America is Winning the Covid War

America is winning its war on the Coronavirus. President Trump announced another milestone over the weekend: More than 4 million Americans have now been tested.
 
“That’s a record anywhere in the world,” he said. The United States has now conducted more tests than France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Austria, Australia, Sweden, and Canada—combined.

President Trump’s response is unprecedented for another reason, too—one that most Americans won’t see covered in the news. “Throughout history, national emergencies have led to a more powerful and centralized federal government,” Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Christopher DeMuth writes in The Wall Street Journal.
 
Until now. “For the first time in U.S. history, an administration is responding to a crisis with deregulation and decentralization,” he says.
 
Here’s why. Career politicians, both in Washington and around the world, have one instinct during an emergency: to grab power. It’s rarely temporary, and it often has little to do with the situation at hand. Instead, politicians create more agencies and more red tape, claiming that Bigger Government will prevent the next great threat. 
 
The opposite happens. A slow, bureaucratic response globally made the Coronavirus worse. The World Health Organization, with its $2.4 billion annual budget, didn’t prepare the world for Coronavirus—it downplayed the risk while parroting claims from the Chinese Communist Party that the virus wasn’t spreading between humans.
 
Elsewhere in the world, countries with government-run socialized medicine have been forced to ration care, often at the expense of older patients.
 
In the United States, President Trump moved to slash red tape quickly, eliminating outdated rules and bureaucracy around testing, treatments, telemedicine, and more to speed up our nationwide response to his standards.
 
President Trump knows that Washington works best when it leads, not controls. His priority is making sure that every state, locality, and frontline worker has the resources needed to fight this virus. Whether it’s securing more ventilators or rapidly expanding testing, he’s brought in the full power of America’s best-on-Earth private sector to help. 
 
The results show that America is unstoppable when it works together. Closely watched areas such as New York, Detroit, and New Orleans are stabilizing and seeing progress. Nationwide, the latest data suggests that America is past its peak for new cases—and on track to see far fewer deaths than even the most optimistic models once projected. 
 
The President knows who to thank for winning this war: you. Our nation’s doctors, nurses, innovators, essential workers, and patriotic citizens are the best in the world.
 
“The American people have done a hell of a job,” he says.  

From 1600 Daily 04/20/2020 The White House <info@mail.whitehouse.gov>

Team Trump to Jim Acosta: Here’s Your Examples of Mail-In Voter Fraud

Team Trump to Jim Acosta: Here’s Your Examples of Mail-In Voter Fraud

“You’ve been talking about voter fraud since the beginning of this administration and where is the evidence of it?” Acosta asked during the White House press briefing, insisting that “all the experts say voter fraud is rare.”

Trump replied, “I think there’s a lot of evidence, but we’ll provide you with some, okay?”

The president’s re-election campaign responded quickly to Acosta’s request, noting there were nine people charged in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas with “vote harvesting” and mail ballots, a political operative in New York stealing and submitting absentee ballots, and a resident in Pennsylvania receiving seven separate ballots in the mail.

The campaign also shared a Heritage Foundation document of over 1,000 proven cases of vote fraud.

“Democrats and the mainstream media always scoff at claims of voter fraud, but then completely ignore evidence from across the country,” Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. “The obvious reason is that Democrats are just fine with the possibility of voter fraud. And many in the media just see the world their way.”

The Trump campaign also quoted an election expert in the New York Times who said although election fraud was rare, “the most common type of such fraud in the United States involves absentee ballots” through the mail.

President Trump cited ongoing legal action from Judicial Watch forcing states to clear millions of ineligible voter registrations within 90 days as proof of voter fraud.

The White House also shared details of 2005 commission led by President Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush’s secretary of state James A. Baker III that concluded mail-in ballots “remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.”

“Outside those in the establishment media who are more interested in attacking the President than the facts, there’s a clear consensus that universal mail-in voting would be vulnerable to fraud,” a White House source told Breitbart News in a statement.

Mark 7:24-30

Mark 7:24-30

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her. But JESUS said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, LORD, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has come out of your daughter.” And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone, and her daughter lying on the bed. NKJV also read Matthew 15:21-28.

While reading this passage in Matthew today I had the thought, “JESUS already knew He was going to heal the girl, He knows everything, our every thought”, those things that were going to happen to him, “nothing came as a surprise.” So why did He go through the process of ignoring the woman then putting her down, then delivering her daughter?

Because of the disciples and us! JESUS was not surprised at Zacchaeus’ repentance, nor James’ and John’s ambition. Nothing that others said, did or thought was a surprise to JESUS; the things He said and did were for our instruction and benefit.

Study the Bible so that you will know what GOD is saying about every situation you will encounter and how He expects you to respond and behave.

Who Needs Conspiracy Theories When Progressives Openly Describe the Post-Corona World? By John Horvat II

Who Needs Conspiracy Theories When Progressives Openly Describe the Post-Corona World? By John Horvat II

Anyone who thinks that the coronavirus crisis represented a truce in the raging culture war is very mistaken. The war is only going to accelerate.

Likewise, anyone who thinks there is a need to construct complex conspiracy theories to explain what is happening is also mistaken.

“Progressive” thinkers clearly state how they conceive the post-corona order. They do not think in terms of a narrative in which everything will return to normal. They say the storm will pass, but the world will be changed forever, preferably in their own liberal image and likeness.

The thoughts of these visionaries should be a cause of concern to those who defend a moral order and the Faith. Their forecasts exclude the views of such defenders as hopelessly backward and even dangerous.

A Visionary Speaks

One such visionary is Yuval Noah Harari, a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is no writer on the fringe of things. His books have become New York Times bestsellers and enjoyed endorsements from people like former President Barack Obama and Bill Gates. If anyone can speak for the liberal establishment, Harari has the credentials. His post-corona forecast appears in the staid establishment mouthpiece, The Financial Times.

His worldview also reflects a secular world without Faith. In his 2017 book, Homo Deus, Dr. Harari argues there is no God, no soul and no free will. For him, life is merely a succession of chemical reactions and algorithms that interact and evolve with nature. He believes that techno-enabled humanity will eventually become immortal gods.

Thus, this postmodern wizard represents the cutting edge of progressive thought. That is why when he speaks, it makes sense to listen. The author makes three chilling observations about the post-corona future that should not be ignored.

Major Changes Made Quickly

The first observation is that the coronavirus crisis is going to change the economy, politics and culture radically within a short time frame if world leaders act “quickly and decisively.”

This crisis will “fast-forward historical processes.” They will allow officials to conduct massive experiments, using even dangerous technologies. Decisions that normally would take years or even decades of deliberation will be passed in a matter of hours. In this climate of panic, people will accept measures that they would never agree to do in normal times.

Those who share this vision do not desire a return to normal. They want a different order that reflects their worldview. This future is not presented as a choice but a consummated fact. The crisis will quickly impose it upon the nations. There is no turning back to an old order.

Implicit in the declarations of Prof. Harari is that old paradigms must change in conformity with “global solidarity.” Old fashioned ideas will no longer work in this brave new world. Informed technocrats using “science” and data will be much more capable of ruling the world than elected officials.

The most disturbing aspect of this observation about the future is its stealth character. It enters into the scene, not unlike the coronavirus, quickly and without the consent of those directly affected.

Totalitarian Surveillance or Citizen Empowerment

The second observation of Dr. Harari is the coming age of universal surveillance of citizens. He notes that the coronavirus crisis is already bringing online instruments of public monitoring that dwarf all past efforts to keep watch over people. The coronavirus crisis threatens to “normalize the deployment of mass surveillance tools in countries that have so far rejected them.”

The progressive visionary is not so naïve as to think this technology cannot be harmful or dangerous. A smartphone that transmits the location of virus victims can also be programmed to monitor temperature and blood pressure. Medical monitoring can also record biological phenomena like emotions, joys and anger. It might measure reactions to conservative or liberal ideas found online. All this data can be harvested and sold to corporate marketing departments…and government agencies.

However, the writer claims that universal monitoring can also be a source of citizen empowerment. Monitoring can be beneficial when moderated by institutions that build relationships of trust. His solution is not to rebuild trust in the family, community or church. Instead, he lists institutions that have betrayed this trust in the past and are found at the core of the culture war.

“People need to trust science, to trust public authorities, and to trust the media,” he notes. Adding to the tension, he decries the conspiracy theories and “irresponsible politicians [who] have deliberately undermined trust in science, in public authorities and in the media.”

Thus, the progressive narrative of the coronavirus crisis follows the Harari script by presenting the false dilemma of either accepting an enlightened technocracy or irresponsible totalitarianism. He excludes real alternatives more in line with America’s past.

Global Solidarity

The final observation presents yet another false dilemma. The professor claims the post-corona society must choose between what he calls “nationalist isolation and global solidarity.” The normal option of a nation that affirms its own identity yet shares a common humanity is not on the table. Effective action facing the crisis can only be done through not-always-voluntary global cooperation.

Thus, nations need to “share” information, technology and discoveries globally. There must be a spirit of global cooperation and trust. It is a rather ironic conclusion since few trust the Chinese authorities who failed to “share” the news of the illness when it broke out. Western scientists continue to question the Chinese communists’ creative use of statistics to support their agenda.

This new solidarity must transcend all political, philosophical and cultural differences. A communist government, Islamic theocracy or brutal dictatorship are all equal in this vast effort to save lives. He foresees a kind of universal community coordinated by enlightened leaders and technocrats.

“Just as countries nationalize key industries during a war, the human war against coronavirus may require us to ‘humanize’ the crucial production lines.” The noted author foresees rich nations coming to the aid of poor countries even to the point of pooling medical personnel and distributing vital supplies more fairly. Global cooperation is also needed on the economic front as rich nations will be “invited” to share the wealth.

Such communal dreams of global cooperation are hardly new. They have long populated the dreams of utopian social planners who are only too willing to impose their plans upon the world, always with catastrophic results. Nevertheless, the panic of this crisis is how the inconceivable becomes possible.

A Future Without God

The three observations of Yuval Harari all have characteristics in common. The first is a noted hostility toward the culture war perspective of countless Americans. They are dismissed as forces of disunity that oppose “science” and global solidarity.

A second alarming characteristic is a willingness to sidestep established procedures and freedoms to impose their worldview upon the nation. Whether it be through quickened historical processes, universal surveillance or global “cooperation,” the underlying message is the need for supra-governing mechanisms to do what is best for humanity.

Finally, the Harari game plan excludes a moral framework based on objective standards of right and wrong or even the rule of law. As one who believes in neither the soul or free will, he denies any role of religion and God. His is a cold, brutal world without purpose or redemption.

The Harari narrative is found in the daily avalanche of news. It is easy to find the measures, methods and goals he outlines interwoven into crisis. A recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal by Henry Kissinger repeats the idea that the crisis “will forever alter the world order.”

Countless writers, thinkers and politicians echo this menacing message.

Conspiracy theories need hidden methods, unchecked power and massive networks to be believable enough to find adherents. However, in the case of the coronavirus crisis, who needs conspiracy theories? Thinkers like Yuval Harari openly write about their chilling post-corona future without God.

Fortunately, God also has a future in mind. He writes straight with crooked lines. He might have some surprises that progressive visionaries cannot see.

As seen on LifeSiteNews.

How God Is Acting Amid the Coronavirus Crisis By John Horvat II

How God Is Acting Amid the Coronavirus Crisis

By John Horvat II

With most of the nation under stay-at-home orders, the media are taking an upbeat attitude to the tragic lockdown. Most treat it as a temporary measure that we must endure before getting back to normal.

Thus, the Internet is full of lists of things we can do while at home. They present lockdown as an opportunity for projects, hobbies, movies and home cooking that we never had time to do before. People can develop better family relationships and improve their marriages.

All these things might help people cope with the crisis. However, I think this is a shallow approach. It reveals a fear of going deeper into our predicament. No one asks questions about the immense damage to the economy, the duration of the crisis or the serious possibility that things will not return to normal.

What Are Americans Thinking About?

We need to look deeper into the minds of countless Americans if we are to cope. We need to go beyond the Internet lists. Many have lost their jobs and are suffering. At this stage, I cannot say where this crisis will lead. But something profound is happening, and I suspect a lot of people are searching for answers.

Exploring these currents can encourage us to see that we are not the only citizens thinking beyond the superficial pastimes the media propose.  My report will be based on a survey sent out to a group of 150 similarly-minded Catholics asking how the crisis has impacted them negatively and positively and what they are thinking about.

I realize the sample is very limited. Any kind of analysis will be anecdotal. However, the results were surprising. It was not about home projects or personal development. The answers were very spiritual.

Thus, I will give the three positive and negative themes found in the responses that impressed me.

Three Positive Things

This survey of Catholics took as a given that all would be afflicted by the lack of Sacraments at the time when they need them the most. Indeed, most sorely lamented the closing of churches and services.

The first theme that impressed me was the number of those who said that they are praying much more, and more fervently, as a result of the crisis. Parents and families are praying more together. They are reading spiritual books and fortifying themselves in the Faith.

“My faith is stronger in the trial,” said one.  “It has allowed me much more time for prayer and contemplation!

“This time of social isolation has allowed me to deepen my prayer life,” said another. “I find that I am spending more time in prayer, up to at least two hours a day, as well as thinking about how I can better live my life as a child of God.”

“I am led to pray the rosary several times a day instead of just at night when I go to bed. I have also gone to church each day just to sit in front of the tabernacle. Thank God our church is still open for prayer.”

One person reports, “seeing with much more clarity the implications of all my sins.”

A second positive theme is increased contact with the family. The lockdown has forced people together in the home. Despite the hardships of unemployment, many family members are grateful for the time they can spend together. Others have reconnected from afar with relatives and friends. “It has helped me to be more thoughtful,” wrote one respondent.

The third way the crisis has been positive is that people report that their lives have slowed down. “We are enjoying the slower pace and the opportunity to be together more,” wrote one mother.”

Yet another wrote of the joys of “slowing down and learning what is important.” People seem to rejoice in being relieved of the burden of speed.

Three Negative Things

The most negative impact of the crisis is the anxiety over job loss. People naturally are concerned about their families and livelihood. However, even this concern takes on a spiritual dimension. Many see these changes as an opportunity “not to take things for granted” and to “challenge them to have more faith in God.”

A second negative impact is  a concern for others who are suffering misfortune, illness and unemployment. Many are praying for others and looking for ways to help them. They are also missing those social relationships that are now severed at this time

A final negative theme is worrying over America’s future. Some are seeing “how horrific the world really is” or “the great spiritual chasm” present in our society between those who believe and those who don’t.  One respondent remarked that “so many people are caught up in just being in motion and rarely contemplate higher things.  Most academics dismiss theology as superstition, confusing all other religions with the true religion.”

God in Control

These are some topics that Americans are thinking about during this time of crisis. The results are far from conclusive. The survey only reflects a tiny sample. However, I suspect that these themes extend to many more religious-minded Americans.

We are still at the beginning of this crisis, and thus attitudes can change as things worsen. The replies challenge us to think beyond the noise that surrounds the coronavirus debate.

One particularly touching commentary that appeared in several responses to the survey was the notion that God is in control.  Thus, one man wrote:

“The bottom line is God is in control.  You do whatever it takes to stay in the state of grace, do your distancing, take care of your duties and place everything in Our Lady’s hands.  Don’t worry, have confidence knowing God is in control.  Ask for help to carry your cross and go ahead.”

JESUS Son of Man - Son of GOD!

JESUS Son of Man – Son of GOD!

Reading in Matthew 1:1-4:11 got me thinking about Immanu El, GOD is with us!

Born of the flesh but not of man: JESUS was formed in Mary’s womb by HOLY SPIRIT, Joseph is of the line of David but he is JESUS’ step-father not His biological father. GOD, Elohim is JESUS’ Father.

JESUS was baptized by John into the baptism of repentance, though He had committed no sin!

JESUS was tempted in all ways as we are physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Of the flesh – physical pride – “turn this rock into bread.”

Of the soul – emotional pride – “step off this pinnacle.”

Of the mind (will) – spiritual pride – “worship me.”

Psalm 111:2

Psalm 111:2

“The deeds of ADONAI are great, greatly desired by all who enjoy them.” CJB

“The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” KJV

“The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.” NKJV

The key thought in this verse is that those who enjoy GOD’s works greatly desire, seek out, and study them! This is not passive enjoyment of what GOD does but rather who GOD is. The cross reference verse in my NKJV is Psalm 143:5.

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah” Psalm 143:5-6 NKJV The KJV uses the same words except for thee and th.

“I remember the days of old, reflecting on all Your deeds, thinking about the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You, I long for You like a thirsty land. Selah.” CJB

Again the key thought is meditating, thinking, musing and reflecting on GOD’s works and therefore who He is.

JESUS told us the same thing! “Your Will be done in the earth as it is in Heaven.” “Seek first the Kingdom of GOD and His Righteousness.” Matthew 6:10, 33a

Our prayer and seeking activity has to be about GOD’s Kingdom in the earth so that His Will is being done in the earth.

JESUS also said, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake, will find it.” When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it.” Matthew 10:38-39; Mark 8:34-35 NKJV

JESUS tells us to do the same thing the Psalmist said he did, “Love The LORD your GOD with all your heart, mind, body and strength. And, love your neighbor as yourself.”