Category Archives: Federalist

Addis AbebaThe Sidama Federalist Party (SFP) issued a strongly worded six-point position statement yesterday, drawing attention to the ongoing political and social issues in Ethiopias Sidama region and calling for investigations and accountability.

According to the statement, the SFP alleges that since the establishment of the Sidama region, the people have experienced mismanagement, corruption, injustice, arbitrary arrests, and divisions along ethnic lines. These issues have resulted in broader social and economic challenges, as claimed by the party.

The position statement provides specific examples, such as discriminatory practices that hinder qualified professionals from obtaining public service roles. It also highlights the mistreatment of young people and emphasizes the partys peaceful efforts to mobilize the community and combat corruption within the legal framework.

The SFP further accuses the regional security bureau of creating an informal terrorist force called Sidamas Freedom Army last year with the aim of targeting and suppressing opposition. The party states that they have submitted evidence to federal prosecutors and security services, documenting the alleged plans of this group to commit terrorist crimes against civilians and disrupt the peace.

The SFPs statement raises concerns about inaction by the federal government on these accusations, which could potentially disrupt peace and restrict lawful political activities in the region. To address these issues, the political party calls for independent federal investigations into the allegations, along with international monitoring, media coverage, and solidarity from human rights organizations and Ethiopian citizens regarding the ongoing situation in Sidama.

In a previous statement released in February 2023, the SFP made serious allegations against the regional administration. The party criticized the widespread administrative failures, including corruption, human rights abuses, and the failure to address unemployment.

It also accused the authorities of suppressing dissent by intimidating its supporters and limiting its lawful activities. The opposition party pointed out specific plans by the Sidama Special Security Force to target the SFP and intimidate civilians using an unofficial militia group. The SFP claimed that evidence of these criminal plans, including the establishment of the terrorist force, had been submitted to the authorities. AS

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News: Sidama Federalist Party calls for investigations, accountability ... - addisstandard.com

Now that Congress has funded the federal government for the next month and a half, the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hard at work looking for ways to pour more U.S. taxpayer money into Ukraines forever war with Russia.

During a White House press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fretted that the administration is running out of the money needed to bankroll its continuing proxy war with Moscow. Government officials estimate there is approximately $6 billion remaining in military funds for Ukraine.

It is enough to for us to meet the meet Ukraines urgent battlefield needs for a bit for a bit longer, Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Even though a majority of Americans oppose continued U.S. funding for Ukraine, congressional Democrats spent a significant portion of this past weekends spending fight arguing that more aid be shipped to the Eastern European nation. It was thanks to House Republicans and a handful of GOP senators that Congress ultimately approved a 45-day continuing resolution devoid of such funding.

Of course, this hasnt stopped President Joe Biden or congressional leadership from professing their support for shipping more U.S. tax dollars to Ukraine. While discussing the spending fight, Biden suggested hed reached an agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to continue funding the conflict. Despite pushing back on the presidents insinuation that a deal had been made, McCarthy did proclaim to reporters on Monday that hes always supported arming Ukraine and believe[s] Ukraine is very important.

Congress and the Biden administration committed more than $113 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars to Ukraine in 2022, accordingto the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

But while Washington overzealously focuses on Ukraines military, concerns affecting Americas own armed forces have gone by the wayside. On Thursday, the U.S. Marine Corps announced it is lowering its uniform standards to compensate for a shortage of camouflage attire typically worn by service members. According to Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, local battalions are authorized to wear alternate attire contrary to Marine regulations to mitigate an ongoing manufacturing shortfall thats left service members struggling to acquire woodland-patterned cammies.

What we cannot have is a situation where a Marine is wearing unserviceable cammies, because that looks bad for the Corps, and we cant have a situation where that Marine is being given a hard time about those unserviceable cammies. Were going to get this fixed, Marines, but its going to take a little patience, Smith said, adding that the problem wont be fixed until the fall of 2024.

According to the Marine Corps Times, service members normally receive three sets of woodland cammies and two sets of desert cammies. Due to the ongoing shortage, however, the service has been providing Marines two woodland sets and one desert set. Meanwhile, new enlistees have reportedly been forced to undergo entry-level training in flame-resistant organizational gear, which are typically reserved for deployments, to compensate for the shortages.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

Excerpt from:

As Congress Funds Ukraine War, US Marines Run Out Of Clothes - The Federalist

When Hillary Clinton was (praise the Lord!) denied the presidency on Nov. 8, 2016, the country was spared a wicked fate under the heel of her sensible comfort pumps. Dodging that Hillary-sized bullet was Americas greatest geopolitical victory of the last 50 years.

So why is Nikki Rodham Haley following the haggard Hillary playbook?

Maybe its because no one in American history has ever managed to dodge raindrops quite like Hillary Clinton and stayed dry. HRC set the contemporary female path to the presidency: kick and claw your way to financial security by swimming in the sewer with the other rats, then turn and smile and lie your way into political power.

The former first lady was Nikki Haleys inspiration to get into politics. According to Vogue Magazine, It was a speech by Hillary Clinton at a 2003 conference at a local university that inspired her to run. She said there will be all of these reasons that people tell you you cant do it. She said that theres only one reason for you to do it, and its because you know its the right thing. I walked out of there thinking, Ive got to do this.

Ladies, how did we ever get saddled with Mrs. Clinton as our model of female political ambition? The devil surely holds in his vault a smoking piece of parchment with her signature on it in blood.

Let me give you a few of my reasons for why I am #NeverNikki and why she should be kept far away from elected office, forever.

To paraphrase what Auntie Em said to Almira Gulch (the Wicked Witch), for years Ive been dying to tell you what I think of Nikki Haley, and now, being a Professional Political Pundit, I can finally say it.

First, there is the personality problem.

Hillary, of course, battled this deficit too. Hillary and Haley both fell prey to the weird impulse to act like a man to look tough. (Or you might say, act like the worst, stereotypical middle-aged HR boss.) I was told feminism meant women didnt need to act like men to succeed. I thought feminism meant we could present as feminine women and still get taken seriously. Guess not.

Trigger warning: In the second Republican debate, Haley, in true Hillary fashion, came across as shrill. Angry. And yes, unlikeable. Im sure in real life she is a lovely person, a wonderful mother, etc. But politics is an unforgiving charisma contest, and to win it you have to have a personality that doesnt make people wince. You need to be charming and warm, or glib and witty, or incredibly charismatic. The biggest political winners manage to put all this together in a package no one can resist.

Haley, like Hillary, projects few of these qualities. She exhausts me the minute she opens her mouth. I brace for the hectoring she is about to unleash. Does this make me sexist? Is this my internalized misogyny talking? Nope my misogyny is fully externalized. Of course, I would absolutely vote for a woman as president, but the pickings so far are pretty slim.

Second, Crooked Hillary is as corrupt as they come, but Crooked Haley is no slouch either. Until recently, I knew almost nothing about her other than shes from South Carolina and never saw an unwinnable foreign war she didnt like.

But did you also know that like Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Haley has spent the years since leaving the Governors Mansion earning millions of dollars from speaking events ($11 million so far, and counting)?

Shes been on the board of companies like Boeing, which paid her $300,000 a year. Im sure this is totally unrelated to the fact that as governor, she fast-tracked $120 million to Boeing to get them to invest in South Carolina.

Forget her enormous six-figure advances for books no one buys. Why doesnt anyone ask her about her deep and lucrative connections to the military-industrial complex? Lee Fang did a deep dive into Haleys sudden wealth and her significant defense connections on his Substack:

Haley also works as a consultant to Prism Global Management, a New York-based investment fund run by Richard Kang, a position that earned $708,335. While the investment fund has no substantial online presence, Kang is active in the defense world and serves as an advisor to Americas Frontier Fund, a new group backed by former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and run day-to-day by Gilman Louie, the former head of In-Q-Tel, the CIAs venture capital arm.

At a launch event for the fund last year, a participant openly discussed the fact that Americas Frontier Fund is investing strategically in choke points in case of war between China and Taiwan, in which case the funds portfolio would increase 10x, like overnight.

Look out, Hillary theres a new war hawk on the way, and shes got pockets almost as deep as yours.

Oh, and Mr. Haleys got his hands in the missile cookie jar too. Michael Haley earns up to $500,000 from a company called Allied Defense. An investigation from the Daily Beast showed that Allied Defense appears to overlap with a sister company, Defense Engineering Services, that helps clients navigate political and legal concerns to allow for defense system acquisition.

Sounds profitable to me! Gee whiz, Nikki, leave some DOD kickbacks and weapons contracts for the Clintons, OK?

Finally, like Hillary, Haley is an unrepentant establishment stooge through and through. There is zero daylight between her foreign policy ambitions and the Benghazi Babe herself. Nikki Haley, the Clintons, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the rest of the D.C. swamp are committed to winning the Ukraine war and defeating Russia and funding it for as long as it takes. If you disagree and want to stop the bloodshed or halt a nuclear war you are literally Hitler, a Putin apologist, and a Russian stooge.

This attitude should disqualify you from elected office. Ladies, please dont saber rattle unless you actually know how to wield a saber.

Nikki also likes to remind us that she was the UN Ambassador under President Trump. Imagine bragging about your UN credentials, as if we didnt all know that the UN is the Legion of Doom, headquarters of international supervillains. Has anything good ever come out of the UN except war, famine, and disaster? Ill wait.

If you follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter, you know Ive actually always been #NeverNikki. But after her two GOP candidate debate performances, I am happy to report I am more never than ever.

Therefore, when it comes to the Republican GOP contest, may the best man win!

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Nikki Rodham Haley: The Hillary Clinton Of The GOP - The Federalist

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is under investigation from both House Republicans and the agencys inspector generals office for conflicts of interest related to recent decisions for which her daughter lobbied. A new report out last month reveals her daughters ties to a communist Cuban solidarity group.

In June, House Republicans launched a probe into Secretary Haalands decision to close drilling opportunities in areas that surround New Mexicos Chaco Cultural National Historical Park. The Interior Department implemented a 10-mile radius around the world heritage site, now cut off from new oil and gas development for the next 20 years. The decision is detrimental to the Navajo Nation, now unable to responsibly harvest natural resources in their own backyard to a cost of $194 million over two decades. Haalands daughter, Somah,works for the Pueblo Action Alliance (PAA), a far-left Albuquerque-based climate group that prominently opposed drilling in the region.

Prior to joining the Biden administration as Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Secretary Haaland was evidently involved with the Pueblo Action Alliance, lawmakers noted. Secretary Haaland has purportedly met with PAA leaders during her time as Secretary of the Interior to discuss PAAs opposition to oil and gas production on federal lands.

Republicans added lawmakers are concerned with Secretary Haalands compliance with ethical obligations and potential conflicts of interest given PAAs opposition to oil and gas production on federal lands, Secretary Haalands involvement with PAA, Somahs work with PAA to limit domestic energy production.

Representatives also raised issue with Secretary Haalands husband, Skip Sayre, as chief of sales and marketing for the Laguna Development Corporation, the business arm of the Laguna Pueblo.

The non-profit government watchdog, Protect the Publics Trust, filed a separate ethics complaint over the issue with the Interior Departments inspector general in August. The complaint referenced Secretary Haalands prior participation in a video by the PAA narrated by her daughter focused on drilling in New Mexico.

A new report out in September from the bilingual Hispanic website ADN America documents Somah Haalands relationship with a Cuban solidarity group linked to the communist regimes intelligence apparatus.

The PAA, ADN America reported, openly associates with the Venceremos Brigade (VB), a U.S.-based organization that facilitates trips for young Americans to visit Cuba, where they are reportedly greeted and groomed by Cuban intelligence agents.

Somah Haaland began working with the Pueblo Action Alliance (PAA) in 2020, a New Mexico indigenous rights group that openly associates with the VB, and whose executive director, Julia Bernal, traveled with the group to Cuba the year before where it was hosted by the Institute of Friendship Along with the Peoples (ICAP), a regime sponsored organization led by one of Cubas most notorious spy, Fernando Gonzlez Llort-and a former member of the Wasp Network who was sentenced to prison in the U.S. for espionage.

According to the Cuban outlet, the Venceremos Brigade has a history of targeting American activists.

Since its inception in 1969, the Venceremos Brigade took aim at influencing Americans interested in politics, particularly those with a sympathetic ear, the paper reported. In 1977, the New York Times revealed details from an August 1976 FBI report that found Cuban intelligence agents arranged for American youths to be inculcated with revolutionary fervor and, occasionally, to be trained in practical weaponry by Cuban military officers through the socalled Venceremos Brigades.'

Somah Haaland, a New Mexico activist and daughter of the U.S. interior secretary, certainly fits the bill as a top target for the Cuban group. In February, emails discovered by Protect the Publics Trust revealed the PAA was behind the insurrection at the Interior Department two years ago.

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Haaland's Daughter Tied Cuban Communist Solidarity Group - The Federalist

This month, Chinese military flights near Taiwan reached an all-time high. In a single day in September, aircraft from the Peoples Liberation Army crossed into Taiwans Air Defense Identification Zone more than 100 times. As Chinas campaign of military intimidation toward the self-governing island reaches new heights, its important to remember why U.S. support for the island nation is more vital than ever.

Deterring China from launching an invasion of Taiwan and dominating the worlds largest market zone is a vital U.S. interest. This is not simply because Taiwan is part of an esotericglobal struggle between democracies and autocracies, but because its loss to China would have grave consequences for American security and prosperity.

Popularly dubbed the worlds most dangerous flashpoint, Taiwan is rarely far from the headlines. In recent years, under Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, Chinas rhetoric and military intimidation tactics aimed at the island have grown more aggressive and escalatory, sounding alarm bells in Washington and among Americas regional allies.

In 2021, Admiral Phil Davidson, head of the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) warned that the PRC threat to Taiwan would manifest in the next six years. Last year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken lamented that Beijing [is] determined to pursue reunification [with Taiwan] on a much faster timeline than previously thought.

Even if no formal invasion timeline has been set, there is no denying Chinas rhetoric and activities have grown increasingly provocative. In recent years, it has conducted live-fire missile tests and military exercises around the island and encircled Taiwan with warships to conduct a mock blockade. Beijing has levied draconian economic sanctions on the island and has whittled down the number of countries formally recognizing Taiwan from 22 to just 13.

We know why Taiwan matters a great deal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For one thing, the party has closely tied its legitimacy and national narrative to plans for reunification with the island. For another, Taiwans status as a thriving democracy also exposes as fraudulent the CCPs narrative that the Chinese people are ill-suited to political freedom and democratic governance.

Finally, the party sees Taiwans de facto independent status as a painful reminder of Chinas century of humiliation. It portrays reunification as a vital step in Chinas national rejuvenation, a project that would have China resume its rightful place in the partys view not only as Asias hegemon but as the worlds most powerful nation.

Taiwans security also matters a great deal to the U.S. The island has a vital role to play in denying Chinas hegemony over vital global supply chains and maritime trading routes. It is also essential in preserving the integrity of Americas First Island Chain defense strategy, and in maintaining a coalition of Indo-Pacific capitals dedicated to resisting Chinas imperial ambitions.

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would have terrible consequences for the U.S. economy. The costs to American workers in terms of wages and jobs lost would be severe.Taiwan is the fifth-largest economy in Asia and a top-10 trading partner of the U.S. Most importantly, an astonishing 90 percent of the worlds most advanced semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan. These tiny chips are critical components of nearly every electronic system in the United States from smartphones and laptops to fighter jets; without them, the U.S. economy would grind to ahalt.

Over the long term, the U.S. must seek to improve its resilience to supply-chain shocks through increased domestic manufacturing and pro-growth reforms to incentivize investment in this critical sector. For the foreseeable future, however, Taiwan will play a central role in the global supply of advanced semiconductors, and that supply would be badly disrupted in any conflict across the Taiwan Strait. Worse still, if China were able to assume control of Taiwans semiconductor industry, it would grant Beijing enormous coercive leverage over the U.S.

Taiwan is a key node in the first island chain of military outposts spanning north to south from Japan to the Indonesian archipelago. If Beijing conquers Taiwan, it will have broken through this first line of defense, offering the Chinese military easy access to the Western Pacific and positioning China to use military force far more easily against Japan or the Philippines.

This matters not only because America is treaty-bound to defend both allies, but also because Beijing would be in a stronger position to compel regional capitals. It would also increase the threat posed by the Chinese military to Guam, Hawaii, and other U.S. territories, partners, and personnel in the Pacific.

Across the Indo-Pacific, nations expect the United States to defend Taiwan from a Chinese assault. If China can get away with seizing Taiwan, it would send a clear signal to the rest of Asia: Youre on your own. Other nations would no longer be as confident in Americas willingness or ability to defend them from Chinas wrath, and as a result, might be more likely to cozy up to China.

This would be disastrous because preventing China from dominating the Indo-Pacific will require a collaborative effort between the U.S. and its partners and allies.Only the U.S. can lead such an effort, but it cannot defend against Chinas imperial ambitions alone. It is therefore imperative that Americas Asian partners and allies also step up, especially by strengthening their own defenses and working together with the U.S. and each other to deter and defend against Chinese aggression.

Far from an idealistic crusade on behalf of democracy,Americas interest in Taiwan is based on a pragmatic assessment of geography, economic security, alliance management, great power politics, and military deterrence in a web of overlapping national interests that intersect at this small island in the Pacific.The U.S. simply cannot allow the CCP to obtain hegemonic influence over the worlds largest market zone, which would give it enormous power to engage in economic coercion against the U.S. and others.

Simply put, the U.S. has a vested interest in denying Beijings imperial ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan is central to that effort.

Even as we acknowledge Taiwans vital importance to the U.S., we should be clear: America does not seek a war with China over Taiwan. Quite the opposite. Our apex priority is to deter the PRC from ever launching an invasion. That will require Taiwan to do more, including increasing defense spending and adopting a more effective defense strategy.

Most importantly, it will require ensuring that, through enhanced U.S. military deterrence, the CCP recognizes that an invasion of Taiwan would not only fail but also prove exceptionally costly for China and potentially fatal for any Chinese leader responsible for the catastrophe.

Jeff M. Smith is the Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

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Taiwan Losing To China Would Have Dire Consequences For The ... - The Federalist

As funding for the federal government is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, a group of Senate Republicans hoped to appease both parties by adding a border security amendment to a bill that would continue funding at its current level and send billions of taxpayer funds to Ukraine.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted Friday evening that the Senate bill is dead on arrival in the House. Sen. Mike Lee called out Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the handful of Republican senators for writing the bill in secret as a manipulative effort to give an additional $6.2 billion to Ukraine.

On Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters the Senate was trying to find a way to grow the vote to avoid a shutdown, but also to have real teeth on border and immigration reform that is credible and could potentially get done. By Friday, a proposed border security amendment reviewed by The Federalist was circulating Senate offices, but had no real teeth at all.

The stated goal of the amendment was to ensure the continuing resolution can get the 60 votes necessary from both Republicans and Democrats by enforcing immigration laws and defunding Bidens resettlement operation, without raising spending.

The amendment would defund the transporting of migrants and reduce funding for the FEMA Shelter and Services Program. With no funding for transportation or sheltering services, migrants would be stuck wherever they illegally crossed the border, effectively creating a Remain in Texas policy.

The amendment also reallocates funds from shelter services to hire more Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, while ignoring that there is nothing to stop these executive branch hires from shifting law enforcement hires to processing duties, as is currently happening. This move also ignores the ongoing hiring and employee retention crises these agencies are facing despite raises and bonuses.

Finally, the amendment also claims it would require the $1.7 billion Congress has already set aside to fund the border wall to be spent by the Biden administration, but its unclear how such an amendment would force the administration and its agencies to spend money on a wall its refused to build for years.

Republican senators reportedly working on this amendment include Sens. Bill Hagerty, John Thune, Thom Tillis, James Lankford, Susan Collins, plus independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. These offices did not return requests for public comment before press time.

Sen. Katie Britt was also rumored to be working on the amendment. Britt told The Federalist We need a full return to President Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, and Ill only support a measure that accomplishes true border security rather than border management, but did not address whether her office was working on the amendment in question or not.

Cornyns press secretary Tatum Wallace told The Federalist that the Texas senator isnt working on any border plan, despite Cornyns claims earlier in the week.

The Federalists John Daniel Davidson contributed to this report.

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Senators Mull Border Clause To Bait House Into More Ukraine Aid - The Federalist

Recently at The Federalist, Nathan Stone wrote of some of the unfortunate consequences of the fall of Roe v. Wade, noting that the adage Be careful what you wish for seems to be in play, as the pushback from proponents of abortion has been dismayingly robust.

Stone cites reports of rising abortion rates in many states and recent defeats of pro-life legislation, concluding that the root problem is a lukewarm Christianity: The core reason the right cannot, in many cases, compete with the lefts energy is because many on the right do not believe. This situation is not helped by the fact that many American churches are spineless at best and conquered provinces at worst.

Stone goes on to call for a reimagined Christianity in which the symbol of Christ as good shepherd [is] replaced with the Christ Knight, the Christ Warlord. People but especially men need a strong figure to follow, to rally around, especially if the venture is dangerous. A Son of God going forth to war can do that.

Stone is spot on in observing that many people who call themselves Christians dont actually understand or believe in the real Jesus. But his call for a repackaged Jesus that people can more readily get behind is not the solution.

Meanwhile, writing for Salvo, Daniel Witt similarly mourns the current state of the American experiment, lamenting the lost ideal of John Winthrops city on a hill, which Witt describes as a virtuous civilization providing an example for the rest of the world to emulate.

Witt says America is indeed a city on a hill, but rather than providing a positive example, it is having a corrupting influence: The United States of America displays a mockery of Christ. The world, by and large, likes what it sees. My conclusion from the experience of living abroad is that Christian leaders in America need to take a hard look at our place in the nation, and the nations place in the world.

Witt, like Stone, correctly observes that Americas Christian roots shriveled long ago. Politicians may still appeal to faith, family, and country, but the words ring hollow these days. Americans dont go to church, dont uphold traditional family values, and dont love their country.

But the problem is not an American illness in need of an American cure. Its clear that America long ago strayed from its Christian founding. But at its core, Americas decline into depravity is not a national problem, but an individual one not a political problem, but a spiritual one.

Spiritual problems are not solved by marketing campaigns or national movements but by encounters with the one true God, who defies any attempt to categorize or use Him for human purposes. And those encounters dont happen on a national level, with America repenting for its collective failure, but on an individual level, with the sinner coming face to face with the reality of his sinfulness and his need for a Savior.

In 1993, Michael Card wrote the now-classic, contemporary Christian song Heal Our Land for the National Day of Prayer. Its a beautiful song, and I admit to getting a lump in my throat when I hear it. The lyrics draw on 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my namehumble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

There is certainly nothing wrong with praying for a change in the direction of this country. I dont know that I have ever, in my lifetime, felt so discouraged about Americas future. Prayer is in order.

But Gods words in 2 Chronicles are not about America. They are about the ancient Israelites, Gods people chosen for the purpose of sending His Son into the world to redeem it. The land to be healed in 2 Chronicles is not the American nation but the Hebrew one, and the goal is not ultimately to save the Israelites for their own sake but so that Gods eternal purposes might be carried out.

Lutheran scholar Rev. Joel Biermann has written extensively on what Lutherans refer to as the two realms or kingdoms, the two spheres in which Christians live and operate. Biermann describes it this way:

Simply put, the teaching of the two realms helps us see that God is directly involved in caring for His creation in two different but complementary ways. In the spiritual realm, He answers our need for a right relationship with Him and through His church gives us forgiveness and grace in Christ. In the temporal realm, He enables us to live in right relationships with one another as He provides for all that we need to live in this world and through His appointed government extends His justice in the world (Rom. 13:17). The realms are not in opposition or competition, but together work to accomplish Gods purpose of claiming, preserving, saving and finally restoring the whole creation.

Christian Americans would do well to understand and embrace the distinction. America is not going to save the world. America may, in fact, be lost. But those who trust not in princes need not fear. An old Latin phrase is helpful here: Ora et labora, or Pray and work.

If you want to help America, pray and work. First, go to church not a church that makes sweeping promises about what America can accomplish if only we put God back in our schools and institutions, but a church that says to you, individually, You are a poor, miserable sinner. You are helpless to address that problem on your own. The only answer is Jesus and His death on a cross to pay the price for your sins. Look to Him, trust in His promises, and be saved.

Second, go to work. Work to care for your family. Work to serve your neighbor. Obey the law. Vote.

Jesus made it abundantly clear: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. For this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth (John 18:36-37).

The truth to which Jesus came to bear witness is not primarily about our temporal problems (although He certainly cares about those things) but about who He is: the Son of God who came to earth to provide a solution to the problem at the root of all other problems namely, sin.

That sin rests deep in the heart of each of us, and we cant fix it. Jesus came to answer our need for a Savior, to fix what we cannot. He did so by taking the sin of the entire world upon Himself and carrying it to the grave. He then went down to hell itself, where He proclaimed victory over sin, death, and Satan before rising from the dead and ascending to His Father in heaven.

Now all who live in Jesus have the promise of following the path He walked. The path is not all glory. It is likely a lot of pain and suffering. It may even include the failure of a once-great nation. But its ultimate destination is an eternity with Jesus and an end to the maladies of this world.

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Jesus Cares More About Saving You Than Saving America - The Federalist

Three pretty unnerving things have happened within the past week: Target cited crime and safety as reasons for closing another nine locations, a congressman was carjacked at gunpoint, and a Philadelphia-based journalist was murdered in his home.

Welcome to the United States of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We hope you enjoy your stay!

To be fair, there isnt yet a ton of information available about the homicide. All we know is that the victim is a left-winger named Josh Kruger and that he spent much of his days tweeting about how exaggerated the nationwide violent crime spikes have been. A local paper described him as a former city spokesperson who advocated for more support for some of the citys most vulnerable residents (aka any ethnic minority who knowingly commits a crime or mooches off their parents well into adulthood).

Kruger had also posted a tweet mocking Dilbert comic creator Scott Adams for predicting in 2020 that there would be another wave of violent crime if Joe Biden were elected. The Dilbert dude is like Nostradamus, Kruger wrote in sarcasm. Look at this prediction from 2020. Wow. Eerie.

He was killed two days later. Police havent identified a suspect.

But police a few miles south in Washington, D.C., do have an idea as to who it was that carjacked House Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar at gunpoint Monday night: Three black males wearing all black clothing, said an area alert. Carjackings in the metropolitan area have increased by more than five times the 2018 rate.

As for Target, the corporate arm announced last week that it was shutting down nine stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance. All of the affected businesses are in cities where their Democrat mayors and state prosecutors determined it safe to legalize crime by way of scaling down law enforcement and letting looters and assailants get away: San Francisco, Portland, New York, and Seattle.

Every Democrat in office should have to answer for why the incidents above are good things. Of course, theyll say, Its unacceptable, and then theyll head to their next donor event and brag about all theyve done in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion (aka the three unclean spirits).

By their telling, crime isnt the problem. The problem is the demographic balance of who is prosecuted for crime. If its not balanced, they say, prosecute the criminals less! Diversity, equity and inclusion cannot coexist with law enforcement.

This is always how things were going to end. Less policing means more crime. Less prosecuting means more crime. Higher tolerance for crime means more crime. And then businesses shut down. Nobody wants to do business in high crime. Nobody wants to live in high crime. Except for people like Josh Kruger, who well you know

Its diversity! Its equity! Its inclusion! Stay safe out there.

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Carjackings, Looting, And Murder: 'Equity' In Action! - The Federalist

When he saw U.S. institutions ignoring Swedish data out in June 2020 showing children hardly transmitted or contracted Covid-19 at school, Harvard University Professor of Medicine Martin Kulldorff decided to start speaking more on Twitter (now called X).

I have three children and I need to be able to see them in the eyes, Kulldorff told The Federalist when asked why he risked his position at Harvard, government research grants, even friendships, for publicly opposing lockdowns and vaccine mandates. If Im a scientist, I have to humbly seek the truth and honestly communicate that. I dont think theres another choice as a scientist. It was obvious that we had to speak up.

The epidemiologist and infectious disease expert with more than 200 research articles published in peer-reviewed publications and cited more than 25,000 times had tried to make scientific arguments against lockdowns in U.S. publications since February 2020, but he could only get his views into Swedish publications, he told The Federalist in a phone interview Wednesday.

So Kulldorff tried getting his support for focused protection instead of mass lockdowns out on social media. In his view, it was especially important that American children be allowed to go back to school, while neighbors continued to take precautions on behalf of the elderly and others at high risk of a Covid infection, unlike most children.

In attempting to speak on X, however, Kulldorff was blocked by what a lawsuit later discovered was a vast censorship enterprise throttling Americans ideas online at the behest of multitudes of government officials and government-funded proxies. The Biden administration has appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which paused lower courts injunctions against the censorship while considering whether to take the case. In the meantime, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is also considering whether to re-expand an injunction against the censorship to more federal agencies based on further evidence.

Kulldorff is a plaintiff in Missouri v. Biden. His New Civil Liberties Alliance lawyers have stressed that Department of Justice lawyers arguing to keep government manipulating what Americans can see and say online have not contested any of the shocking facts the lawsuit has uncovered. Instead, they defend the censorship as necessary to stop misinformation.

Yet it wasnt just that the government censored false information but it censored true information, Kulldorff noted. Of course, the First Amendment should be valid for both, but its also true that the government censored true information, and people died because of that.

One of the true things government censored, he said, is that people who survive Covid-19 develop robust immunity against a repeat infection. The immunity conferred on survivors of most diseases, Weve known about this since 400 BC with the Athenian plague. Weve known about this for 2,000 years, yet they questioned that for Covid, Kulldorff said. Its astonishing.

Acting on this long-proven scientific fact by hiring naturally immune workers in nursing homes, for example, could have prevented deaths in one of the highest-risk locations.

Either the 5th Circuit or Supreme Court could grant further discovery in this case that would reveal even more than the current 20,000 pages of evidence and eight depositions of government officials engaged in online censorship.

Theres a lot left to learn, Kulldorff pointed out, because we only did a deposition for a few government officials and there are many more officials mentioned in the emails between the government and the social media companies that we received as part of the discovery process.

When the lawsuit was filed, Kulldorff and other plaintiffs including Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University had no idea how expansively the White House and other federal agencies including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security were naming Americans social media accounts and keywords to platforms to ban and throttle, Kulldorff said. They just knew social media platforms kept banning their accounts, posts, and ideas when they publicly disagreed with federal officials.

Open records requests before the lawsuit revealed that high-level federal officials moved to stop people from reading or hearing about the Great Barrington Declaration that Kulldorff coauthored with Bhattacharya and Dr. Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University, other epidemiologists with sterling professional records.

The October 2020 declaration was eventually co-signed by nearly 1 million people, including more than 62,000 verified scientists and health-care professionals. It argues for focused protection, or extra measures to protect those at high risk from Covid while ending lockdowns, because for the vast majority of people the costs of lockdowns were greater than their risks from Covid. (This publication featured similar arguments as early as March 2020.)

[F]our days after the Declarations publication, then-Director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, emailed Dr. Anthony Fauci and Cliff Lane at NIH/NIAID about the Great Barrington Declaration, says the plaintiffs Supreme Court filing. This email stated: Hi Tony and Cliff, See: https://gbdeclaration.org/. This proposal from the three fringe epidemiologists who met with the Secretary seems to be getting a lot of attention and even a co-signature from Nobel Prize winner Mike Leavitt at Stanford. There needs to be a quick and devastating published take down of its premises.'

Instead of engaging with these scientists, however, it appears federal officials sought to secretly shut down their ability to communicate with people online. The lawsuit notes that soon after the declaration was published, Google made it harder for people to find in online searches and elevated hit pieces on the declaration in its search results.

YouTube parent company Googlecontrols 92 percentof the worlds search results, this author noted recently.Wall Street Journaland other investigations have found thatGoogle alters its search resultsin ways thatbenefit leftists. So does YouTubes currentcriteriafor hiding information.

Reddit banned links to the declaration in its Covid forums, and Facebook temporarily suspended the declarations page without an explanation, the lawsuit also says.

In May 2021, Twitter suspended Kulldorffs account for a month after he posted that masks endow vulnerable individuals with a false sense of security, because they actually do not work well to protect against viral infection. In 2022, the Twitter Files showed that Twitter employees had also kept Kulldorffs ideas from spreading on an equal basis to other posts on their platform. Twitter slapped his expert opinion with a misleading label and banned likes and replies.

Anthony Fauci, when he was director of NIAID, he sat on the biggest pile of infectious disease money in the world. NIH, [controlled during lockdowns by] Francis Collins, controls funds for not only infectious diseases but all of public health, Kulldorff noted. So when they take a very strong stand on a specific policy its very concerning, because that means that scientists are not going to dare to speak up because they are afraid of losing research funds, they are afraid of losing their livelihood. I think that was a huge problem in the pandemic.

Kulldorff noted that silencing people increases their distrust and anger, while allowing them to speak and engaging with their ideas is the most effective way to change minds in the long run. Censorship also endangers peoples lives by shutting down innovation and creativity, which requires an openness to new and contrarian ideas.

If we had more debate, schools would have opened earlier, for example. This is very important for children, Kulldorff said. At this point I think everybody realizes that was a big mistake and people like Fauci, who were arguing for school closures in 2020, they are now claiming they wanted schools to be open. Silencing people, censoring people, slandering people did create worse outcomes in this pandemic than we would otherwise have had.

The highly cited epidemiologist thinks scientific funding needs to be decentralized to increase the pro-science flow of ideas and reduce the cartelization of research that allows federal funding to induce self-censorship. That might mean dividing the NIH and NIAID into several regional institutions, Kulldorff suggested. Some of the best research on Covid questions came from advanced countries not dependent on U.S. research funds like Denmark, Sweden, Qatar, and Israel, he noted.

It is a problem that the people who are responsible for what I think is the biggest public health fiasco in history, they are still largely in place, Kulldorff said. Sometimes an individual might step out, but these structures and those communities who were responsible for this, they are still in charge in terms of public health and in terms of the scientific community. That has to change.

Link:

Doctor In Supreme Court Censorship Case: 'We Had To Speak Up' - The Federalist

Warning: This article contains a book excerpt with graphic sexual descriptions.

In response to parents objecting to the state-sponsored sexualization of our children in public schools, the American Library Association (ALA) is hosting Banned Books Week from Oct. 1-7. The event is likely meant to distract Americans from an unfortunate reality: The taxpayer-funded ALA is trying to place pornographic books in the hands of children, while it tries to ban books and story hours with patriotic themes.

Few are soon to forgetstory hourwith Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. On Sept. 12, during theSenate Judiciary Committee hearing titled Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature, Kennedy read excerpts from books currently in middle-school libraries across the country. From the pornographic book containing graphic pictures,Gender Queer, the 71-year-old read, I cant wait to have your c-ck in my mouth. Im going to give you the blowjob of your life. Then I want you inside of me.

Kennedys display made an incisive point: Books likeGender QueerandAll Boys Arent Bluemeet the legal definition of pornography, and they do not belong in K-12 public school libraries. Even Maia Kobabe, the author ofGender Queer, agrees. Shesaid, I dont recommend this book for kids.

Others feel that 11-year-olds in middle school need access to these books to feel seen. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for example,stated,Every student deserves access to books that reflect their experiences and help them better understand who they are. It is unclear the children to whom the senator is referring, but if these passages reflect their experiences, they are victims in need of serious help.

Other leftist activistscriticizedthe senator for reading the explicit books. A witness in favor of the books argued that the passages weredisturbing especially coming out of your mouth.To some, the issue is that an adult would dare read this pornographic material publicly, not that it is available to our children in their public schools.

Similarly, in Fairfax County, Virginia, Harry Jackson, a Republican-endorsed school board candidate, sent a mailer to constituents in his district that contained graphic pictures and passages from books currently available in public middle schools in Fairfax County. A local news channel, NBC4,reportedon the mailer.

Rather than addressing the true problem, that these books are available to young children, thestory anglewas to focus on the appropriateness of the candidates decision to alert voters of these explicit materials with a mailer. Journalists reached out to his opponent, the incumbent and Democrat-endorsed Melanie Meren, who offered a nonsensical politicians quote about respectful and thoughtful conversations. NBC4 failed to report that Meren voted to keep books likeGender Queerin the districts middle-school libraries and that she ignored Jacksons public debate challenge, thereby negating her interest in thoughtful conversations. Leftist activists and journalists clearly favor tribalism over logic and objective reporting.

Emily Drabinski, the self-proclaimed Marxist president of the ALA, illogically complains about the injustice of banning explicit materials, while simultaneously advocating for banning story hours on faith, family, and patriotism. In response to Kirk Cameron organizing nationwide libraryevents, Drabinski provided tips in a presentation for librarians about how tothwartthese story hours. She advised the librarians,You can limit access to meeting rooms to persons eligible to hold a library card in your community. You could make a priority for library-sponsored programs.

While using theALAs $250 million budget torestrict conservatives free speech, Drabinski also utilizes her resources to promote pornography in middle school libraries. Librarians should be focused on helping hesitant readers, particularly considering learning loss from prolonged school closures, but it would seem the ALA leadership prioritizes other endeavors. Not only does Drabinski supportbooks likeGender Queerin public libraries for children, she hosts conferences to brainstorm how to get more of those types of books in the hands of more children. The ALAsJune 2023 conference included a sessiontitled, Beyond the Middle School Rainbow: Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ Middle Grade Books.

On Sept. 2, despite the multi-statewithdrawalfrom the ALA, Drabinski doubled down on her position, and claimed that American libraries should be places for socialist activism. At a conference panel titled,Freedom To Learn: Black and Asian American Solidarity Against Attacks on Antiracist Education, after being publicly referred to as comrade, Drabinskisaid,I think your point that public education needs to be a site of socialist organizing, I think libraries really do too. I think we need to be on the agenda for socialist organizing.

Likely to that end, the ALA is currently hosting its fraudulent Banned Books Week. In support of its misleading event, the websitereads: When we ban books, were closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!

Thewebsitefurther addresses the issue of political polarization. It makes me wonder: Will they include Kirk Camerons and other conservatives books in their displays? Of course they wont.

There are two grand ironies in the explicit materials in schools debate. The left is trying to gaslight us into believing we are only imagining that pornography is in our childrens public school libraries that only white supremacists and homophobes take issue with any book. When we bring proof and alert others to the pornographic materials, like Kennedy and Jackson did, these leftist activists suggest we are inappropriate and disturbing. Secondly, the ALA hosts a Banned Books Week to celebrate so-called free expression in material that is extremely inappropriate and technically illegal for children, while concurrently trying to ban books and story hours for children on themes of patriotism, faith, and family.

The ALA is clearly not thenonpartisan, nonprofit organizationitdescribesitself to be. Partisan, socialist, pornography-peddling associations should not be funded with taxpayer dollars.

Stephanie Lundquist-Arora is a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, an author, and a member of the Independent Womens Network.

See the original post:

Porn In School Libraries Is The Real Problem, Not 'Banned Books' - The Federalist