Kentucky Senator Rand Paul criticized President Donald Trump’s military actions and increased hostility to Venezuela, labeling the seizure of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers as “a provocation and a prelude to war.”

Jihad by injection. The post How a Hamas Doctor Murdered Noa Marciano appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

Scott Jennings discussed the recent TPUSA event on CNN, where he serves as a panelist. He focused on Ben Shapiro lashing out during the event at Candace Owens and her attacks on Erika Kirk. Jennings told the CNN panel that “Shapiro directly went after Candace Owens in his remarks and her posture on the conspiracy […] The post Scott Jennings on Ben Shapiro Directly Going After Candace Owens appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

I smell a suspension, and possibly a multi-game one

The economy is ripping

A pattern emerges: after years of ignoring Joe Biden’s glaring mental decline, the elitist media want to manufacture an early cognitive decline narrative with regard to President Donald Trump. We earlier spotlighted CNN’s attempt: here’s ABC’s. Watch as This Week rotating host Jon Karl (who, unlike his CNN counterparts, joins Martha Raddatz in sharing equal billing with the “star” moderator), breathlessly teases an exchange with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, wherein she will proffer evidence of “Trump’s mental incapacity:”  “Coming up, the event this week that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told me is evidence of Trump’s quote ‘mental incapacity’” – tease from @JonKarl on @ThisWeekABC pic.twitter.com/U3ZOrbQcec — Brent Baker ???? ?? (@BrentHBaker) December 21, 2025 JON KARL: Coming up, the event this week that former speaker of the E Nancy Pelosi told me is evidence of, quote: “Trump’s mental incapacity.” What could this irrefutable evidence of cognitive decline be? Upon what proof does Pelosi establish her diagnosis? It turns out that she bases this on Trump’s address on the economy: The subsequent clip from @SpeakerPelosi, about Trump’s ‘mental incapacity,’ played by @JonKarl on @ThisWeekABC pic.twitter.com/kmyljCd1is — Brent Baker ???? ?? (@BrentHBaker) December 21, 2025 NANCY PELOSI: I didn't even think about his speech, but I did see some of it in the news afterward, and I think it was a demonstration of his mental incapacity. KARL: What do you mean by that? PELOSI: Well, it was a ridiculous speech. Of course, we were all offended because of what he said about Rob Reiner just a few- and Michelle just a few days before after the tragedy. Something's wrong there, and something's wrong with the people around him that they don't stop him from his ridiculousness. KARL: Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on the president's prime-time address and his response to the brutal murders of Rob and Michelle Reiner. Our roundtable on Trump’s strange week when we come back. Ridiculousness is Pelosi’s bar for mental incapacity. Karl just sat there, like a bump on a log, as Pelosi went on about “ridiculousness.” These same people surrounded Joe Biden like a Roman phalanx and shielded him from similar scrutiny. Seldom did anyone ask Pelosi to weigh in on any of Biden’s disastrous public appearances. When they did, they were chastised and then redirected to whatever Pelosi wanted to put out into the broader conversation. In fairness, Nonna Pelosi is showing a couple miles off of her fastball, but the Elitist Media don’t dare mention that. Instead of scrutiny, they gave her a 21-microphone salute as she announced that she and her stock market winnings were riding off into the sunset after this Congress. Karl never did discuss Pelosi’s remarks with the assembled panel. It should be noted that a full interview of Pelosi did not air on This Week, nor is it available on ABC’s YouTube channel. One wonders whether there is also “ridiculousness” at play there. If it weren’t for double standards, there'd be none at all.

Modern Christianity often treats “niceness” as its highest virtue and “offending” as its worst. The American church is far too often shaped by this creed. Yet the Gospels paint a far different picture of Jesus. He was loving, compassionate, and merciful, yes — but He was also unapologetically offensive when truth required it. When we avoid speaking hard truths for the sake of being liked or preserving a shallow sense of “peace,” we slip into spiritual complacency, apathy, and lukewarmness — all things Jesus rebuked.Jesus never softened the truth to keep crowds happy.The American church has developed an aversion to tackling tough cultural issues that are, at their core, purely biblical. Pastors often retreat in fear of angry emails, pushback from congregants, or worse, the loss of Sunday pew-warmers. Last year, in my home state of South Dakota, an amendment allowing abortion up to nine months was on the ballot. A pastor of one of the state’s largest churches refused to address it, worried about being labeled the “abortion church.” He chose the path of cowardice instead of defending the innocent unborn. At its core, this kind of timidity is rooted in the fear of man, disguised as a desire to “attract” people to the gospel. Numbers are prioritized over hearts, popularity over true discipleship.What most pastors try so hard to avoid today, Jesus hit head on. Jesus offended — and offended often. His offense was never petty but was always purposeful. He never once flinched from boldly proclaiming truth because it might “offend” someone or ruffle feathers. Quite the opposite, in fact.Jesus set the example: Truth will offend The Pharisees were Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day, esteemed by many and considered high-class elites. But Jesus didn’t care how lofty and noble these men appeared to be — He saw straight through their transgressing hearts, calling them offensive names like “hypocrites,” “blind fools,” “brood of vipers,” “serpents,” “children of hell,” “whitewashed tombs,” and “greedy and self-indulgent.” Naturally they were offended. In Matthew 15:1-12 and Matthew 23, the disciples pulled Jesus aside after He offended the Pharisees by exposing their spiritual corruption. Jesus told these perceived religious zealots they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. The disciples questioned, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (Matthew 15:12). Jesus’ backbone, as stiff as steel, responded, “Let them alone; they are blind guides” (Matthew 15:14). He didn’t have any time for nonsense. Jesus didn’t just offend the Pharisees with truth; He offended His disciples too. RELATED: The era of Christian loserdom is over Christ driving money-changers from the Temple (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)In John 6, the disciples took offense at Jesus’ teaching on the bread of life. He challenged their religious assumptions and expectations about the Messiah as He proclaimed, “I am the living bread” (John 6:51), and symbolically called them to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood” (John 6:53).Their offense shows their difficulty understanding the spiritual truths that transcended human understanding. Jesus offends repeatedly all throughout the Gospel stories. When He claims He existed before Abraham as John 8:56-59 says, the Jewish leaders interpreted His teaching as blasphemy, which led them to try to stone Him. When one of the Pharisees invites Him to dinner in Luke 11:37-54, instead of a surface-level conversation about the weather, Jesus didn't waste time and immediately unmasked their hypocrisy, legalism, and spiritual emptiness. In response, they began plotting against Jesus — not repenting and humbling themselves. Jesus never softened the truth to keep crowds happy. He offended religious leaders, political authorities, and even His own followers when they opposed the kingdom of God. His love was inseparable from honesty. If we claim to follow Him, we cannot avoid offending people. Jesus reminds us in the Gospel of John that if the world hates us to remember it hated Him first. Faithful discipleship means being willing to confront lies, challenge sin, and speak truth, even when it divides, disrupts, or costs us something — or everything.Courageous truth-telling is a biblical virtueThe modern church often elevates “niceness” above righteousness and holiness. But Jesus wasn’t crucified for being nice — He was crucified because He spoke truth that offended people even though a week before they spread cloaks and branches, shouting "Hosanna" as He entered Jerusalem. I recently read through the Gospels, noticing the countless times Jesus “offended” but for good reason. He never offended for the sake of it — but always because it was the outcome of teaching truth with conviction. In Jesus’ hometown, people were both astonished and “offended” when Jesus taught in their synagogue as Matthew 13:54-57 recounts. Their familiarity led to their unbelief, and Jesus exposed the depth of their spiritual blindness. The people of Nazareth then tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. They were first impressed but then violently offended (Luke 4:16-30).'Modern religion focuses upon filling churches with people. The true gospel emphasizes filling people with God.'Imagine congregants trying to throw a modern-day pastor off a cliff because he was too bold? Oh, to have more courageous pastors who righteously offend. Many would cower to the crowds or be taken to the side by their elder board demanding they tone it down, but not Jesus; He continued preaching truth at all costs. Even up to His crucifixion and death on the cross, Jesus didn’t try to appease or reason with the people. He didn’t apologize. He didn’t use caveats. He was mission-focused on preaching the gospel that saves and leads to repentance. Not once did He try to people-please at the price of watering down sound doctrine. Niceness avoids conflict, clarity, and offense — but Jesus didn’t. He embodied compassion and mercy, yet He also spoke hard, confrontational truths when necessary. True Christlikeness means loving people enough to tell them what they need to hear — not what keeps us comfortable or well-liked. Jesus didn’t offend to be cruel or to win an argument; He offended to reveal truth, to expose bondage, to free hearts, and to reveal God’s kingdom. His offense was holy, rooted in love, and aimed at transforming hearts and minds.Fear of offending has paralyzed the churchA.W. Tozer wisely said, "Modern religion focuses upon filling churches with people. The true gospel emphasizes filling people with God.”Many American pastors avoid addressing culturally explosive but biblically clear issues because they don’t want to offend. This silence stems from the fear of man — fear of losing members, donations, reputation, and influence. The result is lukewarm churches that prioritize optics over obedience. Nothing is “wrong” with the church, but nothing is “right” with it either. People aren’t leaving convicted or repentant. They’re leaving feeling pretty good about themselves as they wallow in complacency. Why does the American church continue to sit on the truth? True disciples follow Jesus until death.No boats have been rocked, no hearts have been transformed, and no one has been truly discipled. But the apostle Paul in Galatians 1:10 makes clear: “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” You can only serve one master: God or the world.When leaders refuse to speak on matters like abortion, sexuality, or sin because they might upset people, they are choosing self-preservation over faithfulness. “If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it,” declared Charles Finney, a minister and leader during the Second Great Awakening. Speaking truth in love: The cost of radical discipleshipJohn the Baptist offended people when he called them to repentance, criticized Herod for committing adultery, and condemned religious hypocrisy. He lost his head as a result. Paul offended people by preaching the Christ crucified and calling out legalism and man-made traditions. He was decapitated because of it. Elijah offended King Ahab and the prophets of Baal by confronting idolatry. Jezebel threatened to kill him. Amos offended the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom when he spoke out against wealth, corruption, and injustice in Israel. He faced rejection and threats. These were all offenses they were willing to make because they lived for an audience of one. So why does the American church continue to sit on the truth? True disciples follow Jesus until death. Christian Nigerians right now are being slaughtered for their faith by the thousands, yet they continue gathering in droves to worship their King. Meanwhile American churches are sitting on the sidelines too worried about offending people to speak truth, rather than taking up our cross and truly following Christ.As believers, we must be strong and courageous, with a truth-telling edge. We should not be harsh or abrasive but rather love people enough to say what’s hard. If Jesus’ ministry provoked offense for the sake of truth, perhaps ours should too.

Russia has lost more than 1% of all men in the country in the war in Ukraine, Euromaidan Press reported on Sunday.

Thirty-year-old Israeli citizen Gefen Bitton, who confronted one of the terrorists responsible for last week's deadly attack at Bondi Beach, remains in critical condition.