If you want to live a great life‚ live a life of great love.  I first wrote those words back in 2017‚ and they are just as true today as they were back then.  We exist in a love-starved society‚ and that is one of the reasons why so many people feel down and depressed all the time.  Today‚ millions of Americans are on antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs.  In fact‚ it has been reported that more than 250 million prescriptions are issued for antidepressants in the United States each year.  Others try to self-medicate by using illegal drugs‚ alcohol‚ sex‚ gambling or other forms of entertainment to make themselves feel better.  If it seems like most people in the general population are desperately unhappy‚ that is because most people in the general population really are desperately unhappy. Some people think that if they just had enough money they would finally be happy. But of course the truth is that many of the wealthiest individuals in the entire world are extremely unhappy. Ultimately‚ success in life is not about how much stuff you are able to accumulate before you die. Rather‚ it is about how much you are able to love. We were designed to love and be loved‚ and love is supposed to be the focus of our lives. In Matthew chapter 22‚ we read how Jesus responded when He was asked about the greatest commandment… 36 Master‚ which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him‚ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart‚ and with all thy soul‚ and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it‚ Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Some people out there need to read those verses over and over again. We are supposed to love God greatly‚ and we are supposed to love others greatly. In Matthew chapter 5‚ Jesus said that we are even supposed to love our enemies… 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said‚ Thou shalt love thy neighbour‚ and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you‚ Love your enemies‚ bless them that curse you‚ do good to them that hate you‚ and pray for them which despitefully use you‚ and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good‚ and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. How much of this do we see today? Not very much at all. Today‚ we are trained to hate our enemies. Our society has never been more divided than it is at this moment.  Those in positions of power use every trick in the book to divide us in just about every way that you can possibly imagine. We are taught that those that are on “our side” are the good guys‚ and those that are on the “other side” are worthy of our vitriol and must be defeated at all costs. I have never seen more hatred than I am seeing right now.  And there is something about the Internet that makes people comfortable saying things that they would never say person to person. But that is not what Jesus would have us do. He died on the cross for every single person on this planet. So who are you to hate someone that Jesus cared enough to die for? That doesn’t mean that you have to agree with everyone. There are ideas that are good‚ and there are ideas that are bad. But that doesn’t mean that we are to hate those that have bad ideas. Instead‚ we are supposed to love them and try to persuade them to see the truth. Loving others also doesn’t mean that you agree with all of the harmful things that they are doing to themselves or others. In fact‚ part of loving others is getting them to see that they should stop harming themselves and others. We can fight all of the evil that we see all around us and still love those that are being victimized by the evil. So how do we love those that do not seem to be easy to love? That is actually very simple. Love is a choice. We choose to love because God has commanded us to love‚ and we trust Him to give us the power to love when we do not feel like doing so. And it isn’t just enough to love with our words. Ultimately‚ love is far more about what we do than it is about what we say. Do you want someone to know that you love them? If so‚ show your love through your actions. In John chapter 15‚ Jesus explained what this kind of selfless love looks like… 12 This is my commandment‚ That ye love one another‚ as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this‚ that a man lay down his life for his friends. Would you be willing to lay down your life so that someone else might live? That kind of love does not come cheap. Recently‚ a 51-year-old resident of Maine named Kevin Howell and his 4-year-old son fell through the ice as they were attempting to cross a pond.  Howell successfully got his son out of the water‚ but he remained trapped… Officials are warning Maine residents about ice safety after a father died saving his son on Friday from a frozen pond. On the morning of Jan. 26‚ Kevin Howell‚ 51‚ and his 4-year-old son fell through ice as they were crossing Etna Pond in Carmel‚ Maine‚ the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Howell was able to get his son out of the frozen pond and told him to get his mother‚ the sheriff’s office said. His son was able to reach their home‚ 1/3 of a mile from the pond‚ and inform his mother‚ according to the sheriff’s office. “The mom told the young boy to stay at home‚ she called 911‚ and she rushed to help her husband‚” the sheriff’s office said. Howell’s wife rushed to the pond‚ and she ended up falling into the water as she attempted to get to her husband… The mother‚ armed with an anchor and rope‚ reached the lake and secured the rope to the shore in an attempt to reach her husband but ended up falling into the frozen water‚ according to the sheriff’s office. Penobscot Sheriff Detective Jordan Norton‚ who was in the area and heard the 911 call‚ spotted Howell’s wife in the water and crawled onto the ice‚ pulling the mother out of the freezing water using the rope‚ the sheriff’s office said. In the end‚ it was too late to save Howell. He died saving his son. Would you die in order to save your own child? For many of you‚ the answer to that question is easy. But what if it was to save a homeless person down the street? Or what if it was to save the politician that you hate the most? Needless to say‚ we are not trained to think like that. Most of us only want to see bad things happen to those that we consider to be enemies. But God calls us to love everyone. Because of God’s radical love for us‚ we can have radical love for others. And if we intend to change the world‚ that is the path that we need to choose. Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com‚ and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here. About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”‚ “7 Year Apocalypse”‚ “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”‚ “The Beginning Of The End”‚ and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned)  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog‚ End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News‚ and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  You can connect with Michael on YouTube‚ Facebook and Twitter‚ and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help.  These are such troubled times‚ and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world‚ that he gave his only begotten Son‚ that whosoever believeth in him should not perish‚ but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so‚ we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today. The post The Power Of Love appeared first on End Of The American Dream.

Joins us Prolife Frank Pavone discuss about the importance the VP pick. As a lot is saying that this years election is the pivotal moment for our great nation. He… The post WATCH: The Right View with Lara Trump‚ Stephanie Hamill‚ Anthony “ConservativeAnt” Raimondi – 1/30/2024 first appeared on Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN).

"Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior." Continue reading…

The harm social media does to kids has been well documented. Perhaps the most well-known exposé is The Wall Street Journal’s The Facebook Files‚ published in October 2021. Congress has held several hearings since that publication. On Wednesday‚ the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is holding another hearing centered around Big Tech’s failures to protect kids from sexual exploitation on social media platforms. The question is‚ are our elected officials willing to hold these companies accountable when they don’t protect kids? Senators will hear from the CEOs of Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram)‚ Snap (parent company of Snapchat)‚ X‚ TikTok‚ and Discord. Senators are right to expose the failings of these social media companies to the general public and rally support from their colleagues and constituents‚ but they should not rely on any actions from these CEOs to secure the change that is desperately needed. If we take economist Milton Friedman’s famous maxim as an absolute truth‚ that the only moral duty a corporation has is to maximize shareholder value as long as it stays within the rules of the game‚ then we can understand that social media companies are incentivized—if not obligated—to appeal to as many people as possible and engage people for as long as possible. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. teens 13-17 use TikTok‚ 51% use Snapchat‚ 47% use Instagram‚ and 19% use Facebook. These companies all prohibit users under age 13 due to restrictions in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act‚ but age restrictions are enforced only by an honor code. A recent investigation initiated by the attorney general of New Mexico uncovered that Meta knew of Facebook accounts with users under the age of 13 but failed to disable or remove the accounts. In this case‚ Meta was not adhering to the rules of the game‚ and Attorney General Raúl Torrez was right to hold the company accountable. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the other CEOs testifying Wednesday will point to the many steps they have taken to combat child sexual abuse material and other harmful content on their platforms‚ like suicide ideation‚ eating disorders‚ bullying‚ and violence. For its part‚ Meta has submitted significantly more reports of child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children than Snapchat‚ TikTok‚ Discord‚ and X combined. Earlier this month‚ Meta announced new content restrictions for teen users on Facebook and Instagram. TikTok disables messaging for users who attest they are younger than 16. Discord finally introduced parental controls in its gaming communications platform in 2023. Snap got ahead of Sens. Marsha Blackburn’s‚ R-Tenn.‚ and Richard Blumenthal’s‚ D-Conn.‚ inevitable questions at the hearing and endorsed their Kids Online Safety Act. These are all positive steps but not enough to mitigate the harms‚ despite each platform’s prohibition of‚ or zero-tolerance policy for‚ child exploitation or sexual abuse material. Several news reports have exposed the tools that predators use to find and groom kids online: “The People You Know” feature on Facebook suggesting people to add as friends; the algorithm that shows users content similar to what they’ve been viewing based on likes‚ comments‚ and other forms of engagement on Instagram; and the public livestream feature on TikTok that allows others to comment and submit coins in the form of emoji that can be converted into cash by the person streaming the content. It works for these companies to add and support protective features like screen time notices‚ disabling private messaging‚ and filtering sensitive content to show critics they are doing something because they know not everyone will opt in to these features‚ and it creates the illusion of safety while ensuring they lose few users. This is why we are not seeing meaningful actions that make it harder for kids under 13 to create accounts. These companies will not go as far as raising the allowable age for users on social media websites because they stand to lose too much revenue. During the hearing‚ they will say that they care about the safety of kids online‚ but do not think for a minute that they put this ahead of their bottom line. The social media companies will also stress that their platforms have great benefits for kids to stay connected with friends. However‚ research shows a decline in the number of people posting actual content and the frequency at which they do but an increase in the time spent on the app just consuming content. Social media has become predominantly a platform for influencers or aspiring influencers to get famous and make money. Users are consuming social media as a form of entertainment‚ and many feel that they have little control over what they view. Bots and fraud are becoming more rampant. For example‚ read the comments of a public post‚ and you will see several comments thanking Mr. So-and-So for changing their life and setting them up with $5‚000 a week from passive income‚ or comments from an account with a pornographic photo saying something like‚ “Am I hot?” Click on any of these accounts‚ and they either have zero posts and followers or similar photos posted in quick succession and promises that you can get rich just like they did or links to external adult-oriented websites. How are platforms that have evolved into consumerist entertainment and voyeurism‚ riddled with scammers and predators‚ even remotely appropriate for kids? Instagram said in July 2023 that users on the app spent most of their time in their messages from other users (direct messages or DMs‚ as they are abbreviated)‚ further showing an evolution in how people use the platform. Kids can text or use apps that are strictly for messaging if they want to text or share photos or videos with their friends. They don’t need a social media account to do that. Plus‚ they are less likely to be targeted‚ since texting or messaging apps like WhatsApp don’t connect users and strangers through content by design. Leave social media for adults‚ who are not immune to the perils of social media but less vulnerable than kids. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a number of bills that address gaps in the law to stop the exploitation of children online‚ improve reporting requirements to the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children‚ seek justice for victims‚ and hold platforms more accountable. Two of these bills passed the Senate and are waiting for action in the House. None of them have become law yet. These are also important steps to minimize the proliferation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material on social media‚ but they do not immunize kids from the risk of predation online‚ simply because kids and predators will still be on social media. Last month‚ I wrote about establishing age verification for pornography websites. I’d argue that prohibiting kids from using social media and using age verification (not age attestation) to adhere to the requirement—and holding platforms liable for any violations—is the best way to minimize harms to kids on social media. Many states are considering such measures. Is Congress willing to truly take Big Tech to task to protect kids as well? Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Congress: Stop Expecting Big Tech to Protect Kids Unless You Make Them appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Even football fans in blue cities are fed up with President Joe Biden. Or at least‚ when tailgaters at the AFC championship game in Baltimore on Sunday were asked their thoughts on the president‚ few held back. In a light-hearted Fox News report shared by anchor Jesse Watters on X‚...