Monthly Archives: August 2019

The Bitcoin Intelligence Operation and Communist China

Another great write up by JC Collins.

JC Collins

This is an analysis of the development and purpose of Bitcoin. The mystery surrounding Bitcoin, and its unknown developer Satoshi Nakamoto, is like something ripped right out of the pages of the most bizarre thriller. An analysis such as this one would appear conspiratorial and fictional on the surface, but when considered in relation to the real-world bizarreness of Bitcoin itself, it takes on a semblance of realism and probability.

Since producing some of the earlier writings on how the digital asset XRP would be fitting into the international monetary system and bridging the gaps which had developed in that system since 1944, I had little else to share on the matter. There were plenty of others with a deeper understanding of the technology than me who could provide that service to an ever growing community of digital asset champions. After providing some thorough monetary history, and direct predictions on how the end XRP service would look (which is beginning to take shape), I felt there was no other value I could add to the discussion.

For the most part, this remains the case. But there is a much bigger picture emerging as other world events begin unfolding on multiple fronts.

This work will be focused on the broad strokes and patterns which weave through the whole storyline. As with my previous articles, I’ll leave it up to others to continue the work and unearth further details and evidence to support the analysis. There will be plenty.

Before moving on I should validate the seriousness and accuracy of my own unique personal method of analysis. The sole purpose of sharing this is not to build up my own character but to lend support to the analysis being presented in this article. Since the beginning of 2014, through the use of my own unique analysis, which is built on pattern recognition and conceptual logic, I have made numerous predictions which have been accurate.

Predicted the de-dollarization which is taking place today and is now widely accepted as fact.

Predicted the increasing momentum to re-organize the international monetary system towards a true multilateral framework. This is continuing today with XRP, and other digital assets, serving in the Chinese proposed role for the SDR.

Predicted the inclusion of the Chinese currency RMB in the Special Drawing Right (SDR) composition alongside the dollar, pound, euro, and yen.

Predicted the 2014 crash in crude prices during a boardroom roundtable of peers. The ask was to bring forth what each of us thought was an upcoming challenge to the business in the next 6 to 12 months. The room disagreed with my assessment, but 6 months later my words became factual.

Predicted the rise of the new modern nationalism which has been sweeping the world and replacing aging liberal order governments and policies.

Predicted the election of Donald Trump more than a year before the election, and when everyone else still thought it was impossible. Also predicted a second term at the same time. This is looking likely at this stage of the election cycle.

Predicted the collapse of Communist China which is now quickly becoming an accepted possibility, even though when I first made the prediction most thought it impossible.

There are many other accurate predictions that weave themselves into my works over the last 6 years but these core predictions should suffice to make the point and gain reader confidence on the validity of the analytical approach used.

The obvious aspect of Bitcoin and its creator Satoshi Nakamoto which needs to be considered first and foremost is the lack of knowing and facts. As strange as it is, very little is known during a time when almost everything is known. Outside of the exchanges between Satoshi and the Cypherpunks on message boards and emails about the creation of Bitcoin, there is nothing else which can be documented or proven to exist. Except the network itself and the original crypto wallet held presumably by Satoshi.

This wallet has been abandoned and is worth billions today. In this fact there is a vital clue which marks the beginning of our conceptual analysis. Satoshi clearly didn’t want to reveal who he was and claiming the wallet years after the fact could lead to exposure. But the fact that no one has claimed a wallet worth billions strongly suggests that an individual is not in fact the owner. Looking through a different lens, a case can made that a large state actor in fact owns the wallet and can allow the billions to sit there unclaimed without causing much human stress or desire.

The lack of evidence around the creation of Bitcoin and who Satoshi Nakamoto really was is not detrimental to our understanding of what in fact was happening. More to the point, it is this lack of evidence which is strongly supportive of a state actor being involved as a single individual would have very little motivation to remain hidden and not claim billions in wealth.

Once we accept that a state actor had to be involved it becomes rather obvious to consider the two largest players in the world monetary system, being the United States and China. America is the world’s largest debtor nation and China is the world’s largest creditor nation. But based on the international dominance, or exorbitant privilege of the dollar, being the world’s largest debtor nation gives America the stronger position over China.

This complex relationship between both needs to be addressed and re-arranged before any fundamental shift will happen in the global system. Truth be told, it will be the re-arranging of this relationship which will cause the global shift, such as we are witnessing now with the ongoing trade war being waged against China. All other nations, economies, and central banks are trapped between these two giants.

Facts are beginning to emerge that the Chinese miracle and large economy are nothing but a fraud built on illusions and massive corruption. Western banks and officials have allowed for the funding and support of Communist China and the game is quickly coming to an end. Just today the Chinese currency experienced its largest crash in the last 25 years. Major banks are failing in China and hundreds of companies are now moving manufacturing to Vietnam and other places. The whole worlds supply chain is shifting away from China.

The growing protests in Hong Kong are threatening the false economy within China as that is where it connects with the outside real economy. The Hong Kong protests and the trade war being waged by the Trump administration should be considered as two weapons being used for the same purpose.

Even though somewhere around 80% of the world’s Bitcoin mining takes place in China, we are seeing almost no capital outflows on the Bitcoin network from within China as its false economy begins to unravel. This is strange and suggests that all of the Bitcoin mining taking place within China is controlled outright by the Communist Party. All business and ventures within China are in fact controlled by the Party. It is now being stated that even Jack Ma of Alibaba was forced to sign over total control of the business to the Communist Party. Things are now moving fast in China.

The other aspect of Bitcoin mining taking place within China is the large amount of coal fired energy required to manage that level of mining. Like companies, information, and people, all things in China are tightly controlled, with nothing more controlled than energy itself. Are we to consider that the most controlling and tyrannical government on Earth is simply allowing massive Bitcoin mining to take place without any interest? That is simply absurd and unrealistic. Internet and communications in and out of China are some of the most tightly controlled and monitored areas.

Once we accept those facts then we can accept that the Communist Party of China is allowing Bitcoin and its mining to take place in the country while suffering no capital outflows as its domestic economy begins to teeter on the edge of collapse.

The first reference to a “Bitcoin like” network was in a white paper released by the American NSA on October 31, 1996. It should go without saying that such a concept was not a secret and it is entirely plausible that China began toying with the concept of a “Bitcoin like” network after the turnover of Hong Kong in 1997. Hong Kong is important because as stated above it allows the Chinese fake economy to connect with the global real economy through a peg between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar. When you add in the relationship between the onshore RMB and offshore RMB, the dynamic between all currencies becomes complex, which is exactly what you want if you are attempting to hide economic fundamentals and build a false domestic illusion.

Further areas of research for readers should be focused on Tether and its relationship with the USD and Bitcoin, but more attention given to how this dynamic influences the RMB and Hong Kong dollar movements in correlation with the USD. There is something here which needs to be extracted, or mined.

As written in my article The Coming Collapse of Communist China, a few months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, China was admitted into the World Trade Organization. Nothing is suggested here except to state that it is indeed a strange coincidence on timing. Western banks and elites supported this move and sold it on the assumption that it would cause China to liberalize both its internal structures and economic policies. This did not happen of course.

From 2001 to 2008 the China “miracle” was growing at an incredible rate while more and more manufacturing was allowed to shift from the West to the East. After the financial crisis China started discussing the replacement of the reserve USD with the SDR of the International Monetary Fund. China wanted a supra-sovereign asset which would dethrone the USD as the world’s primary reserve currency. The Triffin paradox was leveraged to gain support and market the concept to banks and world leaders.

Almost at the same time China started promoting SDR as a USD alternative, Bitcoin arrived on the scene and one of its first use cases was to fund the trade of drugs and illicit materials on the internet based Silk Road. Readers should make an association between this Silk Road and the New Silk Road, later called Belt and Road Initiative, by China to connect Eurasia under a trade and economic order which bypassed America.

During the recent Hong Kong protests the Triad criminal organization were targeting people on the streets in order to cause fear and intimidation. There is an obvious relationship between the Triad and the Communist Party of China which needs to be considered. You would naturally think that the interests of the Triad wouldn’t be aligned with the Communist Party of China, but yet these events strongly suggest they are. Much like the relationship between Western criminal organizations, such as the Hells Angles and mafia families, and the intelligence apparatus of Western nations, China uses the Triad to carry on specific programs which undermine the structures of its own civilization for the purpose of population control and cultural management.

I would recommend the well researched and referenced book Dope Inc. by Executive Intelligence Review for a mind shattering expose of such relationships between intelligence agencies and criminal organizations.

Even now, opium and fentanyl is being exported into Western nations by China and the Triad at an alarming rate. So much so in fact, that Trump has made it a part of any potential trade deal with China. The money from this drug trade is being laundered through real estate markets in some of the worlds largest cities, like Vancouver, British Columbia, and Sydney, Australia. We hear about such things but only briefly and seldom stop to think what it really means. Through the China Development Bank, the Belt and Road Initiative is one massive money laundering scheme for the Communist Party of China. The nations which have partnered on the Belt and Road Initiative are waking up to the reality that they have been fooled into taking on large debts simply to fund corruption and control in mainland China. This is also quickly coming to an end.

As the wealth is shifted away from the Communist Party, its global business’s will begin failing and wealth from the general Chinese population will be taken away to support the Party. This will compound the problem and the great Chinese people will eventually turn on their Communist controllers and take their civilization back from the most corrupt and vile organization on the face of the planet.

In the years after Bitcoin arrived its use spread outside of the Silk Road illicit trade and many around the world took up the task of building exchanges and moving Bitcoin towards official acceptance and adoption. Through fronts and party member interests, it should be assumed that China has control of major Bitcoin exchanges, which are used for further money laundering. This is a huge area I will leave for other researchers to explore, but it shouldn’t take much to determine which exchanges are controlled by China and which ones are not. I would expect to discover that any exchanges that list XRP are not controlled by China, though some China controlled exchanges may have listed XRP in an attempt to manipulate that particular digital asset, as XRP is in all matters the exact opposite of Bitcoin.

The history of XRP and the company Ripple can almost be interpreted as a response to the creation and spread of Bitcoin and its promotion as a USD alternative. The underground promotion of Bitcoin in this capacity has remained and has grown in momentum across internet forums and from within certain business interests. This “overthrowing the USD” aspect of Bitcoin and its creation by the Communist Party of China is extremely telling of the intrigue which is now playing out on the world stage. As is the creation of XRP as the response.

Ethereum, which was developed by a Russian, and most alt coins built on the Ethereum network, were most likely developed to work in unison with Bitcoin to undermine the USD and shift massive wealth from West to East. We get into a lot of speculation in this area and its best to just let the events further play out. But it would not be surprising in the years to come that we discover there is a lot of truth to it.

The parallel growth of XRP and Ripple business partners, including central banks, alongside the trade war being waged against China, and the collapse of the Chinese economy and banking system from within, should also not be considered a coincidence. There is clearly something transitioning in the world which we only get glimpses off from time to time.

In addition, no other digital asset has faced more online opposition and “trolling” than XRP and Ripple. It’s almost as if the Chinese Ministry of Security Services has a division specifically tasked with waging online psychological warfare against XRP and those who promote it. A conceptual conclusion can be made that Bitcoin and all other cryptos are aligned on one side against XRP and Ripple. It’s a curious arrangement to be sure. Why is XRP such a threat?

I’m attempting to steer this away from the conspiratorial aspect as much as possible, but in the past, for me, when pieces start to click into place, the conclusions usually end up being accurate, as presented at the beginning of this article. I’m not interested in making outrageous claims to grow readership or get more followers on Twitter, but when I have something to say it usually ends up being consequential and changes the conscious narrative of its target subject. As will be the case with this article. The information will be denied by some and embraced by others, but it will percolate and spread through the unconscious interests of much greater minds.

The invocation I have called forth here will not be the last word. The world is changing and time will reveal the broad strokes written here to be true. There may be small variations in the details but the overall theme will prove to be accurate. I will now leave it to others to further prove the conclusions or to disprove the conclusions.

Eventually the truth about Bitcoin will be known and the purpose of Satoshi Nakamoto will be revealed. The mystery will be solved and the anagram re-arranged. The patterns described here do follow a conceptual logic. That is all I have to offer the world.

Readers should also thoroughly understand the case I made in the article The Coming Collapse of Communist China, as it is directly related to the material covered here, and appears to be happening at an increasing pace.

– JC

JC Collins can be contacted at jcollins@philosophyofmetrics.com

This article is copyrighted by POM Media©2019. As non-Membership content, it can be shared and reposted without further permission.

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Why do all the Democrats want to raise taxes?

Why do all the Democrats want to raise taxes?

It isn’t to raise revenue, as it has been shown repeatedly that high taxes de-incentivize growth and incentivize the wealthiest to use tax shelters.

The real reasons:

* Punish people who generate wealth – punish the winners. (70% tax rates are economically unsound)
* Slow down or stop economic growth
* Reduce the means for ordinary people to solve their own problems (emergency funds, insurance, charitable giving)
* Reduce the number of available jobs (combined with minimum wage increase programs, increase despair, despondence, and next -> )
* Increase dependency on the Federal government (welfare programs, solving government created “crisis” situations)
* Lock in a dependent voter base
* Create “crisis” situations that the Left can be the national saviors to solve (and grab more power)
* Grow the Government as a percentage of economic output to maximize power
* Join with Paris Accords and “Green New Deal” efforts to stagnate or recess economic production
* Meet Club of Rome targets
* A weak, impoverished United States, and a weak, impoverished world is easy to control

The Democrat vision of America is a nation with no economic growth, plain and simple, where all is taken from the able, and none is given according to ne

Quote

Political Polarization – Are the Democrats Trying to Change American Politics by Opening Borders? — Armstrong Economics

There are trends which have unfolded in politics that cannot be repaired and reflect the decline in confidence in the government which is dominating the future into 2032. We face not only the polarization of politics which is emerging into hate politics, but we are also witnessing the attempt to subvert the political system for…

via Political Polarization – Are the Democrats Trying to Change American Politics by Opening Borders? — Armstrong Economics

BoJo Wins: Queen Elizabeth II Grants ‘Prorogation of Parliament’ to Ensure Brexit

https://www.trunews.com/stream/bojo-wins-queen-elizabeth-ii-grants-prorogation-of-parliament-to-ensure-brexit

Queen Receives Outgoing and Incoming Prime Ministers

Next up: Labor Leader Jeremy Corbyn’s no-confidence motion and a potential general election in November.

Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to let Prime Minister Boris Johnson shut down Parliament for an extra week in a bid to ensure Brexit on October 31st.

The Parliament will return from summer recess on Tuesday, and were scheduled to work until Sept. 12, when the annual three-week party congress break occurs. However, at Johnson’s request, the queen has agreed to extend that break by one additional week to Oct. 14th.

The monarch held a privy council at her country estate in Balmoral this morning with Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg—who also serves as Lord President of the Privy Council—House of Lords Leader Baroness Natalie Evans, and House of Commons Chief Whip Mark Spencer. Following that meeting, the queen issued the following “order of council,” which has the effect of UK law by royal prerogative:

“Order proroguing Parliament no earlier than Monday 9th September and no later than Thursday 12th September 2019 to Monday 14th October 2019, and directing the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain to prepare a commission accordingly.”

Proroguing Parliament means discontinuing the current legislative session without dissolving the legislative body. This typically happens for a short time each year prior to the Queen’s Speech, which starts the new legislative session. However, under royal prerogative, the UK monarch has the absolute power to prorogue Parliament for any length of time, ruling without it, during that time.

While prorogued, MPs lose their rights and privileges and revert to common subjects of the queen. For Johnson’s purposes, this prevents Remain MPs from pushing any bills that can prevent a no-deal Brexit.

In a letter, the prime minister clearly spelled out his intentions:

“I hope that you had an enjoyable and productive summer recess, with the opportunity for some rest ahead of the return of the House.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the Government’s plans for its business in Parliament.

“As you know, for some time parliamentary business has been sparse.

“The current session has lasted more than 340 days and needs to be brought to a close—in almost 400 years only the 2010-12 session comes close, at 250 days.

“Bills have been introduced, which, while worthy in their own right, have at times seemed more about filling time in both the Commons and the Lords, while key Brexit legislation has been held back to ensure it could still be considered for carry-over into a second session.

This cannot continue.

“I therefore intend to bring forward a new bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country after Brexit.

“There will be a significant Brexit legislative program to get through but that should be no excuse for a lack of ambition!

“We will help the NHS, fight violent crime, invest in infrastructure and science and cut the cost of living.

“This morning I spoke to Her Majesty The Queen to request an end to the current parliamentary session in the second sitting week in September, before commencing the second session of this Parliament with a Queen’s speech on Monday 14 October.

“A central feature of the legislative program will be the Government’s number one legislative priority, if a new deal is forthcoming at EU Council, to introduce a Withdrawal Agreement Bill and move at pace to secure its passage before 31 October.

“I fully recognize that the debate on the Queen’s Speech will be an opportunity for Members of Parliament to express their view on this Government’s legislative agenda and its approach to, and the result of, the European Council on 17-18 October.

“It is right that you should have the chance to do so, in a clear and unambiguous manner.

“I also believe it is vitally important that the key votes associated with the Queen’s Speech and any deal with the EU fall at a time when parliamentarians are best placed to judge the Government’s program.

“Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the Government’s overall program, and approach to Brexit, in the run up to EU Council, and then vote on this on 21 and 22 October, once we know the outcome of the Council.

“Should I succeed in agreeing a deal with the EU, Parliament will then have the opportunity to pass the Bill required for ratification of the deal ahead of 31 October.

“Finally, I want to reiterate to colleagues that these weeks leading up to the European Council on 17/18 October are vitally important for the sake of my negotiations with the EU.

“Member States are watching what Parliament does with great interest and it is only by showing unity and resolve that we stand a chance of securing a new deal that can be passed by Parliament.

“In the meantime, the Government will take the responsible approach of continuing its preparations for leaving the EU, with or without a deal.

“The Leader of the Commons will update the House in the normal fashion with regard to business for the final week.

“For now, I can confirm that on Monday 9 September both Houses will debate the motions on the first reports relating to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 (NIEFA).

“Following these debates we will begin preparation to end the Parliamentary session ahead of a Queen’s Speech.

“The Business Managers in both Houses will shortly engage with their opposite numbers, and MPs more widely, on plans for passing a deal should one be forthcoming.

“Decisions will also need to be taken about carrying over some of the bills currently before the House, and we will look to work constructively with the Opposition on this front.

“If agreement cannot be reached we will look to reintroduce the bills in the next session, and details on this will be set out in the Queen’s Speech.

“As always my door is open to all colleagues should you wish to discuss this or any other matter.”

The prime minister now likely faces a no-confidence vote led by Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn. If it were to succeed, senior Downing Street officials have told The Sun newspaper that Mr. Johnson will not resign, but rather would call for a general election to be held shortly after October 31st.

Reaction among Remainers was immediate and forceful. Protesters have taken up shop outside the Palace of Westminster to express their outrage. Corbyn has also addressed the issue, demanding an audience with Queen Elizabeth II to protest the decision. In a statement outside the Palace of Westminster, he added:

“We will work will all MPs to take steps to ensure that the prorogation doesn’t happen, or move very quickly to a vote of no confidence in the government. If it is impossible to prevent prorogation it is going to be difficult for people like myself to keep confidence in the government.

“I am appalled at the recklessness of Johnson’s government. It’s a threat to our democracy.”

He later told the BBC the opposition will attempt to launch legislation to prevent not just the prorogation, but a no-deal Brexit. He added that if those attempts fail, a confidence motion would follow.

Speaker of the House John Bercow, who was a known Remainer, despite centuries of convention that the office holder should no longer take political positions, also expressed his fury at the prorogation order. He said it was “blindingly obvious” the move was meant to “stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty.”

Remainer Tories Philip Hammond, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and former environment minister Dominic Grieve also expressed their dismay, calling the prorogation “undemocratic” and “outrageous.” And Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson resigned in protest over the move—although party insiders said the openly lesbian politician had been considering a resignation for several weeks due to the birth of her first child last year and the new demands motherhood have created for her.

But for some say Johnson’s moves haven’t quite gone far enough. A number of Brexiteers are concerned the prime minister is only interested in scrapping the much-hated Irish Backstop, sharing their concerns for many other parts of Theresa May’s negotiated withdrawal agreement with the EU.

They have argued that failing to scrap the whole agreement and starting from scratch with the EU will still be a disaster for the UK. Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage went so far as to say failing to do so would be the political end of Johnson as his party would challenge the Tories for “every seat up and down the country.”

Deutsche Bank or Hurricane Dorian?…Which Disaster is Man-Made?!

Bix Weir:

Hard to think that the arrival of the CAT 4 Hurricane Dorian and the crashing of the Global Financial System at the SAME TIME is a coincidence! Don’t underestimate the importance of the global financial system turmoil that is right around the corner!

 

 

BREAKING: FBI’s Andy McCabe to be Indicted. DOJ Sources say Barr & Rosen have reached their decision

Phone numbers at 2 min mark

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BREAKING: FBI’s Andy McCabe to be Indicted. DOJ Sources say Barr & Rosen have reached their decision. There is also talk of a plea deal if McCabe will testify against bigger DOJ/FBI/CIA fish on the food chain.There is tremendous last minute pressure being placed upon Barr & Rosen within the FBI & DOJ to NOT exercise the indictment and to have McCabe turn himself into authorities.
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It now seems apparent that according to DOJ sources appears Bill Barr IS going to indict Andrew McCabe, Strzok, Priestrap, Carlin, Baker, Comey – maybe as high as Susan Rice, Sally Yates and Samantha Powell etc. But really, how high up the totem pole is Bill Barr & Assis. AG Mr. Rosen truly willing to go? How many dominos will fall in the end seeing that the DC Swamp is replete with pro Democrat jurors and Obama judges? Can they truly expect to have any left wing Grand Jury in DC go along with their essential quest for American Justice?
Will LORETTA LYNCH, HILLARY CLINTON AND OBAMA also be implicated?

Big hurdle will be the DC Federal judges appointed by Bush and Obama – all left wing along with a pool of DC jurors that resemble more of a Bernie Sanders Rally then “rule of law” God fearing, freedom loving, constitutionalist patriotic Americans.  Bill Barr has a huge challenge there. But the fact remains- the Deep State Swamp planned long ago for the NSS ( Nat. Security State) to bring out “hidden” alibis who will tearfully pretend that “Hillary was a victim of Deep State political espionage too.”

After all, it was Andrew McCabe who said that if they (Intel chiefs & FBI Director) could trap (F–K) Mike Flynn they could trap (F–K)  Donald Trump.

Trump Reforms VA Discrimination: Bibles, Christmas Trees Allowed Back

Did the previous administration inform us that they were doing this???? Of course not!

Under the previous administration, these symbols were systematically removed from Veteran’s Affairs hospitals, but the president and current administration is changing that.

The Daily Signal reported on a very important change that’s occurring, thanks to President Donald Trump. Veteran’s Affairs hospitals are getting back their symbols of Christianity like Bibles and Christmas trees.

(Reposted by Lifesite News)

As a kid, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie recalls, he visited a VA hospital at Christmastime.

“One of my fondest memories growing up, we used to sing Christmas carols at the VA hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina,” Wilkie told The Daily Signal, sitting in a 10th-floor office at VA headquarters on Vermont Avenue Northwest, overlooking the White House.

“Something as simple and as decent as that was being stopped,” he said. “With the support of the president, we just said enough is enough.”

Wilkie grew up at Fort Bragg, the son of an Army artillery commander. He himself served in both the Navy and Air Force reserves, and as a Pentagon official.

Since becoming VA secretary a little more than a year ago, he has returned to North Carolina.

“I was in my hometown. We have a beautiful chapel in the old VA hospital. And I walked in and there were no Bibles,” the secretary said. “It had been stripped of the symbols of religion.”

The VA revised directives to permit religious literature, symbols, and displays at agency facilities following a string of incidents in recent years in which individual medical centers banned Christmas carols and a Christmas tree, chapels removed Bibles, and chaplains faced restraints on religious expression.
Generally, the VA had inconsistent policies across the country.

Officials designed the changes to protect the religious freedom of veterans and their families.
The new guidelines, which went into effect last month, referred to the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing a cross-shaped memorial to World War I dead to continue standing on public land in Bladensburg, Maryland.
The high court’s decision highlighted the important role that religious symbols play in the lives of Americans and their consistency with constitutional principles.

“The military culture has been part of my being, an important part of what I believe,” Wilkie told The Daily Signal. “I’ve seen the effects of combat, both in uniform and out of uniform.”

That military culture in which he grew up, Wilkie said, also prioritizes the “ability of our troops to worship, their right to worship, their right to have access to chaplains, and to be free to celebrate their faith.” He added:

Now, moving over to VA, I consider the spiritual well-being of our veterans, their spiritual health, to be just as important as the medical competence and technical competence of our doctors and nurses. They should have that fundamental right available to them to access chaplains, to access their Bibles.

The new guidelines call for “inclusion in appropriate circumstances of religious content in publicly accessible displays at VA facilities,” and allow “patients and their guests to request and be provided religious literature, symbols and sacred texts during visits to VA chapels and during their treatment at VA.”

The guidelines also allow the VA to accept donations of religious literature, cards, and symbols at its facilities, and to distribute them to VA patrons “under appropriate circumstances.”

“Under the old regime, you couldn’t have those outward symbols,” Wilkie said. “You could not have religious texts in the chapels unless you brought them. The chaplains could not walk the halls seeking people to talk with. There had to be a specific request.”

The allowed literature may include the Bible, the Quran, the Talmud, or any other religious text, VA officials noted.

Still, the policy faces opposition.

“The VA’s actions undermine our Constitution, which intentionally establishes a secular government in order to preserve religious freedom, a right enjoyed by individuals,” Sam Grover, associate counsel for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, wrote in a letter to Wilkie objecting to the standards.

“Were the VA truly concerned about protecting the religious freedom of veterans, it could simply do what the Constitution prescribes and keep its facilities free from government-endorsed religion,” Grover wrote.

Wilkie said he doesn’t anticipate litigation over the policy because it is based on the recent Supreme Court ruling.

“What Justice [Neil] Gorsuch said in the Maryland cross case was absolutely on target,” Wilkie said. “Because you might be offended doesn’t give you standing to stop other people from worshiping. For me, this is not only a military issue. It’s a religious liberty issue, and one that is vitally important to those we serve.”

The high court’s ruling should reaffirm the VA’s policy, said Emilie Kao, director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.

“On the heels of the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision that reaffirmed the Constitution’s protection of the tradition of public displays of religious monuments, symbols, and practices, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs took a much-needed step to clarify that religious symbols as well as spiritual and pastoral care are welcome at VA facilities,” Kao told The Daily Signal.

“Millions of soldiers from different religious backgrounds have relied upon their faith and gained encouragement from religious literature, symbols, and displays,” Kao continued. “No member of the military should have to hide their faith when they put on a uniform. Nor should our public square be devoid of religious symbols.”

In January, the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Hampshire removed a Bible on display at a “Missing Man” table after a secular group, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, objected.

The Bible had been carried by a prisoner of war from World War II, but the group said some veterans had complained about its display.

After receiving new complaints about its removal, hospital officials restored the Bible the following month. In May, however, a Vietnam veteran sued to have the Bible removed.

“A Bible that was owned by a survivor in the Battle of the Bulge had to be put under lock and key because several people unknown had complained that this was an affront to them,” Wilkie said, adding:

It’s incongruous to me [because] we send our young people to some pretty rough places. The notion that someone who would have been in those situations is so offended by the sight of a Bible that he wants to sue and deprive his comrades of that comfort is just beyond the pale.

In late 2015, a VA clinic in Salem, Virginia, initially blocked a Christmas tree from the premises, stating in a letter to employees that “trees have been deemed to promote the Christian religion and will not be permitted in any public areas this year.”

The clinic reversed course in late November after public pushback, and allowed the Christmas tree.

In January 2014, then-House Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., wrote then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, citing a VA medical center in Augusta, Georgia, that banned high school Christmas carolers.

Miller also wrote that VA officials in Iowa City, Iowa, had told the American Legion not to hand out gifts if the wrapping paper said “Merry Christmas” and a VA hospital in Dallas had refused a delivery of handwritten Christmas cards from schoolchildren because they included the words “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless You.”

Such matters are important beyond individuals’ freedom of religion, affecting the health of veterans in the VA’s care, Wilkie said.

“The issue of Christmas carols is about simple courtesy, the ability to make people smile at a time in their lives when they are in a hospital for whatever reason, for groups to come in and spread comfort,” he said. “Emotional sustenance is absolutely something that we should be allowing, not standing in the way of.”

Thanks to source, Conservative Daily Post:     https://conservativedailypost.com/trump-reforms-va-discrimination-bibles-christmas-trees-allowed-back/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_campaign=CDP%20Newsletter%20RSS%202nd%20send%20-%20Engaged

Please comment and share with you friends and enemies too.

 

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/climate/climate-change-is-part-of-the-corruption/

Bernie’s Bus Breaks Down but Trump Comes to the Rescue

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/bernies-bus-breaks-down-but-trump-comes-to-the-rescue/

STARBUCKS’ secret SATANIC MESSAGE in the MERMAID artwork of their CORPORATE LOGO

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NesaraForumsAndNewsSources/~3/0ffET-vbtDk/starbucks-secret-satanic-message-in.html