Immigration experts have warned that the unprecedented number of illegal immigrants entering the United States could have a significant impact on the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives, as well as Electoral College votes.
After Biden’s inauguration in January of 2021, the president signed an executive order requiring the U.S. Census Bureau to determine the population of each state in the United States “without regard to whether its residents are in lawful immigration status.”
Experts have warned that both electoral votes for presidential elections and the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives could be impacted by the inclusion of illegal immigrants in the decennial census, which could diminish the power of the American voter.

“Illegal immigration has all kinds of effects and among them is that it distorts the mechanics of democratic government,” Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian told Fox News. “Illegal immigrants aren’t even supposed to be here, so their inclusion in the census count for purposes of apportionment really is outrageous.”

The Biden Administration’s broader immigration strategy has come under scrutiny amid record border crossings and the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week. Newly discovered emails may intensify that scrutiny.

In the emails obtained by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust in a Freedom of Information Act request, one DHS official told a Washington Post reporter off the record he could not say how many immigrants are settling in Northern states via border state busing programs because the agency does not track those released from their custody.

“Are more people deciding to settle in DC/New York or, more recently, Chicago as a result of the program where they might have previously been inclined to remain in Texas or Arizona?” the reporter asked in a September 2022 email reviewed by Just the News.

“Off the record, that’s hard for us to say because they’re getting on those buses after they’re already out of our custody,” the official answered.

“That said, anecdotally including what I hear from other reporters, it does appear that word is spreading and they are looking for those buses for the free transportation. I’ve also heard many people are getting off along the way, so they’re using the buses for as long as it is convenient, but again, because they are out of our custody by then, it is hard for us to be able to answer that,” the official added.

Tucker Carlson Claims Groceries Are Cheaper in Russia Despite a Russian Food Inflation Crisis​

Tucker Carlson's latest attempt at pro-Putin propaganda completely backfires

Former Fox host and Vladimir Putin apologist Tucker Carlson aired a segment on the most recent episode of his show on X which attempted to show that quality of life is better for Russians than it is for Americans. So much so that Carlson claims his experience "radicalized" him against U.S. leaders.

The segment came as part of Carlson's trip to Russia to interview Vladimir Putin. Carlson filmed himself and his crew shopping for groceries for the week at a Russian grocery store. Carlson and his crew estimated that the amount of food they purchased for the week would run about $400 in an American grocery store, but the bill was around 9,400 Russian Rubles, about $100 American.
...
"Coming to a Russian grocery store...and seeing how much things cost and how they live; it will radicalize you against our leaders," Carlson continued.
...
According to the most recent economic data, the average monthly wage in Russia is 73,383 Rubles, the equivalent of roughly $800 a month in the United States. That comes out to 18,345 Rubles per week for the average Russian, around $200 American. This means that Carlson's grocery bill of roughly 9,400 Rubles represented more than 50% of a Russian weekly salary.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, Russia is experiencing a massive food supply crisis. Food inflation is one of the most frequently referenced quality of life issues for everyday Russians.

In a survey of 5,000 people aged 20-55, TASS found that 60.4% of Russian citizens spend about half of their monthly income for food, 16% spend almost all their earnings on food, and 14.8% about a third of their income. Only 8.8% spend no more than 20% on food.

Carlson's attempt at pro-Putin propaganda functions on multiple levels. Carlson is not only attempting to destroy American faith in our own institutions based on a lie, to the extent he says Americans should become "radicalized" in the effort to make the U.S. more like Russia, but it also callously ignores the hardships faced by everyday Russians under Putin's regime. Carlson is sending the message to Russians that they are living better under the dictatorship of Putin than Americans live in a democracy.

Carlson's lies harm both America and Russia. His loyalty to Putin above his own nation is now more obvious than ever.

Lenin referred to ignorant Americans who praised Russia as "useful fools." But in this case, it appears that Carlson knows very well what he's doing.

The main dangers Trump poses for Putin are the Republican’s unconventional nature, his personal unpredictability, his push for NATO allies to increase their defense spending, and his unorthodox approach to strengthening the alliance, which guarantees vigorous opposition to the aggressive Kremlin.

Biden’s main advantages for Putin are his old age, incapacity, predictability, and lack of decisive resistance to Putin’s aggression.

Significantly, Putin tried to disguise his support for Biden with routine objections to White House actions: “I believe that the position of the current administration is extremely harmful and erroneous. And I told President Biden about this at one time.” But Putin’s public support for Biden means that his words are a cheap ploy to hide the fact that even Biden’s stated “harmful and erroneous” position is less dangerous for Putin than Trump’s unpredictable policies.

Days earlier the author explained in a Newsweek article why Putin the Wolf turned into Putin the Sheep:

It’s worth remembering: Putin launched new wars under every coinciding U.S. president except one.

A coalition of Democrats in the U.S. House, led by self-proclaimed atheist Rep. Jared Huffman, has written to Speaker Mike Johnson to express members' rage over a Christian pastor's recent House invocation, and to express their intolerance for his views.
It was Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills who had been invited to deliver the invocation and, as a Christian, spoke of a "coming day of judgment."
Democrats responded by claiming Hibbs is "radical Christian Nationalist who helped fuel the January 6th insurrection and [who] has a long record of hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community."

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Please share your favorite gospel songs

This one sends me back to my mountain home

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It so reminds me of the parting clouds after a storm up there

"The results of the study, which dates the cultural layer at Shiyu to a period between 45,800 and 43,200 years ago, reveal an Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) archaeological assemblage. This assemblage includes laminar technology, Levallois points, tanged and hafted projectile points, tools made with obsidian from hundreds of kilometers away, and a perforated graphite disk."

Shiyu site in northern China reveals evidence of an advanced material culture 45,000 years ago

This is just crazy --what was she thinking?

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It is clear to me that 2021 was a year that in which Joe Biden's failures as a president began.

So, the Exodus. What can I say? Here's the short of it. As many of us already know, the tendency among secular historians today
is to firmly recognize that there is no evidence for the Exodus account in the Book of, Exodus. They don't see any evidence, and thus, they don't feel confident that any of it ever happened. They often simply take it as an ancient interpolation that a few Semitic groups were jumbled around and moved.

The following video, though, seems to offer up some interesting historical items for our consideration, and it applies to the possible historicity of the Exodus.

Let's watch, and feel free to comment:

Signs of Israelite Slavery in Egypt - The Exodus​

Prayers for his surviving family.

Wouldn't it be great if all the NATO countries would put as much into their defense budgets as they are supposed to do?

High everyone I am Daniel this is new to me but I am learning

Former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens’ role in Ukraine business, undercutting GOP impeachment inquiry ​

Alexander Smirnov, 43, is facing charges in connection with lying to the FBI and creating false records. He was arrested Thursday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, after his arrival in the US from overseas, and will make his initial appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon.

CNN is working to determine whether Smirnov has an attorney.

The indictment alleges that Smirnov’s story to the FBI “was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred but at a later date than he claimed and for the purpose of pitching Burisma on the Defendant’s services and products, not for discussing bribes to [Joe Biden] when he was in office.”

Congressional Republicans have championed Smirnov’s now-discredited allegations for roughly a year, though not by name. They fought with the FBI to obtain memos about what Smirnov told investigators and publicly released the materials over the FBI’s objections. The congressional Republicans repeatedly praised Smirnov as “credible” and put his uncorroborated claims front-and-center in their impeachment inquiry into the president.

While announcing the impeachment inquiry, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family.” The FBI is now using some of the same memos that congressional Republicans released as part of their indictment against Smirnov.

“For months we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts,” said Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, in a statement to CNN.

“We were right and the air is out of their balloon. This is just another instance of Chairmen Comer and Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses,” he added.

Comer, who was embarrassed when he was caught lying about the testimony of another witness, seems to have done it to himself, again.

Greece on Thursday became the first majority Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage — a watershed moment for the country’s LGBTQ community, which has long fought for visibility and rights in the shadow of the highly influential Greek church.

The bill also allows same-sex couples to adopt children and confers full parental rights on married partners, though it stops short of permitting gay couples to become parents through surrogacy, a limitation that has drawn criticism from rights groups.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on social media that Greece is “proud to become the 16th E.U. country to legislate marriage equality.” He called the step “a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values.”


--

[Basil learns of Kurt's crush on Manuel]
Basil Fawlty : I should never have hired a Frenchman.
Polly : He's Greek, Mr. Fawlty.
Basil Fawlty : Greek?
Polly : Of course.
Basil Fawlty : Well, that's even worse. I mean, they invented it.

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Russia's most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a long jail term, the Russian prison service said. Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, rose to prominence more than a decade ago with blogs on what he said was vast corruption and opulence among the "crooks and thieves" of Russia's elite.

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Not a surprising news, but saddening.

It is always good when we can read passages of Scripture in their full context, for so many misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the Scriptures stem from Scriptures being taught out of context. And sometimes (or often) this is being done purposefully in order to deceive naïve minds and those lacking in biblical knowledge and understanding, and in order to trap the addicted to sin who want to hear that they can continue to live like hell and yet still have heaven secured them for eternity.

And so I am going to mention a few of the previous passages in 1 John so that we have some context here. For in 1 John 1:5-10 we learn that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin but while claiming that we are in fellowship with God, we are liars. And in 1 John 2:3-6 we learn that if we claim to know God but while we do not make it our practice to obey his commandments under the New Covenant, we are liars. We are not of the truth, the truth is not in us, and we do not live by (practice) the truth.

And then in 1 John 3:4-10 we read that no one who abides in Christ makes a practice of sinning. And if we keep on sinning, in practice, after making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and if obedience to God is not our practice, then we don’t really know the Lord. For it is he who practices righteousness who is righteous in the sight of God, not those who give lip service only to the Lord. And whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. He is not of God, not born of God, and so not a child of God.

So, the measurement for us to go by with regard to knowing if the condemnation we are feeling in our hearts is of God or of Satan is the truth of God’s word, taught to us in the appropriate context. For the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and all wrongdoing, but Satan also likes to condemn us and to charge us with wrongdoing when we may not be doing anything wrong at all. So we can’t trust our feelings to determine if it is Satan or the Holy Spirit condemning or convicting us. God’s word is our measurement.

But, again, the word must be taught in context. Many preachers will use the Scriptures out of context both to condemn and to exonerate, but not necessarily in truth. For some of them who are liars and deceivers will try to convict the godly who are living righteously of wrongdoing while they will exonerate the truly wicked and habitual sinners of their sinful practices by teaching them a cheapened and altered form of God’s true grace to us. And so evil is being taught as good, and good is being taught as evil.

So, if you want to know the truth, study the Scriptures in their context prayerfully seeking understanding from the Lord and not from other humans. And this is not saying that we humans cannot help one another to learn the Scriptures. We can and we should. But we are always to be those who are testing what other humans are teaching us against the fulness of the Scriptures in their appropriate context. And this way we are less likely to be deceived and led astray to following after the lies and not the truth.

So, what I am saying here is that we cannot go by a feeling of condemnation. For there are times when we will feel condemned when there is no biblical basis for that condemnation. And there will be times when we feel the freedom to keep going in the direction we are headed without any feelings of condemnation, but that doesn’t mean that what we are doing is right and just and faithful and loving and what God wants us to do. So don’t go by what your emotions tell you. Go by the Scriptures (in context).

And all throughout the book of 1 John we are taught that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not righteousness, then we are condemned. And we only receive what we ask of the Lord if we are those who are walking in obedience to our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant, and if we are doing what pleases the Lord, and providing that what we ask is according to the will of God for our lives and that we are asking for the right reasons and in faith (James 1:5-8; James 4:1-10).

Now when this concludes that the Lord’s commandment is that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, and that if we do that we are now abiding in God and God in us, we need to read this in the whole context of 1 John. And we need to understand that belief in Jesus is not just a confession of faith, but it is walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living and no longer in sin. And loving others is agape love which prefers what God prefers – what is honest, faithful, and morally pure.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Trust and Obey

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887
Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

But we never can prove
the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

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Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.. To me this means that Jesus is saying that we must be willing to suffer and descend into Hades (in a sense), face isolation and abandonment.
That sounds to me like a good thing.. In a Jungian sense, an encounter with the Shadow in both it's personal and collective dimension. We have to face our evil!

But there is also the idea that we are saved from that... that Jesus did it for us... So that seems like a contradiction.

But is there a way both can be true? Do we have to face that descent in order to repent and truly appreciate how much Jesus has done for us?

Someone had mentioned EGW and her comments on that the Sabbath shined brighter than all of the other commandments. I was listening to Walter Veith who explained in detail why (better than I do) and it makes perfect sense.

The reason the Sabbath shines brighter it is the only commandment that reveals the Author of God's law the Ten Commandments and only law that reveals the Authority and Creator over all heaven and earth. Its the commandment that contains the seal of God.

Without the power of God, we could never obey God's commandments. Removing the one commandment that reveals the Author, the Authority and the Seal the rest of the law is useless and without His power and no one could keep.

Can you imagine having a set of laws that congress passes into government and is not signed by the President, would be useless. The Sabbath is the one commandments that shows God's Authority which leads to the controversy.

Is our allegiance with the authority of God who created heaven and earth or to the one who changed times and laws Dan 7:25 we are warned about and receive their mark of their authority. No wonder there is so much attack on the Sabbath commandment as it all comes down to the authority of who we worship. Someone is trying to take the place of God Isa 14:14 who is working through an alternate system Revelation 13:4 that the whole world follows when they follow their teachings over God's.

Their authority

Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third - Protestant Fourth - Commandment of God... The Church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.'
—Catholic Record, September 1, 1923.

God's Authority

Psa 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.


Their authority

It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.
—Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903.

God's Authority

Exo 20:6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.


Their mark

Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.
—C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895.

God's Seal

Exo 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

The Sabbath contains the three elements of a seal:
Name: Lord thy God
Title: Creator
Territory: Heaven and Earth

Eze 20:20 hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’


Their authority

Tradition, not Scripture, is the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built.
—Adrien Nampon, Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent, p. 157

God's Authority

And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men


At the end it will come down to our worship. In vain by keeping the traditions of man or following God and obeying His commandments just the way He wrote and spoke and no one has Authority over God.

Rev 14: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Or the antidote we can obey God which is true worship.

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

I have mixed feelings about Christianity. I feel a sense of rightness about Buddhism, but I keep being drawn towards the Bible.

Anyway, I decided it was best to ask the cards about i Christianity and I got the two of cups reversed... this suggests the the end of a relationship. So it feels like I should draw a line under the Bible and stop confusing myself with it.
However, I still feel conflicted and part of me finds it hard to get rid of my Bibles.
I feel though that I must be decisive as it's impossible to serve two masters.
I'm thinking I should stop bothering people on this site too with my endless questions, I'm sure you've had enough of it by now. I've asked so many and it feels pointless and time wasting.
I feel I have to withdraw from here even though you are all lovely. Best wishes dear friends. ♥️

Blessings to all !
I was glad to find this forum, and I hope to be able to contribute and to get to know many of you.
I also hope to learn more about Christianity and being a follower of Jesus Christ.

"Zion" ~ Aaron Shust

A beautiful song about God's eternal promises to Abraham and his descendants.
(Every line comes from a specific verse in the Torah, Prophets or the Psalms.)

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Hello friends! How are you?
How are you this day?
What’s doing in your life?
What have you to say?

Do you have a prayer
Or a praise on your lips?
Is all going well or
Are things now amiss?

Are you of good fortune
Or desperate for help?
Will you now be silent
Or will you now tell?

Are tears now your practice
Or smiles on your face?
Can you get about or
Are you slow at pace?

You need a good word?
Or are words not enough?
Do you share emotions?
Or do them you stuff?

My friend, He’s our helper,
He loved us so much,
That He died on Calv’ry
For our sins, and such.

He gave up His life,
Gave it for you and me,
That from our sins’ practice
We would now be free.

He rose from the grave
To give life to us now
If we would before Him,
Before Him would bow.

This life is now free
Free from sin, self, and wane.
If we will surrender
to Jesus, we’ll gain.

He’ll fill us with joy
And His peace by our side,
If we bow before him
And give up our pride.

And He will give purpose
And meaning to life,
And fill us with peace
When in life we do strive.

There’s nothing like
Serving our Lord, by His side,
And doing His will
And in Him we abide.

He’s there for us now
Through life’s sorrow and pain,
To comfort and lead us
So we will not wane.

So, trust the Lord Jesus
With all of your life,
And yield not to worry,
Give up not to strife.

Embrace Him, obey Him,
For He truly cares
About you and all that
In life you do bear.

Walk with Him, go with Him
Wherever He leads,
And follow Him daily,
And on His word feed.

And He will supply you
With all that you need,
So you can continue
On Him to now feed.

An Original Work / February 15, 2024