tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31233265382091226552024-03-19T00:47:21.802-08:00Cause of LibertyThoughts on how an ordinary citizen can make a difference by strengthening faith in God, family, and country.Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.comBlogger5285125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-82554797863627424452024-03-18T22:31:00.005-08:002024-03-18T22:31:50.189-08:002024-3-18 Will Title IX Protect Female Athletes Again?<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
VIPs for this week are the fifteen female collegiate swimmers and
track/volleyball athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. They seek to
force NCAA to stop allowing biological males from participating on women’s
teams. The suit contends that the NCAA breached a federal law – Title IX – when
they allowed biological males to compete against them in NCAA events. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="NCAA suit: Will the female athletes win? | Opinion – Deseret News">Valerie
Hudson at </a></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="NCAA suit: Will the female athletes win? | Opinion – Deseret News">The Deseret News</a> </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">wrote the following about Title IX and the
new lawsuit. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Civil Rights Act of 1964 almost did
not outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex. It was added to the other
prohibited types of discrimination (race, color, religion and national origin)
almost as an afterthought, and some even believe it was added in an attempt to
kill the bill. Just as the 19<sup>th</sup> Amendment was the great achievement
of the first wave of feminism, so this act, in addition to other legislation
passed around the same time such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, was the great
achievement of the second wave of feminism. During the 1960s, sex
discrimination became official illegal in the United States.<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Title IX was an update to the Civil Rights
Act, though formally passed as part of the 1972 amendments to the Higher Education
Act’s reauthorization. The Civil Rights Act had not explicitly mentioned
prohibiting sex discrimination in education, and Title IX was meant to close
that loophole. While Title IX does not even mention sports per se, its very
name is synonymous with opening the doors to school sports participation for
women, especially at the high school and collegiate level, because it mandated
equal opportunities for men and women in all educational programs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Title
IX became the law after I graduated from high school. Therefore, I was not
blessed with the opportunity to represent my school in any sport. However, my
daughters and daughters-in-law had the opportunity to play on high school teams,
and one daughter played on a college team. Now my granddaughters are being
blessed by the opportunity to run on cross-country teams and to play on soccer
and basketball teams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
applaud the fifteen young women who are fighting for the right for all young
women to participate in sports for their high schools and universities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b> </p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-86971402202494414132024-03-17T22:00:00.001-08:002024-03-17T22:34:01.841-08:00Are You Willing to Fight for Religious Freedom?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns religious freedom. In
his article in <i>The Daily Signal</i>, <a href="COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Still Threaten Religious Freedom (dailysignal.com)">Tyler O’Neil</a> stated that it was “the first in
a three-part series on the movement for religious freedom in the U.S. legal
system today,” and there will be two more installments. The issue in the first
installment combines religious freedom with COVID-19. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific
Justice Institute, represents Americans in religious freedom cases who have
been turned away from hospitals because they refuse to take a vaccine for
COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s disgraceful to put anyone on medical
death row simply because they’re not willing to take a very controversial
experimental vaccine, which is now proven to be very counterproductive,” Dacus
tells “The Daily Signal” podcast in an interview conducted in February at the
National Religious Broadcasters Convention here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some of the Pacific Justice Institute’s
clients need organ transplants, he says, but “a minority of hospitals” are
denying them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Most say no problem, you don’t have to be
vaxxed, but these few out there are saying yes, you have to, and it just so
happens we discovered they have contracts with Big Pharma,” Dacus says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The lawyer argues that “more than 99% of
those in the hospital with COVID-19, with serious conditions, are people who were
vaxxed. The non-vaxxed are not in the hospitals, and yet [a minority of
hospitals] continue to push it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re defending people based on their
sincerely held religious beliefs and convictions, and – needless to say – we’re
making great progress and saving thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of
jobs for brothers and sisters in Christ across the nation,” Dacus says. “There
has been a more than a 13,000% increase in the number of 12- to 19-year-olds
who have myocarditis, a very serious heart inflammation disease.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">O’Neil
continued his article by citing a 2022 finding in the British Medical Journal
of “net harm” being done to young adults by booster shots. According to Dacus,
Christians do not have to have particular doctrine or be part of certain
churches. They just “have to have a sincerely held religious belief or
conviction” against vaccine mandates to apply for an exemption to shots. One
valid conviction is to be against vaccines that made with aborted embryos. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Davos
also defended “the religious freedom of Christians who refuse to support gender
ideology.” Davos also described the Southern Poverty Law Center as “far-left
smear factory” because they named his law firm an “anti-LGBTQ hate group” and
classed it with the Ku Klux Klan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-5443612299432058222024-03-16T22:00:00.001-08:002024-03-16T22:00:00.132-08:00Will You Come Unto Christ?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 2 Nephi 26-30 in a lesson
titled “<a href="March 11–17: “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder.” 2 Nephi 26–30 (churchofjesuschrist.org)">A Marvelous Work and a Wonder</a>.” The lesson was introduced by the
following information. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I prophesy unto you concerning the last
days,” Nephi wrote (2 Nephi 26:14). In other words, he was writing about our
day. And there’s reason to be concerned about what he saw: people denying the
power and miracles of God; widespread jealousy and conflict. But in addition to
these latter-day “works of darkness” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(2 Nephi 26:10, 22) led by the adversary,
Nephi also spoke of “a marvelous work and a wonder” led by God Himself (2 Nephi
27:26). Central to that work would be a book – a book that exposes Satan’s lies
and gathers the righteous. That book is the Book of Mormon, the marvelous
work is the work of the Lord’s Church in the latter days, and the wonder is –
at least in part – that God invites all of us, despite our weaknesses, to
participate in the gathering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
gospel principle for discussion in this post is “Jesus Christ invites us all to
come unto Him </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(2
Nephi 26:23-33). We will first look at the applicable scripture block.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">23 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For behold, my
beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">24 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He doeth not
anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the
world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may <b>draw all men
unto him</b>. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his
salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">25 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Behold, doth he cry
unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: <b>Come unto
me all ye ends of the earth</b>, buy milk and honey,
without money and without price.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">26 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Behold, hath he
commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out
of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">27 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hath he commanded
any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you,
Nay; but he hath given it <b>free for all men</b>; and he hath
commanded his people that they should <b>persuade all men to repentance</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">28 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Behold, hath the
Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say
unto you, Nay; but <b>all men are privileged the one like unto
the other, and none are forbidden.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">29 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He commandeth that
there shall be no priestcraft; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men
preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they
may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of
Zion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">30 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Behold, the Lord
hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment
that <b>all men should have charity, which charity is love</b>.
And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they
should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">31 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But the laborer in Zion shall
labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346803" id="p32" style="--height: 201.5px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">32 </span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And again, the Lord God hath commanded that
men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal;
that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that
they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they
should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms;
and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall
perish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346803" id="p32" style="--height: 201.5px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346804" id="p33" style="--height: 201.5px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">33 </span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For none of these iniquities come of the
Lord; for <b>he doeth that which is good</b> among the children of men; and he
doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and <b>he inviteth them all to come unto
him and partake of his goodness</b>; and he denieth none that come unto
him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he
remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
[Emphasis added.]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All
are invited to come unto Jesus Christ, and The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints sends out tens of thousands of missionaries every single year
to find those who desire to know more about Jesus Christ. <a href="The Doctrine of Belonging (churchofjesuschrist.org)">Elder D. Todd Christofferson</a>
taught the following about belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The final and most important element of
the doctrine of belonging is the central role of Jesus Christ. We don’t join
the Church for fellowship alone, important as that is. We join for redemption
through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We join to secure the ordinances of
salvation and exaltation for ourselves and those we love on both sides of the
veil. We join to participate in a great project to establish Zion in
preparation for the Lord’s return.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-48646752302104205312024-03-15T22:36:00.002-08:002024-03-15T22:36:35.949-08:00Why Is Honesty the Best Policy?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Families,
communities, states, and nations are stronger when all family members understand
that honesty is the best policy. Children should be taught that honesty is the
best policy because the truth will come out in time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Prince
William and Princess Catherine are in trouble in Great Britain because they doctored
some family photographs. Even U.S. Presidents are called out for lying. Now we
learn that the J6 Democrat-led committee withheld key evidence to push their
political agenda. They most likely did not think that the video evidence from
the incident on January 6, 2021, would ever be made public. Now the public can
see what really happened in the Capitol that day, and new evidence is coming
out. <a href="House GOP alleges January 6 committee withheld transcripts that undercut some of their most explosive claims | CNN Politics">Marshall Cohen, Melanie Zanona, and Holmes Lybrand at CNN</a> reported the
following. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The January 6 committee withheld witness
transcripts from the public that undercut some of their most explosive claims
about the insurrection, House Republicans alleged in a report released Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some of the withheld transcripts include
testimony from the driver of Trump’s SUV on January 6 and Trump White House
officials, who poured cold water on the claim that, while driving home after
his rally that day, he physically lunged toward the front of the car to try to
force his security detail to take him to the Capitol.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The testimony of these four White House
employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the
Select Committee in the Final Report,” the new GOP report said, referring to
the Trump White House aide-turned-whistleblower. “None of the White House
employees corroborated Hutchinson’s sensational story about President Trump
lunging for the steering wheel of the Beast.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like
County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia, Cassidy Hutchinson is learning
that the truth cannot be permanently hidden. Jesus Christ taught that truth is required
for freedom. “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Truth
continues to come out of the dark shadows of the Deep State, consisting of one or more secret combinations attempting to destroy the
U.S. Constitution and turn America into a socialist nation. If the whole truth
comes out, we may yet save America.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Meanwhile,
parents should be teaching their children that truth will prevail. Dishonesty of
any kind cannot remain hidden. To be truly happy, we should be honest with
ourselves and each other. True honesty will strengthen families, communities,
states, and nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-8955997966741929392024-03-14T22:00:00.001-08:002024-03-14T22:00:00.130-08:00Will This Lawsuit Bring Back Title IX Protections?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns biological males playing on
female sports teams. Female athletes are fighting back to an evil plan to put biological
males and their sports teams.<a href="Female Athletes Sue, Say NCAA Violated Title IX for Transgenders (dailysignal.com)"> Brandon Poulter</a> reported on the battle in <i>The Daily Signal</i>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A group of female athletes sued the
National Collegiate Athletic Association on Thursday over the organization
allowing “transgender” athletes to compete against them and use locker rooms
for women.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The lawsuit, filed by the Independent
Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) on behalf of more than a dozen female
athletes, alleges that the NCAA violated Title IX, a federal statute that
guarantees equal opportunity for men and women in college sports. It seeks to
prohibit biological males from competing against female athletes and demands
the NCAA revoke awards given to “transgender” athletes who competed against
women in tournaments governed by the organization.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re not just fighting for ourselves; we’re
fighting for every young girl who dreams of competing in sports,” Riley Gaines,
a conservative female activist and former NCA athlete, said in an ICONS news
release announcing the lawsuit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I’m thankful for ICONS’ commitment to our
cause, especially their financial commitment, allowing us to take this to
court. I urge anyone who cares about protecting women’s sports to help get
behind us,” Gaines said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The lawsuit highlights an event hosted by
the NCAA and Georgia Tech University with Lia Thomas, the “transgender” person
who competed in the 2022 NCAA swimming championships. It also states that the
decision to let Thomas compete against women is based on an “illegal premise”
that “testosterone suppression and personal choice alone can make a male
eligible to compete on a women’s sports team.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The lawsuit also says the NCAA’s rules
allow “men to compete on women’s teams with a testosterone level that is five
times higher than the highest recorded testosterone level for elite female
athletes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is a rumor going around that the NCAA stripped Lia Thomas of her titles and
gave them to Riley Gaines. <a href="The NCAA is not taking medals away from transgender athlete Lia Thomas | AP News">This site claims</a> that the rumor was started by a “satire”
article. However, Poulter’s article stated, “The international governing
organizations for cricket, track and field, and swimming barred biological
males from competing in women’s events in 2023.” Therefore, there is hope that
sports officials in the United States could realize that their “woke” decisions
are not fair. Maybe the lawsuit by the female athletes will start the waking
up. </span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-35638337476166969012024-03-13T22:14:00.002-08:002024-03-13T22:14:17.227-08:00What Is Happening in Trump’s Case in Georgia?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge
Scott McAfee is currently overseeing the racketeering case against former
President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia. Today, the judge
dismissed six counts of indictment. According to <a href="Judge Dismisses 6 Charges in Georgia Trump Indictment (dailysignal.com)">Katelynn Richardson at <i>The Daily Signal</i></a>, the judge gave the following reasons for the dismissal. The six
counts did not “give the Defendants enough information to prepare their
defenses intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitution
and thus the statute in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Court’s concern is less that the
State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it
has alleged an abundance,” he wrote. “However, the lack of detail concerning an
essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal. As written,
these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to
allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the
underlying felony solicited.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Under the standards articulated by our
appellate courts, the special demurrer must be granted, and Counts 2, 5, 6, 23,
28, and 38 squashed,” he wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">McAfee noted in a footnote that his order
does not “mean the entire indictment is dismissed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The State may also seek an indictment
supplementing these six counts,” he wrote. He also denied defendants’ efforts
to dismiss certain overt acts contained in the indictment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Court made the correct legal decision
to grant the special demurrers and squash important counts of the indictment
brought by DA Fani Willis,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense counsel, said in
a statement provided to the <i>Daily Caller News Foundation.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge
McAfee is expected to soon decide the fate of Fulton County District Attorney
Fani Willis. Will she be disqualified from the case over an alleged conflict of
interest?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Trump co-defendant Michael Roman accused
Willis in a Jan. 8 motion of financially benefiting from appointing her lover
Nathan Wade to work as special prosecutor on the case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Willis and Wade have denied the
relationship began before he was hired, though a close friend of Willis
testified it began in 2019 and Wade’s former law partner supplied details about
their relationship starting earlier to the attorney who filed the motion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-91120286962357939722024-03-12T23:39:00.002-08:002024-03-12T23:39:15.189-08:00What Did Hur Tell the House Judiciary Committee?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
written report of Special Counsel Robert Hur about his investigation of
President Joe Biden was released recently. Today, Hur testified for six hours about
his report of Biden’s mishandling of classified documents from his eight years
as vice president and 36 years in the Senate.” After his vice presidency ended
in early 2009. However, Hur declined to bring charges because he doubted a jury
would convict Biden because of his “diminished faculties in advancing age,”
including a failing memory.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
usual, Democrats and Republicans differed in their reaction to the testimony.
Democrats were angry that Biden’s memory issues are in the report. Republicans
were annoyed that the report does not recommend criminally charging Biden for
mishandling classified information. This fact did not sit well with Republicans
because of the way that former President Donald Trump was charged with keeping
classified documents after he left the White House. <a href="8 Takeaways From Robert Hur’s Testimony on Biden Docs, Memory (dailysignal.com)">Fred Lucas at <i>The Daily
Signal </i></a>has “eight big takeaways from the hearing.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. President ‘Put Memory Squarely at Issue.’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur said he didn’t “sanitize” his report
on Biden nor did he “disparage” the president, as he fended off repeated
assertions from committee Democrats that he was partisan, a registered
Republican, and Trump’s appointee as U.S. attorney for Maryland.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The evidence – and the president himself –
put his memory squarely at issue. We interviewed the president and asked him
about his recorded statement [to his ghostwriter], ‘I just found all the
classified stuff downstairs,’” Hur testified. “He told us he didn’t remember
that. He also said he didn’t remember finding classified material in his home
after his vice presidency. And he didn’t remember how any classified materials about
Afghanistan made their way into his garage.” …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. ‘8 Million Reasons’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan,
R-Ohio, talked about Biden’s five decades in federal elective office and how he
should know the rules and law on classified information.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Why did Joe Biden, in your words, ‘willfully
retain and disclose classified materials?’” Jordan asked the special counsel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur replied: “The conclusion as to exactly
why the president did what he did is not one we explicitly addressed in the
report.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jordan disagreed, saying, “I think you
told us, Mr. Hur,” then read from Hur’s report.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“President Biden had strong motivations to
ignore the proper procedures for safeguarding the classified information in his
new book,” Jordan read out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Why did he have strong motivations?
Because he decided months before leaving office to write a book,” the Ohio
Republican said. “Joe Biden had 8 million reasons to break the rules. Took
classified information and shared it with the guy who was writing the book. He
knew the rules but he broke them for $8 million in a book advance.” …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Report ‘Did Not Exonerate’ Biden<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked Hur
about Biden: “In this case, did you reach a conclusion that this man was
outright innocent?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That conclusion is not reflected in my
report,” Hur replied.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a follow-up question, Issa asked: “You
did not reach an idea that he committed no wrong. You reached a conclusion that
you would not prevail at a trial, and therefore did not take it forward. Is
that correct?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur responded: “Correct, Congressman.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur made a similar point later when Rep.
Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said that “this lengthy, expensive, and independent
investigation resulted in a complete exoneration of Joe Biden.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jayapal went on to talk about other
issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur said, “I would take note of a word
that you used, ‘exoneration.’ That’s not part of my task as a prosecutor.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During crosstalk, Jayapal said, “You
exonerated him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur replied: “I did not exonerate him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Several other Democrats insisted that Hur’s
report exonerated the president.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During another exchange, Rep. Kevin Kiley,
R-Calif., asked, “So a reasonable juror could have voted to convict based on
the facts that you presented?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur responded, “Correct.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. Gaetz: Biden’s ‘Elevator Doesn’t Go to
Top Floor.’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Several Republicans on the committee asked
whether, had Biden been younger, the special counsel would have reached a
different conclusion about criminal charges. Hur declined to speculate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., more bluntly,
said Biden got off on a senility defense. “You find in your report that the
elements of a federal criminal violation are met, but then you apply this ‘senile
cooperator’ theory that because Joe Biden cooperated and the elevator doesn’t
go to the top floor, you don’t think you can get a conviction,” Gaetz told Hur.
“I actually think you got to the right answer. I don’t think Biden should have
been charged. I don’t think Trump should have been charged.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur disagreed on one point.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“One of the elements of the mishandling
statute is the intent element,” the special counsel said. “What my report
reflects is that, based on the evidence, I would not be able to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt to a jury that intent element.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">5. White House Pressure to Change Report<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Under questioning, Hur said the White
House sought to change and edit his final report on the president before it
went public.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Did the White House get the report before
the report was made public?” Jordan asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur cautiously responded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We did provide a draft of the report to
the White House counsel’s office and members of the president’s personal
counsel team for their review,” Hur said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jordan followed by asking: “Once they got
the report, before it went public, did the White House try to weigh in with
your investigation on elements of that report and, frankly, get that report
changed?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur responded: “They did request certain
edits and changes to the draft report.” …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">6. ‘Any Reason to Believe That President
Biden Lied to You?”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., ranking member
of the Judiciary Committee, noted that Trump has been charged with trying to
obstruct the FBI’s investigation into classified documents stored at his
Florida estate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“At any point in your investigation, do you
have any reason to believe that President Biden lied to you?” Nadler asked,
then seemed to be surprised by the answer he got from Hur….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I do address in my report one response
the president gave to a question we posed to him that we deemed to be not
credible,” Hur said….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Later in the hearing, Gaetz, the Florida
Republican, asked more about the matter, reading aloud from the transcript in
which a federal prosecutor questions Biden.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Mr. President, why did you share
classified information with your ghostwriter?” the lawyer on the special
counsel’s team asks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The president answers: “I did not share
classified information…. I guarantee I did not.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That’s not true, is it, Mr. Hur?” Gaetz
asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That is inconsistent with the evidence of
the findings in my report,” Hur responded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gaetz followed by asking: “It’s a lie is
what regular people would say, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur smiled, but didn’t answer directly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gaetz read again from the transcript,
quoting Biden as saying: “All the stuff that was in my home was in filing
cabinets that were locked or able to be locked.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That wasn’t true either, was it?” Gaetz
said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur replied: “That was inconsistent with
the findings of our investigation.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Another lie, people might say,” Gaetz
said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">7. Schiff vs. Hur<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was
removed from the House Intelligence Committee for making unfounded statements
about Russia, attacked Hur for including information in his report about Biden’s
memory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Schiff accused Hur of being partisan and
said he would be “naïve” to think Republicans wouldn’t use the report against
Biden in the 2024 presidential campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What you did write was deeply prejudicial
to the interests of the president,” Schiff said.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You must have understood the
impact of your words.” …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hur said he wasn’t going to make political
considerations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What you are suggesting is that I shape,
sanitize, omit portions of my reasoning and explanation to the attorney general
for political reasons,” Hur said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">8. Raskin vs. Spartz<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During the hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin,
D-Md., said this matter and House investigations of Biden are only about
getting Trump reelected, which Raskin suggested would end democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“This is a memory test, but it’s not a
memory test for President Biden. It’s a memory test for all of America,” Raskin
… said….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Later in the hearing, Rep. Victoria
Spartz, R-Ind., who grew up in Ukraine when it was under Soviet control, took
exception to Raskin’s trivializing comments on communism.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Mr. Raskin mentioned about us not
remembering communism – I actually grew up under communism, and I have a very
good recollection of what it is,” Spartz said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Unfortunately, it appears on the march
and on the rise, as you said,” she noted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Unfortunately, they’ve been involved with
President [Barack] Obama and now President Biden too. Unfortunately, our
government’s Department of Justice really now resembles a tyrannical
government. It is aid for me to see that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-26987079541830261212024-03-11T22:13:00.006-08:002024-03-11T22:13:57.820-08:00Who Is Peter Navarro?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
VIP for this week is Peter Navarro who was a White House trade policy official
during the Trump administration. According to <a href="Former Trump White House Official Told to Report to Prison (dailysignal.com)">Katelynn Richardson at </a></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Former Trump White House Official Told to Report to Prison (dailysignal.com)">The
Daily Signal</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, Navarro has been ordered to report to a prison in Miami by
March 19 to start his four-month sentence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">U.S.
District Judge Amit Mehta denied in February Navarro’s request to stay his
prison sentence while he appeals his conviction on charges of contempt of
Congress because he defied a subpoena from the January 6 committee in the
House. On Sunday, Navarro reiterated his request for an appeals court to pause
his sentence. His attorneys noted in his appeal: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dr. Navarro has now been ordered to report
to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2 p.m. EDT on
March 29, 2024. Accordingly, Dr. Navarro respectfully reiterates his request
for an administrative stay so as to permit the court to resolve the instant
motion. Should this court deny Dr. Navarro’s motion, he respectfully requests
an administrative stay so as to permit the Supreme Court review of this court’s
denial.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Navarro
is one of several advisers to Trump that chose a prison sentence to submitting
to what he considered an illegal subpoena from an illegal House committee. The
FBI could have walked across the street in Washington, D.C., to arrest him in
his office. However, they chose to arrest him in the busy Reagan National
Airport in Arlington, Virginia, while he was on his way to a speaking engagement
in Nashville. He claimed that the FBI put him in handcuffs and leg irons just to
show their power and to embarrass him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-58923082891030864912024-03-10T22:39:00.001-08:002024-03-10T22:39:11.693-08:00Are You For or Against Giving Non-Citizens the Right to Vote in America?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
topic of discussion for this Constitutional Monday is the constitutional right of
American citizens to vote in elections. Most Americans understand why only
citizens should have the right to vote in elections, but some Democrat-led
cities are passing laws to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Washington,
D.C. was the first city to allow non-citizens to vote in elections. They were
joined by New York City when the legislature there passed their own such bill. <a href="Voting Rights for Noncitizens Is—and Should Be—a Nonstarter (dailysignal.com)">Armstrong Williams</a> published an article in <i>The Daily Signal</i> containing the
following statement: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The New York City Legislature, following
in the footsteps of Washington, D.C., passed a groundbreaking bill into law in
2022. The law would have allowed any lawful permanent resident or green card
holder to vote in a New York City election. That law was met with legal
challenges as quickly as it was passed, which was to be expected, given that it
flagrantly infringed upon the state’s constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Constitution of New York states
unequivocally, “every citizen shall be entitled to vote ….” This provision’s
meaning is so obvious that it has been painful to see the far-left liberal New
York City Council pass a law that violates it. It is evident that the New York
City Legislature misplaced its reading glasses, as it would not have enacted a
law that contradicts the New York Constitution in such a bizarre way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The majority opinion, authored by
appellate Judge Paul Wooten, stated, “The plain language of this provision
provides that the right to vote in ‘every election for all officers elected by
the people’ is available exclusively to citizens.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unsurprisingly, pro-immigrant
organizations denounced the decision, calling it “shameful” and saying it “disenfranchise[s]
residents.” Disenfranchises? Really? This remark is as illogical as it is
absurd. The only people disenfranchised by this law are United States citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Voter disenfranchisement entails impeding
an individual’s ability to exercise his or her right to vote or diminishing the
value of his or her vote. The reason the Electoral College is reviled by the
Left is because, according to its worldview, it confers greater value on
specific votes than others, especially in smaller states.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The right to vote is sacred. However, the
Left has forgotten that it must be earned, not given. Not earned in the
conventional sense of passing a test to acquire, like the racist literacy tests
of the past; rather, acquired through enduring the complexities and challenges
associated with being a citizen. Becoming a citizen is not a simple task.
Individuals must either be so lucky as to be born in the United States or
endure a laborious and sometimes years long application process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Williams’
article continued by explaining that individuals should prepare and deserve the
right to vote. In the first case, a person born in the United States goes “through
the government-mandated educational system and complied with the laws of this
country for his or her entire lives.” While doing so, “they fulfilled their
responsibilities” by living in obedience to the nation’s laws, even if those
laws brought hardship to them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the second case, those people “who obtain citizenship have demonstrated their
readiness to undertake substantial obligations and sacrifices to integrate into
a foreign nation.” In doing so, they not only “become proficient in a foreign
language,” but they “have sworn allegiance to a new nation after navigating a
complex legal system.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nothing of the sort applies to
noncitizens. There are undoubtedly many noncitizens loyal to this country, but
they, like everyone else, must undergo the same process to demonstrate that
they have earned the right to vote. It is inequitable to accord equal weight to
the votes of transient individuals who enter the country for 3economic
purposes, return their funds to their country of origin, or who are mere public
charges, in comparison to those who have sworn allegiance to the United States
and who have gone through the process to become a citizen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
often hear some variation of “America is a land of immigrants.” This statement
is true when speaking of legal immigration. If a migrant comes to the United States
illegally, they are not an immigrant. They are an invader of America who has taken
advantage of lax Democrat policies and loopholes in America’s laws. They
should not receive the same rights as legal citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-90489535437646583742024-03-09T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-09T22:00:00.242-09:00How Do You Speak of Jesus Christ?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 2 Nephi 20-25 in a lesson
titled “<a href="March 4–10: “We Rejoice in Christ.” 2 Nephi 20–25 (churchofjesuschrist.org)">We Rejoice in Christ</a>.” The lesson was introduced with the following
information. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The writings of Isaiah include strong
warnings, but they also offer hope and joy. This is one reason Nephi included
them in his record: “I write some of the words of Isaiah,” he said, “that whoso
… shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice” (2 Nephi 11:8).
In a sense, the invitation to read Isaiah’s writings is an invitation to
rejoice. You can take delight, as Nephi did, in Isaiah’s prophecies about the
gathering of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, and the peace promised to the
righteous. You can rejoice to live in the prophesied day when the Lord has “set
up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(2 Nephi 21:12). When you thirst after
righteousness, you can “with joy … draw water out of the wells of salvation” (2
Nephi 22:3). In other words, you can “rejoice in Christ” (2 Nephi 25:26).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
chosen principle for this week comes from 2 Nephi 25:19-29: “We talk of Christ …
we rejoice in Christ.” The lesson declared that Nephi was open about sharing
his beliefs – especially his testimony of Jesus Christ. As we study 2 Nephi 25,
we read about Nephi’s desire to “persuade [his] children … to believe in
Christ, and to be reconciled to God” (verse 23). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have long been interested in Nephi’s use of the word <i>persuade</i>. According
to an online dictionary, <i>persuade </i>means to use reasoning and argument to
cause someone to do something, or to convince someone or cause someone to
believe something with a sustained effort. In other words, Nephi used facts,
gospel teachings, personal experiences, etc. to convince his children to
believe in Christ enough to repent and come unto Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Study
2 Nephi 25:12-13, 16 to learn what Nephi wanted people to know about the
Savior, or </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">2
Nephi 25:19-29 to learn how Nephi tried to persuade people to believe in Him. Make
a note about how this chapter persuades you to believe in and follow Jesus
Christ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nephi
was bold in talking about Christ, something many of us are not. Nephi shared
some counsel in 2 Nephi 25:23-26 that could be helpful to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">23 </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For we labor diligently to write, to
persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be
reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all
we can do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">24</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> And, notwithstanding we believe in
Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto
Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">25 </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For, for this end was the law given;
wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ
because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">26</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in
Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to
our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a
remission of their sins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="We Talk of Christ (churchofjesuschrist.org)">Elder Neil L. Andersen </a>spoke in the October 2020 General Conference with the message
of “We Talk of Christ.” He gave counsel about how we can do more effective
talking about Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I promise you that as you prepare
yourselves, as President Nelson did, you too will be different, thinking more
about the Savior, speaking of Him more frequently and with less hesitation. As
you come to know and love Him even more deeply, your words will flow more comfortably,
as they do when you speak of one of your children or of a dear friend. Those
listening to you will feel less like debating or dismissing you and more like
learning from you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You and I speak of Jesus Christ, but maybe
we can do a little better. If the world is going to speak less of Him, who is
going to speak more of Him? We are! Along with other devoted Christians!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Elder
Andersen gave several suggestions for places to get ideas to share with other
people. To speak more openly of Christ in various settings, he suggested that
we search “<a href="The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles (churchofjesuschrist.org) ">The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles</a>” or a hymn such as “<a href="I Believe in Christ (churchofjesuschrist.org)">I believe in Christ</a>” (<i>Hymns, </i>no. 134).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-3727915670033812662024-03-08T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-08T22:00:00.244-09:00How Resilient Are Your Children? (Part 2)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Families,
communities, states, and nations are stronger when the rising generation
develops resilience during their early years. Resilience is a necessary quality
to help children, adolescents, and adults to overcome difficulties.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="Raising Resilient Children (churchofjesuschrist.org)">Lyle J. Burrup</a>, LDS Family Service wrote the following in a March 2013 <i>Ensign </i>article
title “Raising Resilient Children.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The original definition of the word <i>resilience
</i>had to do with a material’s ability to resume its shape or position after
being bent, stretched, or compressed. Today we commonly use the word to
describe our ability to bounce back from adversity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We know two things about adversity and
resilience: First, there is “an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11) [a
principle taught by an ancient American prophet named Lehi to his children and
located in the Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ]. Second,
obtaining anything of great worth often requires great sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As children become resilient, they
understand and accept these two facts. They see life as challenging and ever
changing, but they believe they can cope with those challenges and changes.
They view mistakes and weaknesses as opportunities to learn, and they accept
that losing may precede winning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As children develop resilience, they
believe they can influence and even control outcomes in their lives through
effort, imagination, knowledge, and skill. With this attitude, they focus on
what they <i>can </i>do rather than on what is outside their control.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is where parents and other adults involved in their lives can help children and
youth best. We can recognize their strengths and share that knowledge with the
rising generation. We do not need to point out their weaknesses because they
know well when they are not doing as they should. However, they will be motivated
to overcome their weaknesses as we help them to develop strengths – or emphasize
the positive while de-emphasizing the negative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
way to build on strengths and assets is to talk about them and give praise for them.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we must be careful about how we
praise our children and youth. We should compliment the effort that they put
forth, not how smart they are or how good they are or how great the
accomplishment. “I appreciate how hard you worked to complete that assignment”
goes much further in motivating a person than “I am so proud of you when you do
your homework.” The child might question if you are proud of them even when
they do not do their homework. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
his article, Burrup said that Heavenly Father provided a model to parents about
how to help children develop resilience. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He treats us with great love and respect,
even when we make mistakes. He reminds us of our potential (see Moses 1:39) and
our great worth (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:10), which are based on our
identity as His sons and daughters. He gives us laws so we know what He expects
(see Doctrine and Covenants 107:84), allows us to make choices (see 2 Nephi
2:15-16, and honors our choices ((see Doctrine and Covenants 130:20). He allows
for learning and instruction to correct mistakes (see Doctrine and Covenants
1:25-26) and for repentance and restitution to correct sin (see Doctrine and
Covenants 1:27-28).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Burrup
reminded his readers that Heavenly Father is a perfect Parent and has shared
His model for parenting with us. Burrup then shared some recommendations about
how earthly parents can apply God’s principles in parenting their children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pray
to understand your children’s strengths and how to help them with their
weaknesses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be
patient and realize that children need time to develop resilience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Allow
natural, logical consequences to serve as the disciplinarian.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Respect
children’s decisions, even if their poor choices lead to lost privileges.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Refrain
from berating children for breaking the rules.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do
not discourage effort by criticizing harshly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rather
than praising accomplishment, encourage and praise effort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Praise
your children more than you correct them. Praise them for even their smallest
achievement” (President Ezra Taft Benson [1899-1994], “The Honored Place of
Woman,” <i>Ensign, </i>Nov. 1981, 107).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Burrup
then had some recommendations for raising capable, resilient children. He
reminded his readers that each child is an individual who requires a
personalized approach. However, there are some nearly universal principles that
have proven to be effective. Here are the nine principles shared by Burrup:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of setting random or arbitrary rules and consequences, discuss rules and set
logical consequences. Result: Children know what to expect and learn that
choices have consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of allowing children to avoid the consequences of their choices, allow children
to experience natural and logical consequences of their choices. Result: Children
learn accountability and responsibility for their choices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of giving mostly correction, give mostly praise. Celebrate small steps in the
right direction. Result: children learn what parents want. They feel
encouraged, worthwhile, and appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of being arbitrary and inconsistent in requiring obedience, consistently offer
desirable rewards for the actions and behaviors you would like to reinforce.
Result: Children learn that they don’t have to want to do hard things; they
just have to do them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of praising only outcomes, praise for effort regardless of outcome. Result: Children
feel encouraged, confident, and more willing to take on challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of sending the message to children that their self-worth depends on outcomes,
tell children they have inherent worth because they are sons or daughters of
God and have divine potential. Result: Self-worth will be attached to the child’s
eternal potential instead of temporary success or failure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of talking about failures or successes as being connected to luck or talent,
define failure as temporary and an opportunity to learn. Define success as a
product of hard work and sacrifice. Result: Children are less discouraged by or
afraid of setbacks and are more willing to be persistent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of trying to solve children’s problems by giving them all the answers, help
children (1) identify what happened, (2) analyze what contributed to the
outcome, and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(3) identify what they can do to avoid
this problem next time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead
of making children feel dumb by criticizing them, their effort, and their accomplishments,
listen and be supportive and encouraging so your children will want to come to
you again for help. Result: Children feel more comfortable discussing their
mistakes and problems with you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Parents
– be crazy about your children. Love them and encourage them to reach for the
stars. By motivating our children to do a little better, we can strengthen our
families, communities, states, and nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-87341700626674386012024-03-06T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-06T22:00:00.187-09:00Do You Agree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision about Trump?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
United States Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0 to reverse Colorado’s highest court
and to restore former President Donald Trump to the state’s ballot – in time
for Colorado’s presidential primary tomorrow. By their decision, the Supreme
Court restored the right of 4.5 million registered voters to determine for
themselves who should be President of the United States.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
court in Colorado claimed that Trump was guilty of “insurrection” even those
Trump has never been charged, indicted, or convicted of insurrection. In their
article at <i>The Daily Signal</i>, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Supreme Court Restores Voting Rights of Millions of Americans (dailysignal.com)">Hans von Spakovsky and Charles Stimson </a>explained how the Colorado court’s use of the
Fourteen Amendment was not good enough. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Colorado court claimed that because Trump was guilty of "insurrection," it could remove him from the ballot under Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The 14th Amendment is one of three Reconstruction amendments adopted after the end of the Civil War, and its Section 3 was intended to keep certain Confederate military and government officials from serving in state and federal government.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Section 3 provides that:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">No person shall be a Senator or Representative
in Congress, or elector for President and Vice President, or hold any office,
civil or military, under the United States … who having previously taken an
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States … to
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same … But Congress may, by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But all nine justices of the Supreme Court
agreed in Monday’s decision that Colorado could not remove Trump from the
ballot. As the unsigned opinion says, since “the Constitution makes Congress,
rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal
officeholders and candidates,” state courts and state officials have no power
to remove federal candidates from the ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Section 5 of the 14<sup>th</sup> Amendment
has language found in many other amendments, namely: “Congress shall have the
power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The high court concluded that Congress’
power under Section 5 to pass appropriate legislation to enforce the 14<sup>th</sup>
Amendment “is critical when it comes to Section 3.” The court noted that the “terms
of the Amendment speak only to enforcement by Congress,” not the states, and the
text “does not affirmatively delegate such power to the States.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although the states retain sovereign power
to determine the qualifications of their own state officeholders, the court
ruled, they have no such power over federal officeholders. Granting the states
such “authority would invert the Fourteenth Amendment’s rebalancing of federal
and state power,” the nine justices said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nor is there “any tradition of state
enforcement of Section 3 against federal officeholders or candidates in the years
following ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to the above reason for the 9
to 1 vote, the court indicated that letting states enforce Section 3 would
result in a “patchwork” effect and “would be quite unlikely to yield a uniform
answer consistent with the basic principle that ‘the President … represent[s] <i>all
</i>the voters in the Nation.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-75748539079052999042024-03-05T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-05T22:00:00.138-09:00Is China Invading America?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tens
of thousands of military-age Chinese men have been processed at the U.S./Mexico
border in recent months. Authorities have discovered Chinese police stations in
America’s cities. Chinese companies are partnering with or outright buying
American agricultural land and companies. <a href="Is Largest US Pork Producer Supplying China’s Military? (dailysignal.com)">Philip Lenczycki</a> recently published
an article in </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Daily Signal</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> reporting on China’s pork business. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">America’s largest pork producer was
exporting massive quantities of pork to its Chinese “sister company” as it
stockpiled food for the Chinese military, according to a Daily Caller News
Foundation review of corporate records and Chinese state-run media reports.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Smithfield Foods, owner of roughly 150,000
acres of U.S. land and operator of dozens of feed mills and production plants,
has shipped hundreds of thousands of tons of pork to its China-based company WH
Group and sister company Shuanghui Investment and Development Co. since being
acquired in 2013, according to corporate and Chinese government records s well
as state-run media reports.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shuanghui has extensive ties to the People’s
Liberation Army, which it touts on its website, and is responsible for
developing food for China’s military to use on the battlefield, according to the
PLA-sponsored China Military News.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shuanghui also operates a food “mobilization
center” for the PLA in Henan province, and has done so since 2009, according to
a 2022 Shuanghui news release. Shuanghui’s mobilization center stockpiles food,
including pork, to meet the PLA’s emergency response needs, and Chinese
state-run reports indicate that Shuanghui has distributed food from this
stockpile to Chinese soldiers on several occasions in recent years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A December 2023 report from the Luohe
municipal government in Henan province indicates the military stockpile is
still active and under Shuanghui’s management. While Shanghui doesn’t disclose
where the pork it supplies the PLA originates from, it’s very likely that at least
some U.S. pork product is being supplied to the PLA, according to Brian O’Shea,
a former military and intelligence analyst.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“My opinion would be that the Chinese
government is giving this superior U.S. pork to their soldiers,” O’Shea told
the Daily Caller News Foundation based on his understanding of Smithfield’s
central role in Shuanghui’s pork supply chain and Shuanghui’s extensive
relationship with the PLA.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“At these mobilization centers, there’s
going to be a Smithfield pile and a Chinese domestic pork pile, and the Chinese
domestic pork is most likely going to the civilians, whereas the superior pork
is going to the Chinese military,” O’Shea said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Neither Smithfield nor Shuanghui responded
to multiple requests for comment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Those
who study the situation believe that American pork is being stockpiled to feed
Chinese soldiers. This seems wrong to me on several levels, but there is more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WH Group acquired Smithfield in 2013 for
$7.1 billion….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Daily Caller News Foundation recently
reported that WH Group’s chairman and four other executives are Chinese
Communist Party members. WH Group’s chairman and several top executives also
hold, or previously held, positions with the Chinese government, the Daily
Caller News Foundation found.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WH Group’s leadership includes both
Shuanghui and Smithfield executives, according to Reuters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In 2013, the U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission’s annual report characterized Smithfield’s
acquisition by WH Group as “part of a broader trend of Chinese global
investment in farm assets or food technologies.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“China’s acquisitions in agriculture and
other sectors are being driven by the desire to secure higher volumes of safe
products and, in the long term, access to advanced production and processing
technologies,” the commission wrote in its report.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’ve got to remember that China is a
unified state,” Gordon Chang, distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone
Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It operates under the
direction of the Communist Party, which demands absolute obedience from all
individuals and all entities.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There is much more in Lenczycki’s article,
and I encouraged you to read it. Meanwhile, consider the above paragraph: “China
is a unified state” that “operates under the direction of the Communist Party,
which demands absolute obedience…” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
think that we should be extremely concerned about the tens of thousands of
Chinese military aged men who are entering the United States. China is sending
tens of thousands of military aged men to America at the same time that their
American company is sending hundreds of thousands of tons of American pork to China.
The men did not escape from China. They were allowed to leave. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-87569540216266482222024-03-04T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-04T22:00:00.134-09:00Who Is Bryce Carden?<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
VIP for this week is Bryce Carden, the Kentucky fire fighter who rescued a
driver from the cab of a semi-truck dangling from the Clark Memorial Bridge.
Carden is part of a Louisville firefighting crew who rescued a Sysco truck
driver as the vehicle hung over the Ohio River. </span><a href="Driver rescued from dangling truck over Ohio River | Blaze Media (theblaze.com)" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andrew Chapados</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> published an article about the accident in </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Blaze</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Louisville firefighting crew made the
rescue of a Sysco truck driver as the vehicle hung over the Ohio River. The
truck crashed through the bridge’s guardrail and was wedged between two steel
beams that were thankfully secure enough to hold the truck in place for more
than half an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The truck reportedly crossed a traffic
lane, Fox News noted, with firefighting officials stating that two more
vehicles had been involved in the accident.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dramatic video was captured from multiple
angles as a rescue worker was lowered down on a harness to the truck driver,
still in the driver’s seat, as the semi was suspended some 70 feet above the
water….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fire Chief [Brian] O’Neill explained that
it took his crew about 40 minutes to set up a rope system and rappel down to the
driver….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Early reports have been unclear as to how
or why the truck crossed lanes before crashing through the guardrails. The
bridge is closed at the time of this publication and repairs will need to be
made to the bridge’s structure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pictures
of the accident can be found in Chapados’ article here. Cardon is a true hero
who risked his life to save the life of the truck driver. There are many heroes
like him serving in the police and fire departments of cities all across
America as well as in the military. I like to share stories about heroes like
Carden because it confirms that our nation still has good people.</span> </p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-74702088699280593512024-03-03T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-03T22:00:00.133-09:00Will America Follow the Path of Rome?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the similarities
between the American decline and the decline of the Roman Republic. <a href="America Will Implode If It Continues to Be Paralyzed by Fear (dailysignal.com)">Victor Davis Hanson</a> quoted the ancient historian Livy (59 B.C. – 17 A.D.) of saying
about “the long decline of the Roman national character”: “We can bear neither
our diseases nor their remedies.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hanson
then declared, “America is nearing such an impasse.” He added, “We know that no
state can long exist after opening its borders to over 7 million illegal
aliens, requiring neither background checks nor legality.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So this generation apparently feels that
it can endure the collateral damage of daily assaults on American citizens, the
near bankruptcy of our cities, and 100,000 fentanyl deaths per year – but certainly
not the idea that it is somehow not politically correct or compassionate. The
same is true of the $35 trillion debt, now costing more than $1 trillion a year
in interest payments – and growing. We all know it is unsustainable. Americans
understand it will eventually lead either to destructive hyperinflation,
suicidal renunciation of federal debt, or confiscation of private savings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet we ignore the reckless spending and
keep borrowing well over $1 trillion a year. Apparently, our generation prefers
being praised as “virtuous” and “caring.” So it leaves the next generation to
be smeared as “cruel” and “unfair” when it is forced to cut federal
entitlements and bloated government or face civilizational collapse.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The crime epidemic is also similar.
Everyone accepts that no society can long endure quasi-legalized shoplifting or
green-lighting smash-and-grabbers and carjackers to be released without bail.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But we assume that such a civilizational
implosion will never reach our own sanctuary neighborhoods or safe places of
work – at least not yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We also know that restoring deterrence by
arresting, convicting, and jailing repeat felons will return safety to our streets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hanson
continued in his article to mention other areas that are contributing to the
decline of America: the homeless who are living on the streets of America
instead of receiving help for their mental illness; the weaponization of our
legal system which looks a whole lot like what happens in third-world
countries; America’s paralysis when dealing with foreign policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hanson
concluded his article with the following declaration:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Societies do not always collapse from a
lack of wealth, invasion, or natural catastrophes. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">More often, they know what is destroying
them. But they are so paralyzed by their fear that the road to salvation
becomes too painful to even contemplate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So they implode gradually, then suddenly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-49574032842066338072024-03-02T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-02T22:00:00.140-09:00How Does God View Pride?<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
<i>Come Follow Me</i> studies for this week took me to 2 Nephi 11-19 in a lesson
titled “<a href="February 26–March 3: “His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace.” 2 Nephi 11–19 (churchofjesuschrist.org)">His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace</a>.” The lesson was
introduced with the following information. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Engraving on metal plates is not easy, and
space on Nephi’s small plates was limited. So why would Nephi make the effort
of copying so many of the writings of the prophet Isaiah into his record? He
did it because he wanted us to believe in Jesus Christ. “My soul delighteth,”
he wrote, “in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ” (2
Nephi 11:4). Nephi had seen what would happen to his people in future
generations. He saw that, despite their great blessings, they would become
prideful, contentious, and worldly (see 1 Nephi 12; 15:4-6). He also saw
similar problems in our day (see 1 Nephi 14). Isaiah’s writings warned against
such wickedness. But they also gave Nephi hope for a glorious future – an end
to wickedness, a gathering of the faithful, and “great light” for people who
had “walked in darkness” (2 Nephi 19:2). All this would happen because “a child
[was] born” who could end all strife – “The Prince of Peace” (2 Nephi 19:6).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
feel that the following principle is appropriate for this week’s discussion: “The
proud and worldly will be humbled” (2 Nephi 12-13; 15). Nephi tells us in 1
Nephi 12:19 that he had foreseen that pride would cause the downfall of his
people. Therefore, it is no surprise that Nephi would share with his people the
repeated warnings of Isaiah against pride.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
1 Nephi 12-13, which can be compared to Isaiah 2-3, Isaiah used numerous words
to define pridefulness, such as <i>lofty</i> and <i>haughty, </i>such as 2
Nephi 12:11-12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">11 <i>And it shall come to pass that the
lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed
down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">12 <i>For the day of the Lord of Hosts
soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and
lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
2 Nephi 15:1-24, we read Isaiah’s symbolic language describing the result of
pride. In these verses, he compares Israel to a vineyard that is created and
then destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">1 </span></i></b></span><span class="verse-number"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">And</span></i></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> then will I sing to my well-beloved
a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a
vineyard in a very fruitful hill.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346179" id="p2" style="--height: 155.671875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">2 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And he fenced it, and
gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and
built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein; and he
looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346179" id="p2" style="--height: 155.671875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346180" id="p3" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">3 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And now, O inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346180" id="p3" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346181" id="p4" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">4 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What could have been
done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked
that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346181" id="p4" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346182" id="p5" style="--height: 126.875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">5 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And now go to; I will
tell you what I will do to my vineyard—I will take away the hedge
thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and I will break down the wall thereof, and
it shall be trodden down;<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346182" id="p5" style="--height: 126.875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346183" id="p6" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">6 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I will lay it
waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and
thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon
it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346183" id="p6" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346184" id="p7" style="--height: 126.875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">7 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For the vineyard of
the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant
plant; and he looked for judgment, and behold, oppression; for righteousness,
but behold, a cry.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346184" id="p7" style="--height: 126.875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346185" id="p8" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">8 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto them that join
house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in
the midst of the earth!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346185" id="p8" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346186" id="p9" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">9 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In mine ears, said the
Lord of Hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, and great and fair
cities without inhabitant.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346186" id="p9" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346187" id="p10" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">10 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yea, ten acres of
vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346187" id="p10" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346188" id="p11" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">11 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto them that rise
up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue
until night, and wine inflame them!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346188" id="p11" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346189" id="p12" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">12 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the harp, and the viol,
the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the
work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346189" id="p12" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346190" id="p13" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">13 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Therefore, my people
are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their
honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346190" id="p13" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346191" id="p14" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">14 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Therefore, hell hath
enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and
their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346191" id="p14" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346192" id="p15" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">15 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the mean man shall
be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and
the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346192" id="p15" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346193" id="p16" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">16 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But the Lord of Hosts
shall be exalted in judgement, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in
righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346193" id="p16" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346194" id="p17" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">17 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then shall the lambs
feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall
strangers eat.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346194" id="p17" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346195" id="p18" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">18 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto them that draw
iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope;<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346195" id="p18" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346196" id="p19" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">19 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That say: Let him make speed, hasten his
work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of
Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346196" id="p19" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346197" id="p20" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">20 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto them that call
evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346197" id="p20" style="--height: 98.078125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346198" id="p21" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">21 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto the wise in
their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346198" id="p21" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346199" id="p22" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">22 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wo unto the mighty to
drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346199" id="p22" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346200" id="p23" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">23 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who justify the wicked
for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346200" id="p23" style="--height: 69.28125px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128346201" id="p24" style="--height: 155.671875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span class="verse-number"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">24 </span></i></b></span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Therefore, as the fire devoureth
the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall
be rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up as dust; because they have cast
away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One
of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Both
ancient and modern prophets of God have warned against pride. President Ezra
Taft Benson gave a masterful talk about pride that is both interesting and understandable.
The entire talk is valuable in understanding pride, but here are a few powerful
paragraphs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and
many are sinning in ignorance. (See Mosiah 3:11; 3 Nephi 6:18;.) In the
scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a
sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how
God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit
thereby. (See 2 Nephi 4:15; Mosiah 1:3-7; Alma 5:61.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128288659" id="p12" style="--height: 86.390625px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most of us think
of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or
haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is
still missing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128288659" id="p12" style="--height: 86.390625px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" data-aid="128288661" id="p13" style="--height: 115.1875px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The central
feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Enmity</span></em> means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a
state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is much more information about pride in President Benson’s talk. He explains
how pride is enmity to God, and then he explains more fully how pride is enmity
to our fellow human beings. I encourage you to study the entire talk if you
want a better understanding of how God views pride. <a href="Chapter 18: Beware of Pride (churchofjesuschrist.org)">You can find the talk here. </a><o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-44756708856014109342024-03-01T22:00:00.001-09:002024-03-01T22:00:00.133-09:00How Resilient Are Your Children? (Part 1)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Families,
communities, states, and nations are stronger when the rising generation
develops resilience in their early years. Life is full of trials for all of us
because that is part of God’s plan for the eternal happiness of his children.
He knows that trials give us opportunities to gain experience and develop in
ways that might not be possible without those particular adversities. Therefore,
He sometimes allows terrible things to happen to good people. We are tested and
tried to prove our willingness to obey God’s commandments. What may be an extremely
difficult test for one individual would be much easier for another person.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Human
beings are born into a multitude of circumstances. Some people are born into
poverty, while others are born into affluence. Some are born into loving
families, while others are born into abusive or neglectful homes. No matter
where we are born or the circumstances in which we live, we all have some
combination of risk factors and protective factors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
risk factor is any influence that increases the odds of harm, contributes to a
more serious state, or maintains a problem condition. Risk factors include
poverty, divorced parents, addiction, low intelligence, neglect, abuse of any
kind, and living in dangerous neighborhoods. Since life is more difficult as
the number of risk factors increases, the goal of parents and other adults
should be to reduce the amount of risk to children and youth as much as
possible. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Protective
factors are the opposite of risk factors. Protective factors are internal as
well as external resources that promote positive developmental outcomes and
help children prevail over adversity. Both internal and external protective
factors modify risk. Internal protective factors include a positive and
cheerful attitude, being easy going, friendliness, good work ethic, and other
positive personal attributes. External protective factors are in the
environment where the child lives, and they include living in a safe neighborhood,
attending a good school, living with both biological, married parents, having a
loving extended family, enough money in the family to meet needs, living in
freedom, and other such positive features.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
child may live in poverty, but he may also be living with his two biological,
married parents in a loving family situation. His living situation would help
to modify the effects of poverty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Statistics
show that most children who live in poverty do not do well academically.
However, there are some children living in poverty who excel academically. Such
children are resilient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Neurosurgeon
Ben Carson is one well-known example of a boy who grew up in poverty, in a
single home, and a mother who could not read. Mrs. Carson did not want her sons
watching television all day or joining gangs, so she insisted that they read
two books each week and write a book report about each book. They would give
their book reports to their mother, and she would pretend to read them. She
even asked questions about the books that they read. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mrs.
Carson’s two sons did not know until much later that their mother could not
read. Even though her sons faced numerous risk factors, they had a mother who
was crazy about them and wanted her boys to have a good life. Her efforts
provided enough protective factors that her sons developed personal motivation
to excel in school and in life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
boys were intelligent enough to learn to read and to write. As they continued
to read books and to write book reports for their mother, their belief in their
abilities grew, and they developed positive attitudes about school. In
addition, they developed resilience to escape poverty, membership in gangs, and
early death. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Parents
and other adults involved with the rising generation can help them to develop
resilience by creating and using protective factors and assets as well as decreasing
the amount of risk in their lives. Studies show that having one adult in a child’s
life that is crazy about the child can help the child to become resilient. That
adult can be a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, neighbor, or any number of
other adults influencing children and youth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bing
Crosby and the Andrew Sisters taught with a song a sure way to build resilience
in the rising generation: “You’ve got to c-cent-tchu-ate the positive, Eliminate
the negative, Latch on to the affirmative, Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.” </span><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=Accentuate+the+positive%2C+don%E2%80%99t+worry+about+the+negative.%E2%80%9D&cvid=5b4347add1d4447795e8f3f843a4c6c1&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDIwMTRqMGoxqAIAsAIA&FORM=ANSPA1&PC=DCTS">Accentuate
the positive, don’t worry about the negative.” - Search (bing.com)</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
song continues with counsel to “spread joy up to the maximum, Bring gloom down
to the minimum, Have faith or pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene.” The
song also uses the experiences of Jonah in the whale and Noah in the ark as
examples of people who accentuated the positive when “when everything looked so
dark.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
using positive words and tones with the rising generation, we can motivate them
to rise to higher levels. We should never call them derogatory names or suggest
that they are lazy or have other negative attributes. We should increase the
amount of positivity in our words and actions and decrease negativity as much
as humanly possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All
parents should strive to become the adult in their child’s life that is
absolutely crazy them. Such children are motivated to try harder because they know
that someone thinks that they can do better. By motivating the rising
generation to reach higher, we can strengthen our families, communities,
states, and nations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-58996359481282701782024-02-29T22:00:00.003-09:002024-02-29T22:00:00.154-09:00Can We Trust Anything That Biden Says?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The topic of liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns freedom from illegal immigration. President
Joe Biden and former-President Donald Trump both visited the southern border
today. Biden chose to visit the border in Brownsville, Texas, and Trump visited
Eagle Pass, Texas. Less than 50 migrants crossed at Brownsville in the past
week, while approximately 2,000 crossed at Eagle Pass during the same period of
time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why
the difference in numbers? Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered razor wire and
train cars to be placed on the border. Texas has shown that America can stop the
hordes of migrants crossing into America illegally. However, the Biden
administration does not want to learn from Texas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden
and Trump both delivered remarks when they visited the border. <a href="Here's the Facts on 4 Claims Biden Made at the Border (dailysignal.com)">Fred Lucas at </a><i><a href="Here's the Facts on 4 Claims Biden Made at the Border (dailysignal.com)">The
Daily Signal</a> </i>fact-checked four big claims that Biden made in his remarks. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. ‘Long Past Time to Act’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[Biden tried to claim that he is trying
hard to manage the issues of illegal immigration and border issues.]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden insisted that Congress must act by
passing the bipartisan border security deal that stalled recently in the Senate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They desperately need more resources,
need more agents, more officers, more equipment in order to secure our border,”
Biden said. “Folks, it’s time for us to move on this. It can’t wait any longer.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, president has a menu of options
under his authority – just as he acted in his first 100 days and beyond to roll
back the Trump administration’s border security measures.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Biden administration has the authority
to detain, expel, and deport illegal immigrants under current federal immigration
law, as well as under international agreements….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden’s first 100 days as president offer
greater context, since he took 94 separate executive actions related to immigration.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson,
R-La., counted 64 executive actions by Biden that made border security worse,
such as doing away with the “Remain in Mexico” policy to adjudicate asylum
claims, halting the Trump administration’s construction of a wall at the southern
border, and expanding “catch and release” of illegal border crossers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden took 89 executive actions that
specifically “reversed or started to undo Trump policies,” according to the
Migration Policy Institute.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. ‘My First Day as President’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden noted a bill that he proposed on his
first day in office.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“In my first day as president, I
introduced a bill I sent to Congress, a comprehensive plan to fix the broken immigration
system and fix the border. No action was taken,” Biden said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s true that on Jan. 20, 2021, the White
House announced that the new president was sending a “comprehensive”
immigration bill to a Democrat-controlled Congress that would include some
border security measures as well as a “pathway” for illegal immigrants, which
critics call amnesty for lawbreakers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most Republican lawmakers argue that the
nation must regain control of its borders from illegal aliens before moving to
address the legal immigration process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. ‘Backlog’ of Immigration Cases<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden talked about the immigration bill
that recently failed to pass the Senate, which would add 1,500 Border Patrol
agents to man the border and 100 immigration judges to adjudicate asylum cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We also need more immigration judges to
help handle the backlog. There are 2 million cases,” Biden said. “This
bipartisan deal would provide funding for 100 more immigration judges
immediately. It would also establish a new, efficient, and fair process for the
government to consider asylum claims for those arriving at our border. Today,
to get a decision on an asylum claim takes five to seven years.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Interestingly, Biden explained that the
backlog could be a magnate for illegal immigrants to cross and claim asylum –
knowing that it will take years before a judge hears their case….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, on Feb. 2, 2021, Biden signed an
executive order to eliminate the Trump administration’s agreement with Mexico
known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, and officially called the Migrant
Protection Protocols….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. ‘Toughest Set of Border Security
Reforms’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Biden called for the Senate to take up the
border security bill again after it failed to pass a procedural hurdle. If
Johnson allowed the bill to come to a House floor vote, the president said, it
would pass.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s the toughest set of border security
reforms we have ever seen in tis country,” Biden said. “Pretty basic. With this
deal, we could hire 1,500 additional border security agents.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Critics say it isn’t close to the
toughest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The bill would put the policy of catch and
release “into law,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says. The Texas Republican argued
that the 370-page bill “normalized 5,000 illegal aliens [crossing the border] a
day.” …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most of the Senate’s $118 billion bill
would go toward more U.S. aid for Ukraine’s defense against Russia, although it
also contained aid to Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[The bill would provide $1.4 billion to sanctuary
jurisdictions to supply “critical services to newcomers” and “expedite work
permits for people who are in the country and qualify.” However, the bill would
do nothing about restoring the “Remain in Mexico” policy from the Trump
administration. In addition, $2.3 billion would go to the same organizations
who are encouraging illegal immigration.]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although “toughest” is a subjective term,
it’s not clear the Senate bill is tougher than border security legislation
passed by the Republican-controlled House in May 2023. That bill would increase
manpower, technology, and transparency in the Department of Homeland Security….<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-48052774871434652482024-02-28T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-28T22:00:00.348-09:00Why Did Hunter Finally Appear?<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hunter
Biden, son of President Joe Biden finally appeared today before the House
Oversight and Accountability Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Ways
and Means Committee for a closed-door deposition that last seven hours. <a href="Hunter Biden Lashes Out at ‘MAGA-Motivated’ Impeachment Probe (dailysignal.com)">Fred Lucas
at </a></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Hunter Biden Lashes Out at ‘MAGA-Motivated’ Impeachment Probe (dailysignal.com)">The Daily Signal</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Hunter Biden Lashes Out at ‘MAGA-Motivated’ Impeachment Probe (dailysignal.com)"> </a>reported that Hunter was a belligerent witness, but
he never took the Fifth Amendment. He showed scorn for the House impeachment
inquiry by saying that it has been “MAGA-Motivated.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
reason that Hunter Biden was testifying under oath before the congressional
committees is that he is a “key witness in our investigation of President Joe
Biden,” according to James Comer (R-Ky), Chairman of the House Oversight and
Accountability Committee. Comer added that evidence found so far shows “Public
Corruption 101.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to Lucas, Hunter Biden, his lawyer Abbe Lowell, and Democrats on the committees
claim that the investigation has not found any evidence to support the idea
that Hunter had business transactions with his father. Lucas continued his
article as follows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The three House committees deposed James
Biden last week. Key Biden family business associates also have been deposed,
including Devon Archer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Several Biden family business associates
have told congressional investigators that Joe Biden—while serving for eight
years as vice president and during his four years between offices—made personal
appearances and called in by speakerphone to various business contacts. Biden
himself has contended for years that he had no involvement in family business
matters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The House’s impeachment investigation was
dealt at least a public relations blow earlier this month, when special counsel
David Weiss secured a federal grand jury indictment against veteran FBI
informant Alexander Smirnov for lying to the FBI when he claimed to
have information about a $5 million bribe to Joe Biden in 2016. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The president and other Democrats pounced,
saying the entire impeachment inquiry should be shut down as a result. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
certainly is interesting how the same Democrats who were so eager to impeach
Donald Trump – twice- without evidence are now unwilling to see evidence about
the Biden family corruption that is right before their faces. If the information
found by the House committees is true, then the truth will soon be evident to
all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-87459572797497216732024-02-27T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-27T22:00:00.335-09:00Why Are Catholic Churches Being Attacked?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attacks
on religions are increasing quickly. A tracker recently found that Catholic Churches
have been attacked 400 times since 2020, according to <a href="EXCLUSIVE: 400th Attack on Catholic Churches Documented (dailysignal.com)">Mary Margaret Olohan</a>. The
attacks on the churches began in May 2020 with the civil unrest that seemed to
be everywhere. Olohan reported the following: </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The hundreds of attacks across the nation
began in connection with widespread civil unrest in May 2020, CatholicVote
said. Examples include church burnings, beheadings of statues of Jesus Christ
or the Virgin Mary, swastikas painted on grave stones, satanic and blasphemous
statements graffitied on walls, windows smashed, Masses disrupted, and even the
murder of a Catholic priest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The leak of the draft Supreme Court
opinion overturning Roe v. Wade led to another spike in attacks – since then,
there have been 236 attacks on Catholic churches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">CatholicVote has only found evidence of an
arrest in about 25% of the cases it tracked and estimates that the attacks have
caused around $25 million in physical damages to churches.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many of these attacks are abortion-related
and include graffiti such as “Jane’s Revenge” (a reference to Jane Roe of Roe
v. Wade) or “If abortions aren’t safe, then neither are you,” indicating that
the attackers could potentially be charged with violating the Freedom of Access
to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law protecting churches, pro-life pregnancy
centers, and abortion clinics that the Department of Justice has used to charge
dozens of pro-lifers praying outside of abortion clinics over the past few
years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">President Joe Biden’s DOJ has not charged
any vandals with FACE Act violations in connection to attacks on churches,
however.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
attacks are currently on the Catholic Church, but they will spread to other
churches as the hatred of God increases. All Americans of faith are in danger
of persecution<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-76657635740923864872024-02-26T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-26T22:00:00.144-09:00Can the Spread of Pornography Be Stopped?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
VIP for this week is <a href="Sen. Mike Lee on why the law needs to address the pornography crisis - Deseret News">Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah)</a> because he is actively working
to protect children and victim-survivors from the harm of pornography. Hanna
Seariac published an article in </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Deseret News</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> about the senator’s efforts. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to Seariac, “pornography was relegated to VCRs, magazines and brick-and-mortar
buildings” prior to the explosion of pornography on the Internet in the 2010s. “Now
pornography websites bring in billions of users and it’s available in people’s
pockets at virtually any time.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Having
pornography much more available is one thing, but the change of morals is
something else. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gallup polling data from 2023 shows that 39%
of respondents said pornography is morally acceptable. That’s up from 30% in
2011 when Gallup first started asking the question. Other survey data shows 37%
of baby boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) think pornography is “very bad”
for society. By comparison, 14% of young adults hold that same view. 51% of
respondents said they disagreed with the idea that pornography was morally
wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Viewership has also increased. Using data
from the General Social Survey, a group of economists, a policy analyst and a
sociologist evaluated pornography consumption of 18 to 26 years-old from 1973
to 2012. 45% of young men said they viewed pornography between 1973 -1980 and
that increased to 61% between 1999 and 2012. These researchers pointed toward
the spread of the internet as potential driver of the increase.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to Seariac, attempts have been made to slow or stop the use of pornography.
Utah and fourteen other states passed “resolutions to declare pornography a
public health crisis.” In addition, “Psychology and health communication
researchers have sounded the alarm, pointing toward negative impacts of
viewership like increased physical aggression and a distorted perception of
intimacy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Senator
Lee took the issue to Washington, D.C., and is trying “to get legislation
passed aimed at protecting children from seeing pornography and giving victim-survivors
paths to legal recourse.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lee
said that Congress has passed laws – such as The Communications Decency Act
(title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) -- to protect children.
However, this law was struck down by the Supreme Court as too broad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
SCREEN Act, according to Lee, found “the sweet spot” and may be constitutional.
He believes that this law will “survive if it becomes law, which it should.”
This law focuses on “age verification with regard to commercial purveyors of
pornography.” Seariac explained why.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This bill requires commercial websites
distributing pornography to use technology to verify the ages of its users. Children
would be blocked from seeing content defined as harmful in the bill including
images and videos “taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to the
prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion.” Lee compared it to the sale of
cigarettes. “Just as you can’t sell cigarettes to a minor and give them to a
minor, you also shouldn’t directly market cigarettes to a minor,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Seariac’s
article has much more explanation. “In some states which have passed laws
restricting children’s access to pornography, there’s been a discernible impact
on the industry.” After Utah passed its law, “Pornhub blocked access to all
users who attempt to access the site.” Lee hopes to “put a lot of these bad
actors out of business.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-2467544361225891802024-02-25T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-25T22:00:00.246-09:00Who Gave Americans Our Basic Rights?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the basic rights of
Americans and the source of them. Democrats, Progressives, and Communists are
acting to destroy the powers of the Constitution of the United States and the
Declaration of Independence. <a href="Sorry, Politico: You Can't Rewrite Declaration of Independence (dailysignal.com)">Rachel del Guidice at </a></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Sorry, Politico: You Can't Rewrite Declaration of Independence (dailysignal.com)">The Daily Signal</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
reported on a statement by one such person. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to del Guidice, Heidi Przybyla, a reporter at Politico and a finalist for
journalism’s Pulitzer Prize in 2023, made a statement that is wrong. On Friday,
Przybyla appeared on MSNBC and said the following about “Christian nationalists.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The one thing that unites all of them … as
Christian nationalists, not Christians by the way, because Christian
nationalists is very different, is that they believe that our rights as
Americans, as all human beings, don’t come from any earthly authority, they don’t
come from Congress, they don’t come from their Supreme Court, they come from
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All
the Christians that I know – del Guidice says, “Most, if not all, traditional
Christians” – believe that our rights come directly from God and are provided
or dismissed by some governments. However, Przybyla should study the founding
documents before making such statements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
found a “transcription is the first printing of the Declaration of
Independence, the broadside produced by John Dunlap on the night of July 4,
1776.” The first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence read as
follows: <a href="https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/text">Text of
the Declaration of Independence | Declaration Resources Project (harvard.edu)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When in the Course of human Events, it
becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have
connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the
separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God
entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We hold these Truths to be self-evident,
that <b>all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit
of Happiness</b> – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such
Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness….<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">These
words in the Declaration of Independence show that the Founders believed that
our rights come from God. They do not come from politicians, judges, or media
talking heads who are trying to rewrite the history of the United States. Del Guidice
wrote the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Somehow, our Founders had the wisdom and
foresight to know that this truth would be questioned again and again. So much
so that they thought it was critical to make it the subject of the second
sentence of the document declaring the United States of America to be an
independent country.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, Benjamin Franklin’s writings questioned
the divinity of Christ. But about a month before he died, Franklin wrote in a
March 1790 letter to theologian Ezra Stiles that it was a “question I do not
dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and I think it needles to busy myself
with it now.” He maintained that our rights and freedoms come from God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by
other men,” Franklin’s fellow publisher, John Webbe, wrote in 1736 in Franklin’s
Pennsylvania Gazette, “but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and
nature.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">John Adams, who became our second
president, held that the bedrock of everything the Founders did was taken from
Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The general principles on which the
fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity,”
Adams said. “I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those
general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the
existence and attributes of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Benjamin Rush, another signer of the
Declaration of Independence, said that the rights written into the founding
documents came straight from God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I do not believe that the Constitution
was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the
work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New
Testament,” Rush said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
above statements by various Founders show the ignorance – or possible intention
-- of Przybyla in making her statement. However, the Founders statements should
settle “the debate </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">over
whether the United States was founded as a Christian nation.” The “Founders
said in black and white – even Franklin, who wasn’t entirely convinced of the
divinity of Jesus Christ” that God is the Source of human rights.</span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-19749033704161662742024-02-24T22:17:00.002-09:002024-02-24T22:17:24.526-09:00Do You Consider God’s Plan to Be Great?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 2 Nephi 6-10 in a lesson titled
“<a href="February 19–25: “O How Great the Plan of Our God.” 2 Nephi 6–10 (churchofjesuschrist.org)">O How Great the Plan of Our God</a>.” The introduction of the lesson is as
follows: </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It had been at least 40 years since Lehi’s
family left Jerusalem. They were in a strange new land, half a world away from
Jerusalem. Lehi had died, and his family had already started what would become
a centuries-long contention between the Nephites – “who believed in the
warnings and the revelations of God” – and the Lamanites, who did not (2 Nephi
5:6). Jacob, who was Nephi’s younger brother and was now ordained as a teacher
for the Nephites, wanted the covenant people to know that God would never
forget them, so they must never forget Him. This is a message we surely need
today (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:15-16). “Let us remember him … for we are
not cast off…. Great are the promises of the Lord,” Jacob declared (2 Nephi
10:20-21). Among these promises, none is greater than the promise of an “infinite
atonement” to overcome death and hell (2 Nephi 9:7). “Therefore,” Jacob
concluded, “cheer up your hearts”! (2 Nephi 10:23).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
principle for discussion tonight comes from 2 Nephi 9:7, “The Savior’s Atonement
is infinite. First, we will review the words from the scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite
atonement – save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not
put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must
needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have
laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jacob
described the Atonement of Jesus Christ as “infinite.” What does the word <i>infinite</i>
mean? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Merriam-Webster
online dictionary defines </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">infinite </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">as “extending indefinitely, endless; immeasurably
or inconceivably great or extensive, inexhaustible; subject to no limitation or
external determination; extending beyond, lying beyond, or being greater than
any preassigned finite value however large; extending to infinity.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to this definition, there is no end to Christ’s atonement. For a visual idea of
what infinite means, consider the blades of grass in lawn or field, the grains
of sand on a beach, or the stars in the sky. There are so many that we cannot
number all the blades of grass, grains of sand, or stars in the sky.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Savior’s Atonement is infinite in that it covers every single person who has ever
lived on this earth, now lives on this earth, and will live on this earth. It
covers you, and it covers me – as well as everyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Savior’s Atonement is also personal to each person. Just as each baby is
blessed individually, each child is baptized and confirmed individually, and
each adult is endowed individually, Jesus Christ atoned for each one of us
individually. No one knows how He did it, but we know that He did it for us –
every single one of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I want to proclaim,
as did Jacob, “O how great the plan of our God.” I am grateful that His plan
made possible for our bodies and spirits to be united, never to be separated
again. I am grateful that He did not leave our bodies in the grave to rot and
return to mother earth. Instead, His plan makes possible our return to the
presence of Heavenly Father to live with Him for eternity. I am grateful for
hope that my faith is not in vain.</span>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-35390429895732373302024-02-23T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-23T22:00:00.132-09:00Where Is the Justice?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Justice
is not fair in America. In fact, there is increasing evidence that America has
a two-tier justice system. Those who support Democrats have a get-out-of-jail
free card no matter how many crimes they commit or how serious the crime. All
others are treated differently.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href=" Violent Criminals Go Free While This Man Languishes in Jail (dailysignal.com)">Roman Jankowski</a>, a senior investigative counsel for the Oversight Project at The
Heritage Foundation, wrote about a case in Chicago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A nasty divorce case has put a man behind
bars for 18 months in Chicago’s Cook County Jail despite what he says is a clean
criminal record.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thanks to a law first proposed by Illinois’
black lawmakers after the George Floyd protests of 2020, thousands of dangerous
inmates are being released onto the streets of Chicago and other cities, while
those subject to civil complaints are jailed like criminals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Such is the case of Illinois native Steve
Fanady, 59, who has been rotting in a Cook County jail cell in solitary
confinement for 18 months over an unresolved 14-year-old divorce settlement….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Daily Signal spoke with Fanady via Zoom
to bring attention to his study and shed light on the harsh consequences of
woke measures such as the SAFE-T Act. Fanady said that he is being held in jail
on a judge’s order until he can pay $10 million or transfer 120,000 shares of
stock to his ex-wife.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He had agreed to give his ex-wife everything
she demanded, and a judge allowed him to keep stocks he had in Swiss bank accounts,
Fanady said. But, he said, he spent the next 10 years pursuing his business
partners because she suspected them of hiding some of his assets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In June 2022, a Cook County judge ordered
Fanady to pay $10 million or transfer 120,000 shares of stock to his ex-wife,
or face years in jail for indirect civil contempt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fanady
told <i>The New York Post</i> that he never had “anywhere close to $10 million
because he spent what money he had over “a decade of expensive divorce litigation
and child support.” He says that he cannot provide proof that he no longer owns
the stocks “because the record retention deadline on the Swiss accounts passed
and documents aren’t available.” In addition, Fanady fears that the judge will “make
another ruling, … making it almost impossible for him to get out of prison.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fanady
told <i>The Daily Signal</i> in a Zoom interview that he “has been mistreated
while in custody and is suing the sheriff for abuse. H</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">e added that his “cell
is infested with rats and cockroaches” and that he was not allowed to “shower
or get medical treatment for his physical and mental health.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">With both of his parents dead, authorities are concerned that Fanady will
kill himself. So they keep him locked up in his cell, away from other prisoners
– and release real criminals without cash bail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3123326538209122655.post-27646120664565235082024-02-22T22:00:00.001-09:002024-02-22T22:00:00.260-09:00What Is Happening Between ADL and the FBI?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="Partnership With ADL Compromises FBI's Fairness and Integrity (dailysignal.com)">Mike Howell</a>, an investigative columnist for <i>The Daily Signal</i>, accused the FBI
as compromising its integrity and fairness through its partnership with the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most Americans recognize that the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a far-left, dark-money behemoth with assets of
nearly a quarter-billion dollars. The once-respected FBI is now viewed as being
similarly politicized. Overall support for the agency has nose-dived to only
37% among the general public and a meager 17% among Republicans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet few Americans realize how closely the
ADL works with the FBI to advance their leadership’s political interests. This
is a dangerous collaboration wherein the increasingly radical group provides
ideologically driven guidance to people with the guns.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Right now, the FBI is pointing those guns
at the political enemies of the far Left.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The ADL’s work covers the usual left-wing
causes </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">célèbres: fighting voting integrity measures, pushing for
open-border policies and amnesty for illegal aliens, and vigorously defending
the Black Lives Matter riots, to name a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The group has now politically
weaponized its charges of antisemitism, falsely smearing conservatives while
excusing blatant antisemitism among its political allies. For example, the
organization has groundlessly denounced Elon Musk, a powerful libertarian
voice, as an antisemite in a baldfaced effort to drain his social network X, of
advertising revenue. Yet, when now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)
came to the defense of his uncle for antisemitic remarks he made in the ‘90s,
the organization refused to condemn him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">According to Howell, “Jonathan Tobin of Jewish News Syndicate traces
ADL’s hard-left turn to its change in leadership from longtime leader Abe
Foxman to Jonathan Greenblatt, a former staffer in the Clinton and Obama White
Houses.” Tobin wrote, “Greenblatt has helped to shift the ADL from its former
stance as the non-partisan gold standard for monitoring hate to being just
another liberal activist group whose priority is helping the Democrat Party.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In addition, Howell reported that the Oversight Project at The Heritage
Foundation released an investigative report that detailed an “Extremist Sitrep”
email from the “ADL Law Enforcement” account to The Washington State Fusion
Center, which is a collective of various law enforcement entities ranging from
local to the FBI. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The email advises law enforcement
officers responsible for investigating domestic terrorists to focus their
resources on the likes of Matt Walsh, Chris Fufo an Libs of TikTok…. Much like
the FBI’s infamous anti-Catholic targeting memo, the ADL email suggests that
law enforcement agencies – people with guns and the power to imprison and
financially destroy enemies of the state-should concentrate their efforts on
nonviolent citizens whose only ‘crime’ is to have exercised their First
Amendment freedoms in support of political viewpoints contrary to the
authoritarian Left.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The goal here is clearly to punish the
“thought criminals” and force adherence to the dogmas of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
problematic email is surely not the only contact between the ADL and the FBI.
Howell reported that former FBI agents stated that “they are conditioned from
the very beginning of their careers to be receptive to ADL propaganda.” The
same former FBI agents said that “One of the first experiences of a new agent
is an ADL-sponsored trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.” He added,
“The ostensible purpose of the trip is to impress on new agents that they bear
a tremendous responsibility that should never be abused.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
former FBI agents told Howell that “the trip’s real purpose is to prepare
agents to be receptive to the onslaught of propaganda and rewards that the ADL
will be sending their way throughout the coming years.” In other words, agents
are told at the beginning of their careers that “the ADL is a trusted partner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
partnership between the FBI and the ADL grows from that point. In fact, ADL
brags on it website, “We educate annually an estimated 15,000 law enforcement
personnel from local, state and federal agencies.” The site added, “in 2021
alone, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) provided law enforcement with critical
intelligence about extremism over 1,300 times and tracked over 7,300 incidents
of hate on our online, interactive H.E.A.T. map.” Howell added that the ADL has
a school to train “executive-level law enforcement officials.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .25in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Howell understands why there is such little public
confidence in the FBI. He suggested that one fix for the situation would be “to
end the partnership between the ADL and the FBI.” This would “draw a bright
line” between the FBI and “dark, far-left operations” and “make sure that line
is not crossed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Dianne Dahlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04602912696796525965noreply@blogger.com0