Will the U.S. Suffer a Terrorist Attack Because of Our Open Border?

Israel is well known for having one of the most secure borders in the world. Yet Hamas was able to conduct a large, coordinated attack against Israel. The attack killed 1,400 people, more Jews than any other attack in the last 50 years. To conduct the attack, Hamas penetrated an extremely secure border.

Matthew Kuckelman at The Daily Signal compared the Hamas attack on Israel with the open southern U.S. border. He wrote that there are more than 6,000 miles between Israel and the southern U.S. border, but Americans have a crisis at the border. He explained that “Americans have lived through other crises caused by President Joe Biden’s open border – crime, fentanyl deaths, and human trafficking – but we may not survive a terrorist attack brought by people who took advantage of the open border. 

Customs and Border Protection has encountered over 7 million illegal aliens since January 2021 who have poured across President Joe Biden’s open Border. This does not include the more than 1.5 million known “gotaways” who evaded the Border Patrol.

At least 172 migrants that Customs and Border Protection has apprehended between ports of entry matched those on the terrorist watchlist during fiscal year 2023. This compares to three in 2020. That’s an increase of over 5,000%.

On Monday, it was reported that at least two Iranian nationals on the watchlist had been apprehended in the first two weeks of October. So concerning is the threat of terrorists entering the United States that the president of Guatemala is highlighting the dangers posed by inaction to secure the border. And yet, the Biden administration has continued to ignore the crisis.

In fact, just two days before the attack on Israel, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Aleandro Mayorkas released a statement reaffirming the administration’s opposition to border walls. Since the attack on Israel, there has been no indication of a change in course from the Biden administration.

As the administration has continued down its path of unlimited illegal immigration, the door has been wide open for the terrorists to come in and broaden their operations in the U.S. Charles Marino, former senior law enforcement advisor at DHS, alerted members of Congress that terrorist groups “can and will exploit our open borders with help of the Mexican cartels.” If you thought the border crisis couldn’t get any worse, … it can.

Perhaps the most worrying part of the debate is that there really should not be much of a debate. The need to address this issue is not a new one, and it should not be partisan. The American people have suffered from the historic border crisis. Congress knows how to solve this problem and mitigate threats posed to the homeland – by securing our borders.

Kuckelman explained that the House of Representatives passed a historic bill – Secure the Border Act – earlier in 2023. The bill, if passed and signed into law, would take the necessary “steps to ensure terrorists cannot freely enter the United States through our southern border.” The bill would direct the restoration of our national security by resuming “construction of the border wall,” increasing “the number of Border Patrol agents,” preventing asylum fraud, and ramping “up interior enforcement to remove illegal aliens who may pose a threat to Americans.”

America needs to act to protect its people from another terrorist attack, but we have a weak and (possibly) compromised POTUS. He refuses to close the border and to put sanctions on Iran, a terrorist-producing state. I agree with Kuckelman that America will see another terrorist attack if we do not act forcefully and quickly.

Who Is Ted Cruz?

My VIP for this week is Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for his visit to the southern border of Texas and his recounting of the horrors that he witnessed. According to Virginia Allen at The Daily Signal, Cruz visited the border late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday on a midnight patrol with Border Patrol agents.

The patrol “encountered a group of about 20 illegal aliens in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley,” who had surrendered to Border Patrol. Cruz said that he spoke with the group of mostly women and girls for about 40 minutes. 

“There was one little girl who’s 13 years old,” Cruz said during a press conference in Anzalduas Park, Texas, adding that the girl had “no family with her.”

“There was another little girl who was 16 years old. She had no family with her,” he said.

“There was a little boy who was 15 years old. He had no family with him.”

Cruz said they asked the minors “about the violence they’d faced on the travel over – the look in those kids faces was horrifying.”

Cruz recounted a “disturbing” conversation with a 10-year-old girl standing in the back of the group with a “man who said he was her father with his arm draped forcefully around her,” adding that “it was obvious to anyone who’s ever seen a father and daughter that these two were not related.”

“At one point when we asked about her mother,” Cruz said, “we saw her look to the man who was claiming to be her dad, wondering what’s the answer supposed to be?”

DNA tests at the border to determine family relationships were stopped on June 1 by the Biden administration. Cruz declared that the move proves that “Democrats don’t care if that 10-year-old girl is related to the adult man.”

Cruz had the following “message for [President] Joe Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris, and every Democrat senator … come to the border, come to the Rio Grande Valley, come out on midnight patrol and look in the eyes of the little children who are suffering from these inhumane policies. This is horrific. This is wrong. And the people of South Texas know this is an utter disaster.”

Allen included the following statistics in her article:

·         Customs and Border Protection encountered 137,275 unaccompanied alien children at the southern border in fiscal year 2023.

·         CBP encountered 2,475,669 illegal aliens along the U.S. southern border in fiscal year 2023 – equivalent to 6,782 migrants per day and 96,725 more than in fiscal year 2022.

·         Data released by the House Judiciary Committee shows that at least 3.8 million illegal aliens have been released into the U.S. interior or successfully evaded the Border Patrol to enter the country since Biden took office Jan. 20, 2021.

According to Cruz, multiple pieces of legislation have been introduced to prevent migrants from entering the U.S. illegally. However, “none of it will work… as long as you have a president of the United States defies the law, who simply says, if you come to this country, we will let you go. That’s what’s caused this crisis.”

The crisis at the southern U.S. border will continue until enough Americans wake up and understand that Democrat policies do not work. Period. Exclamation mark.

What Is the Goal for Gun Grabbers?

 The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the Second Amendment – also known as the right to keep and bear arms. Every single time that some idiot decides to commit mass murder, the gun-control crowd goes wild. It happened again this week.

Some idiot committed mass murder when he killed 18 people in Maine on Wednesday. Just like clockwork, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the Australian gun bans on Thursday when speaking with the Australian prime minister, according to Sara Garstka at The Daily Signal. 

“Gun violence has terrorized and traumatized so many of our communities in this country,” Harris said Thursday afternoon at the event with Australian leader Anthony Albanese. “And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.”

The vice president was referring to a series of gun-buyback programs in the commonwealth of Australia. The regulations followed a 1996 firearms massacre in Tasmania in which 35 people died and began with the National Firearms Agreement of 1996, which declared semiautomatic weapons illegal and prompted the surrender of close to 650,000 firearms. Since then, the Pacific Rim nation has tightly restricted gun ownership and continued to buy back legally owned guns and confiscate illegally owned firearms. But the measures have not been very effective at reducing the number of legally held firearms in the nation.

While the past 27 years of gun restrictions in Australia have decreased the number of gun-owning households by half, as of 2016, the number of firearms per licensed owner had increased from 2.1 to 3.9.

In 2017, there were an estimated 3.6 million firearms in Australia, compared with 3.2 million in 1996, the year of the mass killings in Tasmania, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2019. The newspaper noted that in 1997, after then-Prime Minister John Howard’s initial buyback of guns, there were an estimated 2.5 million firearms in the country.

Australia has established that bearing arms is a privilege and not a right. Today, Australian gun laws do not even include self-defense as a “justifiable reason” for owning a firearm. “It is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun-safety laws to save lives,” Harris said in a written statement about the Maine shootings. “Congress can and must make background checks universal. Pass red flag laws. Ban high-capacity magazines. And renew the assault weapons ban.”

The Biden administration has been working to advance Second Amendment restrictions in the United States, establishing in September the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which Harris oversees. The office will push to “enact universal background checks and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the vice president said in a statement about the initiative.

Democrats and other leftists want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. One of their tactics is to claim that guns take the most American lives each year. However, they never mention the 500,000 to 3 million American lives that are saved each year by guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. In addition, they never mention the 2363 unborn American babies killed every single day through abortion, adding up to 860,000 deaths of unborn American babies every single year. [Figures are from Garstka.]

So, abortions kill more Americans than guns every single year. It seems that saving American lives is not the purpose for gun control advocates. Therefore, the demand for gun control is simply a way to gain control of the citizenry, just like all tyrants.

How Will Scripture Study Help Us to Be an Example of Believers?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to First and Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon in a lesson titled “Be Thou an Example of the Believers.” The following counsel preceded the lesson: “Sometimes it’s helpful to approach our scripture study with one or more questions in mind. Invite the Spirit to guide you to answers as you study, and record any inspiration you receive.” The lesson was introduced by the following information. 

In the epistles Paul wrote to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, we get a glimpse into the heart of a servant of the Lord. Unlike Paul’s other epistles to entire congregations, these were written to individuals – Paul’s close friends and associates in God’s work – and reading them is like listening in on a conversation. We see Paul encouraging Timothy and Titus, two leaders of congregations, in their Church service. We see him entreating his friend Philemon to reconcile with a fellow Saint and treat him like a brother in the gospel. Paul’s words were not addressed to us directly, and he may never have expected that so many people would one day read them. Yet we find in these epistles counsel and encouragement for us, whatever our personal ministry in the service of Christ might be.

In pondering the available principles for this post, I felt prompted to discuss the following value found in the Sunday School manual: “Studying the scriptures can help us overcome the perils of the last days” (2 Timothy 3). 

Paul warned his friend Timothy that there would be perils in the last days. The fact that he was warning Timothy about them makes the argument that Paul expected the Savior to return during the life of Timothy. Here we are 2000 years later, and we are still looking forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

After Paul gave his warning to Timothy about “perilous times” to come, he testified to him of the power and importance of the scriptures (see 2 Timothy 3:14-17).

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Paul taught that the scriptures are profitable for several reasons with the first being doctrine. Elder David A. Bednar taught the following about doctrine: “Rather doctrine refers to the eternal, unchanging, and simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ…. Doctrines are never altered. They never vary. They will always be the sake. You can count on them…” (“Teach Them to Understand,” June 4, 1998, Ricks College Campus Education Week Devotional).

Elder Boyd K. Packer taught, “True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior” (“Little Children,” Ensign, November 1986, pg. 17).

Elder Packer’s statement emphasized is TRUE doctrine UNDERSTOOD changes attitudes and behavior. The doctrine must be true in the first place for it to do any good, and then it must be understood correctly. The best place to teach and learn true doctrine is in our homes with our own families. Understanding true doctrine will help the rising generation to avoid many of the dangers in these perilous times. Studying and discussing the doctrines as a family will strengthen the entire family.

Should Parents Have Choice for Schools for Children?

Americans are divided on numerous concepts and practices with one of them being school choice. Republicans generally favor giving to parents the right to choose the schools that their children attend, and Democrats generally oppose school choice.

Red states generally have school choice, and blue states do not. States handle school choice in the way that they think is best, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has his own way of dealing with the issue. Tony Kinnett wrote about Abbott’s action in The Daily Signal and reported that Abbott “called for parents to contact their state representatives and encourage them to get school choice ‘across the finish line.’”

The Republican governor posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Texas has an obligation to deliver the best possible education for each child. School choice will help achieve that.”

He then asked that parents visit TXParentsMatter.com as a means of contacting lawmakers. Abbott called for special session on Oct. 5 to provide education savings accounts, or ESAs, for “all Texas schoolchildren.”

“Now is the time to expand ESAs to every child in the state. That will give all parents the ability to choose the best education option for their child,” he said.

Kinnett stated that Abbott is not the first governor “to call for a major overhaul to the state’s school choice legislation. The Heritage Foundation released a report in September that “identified Texas as ranking No. 35 among the states for school choice, trailing behind more liberal states like California, Illinois, and Vermont.” The report noted the following:

“Texas could improve its ranking by establishing K-12 education savings accounts, making it easier for more charter schools to open and operate, and giving families more choices among traditional public schools.

Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent or whether you live in red or blue state, you should be concerned about the schooling of children in your state, particularly if you are a parent of minor children.

According to Kinnett, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) considers school choice to be “the civil rights issue of the 21^st century.” The senator recognized the disparity of opportunity between students across the nation. The disparity is mainly between students whose parents “are able to afford more expensive and academically rigorous private options and students who come from lower-income homes.

The disparity often comes because parents in lower-income families do not have enough time or energy to help children with homework and projects after working two jobs or being on the job all day. It also comes because higher-income homes almost always have computers and other educational helps for children, while lower-income homes do not.

Whatever the situation in the home, all parents deserve to be – and should be – involved in the education of their children. When parents are involved, children usually do better in school. Numerous famous people come from lower-income homes – Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Ben Carson are two examples. When children know that education is important to their parents, most of them do better in school. America needs well-educated citizens, and educated citizens create stronger families, communities, and nations.

Which States Improved Election Integrity?

Americans desire and deserve secure elections. Yet, a large majority of Americans are concerned about the integrity of elections – mostly because of all the questions about the 2020 presidential election. Now, we are headed into the 2024 presidential election, and election integrity issues are rising to the top again.

Most Americans understand that fair, honest, and secure elections are necessary for our democratic republic to survive. Zack Smith and Hans von Spakovsky at The Heritage Foundation gave some enlightenment about how states are preparing for the 2024 election. 

Because the Framers of our Constitution placed primary responsibility on the states to administer and set out the rules and procedures that apply in our elections, that’s where most battles over election integrity have been – and will continue to be – fought. Fortunately, the citizens of many states, their legislators, and even judges who hear challenges to recent commonsense election reforms all are starting to understand the importance of safe and secure elections.

For instance, the citizens of Louisiana overwhelmingly voted Oct. 14, by a margin of 72.6% to 27.4%, to prohibit private or foreign funding to administer and conduct elections. The voters’ decision bans the so-called Zuck Bucs that Facebook founder Mrk Zuckerberg donated, via a pass-through nonprofit, to many local election officials during the 2020 cycle….

In North Carolina, the Legislature overrode the veto of the state’s Democrat governor, Roy Cooper, a long-time enemy of election integrity, so that SB 747 can go into effect and become law.

Among other actions, the bill provides additional safeguards for the absentee voting process. It will require any absentee ballots to arrive by the close of polling places on Election Day in order to be counted. It also will provide greater access for election observers to monitor what’s happening at local polls….

In Georgia, a federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction against, or halt enforcement of, a law passed by the Legislature, which enacted several election integrity measures. The judge found that those bringing the challenge were not substantially likely to succeed in showing that the new Georgia law intentionally discriminated against black voters….

A review of similar laws passed by Florida’s Legislature around the same time also fund no adverse impacts on black or other minorities.

Finally, in Tennessee, a law prohibiting third parties from passing out the state’s official form requesting an absentee ballot can remain on the books. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6^th Circuit rightly rejected a challenge to this law….

Although all of this is good news, it’s important to remain vigilant. Last month, Pennsylvania’s governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, said he “implemented automatic voter registration [to] save taxpayers money and streamline the voter registration process,” without any apparent legal authority to do so.

But despite the assurances of Shapiro and Pennsylvania election officials, past experiences with this type of registration shows, in the words of a Heritage Foundation report, that it “could result in the registration of large numbers of ineligible voters as well as multiple or duplicate registrations of the same individuals.” It also “presents a sure formula for registration and voter fraud that could damage the integrity of elections,” the report said.

Moreover, Pennsylvania is the same place where the secretary of state, Democrat Pedro Cortés, was forced to resign some years ago after his office admitted that a glitch in the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles system allowed illegal aliens to register to vote for decades. However, the state so far has successfully refused to disclose how many aliens registered and voted. [Emphasis added.]

Smith and von Spakovsky stated that there will be “many more election integrity fights” on the horizon. Although there is good news on the issue of voter integrity, the example of Pennsylvania shows that some people still encourage voter fraud.

Why Is There So Much Anti-Americanism in America?

The attack on Israel by Hamas brought the anti-Americanism in America out into the open. We saw how members of “The Squad” in the U.S. House of Representatives took the side of Hamas. They cheered the attack on Israel and then called for a cease in the firing. In other words, they believe that Hamas should be able to attack Israel – largest number of Jews killed since the Holocaust – and Israel be unable to defend itself.

Hamas was designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization some years ago. Yet, elements in the government – such as President Joe Biden – are attempting to thwart Israel in their intended total destruction of Hamas. Biden wants to send millions of American taxpayers’ money to the “Palestinians” even while knowing that the money will go directly to Hamas. This means that Americans are actually funding both sides of the Israel-Hamas war.

This practice has been followed for years. However, this time seems to be different because of the anti-Americanism that has reared its ugly head into full view. Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) said on Monday that it is time for America to stop funding radicals who hate American and it close ally Israel. This has been going on for at least a generation. Jarrett Stepman shared Roy’s remarks in an article in The Daily Signal. 

Roy spoke as part of a panel during a Heritage Foundation event, “Future of the U.S.-Israel Alliance at 75,” where he talked about Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the steps his fellow lawmakers need to take to defeat Islamists and radicals….

“The response should be overwhelming force, not just to send a message but to win,” Roy said. “Israel cannot back off and America cannot back off in its support of Israel, period.”

Roy said wars are messy and costly, a reality that should be lost on no one. He pointed out the violence of World War II, in which the United States heavily bombed both Japan and Germany.

Yet “there is a cost to allowing terrorist leadership of your country, he said, referring to Hamas as the ruling party of the Gaza Strip, from where it attacked Israel. “There’s a cost to it, and that’s what we are seeing in Gaza.”

The Texas congressman addressed the calls for a cease-fire in the latest Israel-Hamas war.

“There are human beings in the crossfire, but let’s remember that, let’s start with the human beings who were the targets, predominantly Jewish, Israeli citizens – some Americans – who were the targets of [the] terroristic, barbaric actions of Hamas,” Roy said.

Roy stressed that American leaders have made the situation worse by continuing to fund the same people who ultimately spark terrorist attacks. He spoke about his legislation to defund and make accountable the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA.

He said that he will continue to push for defunding the agency as well as the United Nations Human Rights Council, “which is an absurd entity on its face.”

It’s ridiculous that the United States continues to fund explicitly anti-American organizations Roy said.

“If you can walk out of this room with at least one thing from my participation in this panel, [it] is why the hell do we fund the things that are destroying our country and undermining our freedom and own national security?” he said….

It’s not just the funding of international entities that is a problem, the Texas Republican said.

“This is all connected, by the way, to the funding of higher education,” he said.

Roy said there is a huge problem with pro-Hamas radicals on college campuses, saying: “You’re funding it, with your tax dollars and our borrowed dollars, you’re funding it” – to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

What American politicians continue to fund are institutions that teach young people to hate America and hate Western values and principles, the lawmaker said.

Roy pointed to his alma mater, the University of Virginia, calling it an “embarrassment.”

“Students for Justice in Palestine released a statement at UVA in support of Palestinian liberation, calling the brutal attack on Israel, quote, ‘a step toward a free Palestine,’” Roy said. “A professor at UVA offered extra credit for students attending a discussion about how to, quote, ‘stand in solidarity with Palestinians resisting occupation.’”

If it were only the University of Virginia, it would be a bad thing to happen in America. However, there were many universities that were home to protests by radicals who stood with Hamas. The response was so bad that donors have declared that they will no longer donate to universities. Also, employers are saying that they will not hire any of the radicals who were members of thirty groups signing a letter declaring that Israel was the bad man in this situation.

The protests by students and comments by their professors show that there is way too much anti-Americanism in America. If the protests are being led by foreign students in America on student visas, the visas should be cancelled and the students sent home. As far as I am concerned, anyone and everyone who does not love America should be sent home or forced to spend time in the nations that they are supporting.

What Do American Military Leaders Say about Hamas-Israel War?

 With war between Israel and Hamas, many people have varying opinions of what is happening and what should happen. Although the problems in the Middle East have been around for generations, the newest flare-up began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, invaded Israel to slaughter more than 1,400 Israelis and take approximately 200 people back to Gaza as hostages. The casualties included civilians of all ages, from Holocaust survivors to infants. According to the State Department, thirty-two Americans were killed with eleven more not accounted for.

Most people understand that Israel was attacked by brutal terrorists who killed, raped, dismembered, and kidnapped Israelis, Americans, and other people to use as hostages. Most people understand that Israel has the right to protect itself, but some people believe that Israel deserves what they got because they are occupiers in Palestinian lands.

One group of people have more credibility than most people, so we would be wise to pay attention to their words. Lucy Gilbert and Tyler O’Neil published an article in The Daily Signal that contained an open letter from more than 100 retired U.S. military leaders from a variety of branches that was released by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). 

“As calls for a cease-fire, accusations of war crimes, and politicization of proposed aid to Israel build, this letter from more than 100 retired senior U.S. military commanders underscores enduring U.S. support for Israel,” Blaise Misztal, JINSA’s vice president for policy, told The Daily Signal in a statement Sunday.

Misztal added that the letter “also demonstrates that defending Israel’s right to self-defense is not just the right thing to do but also …squarely in the U.S. interest. Standing by and strengthening partners is the best way to make friends and deter our enemies.” …

According to Gilbert and O’Neil, the “letter emphasizes Israel’s need for continued support amid what seems likely to be a protracted war."

“As retired American military leaders who devoted our lives to defending the nation, and many of whom served in the Middle East, we stand beside Israel and recognize its right to defend itself against the Iran [backed terrorist threats,” the retired military leaders write.

The authors explained that “JINSA is a non-partisan 501c(3) focused on national security of the U.S. and its relationship with Israel. The institute also provides research and recommendations to influence U.S. policy decisions.” They said that the leaders signed the letter to “signal to the world – U.S. friends and foes alike – that America remains a force to be counted on.”

The military leaders “emphasized the strength of Israel and their hopes the nation will persevere. 'Israel is strong enough to defend itself, by itself. It will prevail, regardless the cost. With American assistance, that cost can, and should, be reduced,' the letter asserts."

The authors stated that the “letter calls for the resupply of American-produced munitions to Israel and to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure Israel receives what it needs ‘militarily, diplomatically, logistically, and with intelligence.’”

It is my hope that America stands firmly with Israel. History shows that every nation that fights against Israel ends up losing. The Jews are God’s chosen people, and He fights with them.

Who Is Matt Gaetz?

My VIP for this week is Matt Gaetz, firebrand Republican representative from Florida. No matter what you may think about him – and I do not know for sure what I think of him, he is causing earthquakes in the U.S. House of Representatives. He and his conservative associates are determined to change Washington, D.C. or “drain the swamp,” and life is not pleasant for anyone.

The uniparty – deep state bureaucracy or secret combination – is controlling the U.S. government and is denying the American people their choice for the Speaker of the House. Jim Jordan is the second most popular Republican in the United States with only Donald Trump being more popular. Yet, 25 so-called conservatives are rejecting him as Speaker of the House. The whole mess sounds a lot like the nation described in the following words of Marcus Tullius Cicero.

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those whin the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

Patricia McCarthy explained that “a clear majority of Republicans wanted Rep. Jim Jordan to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy for good and obvious reasons.” However, he is opposed by twenty-five members of the House GOP. Why do they oppose him? 

McCarthy said that the twenty-five Republicans do not like Jordan “because he was the founder of the Freedom Caucus and supports President Trump. They hate Rep. Matt Gaetz because he upset their apple cart, that safe, wealth-producing space they so comfortably occupy in D.C.”

However, the American people are now awake and can see that the government has been corrupted. We know that President Joe Biden is compromised. We know that the Department of Justice and the FBI have been weaponized against Americans. We know that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is our last hope to save our republic. We want our representatives to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars, and we want to be secure within our own borders. McCarthy gave the following explanation.

Matt Gaetz did Republicans a favor; his motion to vacate McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair has shown us all who the people in Congress actually represent, who they actually are. Now we know who those twenty-five “no” voters are: their allegiance is not to the American people. It’s to their defense industry donors and lobbyists. They’ve let us now how angry they are that the people have expressed their preference for Jordan. One member called our phone calls and emails “abuse.” They do not think they should have to listen to us peons.

They answer to another constituency, the guys who make them rich. Now we know how many Democrats posing as Republicans there are in the House. If they had even for a moment given a thought to the large majority of us who wanted Jordan to be Speaker, they would have voted for him. But they didn’t. It is those twenty-five backstabbers who have created the chaos that is perhaps serving us well: no gavel, no more catastrophically irresponsible spending.

This is the faction who will vote for more and more and more spending for foreign wars and the incursion of millions of illegal aliens from all over the world, most of them men of military age. Hamas is here. Hezbollah is here. The Mexican cartels are here.

 Thousands of men from communist China are here. Venezuela and Cuba have emptied their prisons and sent their criminals here. Our taxpayer dollars are paying for migrant camps throughout Central and South America. These people are being purposefully imported into the U.S. Thousands of children are being trafficked by this administration and the Biden administration is just fine with the volumes of fentanyl that is killing over a hundred thousand Americans each year.

Gaetz listens to the American people. He knows that we are fed up with the status quo and want changes. Gaetz knows that Jordan is a strong conservative who wants what is best for America. He knows that the American people know that we can trust Jordan. He knows that Jordan wants the government to work as it should.

There are many conservatives who want to change the ways that Washington works – you help me and I will help you, and we will both get rich. There are too many Republicans who join the Democrats to keep things as they are.

I am willing and ready to put up with chaos in the government if it means that business as usual is stopped with America standing on firmer ground.

 

Who Is Matt Gaetz?

My VIP for this week is Matt Gaetz, firebrand Republican representative from Florida. No matter what you may think about him – and I do not know for sure what I think of him, he is causing earthquakes in the U.S. House of Representatives. He and his conservative associates are determined to change Washington, D.C. or “drain the swamp,” and life is not pleasant for anyone.

The uniparty – deep state bureaucracy or secret combination – is controlling the U.S. government and is denying the American people their choice for the Speaker of the House. Jim Jordan is the second most popular Republican in the United States with only Donald Trump being more popular. Yet, 25 so-called conservatives are rejecting him as Speaker of the House. The whole mess sounds a lot like the nation described in the following words of Marcus Tullius Cicero.

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

Patricia McCarthy explained that “a clear majority of Republicans wanted Rep. Jim Jordan to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy for good and obvious reasons.” However, he is opposed by twenty-five members of the House GOP. Why do they oppose him? 

McCarthy said that the twenty-five Republicans do not like Jordan “because he was the founder of the Freedom Caucus and supports President Trump. They hate Rep. Matt Gaetz because he upset their apple cart, that safe, wealth-producing space they so comfortably occupy in D.C.”

However, the American people are now awake and can see that the government has been corrupted. We know that President Joe Biden is compromised. We know that the Department of Justice and the FBI have been weaponized against Americans. We know that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is our last hope to save our republic. We want our representatives to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars, and we want to be secure within our own borders. McCarthy gave the following explanation.

Matt Gaetz did Republicans a favor; his motion to vacate McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair has shown us all who the people in Congress actually represent, who they actually are. Now we know who those twenty-five “no” voters are: their allegiance is not to the American people. It’s to their defense industry donors and lobbyists. They’ve let us know how angry they are that the people have expressed their preference for Jordan. One member called our phone calls and emails “abuse.” They do not think they should have to listen to us peons.

They answer to another constituency, the guys who make them rich. Now we know how many Democrats posing as Republicans there are in the House. If they had even for a moment given a thought to the large majority of us who wanted Jordan to be Speaker, they would have voted for him. But they didn’t. It is those twenty-five backstabbers who have created the chaos that is perhaps serving us well: no gavel, no more catastrophically irresponsible spending.

This is the faction who will vote for more and more and more spending for foreign wars and the incursion of millions of illegal aliens from all over the world, most of them men of military age. Hamas is here. Hezbollah is here. The Mexican cartels are here.

 Thousands of men from communist China are here. Venezuela and Cuba have emptied their prisons and sent their criminals here. Our taxpayer dollars are paying for migrant camps throughout Central and South America. These people are being purposefully imported into the U.S. Thousands of children are being trafficked by this administration and the Biden administration is just fine with the volumes of fentanyl that is killing over a hundred thousand Americans each year.

Gaetz listens to the American people. He knows that we are fed up with the status quo and want changes. Gaetz knows that Jordan is a strong conservative who wants what is best for America. He knows that the American people know that we can trust Jordan. He knows that Jordan wants the government to work as it should.

There are many conservatives who want to change the ways that Washington works – you help me and I will help you, and we will both get rich. There are too many Republicans who join the Democrats to keep things as they are.

I am willing and ready to put up with chaos in the government if it means that business as usual is stopped with America standing on firmer ground.

What Does Free Speech Mean?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns freedom of speech, particularly censorship by big tech platforms. Paul Sacca at The Blaze reported that the Supreme Court agreed to accept “a landmark free speech case that could have major ramifications for censorship by big tech platforms.” The Supreme Court is hearing a decision made by a lower court that favored the Biden administration. 

“At this time in the history of our country, what the Court has done, I fear, will be seen by some as giving the Government a green light to use heavy-handed tactics to skew the presentation of views on the medium that increasingly dominates the dissemination of news,” Alito wrote in a 5-page opinion. “That is most unfortunate.”

The case, known as Murthy v. Missouri, according to CBS News, “stems from a suit brought by five social media users and the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana. They alleged a host of federal agencies and officials coerced social media companies to suppress speech on their platforms in violation of the First Amendment.” The following came from the Supreme Court on Friday:

This application concerns an unprecedented injunction installing the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana as the superintendent of the Executive Branch’s communications with and about social-media platforms – including senior White House officials’ speech addressing some of the most salient public issues of the day. The lower courts held that federal officials had transformed the private platforms’ content-moderation decisions into state action and violated the First Amendment by urging platforms to remove COVID-19 misinformation, highlighting the risk of disinformation from foreign actors, and responding to the platforms’ inquiries about matters of public health. The courts then entered a sweeping preliminary injunction governing thousands of federal officials’ and employees’ speech concerning any content posted on any social media platform by anyone. That injunction flouts bedrock principles of Article III, the First Amendment, and equity….

The case notes that “two lower courts found to be a ‘coordinated campaign’ by high-level federal officials to suppress the expression of disfavored views on important public issues.”

The case claims that “popular social media companies had either blocked their use of the companies’ platforms or had downgraded their posts on a host of controversial subjects, including ‘the COVID-19 lab leak theory, pandemic lockdowns, vaccine side effects, election fraud, and the Hunter Biden laptop story.’”

The case accuses federal government officials of being the ones who were “pulling the strings,” meaning that these officials “coerced, threatened, and pressured [the] social media platforms to censor [them].”

The Court of Appeals found “the district court was correct in its assessment – ‘unrelenting pressure’ from certain government officials likely ‘had the intended result of suppressing millions of protected free speech postings by American citizens.’”

 

How Do We Prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to First and Second Thessalonians in a lesson titled “Perfect That Which Is Lacking in Your Faith.” The lesson was preceded by the following counsel: “If we do not record the impressions we receive from the Spirit, we might forget them. What does the Spirit prompt you to record as you read1and 2 Thessalonians?” The lesson was then introduced by the following information: 

In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas were accused of having “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Their preaching angered certain leaders among the Jews, and these leaders stirred the people into an uproar (see Acts 17:1-10). As a result, Paul and Silas were advised to leave Thessalonica. Pau worried about the new Thessalonian converts and the persecution they were facing, but he was unable to return to visit them. “When I could no longer forbear,” he wrote, “I sent to know your faith.” In response, Paul’s assistant Timothy, who had been serving in Thessalonia, “brought us good tidings of your faith and charity (1 Thessalonians 3:5-6). In fact, the Thessalonian Saints were known as examples “to all that believe” (1 Thessalonians 1:7), and news of their faith spread to cities abroad. Imagine Paul’s joy and relief to hear that his work among them “was not in vain” (1 Thessalonians 2:1). But Paul knew that faithfulness in the past is not sufficient for spiritual survival in the future, and he was wary of the influence of false teachers among the Saints (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3). His message to them, and to us, is to continue to “perfect that which is lacking in [our] faith” and to “increase more and more” in love (see 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 4:10).

Out of numerous good principles, I chose to discuss this one: “If I am faithful and watchful, I will be preprepared for the Savior’s Second Coming” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 5:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10). In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10, Paul used some metaphors to teach about the time when Jesus will return to the earth. He used metaphors such as “A thief in the night” and “Travail upon a woman with child” to describe how the Savior will return.

Since we are 2,000 years closer to the coming of Christ than were the Thessalonians, it is good for us to study these verses. Pregnant know generally when their baby will come, but few, if any, know exactly the day and time. Most homeowners have no idea that a thief is casing their home to rob it. Jesus Christ said that no one knows when He will return except Heavenly Father. However, He has given many signs for events that will happen.

Since none of us known when the Second Coming will take place, we would be wise to be prepared at all times to welcome the Savior. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke about the Second Coming in the May 2019 General Conference in a talk titled “Preparing for the Lord’s Return” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 81-84). Preparing for the Lord’s Return (churchofjesuschrist.org)

            What can we do to prepare now for that day? We can prepare ourselves as a people; we can                     gather the Lord’s covenant people; and we can help redeem the promise of salvation “made to                 the fathers,” our ancestors. All of this must occur in some substantial measure before the Lord                 comes again.

 

First, and crucial for the Lord’s return, is the presence on the earth of a people prepared to receive Him at His coming….

In ancient times, God took the righteous city of Zion to Himself. By contrast, in the last days a new Zion will receive the Lord at His return. Zion is the pure in heart, a people of one heart and one mind, dwelling in righteousness with no poor among them….

 

We must acknowledge that the building up of Zion occurs in tumultuous times…. Thus, the gathering into stakes becomes “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

 

Just as in former times, we “meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of [our] souls. And … to partake of bread and [water], in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” As President Russell M. Nelson explained in general conference last October, “The long-standing objective of the Church is to assist all members to increase their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Atonement, to assist them in making and keeping their covenants with God, and to strengthen and seal their families.” Accordingly, he emphasizes the significance of temple covenants, hallowing the Sabbath, and a daily feasting upon the gospel, centered at home and supported by an integrated study curriculum at church. We want to know about the Lord, and we want to know the Lord.

 

An underlying effort in building Zion is the gathering of the Lord’s long-dispersed covenant people. “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes.” All who will repent, believe on Christ, and be baptized are His covenant people….

 

President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized that the “gathering [of Israel] is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, … you can be a big part of it.” The Latter-day Saints have always been a missionary people. Hundreds of thousands have responded to mission calls since the beginning of the Restoration; tens of thousands currently serve….

 

Also vital to the preparation for the Second Coming is the great redemptive effort on behalf of our ancestors. The Lord promised to send Elijah the prophet before the Second Coming, “the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” to “reveal … the Priesthood” and “plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers.” Elijah did come as promised. The date was April 3, 1836; the place was the Kirtland Temple. In that place and in that moment, he did indeed confer the promised priesthood, the keys for the redemption of the dead and the union of husbands, wives, and families across all generations of time and throughout all eternity. Without this, the purpose of creation would be frustrated, and in that sense, the earth would be cursed or “utterly wasted.”³⁴

 

While we strive to be diligent in building up Zion, including our part in the gathering of the Lord’s elect and the redemption of the dead, we should pause to remember that it is the Lord’s work, and He is doing it. He is the Lord of the vineyard, and we are His servants. He bids us labor in the vineyard with our might this “last time,” and He labors with us. It would probably be more accurate to say He permits us to labor with Him….

This great and last dispensation is building steadily to its climax—Zion on earth being joined with Zion from above at the Savior’s glorious return. The Church of Jesus Christ is commissioned to prepare—and is preparing—the world for that day….