Bold About What?

Mike Adams

"Every now and then, I visit other churches in order to see what kinds of traditions they observe and what kinds of issues they tackle in their weekly worship services. Last weekend, I visited a nondenominational church. As I write this column on a Thursday morning, I am on my fourth day of trying to figure out what the pastor actually said, if anything. To be frank, I suspect that the pastor is still trying to figure out what he actually said, if anything.

"The thesis of the sermon, which was given to a church heavily populated with college students, seems to have been that Christians need to be “bold in their faith.” I only inferred that was the pastor’s thesis because he said, “you need to be bold in your faith” about 50 times. Apparently, this was deeply inspirational to many of those present. It must have been because I kept hearing people shout back at the pastor with phrases like “tell it,” "bring it,” and “preach it.” Fortunately, none of the congregants actually hurled his undergarments on the stage as the pastor was “bringing it.” For awhile there, I was worried.

"Even though people seemed to be enjoying themselves, I saw the pastor’s message as a lost opportunity. Something seemed to be missing to me. So I did what I often do in situations where I think the pastor may have missed the mark. I asked myself what I would have done differently had I been preaching the sermon. Specifically, what would I have said? Here’s what I came up with: . . . "

Full article here.

The silver lining in the NFL protests

American Thinker  . . . "Shelby Steele has an interesting take on the "Take a Knee" protest by African-American NFL players, "Black Protest Has Lost Its Power" 

"Steele writes that protests have been an effective tactic for black Americans from the Montgomery bus rides to Selma through the massive 1963 March on Washington. Two aspects of such protests were that they 1) involved risk and great sacrifice and 2) were aimed at real injustices. They were also highly effective in advancing freedom, a critical point we'll come back to.

"None of this holds true for the Take a Kneers. There was no risk involved to these millionaire sportsmen. Some may have had their feelings and sense of entitlement bruised by the negative reaction from fans, but the money kept rolling in. So did the adulation in the mainstream media." . . . 

. . . "The mandate that freedom leads to accountability is what causes the black community to believe the lie that white racism hovers over it like an all-encompassing fog and that freedom for blacks, if it exists at all, then it is at least severely curtailed. As Steele puts it:

That's why in the face of freedom's unsparing judgmentalism, we reflexively claim that freedom is a lie. We conjure elaborate narratives to give white racism new life in the present: systematic and 'structural' racism, racist 'microaggressions,' 'white privilege,' and so on. All these narratives insist that blacks are still victims of racism, and that freedom's accountability is an injustice.

"The NFL protests are not about injustice. They are 'genuflections to today's victim-focused black identity.'  ' . . . "Steele sees the antics of Black Lives Matter as people literally aspiring for black victimization, longing for it, as a way of confirming their self-identity and excusing their shortcomings. " . . .

Hillary Clinton’s First Tweet After News Of Sexual Misconduct Cover Up Ignores Allegations

Daily Caller  "It was reported on Friday that Hillary Clinton covered up for a longtime friend and campaign aide who was accused of sexually harassing a female staffer on her 2008 presidential campaign, but she avoided the bombshell revelation in her first public comments after the story broke.

"Clinton tweeted a thank you to Cecile Richards, the former president of the pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood, for her “tireless advocacy on behalf of women and girls.”

Hillary Clinton

✔@HillaryClinton

Thank you, @CecileRichards, for your tireless advocacy on behalf of women and girls, and for your grace under pressure over these last 12 years. And thank you to @PPFA for all you’ve done and continue to do to advance reproductive rights. Onward!

"Unmentioned in the tweet was Richards’ advocacy for abortion. An estimated 3.5 million abortions have been conducted by Planned Parenthood during Richards’ 12-year stint as the group’s leader. She is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Shielded Sexual Harasser On Her Campaign)

"Also unmentioned in the tweet are aforementioned allegations of sexual misconduct against Burns Strider, a political operative who has been described as Clinton’s faith adviser." . . .

Obama -- Leader of the Deep State Coup

Daniel John Sobieski   "In any criminal investigation where the suspect is not immediately known, the first question usually asked is who would have the most to gain? As we follow the bread crumbs of the text messages of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and await release of the House Intelligence Committee’s memo regarding the collusion between the DNC, the Hillary Clinton campaign, the DOJ, and FBI to interfere with the 2016, ensure the election of Hillary, and the defeat or impeachment of Donald Trump, the answer to that question is clear -- one Barack Hussein Obama." . . .

. . . Fake emails and surreptitious edits to incriminating documents. From the Strzok-Page text messages we know that Loretta Lynch knew Hillary would not be prosecuted. That meeting on the tarmac was to tell Bill Clinton the fix was in, a fix whose impetus came from the White House and an occupant concerned with both his legacy being erased by a President Trump but also by his involvement in covering up Hillary’s crimes." . . .

"National Review Contributing Editor Andrew McCarthy has long argued that Obama was the ringleader in obstructing justice in the Hillary email investigation:

Clinton–Obama Emails: The Key to Understanding Why Hillary Wasn’t Indicted

. . . If Clinton had been charged, Obama’s culpable involvement would have been patent. In any prosecution of Clinton, the Clinton–Obama emails would have been in the spotlight. For the prosecution, they would be more proof of willful (or, if you prefer, grossly negligent) mishandling of intelligence. More significantly, for Clinton’s defense, they would show that Obama was complicit in Clinton’s conduct yet faced no criminal charges." . . .    Read more.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the ChicagoSun-Times among other publications. 

New film accidentally exposes Team Obama’s foreign-policy naivety

NY Post 

 "In a moment of woeful irony in the Obama-administration documentary “The Final Year,” UN Ambassador Samantha Power travels to Cameroon to offer photo-op comfort to families terrorized by Boko Haram — only to have her motorcade kill a 7-year-old boy.

"Greg Barker, the director of this fan film, does his best to downplay the accident: It is discussed while we watch a clip of Power’s convoy moving at a crawl when in fact it was reportedly traveling at over 60 miles an hour when it struck the boy.

"Despite Barker’s intentions, the handiwork of the Road to Hell Paving Co. is obvious. Team Obama, with its let’s-hug-it-out attitude to world conflict, left a bloody trail.

“ 'The Final Year,” which is playing on a few screens ahead of its debut on HBO in May, drew notice for a scene in Power’s apartment on Election Night 2016. She invited the camera crew to film her party with the world’s 37 female ambassadors to toast the inevitable Hillary Clinton landslide. Power’s fist-pumping as she watches the election returns turns to blanching, but it’s Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes who has the most amusing reaction to Donald Trump’s victory." . . .

Reporter Behind ‘Trump Wanted To Fire Mueller Story’ “Teed Up” Stories For Dems Before, According To Podesta

Weasel Zippers  "Maggie Haberman is one of the NY Times reporters on this most recent ‘story’ that Trump wanted to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. This is what John Podesta said about how the Democrats used Haberman to ‘tee up’ stories for them and help shape the story. She used to work for Politico."

"Innocence is often irrelevant when navigating the minefield of verbal tricks and perjury traps set out by wily prosecutors"  "The prevailing wisdom offered by our leading political and legal risk analysts currently advises President Trump to avoid or minimize his impending meeting with Robert Mueller and his special investigation team. These risk gurus rightfully point out that innocence is often irrelevant when navigating the minefield of verbal tricks and perjury traps set out by wily prosecutors. The rich and powerful who have become trophies on the mantels of such hunters already include the likes of Bill Clinton, General Michael Flynn, and Martha Stewart. Mr. President, beware." . . .

A Look At James Mattis’s First Year As Defense Secretary

Via Weasel Zippers

Getting rid of a feckless, liberal Democrat commander-in-chief was the first step. What on earth were Obama's motives for micro-managing the war, other than making sure his left-wing base didn't complain? TD

Washington Reacts to a Year of C.H.A.O.S.  "It has been over a year since retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis took the oath of office as secretary of defense.

"Despite what his old call sign of “Chaos” implies, which actually stands for Colonel Has An Outstanding Solution, and while it was made tongue-and-cheek at the time, it brings a mantra that many in the military and civilian population hoped Mattis would take with him to his new job.

"Approved overwhelmingly for the Cabinet position —Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the sole dissenting vote and who did not respond to multiple requests for comment — the majority thinking in “the Swamp” was that Mattis would be one of the best in Trump's administration.

"His first year has been marked with significant accomplishments, and he continues to enjoy being the most popular member of Trump's Cabinet. IJR was able to get comments from members of Congress and others to see how they think he has done so far." . . .  Read the full article...

Excerpts here:

ISIS: If there’s one thing members of Congress can agree on, it’s that Mattis has successfully overseen the near-destruction of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Iran: Hunter: Obama was good for the Iranians, plain and simple. Mattis is not and Trump is not, [however] Iran is not an existential threat to the United States right now. North Korea is. 

North Korea: With Trump taking a more-vocal approach in dealing with North Korea, Mattis has taken a supportive role to help Secretary of State Rex Tillerson find a peaceful solution in the region. White said this allows U.S. diplomats to “negotiate from a position of strength.”

 Transgender Military Ban: . . . Those interviewed all agreed Mattis has handled the delicate situation just as he does with any other subject, with professionalism:" . . .

More.... 

Dreamer

Mike Ramirez

Why have Iranian naval craft stopped harassing US Navy ships?

Rick Moran  "For the last few years, Iranian patrol boats manned by Revolutionary Guard sailors have been harassing US naval vessels in the Persian Gulf. The boats would rush toward US ships, sometimes barely avoiding collisions. It's as if the Iranians were daring the US Navy to defend themselves.

"But since August, the routine harassment of US ships from Iranian boats has ceased. And the Navy can't figure out why."

. . . 

In some of the more serious incidents, Iranian crews have directed spotlights at ship and aircraft crews, potentially blinding pilots as they conduct operations, according to U.S. military officials. In one case, an Iranian boat pointed a weapon at an American helicopter flying off a Navy vessel, officials said. In the most serious incidents, U.S. vessels have fired warning shots in return.

. . .
"It was easy for them when Obama was president. They knew they had nothing to fear - especially after kidnapping and holding our sailors for ransom. If the US didn't respond after that extreme provocation, the Iranians probably figured they could anything short of firing a missile at our ships.

"I don't know if US ships have recieved revised rules of engagement, but it wouldn't surprise me. Another possibility for the end of Iranian naval harassment is that the Iranians don't want to give Trump an excuse to end the nuclear deal. It would be crazy for them to do something that would end such a one sided, advantageous agreement. 

"Whatever the reason, provocations from the Revolutionary Guards have ceased for the time being."

The New Occupation of Europe

Interestingly enough, while the jihadist marches calling for beheadings and death are accepted as freedom of expression, counter-protesters who call for stricter laws are always branded as racists and Nazis. So my question is, between World War II and now, what the hell happened?

American Thinker . . . "The irony is that had FDR and Truman fought World War II the way current leaders are forced to fight modern wars, the so-called International Criminal Court would not have been established in the Hague because the Netherlands would probably still be under Nazi occupation, and the Dutch would not have had the chance to atone for colluding with the Nazis and sending almost every single Dutch Jew to his death in the concentration camps.  More than twenty thousand Dutchmen did, after all, join the Waffen S.S.  Must be something in the water there. 

"To demonstrate how much things have changed in the last seventy years, today, much of Europe, particularly Western Europe, is again under enemy occupation, yet those countries did not fire even a single shot in their own defense (okay, so things have not changed that much in France).  Not only has Europe capitulated to this new conqueror, but many countries have made it illegal to even criticize the enemy or to point out that he is, in fact, the enemy. 

. . . 

"And who, pray tell, is this new enemy?  Militant Islam, jihadists, Muslim terrorists, whatever you want to call them – as long as you don't call them that in Western Europe, because you will likely be arrested for it.  They are bold in their intentions, marching down the broad boulevards of Europe's capitals, with police protection, bearing signs and banners that say things like "Kill those who insult Islam," "Islam will dominate the world," and "Be prepared for the real Holocaust." 

"They mean it, quite literally, as evidenced by the frequent slaughter of innocent people around the world every single day.  And for you apologists and moral equivocators, these acts are not the random violence of lunatics or otherwise mentally deranged individuals; this is a highly organized worldwide campaign with tens of millions of followers, millions of whom not only support the creation of a worldwide caliphate and the imposition of sharia law on the rest of us, but are willing to kill and to die to see it happen." . . .

Melania Just Destroyed Trump ‘Holocaust Denier’ Accusations Without Saying Single Word

Jonathan Pincus

"First lady Melania Trump skipped out on a trip to Davos, Switzerland, and instead chose to honor the millions of lives lost under the Nazi regime by visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., on Thursday.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people whose lives and families were broken by the horrors of the Holocaust,” she said in a statement. “Yet it is also through our shared humanity that we come together now in commemoration, strength, and love.

“ 'My heart is with you, and we remember.”

Melania Trump said Thursday that she chose to visit the memorial ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday to honor the victims lost during the horrific genocide.

"Accompanied on her visit by the museum’s director Sara Bloomfield, the first lady visited a multitude of exhibits and artifacts that detailed the rise of the Nazi Party, the liberation of concentration camps in 1945 and the policies implemented against the Jewish people.

"The first lady tweeted Thursday about her unexpected visit, thanking the museum for the “powerful & moving tour that honors the millions of innocent lives lost, and educates us on the tragedies and effects of the holocaust.” .  .  .

Will Unfinished Train Overpasses Become California’s Stonehenge?

Victor Davis Hanson

The misbegotten project, now stalling, should never have been started.

"Nobody quite knows who built Stonehenge some 5,000 years ago in southern England. The mysterious ring of huge stone monoliths stands mute.

"Californians may leave behind similarly enigmatic monuments for puzzled future generations. Along a 119-mile pathway in central California, from Bakersfield to Madera, there are now huge, quarter-finished concrete overpasses. These are the totems of the initial segment of a planned high-speed-rail corridor.

"Californians thought high-speed rail was a great idea when they voted for it in 2008. The state is overwhelmingly progressive. Silicon Valley reflects California’s confidence in new-age technology. Californians are among the highest-taxed citizens in the nation. They apparently are not opposed to borrowing and spending for ambitious government projects — especially to alleviate crowded freeways." . . .Read more