It was a simple request. Stand up if you agree. Was it so hard to do?
“The first duty of the American government is to protect its citizens, not illegal immigrants.” If you agree, stand up.
Some Democrats had stood, reluctantly, several times during the State of the Union speech. Some refused to stand for anything.
But it was this point in the speech. Every American in the House chambers should have been on their feet. He did not ask them to applaud. He did not ask them to cheer. He just asked them to stand.
There were many memorable moments in the two-hour State of the Union address. There were cheers and applause for the USA Hockey team.
Tears came to my eyes at the reunion of the Venezuelan political prisoner with his niece. They were clearly emotional as well. Trump then told the pair to go enjoy themselves.
One after another the President introduced military heroes and gave them awards. Two received the highest military honor possible, the Congressional Medal of Honor, right on the spot.
He recognized victims of crimes by illegal immigrants to emphasize why he slammed the border shut He explained that that is why he is now aggressively going after hardened criminals who entered our nation illegally.
It was during the speech that he made the simple request to stand. Democrats sat on their hands. It makes me wonder if the Democrats will stand for anything.
Chuck Schumer said, “We’ll set up an appointment with him, anytime, anyplace.” Take him up on that offer today and the issue will be settled.
Mr. President, schedule a meeting for 5:00 pm today, October 23, 2025. Include in that meeting Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Include one simple provision in the scheduled meeting. The government must be open for business.
At 3:00 pm today, Senate Majority Leader John Thune schedule a vote on the no-strings attached continuing resolution. A YES vote sends the bill for the President to sign and keeps the meeting on schedule. A NO vote cancels the meeting.
Schumer gets his meeting, and the American people get their government back. It is a win-win for everyone.
I just read an open letter to President Trump by Pastor Douglas Wilson about questions of eternity. President Trump recently made comments about hoping that he would make it to heaven and even expressed a doubt that he would make it to heaven. Pastor Wilson took that opportunity to address the deep questions of human mortality.
Every time I hear President Trump talk about heaven and how he might get there, it appears that he judges his standing before God through mere mortal eyes. There is a general view that Christianity is like a set of scales.
Do good and it goes on one side. Do bad and it goes on the other. When the clock runs out in this life, just check the scales to see which side wins out.
Seems to be reasonable – but it is a lie straight out of the pit of hell. The Bible says, “There is a way which that seems right to a man but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 ESV)
So what is the right way to be assured of heaven and eternity with God? The right and only way is through the person of Jesus Christ.
The Condition of Man – Mankind is infected with sin. The Bible says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 ESV) Sin is not a behavior, it is a condition. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10 ESV)
God’s Provision – Man was hopelessly lost in unrighteousness, “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 ESV) Jesus came into this world, lived a perfect life, and gave Himself as payment for mankind’s unrighteousness. He is the unique and only provision that God made for man’s sin.
The Required Response – God presents to man a free gift of full payment for man’s sin. Here is the catch – man must accept God’s free offer. This becomes a sticking point for many. It appears that it may be a sticking point for President Trump.
It is not a matter of doing enough good works. Man’s condition rules that out. God holds up a standard of perfection which man could never meet, but God did in Jesus.
What does it require to be right with God and spend eternity in heaven?
It requires that an individual be humble enough to recognize that he cannot save himself.
It requires repentance or turning around in your thinking from relying on self.
It requires faith and trusting in Jesus Christ as the only way to be right with God.
The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
President Trump is surrounded by Christians who have received the gift of eternal life. That is no accident. Those around him understand how to be right with God. It would not surprise me to learn that some of them have had this discussion with President Trump.
What is his spiritual condition? He may need to stop relying on what he thinks are good deeds and trust in Jesus. Then again, he may have done that and just needs a clarification on what makes him right.
Whatever his standing with God, assurance is available as a free gift and it is available to anyone. Just humbly turn from any other reliance and place your trust in Jesus to experience hope, assurance, and confidence in your relationship with God.
I cannot express enough how angry I am at this moment. I have just read multiple articles about several leaders in the Young Republican organizations who used vile, vulgar, racist language over the past several months in chat rooms.
The Board of Directors of the National Young Republicans has condemned the language and demanded the resignation of each one who used the language. I’ll take it a step further. If any of these happen to be holding or running for an elected position of any kind, they need to resign immediately and get out of the race.
I do not even want to repeat the language used but I need to in order to shine the light. Politico released 2900 pages of these references! Making reference to blacks people some referred to them as “monkeys,” “watermelon people,” and used the “n” word. Rape was referred to as “epic.” There were antisemitic and pro-hitler comments. I don’t need to go anymore and it only gets worse.
This scandal by some in leadership positions in several states cannot be tolerated. Thankfully, the Board of Directors released an immediate statement and called for the resignations of all involved.
“We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article published today. Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents. Those involved must immediately resign from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations. We must hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity, respect, and professionalism. Board of Directors”
This should be a call to clean up language – not just politically incorrect language. It seems that over the past few years, the use of profanity has grown from taboo to tolerated to typical.
From President on down profane language in public has become common place. This Young Republican scandal reveals that the language in what is thought to be private is even worse.
We should not be surprised to hear of such stench coming out of the mouths and from the keyboards of some today. The intolerable language displayed by these Young Republicans started with the foul language that is more and more tolerated.
It is hypocrisy to say family values and in the same breath drop an f-bomb. Stop it! Right now.
The simple old-fashioned answer comes not with “regretting,” but with repentance. Mr. President, let it start with you. Make a commitment to clean up your language today.
You sports coaches (yes, in case there is any question, this includes Kirby Smart) who are charged with building character. Build some character by letting your players see the immediate change in the words you speak and the words you no longer utter.
Blasting this group of Young Republicans for their corrupt communications does not get to the root of the problem. Look deeper into the mindset and attitude that pollutes language with unwholesome words.
That’s all I have to say for right now. Let me just ask you, my friend, if you need to check the words you use. It does not begin with someone else, it begins with the first person singular. Thanks for reading.
One week ago I shared my thoughts on a deal to release the hostages and end the war in Gaza. One of the main actors in the deal was Hamas.
The reputation of Hamas is not one of reliability. President Trump, however, insisted that the deal was promising.
This morning, with respect to the remaining living hostages, the agreement came to fruition. President Trump flew to the region to put his signature on the agreement.
The last of the hostages were transferred from captivity to freedom at about the same time as Air Force One was touching down. It was almost as if Trump choreographed the scene.
Today is a day of rejoicing and thanking God for answered prayers. It is only the first step of a long journey in rebuilding, not only a war-torn region, but war-torn hearts.
I believe that President Trump has put the players on the right path. President Trump is looking at this next challenge through the eyes of a developer, not a diplomat.
He sees how Gaza and the entire region could be prosperous and peaceful and not just on paper. Peace and prosperity comes when the economic engine of freedom is cranked up and running full speed ahead.
Today is one of those days that you will remember. The hostages were freed today as a first step of peace. Hopefully we will see free enterprise at work to guide the journey tomorrow.
by 
