Last night was one of those rare evenings in which I was blessed with a few hours to do something I rarely am able to do — listen without interruption to the beautiful music that moves my soul.
Whenever you find yourself in a time of high stress, anxiety or worry — and, if you work on Capitol Hill, trust me, you will have such times — I recommend getting away to a quiet place where you will be alone and able to listen without distraction to three compositions, plus one:
“Wild Theme” by Mark Knopfler (from the soundtrack for the movie “Local Hero.”
If the question posed in the headline above strikes you as irrelevant for somebody working for a senator, representative, congressional committee or a congressional agency, think again.
George Barna, the noted survey researcher who specializes in compiling data about what people believe, discovered something interesting about voters who supported President Joe Biden over now-former President Donald Trump: Most of them don’t believe truth exists.
“Only three out of ten (30 percent ) believe that the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God and contains no errors — which explains why three-fourths of Biden supporters do not identify the Bible as their most trusted source of moral guidance,” Barna’s Cultural Research Center said in a statement about the survey made public Tuesday.
“The dominant sources of moral guidance among the group were identified as their feelings, experiences, friends and family. Consistent with that widespread rejection of the Bible, three-quarters of the Biden followers (75 percent) also believe that there is no absolute moral truth,” the statement said.
Ok, so what, you might be asking. Jimmy Wallace, son of Cold-Case Christianity’s J. Warner Wallace, explains why it’s absolutely crucial whether you believe there is absolute truth or think it’s all relative:
WHAT: The Funeral Service for Ron Wright WHEN: Saturday, February 20th, 2021 (11:00 AM CT) WHERE: Will Rogers Memorial Center, Texas Ballroom, 3401 W. Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76017 WHO: Most Reverend Michael F. Olson, Bishop of Fort Worth will preside over the service.
Members of the media who are interested in attending are asked to RSVP via email or by phone to Matt Langston (matt@bigdogstrategies.com | 703.901.2595). Please include your station affiliate in your initial outreach.
Senate Democrats are shaking up the lineup of subcommittee chairmen from one end of the body to the other, thanks primarily a new “power-sharing” rule intended to put the gavel in the hands of as many members of the new majority as possible.
The rule requires chairmen of the Senate’s top committees — Appropriations, Defense, Foreign Affairs, etc. — to ensure that every Democrat on a panel gets a shot at wielding the gavel running a subcommittee.
Top Democrats like Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and others wanted to delay the rule, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed it forward, with a result that the only three Democrats without a subcommittee gavel now are Leahy, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Continue reading “Senate Democrats’ Gavel Moves Will Mean Staff Shifts, Too”
Bill Walton has one of the most interesting digital interview shows you will find anywhere on the Internet, thanks to the wide variety of challenging and relevant topics that interest him and the routinely superb quality of guests he features (well maybe not quite always, as he did have yours truly on last year!).
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment (Screenshot from “The Bill Walton Show”).
Most recently, Bill welcomed Phil Kerpen, President of American Commitment, on his show to talk about where America stands with the Covid Pandemic, where we’ve been and what’s most likely ahead for us, particularly from an economic perspective.
“The winter wave is subsiding pretty rapidly. Right now, as we speak, it’s down about 45 percent from the early January peak nationally,” Kerpen said at the outset of the February 11 interview.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along a path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock and, as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold … He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” — Luke 8:5-8
Photo by Melanie Sosa on Unsplash.
And C.S. Lewis said:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Tiffany Boguslawski heads to the Hill from doing Presidential Advance in the White House to be the new Scheduler for Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY). Before doing advance work, Tiffany was an Executive Assistant in the Office of Presidential Personnel. Her BA in Political Science, History and International Studies was awarded n 2019 by Chicago Loyola University.
Neri Martinez (Screenshot from Facebook)
Moving up as Staff Director for Republicans on the Senate Aging Committee is Neri Martinez. Neri previously was Chief of Staff for the Department of Energy’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity. Martinez received her BBA from Florida International University (FIU) in International Business Honors and Political Science and a Global Masters of Arts at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She also holds a certificate from Cornell University on Diversity and Inclusion and an Executive Certificate from FIU on Cybersecurity Leadership.Continue reading “STAFF NEWS: Look Who’s Movin’ On Up The Hill This Week”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is only beginning to be understood in terms of what it is capable of doing, but who would have guessed it would be able of fighting a deadly virus by understanding how it “talks” its way into healthy cells? Discovery Institute’s Mind Matters explains:
“One strategy in the fight against COVID-19 relies on the curious fact that genetics is actually a language. Genome sequencer Francis Collins has even called it The Language of God.
Scientific reason is based on evidence found in repeatable circumstances that support hypotheses that make sense of the material world. Faith is merely belief, without evidence.
That alleged dichotemy between reason and faith is a commonplace in contemporary culture, including especially on campus, in the media and corporate elites.
But that dichotemy is false and profoundly mis-leading, according to Kyle Butt of the Apologetics Press. The following video is a bit more than eight minutes in length, but you can be certain it will challenge your understanding if that dichotemy represents your understanding of the world in which we live:
This statement was issued Monday by Michael Howard, Communications Director for Rep. Ron Wright:
Ron and Susan Wright shared a deep and abiding relationship with their Lord and Savior. For that reason, Ron remained stoic in the face of his health challenges, and incredibly upbeat about the future of the state and the nation he loved so much.
RIP – Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX)
Congressman Ron Wright passed away peacefully at the age of 67 on Feb. 7, 2021. His wife Susan was by his side and he is now in the presence of their Lord and Savior.
Over the past few years, Congressman Wright had kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and at home in Texas’ Congressional District 6 while being treated for cancer. For the previous two weeks, Ron and Susan had been admitted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas after contracting COVID-19.
Congressman Wright will be remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue. Ron and Susan dedicated their lives to fighting for individual freedom, Texas values, and above all, the lives of the unborn.
As friends, family, and many of his constituents will know, Ron maintained his quick wit and optimism until the very end. Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice.
We ask that everyone give Susan and the entire Wright family and staff time to grieve. Additional information will be available on funeral arrangements and ways to honor Congressman Wright in the days to come.
Congressman Wright is survived by his wife, Susan; his son Derek; his son Justin and wife Susan; his daughter Rachel and husband Jeff; his brother Gary and wife Janis; nine grandchildren; cousins and extended family.
Philippians 4: 8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Okay, Super Bowl 2021 is history and it’s the eighth day of February, the shortest month of the year. It’s fortunate that February is the shortest month since it also tends to be the coldest (making it the longest if you, like me, believe Spring can never get here too quickly).
So what to do to pass the long, cold hours of February when you get some time to sit down and take it easy? If you seek genuine entertainment and to not be preached at, scared out of your wits, grossed out, led down a primrose path, or suffer lame joke after lame joke, then you might want to check out Pure Flix.
Pure Flix is an entertainment company that produces genuinely high-quality, family-friendly movies and original series. The drama is serious, the comedy is funny, the production quality and acting are top-notch and everybody can watch it. So check it out here:
Four of the men who will take the field for tonight’s Super Bowl have made clear that, while they want very much to win the football game, there is something vastly more important and rewarding in their lives.
It’s their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for their sins and with whom they will spend eternity praising and thanking Him after they leave this life on Earth.
The four men are, first,Kansas City Chief’s Quarterback Patrick Mahomes talked about his faith in this discussion with Sports Spectrum’s Jason Romano:
"You're doing it for something that's much bigger than yourself."
You welcome me With open arms How can this be My guilt is undone My past is untethered I leave it behind And run to my Father
There is no disappointment in Your eyes There is no shame there is only pride I am loved Father, I’m loved by You
So unreserved Your heart for me My fear is gone I am set free There’s nothing to hide There’s nothing to measure ‘Cause I am Your child And that’s all that matters
There is no disappointment in Your eyes There is no shame there is only pride I am loved Father, I’m loved by You There is no distance in Your embrace Over and over again You say I am loved Father, I’m loved by You I am loved Father, I’m loved by You
You are changing everything You are changing everything I believe it I receive it
In a multi-split decision made public late Friday, the Supreme Court partially struck down California’s discriminatory anti-Covid-19 regulations against church worship gatherings.
