Friday PM ~ TheFrontPageCover

[Rudy Tirre]

The Front Page Cover

~ Featuring ~

Zip It, Already!
by Rebecca Hagelin

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 A Game Changer in North Korean Aggression 

Tuesday's successful test flight of North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) opens a new chapter in what is becoming an increasingly tense relationship between the U.S. and the hermit kingdom. Experts agree that Kim Jung Un's ICBM has the capacity to strike Alaska, providing the dictator with the potential to pose a direct threat to the U.S. itself and not just our regional allies. This is a game changer. It must now be admitted that U.S. policy over the past two decades regarding North Korea's continued weapon development program has for the most part failed.

          "The United States strongly condemns North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. "Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world. Global action is required to stop a global threat. Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime. All nations should publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences to their pursuit of nuclear weapons." Furthermore, Tillerson said, "As we, along with others, have made clear, we will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea."

          It's apparent that Kim has decided he is in a race for survival. Clearly, recent international pressure, including long-running UN sanctions, has done little to slow North Korea's missile development program. Kim believes that no one will risk war with a nuclear power, so he's gambling that he can become enough of a nuclear threat before the U.S. and the rest of the world act so as to deter any militaristic action against his rogue nation.

          Now Donald Trump is faced with what will be his toughest foreign policy challenge yet. China and Russia have called for the U.S. and South Korea to end their annual joint war-games training, which the North hates, while Beijing and Moscow have also called on the North to end its missile development program. For Trump to agree to this would be a mistake, as it essentially plays right into the North's demands — the Kim regime has a long history of breaking promises. What makes the situation that much more difficult is North Korea's relationship with China. Any military action taken by the U.S. against North Korea risks serious concerns over conflict with China. Even though the North has proven to be quite the headache for Beijing, the Chinese seem entirely unwilling to lose the buffer zone between themselves and U.S. ally South Korea. Or to lose their trading partner. Trump noted, "Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us."

          Herein lies the quandary: The only real shot at drawing down North Korean aggression without resorting to military action is through China. The U.S. strategy then must be aimed at pushing China to act. Trump should begin discussions on the possibility of arming South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapon capabilities to match that of the North Koreans. This will provide a strong incentive for China to act immediately.

          Trump will be meeting with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jingping at the G20 Summit this week. Can Trump work to solve the North Korean crisis without the use of military action? That is the hope, but in the long run military action may be required. ~The Patriot Post

https://patriotpost.us/digests/50041

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House Dem IT Suspects Wanted Untraceable

Payments — And Sure Enough, Millions Disappeared

by Luke Rosiak

{dailycaller.com} ~ A Pakistani family under criminal investigation by the U.S. Capitol Police for abusing their access to the House of Representatives information technology (IT) system may have engaged in myriad other questionable schemes... besides allegedly placing “ghost employees” on the congressional payroll. Imran Awan, his wife Hina, and brothers Abid and Jamal collectively netted more than $4 million in salary as IT administrators for House Democrats between 2009 and 2017. Yet the absence of signs of wealth displayed among them raise questions such as was the money sent overseas or did something other than paychecks motivate their actions? Capitol Police revoked the Awans’ access to the congressional IT system in February 2017 after a major data breach was detected... http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/05/house-dem-it-suspects-wanted-untraceable-payments-and-sure-enough-millions-disappeared/

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Justice Kennedy Tells October 2018

Clerkship Applicants He’s Considering Retirement

by Rick Hasen

{electionlawblog.org} ~ But it is unlikely that Kennedy will remain on the court for the full four years of the Trump presidency... While he long ago hired his law clerks for the coming term, he has not done so for the following term beginning Oct. 2018, and has let applicants for those positions know he is considering retirement. Kennedy’s position on the court is more than consequential. In the most hotly contested and closely divided cases, his vote often decides the outcome. With every passing day, it has become more clear that President Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, is probably even more conservative than the justice he replaced, Antonin Scalia. This would put Justice Kennedy’s retirement right before the 2018 midterms, giving the Republican base reasons to turn out and keep the Senate with a Republican majority already a strong possibility in 2018... http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93506

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Islamist Linda Sarsour

calls for 'jihad' against Trump

by Leo Hohmann

{wnd.com} ~ Linda Sarsour, the Woman’s March organizer and bombastic street-preacher for radical Islam, addressed the 54th annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America last weekend... and called on all American Muslims to “stay outraged” and go on jihad against the Trump administration. Sarsour, on the prime-time stage of the nation’s largest Islamist organization, gave a fiery speech in which she told her audience not to assimilate into American culture. If they are not constantly in a state of rage against the Trump administration, she said, they are traitors to Allah. “Why sisters and brothers, why are we so unprepared? Why are we so afraid of this administration and the potential chaos that they will ensue on our community?” she asked. “I hope that when we stand up to those who oppress our communities, that Allah accepts from us that as a form of jihad.”...Sarsour needs to be charged for incitement of attacks on this country and be deported.   http://www.wnd.com/2017/07/islamist-linda-sarsour-calls-for-jihad-against-trump/

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Why the Left Is Wrong About Welfare Reform

by Jarrett Stepman

{dailysignal.com} ~ Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, recently proposed a bill, backed by the conservative House Freedom Caucus, that would increase work requirements for those on welfare, as well as create billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers... This would be the most significant overhaul of American welfare laws since the Republican Congress and President Bill liar-Clinton worked out a deal in 1996. However, left-wing detractors have been quick to attack the welfare reform idea, both claiming that the 1996 law didn’t work and that the recent legislation is merely a way to provide tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the poor. A recent Vox article characterized the welfare reform bill as a partisan push from Republicans that benefits very few at the expense of many. The piece questioned the idea that work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents produced widespread benefits and portrayed the particulars of the modern bill as being overly harsh toward the needy...They don't recall how it worked out in 1996. http://dailysignal.com/2017/07/05/left-wrong-welfare-reform/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWXpBNFl6STVZMlJsT1dZMiIsInQiOiI2TE1NOW5PM2RWNlc4WnhzMmlvUTc2YjR5SDljV2s2QVwveFZZbWJqYUJleDk2anR3K2hRYVUxNkROcUplaU1JcXNcL2lBT0lpbW5icVNpSGZcL29EOW1oY3ZRc0FZcENiUHUra1wvU3RLUWdZT0xEa2plZlJ4eEdzeHhiYURGXC93ZUhYIn0%3D

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UNESCO: Cave of the 

Patriarchs belongs to Palestinian Authority

by Chana Roberts

{israelnationalnews.com} ~ UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Friday announced their decision to award Israel's Cave of the Patriarchs (Me'arat Hamachpela) to convicted terrorist and Hevron Mayor Tiyassir Abu Sanina... as a representative of the Fatah's Palestinian Authority. The resolution passed 12-3, with six abstentions, and declares the site to be an "endangered" "Palestinian heritage site." Adam and Eve, as well as Avraham and Sarah, Yitzhak and Rivka, and Yaakov and Leah, are buried in the cave, which Avraham bought from Ephron the Hittite, long before Islam existed. "The hypocrisy knows no bounds," Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) said. "The Palestinians campaign of incitement and lies via UNESCO."... http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232148?utm_source=activetrail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

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Zip It, Already!

by Rebecca Hagelin

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
— Proverbs 25:11

{townhall.com} ~ This  timeless verse states the universal truth that we all need to be reminded of: When we choose our words and our tone wisely, our  communication is of great value.

Lately,  I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of speech. In my quiet time of personal Bible study, reflection and prayer, my focus for the last several weeks has been to relearn what God says about speech that is acceptable, beneficial and even required in order for it to be valuable and effective for good.

Then out of the blue, I discovered that a dear friend of mine whom I have not seen for far too long had recently written a book titled “The Power of the Zip” with the very intriguing subtitle, “Trigger a Tsunami of Transformation — One Conversation at a Time.”

The book cover features a photo of my beautiful friend, author Jill Kamp Melton, with a zipper plastered across her mouth.

Do you ever wish certain people had zippers installed on their mouths that you could reach over and zzzzip them shut when they start using foul language, saying inappropriate things or talking too much? More important, have you ever wished you would have just zipped shut your own flapping lips? I know I have.

Sometimes,  it’s a single sentence or sarcastic tone I regret, but once the words have been spoken, they zoom off at the speed of sound, leaving me without any ability to recapture them or know how severely they wounded the hearts of those who were targeted. Sometimes, as every parent knows and regrets the shrapnel of ugly speech can even injure unintended victims like children or coworkers standing out of sight but in clear earshot of the conversation.

The  Book of Proverbs is rich with wisdom about communication. If you spend  time over the summer meditating on this timeless “wisdom book” and combine it with an effective manual like “The Power of the Zip” to help you practice changing your bad speech habits into good ones, by the fall you will find that you are more satisfied in your relationships and more peaceful in your soul.

Proverbs 14:6 says: “Gracious words are a honeycomb; sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Truer words were never written.

Jill brilliantly goes way beyond this important lesson about words, explaining in secular terms the many biblical lessons about speech and showing us how to have truly meaningful conversations. Her wonderful book is filled with “self assessments and worksheets that will help you replace what you ‘used’ to do with what you ‘can’ do using the Power of the Zip and thirty-seven other powers.”

The  “powers” Jill teaches us to use in our conversations include how to listen, when to wait before you speak, how to think about and choose your words wisely, how to speak the truth boldly and lovingly, and how to be tactful so that your important points are not ignored due to bad timing or a rude approach. She includes lessons to help us learn how to speak forcefully and effectively from a position of righteous indignation (aka controlled anger) when necessary.

Jill  is an excellent teacher with years of experience in providing workshops and personal instruction in the art of powerful communication to businesses and organizations. For example, her chapter on questioning effectively can be tremendously beneficial to employers and parents who want to inspire their teams and children to learn from their own errors. Jill incorporates the ancient Hebrew and Socratic methods of using helpful questioning to teach students to discover truths for themselves instead of merely “telling” them what to think. It’s life-changing, transformational stuff.

I’ve long believed that the Bible includes everything we need to know about effective communication and that studying and applying the way Jesus communicated can transform our hearts and our relationships. Now, thanks to Jill, we have a practical guide to help us effectively “speak truth to power” and more important, help enrich relationships with the people we interact with on a daily basis. Although not a Christian or faith book per se, the foundations of Jill’s tips are based on timeless biblical truths.

https://townhall.com/columnists/reaganmccarthy/2017/07/06/untitled-n2350953?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=