Clinton Campaign Wants Anti-Hillary Ad With Michelle Obama Taken Down

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Along with her husband, first lady Michelle Obama has been on the campaign trail in recent months advocating for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“I’m out here first and foremost because we’ve never had a more qualified and prepared candidate for president than our friend Hillary Clinton,” the first lady told a rally in North Carolina Thursday.

However, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants Florida voters to hear what Michelle Obama had to say about Clinton long before she had a vested interest in electing the candidate who has pledged to continue President Barack Obama’s agenda.

The ad shows comments made in 2008, the year in which the Obamas were campaigning against Clinton in a bitter contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The ad features video footage of the first lady telling a crowd, “One of the things, the important aspects of this race is role modeling what good families should look like. And my view is that if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House. Can’t do it!”

The Obama campaign later clarified that the statement was not in reference to former President Bill Clinton’s sexual conduct, but the remark was interpreted that way at the time.

Michelle Obama’s comments are something the Clinton campaign would prefer voters not hear.

BuzzFeed reported that the Clinton campaign has sent a cease and desist letters to several stations demanding they stop airing the ad, which was paid for through the Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC, a subsidiary of the Make America Number 1 PAC.

In a letter to the stations, Make America Number 1’s lawyer Larry Levy denied the demand from Hillary for America to stop running the ads.

Levy said the Clinton campaign seeks to “deny the public an opportunity to view our advertisement because it is ‘false and misleading’. In reality, HFA simply finds it politically inconvenient that a top surrogate for its candidate once held a differing view concerning her qualifications for office.”

PAC spokesperson Hogan Gidley said the Clinton campaign finds fault with the ad because it is effective.

“Hillary’s just angry because the ad is impactful, it’s working and it speaks directly to the women she’s been trying to con for years,” Gidley said.

“Hillary’s own campaign said when Michelle Obama speaks out, ‘it has a real impact,’ and indeed, we agree – because it was Mrs. Obama who correctly pointed out Hillary Clinton ‘certainly can’t run the White House,’” Gidley said. (For more from the author of “Clinton Campaign Wants Anti-Hillary Ad With Michelle Obama Taken Down” please click HERE)

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Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Transgender School Bathrooms Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a federal order requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity is lawful.

The Obama administration issued a directive earlier this year requiring public schools to accommodate transgender students.

The case before the Supreme Court originates in Gloucester County, Virginia. The high court agreed Friday to hear it, granting review on two legal questions.

The Obama administration’s directive advised that the U.S. Department of Education read Title IX, the section of the federal code concerning gender discrimination in education, to include transgender individuals—meaning a school may not discriminate against them in any way.

Some school districts across the country have ignored the order and set their own policies, arguing the administration does not have the authority to issue such a rule. Some states, led by Texas, challenged the order in federal court; a federal district judge in Texas sided with them and blocked the order.

The case arose when Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old student in the Gloucester County public school system who is transgender, sought to begin using the men’s bathroom.

Grimm was born female but identifies as male. Gloucester County schools require transgender students to use alternative bathrooms.

In a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Grimm claims the district’s policy violates Title IX and the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

Though a district court sided with the schools, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled for Grimm, finding that the courts must defer to Department of Education guidelines requiring schools to treat students consistent to their gender identity to comply with Title IX.

The Supreme Court justices must determine whether an unpublished agency letter that itself does not carry the force of law is subject to “Auer deference,” and also whether the department’s interpretation of Title IX will stand.

Auer deference is a legal doctrine requiring the courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation. The court also was asked to revisit the 1997 Auer ruling in its entirety, but declined to take up that question.

“The Supreme Court has the chance to rein in an executive branch that has once again gone around our laws and the will of the people in violation of the Constitution,” Roger Severino, director of The Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, said in a release by the think tank.

Severino noted that the Department of Education determined that it is discriminatory to reasonably accommodate transgender students with private facilities:

Incredibly, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said it was required to defer to the administration’s backward and bizarre rewriting of the law and effectively handed its gavel to the Department of Education.

Across America, schools have been able to address student concerns sensitively and fairly. The last thing they need is a one-sided mandate from the federal government that jeopardizes student privacy.

A date for oral arguments has not yet been set.

In the absence of a ninth justice, the court has declined to schedule arguments in major cases on which they are expected to split along ideological lines. It is possible, then, that the case will not be argued for the foreseeable future. (For more from the author of “Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Transgender School Bathrooms Case” please click HERE)

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Franklin Graham: Media Do Not Want the Political Corruption to Change

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Commenting on the “incredible” media bias this election year, evangelical Pastor Franklin Graham said the “corruption” in both political parties is “unbelieveable” and the media, “along with many politicians from both parties, doesn’t want any of this to change.”

“Isn’t the media bias incredible — especially relating to political candidates?” said Rev. Graham in an Oct. 24 post on Facebook. “Geraldo Rivera said last night that it’s like nothing he’s ever seen.”

“They spin story after story against the candidates they don’t like and in favor of the candidates they support,” he said. “I hope and pray that Christians are not deceived by the media’s bias, but will give prayerful consideration as they go to the polls and vote.”

“Our political system in this country is broken,” said Rev. Graham. “The corruption is in both parties and is unbelievable. The media, along with many politicians from both parties, doesn’t want any of this to change.”

“As I went to all 50 states this year and stood on the capitol steps with Christians from every state, we prayed and confessed our sins to God,” he said. “We asked His forgiveness and asked Him to heal this land. My prayer is that you will continue to pray, and that you will vote.” (Read more from “Franklin Graham: Media Do Not Want the Political Corruption to Change” HERE)

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Pastors, They’re Coming for You!

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OK, I get it.

The title of this article sounds conspiratorial and inflammatory. In fact, it sounds like a “shock” headline designed to get your attention. Who, after all, is this ambiguous “they” I’m referring to, and why are “they” coming for “you” — referring obviously to Christian leaders? And what, pray tell, are “they” coming to do to “you?”

So I’ll admit it. I did come up with the title of this article for shock value, but the fact is, you need to be shocked. It is only sensational because it is true.

Consider this October 26 headline on Fox News: “State of Georgia demands pastor turn over sermons.” Yes, “A lay minister who is suing the Georgia Department of Public Health for religious discrimination has been ordered by the state’s attorney general to relinquish his sermons to the government, according to federal court documents.”

In the words of Attorney General Samuel Olens, “Please produce a copy of your sermon notes and/or transcripts.”

And why is the state of Georgia demanding his sermon notes and/or transcripts?

As Todd Starnes reports, “Walsh, a Seventh-day Adventist lay minister had been hired in May 2014 as a District Health Director with the Georgia Department of Public Health. A week later, a government official asked him to submit copies of his sermons for review. He complied and two days later he was fired.”

In other words, he was not fired because of any lack of qualification. To the contrary, he was highly qualified for the job.

As noted by attorney David French, Walsh’s resumé included “working for former President Bush and President Obama to combat AIDS, serving as a board member of the Latino Health Collaborative, and starting California’s first city-run dental clinic for low-income families dealing with HIV/AIDS,” but that “wasn’t sufficient to overcome the horror at Walsh’s Christian views.”

Yes, Walsh was fired for the unpardonable sin of preaching against homosexual practice, based on Scripture — and note that he was preaching this to his fellow-congregants, not giving a lecture to his staff. As Walsh’s lead attorney Jeremy Dys said, “He was fired for something he said in a sermon. If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything.”

Yes, continued Dys, “It’s an incredible intrusion on the sanctity of the pulpit. This is probably the most invasive reach into the pulpit by the state that I’ve ever seen.”

It’s No Surprise

But this should not surprise us at all. As I pointed out in 2013:

Already in April, 2009, an article in the Washington Post documented how, “Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom.”

This was confirmed by Georgetown Law Professor Chai Feldblum, appointed by President Obama to serve on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and herself an out and proud lesbian, when she remarked that when religious liberty and sexual liberty conflict, “I’m having a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win.”

That’s why Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, was fired for his personally held beliefs about sexuality and marriage.

That’s why Dr. Angela McCaskill, associate provost of diversity and inclusion at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (and herself deaf), was suspended from her job for signing a petition at her local church which called for a public vote on same-sex “marriage” (rather than for a legislative decision).

That’s why Crystal Dixon was fired from her position as Associate Vice President of Human Resources at the University of Toledo for writing an editorial in her local newspaper, taking issue with the idea that gay is the new black.

And the list goes on and on, growing on a regular basis, as I and others have documented now for years. (Just check out the chapter “Big Brother Is Watching, and He Really Is Gay” in A Queer Thing Happened to America for some sobering examples.)

And I used these three examples here because in each case, gay sensitivities not only trumped religious rights, they also demonstrated that, when it comes to “gay rights,” even black Americans can be perceived as victimizers rather than victims (Cochran, McCaskill, and Dixon were all black).

As we have now learned with Dr. Walsh (did I mention he’s black as well?), not even the pulpits are safe.

But this too should not surprise us. After all, it was just last year that Annise Parker, the lesbian mayor of Houston, along with the city attorney, David Feldman, demanded that five local pastors turn over their sermons, speeches, presentations, and even emails to congregants which addressed the issues of homosexuality and gender identity, among other subjects.

It was only when Parker and Feldman came under intense national pressure that they backed down, with Parker still denying that “the request[s] were in any way illegal or intended to intrude on religious liberties.” (I document this in detail in the chapter “The Day the Line Was Crossed” in Outlasting the Gay Revolution.)

With all respect to the mayor’s position, her explanation was absolute rubbish, and there is no question that what she did intruded on religious liberties.

The Church Must Resist!

As I warned last week, if Hillary Clinton is elected, this will only get worse. Even if Donald Trump is elected, abuses like this will continue on a local level for years to come. There’s only thing that can stop it, and that is simply the Church of Jesus, led by its pastors and elders, standing up to speak what is right and do what is right, regardless of cost or consequence. If we do, the tide will turn.

Now, I’m quite aware that I sound like a broken record, having written on this theme three times in two weeks, including this article (see here and here).

But I will keep sounding the alarm until God’s people wake up — beginning with the leaders — and with yet another example staring us in the face, we sleep on to our own peril, not to mention our lasting shame.

In recent days, I’ve been reading a terrific book by Dean G. Stroud entitled, Preaching in Hitler’s Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich. And while I am absolutely not comparing our current government to Nazi Germany and while I do not believe we will go the way Nazi Germany went, I can’t help but see the striking parallels between our two countries, beginning with these incremental attacks on religious freedom, back then and today.

And so, while I am not saying that America will one day look like Nazi Germany, I am saying that very soon, America will hardly be recognizable, the antithesis of the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

After all, who would have believed that in the last two years, government officials would be demanding that pastors and Christian teachers turn over their sermons, sermons notes, and private emails dealing with sexual morality and that, in the last 10 years, Christians would be fired from their jobs or kicked out of their schools because of their privately held, biblical beliefs?

And so, I will say it again. It’s time to wake up! (For more from the author of “Pastors, They’re Coming for You!” please click HERE)

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Mother Angelica’s Simple Advice on Voting Is Going Viral

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Mother Angelica’s faithful voice still rings loud and clear with reason seven months after her passing, as a 16-year-old video of remarks she made on voting is making the rounds on Facebook.

The culture of death is an abomination to the Lord, and she simply cannot vote for death, she tells viewers.

But arguably even more profound and pertinent still all these years later is Mother’s pronouncement that she will not vote for candidates, but rather, for life.

“I’m not going to vote for candidates,” she states, pausing. “I vote for life … for life.”

“I vote for life,” Mother Angelica says again with profound emphasis. (Read more from “Mother Angelica’s Simple Advice on Voting Is Going Viral” HERE)

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Christian University Under Fire for ‘Deep Ties’ With Abortion Industry, Planned Parenthood

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“In all of its endeavors, Whitworth University seeks to advance its founder’s mission of equipping students to ‘honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity,'” the school’s website reads.

And yet the Presbyterian-affiliated school is partnering with Planned Parenthood.

Whitworth University is facilitating and promoting Planned Parenthood student internships for college credit, where student interns are “professionally trained.” Whitworth lists the nation’s largest abortion chain as their “community partner” and allows them to have a booth at their school volunteer fair to recruit students.

The prestigious Christian school also sends out flyers listing Planned Parenthood as a resource for pregnant students.

Last spring, Whitworth hosted a fetal tissue research discussion event, where they highlighted the “upside” of abortion as donating baby body parts and sought to discredit the Center for Medical Progress videos as “highly edited.” (Read more from “Christian University Under Fire for ‘Deep Ties’ With Abortion Industry, Planned Parenthood” HERE)

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Satanism, Child Torture, Mind Control — What Is on Hollywood’s Mind?

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Who’s up for some child torture? No, seriously. Wouldn’t strapping a boy into a chair and frightening him with satanic rituals, then electrocuting him, then doing something worse be loads of fun?

It’s what happens in the new video LA Devotee by a band called Panic! At the Disco, perhaps the most unapologetically evil entry of pop culture today.

The video opens with a girl being abducted by what appears to be a witch. The view switches to a boy being strapped to a chair by more witches. The chair is in a dungeon filled with gruesome images, like a bloody skull, Baphomet-like masks, and so forth. A video camera is shown to be filming the affair. Who is watching? Witches terrorize the boy, and at one point display a large knife before they disappear behind the boy, emerging later with a fresh heart.

The girl who was earlier kidnapped feeds the boy a drink; after drinking the boy goes in and out of a trance. Later, witches strap electrodes to the boy and then — what else? — electrocute him. The boy is shown in great pain.

Now throughout all this are interspersed images of Panic’s singer, who appears on a screen in the dungeon, sometimes with a maniacal look, sometimes with Satanic imagery overlaid on his face. The video closes with the singer, demonically grinning, emerging from the screen while snapping on rubber gloves. The last scene shows the singer lurching towards the boy, clenching his gloved fists.

Except perhaps for the lyric hinting of “the black magic on Mulholland Drive,” the music is utterly incongruous with the video. There is nothing redeeming in it. Nothing. It is pitiless, brutal, boastful. It is immoral.

It is evil.

Mainstreaming Satanic Music

Panic! is not a fringe group: they are as mainstream as they come. The group, which has other Satanic-themed videos has won many awards. Billboard is running a poll for who will sing at next year’s Super Bowl. At this writing, there is a near tie between Panic! at the Disco and another group. The NFL has already teamed with the band to produce a commercial.

Panic! is not overtly Satanic, but there are plenty of bands which are. Such as Golgoroth, with lead noise maker Gaahl, a man accused, convicted and imprisoned for torture and drinking the blood of his victim, and Watain, which features music which sounds like a dump truck run in reverse, vomiting its contents on the street. But these and those like them, given their explicit praise of Satan, are on the edges of society and sought after by only a few.

It is the mainstreaming, the normalizing of Satanic imagery which is of interest. This is occurring not only in music, but in all areas of entertainment (as we have seen before), and even in fashion. This includes perfume.

Doesn’t Smell So Good

A well known fragrance company created an advertisement for its new Kenzo World line. The commercial was so appealing that it was written about (among other places) on Britain’s The Guardian.

The video opens with a pretty girl bored by some hotel banquet. She slips out of a ballroom and, suddenly, set to horrid music, an unwanted change comes upon her. Is she being possessed? Is she suffering the after effects of a mind control program? Whichever: she is overcome. She dances spasmodically, she is overtly sexual, she causally and even proudly snaps the neck of an innocent man chatting on his cell phone.

At one point she tries to recover her true self, but whatever is inside wins the battle. And at the end, she flies into a giant all-seeing eye which has appeared from nowhere. The perfume bottle is the last thing we see, which also takes the form of the all-seeing eye.

Conspiracies and Theories

The all-seeing eye, in occult lore, is said to be Masonic and Illuminati imagery; indeed, that which is taken to be of the Illuminati is rife in the entertainment world. Put away the tinfoil hats, dear reader. I said “that which is taken to be,” and I did not say “that which is.” There is a world of difference here.

What is plain is that occult symbols, whether based in reality or only imagined, are showing with greater frequency. These are a mixture of the Satanic, of tokens from secret societies like the Illuminati, and of mind-control programs, all of which are mixed together in some black soup, and which are most popular in the music industry.

Mind control? Certainly. There was, dear reader, a genuine conspiracy, and not a theory, centered around our beneficent government’s MKUltra program, which ran experiments on unwitting Americans testing various mind-control techniques, mostly using drugs and forms of torture.

In 1979, ABC News’s Closeup devoted a program to exposing the CIA’s involvement. In 1973, then CIA Director Richard Helms, fearing discovery, ordered MKUltra files destroyed. For that and for other cover ups, Helms was convicted for misleading Congress.

The CIA said it abandoned MKUltra after claiming that the techniques it discovered were unreliable. Not that they didn’t work, but that they were unreliable, another notable difference. Given the history and natural distrust of our government, it is thus no wonder that many believe the program, or ones like it, are still in existence. Many are convinced — again, it doesn’t matter whether this is real or not — that something called Monarch programming exists. It is always accompanied by butterfly imagery and is said to be MKUltra perfected. See also the recent movie American Ultra.

The Plan Comes Together

If one wanted to characterize the dark framework around which Hollywood and the rest of the ephemeral industry is coalescing, not necessarily by design, but by merely copying what is popular, it is this. The Illuminati, a secret Satanic organization, uses mind control techniques on the innocent, especially children, because of the pain it causes them, and women, for sexual purposes. The aftereffects of mind control is the theme behind Katy Perry’s Wide Awake (notice the butterflies and her imaginary young, innocent self).

If one wants to become a success, one must be initiated into the occult world. This video by The Weekend, the first of a trilogy (part two, three), tells us the (necessary) deal made with the Devil is irrevocable.

I emphasize that this is the story they are telling, and am making no claims whatsoever about its veracity.

But with that story in mind, the Kenzo World video suddenly starts to make sense. At its start, the woman is sitting next to our doomed heroine. Look at her necklace. When the girl in green licks the statue, notice her bracelet. These symbols are not there by accident.

Now re-watch LA Devotee, if you can. The boy, who is, as some might have recognized, the same boy who is kidnapped by underworldly forces in Netflix’s Stranger Things, is being tortured for the viewing pleasure of others. And just like in Stranger Things, mind control is intimated.

Conclusion?

The examples given in this article can be multiplied with ease. If anything, the pace of using dark imagery by the ephemeral industry is accelerating. Doubtless like all fads, it will fade in time.

We haven’t reached the peak yet. So far, nobody is complaining; instead, there is every indication people are enjoying what they’re seeing.

But you have to wonder what the public reaction would be to a Satanic ritual, or an episode of torture, performed at the 2017 Super Bowl were Panic! at the Disco elected to host the half time show. A few years ago, such a suggestion would have seemed crazy. But given current trends, it’s not out of the question. (For more from the author of “Satanism, Child Torture, Mind Control — What Is on Hollywood’s Mind?” please click HERE)

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Hillary Supports Abortion ‘at 9 Months’: Trump Doubles Down in New Interview

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In a new interview, Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Hillary Clinton for supporting late-term abortion.

“According to the rules of Hillary, you can take the baby at nine months and you can imagine what you have to do to that baby to get it out,” he told CBN. “And you can take that baby at nine months and you can abort. And a day prior to birth you can take the baby. And I said it’s unacceptable.”

During the first few minutes of last week’s third and final presidential debate, Trump went on the offense against Clinton for supporting abortion on demand and voting in favor of partial-birth abortion.

“If you go with what Hillary is saying, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby,” he said. “Now, you can say that that’s okay, and Hillary can say that that’s okay, but it’s not okay with me because based on what she’s saying and based on where she’s going and where she’s been, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month on the final day, and that’s not acceptable.” (Read more from “Hillary Supports Abortion ‘at 9 Months’: Trump Doubles Down in New Interview” HERE)

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Sadie Robertson Shares Her Thoughts on Trump in Light of Recent Scandals

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Despite the release of a sexually explicit audio recording and several subsequent sexual assault allegations, one of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s youngest female supporters recently revealed she still supports the embattled billionaire.

Reality television personality Sadie Robertson shared her take on the contentious election cycle when a reporter for The Huntsville (Ala.) Times asked if she continued to stand by the endorsement she made in August.

“That’s a good question,” the Duck Dynasty star said. “I would say yes, I would be voting for Trump.”

Robertson went on to explain that her support for the real-estate developer does not mean she supports his behavior.

“It doesn’t mean that I agree with everything he says or that he’s a moral person,” she said, “but in the end it comes down to two people.”

The 19-year-old, who was the runner-up in Season 19 of Dancing with the Stars, is not the only member of her famous family to publicly back Trump.

Her father, Willie Robertson, supported Trump during the primary. Family patriarch Phil Robertson endorsed the former reality television host after his first choice, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, suspended his campaign.

“For me and my family,” Sadie Robertson said, “we agree with what Trump wants to do with America.”

She went on to describe the unique opportunity she has as a celebrity to influence others as a responsibility she does not take lightly.

“It’s a huge honor, honestly,” she said, adding she is thankful her position allows her to share her Christian faith with a wide audience.

“When people have told me I’m a role model,” Robertson explained, “it makes me excited, because I’m going to share the good news.”

While Trump’s current controversies cost him some support among women, Robertson is hardly the only prominent female to continue openly endorsing the GOP nominee.

Patricia Smith, whose son was among the four Americans killed in the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, is one such supporter. She is expected to be one of Trump’s guests in the audience for the final presidential debate on Wednesday. (For more from the author of “Sadie Robertson Shares Her Thoughts on Trump in Light of Recent Scandals” please click HERE)

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‘That Cop Who Died Today’ – This St. Louis Cop’s Gut-Wrenching Words Will Shatter You Heart

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St. Louis police officer Don Re has a blog on which he’s become known for his emotional and poignant writing.

Last year, his post on the “senseless” death of a child went viral. His website, “Don of all trades,” addresses issues like stop and frisk, to the relationship between police and the minority communities they serve, to personal stories about his life and family.

His most recent post offers thoughts on the death of a St. Louis-area police officer.

St. Louis County is mourning the loss of 33-year-old Officer Blake Snyder, who was killed early Thursday morning responding to a disturbance call in Green Park. Eighteen-year-old Trenton Forster has been charged with murder and armed criminal action for the shooting. Forster was critically injured by return fire from a backup officer, but is expected to survive.

Snyder leaves behind a wife, Elizabeth, and 2-year-old son. Officer Re posted some thoughts on the tragedy, and the challenges that face all police officers is worth everyone’s time to read.

Officers Re’s powerful blog entry, “That cop who died today,” is republished with permission below:

My coworker walked into my office and I told him, only half-jokingly, that if one more person pissed me off this morning, I was probably going to snap.

Some of the recruits had been pushing my buttons with their repeated mistakes and lack of attention to detail.

I was in a foul mood.

“You’re not going to like this then,” he continued.

“The cop shot this morning died.”

Just like it has for eighteen years now, those words hit me like an unexpected punch in the gut.

I knew about the shooting, but assumed or hoped that he would be okay.

Surely he’d recover with time, just like many other people who get shot do.

Nope.

Another police officer is dead.

A young man with a lot of life ahead of him is dead.

A young father is dead.

A young wife is a widow. She may spend days or weeks or months hoping it’s not true and that her young husband will be home soon.

A two year old will never toddle into his biological dad’s arms again or ever draw pictures of a police man and hand it to his daddy with pride.

“The cop shot this morning died.”

How many times can one hear those or similar words and still go on working as a police officer in spite of it?

Shortly after I heard the news, my own wife texted an emoji to my phone. It was the one where the face is blowing a heart shaped kiss.

Without words, I knew she knew, and that she was thinking about me. She was concerned for me and for her own kids.

We don’t have time for cops to be killed right now. We already have to rearrange our lives to accommodate the circus that is the second presidential debate in St. Louis, and now we have to prepare to bury a fellow officer.

Either event alone is difficult; their simultaneous occurrence is a mess.

Still, we will do it.

We will take care of these events because we must. Somebody has to.

County officers will work the debate alongside us City officers.

We will stand tall with black mourning bands on our badges, thinking about our lost comrade and our own determination to continue on with this fucking job. We will do it right in the face of people who hate Trump or Hillary or cops or just everything in general and who will take that hate out on the front line officers.

We’re easy targets.

We’re easy scapegoats for a system that many people don’t trust or like or respect anymore.

Hate that your taxes are too high?

Hate email scandals?

Hate billionaires who are going to build walls and deport immigrants?

Take it out on the police officers.

You’ll never get close enough to the people who truly cause your life misery, but we’re right here.

Spit in our faces.

Call our black officers vulgar, disgusting names.

Tell female officers you want to meet them off-duty and rape them.

Tell us you want us dead or that you’ll find us and do harm to our families.

This is what officers have to listen to during protests. Every time.

Pretend that we don’t hate email scandals or corrupt billionaires or have to pay taxes or face the same problems as every other schmuck does once we get home from work.

Pretend we’re not unique individuals who share your concerns and hopes for a better future.

We’ll be there for you anyway.

We’ll have our days off cancelled and our shifts lengthened so that everybody can enjoy their debate related shenanigans.

We do it so you can enjoy parades and fairs and professional sports events too.

It’s tiring sometimes, but we do it.

We do it even when we’re deflated by news that a local cop has died.

That somebody who was doing what you do every day has been murdered.

The silver lining is that I’m no longer angry and on the cusp of snapping.

Priorities.

I’m alive and my recruits are alive.

We’ll use this as a learning tool. Mistakes and lack of attention to detail when you’re out of the Academy can get you killed.

They need to know that.

They need to get that through their skulls.

My kids can still draw me pictures of police officers and hand them to me with pride.

My wife can still expect me to come home after a long shift.

My dogs will bark at me when I do come home, and I will be annoyed at them, but less so.

I’m thankful to have my health and my life.

My problems are irrelevant right now, because I wasn’t that cop who died today.

Visit Officer Re’s blog to read the amazing comments of support and camaraderie.

Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day in service of people who don’t always know or understand (let alone appreciate) why they do what they do.

Police are people. They are important. They matter.

And they need our support.

Thank a police officer today. He/she might die for you. (For more from the author of “‘That Cop Who Died Today’ – This St. Louis Cop’s Gut-Wrenching Words Will Shatter You Heart” please click HERE)

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