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Guess the State: Democrat-Run Fiasco Edition

The last time Republicans held a majority on this state’s Supreme Court was in the 1920s.  Its Court of Appeals has never had a Republican majority.

The last time Republicans held a majority in both houses of the state Legislature at the same time was 1930.  In the 89 years from 1931 to the present, Democrats have held a majority of both houses of the state Legislature for 79 of the 89 years.

Since 1931, Democrats have held the governor’s office for 69 of the 89 years.  Even when a Republican has been governor, his powers have been greatly limited because he has never held a majority in both houses of the state legislature while in office.

What state am I?

If you guessed CA, IL, NY, NJ, or MA, you’re wrong.  If you guessed NM, go to the head of the class (here) (here).  Since 1931, no other state has had single-party Dem rule at the state level as long as New Mexico.  And how has New Mexico fared under the stewardship of single party Democrat rule?  As we shall see, not so well.

EDUCATION: By all accounts, New Mexico has one of the worst, if not the worst, K–12 public education system in the country.  It is a system that spends vast sums of money but has little or no accountability for the students, teachers, administrators, parents, or elected officials.  Here are the sobering stats.  It has recently been rated as the worst state public school system in the country.  Among the country’s 11,850 school districts, only one from New Mexico, Los Alamos, is rated in the top 1,000.  A charity named the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy estimates that an astonishing 46% of the adults in the state are functional illiterates.

Sadly, the state university system is little better.  It is an example of quantity over quality.  Despite its small population of 2.1 million, New Mexico has a staggering seven state-funded colleges and universities that grant four-year degrees.  In contrast, neighboring Arizona with a population of 7.3 million has three.  Not a single college or university in New Mexico is ranked in the nation’s top 500.

CRIME: New Mexico is a dangerous place to live, and a lot of judges are reluctant to lock up criminals.  It is #1 in the country for per capita property crime and #2 for violent crime.  Albuquerque, by far the state’s largest city, has the dubious distinction of a #1 ranking for auto thefts in the entire nation.  Don’t expect the Chamber of Commerce or the Department of Tourism to brag about the fact that Albuquerque is ranked as the 12th most dangerous city in the U.S.  Expect Albuquerque to move up on the list, as it just had a record number of homicides in 2019.

JOBS/ECONOMY: New Mexico survives financially because it receives enormous sums of money from two sources: the federal government and the oil and natural gas industry.  The federal government has spent a gigantic amount of money in the state since the 1940s, with the development of the bomb and all the defense spending that came afterwards.  The state also receives millions of dollars each year from oil and gas revenues, especially from leases of state land.  With the fracking revolution going on in the Permian Basin in southeast New Mexico, the state is swimming in tax revenues and has a large budget surplus.

Despite all the mentioned revenue and the production bonanza in the Permian Basin, New Mexico has one of the worst job markets in the country.  It has the fourth highest unemployment rate of any state.  It’s the second hardest state in the country in which to find full-time employment.  As one would expect of a state that has had single-party Dem rule for nearly 90 years, the state is teeming with public-sector employees and has the third highest percentage of public-sector workers in the country.  The national average for public sector workers is 15.1%, while New Mexico has 22.2%.  In other words, New Mexico has 47% more public sector workers than the national average.  Not surprisingly, New Mexico is more dependent on federal spending than any other state and receives more in per capita federal spending than all but two states.

POVERTY: Poverty among adults is usually associated with low education levels, and poverty among children is usually associated with being raised in a single-parent home.  New Mexico has lots of both.  As of November 2019, New Mexico had 827,269 persons receiving Medicaid, or 39% of the population and 223,116 persons receiving SNAP benefits, or 11% of the state’s population.  Despite the enormous amount of federal spending, oil and natural gas riches, and some of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, New Mexico is considered to be the third poorest state in the nation.

DEATH SPIRAL: Several years ago, Forbes Magazine identified New Mexico as the #1 death spiral state in the country.  New Mexico, with its vast public-sector work force, is on the hook for billions of dollars in defined benefit pension plan payments to retiring public employees.  These defined benefit plans are so generous that private-sector businesses can no longer afford them and now offer 401(k) (defined contribution) plans instead.  The public plans are woefully underfunded primarily because they assumed an unreasonably high expected annual rate of return of 7% to 8%.  Assuming such high expected rates of return permitted pols to reduce annual contributions to the plans.  Now, in addition to insufficient past contributions, there are not enough taxpayers to make up the funding shortfalls.  New Mexico has a whopping 148 public-sector pension-takers for every 100 private-sector job-holders in the state.  This is the largest imbalance of any state in the country and clearly unsustainable for the taxpayer.

STAGNATION: New Mexico and Arizona share much history.  The New Mexico Territory became part of the United States after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  During the Civil War, the territory was divided into the New Mexico and Arizona Territories.  As recently as 1930, Arizona’s population was just 12,000 larger than New Mexico’s (435,000 vs 423,000).  But today, Arizona’s population is more than five million larger than New Mexico (7.3 million vs 2.1 million).  Why did New Mexico, with its vast oil and natural gas wealth, experience such anemic population growth compared to Arizona?

In most parts of the country, population growth follows job growth.  The most plausible explanation of what has happened is that 90 years of single-party Dem rule in New Mexico has created a state that is deemed business-unfriendly.  When the private businesses did not come, neither did the people.

The state nickname for New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. Sadly, after 90 years of single-party Democrat rule, it should probably be changed to the Land of Disenchantment.

Image: Don Hankins via Flickr (cropped).

The last time Republicans held a majority on this state’s Supreme Court was in the 1920s.  Its Court of Appeals has never had a Republican majority.

The last time Republicans held a majority in both houses of the state Legislature at the same time was 1930.  In the 89 years from 1931 to the present, Democrats have held a majority of both houses of the state Legislature for 79 of the 89 years.

Since 1931, Democrats have held the governor’s office for 69 of the 89 years.  Even when a Republican has been governor, his powers have been greatly limited because he has never held a majority in both houses of the state legislature while in office.

What state am I?

If you guessed CA, IL, NY, NJ, or MA, you’re wrong.  If you guessed NM, go to the head of the class (here) (here).  Since 1931, no other state has had single-party Dem rule at the state level as long as New Mexico.  And how has New Mexico fared under the stewardship of single party Democrat rule?  As we shall see, not so well.

EDUCATION: By all accounts, New Mexico has one of the worst, if not the worst, K–12 public education system in the country.  It is a system that spends vast sums of money but has little or no accountability for the students, teachers, administrators, parents, or elected officials.  Here are the sobering stats.  It has recently been rated as the worst state public school system in the country.  Among the country’s 11,850 school districts, only one from New Mexico, Los Alamos, is rated in the top 1,000.  A charity named the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy estimates that an astonishing 46% of the adults in the state are functional illiterates.

Sadly, the state university system is little better.  It is an example of quantity over quality.  Despite its small population of 2.1 million, New Mexico has a staggering seven state-funded colleges and universities that grant four-year degrees.  In contrast, neighboring Arizona with a population of 7.3 million has three.  Not a single college or university in New Mexico is ranked in the nation’s top 500.

CRIME: New Mexico is a dangerous place to live, and a lot of judges are reluctant to lock up criminals.  It is #1 in the country for per capita property crime and #2 for violent crime.  Albuquerque, by far the state’s largest city, has the dubious distinction of a #1 ranking for auto thefts in the entire nation.  Don’t expect the Chamber of Commerce or the Department of Tourism to brag about the fact that Albuquerque is ranked as the 12th most dangerous city in the U.S.  Expect Albuquerque to move up on the list, as it just had a record number of homicides in 2019.

JOBS/ECONOMY: New Mexico survives financially because it receives enormous sums of money from two sources: the federal government and the oil and natural gas industry.  The federal government has spent a gigantic amount of money in the state since the 1940s, with the development of the bomb and all the defense spending that came afterwards.  The state also receives millions of dollars each year from oil and gas revenues, especially from leases of state land.  With the fracking revolution going on in the Permian Basin in southeast New Mexico, the state is swimming in tax revenues and has a large budget surplus.

Despite all the mentioned revenue and the production bonanza in the Permian Basin, New Mexico has one of the worst job markets in the country.  It has the fourth highest unemployment rate of any state.  It’s the second hardest state in the country in which to find full-time employment.  As one would expect of a state that has had single-party Dem rule for nearly 90 years, the state is teeming with public-sector employees and has the third highest percentage of public-sector workers in the country.  The national average for public sector workers is 15.1%, while New Mexico has 22.2%.  In other words, New Mexico has 47% more public sector workers than the national average.  Not surprisingly, New Mexico is more dependent on federal spending than any other state and receives more in per capita federal spending than all but two states.

POVERTY: Poverty among adults is usually associated with low education levels, and poverty among children is usually associated with being raised in a single-parent home.  New Mexico has lots of both.  As of November 2019, New Mexico had 827,269 persons receiving Medicaid, or 39% of the population and 223,116 persons receiving SNAP benefits, or 11% of the state’s population.  Despite the enormous amount of federal spending, oil and natural gas riches, and some of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, New Mexico is considered to be the third poorest state in the nation.

DEATH SPIRAL: Several years ago, Forbes Magazine identified New Mexico as the #1 death spiral state in the country.  New Mexico, with its vast public-sector work force, is on the hook for billions of dollars in defined benefit pension plan payments to retiring public employees.  These defined benefit plans are so generous that private-sector businesses can no longer afford them and now offer 401(k) (defined contribution) plans instead.  The public plans are woefully underfunded primarily because they assumed an unreasonably high expected annual rate of return of 7% to 8%.  Assuming such high expected rates of return permitted pols to reduce annual contributions to the plans.  Now, in addition to insufficient past contributions, there are not enough taxpayers to make up the funding shortfalls.  New Mexico has a whopping 148 public-sector pension-takers for every 100 private-sector job-holders in the state.  This is the largest imbalance of any state in the country and clearly unsustainable for the taxpayer.

STAGNATION: New Mexico and Arizona share much history.  The New Mexico Territory became part of the United States after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  During the Civil War, the territory was divided into the New Mexico and Arizona Territories.  As recently as 1930, Arizona’s population was just 12,000 larger than New Mexico’s (435,000 vs 423,000).  But today, Arizona’s population is more than five million larger than New Mexico (7.3 million vs 2.1 million).  Why did New Mexico, with its vast oil and natural gas wealth, experience such anemic population growth compared to Arizona?

In most parts of the country, population growth follows job growth.  The most plausible explanation of what has happened is that 90 years of single-party Dem rule in New Mexico has created a state that is deemed business-unfriendly.  When the private businesses did not come, neither did the people.

The state nickname for New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. Sadly, after 90 years of single-party Democrat rule, it should probably be changed to the Land of Disenchantment.

Image: Don Hankins via Flickr (cropped).

via American Thinker

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.americanthinker.com/

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Time for leftists to explain why the ‘achievement gap’ is much worse in progressive cities than in conservative ones

Based on its own ideology, the American Left must now conclude that their own educational policies are racist. A groundbreaking study by a group called Brightbeam (“a network of education activists demanding better education and a brighter future for every child”) has discovered that cities politically dominated by progressives have far greater gaps between the average educational achievement levels of whites and minorities of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans than cities politically dominated by conservatives.

John Hinderaker of Powerline introduced me to the findings:

This report by Chris Stewart of Brightbeam is a blockbuster. It is titled: “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunity For All.” Stewart is a liberal activist from Minnesota who undertook to find out why the Twin Cities’ left-wing public schools have some of the country’s worst achievement gaps between white and minority (black and Indian) students.

Stewart compared achievement by race in a number of cities that he classified as progressive or conservative. The results didn’t surprise me, but they shocked Stewart. Conservative cities (as ranked by political scientists used as a reference for the study) consistently did a better job of closing student achievement gaps–sometimes, to zero–than progressive cities. This chart sums up the findings:

No topic is dearer to the hearts of America-hating leftists than the “achievement gap” in education. The statistical tendency of minorities deemed racially oppressed by the Left to on average score lower on academic tests and other measures of learning than whites and those minorities that out-perform the white average, in particular East Asians and Jews always is blamed on “racism!” And the cure for racism! Is supposed to be spending more, sensitivity training, and other factors extrinsic to the underperformers. The history of discrimination against over-performing minorities like East Asians and Jews is relegated to taboo status, as is any examination of parental and cultural values as well as individual behavior of the children.

John Hinderaker links to an essay by James Bacon in Bacon’s Rebellion that sums up the data and probable causal factors:

At one extreme is San Francisco, where Democrats and progressives have long prided themselves on efforts to uplift the underprivileged. Educators are dedicated to openness, tolerance, diversity and equal opportunity. Yet the black-white cap is horrifying. Seventy percent of white students score proficient in math compared to only 12% of blacks — a chasm of 58%. For math, the gap in Washington, D.C., is even worse — 62 percentage points.

By contrast, the conservative cities of Virginia Beach, Anaheim, and Fort Worth “have effectively closed the gap in at least one of the academic categories we looked at, literally achieving a gap of zero or one,” the study reports. “The politically conservative Oklahoma City has even turned the tables on our typical thinking about race-based gaps. There, students of color outperform white students on high school graduation rates.”

The study systematically ruled out other explanations for the differences between progressive and conservative cities — per-pupil spending, income inequality, poverty rates, percentages of white and black students, and other factors. “Of all the factors we looked at progressivism is the greatest predictor.” Remarkably, despite the obsessive attention that progressives give to closing the gap for lower-income students, the racial gap in both San Francisco and Washington, D.C. is worse for low-income students than for middle- to upper-income students.

James Bacon hypothesizes what might lie behind the counterproductivity of the progressive approach:

§  Agency. By blaming racism and discrimination for the woes afflicting minority communities, progressives deprive minority students of agency — the sense that they control their own destinies and that their efforts will make a difference. If minority students see themselves as victims of systemic racism, why bother working hard and “acting white”?

§  Discipline. Progressives have implemented “social justice” approaches to school and classroom discipline on the grounds that suspensions and other punishments disproportionately affect minorities. The resulting breakdown in classroom discipline has the perverse effect of disproportionately harming the minority students whose classes are being disrupted.

§  Lower standards. As an offshoot of the “self esteem” movement, progressive educators don’t want to damage the self-esteem of minority students. Accordingly, they have lower expectations and set lower standards for minorities to offset the advantages that white students have from “white privilege.”

All of these factors make intuitive sense, yet all touch on theological beliefs of the Left, doctrines they will not give upon willingly.

No doubt, the major media will do their best to suppress the findings of the study, and however valiant the efforts of conservative media outlets to publicize the findings, they won’t influence policy makers unless and until parents of children in progressive cities go on the attack, and help themselves to the tactics that Saul Alinsky systematically laid out in Rules for Radicals. In particular, number four: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”

Based on its own ideology, the American Left must now conclude that their own educational policies are racist. A groundbreaking study by a group called Brightbeam (“a network of education activists demanding better education and a brighter future for every child”) has discovered that cities politically dominated by progressives have far greater gaps between the average educational achievement levels of whites and minorities of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans than cities politically dominated by conservatives.

John Hinderaker of Powerline introduced me to the findings:

This report by Chris Stewart of Brightbeam is a blockbuster. It is titled: “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunity For All.” Stewart is a liberal activist from Minnesota who undertook to find out why the Twin Cities’ left-wing public schools have some of the country’s worst achievement gaps between white and minority (black and Indian) students.

Stewart compared achievement by race in a number of cities that he classified as progressive or conservative. The results didn’t surprise me, but they shocked Stewart. Conservative cities (as ranked by political scientists used as a reference for the study) consistently did a better job of closing student achievement gaps–sometimes, to zero–than progressive cities. This chart sums up the findings:

No topic is dearer to the hearts of America-hating leftists than the “achievement gap” in education. The statistical tendency of minorities deemed racially oppressed by the Left to on average score lower on academic tests and other measures of learning than whites and those minorities that out-perform the white average, in particular East Asians and Jews always is blamed on “racism!” And the cure for racism! Is supposed to be spending more, sensitivity training, and other factors extrinsic to the underperformers. The history of discrimination against over-performing minorities like East Asians and Jews is relegated to taboo status, as is any examination of parental and cultural values as well as individual behavior of the children.

John Hinderaker links to an essay by James Bacon in Bacon’s Rebellion that sums up the data and probable causal factors:

At one extreme is San Francisco, where Democrats and progressives have long prided themselves on efforts to uplift the underprivileged. Educators are dedicated to openness, tolerance, diversity and equal opportunity. Yet the black-white cap is horrifying. Seventy percent of white students score proficient in math compared to only 12% of blacks — a chasm of 58%. For math, the gap in Washington, D.C., is even worse — 62 percentage points.

By contrast, the conservative cities of Virginia Beach, Anaheim, and Fort Worth “have effectively closed the gap in at least one of the academic categories we looked at, literally achieving a gap of zero or one,” the study reports. “The politically conservative Oklahoma City has even turned the tables on our typical thinking about race-based gaps. There, students of color outperform white students on high school graduation rates.”

The study systematically ruled out other explanations for the differences between progressive and conservative cities — per-pupil spending, income inequality, poverty rates, percentages of white and black students, and other factors. “Of all the factors we looked at progressivism is the greatest predictor.” Remarkably, despite the obsessive attention that progressives give to closing the gap for lower-income students, the racial gap in both San Francisco and Washington, D.C. is worse for low-income students than for middle- to upper-income students.

James Bacon hypothesizes what might lie behind the counterproductivity of the progressive approach:

§  Agency. By blaming racism and discrimination for the woes afflicting minority communities, progressives deprive minority students of agency — the sense that they control their own destinies and that their efforts will make a difference. If minority students see themselves as victims of systemic racism, why bother working hard and “acting white”?

§  Discipline. Progressives have implemented “social justice” approaches to school and classroom discipline on the grounds that suspensions and other punishments disproportionately affect minorities. The resulting breakdown in classroom discipline has the perverse effect of disproportionately harming the minority students whose classes are being disrupted.

§  Lower standards. As an offshoot of the “self esteem” movement, progressive educators don’t want to damage the self-esteem of minority students. Accordingly, they have lower expectations and set lower standards for minorities to offset the advantages that white students have from “white privilege.”

All of these factors make intuitive sense, yet all touch on theological beliefs of the Left, doctrines they will not give upon willingly.

No doubt, the major media will do their best to suppress the findings of the study, and however valiant the efforts of conservative media outlets to publicize the findings, they won’t influence policy makers unless and until parents of children in progressive cities go on the attack, and help themselves to the tactics that Saul Alinsky systematically laid out in Rules for Radicals. In particular, number four: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”

via American Thinker Blog

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/

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God’s Anointed Leader Isn’t Always What We Expect

Much has been spoken and written lately regarding the evangelical community’s feelings toward President Trump, especially since the Christianity Today editorial calling for his removal from office was published last month.  Many evangelicals continue to support him wholeheartedly because he has proven repeatedly that he can be trusted to keep his campaign promises and to govern faithfully and conservatively.  Others vow never to support him because they feel that he “embodies the anti-Christian ethic.”

President Trump certainly has a “colorful” past, and that is the key reason why I did not support him in the Republican presidential primary of 2016.  I just couldn’t imagine a man of his moral failings representing this nation and becoming the leader of the free world.  However, when it ultimately came down to a choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on November 8, it was a no-brainer.  I would have crawled on my hands and knees to the polls, if necessary, to vote against her.  That’s exactly what my vote was at that time — a vote against Hillary Clinton.

It turns out, however, that millions of us who held our noses and voted for Trump have been quite pleasantly surprised by his ardent support of the values and policies that we hold dear.  He has been the most pro-life president in the history of our nation, and he was the first president ever to attend the annual March for Life on Capitol Hill.  He has been a true friend to small business–owners; he has appointed hundreds of wonderful federal judges; he is defending religious liberty; he is improving our international trade relationships; and among many other accomplishments, he is making our military stronger and our nation safer.  Despite all of these successes, many persist in demanding the removal of President Trump because they dislike how he conducts himself.

For many evangelicals, the decision to vote for and to continue to support Donald Trump essentially boils down to this: he operates from the Republican Party platform, which represents life; liberty; and conservative, Judeo-Christian values.  Whoever his Democrat opponent turns out to be in November, that person will stand on the Democrat Party platform, which is immoral, anti-Christian, anti-God, anti-life, and anti-freedom.  Seems pretty clear and simple.

My church went through a study in 2019 called OT19, in which we read much of the Old Testament together.  The very same week that the Christianity Today editorial calling for Trump’s removal was published, our assigned reading included Isaiah, chapters 44 and 45.  In these chapters, the Israelites were captives in Babylon, and God used a non-Israelite, a Persian king named Cyrus, to free His people from captivity and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. 

Speaking to Cyrus, God said (emphasis mine):

For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.  I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know that there is none besides me. (Isaiah 45:4–5)

I see some parallels between God’s anointing of the Persian King Cyrus and the election of President Donald Trump.  Cyrus clearly was not a follower of God, but God anointed him and gave him a “title of honor.”  Donald Trump has not historically been a follower of God, either, yet God has also bestowed on him a title of honor and given him the role of shepherding the most influential and powerful nation in the history of the world.

There has been much debate about whether President Trump is truly a Christian and whether he is “morally fit” to lead our nation.  He certainly has moral shortcomings, as we all have.  It is true that only God can judge the hearts of men, but hundreds of trusted evangelical leaders all over the nation, who have spent time with President Trump and advised him and prayed over him, continue to defend and support him.  Regardless of Trump’s true spiritual condition, which none of us can know with certainty, God has shown clearly in His Word that He can and will use both people who honor and serve Him and people who do not in order to accomplish His purposes on this Earth. When God anointed the foreign, heathen Persian King Cyrus, He said about him, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please” (Isaiah 44:28).

Cyrus was the tool that God used to bring deliverance and restoration to the Jews thousands of years ago.  God has continued to use all sorts of flawed and morally deficient people — Moses, Samson, Rahab, and Paul are just a few examples — down through the centuries, because He is God and He knows best.

God doesn’t need our permission or approval to put His choice of shepherd over us to accomplish His purposes.  His ways are higher than our ways, and we can’t always understand with our finite minds what He is doing in this world.  However, we can see when good and moral fruit is coming from the White House, as it certainly seems to be now.  I, for one, am abundantly thankful for the shepherd who has been anointed to watch over our nation.  Our responsibility is to continue to pray for our president to make wise decisions.  He has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and we, like Aaron and Hur, should help to hold up his hands when he grows weary (Exodus 17:10–13).

Michelle Thomas is a Christ follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four.  Her books include Lord, I Need You, Through Deep Waters, and Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World.  Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.

Much has been spoken and written lately regarding the evangelical community’s feelings toward President Trump, especially since the Christianity Today editorial calling for his removal from office was published last month.  Many evangelicals continue to support him wholeheartedly because he has proven repeatedly that he can be trusted to keep his campaign promises and to govern faithfully and conservatively.  Others vow never to support him because they feel that he “embodies the anti-Christian ethic.”

President Trump certainly has a “colorful” past, and that is the key reason why I did not support him in the Republican presidential primary of 2016.  I just couldn’t imagine a man of his moral failings representing this nation and becoming the leader of the free world.  However, when it ultimately came down to a choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on November 8, it was a no-brainer.  I would have crawled on my hands and knees to the polls, if necessary, to vote against her.  That’s exactly what my vote was at that time — a vote against Hillary Clinton.

It turns out, however, that millions of us who held our noses and voted for Trump have been quite pleasantly surprised by his ardent support of the values and policies that we hold dear.  He has been the most pro-life president in the history of our nation, and he was the first president ever to attend the annual March for Life on Capitol Hill.  He has been a true friend to small business–owners; he has appointed hundreds of wonderful federal judges; he is defending religious liberty; he is improving our international trade relationships; and among many other accomplishments, he is making our military stronger and our nation safer.  Despite all of these successes, many persist in demanding the removal of President Trump because they dislike how he conducts himself.

For many evangelicals, the decision to vote for and to continue to support Donald Trump essentially boils down to this: he operates from the Republican Party platform, which represents life; liberty; and conservative, Judeo-Christian values.  Whoever his Democrat opponent turns out to be in November, that person will stand on the Democrat Party platform, which is immoral, anti-Christian, anti-God, anti-life, and anti-freedom.  Seems pretty clear and simple.

My church went through a study in 2019 called OT19, in which we read much of the Old Testament together.  The very same week that the Christianity Today editorial calling for Trump’s removal was published, our assigned reading included Isaiah, chapters 44 and 45.  In these chapters, the Israelites were captives in Babylon, and God used a non-Israelite, a Persian king named Cyrus, to free His people from captivity and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. 

Speaking to Cyrus, God said (emphasis mine):

For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.  I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know that there is none besides me. (Isaiah 45:4–5)

I see some parallels between God’s anointing of the Persian King Cyrus and the election of President Donald Trump.  Cyrus clearly was not a follower of God, but God anointed him and gave him a “title of honor.”  Donald Trump has not historically been a follower of God, either, yet God has also bestowed on him a title of honor and given him the role of shepherding the most influential and powerful nation in the history of the world.

There has been much debate about whether President Trump is truly a Christian and whether he is “morally fit” to lead our nation.  He certainly has moral shortcomings, as we all have.  It is true that only God can judge the hearts of men, but hundreds of trusted evangelical leaders all over the nation, who have spent time with President Trump and advised him and prayed over him, continue to defend and support him.  Regardless of Trump’s true spiritual condition, which none of us can know with certainty, God has shown clearly in His Word that He can and will use both people who honor and serve Him and people who do not in order to accomplish His purposes on this Earth. When God anointed the foreign, heathen Persian King Cyrus, He said about him, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please” (Isaiah 44:28).

Cyrus was the tool that God used to bring deliverance and restoration to the Jews thousands of years ago.  God has continued to use all sorts of flawed and morally deficient people — Moses, Samson, Rahab, and Paul are just a few examples — down through the centuries, because He is God and He knows best.

God doesn’t need our permission or approval to put His choice of shepherd over us to accomplish His purposes.  His ways are higher than our ways, and we can’t always understand with our finite minds what He is doing in this world.  However, we can see when good and moral fruit is coming from the White House, as it certainly seems to be now.  I, for one, am abundantly thankful for the shepherd who has been anointed to watch over our nation.  Our responsibility is to continue to pray for our president to make wise decisions.  He has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and we, like Aaron and Hur, should help to hold up his hands when he grows weary (Exodus 17:10–13).

Michelle Thomas is a Christ follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four.  Her books include Lord, I Need You, Through Deep Waters, and Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World.  Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.

via American Thinker

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.americanthinker.com/

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DISGUSTING! CNN Panel Led by Don Lemon Trash Trump Supporters as Ignorant Rednecks Who Can’t Read (VIDEO)

CNN hit a new low this weekend mocking and laughing out loud at uneducated, redneck Trump supporters who can’t even read.

This is what they think of Middle America — the 63 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump for president.

Far-left op-ed writer Wajahat Ali, and Never-Trumper Rick Wilson joined Don Lemon in the vicious assault on Trump supporters.
It could not have been more insulting.

Don Lemon thought it was so funny he almost fell from his chair.

The segment that aired on Saturday night came in response to reports that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yelled at a left-wing NPR reporter last week.

They really hate the Trump voters. The President is onto them

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) called it “one of the most revolting things I’ve ever seen on CNN.”

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WALSH: The Media Wants You To Panic Over The Coronavirus. Don’t Fall For It. Here Are The Real Facts.

It is rather a surprise to learn that we are all going to die from a viral pandemic, considering that we have all already died from swine flu, bird flu, SARS, and that one time when four people had Ebola. Nonetheless, if media reports are to be believed, we are on the verge of yet another planet-wide outbreak. This time, the imaginary global destruction will happen courtesy of the coronavirus.

Back in realityville, the coronavirus has infected 2,700 people, or about .00003% of the global population. Almost all of the cases are in China, where the death toll has reached 82. The majority of these deaths were people who had the misfortune of already being old and sick before they contracted the virus, compounded by the disadvantage of living with China’s “ailing” health care system. Outside of China, there have been around 50 cases, none of them fatal. So far, five people in the United States have been diagnosed and none have died. Of the approximately 327,000,000 people in the U.S., approximately 326,999,995 do not have the coronavirus. There is no good reason to think that the latter number will significantly shrink, as the infected people pose a “low risk” to the public, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, none of this has stopped the media from printing scary graphics showing how the disease you almost certainly will not contract will affect you if it does, giving tips on how to “stay safe,” putting terrifying things in their headlines like “containing new coronavirus may not be feasible, using the word “pandemic” to describe something that is not actually a pandemic, running fantasy simulations to show what might happen in a “hypothetical” worst-case scenario, and urging the public to “protect” itself.

I don’t mean to spoil the twist ending, but here’s how to protect yourself from the coronavirus if you live in America: Do nothing special at all. Carry on with your life. Wash your hands. Avoid ingesting the bodily fluids of strangers, as much as possible. Do all of the normal things you would do to maintain a healthy life. Media reports indicate that face masks are an “ineffective” way of preventing the spread of the virus. What the reports forget to mention is that it would be a sign of delusional paranoia if a person in the United States went around wearing a mask for fear of a disease that almost nobody in this hemisphere actually has.

I am not downplaying the significance of this illness. For people who live in China, especially in or near Wuhan, this is a very real public health emergency. But many parts of the world are plagued by many illnesses that either rarely make it onto our shores, or are easily contained and treated when they do. Tuberculosis still kills millions across the globe while comparatively few die from it in this country. Meningitis is a major killer in Africa but claims only a few hundred lives annually in the United States. For all the lumps our health care system takes, deserved and undeserved, the fact is that we generally don’t die from a great many diseases that kill a great many people elsewhere on Earth. And that is why the relatively high mortality rate of the coronavirus is not proof that the disease itself is significantly deadlier than garden-variety pneumonia. All we know is that it is potentially deadlier in Wuhan, where every disease is potentially deadlier.

If you’re a U.S. citizen looking for a disease to worry about, I could suggest more relevant options. The common flu, for example, killed 57,000 people in the U.S. alone last year, which is actually significantly lower than the death toll the year before. That’s a body count nearly 1,000 times higher than the current figure for the coronavirus. And we’re talking about U.S. deaths, in this case. True, most people who die of the flu are either very old or very young. But the same is the case for the coronavirus. Even the aforementioned tuberculosis and meningitis are more reasonable candidates for public panic. Pretty much any disease would be, considering the current death toll for the coronavirus in America is zero. If that number jumps from zero to one, or three, or even fifteen, there still would be no reason for panic. The media wants you to panic because panic means clicks, and clicks generate revenue. Don’t fall for it. Again.

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Mexico ‘Acting As Trump’s Border Wall’ Critics Say As Nation Cracks Down On Migrant Caravans

Mexico is taking its own illegal immigration problem — caravans of thousands of migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and elsewhere — seriously, cracking down on border-crossers at its own southern border, and now critics are convinced that President Donald Trump, unable to get a physical border wall built, has convinced Mexico’s president to be come his de facto “border wall.”

The Guardian reported Sunday that “Mexico has become Trump’s wall,” faulting Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador for increasing hostility among Mexican law enforcement agents toward migrant caravans.

Although Mexico was, initially, allowing these thousand-plus person caravans to cross its southern border on the promise that they would head directly to the United States’ southern border to seek amnesty, the Mexican government has since taken an active role in interdiction, blocking passage through Mexico’s southern border and even firing tear gas into unruly crowds of migrants trying to push through into Mexico.

“López Obrador’s government greeted migrants in a more hostile fashion,” the LA Times reported about incidents that occurred last week. “Mexican National Guard troops in full riot gear blocked their way and fired tear gas canisters to disperse those seeking to breach the nation’s border with Guatemala. Hundreds of people were put on planes and buses back to Honduras, where most of the migrants in the latest caravan began their journey.”

There were no major injuries, though there were around 800 arrests, according to reports. Before things got hostile, the Mexican government says they offered migrants work visas and the chance to remain in Mexico’s southern states, but the migrants refused.

“The president, generally referred to as Amlo, once railed against the abuse visited on migrants. In opposition, he pleaded for Mexico to provide safe passage to people heading for the US border,” the Guardian reported in horror. “But 13 months into his presidency – and under the looming threat of US tariffs – Amlo has assumed a new role: immigration enforcer.”

This is a stark difference from just one year ago, when Mexican authorities were, largely, turning a blind eye to so-called migrant caravans, offering them temporary visas to travel through Mexico on their way to seek amnesty in the United States. Occasionally, the government would attempt a “crackdown,” but only when Mexicans were overly burdened by the caravans, and even then, the Mexican government typically offered migrants temporary work visas or free rides back to Central America.

Now, things have changed both at the southern border and in the board room. The Trump administration’s “remain in Mexico” policy, which has those individuals seeking amnesty stay south of the border while their claims are processed rather than remain in the United States pending a hearing, has made life for Mexicans in border towns difficult (and it has cut down significantly on the number of migrants seeking amnesty). President Donald Trump also threatened Mexico, last year, with tariffs and a trade freeze if Mexico did not enforce its own immigration laws.

But it’s not all Trump’s fault, regardless of what the Guardian may believe. The LA Times notes that Obrador is copying Trump’s “America First” strategy with a “Mexico First” attitude, taking a particular interest in domestic policy and mostly ignoring Mexico’s foreign entanglements.

But the Trump administration is, at least, pleased with what’s happening.

“The efforts by the Mexican National Guard and other officials have thus far been effective at maintaining the integrity of their border, despite outbreaks of violence and lawlessness by people who are attempting to illegally enter Mexico on their way to the United States,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement this week.

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“If We’re Keeping Score on Who Got it Right – The Score is Mayor Giuliani 4, Mr. Schiff Zero” – Trump Attorney Jane Raskin Destroys Democrats and Fake-News Media (VIDEO)

Trump Attorney Jane Raskin took to the floor of the US Senate Chamber on Monday afternoon after the first break.
Jane Raskin is an exceptional lawyer.

Jane Raskin laid out the Giuliani timeline on investigating the Burisma corruption and Ukrainian corruption back in 2018.

Raskin then provided evidence via the mainstream media including CNN and The Hill several reports on Rudy investigating Ukraine back in 2018. CNN and the rest of the liberal mainstream media has refused to report this despite their own previous reporting.

Raskin added, “The House Managers didn’t even allude to that option.”

Attorney Jane Raskin then ended with this, “It seems to me if we’re keeping score on who got it right on allegations of FISA abuse, egregious misconduct at the highest level of the FBI, alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and supposed obstruction of justice in connection with the Special Counsel investigation? The score is Mayor Giuliani 4, Mr. Schiff – Zero!”

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HOLY MOSES! More than 175,000 Tickets Requested to See President Trump in Wildwood, New Jersey on Tuesday

THIS IS HISTORIC!

First Daughter-in-law Lara Trump broke the news on Monday that 175,000 TICKETS WERE REQUESTED to see President Trump in Wildwood, New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Last week Republican Jeff Van Drew told Maria Bartiromo that more tickets had been requested for the upcoming New Jersey rally than for any previous Trump rally!

The rally on January 28th is being held at the Wildwoods Convention Center which can hold a group as large as 10,000.

Today Lara Trump said the number of ticket requests for the rally is now at 175,000!

And… Due to the number of ticket requests President Trump will hold another rally in New Jersey in the future.

Lara Trump joined WPG Talk Radio on Monday morning.

No doubt about it, Lara Trump has the “right” last name. But, it is her sheer talent, that also makes her one of United States President Donald Trump’s most effective and dynamic surrogates on the campaign trail.

Earlier today, in a “Hurley in the Morning” WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM and 1450 AM exclusive interview, Lara Trump made big news confirming two important breaking news items as follows:

1. That more than 175,000 tickets have been requested for tomorrow’s President Trump rally in Wildwood, New Jersey. This is a record for any President Trump Rally, anywhere. This is the first time that this number has been reported anywhere.

2. Lara Trump confirmed during our on-air interview that because there is so much demand for tomorrow’s rally… that they will be holding another rally at some point in the future. This will come as welcome news to many President Trump faithful, who will not be able to get inside tomorrow’s rally.

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HUGE! President Trump’s Approval Rating at 50% — Jumps 4 Points Since Democrats Opened Their Sham Impeachment Trial

President Trump’s approval rating jumped FOUR POINTS in one week since Democrats began bloviating on Wednesday in the sham impeachment trial.

On Wednesday President Trump’s approval rating was at 46%. That was the day Democrats launched their opening arguments against President Trump.

On Friday President Trump’s approval rating was at 49%.

On Monday President Trump’s approval rating climbed to 50%!

Since Democrats started talking and lying, opening to the American public, President Trump’s approval numbers climbed three points.

Trump’s approval rating is 4 points higher than Barack Obama’s rating at the same time in his presidency.

And this is despite the continual media attacks against President Trump.

Democrats also lost 40% of their audience since they opened this sideshow.

Featured image by Kristinn Taylor

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Dems’ Impeachment Strategy isn’t to Win Over the Senate, but DEFEAT the Senate

A common belief among conservatives is that Democrats have blundered in their impeachment trial argumentation, that they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Perhaps so. But we should remember that their goal cannot, logically, be to win over the Senate so President Trump can be ousted from office before November.

It would have to be that they want to win the Senate for Democrats in November.

It’s easy believing that the world’s Adam Schiffs and Jerrold Nadlers are ill-intended Inspector Clouseaus (without his luck), and no great genius should be ascribed to them. But they’re surely smart enough to realize that they’ll never get the votes of two-thirds of the Senate — 67 members — which are necessary to convict and remove Trump. Not happening.

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