44 thoughts on “News/Politics 3-24-25”

  1. ~ In any debate (politics, culture, religion, economics), the most extreme voices are often wrong. Perhaps they’re wrong honestly, but often because they’re being duplicitous. And throwing our lot in with a particular faction solely out of fear of the other side usually ends badly. ~

    • dj

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  2. A good piece for today’s confessing church and our need for discipleship in tumultuous times:

    ~ … There is a style of partisanship that looks at any criticism of one’s side as disloyal, even traitorous. That sort of partisanship on the right adheres to the “no enemies to the right” ethic, which means turning a blind eye to the racists and bigots on their side so long as they show up on Election Day. That same sort of partisanship on the left has no courage for a “Sister Souljah moment” to denounce the extremists in their ranks who chant pro-Hamas slogans or who weaponize DEI as a tool of illiberalism and cancel culture.

    A Confessing Church would disciple its members to recognize that kind of partisanship is a form of disobedience to God. If you must be a partisan, be a good partisan, one who is a good gatekeeper, one who scrutinizes your own movement. Not just for the strategic necessity of broadening the base to win elections, but because of the moral necessity of standing for something good.

    We live in a moment when political extremists have figured out how to game our system and hijack our parties. They may well be succeeding. A Confessing Church would respond to them with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s famous aphorism: “You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”

    Political extremism may triumph, but not through us. ~

    https://www.aol.com/confessing-church-america-weimar-moment-110000505.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGynLe0r-BxoPuntwwoEJaiOKA1JBvECn6ESHl3xo87w94kyKu4gsq7W-DhHvf7iZL-aN0e0kN9A0gKH5oKppNqpBPg1-AfcjfyZzzqPHnPfzfUy8fBA20kS4aoDRZ5viVrRRZxCU_IpUPXSitMp3akmcLtbhmyGegvVTf_0B8Zy

    • dj

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  3. In case you missed it, and you probably did because our corrupt and biased media isn’t reporting it…. 🤔

    https://x.com/mrddmia/status/1903919299695112526?t=TyFwvCOddgNtcACg16long&s=19

    “An FBI attorney pled guilty to a felony for doctoring evidence and lying to the FISA court so the FBI could continue to illegally spy on President Trump and his campaign as part of the Russian collusion hoax.Crossfire Hurricane is the biggest scandal in American history.

    DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg, who served on the FISA court, ignored the sentencing recommendation of imprisonment and gave FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith probation.

    This is when Jeb Boasberg destroyed his credibility.

    Don’t let Jeb Boasberg fool anyone that he is somehow the guardian of the court’s integrity.

    Jeb Boasberg is the Democrats’ court jester.”

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  4. Over the weekend the dems held an astroturf rally of paid protesters headlined by Bernie and AOC. These are the same paid protesters they always use. A real media would look into this, but we don’t have that anymore.

    https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1903937326079934941?t=9aM2KmPgdaUXYKMylWpOzQ&s=19

    “AOC and Bernie Sanders rally against ‘oligarchy’ EXPOSED by cell phone data

    – 84% of the people have gone to 9 or more rallies (Kamal Harris Rallies or Antifa, BLM, pro-Hamas or pro-Palestinian)- 31% of them had attended OVER 20 RALLIES

    PAID SUPPORT, these are rent-a-crowds”

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  5. Biden used Article 2 powers as his defense for why he could do this.

    But when Trump uses this power it suddenly becomes illegal and the worst thing ever.

    https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1903851430210851173?t=nYdbnue9xoIRD6qCdj0syg&s=19

    “Strange that none of these federal judges ever stopped Biden’s CHNV program flying hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants directly into the interior of the country…

    Flying a few out was immediately stopped.”

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  6. More on that astroturf rally…

    https://x.com/TonySeruga/status/1903677337406992400?t=Eb93tPsPBT0xcdFEB7KK9g&s=19

    “GPS—Here we go again, there were 20,189 devices. Still a large crowd but not even close to the 30,000 quoted in Denver newspapers nor the 34,000 quoted by Bernie Sanders and AOC.

    84% of the devices present had attended 9 or more Kamala Harris rallies, antifa/blm, pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests, 31% had attended over 20.

    For more insight into what data we also look at in addition to GPS location data would be demographic and psychographic data using over 6,000 different databases, i.e., like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Pew Research Center, market research firms like YouGov, Experian, specialized tools like ESRI’s Tapestry Segmentation, consumer surveys, social media platforms like 𝕏, Facebook, Linkedin.

    Demographic data includes basic characteristics like age, gender, income, education level, occupation, marital status, family size, ethnicity, and where people live (e.g., city, state).

    Psychographic data dives deeper into people’s lifestyles, values, attitudes, interests, personality traits, social class, activities, and how they make purchasing decisions. For example, it might show if someone values sustainability, enjoys outdoor activities, participates in community activism.

    While demographic data is straightforward, psychographic data can reveal sensitive personal details, like beliefs even life goals.

    Additionally, by cross pollinating each device with other devices regularly within close proximity to the target device we are able to build a detailed profile for each target.

    90% of those in the above 84% were likely working with one of these five groups and is the reason for their presence.

    Once again, this is based a very sophisticated algorithm that looks at the behavioral metrics for each device, including the physical 1:1 proximity to leaders and paymasters from these groups in the past.

    Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project, Troublemakers and the Democratic Socialists of America.

    Each receives money from ActBlue and at least three, via USAID. “

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  7. Remember this the next time some dem or the media, I know, I repeat myself, tell you Rs want to take money from Medicare.

    It’s the fraud they want to cut, and the fraud is what dems don’t want cut. How else can they launder it back to themselves and their campaigns?

    https://x.com/TuckerCNews/status/1903909212746588258?t=epVXChOVnusMTi5BaM4BYw&s=19

    “BREAKING: The U.S. sent $2.7 TRILLION in Medicare & Medicaid funds overseas to ineligible recipients. THAT’S 8% OF OUR NATIONAL DEBT!”

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  8. What’s more extreme than shipping your manufacturing base to a communist country that’s fundamentally opposed to your values? That’s what so-called ‘moderates’ did and would now have us believe that bringing them back is ‘extreme’.

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  9. We need to be zealous for righteousness in all parts of our lives:

    “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Rev3:15-19

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  10. I don’t personally know any of the extreme people on either side, and I don’t have any answers as to how I can personally rout out any of the extreme people in my party. The talk is cheap. Action is indicated as needed, but no solution presented as far as I read. Did I miss something other than a guilt trip?

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  11. And for those always looking for new news sources, this recommendation came in from Tangle today:

    ~ Dave Weigel, a reporter at Semafor. Weigel is one of my favorite journalists. Whenever I check in on his Twitter feed or read his updates in Semafor, I get the sense that he is fair-minded and critical of all his subjects regardless of their politics. On top of letting his personality shine through in his writing, he’s also well-sourced, level-headed, and forward-thinking. ~

    • dj

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  13. Janice @ 12:49 — it’s just a caution, we can’t “rout” out extreme voices in a particular political party, these are trends that take hold; all the piece does is caution believers to be wise in our understanding of what is going on around us.

    • dj

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  15. (this is is speaking to the church, to believers who are set apart, as we may recall and remind ourselves):

    ~ We should be able to spot injustices from both sides of the political aisle ~

    • dj

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  16. One of the biggest and most powerful extremisms in politics today is globalism. And when I call it out I’m pretty much called an isolationist. But it’s all good because truth is intrinsically more powerful than than falsehood, and will triumph in the end. I may not live to see it, but I have faith that it will. 🙂

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  17. Winning never gets old.

    So much for Obama’s “those jobs are gone and never coming back” lies. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

    https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1904199081863569673?t=0vBLid90uhxVhgRAPgER9A&s=19

    “The Trump Effect on Investment Pledges in the US:

    Hyundai — $20 Billion

    UAE — $1.4 TrillionSaudi Arabia — $600 Billion

    Apple — $500 Billion

    Softbank, Open AI, Oracle — $100 Billion

    Nvidia — $100 Billion +

    Johnson & Johnson — $55 Billion

    Taiwan Semiconductor — $100 Billlion

    CMA CGM Group — $20 Billion

    Eli Lilly — $27 Billion

    Merck — $1 Billion

    GE Aerospace — $1 Billion

    ~ $ 3 Trillion in new direct investment into America in the first few weeks of the Trump Administration. 🔥🔥”

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  19. oops.

    The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

    U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

    (Journalist at The Atlantic) – fascinating story.

    • dj

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  20. And the proof, you know, evidence, time stamps, screen shots, anything? Maybe a link?

    Or just buy it ‘cuz some NTer at a known NT publication said so and you desperately want it to be true?

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  22. I wonder if it was really an accident?

    And while we’re on the subject I am not convinced that we should be bombing in Yemen. Why is it needful for us to do this?

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  23. Apparently, the Sanders/AOC Fight the Oligarchy tour has annoyed some. Those who point out Sanders wealth should not think that’s a good point against him — what successful senior in the north east doesnt have a million dollars of wealth. Property equity and pension funds make it an easy climb but 100s of billions is a different sphere of wealth.

    Crowd sizes are hard to determine but usually the police/local media are quite accurate — if they say 30 000 then it probably was. Using the locations of cell phones is creepy and invasive. Not to mention, many young people are smart enough to turn off the location setting when attending political functions .

    Attending multiple rallies in the past is to be expected. I’m sure there are many people who have attended more than a few Trump rallies plus other Republicans type functions. Politically active people attend rallies.

    Using location to determine this also leads to other problems — the passer by who works/lives nearby. If some how my location data was obtained, it would show I’ve attended several Palestinian rallies, a few defund the police events and even a few anti-Trudeau rallies over the last few years. Simply because I live near federal and municipal buildings and walk past these demos on the way to the grocery store or library. Location isn’t entirely accurate and given I live less than 100 yards from the local mosque, it might also determine that I attend prayer services almost daily. It probably explains all the Muslim charity advertisements I get during Ramadan.

    I do have a hard time accepting the claim that location data and knowledge of cell phones will allow people to collect various demographic information. Perhaps it can but there really should be privacy regulations involved if the claim is true.

    hrw

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  24. Flying people within the country is entirely different from flying out of the country or into the country. Now personally I think ICE flying people all over the country is wrong too but that’s a different legal matter. Deportation is of course different than prison transfers.

    The total health budget is 1.5 trillion with Medicare so I’m not sure how they sent 2.7 trillion overseas.

    Debra — corporations sent jobs overseas. Reagan and then Clinton are responsible for the policies and trade agreements that encouraged it to happen but it was the corporations who are responsible for sending manufacturing jobs overseas.

    Globalism is an ambiguous term. Sometimes its extreme, sometimes it just describes the reality of modern communication, media and technology.

    Politicians love to take credit when a factory opens up but in most cases it doesn’t matter who is in charge. Hyundai for example is also opening/expanding plants in Canada and federal Liberals and provincial Conservatives are taking credit.

    hrw

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  25. Discussing a military operation on a chat group? Almost comical if it wasn’t so serious. And this is the party that spent months on Hilary Clinton’s server. You’d think they’d learn something from that episode.

    Debra — from the group text screenshots I’ve seen, Hesgeth and Vance think they were doing the Europeans a favour by bombing the Houthis. I’m not sure if they are that dumb or they are just making stuff up. The idea is that bombing the Houthis will safeguard the Red Sea approach to the Suez Canal and the straits between Yemen and Djibouti. However, the Europeans disagree and don’t support these actions. The reality is the Yemen Civil War is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. By bombing the Houthis, the US is supporting the Saudis. And given the Houthis have launched missiles at Israel, the US is also supporting the Israelis in their Gaza genocide.

    hrw

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  29. (AJ @4:42, I think you’ll have to just own this one. 🙂 It happens. Can we at least acknowledge that the Trump administration isn’t perfect or without flaws?)

    • dj

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  30. Or we can think it’s just another deep state holdover NTer who fed it to Goldberg intentionally.

    I’m going with B.

    And seriously, if you’re gonna throw stuff like that up, cite a source, like I’m told is the proper way. If you make people do it themselves, they will assume the worst.

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  31. It’s rather ironic to ask dj to cite a source immediately after choosing B – a deep state holdover feeding Goldberg — without any sources.

    The social media posts I’ve read – facebook screenshots of X posts — so I have no idea how to link them here, claim Hesgeth set up the group chat and gave sensitive military information in the chat. Whether he had a staffer set up the group chat, he should have double checked the list or even better yet not had a group chat.

    Congressional hearings similar to the ones held on Clinton’s server might be a good idea or perhaps an admission that Hesgeth was a bad appointment. To shrug this off will be rather comical.

    hrw

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  32. AJ, I don’t want to get into a back-and-forth because that usually is pointless; but this was pretty much widespread news when I posted that, it was, well, kind of everywhere … Too many headlines to count, seriously.

    There were already numerous sources to cite across the board. Missing it would have been, well, hard to do.

    Sometimes stuff happens – and it happens in every administration, I’m not sure why some Trump supporters have such a hard time seeing or understanding or accepting that, but instead must defend him at all costs.

    That’s just not the real world. Stuff happens. It’ll pass.

    • dj

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  33. Ok — now it appears it was NSA Michael Waltz or someone who pretended to be Waltz who looped Goldberg into the group. The question then is who was impersonating Waltz?

    This really needs to be investigated and not shrugged off.

    hrw

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  34. But for before it passes, it simply was an administration blunder and I think that’s apparent.

    Hegseth was quoted as (initially) responding: “So you are talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes … ”

    As was pointed out by the poster of that quote: “This is called an ad hominem argument, as a way of avoiding a confirmation or denial of the facts in question.”

    Defending the indefensible out of partisanship when facts say otherwise (and yes, that would qualify as political extremism for those who wondered what that meant).

    • dj

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  35. ~ Fox News political commentator Brit Hume on Monday afternoon pushed back on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim that “nobody was texting war plans” after news broke that Hegseth and other Trump administration officials discussed plans for an attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen on a text chain that mistakenly included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic.

    “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth said outside a plane in Hawaii when asked about editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg’s access to the chat.

    Hegseth also called Goldberg “a deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.”

    Hume reposted a video of Hegseth’s comments on the platform X, saying, “Oh for God’s sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message.” ~

    • dj

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  37. Mistakes do get made. It’s better to own it and move on, although someone could lose their job over such a blunder. I still don’t see how putting the number of an antagonistic journalist in a highly sensitive chat is even possible unless deliberate. And for goodness sake shouldn’t the government have it’s own secure software for internal chats?

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  38. Yes, Debra (@10:31).

    (Whether he’s an “antagonistic journalist” I don’t know, the administration seems to characterize all journalists that way from what I can tell, that’s their go-to villain whatever the issue — so the characterization tends to lose its sting in that case; but either way, yes, a mistake or slip-up that should not have happened.)

    • dj

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  39. As for ‘moving fast and breaking things’, yes things are moving fast and there will be some mistakes and cleanup required. I’m fully prepared to hear the crowing of Democrats and NeverTrumpers, none of whom had the guts or decency to address these problems when they were in power.
    Carry on. 🙂

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  40. Debra, there are bad things about both sides, failures on both sides. It’s the way life, human nature (and this world) is.

    Partisan politics seems to elicit a skewed view of things, a blindness, especially in times like these.

    • dj

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  42. couple of days to get the real scoop.

    Having said that, people who have never handled classified information and don’t have the most basic knowledge are screaming about this story. There is no way that government officials would use a commercial app that anyone can download to talk classified military strikes, even if encrypted. All those allegedly involved, including ex-military and security professionals, would know better than to use a civilian app. There are government programs on their work phones that they use.

    Also, discussing a military strike on a terrorist camp is NOT going to be done over an app. People who believe this are not thinking or have no idea how these things work. They WANT to believe the sensational lies.

    Even if someone somehow got something they shouldn’t have related to troop movement or strategy, if they really cared about US troops then the last ridiculous thing they should do is to publish it. Such a journalist is not very bright and can’t be trusted.

    However, let’s wait for the story to settle…

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  44. It does seem that the inclusion of this journalist’s number was unlikely to be an accident. Not impossible but unlikely. As we wait and see, I do hope Hegseth will be more transparent and less defensive. Defensiveness when you’re in the wrong is weakness.

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