thestream--2020-11-23--When Politicians, the Media, and the Parties All Lie

Her critics did it to new Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett .
They did it with glee .
They ’ d got her .
Exposed her hypocrisy , her deceit , revealed who she really is .
That was the reaction among a segment of Christians when Barrett voted to vacate a stay of execution for a convicted kidnapper-rapist-murderer named Orlando Hall .
The Supreme Court was his last chance and six justices voted no .
The government executed him late Thursday night .
This proves she isn ’ t really pro-life !
her critics said .
Everyone thinks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but she ’ s a bad Catholic who rejects the Church ’ s teaching on the death penalty !
And — this is the part that made some of them happiest — she even contradicts what she once said about it !
Gotcha !
The ones I read love to attack “ the old pro-life movement ” and despise Donald Trump .
Exposing Barrett gave them a great way to hit both at once .
It ’ s a complicated story , but basically , her critics took 40 words out of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like a hypocrite .
I explained it here if you want to know the details .
She said pretty much the opposite of what they said she said .
They didn ’ t take the time to find out what she ’ d said in the other 21,970 ( ish ) words .
The chance to trash her was too good to check .
Their “ Gotcha , Bad Barrett !
” was a cheap shot .
And worse , a kind of lie .
When you say “ Gotcha !
, ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something you don ’ t know to be true but want to believe is true , therefore you say it without the most elementary effort to find out if it is true .
You just say it .
It ’ s Easy to See , But Not Always The temptation to hit someone with a “ gotcha !
” argument is one whose power we all know .
I speak as someone who ’ s fallen for easy “ gotcha !
” arguments because they seemed so perfect , so final , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s easy to see how unfair a “ gotcha !
” argument is when people use it against one of your guys .
It ’ s less easy to see how unfair it is when your own people use it against one of your enemies .
But even more important to see it then .
“ You can not serve God and the military , ” said Raphael Warnock in a sermon he preached in 2011 .
He ’ s a pastor running as the Democratic candidate against Republican senator Kelly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fill the last two years of the previous senator ’ s term .
That ’ s one of the two Georgia seats crucial for the Republicans to hold the senate .
At least five Republican senators tweeted the line as a “ gotcha !
” Mario Rubio wrote , “ Not shocked # Georgia Democrat Senate candidate Raphael Warnock said ‘ You can not serve God and the military ’ at the same time .
These & even crazier things is what the radicals who control the Democratic party ’ s activist & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s other senator , Rick Scott , tweeted “ @ ReverendWarnock ‘ nobody can serve God and the military.
’ This is a disgrace .
Every Senate Democrat should be asked whether they agree with Warnock .
Every .
Single .
One.
” Loeffler herself jumped on him too .
“ I ’ m the daughter & granddaughter of veterans , and proud to serve on the VA Committee , ” she tweeted .
“ @ ReverendWarnock—this is despicable , disgusting , and wrong .
You owe our active military & veterans—who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apology.
” Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn tweeted the same kind of thing .
Other Republicans did as well .
It was a great “ Gotcha !
” line .
Here ’ s what the candidate said : “ America , nobody can serve God and the military .
You can ’ t serve God and money .
You can not serve God and mammon .
At the same time .
America , choose ye this day who you will serve .
Choose ye this day.
” ( You can hear the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Which , readers will realize , is simply an expanded version of what Jesus says in Matthew ’ s gospel : “ No one can serve two masters , for either he will hate the one and love the other , or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other .
You can not serve God and money.
” So , according to three Republican senators , Jesus ’ s words were crazy , a disgrace , despicable , disgusting , and wrong .
Which I wouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got me or my ally elected to the U.S. Senate when control of the Senate hangs in the balance and you ’ re worried a liberal Democrat will soon be president .
Warnock explained his words : “ What I was expressing was the fact that , as a person of faith , my ultimate allegiance is to God .
Therefore , whatever else that I may commit myself to has to be built on a spiritual foundation .
The folks in my congregation , many of whom are veterans , weren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that day .
That when you commit yourself to something larger than yourself you become better at that — whether that is serving in the military or serving in the U.S. Senate.
” It seems straightforward .
Even Fox News subtitled its story “ Reverend called on America to turn away from the pursuit of power in favor of a life of service.
” Of course politicians lie .
They leap to lie when the lie gives them an advantage .
Many seem to have people on their staffs — especially the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live to lie , because all they care about is getting the advantage .
Christians more than anyone can not join them .
We can ’ t use “ Gotcha !
” arguments unless we know they ’ re completely fair and true .
Because we can ’ t lie .
The commandment against bearing false witness is as absolute as all the others .
It does not allow exceptions , no matter how desperately needed the lie seems .
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that we can not lie because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pure Truth .
The commandment “ forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others .
This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth .
Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness : they are fundamental infidelities to God.
” The great Evangelical teacher J. I. Packer says that Scripture views lying with “ horror.
” He titled the chapter on the ninth commandment in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Sacred.
” Not just useful or good , and definitely not negotiable or bendable , but sacred .
He notes that the words used in the two places the Ten Commandments appear mean “ untrue ” in the first use and “ insincere ” in the other .
The second “ forcibly reminds us , ” he says , “ that exaggerations , half-truths , and misleading silences can all in effect be lies.
” That would include , I think , “ Gotcha !
” arguments when the speaker doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before heaving the accusation .
“ When you lie to take someone down , ” like defeat them in an election , “ it is malice , ” Packer writes .
“ When you lie to impress , move , and use him , ” like get him to vote for you , “ it is pride.
” The dishonest “ Gotcha !
” argument expresses both malice and pride .
The reason we lie doesn ’ t matter , Packer continues .
“ Thou shalt not ” means “ Thou shalt not.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ however necessary it appears , is bad , not good , and the right-mined man knows this.
” He knows how far even a single lie takes him from God .
“ Rightly will he feel defiled , rightly will he seek cleansing in the Blood of Christ.
” Politics pushes on us many reasons to lie .
Many apparently good reasons to lie .
Especially when lying will help us win .
Christianity unfits us for modern politics .
That means we have to be meticulously careful to treat our opponent fairly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when we speak about him .
We must do unto the other candidate as we would have his pIn desperation , people do unto ours .
As Jesus notes in Matthew ’ s Gospel , “ For if you love those who love you , what reward do you have ?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same ?
And if you greet only your brothers , what more are you doing than others ?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same ?
You therefore must be perfect , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could say , speaking about politics today : “ If you ’ re only fair to the people you agree with , what value is your word ?
Doesn ’ t even the New York Times do the same ?
And if you only fact-check attacks on your party ’ s candidates , who can trust you ?
Even the Democratic National Committee does that.
” For David Mills ’ s obituary of his old friend J. I. Packer , see J.I .
Packer , Man Who Told Us a Difficult Truth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editor of The Stream .
After teaching writing in a seminary , he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things .
He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “ Last Things ” column for the New Oxford Review .

Her critics did it to new Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett. They did it with glee. They’d got her. Exposed her hypocrisy, her deceit, revealed who she really is.
That was the reaction among a segment of Christians when Barrett voted to vacate a stay of execution for a convicted kidnapper-rapist-murderer named Orlando Hall. The Supreme Court was his last chance and six justices voted no. The government executed him late Thursday night.
This proves she isn’t really pro-life! her critics said. Everyone thinks she’s a good Catholic, but she’s a bad Catholic who rejects the Church’s teaching on the death penalty! And — this is the part that made some of them happiest — she even contradicts what she once said about it! Gotcha! The ones I read love to attack “the old pro-life movement” and despise Donald Trump. Exposing Barrett gave them a great way to hit both at once.
It’s a complicated story, but basically, her critics took 40 words out of a 22,000 word paper to make her look like a hypocrite. I explained it here if you want to know the details. She said pretty much the opposite of what they said she said. They didn’t take the time to find out what she’d said in the other 21,970(ish) words. The chance to trash her was too good to check.
Their “Gotcha, Bad Barrett!” was a cheap shot. And worse, a kind of lie. When you say “Gotcha!,” you’re saying as definitely true something you don’t know to be true but want to believe is true, therefore you say it without the most elementary effort to find out if it is true. You just say it.
It’s Easy to See, But Not Always
The temptation to hit someone with a “gotcha!” argument is one whose power we all know. I speak as someone who’s fallen for easy “gotcha!” arguments because they seemed so perfect, so final, so deadly. But weren’t.
It’s easy to see how unfair a “gotcha!” argument is when people use it against one of your guys. It’s less easy to see how unfair it is when your own people use it against one of your enemies. But even more important to see it then.
“You cannot serve God and the military,” said Raphael Warnock in a sermon he preached in 2011. He’s a pastor running as the Democratic candidate against Republican senator Kelly Loeffler. They’re competing to fill the last two years of the previous senator’s term. That’s one of the two Georgia seats crucial for the Republicans to hold the senate.
At least five Republican senators tweeted the line as a “gotcha!” Mario Rubio wrote, “Not shocked #Georgia Democrat Senate candidate Raphael Warnock said ‘You cannot serve God and the military’ at the same time. These & even crazier things is what the radicals who control the Democratic party’s activist & small dollar donor base believe.”
Florida’s other senator, Rick Scott, tweeted “@ReverendWarnock ‘nobody can serve God and the military.’ This is a disgrace. Every Senate Democrat should be asked whether they agree with Warnock. Every. Single. One.”
Loeffler herself jumped on him too. “I’m the daughter & granddaughter of veterans, and proud to serve on the VA Committee,” she tweeted. “@ReverendWarnock—this is despicable, disgusting, and wrong. You owe our active military & veterans—who sacrifice so much for our country—an immediate apology.”
Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn tweeted the same kind of thing. Other Republicans did as well. It was a great “Gotcha!” line.
Except it wasn’t.
Just Quoting Jesus
Here’s what the candidate said: “America, nobody can serve God and the military. You can’t serve God and money. You cannot serve God and mammon. At the same time. America, choose ye this day who you will serve. Choose ye this day.” (You can hear the next three minutes of the sermon here.)
Which, readers will realize, is simply an expanded version of what Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
So, according to three Republican senators, Jesus’s words were crazy, a disgrace, despicable, disgusting, and wrong. Which I wouldn’t want to say, even if it got me or my ally elected to the U.S. Senate when control of the Senate hangs in the balance and you’re worried a liberal Democrat will soon be president.
Warnock explained his words: “What I was expressing was the fact that, as a person of faith, my ultimate allegiance is to God. Therefore, whatever else that I may commit myself to has to be built on a spiritual foundation. The folks in my congregation, many of whom are veterans, weren’t confused at all about the message that day. That when you commit yourself to something larger than yourself you become better at that — whether that is serving in the military or serving in the U.S. Senate.”
It seems straightforward. Even Fox News subtitled its story “Reverend called on America to turn away from the pursuit of power in favor of a life of service.”
Christians Can’t Lie Like Politicians
Of course politicians lie. They leap to lie when the lie gives them an advantage. Many seem to have people on their staffs — especially the people who send out their tweets — who live to lie, because all they care about is getting the advantage. Christians more than anyone cannot join them. We can’t use “Gotcha!” arguments unless we know they’re completely fair and true.
Because we can’t lie. The commandment against bearing false witness is as absolute as all the others. It does not allow exceptions, no matter how desperately needed the lie seems. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that we cannot lie because we love and serve God who is pure Truth. The commandment “forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God.”
The great Evangelical teacher J. I. Packer says that Scripture views lying with “horror.” He titled the chapter on the ninth commandment in his book Keeping the Ten Commandments “Truth is Sacred.” Not just useful or good, and definitely not negotiable or bendable, but sacred.
He notes that the words used in the two places the Ten Commandments appear mean “untrue” in the first use and “insincere” in the other. The second “forcibly reminds us,” he says, “that exaggerations, half-truths, and misleading silences can all in effect be lies.” That would include, I think, “Gotcha!” arguments when the speaker doesn’t try to find out the truth before heaving the accusation.
“When you lie to take someone down,” like defeat them in an election, “it is malice,” Packer writes. “When you lie to impress, move, and use him,” like get him to vote for you, “it is pride.” The dishonest “Gotcha!” argument expresses both malice and pride.
The reason we lie doesn’t matter, Packer continues. “Thou shalt not” means “Thou shalt not.” “The lie as such, however necessary it appears, is bad, not good, and the right-mined man knows this.” He knows how far even a single lie takes him from God. “Rightly will he feel defiled, rightly will he seek cleansing in the Blood of Christ.”
Meticulous Care
Politics pushes on us many reasons to lie. Many apparently good reasons to lie. Especially when lying will help us win. Christianity unfits us for modern politics. That means we have to be meticulously careful to treat our opponent fairly and only to speak the absolute truth when we speak about him. We must do unto the other candidate as we would have his pIn desperation, people do unto ours.
As Jesus notes in Matthew’s Gospel, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
We could say, speaking about politics today: “If you’re only fair to the people you agree with, what value is your word? Doesn’t even the New York Times do the same? And if you only fact-check attacks on your party’s candidates, who can trust you? Even the Democratic National Committee does that.”
For David Mills’s obituary of his old friend J. I. Packer, see J.I. Packer, Man Who Told Us a Difficult Truth, RIP.
David Mills is a senior editor of The Stream. After teaching writing in a seminary, he has been editor of Touchstone and the executive editor of First Things. He edits the site Hour of Our Death and writes the monthly “Last Things” column for the New Oxford Review.


thestream--2020-11-23--Exchange Fear for Faith

Exchange Fear for Faith

People ask me in desperation if I think there ’ s hope for the future of this nation .
The short answer is it depends entirely on you .
Today we have a growing national movement of law breakers .
We ’ ve seen it in the streets , in the rioting and “ mostly peaceful ” protests , and in the looting .
“ I ’ ll take what ’ s mine and to heck with the personal property rights of anyone else.
” That ’ s just survival of the fittest in action , and an intimidation tactic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We see it reflected in the corruption of the elite class and their unlawful dictates for our “ safety.
” Governor Newsom of California mandated masks , distancing , and curfews , then attended a large party with none of the above .
( Then he lied about details , hoping to escape unscathed . )
Long-term senator and two-term vice president Biden also orders us to put our faith in masks , wears them for camera ops , but completely disregards his own advice at his birthday party .
How did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected leadership ?
Schools used to teach morals , because citizens of this great nation knew that this great democratic experiment could only endure if its populace was law-abiding .
Laws don ’ t inspire morality — it ’ s the other way around .
Harvard ’ s founding mission statement read , “ To be plainly instructed and consider well that the main end of your life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ.
” Today Harvard undertakes “ to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society.
” But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have no moral grounding , and therefore consider themselves above the law ?
A sermon shortly after the George Floyd incident admonished me to apologize to black people .
Setting aside the inherently racist element of that message , it ’ s not speaking truth from the Biblical perspective .
Matthew 5 instructs us to apologize for personal behavior , not cultural issues .
The pastor either is a bigot himself , seeking absolution through others , or he ’ s a charlatan .
His churches ( there are thirty-five of them ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his church small group deep-dive into theology , admitted he was really an agnostic .
His church is also well-attended.In desperation , p This nation has lost its compass , because the churches have lost their supports in scripture and their footings in faith .
How could they not ?
Our public schools , far from teaching no religion , have infected us all with secular humanism , Darwinism , and sex “ education.
” When an education fails to teach the Bible , some alternate worldview usurps its place .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lies invade the student ’ s mind .
And lies enslave .
When an elephant is young , the handler chains it to a post , to keep it controlled .
Initially , the elephant struggles against its restraints , learning that the chain is fast and can not be overcome .
There is no escape .
Once the elephant learns this , it takes only a small string to secure the great beast .
He will no longer attempt to free himself .
In the same way , American citizens have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our energy to combat them is weak .
Sixty million babies have died because of our reluctance to speak truth .
Children ’ s minds are being perverted in oIn desperation , pur public schools because good people shrug and ask if there is hope .
People wear masks because they believe their overlords hold the power to mandate limits on personal freedom .
No such power was ever properly vested in this nation of life , liberty and pursuit of happiness .
Our rights are inalienable , indisputable , and undeniable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Our founders conceived this country for characters of conscience , placing faith in individual sovereignty and trusting that each unique person subscribed to the communal , biblical morality .
Now those bonds between nation and individual , between citizen and morality , have eroded .
We gradually accepted the chains , tacitly established our enslavement , and willingly sacrificed our sacred , God-given liberty .
But there is hope in the Word because fear dissipates with faith .
If you are not attending your church , because your church is too timid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church professing the Word of God : “ For God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
” ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ) Church without the biblical Word is only a lie .
Christian and Jewish leaders must start to lead or be abandoned by their flocks .
The church has never been bigger and more impotent , but its failure to impact the culture is tacit approval — furtherance of falsehoods .
The church that refuses to stand against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsing them .
There is hope for the nation , if you are willing to act .
Take the string off your foot , the mask off your face , and open ( or shop at ) your “ unessential ” businesses .
There is hope , but only with the courage to stand against the lies .

People ask me in desperation if I think there’s hope for the future of this nation. The short answer is it depends entirely on you.
Today we have a growing national movement of law breakers. We’ve seen it in the streets, in the rioting and “mostly peaceful” protests, and in the looting. “I’ll take what’s mine and to heck with the personal property rights of anyone else.” That’s just survival of the fittest in action, and an intimidation tactic by the law enforcement that allows it.
We see it reflected in the corruption of the elite class and their unlawful dictates for our “safety.” Governor Newsom of California mandated masks, distancing, and curfews, then attended a large party with none of the above. (Then he lied about details, hoping to escape unscathed.) Long-term senator and two-term vice president Biden also orders us to put our faith in masks, wears them for camera ops, but completely disregards his own advice at his birthday party.
How did we get our lying, hypocritical, elected leadership?
No Moral Grounding at Schools
Schools used to teach morals, because citizens of this great nation knew that this great democratic experiment could only endure if its populace was law-abiding. Laws don’t inspire morality — it’s the other way around.
Harvard’s founding mission statement read, “To be plainly instructed and consider well that the main end of your life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ.” Today Harvard undertakes “to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society.” But how can it when those same leaders have no moral grounding, and therefore consider themselves above the law?
Churches Without Scriptural Foundations
A sermon shortly after the George Floyd incident admonished me to apologize to black people. Setting aside the inherently racist element of that message, it’s not speaking truth from the Biblical perspective. Matthew 5 instructs us to apologize for personal behavior, not cultural issues. The pastor either is a bigot himself, seeking absolution through others, or he’s a charlatan.
His churches (there are thirty-five of them) are packed.
Another beloved pastor, in his church small group deep-dive into theology, admitted he was really an agnostic.
His church is also well-attended.
This nation has lost its compass, because the churches have lost their supports in scripture and their footings in faith. How could they not? Our public schools, far from teaching no religion, have infected us all with secular humanism, Darwinism, and sex “education.”
When an education fails to teach the Bible, some alternate worldview usurps its place. When an education fails to teach truth, lies invade the student’s mind. And lies enslave.
Chains of Lies In Desperation
When an elephant is young, the handler chains it to a post, to keep it controlled. Initially, the elephant struggles against its restraints, learning that the chain is fast and cannot be overcome. There is no escape. Once the elephant learns this, it takes only a small string to secure the great beast. He will no longer attempt to free himself.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In the same way, American citizens have been shackled by chains of lies, and our energy to combat them is weak.
Sixty million babies have died because of our reluctance to speak truth. Children’s minds are being perverted. In desperation, public schools because good people shrug and ask if there is hope. People wear masks because they believe their overlords hold the power to mandate limits on personal freedom. No such power was ever properly vested in this nation of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Our rights are inalienable, indisputable, and undeniable, but only if we stand our ground.
Eroding Bonds
Our founders conceived this country for characters of conscience, placing faith in individual sovereignty and trusting that each unique person subscribed to the communal, biblical morality. Now those bonds between nation and individual, between citizen and morality, have eroded. We gradually accepted the chains, tacitly established our enslavement, and willingly sacrificed our sacred, God-given liberty.
But there is hope in the Word because fear dissipates with faith.
Hope in the Word
If you are not attending your church, because your church is too timid to open, that is not a church professing the Word of God: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Church without the biblical Word is only a lie.
Christian and Jewish leaders must start to lead or be abandoned by their flocks.
The church has never been bigger and more impotent, but its failure to impact the culture is tacit approval — furtherance of falsehoods. The church that refuses to stand against the lies taught in public schools is endorsing them.
There is hope for the nation, if you are willing to act. Take the string off your foot, the mask off your face, and open (or shop at) your “unessential” businesses. There is hope, but only with the courage to stand against the lies.
Exchange fear for faith.
Sam Sorbo holds many titles including filmmaker, radio host, actress, international model, author, wife, mother, home school advocate and education activist.


thestream--2020-11-23--Letting the Democrats Steal This Election Is Real Appeasement

“ You were given the choice between war and dishonour .
You chose dishonour , and you will have war.
” What if President Trump ’ s team really does have the goods to prove a massive voter fraud on the part of the Democrats ?
Then what should we do ?
How far should we be willing to go ?
Should we let ourselves be cowed by the threat of leftist violence in the streets — by the prospect of 2020 ’ s riots multiplied by 10 or 20 ?
To answer that , let ’ s stop and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usually someone to talk about “ appeasement.
” That ’ s typically the card played by some armchair strategist neoconservative .
He whips it out when he ’ s trying to gin up a useless , stupid war with Iraq/Libya/Syria/the magical land of Equestria .
He ’ ll wield the threat that some seedy , impoverished dictator 4,000 miles away is a threat to “ American freedom.
” Such people like to pretend that in every potential foreign conflict , we face another Hitler .
And all who oppose the use of force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Neville Chamberlain .
It ’ s as if we ’ re forever stuck in the autumn of 1938 , with Hitler demanding pieces of Czechoslovakia from its sworn military allies , Britain and France .
It ’ s Always Either Fall 1938 or Summer 1914 In a piece of bitter irony , the actual appeasers who enabled Hitler ’ s rearmament and bloodless conquest of his neighbors themselves had got stuck in a moment of history .
Having witnessed the great powers sleepwalk into the futile First World War , they seemed forever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sought peace at any price — and thereby guaranteed that Adolph Hitler , not they , would choose the time of the inevitable clash between him and the democracies .
But sometimes a threat really is a present danger .
And I don ’ t want to blindly react against the neocons the same way they did against the appeasers .
That would make me one of those generals always fighting the last battle , not the present one .
If indeed a wide conspiracy of Democrat politicians and electoral officials accomplished vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sidney Powell , Jenna Ellis , and Rudolph Giuliani , that fact alone should sober us .
It ought to appall us , of course .
To fill us with righteous outrage , and patriotic resolve .
But will it ?
I ’ m not certain .
I think some Republicans eager to silence the president ’ s team want to just shove Trump aside , and restore the GOP to its recent historic role as designated loser .
As long as they control the party ’ s mechanisms , cash its checks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ populists like Donald Trump , they ’ re happy .
They want to be the first-string players on the Washington Generals , whose job it is to go out there and lose gracefully to the Harlem Globetrotters .
On one occasion when the Generals got out of hand and actually won , the whole crowed booed and jeered them .
They almost needed security to escort them out of the building .
In other words , it was a lot like the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump .
The “ fundamental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had promised hit a speed bump .
So his backers threw a tantrum that lasted four long years .
And they did more than that .
They massively abused their power to cripple and sabotage the presidency itself .
The brilliant political scientist Angelo Codavilla is worth reading here .
He writes that Trump ’ s win threatened to derail America morphing into a permanent oligarchy .
And the oligarchs wouldn ’ t put up with that , which is why they mobilized the Deep State to destroy him and his team , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They Do to Us ?
And now we see how far they proved themselves willing to go .
Do we really want to find out how much further they ’ ll dare to take things ?
People unafraid to annul the last presidential election , if they really tried to steal this one , are coldly and deadly serious about holding onto power .
They ’ re willing to imprison innocent men like General Mike Flynn , and Kyle Rittenhouse , and David Daleiden .
To persecute innocent citizens like Brett Kavanaugh , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To close all our churches , open our borders , create new farcical states , and pack the Supreme Court with flunkies .
What will they do to us and our cities if we try to resist them now ?
I think a lot of Republicans consider this , and cower .
In their heart of hearts they know that U.S. elites , allied with foreign billionaires and social engineers eager to start the Great Reset , will literally stop at nothing .
And that frightens them , as it should .
Feeding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divides a courageous man from a coward isn ’ t the absence of fear , when the situation merits it .
It ’ s how he responds to fear .
Does he blindly choose surrender over a struggle ?
Does he trade all his liberty for a little short-term safety ?
More to the point , does he throw to the crocodiles the allies who have already fought for him , in the hope he ’ ll be eaten last ?
That ’ s what we ’ d be doing to Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimate questions about the conduct of this past election .
And it ’ s what Great Britain convinced its ally France to do to the people of Czechoslovakia , when it cut the shameful Munich deal with Hitler .
I ’ m finishing a powerful work of historical scholarship on just how foolish that surrender really was .
The Bell of Treason , by P.E .
Caquet , is gripping but painful reading .
It tells the story of the Munich deal from a viewpoint we rarely hear it : that of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fears of the French or the British , it shows us the steely resolve , and tragic patriotic fervor , of the liberty-loving Czechs .
They could never believe that their allies would throw them under the bus .
Nor did the German generals who plotted to overthrow Hitler rather than start a war they couldn ’ t win .
And that ’ s the point : The Germans were far too weak to win a war in 1938 .
They had fewer tanks than France , and most of them were inferior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Allied tanks , but vulnerable to their shells .
The Luftwaffe at the time was more hype than reality .
The U-boats that would later devastate British shipping still hadn ’ t been built .
Meanwhile the Czech military was almost half as strong as Germany ’ s .
It had solid , realistic plans for resisting until the French could bail it out .
English and French appeasers warned against massive German bombing of their cities — which wouldn ’ t even be possible for two more years .
Powerful Czech fortresses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still unconquered , and posed a threat to the German rear .
The Soviet Union hadn ’ t yet switched to ally itself with Hitler , and might have intervened .
In every way , the prospects of a war against Nazi Germany were better in 1938 than they ’ d prove in 1940 , when Germany finally chose the moment to blitzkrieg its way into France .
The much stronger Panzers that would roll then into Paris were made … in factories taken over from the Czechs , after Hitler ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mind , I ’ d like my fellow patriots to consider : If this vote fraud was real , and leading Democrats are really so disdainful of democracy , is the time for taking extraordinary means to stop them now ?
Or once they fully control the U.S. military , the FBI , the NSA , the CIA , the IRS and the Secret Service ?
Once the last flickers of free speech have flickered out on social media , and the last cable network switched sides , as Fox News just did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Second Amendment , and millions of our timid neighbors have dutifully turned in their guns ?
Once ANTIFA expands into every American city ?
Just read this catalog of tyrannical , punitive measures prominent Trump opponents have called for even before the election has been settled .
Appeasement doesn ’ t prevent a war .
It just postpones it .
Abandoning your allies and champions is a great way to ensure that you ’ ll fight alone .
Do we really want to end up beleaguered and isolated , under illegitimate rulers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time comes for our Dunkirk ?
Consider the words of Alexander Solzhenitysn : And what do we do if God forbid we learn that the voter fraud was all too real , but can ’ t prove it in time to stop a gang of thieves from constitutionally taking power ?
I really don ’ t have answer to this last one .
I hope Donald Trump does .
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream , and author or co-author of ten books , including The Politically Incorrect Guide to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholicism .
He is co-author with Jason Jones of “ God , Guns , & the Government .
”

“You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war.”
― Winston Churchill, to Neville Chamberlain.
What if President Trump’s team really does have the goods to prove a massive voter fraud on the part of the Democrats? Then what should we do? How far should we be willing to go? Should we let ourselves be cowed by the threat of leftist violence in the streets — by the prospect of 2020’s riots multiplied by 10 or 20? To answer that, let’s stop and consider history.
I’m not usually someone to talk about “appeasement.” That’s typically the card played by some armchair strategist neoconservative. He whips it out when he’s trying to gin up a useless, stupid war with Iraq/Libya/Syria/the magical land of Equestria. He’ll wield the threat that some seedy, impoverished dictator 4,000 miles away is a threat to “American freedom.”
Such people like to pretend that in every potential foreign conflict, we face another Hitler. And all who oppose the use of force get cast in the role of arch-appeaser Neville Chamberlain. It’s as if we’re forever stuck in the autumn of 1938, with Hitler demanding pieces of Czechoslovakia from its sworn military allies, Britain and France.
It’s Always Either Fall 1938 or Summer 1914
In a piece of bitter irony, the actual appeasers who enabled Hitler’s rearmament and bloodless conquest of his neighbors themselves had got stuck in a moment of history. Having witnessed the great powers sleepwalk into the futile First World War, they seemed forever haunted by August 1914. So they sought peace at any price — and thereby guaranteed that Adolph Hitler, not they, would choose the time of the inevitable clash between him and the democracies.
But sometimes a threat really is a present danger. And I don’t want to blindly react against the neocons the same way they did against the appeasers. That would make me one of those generals always fighting the last battle, not the present one.
If indeed a wide conspiracy of Democrat politicians and electoral officials accomplished vote fraud on the massive scale alleged by Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and Rudolph Giuliani, that fact alone should sober us. It ought to appall us, of course. To fill us with righteous outrage, and patriotic resolve. But will it?
Civil Peace at Any Price
I’m not certain. I think some Republicans eager to silence the president’s team want to just shove Trump aside, and restore the GOP to its recent historic role as designated loser. As long as they control the party’s mechanisms, cash its checks, and keep out “dangerous” populists like Donald Trump, they’re happy. They want to be the first-string players on the Washington Generals, whose job it is to go out there and lose gracefully to the Harlem Globetrotters.
On one occasion when the Generals got out of hand and actually won, the whole crowed booed and jeered them. They almost needed security to escort them out of the building. In other words, it was a lot like the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump. The “fundamental transformation” of America which Barack Obama had promised hit a speed bump. So his backers threw a tantrum that lasted four long years.
People unafraid to annul the last presidential election, who tried to steal this one, are coldly and deadly serious about holding onto power.
And they did more than that. They massively abused their power to cripple and sabotage the presidency itself. The brilliant political scientist Angelo Codavilla is worth reading here. He writes that Trump’s win threatened to derail America morphing into a permanent oligarchy. And the oligarchs wouldn’t put up with that, which is why they mobilized the Deep State to destroy him and his team, by any means necessary.
What Will They Do to Us?
And now we see how far they proved themselves willing to go. Do we really want to find out how much further they’ll dare to take things? People unafraid to annul the last presidential election, if they really tried to steal this one, are coldly and deadly serious about holding onto power. They’re willing to imprison innocent men like General Mike Flynn, and Kyle Rittenhouse, and David Daleiden. To persecute innocent citizens like Brett Kavanaugh, Nicholas Sandmann, and Mark Judge. To close all our churches, open our borders, create new farcical states, and pack the Supreme Court with flunkies. What will they do to us and our cities if we try to resist them now?
I think a lot of Republicans consider this, and cower. In their heart of hearts they know that U.S. elites, allied with foreign billionaires and social engineers eager to start the Great Reset, will literally stop at nothing. And that frightens them, as it should.
Feeding Our Allies to the Crocodiles
But what divides a courageous man from a coward isn’t the absence of fear, when the situation merits it. It’s how he responds to fear. Does he blindly choose surrender over a struggle? Does he trade all his liberty for a little short-term safety? More to the point, does he throw to the crocodiles the allies who have already fought for him, in the hope he’ll be eaten last?
That’s what we’d be doing to Donald Trump and his team, if we silenced legitimate questions about the conduct of this past election. And it’s what Great Britain convinced its ally France to do to the people of Czechoslovakia, when it cut the shameful Munich deal with Hitler.
The Real Tragedy of Munich
I’m finishing a powerful work of historical scholarship on just how foolish that surrender really was. The Bell of Treason, by P.E. Caquet, is gripping but painful reading. It tells the story of the Munich deal from a viewpoint we rarely hear it: that of the Czechs. Instead of focusing on the fears of the French or the British, it shows us the steely resolve, and tragic patriotic fervor, of the liberty-loving Czechs. They could never believe that their allies would throw them under the bus. Nor did the German generals who plotted to overthrow Hitler rather than start a war they couldn’t win.
And that’s the point: The Germans were far too weak to win a war in 1938. They had fewer tanks than France, and most of them were inferior. They were incapable of blowing up Allied tanks, but vulnerable to their shells. The Luftwaffe at the time was more hype than reality. The U-boats that would later devastate British shipping still hadn’t been built.
Meanwhile the Czech military was almost half as strong as Germany’s. It had solid, realistic plans for resisting until the French could bail it out. English and French appeasers warned against massive German bombing of their cities — which wouldn’t even be possible for two more years. Powerful Czech fortresses guarded its mountainous borders. Poland was still unconquered, and posed a threat to the German rear. The Soviet Union hadn’t yet switched to ally itself with Hitler, and might have intervened.
Letting Your Enemy Set the Schedule
In every way, the prospects of a war against Nazi Germany were better in 1938 than they’d prove in 1940, when Germany finally chose the moment to blitzkrieg its way into France. The much stronger Panzers that would roll then into Paris were made … in factories taken over from the Czechs, after Hitler’s bloodless conquest.
With all this in mind, I’d like my fellow patriots to consider: If this vote fraud was real, and leading Democrats are really so disdainful of democracy, is the time for taking extraordinary means to stop them now? Or once they fully control the U.S. military, the FBI, the NSA, the CIA, the IRS and the Secret Service? Once the last flickers of free speech have flickered out on social media, and the last cable network switched sides, as Fox News just did? Once courts have essentially nullified the Second Amendment, and millions of our timid neighbors have dutifully turned in their guns? Once ANTIFA expands into every American city?
Just read this catalog of tyrannical, punitive measures prominent Trump opponents have called for even before the election has been settled.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Appeasement doesn’t prevent a war. It just postpones it. Abandoning your allies and champions is a great way to ensure that you’ll fight alone.
Do we really want to end up beleaguered and isolated, under illegitimate rulers, hoping that we get lucky when the time comes for our Dunkirk? Consider the words of Alexander Solzhenitysn:
Remember Solzhenitsyn’s warning. Tyranny must be resisted before it’s too late. Otherwise we deserve what we get. pic.twitter.com/3TWdmM19El — Echo Chamber (@echo_chamberz) November 15, 2020
And what do we do if God forbid we learn that the voter fraud was all too real, but can’t prove it in time to stop a gang of thieves from constitutionally taking power? I really don’t have answer to this last one. I hope Donald Trump does.
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--2020-11-24--Catholic Nuns, Evangelical Doctor Partner With Jewish Entrepreneur To Save Lives

Days ago , Dr .
Sister Priscilla Busingye , age 55 , received word that her dream of a renovated medical clinic in rural Uganda may soon be realized .
African Mission Healthcare ( AMH ) has awarded Busingye , a certified OB-GYN physician , its Gerson L ’ Chaim Prize .
It includes a $ 500,000 award to support her medical work .
“ I am very excited about this , ” stated Busingye in an interview via e-mail .
“ The prize is a good start to making our dream a reality .
We will make this a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital in this rural region of Uganda.
” Specifically , she expressed gratitude to AMH co-founder Mark Gerson and his wife Rabbi Erica Gerson .
Devout Jewish believers , they have uniquely given millions of dollars towards Christian missions over the past decade .
“ Dr .
Priscilla exemplifies what it means to live a life of faith , ” said Mark Gerson in a phone interview .
“ Physicians like her who live God ’ s will are genuinely sacred and holy people.
” Gerson , an executive at a top New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considers return on investment in their philanthropy .
“ When you deploy charitable resources , you have to ask how your money can do the most good , ” he said .
“ Christian missionary doctors working in Africa deliver the highest possible return , ” he added .
“ There ’ s no argument about that .
We have all the data to back it up.
” In the mid-nineties , Gerson met Jon Fielder when the two were roommates while studying at Baylor University in Houston .
As Fielder went on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact .
Compelled by his evangelical Christian faith , Fielder took a year off from school to serve as a missionary in India .
“ My eyes were really opened to needs in the developing world , ” said Fielder in a phone interview from Uganda .
“ When I returned to medical school , God convicted me to become a long-term medical missionary.
” He and Gerson began to collaborate on humanitarian work , despite their differences in beliefs .
They share roots in the biblical text , noted the Jewish entrepreneur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about saving lives and the sacredness of life , ” said Gerson .
“ The Book of Deuteronomy says , ‘ Choose life , in order that you may live.
’ To save a life is by far the most important thing one can do.
” In 2010 , the two co-founded African Mission Healthcare , with Fielder as CEO and Gerson as board chair .
Since then , AMH has sponsored projects at 47 facilities in 18 African nations .
Their work is most focused on eight nations in eastern Africa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his team found that an order of Catholic nuns were running many rural health facilities .
Soon , they established a relationship with the Banyatereza Sisters of Uganda .
“ We found their clinics to be compassionate in health care and also extremely efficient , ” said Fielder .
“ So we partnered with this order to send their sisters to train as doctors , nurses , and laboratory technicians.
” Since then , 49 of the sisters have trained as health care workers .
One Catholic nun has become a key ally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strategy .
Dr. Priscilla Busingye has practiced medicine in the rural area of Rwibale , Uganda since 2008 .
“ It ’ s very different from an urban setting , ” said Busingye via e-mail .
“ Doctors must do a lot of improvising .
You become like a fire extinguisher , because most times it is only emergencies .
The advantage is the joy you bring to people who haven ’ t had access to specialist care.
” Earlier this year , AMH sponsored the first operating theater at her clinic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ capacity to assist pregnant women in distress .
When needed , they can now perform C-section deliveries .
“ We work to restore women ’ s dignity and save lives , ” she said .
In recent weeks , Uganda has recorded an uptick in COVID-related deaths .
AMH leaders say their greatest concern is that many effective COVID treatments involve oxygen therapy .
Only approximately 20 % of health facilities across Africa have oxygen capacity ( compressors , etc . )
“ The level of oxygen that you need to save the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s enormous , ” said Fielder .
“ Oxygen is one of the least available essential resources .
Now we ’ ve started a major initiative to build oxygen capability in health facilities.
” Busingye noted the COVID-19 pandemic has increased difficulties in her area .
“ I find many women are sick at home , ” she said .
“ Others are unable to sell their goods in the markets , and have no money .
Their pain is my pain.
” Prize funding will be dedicated to a new addition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to build a Maternal Center , ” said Busingye .
“ It will improve care for women and children here , and across this region .
Our vision is to use it to train and mentor many health care workers.
” Fielder , who graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , has heard criticisms of their work over the years .
Once critics understand their close connection to African leaders , he said it changes the conversation .
“ No Westerner can come in to a nation for a couple of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solve problems , ” he said .
“ Only by listening to local voices will you arrive at solutions .
“ We come alongside hospitals and ask , ‘ How can we help you ?
What is it that you need to be successful ?
’ ” To fulfill its mission , AMH focuses on long-terms efforts to build a strong health care system .
This includes resourcing mission teaching clinics , as in Uganda .
Dr. Busingye ’ s praise is a testament to the value of their work .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closer to the completion of a big dream , ” she said .
“ We thank God for this prize and those in America supporting our work .
And we pray for peace in our countries.
” Through AMH , Christians and Jews have forged an exceptional partnership .
Their work has received positive coverage from Forbes and even the New York Times .
For the leaders , it comes down to their mission .
“ God has commanded us to love the stranger , ” said Gerson .
“ The Torah tells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything else , I believe .
Saving the life of a stranger is the best way to love them.
” Learn more about African Mission Healthcare in the video below .
Stream contributor Josh M. Shepherd covers culture , faith , and public policy issues for media outlets including The Federalist .
Find him on Twitter and follow The Stream @ Streamdotorg .

Days ago, Dr. Sister Priscilla Busingye, age 55, received word that her dream of a renovated medical clinic in rural Uganda may soon be realized.
African Mission Healthcare (AMH) has awarded Busingye, a certified OB-GYN physician, its Gerson L’Chaim Prize. It includes a $500,000 award to support her medical work.
“I am very excited about this,” stated Busingye in an interview via e-mail. “The prize is a good start to making our dream a reality. We will make this a center of excellence. Imagine a model hospital in this rural region of Uganda.”
Specifically, she expressed gratitude to AMH co-founder Mark Gerson and his wife Rabbi Erica Gerson. Devout Jewish believers, they have uniquely given millions of dollars towards Christian missions over the past decade.
“Doctors must do a lot of improvising. You become like a fire extinguisher, because most times it is only emergencies.” — Dr. Priscilla Busingye
“Dr. Priscilla exemplifies what it means to live a life of faith,” said Mark Gerson in a phone interview. “Physicians like her who live God’s will are genuinely sacred and holy people.”
Gerson, an executive at a top New York consulting firm, says his family considers return on investment in their philanthropy. “When you deploy charitable resources, you have to ask how your money can do the most good,” he said.
“Christian missionary doctors working in Africa deliver the highest possible return,” he added. “There’s no argument about that. We have all the data to back it up.”
Medical Mission Grounded in Shared Faith
In the mid-nineties, Gerson met Jon Fielder when the two were roommates while studying at Baylor University in Houston. As Fielder went on medical school, the two stayed in contact.
Compelled by his evangelical Christian faith, Fielder took a year off from school to serve as a missionary in India.
“My eyes were really opened to needs in the developing world,” said Fielder in a phone interview from Uganda. “When I returned to medical school, God convicted me to become a long-term medical missionary.”
He and Gerson began to collaborate on humanitarian work, despite their differences in beliefs.
They share roots in the biblical text, noted the Jewish entrepreneur. “All of the Torah is about saving lives and the sacredness of life,” said Gerson. “The Book of Deuteronomy says, ‘Choose life, in order that you may live.’ To save a life is by far the most important thing one can do.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In 2010, the two co-founded African Mission Healthcare, with Fielder as CEO and Gerson as board chair. Since then, AMH has sponsored projects at 47 facilities in 18 African nations. Their work is most focused on eight nations in eastern Africa, including Kenya and Uganda.
Fielder and his team found that an order of Catholic nuns were running many rural health facilities. Soon, they established a relationship with the Banyatereza Sisters of Uganda.
“We found their clinics to be compassionate in health care and also extremely efficient,” said Fielder. “So we partnered with this order to send their sisters to train as doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians.”
Since then, 49 of the sisters have trained as health care workers. One Catholic nun has become a key ally as AMH has defined and deployed their strategy.
Improvising During Crises
Dr. Priscilla Busingye has practiced medicine in the rural area of Rwibale, Uganda since 2008.
“It’s very different from an urban setting,” said Busingye via e-mail. “Doctors must do a lot of improvising. You become like a fire extinguisher, because most times it is only emergencies. The advantage is the joy you bring to people who haven’t had access to specialist care.”
Earlier this year, AMH sponsored the first operating theater at her clinic. Now Busingye and her team have new capacity to assist pregnant women in distress. When needed, they can now perform C-section deliveries. “We work to restore women’s dignity and save lives,” she said.
In recent weeks, Uganda has recorded an uptick in COVID-related deaths. AMH leaders say their greatest concern is that many effective COVID treatments involve oxygen therapy. Only approximately 20% of health facilities across Africa have oxygen capacity (compressors, etc.)
“The oxygen that you need to save the life of someone with COVID-19, it’s enormous.” — Dr. Jon Fielder
“The level of oxygen that you need to save the life of someone with COVID-19, it’s enormous,” said Fielder. “Oxygen is one of the least available essential resources. Now we’ve started a major initiative to build oxygen capability in health facilities.”
Busingye noted the COVID-19 pandemic has increased difficulties in her area. “I find many women are sick at home,” she said. “Others are unable to sell their goods in the markets, and have no money. Their pain is my pain.”
Prize funding will be dedicated to a new addition to her clinic. “We are going to build a Maternal Center,” said Busingye. “It will improve care for women and children here, and across this region. Our vision is to use it to train and mentor many health care workers.”
Building Shalom That Lasts
Fielder, who graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has heard criticisms of their work over the years.
Once critics understand their close connection to African leaders, he said it changes the conversation. “No Westerner can come in to a nation for a couple of weeks and think you’re going to solve problems,” he said. “Only by listening to local voices will you arrive at solutions.
“We come alongside hospitals and ask, ‘How can we help you? What is it that you need to be successful?’”
To fulfill its mission, AMH focuses on long-terms efforts to build a strong health care system. This includes resourcing mission teaching clinics, as in Uganda.
Dr. Busingye’s praise is a testament to the value of their work. “Today, our rural underserved community is closer to the completion of a big dream,” she said. “We thank God for this prize and those in America supporting our work. And we pray for peace in our countries.”
Through AMH, Christians and Jews have forged an exceptional partnership. Their work has received positive coverage from Forbes and even the New York Times.
For the leaders, it comes down to their mission.
“God has commanded us to love the stranger,” said Gerson. “The Torah tells us this 36 times — more than anything else, I believe. Saving the life of a stranger is the best way to love them.”
Learn more about African Mission Healthcare in the video below.
Stream contributor Josh M. Shepherd covers culture, faith, and public policy issues for media outlets including The Federalist. Find him on Twitter and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-11-24--Whatever Your Governor Says, New Science Gives You Permission to Enjoy Thanksgiving

Most of us care about others and will accept some suffering to avoid calamity .
Our public health authorities , abetted by the press , know this .
That ’ s why they ’ ve done their best to convince us that we had to bear the 2020 hardships—lockdowns , masks , unemployment , deaths of despair— of suffer far worse .
Millions , they said , would have died without these crippling measures .
This message appeals to our inner control freak .
Yes , we ’ re told , COVID-19 can cause untold disaster if you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but we ’ ve got it figured out .
The CDC ’ s pre-Thanksgiving advice puts the empowering message in a nutshell : “ Wear a mask , stay at least 6 feet apart , avoid crowds , and wash your hands often .
The more steps you take , the more you are protected against COVID-19.
” That makes for a bleak Thanksgiving celebration alright .
But surely this is a small price to pay for the thrill of saving the world !
And , as we ’ ve been told over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science tells us that ’ s just what we ’ re doing .
WHO Said the Opposite — in 2019 Does it ?
Just a few months before coronavirus became a household word , the World Health Organization concluded just the opposite .
They published a summary of the best scientific assessments of measures for containing a more familiar respiratory virus — the flu .
It covered precautions that would have sounded extreme to us at the time ( October 2019 ) : contact tracing , wearing face masks , sanitizing of high-touch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and closing schools and places of work .
What was the bottom line ?
After decades of study , WHO concluded , “ the overall quality of evidence was very low for most interventions.
” Moreover , the best studies tended to show these measures didn ’ t do much if anything .
For example , the WHO concluded that “ there is a moderate overall quality of evidence that face masks do not have substantial effect on transmission of influenza.
” But few of us read the report .
Back then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matters .
If we had been , we might have questioned the ease with which the word “ science ” was used to justify what came next .
The bliss is now long over , so maybe we should focus on the science that calls these painful measures into question .
Two recent studies do just that .
One examined the effects of adding masks to other social-distancing recommendations in Denmark , which authorities had not done .
The other compared informal at-home quarantine among U.S. Marine recruits to closely supervised quarantine at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Danish study randomly divided thousands of participants into two groups .
One ground was given a supply of surgical masks and instructed to wear them .
The other group was not instructed to wear masks .
After one month , both groups were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection .
The result ?
“ No statistically significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 incidence was observed.
” Quote that the next time someone tells you that the science shows masks work for the general population .
The study of Marine recruits compares rigorous containment measures ( double-layered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use of electronic devices , bleaching of bathroom and dining areas after each use , etc . )
to self-led ( at home ) measures .
These were requested of recruits for two weeks prior to reporting .
The bottom line here was that about 1 % of the recruits tested positive after two weeks of at-home measures , whereas about 2 % tested positive after two weeks of enforced measures .
Those who tested positive on reporting were isolated from the other recruits .
Despite that , the rate of spread with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or higher ) than the rate under informal measures .
Of course , no study will ever be perfect .
Human behavior is complex .
And it ’ s hard it to track a virus ’ s every move .
So people who are inclined to dismiss results like these will dismiss them .
Our point is that many respectable ( if imperfect ) studies give us reason to doubt the value of these measures .
As a result , no informed person should believe that science provides clear support for them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep bearing all these burdens when it seems clear that the costs well outweigh the benefits .
You ’ ve heard the ridiculous calls from governors and public health officials to ruin Thanksgiving .
Thankfully , you have good reasons to ignore them .

Most of us care about others and will accept some suffering to avoid calamity. Our public health authorities, abetted by the press, know this. That’s why they’ve done their best to convince us that we had to bear the 2020 hardships—lockdowns, masks, unemployment, deaths of despair— or suffer far worse. Millions, they said, would have died without these crippling measures.
This message appeals to our inner control freak. Yes, we’re told, COVID-19 can cause untold disaster if you don’t know how to contain it, but we’ve got it figured out. The CDC’s pre-Thanksgiving advice puts the empowering message in a nutshell: “Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart, avoid crowds, and wash your hands often. The more steps you take, the more you are protected against COVID-19.”
That makes for a bleak Thanksgiving celebration alright. But surely this is a small price to pay for the thrill of saving the world! And, as we’ve been told over and over in imperious tones, the science tells us that’s just what we’re doing.
WHO Said the Opposite — in 2019
Does it? Just a few months before coronavirus became a household word, the World Health Organization concluded just the opposite. They published a summary of the best scientific assessments of measures for containing a more familiar respiratory virus — the flu. It covered precautions that would have sounded extreme to us at the time (October 2019): contact tracing, wearing face masks, sanitizing of high-touch surfaces, quarantining sick and exposed people, and closing schools and places of work.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
What was the bottom line? After decades of study, WHO concluded, “the overall quality of evidence was very low for most interventions.” Moreover, the best studies tended to show these measures didn’t do much if anything. For example, the WHO concluded that “there is a moderate overall quality of evidence that face masks do not have substantial effect on transmission of influenza.”
But few of us read the report. Back then, we were blissfully unconcerned about such matters. If we had been, we might have questioned the ease with which the word “science” was used to justify what came next.
Maybe we should focus on the science that calls these painful lockdown measures into question. Two recent studies do just that.
The bliss is now long over, so maybe we should focus on the science that calls these painful measures into question. Two recent studies do just that. One examined the effects of adding masks to other social-distancing recommendations in Denmark, which authorities had not done. The other compared informal at-home quarantine among U.S. Marine recruits to closely supervised quarantine at a closed campus where they reported.
New Danish Mask Study
The Danish study randomly divided thousands of participants into two groups. One group was given a supply of surgical masks and instructed to wear them. The other group was not instructed to wear masks. After one month, both groups were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The result? “No statistically significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 incidence was observed.”
Quote that the next time someone tells you that the science shows masks work for the general population.
Study of Marine Recruits
The study of Marine recruits compares rigorous containment measures (double-layered cloth masks, six-foot separation, no use of electronic devices, bleaching of bathroom and dining areas after each use, etc.) to self-led (at home) measures. These were requested of recruits for two weeks prior to reporting.
The bottom line here was that about 1% of the recruits tested positive after two weeks of at-home measures, whereas about 2% tested positive after two weeks of enforced measures. Those who tested positive on reporting were isolated from the other recruits. Despite that, the rate of spread with enforced rigorous measures was as high (or higher) than the rate under informal measures.
Life is Complicated
Of course, no study will ever be perfect. Human behavior is complex. And it’s hard it to track a virus’s every move. So people who are inclined to dismiss results like these will dismiss them.
Our point is that many respectable (if imperfect) studies give us reason to doubt the value of these measures. As a result, no informed person should believe that science provides clear support for them. And no reasonable person should be content to keep bearing all these burdens when it seems clear that the costs well outweigh the benefits.
You’ve heard the ridiculous calls from governors and public health officials to ruin Thanksgiving. Thankfully, you have good reasons to ignore them.


thestream--2020-11-24--Why Should Christians Support Private Property?

The false promises of Socialism continue to take root in the minds of Americans , especially among younger generations .
@ @ @ @ @ teach the principles that have made America the most prosperous nation in history .
Ownership @ @ @ @ @ of those key issues being challenged today .
And yet economists have proven that the @ @ @ @ @ rights for the poor is the main cause of persistent poverty in the Third World @ @ @ @ @ way , and we need look no further than the Bible to find it .
@ @ @ @ @ and other similar topics , visit our Foundations page .
Marissa Hays works for LIFE @ @ @ @ @ talk show sharing the Gospel message with people all over the world .
Marissa is @ @ @ @ @ host of The Stream : Foundations and is passionate about the unparalleled love and unprecedented @ @ @ @ @ Jesus Christ .
She and her husband currently reside in Texas with their adorable son @ @ @ @

The false promises of Socialism continue to take root in the minds of Americans, especially among younger generations. Therefore we must remember and teach the principles that have made America the most prosperous nation in history. Ownership of private property is one of those key issues being challenged today. And yet economists have proven that the lack of firmly protected property rights for the poor is the main cause of persistent poverty in the Third World. There is a better way, and we need look no further than the Bible to find it.
Please watch as we continue our Foundations Video Series and visit our Foundations page to explore more.
Marissa Hays works for LIFE Today — an innovative television talk show sharing the Gospel message with people all over the world. Marissa is honored to serve as the host of The Stream: Foundations and is passionate about the unparalleled love and unprecedented grace available to us in Jesus Christ. She and her husband currently reside in Texas with their adorable son and affectionate pug.


thestream--2020-11-24--Christians in the Middle East Need Us

Christians in the Middle East Need Us

Archbishop Bashar Warda is a man of hope , humility , courage and defiance .
Christians will stay in the Middle East , like it or not , he says — even if there is little or no room for them among Muslim leaders in the region .
“ Chilling ” doesn ’ t begin to describe listening to Warda talking about the threat to his people in that troubled part of the world .
Speaking virtually from Erbil , Iraq , he delivered his message to the fifth annual New York-based conference on international religious liberty sponsored by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Act in Time : Protecting Imperiled Christians in Ancient and Other Lands.
” In the years since the Islamic state forced his flock into exile in Kurdistan , Warda has labored to minister , to give families healing and confidence that there is a future for them in their homeland .
But the fact of the matter is that there won ’ t be if more of the world doesn ’ t pay attention .
There were over 1 million Christians in Iraq before our war there began in 2003 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The sand has nearly run out in the hourglass that is Christianity in Iraq , ” is how Stephen M. Rasche , vice chancellor of the Catholic University in Erbil , describes the situation in his book The Disappearing People : The Tragic Fate of Christians in the Middle East .
“ And although there is still time left , if we don ’ t act now , the 2,000-year presence of Christians in the Middle East will come to an end on our watch .
But if any responsible , effective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will need to be based in new thinking , which admits the reality of the situation , unclouded by Western aspirational paradigms and the knee-jerk tendency to resort to claims of phobias and bias , which serve only to obscure the truth.
” Rasche is an American , who , with my late friend Andrew Walther , established the Institute for Ancient and Threatened Christianity .
In the last days of Walther ’ s life — he died shortly before his 46th birthday of leukemia — he was on the phone with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witness testimony about the precarious life of a Christian in Nigeria .
As one of the speakers at the conference put it , 11 Nigerians were beheaded last year on Christmas Day — did we notice ?
Do we care ?
Do we do anything about it ?
Walther and Rasche were supposed to go to Nigeria this spring , but the coronavirus pandemic did that trip in .
Walther was an incredible friend to the persecuted , helping with everything from basic needs to working to save villages and doing diplomatic work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to carry on his work .
The most shocking and yet unsurprising thing that Archbishop Warda said at the conference , which was dedicated to Walther , was to share with us his fear as he watches the growing hostility to religion in the United States .
He knows how that story ends .
He ’ s living it .
These things are the calling card of tyranny , he said .
We must learn from him and be lovingly defiant in the face of it .
Their Suffering Must be Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this problem and it ’ s one we have to find a solution to — as a nation , for all who value freedom .
As Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan of New York put it in his rallying keynote at the conference , the Middle Eastern Christians ’ suffering must be our suffering .
Dolan , who is the new head of the U.S. Catholic bishops ’ committee on religious liberty , brought with him an icon of the Egyptian Coptic Christian martyrs who were beheaded by ISIS in Libya in 2015 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who wasn ’ t Christian , who said he wanted to be the faith that the other men were .
Dolan said he does , too .
We must live up to the ideals of our religion and work to improve the world .
Do something for persecuted people before 2020 ends .
And give thanks for our blessings , even in the midst of struggle .
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute , editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book A Year With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Living .
She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan ’ s pro-life commission in New York .
She can be contacted at klopez @ nationalreview.com .

Archbishop Bashar Warda is a man of hope, humility, courage and defiance. Christians will stay in the Middle East, like it or not, he says — even if there is little or no room for them among Muslim leaders in the region.
“Chilling” doesn’t begin to describe listening to Warda talking about the threat to his people in that troubled part of the world. Speaking virtually from Erbil, Iraq, he delivered his message to the fifth annual New York-based conference on international religious liberty sponsored by the Anglosphere Society, among others, titled “Act in Time: Protecting Imperiled Christians in Ancient and Other Lands.”
In the years since the Islamic state forced his flock into exile in Kurdistan, Warda has labored to minister, to give families healing and confidence that there is a future for them in their homeland. But the fact of the matter is that there won’t be if more of the world doesn’t pay attention. There were over 1 million Christians in Iraq before our war there began in 2003, and there are now fewer than 150,000.
Do We Care?
“The sand has nearly run out in the hourglass that is Christianity in Iraq,” is how Stephen M. Rasche, vice chancellor of the Catholic University in Erbil, describes the situation in his book The Disappearing People: The Tragic Fate of Christians in the Middle East. “And although there is still time left, if we don’t act now, the 2,000-year presence of Christians in the Middle East will come to an end on our watch. But if any responsible, effective plan of action is to occur, it will need to be based in new thinking, which admits the reality of the situation, unclouded by Western aspirational paradigms and the knee-jerk tendency to resort to claims of phobias and bias, which serve only to obscure the truth.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Rasche is an American, who, with my late friend Andrew Walther, established the Institute for Ancient and Threatened Christianity. In the last days of Walther’s life — he died shortly before his 46th birthday of leukemia — he was on the phone with Rasche, working on edits to some witness testimony about the precarious life of a Christian in Nigeria. As one of the speakers at the conference put it, 11 Nigerians were beheaded last year on Christmas Day — did we notice? Do we care? Do we do anything about it?
A Friend to the Persecuted
Walther and Rasche were supposed to go to Nigeria this spring, but the coronavirus pandemic did that trip in.
Walther was an incredible friend to the persecuted, helping with everything from basic needs to working to save villages and doing diplomatic work. We must let his example inspire us to carry on his work.
The most shocking and yet unsurprising thing that Archbishop Warda said at the conference, which was dedicated to Walther, was to share with us his fear as he watches the growing hostility to religion in the United States. He knows how that story ends. He’s living it. These things are the calling card of tyranny, he said. We must learn from him and be lovingly defiant in the face of it.
Their Suffering Must be Our Suffering
There’s an urgency to this problem and it’s one we have to find a solution to — as a nation, for all who value freedom. As Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan of New York put it in his rallying keynote at the conference, the Middle Eastern Christians’ suffering must be our suffering.
Dolan, who is the new head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ committee on religious liberty, brought with him an icon of the Egyptian Coptic Christian martyrs who were beheaded by ISIS in Libya in 2015. He remembered in particular the one martyr who wasn’t Christian, who said he wanted to be the faith that the other men were. Dolan said he does, too. We must live up to the ideals of our religion and work to improve the world. Do something for persecuted people before 2020 ends. And give thanks for our blessings, even in the midst of struggle.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living. She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York. She can be contacted at [email protected].


thestream--2020-11-24--Military Photo of the Day: Training in the Alaskan Chill

U.S. Air Force airmen conduct small unit training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on November 18 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ for serving our country .
Stay warm !

U.S. Air Force airmen conduct small unit training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on November 18, 2020.
Thank you to these airmen for serving our country. Stay warm!
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thestream--2020-11-25--Do the Math: What’s Going on With Georgia’s Ballots?

At this writing , attorney Sidney Powell reportedly intends to file a lawsuit in Georgia on Wednesday .
We ’ re not sure what it ’ ll cover , but some reports out of Georgia strongly suggest that we still just don ’ t know the real vote count there .
And if this isn ’ t cleared up , not only is the presidential vote in doubt , but there ’ s no telling how it will affect the upcoming senatorial run-offs .
As Peter Svab reports in The Epoch Times , and Dan Bongino discussed in his Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on with thousands of ballots in Georgia .
Bongino knows something about such allegations because in his early days as a Secret Service agent , he had to investigate cases of fraud that led him to discover post office boxes being used as residences .
Criminals were using them as drop boxes ; the Secret Service would stake them out and catch the bad guys .
This same type of falsification appears to have been done on thousands of ballot applications in Georgia , which require a residential address .
Keep in mind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with their “ official ” count , is less than 13,000 votes .
Matt Braynard , former data and strategy director for Trump ’ s 2016 campaign , noticed that many addresses on the voter rolls included information that didn ’ t make sense for the actual locations .
So he and his team analyzed just a partial sample of the voter data and saw that thousands of registered voters in Georgia — who are shown to have actually voted — might have used addresses of commercial businesses or postal facilities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residential addresses .
Some of these immediately look suspicious : An address that says “ Apt .
4928 ” doesn ’ t really make sense , as an apartment complex typically doesn ’ t contain nearly that many units .
Others with lower numbers would , of course , blend right in .
On November 22 , Braynard tweeted : “ Georgia : We have identified over a thousand early/abs votes cast by individuals whose registered addresses are in fact at post offices , UPS , and FedEx locations , willfully disguising the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Unit , ’ etc.
” Whoever did this has broken the law .
Georgia election law states that “ the residence of any person shall be held to be in that place in which such person ’ s habitation is fixed , without any intention of removing therefrom.
” Without any intention of removing therefrom .
That ’ s the part that people in other parts of the country intending to “ move ” to Georgia just to vote Democrat in the run-offs need to consider .
Unless they plan to continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they are committing a felony by doing this .
And the state of Georgia had better get tough on this and enforce that law , or their election in January will be steamrolled .
According to Georgia state law , anyone who “ knowingly gives false information when registering as an elector ” can be charged with a felony and imprisoned for up to 10 years or fined up to $ 100,000 .
Braynard found anomalies in Pennsylvania as well .
His team was able to contact by phone 1,137 Republican voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were not shown in state records to have had their ballots received or counted .
Nearly 42 percent of those said they had returned their ballots , or thought they had .
So , what happened to those ballots ?
In Pennsylvania , over 160,000 uncounted mail-in ballots were requested by or in the name of registered Republicans .
If we extrapolate from the sample Braynard was able to contact , with nearly 42 precent saying they returned them , that ’ s many thousands of votes not to have counted .
Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ College , has filed a sworn affidavit of his findings , which says : Here are Dr. Miller ’ s findings from Pennsylvania with his detailed analysis , as presented in the affidavit .
But back to Georgia .
Braynard ’ s survey concluded that in Georgia , a similar percentage of Republicans they contacted who ’ d requested mail-in ballots said they returned them : 44 percent .
As we reported , Georgia attorney Lin Wood got a major smack-down from Judge Steven Grimberg when he attempted to stop the certification of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suing as an individual voter and campaign donor ( not sure why ) , not acting as an attorney for the Trump campaign , and Judge Grimberg ruled that he lacked standing .
So Wood has filed an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an emergency review of that decision .
In a lawsuit against the Georgia secretary of state and other state officials , Wood is making an argument that Alan Dershowitz says has merit : the fact that state officials do not have the authority to change the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the U.S. Constitution , state legislatures must do that .
State officials did this regarding the process for verifying signatures , without authorization from the Georgia Legislature .
I believe Wood still has the same judge on this one , though , so don ’ t hold your breath .
Wood also had State Farm Arena , where votes were being counted , served with a subpoena seeking video footage of the counting process during and after the election .
Recall that officials claimed the vote count there had to be halted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water pipe , which turned out to be a mere dribble .
So , what were they doing in there for all that time the count was stopped ?
Here ’ s more of an overview of what ’ s going on in Pennsylvania , Wisconsin and , especially , Georgia .
Trump ’ s campaign has requested a machine recount in Georgia , which he ’ s entitled to do in such a close race .
They ’ re also looking at a Petition to Challenge the election based , we surmise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above , the ones that appear to be from non-residential addresses .
There were approximately 1 million new voter registrations between November 2018 and 2020 .
Absentee votes cast totaled 1,322,529 .
Even though the Georgia secretary of state has certified the results , Trump still has five days from that point to file such a petition .
According to RedState.com , there is anecdotal evidence — not yet verified but certainly being checked out — that numerous commercial mail-drop businesses had exhausted their supply of mailboxes as of this September and October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the street addresses of these commercial businesses with the addresses on voter registration applications to see if this was part of a scheme to inflate the Democrat vote .
Of course , just because leftists are openly encouraging people to “ move ” to Georgia to vote in the senatorial run-offs doesn ’ t mean Democrats would ever have falsified their addresses there to vote against Trump .
Certainly not !
Win or lose , if Trump ’ s election challenge uncovers this kind of rot , it should be considered a public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former governor of Arkansas and longtime conservative commentator on issues in culture and current events .
A New York Times best-selling author , he hosts the weekly talk show Huckabee on TBN .

At this writing, attorney Sidney Powell reportedly intends to file a lawsuit in Georgia on Wednesday. We’re not sure what it’ll cover, but some reports out of Georgia strongly suggest that we still just don’t know the real vote count there. And if this isn’t cleared up, not only is the presidential vote in doubt, but there’s no telling how it will affect the upcoming senatorial run-offs.
As Peter Svab reports in The Epoch Times, and Dan Bongino discussed in his Tuesday podcast, something very suspicious is going on with thousands of ballots in Georgia.
Ballot Falsification
Bongino knows something about such allegations because in his early days as a Secret Service agent, he had to investigate cases of fraud that led him to discover post office boxes being used as residences. Criminals were using them as drop boxes; the Secret Service would stake them out and catch the bad guys.
This same type of falsification appears to have been done on thousands of ballot applications in Georgia, which require a residential address. Keep in mind that the margin between Biden and Trump, with their “official” count, is less than 13,000 votes.
Matt Braynard, former data and strategy director for Trump’s 2016 campaign, noticed that many addresses on the voter rolls included information that didn’t make sense for the actual locations. So he and his team analyzed just a partial sample of the voter data and saw that thousands of registered voters in Georgia — who are shown to have actually voted — might have used addresses of commercial businesses or postal facilities and disguised this by making them look like residential addresses.
Some of these immediately look suspicious: An address that says “Apt. 4928” doesn’t really make sense, as an apartment complex typically doesn’t contain nearly that many units. Others with lower numbers would, of course, blend right in.
On November 22, Braynard tweeted: “Georgia: We have identified over a thousand early/abs votes cast by individuals whose registered addresses are in fact at post offices, UPS, and FedEx locations, willfully disguising the box numbers as ‘Apt,’ ‘Unit,’ etc.”
“Move” to Georgia
Whoever did this has broken the law. Georgia election law states that “the residence of any person shall be held to be in that place in which such person’s habitation is fixed, without any intention of removing therefrom.”
Without any intention of removing therefrom. That’s the part that people in other parts of the country intending to “move” to Georgia just to vote Democrat in the run-offs need to consider. Unless they plan to continue living in Georgia for the foreseeable future, they are committing a felony by doing this. And the state of Georgia had better get tough on this and enforce that law, or their election in January will be steamrolled.
According to Georgia state law, anyone who “knowingly gives false information when registering as an elector” can be charged with a felony and imprisoned for up to 10 years or fined up to $100,000.
Anomalies in Pennsylvania
Braynard found anomalies in Pennsylvania as well. His team was able to contact by phone 1,137 Republican voters in Pennsylvania who requested a ballot but were not shown in state records to have had their ballots received or counted. Nearly 42 percent of those said they had returned their ballots, or thought they had. So, what happened to those ballots?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In Pennsylvania, over 160,000 uncounted mail-in ballots were requested by or in the name of registered Republicans. If we extrapolate from the sample Braynard was able to contact, with nearly 42 precent saying they returned them, that’s many thousands of votes not to have counted. Dr. Steven Miller, mathematics professor at Williams College, has filed a sworn affidavit of his findings, which says:
I estimate that within a reasonable degree of mathematical certainty (based on the data I received being accurate and a representative sample of the population), the number of the 165,412 mail-in ballots requested by someone other than the registered Republican is at least 37,000, and the number of the 165,412 mail-in ballots requested by registered Republicans and returned but not counted [emphasis mine] is at least 38, 910.
Here are Dr. Miller’s findings from Pennsylvania with his detailed analysis, as presented in the affidavit.
But back to Georgia. Braynard’s survey concluded that in Georgia, a similar percentage of Republicans they contacted who’d requested mail-in ballots said they returned them: 44 percent.
A Constitutional Argument
As we reported, Georgia attorney Lin Wood got a major smack-down from Judge Steven Grimberg when he attempted to stop the certification of the state vote count. He was suing as an individual voter and campaign donor (not sure why), not acting as an attorney for the Trump campaign, and Judge Grimberg ruled that he lacked standing. So Wood has filed an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an emergency review of that decision.
In a lawsuit against the Georgia secretary of state and other state officials, Wood is making an argument that Alan Dershowitz says has merit: the fact that state officials do not have the authority to change the rules for counting absentee ballots, because under the U.S. Constitution, state legislatures must do that.
State officials did this regarding the process for verifying signatures, without authorization from the Georgia Legislature. I believe Wood still has the same judge on this one, though, so don’t hold your breath.
A Plumbing Problem?
Wood also had State Farm Arena, where votes were being counted, served with a subpoena seeking video footage of the counting process during and after the election. Recall that officials claimed the vote count there had to be halted for several hours because of a burst water pipe, which turned out to be a mere dribble. So, what were they doing in there for all that time the count was stopped?
Here’s more of an overview of what’s going on in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and, especially, Georgia.
Stay Tuned …
Trump’s campaign has requested a machine recount in Georgia, which he’s entitled to do in such a close race. They’re also looking at a Petition to Challenge the election based, we surmise, on the suspicious registration applications detailed above, the ones that appear to be from non-residential addresses. There were approximately 1 million new voter registrations between November 2018 and 2020. Absentee votes cast totaled 1,322,529.
Even though the Georgia secretary of state has certified the results, Trump still has five days from that point to file such a petition.
According to RedState.com, there is anecdotal evidence — not yet verified but certainly being checked out — that numerous commercial mail-drop businesses had exhausted their supply of mailboxes as of this September and October. So the campaign is likely cross-referencing the street addresses of these commercial businesses with the addresses on voter registration applications to see if this was part of a scheme to inflate the Democrat vote.
Of course, just because leftists are openly encouraging people to “move” to Georgia to vote in the senatorial run-offs doesn’t mean Democrats would ever have falsified their addresses there to vote against Trump. Certainly not! Win or lose, if Trump’s election challenge uncovers this kind of rot, it should be considered a public service to America.
Mike Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas and longtime conservative commentator on issues in culture and current events. A New York Times best-selling author, he hosts the weekly talk show Huckabee on TBN.
Originally published at MikeHuckabee.com. Reprinted with permission.