As a government shutdown looms, the Democrat campaign arm is going off on a two-day holiday at a five-star resort in the heart of California’s wine country to take place during the shutdown. Politico’s Playbook made the announcement. The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee is holding it at a Napa retreat from October 13 through the […] The post Dem Campaign Arm Plans Luxury Getaway During Shutdown & Firings appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

German tourists captured the wholesome moment when they surprised their driver with his first-ever safari experience. Gina Haerle was on holiday in South Africa with her friend Marina, staying at a private game reserve, about two hours from Cape Town. Their driver had mentioned that he had never been on a safari and the tourists […] The post Tourists Surprise Driver with His First-Ever Safari –Buying a Ticket So He Could Go Instead of Waiting in Car (Watch) appeared first on Good News Network.

PITTSBURGH—If you were looking for young people distraught over Sept. 10’s brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk here, you were looking in the wrong place. They went to The Sanctuary church by the busloads. Even Pastor Jason Howard was taken aback by the size and scope of the number of young people who came out on Sunday, Sept. 14, for service. “I’ll be honest with you, I am in my 40s, so I was caught off guard by the response from people who are in my church in their 20s. They were much more in tune with Charlie’s influence than I was,” he explained. But his assistant pastor, Cole Yocca, was very much tuned in. “He is 22 years old, and his immediate reaction was to spontaneously just put out on social media that we were going to gather to pray. And the day after Charlie was assassinated, he had a whole bunch of people just gather in his backyard to pray,” Howard explained. “The response was, we are going to be bold and unashamed about the message of Jesus more than ever before,” he said of both the Sept. 11 vigil and the packed Sunday services. The Sanctuary Church is a nondenominational Christian congregation that caught my eye several years ago. I first saw it holding spontaneous baptisms in the Allegheny River three years ago. And then I followed the mission work it does. It has had a massive growth in young people attending services in the past few years. Howard says people are using this word: revival. “I love that word. And when we talk about revival, we really mean dead things coming back to life. And this idea is that there is a generation of people who are desperate and who need God,” he said. Howard noticed in the past few years that there had been an awakening among young people. “We want to see our generation come to faith in Jesus. And the young people are more passionate than I’ve ever seen in my life, and unashamed,” he said. That is what Howard believes made young people connect with Kirk. “He embraced his faith unashamedly, and I have to tell you, when our church started 13 years ago, Christianity was inherently countercultural. It would not be accepted in the general public discourse,” he said. Howard said that when they started, the question was, “How can we make this message relevant to people? And how can we relate this to young people in a way they can grasp?” “That is not the dynamic at all anymore. Today, the dynamic is bold, unashamed: There is salvation in Jesus, and the whole world needs to know, and we are not trying to ease you into it or slowly convince you towards it. It’s like this bold, passionate battle cry. There’s hope in Jesus. And the boldness and the fearlessness has come along with Gen Z.” The Sanctuary congregation was packed with young college kids from the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. The church is operated in the heart of the city, which has a decidedly left-leaning culture. Young people of all ethnic backgrounds attend, with most coming from the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham College, Point Park University, and Duquesne University. “These young people are rejecting an ideology that’s inherently against the idea of God. And so, somehow in interesting ways, that has crossed into what’s happening politically. But there in my church, there is very, very, very little conversation about politics. That’s not the conversation. The conversation is, people need Jesus and a return to traditional ways of thinking about identity and relationships, and our place in the world, and what really matters in life,” Howard explained. What drew them to Kirk wasn’t politics. Instead, it was upholding traditions such as marriage and not being afraid to thank God for their blessings, said Howard. “These young people are not afraid to get married and have children. It’s sort of a return to what really matters in life. And I’m seeing that all across the board with younger people. And people want a sense of meaning. People want a sense of belonging,” he said. “People want purpose.” Last August, he saw a movement at the University of Pittsburgh when a Christian organization started a chapter with hundreds of students participating. “Add to that, you’ve got these Pitt football players who are bold about their faith in Jesus, who are planning this huge event this coming Thursday. And there is this resurgence of young people wanting Christianity. And I’m looking back in just honest amazement,” he said. “The wave has been rising. And I think that the assassination of Charlie Kirk just reinforces some of these core values. And I think that it is going to be a catalyst in that direction for sure,” he said. The Sanctuary wasn’t the only congregation to be filled to the rafters. My tiny little country Catholic church was packed in the aisles and at the door. People across X posted photos of their families going to church either for the first time in a long time, for the first time ever, or seeing their own pews filled with people seeking purpose and finding resolve. Howard said this return to faith may not be just about Kirk, adding that not everyone at their services agreed with all of his politics. “But the one thing that everyone is agreeing on is his boldness about his faith in Jesus,” he said. Before Kirk’s death, there was this sense that if you talked about your faith, there would be guaranteed backlash, explained Howard. “You see this politically. Well, it’s similar when it comes to faith, where it’s like, if I’m open and honest about what I really believe, I will be called a bigot. I will be called hateful. I will be called an enemy of love, and I will be sidelined, and I’ll be persecuted. And that has been the reality for the last 20 years,” he said. “Well, now what you’re seeing is people who are saying, I don’t care. I’m going to be bold and unashamed,” Howard said. “These kids have a light that pierces through the darkness, and that can actually change what’s wrong in our world,” Howard said. “And this is our moment.” COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM  We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Awakening Few See Coming appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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Charlie Kirk’s memorial service was wasn’t just a remembrance — it was a revelation.The memorial service was Christian nationalism in nascent, immature form. Not everyone who spoke was a Christian — and Christian nationalism does not require that. Yet what stood out most was that even people who do not share Charlie’s faith in Jesus showed open respect for the gospel. Everyone at the service was operating under the Christian gaze.As the left grows more openly hostile to Christian belief, the right is becoming more consistently Christian.The truth is this: We cannot make America great again without making America Christian again, which in turn means making America biblical again.MAGA needs MACA and MABA.No neutral groundFor too long, Republicans spoke in vague religious clichés, paying lip service to an undefined faith in a nameless god. But Kirk’s memorial service was different. We saw speaker after speaker dare to define his faith in explicitly Christian terms.This marks a seismic shift in a very short period of time. At the memorial, civil magistrates openly proclaimed the lordship of Christ as public truth. Media influencers called on us to repent of our particular sins particularly. A new widow forgave her husband’s alleged killer, in accord with Jesus’ teaching, and civil magistrates promised to use their power to terrorize evildoers, in accord with Romans 13.As the left grows more openly hostile to Christian belief, the right is becoming more consistently Christian.The lines are more clearly drawn than ever before. Both the service itself and the events of the last two weeks illustrate this reality.Perhaps the most important part of the memorial was that Charlie Kirk’s legacy was accurately portrayed. Charlie consistently emphasized the cultural, political, and civilizational impact of Christian faith. Unlike many pastors, he was willing to connect the dots, linking his Christian beliefs to every sphere of life: economics, marriage and family, immigration and nationhood, limited government, and more.For him, the Christian faith was not a private set of religious ideas but a comprehensive system of truth that works in the real world. He challenged people (especially college students) with a biblical worldview, demonstrating that Christian faith offers coherent and compelling answers to both the pressing personal and political questions of the day.That conviction came through in the memorial service, and for that I am grateful.Third-wayism failsIt's now becoming painfully obvious that the “third-wayism” of so many “Big Eva” leaders has been exposed as untenable.Third-wayism treats both sides of the political spectrum as morally equivalent, with each side getting some things right and other things wrong. Third-wayism advocates attempt to remain neutral, in order to avoid controversy and causing offense.But in reality, there is no middle ground between progressive/secular and conservative/Christian political commitments. Those who want to avoid the culture war will still be drawn into it — just on the wrong side.Third-wayists try to stay above the fray, but in doing so they actually compromise with evil. Because they insist on balancing left and right, if the left radicalizes and moves farther left, the third-wayist must also shift leftward in order to remain in the “middle.” In the process, third-way advocates end up justifying extreme progressive positions simply to maintain their supposed neutrality.They are constantly chasing an Overton window that keeps moving leftward.RELATED: How JD Vance exposed the convenient theology of progressive Christians JimLarkin/iStock/Getty Images PlusAt its core, third-wayism attempts to treat progressivism as equally compatible with the Christian faith as conservatism. It's true that there exists a kind of Christ-less conservatism that reduces faith to cultural nostalgia or civic religion. This kind of “bar-stool conservatism” should be critiqued and rejected. But in general, conservative positions overlap with biblical truth, whereas progressive positions stand as its direct antithesis.Conservative, or traditional, Christian theology simply cannot mix with progressive politics any more than oil can mix with water.Third-wayism is not humility or evangelistic wisdom. Rather, it's a form of the fear of man disguised as humility. It seeks to ingratiate itself with the left — never to the right. It's surrender rather than engagement, following rather than leading. It lacks substance and depth. It has no coherent political philosophy of its own. Its positions are dictated by how far to the left the progressive zeitgeist is willing to go. Third-wayists are easily manipulated precisely because of their refusal to take a firm stand. The third-wayist cannot draw a line in the sand.The third-wayism dynamic, therefore, produces the familiar “coddle the left, punch the right” tendency, where progressive evils are gently excused while conservative shortcomings are harshly condemned. It assumes there is neutrality in the culture war when, in reality, there is none.The third-wayist paradigm that has dominated the church in recent decades has allowed the culture to keep moving leftward without resistance. It never actually fights the battles that most need to be fought.Christian faith, however, is not a private sentiment that can remain above political conflict.Christ or chaosThe Christian faith is a fighting faith. It's a civilization-building, culture-transforming faith. It claims to be public truth, rooted in hard-edged historical fact. It's inherently political because it makes demands on rulers and the ruled alike. It includes an ethic that governs all of life, including political life.America is dividing between those who embrace a consistently Christian vision of life and those who oppose it.When King David commanded the kings of the earth to “kiss the Son,” there was no third way. When the apostles proclaimed “Jesus is Lord,” they were not splitting the difference between competing political poles. When Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth belong to him, he left no middle ground. When Christians say that life in the womb must be protected, there is no third option; the baby will either live or be murdered. When Christians say men are men and women are women, there is no place for the third-wayist to run and hide from the truth.The gospel does not call us to neutrality. It calls us to allegiance. Third-wayism, by pretending otherwise, only serves to mask compromise as virtue. Third-wayism is a denial of Jesus’ lordship.Charlie’s legacy is at the heart of this moment. Charlie never took the third way. He took the Christian way. He refused to compromise with the madness and folly of the left. Charlie’s ministry and martyrdom are a sign that the time for fence-sitting is over.The lines are drawn.America is dividing into two camps: one that bows to Christ and one that rages against him. The future belongs to those who have the courage to say what Charlie Kirk said with his life — that Christian faith is not optional if we want a civilization worth living in. America is dividing between those who embrace a consistently Christian vision of life and those who oppose it.Which side are you on? Only two options are on the table — not three.The memorial service revealed something profound: a clear contrast between two moral and spiritual visions of America and the need for courage in identifying with the one that aligns with biblical truth rather than cowardly compromise. Charlie embodied that courage, and his legacy continues to press the church and the nation toward a faith that is not abstract but applied — a faith that shapes culture, politics, economics, and civilization itself.The memorial marked more than the remembrance of one man. It revealed a cultural realignment that Charlie helped bring about. His courage in connecting Christian faith to every dimension of life is the kind of legacy that points the way forward.

I have one short story to share about Charlie Kirk, my friend.He became a friend of mine because I interrogated him one time. Nineteen-year-olds are my specialty. I asked him some questions he couldn’t answer. And he was already becoming famous. And I noticed his reaction. He asked, “What should I do?”And I said: Well, you have to suffer. If you want to grow, you have to suffer. It’s hard to learn — into the night, crack of dawn in the morning. Start with the Bible. Read the classics. Study the founding of America. In those places you will find that there’s a ladder that reaches up toward God. And at the bottom of it are the ordinary good things that are around us everywhere. If we can call them by their names — they have being, and the beings of the good things are figments of God. You will find that article in Aristotle. You will find it in the Bible. You will find it in Madison and Jefferson.“How do I learn that?” he asked. I answered, “You have to suffer. You have to study. You have to think.” I thought I’d never hear from him again.I keep a list in my head of the six or eight young people who are the best I ever saw. Charlie is the only one on that list who was never a full-time student at Hillsdale College.Within a month, he got hold of my cell phone number, and he texted me a copy of a certificate of completion of a Hillsdale College online course. He would go on to do that 31 times.I keep a list in my head of the six or eight young people who are the best I ever saw — and I’m very privileged that I get to know many inspiring young people. Charlie is the only one on that list who was never a full-time student at Hillsdale College.We will miss him dearly. He can’t be replaced.Just like I told Charlie years ago, a good thing is a thing that has being. An assassin is not a thing that has being. The assassin must give up his humanity to destroy something that has being. Charlie lives on. The assassin will die.RELATED: How Charlie Kirk’s life shows the power of self-education Photo by Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesMy wife and I have set up a scholarship in the hope that Charlie’s children will go to a good college. I have one in mind. And this May 9, we at Hillsdale College are going to give Charlie and Erika the greatest respect a college can give: an honorary degree.Charlie has suffered enough. He’s gone to the Lord. He deserves his reward.Editors’ note: These remarks were delivered at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, September 21, and were originally published at the American Mind.

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