It seems a new kind of bugging situation has hit the Watergate Hotel. Video posted on Wednesday showed a large number of maggots, crickets and other bugs crawling around the hotel, which is where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying during his contentious visit to Washington, D.C.

The Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots advocacy group, posted an Instagram video of the critters, claiming they were let loose in protest of Israel's deadly war against Hamas, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials.

Continued below.

It seems a new kind of bugging situation has hit the Watergate Hotel. Video posted on Wednesday showed a large number of maggots, crickets and other bugs crawling around the hotel, which is where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying during his contentious visit to Washington, D.C.

The Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots advocacy group, posted an Instagram video of the critters, claiming they were let loose in protest of Israel's deadly war against Hamas, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials.

Continued below.

Reconciliation

Jesus makes Reconcilation for Sin

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved (necessary) him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Reconciled to God by Jesus

Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Jesus Ends Enmity

Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be (1) thrones, or (2) dominions, or (3) principalities, or (4) powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Jesus Reconciles Everything

Col 1:17 And he (Jesus) is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col 1:18 And (1) he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: (2) who (Jesus) is the beginning, (3) the firstborn from the dead; (4) that in all things he might have the preeminence. Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

God was in Christ Reconciling Mankind

2Co 5:17 There fore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to God. 2Co 5:21 For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Now that Americans have had a chance to digest the political earthquakes of the last week and a half, a lot of conservatives are circling back to a major disappointment that, like most news, faded to the background when Donald Trump was shot. Even after the bombshell that Joe Biden is exiting the 2024 race, the mainstream media seems intent on returning to a thread that created big waves before the first shots ever rang out in Butler, Pennsylvania: a radically-rewritten GOP platform that leaves decades of pro-life and pro-family values behind.

“Under Trump, GOP Softens Abortion Stance,” headlines declared. Some wondered, “Is the Republican Party Becoming Pro-Choice?” Others were openly critical: “RNC’s New Abortion Stance Betrays GOP’s Founding, Pro-Life Activist Says.” The New York Times went a step further, blowing the doors off the RNC’s “ruthless” effort to hijack the process, “confiscating” delegates’ cell phones, refusing debate, and ultimately ramming the former president’s document through without amendments.

“This is something that ultimately you’ll pass,” Trump is said to have told the 112 platform delegates by phone. “You’ll pass it quickly.” He was right. A painstaking process that usually takes place over a series of days was reduced to a few hours that Monday morning, leaving most delegates wondering why they’d even come. It was “insulting,” many said, “demeaning,” “demoralizing,” even “despicable.”

Family Research Council’s Travis Weber, who’s been involved in previous platforms, was shocked at the attempt to “rig the process.” As he put it, “[T]here was an attempt to silence dissent.” Fellow FRC Vice President Brent Keilen agreed on this week’s “Outstanding” podcast, pointing out that delegates barely had a chance to read the document before the vote was called. “There was virtually zero debate.” As the Times described it, this was the result of months of careful planning. The RNC, led by Trump, would “steamroll” their vision to victory, which they apparently defined as a short, vague, diluted platform that read more like a campaign fundraising email than a guiding party light.

Continued below.

Award-winning Christian musician and artist Aaron Shust is asking fans to pray and support three children whose parents died this month in a Hezbollah rocket barrage on an Israeli settlement in Golan Heights.

Shust took to Instagram to raise awareness about the death of Israeli civilians Noa and Nir Baranes on July 9, both of whom were 46. The couple leaves behind their three children, ages 13, 16, and 18.

Shust, who has won multiple Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, including Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year in 2007, said his best friend's son, Shuki, is good friends with one of the couple's sons, Matan.

Continued below.

You know how polls are but you know if anyone feels this way about any assassination attempt, there are some serious changes to be made. From the top rung on down.
*******************************

About one-third of Democrats say they wish the assassin's bullet directed at former President Donald Trump earlier this month did not miss, a new poll suggests, a potential reflection of the volatile political climate engulfing the United States.

A snap July 18 survey of 235 Democrats conducted by University of Buckingham Professor Eric Kaufman examined whether people agreed with a statement declaring that "I wish Trump's assassin didn't miss."

The survey was commissioned five days after Trump narrowly escaped death as an assassin's bullet grazed his ear at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania but did not kill him. However, one attendee was killed and two others were injured.

Kaufman, a politics professor, stated that based on his research, "a third of Democrats support the attempt on Donald Trump's life." He expressed gratitude that the remaining two-thirds of Democrats in the sample did not support it.

"This raises the question of which kind of Democrat backed the killing of Trump," Kaufman wrote. "Support for the statement hardly varies by age, race or education, but is connected to ideology and partisanship."

Continued below.

Why do people boast of being "Conservative", especially politicians?

Isn't that basically an admission to being unable or unwilling to adapt to the changing realities of the world?

Pictured: Professor Michael Atar aka “Mr. Sepsis,” a financier and developing consultant on a new blood sepsis test.


A life-saving blood test that can detect sepsis in under ten minutes by squeezing white blood cells could be available in as many as 11 US states by the end of the year.

While you won’t hear many news headlines about sepsis, US researchers have hailed the development as one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medical history and a “turning point” in the fight against one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

The test works by forcing a small amount of blood through a tiny tube to see if the white, immune-fighting cells change shape.

Continued below.

Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), drew criticism for praising President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election. Leatherwood called it “a selfless act.”

The ERLC is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). According to its website, the ERLC exists to help churches “understand the moral demands of the gospel, apply Christian principles to moral and social problems and questions of public policy, and to promote religious liberty in cooperation with churches and other Southern Baptist entities.”

“Together, we can bring hope to the public square—for the sake of the gospel,” the ERLC website says.

On Sunday (July 21), Biden announced via social media that he was withdrawing from the presidential election, saying, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

Continued below.

Pro 15:2 The tongue of the wise uses’ knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness.

Pro 15:2a KJV "The tongue of the wise uses knowledge (information 1Cor 12:8) aright (correctly):

• Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
• Pro 12:23a A prudent man conceals knowledge (for self-protection):
• Pro 13:16a Every prudent man deals (comes to understanding) with knowledge:

Using Knowledge Correctly

• 1Co 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
• 1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judge. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
• 1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us (Saints) which are saved it is the power of God.
• Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious (not following denominationalism), and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
• Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Do You Believe This

1Co 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand;1Co 15:2 By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. 1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Pro 15:2 The tongue of the wise uses’ knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness.

Pro 15:2b but the mouth of fools (simpleton Isa 32:6 Psa 14:1) pours out foolishness (stupidly)." Fools=political simpletons producing stupidly

• Pro 12:23b but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.
• Pro 13:16b but a fool lays open his folly (lack of good sense).
• Pro 18:7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. Isa 51:17 Cup of Trembling Rev 16:1 Vials of Wrath (See Snare Paper)
• Pro 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
• Pro 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you perceive not in him the lips of knowledge.

Speaking Simpletons Matt 12:35-37

Job 20:12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; (Pro 18:21 James 3:6-9 Titus 1:10,11)

Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Joh 18:38 Pilate (a politician) says unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and says unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

• Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Isa 5:20 30:10);
• Mar 7:20-23 And he said That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. John 8:44 Lucifer father of lies
• Isa 3:8 Jerusalem is ruined, Judah is fallen: their tongue & doings are against the LORD, provokes eyes of his glory. Lucifer=Babylon=Confusion=Denominationalism
• Rev 22:15 For without (those not believing the truth) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever love and makes a lie. 2Thes 2:10-12 (Rev 20:11-15 White Throne Judgment)

AVOID THIS

Rev 20:11-15 KJV "And I (John) saw a great white throne, and him (Jesus) that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them (unsaved)." Rev 20:12 KJV "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead (foolish) were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev 20:13 KJV "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they (unsaved) were judged every man according to their works." Rev 20:14 KJV "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev 20:15 KJV "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Eccentric tech mogul Elon Musk recently said that he considers himself a “cultural Christian” during a conversation with conservative commentator Jordan Peterson.

Musk is the founder of SpaceX, the CEO of Tesla, and the majority owner of X (formerly Twitter).

Peterson is a Canadian psychologist and author. While Peterson has often spoken positively about Christianity and has even offered a lecture series on the biblical book of Exodus through his partnership with The Daily Wire, he does not identify as a confessional Christian.

Peterson and Musk recently sat down for a two-hour interview, which was broadcast on X. During the freewheeling conversation, the two spoke about a number of topics, including artificial intelligence, ancient Mesopotamian religion, the carnivore diet, environmentalism, and gender identity.

As Peterson spoke to Musk, he wore a sports coat emblazoned with icons of Christian saints.

Continued below.

'Approximately 30 minutes ago, Gab learned that Thomas Crooks, the deranged Joe Biden supporter who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, may have had an account on our platform,' Gab owner Andrew Torba posted on X Wednesday afternoon.

Andrew Torba, the owner of alternative social media platform Gab.com, has announced that Donald Trump’s now-deceased attempted assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, may have had an account on his platform in which he posted a number of times seemingly in support of “President Biden’s COVID lockdowns, border policies and executive orders.” Torba says he was only made aware of the alleged account after receiving an “emergency disclosure request from a law enforcement agency.”

“Approximately 30 minutes ago, Gab learned that Thomas Crooks, the deranged Joe Biden supporter who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, may have had an account on our platform,” Torba posted on X Wednesday afternoon. “We are unable to confirm that the account in question actually belonged to him.”

Continued below.

Open disagreement between spouses, or even just not seeing eye to eye, can be very painful. It is also quite common. Central to the art of marriage is to be able to accept this while also addressing it.

Experience shows that it is to be expected. To some extent then, disagreement need not mean that anything has gone wrong. We do well to begin by recognizing that how we deal with disagreement is precisely a key feature of how we grow our marriage and as individuals; I’d even go so far as to say it is ‘natural’ and part of the plan. This should be a very heartening thought.

Of course certain deeper disagreements might cross a line of seriousness and call for intervention or other such remedies. But most of us will be within a range of discord, variance, or tension that is ‘normal,’ the addressing of which will be part of our daily labors. A few principles might be helpful.

Probably the single most important step is to take stock of just what the nature and causes of the disagreement are. Often the pain and difficulty of the situation inclines us to jump to conclusions and then wade in without really examining what is going on. A first key question is whether this is simply a divergence of thought in the abstract, or is this complicated by personal elements such as painful aspects of our past lives or of our marriage relationship itself? The former situation, where we come to different conclusions unencumbered by emotional freight, is much more straightforward. Here we have a great and not-as-difficult opportunity—that is, if we seize it—of listening and getting to know the mind of the other. Even this takes practice and intentionality.

Continued below.

As Heartbreaking Ad Reminds Us, the Church Shows Us How to Respond to Difficult Circumstances With the Compassion of Christ

Hadley Duvall is a young woman from Kentucky who has a heartrending story. From the time she was 5 years old, she was sexually abused by her stepfather. Growing up, she would be in school and think to herself, “Do these people go home, and are they afraid of their dad, too?” When she was 12 years old, her stepfather raped her, and she soon found out that she was pregnant.

Duvall made the choice to have an abortion.

In recent days, she spoke out in a recent ad by the Biden campaign, released before the president announced he was not running for reelection, against Republican nominees Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, stating, “The first thing that was told to me when I saw that positive pregnancy test was, ‘You have options.’ If Roe v. Wade would’ve been overturned sooner, I wouldn’t have heard that. And then it had me thinking that there’s someone that doesn’t get to hear that now.”

The young woman has offered her voice to champion so-called abortion rights in her home state of Kentucky for months. Kentucky has one of the strongest laws against abortion in the country. As of July 15, 2022, there is a complete ban on abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. This continues to polarize voters and politicians in the state, but also around the country.

Continued below.

We must finally earnestly ask and demand GOD JESUS

- TO INTERVENE SUPERNATURALLY TO END THE THIRD WORLD WAR

- OR EVEN TO INTERVENE TO END HUMAN DOMINATION

- OR INVITE GOD JESUS TO RETURN AND FINALLY RULE OVER THE WHOLE WORLD AND PUT AN END TO ALL SUFFERING.

It no longer matters which side you are on (Ukraine, Russia, Palestine, Israel, the West or the rest of the world.) After more than two and a half years of countless small slow but UNSTOPPAPEL ESCALATIONS, we are on the verge of TOTAL WORLD WAR OR EVEN NUCLEAR WAR!

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO PREVENT TOTAL WORLD WAR AND NUCLEAR WAR: THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD WAR ENDING INTERVENTION OF GOD JESUS HIMSELF!

No Trump or Putin will change anything. Only we Christians (and praying non-Christians) can prevent the worst from happening. Christians and non-Christians have completely forgotten that JESUS EXISTS AND HE IS GOD AND HE IS NOT TOO WEAK TO HELP US OR EVEN UNWILLING! But God Jesus does not force himself on us.

WE CAN AND MUST ASK AND DEMAND GOD JESUS TO FINALLY INTERVENE SUPERNATURALLY!

KJV, 1 John 5:

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Click to expand...

There is some controversy about this verse.

Wiki:

The Johannine Comma (Latin: Comma Johanneum) is an interpolated phrase (comma) in verses 5:7–8 of the First Epistle of John.[1]
The text (with the comma in italics and enclosed by square brackets) in the King James Bible reads:
7For there are three that beare record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.] 8[And there are three that beare witnesse in earth], the Spirit, and the Water, and the Blood, and these three agree in one.
— King James Version (1611)
The passage appears to have originated as a gloss in a Latin manuscript around the end of the 4th century,[3]
The comma is absent from the Ethiopic, Aramaic, Syriac, Slavic, Armenian, Georgian, and Arabic translations of the Greek New Testament.
The earliest known Greek ms. occurrence appears to be a later addition to a 10th-century manuscript now in the Bodleian Library. The exact date of the addition is not known; in this manuscript, the Comma is a variant reading offered as an alternative to the main text.

Click to expand...

Without the comma/addition, it reads:

7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

Click to expand...

There are good reasons to believe that the Johannine Comma was inserted:

1. The words did not appear in any Greek manuscript before the 14th century CE.
2. They were absent from all ancient translations of the Bible.
3. No Church Father quoted them in discussions about the Trinity.

How do we know that manuscripts used to compile the Bible or the Bible itself are not forged or changed?

This is where textual criticism comes in, which is a scholarly discipline that aims to reconstruct the original text of a document, particularly ancient texts, when the original is no longer available. 1Jn 5:7 is an example of this kind of criticism.

The former parish worker faces 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and $250,000 in fines, according to the prosecutor.

A former Catholic parish employee in Alabama this week pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her church in order to send money to TikTok content creators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced on Tuesday that 35-year-old Kristen Marie Battocletti had been charged with, and agreed to plead guilty to, embezzling funds from St. Francis of Assisi University Parish in Tuscaloosa.

Battocletti officially pleaded guilty to the charges in court on Tuesday, according to media reports.

The prosecutor’s office said Battocletti engaged in the fraud scheme from April–October 2023. She “stole approximately $300,000 from St. Francis, using the funds to purchase more than $220,000 in TikTok Coins and to pay personal expenses.”

TikTok “coins” are “virtual items that can be purchased by users” of the social media site in order to “activate or access other virtual items or services,” according to the social media website.

“Battocletti used the TikTok Coins to send digital gifts to TikTok content creators,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The former parish worker faces 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and $250,000 in fines, according to the prosecutor.

This is not the only theft of U.S. church funds prosecuted by authorities in recent days.

Continued below.

In a thought-provoking conversation, Jordan raises a fascinating question about the possibility of conducting genetic studies using the blood from Eucharistic Miracles. Specifically, she wonders about the Y chromosome and its potential to provide physical evidence of Jesus's divinity.

Father Spitzer responds with clarity, addressing both the theological and scientific dimensions of this inquiry. He begins by clarifying that while Jesus was indeed born with a Y chromosome, which is characteristic of male human nature, it does not directly correlate with his divine nature as the Son of God. The Y chromosome, in this context, pertains solely to Jesus's human incarnation.

The question then arises: Can genetic testing be conducted on the blood from Eucharistic Miracles, such as the Shroud of Turin? Father Spitzer explains that such testing has not been performed due to significant challenges. For instance, the DNA on the Shroud of Turin has been extensively contaminated over the centuries, making any definitive association with Jesus scientifically unreliable.

He points out that Ray Rogers and others attempted to study the Shroud's DNA but encountered insurmountable contamination issues. Therefore, while the idea of scientifically proving Jesus's divinity through genetic analysis is intriguing, it remains beyond current scientific capabilities.

From a theological perspective, Father Spitzer encourages a balanced approach. He suggests that while we may not have conclusive scientific proof now, faith offers ample evidence through historical records, Eucharistic miracles, and the profound impact of Jesus's life and teachings on humanity.

Theological and Scientific Perspectives​

Continued below.

In 1958, as John F. Kennedy was preparing to run for president of the United States, polemicist Paul Blanshard published the second edition of his incendiary 1949 book, American Freedom and Catholic Power. This was the bible of anti-Catholicism in American public life. In it, Blanshard called for a “resistance movement” that would oppose the Catholic Church’s “antidemocratic social policies,” and attacked Catholic schools as “the most important divisive instrument in the life of American Children.” Echoing Blanshard’s bigotry, a February 1960 editorial in Christianity Todayasserted that it is “perfectly rational” to oppose the nomination and election of a “Romanist” because “a Catholic presidency would be torn between two loyalties.”

In September 1960, Kennedy, sensitive to the broad public sentiment reflected in these broadsides, gave his famous speech to the Houston Ministerial Association, in which he renounced any claim that his Catholic faith might have on his moral life. Reducing his Catholicism to an accident of birth, Kennedy assured voters that it had no purchase on his political judgment. Sixty years later, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are, respectively, Kennedy’s religious and Blanshard’s polemicist heirs.

One difference between Blanshard and Harris, of course, is that the former possessed only the power of persuasion, whereas the latter possesses the power (and is campaigning for more) to institutionalize her bigotry against Catholics and public organizations whose practices are consistent with Catholic moral life. And she has wielded it vigorously.

For example, Harris is perfectly willing to impose unconstitutional religious tests to nominees to the federal bench. In 2018, when Brian Buescher was nominated as a District Court judge, Harris put this written question to him:

Continued below.

When will the Vatican excommunicate Fr. James Martin for his heretical actions?​

Father James Martin S.J.’s pro-LGBT group had its recent fundraiser hosted by two “married” homosexual men in a seemingly recurring event.

In a social media post, the prolific LGBT advocate and Jesuit priest revealed details of the latest fundraiser for his pro-LGBT group, Outreach. “Thanks again to Brian Stevens and Alex Capecelatro for hosting a fundraising dinner for Outreach at their beautiful home in Provincetown, Mass,” Martin wrote.

Some days later, Outreach also posted on its social media channels about the fundraiser. “Outreach thanks Brian Stevens and Alex Capecelatro for organizing and hosting a fundraiser at their home in Provincetown, Mass., last week,” the message read.

Stevens and Capecelatro “married” in May 2023, and have been “together” for 11 years, with their homosexual lifestyle an active and public aspect of their lives. The pair live together and have become firm supporters and friends of Martin’s LGBT activism.

Continued below.

Hard to distinguish Bill Barr being a bad leader and Bill Barr doing things for the benefit of his boss.

DOJ review blames Stone sentencing flip on poor leadership, not politics​

The Justice Department’s inspector general said “ineffectual leadership” led to the softening of Roger Stone’s 2020 sentencing recommendation, which ignited a political firestorm.

The report upheld an account by then-Attorney General William P. Barr but also found that line prosecutors’ suspicions of political meddling by President Donald Trump’s administration were not unreasonable.

The report opens a window back on a bitterly contentious time in the department, when Barr was accused of undercutting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and of politicizing and replacing the leaders of two of its most important U.S. attorney offices for Washington and Manhattan.

Those accusations intensified after Barr removed Trump’s initial appointee as U.S. attorney two weeks before Stone’s sentencing, replacing Jessie K. Liu with his own counselor, Shea.

At sentencing, front-line prosecutors initially notified the court that a sentence of about seven to nine years would be appropriate under federal guidelines.

Within hours of that filing, and after Trump tweeted that the request was “disgraceful” and a “miscarriage of justice” that could not be allowed, Barr overruled the trial team. A second memo signed by supervisors retracted the recommendation, prompting all four prosecutors to quit the case. Some of them later said publicly that they believed they were undercut by department leaders to protect Trump’s longtime ally.

[Stone was give a little over 3 years, but Trump commuted the sentence.]

Barr declined to be interviewed for the inspector general’s investigation, but denied in testimony to the House and news interviews at the time that Trump’s Twitter tirade prompted the reversal. Instead, Barr said Shea — formerly one of his closest advisers at the department — had initially signaled to him that the recommendation would be much lower. Barr said he had been “very surprised” by the outcome.

Barr expressed to staffers that the action was not what he and Shea had discussed and needed to be “fixed,” but the inspector general found that Barr’s position was consistent before and after the recommendation was filed and before Trump tweeted.

[Barr wasn't bent by Trump's tweet; he was bent all along!]

“We recognize that the Department’s handling of the sentencing in the Stone case was highly unusual,” given the participation of Trump political appointees Shea and Barr, the report stated. However, it concluded that absent any prohibition on their involvement, their actions were ultimately left up to their own “discretion and judgment,” including on how they would affect public perceptions of the department’s integrity and independence.

see also:

Every prosecutor in the Roger Stone Trial quits​

Federal Judges Association to meet to discuss Barr's meddling in Stone case​

Peace in Christ.

Our mortal bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to be separate from the churches of fleshly-minded men who are preaching their handwritings of ordinances for us to keep and serve.

We must not be joined together with those who are preaching their handwriting of ordinances (teaching things that they ought not be) for money’s sake. They preach for their own belly….they preach themselves.

They are overturning whole houses….everyone that goes and sits in their “churches” mortally perishes under the wrath of God that comes upon the children of disobedience.

Tit 1:10-11 KJV
(10) For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
(11) Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

Such is a “harlot” church…the “strange woman”. When we go to one, we are sinning against our own mortal body as we are being mortally destroyed along with them.

1Co 6:15-20 KJV
(15) Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

We become “one flesh” with them ( the harlot church) in their mortal destruction when we attach ourselves to them. We are "ONE BODY" with them in their destruction. There is no “peace and safety” among the churches of false prophets.

(16) What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
(17) But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

We must flee the “fornication”….that is, flee from being joined together with them in their “church” bodies. That is our sanctification. We are cleansed by doing so by the blood of the Lamb.

(18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
(19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

We are bought with a price…and so we must glorify God in our body by fleeing from them…never looking back. We must flee the “fornication”….being joined together with them and becoming “one flesh” with them in their destruction.

(20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

They preach many strange teachings in the churches of fleshly-minded men. They forget the covenant of their God…as He wrote His laws on our hearts and minds for us to keep and serve rather than keep and serve their church handwritings of ordinances/dogmas..

Their “house”…their church…inclines unto death….mortal death. All that go to their churches (the “strange woman”…that preaches many strange teachings) are being led down the broad way to their mortal destruction. These verses in Proverbs about the "strange woman" applies to going to a harlot church where they are perishing away in their mortal bodies in the destruction of the flesh. We must not be in them...becoming ONE BODY with them as we mortally perish with them.

Pro 2:16-19 KJV
(16) To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
(17) Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
(18) For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

“Her” paths lead unto death and none that go unto “her” return again. They do not take hold of the paths of life as they go down the broad way to their mortal destruction.

(19) None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

MANY go the broad way that leads to destruction. “Her house”…the churches of fleshly-minded men who deceive us is the way to “hell”…the grave. Their way go down to the chambers of death.

Pro 7:24-27 KJV
(24) Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
(25) Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
(26) For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
(27) Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Beware of those who are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ but are instead serving for their own belly. They are preaching things that they ought not be for money’s sake so that they can get their earthly needs met. By “good words and fair speeches” do they deceive the hearts of the simple.

Rom 16:17-18 KJV
(17) Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
(18) For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

The “strange woman”….the harlot church…flatters with the tongue. Her false prophets speak “good words and fair speeches” to the “simple”. The “simple” are those who are “void of understanding”…and they get deceived into going to a “church” where they are preaching things that they ought not be.

Pro 7:6-8 KJV
(6) For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
(7) And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
(8) Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

For certainly the simple of heart listen to the flattering of “her” lips…and so they go to their church where they never take hold of the path of life….the way that leads to an age-lasting life in this mortal body (never dying….never perishing). If we listen and are deceived by their good words and fair speeches, we are being defrauded of the age-lasting life that was promised us. We know not that it is for our life that they are seeking to remove.

Pro 7:21-25 KJV
(21) With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
(22) He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
(23) Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
(24) Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
(25) Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

We must hear and receive His knowledge and be delivered from them that preach “forward things”….that is, things that OVERTURN.

Pro 2:12-16 KJV
(12) To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
(13) Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
(14) Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
(15) Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
(16) To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

NIV, Ecclesiastes 11:

9 You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see,

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Enjoy your youth but be warned:

but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

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Focus on the bigger picture:

10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless."

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Strong's Hebrew: 1892. הָ֫בֶל (hebel) — 73 Occurrences

How could youth and vigor be meaningless?

Brown-Driver-Briggs

noun masculine vapour, breath

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Berean Standard Bible:

So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

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On Biblehub, 11 versions used "fleeting"; only 2 used "meaningless".

When you are young, enjoy the energy that you have. Like a vapor, your energy will be gone when you get old. Be wise and do not lose heart. Ultimately, only God was worthwhile, 12:

1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”.

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Youth and vigor, like everything else, are H1892-meaningless; only our Creator is meaningful.

When you are old, you will understand the above statement better

I don't, and I didn't let my kids say that when living under my roof. Having said that, when other people say it, Christians or not, they don't bother me. The phrase by itself does not violate the commandment: You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. It is not what you say but what you mean by it. In some usages, it may violate the commandment.

Instead of "Oh my God," when you are surprised positively, you can say "Wow!". If you are in disbelief, you can say "No way!".

Is saying Oh my God as an exclamation of shock or surprise a violation of the Commandment?

No.

See also Mind your language