U2 Betrays Babies

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Like a lot of generation Xers, I’m a huge U2 fan. They’re the closest thing my generation has to The Beatles. That’s why I was tremendously disappointed to see the popular band, which has Christian roots and whose lead singer even appeared on “Focus on the Family” a few years ago to share his faith, come out and urge voters in their native Ireland to repeal the nation’s pro-life law.

For a band that has been open about Christianity in song and deed, fighting for the downtrodden worldwide in numerous causes while infusing song lyrics with Christian themes and imagery over the years, it’s inexcusable for the band to urge Ireland to reject basic human rights for the most vulnerable among us — unborn children in the womb.

One of the band’s first hit songs, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” refers to Jesus Christ being “betrayed with a kiss.” Now the band has betrayed innocent children from their native country with a tweet in support of state-sponsored ritualistic killing. This has prompted some swift and harsh responses by their legions of pro-life fans who feel the band betrayed them as well.

Daniel Darling of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention put it this way: “After having poured out his voice for the vulnerable, [U2 frontman Bono] is turning his back on those precious souls who have no voice.”

Lest anyone think my associating the band with Christianity is another example of believers desperate for mainstream cultural acceptance so that they glom onto any celebrity who says something spiritual once, one website cited 79 specific Biblical/religious references in the band’s music catalogue. U2 also isn’t a case of some up-and-coming band whom people pinned some subtle religious hopes upon; the group just wrapped up the 30th anniversary tour of perhaps their greatest album, “The Joshua Tree,” in 2017.

Two of that album’s most famous songs are titled “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” They have lyrics with explicit Scripture references like “I have spoken with the tongues of angels” (1 Corinthians 13:1) and been “beaten and blown by the wind” (James 1:6).

So this is not a band ignorant of the Word of God. Far from it. Given U2’s immense popularity as one of the most successful bands of all time, it could be argued the group has dropped more Bible verses than anyone not an explicit evangelist worldwide over the years. Therefore, I don’t think we should treat them as just another rock band that signs up for total depravity. We should treat them as Christ commands us to treat the brethren who have lost their way. I pray there is someone in their inner circle who can go to them. If not, perhaps clergy they hold themselves accountable to who will confront them.

I certainly haven’t wholly agreed with the band’s politics over the years, but this is an example of directly contradicting the Word of God they have used to inspire much of their best and most profitable music for decades. And since long before I became a believer, they shared the Scripture with me when I first fell in love with “The Joshua Tree” when I was 14 years old, now, as a believer, allow me to return the favor to them:

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. ~Proverbs 6:16-19

(For more from the author of “U2 Betrays Babies” please click HERE)

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Pro-Trump Professor Sues University for Wrongful Termination

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A pro-Trump professor sued New Mexico State University Friday after the school fired him when he refused to return to work after the school rescinded his leave of absence.

Former NMSU business law professor Gavin Clarkson sued the school for wrongful termination, defamation, denial of due process, breach of contract, production of a hostile work environment and discrimination because of his conservative politics, according to a press release obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Without the basic due process rights that are the cornerstone of western civilization, it’s really just a kangaroo court,” Clarkson said. “While litigation should never be the first option, it’s the only way forward at this point to make sure justice is done in this situation, which is a transparent political hit job.”

NMSU granted the former professor a leave of absence in June 2017 when Clarkson told NMSU he had accepted an appointment as deputy assistant secretary for policy and economic affairs at the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. In its letter granting the leave, NMSU does not explicitly state that the leave hinged upon the professor’s employment at the Department of the Interior.

Clarkson stepped down from his deputy assistant secretary post in December 2017 to pursue a seat in New Mexico’s Congressional District No. 2. The former professor announced his candidacy on Jan. 8, 2018. On Jan. 12, the school ordered him to return to teaching Jan. 16. (Read more from “Pro-Trump Professor Sues University for Wrongful Termination” HERE)

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Christian Therapist Fired over Traditional Marriage Stance

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A longtime licensed clinical social worker who was ordered to be a “social worker first, Catholic second” and then fired because of her biblical beliefs about marriage is suing the agency that dismissed her. . .

Lorentzen had asked permission from her former employer, HealthSource Saginaw in Michigan, for permission to refer a homosexual duo to another counselor for “marriage” counseling.

She then was fired. . .

She wanted to refer them to someone else, because seeing them on that issue “would violate her religious beliefs and practices regarding the sanctity of marriage as the union between one man and one woman.” . . .

“Federal civil rights law generally requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs so long as doing so would not impose an undue hardship. In this case, the couple could have easily been referred to another therapist.” (Read more from “Christian Therapist Fired over Traditional Marriage Stance” HERE)

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Pope to Gay: ‘God Made You like That’

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By The Telegraph. The Pope made the remarks, which went significantly beyond his previous tolerance for homosexuality, during a meeting three weeks ago with a Chilean man who had been sexually abused by Catholic priests.

The Pope offered a heartfelt apology to Juan Carlos Cruz, who was a victim of Chile’s most notorious abusive priest, Fernando Karadima.

Mr Cruz, who is gay, said the conversation moved on from the abuse crisis to the nature of homosexuality.

“He told me ‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care.

“The Pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are,’” Mr Cruz told El Pais, the Spanish newspaper. (Read more from “Pope to Gay: ‘God Made You like That'” HERE)

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Pope Francis Reportedly Tells Gay Man, ‘God Made You That Way and Loves You’

By Fox News. . .The Los Angeles Times reported that the Vatican did not confirm the pope’s comments given that it was a private conversation.

The pope has upheld Catholic teaching on homosexuality, reiterating the church’s opposition to same-sex relationships.

Francis uttered his “Who am I to judge?” comment during his first airborne press conference in 2013, signaling a new era of acceptance and welcome for gays in the church. Francis followed up by meeting with gay and transgender faithful.

Fr. James Martin, the author of “Building a Bridge,” told The Times that Francis’ reported comments are a “big deal” because it is likely the first time the pope made a comment “about gay people being born that way.”

Martin told the paper that the pope made the reported comment in private and not on the record, which is a big difference. (Read more from “Pope Francis Reportedly Tells Gay Man, ‘God Made You That Way and Loves You'” HERE)

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Deep State Desperate, According to Clinton Pollster

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The “deep state” is in a deep state of desperation. With little time left before the Justice Department inspector general’s report becomes public, and with special counsel Robert Mueller having failed to bring down Donald Trump after a year of trying, they know a reckoning is coming.

At this point, there is little doubt that the highest echelons of the FBI and the Justice Department broke their own rules to end the Hillary Clinton “matter,” but we can expect the inspector general to document what was done or, more pointedly, not done. It is hard to see how a year-long investigation of this won’t come down hard on former FBI Director James Comey and perhaps even former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who definitely wasn’t playing mahjong in a secret “no aides allowed” meeting with former President Clinton on a Phoenix airport tarmac.

With this report on the way and congressional investigators beginning to zero in on the lack of hard, verified evidence for starting the Trump probe, current and former intelligence and Justice Department officials are dumping everything they can think of to save their reputations.

But it is backfiring. They started by telling the story of Alexander Downer, an Australian diplomat, as having remembered a bar conversation with George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. But how did the FBI know they should talk to him? That’s left out of their narrative. Downer’s signature appears on a $25 million contribution to the Clinton Foundation. You don’t need much imagination to figure that he was close with Clinton Foundation operatives who relayed information to the State Department, which then called the FBI to complete the loop. This wasn’t intelligence. It was likely opposition research from the start.

In no way would a fourth-hand report from a Maltese professor justify wholesale targeting of four or five members of the Trump campaign. It took Christopher Steele, with his funding concealed through false campaign filings, to be incredibly successful at creating a vast echo chamber around his unverified, fanciful dossier, bouncing it back and forth between the press and the FBI so it appeared that there were multiple sources all coming to the same conclusion. (Read more from “Deep State Desperate, According to Clinton Pollster” HERE)

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Hahahaha! Wash Post, NYT: FBI Embedded Informant in Trump Campaign to Protect Him

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. . .Throughout the last week, stories exploded about the Obama FBI embedding an informant inside the campaign of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump called the reports “bigger than Watergate” and the “all-time biggest political scandal!”

But not to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Over the weekend, both stellar news agencies wrote stories saying the insertion of an informant was simply to protect Trump.

“The FBI didn’t use an informant to go after Trump. They used one to protect him,” read the Post’s headline.

“Trump and his backers are wrong about what it means that the FBI reportedly was using a confidential source to gather information early in its investigation of possible campaign ties to Russia. The investigation started out as a counterintelligence probe, not a criminal one. And relying on a covert source rather than a more intrusive method of gathering information suggests that the FBI may have been acting cautiously — perhaps too cautiously — to protect the campaign, not undermine it,” wrote Asha Rangappa, a “lecturer” at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University and a former FBI agent.

As a former FBI counterintelligence agent, I know what Trump apparently does not: Counterintelligence investigations have a different purpose than their criminal counterparts. Rather than trying to find evidence of a crime, the FBI’s counterintelligence goal is to identify, monitor and neutralize foreign intelligence activity in the United States. In short, this entails identifying foreign intelligence officers and their network of agents; uncovering their motives and methods; and ultimately rendering their operations ineffective — either by clandestinely thwarting them (say, by feeding back misinformation or “flipping” their sources into double agents) or by exposing them.

(Read more from “Hahahaha! Wash Post, NYT: FBI Embedded Informant in Trump Campaign to Protect Him” HERE)

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Thanks Trump? China Pledges to Buy More American Products, Reduce Trade Deficit

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By The Daily Wire. President Donald Trump drew major heat for announcing, months ago, that he would boost tariffs on goods coming into the United States from China, in an effort to re-balance what he considered an economically fatal trade deficit.

But after months of negotiations, it seems the President’s commitment ot the “art of the deal” has changed our relationship with China without many major changes on the part of the U.S., and though nothing is yet official, China says it will buy more American products to “even out” our trade partnership.

According to CNN, China has pledged to “significantly increase” “purchase of goods and services” from American companies, in order to “reduce the trade imbalance.” The news comes at the tail end of weeks of trade talks between American and Chinese officials that both parties have called “productive.” (Read more from “Thanks Trump? China Pledges to Buy More American Products, Reduce Trade Deficit” HERE)

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U.S. and China Call a Ceasefire in Trade Dispute

By CNN. After weeks of tensions, China and the United States have reached a ceasefire.

Both sides this weekend said they had agreed to not impose new tariffs on one another while talks continue, after reaching an initial agreement on trade.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the countries said China would “significantly increase” purchases of US goods and services to reduce their trade imbalance. This was a top demand of the Trump administration during two days of trade talks in Washington with Chinese officials.

“We’re putting the trade war on hold,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told “Fox News Sunday. “We have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.” (Read more from “U.S. and China Call a Ceasefire in Trade Dispute” HERE)

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DOJ Responds to Trump’s Demand for Review into Alleged Spying for ‘Political Purposes’

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The Department of Justice responded to President Donald Trump’s Twitter message on Sunday, demanding an investigation into whether the FBI and DOJ infiltrated his campaign during the 2016 election for “political purposes.”

In a statement, DOJ spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores said, “The Department has asked the Inspector General to expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election. As always, the IG will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct.”

(Read more from “DOJ Responds to Trump’s Demand for Review into Alleged Spying for ‘Political Purposes'” HERE)

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School Shooter Targeted Certain Students

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. . .As more details emerged about the shooting that left 10 people dead and 13 injured at the Houston-area school, the student who authorities said confessed to the attack was being held in isolation Saturday as officials identified the victims . . .

“We are gratified by the public comments made by other Santa Fe High School students that show Dimitri as we know him: a smart, quiet, sweet boy,” the family statement said. “While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday’s tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love.”

One of Pagourtzis’ classmates who died in the attack, Shana Fisher, “had 4 months of problems from this boy,” her mother, Sadie Rodriguez, wrote in a private message to the Los Angeles Times on Facebook. “He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no.”

Pagourtzis continued to get more aggressive, and she finally stood up to him and embarrassed him in class, Rodriguez said. “A week later he opens fire on everyone he didn’t like,” she wrote. “Shana being the first one.” Rodriguez didn’t say how she knew her daughter was the first victim. . .

After scrambling to escape the shooter’s blasts in the art room, Isabelle Van Ness, covered in dust from rounds hitting her classroom walls, could hear the shooter in a next-door classroom yelling, “Woo hoo!” while shooting, according to her mother, Deedra Van Ness. (Read more from “School Shooter Targeted Certain Students” HERE)

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Everyone Is Freaking out over Man Who Showed up to Shooting Scene with His Flag and Gun

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. . .During the inevitable gun debate that immediately went into play on social media, one man who showed up on the scene and stoked the debate to new heights for what he was wearing — and carrying.

The man who wasn’t yet identified said he was there to “Make America Great Again.” The fact that he was wearing a Trump hat, carrying the American flag, and had a handgun on his side was not lost on anyone.

A second man in the video was enraged by the flag waving Patriot, saying that while he supports the Second Amendment, it was the wrong move to show up with his gun out in the open.

(Read more from “Everyone Is Freaking out over Man Who Showed up to Shooting Scene with His Flag and Gun” HERE)

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