wing2000 said:

"We cannot build bananas in America"

At a House Appropriations hearing on Thursday, Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) questioned Sec. Howard Lutnick about President Trump's tariffs.

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Never let it be said that the Trump Administration can't eventually learn from its mistakes months after people point out the obvious flaws in its simplistic and drastic actions.

Bessent says 'substantial' tariff relief on coffee and bananas is coming soon​

President Donald Trump also promised tariff relief on coffee this week.

Bessent, speaking on Fox News Channel, said that while "it's tough to do a lot of specific things," [oh, lordy, all those details. Who has time to sort it all out?!?] the administration would be moving to cut duties on a number of "things that we don't grow here in the United States."

Bessent added on Wednesday that he expects "the American people are going to start feeling better" about inflation in the first or second quarter of 2026.

So day 500 instead of day 1? I'll believe it when I see it.

So here is the evidence the earth is not 144 hours old.
Proof #1

Genesis 2:4
This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

The Hebrew word יוֹם is used here, which is the same Hebrew word used throughout Genesis 1.
It is used in reference to the six days combined, and refers not to 24 hours, but a period of time.

Genesis 2:5, 6
5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up - for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
6 a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground

Please read Genesis 1:9-13
Dry land appears, and then the earth sprouted vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”... all in a matter of 24 hours.
Yeah?

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up - for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground
That's some "miracle grow" right there. The kind you don't buy in a store.

So, here is what the YEC would have you believe.
On day three, the land came up, in what... a matter of seconds. Followed by a mist that kept going up and watering the land; Vegetation and plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them” all sprung up within a matter of minutes, hours.... 24 hours.
Yeah?

Does that sound reasonable? You decide.
Considering that Genesis 2:4 shows that a day does not necessarily mean 24 hours in Genesis, what is more reasonable to believe... That God's creation was a progressive process spanning thousands, of years, if not millions, or God just whoosh things into existence?

Why was a mist needed, if a tree will shoot up into the air, and bear fruit instantaneously?
Does not make sense, does it... Or does it, to you?

GoldenBoy89 said:

Donald Trump told Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to stop plucking young girls from the spa at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to groom and sexually abuse.”

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I knew it!

Guilty!

The Barbarian said:

I notice that Jesus didn't call for government force to make people avoid sin. I notice that of all the sins that are, His focus was not on homosexuality. He didn't even mention it, as far as we know. That being so, I doubt if homosexual marriage is going to harm America.

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Since Jesus is God, why don't you apply the entire bible? Even John says there was a lot that Jesus said and did that wasn't recorded. You're ignoring the passages I gave that shows what God has done in the past and since God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, (Hebrews 13:8) that means his judgements will be the same. I mean, we have the trib coming up where he judges the entire world, so that is also proof it doesn't change. If God calls homosexuality an abomination, then it is, and will always be an abomination to him. (Leviticus 20:13)

rjs330 said:

Im sure you can take them to court for unlawful search and siezure.

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As I stated, as a tort claim, not as a civil rights violation.

RileyG said:

They harm themselves spiritually, that’s for sure, and forcing others to provide for services when others believe it’s wrong or immoral is never ok. They cannot impose their “values” onto others. It’s a two way street.

Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “go and sin no more.”

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I get the issue. For example, the baker who didn't want to make a wedding cake for same sex couple. On the other hand, a government official would have to avoid any discrimination in that regard. Private vs. public.

The Liturgist said:

Except apparently neither you nor AI can actually reliably tell the difference. I, on the other hand, as someone who uses AI all the time, can spot it; you’re missing the actual telltales that I’ve worked so hard to to eliminate from my custom GPTs (but without complete success; there are some embedded Turing-tell behaviors that I can’t get the model to avoid without crushing the beauty of its output.

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Why are you trying to get rid of tells?

The Liturgist said:

By the way you have given this conversation the character of a Philip K. Dick novel for which I salute you. Have you considered that you might have been replaced by an AI without realizing it?

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Hmm, maybe I've always been AI. Maybe I was born that way. Maybe I'm the first of a new kind. Maybe, maybe I am the Adamic Algorithm!

(Now if I can just keep from stumbling and falling.)

Delvianna said:

Who ever is in power and what they do, absolutely has consequences. So since God is against gay relationships in general, the promotion and allowance of it, will absolutely have consequences. It's not about it "harming" us in the sense like physical violence, but it is "harming" in the sense of spiritual righteousness. When you promote and allow sin to run rampant, eventually the country is judged. Just like Sodom, just like Gomorrah, Babylon and others. The world screams "tolerance" but Gods rules are applied to every single person living on this planet and he has the right to judge when he's had enough.

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I notice that Jesus didn't call for government force to make people avoid sin. I notice that of all the sins that are, His focus was not on homosexuality. He didn't even mention it, as far as we know. That being so, I doubt if homosexual marriage is going to harm America.

Always in His Presence said:

For those who are not familiar with mortgages:

Are Mortgages Public Record and How Can You Access Them?​

Mortgage records play a crucial role in real estate transactions and property ownership, serving as key documents for verifying financial agreements tied to properties. These records are generally accessible to the public, offering transparency and accountability within the housing market.​

​

Are Mortgage Records Public?​

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"Mortgage records" is a very broad term, and that article is exceedingly non-specific. The actual information that is recorded is the final mortgage contract and deed (I looked mine up - that's all that's there). It does not include the application(s) or any other ancillary forms submitted during the process. Considering that at least some of the claims made against James involved her applications, there was at least some non-public information in Pulte's hands.

US Mint in Philadelphia presses final pennies as the 1-cent coin gets canceled​

Some banks, meanwhile, began rationing supplies, a somewhat paradoxical result of the effort to address what many see as a glut of the coins.

The Liturgist said:

I promise you as a fellow Orthodox Christian that every post I’ve addressed to you has been done by hand - and I can prove; I’ve been a member of this forum since way before AI became a viable way of writing posts, and if you look at the entire history of my posting, you’ll see a consistent style of high information density and a reluctance to answer a question with a simple yes or no.

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True, I've noticed.

The Liturgist said:

That all being said I must thank you @Chesterton for subjecting me to a Reverse Turing Test, which also was a bit of a Voight-Kampff test; also it may interest you to note that your post had an 80–85% chance of being written by a human according to chatGPT.

I did not anticipate the likelihood of being subjected to such a test but I suppose it will become more common.

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When I asked you that out-of-left-field question about what reminds you of home - if you hadn't told me your AI is versed in Orthodoxy, I would have thought your answer was from a human. But since you had previously told me, your answer sounded to me 99% likely to be AI.

But more importantly, why didn't you inquire as to why I asked you a strange, off-topic question? Either you knew why I asked it, which seemingly would prompt discussion about the question, or you didn't know, which should have also prompted discussion about it. But you just took it in stride (as I suppose a good AI also might). Why didn't you mention it?

Hours at Epstein's house with one of the victims.

Plus he knew what the girls were there for.

So no direct evidence Trump participated in the crimes. But still...

Vambram said:

Media Pretend Trump Attacks On Cartels Are Unprecedented

Trump is using lethal strikes against drug cartel boats, and journalists are confident that nothing like this has ever happened before.

thefederalist.com

We have over 40 years of history showing US Presidents using our military to attack the narco cartels.

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40 years? More distortion from The Federalist which correctly presumes it's readers won't verify their spin.
The article cites one operation in 1986.

According to the referenced PBS News report: Operation Blast Furnace
"Most (U.S. troops) provide logistical support."
The Bolivian army carried out the raids on cocaine processing centers.

There is no mention of the U.S. military bombing..... or killing Bolivian drug suspects. And the US military was there at the invitation of the Bolivan government.

More background:
In July 1986, under pressure to meet U.S.-imposed counternarcotics targets, Bolivia hosted the first major U.S. military commitment to the drug war. That operation – dubbed “Blast Furnace” – involved the use of six U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and their support personnel to ferry Bolivian police during raids on cocaine processing laboratories.(10) Later, a similar mission, “Operation Snowcap,” deployed U.S. Army Special Forces and DEA personnel to provide paramilitary training, law enforcement planning, intelligence and advisory support for counterdrug raids on cocaine processing labs and airstrips in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. U.S. military personnel were confined to their bases, however, where they trained host country forces to take on joint operations with DEA agents.

Apple Sky said:

​

Here in this video it quotes that the sun does not rise or set we just see it go up and down & this is due our perception.

Login to view embedded media

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It...it doesnt explain why it sets...it explains thr motion of the sun over a flat but does not tie it to observation.
If the sun gets too far away (as the video claims would shrink in observable size AND lumenosity as it set but it stays the same size (changing colour due to gas in atmosphere but not getting darker)

Job 33:6 said:

It doesnt say that the sewers were created from nothing or that the palace was made from nothing. Just as:
It doesnt say that the disorder was created from nothing or that the completed creation was made from nothing.

They conclude, the palace was sewers. The earth was formless. And they point out that this is explicitly what the text says.

From what was the palace made? From the sewers. From the disordered world.

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That is not what it says.
You misunderstand the point.

I'll just clear this one for you, so you don't run with that idea... but if you want, go right ahead.
The way of the world is that when a flesh-and-blood king builds his palace in [a location that had been] a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place, anyone who comes and says: ‘This palace was built in a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place,’ is this not an insult? So, too, anyone who comes and says: ‘This world was created from emptiness and disorder,’ is this not an insult? This is a rhetorical question.

The palace is built on a place that was a sewer, and stinky.
He is saying the world was created from emptiness and disorder, and it's not an insult to God, to say that.

He says this because, The Midrash argues that to claim the world was created from such pre-existent material diminishes God's glory, emphasizing instead the concept of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing). This interpretation is part of a broader theological effort to affirm God's absolute sovereignty over creation

Job 33:6 said:

It is the history of Biblical interpretation and understanding.

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It is not the history of Biblical interpretation and understanding.
Can you please stop making these claims.

One work which is part of a larger interpretive framework that explores the creation narrative in Genesis 1:1 is not the history of Biblical interpretation and understanding.

Have your say.
I'm finished with that fruitless argument with Job 33:6

Apple Sky said:

@Warden_of_the_Storm - Why the laughter ?

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Because it takes a hilarious amount of hubris to think that 8 billion people and humanity's observational history has misperceived something and YOUR understanding is correct.

The ambitious Gaza agreement, which was celebrated as a foreign policy triumph for President Donald Trump, is in danger of failing due to a lack of planning and realpolitik feasibility. Documents originating from an internal security forum speak of a ‘strategic gap’ between the announced ceasefire and a sustainable peace agreement.

According to internal sources, key prerequisites are missing: no "Palestinian" partner capable of acting, no occupied ‘peace council’ structure, no binding coordination between the nations involved. A high-ranking participant in the meeting of CENTCOM and the new civil-military coordination centre in Kiryat Gat summed it up dramatically: ‘Everyone is talking about peace from 40,000 feet up, but no one knows who is supposed to stand in the dust below and implement.'

Internal presentations show that Israel currently still controls around 53 per cent of Gaza's territory, while 95 per cent of the population lives in areas that are de facto outside Israeli control. According to the figures, this is precisely where the terrorist organisation Hamas has already redeployed over 7,000 security forces and is exploiting the power vacuum following the ceasefire to restore its structures.

Meanwhile, the establishment of a civil administration is not progressing. Neither the PA nor independent local actors have the legitimacy or resources to take on this responsibility.

Currently, there is no clear leadership structure, no defined distribution of roles and, above all, no countries that would actually be willing to send troops for the planned international security mission.

According to internal notes, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey have signalled their ‘fundamental willingness’ to participate, but are demanding an official UN mandate and are meeting with scepticism from Israel, particularly in the case of Turkey. Most countries are willing to send money, but not soldiers.

There is uncertainty in Gaza, mistrust in Israel and frustration in Washington. Military stability may have been achieved, but political peace is still a long way off. Without capable partners, clear responsibilities and sustainable strategies, the ceasefire threatens to become a dangerous limbo: too calm for war, too unstable for peace.

The agreement with Gaza was intended to demonstrate that American diplomacy can function without endless peace processes, but rather through clear power relations. However, it is now apparent that power can silence weapons, but it cannot build civil society.

If the US and Israel cannot find a credible administrative framework, other forces, Iran, Qatar, Hamas, will fill the void. The success or failure of this agreement will thus become a touchstone for the entire regional security order.

linux.poet said:

So me deciding not to murder and deciding not to commit adultery means I am obligated to keep the entire Law? Those commands are on the Decalogue too.

If I decide to take my Sabbath rest on Tuesday morning from 6-10AM does that mean every male in my life has to be circumcised? At some point this becomes absurd.

What makes the 4th commandment so special that keeping it revokes my salvation and put me back under the Law and not under grace?

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You don't have to decide anything, All commandments, statues etc is given under the law to be followed. Breaking any commands etc in the law means breaking the whole Law. There is a confusion here for some, there is law based on works (this for the old covenant law) but also a law based on Faith for the New covenant. (see Romans 3 for the two laws). The two laws are independent of each other.

In regards to the rest (Sabbath rest) 4th command. This Rest is more than a literal or physical rest it's a "spiritual rest".

BelieveItOarKnot said:

What is it you are really trying to say Dan?

Jesus is The Savior of the world. I believe He gets the job done.

Done.

That also means the destruction of the devil and his messengers, who also happen to "occupy" space in our own heads via temptations and evil thoughts that defile us all.

One saved
One not so much

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And you said that there are DOZENS of ways to be saved , so show where they ARE since YOU brought out up. !!

dan p

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN said:

ICE basically took them in, for no reason. They had permission to be here . If I was arrested and detained for no reason. I would talk to a lawyer.

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"Some that illegally crossed the border into the United States, some that came in through visa waiver and were prohibited from working, some that had visas and overstayed their visas." link

Out of the 330 people detained, 316 South Koreans have been deported, the rest were Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian. link

Sounds like illegals and people who broke the law to me. If you break your visa agreement, the US has the right to deport you.

Akita Suggagaki said:

After initial enthusiasm, people fear ceasefire does not mean end to war but just less frequent, more unpredictable violence.

‘We don’t feel safe’: after week of bombings, people in Gaza are losing faith in ceasefire

After initial enthusiasm, people fear ceasefire does not mean end to war but just less frequent, more unpredictable violence

www.theguardian.com

Still a very long way to go before anyone can be said to have brought peace to Israel and Gaza.

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That's true, but it's still progress.