Good News Friday
Good News Friday
June 21, 2024
Dear Patriots:
Summer is passing quickly and it is going to become more and more crazy and frustrating.
So, we will pause each Friday to share the good news that often slips by unnoticed.
Do not lose heart.
1- We are so appreciate of our readers and their thoughts for Sidney.
We are especially thankful for all of your prayers. Your words of encouragement are a balm to our souls.
We share with you one note we received this week:
Sidney,
For some years now I have admired your courageous and principled stand against the forces of evil in our elections and culture.
I am a minister and missionary who served overseas in six different countries in South Asia and South America. Two of those countries were suffering under the heavy hand of coalition left wing governments. The common folk were experiencing the kind of distopia that our own left wing wants to impose in America.
Because of my personal history in these "bastions of repression" I have prayed for you often as you have taken a sometimes lonely but always righteous stand for right and truth.
I see in you something of the lonely courage that marked my distant relative, President Harry Truman. You may not appreciate being compared to a Democrat, but it's not his political affiliation to which I am referring. In fact Harry had to take stands that were in open opposition to majority views in his own party.
This past December The Federalist published an article I wrote about Truman's unexpected recognition of Israel in 1948. He took a firestorm of opposition from his own party and even from some in his cabinet, but he stood firm in his view that it was the right thing to do.
I pray specifically for you that the Lord will give you strength and encouragement to withstand your own firestorm. Be assured that your work and example have given hope to many of us. And whether we pray for you or support your efforts in other ways, the goal is always the same; to shine the light of truth in a dark, dark time.
I want to encourage you to keep fighting and keep "encouraging" so many of us who are dismayed by the present sad state of our nation. I will here paraphrase the Scriptures: "Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season you will reap a harvest if you do not lose heart."
Sincerely,
RDY
2- We like seeing individual states that have elected leaders with courage and conviction to do what is best for their citizens.
Louisiana Mandates 10 Commandments for Every School Classroom.
QUOTE: Louisiana has become the first U.S. state to mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms. The law includes any educational institution receiving state funds, from kindergartens to public universities. Governor Jeff Landry (R-LA) signed the mandate into law on Wednesday.
The Ten Commandments law is likely to see prompt legal challenges. However, Gov. Landry last Saturday was unphased by the prospect of litigation. “I’m going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms,” he said during a fundraiser over the weekend. Landry added: “And I can’t wait to be sued.”
According to the new law, classrooms in schools that receive public funding will be required to display a post-sized depiction of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font.” The Abrahamic religious texts—which are important in Judaism and Christianity—lay out a set of tenets on which humanity is to live, including “Thou shalt not kill.”
Opponents of the law promise swift legal action, questioning its constitutionality. They point to the First Amendment‘s establishment clause, which bars the federal government from mandating an official state religion. Others point to the extra-constitutional concept of separation of church and state. Proponents contend that the tenets are not merely religious symbols but also represent historical significance in U.S. history.
3- Allowing citizens to keep their hard earned money is the foundation of conservative thinking.
After years of not being able to cut taxes in the state of Kansas, we were happy to see that the Kansas legislature enacted a tax cut that lowers the highest income tax rate from 5.7% to 5.58%. It also exempts Social Security benefits from income tax. (Yes!)
Kansas Democrat Governor Laura Kelly pledged to sign the bill.
The bill is not perfect but it is a move in the RIGHT direction. It also makes Kansas a good place to move to.
Kansas Legislature adopts $2 billion tax bill crafted by GOP leaders, Democrat governor
QUOTE: The Kansas Legislature deflected bipartisan interest in tweaking Tuesday a bill negotiated by Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican House and Senate leaders delivering a projected $2 billion reduction in state income and property taxes during the next five years.
In a special session of the Legislature, the Senate voted 34-4 and the House 121-2 to forward the unaltered package to the Democratic governor. The Legislature took action on the tax measure before diving into legislation shaping economic development incentives intended to draw the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals to new stadiums in Kansas.
4- Keep your eye out for news on this case. Warrior Chris Rufo is working hard to get the truth out about the child abuse occurring at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Christopher F. Rufo on Substack
Texas Children’s Hospital Now Under Investigation
QUOTE: Following my whistleblower report, the state attorney general has taken action.
Yesterday, I published an investigative report featuring a Texas Children’s Hospital whistleblower, who alleged that doctors in the hospital’s child sex-change program have committed Medicaid fraud.
Now, the State of Texas has taken action.
I have confirmed with a spokesman for Attorney General Ken Paxton that the alleged Medicaid fraud is “currently being investigated by the Texas Attorney General.”
There are two possible avenues for this investigation: civil and criminal.
If the state pursues a civil case against Texas Children’s, the hospital could lose a significant amount of funding and, in the maximal outcome, even lose access to the state Medicaid program. If the state decides to pursue criminal charges, the doctors involved could face significant fines and up to 10 years in prison.
The scandal of “transgender medicine” is finally reaching the point of crisis. There will be a reckoning—and Texas might lead the way.
5- A far left think tank specializing in the censorship of opposing opinion is shutting it’s doors.
A mole has been whacked. But it will pop up again, so be on alert.
Major Tentacle Sliced Off Censorship Beast With Disgraced Stanford Think Tank Shutdown—What New Form Will It Take?
QUOTE: A peculiar and frustrating aspect of our current political moment is that, while the public is perhaps more informed than ever regarding the corrupt behavior of the ruling class, there is rarely anything that can be done about such behavior. This widening gulf between awareness and accountability has generated massive demand for easy solutions. The uncomfortable truth is that it takes far less time to learn about political behavior than to fix it, especially when fixing the problem goes beyond simply winning a presidential election and requires that one create a massive bureaucratic, legal, and financial infrastructure to match that of one’s political enemies, who have had nearly a half-century head start (at least).
All of this is to say that we must enthusiastically take note of and celebrate the rare occasions on which elements of our corrupt regime actually suffer accountability. As it so happens, one of the most notorious censorship think tanks, the Stanford Internet Observatory, is shutting down in the aftermath of months of devastating exposés detailing the organization’s collusion with the federal government to illegally censor First Amendment-protected speech.
The Stanford Cyber Policy Center has attempted to minimize the public disgrace, assuring the public that the Stanford Internet Observatory has not shut down but merely “faces funding issues.” Nice try, but there’s simply no way to sugar-coat the fact that the Observatory is in shambles after the departure of two of its most disgraced operatives, Alex Stamos and Renee DiResta, both of whom have been buried in lawsuits for their nefarious and potentially illegal censorship activity during their tenure at the Observatory.
For those who need a little refresher, one of the dirty little secrets that came to light over the past year is the extent to which the censorship industry was not simply propelled by censorious left-wing radicals within the private sector tech companies, though that of course was part of the story. At times, the government also tried its hand directly in the censorship business, the most notorious example of which must be the Department of Homeland Security’s ill-fated Disinformation Governance Board led by disgraced Nina Jankowicz.
Time will tell the fate of notorious and disgraced censorship operatives. Perhaps more encouraging than the (perhaps temporary) ill fate of specific institutions and operatives is that the discipline of “disinformation studies” itself seems to have suffered a dip in legitimacy. It could very well be the case that “disinformation” as a censorship predicate peaked in 2020, the silver lining to the fact that the government has now turned to lawfare, indictment, and incarceration as its preferred means of silencing critics.
6- It is comforting to know with certainty that there are hundreds of years of energy right here under our noses. The right political policy will make this energy available to all Americans. A totally energy independent USA is key in dealing with foreign policy.
US Shale Oil Output to Grow for Years Before Peaking, HSBC Says
QUOTE: US shale drillers will continue to raise oil production for years before the juggernaut stalls around 2028, dashing OPEC+ hopes for a quicker fall-off in American output growth, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
Improvements in drilling and fracking techniques amid a wave of corporate takeovers will drive the expansion and more than offset recent reductions in rig deployments, analysts at the the London-based bank wrote in a note titled ‘Underestimate US Shale at Your Peril.’
“Some expect US shale to peak soon, and OPEC+ hopes this will be the case as it would allow the group to finally unwind its supply cuts,” analysts led by Kim Fustier wrote. But “US shale could grow for the next 3-4 years.”
US shale fields will up production by about 400,000 barrels a day in the next year, with slower growth thereafter, according to the analysts.
7- We often talk of the importance of elected strong and sensible Attorneys General. Here is another reason why they are significant.
24 Republican state attorneys general oppose new gag order in Trump documents case
QUOTE: Twenty-four (24) Republican state attorneys general, including Missouri’s, have interceded in the classified-documents prosecution of Donald Trump, opposing special counsel Jack Smith’s request that the trial judge bar Trump from making hostile statements against federal law enforcement.
In a 27-page amicus brief filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the states complain that Smith’s motion to amend the former president’s bail conditions amounts to interference in the presidential election.
“The free-speech right is at its strongest when it protects political speech,” the brief says. “Yet special prosecutor Jack Smith, on behalf of the United States, asks this court to curtail that right by ordering a prior restraint on President Trump’s constitutionally protected speech. Such an order is presumptively unconstitutional,” the document continues. “If granted, this request would prevent the presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States from speaking out against the prosecution and the criminal trial process that seek to take away his liberty,” the brief reads. “That prosecution, of course, is led by a department that President Trump’s political opponent controls,” it adds, referring to Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Republican AGs in Iowa, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming have joined Moody’s brief.
8- When good people turn their backs on entertainment/propaganda industry, it is good news.
Stupid Tony Awards Collapse 14% to Pathetic 3.51 Million Viewers
QUOTE: The stupid and insufferable Tony Awards attracted a mere 3.51 million viewers Sunday night, a 14 percent loss from last year’s ratings, which were also dismal.
In other words, 99 percent of the country chose not to watch former First Lady and Two-Time Presidential Loser Hillary Clinton get an unearned standing ovation before lecturing us about suffrage and how important it is to vote.
The only good news for the Tonys is that Sunday represented only its second-worst ratings night. The worst-worst was back in 2021, when 2.6 million tuned in.
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9- John Droz explains why it is critical for children to learn to think critically. Producing productive, independent, competent citizens begins with young people who can be logical and think for themselves, instead of falling victim to indoctrination. Share all of John’s 12 points, outlined at the link, with educators and parents.
John Droz at Critically Thinking on Substack
Is Critical Thinking a Good or Bad Thing?
QUOTE: Most people would probably think that this is a foolish question — how can critical thinking be a bad thing? Let’s back up a bit, and you’ll see the issue…
Point #1 is that — by FAR — the biggest fear of those on the Left is to have critical-thinking citizens. Competent citizens who think for themselves are anathema to the Left in achieving its goals of undermining America.
Instead what the Left wants is conforming citizens. Conforming means citizens who: 1) go along with what is currently politically correct, 2) unquestionably follow the advice of “experts,” 3) accept the consensus view of matters, 4) support the conclusions of computer programs, 5) buy into one-sided “facts”, etc., etc.
The tsunami now overtaking us is artificial intelligence (AI). The applications and implications of AI are literally unfathomable. The number one defense against this reality distortion is Critical Thinking. The Left wants citizens to be easily manipulated by AI, so (again) they are adamantly opposed to Critical Thinking.
Point #2: Critical Thinking is a skill set. Some of this can be learned by those who are keenly observant, but by and large, it needs to be formally taught — just like what is needed to be a quality golfer, an accomplished chef, a productive scientist, etc.
Point #3: the most appropriate K-12 subject area for teaching the specifics of how to be a genuine Critical Thinker, is Science. The reason is that real scientists are instinctively skeptical, so they ask a lot of questions — why? when? how? Asking good questions is an essential element of being a true Critical Thinker.
The bottom line is that any K-12 education program (particularly Science standards) that does not properly teach Critical Thinking is an abject failure.
PRAY for divine intervention. PRAY for all warriors. PRAY for protection and safety of all.
SHARE the super power of the TRUTH.
Hold Fast,
Defending The Republic
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