https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-education-department-oklahoma-public-schools
Aside from the pathetic notion of PragerU videos being used for public school curriculum, the interesting thing to me about all this is that the supposed reform and redemption of public schooling will (in theory) lead to a boost in enrollment - and consequently a set-back for Christian Homeschooling.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr9r4qr0ppo
Last month (September 2025) the Trump administration and Secretary Hegseth changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The move upset some as it contradicts their understanding of the military and its role related to American foreign policy. Others saw it as characteristic of the kind of toxic bombast Trump has become known for. Hegseth is keen to promote his 'warrior ethos' - a twisted and heretical form of Crusader Christianity. This is further exemplified by his dressing down of generals and his celebration of aerial assassinations in the Caribbean.
https://www.christiantoday.com/news/the-cautionary-tale-of-sophie-from-dundee
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65174096
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/08/30/sophie-of-dundee-and-the-online-rights-bs-machine/
Some of you will already be familiar with the scandal surrounding 'Sophie' from Dundee. In the wake of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, this story has fallen by the wayside. But it has also faded away because it was (at least in part) a case of hype.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/sep/21/fascism-women-homemaker-trad-wife
I won't deny there are Neo-Nazis within the ranks of Trumpism and there are ugly currents at work within some Christian circles that are able to tap into various cultural traditions and gain traction.
The particulars of the vote are a little tricky, but essentially VOX engineered the passage of this bill which only allows for public facilities to be utilised by groups that are approved by the local authority, groups which fit their conceptions of Spanish identity. Clearly some are tying this in with Christianity, specifically to counter Islam.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/pastor-joshua-haymes-pete-hegseth
As these so-called Christians bring disgrace on the Church and sow confusion as to its testimony, we are forced to navigate these pestilential waters, decrying the errors of the heretics and the misunderstandings of the lost who in some cases criticise things they do not understand.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/8/8/trump-and-the-global-rise-of-fascist-anti-psychiatry
This was an utterly frustrating read but it offers some food for thought, and like it or not, this is where things stand. These are the waters we must navigate.
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/subic-bay-regains-its-importance-as-a-forward-base
This is just further evidence that the United States plans to stay in the Philippines and return the archipelago nation to its former status as a major host for US forces - a tip of the American spear in the strategic South China Sea.
Subic Bay was abandoned at the conclusion of the Cold War. The US relationship with Manila had been put under stress (largely due to the US backing of the 1965-1986 Marcos dictatorship), and there was a push to downsize and shift to other theatres. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, a devastating and destructive event that left much of the region buried under ash. The clean-up costs and logistics were going to be terrible - the Pentagon decided it was time to walk away. Clark Air Base closed in 1991 and Subic Bay in 1992.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-175919206
It was no surprise to learn that Trump was upset that he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize. He obviously had his heart set on it. The truth is, he doesn't deserve it. This is just part of his normal pattern of delusional sociopathic thinking. In fact his Abraham Accords (from his first term) largely set the stage for the Hamas attacks in October 2023. While the war began under Biden, Trump allowed it to continue and pushed for GOP support prior to his taking office in January 2025 and since then. He and Biden have the blood of tens of thousands on their hands. The fact that he was able to get Netanyahu to stop (against his own political interests) demonstrates that he always had the power to do so. Instead he armed Israel as it slaughtered thousands upon thousands of Palestinians and laid waste to Gaza.
https://theaquilareport.com/a-word-to-the-young-men-who-are-called-christian-nationalists/
I was very pleased to read this piece by Tom Hervey. He rightly takes some contemporary Dominionists to task, assailing their postmillennial errors, and their delusions regarding Christendom-so called.
This is a somewhat intriguing turn of events. On the one hand India and China are trying to work together in the context of BRICS - which Washington perceives with hostility. On the other hand, the US and India have at times worked together to counter China, and for a time it looked like New Delhi had moved solidly into the US camp - with huge trade and military deals in the works. But then Trump came on to the scene and everything went sideways.
We see supposedly Liberal Ukraine applying its Western values by dissolving denominations the state does not favour. How is this any different from what Russia is going to Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witness, and others? Or China with unregistered churches?
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/14/fort_bragg_cartel_seth_harp
Undoubtedly this story will prove shocking to many, but for anyone that has ventured down this road of inquiry, it is in reality an old story going back to the end of World War II. This is just the latest chapter in a larger story of US government, CIA, and US military complicity in drug trafficking that ties in with the Kuomintang and the Golden Triangle, the Mafia and Marseilles, the French Connection and Turkish smugglers, the Contras and Colombia.
https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/china-s-man-in-peru-at-center-of-chancay-megaport
Once again Peru is in the news. The United States is sending clear signals that it is unhappy with China's growing footprint in Latin America - a clear violation of The Monroe Doctrine which is (unofficially) still in effect.
As I reported in August 2025, Xi Jinping visited Peru and likewise the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte has also visited Beijing.
Take note how the religious concept of 'backsliding' is being applied to governments that are restricting democratic processes and institutions. Democracy is indeed a key doctrinal plank in the Humanist religion. In most cases its ideals and values are simply assumed by media and government figures and yet it's never that simple.
https://wng.org/opinions/this-is-like-an-old-time-revival-isnt-it-1758521481
Mohler celebrates the supposed revival taking place in connection to the death of Charlie Kirk. He favourably quotes Trump to that end. An old time revival? What exactly does that mean?
(updated 23 Sept)
I've never watched Jimmy Kimmel or been a fan. Like many Americans, I've seen the occasional YouTube clip on this or that issue when he's made the news. Most of the time (I must confess) I just haven't found him to be that funny.
The FCC head suggested that Kimmel's recent comments regarding the Charlie Kirk shooter were misleading the American public. While it would seem that Robinson is unlikely to be a member of the MAGA cult, his motives still remain unclear. Some have attempted to connect him to Nick Fuentes who is a Right-wing rival and critic of Charlie Kirk. The point being is it may be more complicated. However, Right-wing media has already decided the issue and is moving forward with their propaganda and their political campaign to capitalize on Kirk's death. On that point, Kimmel was certainly correct.
Marshall's podcast used to be a bit more substantive and I would listen to learn things about the Right-wing Catholic take on certain controversies. But lately the show has turned more often than not into a kind of dog and pony show, an ongoing advertisement for his books. Often he's spending most of his time attempting to pseudo-referee live social media interactions - which are clearly rigged. Most of the time I don't bother to listen and more than a few times I've just turned him off. He's currently pushing his new book on patriotism and so I thought I would give it another try and listen to an episode.
https://forward.com/culture/761623/theobro-antisemitism-nazi-christianity-reformed-podcast/
There is so much that could be said about Mahler, Wilson, and Webbon but in this case I was simply saddened by the fact that some of the legitimate discussions and debates surrounding the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint (LXX) are now likely to be tainted by this absurd and wicked line of discussion.
https://trt.global/world/article/f3ee26bac380
The United States has been trying to overthrow the government of Venezuela for over twenty years. Washington detested Hugo Chavez and his campaign to destroy the Empire's domination of Latin America. The US attempted to oust him in 2002 but failed. Chavez remained popular until his death in 2013.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/9/epstein_book
This segment will prove enlightening for those unfamiliar with certain aspects of Epstein's profile and just how he 'fit in' with the Capitalist ruling class or elite. The notion that Jamie Dimon (CEO of JP Morgan) was unaware of Epstein's relationship to the bank is absurd and obviously he's perjured himself. Why would he do this? Why would he do this with seemingly no fear of being held to account?
Generally speaking I have appreciated Tom Hervey's commentaries that have appeared at The Aquila Report - I even bought his book of essays on Amazon. I'm sorry to say this was an exception. He excoriates those in the PCA that in 2020 condemned the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and these same Presbyterians even described them as heinous.
https://cne.news/article/4817-in-italy-antisemitism-seems-to-be-on-the-rise
This kind of conflation of Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism has become a self-fulfilling prophecy as seen with the Minneapolis Shooter or in the case (as cited in the article) of the French-Jewish tourists in Italy.
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/08/09/atomic-bombings-at-80-the-very-un-christian-nagasaki-bomb/
Growing up I always heard apologias for the use of atomic weapons but few discussed specifically what happened on August 9, 1945 and the place of Nagasaki within the framework of Japanese culture.
https://trt.global/world/article/b73a9e89ed67
The lead-up to the July 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro was the source of a great deal of hype and speculation. Would the BRICS bloc make a more aggressive move against the dollar?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlZl-NkrdNk
Dina Boluarte spent years on the Far Left connected to Marxist movements within Peru and from 2021-2022 she served as a high-ranking official in the Castillo administration. Beset by political turmoil and an ongoing constitutional crisis - including attempts to impeach him, Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve congress, seize control of the courts, and order a national curfew. He reached too far and did not have sufficient support - especially from the military. Even though she was his first vice president, Dina Boluarte did not support him or stand by him. Castillo's plan quickly collapsed leading to his arrest and impeachment in December 2022. He remains in detention as of this writing.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/14/ivan_cepeda_colombia_uribe_guilty_verdict
This is a topic that I've already touched on in the past, however this court case has simply confirmed not only what was already known but expanded upon the nature of the corruption and cover up.
This article inadvertently reveals some of the misperceptions of life under communism. You certainly could attend church but if you did, there was a price.
Along with the bulk of the public, as a church attender you would not be a member of the Communist Party. In addition you would find many jobs and places to live closed to you. You could live and make a living, but as a Christian you were part of an underclass.
In the 3rd and 4th centuries large numbers of Christians lived in Persia - and given that the Roman Empire persecuted them, they were welcome. Rome and Persia had already been engaged in centuries of war and it would continue until the 7th century and the Islamic conquest. Persia was a haven for these Christian communities.
Likud has long collaborated with the GOP, not only on issues such as Project Esther, but in partisan politics as well. Time and again, Israel has helped Republicans undermine not only presidents' Clinton, Obama, and Biden, but other figures connected to the Democratic Party. They work in tandem, with common interests.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-civil-war-erupts-over-gaza-as-gop-rep-says-starve-away/
In some respects it seems like the situation in Gaza is getting less and less coverage even while the situation remains acute, with at least dozens dying every day, killed by bullets, bombs, starvation, or other forms of deprivation. The media is derelict and refuses to properly cover the story nor the fact that Israel has killed over two hundred journalists, and is clearly unwilling for anyone to do on the ground reporting.
https://cne.news/article/4807-may-german-christians-vote-for-the-afd
Huizinga is an activist associated with the Acton Institute, Federalist Society, and other Right-wing think-tanks. As such, his attempt to muddy the waters regarding the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is unsurprising.
It's a shame, but Evangelicals in their persistent misguided zeal love any public quotation or reference to the Bible - even when it is being tortured, manipulated, and abused by politicians or celebrities. They think that somehow they've scored some kind of culture war victory because someone used Scripture - usually to justify something they're doing that has nothing to do with the verses in question.
https://eurasianet.org/trump-brokers-potentially-game-changing-deal-with-armenia-azerbaijan
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/07/us-deal-armenia-azerbaijan-00499285
I must say if this deal holds and comes to fruition, it will be quite the feather in Donald Trump's cap. Or if it goes wrong, it may be viewed by historians in terms of folly and provocation.
https://breakpoint.org/the-fallacy-of-controlling-population/
This was but one of many BreakPoint episodes touching on the issue of population control. At times it almost seems as if they (and many on the Right) have an obsession about this issue. It's ironic given the fact that it seems clear to everyone else that they really would rather not see some segments of the population reproduce but rather are frustrated because the kind of people they want to have big families - are choosing not to do so.
And why is this? I can't decide if they really don't understand or are deliberately resorting to smoke and mirrors in order to shift the blame.
https://cne.news/article/4772-seven-books-to-sharpen-your-christian-worldview
The article's set-up leads me to believe that once again the evocation of 'worldview' is not in the sense of a comprehensive and coherent system of thought but rather the rubber-stamping of an agenda. As such, it is in keeping with its frequent use within American Evangelicalism.
https://virgilwalker.substack.com/p/from-rome-to-rainbow-flags-when-empires
Walker is right in a sense but he largely misses the point. Perversion is a symptom of decadence which is part of a larger complex of events and cultural shifts that signals collapse.
https://eurasianet.org/us-strikes-mineral-deals-with-uzbekistan-tashkent-report
https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyz-pm-gets-polite-brush-off-by-us-business-executives
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/china-intrudes-in-russias-backyard-as-moscow/
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Central-Asia-and-Beijing-after-the-Astana-summit-63374.html
https://eurasianet.org/united-states-and-russia-angling-for-influence-in-turkmenistan
https://eurasianet.org/rumors-of-chinese-land-deals-spark-public-unease-in-uzbekistan
As Ankara seeks to work with Azerbaijan in the creation of a new energy and trade corridor connected to Central Asia, the other big players are also quite active and the region is astir.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-china-2672360236/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/27/trump-says-us-has-signed-trade-deal-with-china
Trump will tout everything he does as supreme, the greatest ever. Every move is a triumph, a victory - but he's saying very little about the trade deal with China. For all the noise he made about China, his tariff plan, and all the rest, one would think he would want to trumpet this 'success'. And yet like his plan to annex Greenland - he's moved on it would seem.
https://cne.news/article/4780-as-war-looms-in-europe-some-christians-pursue-pacifism
Articles such as this are always going to grab my attention. I was disappointed to read the statement of Fernando Enns who apparently is unfamiliar with the argument that taking up arms in warfare is viewed by war-advocates as self-defense on a large scale, or even better they will argue that invading a country is an act of love - defending people from a murderous tyrant for example.
https://coreyjmahler.com/adolf-hitler-christian/
I already touched on this issue a couple of years ago when LPR's Issues Etc. chose not to cover a story of an LCMS minister caught up in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election in favour of Donald Trump.
https://g3min.org/book-review-the-puritans-in-africa-by-w-de-klerk/
Cantrell offers some insightful commentary regarding Afrikaner Theology and how it devolved into Apartheid. I'm not sure I buy the True/False Calvinism distinction though. First, there's the issue and question of Calvinism which is broad and difficult to define. Second, there is the Dutch Calvinist legacy and its heavy emphasis on an integrated culture - seen particularly in the thought of Abraham Kuyper.
When I heard Starmer's diatribe against immigrants in back in May, I thought of Enoch Powell and wondered if anyone would make the connection. They certainly did - at least in the UK.
I happened to listen to a recent Family Life Network (FLN) piece on gambling. This is a frequently visited topic as it concerns both New York and Pennsylvania, the network's listening area. Both states have in recent years opened up online betting and New York and Pennsylvania have both been involved in casino expansion. In New York, the Indian reservations have become popular venues, while Pennsylvania has allowed some casinos to open up in the Poconos and there are a few horse racing venues in the state.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/6/26/president_donald_trump_nato_iran
I was pleased to find this story touching on some larger questions that the mainstream media tends to downplay or ignore. The question of increased military budgets and militarism go hand in hand with the cutting of social services and tax cuts - some of the key economic planks of Trumpism.
https://georgewashingtonbible.com/pages/foreword-dr-peter-a-lillback
While perusing the nationalist idolatry and filth being promoted on some other Evangelical sites, I encountered this gem from PCA pastor Peter Lillback, who is also president of Westminster Seminary - to that institution's discredit and shame. Lillback has been known to me for many years as he is a leading champion of the syncretism I refer to as Christo-Americanism. This forward from the 'George Washington Bible' testifies to this.
https://tifwe.org/remembering-those-who-gave-the-greatest-sacrifice/
This was a Memorial Day-related article but it's just as appropriate for the 4th of July and indeed this whole 'Patriotic' period that seems to afflict the Church in the United States.
Littlejohn of The Davenant Institute is an avowed disciple of the Doug Wilson sect and offers his appreciation to not only Wilson and Douglas Jones, but Peter Leithart. This reveals a great deal in terms of his formation.
We homeschooled all of our children but I never wanted to join HSLDA. I know many who found them helpful or called upon them for legal aid, but I could not in good conscience give them money or turn to them for support.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence/news/italian-defence-minister-questions-relevance-of-nato/
Meloni has one face for Brussels and Washington, and another that she has revealed in her history. Has she changed? Has she mediated? Has she learned that it's one thing to campaign as an opposition party and another to actually govern? Maybe. The jury is still out.
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/04/how-bob-parry-covered-odessa-fire-that-sparked-a-war/
This is not only a mostly forgotten episode but one crucial to understand the complex of events and motives that led to Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This is not to justify Putin's actions. Rather the story in this case is the need for harsh condemnation of Western media which refused to seriously cover this event (and similar stories) and revisit them during the lead up to Putin's invasion. To this day, the statements of his government have never been taken seriously and when sound bytes are played or recounted out of context the purpose is to suggest he's either insane or simply absurd.
There's so much that could be said right now about events in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran and the potential for a wider war including the United States and others.
For my part I think about scenarios in which the war could go sideways or the aftermath of a regime collapse.
https://newrepublic.com/post/195266/mike-johnson-donald-trump-defense-corruption
This story from May is already outdated but the substance is still pertinent. In addition to his hypocritical defense of the January 6 protesters (especially when compared to the Trumpite faction's rhetoric concerning Los Angeles), Johnson recently spun the incident involving California Senator Padilla at the Kristi Noem press conference. He put the blame on Padilla and suggested he 'charged' the podium - which is pure rubbish and he knows it. The Senator was thrown to the ground and handcuffed - an incident that reminded me of Charles Sumner getting caned on the Senate floor in 1856. These incidents are all pieces of a puzzle that future historians will point to when commenting on the collapse of America and its pending civil war.
https://churchleaders.com/news/510090-anti-christian-bias-task-force-religious-discrimination.html
This so-called 'Anti-Christian Bias Task Force' is part of Trump's plan to weaponize the Justice Department and his Evangelical allies are eager to cooperate and seek a position of preference and favour in US society and the legal system.
One might wish that Evangelical leaders would be a little more familiar with history. If so, they might raise an eyebrow at the sabre-rattling of politicians and be a little more cynical of their motivations. Make no mistake, many are motivated by nationalist interests vis-a-vis Atlanticism or the EU. Others are simply in line to profit from military expansion and militarism.
https://cne.news/article/1753-giorgia-meloni-woman-mother-and-christian
This article proudly proclaims Meloni's roots and ties to the MSI - the Italian Social Movement, the pro-Mussolini party that was founded in the aftermath of the war. The party would splinter in 1995 with one faction merging into Berlusconi's movement and the rest into smaller parties such as the Lega Nord (just Lega today) and the National Alliance (AN) - the party that Meloni cut her teeth in. Her Brothers of Italy (FdI) emerged from the AN, but the Mussolini-based roots are clear not only terms of political-institutional pedigree but ideology.
https://theaquilareport.com/christians-stop-calling-them-monsters/
This was a bit of a frustrating read. Marion is correct in saying that terms like 'monster' get overused and an appeal can be made to that end regarding the imago dei, however any appeal to Genesis 1 must also take in the fall, the curse, death, and the fear and dread (Genesis 9) that man spreads upon the Earth - points he seemingly does not take into account.
I am hardly alone in following the coverage of the Trump-Musk schism which as of this writing continues to escalate. The media tends to focus on the dynamics of the relationship falling into all the 'bromance' talk of the present generation - a sign of the culture's decadence that has degraded friendship and has a tendency to cast all relationships and interactions into some kind of sexual terms. It's tiresome to say the least.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpPRkyXrBd0
Jeffrey Sachs is something of a rising star when it comes to commentary on Trumpian economics but in particular the question of Russia and American foreign policy. Since the death of Stephen Cohen, Sachs is one of the few voices in academia that commands respect even while positing a counter-Establishment view.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/12/ecuador-president-blackwater-alliance
Ecuador had been part of the so-called Pink Tide of Latin American nations that had turned turned to Left-wing governments during the George Bush era. The term of Rafael Correa (2007-2017) came to symbolize this era for Ecuador. After Correa departed office, his party continued holding power but the shift was underway. By 2021 a conservative (and pro-Washington) president was in power but his tenure was marked by controversy, corruption, and ultimately collapse.
