thestream--2020-10-14--The Dogma Lives Loudly in Democrats

The Dogma Lives Loudly in Democrats

The confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett have cast a stark , surgical light on something disturbing .
The Democratic senators ’ questions expose why Americans stand profoundly divided on key moral issues .
And why we ’ ll remain divided , and our schism will just keep getting worse , until one side converts the other .
Or uses its power to crush it .
Democrats like Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein like to warn against judges like Barrett .
They might let their religious beliefs affect their view of the law .
These secularists pretend that their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on objective facts and “ science.
” But what if that isn ’ t true ?
What if , in fact , the very opposite proved to be the case ?
In fact , the secular left bases some of its key stances on wishful thinking , selfish passions , and rank superstition .
And the religious right ’ s faith , ironically , frees it up to reason clearly .
The God of Nature , and Nature ’ s Laws First let me explain some distinctions .
Our founders believed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our new country made in the Declaration of Independence rests on one claim .
Men have “ inalienable rights ” with which their Creator ( not “ the Thing ” ) “ endowed ” them .
Anyone looking clearly and honestly can see “ nature ’ s laws.
” They forbid one person or group from tyrannizing another by violating these rights .
The slaveowners who signed the Declaration ought to have known that they were planting a time bomb under their own white stucco plantations .
Likewise , when the Allies prosecuted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ natural law again .
To jail and hang the architects of the Holocaust , we had to insist that certain laws stand higher than national statutes .
For instance , the Nazi race laws .
Because according to them , the death camps were perfectly legal , of course .
The soldiers and bureaucrats who implemented a genocide knew better .
They knew that German laws permitting the murder of Jews , Gypsies , Slavs , and the handicapped were morally null and void .
On some level , they knew that killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government decrees it .
Rev .
Martin Luther King , Jr. called on Americans to defy immoral segregation laws .
As he wrote from the Birmingham jail , an unjust law is no law at all .
So he wasn ’ t being lawless ( as some had charged ) by flouting racist laws .
In fact , the authorities were acting lawlessly by enforcing them .
They knew that black people are not fundamentally different from white people , deserving of degrading segregation .
Faith Gives Reason Force Against Passions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known .
Here ’ s where religion comes in .
The basic truths of the natural law can be known by reason alone .
But we find it all too easy , given man ’ s fallen state , to look away from the truth .
Our selfish interests , tribal prejudices , or corrupt traditions can obscure reality , like a dirt-caked mirror .
Often the only force powerful enough to counteract those distortions is supernatural faith , and the truths it insists on .
That ’ s not just some pious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history .
When Portuguese and Spanish explorers starting enslaving the native Indians , and buying African slaves , the people who rebuked them were priests , bishops , and popes .
They pointed to the basic equality of man taught in the Bible .
The first formal Abolitionist movement on earth was started by a Pennsylvania Quaker , who pointed to scripture .
Churches , not scientific societies , led the fight to abolish slavery right up through the Civil War .
Were those who wished to free the slaves “ imposing ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on their helpless , slave-owning neighbors ?
No , they were harnessing the persuasive power of faith to insist on … the sober verdict of reason , which is that people white and black are of the same human race , with the same human rights .
The Nazis Waved Off Faith-Based Claims , Too The same is true of those Christians who resisted Hitler .
In their time , men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dietrich von Hildebrand followed their faith to reject Nazi “ race science.
” That got them written off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dogmatists.
” German camps like Dachau were stuffed full of priests and ministers who wouldn ’ t pervert the Gospel to suit the passionate , selfish , pseudo-scientific claims that most universities and newspapers had happily accommodated .
The anti-Nazi Christians weren ’ t trying to impose some biblical sharia on Europe .
( Though that ’ s what their Nazi persecutors claimed . )
These believers ’ faith in Christ simply forced them to follow … honest reason , which shows that Jews are not a wicked , parasitical subhuman race .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to invade and enslave its neighbors .
Those are rationally knowable truths , but it often takes the divine grace of Faith to swim them upstream against passions and pressure .
Why It Often Takes Faith to Follow Reason Today we don ’ t face massive cultural pressure and government force to dehumanize blacks or Jews .
The new target is pre-born children .
It ’ s interesting that so many founders of the pro-life movement were Catholics , and that so many who carry it on today are either Catholics or evangelicals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ life begins at conception ” is some Christian dogma , like the Incarnation .
No , it ’ s a sober fact of science , which appeared in embryology texts around the world before Roe v. Wade .
Religious faith forces us , despite what we might want to think , to accept the verdict of science .
However , the humanity of unborn children proved a mighty inconvenient fact for people gripped by selfish passions and Utopian aspirations , or an ugly blend of the two .
Planned Parenthood founder Margaret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her libertine lifestyle ( adulterous affairs , polyamory , and other practices frowned on in the 1920s ) by dishing up pseudoscience .
Of two different sorts , in fact .
First , she evangelized Mainline Protestant elites on the virtues of legalizing birth control , by inciting in them panic that “ lesser ” breeds of eugenically “ unfit ” blacks , Jews , and other immigrants were undermining America .
So not only should contraceptives be made readily available , they must be imposed on the poor , via forced sterilization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fake scientific theories concerning sex itself .
Benjamin Wiker documents the mystical theories she tried to popularize : [ Sanger ] believed sexuality to be a dynamic , creative power which , if released from its traditional restraints , would bring about the development of “ genius , ” thereby allowing the “ more fit ” to make great leaps up that same slope .
Sanger ’ s rather strange notion of the creation of “ genius ” through sexuality was based on a combination of current evolutionary thought , pop psychology and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Havelock Ellis .
Human beings were formed , socially and psychologically , by internal and external “ forces the greatest and most imperative of which are Sex and Hunger , ” she claimed .
While “ Hunger has created ‘ the struggle for existence , ' ” the “ dynamic energy ” of “ the great force of Sex ” was the evolutionary force which created genius .
The creation of genius will only come about with the “ removal of physiological and psychological inhibitions and constraints which makes possible the release and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man into full and divine expression , ” she wrote .
“ The removal of these inhibitions , so scientists assure us , makes possible more rapid and profound perceptions.
” Sanger longed to create an earthly paradise , one in which the free expression of sexuality would replace the need for religion by creating a new religion .
“ Through sex , ” she wrote , “ mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world , which will light up the only path to an earthly paradise .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sex-expression.
” No longer would humanity foolishly yearn for a world to come , for “ in that dawn men and women will have come to the realization , already suggested , that there close at hand is our paradise , our everlasting abode , our Heaven and our eternity.
” Does that sound like “ science ” to you ?
Or the fruit of sober reason , reflecting on man as a mammal that reproduces sexually ?
This is the unspoken creed that biased judges like Ruth Bader Ginsburg , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dianne Feinstein .
Their fervent , devout attachment to abortion right up through birth , for any reason , at taxpayer expense isn ’ t grounded in reason .
Or science .
Or even real “ equality ” for women .
Ginsburg repeated Simone de Beauvoir ’ s claim , borrowed from the Marquis de Sade , that women could only be truly equal if they , like men , could freely evade the consequences of sex .
Hence abortion .
But that ’ s not equality , just a deadly sameness .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ weird Gnostic fantasy that we can remake the human species into a kind of minor god .
But that god ’ s powers come from polymorphous , uninhibited sexual experimentation .
And that ’ s only possible if we sacrifice pre-born children .
Threaten the “ free access to women ’ s reproductive healthcare , ” and you ’ re suppressing their religion , as they see it .
The offbeat but logically consistent “ Temple of Satan ” now argues that abortion is its religious rite , protected by the First Amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .
He is co-author with Jason Jones of “ God , Guns , & the Government .
”

The confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett have cast a stark, surgical light on something disturbing. The Democratic senators’ questions expose why Americans stand profoundly divided on key moral issues. And why we’ll remain divided, and our schism will just keep getting worse, until one side converts the other. Or uses its power to crush it.
Democrats like Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein like to warn against judges like Barrett. They might let their religious beliefs affect their view of the law. These secularists pretend that their own value systems are somehow neutral, based on objective facts and “science.” But what if that isn’t true? What if, in fact, the very opposite proved to be the case?
In fact, the secular left bases some of its key stances on wishful thinking, selfish passions, and rank superstition. And the religious right’s faith, ironically, frees it up to reason clearly.
The God of Nature, and Nature’s Laws
First let me explain some distinctions. Our founders believed in natural law. The whole case for our new country made in the Declaration of Independence rests on one claim. Men have “inalienable rights” with which their Creator (not “the Thing”) “endowed” them. Anyone looking clearly and honestly can see “nature’s laws.” They forbid one person or group from tyrannizing another by violating these rights. The slaveowners who signed the Declaration ought to have known that they were planting a time bomb under their own white stucco plantations.
The basic truths of the natural law can be known by reason alone. But our selfish interests, tribal prejudices, or corrupt traditions can obscure the truth, like a dirt-caked mirror.
Likewise, when the Allies prosecuted the Nazis at Nuremburg. We needed natural law again. To jail and hang the architects of the Holocaust, we had to insist that certain laws stand higher than national statutes. For instance, the Nazi race laws. Because according to them, the death camps were perfectly legal, of course. The soldiers and bureaucrats who implemented a genocide knew better. They knew that German laws permitting the murder of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, and the handicapped were morally null and void. On some level, they knew that killing the innocent is evil, even if the government decrees it.
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. called on Americans to defy immoral segregation laws. As he wrote from the Birmingham jail, an unjust law is no law at all. So he wasn’t being lawless (as some had charged) by flouting racist laws. In fact, the authorities were acting lawlessly by enforcing them. They knew that black people are not fundamentally different from white people, deserving of degrading segregation.
Faith Gives Reason Force Against Passions and Prejudice
Or at least they should have known. Here’s where religion comes in. The basic truths of the natural law can be known by reason alone. But we find it all too easy, given man’s fallen state, to look away from the truth. Our selfish interests, tribal prejudices, or corrupt traditions can obscure reality, like a dirt-caked mirror. Often the only force powerful enough to counteract those distortions is supernatural faith, and the truths it insists on.
That’s not just some pious claim, but the sober verdict of history. When Portuguese and Spanish explorers starting enslaving the native Indians, and buying African slaves, the people who rebuked them were priests, bishops, and popes. They pointed to the basic equality of man taught in the Bible.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The first formal Abolitionist movement on earth was started by a Pennsylvania Quaker, who pointed to scripture. Churches, not scientific societies, led the fight to abolish slavery right up through the Civil War.
Were those who wished to free the slaves “imposing” the “dogmas” of their religion on their helpless, slave-owning neighbors? No, they were harnessing the persuasive power of faith to insist on … the sober verdict of reason, which is that people white and black are of the same human race, with the same human rights.
The Nazis Waved Off Faith-Based Claims, Too
The same is true of those Christians who resisted Hitler. In their time, men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dietrich von Hildebrand followed their faith to reject Nazi “race science.” That got them written off as religious “zealots” and “dogmatists.” German camps like Dachau were stuffed full of priests and ministers who wouldn’t pervert the Gospel to suit the passionate, selfish, pseudo-scientific claims that most universities and newspapers had happily accommodated.
The anti-Nazi Christians weren’t trying to impose some biblical sharia on Europe. (Though that’s what their Nazi persecutors claimed.) These believers’ faith in Christ simply forced them to follow … honest reason, which shows that Jews are not a wicked, parasitical subhuman race. And that one nation has no right to invade and enslave its neighbors. Those are rationally knowable truths, but it often takes the divine grace of Faith to swim them upstream against passions and pressure.
Why It Often Takes Faith to Follow Reason
Today we don’t face massive cultural pressure and government force to dehumanize blacks or Jews. The new target is pre-born children.
It’s interesting that so many founders of the pro-life movement were Catholics, and that so many who carry it on today are either Catholics or evangelicals. But that’s not because “life begins at conception” is some Christian dogma, like the Incarnation. No, it’s a sober fact of science, which appeared in embryology texts around the world before Roe v. Wade. Religious faith forces us, despite what we might want to think, to accept the verdict of science.
The Church of Sexual Utopia
However, the humanity of unborn children proved a mighty inconvenient fact for people gripped by selfish passions and Utopian aspirations, or an ugly blend of the two. Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, for instance. She justified her libertine lifestyle (adulterous affairs, polyamory, and other practices frowned on in the 1920s) by dishing up pseudoscience. Of two different sorts, in fact.
First, she evangelized Mainline Protestant elites on the virtues of legalizing birth control, by inciting in them panic that “lesser” breeds of eugenically “unfit” blacks, Jews, and other immigrants were undermining America. So not only should contraceptives be made readily available, they must be imposed on the poor, via forced sterilization.
Second, Sanger crafted her own fake scientific theories concerning sex itself. Benjamin Wiker documents the mystical theories she tried to popularize:
[Sanger] believed sexuality to be a dynamic, creative power which, if released from its traditional restraints, would bring about the development of “genius,” thereby allowing the “more fit” to make great leaps up that same slope. Sanger’s rather strange notion of the creation of “genius” through sexuality was based on a combination of current evolutionary thought, pop psychology and the writings of famed “sexologist” Havelock Ellis. Human beings were formed, socially and psychologically, by internal and external “forces the greatest and most imperative of which are Sex and Hunger,” she claimed. While “Hunger has created ‘the struggle for existence,'” the “dynamic energy” of “the great force of Sex” was the evolutionary force which created genius. The creation of genius will only come about with the “removal of physiological and psychological inhibitions and constraints which makes possible the release and channeling of the primordial inner energies of man into full and divine expression,” she wrote. “The removal of these inhibitions, so scientists assure us, makes possible more rapid and profound perceptions.” … Sanger longed to create an earthly paradise, one in which the free expression of sexuality would replace the need for religion by creating a new religion. “Through sex,” she wrote, “mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world, which will light up the only path to an earthly paradise. So must we necessarily and inevitably conceive of sex-expression.” No longer would humanity foolishly yearn for a world to come, for “in that dawn men and women will have come to the realization, already suggested, that there close at hand is our paradise, our everlasting abode, our Heaven and our eternity.”
(For much more of this madness, see Wiker’s chapter on Sanger in Ten Books That Screwed Up the World.)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Secret Creed
Does that sound like “science” to you? Or the fruit of sober reason, reflecting on man as a mammal that reproduces sexually?
This is the unspoken creed that biased judges like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and still goads senators like Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein. Their fervent, devout attachment to abortion right up through birth, for any reason, at taxpayer expense isn’t grounded in reason. Or science. Or even real “equality” for women. Ginsburg repeated Simone de Beauvoir’s claim, borrowed from the Marquis de Sade, that women could only be truly equal if they, like men, could freely evade the consequences of sex. Hence abortion. But that’s not equality, just a deadly sameness.
The pro-choice position is built on a weird Gnostic fantasy that we can remake the human species into a kind of minor god. But that god’s powers come from polymorphous, uninhibited sexual experimentation. And that’s only possible if we sacrifice pre-born children. Threaten the “free access to women’s reproductive healthcare,” and you’re suppressing their religion, as they see it. The offbeat but logically consistent “Temple of Satan” now argues that abortion is its religious rite, protected by the First Amendment.
The dogma lives loudly in Democrats.
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. He is co-author with Jason Jones of “God, Guns, & the Government.”


thestream--2020-10-14--#RussiaGate Figure Bruce Ohr Resigns From Justice Department

Bruce Ohr resigned from the Justice Department late last month after he was informed that a final decision was imminent in an ongoing disciplinary review over his contacts with dossier author Christopher Steele , the Justice Department said .
“ Bruce Ohr retired from the Department of Justice on September 30 , 2020 .
As such , he is no longer an employee of the Department , ” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement .
“ Mr .
Ohr retired after his counsel was informed that a final decision on a disciplinary review being conducted by Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was a top official in the deputy attorney general ’ s office , served as a conduit between the FBI team that investigated the Trump campaign and former British spy Christopher Steele .
Ohr ’ s wife , Nellie , worked as an analyst for Fusion GPS , the opposition research firm that hired Steele on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign .
CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge first reported that Ohr resigned in a tweet Wednesday .
Steele produced a dossier alleging that the Trump campaign conspired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 election .
The FBI relied heavily on the dossier to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ( FISA ) warrants against Carter Page .
A Justice Department inspector general ’ s report released on Dec. 9 criticized the FBI for withholding evidence that undercut the credibility of the dossier .
The report also criticized Ohr for failing to tell his superiors at the Justice Department about his contacts with Steele .
The IG report said that Ohr and Steele first met in 2010 .
Their first interaction involving the Trump campaign occurred on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Nellie Ohr met Steele in Washington , D.C .
The Ohrs have told Congress that Steele shared information he had collected as part of his investigation of Trump .
Bruce Ohr maintained contact with Steele on behalf of the FBI after the bureau cut ties with the ex-spy over his contacts with reporters regarding the dossier .
Ohr and Steele had multiple phone calls and email contacts in the following months .
The IG report said that Ohr “ displayed a lapse in judgement ” by failing to consult with Justice Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the FBI .
Ohr did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
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 licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Bruce Ohr resigned from the Justice Department late last month after he was informed that a final decision was imminent in an ongoing disciplinary review over his contacts with dossier author Christopher Steele, the Justice Department said.
“Bruce Ohr retired from the Department of Justice on September 30, 2020. As such, he is no longer an employee of the Department,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.
“Mr. Ohr retired after his counsel was informed that a final decision on a disciplinary review being conducted by Department senior career officials was imminent.”
Ohr, who was a top official in the deputy attorney general’s office, served as a conduit between the FBI team that investigated the Trump campaign and former British spy Christopher Steele.
Ohr’s wife, Nellie, worked as an analyst for Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that hired Steele on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign.
CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge first reported that Ohr resigned in a tweet Wednesday.
author Christopher Steele to the FBI after Steele's termination by Bureau as a source. Timing: Ohr left DOJ in recent weeks + seeking his comment — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) October 14, 2020
Steele produced a dossier alleging that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. The FBI relied heavily on the dossier to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against Carter Page.
A Justice Department inspector general’s report released on Dec. 9 criticized the FBI for withholding evidence that undercut the credibility of the dossier. The report also criticized Ohr for failing to tell his superiors at the Justice Department about his contacts with Steele.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The IG report said that Ohr and Steele first met in 2010.
Their first interaction involving the Trump campaign occurred on July 30, 2016, when Bruce and Nellie Ohr met Steele in Washington, D.C.
The Ohrs have told Congress that Steele shared information he had collected as part of his investigation of Trump.
Bruce Ohr maintained contact with Steele on behalf of the FBI after the bureau cut ties with the ex-spy over his contacts with reporters regarding the dossier.
Ohr and Steele had multiple phone calls and email contacts in the following months.
The IG report said that Ohr “displayed a lapse in judgement” by failing to consult with Justice Department officials about his interactions with Steele and the FBI.
Ohr did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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--2020-10-14--Emails Show Joe Biden Lying About Knowledge of Son’s Burisma Dealings. Facebook Admits Censoring NYP

Emails Show Joe Biden Lying About Knowledge of Son’s Burisma Dealings. Facebook Admits Censoring NYPost Blockbuster Story

As Ricky Ricardo might say , “ Joe Biden , you ’ ve got some s ’ plainin ’ to do.
” As does Facebook .
And Twitter .
Biden has to explain why emails released today indicate he met with a Burisma executive , thanks to his son , who sat on the board of the corrupt Ukraine energy giant .
Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son Hunter ’ s dealings with Burisma .
Joe says he ’ s “ never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.
” During the primaries , Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Savanna Guthrie if it was “ wrong for [ Hunter ] to take that position , knowing that it was really because that company wanted access to you.
” Biden ’ s response : “ That ’ s not true .
You ’ re saying things you do not know what you ’ re talking about , ” Now we know : Joe Biden lied .
Flat out lied .
He actually met with a top Burisma executive , thanks to Hunter .
The New York Post has the bombshell proof and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Post show a Burisma big shot thanking Hunter for introducing him to his father .
That is , then-Vice President Joe Biden .
The Joe Biden overseeing Ukraine policy and tasked with helping root out corruption there .
In the email , Vadym Pozharskyi , reportedly the number three guy at the corrupt energy company , writes : “ Dear Hunter , thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [ sic ] some time together .
It ’ s realty [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adds the Post : An earlier email from May 2014 also shows Pozharskyi , reportedly Burisma ’ s No .
3 exec , asking Hunter for “ advice on how you could use your influence ” on the company ’ s behalf .
Less than eight months after Pozharskyi thanked Hunter for his introduction to the VP , Joe Biden pressured then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire the prosecutor investigating Burisma .
Remember Biden bragging about it later ?
Boasting how if they didn ’ t fire the prosecutor by the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d withhold a billion dollars in aid ?
You remember what Biden said ?
“ Well , son-of-a-b**** , he got fired.
” State Department documents prove that Burisma continued using Hunter Biden ’ s name through the 2016 election to pressure the U.S. government to convince Ukraine to back off Burisma , Just the News reported in August 2020 .
Check out the rest of the NY Post article .
https : //nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/ A side article shows how Hunter leveraged his father ’ s position to jack up his Burisma salary , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month .
Bidens can be bought , but they don ’ t come cheap .
Joe Biden refused to answer questions about the article early this morning , and by 9:41 a.m. , his campaign had called a lid on all public activities for the day .
Yes , just 19 days out from the election , and Joe is disappearing .
His campaign did release a statement , saying they ’ ve reviewed Biden ’ s “ official schedules from the time and no meeting , as alleged by the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ word there is “ official.
” The treasure trove of documents was discovered on a laptop computer that had been dropped off for repair in Delaware in April 2019 and never claimed .
The MacBook Pro has a “ Beau Biden Foundation ” sticker on it , referring to Biden ’ s late son Beau , a former Attorney General of Delaware .
According to The Post , the computer and hard drive were seized by the FBI in December , after the shop ’ s owner says he alerted the feds .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the hard drive for Rudy Giuliani ’ s lawyer .
Guiliani provided a copy of the hard drive to NY Post on Sunday . )
According to The Federalist , Congressional Republicans have been trying to get the FBI to say whether it is investigating Hunter Biden .
The FBI keeps refusing to answer .
Any rational voter would agree this is an important story .
Even if all the details haven ’ t been confirmed , the article is a bombshell .
Americans should be able to make their own judgement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bombshell New York Post story on Facebook .
Facebook admits that it is “ reducing its distribution ” on their platform .
In other words , censoring .
Former Democratic staffer Andy Stone is head of policy communications for Facebook .
Twitter also is working to interfere with the spread of the story .
American voters have a right to know if the Democratic nominee for President has been lying about his involvement in his son ’ s shady dealings with the corrupt Burisma holdings .
Whether the VP knew his son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Mollie Hemingway has it right .
Facebook ’ s blatant censorship of the article is “ interfering in the presidential election — by censoring media outlets and limiting discussion of today ’ s breaking news about Biden ’ s engagement with Burisma.
” But you are not helpless .
You can fight the suppression of information by sharing this story and the original NY Post story on every platform you have .
We will update this story as warranted .
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Incorrect Guide to Immigration .
You can follow him at @ StreamingAl .
And if you aren ’ t already , please follow The Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

As Ricky Ricardo might say, “Joe Biden, you’ve got some s’plainin’ to do.” As does Facebook. And Twitter. Biden has to explain why emails released today indicate he met with a Burisma executive, thanks to his son, who sat on the board of the corrupt Ukraine energy giant.
Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son Hunter’s dealings with Burisma. Joe says he’s “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.”
Here’s a refresher:
During the primaries, Biden was asked specifically by NBC’s Savanna Guthrie if it was “wrong for [Hunter] to take that position, knowing that it was really because that company wanted access to you.”
Biden’s response: “That’s not true. You’re saying things you do not know what you’re talking about,”
Listen:
FLASHBACK: Savannah Guthrie asked Joe Biden if it was “wrong” for Hunter to take a seat on the board of Burisma “because the company wanted access to you.” “That’s not true. You’re saying things you do not know what you’re talking about,” Joe Biden. #BidenLied pic.twitter.com/9Eky14Zi0O — Francis Brennan (@FrancisBrennan) October 14, 2020
Now we know: Joe Biden lied. Flat out lied. He actually met with a top Burisma executive, thanks to Hunter. The New York Post has the bombshell proof and more.
NY Post Has the Emails
Newly released emails published in the New York Post show a Burisma big shot thanking Hunter for introducing him to his father. That is, then-Vice President Joe Biden. The Joe Biden overseeing Ukraine policy and tasked with helping root out corruption there.
In the email, Vadym Pozharskyi, reportedly the number three guy at the corrupt energy company, writes: “Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure.”
Adds the Post: An earlier email from May 2014 also shows Pozharskyi, reportedly Burisma’s No. 3 exec, asking Hunter for “advice on how you could use your influence” on the company’s behalf.
Less than eight months after Pozharskyi thanked Hunter for his introduction to the VP, Joe Biden pressured then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire the prosecutor investigating Burisma. Remember Biden bragging about it later? Boasting how if they didn’t fire the prosecutor by the time he got on his plane he’d withhold a billion dollars in aid? You remember what Biden said? “Well, son-of-a-b****, he got fired.”
WATCH: Biden Boasts of Ousting Prosecutor Investigating Burisma
State Department documents prove that Burisma continued using Hunter Biden’s name through the 2016 election to pressure the U.S. government to convince Ukraine to back off Burisma, Just the News reported in August 2020.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Check out the rest of the NY Post article. https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/
A side article shows how Hunter leveraged his father’s position to jack up his Burisma salary, which ended up being $50,000 a month. Bidens can be bought, but they don’t come cheap.
Joe Biden refused to answer questions about the article early this morning, and by 9:41 a.m., his campaign had called a lid on all public activities for the day. Yes, just 19 days out from the election, and Joe is disappearing.
His campaign did release a statement, saying they’ve reviewed Biden’s “official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place.” Key word there is “official.”
NEW from Biden campaign's @AndrewBatesNC on the NY Post story: "…we have reviewed Joe Biden's official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place." pic.twitter.com/E4QAEGzP9i — Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) October 14, 2020
The Laptop
The treasure trove of documents was discovered on a laptop computer that had been dropped off for repair in Delaware in April 2019 and never claimed. The MacBook Pro has a “Beau Biden Foundation” sticker on it, referring to Biden’s late son Beau, a former Attorney General of Delaware. According to The Post, the computer and hard drive were seized by the FBI in December, after the shop’s owner says he alerted the feds. (The owner also made a copy of the hard drive for Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer. Guiliani provided a copy of the hard drive to NY Post on Sunday.)
According to The Federalist, Congressional Republicans have been trying to get the FBI to say whether it is investigating Hunter Biden. The FBI keeps refusing to answer.
Facebook and Twitter Censoring the Story
Any rational voter would agree this is an important story. Even if all the details haven’t been confirmed, the article is a bombshell. Americans should be able to make their own judgement about it. But good luck sharing the bombshell New York Post story on Facebook. Facebook admits that it is “reducing its distribution” on their platform. In other words, censoring.
Former Democratic staffer Andy Stone is head of policy communications for Facebook.
While I will intentionally not link to the New York Post, I want be clear that this story is eligible to be fact checked by Facebook's third-party fact checking partners. In the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform. — Andy Stone (@andymstone) October 14, 2020
Twitter also is working to interfere with the spread of the story.
Twitter now too pic.twitter.com/TGTve2mXuC — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 14, 2020
American voters have a right to know if the Democratic nominee for President has been lying about his involvement in his son’s shady dealings with the corrupt Burisma holdings. Whether the VP knew his son was peddling access. The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway has it right. Facebook’s blatant censorship of the article is “interfering in the presidential election — by censoring media outlets and limiting discussion of today’s breaking news about Biden’s engagement with Burisma.”
But you are not helpless. You can fight the suppression of information by sharing this story and the original NY Post story on every platform you have.
We will update this story as warranted.
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-10-14--Pastor Calls for Prayer and Fasting Every Tuesday Until the Election

Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills released a live video on Facebook Tuesday morning , October 13 , calling for the church to pray and fast for this nation .
“ Every Tuesday between now and the election , we ’ re going to fast and pray , ” Hibbs said .
He will lead a 3 to 5 minute prayer at 7:00 AM ( Pacific ) , covering topics ranging from repentance to revival .
Hibbs is also calling for all pastors to fully re-open their churches by October 25 and preach the Word of God boldly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ churches to do it — pastors to go and storm their pulpits , on fire with a message that is given to them from the Lord , from above.
” Pastor Jack closes with the reminder that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance .
“ He ’ s good .
Let us seek him with all of our hearts until we see Jesus face to face.
” Please watch and consider joining us in prayer for the Church to Awaken in our day .
Pastor Jack recently spoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need for Christians to unite in the current culture war .

Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills released a live video on Facebook Tuesday morning, October 13, calling for the church to pray and fast for this nation.
“Every Tuesday between now and the election, we’re going to fast and pray,” Hibbs said. He will lead a 3 to 5 minute prayer at 7:00 AM (Pacific), covering topics ranging from repentance to revival.
Hibbs is also calling for all pastors to fully re-open their churches by October 25 and preach the Word of God boldly. “We’re pleading with churches to do it — pastors to go and storm their pulpits, on fire with a message that is given to them from the Lord, from above.”
Pastor Jack closes with the reminder that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. “He’s good. Let us seek him with all of our hearts until we see Jesus face to face.”
Please watch and consider joining us in prayer for the Church to Awaken in our day.
WATCH:
Pastor Jack recently spoke to Stream publisher James Robison about the need for Christians to unite in the current culture war.


thestream--2020-10-14--Man Caught on Video Stealing Mail, Voting Ballots From California Mailboxes

Video captured a man stealing absentee ballots while walking through a neighborhood in Escondido , California , a local news outlet reported .
Surveillance cameras from David Sprouse , a local resident , captured a man stealing mail from his home and houses nearby last week , Fox 5 San Diego reported .
“ It was a younger looking man , [ who ] happened to come down the sidewalk .
He was wearing a ball cap , face mask , gloves .
He carefully opened up our mailbox and took out all of our mail , ” Sprouse told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to search through the mail of additional houses , Sprouse said .
No arrests have been made as of Thursday evening , Fox 5 reported .
Sprouse said that he didn ’ t realize his mail had been tampered with until the next morning , and that this was the first time in at least a decade that somebody had stolen his mail .
“ There are two offenses going on here , ” San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu told the local outlet .
“ Number one , you can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s already a crime under the laws of the U.S .
Postal Service .
But then this is a federal election [ crime ] as well.
” Though widespread voter fraud is rare , experts say , the surge in mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic has raised logistical concerns and fears that the results of the presidential election may be delayed since they take longer to tally .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Video captured a man stealing absentee ballots while walking through a neighborhood in Escondido, California, a local news outlet reported.
Surveillance cameras from David Sprouse, a local resident, captured a man stealing mail from his home and houses nearby last week, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
“It was a younger looking man, [who] happened to come down the sidewalk. He was wearing a ball cap, face mask, gloves. He carefully opened up our mailbox and took out all of our mail,” Sprouse told Fox 5.
The thief then continued to search through the mail of additional houses, Sprouse said.
No arrests have been made as of Thursday evening, Fox 5 reported.
Sprouse said that he didn’t realize his mail had been tampered with until the next morning, and that this was the first time in at least a decade that somebody had stolen his mail.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“There are two offenses going on here,” San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu told the local outlet. “Number one, you cannot steal anyone’s mail. That’s already a crime under the laws of the U.S. Postal Service. But then this is a federal election [crime] as well.”
Though widespread voter fraud is rare, experts say, the surge in mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic has raised logistical concerns and fears that the results of the presidential election may be delayed since they take longer to tally.
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--2020-10-14--Military Photo of the Day: Surveying the Surroundings in Okinawa

A U.S. Marine analyzes his surroundings during a training exercise in Okinawa , Japan , on October 7 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ brave Marine for serving our country overseas .

A U.S. Marine analyzes his surroundings during a training exercise in Okinawa, Japan, on October 7, 2020.
Thank you to this brave Marine for serving our country overseas.
React to This Article What do you think of our coverage in this article? We value your feedback as we continue to grow.


thestream--2020-10-15--Providence and Politics: ‘History is His Story’

When I was a boy , my Sunday school teacher Mrs. Gruber used to say , “ History is His story.
” As a kid I was delighted by the wordplay , but I didn ’ t realize at the time that Mrs. Gruber was also a homespun philosopher .
She believed in what the intellectuals would call a “ meta-narrative.
” A meta-narrative is a great story that arches over all the little stories and binds them together .
If you believe there is a meta-narrative , then you believe there is an overall plan and purpose to history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arching plan — a greater story , then there must be a great story teller .
Christians of all traditions have always believed in divine providence — that God is in charge and he is constantly at work to bring to completion his greater plan for the human race .
The stories of the Bible unfold his working , first through the Hebrew people , then in the revelation of his Son Jesus Christ .
The Bible calls Jesus the Alpha and the Omega , the beginning and the end , and Mrs. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ History is His story.
” That providential plan for human history is played out in the lives of ordinary people .
For those who have eyes of faith , God ’ s will and way is being completed in both the triumphs and the tragedies of life .
What we see as failures he wants to turn into growth points .
What we see as disasters he wants to use as stepping stones to greater goodness .
God ’ s great drama is also played out on the stage of politics .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bible are involved in the politics of their day .
Moses confronts the Egyptian Pharaoh .
David clashes with the Philistines .
Elijah stands up to Ahab and Jezebel .
Daniel goes head to head with the Babylonian King .
Jesus stands before Pilate and Paul is caught up in the politics of the Roman Empire .
God ’ s providence is not cut off from politics .
Instead , the political power games of this worldly system intercut and connect with the power of God at work in the world .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ draws straight with crooked lines.
” In other words , “ God ’ s ways are not our ways.
” If we were in charge , we ’ d set things right .
If we were super powerful , we ’ d make sure the good people were in charge and nobody would have to suffer .
God doesn ’ t do it that way .
He is open to our choices .
And when we make bad choices , and things go disastrously wrong , he still brings the whole thing around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Jesus Christ ’ s death proves the point .
We did the very worst thing imaginable .
We tortured and killed the Son of God who was sent to save us .
God turned that terrible deed around and used it for our salvation anyway .
This should be a lesson for Americans as we go into a presidential election in this most upsetting and unpredictable year .
The candidates we have to choose from may not seem ideal to us .
They are both flawed and faulty human beings .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all their policies , and whoever wins , some Americans will feel disappointed , angry and afraid .
Many fear the result of this election will be pandemonium .
“ Pandemonium ” is defined as a noisy uproar , chaos , bedlam , disorder and anarchy .
What causes pandemonium ?
Beneath the disorder , riots , violence and chaos is a crisis of belief .
If you believe history is “ His story , ” then the foundation of your worldview is one of order and a divine plan .
Consequently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a much deeper trust in divine providence .
No matter what the political outcome , you will have confidence that God will bring about the best in the end .
However , if you do not believe in a providential plan you must conclude that history is simply a random sequence of events .
Like many intellectuals today — if you reject a meta-narrative , you must have no narrative .
In other words , you must conclude that there is no greater plan .
And if no greater plan , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greater planner , then everything comes down to a power struggle between warring factions .
“ A power struggle between warring factions ” is another way of saying “ pandemonium.
” If there is no overarching plan , then all is random and if all is random , then we should not be surprised that everything falls into chaos and disorder .
When things fall into disorder and violence , balance can only be restored through force .
And that means tyranny .
The Beginning of the End The energetic and funny hero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hotel says , “ Everything will be alright in the end … and if it is not alright , it is not the end.
” That ’ s a smart way to express trust in divine providence .
This is why time and again throughout the great saga of salvation , the messengers from God say to frightened human beings , “ Do not be afraid !
” Have we been through a troublesome year of disorder , unrest , confusion and fear ?
Yes .
Might we be going into a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facing the beginning of the end ?
Could society break down even further into division , violence and even civil war ?
It has happened before .
But for those who are able to hear Mrs. Gruber , “ History is His story.
” God is in charge .
Do not be afraid !
Dwight Longenecker latest book is Immortal Combat-Confronting the Heart of Darkness .
Connect with his blog and website at dwightlongenecker.com .

When I was a boy, my Sunday school teacher Mrs. Gruber used to say, “History is His story.” As a kid I was delighted by the wordplay, but I didn’t realize at the time that Mrs. Gruber was also a homespun philosopher.
She believed in what the intellectuals would call a “meta-narrative.” A meta-narrative is a great story that arches over all the little stories and binds them together. If you believe there is a meta-narrative, then you believe there is an overall plan and purpose to history, and if there is an over arching plan — a greater story, then there must be a great story teller.
A Providential Plan
Christians of all traditions have always believed in divine providence — that God is in charge and he is constantly at work to bring to completion his greater plan for the human race. The stories of the Bible unfold his working, first through the Hebrew people, then in the revelation of his Son Jesus Christ. The Bible calls Jesus the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and Mrs. Gruber echoed that when she told us “History is His story.”
That providential plan for human history is played out in the lives of ordinary people. For those who have eyes of faith, God’s will and way is being completed in both the triumphs and the tragedies of life. What we see as failures he wants to turn into growth points. What we see as disasters he wants to use as stepping stones to greater goodness.
God’s great drama is also played out on the stage of politics. This is why the characters of the Bible are involved in the politics of their day. Moses confronts the Egyptian Pharaoh. David clashes with the Philistines. Elijah stands up to Ahab and Jezebel. Daniel goes head to head with the Babylonian King. Jesus stands before Pilate and Paul is caught up in the politics of the Roman Empire.
God’s providence is not cut off from politics. Instead, the political power games of this worldly system intercut and connect with the power of God at work in the world.
Drawing Straight with Crooked Lines
There is an old saying that “God draws straight with crooked lines.” In other words, “God’s ways are not our ways.” If we were in charge, we’d set things right. If we were super powerful, we’d make sure the good people were in charge and nobody would have to suffer.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
God doesn’t do it that way. He is open to our choices. And when we make bad choices, and things go disastrously wrong, he still brings the whole thing around to accomplish something better. The example of Jesus Christ’s death proves the point. We did the very worst thing imaginable. We tortured and killed the Son of God who was sent to save us. God turned that terrible deed around and used it for our salvation anyway.
This should be a lesson for Americans as we go into a presidential election in this most upsetting and unpredictable year. The candidates we have to choose from may not seem ideal to us. They are both flawed and faulty human beings. We may find it impossible to agree with all their policies, and whoever wins, some Americans will feel disappointed, angry and afraid.
Pandemonium or Providential Plan?
Many fear the result of this election will be pandemonium. “Pandemonium” is defined as a noisy uproar, chaos, bedlam, disorder and anarchy. What causes pandemonium?
Beneath the disorder, riots, violence and chaos is a crisis of belief. If you believe history is “His story,” then the foundation of your worldview is one of order and a divine plan. Consequently, despite your worries and fears you will have a much deeper trust in divine providence. No matter what the political outcome, you will have confidence that God will bring about the best in the end.
However, if you do not believe in a providential plan you must conclude that history is simply a random sequence of events. Like many intellectuals today — if you reject a meta-narrative, you must have no narrative. In other words, you must conclude that there is no greater plan. And if no greater plan, then no greater planner. And if no greater planner, then everything comes down to a power struggle between warring factions.
“A power struggle between warring factions” is another way of saying “pandemonium.” If there is no overarching plan, then all is random and if all is random, then we should not be surprised that everything falls into chaos and disorder. When things fall into disorder and violence, balance can only be restored through force. And that means tyranny.
The Beginning of the End
The energetic and funny hero of the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel says, “Everything will be alright in the end … and if it is not alright, it is not the end.” That’s a smart way to express trust in divine providence.
This is why time and again throughout the great saga of salvation, the messengers from God say to frightened human beings, “Do not be afraid!”
Have we been through a troublesome year of disorder, unrest, confusion and fear? Yes. Might we be going into a time that is even worse? Are we facing the beginning of the end? Could society break down even further into division, violence and even civil war? It has happened before.
But for those who are able to hear Mrs. Gruber, “History is His story.” God is in charge.
Do not be afraid!
Dwight Longenecker latest book is Immortal Combat-Confronting the Heart of Darkness. Connect with his blog and website at dwightlongenecker.com.


thestream--2020-10-15--Down Syndrome Awareness Month: Reaching for the Stars

While watching the new Netflix series Away , a fictional story about astronauts traveling to Mars , my wife and I were thrilled to learn that the show prominently features an actress with Down syndrome .
Felicia Patti does a magnificent job playing Cassie Ramirez , a friend of the main character ’ s daughter .
During a brief online search for information about Felicia ’ s journey , I found a 2016 post by the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress , which was congratulating Felicia for landing a job at a local café .
The post mentions Felicia ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Four short years later , Felicia had earned her place among a stellar major television series cast that includes multiple Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank .
What the young actress was able to achieve through talent , hard work and perseverance is truly remarkable .
Away is a huge hit , having ranked in the Top 10 on Netflix every day since its release .
It is also picking up where the 1989-1993 TV series Life Goes On left off in not only introducing large audiences to Down syndrome , but giving us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing characters leading largely regular lives .
The groundbreaking performance by Chris Burke in Life Goes On was my first exposure to Down syndrome as a kid , which will likely be the case for the current generation of children and teenagers watching Away .
More than three decades after the hit show premiered , Chris is a successful actor , author , journalist and a goodwill ambassador for the National Down Syndrome Society .
Zack Gottsagen co-starred in the 2019 film The Peanut Butter Falcon , which The Stream ’ s John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , exciting , with excellent acting , gorgeous photography , and a terrific Southern sound track ” while also noting that he had “ never seen a major motion picture starring an actor with Down syndrome.
” Zack later became the first actor with Trisomy 21 to ever appear on stage at the Academy Awards .
Just before the birth of our daughter Natalie , whose Down syndrome diagnosis was confirmed through prenatal testing , I met with Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization Executive Director Anne Dichele .
During our conversation , Anne @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the town next to ours here in South Florida , but had participated in many past Gold Coast classes and events .
At the time , my wife and I were in shock about our daughter ’ s diagnosis and afraid about our ability to raise a child with special needs .
Finding out that a local kid with Down syndrome had grown up to become a movie star was both comforting and inspiring to us during a difficult time .
Zack ’ s uplifting story helped us realize that Natalie could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a productive member of society who could someday reach for the stars .
Nat , as she is affectionately nicknamed after my beloved Washington Nationals , is eight months old .
Along with her constant smile , I now see endless possibilities and no limits to what she can achieve .
I am also more motivated than ever to follow in the footsteps of the parents , counselors , caregivers and teachers who help countless children with Down syndrome reach their full , extraordinary potential .
Before Natalie was born , October was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , it is also about celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month and especially the approximately 6,000 American babies who are born each year with Trisomy 21 , including Natalie .
As The Stream ’ s founder and publisher James Robison told my wife and me shortly after Natalie ’ s birth , children with Down syndrome are among God ’ s most special gifts .
So are their parents .
“ God sees something in you , ” James said .
“ There ’ s a reason He has chosen you to raise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pray that my wife and I can do half as good a job in raising Natalie as the parents of Felicia Patti , Chris Burke , Zack Gottsagen and so many other exceptional human beings with Down syndrome .
As the saying goes , “ the sky is not the limit if you ’ re reaching for the stars.
” Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream .
He is co-author of Three Wise Men , Brothers Forever , 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes .
Follow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

While watching the new Netflix series Away, a fictional story about astronauts traveling to Mars, my wife and I were thrilled to learn that the show prominently features an actress with Down syndrome. Felicia Patti does a magnificent job playing Cassie Ramirez, a friend of the main character’s daughter.
During a brief online search for information about Felicia’s journey, I found a 2016 post by the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, which was congratulating Felicia for landing a job at a local café. The post mentions Felicia’s “dream of becoming an actress.”
Four years later, Felicia has earned her place among a stellar major television series cast that includes Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank. What the young actress was able to achieve through talent, hard work and perseverance is truly remarkable.
Away is a huge hit, having ranked in the Top 10 on Netflix every day since its release. It is also picking up where the 1989-1993 TV series Life Goes On left off in not only introducing large audiences to Down syndrome, but giving us a chance see actors with Trisomy 21 playing characters leading largely regular lives.
The groundbreaking performance by Chris Burke in Life Goes On was my first exposure to Down syndrome as a kid, which will likely be the case for the current generation of children and teenagers watching Away. More than three decades after the hit show premiered, Chris is a successful actor, author, journalist and a goodwill ambassador for the National Down Syndrome Society.
Zack Gottsagen co-starred in the 2019 film The Peanut Butter Falcon, which The Stream’s John Zmirak praised as “moving, funny, exciting, with excellent acting, gorgeous photography, and a terrific Southern sound track” while also noting that he had “never seen a major motion picture starring an actor with Down syndrome.” Zack later became the first actor with Trisomy 21 to ever appear on stage at the Academy Awards.
Just before the birth of our daughter Natalie, whose Down syndrome diagnosis was confirmed through prenatal testing, I met with Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization Executive Director Anne Dichele. During our conversation, Anne said that Zack not only hailed from the town next to ours here in South Florida, but had participated in many past Gold Coast classes and events.
At the time, my wife and I were in shock about our daughter’s diagnosis and afraid about our ability to raise a child with special needs. Finding out that a local kid with Down syndrome had grown up to become a movie star was both comforting and inspiring to us during a difficult time. Zack’s uplifting story helped us realize that Natalie could not only be happy and healthy, but a productive member of society who could someday reach for the stars.
Nat, as she is affectionately nicknamed after my beloved Washington Nationals, is eight months old. Along with her constant smile, I now see endless possibilities and no limits to what she can achieve. I am also more motivated than ever to follow in the footsteps of the parents, counselors, caregivers and teachers who help countless children with Down syndrome reach their full, extraordinary potential.
Before Natalie was born, October was all about Halloween and postseason baseball. Now, it is also about celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month and especially the approximately 6,000 American babies who are born each year with Trisomy 21, including Natalie.
As The Stream’s founder and publisher James Robison told my wife and me shortly after Natalie’s birth, children with Down syndrome are among God’s most special gifts. So are their parents.
“God sees something in you,” James said. “There’s a reason He has chosen you to raise this precious child.”
I hope and pray that my wife and I can do half as good a job in raising Natalie as the parents of Felicia Patti, Chris Burke, Zack Gottsagen and so many other exceptional human beings with Down syndrome. As the saying goes, “the sky is not the limit if you’re reaching for the stars.”
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-10-15--Military Photo of the Day: Caring for an Injured Bird of Prey

A U.S. Army veterinarian checks the heartbeat of an injured bird of prey at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on September @ @ @ @ @ you to this soldier for serving our country overseas .
We hope the injured bird @ @ @ @ @ to the wild !

A U.S. Army veterinarian checks the heartbeat of an injured bird of prey at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on September 21, 2020.
Thank you to this soldier for serving our country overseas. We hope the injured bird was able to safely return to the wild!
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.


thestream--2020-10-14--Webster Labels ‘Sexual Preference’ ‘Offensive’ Following Amy Coney Barrett’s Usage. But is Our Sexua

Webster Labels ‘Sexual Preference’ ‘Offensive’ Following Amy Coney Barrett’s Usage. But is Our Sexuality Really Immutable?

During her interaction with California Senator Diane Feinstein on Tuesday , Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett used the forbidden term “ sexual preference ” with reference to LGBT sexuality .
Not only did this cause an instant internet firestorm , but it apparently led to an instant adjustment in a major online dictionary .
The term is now officially “ offensive ” when used in the sense of “ orientation.
” To give the background , Feinstein asked Barrett if she would “ vote to roll back hard-fought freedoms and protections for the LGBT community.
” Barrett replied , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do want to be clear that I have never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference and would not ever discriminate on the basis of sexual preference.
” That was a crystal-clear answer .
She would not discriminate against the LGBT community based on sexual preference .
That was the legal question at hand .
But that was not what got the attention of other senators , including Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono .
She argued that “ sexual preference ” is a term “ used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said .
“ Sexual orientation is a key part of a person ’ s identity.
” Barrett replied , “ I certainly didn ’ t mean and would never mean to use a term that would cause any offense in the LGBTQ community.
” But the cat was out of the bag .
Barrett had tipped her hand .
This woman is a religious fanatic and a bigot and a homophobe .
She is obviously not fit for the Supreme Court .
Away with her !
Hirono also noted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ redefine marriage in 2015 , the majority opinion claimed that “ [ homo ] sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable.
” ( See here for Justice Kennedy ’ s actual statement . )
Interestingly , even the Washington Post pointed out that , “ Plenty of figures on the left — including Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , whom Barrett is hoping to replace on the high court — have also used the phrase , which was considered acceptable as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ But , ” the Post added , “ in a heated , highly polarized confirmation process that has brought questions of religion and gender into the forefront , LGBT advocates and Supreme Court watchers said her word choice may have been more telling than it seemed.
” Was Barrett unaware that saying “ sexual preference ” would cause offense ?
Was it an innocent slip of the tongue ?
Was she sending a not-so-subtle message to other Christian conservatives ?
Or did she simply share her own viewpoint without thinking through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she can answer that question .
What we ’ ll address here is twofold .
First , is there any truth to the term ?
Second , what can we learn from the reaction to Barrett using the term ?
In particular , to a major dictionary quickly changing its definition of the word ?
Is There Any Truth to the Idea of Sexual Preference ?
First , as for the “ offensive ” nature of the term “ sexual preference , ” that is readily understood .
After all , would we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ preference ” ?
Or would we say , “ This is who I am and who I have always been ” ?
And how would we feel if society expected us to change our heterosexual desires into homosexual desires ?
That ’ s why “ sexual preference ” is deemed to be an offensive and even dangerous concept .
After the early premiere of the In His Image movie Tuesday night in Oklahoma City , I spoke with an ex-gay man who told me his own story .
He explained how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the age of 6 .
This was certainly not his preference or choice , and he spent many years trying to “ unchoose ” his sexual and romantic attractions .
At the same time , this man now identifies as ex-gay .
Jesus has touched his life , and he no longer lives the way he used to live .
And he does not agree with the Obergefell opinion that “ [ homo ] sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable.
” He , along with countless others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us that homosexuality is not a “ normal ” expression of human sexuality .
And he , along with countless others , would also tell us that homosexual desires and attractions are hardly immutable .
How does the open-minded , tolerant , LGBT community respond to the heartfelt , often heart wrenching testimonies of ex-gays ?
It denies their existence or labels them outright liars .
In the words of one gay blogger , “ How many people do they have to [ expletive ] up to get a handful who claim that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the LGBT use of the term “ conversion therapy , ” see here . )
What we can say is this : 1 ) the vast majority of those who identify as LGBTQ truly believe that this is who they are and that change is impossible .
2 ) Their sexual desires and romantic attractions are , in fact , deeply rooted in their lives .
3 ) But it is entirely their choice ( or preference ) to identify as LGBTQ and to act on their perceived sexual orientation .
As for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibility of change , this link from the National Task Force for Therapy Equality , compiled especially for legislators , will prove helpful .
Rewriting Dictionaries on the Fly… Will We Challenge the Prevailing Narrative ?
Second , when it comes to dictionaries being “ woke , ” I drew attention last month to Dictionary.com ’ s “ biggest update ever , ” noting that “ those who control the language control the culture.
” As I wrote , “ The revisions are intended to ‘ help eliminate heterosexual bias in language , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gay activist ( or , gay activist driven ) organizations GLAAD and the APA .
No wonder LGBTQ websites like Out.com are celebrating the changes.
” Now , it appears that the prestigious Webster dictionary realized that it was not sufficiently woke , making clear that to speak of “ sexual preference ” with reference to “ orientation ” was “ offensive.
” As Steve Krakauer tweeted on Tuesday , “ As recently as last month , Webster ’ s Dictionary included a definition of ‘ preference ’ as ‘ orientation ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed it and added the word ‘ offensive.
’ Insane – I just checked through Wayback Machine and it ’ s real.
” He added , “ I mean this is all just complete insanity .
Here ’ s Leon Panetta , Obama ’ s Defense Sec , writing in 2018 for CNN about how ‘ Trump is not who we are ’ since ‘ we are all created equal under God , regardless of our race , creed , religion , color , sexual preference.
’ ” Jeremy Boering ’ s observation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in today when ‘ sexual preference ’ became an offensive term and the left started rewriting dictionaries and disappearing the term from their own histories ?
Yeah , nothing Stalinesque about any of that… ” But what else can we expect from a society that now allows you to change your birth certificate based on your personal perception of your gender ?
Rewriting dictionaries on the fly is minor in comparison .
The discouraging news is that this will continue to happen unless we challenge the prevailing narrative .
Will we ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .

During her interaction with California Senator Diane Feinstein on Tuesday, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett used the forbidden term “sexual preference” with reference to LGBT sexuality. Not only did this cause an instant internet firestorm, but it apparently led to an instant adjustment in a major online dictionary. The term is now officially “offensive” when used in the sense of “orientation.”
To give the background, Feinstein asked Barrett if she would “vote to roll back hard-fought freedoms and protections for the LGBT community.”
Barrett replied, “I have no agenda. I do want to be clear that I have never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference and would not ever discriminate on the basis of sexual preference.”
That was a crystal-clear answer. She would not discriminate against the LGBT community based on sexual preference. That was the legal question at hand.
“Sexual Preference” Versus “Sexual Orientation”
But that was not what got the attention of other senators, including Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono. She argued that “sexual preference” is a term “used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice. It is not,” she said. “Sexual orientation is a key part of a person’s identity.”
Barrett replied, “I certainly didn’t mean and would never mean to use a term that would cause any offense in the LGBTQ community.”
But the cat was out of the bag. Barrett had tipped her hand. This woman is a religious fanatic and a bigot and a homophobe. She is obviously not fit for the Supreme Court. Away with her!
Hirono also noted that when the Supreme Court narrowly decided to redefine marriage in 2015, the majority opinion claimed that “[homo]sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable.” (See here for Justice Kennedy’s actual statement.)
He, along with countless others, would also tell us that homosexual desires and attractions are hardly immutable.
Interestingly, even the Washington Post pointed out that, “Plenty of figures on the left — including Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom Barrett is hoping to replace on the high court — have also used the phrase, which was considered acceptable as recently as a decade or two ago.
“But,” the Post added, “in a heated, highly polarized confirmation process that has brought questions of religion and gender into the forefront, LGBT advocates and Supreme Court watchers said her word choice may have been more telling than it seemed.”
Was Barrett unaware that saying “sexual preference” would cause offense? Was it an innocent slip of the tongue? Was she sending a not-so-subtle message to other Christian conservatives? Or did she simply share her own viewpoint without thinking through the consequences?
Right now, only she can answer that question.
What we’ll address here is twofold. First, is there any truth to the term? Second, what can we learn from the reaction to Barrett using the term? In particular, to a major dictionary quickly changing its definition of the word?
Is There Any Truth to the Idea of Sexual Preference?
First, as for the “offensive” nature of the term “sexual preference,” that is readily understood. After all, would we who are heterosexuals describe our heterosexuality as a “preference”? Or would we say, “This is who I am and who I have always been”? And how would we feel if society expected us to change our heterosexual desires into homosexual desires?
That’s why “sexual preference” is deemed to be an offensive and even dangerous concept.
After the early premiere of the In His Image movie Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, I spoke with an ex-gay man who told me his own story. He explained how he realized he was same-sex attracted at the age of 6. This was certainly not his preference or choice, and he spent many years trying to “unchoose” his sexual and romantic attractions.
At the same time, this man now identifies as ex-gay. Jesus has touched his life, and he no longer lives the way he used to live. And he does not agree with the Obergefell opinion that “[homo]sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable.”
He, along with countless others, would argue that biology itself tells us that homosexuality is not a “normal” expression of human sexuality. And he, along with countless others, would also tell us that homosexual desires and attractions are hardly immutable.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
How does the open-minded, tolerant, LGBT community respond to the heartfelt, often heart wrenching testimonies of ex-gays? It denies their existence or labels them outright liars. In the words of one gay blogger, “How many people do they have to [expletive] up to get a handful who claim that conversion therapy works?” (For the LGBT use of the term “conversion therapy,” see here.)
What we can say is this: 1) the vast majority of those who identify as LGBTQ truly believe that this is who they are and that change is impossible. 2) Their sexual desires and romantic attractions are, in fact, deeply rooted in their lives. 3) But it is entirely their choice (or preference) to identify as LGBTQ and to act on their perceived sexual orientation.
As for what science has to say about the possibility of change, this link from the National Task Force for Therapy Equality, compiled especially for legislators, will prove helpful.
Rewriting Dictionaries on the Fly… Will We Challenge the Prevailing Narrative?
Second, when it comes to dictionaries being “woke,” I drew attention last month to Dictionary.com’s “biggest update ever,” noting that “those who control the language control the culture.”
As I wrote, “The revisions are intended to ‘help eliminate heterosexual bias in language, and they were “informed” by the gay activist (or, gay activist driven) organizations GLAAD and the APA. No wonder LGBTQ websites like Out.com are celebrating the changes.”
Now, it appears that the prestigious Webster dictionary realized that it was not sufficiently woke, making clear that to speak of “sexual preference” with reference to “orientation” was “offensive.”
As Steve Krakauer tweeted on Tuesday, “As recently as last month, Webster’s Dictionary included a definition of ‘preference’ as ‘orientation’ or ‘sexual preference.’ TODAY they changed it and added the word ‘offensive.’ Insane – I just checked through Wayback Machine and it’s real.”
He added, “I mean this is all just complete insanity. Here’s Leon Panetta, Obama’s Defense Sec, writing in 2018 for CNN about how ‘Trump is not who we are’ since ‘we are all created equal under God, regardless of our race, creed, religion, color, sexual preference.’”
Jeremy Boering’s observation was right on: “Remember way back in today when ‘sexual preference’ became an offensive term and the left started rewriting dictionaries and disappearing the term from their own histories? Yeah, nothing Stalinesque about any of that…”
But what else can we expect from a society that now allows you to change your birth certificate based on your personal perception of your gender? Rewriting dictionaries on the fly is minor in comparison.
The discouraging news is that this will continue to happen unless we challenge the prevailing narrative. Will we?
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.


thestream--2020-10-15--On Its 400th Anniversary, Why the Mayflower Matters

“ In the beginning , there was Plymouth , ” Nathaniel Philbrick told me .
He should know .
His book Mayflower : Voyage , Community , and War was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History .
It is a magnificent retelling of one of America ’ s origin stories .
Plymouth wasn ’ t where America formally began , Philbrick told me .
“ But it is a narrative that resonates with America.
” This fall marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower ’ s landing at Plymouth Rock .
The ship left England at 6 p.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod on November 11 , 1620 .
Before heading ashore , 41 male passengers signed a now-famous document — the Mayflower Compact .
The Compact read as follows : In the name of God , Amen .
We , whose names are underwritten , the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James , by the Grace of God , of Great Britain , France , and Ireland , King defender of the Faith , etc .
: Having undertaken , for the Glory of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faith , and the honor of our King and Country , a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia ; do by these presents , solemnly and mutually , in the presence of God , and one another ; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic ; for our better ordering , and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue thereof to enact , constitute , and frame , such just and equal laws , ordinances , acts , constitutions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as shall be though most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience .
In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November , in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James , of England , France , and Ireland , the eighteenth , and of Scotland the fifty-fourth , 1620 .
Of the 102 passengers , a third were Puritan Separatists .
For years they had been seeking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in peace .
The Church of England , they believed , was corrupt .
Still , they were forbidden to start their own churches .
Many fled to the Netherlands .
In Leiden , they found religious liberty but a foreign culture .
They also feared a siege and renewed persecution by Catholic Spain .
To serve God in their own way , they decided cross the Atlantic and rebuild in the New World .
The Separatists had planned to settle in northern Virginia , but brutal storms and savage seas blew them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Upon landing in what is now Provincetown Harbor , they hunted for a place to settle .
They had arrived late , and winter was almost upon them .
During the winter of 1620-21 , 45 of the 102 Mayflower passengers died .
Survivors suffered from scurvy and lack of shelter .
They Knew They Might All Die It is often assumed today that the Puritans didn ’ t expect the hardships they would face .
This is false .
The only other English settlement in America , Jamestown , had already lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was well-known .
The Puritans set out for the New World knowing they might not survive .
In his memoir Of Plymouth Plantation , Governor William Bradford explains that they trusted in God for their survival .
( This sadly neglected account , Philbrick told me , “ is one of the greatest books ever written.
” ) The settlers first met the Native Americans in March of 1621 .
Under Bradford ’ s leadership , they developed a genuinely amicable relationship .
Famously , the Native Americans had much to teach the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New World .
In November 1621 , the 53 surviving settlers hosted a harvest feast , inviting Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men .
It lasted three days and included wild turkeys , fish , and waterfowl .
Massasoit provided five deer .
This feast certainly took place — it is recorded by Bradford , Edward Winslow , and Captain Nathaniel Morton ( Bradford ’ s nephew ) .
It was not until the 1800s that it began to be referred to as “ The First Thanksgiving.
” ( Similarly , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until much later .
Daniel Webster popularized it in 1820 at the bicentennial of Plymouth ’ s founding . )
It is almost impossible for most modern Americans to understand what drove these men and women across the ocean .
“ They believed that their relationship with God and with each other was the most important thing in their lives , ” Philbrick told me .
“ They were trying to have a one-to-one relationship with God , to get rid of all of the man-made impurities that had entered the conversation in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To get back to the Word of God.
” If you visit Plymouth today , evidence of their devotion is still everywhere .
In the Pilgrim Hall Museum , which I visited in 2016 , you can see William Bradford ’ s Bible , an original portrait of Edward Winslow , and the great chair of William Brewster , Plymouth ’ s spiritual leader .
There is also America ’ s earliest sampler , embroidered by the daughter of Myles Standish .
To walk through modern Plymouth is to step back in time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earliest Americans fled to her shores to worship God in freedom .
The 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth is an opportunity to remember all of this .
The years before King Philip ’ s War in the 1670s are a beautiful example of a meeting of cultures .
While Bradford lived , the settlers and the Native Americans had a largely harmonious relationship .
Some , like Bradford and the Catholic Indian Squanto , had genuine friendships .
“ There really was a kind of bi-cultural moment there between two peoples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was greed and ambition , of the sort that Bradford felt to be fundamentally ungodly , that began to unravel the relationships in subsequent generations .
As progressives tear at America ’ s history and lie about her founding with the 1619 Project , we should revisit the Pilgrims .
William Bradford is in many ways the hero we need right now .
He was a devout Christian who critiqued materialism , developed genuine relationships with Native American leaders , and decried expansion for its own sake .
Bradford had not come to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come to America to live a simple life in service of his God .
In his memoir , he mourned that so many seemed to forget in later years why they had come to the New World in the first place .
In the middle of a pool near Plymouth Rock stands a tall statue of an elegant , beautiful Puritan woman .
On the base of the statue is a list of names .
Each of the women who had braved the Atlantic on the Mayflower is recorded here .
Beneath the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They brought up their families with sturdy virtue and a living faith in God , without which nations perish.
” Without which nations perish .
These words are both a warning and a call to action .
The young people marching in America ’ s streets today may not understand “ sturdy virtue ” or “ a living faith in God.
” But they must ; we all must .
More than America is at stake , after all .
Because when America was built by men like William Bradford and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the largest superpower the world had ever seen .
It will only take a few generations for that inheritance to be squandered , destroyed , and then abandoned .
Instead of the 1619 Project , perhaps Bradford ’ s Of Plymouth Plantation should be taught in schools .
If it was , children would read lines like this : May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say : ‘ Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean , and were ready to perish in this wilderness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and He heard their voice , and looked on their adversity .
Let them therefore praise the Lord , because He is good , and His mercies endure forever .
Yea , let them which have been redeemed of the Lord , shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor .
When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way , and found no city to dwell in , both hungry , and thirsty , their soul was overwhelmed in them .
Let them confess before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wonderful works before the sons of men .
Imagine what a difference that would make .
Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker , writer and pro-life activist .
He is the author of The Culture War and Seeing Is Believing : Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion , and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide .

“In the beginning, there was Plymouth,” Nathaniel Philbrick told me. He should know. His book Mayflower: Voyage, Community, and War was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. It is a magnificent retelling of one of America’s origin stories. Plymouth wasn’t where America formally began, Philbrick told me. “But it is a narrative that resonates with America.”
This fall marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth Rock. The ship left England at 6 p.m. on September 16, 1620. It dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. Before heading ashore, 41 male passengers signed a now-famous document — the Mayflower Compact.
America’s Spiritual Founding
The Compact read as follows:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King defender of the Faith, etc.: Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue thereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be though most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.
A Desperate Pilgrimage
Of the 102 passengers, a third were Puritan Separatists. For years they had been seeking a place to worship in freedom and in peace. The Church of England, they believed, was corrupt. Still, they were forbidden to start their own churches. Many fled to the Netherlands. In Leiden, they found religious liberty but a foreign culture. They also feared a siege and renewed persecution by Catholic Spain. To serve God in their own way, they decided cross the Atlantic and rebuild in the New World.
The Separatists had planned to settle in northern Virginia, but brutal storms and savage seas blew them more than 500 miles off course. Upon landing in what is now Provincetown Harbor, they hunted for a place to settle. They had arrived late, and winter was almost upon them. During the winter of 1620-21, 45 of the 102 Mayflower passengers died. Survivors suffered from scurvy and lack of shelter.
They Knew They Might All Die
It is often assumed today that the Puritans didn’t expect the hardships they would face. This is false. The only other English settlement in America, Jamestown, had already lost hundreds to disease and starvation. This was well-known. The Puritans set out for the New World knowing they might not survive. In his memoir Of Plymouth Plantation, Governor William Bradford explains that they trusted in God for their survival. (This sadly neglected account, Philbrick told me, “is one of the greatest books ever written.”)
For years, the Puritans had been seeking a place to worship in freedom and in peace.
The settlers first met the Native Americans in March of 1621. Under Bradford’s leadership, they developed a genuinely amicable relationship. Famously, the Native Americans had much to teach the settlers about how to survive in the New World. In November 1621, the 53 surviving settlers hosted a harvest feast, inviting Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men. It lasted three days and included wild turkeys, fish, and waterfowl. Massasoit provided five deer.
This feast certainly took place — it is recorded by Bradford, Edward Winslow, and Captain Nathaniel Morton (Bradford’s nephew). It was not until the 1800s that it began to be referred to as “The First Thanksgiving.” (Similarly, the Puritans were not called “Pilgrims” until much later. Daniel Webster popularized it in 1820 at the bicentennial of Plymouth’s founding.)
Seeking a One-to-One Link with God
It is almost impossible for most modern Americans to understand what drove these men and women across the ocean. “They believed that their relationship with God and with each other was the most important thing in their lives,” Philbrick told me. “They were trying to have a one-to-one relationship with God, to get rid of all of the man-made impurities that had entered the conversation in the 1,600 years since Jesus Christ. To get back to the Word of God.”
If you visit Plymouth today, evidence of their devotion is still everywhere. In the Pilgrim Hall Museum, which I visited in 2016, you can see William Bradford’s Bible, an original portrait of Edward Winslow, and the great chair of William Brewster, Plymouth’s spiritual leader. There is also America’s earliest sampler, embroidered by the daughter of Myles Standish. To walk through modern Plymouth is to step back in time to an era when some of the earliest Americans fled to her shores to worship God in freedom.
A Real Multicultural Moment
The 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth is an opportunity to remember all of this. The years before King Philip’s War in the 1670s are a beautiful example of a meeting of cultures. While Bradford lived, the settlers and the Native Americans had a largely harmonious relationship. Some, like Bradford and the Catholic Indian Squanto, had genuine friendships. “There really was a kind of bi-cultural moment there between two peoples,” Philbrick told me. It was greed and ambition, of the sort that Bradford felt to be fundamentally ungodly, that began to unravel the relationships in subsequent generations.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
As progressives tear at America’s history and lie about her founding with the 1619 Project, we should revisit the Pilgrims. William Bradford is in many ways the hero we need right now. He was a devout Christian who critiqued materialism, developed genuine relationships with Native American leaders, and decried expansion for its own sake. Bradford had not come to America to get rich. He had come to America to live a simple life in service of his God. In his memoir, he mourned that so many seemed to forget in later years why they had come to the New World in the first place.
Without Sturdy Virtue and Living Faith, Nations Perish
In the middle of a pool near Plymouth Rock stands a tall statue of an elegant, beautiful Puritan woman. On the base of the statue is a list of names. Each of the women who had braved the Atlantic on the Mayflower is recorded here. Beneath the names, these words are carved: “They brought up their families with sturdy virtue and a living faith in God, without which nations perish.”
Without which nations perish. These words are both a warning and a call to action. The young people marching in America’s streets today may not understand “sturdy virtue” or “a living faith in God.” But they must; we all must. More than America is at stake, after all. Because when America was built by men like William Bradford and the women of the Mayflower, she grew into the largest superpower the world had ever seen. It will only take a few generations for that inheritance to be squandered, destroyed, and then abandoned.
The 1620 Project
Instead of the 1619 Project, perhaps Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation should be taught in schools. If it was, children would read lines like this:
May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: ‘Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.
Imagine what a difference that would make.
Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer and pro-life activist. He is the author of The Culture War and Seeing Is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide.


thestream--2020-10-15--WATCH: Announcer: ‘We Will Not Be Playing the National Anthem.’ Crowd Sings It Anyway

This crowd wouldn ’ t let a technical difficulty stop them from singing their patriotism .
“ Due to technical @ @ @ @ @ be playing the national anthem , ” the announcer said .
“ Let ’ s @ @ @ @ @ two girls softball teams had been prepared to sing , but following the announcement those @ @ @ @ @ walked to the bench as their teammates prepared to play .
Then the crowd began @ @ @ @ @ any music .
One team ran back on the field with their coach and lined @ @ @ @ @ over the hearts .
After singing The Star Spangled Banner , the crowd cheered .
@ @ @ @ @ MAJORITY MEDIA posted the video on YouTube Oct. 13 without indicating when the video was @ @ @ @ @ be in pre-pandemic days , but the American message struck a cord with commenters .
@ @ @ @ @ literally gave me chills and almost a few tears !
I ’ ve never been @ @ @ @ @ American !
!
Go USA !
!
”

This crowd wouldn’t let a technical difficulty stop them from singing their patriotism.
“Due to technical difficulties, we will not be playing the national anthem,” the announcer said. “Let’s play ball.”
Players of two girls softball teams had been prepared to sing, but following the announcement those who had been lined up walked to the bench as their teammates prepared to play.
Then the crowd began singing the national anthem without any music. One team ran back on the field with their coach and lined back up with their hands over the hearts. After singing The Star Spangled Banner, the crowd cheered.
A channel called THE SILENT MAJORITY MEDIA posted the video on YouTube Oct. 13 without indicating when the video was taken. It appears to be in pre-pandemic days, but the American message struck a cord with commenters. One wrote: “This literally gave me chills and almost a few tears! I’ve never been so proud to be an American!! Go USA!!”