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Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
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CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
Ocasio-Cortez ‘very concerned’ about Democrats withholding Mamdani endorsement
- By Valletta
- American Politics
- 2 Replies
Ocasio-Cortez ‘very concerned’ about Democrats withholding Mamdani endorsement
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Thursday she was “very concerned” about her party members’ lack of support for New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. “I am very concerned about the example that is being set by anybody in our party,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside of the...
Mamdani's beliefs are pretty much the goal posts the Democrats have been moving toward. Crime and overall economic conditions are what eventually will cause the party to change course. From a conservative viewpoint it is hard to know just how far they will go before turning around. As people leave New York City and Portland and San Francisco and they implement even more radical policies their funding has to dry up.
Harvard prof Arthur Brooks says avoiding boredom prevents contemplation, can lead to anxiety, depression
- By Michie
Urges people to stop the 'doom loop' of checking phone apps
Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks explains in a Harvard Business Review video why boredom is essential for reflecting on life. | YouTube/Harvard Business Review
Boredom can play a crucial role in the human experience, according to Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks, who warns in a recent Harvard Business Review videothat avoiding boredom can prevent people from asking deeper questions about life and lead to anxiety and depression.
In the video, titled "You Need to Be Bored," Brooks, who's also a former president of the American Enterprise Institute, frames boredom not as a flaw but as a feature of the human mind. Brooks explains that when people are unoccupied, their brains activate what scientists call the “default mode network.” This process, he said, naturally steers thoughts toward larger questions about meaning and purpose.
“When you think about nothing, while your mind wanders and thinks about, for example, big questions of meaning in your life — what does my life mean? — you go to kind of uncomfortable existential questions when you’re bored,” Brooks said. “That turns out to be incredibly important, incredibly good.”
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
Boredom can play a crucial role in the human experience, according to Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks, who warns in a recent Harvard Business Review videothat avoiding boredom can prevent people from asking deeper questions about life and lead to anxiety and depression.
In the video, titled "You Need to Be Bored," Brooks, who's also a former president of the American Enterprise Institute, frames boredom not as a flaw but as a feature of the human mind. Brooks explains that when people are unoccupied, their brains activate what scientists call the “default mode network.” This process, he said, naturally steers thoughts toward larger questions about meaning and purpose.
“When you think about nothing, while your mind wanders and thinks about, for example, big questions of meaning in your life — what does my life mean? — you go to kind of uncomfortable existential questions when you’re bored,” Brooks said. “That turns out to be incredibly important, incredibly good.”
Continued below.
Harvard prof Arthur Brooks says avoiding boredom prevents contemplation, can lead to anxiety, depression
Boredom can play a crucial role in the human experience, according to Harvard professor Arthur C Brooks, who warns that avoiding boredom can prevent people from asking deeper questions about life and
www.christianpost.com
Sortition: a completely different model for democracy - representation by random selection - like a giant pool of jurors!
- By eclipsenow
- American Politics
- 20 Replies
So - what do you make of SORTITION?
It's like having a random jury pool - but scaled up to run the country.It was how ancient Athenian democracy worked.
Governments sometimes use it today to discuss some issue - and call it a "citizens’ assembly".
4 reasons I like it:
ONE: MORE EQUAL
Everyone has a chance. It's not influenced by wealth, social status, political careerism - etc.
This randomness tends to mirror the overall society more accurately than the rigged political system we see today.
The randomness and scope of everyone in the ballot should mean the whole population stay more engaged with the political life of their State and Nation - as they could be selected in the next recruitment!
It will involve those often excluded in traditional politics.
TWO: LESS CORRUPT
The government recruitment department funds a simple citizen lottery draw.
There’s no need to campaign or raise funds.
This removes the lobbying and corruption of big business - especially Big Oil!
THREE: BETTER DISCUSSIONS
Without the party politics - it should be far less toxic.
Because it is not election based and party-based - the parliament of the day can have a more thoughtful discussion.
They can honestly enquire of experts with less of the sabotaging, dishonest, partisan nit-picking that we see in the media today.
It produces decisions perceived as more legitimate - even by people outside the assembly.
FOUR: STABLE
As the sortition graph proposed for Tasmania shows - new staff filter in gradually over time. There are no sudden shocks to deal with.
Everyday people will be randomly selected, go through a recruitment and procedural training period, and then join colleagues that have been there a few months through to just about to finish their ONE term! The public servants advising them of procedures and resourcing them in the background can be there for longer terms for stability of the system - but even those should have limited terms should they be perceived as having too much influence themselves. (The much dreaded 'Deep State' paranoia.)
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Poll
Should the Dept of Defense change it's name to Dept of War?
- By Richard T
Trump recently has suggested that the department of Defense change its name back to the Department of War. Do you like this name change?
www.foxnews.com
Trump to rename Pentagon, restoring historic ‘Department of War’ in latest military move
President Donald Trump announced a plan to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War, reverting to the agency's former title as part of Pentagon reforms.
American boys have become less supportive of gender equality (i.e. men and women should receive equal job opportunities and pay)
- News & Current Events (Articles Required)
- 82 Replies
American boys have become less supportive of gender equality
A survey of 8th and 10th graders shows a sharp drop in the percent of boys who believe that women should have the same opportunities as men
The long-running Monitoring the Future study has been surveying 8th and 10th graders since 1991, and shows a sharp drop in the proportion of 8th and 10th graders that believe in gender equality in the last five years.In 2018, 84% of 8th and 10th grade boys agreed that women should have the same job opportunities as men. But in the last five years, the number dropped to 72%. The proportion of boys who completely agreed (as opposed to “mostly agree”) saw an even steeper drop, from 63% to 45%.
The share of boys agreeing that women deserve equal pay also fell from 87% in 2018 to 79% in 2023. The share who agreed completely fell from 72% to 57%.
[Many variables that you might think are correlated don't seem to be, or not very strongly -- use of social media, dad-in-the-home or not, video games (in fact, "it was the non-gamers who had the largest decreases in beliefs in gender equality since 2018.")]
However, one correlation stood out.
[Oops maybe I shouldn't have cropped it so tightly, but the left edge of the graphs starts in 1990.]
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Poll
Why Does Space (Outer) Always Have To Be A Race
- By Hvizsgyak
- News & Current Events (Articles Required)
- 14 Replies
Why is America back at trying to win the space race? We should have been miles ahead of everyone else. And I admit, we have been doing a good job of getting back into shape lately but we should have never let ourselves get slowed and flabby in the first place.
Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes - Wikipedia
Back in the mid 90's, there was a call to all outer space enthusiasts - NASA should focus more on short manned flights near Earth (possibly more dangerous and expensive) or inexpensive unmanned scientific probes to the ends of the solar system. I was very much in favor of the more expensive and manned flights around Earth's neighborhood. Many manned space enthusiasts lost that election. Less expensive unmanned space probes won out. But they did bring a sense of awe to the space enthusiast with excellent video and pictures of our solar system and beyond. In the end, these unmanned probes may have kickstarted the desire for manned missions nowadays.
But instead of cutting costs by working more with other nations (China India, Japan and Russia), we decided to make a race of the situation like we did with the Soviet Union back in the 1960s and 1970s.
Meals on Wheels forced to shut down Portland location over crime, safety concerns
- By Valletta
Meals on Wheels forced to shut down Portland location over crime, safety concerns
“We’ve been threatened with knives, and fires have been set. It was time to close.”
thepostmillennial.com
It is such a sad situation. The radical left in Portland and other like cities continue to take actions that hurt the poor.
Abandoned wife supported by body of Christ. Bulled Christian boy dies. Persecuted Christian refugees fear forced return.
- By LoricaLady
- Persecuted Christians
- 0 Replies
Sep. 04, 2025 | Benin
Abandoned by Husband, Supported by Body of Christ
[6] prayers in [1] nation have been posted for Lenna.
Despite her suffering, a Christian woman is standing firm in her faith and discipling others as well. Lenna was raised as a Muslim in northern Benin. When she came to faith in Christ a few years ago, her Muslim husband abandoned her and her three children. Not long afterward, Lenna was in a motorcycle accident and lost her right hand and part of her arm. She then struggled to support herself and her children. Read More.Sep. 04, 2025 | Indonesia
Bullied Christian Boy Dies
[4] prayers in [1] nation have been posted for our youngest brothers and sisters.
Second-grader Khristopel Butarbutar, who was part of a Christian tribal group on Indonesia's island of Sumatra, came home from school on May 19, 2025, injured and in pain. He had been beaten by five older Muslim boys in his school, the culmination of a week of bullying that included taunting him about his Christian faith. Khristopel continued to suffer and weaken physically, and his parents took him to the hospital, where he died on May 26. The autopsy showed the cause of death as a ruptured appendix, which may or may not have been the result of the beating, but the autopsy also showed internal bleeding and bruises that were consistent with blunt force trauma. Read More.Sep. 04, 2025 | Turkey
Persecuted Christian Refugees Fear Forced Return
[4] prayers in [1] nation have been posted for Christian refugees.
Christian refugees in Türkiye face persecution and possibly death if they are forced out. Türkiye, which has the largest refugee population in the world, is actively working to reduce its numbers as roughly 3.5 million have fled there from neighboring countries. "Türkiye has been ramping up deportations in recent years," said a front-line worker. "But in the past few months, they significantly escalated the number of refugees they are sending back to their home countries." Some refugees are Christians who fled persecution. Read More.
Trump calls Epstein disclosures battle ‘a Democrat hoax’
- By wing2000
- American Politics
- 150 Replies
“So, this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referencing documents related to the assassination of former President Kennedy. “We gave them everything over and over again, more, and more and more. And nobody is ever satisfied. From what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given.
“But it’s really a Democrat hoax, because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president,” Trump added.
While delivering these comments, very real victims of Epstein were speaking in a press conference.
"....survivor Jess Michaels.
“For 27 years, I thought I was the only one that Jeffrey Epstein raped. I believed I was alone, and I was kept silent by the shame that was inside me and by the fear outside in the world,” she said. “But I wasn't the only one. None of us were. And what once kept us silent now fuels that fire and the power of our voices. We are not the footnotes in some infamous predator’s tabloid article. We are the experts and the subjects of this story. We are the proof that fear did not break us. And we don't just speak for ourselves, but for every survivor whose story is still unspoken…. This is what power looks like. Survivors united, voices joined, refusing to be dismissed. Know this: justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations, decades overdue. This moment began with Epstein's crimes, but it's going to be remembered for survivors demanding justice, demanding truth, demanding accountability, and we will not stop until survivor voices shape justice, transform culture, and define the future. We are no longer whispers. We are one powerful voice, too loud to ignore, and we will never be silenced again.”
open.substack.com
“But it’s really a Democrat hoax, because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president,” Trump added.
While delivering these comments, very real victims of Epstein were speaking in a press conference.
"....survivor Jess Michaels.
“For 27 years, I thought I was the only one that Jeffrey Epstein raped. I believed I was alone, and I was kept silent by the shame that was inside me and by the fear outside in the world,” she said. “But I wasn't the only one. None of us were. And what once kept us silent now fuels that fire and the power of our voices. We are not the footnotes in some infamous predator’s tabloid article. We are the experts and the subjects of this story. We are the proof that fear did not break us. And we don't just speak for ourselves, but for every survivor whose story is still unspoken…. This is what power looks like. Survivors united, voices joined, refusing to be dismissed. Know this: justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations, decades overdue. This moment began with Epstein's crimes, but it's going to be remembered for survivors demanding justice, demanding truth, demanding accountability, and we will not stop until survivor voices shape justice, transform culture, and define the future. We are no longer whispers. We are one powerful voice, too loud to ignore, and we will never be silenced again.”
September 3, 2025
[Please note that this post talks about sexual assault in the last four paragraphs.]
open.substack.com
Pray for those affected by the death & injury caused by the funicular crash in Lisbon, Portugal
- Prayer Wall
- 0 Replies
Pray for those affected by the death & injury caused by the funicular crash in Lisbon, Portugal:
www.bbc.com
Funicular crash that killed 16 is 'one of biggest tragedies' in recent history, Portugal's PM says
Lisbon's mayor says the Portuguese capital "needs answers", as police work to identify the victims of the crash.
www.bbc.com
Heavily armed ‘Angel of Death’ from Alabama charged with threatening SoCal church to "do the Lord's reaping"
An Alabama man who claimed to be Michael the Angel of Death has been charged with multiple felonies after he threatened to “do the Lord’s reaping” at a Catholic monastery in Orange County and then traveled to the church with a sizable cache of weapons, authorities said.
On Wednesday, Joshua Michael Richardson, 38, was charged with felony criminal threats and possession of six high-capacity gun magazines, brass knuckles and a sword, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Investigators also found knives, a stun gun, body armor, duct tape and rope in his truck.
On Aug. 19, St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado Canyon received an email from Richardson in which he claimed to be the “rider of the pale horse,” the last of the four horsemen in the Book of Revelation, who personifies death. He also said he was Michael the Angel of Death, referencing the Archangel Michael, who is tasked with escorting souls to the afterlife, prosecutors said.
[Richardson traveled to SoCal, attended a church service, entered private areas of the church and was escorted out. Later picked up by Sheriffs.]
Richardson’s arrest took place just one day after a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis killed two children and injured 21 others.
Not your typical archangel gear:
On Wednesday, Joshua Michael Richardson, 38, was charged with felony criminal threats and possession of six high-capacity gun magazines, brass knuckles and a sword, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Investigators also found knives, a stun gun, body armor, duct tape and rope in his truck.
On Aug. 19, St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado Canyon received an email from Richardson in which he claimed to be the “rider of the pale horse,” the last of the four horsemen in the Book of Revelation, who personifies death. He also said he was Michael the Angel of Death, referencing the Archangel Michael, who is tasked with escorting souls to the afterlife, prosecutors said.
[Richardson traveled to SoCal, attended a church service, entered private areas of the church and was escorted out. Later picked up by Sheriffs.]
Richardson’s arrest took place just one day after a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis killed two children and injured 21 others.
Not your typical archangel gear:
Triumph of the Heart: Not Just a Movie, But a Mission
- By johnnypapa
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
Triumph of the Heart: Not Just a Movie, But a Mission
When I boarded the plane to Poland, I thought I was simply heading to a few world premieres of a new movie. I expected a red carpet, some interviews, a bit of content creation, and the thrill of being part of a big release. But what I encountered was far more than a film tour. […]
