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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.
10 Tariff Questions Never Asked
- By Vambram
- News & Current Events (Articles Required)
- 43 Replies
1. President Donald Trump’s so-called trade war.
Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a “trade war.” But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China, and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses?
A trade peace? Trade fairness?
2. Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits?
Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs?
Are Europe, Asia, China, and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs?
Is the United States uniquely brilliant in maintaining a half-century of cumulative trade deficits? Do Americans alone discover the advantages of a $1 trillion annual trade deficit and small or nonexistent tariffs?
Why don’t America’s trading partners prefer deficits like ours—given we supposedly believe they are either advantageous or perhaps irrelevant?
3. Would our trade partners prefer to trade places with us?
Would our trade partners prefer to have America’s supposed benefits of a $1 trillion trade deficit? Would the United States then “suffer” like they do by running up $200 billion annual surpluses?
4. What if wages went up at the rate of the stock market?
What would now be the reaction of the stock market if over the last decade wages had increased at the rate of stocks—and the stocks at the rate of wages?
5. Is Wall Street’s panic based on what might happen—or what is happening?
Is Wall Street’s meltdown a fear of what might happen in the future? Or is it reacting to March’s latest jobs report that there were 93,000 more jobs created than predicted? Was the Wall Street panic predicated on reports of much lower oil prices? Did the furor arise over the March inflation report that the annualized inflation rate dipped to 2.6% per year?
6. Is the frenzy caused by the Trump economic agenda?
Is Wall Street’s worry that Trump’s impending tax cuts, more deregulation, greater budget cuts, and continued efforts to eliminate budget deficits and reduce national debt will stall economic growth?
7. What about North American neighbors?
If the U.S. was running a $63 billion-plus trade surplus with Canada, refusing to meet its NATO requirements to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and instead spent only 1.37%, would Canada become concerned?
If Mexico were running a $171 billion trade deficit with the U.S., if Americans in Mexico were sending over $60 billion per year out of Mexico to the U.S., and if American drug dealers were making $20 billion by selling fentanyl and opioids to Mexico, would Mexico be angry?
www.dailysignal.com
Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a “trade war.” But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China, and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses?
A trade peace? Trade fairness?
2. Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits?
Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs?
Are Europe, Asia, China, and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs?
Is the United States uniquely brilliant in maintaining a half-century of cumulative trade deficits? Do Americans alone discover the advantages of a $1 trillion annual trade deficit and small or nonexistent tariffs?
Why don’t America’s trading partners prefer deficits like ours—given we supposedly believe they are either advantageous or perhaps irrelevant?
3. Would our trade partners prefer to trade places with us?
Would our trade partners prefer to have America’s supposed benefits of a $1 trillion trade deficit? Would the United States then “suffer” like they do by running up $200 billion annual surpluses?
4. What if wages went up at the rate of the stock market?
What would now be the reaction of the stock market if over the last decade wages had increased at the rate of stocks—and the stocks at the rate of wages?
5. Is Wall Street’s panic based on what might happen—or what is happening?
Is Wall Street’s meltdown a fear of what might happen in the future? Or is it reacting to March’s latest jobs report that there were 93,000 more jobs created than predicted? Was the Wall Street panic predicated on reports of much lower oil prices? Did the furor arise over the March inflation report that the annualized inflation rate dipped to 2.6% per year?
6. Is the frenzy caused by the Trump economic agenda?
Is Wall Street’s worry that Trump’s impending tax cuts, more deregulation, greater budget cuts, and continued efforts to eliminate budget deficits and reduce national debt will stall economic growth?
7. What about North American neighbors?
If the U.S. was running a $63 billion-plus trade surplus with Canada, refusing to meet its NATO requirements to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and instead spent only 1.37%, would Canada become concerned?
If Mexico were running a $171 billion trade deficit with the U.S., if Americans in Mexico were sending over $60 billion per year out of Mexico to the U.S., and if American drug dealers were making $20 billion by selling fentanyl and opioids to Mexico, would Mexico be angry?
Trump’s So-Called Trade War
Is Wall Street’s worry that Donald Trump’s impending tax cuts, more deregulation, greater budget cuts, and continued efforts to eliminate budget deficits and reduce national debt will stall economic growth?
Wisconsin teen allegedly killed parents in extremist plot to assassinate Trump, FBI says
- By Michie
A Wisconsin teen allegedly killed his parents to "obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary" to kill President Donald Trump and overthrow the U.S. government, federal authorities said in court documents.
Continued below.
abcnews.go.com
Continued below.
Wisconsin teen allegedly killed parents in extremist plot to assassinate Trump, FBI says
Nikita Casap, 17, allegedly killed his parents to "obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary" to kill President Donald Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.
Mike Johnson Wants to “Return the Dignity of Work to Young Men”…
- By iluvatar5150
- American Politics
- 13 Replies
Mike Johnson Says Men Need to Stop 'Playing Video Games All Day' and Get to Work: 'They're Draining Resources'
Speaker Mike Johnson defended efforts to attach work requirements to Medicaid, suggesting that young men are wasting their lives "playing video games all day."
www.latintimes.com
…while Trump and other Republicans simultaneously continue their assault on worker protections, firing people from their jobs willy-nilly, and seeking to make federal employment as miserable as they can.
19-year-old goes viral for being stay-at-home wife: 'I just want to be a traditional woman'
- By Michie
19-year-old social media influencer Savanna Stone is defying societal norms and embracing her life as a stay-at-home wife, drawing in millions of views across Instagram and TikTok.
Stone shares videos from her Florida home where she discusses the need for women to embrace femininity and healthy marriages, and tells young women that it is OK to want to be a wife and a mother.
In one of her viral videos, Stone said, in part:
"Have you tried putting on a sundress and cooking his favorite meal? Have you tried actually listening when he speaks? Have you tried being happy and joyful when he comes home instead of nagging him? Have you tried keeping the house clean so that it's a sanctuary for him to come home to and not more chaos?"
Continued below.
www.foxnews.com
Stone shares videos from her Florida home where she discusses the need for women to embrace femininity and healthy marriages, and tells young women that it is OK to want to be a wife and a mother.
In one of her viral videos, Stone said, in part:
"Have you tried putting on a sundress and cooking his favorite meal? Have you tried actually listening when he speaks? Have you tried being happy and joyful when he comes home instead of nagging him? Have you tried keeping the house clean so that it's a sanctuary for him to come home to and not more chaos?"
Continued below.
19-year-old 'tradwife' influencer goes viral for being a stay-at-home wife, defying societal norms
Influencer Savanna Stone spoke with Fox News Digital about her life as a stay-at-home wife and how she embraces traditional values in a modern society.
IRS may no longer be able to silence pastors if this act passes
- By Michie
- General Politics
- 3 Replies
In 2020, Pastor Gary Hamrick of a Virginia church faced penalties from the IRS for what was deemed a political sermon. His infraction? Attempting to align presidential candidates’ policy positions with biblical teachings. The regulation at the heart of this controversy — the Johnson Amendment — bars tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from political speech. In reality, it's a tool used to silence moral voices in the public square.
This fear of government retaliation is precisely why many conservative pastors avoid speaking out on critical moral issues — be it abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender ideology, or euthanasia. The threat of losing tax-exempt status and vital ministry funding is enough to muzzle even the boldest voices.
Violating the Johnson Amendment can mean organizational ruin. It threatens churches with financial death for stepping into the political arena with moral clarity. And while the IRS claims impartiality, recent legal action reveals a different picture. A lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters, two churches, and a nonprofit, alleged that the IRS has never penalized left-leaning nonprofits, while conservative groups face disproportionate scrutiny.
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
This fear of government retaliation is precisely why many conservative pastors avoid speaking out on critical moral issues — be it abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender ideology, or euthanasia. The threat of losing tax-exempt status and vital ministry funding is enough to muzzle even the boldest voices.
Violating the Johnson Amendment can mean organizational ruin. It threatens churches with financial death for stepping into the political arena with moral clarity. And while the IRS claims impartiality, recent legal action reveals a different picture. A lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters, two churches, and a nonprofit, alleged that the IRS has never penalized left-leaning nonprofits, while conservative groups face disproportionate scrutiny.
Continued below.
IRS may no longer be able to silence pastors if this act passes
The Church is meant to inform public morality, not be punished for it
www.christianpost.com
Louisiana immigration judge says pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported
- By Valletta
- American Politics
- 18 Replies
Louisiana immigration judge says pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported
Judge Jamee Comans decided Friday that the Trump administration can move forward with its plan to deport Khalil, who was arrested by immigration officials last month as part of a crackdown on student protesters it claims support Hamas.
The correct decision.
Where Do Suicides Go According to the Catholic Church?
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 5 Replies
Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.—Mt 27:3-5.
There are two things that kill the soul: despair and false-hope.—St. Augustine, Sermon 87
Let me say at the outset of this article that I have had friends commit suicide. So, I don’t like writing this. But a major corrective needed to be issued against some high-profile modernist theologians who are currently misleading many vulnerable Catholics on this topic of self-harm. The fact is if this article turns many readers against me but saves one life or one soul, it is worth it.
As we approach Holy Week, I remember how Judas was always my least favorite person in the Passion narratives. It wasn’t just because he betrayed Christ, precipitating His crucifixion, but because his betrayal ends without hope. We know Judas went to hell precisely because Christ said: “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by Whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”.—Mt 26:24.
The Catholic Church has always held that suicide is murder, not a psychological-game to play of “who can prove reduced culpability.” You see, if your last act on earth was a murder you didn’t have the right to commit, you probably didn’t have time to repent.
Continued below.
www.padreperegrino.org
There are two things that kill the soul: despair and false-hope.—St. Augustine, Sermon 87
Let me say at the outset of this article that I have had friends commit suicide. So, I don’t like writing this. But a major corrective needed to be issued against some high-profile modernist theologians who are currently misleading many vulnerable Catholics on this topic of self-harm. The fact is if this article turns many readers against me but saves one life or one soul, it is worth it.
As we approach Holy Week, I remember how Judas was always my least favorite person in the Passion narratives. It wasn’t just because he betrayed Christ, precipitating His crucifixion, but because his betrayal ends without hope. We know Judas went to hell precisely because Christ said: “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by Whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”.—Mt 26:24.
The Catholic Church has always held that suicide is murder, not a psychological-game to play of “who can prove reduced culpability.” You see, if your last act on earth was a murder you didn’t have the right to commit, you probably didn’t have time to repent.
Continued below.
Where Do Suicides Go According to the Catholic Church?
Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the...
www.padreperegrino.org
