209 Epiphany 4: Boom
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.“ ~ Psalm 111
Boom
Because, everyone wants to find their people, but the modern narrative isolates you. Because, all news channels are conspiracy theories according to the other guys. Because, aggregating rioters isn’t as useful as aggregating original reporting. Because, who else is going to tell you? Thank you for subscribing to Mad Christian Mondays
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
The Mad Christian
The Blitz
Coming to America
The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration last week, giving Border Patrol agents the green light to remove razor wire at border crossings in Texas. Texas’ Governor Greg Abbott responded by placing more razor wire, saying he will resolutely stop illegal entry into his state. (Reuters, The Blaze)
By our count, 25 states have expressed support for Texas’ stance, as did former President Donald Trump. Some governors have offered to send troops from their National Guards, with Florida looking to send its State Guard. (The Federalist, Just the News, NewsWeek)
On Saturday, President Biden said he would close the southern border “right now” if Congress would send him a bill to sign. The President is keen to secure funding for Ukraine which has been bundled in with immigration bills; a move which some GOP lawmakers object to. President Biden’s remarks angered immigration advocates who said “his policies do not reflect the progressive approach they had expected.” But the issue of illegal immigration is now on many minds as the election looms. (Time)
A trucker convoy calling itself “God’s Army” is heading to the southern US border to “draw attention” to the issue of illegal immigration. Keep it peaceful, fellas! (Hot Air)
A Democrat lawmaker in Illinois has suggested that Naperville residents could help an influx of migrants by signing up to host illegal aliens in their homes. (Not the Bee)
House Republicans announced they will bring impeachment charges against Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for undermining border security by refusing to deal with illegal immigration. (The Federalist)
Whatever the outcome of this situation, the issue of the porous US border is now too big for the White House to downplay and corporate media to ignore and that’s a good thing. We should pray for peace and that we would be granted good men to govern us.
Did you know that the Red Cross provides maps and instructions for the best way to get to the southern US border? Did you know that the United Nations doles out hundreds of millions of dollars each year to assist people it knows will attempt to break the law and cross into the US illegally? Journalist Todd Bensman has been reporting on illegal immigration across the globe for many years. He joined the Federalist podcast to discuss Russia’s attempts to sabotage Poland’s border, the threat of Syrian immigration and how the only way America can curb illegal immigration is to actually start deportation.
Births, Deaths and Marriages
A Wisconsin bill to allow a referendum on banning abortions after 14 weeks received a public hearing last week. A clip of a medical student testifying that she and some other fellow students could not stay in the state if they are not allowed to kill babies, even to full term has gone viral on social media. Ma’am, your terms are acceptable! Be in prayer for this pro-life policy. The State Assembly has approved the measure but it now needs to pass the Senate before it is put to public vote. (WTMJ, MacIver News Service, WNG)
A doctor who blew the whistle on a Texas Children’s Hospital’s secret transgender program is now being prosecuted by the Biden administration.“The hospital had promised to stop such procedures, which included the administration of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones—but in fact, it continued to perform transgender medical interventions on children as young as 11.” (Christopher Rufo)
After being vetoed then walked back etc, Ohio’s bill to protect children from transgender zealots has been voted into law. (Hot Air)
Oklahoma Legislator Dusty Deevers has proposed an obscenity law which would outlaw pornography. The bill “would prohibit consuming or producing sexual content that ‘lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific purposes or value’ in any medium.” (New York Post, Not the Bee)
Presidency
President Biden and former President Donald Trump have won their respective primaries in New Hampshire. Although the President didn’t appear on the ballot due to a squabble between Democrat camps, he won as a write-in candidate. GOP hopeful Nikki Haley has vowed to stay in the race. (WNG)
Maine’s Supreme Court has punted ruling on the legality of removing Donald Trump from the ballot, saying they’ll wait to see how the SCOTUS rules on a similar decision by Colorado. The Illinois State Board of Elections is also voting this week about whether to remove Trump from its ballot. (Just the News, The Hill)
From the Mad☧Tank
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Crime and Punishment
The jury in a civil defamation case against former President Donald Trump has ordered he pay over $80m in damages to columnist E. Jean Carroll. The case seems a clear case of lawfare by Democrat donors and activist judiciary, according to right-wing commentators. On her blog, writer Peachy Keenan observed the sad state of our legal landscape: “A trial’s verdict can be predicted with 100% accuracy if you can deduce who each juror voted for in 2020. 100%.” That could be a needlessly dark take, but we can agree we must pray that justice would prevail in our nation, not just for Mr. Trump but for all our sakes. Keenan suggests those who care to defend Christian values should think about sending their kids to law schools. (Just the News, Victor Davis Hanson, Peachy Keenan)
A District Judge has ordered the release of the “Newburgh Four”, a group of men hailing from outside NYC. The group was jailed in 2010 for conspiring to blow up synagogues and aircraft in a “post-9/11 terrorism sting.” Judge Colleen McMahon scolded the FBI for entrapping the men, writing that “the FBI invented the conspiracy and identified the targets.” The Bureau relied heavily on an “unsavory” informant, she said, who “[trolled] among the poorest and weakest of men for ‘terrorists’ who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime.” (Yahoo)
An Alabama murderer has been executed by hypoxia. The untested method using nitrogen gas is approved in a number of states but had not yet been used. It was devised as a theoretically painless method of execution, but critics say too many things can go wrong. (BBC, NBC)
Health, Medicine and Food
Post-pandemic, Americans are spending “more time with screens than people.”“When making plans for the weekends, more Americans are trading real-life social interactions for at-home digital entertainment.” (The Federalist)
Children with a form of genetically-acquired deafness had their hearing restored with gene therapy. (ABC News)
The Digital Age
Europe’s Digital Markets Act means Apple will allow side loading and third-party apps on its iPhone. Apple is famous for protecting its App Store and punishing anyone who tries to divert traffic away from them, such as its protract tussle with Epic Games. (The Verge).
Related…Region locking: an interesting side effect of different technologies or a tool of control? (Tedium)
One man’s adventure hacking the Digital Rights Management of his air purifier. (Unethical Info)
Before QR code scanners, there was CueCat. (The Hustle)
War
Three US soldiers have been killed and at least a dozen injured in a drone attack in Jordan. It is believed an Iran-backed militant groups carried out the strike which occurred at the Syrian border. (Just the News)
Israel has faced criticism for creating a buffer zone on its border by demolishing buildings in Gaza. South Africa, which brought charges of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice, has said Israel’s actions are further evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Israel’s military. The ICJ ruled that “acts and omissions by Israel... are genocidal in character” but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire. The ruling wanted that any states which support Israel’s current campaign are “on notice”. South Africa’s alliance with Palestinians and Hamas goes back some time, with Nelson Mandela cementing a rapport with Yassar Arafat in the 90s. (Washington Post, Forbes, AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected fresh calls for a two-state solution. Then again, Hamas have made it clear time and again that they will not be satisfied with two states either. (CNN, Hot Air)
Houthi pirates have continued attacking vessels in the Red Sea, despite attacks by the US and UK. (WNG)
God’s Green Earth
A New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently pushed back on the Biden administration’s water and energy standards for dishwashers and washing machines. The Court noted that the push for “green appliances” did not consider that “purportedly ‘energy efficient’ appliances do not work”. Cleaning dishes and clothes with barely any water or energy means people either hand wash or run their washers twice, the ruling noted. Consumer choice groups welcomed the ruling, saying that Americans should be able to choose between “machines that take longer and use less water and those that can do the job in an hour or less.” (Washington Examiner)
A new study says “plastic bans work”, with billions less bags used following policy changes in New Jersey, Vermont, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, and Santa Barbara, California. But a separate study based on New Jersey’s ban on single-use plastic bags found a six-fold increase in plastic consumption as customers moved to woven polypropylene bags. “Though the bags are built for repeated shopping trips, most New Jerseyans only reuse the bags two to three times before they're discarded.” (Gizmodo, Fox)
President Biden has said he will “pause” export permits for liquefied natural gas until the Department of Energy can “take a hard look” at its impacts. With Europe depending heavily on US’ supply of LNG, it’s probably not a bad thing to prioritize America’s energy security, but a briefing statement from the White House shows that “climate crisis” is the main driver, claiming it is “the existential threat of our time.” (ZeroHedge)
A fertility breakthrough has bolstered hopes that the Northern White Rhino might be saved from extinction. (BBC)
Beware frozen alligators! (NBC)
Media
Sports Illustrated has announced massive layoffs, with reports that the entire staff will be gone within three months. Time, Business Insider, and the Los Angeles Times also announced cuts to their workforce pegged for this year. (Front Office Sports, Fox)
The Baltimore Sun has returned to local [billionaire] ownership, with staffers reportedly unhappy that their new boss has right wing politics. (US News, Red State)
Return of the Fake News King
Should Arab states and foreign nationals be allowed to buy British newspapers? (The Spectator)
Science
The world’s deepest and most voluminous laboratory became operational last month. China’s new facility was designed to study dark matter, almost 8000 feet below the earth’s surface, to minimize disturbances from other signals in the cosmos. Dark matter is a yet-undiscovered substance, proposed by physicists who “have calculated that the gravity generated by visible matter is too weak to keep fast-moving galaxies from flying apart. So, they theorized dark matter as the invisible glue holding the Universe together.” Hmm, things visible and invisible were all created by Jesus Christ and he upholds them by the word of his power, so we know what’s really holding reality together. ☺️ (Nature, Hebrews 1)
Japan’s moon lander has been shut down after running out of power. The Moon Sniper malfunctioned upon touching the lunar surface, tipped upside down, and left solar panels facing away from the sun. Controllers are hopeful that when the lunar day-night cycle is complete, the Sniper might power up again as the sun changes its angle. (CBS)
A new speedy way of 3-D metal printing. (Tech Crunch)
Religion and the Church
You’ve no doubt heard of “spiritual but not religious.” A Pew survey claims there is a rise in those who identify as “religious but not spiritual,” who dismiss the woo woo of squishy spiritually in favor of rationally tackling life’s big questions and feeling “connected to something bigger than yourself.” They are “skeptics” more interested in “ritual than in the supernatural.” (RNS)
Challenge accepted?
Hearts and Minds
The CIA’s 1944 guide to sabotaging meetings. (Authentic Communications)
Education
Dual enrollment in a community college could help homeschooled teenagers overcame the “math gap”. (Intellectual Takeout)
Study: Lowering the bar and allowing more people into college means the IQ of undergraduates is lower now than in 1939. (Big Think)
Arts, History and Sport
Recipes from Wonderland and Lewis Carroll on dining etiquette: “As a general rule, do not kick the shins of the opposite gentleman under the table, if personally unacquainted with him; your pleasantry is liable to be misunderstood — a circumstance at all times unpleasant.” Noted. (Flashbak)
“The Train Crash That Scared The Dickens Out Of Charles Dickens.” (Ripley’s)
20 year-old university sophomore Nick Dunlap has become a PGA Tour champion but won’t be able to take home the prize due to his amateur status. Ouch! (NBC)
Last week in history:
1986: The space shuttle Challenger explosion. (Britannica)
1973: The Vietnam War ended. (Britannica)
1838: Prohibition begins in Tennessee. (History)
Stories from Far Away
🇨🇦A Federal Court Justice in Canada has ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of emergency powers to shut down Ottawa’s trucker convoy violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was not justified. (Front Page)
🇹🇼Taiwan has increased its mandatory military training from four months to one year. (Zawya)
🇫🇷 French farmers have taken their protests to Paris, blockading several motorways around the capital. Key union leaders met with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to discuss taxes, regulations and climate policies. How the situation is handled is seen as a “key test for President Emmanuel Macron's government.” (France 24)
🇰🇪 Kenya’s High Court has blocked government moves to send police to help fight gangs in Haiti. (BBC)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia is opening a store to sell alcohol to non-Muslim diplomats. The move has lead to speculation that this is a “step towards wider availability of alcohol” in the teetotal nation. (The Guardian)
🇯🇵 Ukrainian-born model crowned Miss Japan, sparking debate over national identity. (ZeroHedge)
🇮🇳 Two restaurants in India are taking their dispute over who invented the popular butter chicken dish to court. (CBS)
Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🕺🏻A marmot dance fight
📴 Love your neighbor; don’t drive distracted!
🤳UPS driver snaps selfies with dogs he meets
🌾The time when SpaceX launched a grain silo
🇬🇧 Worcestershire sauce was made by accident
📆 Leap year babies prepare to have their birthdays
🌈 How color changing cars do their thing
🐕Footage of a dog drinking
♠️ Vintage space-age playing cards
📷 to find hidden cameras in hotel rooms and rentals
Promo of Friends
A Good Word: Links from the Show Notes
Jonathan and Meridith’s date night AKA Stop the White Noise (YouTube, Rumble) was mostly a discussion on whether Christians should put off marrying once they have the opportunity. Luther married after a famously short engagement, during a revolt and at a time when talk of Christ’s return was in the air. So, amid talk of civil war and financial uncertainty, could there be a better time to take a spouse? :) Some recs:
Psalm 127, Psalm 128 – children are a gift from God!
Psalm 42 – Put your hope in God
1 Corinthians 7: St Paul’s advice to singles, betrothed, married and widowed
Sweetness You May Have Missed
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.