AGENDA Weekly Brief Week of September 16-22 of 2023 – Curtis Bowers

Dear Friends,

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “The Christian faith is not only a faith for philosophers, it is a faith for anybody….The Holy Spirit enables men and women to see and understand something of the glorious nature of salvation. Though they may be simple, though they may be ignorant, though the world may dub them as unintelligent, if they have this enlightenment they understand things that the greatest natural philosopher cannot understand.”

1. NEW YORK CITY PUSHES MAOIST CULTURAL REVOLUTION: The illegal immigration invasion cost New York City $300 million in the month of August alone. But city leaders are preoccupied with what they believe is a graver concern: the removal of historical statues. George Washington, Christopher Columbus, and Peter Stuyvesant are three of the “villains” on the list for potential removal.

The Daily Signal’s Jarrett Stepman writes, “This isn’t just about statues and history, though. It’s about social revolution and control. The committee is additionally looking to implement ‘anti-racist training’ for all city employees and contractors. New York state is considering reparations, so look forward to that, too.”

Republican City Council member Joann Ariola replied, “The radical Left has been trying to reframe our nation as one born from evil, and it is time we put our foot down and say, ‘Enough is enough!’ The Founding Fathers and the others who worked so hard to establish this great country should be celebrated, not eliminated from memory.”

Ed. Note: In 2017, the mainstream media mocked President Donald Trump for predicting that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would be next to go after a statue of Robert E. Lee was removed. Unfortunately, Trump was right.

2. AUSTRALIA BANK TO GO CASHLESS: Macquarie Bank, Australia’s fifth-largest bank, says it will begin the transition to digital-only transactions in January 2024. A bank spokesperson said, “The majority of our customers already bank digitally, and we’re working very closely to support the less than 1% of our customers who currently use cheques or cash to ensure they have access to other digital payment methods.” Macquarie openly supports “racial equity” and “Environmental, Social and Governance” metrics.

Ed. Note: Global elites want to implement a “cashless society” via Central Bank Digital Currencies. CBDCs would eliminate remaining financial freedom and privacy and allow elites to freeze the accounts of non-compliants, such as what happened in Canada during the 2022 truckers rally, and occurs every day in modern Communist China. To push back, join Cash Friday.

3. GLOBALISTS STILL WORKING TO BAN FREE SPEECH: In a recent speech, United Nations Chief Communicator Melissa Fleming called for greater censorship of free speech, especially on “climate change.” Fleming said, “Of course, firings at Twitter have left us with no one to call to flag content that is abusive or even incitement to violence. We’re now seeing that almost anyone can promote disinformation for the price of a blue tick…” In another interview, Fleming bragged, “We own the science, and we think the world should know it.”

The U.K. has now passed its Online Safety Bill, which requires Big Tech companies and some small businesses to censor content in order to operate in the country. In her speech before the United Nations, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern (who now holds two fellowships at Harvard) called free speech a weapon of war and urged for greater censorship. Law professor Jonathan Turley responded, “She remains the ‘empathetic’ face of raw censorship and intolerance. She is now the virtual ambassador-at-large for global speech criminalization.”

4. CENSORS TRY TO CANCEL RUSSELL BRAND: Four anonymous women have accused British comedian and political commentator Russell Brand of alleged sexual assault from over ten years ago, according to the Sunday Times. Journalist Glenn Greenwald responded, “You do not jump & assume accusations from anonymous people—unaccompanied by evidence—is true. No matter how much you are attacked, you should express skepticism about the veracity of the accusations, especially when it comes to people who a lot of media outlets and a lot of other centers of power would like to see destroyed.”

Following the allegations, YouTube demonetized Brand’s videos. Additionally, the U.K. Parliament sent a letter asking Rumble to demonetize Brand. Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski refused and fired back, “We regard it as deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the U.K. Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or earn a living from doing so.”

One X user said, “They came after Tucker, Alex Jones, and now Russell Brand. They speak too many truths and ask all the right questions.”

5. AMERICANS’ CHANGING VALUES AND VIEWS ON FAMILY: 55% of Democrat voters believe having fewer children has a “positive impact” on the environment, while only 28% of Republicans believe the same, according to Pew Research. Pew also found that 53 percent of Democrats believe having fewer children positively impacts “women’s careers or job opportunities.”

Pew reports, “When asked what it takes to lead a fulfilling life, the public prioritizes job satisfaction and friendship over marriage and parenthood. Some 71 percent of all adults say having a job or career they enjoy is extremely or very important in order for people to live a fulfilling life. And 61 percent say having close friends is equally important.” But only 23% say being married, and 23% say having children is “extremely or very important” for fulfillment.

6. TRUMP ATTACKS HEARTBEAT BILLS: In a recent NBC interview, Donald Trump called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 6-week Fetal Heartbeat bill a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” Trump also claimed that he would “negotiate” with Democrats on a compromise bill.

Alliance Defending Freedom CEO and President Kristen Waggoner said, “Laws protecting the unborn are not a ‘terrible mistake,’ They are the hallmark of a just and moral society. Governors who protect life should be applauded, not attacked. And while we’re at it, men can’t become women. This is also based on a simple biological reality and one necessary for a just and moral society.” Live Action founder Lila Rose called Trump’s comments “pathetic and unacceptable.”

7. THREE MORE PRO-LIFE ACTIVISTS CONVICTED BY BIDEN’S DOJ: A federal jury convicted three pro-life activists – Jonathan Darnel (41), Jean Marshall (73), and Joan Bell (74) – of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The Daily Signal reports, “The Justice Department, which is prosecuting the case, said in a release that the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to blockade the abortion clinic.”

Libs of TikTok responded, “Two women in their 70s were convicted for ‘blocking’ an abortion clinic and now face up to 11 years in prison. Meanwhile, most BLM protestors who burned down buildings and destroyed our country for months had their charges dropped.”

8. ILLINOIS ABOLISHES CASH BAIL: Illinois became the first state to abolish cash bail, after the state Supreme Court upheld the SAFE-T Act. Illinois FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood responded, “The court ignored the pleas of nearly every prosecutor in the state of Illinois, Democrat and Republican, that the elimination of cash bail will put dangerous criminals back on the street, instead of keeping them in jail or forcing them to post cash bail as they await trial. Many of those offenders will commit crimes again within hours of their release.”

In Seattle, crime has gotten so bad that Sheriff David Robinson recommended people just “give up their car keys” and give the criminals “whatever they’re looking for.” Cal Thomas writes, “Of all the explanations for the rise in crime in America, none may be more accurate than the lack of swift and certain punishment.”

For more on the crime crisis, read Consequences of ‘Defund the Police’: Big City Police Departments Bleeding Staff, Unable to Recruit and Flash Mob Robberies Are Changing the Way America Does Business.

9. TRUMP BLAMES PELOSI FOR J6: In a recent NBC interview, President Donald Trump said, “I offered 10,000 people to the mayor of Washington D.C. and Nancy Pelosi… and they turned it down flat…[Nancy Pelosi] was in charge of security. She turned down 10,000 soldiers. If she didn’t turn down the soldiers, you wouldn’t have had January 6th.”

According to former deputy FBI director Steven D’Antuono, the FBI had so many paid informants at the Capitol on January 6 that they lost count. Another leftist DC jury has found documentary producer Stephen Horn guilty. Horn videotaped a man being thrown off a ledge by a police officer on January 6. Nearly three years after January 6, likely agent provocateur Ray Epps, who boasted, “I orchestrated it,” has been charged with a simple misdemeanor for disorderly conduct.

10. CLAPPER AND BRENNAN TO JOIN NEW “HOMELAND INTELLIGENCE EXPERTS GROUP”: The Department of Homeland Security has announced the “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group” comprised of “private sector experts who will provide their unique perspectives on the federal government’s intelligence enterprise to DHS’s I&A and the Office of the Counterterrorism Coordinator.” Three of the group members –  former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Senior Operations Officer Paul Kolbe – were signatories on the infamous Hunter Biden laptop letter.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WS) said, “[E]very last one of those individuals should lose their security clearance. None of them should ever be hired, work for, or paid by the United States government. And what this indicates is literally how deep and corrupt the deep state truly is. They are so brazen that they have no shame.”

11. SECURITY FOILS POSSIBLE RFK JR. ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: At a recent Los Angeles campaign event, only two miles from where RFK Jr.’s father was assassinated, security apprehended an armed gunman who was posing as a U.S. Marshall. The man “was accompanied by a second individual who carried additional weapons and ammunition,” according to the Kennedy campaign. Campaign manager Dennis Kucinich reiterated the demand for Secret Service protection.

12. UN, WHO, ADVANCE MORE GLOBAL TYRANNY: The Defender reports that the United Nations General Assembly approved the “non-binding” U.N declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. According to The Defender, the declaration calls for “universal vaccination,” “vaccine passports,” “potential social media censorship,” and the permanent return of Covid-19 emergency powers.

Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy said, “There’s no getting around the fact that it’s going to come at the expense of the sovereignty of the various nations that will subsequently be told that they have an emergency and told what they have to do about it. This is unprecedented.”

The Defender also reports, “The World Health Organization (WHO) is moving ahead with a Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) — an interlinked, global technological system that would be used to recognize the validity of health certificates and ‘vaccine passports…’”

13. TEXAS AG EXPLAINS VOTER FRAUD: Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton opened up with Tucker Carlson in his first interview since being acquitted of wrongdoing in his impeachment trial. Paxton believes he was targeted over his lawsuits to investigate Big Pharma, vote fraud, Big Tech, and LGBTQ indoctrination. Below are a few noteworthy quotes:

• “If you can do impeachments like this and you can have mail-in ballots, we don’t have democracy. We have control by a few people.”
• “I think for anybody that cares about democracy, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, [election integrity] should be the number one thing. And for the media to constantly shut down the conversation about this, and for social media companies, technology companies to shut down the conversation, tells me that there’s a reason they don’t want us talking about it.”
• “If we don’t fight now, we’re going to lose. If we lose Texas, we lose everything.”

Ed. Note: See more here, here, and here.

14. SENATE CONFIRMS C.Q. BROWN TO HEAD JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) temporarily caved to Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on mass military promotions and moved for a single vote on Air Force General Charles “C.Q.” Brown Jr. to lead the joint chiefs of staff. The Center for Renewing America warned of Brown, “C.Q. Brown not only has serious command and performance failures, he’s actively pushing race and sex quotas in the military, which is a blatant violation of the 14th Amendment.” In the final vote, 11 of 49 Republican Senators courageously voted against confirmation.

Ed. Note: Tuberville has consistently blocked the process of mass confirmation of military promotions over the Department of Defense’s illegal policies to fund abortion for members. By moving forward individual nominations, Schumer has temporarily buckled to Tuberville.

15. NOTEWORTHY STORIES AND QUOTES:

• A crowd of Germans identified as dogs. Breitbart reports, “Roughly 1,000 individuals gathered at Germany’s Berlin Potsdamer Platz railroad station, howling and barking in their interactions with each other.”
• Former Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis has been ordered to pay $100,000 to two same-sex couples following Davis’ refusal to sign their marriage licenses in 2015. Liberty First will appeal the ruling.
• In France, regulators halted sales of the iPhone 12 over radiation concerns.
• The Biden Administration has issued work permits to around 472,000 illegal Venezuelan immigrants.
• Roughly 49,500 Americans committed suicide in 2022, an all-time high, up from 29,000 in 2000. Drug overdose rates are projected to hit 111,355 in 2023.
• Blacklisted News reports, “A court in Alberta, Canada, sentenced Pastor Artur Pawlowski on Monday to 60 days in prison for a speech to Freedom Convoy truckers in February 2022 in which he supported their protests against repressive lockdown, vaccine, and other mandates related to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.”
• During Attorney General Merrick Garland’s testimony before the U.S. House, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) questioned, “Elon Musk was a Democrat who admittedly supported Biden but then he became a critic of the administration and exposed the censorship regime. Now, per public reports, the DOJ has opened not one but two investigations of Elon Musk… These look like mafia tactics.” See here for a summary of Garland’s evasive answers.
• “Well, we’ve crossed a historical landmark. From the founding of the Federal Reserve to the present, the United States has experienced fully 3,000 percent inflation. That is to say, the value of the single dollar in terms of goods and services has been systematically reduced since 1913 to only 3.2 cents today.” –Economist Jeffrey Tucker
• “Once the ideology is sufficiently adopted by enough members of the population…at the endpoint of that process, you don’t even need concentration camps or secret police or mass surveillance anymore, because every citizen becomes a member of the Gestapo or the KGB. Every citizen starts silencing their fellow citizens.”
  –Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, MD
• “Psychiatry has been the enforcer of choice used by strong-arm governments for as long as it has existed.” –Peter and Ginger Breggin
• “Ukraine banned the political parties, they’ve invaded churches, they’ve arrested priests, so no, it isn’t a democracy, it’s a corrupt regime.” –Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

FAITH, FAMILY, & FREEDOM REPORT

1. ARGENTINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DEFENDS THE UNBORN: In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Argentinian presidential hopeful Javier Milei stated, “Life begins at conception. It’s at that very instant that a new being begins to evolve, with its own unique DNA. While it’s true that women have the right to their own bodies, the child in a woman’s womb is not her body. That makes abortion murder.”

2. NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR PARTIALLY RESCINDS DRACONIAN ORDER: Responding to extreme pressure, Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham revised her ban on carrying firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. However, gun owners are still banned from carrying in parks or playground areas. Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, responded, “Making playgrounds and parks safer for criminals to operate in does nothing to protect the law-abiding public.”

3. DESANTIS DEFENDS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: At a recent event in Washington DC, Florida Governor Ron Desantis (R) spoke about his Christian faith and stated, “Your right to practice your faith is not something that’s given to you and simply tolerated by political elites. It is something that is endowed to you by the hand of Almighty God. We cannot fly the white flag of surrender into the face of the hostile forces that are doing everything they can to upend our way of life.”

4. TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL ACQUITTED: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted of 16 charges by the Texas Senate after being charged with impeachment by the House. Paxton stated, “The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars…I can promise the Biden Administration the following: buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged.”

5. TRUMP PLEDGES TO PARDON PRO-LIFERS AND POLITICAL PRISONERS: Donald Trump promised to pardon any pro-lifers who have been unjustly persecuted or put in prison for their views. Trump stated, “The moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who’s been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration. Never again will the federal government be used to target religious believers.”

6. GOP MEMBERS MOVE TO REPEAL FACE ACT: Following the conviction of pro-lifers in Washington, DC, for violating the FACE Act, several GOP House members are actively working to repeal the unconstitutional act. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) emphasized, “Biden’s Department of Justice has brazenly weaponized the FACE Act against normal, everyday Americans across the political spectrum, simply because they are pro-life.”

7. RFK JR. VOWS TO FIGHT CENSORSHIP: Democratic Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clearly laid out his plan to fight censorship as president, asserting, “If a totalitarian regime ever gains control over our country, the level of control that they can impose upon us will be irresistible. The minute I get into office, I’m going to issue an Executive Order that there’s going to be no more collusion between federal employees and social media sites, or any kind of censorship.”

8. O’KEEFE SUES HAWAII OVER MAUI FIRES: James O’Keefe filed a lawsuit with Attorney Mike Yoder after Yoder was criminally charged for photographing the burned town of Lahaina. Hawaii had reserved the right to “suspend electronic media transmission” in case of an emergency, but the lawsuit argues it violates the First Amendment, stating, “[The Governor] did not have the authority to promulgate his own rules, and even if he did, any rule he issues must not run afoul of the rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution.”

9. SCHOOL BOARD BANS PRIDE FLAG: The Sunol Glen School Board in California passed a resolution 2-1 banning pride flags from being flown in its school district. Lisa Disbrow, who supported the resolution, stated, “We need to clarify that school is funded by taxpayers, Californians under the state flag, and that our United States, American, red, white and blue flag is the most inclusive flag that’s ever existed.”

10. TRUMP SUPPORTS HOMESCHOOLERS: Donald Trump spoke to homeschool families, promising, “As President, it was my honor to support America’s homeschool families—and to protect the God-given right of every parent to be the steward of their children’s education. When I am reelected, I will do everything I can to support parents who make the courageous choice of homeschool.”

11. MODERNA LOSES BIG: Moderna shares fell almost 9% after a new forecast by Pfizer predicted that only 24% of Americans would take the new Covid booster shot. Zero Hedge commented, “It is concerning that at least a quarter [of the population] are still willing to put their fate in the hands of a pharma industry that is rapidly losing control of a narrative that now equates Covid with nothing more than a common cold or allergy.”

12. ALABAMA PROMOTES GREATER ELECTION INTEGRITY: Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced that the state has created the Alabama Voter Integrity Database to keep elections safe. Allen declared, “The implementation of AVID to help maintain our voter rolls is incredibly important. We are the first state in the nation to implement a system like this, and I am confident that we, as a result of AVID, [will] have the cleanest voter rolls that we have ever had.”

13. HIGH COURT IN INDIA RULES BIBLES CAN BE DISTRIBUTED: In a major win for religious freedom, a judge from the Allahabad High Court in India ruled that distributing Bibles was not illegal. Justice Shamim Amhad, who gave the ruling, stated, “Providing teaching, distributing the Holy Bible, encouraging children to get an education…instructing the villagers not to enter into an altercation and not to take liquor does not amount to allurement…”

14. PENNSYLVANIA STUDENTS WALKOUT OVER TRANSGENDER POLICIES: Students in Perkiomen Valley High School staged a walkout over their school’s transgender bathroom policies. Stephanie Ott, the mother of one of the students, stated, “The safety of females is so important, and these students that stood out, that walked out, they are to be commended. They have courage, and they exercise their First Amendment rights.”

15. HAWLEY CALLS FOR MANHOOD: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) spoke about the need for manhood in this day and age, stating, “Get married, have children, invest your life in something more than you, and you’ll matter. And you’ll change your life, and you’ll change this country. We need to call men to that. I want to be able to say to our kids in years to come…that we did everything we could, that we took a stand for the Lord.”

HYMN OF THE WEEK

Day By Day by Lina Sandell Berg

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here.
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear!
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil, with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour.
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r!
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid:
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word!
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the Promised Land.