What Country Are We Living in?

The USSR?  Nazi Germany?

From here, where there us more:

Top rated radio talk show host Michael Savage was abruptly pulled off the air on Monday afternoon after launching into a segment on Hillary Clinton’s delicate health.

Savage, host of the nationally syndicated The Savage Nation radio program, was discussing Hillary’s health and suggested she may have Parkinson’s disease when he was alerted that his show had been pulled from the air on New York’s WABC radio.

The host discovered that The Savage Nation was pulled off the air and replaced by the “Curtis And Cooby Show,” in the Big Apple.

Not long after discovering he was pulled from WABC, as Savage was telling his audience what happened in New York, his live feed was suddenly cut off to many of his other affiliates and a replay of an earlier episode was substituted for the live feed.

Read the rest.
 

Obama’s Internet Surrender: ‘We’ve Got Three Days to Fix This’

Center for Security Policy president and founder Frank Gaffney joined other political and military experts in warning against the impending surrender of U.S. control of Internet registration.

What they’re preparing to do is to cede, or surrender, the last vestige of American control, or even influence, over what is done with critical functions of the Internet.  It gets pretty arcane, but the point is, if you think that the freedom of the Internet – whether it’s the ability of people to communicate freely information on it, or whether you think of it as an engine for free enterprise, let alone if you understand the contribution that it makes these days to national security – including, by the way, the operations of our critical infrastructure – you will understand that the United States retaining a measure of quality control as to what’s going on with how the Internet is populated with names and numbers, domains, websites and the like, is a very important thing.

And for absolutely no good reason, other than people – or countries, I should say, like Russia, and China, and Saudi Arabia, and Iran, and North Korea – don’t want us to have any say in this and would like to be able to change things around so that they cannot only restrict all the things the Internet does to help their own people become familiar with the terrible they’re being subjected to, at the hands of their totalitarian or authoritarian regimes, but they want to take those freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of enterprise – away from us, as well.

So this is what it comes down to: there’s no good reason for doing this, certainly not in the next three days, which is what’s going to happen unless Congress intervenes.

Call and/or write your Representatives and Senators and urge them to vote for legislation to block the transfer of the internet out of US control. 

Ambassador John Bolton on Obama’s Internet Handover: ‘Within Ten Years, the Internet as We Know It Will End’

From here where there is more:

U.N. ambassador John Bolton predicted that the impending transfer of Internet domain control from American supervision to an international body will mean the end of the Internet “as we know it.”  Bolton explained that we should be “very concerned” about the transfer from “a national-security perspective.”

“What we’ve gotten out of the Internet, under the shelter of a private American organization that contracts with the Commerce Department, [is] one of the few cases that I can think of in our history where we’ve had that kind of government involvement without regulation and interference,” said Bolton.

He continued:

But because it’s entirely a U.S. government proposition with U.S. people involved, the Internet has been free and open.  If, as the Administration wants to do, it’s transferred to an international body, I will predict right here: within 10 years it will come under the control of the United Nations, and the Internet as we know it will end because there are governments around the world that are already doing everything they can to prevent a free and open Internet in their countries, and it will extend to ours in due course.

Bolton called the Internet handover “a mistake of such colossal proportions that you would have thought we’d have a huge debate about it in this country.” Read the rest.

Yes, the pending transfer of the internet out of American hands is really serious—possibly the greatest threat to freedom I have written about in 13 years of blogging—and it seems to be something that hardly any Americans know about.  Call and/or write your Representatives and Senators and urge them to vote for legislation to block the transfer of the internet out of US control.
 

Christian pastors face death penalty if convicted in Sudan

Last December, two evangelical pastors from the Church of Christ in Sudan were taken from their churches and thrown into jail.  Last month, the Rev. Abdulraheem Kodi and the Rev. Kuwa Shamal Abu Zumam were charged with numerous offenses, including waging war against the state, espionage and undermining Sudan’s constitutional system.

Their trial has begun.  They could get the death penalty if they're found guilty.

Kodi and Zumam hail from the Nuba Mountains, a region that continues to be bombed and brazenly targeted by Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, in what human rights and Christian groups say is an effort to rid the country of the Nuba people — indigenous groups who do not fit the regime’s vision of an Islamic nation and are accused of supporting anti-government rebels.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has imposed strict Islamic rule on his people.  Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court — there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest in connection to war crimes in Darfur — took power in a 1989 coup and has long taken a stance of “one language (Arabic), one religion (Islam).”

The Anglican Bishop of Kadugli Diocese, the Rt. Reverend Andudu Adam Elnail is now based in South Carolina, having fled Sudan in 2011 after government forces allegedly burned down his property when he refused to use his extensive church leadership outreach to endorse the President.

Read the rest.
 

Praying Coach Suffers Legal Setback

In my last post I told about two coaches in Washington state, one who was being praised for "taking a knee" during the national anthem in a protest, and another coach who was dismissed for doing the same thing to pray after a game. There has been a further development, as Todd Starnes reports:

There’s been a legal setback for Joe Kennedy, the high school football coach who lost his job after he refused to stop praying at midfield after football games.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have forced the Bremerton School District in Washington State to rehire Coach Joe while his case is litigated.

Read the rest.

A Tale of Two Coaches

This is a tale of two high school football coaches from Washington state.  Both took a knee at a football game.

Coach Joe Kennedy, of Bremerton High School, took a knee to pray to God.  He was fired.

Coach Joey Thomas, of Garfield High School, took a knee to protest America.  He was praised.

To be fair, both men coach in different school districts.  So the rules on prayer and protest may vary, but it does demonstrate how public schools embrace anti-American sentiment while rejecting freedom of religion.

Read the rest at ToodStarnes.com.

Kim Jong Un Bans Sarcasm in North Korea

From Vanity Fair, where there is more:

Kim Jong Un just can’t take a joke.  The last time the North Korean dictator found himself on the receiving end of some gentle ribbing, as the subject of James Franco and Seth Rogen’s assassination comedy The Interview, Kim’s repressive regime allegedly hacked Sony Pictures, apparently in retaliation.  Now, the absolutist leader is taking his hostility toward humor to a farcical new extreme, banning all sarcasm throughout the Hermit Kingdom in an attempt to crack down on dissent and quash any further laughs at his expense.

The Independent reports that North Korean party officials held several mass meetings across the country in an attempt to warn citizens that criticizing the state via indirect, ironic statements such as “This is all America’s fault” would be illegal and “unacceptable.”  And the consequences for disobeying are particularly unfunny: according to the nonprofit group Liberty in North Korea, any criticism of the government—including, apparently, the North Korean version of “Thanks, Obama”—“is enough to make you and your family ‘disappear’ from society and end up in a political prison camp.”

Read the rest.

Susan Boyle is Alive and Well

The supposed news of singer Susan Boyle’s death spread across the internet earlier this week causing concern among fans around the world.  However the report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax.   It is merely the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports that have been spread via the internet.  Thankfully, the singer, who became famous after performing on the television show, Britain's Got Talent in 2009, and who went on to amaze the world with her remarkable voice, is alive and well.

Rumors of Susan Boyle’s alleged demise gained traction on Saturday after an ‘R.I.P. Susan Boyle’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million ‘likes.’  Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the Scottish singer’s passing:

“At about 11 a.m. ET on Saturday (September 10, 2016), our beloved singer Susan Boyle passed away.  Susan Boyle was born on April 1, 1961 in Blackburn.  She will be missed but not forgotten.  Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”

Thousands of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 55-year-old singer was dead.  Almost immediately, Twitter was ablaze with "Tweets" about Miss Boyle's supposed death.

On Sunday (September 11) a spokesperson for the officially confirmed that Susan Boyle is not dead.  The spokesperson said, “She joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax.  She's still alive and well; stop believing what you see on the Internet.”

Why am I pointing out this story?  The internet, which we now take for granted, is perhaps the world's greatest invention--a repository of the collective learning and intelligence of humankind.  It is a tremendous source of news, education, and communication, as well as entertainment.  When the internet is abused, we all suffer--not least of all those who are the victims of this kind of hoax.

We Will Never Forget

The town of Owego, New York, has the right idea:

Dawkins, Maher Blast Churches For Selfless, Life-Saving Aid During Louisiana Floods

Another fine article from the Babylon Bee:

HOLLYWOOD, CA—Television host Bill Maher gathered with famous atheist Richard Dawkins for a web-exclusive episode of Real Time with Bill Maher Friday to discuss the recent, devastating floods in Louisiana, spending much of their time together detailing the immense destruction and blasting the selfless, life-saving relief carried out by the myriad Christian churches in the area.

“These churches, their assistance was absolutely crucial in saving lives—probably lots of lives—which just goes to show you the incredible selfishness of these people, and the depth of their delusions,” an indignant Maher stated.  “Like, wow, really?  Gathering boats and volunteers and evacuating scores of people from their submerged cars and houses?  Opening your churches and homes to victims you don’t even know in the midst of catastrophic flooding in which thousands and thousands of people lost everything they owned?  Why, because your magic tyrant in the clouds told you to?  Pathetic.”

“I’ve been saying for decades that religion ruins everything, and this is a prime example of that,” Dawkins noted.  “I’d bet that more than a few of these Christians are utterly traditional in their beliefs, and there they are, literally giving the clothes off their backs to people in need, instead of just allowing government relief efforts to be totally insufficient.”

“And don’t forget that these churches are tax exempt,” Maher added.  “Tax exempt!  So what do they do?  They use their church campuses as launching areas for disaster relief.  [Expletive] Christians!”

“One day—one day we’ll find a cure for religion,” said Dawkins. “Until then, we can only keep doing what we’re doing, and hope more people see that religion poisons everything it touches.”

Report: Episcopalians May Still Exist

Okay, the following article is from the Babylon Bee, a satirical site.  But this kind of satire comes a little too close to the truth:

NEW YORK, NY—While many Americans believed the Episcopal Church to be some kind of myth or legend, the religious organization may actually still exist, researchers revealed Monday morning.

The shocking findings came as a surprise to many American Christians, who had thought the denomination to have completely disappeared off the face of the earth, if it had ever existed at all.

“Contrary to popular opinion, yes, we are still around,” Most Reverend Michael Curry, head of the apparently-still-in-existence Episcopalian Church, allegedly said Monday in front of a dilapidated, overgrown church building.  “We exist, and we plan to continue not to die.  In fact, we are still hanging in there, and to my knowledge, we have not yet ceased to be.”  Curry then allowed reporters to touch his hands to prove his existence, though all photos of Curry’s press conference mysteriously disappeared.

Read it all.