210 Epiphany 5: Jesus Knows
“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.“ ~ Psalm 147
Jesus Knows
Alleluia. Blessed is the man who fears Jesus Christ. He will make a path. He will direct a way. There is freedom in grace. Life is in his hands. Every breath is a gift. Nothing happens on accident. You are forgiven and alive. Good. There is always hope. Jesus knows. That’s all it takes. There's more of us than them. If we stop being afraid to talk, they will all scurry like the rat cowards they are. So speak up. Speak the Name of Jesus Christ. Speak it boldly in prayer and spiritual warfare. Take the ground with truth and love. Be the light. Be the salt. Till angel cry and trumpet sound, The Mad Christian
The Blitz
The Digital Age
The CEOs of Meta, X, Snap, Discord and TikTok have faced the music at another Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week. There aren’t many issues that gain bipartisan support on the Hill, but Senators were universally scathing in their criticism of the tech heads, saying they are not doing enough to protect children from exploitation, child porn and cyber bullying. Sen. Marsha Blackburn accused Mark Zuckerberg of using children for profit. Parents of “people harmed by social media” added to the tense atmosphere, with two CEOs taking the opportunity to commiserate with their loss. “Despite both parties’ appetite for going after tech platforms, however, Congress has yet to pass meaningful legislation to regulate social media companies.” Some responsibility clearly rests with parents about when they give their children smart phones etc, but nationwide laws could really help protect kids from harm. (CNN, WNG, New York Post)
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has proposed a .INTERNAL domain which could “do the same job as 192.168.x.x.” (The Register)
PDFs really can be any size, even bigger than Germany… (AxelWLChan)
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Six pro-lifers are facing the prospect of a ten-year prison sentence after being found guilty of blocking the entrance to a Tennessee abortion clinic. (WNG)
New Hampshire lawmakers reach impasse over abortion regulations. (WNG)
A British woman has been sent to prison for seeking an abortion after the legal 24-week limit. Police accessed phone messages and internet search data to convict her, angering both abortion and privacy advocates. These cases lend weight to abortion activist’s portrayal that pro-life advocates lack compassion for mothers. (Of course that’s not true, but in a sound bite world, the message reaches the public consciousness while those on the side of life are still explaining the nuance.) In post-Dobbs America, we should expect to see more of these difficult situations litigated (and reported disingenuously by corporate media.) Should societies punish doctors who perform abortions and the companies that supply abortifacient pills instead of the mothers? What about the mothers who proudly “shout their abortion” and clearly know what they are participating in? What about the fathers? It is needful that we pray for a culture which values life. (The Dial)
A Montana couple claims that Child and Family Services took their daughter from them because they would not affirm her gender confusion. If you haven’t read last week’s Tank about how hospitals (even in Montana) are encouraged to be agents for gender activism, you can read it here. (Reduxx)
“Hyper-progressive female activists are not likely to instill fear like young male radicals do. But they can damage institutions and organizations. Perhaps it’s time we expand our conception of radicalization.” (LinkedIn)
The Golden Age of dating apps is over. (Bustle)
Coming to America
A bill to secure funding for the southern US border and also for Ukraine has been unveiled for Senators. The package would speed up asylum claims, end “catch and release” practices and increase deportation flights. But some Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson claims the bill is “worse than we expected”. Both sides have accused the other of putting the presidential election ahead of national security – if the border is chaos come November, it may be a cakewalk for the GOP candidate. But if this funding helped ease the crisis, President Biden can take credit to buoy his low approval. (The Hill)
The standoff between Texas and the White House is not the beginning of a constitutional crisis, but the end of one. (IM 1776)
The border crisis has Russian official agitating for a national divorce? (News Nation)
Politics
Oregon’s high court has ruled that ten Republican senators who staged a six week walkout in order to stall abortion and transgender measures cannot be re-elected. Voters in the state approved an amendment to the Constitution which bars legislators from re-election if they have more than ten unexcused absences. (AP)
Joy Pullman: 20 questions you should ask your state Republican candidates. (The Federalist)
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has returned to work after his secret hospital stay, apologizing for not letting the White House know of his illness or treatment. New communication protocols have been put in place to trigger notification if authority is delegated to a subordinate. (BBC, Politico)
Presidency
President Biden plans to visit Michigan next week and he will be hoping to win over Muslim voters in a state critical to his successful re-election. Many Muslims are reportedly furious at the President for his support of Israel and are organizing a campaign to encourage Muslims to “abandon Biden”. (MSN)
The judge residing over Donald Trump’s election interference case has dropped the scheduled March date, until after the Supreme Court decides whether presidential immunity covers all his actions. (The Hill)
Markets
Congress has voted 357-70 in favor of an $80 billion “tax relief package.” If voted into law by the Senate, the bill would expand child tax credit and low-income housing credits, among other things. (Just the News)
A judge in Delaware has ruled that Elon Musk cannot have the bonus that Tesla shareholders voted to give him for making the company more valuable – the eye-watering sum of $55 billion. Musk agreed to work ten years without pay in return for stock options, conditional on achieving a $650BN value for company. Musk has not revealed whether he will appeal the decision but he warned CEOs not to incorporate their companies in Delaware. He has asked shareholders to vote whether to incorporate the company in Texas instead. (The Hustle, GB News)
The UPS delivery service has announced it will lay off 12,000 workers. (Not the Bee)
The Famous San Francisco toy store, Jeffrey’s Toys, has confirmed it will close after 86 years, citing expensive rents and rising crime as the main reasons. (SFGate)
From the Mad☧Tank
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Crime and Punishment
Navy veteran Michael Cassidy has been charged with a misdemeanor for knocking down a satanic statue in Iowa’s Capitol building. Cassidy said he could not in good conscience let the idol stand. “Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water,” he said. (The Blaze)
A Louisiana man, who was arrested for making a zombie-themed Covid meme, has been awarded $200K in damages. (Reason)
Former IRS contractor who leaked tax documents of Former President Donald Trump and other public figures has been sentenced to five years in prison. The presiding judge noted that Charles Littlejohn had “purposefully sought his job” to gain access to the tax records, saying that it cannot be “open season” on elected officials. (The Epoch Times)
Man behind the largest ever leak of classified documents sentenced to 40 years in prison. Joshua Schulte stole classified CIA documents which were published on Wikileaks beginning in 2017. He was also convicted of possessing children pornography. (ABC News)
Disney’s lawsuit against the state of Florida has been dismissed by the presiding federal judge. Disney was hoping to regain municipal control over its special district, which is now overseen by a board appointed by Governor Ron De Santis. (CNN)
The New York Police Department has stopped using its robot to patrol the subway, mostly because it can’t use the stairs. (ABC7)
Religion and the Church
A new report shows that the United Methodist Church lost around a quarter of its congregations since 2019. The breakaway comes after denominational leadership pushed for acceptance of LGBTQ clergy. (Religion News Service)
A second hearing has been held in Nicaragua for three US citizens and 11 local pastors facing charges of money laundering and organized crime. The group all deny wrongdoing. “Nicaragua has revoked the registration of hundreds of non-profit and faith-based organizations in the last five years, including most recently, expelling numerous members of the Catholic Church and seizing church property.” (RNS)
Schluckbildchen: the “edible prayers” of the Baroque period thought to impart healing and holiness “might have functioned as a kind of placeholder for the Eucharist”. (Atlas Obscura)
Health, Medicine and Food
You’re getting warmer: A new study of adverse event records concluded that “COVID-19 vaccination is strongly associated with a serious adverse safety signal of myocarditis, particularly in children and young adults resulting in hospitalization and death.” (Research Gate)
Meta-analysis suggests that very high levels of “good cholesterol” (HDL) are linked to dementia. However, “It’s important to note that HDL levels this high are generally due to genetic reasons and not a worry for most people.” The study’s authors hope more research will be done. (Epoch Times)
British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunk has a habit of fasting for 36 hours each week and experts are impressed. (The Guardian)
Scientists identify first cases of “transmitted” Alzheimer’s disease, linked to human growth treatment no longer used. (Stat News)
Could phage predator viruses become an alternative to antibiotics? (Ambrook)
An 18th century physician’s prescription to ease diabetes? A course of meat. (Lit Hub)
God’s Green Earth
The elite squad of beagles keeping America’s farming safe from invasive species. (Ambrook)
A “plant wearable”: biodegradable sensors could identify pesticide levels in individual fruit and vegetables. (Phys)
Hearts and Minds
The benefits of being alone with your thoughts. (Vox)
Elmo checked in with Twitter and found out people are quite glum (or at least those on Twitter..). Life is certainly tough for more than a few of us, but an article about the “laws of pessimism” ponders why we gravitate toward negativity, even when life is pretty good. Actually, optimism is mandatory! (Hollywood Reporter, Quillette)
Techniques for staving off a bout of catastrophizing. Deep breath, he is risen, you are immortal now! (Vox)
Allow other people their problems. (The Imperfectionist)
Arts, History and Sport
“Why Nonfiction Writers Should Try Writing Fiction (and Vice Versa).” (Lit Hub)
The multiverse can be a helpful plot device, but audiences may have had enough. (Esquire)
Bring your faint praise: By trying to please everyone, film critics overlook the fact that Hollywood has nothing interesting to say. (Tablet)
Amelia Earhart’s plane may have been spotted. (NPR)
Last week in history:
1468: Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press, dies aged 70. (Linda Hall)
1887: Hollywood is purchased by Harvey Wilcox, who “envisioned the land as the perfect site for a utopian-like community for devout Christians.” (History)
1897: Alfred Cralle patents the first ice cream scoop. (History)
War
The US has launched strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for attacks on US personnel in the region. The White House had announced earlier that it was going after Iranian-connected assets for its role in the drone attack which killed three US soldiers in Jordan last week. Investigations into the drone attack are ongoing, however it seems the incoming attack drone was mistaken for an American one or perhaps tailgated an American drone returning to base. (NBC, WNG)
At least 15 countries have suspended their funding for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), after it was revealed that several of its employees had taken part in the massacre of Israelis on October 7. (Semafor)
The “two-state solution” is a pipe dream. (Tablet)
Twenty-seven European nations have signed up to send an aid package of €50bn to Ukraine. (Saturday Paper)
Former Russian MP Boris Nadezhdin Putin has thrown his hat in the ring to run for president against Vladimir Putin. Nadezhdin says his first act as president would be to end the war in Ukraine. We can pray.. (BBC)
Stories from Far Away
🇨🇦 Canada’s euthanasia program will remain closed to those seeking to die solely due to mental illness for an unspecified period. Health Minister Mark Holland said more time was needed to train doctors in the guidelines for eligibility. Jesus, may it fail! (Reuters)
🇧🇪 Farmer protests have been spreading in Europe, with Italian, Spanish and German farmers saying they are joining in. The farmers are pushing back on several things including climate regulations, taxes on fuel and competition from imported produce. A representative for French farmers said, “What is happening at the moment stems from the accumulation of rules that at first you accept ... until it becomes too much.” (Reuters)
🇲🇾 Malaysia has sworn Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in a new king. The sultan’s position is “largely ceremonial” but has played a key role in intervening in the nation’s fractured political environment. A number of ethnic Malay rulers have filled the role of king since independence from Britain in 1957 in what is “believed to be the world’s only rotating system of monarchy.” (The Guardian)
🇫🇷 France’s National Assembly voted last week to enshrine abortion rights, the first step to adding abortion to the constitution. (Semafor)
🇮🇹Italy has ordered Getty Images to remove pictures of Leonardo Da Vinci’s David stature from its database or pay a penalty. “A section of Italy’s constitution protects images of the nation’s cultural heritage and historical memory” and recent lawsuits have brought the matter to public attention. (PetaPixel)
🇬🇧 A British man has launched a petition to move the extra leap year day from February to the end of June. “‘An extra day of summer, one less day of winter – what’s not to like if you like summer?”, says Chris Snowdon, the petition’s author. “I realize changing the days won’t change the weather, but it’s a mental thing.” Southern Hemisphere, your move. (Metro)
Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🇦🇹 Vienna’s vegetable orchestra
🪨 The best Mars images in 4K
✒️ Visual history of school desks
🐦 Binoculars with built-in image recognition
👗 A silk dress fro 1880s reveals secret pocket with coded messages
🐴Waving goodbye, I’m not saying’ hello
🌨️ A truck load of snow
🏆 Firefighters catch suicide jumper mid-fall
🛳️ The new record-holder for world’s biggest cruise ship can carry 10,000 people
A Good Word: Links from the Show Notes
Jonathan and Meridith discussion last weeks on Stop the White Noise (YouTube, Rumble) was full of twists and turns. But the usual encouragement is to say the name of Jesus like you mean it – you are surrounded by light and the darkness will soon fade away when he returns in glory. These Psalms got special mention for when life gets heavy - Psalm 55, Psalm 135, Psalm 116 and Psalm 91.
Sweetness You May Have Missed
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.