Where Is The Church?

Protests erupted in California this weekend in opposition to the latest COVID restrictions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Many sheriffs are refusing to enforce Newsom's latest lockdown orders.

It must also be noted that Newsom and other California politicians are not abiding by the restrictions that they are imposing on the people. So, it's no surprise that these weekend demonstrations took place.

But why is there not an outpouring of Christians seeking to protect their First Amendment rights? How can Walmarts and casinos have more rights than churches and synagogues to be open?

The radical secular left is watching, and they are licking their chops. If there is so little fight left in the church, their work is going to be very easy in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that the past eight months have been a disaster for mental health. From a spike in suicides to higher rates of depression and anxiety, many Americans are suffering from these lockdowns. 

And while large churches were able to seamlessly switch to Zoom and other online platforms, we may never know how many small churches permanently closed. We may never know how many Christians, deprived of the love and support they derived from their church, are now part of these sad statistics. 

And what are our children and grandchildren supposed to think when they see patrons of bars and gyms expressing more passion about keeping those establishments open than Christians are about keeping their churches open?

Please take a moment in the days ahead to check on someone in your church community or perhaps your own family who you have not heard from in a while. Ask how they are getting along and let them know you are thinking about them. You never know just how much it might mean to them and what a difference it could make in their life.

And please encourage your pastor or rabbi to be bold and unapologetic about the essential services that our houses of worship provide, especially in such trying times.

A Historic Visit

There was breaking news this morning that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met yesterday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Neom, Saudi Arabia. Yossi Cohen, director of the Mossad, also attended this historic meeting.

The Washington Post describes the meeting as a "watershed visit" given the "historically hostile relations" between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and it would represent the first time an Israeli leader has visited the Saudi kingdom.

While the Trump Administration has been trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to join Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates in the Abraham Accords, Iran was undoubtedly a key topic of discussion at Neom. Whatever differences Israel and Saudi Arabia have, they are united in their efforts to keep Iran's belligerence in check and ensure that its nuclear program is contained.

Joe Biden, however, is unnerving the region. Both Biden and Kamala Harris have been clear about their desire to rejoin the Obama/Biden nuclear deal with Iran. That would give the ayatollah's rogue regime access to billions of dollars to fund its military and terrorist proxies, which routinely threaten Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Further unsettling the situation are reports that Biden has tapped Jake Sullivan to be his national security advisor. It was Sullivan who initiated secret negotiations with Iran in 2012 on behalf of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

His potential return to government in such a high pro-file position clearly signals that a Biden/Harris Administration will likely make appeasing Iran a centerpiece of its foreign policy strategy.

By the way, Sullivan was one of the architects of the Russia collusion hoax.

More Radical Appointments

There's an old saying in Washington that "Personnel is policy," and we're getting an idea of what to expect from a possible Biden Administration based on today's announcement of Biden's top security positions and others appointed to the Biden/Harris transition team.

Biden announced that he intends to nominate Tony Blinken to be secretary of state, Alejandro Mayorkas to be secretary of homeland security and Avril Haines to be director of national intelligence. Not surprisingly, they are all retreads from the Obama era and can be expected to pursue similar left-wing policies.

Blinken's future appointment does not bode well for a muscular, pro-America foreign policy. He was one of the Biden campaign aides who apologized to Linda Sarsour! If the Biden campaign could not stand up to an anti-Semite like her, how can we expect it to stand up against the world's thugs and dictators?

Biden is also bringing John Kerry back as a special presidential envoy for climate and giving him a seat on the National Security Council. You may recall that John Kerry believes climate change is a more serious threat to our country than terrorism. 

Do you think climate change is a more serious threat than Iran or Al Qaeda? I guess Biden does because he also named Jeff Prescott and Kelly Magsamen to restructure the National Security Council.

Last year, Prescott wrote that climate change was putting "the entire planet on the brink of a meltdown." And Magsamen condemned President Trump for taking out Iranian terror mastermind Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The Biden team has tapped Richard Stengel to reorganize the Agency for Global Media, which includes Voice of America. But Stengel has a disturbing history of advocating censorship and "hate speech laws."

Ur Jaddou, an aggressive advocate of mass amnesty, is leading the reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security, and is expected to receive a top position there.

Patrice Simms has been charged with staffing the Environmental Protection Agency. Simms ran a radical group that filed 110 lawsuits against the Trump Administration and is committed to eliminating fossil fuels.

The Progressive Divide

Bernie Sanders raised eyebrows last week for suggesting that Biden was insulting the progressive movement with some of his appointments. His remarks stoked another round of media chatter about the divide on the left.

Let's be clear about this: There is no serious ideological split on the left. The split we keep hearing about is really just a divide over tactics and strategy. 

Younger progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are proud of socialism and believe there's no reason to hide it. Older liberals believe the country is still divided about socialism and want to camouflage their radical efforts.