Founder of Liberal Vox Rings in New Year by Spreading Fake News in Viral Tweet
Dan Kitwood / Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump attends the NATO summit at the Grove Hotel on Dec. 4, 2019 in Watford, England. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
Vox founder and editor-at-large Ezra Klein capped off his year by spreading misinformation in a viral tweet on Tuesday.
Klein tweeted out a nine-month-old Washington Post article alleging that counties that hosted Trump rallies saw massive spikes in hate crimes compared to counties that didn’t host Trump rallies.
Klein’s tweet had garnered more than 7,000 retweets and more than 14,000 likes by Wednesday afternoon.
But what Klein didn’t tell his 2.5 million followers was that the article was based on a study that was thoroughly debunked months ago by researchers at Harvard University.
“We found that counties that had hosted a 2016 Trump campaign rally saw a 226 percent increase in reported hate crimes over comparable counties that did not host such a rally.” https://t.co/zy0093lPoH
“The study is wrong, and yet journalists ran with it anyway,” Harvard researchers Matthew Lilley and Brian Wheaton wrote in a September article published in Reason magazine.
When Lilley and Wheaton tried to replicate the original study, they found that “adding a simple statistical control for county population to the original analysis causes the estimated effect of Trump rallies on reported hate incidents to become statistically indistinguishable from zero.”
The criteria relied upon for the first study actually demonstrated that rallies for former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton “contribute to an even greater increase in hate incidents than Trump rallies,” they noted.
“Given how little scrutiny was required to reveal the flaws in the thesis that Trump rallies cause hate incidents, one cannot help but wonder whether its viral status was aided by journalists predisposed to believe its message,” the Harvard researchers added.
Klein has yet to delete his viral-but-misleading tweet, even after others pointed out that he was promoting a debunked study.
Two bloody tragedies, just a few hours apart on December 28-29—the mass stabbings at a synagogue in Monsey, New York, and the thwarted mass shooting at a church in Forth Worth, Texas—have put questions about guns and public safety in a valuable new light.How do we stay safe?Especially in our houses of worship?And what should we do about the menace of marauders in our midst?
Yet at the same time, we could also say that the New York and Texas attacks put the public safety issue in a valuable old light.How so?Because we are seeing the right of each state to make its own decisions—for better or for worse, as the case might be—as enshrined in our founding document, the U.S. Constitution.
That is, the Founders fully intended for the states, not the central government, to take responsibility for many matters.As James Madison wrote in Federalist #45, published in 1788 as the Constitution was being ratified, “In the first place it is to be remembered that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws.Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects. … The [state] governments … will retain their due authority and activity.”
This is federalism.Federalism isthe principle that the states should be sovereign, operating within our national federal system; as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote in 1932, the individual states should each be “laboratories of democracy.” Hopefully, over the long run, these “laboratories” will all find their way to better results, although, of course, there can be no guarantee that every state will do the smart thing.
Sometimes, perhaps the best we can hope for is that the failures of some states will at least provide instruction to the others; as Army drill sergeants say to dud recruits, You can still serve a useful purpose—as a bad example!
So now, in the last few days, we’ve seen the results of two grisly “experiments” within our federal system.In New York, the assailant at the Netzach Yisroel congregation managed to stab five worshipers before he was subdued by the police.In Texas, the assailant at the West Freeway Church of Christ managed to shoot and kill two innocent victims before he himself was killed by an armed parishioner.The Fort Worth cops were rushing to the church, and yet, were it not for heroes already on the premises, the assailant might have killed many more in those precious seconds and minutes.
Indeed, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Joeff Williams paid tribute to West Freeway’s vigilant guardians on the afternoon of December 29: “The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other parishioners. … It was miraculous. … [They were] true heroes.”
And Williams’ Republican boss, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, has been fully supportive of the armed-citizen concept; and as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick added, “The immediate responder is the most important.”
In fact, the state’s Republican leadership as a whole deserves credit for helping keep churchgoers safe. As The Forth Worth Star-Telegramreported, a 2017 legal ruling from the state’s attorney general clarified the legal right of churchgoers (with the church’s permission) to bear the arms needed to defend the congregation:
A Texas law went into effect in September 2017 that allows churches to hire armed guards. Attorney General Ken Paxton clarified months later that the law also allows licensed handgun owners to bring their firearms to church as long as the church does not oppose it. The clarification was released in an opinion by Paxton after a November 2017 shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Twenty-six people were fatally shot, and another 20 were wounded.
We might note that at the time of this Texas ruling, national liberals were spluttering with outraged opposition. For instance, in 2017, Joe Biden sniffed about Paxton’s legal brief, “It’s just absolutely irrational. It’s totally irrational.”
Yet now, in 2019, we can see the life-and-death difference that robust self-defense can make: If an evil-minded gunman walks into an undefended church, he can kill or injure scores.But if an evil-doer walks into a defended church, he himself is dead within seconds.Sorry, Middle Class Joe: It’s totally rational for churches to be prepared for trouble.
As the West Freeway church’s senior minister, Britt Farmer, said on December 29, “I’m thankful our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselves.”
Farmer’s words thus echo what National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre said back in 2012: “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.”
Ever since, the Main Stream Media has been scoffing at LaPierre’s words.For instance, here’s a 2018 headline from our friends at ABC News: “Breaking down the NRA-backed theory that a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun.”The MSM, in other words, seems to think that if a conservative issue is just “broken down” and “explained” better, then conservatives will see the error of their ways and become liberals.
Or maybe not.As Brad Palumbo recently wrote in the Washington Examiner:
Many Democrats and liberal media figures sneer at the “good guy with a gun” narrative when it comes to the debate over gun control, dismissing it as a myth clung to by Bible-thumping rednecks.Yet, if there was ever a single incident to remind us just how wrong they are, it’s the tragic church shooting that was thankfully stopped in its tracks on Sunday.
And yet, it’s not just Fort Worth.Studies show that good guys with guns thwart hundreds of thousands of crimes a year.
Still, not everyone agrees with Texas’s safety logic, and in our Madisonian federal system, states have the right to disagree with each other.For instance, New York is led by Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo; he’s one of those Wall Street-oriented progressives; that is, a Mike Bloomberg type. Indeed, Bloomberg must be pleased with Cuomo’s devotion to his cause, no matter what.
So we can see: Two different states—the Lone Star State, run by a Republican, and the Empire State, run by a Democrat—have chosen two different responses to horrible challenges.These states aren’t just laboratories of democracy; they are also laboratories of public safety.
In the meantime, as we watch this ongoing process of democratic experimentation unfold, we might reach a few conclusions, five, in fact:
First, it should be better understood that choices about guns can be a key issue in any state.For instance, when New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz first heard the news, she was terse and to the point: “We need guns.”A few minutes later, she added, “Every synagogue needs an armed guard.Every synagogue needs armed worshipers.”
Yet as we have seen, worshipers in Texas are already free to arm and to protect themselves—and so now, what sort of self-defense is legal in New York?Are New Yorkers happy with their liberal anti-gun governor?Are they happy with the status quo?We’ll know more in the next statewide election. In fact, we’re already seeing plenty of evidence–visual evidence, complete with the open carrying of self-defense weapons—that Jews in the New York region are taking seriously the threats they face from lowlifes; so now we’ll have to stay tuned as Cuomo/Bloomberg-type liberals evaluate this new challenge to their gun-control zeal.
Second, pro-Second Amendment forces, joined by others concerned about public safety, should draft up language replicating that of Texas Attorney General Paxton in clarifying gun rights in holy places.The idea would be to make sure that any congregation is guaranteed the right to be as safe as was the West Freeway church.Indeed, such language could be turned into a campaign pledge that candidates could be asked to make during election campaigns.We could call it the Church Protection Pledge.
Third, let’s ask: How quickly can President Trump bring together these heroes—the hero-defenders in Texas, at least one of whom, Jack Wilson, has been identified, and the hero-cops in New York, who have also been identified–to a televised ceremony at the White House?All these heroes certainly deserve honoring, both the volunteers and the police.
As Trump said of the good-guys-with-guns in a tweet on December 30, “Lives were saved by these heroes, and [by] Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!” So now, an in-person White House moment would send a valuable further signal to the nation—namely, that gun and self-defense rights are worth protecting, and that true heroes are worth truly honoring.If the Democrats don’t approve of such protecting and honoring, they are free, of course, to criticize.
Fourth, We need to take a hard look at policies that let active criminals run free; it’s one thing to show clemency to elderly prisoners who are clearly past the age of active criminality. It’s quite another thing to let young suspects loose, often with no bail, and even young convicts loose, often with no sentence. In the words of Liel Leibowitz, writing for the Jewish publication Tablet, “Letting violent, hate-filled bigots walk free to commit more violent hate crimes as a matter of public policy is the definition of insanity. It’s evil.” In fact, as of January 1, New York State has further loosened its laws. Note to New Yorkers and potential tourists: The bad old crime days of the 1970s are already making a comeback, and the problem will only get worse.
Fifth, we should find new and permanent ways to celebrate these heroes—the good guys with the guns, whether or not the guns actually had to be used.As we know, the left finds a way to celebrate its heroes; so we on the right should celebrate our heroes.
It would be cool for conservative activists to hail the courage of these stalwarts who confronted evil, looked it in the eye—and shot it dead.(Or otherwise brought the wicked to justice.) Indeed, such hailing could be regularized and systematized—on new media, social media, any kind of media—across the nation.There are, after all, such brave and resolute heroes in every state, and they all deserve to be valorized.
We might also note that these days, video cameras seem omnipresent—because of security cameras, as well as smart phones, drones, etc.—and so we find ourselves in an interesting situation, in which that many remarkable events are now digitally recorded. In other words, the deeds of heroes are likely to remembered forever, if, that is, we take the trouble to remember them. So the challenge to the right is to remember, with an eye toward replication: The more we lionize heroes, the more heroic lions we are likely to get. And we need them, now more than ever!
Once again, if the Democrats disagree as to who’s a hero, they are free to criticize. And that should be fine with Republicans, because under our Constitution, everyone is free to be right—or wrong.
In fact, it’s hard to think of better ground on which to fight the 2020 election—or any election.
President Donald Trump’s administration has spent 2019 making significant strides in accomplishing his America First agenda.
Here are seven agency success stories that have taken place this year:
#1 HUD: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the leadership of Dr. Ben Carson is one of the most prolific in accomplishments, or at least in making them public. The six-page report is divided into these categories: Advancing Economic Opportunity, Protecting Taxpayers, Reducing Regulatory Barriers, Funding Disaster Recovery at Historic Levels, Serving the Nation’s Most Vulnerable, and Spurring Reinvestment in Communities.
The details can be read here, but the aforementioned categories reveal that HUD is busy putting the president’s American First policies in place.
#2 USDA: The United State Department of Agriculture released the announcement of its 2019 accomplishments on December 19:
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today applauded the accomplishments made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the past year. USDA has continued enacting President Trump’s goals of regulatory reform, streamlining government, and refocusing USDA to be customer oriented.
“At USDA it is our honor to work on behalf of America’s farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers. This was a tough year with historic weather damage and unjustified trade retaliation. Our goal was to ‘Do Right and Feed Everyone’ by implementing much needed farm bill programs, enacting President Trump’s Support Package for Farmers, and continuing to feed and clothe this nation and the world,” said Secretary Perdue. “As we look to 2020, we want to build upon trade accomplishments like the Phase 1 Deal with China, USMCA, and Japan, and open up new markets to help sell the bounty of American agriculture, all while removing the burden of government regulations from the backs of hardworking Americans.”
In May, Secretary Perdue stepped foot in Utah making it his 50th state visited since becoming Secretary. Since being sworn in, he has traveled nearly 160,000 miles, held over 220 town hall discussions and roundtables, and visited nearly 100 farms across the country listening to America’s farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers. Throughout his travels, Secretary Perdue has met with a number of folks who have had specific problems when it comes to working with the federal government. The Secretary has taken those concerns back to Washington, D.C. and has worked to deliver concrete solutions to the problems facing farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers. Watch this video to hear from some of the people Secretary Perdue has delivered for since visiting them and check out this Medium website to learn more about Secretary Perdue’s journey to all 50 states.
#3 DOE: The United States Department of Energy also had many accomplishments in 2019. It’s report, published on December 10, can be read here.
Some of the highlights include:
• Established the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office
• Developed and Identified the Energy Cybersecurity Workforce of Today and Tomorrow
• Led Emergency Response through the its Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response team, which “was activated for 79 days to date in 2019 and played an integral role in restoration, recovery, and energy security efforts in at least six states.”
• Established the Equity in Energy Initiative to help underserved communities.
• Announced the DOE Energy-Water Desalination Hub as part of the White House Water Security Grand Challenge: “DOE announced nearly $100 million for the National Alliance for Water Innovation to lead a DOE Energy-Water Desalination Hub, which will address water security issues in the United States.”
• “Over the past year, DOE has made significant progress in the treatment and disposal of nuclear waste, and in the fulfillment of its promise to do so.”
•Resumed activities in the uranium leasing program as part of Trump’s agenda of providing uninterrupted domestic uranium production.
The DOE also is home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners:
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.” Both Goodenough and Whittingham are longtime DOE Office of Science-supported researchers who have helped the Office of Science and the Department chart an effective path forward in transformative research on energy storage.
#4 DOL: The U.S. Department of Labor did not release a list of accomplishments as such but issued several press releases on New Year’s Eve revealing its year-long efforts to protect American workers. The headlines included:
• Judge Orders Michigan Landscaping Company to Pay Misclassified Employees $118,426 in Back Wages and Damages
• U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Uncovers Minimum Wage, Overtime, Child Labor Violations at West Texas Restaurant
• U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Recovers $541,597 in Wages for Workers with Disabilities at Alabama Facilities
• Pool Company Pays Penalties for Child Labor Violations Following a U.S. Department of Labor Investigation
• U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Pennsylvania Landscaping Company Paying $74,290 in Back Wages and Penalties For H-2B Visa Program Violations
• U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $130,000 for Employees of San Marcos, Texas Security Company to Resolve Minimum Wage, Overtime Violations
#5 NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is pare to the U.S. Department of Commerce, summarized its 2019 annual accomplishments report:
For NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Fiscal Year 2019 was a year filled with new challenges and new achievements. In FY19: we provided scientific support for 133 pollution-related incidents (including a historic World War II tanker); we provided disaster coordination during the 2019 hurricane season through the Disaster Preparedness Program; we helped to settle seven pollution cases, resulting in $28 million for natural resource restoration; and we made major advances in data management.
Each year, we put annual report as an overview of the efforts in oil and chemical spill response, shoreline restoration, marine debris reduction, and the many other tasks OR&R accomplished. These accomplishments show our dedication to science-based solutions for protecting and restoring natural resources from coastal hazards.
#6 USCIS: Ken Cuccinelli, principal deputy director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said this about his agency’s accomplishments in 2019:
FY 2019 has been a historic year for USCIS and we have achieved many of President Trump’s goals to make our immigration system work better for America. As an agency, we have worked hand-in-hand with our fellow DHS components to answer President Trump’s call to address the ongoing crisis at our southern border. In the face of congressional inaction, we’ve taken significant steps to mitigate the loopholes in our asylum system, combat fraudulent claims and strengthen the protections we have in place to preserve humanitarian assistance for those truly in need of it. Meanwhile, the men and women of USCIS continue to administer our nation’s lawful immigration system, processing a large number of applications and requests while naturalizing 833,000 new U.S. citizens, an 11-year high.
In the coming year, we will continue to use every tool available to us to deliver on President Trump’s promises to the American people. We will continue to fulfill his goals to strengthen our nation’s strained immigration system and alleviate the crisis at our border while the agency continues to fairly and efficiently adjudicate the applications of those seeking lawful status in the U.S.
#7 FEMA: And while the Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, doesn’t have a list of accomplishments in 2019, it does reveal that while the Trump administration has been harshly criticized by the left for the response to Hurricanes Maria and Irma that struck Puerto Rico, the year ended with more aid to the the U.S. territory:
FEMA and the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience, or COR3, have obligated over $20.5 million in additional funds for 37 projects related to the recovery and reconstruction of Puerto Rico. These funds were obligated between December 20 and December 26.
FEMA and COR3 continue to work together to develop strategies that advance recovery projects. To date, over $6 billion has been approved for Puerto Rico under FEMA’s Public Assistance program.
The latest grants obligated are as follows:
Over $6.7 million for administrative costs
Over $6 million for emergency protective measures
Over $5.1 million for repairs to roads and bridges
Nearly $1.3 million for repairs to public buildings and equipment
Over $1.2 million for work related to parks and recreational facilities
Border Patrol union officials say multiple Laredo Sector agents were injured after being assaulted by a group of eight suspects who had just crossed the border from Mexico on New Year’s Day.
“Early this morning, Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents were assaulted by numerous subjects who entered the country illegally near the Outlet Shoppes in Laredo, Texas,” National Border Patrol Council officials wrote in a statement Wednesday.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Garza, in his capacity as vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Breitbart Texas the agents were attacked by a group of eight potentially illegal aliens.
Union officials report that the agents suffered multiple injuries. Those injuries include broken bones and lacerations. Doctors admitted the agents to a Laredo-area hospital for treatment. The agents were later released and are home with their families, Garza said.
Union officials said the area of the alleged assault is identified as a priority location for border wall construction in 2020. The Laredo Sector currently has zero miles of physical border wall infrastructure. This area is well known as a human and drug smuggling corridor.
The suspects were taken into custody by other Border Patrol agents, Garza explained. Laredo Sector agents are frequently assaulted by illegal alien smugglers due to increasing pressure to move illicit cargo.
Union officials say they look forward to the alleged attackers being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
U.S. Border Patrol officials have not released any formal information about the reported incident.
Breitbart Texas reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials for additional information about the reported incident. A response was not immediately available.
Disclosure: Breitbart Texas sponsored the Green Line podcast for the NBPC in an effort to provide a platform for agents to inform the public about the realities on the border and what Border Patrol agents face. Director Brandon Darby received an award from the Laredo chapter of the NBPC for his work in helping to defend and bring a voice to Border Patrol agents. Breitbart News assisted in covering funeral costs for a slain Border Patrol agent previously. Darby and Breitbart senior management have directly stated and shown that helping to bring a voice to the expressed needs and interests of Border Patrol agents is a top priority–personally, individually and together through Breitbart News.
Another year, another list of Christian hip-hop I’ve enjoyed.
A major caveat: I’m certain I’ve missed some great music, as I found out just hours after publishing my 2018 thoughts. Any omissions are likely from lack of exposure and should not be seen as a slight.
Ask me how I feel, it ain’t all good / But ask me how I AM and it’s all good
Can anything good come from Canada? Well, you have your answer in Toronto’s Die-Rek, an inventive producer who brings some no-frills lyrics with his deep, gravelly voice. The Dying Ones is his first real solo album after at least a decade of mixtapes, EPs, and features, and the Canuck makes his mark with some of the most unique arrangements I’ve heard this year. Take, for example, the single released this January, “I’m So Potential.” The polyrhythms in the bass and the high hat form a groove that’s burrowed into my brain since the very first listen. It’s IDM for hip-hop heads! The theme of the record is rather explicit: encouragement for the weary. As such, the soundscapes are grimy, cold, and ethereal — the irregular beats an invitation press onward to our future glory, even if all we can manage is a limp.
You know why it’s hard for a rich man to go to Heaven? Because in his mind he’s already there, that’s the deception
These tracks don’t have any obvious samples, sounding instead like original jazz and R&B compositions. There’s more social commentary here than on his past releases, and it’s all compelling, original thought rather than regurgitation of some influencer’s talking points. “Cotton,” the single that accompanied the album’s release, is an exposé of U.S. monetary policy that the Mises Institute would license if it cared about breaking out of the libertarian bubble. “Barry” is a memorial for an uncle who was fatally tased by police, “For.Wmn” a putdown of “conscious” men who bring violence into their homes. All through these topics, Eshon delivers brilliant lyricism hyper-focused on identifying and defeating ungodly beliefs.
Fresh bread, but these guys settle for cold chicken / Attention is a drug, I noticed your nose dripping
Philadelphia’s Tone Spain really wants you to live a holy life since you’re a servant of a holy God. I mean, really, really wants you to live a holy life! In his songs, Spain has railed against “hyper-grace” and men who use Jesus as a means to their own little fiefdoms, urging his listeners instead to obey God’s Word zealously. He gets on that soapbox a few times during Loose Gems, with beats that are often somber and urgent, but we also learn about his life story and see his lighter side — particularly on the single above, “Bar Mitzvah: Shnayim.” It’s puzzling that “Unclean,” a powerful track from March, didn’t make the cut, as it’s a perfect fit sonically and thematically and would only bump the runtime above 30 minutes.
In Christ is the best I’ll ever be / Your Kingdom’s the best I’ve ever seen
This record from pastor and producer Chrys Jones doesn’t sound very flashy at first glance, but it’s slowly and continually hooked me as a daily listen. At once dingy and shimmering, Trinity is full of heady theology over delightfully imperfect samples — from the days when music wasn’t all digitally tuned and quantized. Jones’ previous work, Meno, made it clear he’s a fan of Puritan meditation practices; these concise nine songs sound like he created a soundtrack for that discipline, with scripture-soaked reflections on God’s attributes and His work through history.
We the change that we want to see / Believe you me, victors not victims / Let’s take time, get together and listen / Help these kids stay out of the system
This prolific Michigander has put out his third consecutive annual release, a declaration of positivity that’s not afraid to tug at the heartstrings. Like A Pond Apart and Mind Over Matter,88 to Now enlists a single producer for all tracks, and Newselph — Sareem’s partner this time around — alternates between party-bumping funk (“Kick’n It,” “The Feels”) and somber reflection (“No Fly Zone,” “Piece of Peace”). Among many standouts, the bittersweet “I’m Right Here” is its most personal, with Sareem counseling his own children about how they can weather racism and other tough issues waiting to destroy them as they grow, broken up by little vignettes of dialogue featuring the little ones discussing their likes and lessons.
I give a whole lot of thanks for what I so-called own / Loaned to me for the moment ’til my soul’s called home
Another Canadian? I’m about to get uninvited to the July 4th cookout, but it’s worth it for this album from Ontario’s Rel McCoy. He’s been around for a while, and he’s always had a vein of Christian thought running through his music, but on A Different Crown, he’s much more explicit on almost every song. It’s not “lyrical theology” per se; it’s more just approaching daily life through the lens of Scripture. Topics like dating, money, and family dysfunction all get satisfying treatments. One of my favorites here is “Hallelujah,” where the aforementioned Die-Rek appears as a guest — a kind of coming-out song, where he can no longer help but center his identity on Christ. It’s sentimental but not kitschy — a perfect illustration of letting go of burdens through worship.
You won’t ever be the same when you call on Jesus’ name / Listen to the words I’m sayin’, Jesus saved me, now I’m sane
Jesus Is King — ah, what a title! — is one of the year’s most-dissected and debated works, with Kanye West’s impassioned conversion fueling his first true CHH work following a few lip-service songs about God over the years. It’s not terrible, it’s not exceptional, but JIK is undeniably moving and leaves us wanting more. Ever since The Life of Pablo, I’ve found much of Kanye’s work half-baked and unmemorable, and even though JIK is clearly pretty rushed, the final product is engaging and endearing. The beating heart of this album is “God Is,” a gospel ballad that will make you tear up just reading the lyrics: “I can’t keep it to myself, I can’t sit here and be still / Everybody, I will tell ’til the whole world is healed.” To hear this from a man who was lending his creativity to PornHub at the start of the year… yeah, God is great.
For a record without much rapping, the single “Follow God” is a great convergence point between the old and new Kanye — staccato delivery, references to Proverbs, and the decade’s pithiest putdown of social media. Note the parallels to his 2011 music video “Otis,” where Kanye and Jay Z did donuts with a stunt car on a closed track, models in the back seat. On that song, West was at his commercial peak, romping around with a father figure — who has since become estranged — but surrounded by pretty-looking rentals. Now, he transfers that same imagery into a setting not made by human hands, property that he owns, and he’s doing those donuts with his real-life father, no longer estranged. His thrice-repeated anecdote about arguing with his dad, an admission that he is still early in his journey toward Christlike character, isn’t delivered in shame but in hope.
I put my gun down and pick up the canon / 66 shots in the clip, let’s get it cracking
There’s Christian rap, and then there’s gangster Christianrap. SoCal’s H.U.R.T. lays down the gospel over slick, aggressive trap beats you’d get from the likes of a DJ Mustard, part of his ministry to the streets of Riverside. This isn’t music about a sweet, cuddly Jesus who’s begging you to accept him into your life; this is about the Kingdom coming in power, with a huge emphasis on spiritual warfare; you think you’re running with a strong outfit, but God’s is stronger, so repent or be destroyed! H.U.R.T. does show a softer side — for instance, a song about struggling with infertility — but if you know anyone who find Christian music irrelevant and feminine, this is definitely an album for them to hear.
Simplistic, we eat brisket and speak with it / But can’t control the tongue, like the bridle on Seabiscuit
This isn’t the first project where the Christcentric label has put together a song-by-song adaptation of a book from the New Testament, but it is definitely their best. The production is shockingly good compared to previous releases, with the aforementioned Chrys Jones behind quite a few tracks. And the lyrics, spread out across quite a few emcees, are rather consistent and illuminating takes on the text. You’d never have guessed that “Faith without works is dead” could be an earworm hook until now.
Said you’re searching for divine proof / Just take a look at creation, you know it’s fine-tuned / Life is a miracle / If you’re existing, the evidence is empirical
As I wrote a few months ago, what’s great about Hazakim’s Origins is that it’s more worship than pedantry. Music-wise, it’s a gem. There comes a point in every artist’s career when their production value really syncs up with their ambitions; as great as 2009’s Theophanies and 2014’s Son of Man are, there are moments here and there where the mix is off — or just not up to that “pro” level. After several years as a producer for other artists, beatmaker Tony is now solidly and confidently operating at that level, digging up obscure Israeli pop samples and punctuating them with shofar blasts. I can’t stress it enough; this album is something very special: an uncommon topic in music (creationism) approached by two artists of an uncommon theological background (Messianic Judaism — uncommon in hip-hop, that is) with an exceedingly rare ability to translate scientific facts into entertaining and inspiring lyrics.
On Wednesday morning, after President Trump’s strong actions regarding the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the Iraqi military reportedly announced that all paramilitary groups and their supporters who had been protesting against U.S. air strikes in Iraq had withdrawn from the perimeter of the embassy.
All members of paramilitary groups and their supporters who have been protesting against U.S. air strikes in #Iraq have withdrawn from the perimeter of the #USEmbassy in #Baghdad on Wednesday, the Iraqi military said.https://t.co/2KKMRErDni
President Trump’s response to a threat against the U.S. embassy stand in stark contrast to the Obama administration’s response to the Benghazi massacre in September 2012, when four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were murdered by terrorists storming the Benghazi, Libya compound.
Peter Ferrara wrote in Forbes in October 2012 that the Obama Administration had received requests for additional security from the Embassy and Stevens as early as February, and in August 2012, Stevens sent a cable requesting 11 additional body guards. He pointed out, “The Wall StreetJournalreported on October 10 that the Administration removed a well-armed, 16 member, security detail from Libya in August, to be replaced by the Libyan security personnel that Ambassador Stevens had just told them could not be relied upon.”
Ferrara stated, “ … documents released by the House Oversight Committee, the day of the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, September 11, the White House situation room starts receiving emails at about 1 p.m. that the mission is under hostile surveillance … at 4 p.m. Washington receives an email from the Benghazi mission that it is under military style attack … Just one hour flight time away were U.S. Air Force bases that could have been rousted in minutes to send fighter planes and attack helicopters that could have routed the attackers in minutes of fighting.”
The Obama Administration later claimed the attack by terrorists at Benghazi was triggered by a video.
The Trump Administration, on the other hand, responded to a threat at the U.S. Embassy by sending in military forces. OIR spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III tweeted a video of AH-64 Apaches heading for Iraq, quoting Department of Defense secretary Mark Esper asserting, ““We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens…and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.”
VIDEO: AH-64 Apaches protect @USEmbBaghdad. ?“We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens…and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.”~@EsperDoD ???? pic.twitter.com/amABHBAOcL
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) December 31, 2019
As The Daily Wire reported on Wednesday, “President Trump has deployed 750 U.S. soldiers to the Middle East, with some 3,000 additional troops preparing to deploy soon if necessary.”
Esper announced that he had authorized “the immediate deployment of the infantry battalion from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina,” according to The Associated Press, which added, “Additional soldiers from the 82nd Airborne’s quick-deployment brigade, known officially as its Immediate Response Force, were prepared to deploy,” and that the full brigade consisted of around 4,000 soldiers.
On Tuesday, President Trump tweeted, “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”
The Daily Wire noted, “The terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy started early on Tuesday morning when thousands of supporters of the Kataeb Hezbollah terrorist organization attacked the facility in response to U.S. forces killing dozens of terrorists from the organization just a few days ago.”
Trump Sanctions Have Cost Iran Billions More than Obama Gave Them for the Nuclear Deal
Scott Peterson / Getty ImagesIran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is pictured in a file photo from February 2016. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday estimated sanctions against Iran implemented by President Donald Trump have cost the Islamic Republic $100 billion in oil sales and an equal amount in foreign investment credit. (Scott Peterson / Getty Images)
Donald Trump is hitting Iran where it hurts.
For 40 years, the murderous mullahs who lead the Islamic Republic have never needed much of a reason to hate an American president.
Even milk toast Jimmy Carter – a man whose presidency is a byword for American weakness – was hated by the ayatollahs who took over the country after the revolution of 1979.
But as a Bloomberg story reported Tuesday, the tyrants of Tehran have some especially good reasons to detest the current president:
About $50 billion worth, and that’s likely to keep rising.
According to Bloomberg, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave a speech Tuesday declaring that the sanctions Trump renewed on Iran after pulling out of the nuclear deal negotiated by President Barack Obama had cost the country $100 billion in oil revenue and the same amount in foreign investment credit.
That adds up to about $200 billion the hard men of Iran didn’t have on hand to fund terrorism against Americans, Israelis or any other group of people that stand in the way of their twisted views of religious order.
And as Breitbart News pointed out on on Wednesday, that amount dwarfs the $150 billion in Iranian assets Obama released as part of the deal. (Not to mention the planeloads of cash Obama flew the mullahs, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.)
In other words, tangling with Trump has already cost Iran at least $50 billion in net loss from their salad days with Obama. And unless the regime is willing to come to the table for a new nuclear deal that actually has teeth, that net cost is going to keep going up as Trump tightens sanctions even further.
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The American relationship with the Shiite theocracy of Iran has been hostile for four decades – even including the craven outreach of the Obama years. (Remember the 10 American sailors who were detained and humiliated by Iranian naval forces in January of 2016?)
But Trump’s decision to impose staggering sanctions on the country – the policy of “maximum pressure” — is hitting the Iranian leadership in ways that hurt.
In April, Reuters reported that the Iranian economy was expected to shrink by 6 percent in 2019 after shrinking 4 percent in 2018. Inflation was expected to reach 40 percent.
And this is a country that thinks it’s in a position to take on the “Great Satan” of the United States – the world’s largest economy that has exploded with jobs and wealth creation since Trump took office?
Thank you President TRUMP Sanctions definitely save lives. The EVIL Empire. #Mullahs TERROR Regime would have used that money on TERROR WORLD OVER. pic.twitter.com/uyKwE8JBL2
Shredding the Iran deal deprived the Iranian regime of $200 billion they’d right now be using for terrorism, military expansionism, domestic oppression, ethnic cleansing of Sunnis, efforts to destroy Israel, rocketing American troops, etc. https://t.co/itHd507RL1
The rapid end of the crisis surrounding the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad could well be a signal that Iranians are starting to understand that Trump is not an American president who could be rolled.
On Tuesday, the sprawling grounds were surrounded by militants with Iranian backing. On Wednesday, the militias withdrew after Trump took several steps to show how seriously the U.S. was taking the situation. The relatively peaceful ending isn’t going to be repeated in every confrontation between the two countries, but there were definitely lessons to be learned from it.
Unlike his predecessor Obama, Trump appears to understand just how big of a threat the terrorist regime of Tehran poses to the country – and he’s not willing to meekly submit to it, as Obama was.
Instead, he’s hitting back where it hurts – and even the Iranian president is admitting it.
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On New Year’s Day in 1863, the Republican Party’s Emancipation Proclamation came into effect. While Republicans rejoiced, Democrat politicians and newspapers denounced President Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) for freeing slaves.
Demonstrating their depravity, New York’s Gov. Horatio Seymour, who would be the 1868 Democrat presidential nominee, denounced the Emancipation Proclamation as “a proposal for the butchery of women and children.”
The Louisville Daily Democrat called it “an outrage of all constitutional law, all human justice, all Christian feeling.”
Although this is often ignored by the revisionists in academia Republicans led the charge on civil rights and women’s rights.
A REPUBLICAN President signed the Emancipation Proclamation
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could soon be out of her government job. Due to the high number of non-citizens in her district, it might be eliminated after the census.
Wouldn’t that be ironic?
Via Frank Luntz:
New York is expected to lose a House seat after the 2020 Census, and state Democrats are looking to draw out @AOC’s district.https://t.co/DYXvzqvWXm
AOC MAKES A BRONX CENSUS PUSH AMID FEARS OF LOST HOUSE SEATS
For Ocasio-Cortez, a full Census count is more than a matter of making sure her district gets all the funds and services it’s due. In a sense, her own political fortunes could hang in the balance.
A review by THE CITY, building on data and analysis by The Texas Tribune, suggests Ocasio-Cortez’ district could be particularly vulnerable to undercount because a little over a quarter of those living there are non-citizens.
That’s a higher percentage than any other congressional district in the state.
A Census undercount in Ocasio-Cortez’ district and elsewhere in the state could lead to the elimination of congressional districts — potentially setting off politically charged redistricting battles.
New York already is on track to lose up to two congressional seats during reapportionment due to population decline and slower rate of growth, according to a December report by Election Data Services.
First Lady Melania Trump brought the fireworks as she entered the annual New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday evening.
Melania Trump strutted into the New Year, alongside President Trump, in a sequins embroidered evening gown by Givenchy that resembled the sparks of fireworks in the sky. The gown is cut from black silk georgette, features a round neckline, and gradient-like gold sequin embroidery that trickles down from top to bottom.
Currently, the Givenchy frock retails for about $4,740.
Mrs. Trump chose a pair of black satin pointed stilettos by Manolo Blahnik and her signature smoldering smokey eye makeup for the night of celebration.
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John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
Dan Kitwood / Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump attends the NATO summit at the Grove Hotel on Dec. 4, 2019 in Watford, England. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
