Who Are Pete Ricketts and John Fetterman?

My VIPs for this week are Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts and Democrat Sen. John Fetterman who recognized the dangers of Communist China owning American farmland. They recently introduced legislation to stop China from owning our farmland. Quinn Delamater discussed this issue in an article published at The Daily Signal. 

“It’s not just about the number of acres that they [the Chinese] own, but the fact that they own it around Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota or Fort Liberty in North Carolina. They’re buying it around sensitive military installations,” Ricketts, who represents Nebraska, said to Fox News Digital. He said that American farmland should not be a “tool that our adversaries, like Communist China, can use to attack us from inside our own country.”

“I hope many would agree the Chinese government and other U.S. adversaries should own ZERO agricultural land in our great country. This is really a national security issue and also a food security issue. Proud to partner with @Senator Ricketts on this,” Pennsylvania’s Fetterman posted on the social media platform X.

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Improvements Act would codify the findings of the Government Accountability Office that say that enhancing efforts to collect, track, and share information about foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land “could better identify national security risks,” according to a report by the office.

Ricketts told Fox News Digital: “We are at the most dangerous point in our history right now since World War II. We have to be investing in our military. We have to be supporting our friends around the world that are pushing back on these dictators. Communist China is one of them.”

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China holds 277,336 acres of U.S. land as of Dec. 31, 2023. This is almost 1% of all acres held by foreign entities. Other countries that have larger landholdings include Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Improvements Act seeks to increase the flow of information between the U.S. Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and the USDA and would require the disclosure of all foreign persons or entities holding more than a 1% interest in American agricultural land. It will also set up a deadline for the USDA to set up an online system for tracking those foreign agricultural investments, according to a statement released by Ricketts’ office.

I remember when I first learned numerous years ago that China had purchased Smithfield Foods. I was shocked that federal officials would allow such a thing. I wondered why the United States allowed any foreign nation to own American land, especially not China and other sworn enemies of the American way of life. I am pleased to know that some Senators have recognized the dangers in allowing foreign nations to own our farmland.

What Is Difference in Rights for Citizens and Green Card Holders?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the main differences between American citizens, green card holders, and illegal immigrants. A short answer is: (1) American citizens have full rights, including the right to vote and a U.S. passport; (2) Green Card holders or lawful permanent residents (LPR) have indefinite rights to reside and work in the United States but face travel limits and risk loss after certain crimes; (3) Illegal immigrants have no legal status and face deportation risk.

This site gives the following rights and duties for Green Card holders and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. 

Green Card rights and duties

·         Permanent residents have the right to work and live in the U.S. indefinitely, as well as the right to petition for close family members for a Green Card.

·         However, because Green Card’s relatives are considered preference relatives, this process takes considerably longer than for a U.S. citizen.

·         Permanent residents continue to be the citizens of another country, which means they do not have the right to a U.S. passport.

·         Lawful permanent residents do not have the right to vote in U.S. elections and may lose their status if U.S. government considers they have abandoned their status, by spending more than 6 months outside the United States, for example.

·         If a lawful permanent resident plans on leaving the U.S. for a period exceeding 1 year, they must first obtain a permit if they do not wish to abandon their status.

·         After a certain amount of time, permanent residents can apply for U.S. citizenship, also known as the naturalization process.

U.S. Citizenship rights and responsibilities. U.S. Citizenship is a status that entails specific rights, duties, and benefits, usually acquired by birth:

·         A U.S. Citizen has the right to live and work in the United States and to receive federal assistance.

·         Individuals can become U.S. citizens by birth, through U.S. citizen parents, or through the process known as naturalization.

·         A U.S. citizen is eligible to receive a U.S. passport, which is issued by the U.S. State department.

·         Many countries allow visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.

·         A U.S. citizen may also leave and reenter the U.S. at any time without being subject to the grounds of inadmissibility or require a re-entry permit.

·         U.S. citizens can also vote in U.S. federal and local elections, hold certain government jobs, and serve on juries.

·         Many federal and state government grants, scholarships and benefits are available only to U.S. citizens.

·         U.S. citizens may also petition on behalf of relatives to immigrate to the United States.

                  ·         Unlike Green Card holders, U.S. citizens cannot be deported from the United States –                             unless, that is, they committed fraud to obtain their green card or citizenship.

What Can We Learn from the Visions Recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 76 in a lesson titled “Great Shall Be Their Reward and Eternal Shall Be Their Glory.” The lesson was introduced by the following paragraphs. 

“What will happen to me after I die?” Nearly everyone asks this question in some form or another. For centuries, many Christian traditions, relying on biblical teachings, have taught of heaven and hell, of paradise for the righteous and torment for the wicked. But can the entire human family really be divided so strictly? In February 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon wondered if there was more to know about the subject (see Doctrine and Covenants 76, section heading).

There certainly was. While Joseph and Sidney were pondering these things, the Lord “touched the eyes of [their] understandings and they were opened” (verse 19). They received a revelation so stunning, so expansive, so illuminating that the Saints simply called it “the Vision.” It threw open heaven’s windows and gave God’s children a mind-stretching view of eternity. The vision revealed that heaven is grander and broader and more inclusive than most people had previously supposed. God is more merciful and just than we can comprehend. And God’s children have an eternal destiny more glorious than we can imagine.

The scripture block includes the following principles: (1) Salvation comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Doctrine and Covenants 76), (2) I can understand God’s will “by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:5-10, 114-18), (3) Exaltation is the highest form of salvation (Doctrine and Covenants 76:39-44, 50-70), and (4) My Heavenly Father wants me to receive eternal life in the celestial kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-70, 92-95). This essay will include all four principles.

The first principle is “Salvation comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of God” and is found throughout Doctrine and Covenants 76. This section reveals numerous important truths about our eternal destiny, including the three kingdoms of glory and the plan of salvation. However, it is more accurate to say that this section is about Jesus Christ, who makes possible God’s plan for our salvation and eternal glory.

This section describes the type of people who will inherit the different kingdoms of glory. To state it simply, each of the sons or daughters of Heavenly Father will receive immortality and inherit the kingdom of glory – celestial (verses 50-70, 92-96), terrestrial (verses 71-79, 97), or telestial (81-90, 98-106, 109-12) – that they choose by their choices and actions in mortality. Those people who receive the testimony of Jesus Christ and make and keep the necessary covenants will receive the highest degree of the celestial kingdom and enjoy eternal life (the ability to be married and have spirit children).

The second principle  is “I can understand God’s will ‘by the power of the Holy Spirit’” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:5-10, 114-18). Not all members of the Church easily accepted the revelation in section 76, because it taught that almost everyone would be saved and receive some degree of glory. Brigham Young said: “My traditions were such, that when the Vision came first to me, it was directly contrary and opposed to my former education. I said, Wait a little. I did not reject it; but I could not understand it.” He explained that he had to “think and pray, to read and think, until I knew and fully understood it for myself” (in “The Vision,” in Revelations in Context, 150).

The third principle is “Exaltation is the highest form of salvation” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:39-44, 50-70). Doctrine and Covenants 76:39-44 describe salvation generally. Verses 50-70 describe exaltation, a specific kind of salvation. There is a significant difference between salvation and exaltation. Salvation comes to every single person who received a mortal body through the power of the resurrection. Exaltation is the highest degree of salvation and involves living the kind of life that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. Jesus Christ makes both salvation and exaltation possible.

The last principle is “My Heavenly Father wants me to receive eternal life in the celestial kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-70, 92-95). Heavenly Father wants all of His children to join Him in the celestial kingdom, but He will not force anyone to go there. He wants us to choose to be with Him because we love Him. Many people wonder if they are good enough to be in the celestial kingdom. Elder J. Devn Cornish of the Seventy spoke on the topic “Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 32-34) at the October 2016 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As with my own experience, our members often ask, “Am I good enough as a person?” or “Will I really make it to the celestial kingdom?” Of course, there is no such thing as “being good enough.” None of us could ever “earn” or “deserve” our salvation, but it is normal to wonder if we are acceptable before the Lord, which is how I understand these questions.

Sometimes when we attend church, we become discouraged even by sincere invitations to improve ourselves. We think silently, “I can’t do all these things” or “I will never be as good as all these people.” …

Please, my beloved brothers and sisters, we must stop comparing ourselves to others. We torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our self-worth by the things we do or don’t have and by the opinions of others. If we must compare, let us compare how we were in the past to how we are today – and even to how we want to be in the future. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please sincerely ask Him what He thinks of you. He will love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan’s trick.

Let me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions “Am I good enough?” and “Will I make it?” are “Yest! You are going to be good enough” and “Yes, you are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel.” The God of heaven is not a heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game. He is our perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than anything else to have all of His children come back home and live with Him as families forever. He truly gave His Only Begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life! Please believe, and please take hope and comfort from, this eternal truth. Our Heavenly Father intends for us to make it! That is His work and His glory.

I love the way President Gordon B. Hinckley used to teach this principle. I heard him say on several occasions, “Brothers and sisters, all the Lord expects of us is to try, but you have to really try!”

“Really trying” means doing the best we can, recognizing where we need to improve, and then trying again. By repeatedly doing this, we come closer and closer to the Lord, we feel His Spirit more and more, and we receive more of His grace, or help.

  

Does Living and Practicing Faith Strengthen Marriage?

Marriages are stronger when spouses live their religion and attend church meetings regularly, and strong marriages create a firm foundation for strong families, which in turn strengthen communities, states, and nations. In his article published at The Daily Signal, Timothy Goeglein reported on a survey recently completed by Focus on the Family with more than 3,800 participants. The survey questioned “how faith impacts personal decisions about marriage and recorded married respondents’ self-assessments of their unions.” 

The good news is that 74% of all married couples described their marriages as “healthy.” But even more encouraging is that convictional Christians – those who actively live out and practice their faith – scored higher on all 32 aspects of marriage that speak to matrimonial health – whether it be taking responsibility for mistakes, having compassion toward each other, trust, or financial management.

The difference between convictional Christian marriages and non-Christian marriages comes into focus, so to speak, when one digs deeper into the research findings. The study found that 25% of non-Christians surveyed said their marriages were in crisis, while only 13% of convictional Christians said so. And among those who profess faith, but not as strongly as convictional Christians, 22% of nominal Christians and 17% of born-again Christians said their marriages were in crisis.

Thus, when it comes to marriage, faith really does matter.

But don’t just take Focus on the Family’s word on it. Other researchers have found the same thing. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that couples who regularly attend church services are about 30%-50% less likely to divorce.

This statistic also holds true across racial groups. Research done by Kenneth Pargament and Annette Mahoney of Bowling Green University’s Spirituality and Psychology Research Team found that marriages are stronger and happier when husbands and wives understand there is a deeper spiritual significance to marriage beyond feelings or economic security.

Unfortunately, over the past several decades, the understanding of marriage as a sacred bond between a man and a woman has been lost as faith has diminished and our society becomes more about personal happiness and “self-fulfillment.” [Is it] any wonder why divorce has become so prevalent in our culture, as faith – the glue that keeps couples together – loses influence in our society?

Or as the late esteemed social scientist James Q. Wilson put it, “Marriage was once a sacrament, then it became a contract, and now it is an arrangement. Once religion provided the sacrament, then the law enforced the contract, and now personal preferences define the arrangement.

And sadly, because of these factors, many young people, as the Focus on the Family study finds, are less interested in getting married, with only 56% of single, non-married respondents saying they want to be married someday.

Thus, the renewal of faith in our culture is essential to solving the breakdown of marriage and the family – the two bedrock institutions that affect both present and future generations either positively or negatively. It is this same renewal of faith that will make marriage an institution to be desired, rather than one that has come with the negative emotional baggage of separation and divorce for so many young people.

And those of us in healthy marriages need to come alongside those who are struggling to offer support and encouragement. We also need to model what a biblical marriage looks like, through our words and actions, so people will be drawn to what we have, rather than be repelled by what they see when marriages take a wrong turn and head down the wrong road to dissolution….

To restore the commitment of marriage and the family and begin to reverse the tragic trends of the past 60-plus years, our efforts must start with the renewal of faith and the restoration of the family. By doing so, we will reap benefits beyond just stable families…

As Goeglein stated, stable families bring about stability in other areas by successfully addressing other issues, such as “unwed pregnancy, drug addiction, income inequality, and government dependence – that plague our society.” A healthy society benefits everyone, both married and single. Thus, strong marriages and families strengthen communities, states, and nations.

Should America Revive Civics Education for 250th Anniversary?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the need to revive civics education. The 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be next year, and the United States is planning a year of celebration. Madison Marino Doan and Jonathan Butcher discuss the revival of civics education in their article published at The Daily Signal. 

… this anniversary should be more than a celebration. It should be a reflection point for civics education in America’s K-12 schools.

Across the country, states are launching commemorative events. In North Carolina, the Museum of History and its affiliates will sponsor civics-focused teacher workshop sessions and feature exhibitions showcasing the unique experiences of North Carolinians. In Utah, the state’s 250^th commission is collaborating with a university’s Center for Constitutional Studies to train 500 K-12 teachers and prepare a public display of Revolutionary War artifacts in the Utah State Capitol. Even the U.S. Navy is participating, celebrating not just the country’s 250^th but its own by hosting port calls and other community outreach engagements in cities nationwide.

These programs connect Americans to our history and institutions. But … we need to reinvest in civics education at the K-12 level.

Current data tell a troubling story.

In 2024, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation surveyed 2,000 registered voters to test basic civic knowledge on topics form the three branches of government to the number of Supreme Court justices. Over 70% failed. Remarkably, most of these respondents said they’d studied civics in high school.

Today’s students aren’t faring much better. The National Assessment of Educational Progress civics exam, which evaluates the civic knowledge of a representative sample of students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades, found that nearly one-third of eighth graders are performing below NAEP “basic” level in civics – meaning many cannot explain the structure and functions of government.

Confidence is declining too: A 2022 survey accompanying the NAEP exam showed that more students reported low confidence in their civics knowledge than in 2018.

The U.S. Department of Education also found in 2022 that only 49% of eighth-graders reported taking a class primarily focused on civics or the U.S. government.

This means we’re not just facing a civic knowledge gap. We’re facing a generation of students unsure of how their government works or how they fit into it.

Research shows that 40 states and the District of Columbia have civics-related requirements for students in grades K-12. But some states lack such requirements, and others do not require students to earn passing scores on civics exams before graduating.

Recently, though, Florida and Louisiana have made significant efforts to revamp their civics standards for both students and teachers.

In Florida, lawmakers and educators have made civics a statewide priority….

Florida incorporates civics learning into every grade from K-12. In middle school, students must complete a one-semester course and pass an end-of course exam. At the high school level, students must complete a yearlong U.S. history course and a half-semester course in U.S. Government to graduate, and must take the Florida Civic Literacy Examination after completing their government course.

Louisiana has also taken meaningful steps on civic education. In 2022, the state adopted new social studies standards, known as the “Freedom Framework,” designed to integrate civic learning from kindergarten through high school. All high school students are required to take the Louisiana Education Assessment Program civics exam, and educators have been offered new resources to help with suggested pacing, framing, and access to high-quality sources.

These states are leading the way, and others should follow – rebooting civics just in time for our nation’s 250^th birthday.

 

Are You Proud to Be an American?

According to Gallup, Americans are nearly divided equally when it comes to believing in America: 42% do not believe in America, while “58% are either ‘extremely’ or ‘somewhat’ proud to be American.” Ben Shapiro concluded that the number of people who are proud to be American has steeply declined since 2004 when it was 91% and even in 2016 when it was 81%. He continued his analysis as follows. 

The trend isn’t equivalent across the political spectrum. Republicans have always been far prouder of their country: their pride number has never dropped below 84% in 2022, and currently stands at 92%. The serious decline is located among independents, who have dropped from 76% in 2013 to 53% today, and Democrats, who plummeted from 80% to 36% during that same period. Furthermore, Americans’ age correlates highly with levels of American pride: 83% of the Silent Generation venerates the country, as do 75% of Baby Boomers and 71% of Generation Xers – but just 58% of Millennials and 41% of Generation Z do.

So, what precisely happened?

The answer is simple: Republicans started winning, and Democrats spiraled off. President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 sent Democrats spiraling into an anti-American black hole, with their pride in America dropping off a cliff during the first Trump term, recovering only moderately during Joe Biden’s term (62% in 2021), and then plummeting again this year. Democrats embraced a new and extreme anti-American point of view, reflected most obviously in the elevation of figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; and now New York Democrat mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

These figures, emblems of a new wave in the Democratic Party, are disaffected with America in general. If the promise of Barack Obama is that the vessel of the Democratic Party could be used to bottle the fire and fervor of the revolutionary Left, these radicals believe that all bottles must be shattered – that the institutions of the United States must be exploded entirely. They see the reelection of Donald Trump as indicative of a deep rot at the heart of the American experiment, and wish to eviscerate the fundamental ideas of that experiment. They champion the supposed virtue of the Third World and the supposed evil of the United States; the supposed beauties of socialism and evils of capitalism; the supposed virtue of transgressive social values and the supposed evils of traditionalism. They believe that America’s unique Constitution is a framework for oppression; they believe that rights are mere guises for despotic power, and that duties are cynically placed fetters upon their true selves….

They have taken over the Democratic Party – and they are making extraordinary inroads among younger Americans. Ironically, that’s due to the failure of the very institutions the political Left hijacked and misused for decades….

Meanwhile, political independents grow increasingly discouraged by our politics. They see Republicans shifting the deck chairs atop the Titanic of state as Democrats eagerly drill more holes in the hull – and they are increasingly depressed. They are not wrong to be. But they are wrong to believe that they can or should chart a middle course between those who love America and her founding principles and those who despise them. We should all be proud of America, the greatest country in the history of the world, with all of its faults and flaws. And we should work to correct those faults and flaws rather than seeking its overthrow, or despairing and throwing up our hands.

Are You Willing to Live for Your Country?

Many people are willing to die for their country, but how many are willing to live for their country? This is a question asked by Jimmy Graham in an article published at The Blaze.

Independence Day is a national day to honor the men who pledged “to each other [their] Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor.” The signers, all fifty-six of them, offered their lives and their fortunes to preserve and protect the rights given to all people by God.

Just as the signers of the Declaration of Independence offered their lives for our freedom and liberty, we should be willing to offer our lives for the freedom and liberty of Americans who will follow in our footsteps.

Graham wrote that it is often easier to offer to die for our country than it is to live for it. When asked, many Americans have said that they are willing to die for the red, white, and blue. However, most of them would think more deeply if they were asked to live for their country. Graham asked a young man training to become a Navy SEAL if he were willing to die for his country, and he nodded solemnly. Then Graham asked him if he was willing to live for his country.

That shift in wording – so simple – completely changed his posture. The romanticism of martyrdom dimmed in the light of daily responsibility. Living for something demands consistency, humility, and effort. It’s the long haul.

I then asked him to add “your family” and “my family” to the sentence. “Would you live for your country, your family, and my family?” That’s when the gravity hit him. Because if you won’t live for them – serve, protect, uphold – then you don’t deserve the honor of dying for them….

We are living in a destabilized America. The erosion didn’t begin with foreign powers. It began when we stopped holding ourselves and each other accountable. We began to celebrate selfishness over service, confusion over clarity, and chaos over order. When morality and justice become flexible, small government becomes impossible. That vacuum invites control. And when people abandon responsibility, tyranny grows in its place.

I’ve worked in environments where destabilizing a country was the goal, where operations were designed to light the fuse and let the people do the rest. Sadly, I see a similar fuse burning in our own nation.

When law is no longer tied to truth and truth becomes subjective, the foundation cracks. Evil ideas dressed as compassion are pushed forward under the guise of progress. But make no mistake: Confusion is not compassion. Chaos is not freedom. And evil, when legalized, is still evil.

So what do we do? We take ownership. We return to righteousness….

When I look around, I see a nation waiting for leadership – not from Washington, but from our homes, churches, and communities. Men, it’s time to get back in the fight. Not with fists, but with faith. Not with rage, but with righteousness….

This Fourth of July [and over the next year as we prepare to celebrate 250 years of independence and freedom], don’t just wave the flag – embody what it stands for. Choose to live for your country. Live with integrity. Live with purpose. Live in a way that honors your family and the generations that came before us.