Category Archives: Daily Broadside

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Daily Broadside | In Spite of The Left’s TDS, Trump Dominates Republican Polls

President-in-exile Donald J. Trump has been the most persecuted of all public figures in recent memory. The first president in US history to be criminally charged faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases, including 44 federal charges and 47 state charges, all of them felonies.

But the attempt to drag him through the mud and to jail him before next year’s election is backfiring spectacularly.

Former President Donald Trump is dominating the Republican primary polls with 69 percent support, up seven points from November, a Fox News survey released Sunday revealed.

The Republican is the clear favorite among GOP voters, with his support having grown by a whopping 26 points since February.

Fewer than one third of Republican primary voters are backing all of Trump’s rivals combined, with 12 percent going to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, nine percent for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, five percent for businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, two percent for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and just one percent for former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Every Trump opponent besides Hutchison has lost support within the last month, the poll found.

With a margin of error of ±3 percentage points, that puts Trump solidly at 70 percent support.

The Breitbart article does not hazard a guess as to why Trump’s numbers are skyrocketing, but as a former (and, if he’s the candidate, future) Trump voter, I don’t mind speculating.

First, we all know that the economy was better under Trump. Wages were up, inflation was nothing, prices were “normal” and everyone was feeling the benefit, especially the “black and brown” communities in lower income regions. Under Biden, gas prices have soared, inflation is a problem, and the cost of putting food on the table has hurt everyone, especially those with low income.

Second, Biden and his Marxist gang of creeps have not only done nothing to secure the border, but the so called Border Protection actively helps foreigners illegally enter our country. According to this New York Post article, close to 4 million “””migrants””” have entered the U.S. since Resident Brandon took office in 2021, not to mention the 1.5 million “gotaways” estimated to have entered the U.S. and disappeared without being processed.

However, according to this report, total border crossers since the Fool took office is 8 MILLION.

The number of illegal border crossings at the northern and southern borders and all ports of entry since January 2021 totals more than 8 million people, greater than the individual populations of 38 U.S. states.

Brandon and Mayorkas are traitors. THIS IS A FOREIGN INVASION OF OUR SOVEREIGN SOIL and is an impeachable offense.

Trump built a wall and maintained the “remain in Mexico” policy. Illegal immigration dropped under his watch and he’s promising to make it so again.

Third, Trump appointed three (allegedly) conservative Supreme Court Justices. Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett helped overturn Roe v. Wade 50 years after the abortion case was poorly reasoned and enshrined abortion as a “right.” One might expect DJT to nominate at least one or two more justices should he regain the presidency, locking in a conservative majority for the next generation.

As reasonable as those three reasons are for Trump’s enduring popularity, there’s an unspoken reason that I think trumps them all (pun definitely intended).

Most conservative Americans are tired of the steaming pile of progressive BS that the cultural Marxists have been ramming down our throats for the last decade. I would even venture a guess that some on the center-left are tired of it too. If you look at the polls, less than half of American citizens have a “great deal or fair amount of trust” in any federal government institution and are deeply divided by political party (which probably reflects the current political balance of power in Washington D.C.).

Here’s why 70 percent of Republican voters support Trump: he’s a symbolic middle finger to the elites who look down on Normal Americans. He represents the little guy who just wants to do his job and not be threatened by cultural Maoist terrorists because he won’t defile the English language to use some blue-haired malcontent’s preferred pronouns.

Even I feel that way sometimes. As I’ve written before, I’m not as sold on Trump as I once was. I think he’s his own worst enemy. “If only he had some verbal discipline,” I think. But you have to hand it to the guy: he’s like the immoveable object against which all the irresistable forces splatter.

There’s part of me that wants him to win just to stick it to Jack Smith and the other anti-Americans in Washington who have weaponized our institutions to take him down. It’s that simple.

But there’s an even deeper undercurrent that drives conservatives to Trump. Conservatives and like-minded Americans are deeply concerned about the trajectory we’re on and the wrecking ball that progressives have taken to the country. Trump seems to be the only one who is willing to get in there and fight for our country’s survival.

If the Democrats win in 2024, all bets are off. While 70 percent is a good start, I won’t rest easy until the Democratic nominee concedes the election to Trump and Congress certifies his win.

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Daily Broadside | Gay Sex in Senate Chambers Shows How Far We Have Fallen

I’ve been watching and responding to culture and politics for a long time now, and there’s not a lot that surprises me anymore. I’ve learned that politicians are, generally speaking, not upstanding, principled public servants but self-serving grifters who are mostly interested in staying elected to feed at the public trough.

That’s the baseline level of normal in politics now.

Every now and then, though, there are extreme, “watershed” moments that put me back on my heels as American traditions and norms are destroyed by the cultural Maoists who have infiltrated the ranks of federal, state and local governments.

One of those happened again last Friday.

Leaked amateur pornography shows a congressional staffer having anal sex with an unknown man in the Senate hearing room, video obtained by the Daily Caller shows.

The alleged staffer can also be seen in a photo, naked on all fours, looking back at the camera on the table where Senators often sit to ask questions during a hearing. 

There is so much that is wrong with this incident but before I get to that, note that if this was a heterosexual hook up videoed in a Senate hearing room, I’d have a problem with that too. My response is not driven by the fact that this was gay pornography. That’s a factor, but my response is driven by something more significant than that.

To begin with, we have an act of casual sex between (one assumes) two consenting adults. Again, this could’ve been a consenting man and woman having sex. Sex is one of our primal urges and is both the source of our greatest pleasure in life and the cause of many troubles throughout all of human history.

In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
(2 Samuel 13:1-2, NIV)

Read the rest here.

But not only is it sex, it’s homosexual sex. At this point in our cultural collapse, no one even cares anymore that it’s two men caught in flagrante delicto. It only took 60 years for homosexuality to go from a shameful closeted sin to a omnipresent cultural influence that is celebrated with its own “Pride” month.

But we forget that homosexuality, like casual sex between heterosexuals, is a perversion of God’s sexual design for man and woman.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10, NIV)

The footnote for the bolded phrase reads: “The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.”

But not only is it casual sex, and casual sex of the homosexual variety, but these two dudes decided to film themselves engaged in it. Again, that doesn’t surprise anyone anymore because there are so many “sex tapes” involving the rich and famous, the not so rich and famous, and thousands of unknowns because amateur pornography is rampant in our society. Anyone can set up a camera in the bedroom or the boardroom or on the beach and film their raw lust for all to see.

Why someone chooses to do that, with all the risks it entails, I’ll never know.

But to top it all off, this particular homosexual act wasn’t filmed in a private bedroom, or an empty boardroom in some nondescript office building, or on some public beach under the shade of a palm tree. This homosexual act was filmed in what might be considered one of the most sacrosanct buildings in the world. It is home to what once was considered “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” the envy of the modern world, one that commanded deferential respect.

Here served the likes of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, John C. Calhoun, Henry Cabot Lodge, Hubert Humphrey, and John F. Kennedy, among others.

What these two men did was a moral abomination and an indefensible disgrace. While the one who was identified has been fired, the inviolable and solemn decorum historically associated with the Senate has been violated in a shocking and repugnant lack of decency.

I liken it to pissing on someone’s grave, but worse.

Believe it or not, this is all going to plan. What plan, you ask? (H/T Kevin Downey Jr.)

6. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and press.
7. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in the media.
8. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, and healthy.”

Well. Here we are.

Just like we can’t go back to the time before Slick Willy poked Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office, we can’t undo the act of sodomy that desecrated the Senate. We cannot go back to an undefiled state. It’s happened.

And it’s happened because our culture produces the people who performed the act.

But we can reject the growing depravity we’re witnessing before it metastasizes and ruins us all. We can turn from our wickedness and seek God and beg forgiveness and mercy.

That’s my prayer.

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Daily Broadside | The Choose Your Own Lunacy Edition

So where should we start today in the clown world we live in?

With the latest murderous “joy ride” by morally atrophied automatons that have no respect for human life? Animals.

With the dystopian-esque demand from the World Economic Forum that the “world” cough up $3.5 trillion a year to fight the carbon apocolypse? Who died and made them boss?

With the intersectional leftwing firebrand president of Harvard posing as a scholar but accused of being a serial plagiarist? The Harvard Corporation — the university’s highest governing body — unanimously affirmed her continued “””leadership.”””

Or maybe with the same president of Harvard’s twisted excuses for anti-semitism on campus before a congressional hearing, along with the heads of the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. All are women. Top donors are withholding their donations from all the schools.

With the House vote to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry into Resident Brandon? Move any slower, GOP, and you won’t be able to impeach because he’ll either be voted out of office or dead.

With Boston’s Democrat mayor who mistakenly sent invitations for a holiday party intended only for minority city councilors to the entire council, including seven white members? She’s only sorry she got caught.

Maybe with Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind,” a cyber apocalypse movie warning about “white people” if “the world falls apart”? Barack Hussein and Michelle Obama are producers.

How about actor, producer and cultural influencer Rob Reiner’ latest film, “God and Country”? He wants to make normal Christian belief and involvement in the political sphere very, very scary because Christian Nationalism!

With the far-left anti-white racist dance company that DoCToR Jill Biden hired for the White House “””Christmas”””” video? How thoughtful and unsurprising of her to embrace “””art””” that unites the whole nation.

Or maybe we should start with the whoring, crackhead gun fanatic and bagman for his criminal family, Hunter Biden, who showed up in Washington not to testify in response to the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena, but to defy Congress and give a press conference in which he portrayed himself as a victim of those pouncing Republicans. Just jail the punk already, will you?

How about the insanity that is California, with their new law mandating “gender-neutral” toy sections in large toy retail stores? Who told the government they had the right to regulate product placement?

Wait. Do you have stock in IBM? Maybe we should start with the video of the CEO Arvind Krishna saying that employees should be fired and bonuses taken away if they don’t discriminate in the hiring process. Like any blue blooded American patriot would do.

Well, I can’t decide. Which should it be?

Have a good weekend.

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Daily Broadside | A Former Muslim, Then Atheist, Now Claims to Be a Christian

Ayaan Hirsi Ali recently announced that she has converted to Christianity. Her announcement created a significant amount of discussion on the Internet and social media, with criticism from both the left and the right.

If you’re not familiar with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, she was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1969. At the age of five, Ali underwent female genital mutilation (FGM). At age 23, she sought and received political asylum in the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. In her early 30s she renounced Islam, identified as an atheist and became involved in Dutch politics.

She was friends with Theo van Gogh (a great-grand-nephew of Vincent van Gogh), with whom she collaborated on a film critical of Islam, called “Submission.” He was murdered in November 2004 by a Dutch-Moroccan Islamist who objected to the film’s message. The murderer stuck a note to van Gogh’s chest with a small knife, in which he threatened the life of Hirsi Ali.

With that threat and an ongoing controversy over how she had obtained her Dutch citizenship, she emigrated to the United States in 2006 and became a citizen in 2013. Due to her outspoken atheism and denunciation of all religion, she was widely considered one of the five leading “New Atheists,” who included Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett.

With that as background, Hirsi Ali’s conversion to Christianity elicited reactions from both atheists and evangelicals. But it’s not just her “conversion” that stirred the emotions; it was how she described her choice of Christianity that caused the greatest debate over what her conversion meant.

After reviewing the indoctrination she experienced growing up under the Muslim Brotherhood—a relentless and uncompromising education that allowed no dissent—she goes on to describe how she came to leave Islam and embrace atheism.

You can see why, to someone who had been through such a religious schooling, atheism seemed so appealing. Bertrand Russell offered a simple, zero-cost escape from an unbearable life of self-denial and harassment of other people. For him, there was no credible case for the existence of God. Religion, Russell argued, was rooted in fear: “Fear is the basis of the whole thing — fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death.”

As an atheist, I thought I would lose that fear. I also found an entirely new circle of friends, as different from the preachers of the Muslim Brotherhood as one could imagine. The more time I spent with them — people such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins — the more confident I felt that I had made the right choice. For the atheists were clever. They were also a great deal of fun.

The reference to Bertrand Russell is a lecture that he had given in 1927 entitled “Why I am Not a Christian” which she read in 2002. She then turns to why she left atheism and embraced Christianity.

So, what changed? Why do I call myself a Christian now?

Part of the answer is global. Western civilisation is under threat from three different but related forces: the resurgence of great-power authoritarianism and expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilise a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of woke ideology, which is eating into the moral fibre of the next generation.

She recognizes that Christianity is the foundation of Western civilization and that without it, we find ourselves in an increasingly chaotic, violent and illogical world that isn’t sustainable.

But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: what is it that unites us? The response that “God is dead!” seems insufficient. So, too, does the attempt to find solace in “the rules-based liberal international order”. The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

[…]

And so I have come to realise that Russell and my atheist friends failed to see the wood for the trees. The wood is the civilisation built on the Judeo-Christian tradition; it is the story of the West, warts and all. Russell’s critique of those contradictions in Christian doctrine is serious, but it is also too narrow in scope.

Her decision turns out to be socio-political in nature—we have to embrace “the Judeo-Christian tradition” in order to fend off the global threats we face. That seems to be a Christ-less conversion which, if scripture is to be believed, is no conversion at all.

But wait! There’s hope.

Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realisation that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable — indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life?

In this nihilistic vacuum, the challenge before us becomes civilisational. We can’t withstand China, Russia and Iran if we can’t explain to our populations why it matters that we do. We can’t fight woke ideology if we can’t defend the civilisation that it is determined to destroy. And we can’t counter Islamism with purely secular tools. To win the hearts and minds of Muslims here in the West, we have to offer them something more than videos on TikTok.

As I read her testimony, it seems to be a mostly pragmatic adoption of an organizing philosophy that has succeeded better than any other in human history. But … she also has found a lack of personal meaning in her life to be “unendurable.”

So while she never mentions Jesus, salvation or the cross, it does look as though she has placed herself in close proximity to the Truth. She writes, “I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity. I discover a little more at church each Sunday.” My prayer for her is that she comes to a personal relationship with God through Christ as she attends services each week.

I encourage you to read the whole thing.

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Daily Broadside | Writing More Laws Won’t Solve the Problem. Plus You’re Trampling My Rights

Sorry I was AWOL last week. Lots of factors at play. Upside was keeping my eyes off the screen; downside was a lapse in my snappy, incisive commentary on the circus that is the United States of America these days.

I happen to live in Illinois and our esteemed governor, JB Pritzker, signed a broad ranging “assault weapons” ban in January this year that requires owners of any guns on the banned list to register them with the authorities by December 31, 2023. They can keep such guns (how benevolent! how gracious!) but if that person doesn’t register them with the Illinois State Police before the end of this year, they risk being fined or jailed or both.

This is, of course, an extreme infringement on our Second Amendment rights: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

INFRINGE, verb
1 : to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another

Whenever there is some kind of law or regulation enacted on the ownership of firearms, there you have an infringement. Making me fill out paperwork and register with the government is an infringement on my right to “keep and bear arms.” Making me pay a fee in order to own a gun is an infringement. A “right” in its purest form is not something that a government bestows or manages, but something that I already have, free and clear from government interference.

Yet that doesn’t stop the “””elected””” bureaucrats from trying to manage speech, religion, guns or any of a dozen other things that the US Constitution guarantees to its citizens.

Illinois citizens are fighting back.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A firearms retailer and a national gun rights group have filed an emergency plea with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to block Illinois’ assault weapons ban.

The plea argues that law-abiding citizens in Illinois are facing irreparable injury as their fundamental right to keep and bear arms is being infringed.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency request for an injunction made earlier this year. I’m not overly confident that this will fare any better.

Meanwhile, the Illinois State Police is urging gun owners in the state to register their assault-style weapons in compliance with the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The legislation prohibits the sale of 170 firearms, but owners of previously possessed weapons can maintain them if they are registered with the state before January 1, 2024.

This is where it gets interesting. The Illinois State Police are urging Illinoisians to register their guns, but Illinois sheriffs are not being so supportive.

At least 74 Illinois sheriff’s departments vow to defy state assault weapons ban
The sheriffs say they believe the law violates the Second Amendment.

By Peter Charalambous
January 13, 2023, 6:01 PM

Just days after Illinois became the ninth U.S. state to ban assault rifles, the state already hit a roadblock to implementing the law: defiant sheriff’s offices.

At least 74 Illinois sheriff’s departments have publicly vowed to defy elements of a recent gun-control law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, which banned assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and switches. The offices have vowed to not check if weapons are registered with the state or house individuals arrested only for not complying with the law.

You might pass the legislation, but enforcing it is a whole other world.

I don’t support this legislation. It came on the heels of a heinous crime in a community not far from where I live, as described in the Response in Opposition to Renewed Application for Injunction Pending Review filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the City of Naperville and the State of Illinois.

“On July 4, 2022, a shooter armed with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle and 30-round magazines opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. This weapon made it possible for the shooter to fire 83 rounds in less than a minute, killing 7 and wounding 48. A Highland Park ordinance prohibited the sale of assault weapons, but the shooter had legally purchased the murder weapon elsewhere in llinois.”

Yes, a heinous crime committed by a kid who bought the gun legally. The reaction by our state legislators—the Democrats—is to ban anyone and everyone from having any gun they deem an “assault weapon” so that such crimes are no longer committed.

A noble goal, but impossible to achieve. All they’re doing is stripping law-abiding citizens of their rights. The problem isn’t the gun; the problem is the person who’s using the gun.

This is where we try to use laws to tame the human heart—an impossible task. The only thing that can change a heart is the love of Christ, and that can’t be legislated.

For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:5-6)

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Daily Broadside | Mice, Rice and a Review That’s (Mostly) Nice

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend. I spent mine getting the house decorated for Christmas. I hate the amount of time that it takes us to “put up Christmas” both inside and out. On the other hand, I enjoy the fruits of our labor when the front of the house is all lit up and the inside has been transformed into a veritable wonderland with the ornamented and lit tree, the red and white table cloths, the mantle with lights and pine branches. It really is a special time of year and very festive.

One of the things we discovered as we were hauling out large plastic bins full of Christmas decor was that a mouse (two? more?) had gotten into a 25 lb. bag of rice that we had on a shelf in our storage room. They had nibbled through a corner of the bag.

We found out because a blow up mattress that we had to move to get at some decorations had rice falling out of it — there was literally a hole chewed in the plastic and something had been storing rice inside of it. That led us to the bag of rice and — I kid you not — fully three-quarters of it was gone. Gone! That’s 18.75 lbs. of rice! Where did they take it? Besides the blow-up mattress (which we had to throw out) we found another large pile of rice under the cushions on a sofa.

But we didn’t find 18 lbs. of rice. Where’s the rest of it?

I know, I know …. first world problems. But I was astonished that however many mice were helping themselves to the rice, they had moved almost 19 lbs. of it! If they had been smart mice, they would’ve just left it in the bag and come back to get what they needed when they needed it.

A few posts ago, I wrote about a new film from Angel Studios called “The Shift” and told you I’d let you know what I thought of it when I saw it. Well, I went to see it last night with the Missus, having gotten the specially-priced $5 tickets for us.

Let me start with what the film did well. The cinematography was excellent. Apart from one or two moments where the scenery felt low budget, the rest of it was extremely well shot. The majority of the movie has a dark, grim dystopian look which fits the sci-fi genre like any big budget Hollywood movie.

The acting is excellent. Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) turns in a terrifyingly real performance as the ice-cold villian known as “The Benefactor.” The protagonist, Kevin, played by Kristoffer Polaha (Jurassic World Dominion), and his wife, Molly, played by Elizabeth Tabish (The Chosen), both make their characters truly believeable, with some of the best dialogue I’ve heard in a Christian-themed movie when they meet in the opening scene.

The premise is intriguing. A married man (Kevin) is “shifted” from one reality to another by The Benefactor, where his life continues while trying to find a way back to Molly, while another Kevin apparently takes his place back in his original reality. It’s an imaginative plot that holds a lot of promise.

However, in my opinion, the movie fell short in both character development and in story-telling.

For instance, while Kevin and Molly’s relationship is developed quickly as a time-saving device, the development of other relationships is barely shown at all. After his initial encounter with The Benefactor, the next thing we know Kevin has been in his new reality for five years.

In his new reality, Kevin has to work, but we’re never shown how he gets his job or even what he does. We see him sneaking folded sheets of paper to a co-worker, Gabriel (Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings), but we have no backstory to their relationship or why Kevin has chosen to give Gabriel these pages (they end up being scripture passages he recalls and types out, though not word-for-word). It’s obvious that having or citing scripture is illegal, but we don’t know what this reality is or who “owns” it.

In a restaurant scene, everyone in the place seems to know The Benefactor and is terrified of him. But we have no idea why. Is this The Benefactor’s “home” reality? Has he shifted all of these people to this reality and have they all decided to work for him? Why do they fear him if he promises to give them something they want in return for working for him? Or has he threatened or deceived them all?

One of the waitresses is clearly traumatized by The Benefactor. When she falls victim to a whim of Kevin’s through the power of The Benefactor, it’s not shocking because we don’t know her story. It’s holes like that in the plot that make it difficult to stay with it.

The other misstep, in my opinion, was the overt Christian messaging. I really think this movie, which is loosely based on the story of Job in the Old Testament, could have stood on its own if it strengthened the plotline and stayed away from the preachy-ness that often keeps movies like this from reaching a larger audience. Sound of Freedom, another Angel Studios product, was very successful in allowing the story itself to be the message, rather than using the dialogue to “explain” the message.

In the end, it was hard to keep up with and figure out what was going on as the story progressed. My better half didn’t like it at all. There were some things that I liked about it but overall I didn’t find it to be a great film, which is too bad. However, as a Christian-themed movie, the solid acting, cinematography and creative approach gives me hope that we’re making progress for faith-based films.

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Daily Broadside | The Church is Facing Increasing Hostility in the West

It’s December 1 and now legal to decorate and play Christmas music.

I help lead a ministry at our fellowship called “Alpha” and, as the emcee, I am tasked with telling a joke each week that ties in with the topic. Last night was our last session and the topic was “The Church.” Here’s the joke:

A mother goes into her son’s room one Sunday morning to get him up for church.

“Rise and shine! It’s time to get up for church!”

Pulling the pillow over his head, he groans and says, “I’m not going to church!”

“Why not?” asks mom.

“Two reasons,” he responds. “First, they don’t like me; and second, I don’t like them. I’m not going!”

His mother replies, “I’ll give you two reasons why you should go. First, you’re 54-years-old. And second — you’re the pastor!”

That’s funny, but what’s not funny is the amount of anti-Christian hatred that’s rising in Europe and in the West, generally.

A new report is documenting a drastic rise in anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) published its annual report last week, detailing a 44% increase over the course of 2022 in social hostility towards and violent attacks against Christians as well as acts of vandalism and desecration against churches.

According to the report, 748 anti-Christian hate crimes were committed in Europe last year, 38 of which were violent physical attacks and three of which were murders. Arson attacks were also more common than in years past and churches were targeted for firebombings and vandalism, especially in France and Germany. In fact, arson attacks nearly doubled over the course of one year, rising from 60 attacks in 2021 to 106 in 2022.

When you don’t believe in God and reject the Judeo-Christian values that used to sustain this country, they become relics that are in the way of “progress” and must be removed. It’s happened before.

The OIDAC Europe report noted that “there had been a surge of clear extremism-motivated attacks.” The majority of these attacks were committed by groups with far-left, satanic, Islamic, feminist, or LGBT affiliations. In comments to The Washington Stand, Irish Freedom Party founder and president Hermann Kelly said, “The increase in the number of anti-Christian hate crimes is truly shocking in a supposedly Christian continent. The presence of many millions of the Islamic faith which preaches hatred, domination, and annihilation of all non-Muslims has no doubt added greatly to the rise in anti-Christian violence.”

“A supposedly Christian continent.” I’ve got news for you. Just like in the United States, Europe only bears a light resemblance to what was once a robust Christian faith that saturated it’s domain. These are Christians in name only. Not for every single person, mind you, but the culture is no longer “Christian” in the same way it was historically.

As Bob McManus writes in The New York Post,

It has correctly been noted that Israel stands today in the same space it occupied millennia ago — with its language, customs and culture fundamentally intact.

If that’s not authenticity — if that’s not legitimacy — then nothing is.

Moreover, Israel endures as the wells-spring of Western civilization itself — for all its warts and wrinkles, the Judeo-Christian ethic has produced the freest, most enviable culture in human history.

That’s what is at issue when the Palestinian flags came out Wednesday.

They represented an assault by advocates of a dark, theocratic worldview on a particular American institution, sure — but also on Western values generally.

They want to tear down our democracy, our economy, our very way of life.

The point of his essay is that the Palestinian flags being raised in protest against Israel’s war against Hamas is only the superficial facet of the protest. The deeper agitprop is about destroying the Western world as we understand it.

That’s the goal of all these groups banding together in protest against Christians.

The hostility against followers of Jesus will eventually arrive here, and in some ways, it already has. Christians should be thinking of how to prepare for the inevitable persecution that all followers of Christ will face … especiallly in the United States.

Have a good weekend.

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Daily Broadside | A Genuine Statesman Dies at 100

I hadn’t intended to take a week off, but a combination of Thanksgiving guests, a presentation on the life of Christ at my church, and my search for new employment conspired to knock me off my rhythm. I hope that your Thanksgiving observance was a wonderful and meaningful occasion. Ours certainly was!

Henry Kissinger died late yesterday at 100. I’m no expert on his life and public service, but he has been lauded as a giant of diplomacy during a key era in the history of the United States.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100.

With his gruff yet commanding presence and behind-the-scenes manipulation of power, Kissinger exerted uncommon influence on global affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, earning both vilification and the Nobel Peace Prize. Decades later, his name still provoked impassioned debate over foreign policy landmarks long past.

Decisions he made during his tenure still stir up the cancellation mobs that can’t seem to leave history in the past.

Never without his detractors, Kissinger after he left government was dogged by critics who argued that he should be called to account for his policies on Southeast Asia and support of repressive regimes in Latin America.

For eight restless years — first as national security adviser, later as secretary of state, and for a time in the middle holding both titles — Kissinger ranged across the breadth of major foreign policy issues. He conducted the first “shuttle diplomacy” in the quest for Middle East peace. He used secret channels to pursue ties between the United States and China, ending decades of isolation and mutual hostility.

He initiated the Paris negotiations that ultimately provided a face-saving means — a “decent interval,” he called it — to get the United States out of a costly war in Vietnam. Two years later, Saigon fell to the communists.

And he pursued a policy of detente with the Soviet Union that led to arms control agreements and raised the possibility that the tensions of the Cold War and its nuclear threat did not have to last forever.

Kissinger, a Jew who fled Nazi Germany with his family in his teens, was a staunch supporter of Israel.

I am Jewish, so it doesn’t take anything for me to respect the Jewish people. I lost 11 members of my immediate family in the Holocaust and untold numbers of people with whom I went to school, maybe 50%. So for me, it is as a matter of course that I take the survival of the Jewish people and of the Israeli state as a personal objective.

This, of course, led to pro-Palestinian crowds celebrating his death.

I have no problem with people holding different opinions, no matter how wrong I think they are. But cheering a man’s death in public and with no shame is an ugly development in America and is mostly a feature of the Left.

“You’re not supposed to say anything bad about the dead. Henry Kissinger is dead. Good,” Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali posted on X. He followed it up by posting a Rolling Stones article confirming the report of Kissinger’s death. “More! Mooooore!!!!” he wrote.

Ali acknowledges that “you’re not supposed to say anything bad about the dead,” but goes on to verbally stomp on Kissinger, just like the much-circulated video of Palestinians stomping on a dead Israeli.

We all instinctively know that desecrating the dead or gloating over the death of our enemies is wrong primarily because death is our end too.

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
    and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
    and turn away his anger from him.

Proverbs 24:17-18 is a warning against celebrating your enemy’s misfortune. Instead, we should follow the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 5:44: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Henry Kissinger deserves better than that as an American statesman, even if we don’t agree with some of his policy decisions.

As former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it,

“From the day he came to the United States as a teenager fleeing Nazi Germany, Dr. Kissinger dedicated his life to serving this great country and keeping America safe,” Mr. Pompeo said.

“He left an indelible mark on America’s history and the world. I will always be grateful for his gracious advice and help during my own time as Secretary,” he continued. “Always supportive and always informed, his wisdom made me better and more prepared after every one of our conversations.”

Thank you for your service, Mr. Kissinger. RIP.

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Daily Broadside | Thanksgiving Edition

Quick! What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Thanksgiving? (Don’t scroll until you have your word.)

What word(s) did you come up with?

Turkey?

Football?

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?

A day off?

Fall leaves?

Black Friday?

If you chose one of these words, congratulations. You have been successfully innoculated against the original spirit of the day along with millions of your compatriots—including me.

But we can recapture it’s meaning if we make it a point to tell the story to our family and guests who gather with us on this day.

The first Thanksgiving was at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, so named for the port in England from which the Pilgrims set sail on September 6, 1620, for a 65-day journey across the Atlantic. Less than 50 of the roughly 100 passengers and crew on the Mayflower survived the winter of 1620.

Sometime in October or November of 1621, the Pilgrims gathered in the great English tradition of a 3-day harvest festival that featured venison, turkey and waterfowl, cod, and bass, plus wheat, corn, and barley, and probably a number of vegtables and fruit. It was there that they celebrated a bountiful harvest and gave thanks to God for his gracious provision.

What does that have to do with us today?

For those of us who still love these United States and its ideals, Thanksgiving represents an opportunity to express a grateful heart that has not taken prosperity for granted. We stand on the shoulders of men and women who braved the unknown and persevered through trials that we can only hope we never face. Because of their courage and perseverance, we are blessed beyond measure to live in a country where we are (mostly) free from want and, in fact, have more than we really need.

As you gather with friends or family today, perhaps take a minute or two to read one of the only two accounts of that first harvest festival. Have your guests each name one thing that they are thankful for. Then take a moment to sincerely acknowledge God’s provision in your life, and thank Him for His blessings.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

History of Massachusetts: History of the First Thanksgiving
The True Story of That First Thanksgiving

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Daily Broadside | Another Faith-Inspired Movie is About to Hit Theaters

Taking a break from the madness in our world, today’s post promotes an original new movie from Angel Studios, which brought us Sound of Freedom (which I reviewed back in July). Like when I also promoted Nefarious earlier this year, I haven’t seen this movie yet. Unlike when I promoted Nefarious, this new movie isn’t being touted by two Christian writers I admire. But I’m intrigued by the concept and the Christian theme it’s alleged to have.

“The Shift” follows Kevin (played by Kristoffer Polaha), a man with a struggling marriage who is thrown into the multiverse when he refuses to be the minion of a malevolent man called The Benefactor (Neal McDonough) who has the power to “shift” people to different universes. Now, Kevin has to find a way to survive in the hellish world he finds himself in and the way back to the woman he loves (Elizabeth Tabish).

The film has all the elements of every great sci-fi adventure: a great concept, a great core relationship and a great antagonist. In “The Shift,” the genius central sci-fi concept is that this other dimension is real and a place where, in effect, everyone’s interpretation of their experiences is correct since every difference in perspective or memory is the result of the multiverse.

This is a fascinating twist on the multiverse as it makes this place a metaphor for misunderstanding and potential reconciliation. The central relationship is the love story between Kevin and his wife Molly. The film does an extraordinary job making you fall in love with their relationship. Kevin and Molly feel like a real couple. In fact, the opening scene between the two is some of the best writing I’ve seen in a faith-based industry film.

The villain — known as The Benefactor — is both terrifying as he’s essentially a traditional (and implied literal) “devil” character. The horrifying power to shift people in and out of the multiverse is coupled with a dogged commitment to never giving Kevin a moment’s peace until he works for him. McDonough’s performance has all the archetypal villainy you would want from this role.

It sounds like a winning concept. The devil tempts his victim, Kevin, to get what he wants—his wife—by agreeing to work for him.

The reviewer I’m quoting is Joseph Holmes over at Religion Unplugged. (TBH had never heard of the site until I did some research on this film.) Holmes cautions us that while the movie is good, it doesn’t resolve the questions it raises very well.

Instead of exploring the multiverse and the themes of reconciling misunderstanding or different worldviews, we get stuck in one stock dystopian world for the majority of the film with stock non-believers tossing him stock “where is God when you suffer” questions. Instead of spending the film exploring Kevin and Molly’s relationship, they spend the whole movie apart.  

And this:

You may say that’s the point. We are supposed to believe God is good even when life doesn’t look like that, even if we never understand like in The Book of Job, the story that this movie is loosely based on. And yet, even The Book of Job resolves its tension. Instead, “The Shift” doesn’t give us a similar revelation of God’s power and goodness. As a result, conflict remains unresolved. 

That’s disappointing, I suppose. Having not seen the movie yet, I can neither confirm nor deny his assessment. As an “award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic” he has more credibility than I do, so I suggest we all adjust our expectations accordingly.

My main point in calling attention to this film is that there have been some pretty good efforts being made by Christian filmakers over the last decade or more, and I want to encourage them to keep trying. The only way that happens is if Christians and like-minded citizens support their work. I’m not so much interested in showing up Hollywood like Sound of Freedom did (although I’m not adverse to that happening) as much as I am rallying believers to at least give Christian outfits like Angle Studios a fighting chance.

Besides, Disney has gone woke and many of the other movies being offered to the public are so much mindless garbage. Yes, you can find an occasional movie that’s well done (Oppenheimer comes to mind, despite its flaws), but the majority seem to be mental cotton candy.

I’ll go see The Shift and let you know what I think in a future post.

The Shift opens on December 1, a week after Thanksgiving. The film is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 1 hour 55 minutes. Watch the trailer, block out some time, then go see it.