Blog

 	Agencies tagged for elimination or reduction revealed
	Jerry McConway / October 13, 2025

     **When Democrats shut down the government by refusing to sign
the continuing resolution (CR), Trump made it clear that if the
shutdown had any length to it, he was going to start trimming down
the government.
     Democrats balked, believing that Trump was bluffing, and they
have held the line.
     Now the agencies Trump wants to cut have been revealed, and
Democrats are starting to realize that the clock is ticking if they
want to save these jobs.

     *Political Pawns
     The media, of course, has been accusing Trump of using federal
workers as political pawns, but they are directing their allegations
in the wrong direction.
     Trump has never hidden the fact that he wants to cut government
payroll, and this, he believes, will give him the power to make
massive cuts that do not need to be approved by Congress.
     Federal workers are now panicking, knowing the ax is coming if
Democrats do not cave.
     For instance, Priscilla Novak, a furloughed federal employee
researcher, stated, “This is the third time I’ve been furloughed in
my federal career. But this is the first time there were threats of
having people be fired en masse. I’ve been checking my email every
day to see if I’m fired yet.

     *Trump Will Take the Heat
     In case people have not yet realized it, Donald Trump has no
problem being the bad guy in these scenarios.
     Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich explained, “What’s
fascinating, if you watch, Trump has now begun to systematically
lay off people permanently. I think what Trump is gambling is that
he can actually change the federal government dramatically during
the shutdown.
     “He’s willing to take the heat because, frankly, when he’s
busy going to the Middle East to be part of a peace treaty signing,
that is astonishing, he’s got other big things he’s doing, so he’s
not particularly bothered.”
     Trump is also willing to take the heat because the GOP believes
it can point the blame at Democrats for this happening. After all,
all they have to do is sign the CR, and everyone goes back to work.

     *The Hit List
     A report has just surfaced in Axios that has revealed all the
agencies that Trump is targeting to either eliminate or signifi-
cantly scale down as this shutdown continues.
     A spokesperson told Axios, "HHS employees across multiple
divisions have received reduction-in-force notices as a direct
consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown.”
     The Department of Homeland Security is expecting to cut 176
jobs, the Treasury is expected to cut nearly 1,500 employees, and
the Department of Education is expected to cut nearly 500 jobs.
The EPA, HUD, and the Department of Energy are also expected to
make cuts.
     I would suspect that most of these cuts will be challenged by
Democrats, but my guess is that Trump is hoping this announcement
will make the cuts unnecessary. Remember, Dems can stop all this
just by signing the CR, so this just became a staring contest.**

	The cuts are the fat that Democrats put in DC. They have
been doing this for decades. They pack it with fat and feed unions
and then the Republicans take it back to reality. Many of those
agencies are creations of the Left. They are useless and they give
away billions to meaningless pet projects.
     What happened to the billion Pelosi gave to the Arts in 2 of
the inflated bills she forced on Trump so he could get funding for
the pandemic and they still stole millions of it.
     Do the math and pray for God to protect us.

  Conservatively,
  John

    	Known by Our Love: How We Resist Helplessness in a World
        of Hate
        arnie.cole@backtothebible.org
        Sep 21, 2025 / Arnie Cole

     I got a text the other day from our daughter. One of the girls
in our barn had said that Charlie Kirk deserved to die because he
was such a terrible human being. My daughter didn’t fire back with
more angry words or try to win an argument. Instead, with quiet
wisdom, she simply said, “We can choose to disagree,” and left
it there.
     When I read her message, I started thinking. As a Christ-
follower, what could I possibly say to someone who feels that way?
How do you respond when the hatred is so strong that even murder
seems justifiable?
     And then it struck me: moments like these only add to the
heaviness we already carry. Many mornings, when my feet hit the
floor, I wonder, does what I do today even matter? The places I go,
the conversations I either have or avoid, the prayers I say… All
of it can feel so completely insignificant. Then I turn on the
news, and it’s more of the same: chaos, injustice, hostility. It’s
easy to believe that no matter how hard we try, nothing ever
changes. That creeping sense of powerlessness is what psychologists
call learned helplessness. It’s where repeated setbacks and constant
negativity convince us we have no control. Spiritually, it can kill
our hope, blunt our action, and silence our love.

     *The Deepening Shadows
     I wanted you to know that your responses to the Learned Help-
lessness Assessment, which many of you took last week (we will have
the full analysis for you next week), showed this clearly:
Most of us doubt that our daily actions make a difference.
Most of us are hesitant to step forward in faith, unsure that we
have anything worth offering.
Most of us regret, and sometimes feel shame, for what we didn’t do.
     Thus, when another tragedy strikes—like the recent assassin-
ation of Charlie Kirk, a public figure killed while speaking on a
university campus—it doesn’t just add news items to our feed. It
feeds the fear that strong voices are silenced and that speaking or
trying to speak will make us targets more than instruments of love.
     And then there’s the ugliness around the response: mocking,
celebrating, re-enacting violence, public shaming, online cruelty.
These acts of hate amplify the sense that the world is hostile,
that we’re already defeated before we begin.

     *Why This Magnifies Helplessness
     When we see that speaking out or showing faith might invite
ridicule, threats, or worse, the risk feels too high and many pull
back afraid of the cost. When we see people mock grief even at
memorials, what hope is there to show compassion? And this just
makes us feel isolated and silenced. The hatred we experience con-
vinces us that we’re alone in our convictions and as a result, we
begin to censor ourselves and shrink from our public demonstrations
of faith.

     *What Faith Tells Us
     Christian hope doesn’t deny the darkness. But it does insist
that love still matters. Especially when it feels like nothing else
does. Jesus didn’t say we’d be known by our outrage, our power, or
our arguments. He said, “By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
     The Apostle Paul reminds us that “Love does no harm to a
neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans
13:10.) He’s saying that even when institutions fail or society
turns toxic, we can choose love. But he knows it’s not easy, so he
encourages us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due
season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). The
results may not be immediate, but they are eternal.

     *Known By Love in a Time of Hate
     If we are to resist helplessness, we must reclaim our identity
as Christ’s followers, not as people defined by fear, retaliation,
or despair, but as people defined by love. In other words:
 When others curse, we bless.
 When others mock, we comfort.
 When others spread hate, we sow peace.
 This doesn’t mean ignoring injustice or staying silent. It means
our response is anchored in love, not poisoned by bitterness for
those who hate everything we believe in. Imagine the testimony if,
in the wake of violence and hatred, Christ-followers became more
known for their love than the world is known for its hate.

     *Small Steps Toward Breakthrough
     So, what can we do to move ourselves towards a spiritual break-
through? First, anchor yourself in Scripture. Remind yourself of
who you are. That you are chosen, loved and sent by God. Next,
commit to speaking kindness to someone who may least expect it. When
sharing your faith, witness honestly. Admit your fears. Community
can be built through vulnerability. 
     Finally, pray for those who celebrate hate knowing that God’s
love can transform even the hardest of hearts. Step by step we can
stand courageously for truth.

     *A Vision: Redefining What We Are Known For
     Let’s imagine the kind of people we want to be remembered as: 
 Not shrinking back when hatred shouts.
 Not silenced because the cost seems too high.
 People whose love is louder, because it holds fast when others let
go.
 The world might remember acts of hatred first. But God remembers
acts of love. And one day, that memory will matter more.

     *Response
     This week, choose one small act of love, something that costs
you humility, vulnerability, or sacrifice. And after doing it, write
it down. Pray about what it means. Trust that even in the face of
tragedy, even when it seems like nothing shifts, this act is doing
more than you know.
     *In it, to Kingdom win it!**

     God's Love is free and faith is free but hatred is what you
choose to destroy the gift of God and everyone around you.

  Conservatively,
  John
    

	**Why Do the Meek Inherit the Earth?
        Grace Hamman / September 15, 2025

     Why do the meek inherit the Earth? That seems … wrong. And
inaccurate.
     Meekness is not a word we use regularly. When I googled
meekness, the example sentence provided was, no joke, “All his best
friends make fun of him for his meekness.” Yikes. We associate
meekness with timidity or mousiness, something closer to a vice
than a virtue. 
     Yet Jesus states it baldly, in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5,
NRSVue). He is indirectly quoting Psalm 37:11, where the meek also
inherit the land. 
     Jesus even cites his own meekness as a reason for people to
trust him. “Follow me,” he says later in that same gospel, “for I
am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29, KJV). Surely Jesus is not
calling himself a doormat. And even if he was, timid passivity is
certainly not a good reason to follow someone, nor is it a reason
to inherit the Earth.  
     Newer translations of Matthew 11:29 often use “gentle” instead
of “meek,” as in the NIV, NRSV, and many others. But Matthew 5:5
often remains “meek,” even in the newer translations.  
     So, what is meekness with which Christ identifies himself? The
kind that makes him worthy to follow to the end in our weariness,
the kind of meekness that inherits the Earth, in the repeated phrase
of the Beatitudes and Psalm 37? 
     We have clearly become squirmy around this word — but meekness
actually expresses something central to the Christian life, some-
thing we would do well to reclaim as followers of Christ. Gentleness
is a good word, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same thing as his-
torical meekness. Let us become word nerds for a minute and look at
the medieval meanings of meekness.

     *Medieval Meanings of Meekness
     For medieval theologians and thinkers, meekness was a virtue,
a habit of being in the world, that measured angry responses. In
Thomas Aquinas’s words, meekness “moderates anger according to right
reason,” regulating the desire for vengeance, destroying hatred
itself.
     In other words, meekness is not quite the same as gentleness.
It can be quite stern. Meekness adapts anger as it needs to be
adapted to contexts and circumstances. It is a form of patience
specifically geared for handling anger. In a little fifteenth-
century treatise with an evocative title, The Tree and the Twelve
Fruits of the Holy Ghost, the author writes that “patience ordains
us to the fruition and use of endless peace.” As the type of
patience measuring anger, meekness, too, ordains us towards
cultivating peace. In practicing meekness, we become someone who
can catch an elusive glimpse of the eternal peace of the Kingdom
of Heaven even in anger and then chase that vision. 
     Meekness really has nothing to do with being a mouse or a
doormat. A meek person is someone who handles her anger well. She
is angry in the right contexts, with wise responses that are
neither overheated nor too cold. The meek person is never bitter
nor hateful, both of which are warped forms of anger.
The meek are not controlled by their anger, though they can still
be angry. In fact, the anger of the meek has the power to change
unjust social systems or to reset relationships, because it is
oriented ultimately to the abiding peace of Jesus and towards
recognizing the image of God in each person, however much of a jerk
they may be.
 
     *Christ the King, the Meek Lamb
     We begin to see why meekness is a virtue that Christ claims
for himself. Christ the King is the meek lamb who did not open his
mouth before the slaughter. We witness his crucifixion as the great
final rejection of humanity’s wasting wrath.
     But we also see Jesus flip tables, we see him call out reli-
gious leadership, we see him heal the ill and speak to the outcast
and violate social taboos.
     The meek do not wilt under pressure, submitting to oppression
because they are too weak to fight back. Only the meek are coura-
geous and loving and powerful enough to refuse to return violence
in the face of the sword that pierces the soul and the nails that
perforate the hands and feet.
     And yet they are no passive or repressed bystanders; they act
upon their anger in moments and places where it would be wrong not
to act upon anger at religious hypocrisy, at exploitation of the
needy, at cultivated ignorance.

     *The Only Free Person
     So then, back to my original question: why do the meek inherit
the kingdom? A collection for preachers which offered material for
sermons shockingly claimed that “meekness deserves to be a leader.”
We can begin to see how this surprising statement can be true. Only
the meek are not purely reactive to and within their contexts; they
alone can reject an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and
break the perpetual cycle of human violence. A meek person is a
free person, the only truly free person.  
     The meek inherit the earth because they are the only ones who
can be trusted with that truly kingly inheritance. Only meek Mary
is mother of Jesus. Only the meek Jesus can judge hearts; only the
meek Savior can rule the world.**
      When Jesus said "the meek shall inherit the earth", did not
mean that Jesus was the only meek being capable of inheriting the
earth. Singles out the humility, gentleness, and having one's
strength under control. Also bending and a posture of submission and
trust in God.
     Pray that more can set aside their anger learn to love God.

  Conservatively,
  John 

	Charlie Kirk Assassination Stirs Fears of Rising Political
     Violence
	Political scholars and ordinary people believe that the
     slaying of the 31-year-old political commentator is a possible
     watershed moment for the nation.
     By Janice Hisle, Savannah Hulsey Pointer
     September 12, 2025
     **The Sept. 10 death of Charlie Kirk—the highest-profile U.S.
political figure to be assassinated in nearly six decades—represents
a tipping point for the nation, legal scholars and others told The
Epoch Times. How leaders and the populace react to it could deter-
mine whether the tide of political violence continues to rise or
recedes.
     The 31-year-old father of two was fatally shot in the neck as
he spoke on a Utah college campus. As of Sept. 11, the gunman re-
mained unidentified and on the loose; police detained two people
but released both after questioning.
     Susan MacManus, a Florida political scholar for a half-century,
said Kirk’s slaying could spark important changes.
     “But is it going to be a catalyst for the two parties coming
together and saying, ‘Enough of this’?” she asked. “Or is it just
going to be a catalyst for even further deepening the polarization
in this country?”
     She said she worries that it could be the latter, given that
“right now, the two words that are most missing in our politics are
‘civility’ and ‘compromise.’”
    MacManus told The Epoch Times that she sees another contributing
factor: Americans are awash in a culture of violence, ranging from
images in movies and news reports to video games “where you win if
you ‘kill’ people.”
     When Kirk was gunned down, he was answering an attendee’s
question about transgender suspects committing mass shootings. Any
possible significance of that timing remains unknown, along with
the gunman’s motive. In addition, Kirk had posted on social media
earlier in 2025 that he was concerned about studies showing the
glorification of “assassination culture” in the United States.
Many people, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, have labeled Kirk’s
death a “political assassination.”
     The founder of the Turning Point USA conservative organization,
Kirk influenced millions of people, President Donald Trump said in
an address hours after the shooting. Trump called for an end to
political violence and vowed that his administration would root out
“each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and
to other political violence.”
     As a candidate in 2024, Trump himself was the target of
attempted assassinations in Pennsylvania and Florida.
     High-profile mass shootings at schools and the targeted assas-
sination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson have also rattled
the American psyche and affected political discourse.
     This year, an arsonist targeted the Democratic Pennsylvania
governor’s residence in April. And in June, a gunman shot two
Democratic Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses.
     The Aug. 22 fatal stabbing of a young Ukrainian woman aboard
a Charlotte, North Carolina, train, captured on video, seems to
have touched off the most outrage, according to MacManus.
     White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks alongside
photos of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska and Decarlos Brown Jr.
during a news briefing at the White House on Sept. 9, 2025.
Zarutska was allegedly killed by Brown on a light-rail train in
Charlotte, N.C. Many other violent incidents have affected U.S.
politics, directly or indirectly, in recent years.
     Asked to put Kirk’s assassination into context, Jeff Blood-
worth, professor of American political history at Pennsylvania’s
Gannon University, told The Epoch Times that the nation has had
“many, many moments of political violence,” far more than its
“Western cousin. He called Kirk’s slaying “another sad chapter
in a ‘book’ that nobody wants to read.”
     Looking at the current situation, he said, “It’s telling when
you have to say, ‘Well, it’s not as bad as 1968, right?’”
     That was the year presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
(D-N.Y.) and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. were both
assassinated. Those slayings followed the 1963 assassination of
President John F. Kennedy (Sen. Robert Kennedy’s brother), a
Democrat.
     In the decades since, violence against other notable national
figures has included the 2017 shooting of House Majority Whip Steve
Scalise, a Republican, who survived despite serious injuries; the
1981 non-fatal shooting of President Ronald Reagan, a Republican;
and a 2011 attack on Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) that left six
people dead, 13 injured, and Giffords in critical condition.
     Bloodworth and MacManus said many people who are only casually
aware of politics had no idea who Kirk was until he was assassi-
nated. But they also agreed that the big impact he had on U.S.
politics is part of his legacy.
     “He was an important figure,“ Bloodworth said. ”You might even
say he was a rock star in certain circles.”
     Both political scholars said they were concerned about how the
Kirk assassination could affect U.S. politics.
     MacManus said many would-be candidates for the 2026 midterm
elections might not be willing to risk becoming targets for violence
President John F. Kennedy (3rd R) in the White House with leaders
of the “March on Washington” (L–R) Floyd McKissick, Mathew Ahmann,
Whitney Young, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Rabbi Joachim
Prinz, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, and Roy Wilkins.
MPI/Getty Images
     Bloodworth said the political violence seems to be a symptom
of deeper maladies in American society.
     “Our politics is a barometer, and this violence is a barometer,
and it’s telling us something,” he said. “I don’t think it’s telling
us just how politically divided we are. I think it tells us some-
thing about kind of a deeper yearning.”
     People feel “more disconnected” and sad, despite so many ways
to “connect” online, he said, noting that social media is not “real
life.”
     Both he and MacManus said the human tragedy of Kirk’s death,
which left his wife a widow and his two small children fatherless,
should bridge any political divide if people step back and see it
from that perspective.
     MacManus said the U.S. people are looking to the nation’s
leaders to set the tone.
     “[People need to] see Congress coming together and big leaders
from both parties saying, ‘Here are things we’re going to do and
we’re not going to do,’ and stick to it,” she said. “But the
problem we were running into is the old problem of ‘do as I say,
not as I do.’”
     On Campus
     Those in attendance also raised concerns about how Kirk’s
assassination will affect them and society.
Jeremy King, 45, and his wife, Amy King, 46, live near the site
where Kirk was speaking, so they decided to attend, they told The
Epoch Times.
     Jeremy King told The Epoch Times that he heard “what sounded
like a firecracker.” He was not sure that the shooting was real
until he saw Kirk fall back in his chair, he said.
     The attendee said he distinctly remembers standing over his
wife, trying to understand if this was a mass shooting event and if
they should take cover or run. They decided to leave when Jeremy
King said he realized that Kirk was being targeted and there were
no additional shots coming.
     “So we left [in] the same direction Charlie was taken out,”
Jeremy King said. As he left, he pulled out his phone to take a
video because he was convinced that the moment needed to be
recorded.
     “It felt very significant when they were carrying him out,”
he said.
     Jeremy King took some of the most widely spread video footage
of Kirk’s security team rushing him into an SUV. Kirk then was
taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead Charlie Kirk is
carried away after being shot during a Turning Point USA event at
Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. Courtesy
of Jeremy King
     The couple has very different opinions about whether they will
attend an event like this in the future.
     Amy King said it was her first political event and might be
her last.
     She said she does not “really get into politics” but went
because the event was close to home and she “was really interested
in some of the things that [Kirk] said.”
     Jeremy King said he came away from the event with a different
opinion; he now feels that he wants to be “very involved” moving
forward.
     He said he would “absolutely go” to future political events.
     “I think we need to do a better job of screening and [with]
the security, but there’s been so many wonderful things that we
can’t do anymore that we did in the ‘80s and ’90s and early 2000s
and, unfortunately, I think that trend will continue,” he said.
     Amy King’s voice faltered when she talked about what it will
be like for Kirk’s children to grow up without him.
     “Us being parents ourselves, knowing Charlie was a parent ..
.my heart goes out to his family,” she told The Epoch Times.
     She also addressed the “shock” that the conservative commen-
tator’s kids will go through, even when they are older, when they
see references to or footage of the event.
     “This will be on the news or at any time as they get older,
and to grow up to see your dad pretty much gunned down on live TV,
it’s just not fair,” she said.
     Amy King said she sees, now more than ever, the importance of
respecting “every individual.”
     “If you disagree, you disagree,” she said. “But violence is
not ever the solution.”**
     And we still don't have any information of whom this murderer
is and his reasoning.**
     "Rest in Peace" Charlie. Ask God to Deliver us from the Evil
that the set itself upon destroying our Great Nation.
  Conservatively,
  John

	    **Lies Your College Professors May Tell You & How to
        Counter Them
        Lauren Cooley / September 10, 2025
     The pursuit of knowledge was once a deeply Christian calling,
anchored in the belief that all truth is God’s truth. Harvard’s
original motto was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae or “Truth for Christ
and the Church.” Yale and Princeton were founded to train ministers.
America’s colleges were built to glorify God, but that foundation
has crumbled.
     Christian students must recognize that the secular college is
no longer neutral ground. It’s an ideological battlefield, and too
many students are heading off to the warzone untrained and unarmed.
But with proper training, young Christians will not only maintain
their faith but also act as a light in the darkness of academia. 
     So, students, as you ready yourself to stand firm in the
marketplace of ideas, here are several lies you can expect a college
professor to tell you, and how to counter them.

     *1. “Truth is Relative.”
     The foundation of a college education used to be the pursuit
of truth. But today’s students are taught that truth is subjective.
“Your truth” and “my truth” are all that matter. But when truth
becomes nothing more than personal opinion, then morality, justice,
and even reality start to lose their footing.
     Scripture offers a different foundation: God’s Word is truth
(Jn. 17:17) and the source from which all true knowledge flows. As
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge.” 
     Without God, there is no reliable basis for meaning, ethics,
or truth. The Bible grounds all the truth we need. It is sufficient,
authoritative, and wholly trustworthy.

     *2. “Your Faith is Private.”
     On campus, Christian students are told their faith is fine so
long as they keep it to themselves. Christianity is treated as per-
sonal superstition, unfit for serious academic dialogue.
     This automatic dismissal of public faith divorces the Creator
from creation, shutting down the ability for private belief to
inform a comprehensive worldview. When you apply your faith to all
of life, it speaks to science, law, human rights, identity, and
ethics.
     Faith and learning are not enemies; they are allies. The
Cultural Mandate in Genesis 1:28 is a call to fill the earth,
subdue it, and rule over it, bringing order, purpose, and steward-
ship to every area of life. That includes the classroom. 
     When you apply your faith to all of life, it speaks to science,
law, human rights, identity, and ethics.

     *3. “America is Fundamentally Evil.”
     On campus today, students aren’t taught to understand the
founding and formation of the United States of America, let alone
appreciate it. Instead, they’re trained to despise her. From the
1619 Project to Critical Theory, students are told this country is
systemically racist, homophobic, greedy, and beyond redemption.
     These critiques flow from a worldview that defines justice
apart from scripture. In this framework, sin is disagreement with
progressive orthodoxy. But for the Christian, sin is rebellion
against God. For the non-Christian academic, justice becomes power
redistribution. But for the Christian, justice equals righteousness.
     Our Founders declared that rights come from God, not govern-
ment, and built a system designed to protect those rights in spite
of a sinful, fallen mankind. Though imperfect, the great American
experiment has produced more liberty, reform, and human dignity
than nearly any other in history. 
     You don’t have to ignore the nation’s faults to be grateful
for its foundations. If you only learn to tear down, you’ll never
know what’s worth defending or how to reform America in a godly
fashion.
 
     *4. “Big Government is the Solution to Injustice.”
     Campuses have become training grounds for soft socialism,
where government is presented as the ultimate solution to every
social ill. Students are encouraged to turn to the state for nearly
everything, from fairness and equality to healthcare and housing,
and even for a sense of personal identity and purpose.
     What these professors fail to acknowledge is that when the
government replaces God, freedom quickly disappears. A large state
and a diminished church work against God’s design.
     Government does have a place in God’s plan, but that place is
small compared to the roles of family, church, and individual con-
science. When it stays within its proper bounds, it can protect the
vulnerable and help maintain order. When it pushes past those limits
and takes on authority it was never given, the result is confusion
and instability.

     *5. “You Create Your Own Identity.”
     Today’s students are told that identity is something to be
created. Whether it’s gender, sexuality, or even truth itself,
society encourages us to redefine ourselves by our feelings,
desires, and inner voice. 
     We are not a blank canvas. When people seek identity apart
from the Imago Dei, the result is deeper confusion and greater harm.
In fact, God never meant for us to have to reinvent ourselves.
Knowing that we are Image-bearers (Gen. 1:27) gives us lasting
security. He has a plan for each life, and his plans are good
(Ps. 139:14).
     Government does have a place in God’s plan, but that place is
small compared to the roles of family, church, and individual con-
science.

     *6. “Affirmation is the Highest Virtue.”
     In the new moral order of campus life, to disagree is to do
harm. Students are taught that love equals affirmation. In extreme
cases, campus administrators posit that anything short of full
celebration is violence.
     The gospel offers a countercultural way for Christ’s followers.
Jesus loved sinners while calling them to repentance. Love that
aligns with scripture tells the truth even when the cost is high. 
     Scripture is full of examples of God’s people refusing to bow
to cultural idols. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into
the fiery furnace for refusing to affirm what everyone else accepted
(Dan. 3). Jonah went to Nineveh alone with a message no one wanted
to hear and ultimately saw a nation repent. 
     On today’s campus, your example of biblical love may be mis-
understood, but the courage to speak the truth in love has always
been a Christian virtue.

     *7. “Your Parents Were Wrong About Everything.”
     This lie often undergirds all the others. Students are praised
for intellectually rebelling against their upbringing, and college
becomes a four-year exercise in deconstruction. Church teachings
are mocked. Family values are ridiculed. The commandment to “honor
thy father and thy mother” is checked at the door.
     When you dismiss your parents, you’re not just rejecting their
opinions. You are rejecting the authority and wisdom God has placed
in your life. Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight”
(Prov. 9:10). When young adults trade that foundation for the ap-
proval of their peers or professors, they don’t gain independence.
They lose a God-given anchor that is there to keep them steady.

     *Conclusion
     These ivory tower ideas are more than intellectual errors; they
are spiritual assaults aimed at dismantling God’s design for his
creation. But here’s the good news: God has not left this generation
defenseless. His Word is still true. His design is still good. And
his people are still called to stand for truth, even in academia.
     *P.S. I encourage every student to subscribe below and engage
with the Institute for Faith & Culture resources. We want to help
you stand firm in your faith and be a light in the darkness at your
college.**

     We know the Left has been corrupted and are lying to the young
and older students in order to feed them 60 years of Marxism,
Communism, Socialism, DEI, CRT, Transsexualism, LGTQ, and basically
anything that helps them pass their sick and distorted ideas that
those like Marx, Alinsky, Cloward, Piven, Clinton, Obama, Biden, and
the brainwashing corrupt plans to destroy our once great nation.
     We still have God and His promise to save and protect His
people who trust in His Word and Grace. Pray for us who BELEIVE.

  Conservatively,
  John
 

	**SCOTUS Judge Whines Because Republicans Win Too Much
	'This administration always wins': Ketanji Jackson complains
        Supreme Court is letting White House be victorious
	By World Net Daily / August 24, 2025
     This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
     Ketanji Jackson, the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court,
appointed by Joe Biden, is complaining that her colleagues are
allowing the White House to win court cases.
     Fox News reports she wrote in a dissent this week that the
"recent tendencies" of the court to side with the Trump administra-
tion are wrong.
     "This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has
only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that
one, and this administration always wins," she scolded.
     Calvinball, in fact, comes out of the hilarious comic strip
and book creations of Bill Watterson, where Calvin, the precocious
little boy, plays games with his pet, stuffed tiger, and there are
no fixed rules.
     Jackson's claims, however, fall apart when considering the
dozens and dozens of court rulings that have gone against the Trump
administration at various court levels, based on the hundreds of
legal cases leftists have brought against him as he pursues his
Make America Great Again agenda.
     Those include refusals to let him cut spending as he's planned,
judges who insist that he bring deported criminals back to the
United States, and many more.
     Even if Jackson, whose personal ideologies clearly are being
offended by the Trump administration's agenda for a strong America,
following the law, providing protections for Americans, and calling
for fair trade agreements, was referencing only the Supreme Court,
those justices have been far from letting the Trump administration
do all it wants.
     Jackson, however, rebuked other justices for "lawmaking" on
the court's "shadow docket," which involves cases that are brought
to the justices on an emergency basis and require a ruling right
away – before a full development in lower courts, a full briefing,
and arguments.
     The justice with a far-left ideology and agenda on the court
said the majority on the court bent "over backwards to accommodate"
Trump by allowing the National Institutes of Health to cancel more
than $700 million in grants that did not align with its priorities.
     Some of those grants were ideological, pushing the leftist
agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and gender identity,
topics on which the government should be remaining neutral, not
spending tax money pushing.
     That ruling, she complained, is the "newest entry in the
court's quest to make way for the Executive Branch…"
     That 5-4 decision allows the NIH to cancel a series of grants
that already had been identified.
     In a second 5-4 decision that keeps a lower court's block on
the NIH's directives about the grants intact, Justice Amy Coney
Barrett, a Trump appointee, sided with John Roberts and the three
liberals. The latter portion of the ruling could hinder the NIH's
ability to cancel future grants, the report said.
     Experts have noted a surge in the "rhetoric" from the leftist
Jackson, who has established herself as one of the most active
talkers during oral arguments.
     "The histrionic and hyperbolic rhetoric has increased in
Jackson's opinions, which at times portray her colleagues as aban-
doning not just the Constitution but democracy itself," said con-
stitutional expert Jonathan Turley.
     Jackson, in fact, got scolded for her rhetoric in an opinion
by Barrett recently.
     Barrett accused Jackson of advocating for an "imperial
judiciary."**
     I hope someone informed Jackson that when you are in the
minority, the odds are against you everyday.
     Her job is to legally interpret the Constitution as written
by the founders, not whatever floats her boat or makes her party
win. A victory is truth. She needs to try that.
     With God's grace and ethics and morals to guide her to come
to a verdict by what is IN the Constitution, not what she wants it
to say. That is what Obey the LAW means.
     She should give that a try.
  Conservatively,
  John

 	Who's Debanking?
	**Now bank executives confirm: Obama and Biden used 'debanking'
     agenda against political foes
     By World Net Daily / August 19, 2025

     This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
     Among all of the other Democrat scandals that now are coming to
light: the Russiagate lies, the scheming at the highest levels of
the White House to undermine a duly elected president, the undue
influences orchestrated to impact the 2020 election, there's another
horror being revealed.
     Executives of America's banking industry now have confirmed
that the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, when they were
in office, tried to force the bankers to "debank" the Democrats'
political foes.
     President Trump, in fact, recently addressed the concept of
"debanking," or closing accounts and refusing to do business with
companies or individuals because of their politics, by ordering
an end.
     Bank executives then confirmed that the Obama and Biden agendas
were "to deny services to individuals and businesses for political
reasons," Fox Business reported.
     "Those pressures were very, very real. When your regulator
gives you a suggestion, it's not a suggestion, it's an order. The
political stuff is very real, those pressures are real," Fox News
Digital confirmed a "senior banking official" reported.
     Fox News Digital spoke with two executives at leading U.S.
banks, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing reprisals.
     They reported under Obama, and again under Biden, "banks were
pressured to deny services to certain industries as part of
Operation Choke Point and Operation Choke Point 2.0."
     One official documented, "When there's ambiguity in the law,
beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for a long time the be-
holder was the Obama and Biden administration."
     Already, a report from the House Oversight Committee confirmed
"Operation Choke Point" involved a DOJ team aiming to "choke" legal
companies that Obama disliked.
     They worked with regulators to falsely describe industries,
such as firearms, as "high risk."
     During his first term in the White House, Trump ended Obama's
scheme, but then Biden revived them in "2.0," lawmakers have
charged.
     Trump has confirmed that multiple banks attacked him, his
accounts and his business operations, likely a result of the poli-
tical warfare assembled under the program.
     In fact, First lady Melania Trump wrote in her memoir that she
and her son Barron were debanked, as well, the report said.
     "I was shocked and dismayed to learn that my long time bank
decided to terminate my account and deny my son the opportunity to
open a new one.… This decision appeared to be rooted in political
discrimination, raising serious concerns about civil rights
violations," she charged.
     Former Republican Sen. Sam Brownback accused JPMorgan Chase of
having debanked his nonprofit, the National Committee for Religious
Freedom, in 2022, the report said.
     Trump's order, "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,"
warns that banks that deny services to customers for their political
views or beliefs will be banned.
     One executive explained how the agenda from Obama and Biden
would work: Politicians would use regulators to pressure banks to
inflate "negative press" that had been directed at conservatives or
political foes "as a pretext to debank them."
     "It's all kind of set up, it's like somebody set the table, and
it all ends up focusing on Republicans and conservatives," the
executive told Fox.
     Banks, in a flurry of activity of late, have been promising
that they do not discriminate based on political or religious
views.**

     So, Obama and Biden actually used debanking but Trump asked
about it because his family had been denied during the Biden term.
     It seems that there is no limit to how corrupt nearly every
Democrat can't seem to process what follow the law means or that
no one is above the law. This has to end.
     We should all pray that God will protect our nation.

  Conservatively,
  John

	**FBI Accuses Obama of Treason
      Anonymous / Date unknown
     FBI documents on Trump–Russia Probe allegedly found in ‘burn
bags’: Report
     Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused
former President Barack Obama and his national security team of
orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Donald Trump’s
2016 election victory through falsified intelligence reports about
Russian interference. The explosive allegations, announced during
a White House briefing on July 23, 2025, represent an unprecedented
attack by a sitting intelligence chief against a former president.
     Gabbard declassified a 44-page report prepared by the House
Intelligence Committee in September 2020 that she claims proves
Obama administration officials manufactured findings to suggest
Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. The report,
authored by Republican staff members, questioned the intelligence
community’s assessment that Vladimir Putin preferred Trump over
Hillary Clinton.
     During the Wednesday briefing, Gabbard stated there was “ir-
refutable evidence” that Obama and his team directed the creation
of an intelligence assessment they knew was false. She characterized
the actions as the “most egregious weaponization and politicization
of intelligence in American history” and announced she had referred
Obama to the Department of Justice for potential criminal
prosecution.
     The allegations center on the January 2017 Intelligence Com-
munity Assessment that concluded Russia had interfered in the 2016
election to damage Clinton’s campaign and boost Trump’s prospects.
Gabbard argued that Obama administration officials ignored intel-
ligence showing Russia could not manipulate vote counts and instead
manufactured a narrative to delegitimize Trump’s electoral victory.
     Former CIA officer Susan Miller, who helped lead the intel-
ligence assessments on Russian interference, strongly disputed
Gabbard’s claims. Miller, a 39-year agency veteran, questioned
Gabbard’s understanding of intelligence work and defended her team’s
findings. Miller told reporters that “it is not a hoax” and empha-
sized the assessments were based on verified intelligence from
trusted sources.
     Miller and her former team members have hired lawyers to defend
against potential charges, reprising a situation from 2017 when they
faced similar scrutiny. The scenario parallels the investigation by
special counsel John Durham, whose four-year probe into FBI invest-
igations of Trump-Russia links resulted in only one conviction of
an FBI lawyer who altered an email.
     Obama’s office issued a rare public statement dismissing the
allegations as ridiculous and part of an attempt to distract from
the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy. Spokesperson Patrick
Rodenbush indicated that nothing in the declassified documents
undermines the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to
influence the 2016 election without successfully manipulating votes.
     Former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of
National Intelligence James Clapper broke their silence on July 30,
publishing a joint op-ed in the New York Times calling Gabbard’s
allegations “patently false.” They accused her of rewriting history
and undermining established intelligence findings.
     Democratic lawmakers have criticized the timing of Gabbard’s
announcement, suggesting it serves as a distraction from mounting
pressure on the Trump administration to release information about
Epstein. Senator Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate
Intelligence Committee, accused Gabbard of releasing partisan
materials that risk exposing sensitive sources and methods used to
gather intelligence on Russia.
     Representative Jason Crow characterized Gabbard as having
become a “weapon of mass distraction” in her efforts to regain favor
with Trump following their public disagreement over Iran’s nuclear
program. Crow noted that multiple investigations, including a bi-
partisan Senate report co-authored by current Secretary of State
Marco Rubio, have consistently supported the intelligence com-
munity’s findings about Russian interference.
     The Justice Department announced the formation of a “strike
force” on July 23 to assess the evidence and examine potential
legal steps resulting from Gabbard’s disclosures. However, reports
suggest Attorney General Pam Bondi was caught off guard by Gabbard’s
request for her department to investigate the matter.
     Trump has amplified Gabbard’s claims, sharing content on Truth
Social and telling reporters that Obama had been “caught absolutely
cold.” The President characterized the Obama administration’s
actions as treason and indicated it was time to pursue legal action
against political opponents.
     The controversy represents an escalation in Trump’s long-
standing grievances about investigations into Russian interference
in the 2016 election, which he has consistently labeled a “hoax.”
Multiple investigations by Congress, the intelligence community,
and special counsels have previously confirmed that Russia inter-
fered in the election, though they reached different conclusions
about coordination with the Trump campaign and the extent of any
impact on electoral outcomes.**

     I found an interesting tidbit a few years ago that actually
quoted Hillary at the second debate with Trump when she first
accused him of having colluded with Putin and shortly afterwards
He spoke at a news presser, informing them ALL that he had never
met Putin or spoke with him.
     The Left used a conversation between Putin and two of his sons
about the possibility of building a building in Moscow. The sons
made it clear that Putin wanted too much and that was the end of
it all.
     God will judge the corruption that attempted to destroy the
Trump business. It never happened. They are lost but they will be
Judged.

  Conservatively,
  John

**Clinging to God in Seasons of Disappointment
	How to trust God’s promises when your deepest desires
remain unmet.
     July 28th, 2025 / Faith Activist Post
     Psalm 37:4 offers a beautiful promise “Delight yourself in the
Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Yet what do
we do when those desires remain unfulfilled? What happens when you
are genuinely seeking God praying, obeying, delighting in Him and
still your heart aches for something good that never comes?
     This is a reality many believers face. Creation itself, Paul
reminds us, is “groaning” with unfulfilled longing (Romans 8:22).
The question is not whether disappointments will come, but how we
respond to them.
     One woman’s story illustrates this struggle powerfully. At 52,
she walks with a cane after surviving a severe accident that left
her in a months-long coma and required years of therapy. She has
prayed for decades to be married, yet remains single and has never
even been kissed. Her question is raw: “Does this mean I’ve been
refined only for God? Am I misunderstanding His promises?”
     When Longings Go Unmet
     The truth is, every Christian carries unfulfilled desires of
some kind a marriage that is not what we hoped for, a child who has
wandered from faith, a career that never took shape, a health
crisis that lingers.
      We read promises like “Ask, and it will be given to you”
(Matthew 7:7), and “No good thing does he withhold from those who
walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11), and we wonder if our unanswered
prayers mean something has gone wrong. Yet the Bible itself gives
us examples of faithful people living with “unanswered” longings.
     Paul pleaded three times for God to remove his “thorn in the
flesh,” but the answer was no because Christ’s power was made
perfect in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8–9). In the end, Paul
found contentment in what God had chosen for him, because Christ
Himself became his deepest satisfaction (2 Corinthians 12:10).
     This is a profound truth for us: when God says “no” or “not
yet,” He invites us into a deeper joy, one that isn’t dependent on
circumstances, but on His presence.
        Learning to Trust Again
     How do we live with this tension, year after year?
     1. Cast your burden daily.
     Unfulfilled desires are heavy burdens. If we try to carry
them alone, they will crush us. Scripture tells us, “Cast your
burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).
Every morning, we can come to God and say, “Father, my heart
aches for this longing. But You are wise, good, and loving. I
roll this burden onto You again today. Show me how to walk in
freedom.”
     2. Resist the temptation to wear your pain as a badge.
     It’s easy to let disappointment shape how we present our-
selves to others, subtly trying to communicate how hard our lives
are. But the Spirit calls us to maturity to acknowledge our
longings before God and a few trusted friends, while still choosing
to live a life marked by joy.
     Christian maturity does not deny sorrow, but it refuses to
let sorrow define us. It is possible to taste unfulfilled desires
and still live a life full of purpose, friendships, ministry, and
hope.
     3. Recognize God’s deeper promise.
     Sometimes, our deepest longing is not ultimately for marriage,
health, or success it is for a life that matters, a life that
reflects God’s worth. And God promises to give us that. He promises
Himself.
     As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his right-
eousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Even when we do not receive what we hoped for, we can trust that
God is giving us what is best for our souls both now and for
eternity.
     Living With Hope
     Many faithful believers have lived full, joy-filled lives
while carrying unmet desires. Think of the single women who devoted
their lives to missionary work Amy Carmichael, Mary Slessor, Gladys
Aylward, and others. Their lives weren’t defined by what they
lacked, but by what they pursued: the glory of Christ.
     Our hope is not in getting everything we want in this life.
Our hope is in a God who promises us Himself. Psalm 16:11 reminds
us, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand
are pleasures forevermore.”
     So, to the one whose heart is breaking from unmet desires,
remember this: You are not forgotten. God is not withholding good
from you. He is shaping you for something eternal.
     Every day, roll your burdens onto Him. Ask Him for strength to
live fully, even with a “melancholy note” in your life’s symphony.
And trust that the joy He has prepared for you will one day out-
shine every earthly disappointment.**
     God says He will save His people. He also explains that those
who choose to not obey His Commandments will have their names
removed from The Lamb's Book of Life.
     I can't imagine anyone would condemn themselves to a life in
Hell FOREVER.
  Conservatively,
  John

	 SCOTUS Says Parents Can Follow Their Faith 
     Supreme Court Ruling Means Parents Can Follow Their Faith in
     Raising Children
       Thomas Jipping | Daniel Davidson | June 27, 2025
     	**WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: U.S. Supreme Court Associate
Justices Samuel Alito (L) and Clarence Thomas wait for their oppor-
tunity to leave the stage at the conclusion of the inauguration
ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025
in Washington, DC. Donald Trump took the oath of office for his
second term as the 47th president of the United States.
     In one of its final decisions this term, the Supreme Court has
affirmed the right of religious parents to follow their faith in
making decisions about their children’s public school education.
     In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court sided with parents who asked
that they be notified and given the chance to opt their children
out of instruction that violates their faith on matters of
sexuality.
     The case originated in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the
school board requires certain pro-LGBTQ+ storybooks to be incorpo-
rated in the English language arts curriculum for all students,
including those as young as 5. The board had millions of books to
choose from, but it picked these books specifically to influence
students’ thinking about sexuality and to challenge parents’ tra-
ditional views.
     How do we know? The board told teachers so, and it even de-
scribed ways for them to accomplish these goals.
     The pushback predictably included parents, but teachers and
administrators also balked, questioning the efficacy and age
-appropriateness of this scheme.
     Initially, the board said that parents would be notified when
this controversial material would be used and allowed to opt their
children out.
     Like most school districts, Montgomery County provides for
parents to opt their kids out of all sorts of things, including the
use of sex education curriculum.
     Then, without explanation, the board abruptly canceled this
accommodation policy and took the opposite position—making partici-
pation in pro-LGBTQ+ instruction mandatory for even the youngest
students and telling teachers not to notify parents at all.
     With the Justice Department’s support, a group of religious
parents sued. Their particular faiths differed, but they agreed
that exercising that faith included guiding their children in
matters of sexuality. By not only blocking them from doing so, but
also imposing its own sexual ideology, they said, the school board
violated their First Amendment right to exercise religion.
     The parents said they would likely prevail on the merits and,
therefore, asked for a preliminary injunction ordering that they be
notified and allowed to opt out in the meantime.
     The district and appeals courts denied their request by
utilizing a very narrow concept of what burdens religious exercise.
Nothing short of the government compelling someone to abandon their
religious beliefs, they said, can burden the exercise of religion
—a standard that reduces the “exercise” of religion to little more
than private religious beliefs or perhaps formal religious worship.
     The First Amendment prohibits an “establishment of religion”
and protects the “free exercise” of religion. The Constitution’s
framers thought of religious establishment narrowly and religious
exercise broadly.
     Now, though, judges have turned the First Amendment on its
head. They see religious establishments that do not exist and, as
the lower courts did in this case, ignore the very real ways in
which the government interferes with religious practice.
     In a 6-3 vote Friday, the Supreme Court reversed the lower
courts and granted the parents a preliminary injunction. Writing
for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito explained that the right to
exercise religion includes the parents’ right to direct the reli-
gious instruction of their children. Putting parents on the side-
lines while schools impose their own sexual ideology on students
obviously interferes with that right. 
     As Alito explained, “the Board’s introduction of the ‘LGBTQ+
inclusive’ storybooks—combined with its decision to withhold
notice to parents and forbid opt outs—substantially interferes
with the religious development of their children.”
     Many parents have no choice but to send their children to a
public school, a decision that should not require them to surrender
their constitutional right. The bottom line, Alito wrote, is that
“government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it re-
quires them to submit their children to instruction that poses ‘a
very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and prac-
tices that the parents wish to instill.”
     Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent, joined by Justices Elena
Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, distorted the parents’ position
the same way the lower courts did. She mischaracterized them as
demanding notice and an opt-out “of every lesson plan or story time
that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs.”
     The parents never took that position. Instead, they objected
to instruction that poses a “very real threat of undermining” those
beliefs and the parents’ right to direct their children’s religious
instruction.
     The fact is, as Alito pointed out, these materials are
“unmistakenly normative,” designed to promote certain values and
beliefs and to discourage others regarding sexuality and gender.
The threat to parents’ ability to guide their children’s instruction
on such sensitive matters is obvious.
     Thankfully, the Supreme Court has never adopted the narrow,
crabbed view of religious freedom that the lower courts and
Sotomayor did in this case. The First Amendment, Alito wrote, is
not as “feeble” as Sotomayor claims. It protects us against much
more than compulsion to abandon our religious beliefs.
     The Constitution gives parents a general right to direct their
children’s upbringing and education and, separately, a specific
right to exercise religion. This case arose where those rights
intersect, and the Supreme Court’s decision strengthens both of
them.**

     God's Word is what our laws are based. God is the source of
all that is moral and ethical in America.
     There will be a price to pay to those who pervert God's
Commandments both here  and in eternity.

  Conservatively,
  John