Op-ed: 
Filling the Mainstream Media Void 
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

As we were all focused on Passover and Easter preparations and celebrations, and as the fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame dominated the 24/7 news cycle, three other key news stories slowly started making the rounds including last Friday's political bombshell concerning former presidential candidate and now Utah Senator Mitt Romney.

So let me start by saying that I volunteered and campaigned for Romney twice...when he ran for the nomination against John McCain and when he ran for the presidency against Barack HUSSEIN Obama. Romney's message and platform were strong as well as his having political experience as the Republican governor of a blue state. He was business savvy and ever so handsome...the epitome of a loving husband and family man. I worked hard as a campaign volunteer and even got to watch Romney debate Obama at a special “invite only” debate watching party. And while I felt he was not forceful enough against Obama at certain points in that particular debate, I held out hope that he'd pull off a presidential win...he truly was the better candidate...the better man...for the job after all.

Never did I think Americans would be so misguided or foolish enough to elect a community organizer, let alone an islamic condoner, to the presidency of these United States. But then I never thought the liberal media would be so successful in anointing a seemingly politically inexperienced half-black man as America's supposed “saviour-in-chief.”

And sadly, I too was fooled for the man I thought Mitt Romney was back then has now morphed into nothing but the late RINO John McCain's Senate replacement. And Romney is worse than McCain for McCain's disdain for Donald Trump could be called a somewhat “righteous stand” against Trump's uncalled for POW comments. But Romney...an early critic of candidate Trump...put on a grand show of pretending to mend fences when he was asked by now President Trump to interview for the position of Secretary of State...which fortunately he did not get.

Fool me once...shame on you. Fool me twice...shame on me. Fool me three times...and it's time for me to set right a grievous wrong as my head hangs in shame for ever having supported this man. And why...because Romney never moved on from his anti-Trump stance...it grew and festered as he became just another RINO come home to the Senate to roost.

A RINO indeed for Mitt Romney could not keep his mouth shut or his tweeting finger still after reading the redacted version of the Mueller report. Choosing to criticize President Trump, his administration, and the report itself, Romney, last Friday, tweeted that he was “sickened” by the “dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land including the President.”

“Sickened” by what...that no evidence of “collusion” either by Trump or his campaign was found...“sickened” that no chargeable “obstruction of justice” was found...“sickened” to such a degree that even proverbial “nice guy” former AR Gov. Mike Huckabee felt he had to jump to Trump's defense by saying that what made him “sick” was the thought that, “Mitt Romney might have become president in 2016.” 
 
But Mike Huckabee is right...for what Mitt Romney did was give the Democrats fodder to keep the “collusion” now morphing into “impeachment” nonsense going...but maybe that was RINO Romney's intention all along...payback for Trump's publicly criticizing him after losing to Obama most likely. Any thing's possible in today's heated political climate with Romney likely continuing to spew his anti-Trump rhetoric.

Next up and coming on the heels of the Notre Dame fire, the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka saw a wave of eight early Sunday morning explosions rocking three Catholic churches holding Easter services as well as three upscale tourist hotels. At least 359 people were killed (as per the latest count) with 500+ more injured, including at least two Americans (one being 40-year old Dieter Kowalski from Denver CO) and eight British citizens among those listed as killed.

Now believed to be in response to last month's Christchurch, New Zealand mosque massacre, the well coordinated attacks, as per Sri Lanka’s Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene, were carried out by Sri Lankan “muslim extremists” from "National Thowheed Jama'ath" (NTJ)... a local group that is both the fairly new islamist faction of the two decades old less extremist group Thableekh Jamaat, the group previously known for vandalizing Buddhist statues, and who in 2016 saw one of its leaders being arrested for “inciting racism.”

And with said attacks being highly suspected of having help from an “international terror network”...to that affect ISIS' news agency Amaq announced earlier this week on Telegram (via the NAshir News Agency) that the attacks in Sri Lanka were carried out by ISIS fighters. Also of note is that "National Thowheed Jama'ath” has on numerous occasions not only threatened to kill Sri Lankan nonbelievers but to bring islamic fundamentalism to the country as well.

And to date over 40 arrests have already been made, and two of the seven suicide bombers...including Mohamed Azzam Mohamed, who blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel's Taprobane Restaurant as people were eating breakfast and Zahran Hashim, a well-known muslim “preacher” who claimed, “Allah created this land for Muslims”...have been identified as members of said goup. But to make matters worse, local intelligence had received warnings a full ten days prior to the attacks that “prominent churches” could be the target of suicide bombers. In fact, "National Thowheed Jama’ath" was specifically named in a police advisory to local security services as one they believed posed a threat to Catholic churches.

However, due to what he called “friction” within opposing factions of the government leadership, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a statement saying that neither he nor his cabinet ministers had been notified about those warnings so little to nothing was done to keep the churches safe...safe from what Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera called “a well-coordinated attempt to create murder, mayhem and anarchy.”

Mission accomplished I'd say...mission accomplished because like within the different sects of Christianity who are constantly at odds with each other over just whose version of Christianity is the version Jesus intended...Sri Lanka has also seen religious issues arising from its own 1983-2009 civil war...a war between Hindu separatists from the minority Tamil ethnic group vs. the Sinhalese ethnic Buddhist majority. And as long as religious odds exist within a given country, islam will continue making inroads into that country whether or not they had significant numbers population wise, as now witnessed in Sri Lanka, a nation of 23 million people that currently is less than ten percent muslim...less than ten percent now but whose numbers are rapidly growing.

And as Sri Lanka starts to bury its dead, more bombs were discovered...bombs that thankfully did not go off. Found by Sri Lankan police were 87 bomb detonators at the capital of Colombo's main bus station, and on Monday a large bomb was defused on an access road leading to the country's international airport.

So as the scale of the intent to do as much carnage as possible becomes reality, Sri Lanka is being held hostage in fear of those who truly are out to kill us all.

And lastly, a big news item this week saw President Trump again standing strong not just against Iran herself but against Japan, South Korea, Turkey, China, and India saying that they will no longer be exempt from U.S. economic sanctions and could face economic penalties themselves if they continue to import oil from Iran.

Announced in a televised news conference this past Monday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the decision not to reissue those country's waivers when they expire this May 2nd, was made after already having granted those countries extra time...as in eight waivers...to find other oil suppliers. Being done to “bring Iranian oil exports to zero” by “squeezing Tehran’s government” of even more much needed revenue...revenue that had been $50 billion a year before the sanctions ...while at the same time trying to both force political change in the islamic nation as well as trying to get Iran to “rein in” its military actions across the Middle East, most especially in Syria.

However, while U.S. officials say they don't expect to see any significant reduction in the actual “supply of oil” given production increases by other countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE...and with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid a-Falih saying that his country "will coordinate with fellow oil producers to ensure adequate supplies are available to consumers while ensuring the global oil market does not go out of balance"...I still must play “devil's advocate” for a bit as we must be forewarned that this move could...and I only say could...still lead to higher oil and gas prices at the pump...at least temporarily...as sometimes prices have nothing to do with “supply” but have everything to do with simple “demand.”

 

And that “demand” was reflected by Monday's global crude prices rising three percent in Asia to more than $74 a barrel, the highest they've been since October, as soon as word of what Trump was doing leaked out. And let's not forget that this move...as rightful as we feel it may be...will indeed draw the ire of some of our allies while at the same time seeing a White House shuffling of some policy priorities, including maybe putting the all-important, ongoing trade talks with China and the garnering of China's assistance in helping to contain Kim Jung-un's nuclear ambitions, on the back burner for a bit.

So while Italy, Greece, and Taiwan, three other countries also originally waivered in, have stopped importing oil from Iran, the a fore mentioned five “big boys” have not. In fact, those five have actually begun lobbying for said waivers to be extended yet again no matter that Trump said “time's up.” And as for our NATO (supposed) ally Turkey, they continue to claim that Iranian oil is critical to meeting Turkey's energy needs and that as Iran's neighbors they cannot completely cut economic ties or close its economy to Iranian goods nor can Iran's economy be closed to Turkish goods.

Well obviously they can be or else President Trump would not be doing what he is doing...as in cutting off the head of the snake while its body withers and dies on the ground. A hoped for fitting end to the mother of all snakes...Iran.

So there you have it...three of this week's top stories as we move away from Notre Dame a bit...confident that it will be rebuilt...and back we go to stories that do have a greater and more direct impact on our country than does 850-year old Notre Dame.

 
Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Collusion Delusion.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Friday, April 26th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Filling the Mainstream Media Void'; 'Collusion Delusion'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

Op-ed:
On Easter Sunday...the Jews, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

Today is both Easter Sunday and the second day of Passover...two holy days forever linked together for this is the time when the Christian faithful celebrate the Resurrection and the Jewish faithful celebrate Moses leading their ancestors out of bondage in Egypt so many years ago. But sadly, it is also the time when some of the Christian faith will once again bring up the old hatreds that the Jewish people killed Jesus, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Before you discount my words, please read what I have to say.

Six simple words...the Jews did not kill Jesus...says it all for it was the Romans alone that had Jesus crucified thus causing his mortal death. Remember, Pope Benedict XVI "affirmed that the Jewish people bear no collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ" and publicly apologized for the Catholic Church wrongly accusing the Jewish people of causing the death of Jesus Christ. And know that most contemporary Christian theologians rightfully acknowledge that the Jews...who were mostly slaves of the Romans at the time of the crucifixion...could not, given their low societal status, possibly have influenced the all-powerful Romans to do what they did.

In fact, the Pope in his discourse placed blame on two specific groups for the death of Jesus. First his Holiness placed blame on the so-called  "Temple aristocracy" who were "anxious" to forestall a Roman crackdown on the Jewish people and second, he blamed the crowd that gathered in support of Barabbas, a crowd who shouted for the convicted man's life not Jesus' release. Pope Benedict also stated in his discourse that the ultimate culpability for Jesus' death lay upon the sins of mankind, but if the tangible truth be told the Jews of Judea had no direct part in the death of Jesus for he was put to death under the direct orders of Pontius Pilate, and it was Pontius Pilate alone who could have stopped the crucifixion but willingly and of his own "free will" chose not to.

Remember, the Jews were entirely at the mercy of the Romans, and to even think that the Jewish people pressured the Romans to kill Jesus, as some erroneously contend, is just not fact. So while the Romans did view Jesus as a threat because they considered him to be a political rebel and an "enemy of the state," the truth remains that Pontius Pilot did not need to take orders from the Jews or from the Pharisees in regards to whom should or should not be put to death.

But to be honest, some of Jesus' accusers were indeed Jews but so many others were not, and it’s foolish to say or even to imply that the Jews of Judea were the sole accusers of Jesus or that the Jews alone demanded his death. And these words spoken against the Jews echoed as much then as throughout the centuries...words sadly still believed by some today. Always forgotten by the naysayers is that many Jews followed and believed in Jesus and some it was said even witnessed "miracles" during the years in which he preached (Matthew 15:29-31). And some Jews were believed to have been "healed" of their ills by the touch of Jesus' hand, while it is believed that some once dead lived again.

Simply, many Jews who knew of Jesus felt gratitude, devotion, and love towards the rabbinical preacher from Nazareth, but many of the High Priests...the Pharisees...feared Jesus because of his accusations and condemnations of them, and according to the Gospels, "the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.wished to get rid of Him in any way they could" (Matthew 12:14).  For example, Jesus, on several occasions, called the Pharisees "hypocrites, serpents, and a brood of vipers," describing the Pharisees as "untrustworthy leaders" in front of huge crowds (Matthew 23).

And with their status within the Jewish populous being publicly undermined by but a simple and humble man of God...a lowly carpenter...a man whom the crowds not only looked to for help but for salvation...it was this very idea of spiritual salvation beyond the High Priests doing that was an unacceptable humiliation to the Pharisees who always searched for ways...for reasons...to try to condemn to death the man they considered their Godly rival.

But know that Jesus was but one of many young Jewish rabbi's preaching in Judea at that time. Jesus taught basic fundamental Judaism...he wanted to improve...to update if you will...Judaism not start a new religion. In fact, it should be known that even Jesus' tenet of "love thy neighbor" first appeared in the Torah thousands of years before his birth. Remember, too, that Jesus the man was born and died a Jew, that he was circumcised on the 7th day in the Temple according to Jewish law, and thought of and believed himself to be a Jew for he knew nothing of Christianity that was to come. And what the Pharisees chose to ignore was that because Judaism has always allowed for debate and discussion of Jewish law, Jesus was actually no threat to either them or to Judaism as a whole.

And while the Pharisees did hold some very limited sway with the Romans, the Jews as a whole remained a despised minority, hence they had no power to request, let alone demand, any man's death. So simply put, it was and remains Pontius Pilate alone who sentenced, ordered, and had carried out the sentence of killing...of crucifying Jesus the man...facts that speak for themselves.

Now as for the possible spiritual aspect of Jesus' death. In ancient times, God's word called for a sacrificial system meant to emphasize the seriousness of sin and its demand for payment. Capital sins, especially those related to disobeying the Ten Commandments (the law given by God to the Jew Moses to give to the Jewish people...His chosen people...while they wandered the desert before reaching their Promised Land), could not be paid for by any mere sacrifice, so the penalty was always death.  In fact, the Holy Bible is quite specific that "the penalty for sin is death with or without the Law" (Romans 6:23). To stop such an end for all mankind, there was a need for a sacrifice that would serve as payment for all man's sins. Only a ‘Divine Being’ per say, could be such a sacrifice, as Paul talked about in Chapter 10 of the Book of Hebrews. So basically, the Son of God was the only sufficient payment for the sins of man.

Therefore, it can rightfully be said by the faithful that man's sins killed Jesus not the Jews.

God the Father did not have to send Jesus to die for the sins of mankind. He did not have to watch his ‘Beloved Son’ go through the unspeakable horrors of flagellation nor an agonizing death on the cross for Jesus did not have to offer himself for anyone. And yet Jesus distanced himself from the power and glory most men would have not only craved but welcomed, and instead came and lived as a humble man...a man only to die by the excruciating pain of flagellation and to agonize for hours hanging from a cross before his physical self passed away.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). So as per the words in the Holy Bible it was actually God the Father who offered His Only Son to be nailed to a cross. Jesus agreed to do God's will, fully aware of the serious ramifications that his decision would have for him. Yet, he knew that his suffering would bring about salvation for mankind, as per his very words, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6: 51).

So the answer to who really killed Jesus might well be this...some of the Pharisees surely wanted Jesus dead; Pontius Pilate did nothing to prevent it, actually ordered it, and had the sentence of death carried out; and for the faithful man's sins basically called for Jesus' death for it was God the Father who willed it. And it was Jesus, the Son of God, who willingly offered himself to be sacrificed for all of mankind.

 

This for the faithful, I think, is the only possible answer in order to make sense of both the unthinkable and the insensible. And for the faithful "He has Risen" (Matthhew 28:6).

Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

Op-ed:
On Easter Sunday...the Jews, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

Today is both Easter Sunday and the second day of Passover...two holy days forever linked together for this is the time when the Christian faithful celebrate the Resurrection and the Jewish faithful celebrate Moses leading their ancestors out of bondage in Egypt so many years ago. But sadly, it is also the time when some of the Christian faith will once again bring up the old hatreds that the Jewish people killed Jesus, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Before you discount my words, please read what I have to say.

Six simple words...the Jews did not kill Jesus...says it all for it was the Romans alone that had Jesus crucified thus causing his mortal death. Remember, Pope Benedict XVI "affirmed that the Jewish people bear no collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ" and publicly apologized for the Catholic Church wrongly accusing the Jewish people of causing the death of Jesus Christ. And know that most contemporary Christian theologians rightfully acknowledge that the Jews...who were mostly slaves of the Romans at the time of the crucifixion...could not, given their low societal status, possibly have influenced the all-powerful Romans to do what they did.

In fact, the Pope in his discourse placed blame on two specific groups for the death of Jesus. First his Holiness placed blame on the so-called  "Temple aristocracy" who were "anxious" to forestall a Roman crackdown on the Jewish people and second, he blamed the crowd that gathered in support of Barabbas, a crowd who shouted for the convicted man's life not Jesus' release. Pope Benedict also stated in his discourse that the ultimate culpability for Jesus' death lay upon the sins of mankind, but if the tangible truth be told the Jews of Judea had no direct part in the death of Jesus for he was put to death under the direct orders of Pontius Pilate, and it was Pontius Pilate alone who could have stopped the crucifixion but willingly and of his own "free will" chose not to.

Remember, the Jews were entirely at the mercy of the Romans, and to even think that the Jewish people pressured the Romans to kill Jesus, as some erroneously contend, is just not fact. So while the Romans did view Jesus as a threat because they considered him to be a political rebel and an "enemy of the state," the truth remains that Pontius Pilot did not need to take orders from the Jews or from the Pharisees in regards to whom should or should not be put to death.

But to be honest, some of Jesus' accusers were indeed Jews but so many others were not, and it’s foolish to say or even to imply that the Jews of Judea were the sole accusers of Jesus or that the Jews alone demanded his death. And these words spoken against the Jews echoed as much then as throughout the centuries...words sadly still believed by some today. Always forgotten by the naysayers is that many Jews followed and believed in Jesus and some it was said even witnessed "miracles" during the years in which he preached (Matthew 15:29-31). And some Jews were believed to have been "healed" of their ills by the touch of Jesus' hand, while it is believed that some once dead lived again.

Simply, many Jews who knew of Jesus felt gratitude, devotion, and love towards the rabbinical preacher from Nazareth, but many of the High Priests...the Pharisees...feared Jesus because of his accusations and condemnations of them, and according to the Gospels, "the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.wished to get rid of Him in any way they could" (Matthew 12:14).  For example, Jesus, on several occasions, called the Pharisees "hypocrites, serpents, and a brood of vipers," describing the Pharisees as "untrustworthy leaders" in front of huge crowds (Matthew 23).

And with their status within the Jewish populous being publicly undermined by but a simple and humble man of God...a lowly carpenter...a man whom the crowds not only looked to for help but for salvation...it was this very idea of spiritual salvation beyond the High Priests doing that was an unacceptable humiliation to the Pharisees who always searched for ways...for reasons...to try to condemn to death the man they considered their Godly rival.

But know that Jesus was but one of many young Jewish rabbi's preaching in Judea at that time. Jesus taught basic fundamental Judaism...he wanted to improve...to update if you will...Judaism not start a new religion. In fact, it should be known that even Jesus' tenet of "love thy neighbor" first appeared in the Torah thousands of years before his birth. Remember, too, that Jesus the man was born and died a Jew, that he was circumcised on the 7th day in the Temple according to Jewish law, and thought of and believed himself to be a Jew for he knew nothing of Christianity that was to come. And what the Pharisees chose to ignore was that because Judaism has always allowed for debate and discussion of Jewish law, Jesus was actually no threat to either them or to Judaism as a whole.

And while the Pharisees did hold some very limited sway with the Romans, the Jews as a whole remained a despised minority, hence they had no power to request, let alone demand, any man's death. So simply put, it was and remains Pontius Pilate alone who sentenced, ordered, and had carried out the sentence of killing...of crucifying Jesus the man...facts that speak for themselves.

Now as for the possible spiritual aspect of Jesus' death. In ancient times, God's word called for a sacrificial system meant to emphasize the seriousness of sin and its demand for payment. Capital sins, especially those related to disobeying the Ten Commandments (the law given by God to the Jew Moses to give to the Jewish people...His chosen people...while they wandered the desert before reaching their Promised Land), could not be paid for by any mere sacrifice, so the penalty was always death.  In fact, the Holy Bible is quite specific that "the penalty for sin is death with or without the Law" (Romans 6:23). To stop such an end for all mankind, there was a need for a sacrifice that would serve as payment for all man's sins. Only a ‘Divine Being’ per say, could be such a sacrifice, as Paul talked about in Chapter 10 of the Book of Hebrews. So basically, the Son of God was the only sufficient payment for the sins of man.

Therefore, it can rightfully be said by the faithful that man's sins killed Jesus not the Jews.

God the Father did not have to send Jesus to die for the sins of mankind. He did not have to watch his ‘Beloved Son’ go through the unspeakable horrors of flagellation nor an agonizing death on the cross for Jesus did not have to offer himself for anyone. And yet Jesus distanced himself from the power and glory most men would have not only craved but welcomed, and instead came and lived as a humble man...a man only to die by the excruciating pain of flagellation and to agonize for hours hanging from a cross before his physical self passed away.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). So as per the words in the Holy Bible it was actually God the Father who offered His Only Son to be nailed to a cross. Jesus agreed to do God's will, fully aware of the serious ramifications that his decision would have for him. Yet, he knew that his suffering would bring about salvation for mankind, as per his very words, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6: 51).

So the answer to who really killed Jesus might well be this...some of the Pharisees surely wanted Jesus dead; Pontius Pilate did nothing to prevent it, actually ordered it, and had the sentence of death carried out; and for the faithful man's sins basically called for Jesus' death for it was God the Father who willed it. And it was Jesus, the Son of God, who willingly offered himself to be sacrificed for all of mankind. 

This for the faithful, I think, is the only possible answer in order to make sense of both the unthinkable and the insensible. And for the faithful "He has Risen" (Matthhew 28:6).

Copyright @ 2018 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

Op-ed:

At Easter and Passover...On God, Country, and Obama

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on CPR Worldwide Media
 

(Author's Note: I have been asked by some of my blog readers to run this Op-ed again as it is as pertinent today as when I wrote it in 2012.)

During this Holy Week for both Christians and Jews, let us remember and honor the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, the rights and privileges we sometimes take for granted, and let us celebrate in the knowledge that we live in the greatest nation the world has ever known. Let us remember our loved ones lost, and pray that our brave men and women in uniform are kept safe and out of harm's way. Let us find comfort in knowing that as we celebrate the Resurrection and the freeing of the Jews from bondage in Egypt, we should rejoice in knowing that our dearly departed loved ones have already been welcomed into God's Kingdom.

I pray that as we Christians and Jews celebrate freedom, restoration, redemption, and resurrection that we see this from both a spiritual and from a here and now perspective. The spiritual is obvious, the here and now not so much so, as our beloved America is at a dangerous crossroads. Do we return to God and the principals our Founding Fathers laid down in the Constitution or do we continue down Obama's path of destruction of all this country was founded upon and all we hold dear. It is up to us, 'We the People,' to choose the path which we will follow.

Our great nation was created with a single document called the Constitution, and we now have a president who has decided that the very document that has given us 224 years of liberty and justice for all, is obsolete, out of date, and no longer relevant in today's so-called global world. We have a president who wants to lead our great republic down a dangerous path towards socialism and lead us into a New World Order headed by a chosen few of the most radical and liberal persons the modern day world has known.

We now have a president whose radical brand of liberalism is so engrained in his very core that he would love to silence, ban and eliminate conservatism at all costs; a president who would love to take control of our country in a way that would make Nazi Germany's SS cringe (starting with abolishing the Second Amendment); a president who would love to abolish God from every aspect of our lives; a president who sees our Constitution as an inconvenience, a barrier that must be removed, as he and his minions spread his message of radically changing America into a socialist nation torn by class warfare and racial division.

We now have a president who wants to change the very foundation upon which our Judeo-Christian nation was built, a president who dishonors and defames the Ten Commandments, the very heart of what we as Christians and Jews believe; a president who mocks our true living God while catering to those who believe in a false god and who want nothing better than to kill us all.

And this brings me back to the words freedom, restoration, redemption, and resurrection. While the religious meaning of those words is known to us believers, those words can also be used to describe the crossroads our beloved America now finds herself at. And it's up to us patriots to restore the freedoms granted to us in the Constitution, to redeem ourselves before God, and to resurrect America to her former glory before it's too late.

I know which path I will take, hopefully you will join me on that same path.

Op-ed:
The Jewish people did NOT kill Jesus
By: Diane Sori
(This updated Op-ed is being re-run today, Good Friday, as per request.)

As we enter the Easter and Passover season some Christian sects will once again bring up the old hatreds that the Jewish people killed Jesus, when nothing could be further from the truth. Before you discount this, please read what I have to say.

 
Simply, the Jews did NOT kill Jesus as it was the Romans that had him crucified and caused his mortal death. Pope Benedict XVI completely absolved and publicly apologized for wrongly charging the Jews with the death of Jesus, and most contemporary Christian theologians acknowledge that the Jews could NOT possibly have influenced the all-powerful Romans into killing Jesus. 

The lie that the Jews had Jesus put to death or had any part in his death has been spread ever since the time of the Romans, and has caused more harm to the Jewish people over the centuries than almost anything else, and still does so by anti-Semitic bigots who continue to perpetrate this lie.   

The Jewish people did NOT kill Jesus...Jesus was put to death under the direct orders of Pontius Pilate. Obviously some of his accusers were Jews, but so many others who accused him were NOT Jews, and it’s ridiculous to say ALL Jews in Judea were accusers of Jesus or that ALL Jews demanded his death.
 

Remember that many Jews followed Jesus and saw his miracles during his years of preaching (Matthew 15:30-31: "And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them."..."Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel."). In fact, the four Gospels record 37 miracles of Jesus, and the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44) had been brought back from the dead by Jesus. And a lot of Jews felt nothing but gratitude, admiration, and love towards Jesus.

However, many religious leaders (Pharisees) did NOT like Jesus because of his accusations and condemnations of them, and according to the Gospels they wished to get rid of him in any way they could (Matthew 12:14: "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.). For example, Jesus, on several occasions, called the Pharisees 'hypocrites, serpents, and a brood of vipers', and he described them as untrustworthy leaders in front of huge crowds (Matthew 23 1-39). This resulted in the Pharisees status within the Jewish community to be publicly undermined by someone the crowds looked up to and believed in. This was an unacceptable humiliation to them, thus the Pharisees were always on the lookout for opportunities that would allow them to accuse and then kill Jesus. It was the Pharisees alone who wanted to kill Jesus NOT the Jewish people, I repeat, the Pharisees NOT the Jewish people.

Jesus was but one of many young Jewish preachers in Judea at that time. He taught basic fundamental Judaism. Even the tenet of 'love thy neighbor' first appeared in the Torah thousands of years before his birth. Remember too that Jesus did NOT know of Christians as they came after, for Jesus was born, lived as, and died a Jew. Remember that Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day in the Temple according to Jewish Law, and that Jesus thought of himself as a Jew, and because Judaism has always allowed for debate and discussion of Jewish Law, Jesus was NO threat to Judaism as a whole. Remember also that Jesus NEVER consciously or unconsciously turned his back on Judaism.

And at the time of Jesus, Jews were a despised minority, they had NO power to request, let alone demand, any man's death for the Jews were entirely at the mercy of the Romans, and to even think that the Jewish people pressured the Romans to kill Jesus, as some contend, is just ridiculous. The Romans, however, did view Jesus as a threat because they viewed him as a political rebel and enemy of the state. And with Pontius Pilot being an extremely ruthless and violent leader, he did NOT need to take orders from Jews or from anyone for that matter. If he had wanted to spare Jesus' life he could have but he did NOT. Pontius Pilate was NOT only a willing participant in Jesus' death but he was the man who ordered it. And remember, crucifixion has always been forbidden to Jews because it's such a brutal method of ending a person's life, and is considered paramount to murder in the Jewish religion. So simply put, Pontius Pilate sentenced, ordered, and had carried out the sentence of killing Jesus the man.

Now I’ll share with you, my fellow patriots, what I believe...and this is my belief alone...to be the spiritual aspect of Jesus' death. In ancient Israel, God's word called for a sacrificial system meant to emphasize the seriousness of sin and its demand for payment. Capital sins, especially those related to disobeying most of the Ten Commandments, could NOT be paid for by any mere sacrifice, so the penalty was always death. In fact, the Bible is quite specific that the penalty for sin is death with or without the Law (Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."). To stop such an end for all mankind, there was a need for a sacrifice that would serve as payment for all our sins. Only a ‘Divine Being’ per say, could be such a sacrifice, as Paul talked about in chapter ten of the Book of Hebrews. So basically, the Son of God was the only sufficient payment for the sins of man. Therefore, it's justifiable to say that our sins...the sins of man...killed Jesus NOT the Jews.

God did NOT have to send Jesus to die for the sins of mankind. He didn’t have to watch His ‘Beloved Son’ go through an unspeakably horrible flagellation and a horrific death on the cross nor did Jesus really have to offer himself for anyone. Yet, he distanced himself from power and glory most would have welcomed, and came and lived as a man, only to die by the excruciating pain of flagellation, and agonized for hours hanging from a cross before his physical self passed away.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

So, I think it was actually God the Father who offered His Only Son to be nailed to a cross. Jesus agreed to do God's will, fully aware of the serious ramifications that his decision would have for him. Yet, he knew that his suffering would bring about salvation for mankind, as per his words, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).

So the answer to who really killed Jesus I think is this: some Pharisees wanted him dead; Pontius Pilate did NOT prevent it, actually ordered it, and had the sentence carried out; and our sins (the sins of man) basically called for it. Most of all though, I believe it was God the Father who willed it, and it was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who willingly offered himself to be sacrificed for all mankind.   

This is what I believe as I try to make sense of the unthinkable.

I wrote this piece last year and it ran on Easter Sunday. 

I was asked by many to run it again this Easter Sunday.

 

Op-ed:
My thoughts this Easter Sunday
What is a Christian…it sure isn’t Barack Hussein Obama

By: Diane Sori

Today being Easter Sunday, and because of the turbulent times in which we live, I thought it quite proper on this most holy of days to offer my opinion on what is a Christian, especially since we have a man occupying the White House who is anything but the Christian he professes himself to be.

We all know many claim to be Christian, those that love nothing better than to say that their church is the one true church, that their way and their church’s way is the ONLY true way to God.  I believe nothing could be further from the truth. 

I believe one is a true Christian if they believe deep within their heart that they are a Christian, and if they profess a belief in and love for Jesus Christ, and try to live their lives according to his teachings.  On this, one might fail at times but God does not expect us to be perfect just to try our best, for if we falter He will forgive us because He knows we are not perfect.

I believe a true Christian is a person who has put their faith and trust in Jesus, including His death on the cross as payment for our sins, and His resurrection on the third day.   

I believe a Christian has love for others, a compassion for those hurting, and is one who knows the meaning of the word, ‘friend’ as well as knowing and accepting the word ‘enemy.’ 

I believe a true Christian never willingly hurts or betrays another, and never uses God as an excuse or as a front for their personal or perceived shortcomings, and with that I believe a true Christian can question his faith, because even Jesus asked ‘why’ on the cross.

I believe a true Christian can keep his humanity even while giving his heart and soul over to God, for that personal humanity, unique unto to each of us, is what separates each of us from all others. 

I believe there is nothing wrong with being of this world while at the same time being of His world, as long as one keeps God in their hearts at all times and His love in their souls, while still keeping their humanness intact.  God does not demand that we all be the same but only that we love Him unconditionally.

I believe being a true Christian is not about obey, obey, obey nor is about subjugation to any church’s specific doctrine as God gave us free will to make our own choices, and that includes how we choose or not choose to worship and honor Him, for we will all answer to Him and Him alone on our judgment day.

I believe church indoctrination can sometimes be counterproductive, and can actually turn some away from His word.  Blind obedience, subjugation, and lack of original thought is not the true Christian way, and casts a shadow of cultism akin to islam over what is supposed to be the antithesis of those very things.

I believe a true Christian comes willingly and lovingly to His word, in their own time, in their own way, thus becoming part of God’s family because they alone want to be not because they have been conditioned to be, are expected to be, or because someone wants them to be. 

I believe one does not have to wear religion on their sleeve for one to be a true Christian.  I believe faith can be solely a one-on-one relationship with God with no intrusions needed.  I believe that that personal relationship with God is stronger than any human relationship can ever be.

I believe a true Christian does not have to be only an Evangelical or a Fundamentalist, but can also be a Roman Catholic, a follower of Orthodoxy, a Protestant, a Mormon, and even a Jew.  I believe that all it really takes to be a true Christian is the heartfelt belief in God’s word and an acceptance of Jesus, his only begotten Son, as the Messiah.  There is nothing magical nor complicated about this, however, I believe Obama believes none of this.

And lastly, I believe that united together Christians of ALL denominations can be a powerful force to be reckoned with come November, while divided becoming nothing more than fodder for those who do not believe, and especially for those like Barack Hussein Obama, a muslim down to his very core. 

So instead of division and divisiveness amongst all those who call themselves Christians, and this is something Obama and his minions play upon, I wish all true Christians would unite as one behind their common belief in God and His Son, for we all know that together the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts. 

As the saying by Marcus Tullius Cicero goes (from a speech he gave on the Roman Senate floor in 58 BC), “A nation can survive fools, and even the ambitious but it cannot survive treason from within.” And I for one believe that this one man is trying to destroy Christian values and beliefs from within by deliberately and calculatingly turning Christian against Christian in all he says and does, for more liberal thinking Christians still side with him against the more conservative Christians, and this Obama is counting on.

I hope and pray that true Christians everywhere, while not having to share my personal beliefs, can at least see some truth in what I have said because our nation’s very survival and return to God’s laws and to the Judeo-Christian beliefs upon which this country was founded, depends on us removing from office the very man who says he is a Christian but who in reality is not now nor has he ever been for his words, actions, and deeds are those against everything a true Christian believes.