Biden continues fundraising momentum, with a $53 million February​

President Biden notched record fundraising receipts in February with donations from nearly half a million people, overcoming poor polling to end the month with $155 million in the bank.

“Every single dime that we raise right now is going to talk to voters, whether that is on TV in ads, whether that is online in ads, whether that is opening offices,” said Rufus Gifford, the campaign’s finance chair. “Our opponents are spending tens of millions of dollars on legal fees. This is a huge, huge, huge advantage that we do have, and we are excited about that.”

Trump political committees spent more than $55 million last year on legal fees defending the former president as he faces multiple lawsuits and four separate criminal prosecutions, according to campaign finance disclosures.

The February total of $53 million raised between Biden’s campaign and other party accounts eclipses the amount raised by President Barack Obama during the same period in 2012, but not when inflation is taken into account.

But Biden clearly eclipsed Obama in another measure. While Obama reported nearly 350,000 donors in February of 2012, the Biden campaign claimed 469,000 unique donors at the same point in the current cycle.

Trump cutting back on rallies to save money as cash shortfall hobbles campaign: report​

Faced with a massive shortfall in raising campaign cash compared to his presumptive opponent in the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump and his advisers have decided to cut back on his high-profile campaign rallies in an effort to not drain the coffers even more.

As the Times' Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher wrote, Trump has been holding donor meetings at Mar-a-Lago imploring supporters to increase their contributions.

Pointing out that the former president is reportedly "concerned about the fund-raising gap" with the sitting president, the Times report adds that big money donors are "hesitant" to throw more money at him fearing they will only be paying his legal bills.

"In a sign of the Trump orbit’s urgent need for cash, at least two donors who made seven-figure pledges to support Mr. Trump this year were nudged to see if they could cut an eight-figure check — meaning $10 million or more — instead, according to a person familiar with the request."

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That's an interesting contrast. Biden is getting huge grassroots support from many donors. Trump is chasing after millionaires to dig deeper.

LINK

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill to allow signers of ballot initiative petitions to revoke their signatures — a move opponents decry as a jab at direct democracy and a proposed abortion rights initiative, which would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.

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Another example of Republican-led states trying to avoid the will of the people on the topic of abortion. This likely won't be successful, because the ballot initiative has thousands of signatures over the required number to qualify for the ballot. And despite claims that South Dakotans were 'deceived' by the nature of the initiative, it seems doubtful that thousands of people will withdraw their signatures. The new law clearly targets the current initiative in that it took effect immediately upon the governor's signature. This is a last ditch effort to stop this from reaching the voters.

I was thinking about how life really forms, you need a stable enviroment and warm water and plants for food, but why does it form? I think it starts with a will, my first thought was that this will have to learn how to take protein from plants, and build a body to move around it. But does it really have to learn? All matter is energy, if you break it down, you can set fire on anything because all matter is energy, but if everything consists of this energy, is that life itself, the will? I think we have found the God-particle, it`s energy, it doesn`t have to learn to make a body, it`s already all-knowing, it can take particles from plants, and use the protein to build a body, without learning how to to so. Scientists wants to know how life forms at the beginning, and control it, but since it starts with a will, it`s not possible. It`s like you want to control all energy around you.

Yes, the main problem with consciousness, is that how can it really be alive? Why aren`t it just adaptations to the enviroment, so it learns to move around, but it`s not really alive, and seeing? I feel alive, I don`t feel like a robot, sort of, I have a feeling of "self" also. So, in my opinion, energy itself is living, it`s the will that builds a body, otherwise I be dead, just moving around. If you weren`t really living, the mind has to trick you in order to make you believe you`re really living, but we know also that making children for example, isn`t for reproducing, it`s for the joy it brings, it`d be a paradox if you did it to survive.

But, if energy makes your mind from it`s own image, are you really seperate from it? I think you are, you have a free will, a soul, you evolve on your own, and you do what you want, but you`re always the child of this god, the children of your father of creation. I think we all know it also, because people in society usually avoids looking at energy directly, like with many other things, so they don`t seem cynical. You know how you have for example, bones in your body? But they`re seperate from the rest of the body, how did the body make the bone, and then seperate it, so it`s not connected to the body anymore? I think it`s the same thing with your mind, it starts in the same way, but it separates, and then lives on it`s own.

On a glorious spring day in Phoenix, in an atrium beneath the majestic cupola of the old state capitol, the secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, is celebrating Arizona’s 112th birthday.

There is only one discordant note on this otherwise joyous day: Why is Arizona’s chief election administrator, responsible for the smooth operation of November’s presidential election, in need of a bodyguard?

Until 2020, election officials were the largely anonymous folk who did the important yet unseen work of making democracy run smoothly.

“Nobody knew who we were, what we did,” Fontes said ruefully. “It’s a little bit different now.”

No longer faceless bureaucrats, they had become public enemy No 1.

Specialists from the Department of Homeland Security have been deployed to advise counties on physical and cyber security. Active-shooter drills have been rehearsed at polling stations.

As the Washington Post reported, kits containing tourniquets to staunch bleeding, hammers for breaking glass windows and door-blocking devices have been distributed to county election offices. “These are not things we would ever want to train anybody on,” Fontes said. “But given the environment … ”

[Despite Kari Lake and other election deniers losing and re-losing in AZ] If anything, the debate around stolen elections has intensified. “New political careers have been created out of it. A whole industry and infrastructure now exists to make sure that it perpetuates itself,” said Stephen Richer, the Republican recorder of Maricopa county tasked with maintaining the voter files of 2.6 million citizens.

Of the first 13 cases prosecuted by the election threats taskforce, the unit set up within the US justice department in 2021 to protect election officials from the attacks unleashed by Trump, by far the largest number – five – relate to Arizona. Two of those involved death threats against Fontes’s office, including a bomb threat.

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Recent bills proposed by far-right lawmakers include:

• House bill (HB) 2472, which would make it easier to challenge election results in court, removing legal hurdles that led to Lake and Hamadeh’s lawsuits being dismissed for lack of evidence;

Who needs evidence when you are a loser and sore about it?

Just joking, but I did not realise the UK had over 6 times more sequoia than California, 500000 compared to 80000.

I'm not a legal expert but some online commentators are doing some prognosticating.
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/15/in...s-ruling-against-opens-up-nightmare-scenario/

So she refuses to consider some of Trumps arguments for appeal before the trial where at this point the govt. could then respond. But she says he raises some valid points (not valid enough to consider at this point).

So just go through the trial and during trial they could raise those appeals again and the case would be dropped without the government being able to respond.


I think I am summarizing the concerns correctly. But before we have a fuller conversation on the bias and defference Cannon has been providing to the Trump team, what are folks thoughts on this move (if I'm even describing it correctly)

Trump says there will be bloodbaths if he's not reelected.
Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election

1. Why would there be bloodbaths if he loses?
2. Is this a threat?
3. Do republican strategists think these comments ts are going to WIN OVER or turn OFF independents?
4. Does what Trump said even make sense in complete context or is this whole topic pointless?

“If this election isn’t won, I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country.”

Click to expand...

This has been said on the left a bunch and this seems a bit hyperbolic coming from our side for sure. But from Trump it sounds like nonsense. you'll have e elections but Republicans won't do well because your party has become too vindictive under trump and not soing anything to improve the lives of Americans other than giving tax cuts and that's it.

Now, to be fair, Trumps cognitive decline has his speech and ideas sounding like a word salad. The bloodbath comment came on the heels of talking about a tariff on Chinese made cars..and then was immediately followed by this election comment, according to the article I shared.

And, just in case his racist was in doubt, he clarified it...

At the event, Trump also said that some undocumented immigrants were “not people,” although he added that he was “not allowed to say that because the radical left says it’s a terrible thing to say.”

Click to expand...

Calling people "not people" is pretty much textbook racism.

It's strange that a person can make comments ts like this and people will cheer. Maybe not strange. Maybe deplorable

From Matthew, quoting Jesus:
"
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

My question is only this:
The verses seem to say that the law will still be the law until "heaven and earth pass" and "till all be fulfilled"

'all be fulfilled' can be construed to mean Jesus dying on the cross... But... 'heaven and earth' certainly hasn't passed... so I'm confused.

Does all of Mosaic law still stand or not?

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

I believe this passage of Scripture somewhat parallels what Paul wrote in Romans 11 with regard to God cutting off the natural branches (the Jews) who did not believe in Jesus Christ, because of their unbelief. There the message is that they can be grafted in again by faith in Jesus Christ. But he also warned the Gentile Christians against being prideful because God had grafted them in. So he let them know that they had to continue in the grace (kindness) of God, or else they could be cut off, too (Romans 11:1-36).

The warning there and here is for us to not take God’s grace for granted. All throughout the New Testament writings, we who profess faith in Jesus Christ are warned against taking God’s grace for granted and assuming that God is going to let us into his heaven despite how we live on this earth. For we are told that if we claim that we are in fellowship with God but while we walk in sin, we are liars. And if we claim to know God but we do not obey his commands, in practice, then we are liars (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6).

So many people today are teaching that we can make a once-in-a-lifetime decision to “believe” in Jesus Christ, and that all our sins are now forgiven (past, present, and future), and that heaven is secured for us, and that nothing can take that away from us, but regardless of how we live, or with no requirements at all for the forsaking of our sins and walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living. But the Bible says we must die to sin, in practice, and walk in obedience to our Lord, or we will not inherit eternal life with God.

And that is basically what John 15:1-17 is all about. If we do not bear fruit (outgrowth, results) in keeping with repentance and according to the teachings of the Scriptures which are for us who profess faith in our Lord, we can be cut off from the Lord. And the only way in which we will bear this fruit is if we are abiding in Jesus Christ, who is the vine. And to abide in him means to remain in him, steadfast in our walks of faith and obedience to him and to his commands, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but to God.

For to abide in Christ is to continue with him, but not just in status, and not just in profession, and not in lip service only, but in word and in deed. For to remain and to abide and to continue in him is to participate with him in his work of grace in our lives by obeying him and his commandments, in his power and strength, by the grace of God. And it involves us adhering to, complying with, keeping to, conforming to, and upholding the truth of his gospel which requires death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord.

Now this is not claiming that we will be absolutely perfect in every way or that we will never sin again or that we will not fail at some point and time to be all who God wants us to be (see 1 John 2:1-2). But we must pay close attention to what Jesus taught and what his NT apostles taught, for they taught that if we continue to walk in sin, making sin our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

And this is one of the reasons that our Lord prunes (disciplines, chastises) us in our walks of faith so that we might continue in him, steadfast in faith, and that we might continue to bear fruit (results, outgrowth) consistent with the teachings in the New Testament given to the church for our instruction, encouragement, exhortation, and urgings in holiness and in righteousness. For when we suffer, we might learn obedience, like Jesus did. And it humbles us and keeps us close to the Lord if we respond as we ought.

So, don’t take God’s grace for granted. Don’t assume that he is going to let you into his heaven just because you profess him as Lord and Savior of your life. For Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. For he said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives. But if for Jesus’ sake we die to sin and live to his righteousness, then we have eternal life.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Please forgive me, for I have sinned.

.

BTW - This is only a theory

We began our research at the North pole the dead center of earth it's self, where I believe is the main entrance to the underworld, which by the way it is called the 'SCHLARAFFENLANDES'.

If you take a look at this video below @ 1 hour & 33, You will see a professional map done by someone .........Who may have also wrote and illustrated the mysterious Voynich manuscripts.

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And here is the professional map it's self of 'SCHLARAFFENLANDS', you can zoom in and out on any section by clicking on it.
https://library.princeton.edu/visua...maps/theme-maps/homann-map-cockaigne-1720.jpg

As you will see at the top of this Map you will see places like Jerusalem and Mount Sinai, but as we get to the bottom of the map you will see places
like Tatari & Beezle Bub (mentioned in the bible).

I am in need of prayer for my husband, he has been dealing with depression and fear. We have our own family business and he has been inactive in the business. He’s been dealing with a lot of negative energy in his system that won’t go away, like depression, fear and death. He’s having trouble eating and sleeping, and he doesn’t have any energy to do anything. I need prayer for protection, peace, and to remove the spirits of fear, depression and death from his body, mind spirit and soul. Please pray for him to get rid of all of the negative energy and spirits that surround him and cover him by the blood of Jesus and to bring him peace, blessings and protection. Thanks and God Bless.

We, who are believing in Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of our lives, are blessed of God with his grace and salvation and deliverance from slavery (addiction) to sin, and with the promise and hope of eternal life with God for all who love and obey him and who are no longer walking in sin. Our God loves and cares for us, and he watches over us, and he leads us in the right way, and he strengthens and helps us to walk in that way, too.

But we are still human beings living in flesh bodies which are vulnerable to sickness, injuries, heartaches, disappointments, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and the attacks of our enemy Satan. And one of the big ways in which Satan likes to come after us is with his lies and with doubts and fears which he tries to plant in our minds and in our hearts. But even if what he is saying to us is truth, we are not to let his attacks disturb and upset us.

For nothing can happen to us (outside of our control) that God is not aware, and that he does not allow for a purpose. For he is completely sovereign over our lives, and so the enemy cannot touch us outside of God’s control (example: the story of Job). But we must learn to recognize the enemy’s schemes against us, and we must be armored up with the spiritual armor which God supplies to fight off the enemy’s attacks (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Therefore, if the enemy attempts to plant certain thoughts in our minds which are troublesome and which might encourage us to be afraid, even if what he is whispering in our minds is true, still God is in control! So we are not to fear any evil which might be lurking around the corner just waiting to come against us. For if we are with God, and if we are following Jesus with our lives in obedience to him, he is with us, and he will see us through it.

So we face each day and each moment with the courage that comes from God, knowing that he is in control. We put our lives in his hands, and we trust that he is going to bring us through every circumstance, no matter how big or how small, or how hard or how easy. We just need to remain yielded to him always as clay in the hands of the Potter, allowing our Lord to shape us into the people of God that he wants us to be for his purposes.

Even if our enemy appears to be gaining ground against us, and even if it may appear that he is winning, he never will win, especially not in the end. For none of us wins by opposing God and by coming against his servants and witnesses who are doing the will of God. If we oppose the Lord it will eventually backfire on us, and we will lose in the end, and his servants and his messengers who obey him will be the conquerors.

So, those of us who surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, and who walk in his ways and in his truth, and who trust him with our lives, and who submit to his will and purposes for our lives, in his power and strength, are the winners no matter what we have to go through on this earth. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Heaven will be our eternal home.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Broken and Contrite

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.

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Repent, or else! That's not what people normally say, but it's often the sense I get from hearing 'you must repent.'

Before I start this thread, a quick question to those who believe we are to repent of our sins either for salvation or in a maintaining of salvation.... Are we to repent of the sins Jesus forgave and God no longer see's or are we repenting of the sins Jesus didn't forgive? I'm confused.

Whenever the subject of repentance comes up, there seems to be a variety of ideas as to what this actually means. I know in my personal life a colleague of mine holds strongly to the idea that to repent is to first recognize your sin (and it's never sin as a whole but usually a specific sin at that moment), then to confess the sin to God before asking to be forgiven that sin. I've heard it described as a change of mind, a change of heart, or a change of action. Some say it's to go from unbelief to belief and others say it's to never sin again. Well, to add to all the confusion I'm going to throw in my two cents.

The subject of repentance has been something I've had to think a lot on lately. As I said, a colleague of mine holds the act of repentance to a very high degree, so it's been on my mind a lot. As well as wanting to have a better grasp of it. Recently, I decided that instead of going to the bible and looking at all the versus that tell us to repent, because we all seem to interpret these differently, I would look at all the versus I could find where God repents. Because, who better than God to set the example, right? In doing so three things started to stand out to me in regards to repenting.

The first thing that became clear was in each instant God either had change of mind or he didn't. He either didn't do what he first said he was going to do or he carried through with what he said he was going to do regardless of the pleas of his prophet.

The second thing that stood out to me was whatever God's decision was, that was it. He never repented a second time over the same situation.

And the third thing that tickled my brain cells was when he repented, it was in place of doing the act, not after doing the act, like my colleague is so fond of preaching.

So, basically it's a change of mind that remains firm, and you do this instead of doing whatever the act is you're repenting of. Sounds simple enough. Except, there's something else that came to mind while trying to wrap my head around this. There are two relationships that are talked about in the bible. Our relationship with God and our relationship with our neighbour. And every time I've ever heard repentance being talked about, it was always in reference to our relationship with God, and nothing about our neighbour. This is important because repentance works differently between the two.

In our relationship with God, sin was dealt with by Jesus. He paid the penalty on our behalf, and in doing so cleansed us all in the sight of God. Meaning, God no longer see's our sin. Because he no longer see's our sin, there remains no sin to repent of but one. That sin is our unbelief, Matt 12:31, John 16:8-9. So, the only thing left to repent of is our unbelief with regards to our relationship with God. Which, in practical terms, is going from an unbeliever to a believer. That's it, that's all. We do this only once. To have to do this more than once means you didn't do it in the first place. And, if you're worried you didn't do it in the first place, rest assured, the fact you're worried about it is a good indication you did. Adding any more to this act of repentance is simply moving backwards. Now, I recognize there are versus that appear to suggest otherwise. But, something I've learned over the years is that if a verse seems to contradict what I know to be an underlying truth, then I realize I'm not understanding the verse in the manner the writer intended it to be.

As for our relationship with our neighbour, repentance is likely going to be a daily event. That said, it isn't in the manner my colleague believes. Instead, it's choosing to do differently than what may initially be a sinful act. For example, a driver on the highway decides not to signal and cuts me off. My initial reaction is probably going to be me showing him, in some unpleasant manner, how that made me feel. In this case, me choosing not to do so is me repenting. And I remain firm in my decision. I don't change my mind a moment later and carry through with my initial reaction. That is not repenting. Now, should the exact same scenario happen again a day later, but with someone different, and I have to repent again of the same thing, that's different. It's a different day and a different situation regardless of how similar they may be. And, I would still need to remain firm in my repentance in this situation as well.

Sometimes the strength to repent just isn't in us. It's here that we want to lean on God for his strength. It never disappoints God for us to do this, instead it pleases God. Should you fail and give in to temptation, it happens. This is the real world and you're only human. But suck it up, be an adult, and get on with your life. It never caught God off guard, just you. How about instead of confessing it to God and asking him for forgiveness ("But it makes me feel better." I'm sorry, but what do your feelings have to do with any of it?), you offer up a sacrifice for your sin. Since it seems Jesus's sacrifice wasn't enough for you.

Last March, Biden administration Education Secretary Miguel Cardona attempted to reverse conservative gains on education with an op-ed published in Florida’s second-largest newspaper. “Parents don’t want politicians dictating what their children can learn, think and believe,” he protested. “Parents also are speaking out about their worries that politicians are using our kids’ education as a political football.” The whole thrust of Cardona’s argument, on behalf of the educational elite, was to reframe recent education controversies from “parents versus left-wing teachers” to “parents versus right-wing politicians.”

When Cardona’s op-ed was published, there were already examples contradicting his attempted reframing of the narrative, with more rank odors of the Left’s sour fruit wafting into the open all the time.

Two recent incidents come from Missouri, where ideologically captured school boards shut parents out of decisions regarding sexuality, on which the parents had a statutory right to give input. Now, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) has taken up the parents’ cause against the school districts. “The school board has got to respect the parents’ rights to determine these sorts of policy decisions,” Bailey argued on “Washington Watch,” and ultimately have a voice in that process.”

Exhibit 1: Webster Groves School District
“Webster Groves [School District] showed students a video presentation that discussed gender identity and sexual orientation,” according to information obtained by Bailey’s office, “and instructed students to follow a link to a third-party website affiliated with Planned Parenthood containing information on human sexuality topics including abortion, gender identity, and sexual orientation.” Bailey explained that the website included materials which “promoted casual hookups for teens, promoted research into abortion, and LGBTQ issues.”
“These are direct affronts to our statute,” argued Bailey. “There are very strict guidelines built into Missouri statute that govern what can and cannot be taught, when it comes to human sexuality. And one of the provisions in the statute is a parental opt-in or opt-out procedure.” Thus, he said, “schools have to abide by the curriculum standards, … have to present that curriculum to the parents, … and the parents get to decide which curriculum is appropriate for their children.”

SALUTE TO ST. PATRICK​

The heroics of St. Patrick are not appreciated as much as they should be. He is the first person in history to publicly condemn slavery, and one of the first leaders to champion the cause of equal rights.

There is much to celebrate on March 17. Fortunately, his writings, though slim, are eye-opening accounts of his life: Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus and Confession reveal much about the man. Along with other sources, they paint a picture of his saintliness.

Patrick was born in Britain in the 4th century to wealthy parents. It is likely that he was baptized, though growing up he did not share his family’s faith. He was an atheist.

When he was 15, he committed what he said was a grave sin, never saying exactly what it was; it appears it was a sexual encounter with a young girl. No matter, it would haunt him throughout his life.

At age 15 or 16 (the accounts vary), Patrick was kidnapped and enslaved by Irish barbarians. They had come to plunder his family’s estate, and took him away in chains to Ireland. While a slave, he converted to Christianity, praying incessantly at all hours of the day. After six years, he escaped, and made his way back home.

His family thought he was dead, and with good reason: no one taken by Irish raiders had managed to escape and return. St. Patrick biographer Philip Freeman describes how his family received him, stating “it was as if a ghost had returned from the dead.”

After he returned home, he had a vision while sleeping. He felt called to return to Ireland. This seemed bizarre: this is where he was brutalized as a slave. But he knew what Jesus had commanded us to do, “Love thy enemy.” He was convinced that God was calling him to become a missionary to Ireland. So he acted on it, despite the reservations of family and friends.

Patrick became a priest, practiced celibacy, and was eventually named a bishop. Contrary to what many believe, he did not introduce Christianity to Ireland, nor was he Ireland’s first bishop. But he did more to bring the Gospel to Ireland than anyone, converting legions of pagans, especially in the northern parts of the island.

His missionary work in Ireland has been duly noted, but his strong defense of human rights has not been given its due.

No public person before him had denounced slavery, widespread though it was. Jesus was silent on the subject, Aristotle thought it was a natural way of life, and neither master nor slave saw anything fundamentally wrong with it. Patrick did.

Though he did not invoke natural law specifically, he was instinctively drawn to it. He taught that all men were created equal in the eyes of God, and that the inherent dignity of everyone must be respected.

Patrick did more than preach—he lashed out at the British dictator, Coroticus, harshly rebuking him for his mistreatment of the Irish. In fact, Patrick found his Irish converts to be more civilized than Coroticus and his band of thugs.

Patrick was way ahead of his time in the pursuit of human rights. Not only were men of every social status entitled to equal rights, so were women. In his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, he scolds “the tyrant Coroticus—a man who has no respect for God or his priests.” More important, he made a startling plea: “They must also free Christian women and captives.” His reasoning showed the power of his faith when he said, “Remember, Christ died and was crucified for these people.”

He did not mince words. “So, Coroticus, you and your wicked servants, where do you think you will end up? You have treated baptized Christian women like prizes to be handed out, all for the sake of the here and now—this brief, fleeting world.”

What makes this all the more dramatic is the way the pagan world thought about women: the idea that women were equal to men was totally foreign to them. But the women understood what Patrick was saying, and gravitated to him in large numbers. The Christian tenet that all humans possess equal dignity had taken root.

Did the Irish save civilization, as Thomas Cahill maintains? Freeman thinks not—”it had never been lost.” But everyone agrees that had it not been for St. Patrick, and the monasteries that followed, much of what we know about the ancient world would not exist.

Indeed, it is difficult to fathom how classical Greek and Roman literature would have survived had it not been for the Irish monks who attracted students from many parts of Europe. They are responsible for preserving the great works of antiquity. And all of them are indebted to St. Patrick.

It is believed that he died on March 17, sometime during the second half of the fifth century. That is his feast day, the source of many celebrations in his honor. His impact extends beyond the Irish and the Catholic Church—human rights are a global issue—making him a very special person in world history.

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So my kids dad is well however everything that happened and what he went through he doesn't see the gravity of that situation. It hurt he got mad at me when I picked him up from the hospital and I helped him and visited him while he wasn't even conscious or aware. I was there... but he didn't care.

So I dropped him back with his mom because I feel he's not safe to be around the kids ( his seizure was due to alcohol abuse)
Idk I just feel very isolated. My family doesn't speak to me. I dont have friends. The only other adult I had to talk to is an alcoholic and I had to sever that and I just feel alone and exhausted.

From working overnight and taking care of my obligations as a mother, keeping up my house and trying to pursue school I feel I'm on a hamster wheel that's spinning fast. I don't have time to slow down.

I just feel alone.

Republican primary voters in Texas sent a clear message on Super Tuesday: “We want school choice!”
The Texas House of Representatives last year failed to pass a school choice bill even after Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, repeatedly called the lawmakers back into special session. Twenty-one Texas House Republicans joined with all House Democrats to defeat the school choice proposal.

In response, Abbott took a page out of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ book. If the Legislature wouldn’t support school choice—which had the support of 88% of Texas Republican voters—then he would find a new Legislature.

When the Iowa Legislature voted down Reynolds’ education savings account proposal in 2022, she endorsed nine pro-school choice candidates who were challenging anti-school choice incumbents. Eight of them won.


The following year, the Iowa Legislature quickly passed the Republican governor’s school choice proposal, becoming the first state that year (and the third overall) to enact a universal school choice policy.

In Texas, Abbott endorsed 16 challengers to incumbents who had opposed his school choice proposal. Five others—likely seeing the writing on the wall—did not seek reelection. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wednesday: “Abbott-backed challengers appear to have beaten six incumbents, with four more headed for runoffs. Six incumbents appear to have survived.”

In a recent interview with MSNBC, Politico national investigative correspondent Heidi Przybyla was asked about the “infusion of Christian nationalism” in Congress following the appointment of an evangelical Christian, Mike Johnson (R-La.), as House Speaker.

Responding to the question, Przybyla said, “The thing that unites them as Christian nationalists — not Christians, by the way, because Christian nationalist is very different — is that they believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don’t come from any earthly authority. They don’t come from Congress; they don’t come from the Supreme Court. They come from God.”

As the clip went viral for its inanity, Przybyla scrambled to defend herself, claiming that MSNBC cut off her complete response. Yet the segment clip makes Przybyla look even worse, revealing her breathtaking ignorance of American history, basic political theory, and Christian religion.

“And in the past, that so-called natural law is, you know, a pillar of Catholicism, for instance. It has been used for good in social justice campaigns. Martin Luther King evoked it in talking about civil rights, but now you have an extremist element of conservative Christians who say that this applies specifically to issues including abortion, gay marriage, and it’s going much further than that,” she insisted, before referencing the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on human personhood.

In one tweet posted on X, Przybyla claimed, “There are different wings of Christian Nationalism [and] they are bound by their belief that our rights come from God,” and seemingly insisted that Christians who support pro-life policies are “Christian nationalists.”

I was talking to a traditional Catholic and they recognize the errors of Vatican 2. Byzantine / Eastern Catholics also see the error of Rome such as the filoque. Most of it seems to be over the simplifification of the liturgy by Rome. While l I do NOT harbor any animosity towards Catholics I just seems like Byzantine Catholics and traditional Catholics would be better off converting with Orthodox instead of continuing the facade of being in communion with the Roman Church which over time has seriously degraded. George Joseph and Carl have really sacrificed the faith to modernity(colloqually known as wokeness) in a futile attempt to seem relevant. Perhaps we could use a form of ecumenicalism as a form to convert them to our side. Perhaps if needed we could convert entire parishes to Orthodoxy. I encourage Christians of all denominations to return to traditionalism.IF THIS BREAKS ANY GUIDELINES I APOLOGIZE

(Note what I highlighted in Bold)

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL —
China conducted joint military drills this week with Russia and Iran in the Gulf of Oman, a critical water conduit near the entry to the Persian Gulf.

The five-day exercise, "Maritime Security Belt 2024," involved both naval and aviation forces, with the primary objective of enhancing the security of maritime economic activities, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense.

The drills may have been planned long in advance of the current Israel-Hamas war, but their implication and message to regional players and the West are highly significant, analysts say.

More than 20 ships, combat boats, support carriers and navy helicopters participated in the exercise.

Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) debuted new warships in the exercise, including the Shahid Soleimani corvette.

"That's a game changer," Wendell Minnick, an arms specialist and "China in Arms" podcaster, told VOA.

"Pay close attention to anti-ship missiles on ships," Minnick said. "The U.S. Navy has a real problem with these types of missiles."

The IRGC-operated Shahid Soleimani corvette is equipped with long- and short-range anti-ship cruise missiles. It's the first Iranian warship outfitted with advanced VLS, or Vertical Launching Systems, for firing surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.

"This gives the U.S. Navy a nightmare scenario of being saturated by multidirectional vectors of attack that they cannot possibly defeat en masse," Minnick said. "Like being attacked by bees or ants. Eventually they will get you."

(Gog, Magog, Persia: Ezekiel 38 ?)

Hey guys. Just call me R_942. I'm not comfortable with sharing my real name.

I was raised Southern Baptist, but I recently have been interested in the Catholic church.
Look forward to talking with you guys.