There was a time in the past when political leaders of both parties talked about the importance of religion in the founding of this country. Terry Jeffrey found a speech by an urban northeastern Democrat that illustrated this so well.

The candidate proclaimed that “a devotion to fundamental religious principles has characterized American thought and action.” He argued that the nation’s greatest leaders understood the “essential religious idea” of our founding. “Our earliest legislation was inspired by this deep religious sense,” he explained. “Our first leader, Washington, was inspired by this deep religious sense” and ‘Lincoln was inspired by this deep religious sense,” he continued.

Then his speech turned to a warning. He sensed that the very principles on which the nation was founded were being attacked. He warned that “these basic religious ideas are challenged by atheism and materialism: at home in the cynical philosophy of many of our intellectuals, abroad in the doctrine of collectivism, which sets up the twin pillars of atheism and materialism as the official philosophical establishment of the State.”

Near the end of his speech he said “we cannot assume that the struggle is ended. It is never-ending. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. It was the price yesterday. It is the price today, and it will ever be the price.”

This was a rousing speech about liberty and religious ideals delivered by an urban northeastern Democrat who also warned that we face a struggle from secular materialistic enemies here and abroad. How did this candidate do after giving such a speech?

He was first elected to Congress and later elected to the US Senate. Fourteen years later, he was elected president of the United States. His name was John F. Kennedy.

His speech back then wasn’t that controversial. It was even prophetic. But I doubt it would it be permitted in today’s Democrat party.

John Stossel says the problem is “bad laws.” Rafael Mangual describes it as the “overcriminalization of America.” Both are talking about the same problem and teamed up to produce a video that highlights an issue that needs to be addressed.

To put it simply, we have too many laws on the books, many of which are outdated and need to be removed. For example, there is a law in South Carolina that bans 18-year-olds from playing pinball. Taking a rake from New York to New Jersey is actually a federal crime.

Stossel pushes back on some of the examples in the video by pointing out that nobody goes to jail for silly or outdated laws. Mangual responds, “That doesn’t mean that it’s not a problem.” Compliance takes time, money, and effort. He then provides examples where people were prosecuted.

A woman was prosecuted for sheltering animals during a hurricane. She said she was just trying to make sure these poor animals weren’t drowning. But North Carolina prosecutors filed criminal charges against her for practicing veterinarian medicine without a license.

In Kentucky, one man was giving eyeglasses to needy people who could not afford eye doctors. But the state officials told him that his act of compassion was a crime.

In these cases, you can see that part of the problem is that established businesses are using existing laws or getting other laws passed so they can push out competition. They have lobbyists and can use laws and bureaucratic regulations to give them a market advantage.

The bigger issue is that we have too many laws on the books. People commit crimes nearly every day without even knowing that they are doing so. State legislators need to focus some of their attention on existing laws that are outdated and unnecessary. Before they pass new laws, they should repeal the laws that we no longer need.

Members of the very popular South Korean boy band were denied draft exemptions even though it would reduce revenue to the country. Why? Because there aren’t enough boys available to serve in the military. Lyman Stone uses this illustration to highlight the extremely low birth rate in South Korea.

But that country is just one of many examples of what has become a global birth dearth. Fertility rates have been declining in all the developed countries of the world. The US figures are better than in many countries in Europe and Asia, but still illustrate the decline. Fertility rates in this country declined from 2.12 children per woman in 2006 to just 1.72 today. The figure might even drop lower.

Although legalized abortion, contraception, and a down economy are often cited for the reasons for lower fertility, those factors only explain part of the decline. The US first reached birth rates around two children per woman during the Roaring Twenties, not during the Great Depression and long before contraceptive access was readily available.

Modern economies depend on various transfers of wealth across generations. The obvious examples are Social Security and other so-called entitlement programs. An older generation also expects the younger generation to buy their houses and other assets. But that is not happening. Even the trade deficit is due in part to the fact that there are more assets than there are buyers to purchase them.

The solution, it seems, is not to pass government policies that try to make people want to have children. The best that can be done would be to eliminate government policies that currently penalize couples with children. At the least, government should reduce the financial barriers for parents who want to bring kids into the world.

Christians and churches are facing significant challenges in America. That is why Dr. Erwin Lutzer wrote his book, We Will Not Be Silenced. It is not only a call to action, but a practical manual on how to address the many challenges we face in a society that is growing more secular every day

He takes some time to explain how we got to our current circumstances. Various forces are working to dismantle the core values that made this country great. History classes and civics classes are rewriting the past so as to delegitimize our Christian values. Focusing on diversity is used to divide and destroy us.

We live in a world where free speech is under assault. But he explains that it really should be described as “freedom of speech for me, but not for thee.” And much of what is allowed as free speech should really be called propaganda.

Dr. Lutzer also spends some time explaining how school curricula and popular culture are sexualizing the next generation of children. It is spreading sexual confusion and giving children a warped idea of their identity.

He also talks about how socialism is initially attractive to the younger generation. But he also makes a case for capitalism that creates wealth that actually furthers Christian work everywhere. And he reminds us of the threat from those associated with radical Islam who desire to destroy Christianity and capitalism.

He concludes by calling for the Christians to be bold. Jesus, speaking to the New Testament church, gives a warning to them and to us. We need to wake up and strengthen what remains.

Dr. Lutzer helps us know how to live out our conviction against a growing tide of hostility. We should show compassion and gentleness to those outside of the faith without affirming their non-Christian beliefs. And we should boldly preach the gospel and live out our Christian faith.

America’s money supply has increased faster than at any time in history, and that should concern you and your family. The reason for the increase in the money supply should be obvious. The government has been pushing stimulus efforts after the economic devastation of the pandemic and the lockdowns.

Nearly a quarter (23.6%) of all U.S. dollars were created last year. An equity strategist with Morgan Stanley said that “it’s fair to say we have never observed money supply growth” as high as it was in 2020. In order to put that amount in perspective, consider that the year-to-year growth in the money supply never exceeded 15 percent according to Federal Reserve records that date back to 1981.

All of this was true for 2020. Then Congress passed a stimulus bill totaling $1.9 trillion earlier this month. Economists have run the numbers and concluded that President Biden and his administration will have to spend an average of $3.7 billion every day for the rest of the year. That works out to spending $43,000 every second of every day.

What does that mean to you? Obviously, it means you will be getting a check in the mail or a direct deposit. But let’s look at what it means to you and your family over the next few years. It is likely that we will see inflation simply because we will have more and more dollars chasing the same amount of goods and services.

Last year when federal spending was accelerating, there were various hedge fund managers saying they were concerned about inflation and dollar depreciation. Some began to invest in both gold and bitcoin. It would appear that more investors and managers will follow suit.

I don’t claim to be a financial manager, but I can look at the significant increase in the money supply and predict there will be major economic consequences.

How should we respond when spiritual heroes fall? That is a question Greg Koukl writes about and discussed with me recently on my radio program. The reason for the discussion centered around Ravi Zacharias, but his wise conclusions are appropriate for any time we see a pastor, elder, or ministry leader fall. He offered five principles to help us think biblically about the issue.

First, guard your soul. We don’t have to dwell on all the sordid details of the scandal. Paul says that dark deeds must be exposed (Ephesians 5:11). We are to do that to rebuke the guilty as a warning to others (1 Timothy 5:20). Paul also teaches that “it is disgraceful even to speak of those things done in secret.”

Second, do not be surprised when sinners sin. Yes, we may be shocked, but we should not be shaken. The Bible notes that Jesus did not entrust Himself to those who believed in Him since He knew what was in man (John 2:24-25).

Third, remember, truth is still true. It is tempting (especially to the skeptic) to denigrate Christianity because of the failings of the Christian leader. Truth is not nullified because a Christian leader strayed from biblical teaching.

Fourth, do not become cynical. There is always an impulse to cast a jaundiced eye towards other Christian leaders. Don’t let the failings of a few cause suspicion of the many. Who can you trust? You can probably make a list of people you trust because you have no reason to distrust them.

Fifth, firmly resolve to finish well. The goal of the Christian life is to complete the course and be commended by God for our faithful service. We, of course, need help to do that from other believers and from the Holy Spirit in our lives.

These are five wise principles that help you reflect on what to do when spiritual heroes fall.

It may be the most useless number you have never heard of in government. That number is what is called the “social cost of carbon.” The Obama administration created it years ago as an instrument to argue against fossil fuels and to argue for radical environmental policies. On his very first day of office, President Biden issued an executive order resurrecting the Obama-era social cost of carbon.

When it was first created (back in 2010), the cost was estimated at $22/ton. Two years later, the administration raised it to $36/ton. They eventually landed at $51/ton as President Obama left office.

The Biden administration issued a report last month putting the possible damages at $51/ton for carbon dioxide emissions. This latest updated version will certainly go higher since the White House has said it will factor in commitments under the Paris climate treaty and also consider such issues as “environmental justice” and “intergenerational equity.” Here’s my prediction: by the end of this year, the social cost of carbon will be estimated at more than $100/ton.

There is really no reason to believe this number for the social cost of carbon is based on rigorous science and economic evaluation. I was reading one paper that made the case that the benefits of carbon dioxide actually outweigh the cost substantially. Forests, grasslands, and various crops, for example, show greater growth when there is more carbon dioxide.

The next time we have an unusual weather event, expect the social cost of carbon to be mentioned and the cost of that weather phenomenon will be used to raise the cost even higher. It may be a number you never heard of, but that is about to change.

Cancel culture has been around for some time. Most of us have a few examples of the crazy reactions from the woke mob. But the worst may have taken place earlier this month when a musician was cancelled for mentioning a book he read.

Matt Walsh observes that “Just when you think we have made it to the farthest reaches of cultural lunacy, and of the cowardice that enables that lunacy, we find still deeper depths to plunge.” Winston Marshall is the banjo and lead guitar for the group Mumford and Sons and merely posted this tweet mentioning the Antifa expose by Andy Ngo: “Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man.” That’s all he said, but that was enough for the cancel mob to come down on his head.

Now, you might wonder if there was something else in his past. Three years ago. the group invited Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson to visit their London studios. He had his picture with Dr. Peterson, and that drew controversy.

People were calling for Marshall to be fired. People were calling him all sorts of names and make unfair accusations. He might have posted a response reminding critics that all he did was to say he read the book. He could have argued that you can’t criticize him for reading a book that you probably haven’t even read.

But that’s not what Marshall said. He deleted the tweet (and apparently many others) and wrote the usual groveling apology about coming to “better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed.” He then went on to say he would be “taking time away from the band to examine my blind spots.”

The apology, of course, did nothing to help his situation but unfortunately did everything to embolden the woke mob to go after another celebrity that strays from leftist ideology.

In February, Bill Gates published his book, How to Avoid A Climate Disaster. I took the time to read through it in detail because he has been willing to study the issue in depth and invest major funds through his foundation looking for technological answers and breakthroughs.

He understands that if we want to address poverty around the world we need to provide them with energy without releasing more greenhouse gases. And he also acknowledges that he may not be the best spokesman since we lives in a 66,000 square foot home and owns a private-jet company.

The subtitle of his book explains his vision: the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need. If you take the time to read his book, you realize the enormous challenges before us in order to reach his goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In the middle of his book, he starts a section with a quick quiz. Which of these contains the most energy: a gallon of gasoline, a stick of dynamite, or a hand grenade? The answer is a gallon of gasoline. Which of these in the cheapest in the United States: a gallon of milk, a gallon of orange juice, or a gallon of gasoline? Once again the answer is a gallon of gasoline. This illustrates the challenge of moving this country away from fossil fuels, which are both energy dense and remarkably cheap.

I may not agree with some of the policies Bill Gates has proposed in the past, but I appreciate that he lives in the real world. He understands the significant challenges we would face to reduce carbon emissions while also trying to raise the standard of living of the poorest countries in the world.

I can think of a number of environmental activists, as well as members of Congress, that need to read the book. It is an antidote to the cheap environmental cliches tossed around these days.