Establishing a government ministry to regulate people, creating a morality police department, and establishing laws that vanish the entire female population is saying, fundamentally, that people cannot be trusted to be good and do good.

The Taliban, who took control of Kabul and overthrew the government of Afghanistan in August 2021, have set up a ministry for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice. In August 2023, they published a document containing 35 articles, which are to govern the public and private lives of their citizens.

Some of these rules propagating virtues and preventing vices include: the full covering of women in public from head to ankle; women and girls forbidden from speaking, singing, or praying out loud in public; women and girls forbidden from leaving the house without a male relative or using public transportation without a male relative.

Men must be covered between the navel and knees if they are in public; they must grow beards; they are forbidden from wearing Western-style clothes, especially neck-ties, as they are a “sign” of the Christian Cross, which is a sign of infidels; men are forbidden from making friendships with Western people or acting in ways that resemble non-Muslims. Gambling, adultery, pornography, lesbianism, sodomy, and child sexual abuse are outlawed, as are the misuse of radios or the storage and viewing of images of human beings on phones or computers.

Prayers at certain times of the day are mandatory, and everyone’s work schedule, including taxi drivers, must comply to the minute. Farmers and merchants are required to pay certain tithes.

There is more, but you get the idea. No one is exempt from these rules, not even visitors to the country. The ministry has enforcers—a Muhtasib, who is an inspector—and there will be many of them employed to police the private and public lives of the people. The punishments range from one hour to three days in prison, or up to the discretion of the Muhtasib.

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Here’s a first question: Who is the opposite of the Devil?

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This is Chibok, yesterday.

Boko Haram took down a Church and it’s not even making news. Glory to God, no lives were lost

Context: Chibok is a Christian area in Borno south, where over 270 girls were abducted (mostly Christians) and a precondition for their release was based on renouncing their Christian faith.

For how long can we continue like this?

Another Church Destroyed in Nigeria – Deacon Nick Donnelly on X

Catholic American Bible & Liturgy of the Hours Release Date – Catholic Bible Talk

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released three new emails from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that mention President Trump, raising new questions about the extent of their relationship.

In one 2015 email between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, the pair discuss a potential question from Trump's upcoming CNN interview about Trump and Epstein's personal ties.

"I think you should let him hang himself," Wolff wrote. "If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt."

Imagine! Inner peace from God, a deeper relationship with Him, access to His powerful graces, strong faith, lively hope, and ardent charity—all these gifts from a few moments in prayer. This is the power of praying with a prayerful heart.

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Postvieww said:

Those are already tilted to the Democrats. My point is there is little left for them to change.

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That's more true of those vast tracts of red you mentioned.

You could fit nearly 100 Rhode Islands into Wyoming, but Wyoming only has one representative (and RI has 2). You can't gerrymander a state with only one district.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved the consecration of the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2026 to accompany the country’s 250th anniversary.

At the USCCB Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, bishops voted “to entrust our nation to the love and care of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” Devoting the nation is an opportunity “to remind everyone of our task to serve our nation by perfecting the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel as taught by the Second Vatican Council,” Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, said.

“One hundred years ago, in 1925, in his encyclical instituting the feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI, drawing on the teaching of Pope Leo XIII, referred to the pious custom of consecrating oneself, families, and even nations to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to recognize the kinship of Christ,” said Rhoades, who serves on an advisory board for President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.

To help Catholics prepare for the consecration, Rhoades said the bishops will develop prayer resources, including a novena. He said they are already putting together other resources for use by dioceses, parishes, and other groups to engage Catholics.

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essentialsaltes said:

Colombian president says US military struck Colombian boat, killed his citizens​

White House called the allegation "baseless."

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To influence Trump on Colombia, Sen. Bernie Moreno brought a fake image of the country's president in a prison jumpsuit​

Two days before the lunch, Trump, at odds with Petro for months, posted on social media that Petro was “an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs” in Colombia. Trump said he was stopping all U.S. aid to the country and told reporters he would soon announce new tariffs on Colombia.

Moreno wanted to encourage Trump to take a more targeted approach — directly aimed at Petro. To do so, the senator brought along a document titled “The Trump Doctrine For Colombia and the Western Hemisphere.” In addition to five policy ideas, the one-page outline featured large images of Petro and Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, in orange prison jumpsuits.

Three days after the lunch with senators, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Petro, his family and a government official over allegations of involvement in the global drug trade, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying in a statement that Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.” Petro has strongly denied involvement with the drug trade and has said he will fight the sanctions in U.S. courts.

On Sunday, the publication Cambio Colombia first reported on the existence of the document when it discovered that the White House had posted a photo from the Oct. 21 event showing James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, holding Moreno’s memo.

Petro posted on X that he was recalling the Colombian ambassador to the U.S. for the second time in a month and demanding to know why he is being portrayed “as if I were a prisoner,” calling the print-out “a brutal disrespect” to his supporters and nation.

Speak loudly and carry a banger meme.

As a group of mostly teenagers made its way home from a Catholic youth retreat in the mountains of Southern California this past weekend, the bus rolled over at a winding turn, injuring 26.

Nearly 40 parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Ana were on their way home from a three-day retreat at Camp Nawakwa in the San Bernardino Mountains on the evening of Nov. 9 when their bus crashed on a two-lane highway near Running Springs.

When emergency responders arrived, passengers were still escaping from the bus, with many exiting through the roof hatch. Twenty-six passengers were treated for their injuries, including 20 who were later hospitalized, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Three passengers had major injuries.

Jarryd Gonzales, a spokesman for the Diocese of Orange, told CNA that the Diocese of Orange “offers heartfelt prayers and support to the youth, families, and staff of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Ana who were involved in a serious bus accident.”

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eclipsenow said:

I was with you until you projected past the New Testament era. The REALITY amongst theologians that matter is Daniel's 4 kingdoms are REALLY complex to interpret - but that it's past. It's either fulfilled by Rome or not - and the complicated apocalyptic symbolism around the end of this sequence is pointing to Jesus. Or not. It's very, very tricky.

I was lucky enough to have a Professor of Old Testament at my church for years - and even he says it's very, very tricky.
There are debates about how it might unfold around Antiochus - or up to Jesus. The years don't work as years either way - but might work as chunks - as rough fractions of time in a symbolic sense.

And Revelation borrows from this imagery, but John does his own thing with it. The 4 beasts are amalgamated into one - representing ALL God's enemies.

Trying to get literal with calendars just makes me yawn.
It's just. Not. True!

That's the way of endless disputes amongst various tribes of futurist - and is why I leave this forum for 6 months at a time.

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When were you “with me.” You just disputed everything I said. None of which was futurism.
It’s only complicated when people try to make the Bible’s prophecy about the end of the world.

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Seven Christians, including a 12-year-old boy, were mourned on Saturday (Nov. 8) after they were killed in an attack in Kaduna state, Nigeria, the same day Islamic extremists burned homes and a church building in Borno state.

At a funeral in Damakasuwa town, Kauru County in northwest Nigeria’s southern Kaduna state, hundreds of people including many from outside the area attended the service for the Christians slain on Oct. 31 by Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists, residents said.

“We have laid to rest seven of our beloved Christians who were killed by terrorists and Fulani herdsmen,” area resident Daniel Dodo told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The funeral is a ceremony of tears being shed by Christians in the midst of deliberate violence against us because of our Christian faith.”

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Nithavela said:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/10/trump-proposes-50-year-mortgage-but-homeowner-savings-could-be-minimal.html

I think this is a wonderful idea. You get to save some money per month, and when you die halfway into paying back your mortgage, your legacy lives on.

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I understand my kind of conservatism no longer exist today.

But back then when my kind of conservatism existed , we used to think should not intervene in matters between individual citizens and banks.

Later this month, my daughter Veronica turns 14. As she and I debate whether to celebrate with just family or her school friends, my thoughts turn to another girl who was 14 when her world shattered. Her name is Leah Sharibu, and she has now spent more than seven years in captivity, held by the Boko Haram since February 19, 2018.

Leah was kidnapped along with 109 other schoolgirls from their school in Dapchi, Nigeria. While most girls were returned, five were killed. Her captors kept Leah because she refused to renounce her Christian faith, threatening to hold her as a slave for life.

The contrast between my daughter's life and Leah's could not be starker. While Veronica debates birthday celebrations in safety and freedom, Leah has endured unspeakable horrors. As U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom Commissioners Maureen Ferguson and Dr. Asif Mahmood noted in a recent commentary, there are indications that Leah is still alive, though she most certainly has suffered unimaginable abuse. As for her family, “Leah's parents pray daily and light candles on her birthday each year in the hope that she will be reunited with them someday.”

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Couldn't help but think of these two songs:

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HARK! said:

None of them were. Most were directed at the Ger Toshav.

They all are

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Nonsense. None of them were. As I stated and posted most of the epistles are addressed at Christian churches NOT at Jewish congregations.

HARK! said:

Irrelevant.

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How so? It is totally relevant.

HARK! said:

Mistranslation. The word translates to assembly. I have already proven that. Repeating the mistranslation again, does not legitimize it.

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Nope, You can’t just hone on one possible translation. The context is against you. I doubt that Paul would address those at a Jewish congregation as saints and then proceed to exhort the gospel and Christ work on the cross. Israel in general rejected the messiah do they are not even in the equation until they accept Christ. There is only one way to the Father and Israel us yet to repent.

HARK! said:

Again

And again

and again

and again

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Nope.

HARK! said:

Yes, the Greek word is ekklesia; and as I have proven, it means assembly.

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You have not proven that at all. Assembly is only one possible definition but the context negates your assertion.

ἐκκλησία ekklēsía, ek-klay-see'-ah; from a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, i.e. (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both):—assembly, church.

While it could be an assembly it could just as well be a Christian community or church. In the context of the epistles the context is clearly that of a church.

“to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Glory in the church and in Christ. This could never apply to a Jewish congregation since the Jews in general rejected Christ.

HARK! said:

The believers in Yahshua are the assembly of Israel.

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Nope. Accept Jesus as the Messiah first until then they have no way to the Father. They need to repent because the kingdom of Gd is indeed imminent.

HARK! said:

Again Yahshua was commissioned for none but Israel. That is what Yahshua said himself.

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And then they sent Him to be crucified. In fact they chose the thief over Him.

““Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Israel will see Him no more until they come to Jesus. They have to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

HARK! said:

The renewed covenant is with Israel. That is what YHWH himself said himself.

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The old covenant is dead. There is no renewal.

HARK! said:

I'll thrust them over you unsubstantiated opinion.

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I proved it many times over. Your opinion does not count.

HARK! said:

All of Israel accepts Messiah. If they don't accept Messiah; they are not part of Israel, no matter what they claim.

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“Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief cornerstone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭42‬-‭44‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Israel rejected the stone that became the cornerstone and the Kingdom of God was taken away from them.

You have no way to prove your assertion.

HARK! said:

Again, the renewed covenant is with Israel.

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Again, nope.

It would have been pointless trying to teach it the bagpipes - it would have thought it was another octopus.

This extract on Habakkuk is from "The Collegeville Bible Commentary" which is a Catholic publication.

Date

The prophecy is to be dated sometime after the Babylonians became an active threat against Judah but before their destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. Habukkuk's serious complaints about violent injustice among the people in Judah suggests sometimes in the reign of Jehoiakim (609-597 BCE), a king despised by Jeremiah for his abuse of power at the cost of much suffering by the poor and defenseless. Jeremiah declares that he will be given the "burial of an ass" (Jer 22:12-19); (see also 2 Kgs 23:37). Certainly chapter 3 qualifies Habbukuk to be numbered among the "cult prophets", who functioned at the temple; chapters 1-2 may leave some clues for a liturgical ceremony.

Themes

Several major religious motifs thread their way through the prophecy: God's absolute trustworthiness; God's control of the universe; our inability to understand adequately the mysterious ways of God; our failure to fathom the mysteries fo the universe and the colossal struggles of nature and politics; God's detemination not to tolerate violence, begotten by pride

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I've highlighted "our inability to understand ... " since more trouble was to come. Habbukuk expressed his faith in God's overall justice, but not long after he gave his prophecy, he would most likely have witnessed the sack of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the beginning of the 70 years of captivity. His faith would have been put to the test.

New research reveals which U.S. states are the most and least charitable during the Christmas season, a time often defined by generosity, approaches.

A study compiled by WalletHub and released on Monday ranked U.S. states from most charitable to least charitable, based on two categories: the amount of volunteering and service that residents of each state engage in, as well as the amount they donate to charity.

Factors that influenced a state’s score on volunteering and service included the volunteer rate, number of volunteer hours per capita, the share of the population that does favors for their neighbors, the amount of money that people would lend their neighbors in need, the share of the population that collects and distributes food, the share of the population that collects and distributes clothes, the share of the population that fundraises or sells items to raise money, and the share of the population that engages in general labor.

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The Barbarian said:

According to The Bulwark, Trump’s social media company quietly rolled out a new “AI-powered search tool” just weeks after he signed an executive order banning so-called “Woke AI” in the federal government. The irony? Trump’s own AI isn’t just “woke” — it’s wide awake.
...
Did Trump’s tariffs cost Americans money? “Yes.”
Did he lie about the 2020 election being stolen? “Yes.”
Was January 6 Trump’s fault? “Yes.”
Has he ended any wars since returning to office? “None.”
Have grocery prices gone down? “Short answer: No.”

Trump's Truth Social AI chatbot keeps fact-checking him

The AI bot, built with a version of Perplexity, continued to correct the president's claims.

www.newsweek.com

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What a concept! Truth.

....now that the House coming back to work after their 60 day vacay, I'm sure the House Committee investigating Biden's Auto Pen will get right to work.

chevyontheriver said:

There is no great way to DO that, though I suspect the Soviets always had timely budgets. I do favor new parties to replace the train wrecks we have, but that’s up to voters who rather like their particular train wreck to oppose the opposite brand train wreck.

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Yes, it's a complex task....but somehow state governments manage to get annual budgets done.

It's madness to be shutting down the federal government anytime the minority party wants to make a political point.

"There have been 15 funding gaps since the Civiletti opinions, including the government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025. Since many of those funding gaps occurred for a brief time, or over a weekend, there was not widespread government disruption. Four of those funding gaps, however, lasted four or more business days and broadly impacted government operations. The longest of those four shutdowns lasted 34 full days, from December 22, 2018, to January 24, 2019."



....and this one will be 45 days.