An Unexpected Line in the Sand

There has been talk for millennia about the wheat and the tares and the eventual separation of the two that Jesus foretold. I don’t know if that separation is happening in the ultimate sense right now, but something is happening and it is significantly unsettling. I admit, I thought any major, society-wide division would be on more nuanced grounds. The brashness of the current situation surprises me. There seems to be a division arising between those who endorse murder and those who do not. I’m not talking about taking someone’s…

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Grassroots Groups Announce 500K Call Push to Protect Health Care in Shutdown Showdown

Indivisible, MoveOn, and Working Families Power Combine Efforts to Ensure Dems Keep Holding the Line WASHINGTON – As health care premiums prepare to go up and the Trump-Republican shutdown continues, grassroots groups are coming together to push half a million calls to Congress to protect health care access.  Throughout this week, Indivisible, MoveOn Civic Action, and Working Families Power (WFP) are activating their members to place calls to Congress to demand they preserve ACA subsidies and reinstate life-saving Medicaid funding that Republicans gutted to make way for tax cuts for…

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Pro-democracy advocates worried over Trump overtures to Putin-friendly Belarus

From North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Trump has shown a willingness to negotiate with even the world’s most oppressive leaders — and it’s no different for Alexander Lukashenko , the iron-fisted 71-year-old authoritarian who has ruled Belarus since 1994. The Washington Times stories: White House

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Government shutdown layoffs to occur ‘very soon,’ White House warns

After congressional appropriations lapsed and a government shutdown began at midnight on Oct. 1, the Trump administration now warns that further federal employee layoffs are imminent. It’s unclear which agencies will move forward with potential layoffs, beyond at least one agency — the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — that on Wednesday issued layoff notices. Vice President JD Vance doubled down on the Office of Management and Budget’s last week’s directive to terminate more federal employees in the case of a government shutdown. “If this thing drags on for another few…

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How Democrats Backed Themselves Into a Shutdown

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The government shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. is the sixth such closure in the past three decades. It was easily the most foreseeable. That congressional Democrats would force this confrontation became clear almost from the moment they ducked a clash over spending with Republicans in March. Back then, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer convinced just enough of his members that a government shutdown would empower President Donald Trump to govern even more…

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Why Schumer Shut Down the Government, According to JD Vance

Democrats shut down the government because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is afraid he will lose his Senate seat to radical leftist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a party primary, Vice President JD Vance said at a Wednesday press briefing. “Why did this happen? Why did the Democrats shut down the government despite, as [White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt] said, voting on the exact same piece of legislation six months ago?” Vance asked rhetorically. “One answer I already gave is that they want to give health care benefits to illegal…

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