCLA ’ s critical race studies program .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sociological approach developed by the Frankfurt School .
One reason such ideas flourish is the belief that objective truth does not exist .
All truth is supposed to be relative , which ultimately means personal .
Truth , therefore , deteriorates into narrative .
In highly politicized times and contexts , narrative descends into ideology .
In a nation with no protections for individual freedom , ideology becomes totalitarianism .
That ’ s why so many embrace “ woke ” narratives .
They really have no tools to evaluate those narratives .
Consequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a narrative , especially a highly-charged one , fall victim to cancel culture , even if the opposition is thoughtful or intelligent .
By contrast , the Judeo-Christian ethic declares that values and ethics “ are derived from God , not from reason alone , nor from the human heart , the state or through majority rule , ” Dennis Prager .
“ It is a belief in a universal , not relative , morality , ” Prager .
“ It is the belief that America must answer morally to this God , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , governments of the world.
” Or to their ideologies .
Central to the Judeo-Christian ethic is the idea that each individual , as a divine creation , has God-given dignity .
From that idea flow other ideas : equality under the law , uncorrupted due process and respect for private property .
Even when the United States failed to practice those ideals , activists relied on them to reform society .
Those ideals inspired Americans who fought against in the 19th century and in the 20th .
Activists like Newsome , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Under the guise of social justice , activists like Newsome seek national disintegration .
Out of the ruins , they hope to build their socialist utopia .
( As others have tried before and failed , at a cost of tens of millions of lives . )
Only by embracing and promoting the Judeo-Christian ethic that motivated this nation ’ s founders — and by rejecting Marcuse ’ s neo-Marxist poison — can the United States make genuine social progress .
Joseph D ’ Hippolito has written commentaries for such outlets as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Front Page Magazine .
He works as a free-lance writer .

At this moment in history, Americans are being overwhelmed by fear, anger and anxiety.
Fear of having a lifetime of work destroyed by vandals, whether that work is a business or reputation. Anger at seeing cherished national monuments desecrated. Anxiety over threats to destroy their homeland.
“If this country doesn’t give us what we want, we will burn down this system and replace it,” proclaimed Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter’s chapter in greater New York.
Newsome’s threats, despite their appearance, are not mindless. Neither is the current chaos. Both represent a mindset. A mindset the radical Left has advocated for more than a century.
That mindset was best articulated by philosopher Herbert Marcuse of the Neo-Marxist Frankfurt School.
Meet Herbert Marcuse
Founded in 1918 in a Germany ravaged by World War I, the Frankfurt School sought to implement Marxist ideas by peacefully integrating them into society. Marcuse provided an example with his landmark essay , “Repressive Tolerance.”
Marcuse rejected two mainstays of American society: the Judeo-Christian ethic and the idea of individual liberty protected by due process. In their place, Marcuse advocated a Marxist approach that favored ostensibly oppressed groups at the expense of everybody else.
As a result, Marcuse’s essay contains the seeds of cancel culture, identity politics, campus speech codes and violent anarchism.
“A policy of unequal treatment would protect radicalism on the Left against that on the Right,” he wrote. “Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.”
That policy would extend “to the stage of action as well as of discussion and propaganda, of deed as well as of word,” Marcuse wrote. Such a policy, he added, would demand “the withdrawal of toleration of speech and assembly from groups and movements.”
Which ones? Those that not only “promote aggressive policies, armament, chauvinism, discrimination on the grounds of race and religion” but also “oppose the extension of public services, social security, medical care, etc.,” Marcuse wrote. Opposition, he added, “may necessitate new and rigid restrictions on teachings and practices in the educational institutions.”
Marcuse even justified violence and described police as instruments of state oppression.
“There is a ‘natural right’ of resistance for oppressed and overpowered minorities to use extralegal means if the legal ones have proved to be inadequate,” he wrote. “Law and order are always and everywhere the law and order which protect the established hierarchy; it is nonsensical to invoke the absolute authority of this law and this order against those who suffer from it and struggle against it …. If they use violence, they do not start a new chain of violence but try to break an established one.”
The Marcus Influence on Campus
Marcuse’s influence permeates the universities. In discussing Antifa, NYU Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat referred to a protest last year. Antifa pelted independent journalist Andy Ngo with so-called milk shakes laced with quick-drying cement. Ngo suffered a brain hemorrhage and went to a hospital.
“Throwing a milkshake is not equivalent to killing someone,” Ben-Ghiat said . “But because the people in power are allied with the right, any provocation, any dissent against right-wing violence, backfires.”
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K-Su Park, now an associate law professor at Georgetown, even challenged the American Civil Liberties Union to reconsider its approach to the First Amendment after the 2017 riots in Charlottesville, Va. The ACLU represented Jason Kessler, who organized the “Unite the Right” rally and sued that city for revoking his permit to protest.
The ACLU’s approach “implies that the country is on a level playing field, that at some point it overcame its history of racial discrimination to achieve a real democracy, the cornerstone of which is freedom of expression,” Park wrote . “Other forms of structural discrimination and violence also restrict the exercise of speech, such as police intimidation of African-Americans and Latinos. The danger that communities face because of their speech isn’t equal.”
At the time, Park was a fellow with UCLA’s critical race studies program. Critical race studies comes from critical theory , the sociological approach developed by the Frankfurt School.
Relative Morality Verse Truth
One reason such ideas flourish is the belief that objective truth does not exist. All truth is supposed to be relative, which ultimately means personal. Truth, therefore, deteriorates into narrative. In highly politicized times and contexts, narrative descends into ideology. In a nation with no protections for individual freedom, ideology becomes totalitarianism.
That’s why so many embrace “woke” narratives. They really have no tools to evaluate those narratives. Consequently, narrative means everything. Those opposing a narrative, especially a highly-charged one, fall victim to cancel culture, even if the opposition is thoughtful or intelligent.
By contrast, the Judeo-Christian ethic declares that values and ethics “are derived from God, not from reason alone, nor from the human heart, the state or through majority rule,” wrote Dennis Prager.
“It is a belief in a universal, not relative, morality,” Prager added . “It is the belief that America must answer morally to this God, not to the mortal, usually venal, governments of the world.”
Or to their ideologies.
Central to the Judeo-Christian ethic is the idea that each individual, as a divine creation, has God-given dignity. From that idea flow other ideas: equality under the law, uncorrupted due process and respect for private property.
Even when the United States failed to practice those ideals, activists relied on them to reform society. Those ideals inspired Americans who fought against slavery in the 19th century and segregation in the 20th.
Activists like Newsome, however, believe those ideals are the problem. Under the guise of social justice, activists like Newsome seek national disintegration. Out of the ruins, they hope to build their socialist utopia. (As others have tried before and failed, at a cost of tens of millions of lives.)
Only by embracing and promoting the Judeo-Christian ethic that motivated this nation’s founders — and by rejecting Marcuse’s neo-Marxist poison — can the United States make genuine social progress.
Joseph D’Hippolito has written commentaries for such outlets as the Jerusalem Post, the American Thinker and Front Page Magazine. He works as a free-lance writer.


thestream--2020-06-26--Military Photo of the Day: Hercules Over Yokota AFB

A C-130J Super Hercules flies over Yokota Air Base in Japan on May 29 , 2020 , during a training @ @ @ @ @ and safe weekend , everyone !
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think @ @ @ @ @ Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .

A C-130J Super Hercules flies over Yokota Air Base in Japan on May 29, 2020, during a training mission.
Have a happy and safe weekend, everyone!
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thestream--2020-06-26--A Ring Every NBA Player Can Wear: The Path to Transforming Trust

Every player in the National Basketball Association wants a ring .
But while only a few will win a championship ring this year ( assuming the truncated season goes forward as planned ) , each of them is being asked to wear a different kind of ring .
The Oura ring can perceive slight deviations in temperature , heart rate and respiratory rate that signal an immune response .
The “ illness probability score ” it calculates can signal that the wearer might be infected with coronavirus even before the wearer shows symptoms .
The ring already worked in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A similar device warned PGA golfer Nick Watney last week , causing him to withdraw from a tournament on Friday after he tested positive for the virus .
Here ’ s the catch — no one knows how many players will wear the Oura ring .
NBA officials say there are strict regulations in place to protect players ’ privacy , but some are already worried about ways the data could be used or misused .
One said the ring looked like “ a tracking device.
” If more players wear the ring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them .
But trust is a scarce commodity these days .
We are divided on masks and social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus .
We are divided over partisan politics as the fall elections approach .
The issue of racial injustice is especially fraught , from autonomous zones to the toppling of statues to congressional debates over policing .
Let ’ s focus on this issue today , highlighting a way forward that Christians can model for our fractured culture .
Racism is sin .
The good news is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human being is descended from the same parents ( Genesis 3:20 ) and loved by their Creator ( Genesis 1:27 ; John 3:16 ) .
God “ shows no partiality ” ( Acts 10:34 ) and calls us to do the same .
Jesus was adamant — “ A new commandment I give to you , that you love one another : just as I have loved you , you also are to love one another ” ( John 13:34 ) .
But his “ new commandment ” is less clear to us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easy way to distinguish between “ you ” in the singular or the plural .
The word can refer to one person or to a crowd .
In the Greek text Jesus ’ meaning is clear .
His commandment is for each and every one of us , individually and collectively , just as his love is for each and every one of us , individually and collectively .
Here ’ s my point — when we find collective ways to love each other by standing in solidarity , our unity breaks down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We were created to need each other ( Genesis 2:18 ) and find joy , encouragement and hope in others we often can not find in ourselves .
And we were created to serve with each other as the body of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 12:27 ) , doing together what we can not do alone .
In the weeks following George Floyd ’ s horrific death , there have been justified calls for people to stand up against racism and for justice , asking each of us to do what each of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggesting that we add this resolution — let ’ s do together what we can not do separately .
In View From the Top , Dr. Michael Lindsay shares leadership insights gained from personal interviews with US presidents and some of America ’ s top corporate and academic leaders .
One of his conclusions is especially relevant today .
To change the world , “ act personally , but think institutionally.
” He notes that “ when institutional leaders are tethered to powerful organizations and connected to each other through networks , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” We don ’ t have to be Fortune 100 CEOs to follow his advice .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Ask God to show you ways he intends you to make a difference for the sake of racial unity and justice .
Then ask him to show you those he intends you to join in this cause .
If a ministry or organization already exists to advance this mission , join it .
If one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Develop networks to leverage your influence .
Find people with whom to advance your mission .
Jesus promised “ By this all people will know that you are my disciples , if you have love for one another ” ( John 13:35 ) .
Do those who know you know that you are a disciple of our Lord ?
Jim Denison , PhD , is the founder of Denison Forum with a reach of 1.7 million .
He also serves as Resident Scholar for Ethics with Baylor Scott & White Health .

Every player in the National Basketball Association wants a ring. But while only a few will win a championship ring this year (assuming the truncated season goes forward as planned), each of them is being asked to wear a different kind of ring.
The Oura ring can perceive slight deviations in temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate that signal an immune response. The “illness probability score” it calculates can signal that the wearer might be infected with coronavirus even before the wearer shows symptoms.
The ring already worked in this way for a man in Finland. A similar device warned PGA golfer Nick Watney last week, causing him to withdraw from a tournament on Friday after he tested positive for the virus.
Here’s the catch — no one knows how many players will wear the Oura ring. NBA officials say there are strict regulations in place to protect players’ privacy, but some are already worried about ways the data could be used or misused. One said the ring looked like “a tracking device.” If more players wear the ring, the technology would presumably protect more of them. But trust is a scarce commodity these days.
But trust is a scarce commodity these days.
We are divided on masks and social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus. We are divided over partisan politics as the fall elections approach. The issue of racial injustice is especially fraught, from autonomous zones to the toppling of statues to congressional debates over policing. Let’s focus on this issue today, highlighting a way forward that Christians can model for our fractured culture.
A New Commandment I Give You
Racism is sin. The good news is, sinners can defeat racism together.
Every human being is descended from the same parents (Genesis 3:20) and loved by their Creator (Genesis 1:27; John 3:16). God “shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34) and calls us to do the same.
Jesus was adamant — “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34). But his “new commandment” is less clear to us in English, since we have no easy way to distinguish between “you” in the singular or the plural. The word can refer to one person or to a crowd.
In the Greek text Jesus’ meaning is clear. His commandment is for each and every one of us, individually and collectively, just as his love is for each and every one of us, individually and collectively.
Here’s my point — when we find collective ways to love each other by standing in solidarity, our unity breaks down barriers we cannot defeat individually.
We were created to need each other (Genesis 2:18) and find joy, encouragement and hope in others we often cannot find in ourselves. And we were created to serve with each other as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), doing together what we cannot do alone.
Act Personally, but Think Institutionally
In the weeks following George Floyd’s horrific death, there have been justified calls for people to stand up against racism and for justice, asking each of us to do what each of us can do. I’m suggesting that we add this resolution — let’s do together what we cannot do separately.
In View From the Top, Dr. Michael Lindsay shares leadership insights gained from personal interviews with US presidents and some of America’s top corporate and academic leaders. One of his conclusions is especially relevant today. To change the world, “act personally, but think institutionally.” He notes that “when institutional leaders are tethered to powerful organizations and connected to each other through networks, the potential for action and change is immeasurable.” We don’t have to be Fortune 100 CEOs to follow his advice.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Ask God to show you ways he intends you to make a difference for the sake of racial unity and justice. Then ask him to show you those he intends you to join in this cause. If a ministry or organization already exists to advance this mission, join it. If one does not exist, start it. Develop networks to leverage your influence. Find people with whom to advance your mission.
Jesus promised “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Do those who know you know that you are a disciple of our Lord?
Jim Denison, PhD, is the founder of Denison Forum with a reach of 1.7 million. He also serves as Resident Scholar for Ethics with Baylor Scott & White Health.