And now, for your enjoyment, an xkcd cartoon:

Just as a reminder for fellowship threads,

First the ruleset for a fellowship tag,...

Use this tag for any thread where you just want to share chit chat or discuss a topic with other like-minded members. There should be No debate at all, it is strictly fellowship in nature. The OP of these threads can report their own thread if it crosses the line into debate and staff will assist in a thread clean up (please see above for a definition of debate).

Peace in Christ.

The light shines in our hearts when we hear the voice of the Son of God as He comes to give us an understanding. This is the sign of the Son of man in heaven…in those who have their citizenship in heaven now in this earth. This light within us is the witness of God about His Son whom we are to hear.

He opens up the Scripture of Truth to our hearing ears and we are to take heed on how we hear His correct interpretation of it.

We shall know that this is His beloved Son (whom we are to HEAR) by the light that shines in a dark place…in our hearts. This is the witness of God shining within our very own hearts of His Son whom we hear speaking to us.

2Pe 1:17-20 KJV
(17) For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(18) And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
(19) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The private interpretation of the “word of men” ..of men who are not preaching with the Spirit of Truth… does not have this effect upon our hearts.

(20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

The witness of God about His Son speaking to us is WITHIN US. He that believes on the Son of God (who comes to give us an understanding) has the witness of God within our very hearts.

1Jn 5:9-11 KJV
(9) If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
(10) He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
(11) And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

We are to believe in that light shining in our hearts so that we may be children of light in this dark world. We are to put away the works of darkness (wrath, envy, strife, contentions) and receive His words….the Word of Truth…the true sayings of God… in belief.

Joh 12:35-37 KJV
(35) Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
(36) While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
(37) But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

He begets us with the Word of Truth (in contrast to the word of men who preach the Scriptures in their own private interpretations of it).

We are to be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath towards the hearing of the Word of Truth. The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.

Jas 1:18-20 KJV
(18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
(19) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
(20) For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

He calls us unto His kingdom and glory...and we are to walk worthy of God. We are to receive the Word of God (with good works) spoken in truth…the true sayings of God…as compared to the word of men whose private interpretations of the Scriptures is in error of the Truth. By the receiving of His Word of Truth, we are to enter into His kingdom and display His glory to this dark world.

1Th 2:12-14 KJV
(12) That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
(13) For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Our own “countrymen”…our own man-based church families…will persecute those who will believe in the true sayings of God in their unbelief of what they will hear Him saying. They will behave badly towards what they hear and towards those who will believe in it. We are to be faithful to His death ...keeping the daily sacrifice of the Lamb...when we are persecuted by them.

(14) For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

The truth is in Jesus. He is the source of it. We are to hear His voice as He teaches us….who opens up the Scripture of Truth to our hearing ears. His interpretation of the Scriptures will not align with what the word of men have been preaching in their ignorance of the Truth.

Eph 4:21-28 KJV
(21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

We must put off the former behavior of the old man which is decayed according to the deceitful lusts.

The “old man” …the old church man…wants to behave in contention towards what he hears. The old man wants to speak evil in unbelief of what he hears. The old man church man gets angry about what he hears and wants to speak a multitude of words against it. We must overcome this. If a man seems religious and does not bridle his tongue, then that man's religion is empty. James 1: 26 .

(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

We must overcome this and be renewed in the spirit of our minds towards what we hear.

(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
(24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
(25) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

The good news is NOW reported unto us via the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. The "angels" that desire to look into these things = the prophets who did write the things found in the Scriptures for us today. Their words are for us today. Unto us did they minister the things which we hear now.

1Pe 1:12-16 KJV
(12) Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

We are to hear His disclosure…the revelation of Jesus Christ …who speaks to us from Heaven. We are to gird up the loins of our mind and be sober (and not be found drunk on the wine of wrath) towards what we hear Him saying to us from Heaven as He speaks to us the Word of Truth.

(13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

We are to be “obedient”…that is, HEARING ATTENTIVELY (Greek: hupakoē - to hear attentively, to hear under in submission to it)…children.

When we hear His Word of Truth, we are not to conform to our old church selves that fought with one another over our denominations', erroneous teachings. We did these things before in our ignorance of the Word of Truth. When we hear His voice today speaking the Word of Truth, we are to be found by Him holy as He is holy.

(14) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
(15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
(16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

If we are angry at what we hear (the Word of Truth), sin not.

Do not let the wrath within us produce evil words to come out of our mouths towards what we hear.

Do not let the sun…the light…go down (to set fully) upon our wrath. We must overcome our wrath and do well towards what we hear Him saying to us. Don’t give place (in our mouths) to the devil who will use our wrath to speak evil towards what we hear. We give place to the devil when we use our mouths to speak evil words towards what we hear.

(26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
(27) Neither give place to the devil.

Let him that stole steal no more. This is talking to our pastors. Let them work with their own hands that which is good (to work with their own hands to support their own earthly necessities). In doing this, they can then give to them that need….that is, to feed the flock of God with the Word of Truth. This statement will indeed induce wrath with those pastors (who are not working with their own hands to support their own earthly needs) who will hear this. Do not give place to the devil.

(28) Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

If we are angry like Cain…who was “very wroth”…and his face fell, we must overcome the sin that lies at the “door” of our mouths. We are tempted to speak out in our wrath. If we do well, shall we not be accepted…lifted up?

Gen 4:5-7 KJV
(5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
(6) And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

We must overcome the temptation to open up our mouths and speak evil. Don’t go in the way of Cain.

(7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cain was a tiller…a worker of…the “ground”…that is, the ADAMAH which is the people of the outside world.

He represents the pastors (men of the Lord..."I have gotten a man from the Lord." Genesis 4:1 ) who are only “serving” for their own belly. They serve for their earthly things just as the people of the outside world (tillers of the “Adamah”) who only work for their earthly things (what to eat, what to drink, what to wear). The outside nations run after these things. Matthew 6:32 . They are “tillers” of the Adamah.

Gen 4:2-3
(2) And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground (ADAMAH).
(3) And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground (ADAMAH) an offering unto the LORD.

Abel was a keeper of sheep. Paul showed the overseers of the sheep all things on how to feed the flock of God…to be a keeper of His sheep: to work with our own hands to support our own earthly necessities. We must be "keepers of the sheep" in this way. We can then feed the flock of which we oversee.

Act 20:27-28 KJV
(27) For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
(28) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

He has shown the overseers of the flock of God’s sheep all things: how that laboring with our own hands to support our own earthly necessities we can then feed the sheep the Word of Truth. We must be with him in this.

Act 20:33-35 KJV
(33) I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
(34) Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
(35) I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

The original apostles have made themselves an example to follow. They worked with their own hands to support their own earthly necessities. They worked night and day instead of eating any man’s bread for nothing.

2Th 3:7-10 KJV
(7) For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
(8) Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
(9) Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

In fact, is a commandment now for us today: to work with our own hands for our own bread…earthly necessities.

(10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

They...the original apostles of Christ... did bind us now with this commandment that after them we should follow them in this thing. They did bind on earth this earthly pursuit of earthly necessities and now it is bound in heaven…in us who have our citizenship in heaven now in this earth.

Mat 16:19 KJV
(19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

DaisyDay said:

He did however put it into a blind trust during his presidency - which turned out to be only semi-blind.

WaPo:The story of Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm is a bit more complicated than you may have heard

In the years before his presidential run in 1976, day-to-day operations at the warehouse were managed by his brother, Billy Carter. Billy Carter would end up being a perpetual thorn in President Jimmy Carter’s side, a tendency which began even before Carter took the oath of office. During those years before the presidential bid, for example, Billy Carter took out loans from the National Bank of Georgia to expand warehouse operations — at a time which overlapped with a peanut drought. Those loans ultimately totaled $6.5 million, about $31 million today.​

​

...“According to the plan announced today,” the New York Times reported, “Mr. Carter will sell all his personal stock, divert the royalties from his autobiography, ‘Why Not the Best?’ into a foundation that will establish a future library to house Presidential papers, and transfer to the trust his interest in Carter’s Warehouse and Carter Farms Inc.”​

​

“White House officials, arguing that the trust is ‘blind’ and that neither they nor Carter is informed its operations,” The Washington Post reported at the time, “said they could not explain the loss. However, White House Counsel Robert Lipshutz said it is probable that the loss involved transactions of the Carter family peanut warehouse business which represents a major share of the trust.”​

​

In February 1979, Kirbo had put the warehouse business on the market.​

​

...That October, the special counsel, Curran, cleared anyone of wrongdoing in the bank loans investigation.​

“The special counsel said, ‘No evidence whatsoever was discovered that any monies were diverted from the warehouse into the campaign,' ” The Post reported. “As for whether any criminal charges were warranted, Curran said ‘the answer is also a clear no.’ ”​

​

...In March 1981, the need for the semi-blind trust gone, the warehouse company was sold to an Illinois feed company for $1.2 million.​

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Wow, that scandal seems like a bedtime fairytale compared to today's corruption.

Michie said:

Just trying to break the definition of what a good and faithful Catholic means.

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I think it is ALWAYS to be understood as literal when a bad and faithless Catholic uses it to refer to himself or herself. Such people, by definition, are good and faithful Catholics just by saying so. Think Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi. Or, of course when someone receives the Eucharist from the hand of the pope. Those people are always good and faithful Catholics, even if they appear to be bad and faithless and scandalous Catholics by every measure.

On the other hand, some people who would have once been understood to have been good and faithful Catholics are now backwardists and Nazis. We know who we are.

When an iconographer began his work on a unique icon, he looked to the bones of the saint’s husband for help.

FOCCUS Marriage Ministries, a Catholic marriage ministry, invited the priest-iconographer Father Richard Reiser to make an icon of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic and the mother of eight. The ministry is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and chose St. Bridget to be the patron saint of its work.

But there was one challenge. According to Reiser, historically there is no established iconographic prototype of an icon of St. Bridget of Sweden.

So using his imagination and every historical source available — including the bones of St. Bridget’s husband — the priest developed an entirely new icon of a saint who has gone without an icon for hundreds of years.

The domestic church​

“For me, iconography is first and foremost a form of prayer,” Reiser said. “The entire creative process is an act of listening to God and allowing the sacred story of a saint or mystery to take shape through layers of contemplation, color, and symbolism.”

The end result was an icon ripe with symbolic meaning — at its heart, marriage and family.

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The United Nations General Assembly has once again demonstrated how far removed it is from the realities on the ground. With 139 votes, it called on Israel to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN organisations. It is a resolution without binding force and without any realistic connection to the events of recent years. It ignores the fact that Israel has good reasons to deny UNRWA access. It ignores what international partners themselves now confirm: the structures of the "Palestinian" refugee agency have been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and related terrorist groups for years.

Israel responded clearly and unequivocally. Ambassador Danny Danon stated that no resolution in the world would compel Israel to cooperate with an organisation whose employees were involved in kidnappings, murders and supporting armed groups. Danon's words summarise what Jerusalem has been emphasising for years. Criticism of UNRWA is not politically motivated, but based on specific incidents ranging from exposed terrorist cells to underground Hamas facilities beneath the organisation's schools.

The vote in the General Assembly is therefore less an expression of international legal opinion than a reflection of global power relations. Many states automatically follow any proposal that is placed in the context of the Middle East conflict if it offers them the opportunity to criticise Israel and at the same time demonstrate their own position in the multilateral structure. The resolution reinforces this reflexive dynamic. In terms of content, however, it fails to address the question of how humanitarian structures can function when terrorist organisations deliberately abuse them.

The timing is particularly noteworthy. Just a few months ago, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that Israel must grant UNRWA access, as there was allegedly insufficient evidence of Hamas infiltration. At that point, Israel had already documented several cases in which employees had supported terrorist attacks or provided infrastructure for military purposes. The UN demanded evidence, which Israel provided but which it then ignored. This creates an absurd situation: a state defending itself against terrorism is expected to trust an agency that cannot even ensure internally that its own employees are not part of that terrorism.

Today's decision confirms this imbalance. The UN expects cooperation without even beginning to reduce the risks. It demands access without demanding accountability. It ignores the fact that UNRWA in Gaza is not simply a humanitarian organisation, but operates in an environment where Hamas controls every space. Those who block, manipulate or misuse aid supplies have been well documented in this structure for years. But instead of investigating its own agency, Israel's political costs are being increased because it is defending itself.

Israel will not allow an organisation that has been proven to employ individuals involved in kidnappings and murders to operate on its territory in the future. Nor will it accept international bodies shirking their responsibility and instead putting pressure on the state that is directly affected by terrorism. The fact that the General Assembly ignores these connections is nothing new. However, the fact that it is increasingly distancing itself from the reality of the region is a warning sign that must be taken seriously.

Any decision that provides political cover for UNRWA without demanding reforms does not stabilise the humanitarian space, but rather the power structures of Hamas. It weakens trust in international institutions. And it leaves the families of hostages, those murdered and victims of terror unheard. Under these conditions, Israel must protect itself alone. It will continue to do so, regardless of what resolutions are passed in NY.

I subscribed to The New Ressourcement in the hope if reading what contemporary academic theologians are up to. I canceled after 4 issues. The articles are so long and deep and presume the reader knows the people referred to. A single issue can take me a year to read.

Neostarwcc said:

Sorry for making a duplicate thread but I figured the old thread was getting kind of full and I wasnt able to describe the whole situation and it was about my father in law passing away and I didnt want to change the topic about me.

Ok so here's whats going on.

Theres several things going on in my life right now. One, as you know my father in law passed away last Sunday and my wife and I are going from New York to Ohio for the funeral this Sunday and will be returning on the 10th. Two, ive been suffering many months with severe asthma and gasping for air at night thinking it was my sleep apnea at night when in reality it was my severe asthma. This gasping at night stumped my pulmonologist for many, many months he ran every test in the book and couldnt figure it out and meanwhile we tried every asthma treatment available for my asthma and nothing could provide relief long enough. Eventually we both together came up with the idea for a biologic so he ordered a blood test and when the results came back it turns out, I have eosinophilic asthma. For those who dont know what that is Its a very rare very severe form of asthma that definitely qualifies me for a biologic and medicaid approved the biologic in 2 days so very quickly.

Anyway, this afternoon I start my first dose of the biologic and ive been taking trelegy (an inhaler) for a few days now. Im hoping and praying they both give me some relief together because ive been suffering for many months. Just absolutely suffering and I need prayers on this. I also need prayers because when my wife and I get back from the funeral I will be prepping for 4 days (the 11th-to 14th) for a colonoscopy on the 15th so they can finally figure out why ive been constipated for decades and try to get that straightened out.

Oh and my psychiatrist just out me on caplyta yesterday and im being taken off of latuda slowly because I was concerned about my weight and caplyta is much easier on weight gain. Latudas been very helpful over the years but its been keeping me over 400 pounds so id rather not jeopardize my health to keep my sanity when other antipsychotics can help with my schizoaffective disorder a lot easier.

Anyway, thats whats going on keep me in your prayers and we can pray and hope together that everything works out. Thanks for your prayers and sorry again for the double post.

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Thankyou, Lord, our God, for being our provider. Thankyou for providing medical input and medicines and corrective medicine. Mostly, God, thankyou for being over all and in all and for being near to us with all of the power of healing in our time of need. You alone are our source and in You alone do we trust! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Your dream reminds me a lot of the story of Mary and Martha. Matt 10:38-42. He is always waiting for us to come to him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." ~ Ephesians 2:8-10

Valletta said:

It's not a matter of teaching. Receiving the Eucharist at mass is following the instructions of Jesus to "do this." The Church, through the power granted by Jesus as per the Bible, makes minimal requirements of the faithful to attend mass, knowing how important it is.

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But talk of “requirements” and “instructions” tends to legalize an intimate encounter, a personal yet also communal sacred rite. Isn’t it counterproductive to require someone to celebrate. And yet encouraging someone to come can open a new life and hope for them.

Also

He was a secular historian that backs up the Bible in that it did occur historically. There are other Roman historians that do the same especially with Jesus as he is an historical figure…

Oompa Loompa said:

Okay. You are right. It is obvious that Trump is a pedophile and secretly loves pedophiles and will circumvent the rule of law to defend pedophiles and rapists. He isn't deporting them, he is giving them refuge and asylum to specifically to deny justice for the victims. There is no other way to explain it. Are you happy now?

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He may not be himself a pedophile, but he does stand up for them and rapists.

It appears that the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

essentialsaltes said:

Because it's missing the additional context that he was prisoner-swapped with Americans being wrongfully detained in China.

Pardoning Trump

If Biden pardoned Trump would that be received as a gesture of reconciliation or as an insult? Or worse yet, an attempt to ingratiate?

www.christianforums.com

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Darn it! Foiled again by simply reading the article.

durangodawood said:

Thanks for including us on this signal chat.

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Nice, on a couple of levels.

Factotum said:

Instead of what you say here, I think it's best if I go with the opinions of those scholars and experts over at the Hoover Institute.

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I'll go with the judge and jury, thank you very much.

Servus said:

It was a joke, those two are very ultra processed. I should've said Cheese Whiz, that would've been funnier. The simple rule is eat single ingredient foods. The ingredients of an apple are an apple for example. Along with if God didn't make it, don't eat it.

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Cheeze Whiz on Pop Tarts?

ThatRobGuy said:

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5645133-supreme-court-second-amendment-challenges/

An unusually large pileup of Second Amendment challenges has landed at the Supreme Court, which will consider taking up the cases behind closed doors Friday.

It would add to what is already a major term for gun rights. The justices previously agreed to hear two cases early next year that involve whether unlawful drug users can carry firearms and Hawaii’s gun permitting regime.




I have mixed feeling about these. I'll explain why.

Preface: Scotus can only evaluate what's presented to them and elevated to their court, not perfect world scenarios to make new legal stipulations.

Hawaii and similar states having a "may issue" permitting system.

The two sides of that coin, a person pays the application fees, spends money to dot all of the I's and cross all the T's, and then an issuing agency says "Nah, sorry, we're not going to give you a carry permit".

The flip side, an issuing agency has guys like this show up:
View attachment 374401View attachment 374402

"Hi, I passed the background check did the paperwork, the gremlins who live in my closet said I should carry a gun, rabbit skins feel nice don't they...anyway...can I have my permit please?"

...perhaps some discretion is a good thing in some instances.


On the "felon" stuff...I've long maintained that people with non-violent felonies (like cooking the books) are less of a public threat than a person with violent misdemeanors on their record, and shouldn't be denied the right of self defense. The problem is, SCOTUS has a narrow scope to work with to establish precedent and isn't involving that sort of nuance to make the distinction between violent and non-violent felonies, and I certainly don't want former armed robbers being legally licensed to carry.

As far as the drug users thing, that's also too broad. Despite marijuana being closer to alcohol on the "risk spectrum", its lumped in with PCP and heroin (federally), so SCOTUS striking down laws on behalf of some casual pot users could have the negative effect of allowing some hardcore drug users to get their hands on guns.

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I think anyone with a Class D felony should get a automatic 5 year loss of gun rights ... if no other offenses during that time their gun rights restored.

A-C they permanently lose their gun rights.

Conceal carry should be allowed nation-wide.

essentialsaltes said:

US veterans agency lost thousands of ‘core’ medical staff under Trump, records show​

Departures are exacerbating existing shortages and creating ‘very unsafe’ conditions for patients, veterans and health workers say

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U.S. Veterans Affairs agency plans as many as 35,000 health-care job cuts this month, Washington Post reports​

The cuts come after the agency cut about 30,000 jobs in July [previous story, more or less]

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate as many as 35,000 health-care positions this month, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing an internal memo, Veterans Affairs staffers and congressional aides.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

“The health-care system is eliminating about 26,400 of its open jobs, which he described as ‘mostly COVID-era roles that are no longer necessary,’” the Washington Post quoted Veterans Affairs Department spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz as saying.

Activist is also an associate minister of UCC-affiliated Church of the Open Arms, has Universal Life Church minister credentials

The executive director of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Oklahoma has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering involving millions of dollars in donor funds. Federal prosecutors say she used the money for personal travel, shopping and real estate.

Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, faces 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering for allegedly diverting more than $3.15 million in charitable donations from accounts linked to Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.

The indictment alleges that from June 2020 to at least October 2025, she transferred bail refund checks into personal bank accounts and used the money for expenses unrelated to the group’s stated mission.

Dickerson began leading BLM OKC in 2016.

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It's a sad day when a religious leader is not allowed to cull the flock. Culling the flock keeps it healthy by removing the undesirable parts.