A disagreement over leadership after Muhammed’s death caused a divide of Islam into two sects, Sunni and Shia. The Sunnis believed that their leader should be chosen by the community based on merit and adherence to Sunnah, essentially the teachings of the Quran. The Shias wanted leadership to remain in Muhammad’s family. In 656 AD, Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib (known as Ali) became the leader. Since Iran is primarily a Shiite nation, my concern here is with Shia.

Over the years, the Shia sect developed a doctrine of the Imamate, where the Imam is infallible, divinely appointed and the only one capable of explaining the “hidden” inner meanings of the Quran. Over time, the Shias also split based on which descendant of Ali would be the rightful Imam. One group, Twelvers believe there will be 12 Imams with the 12th one, known as the Mahdi or savior, currently hidden and soon to return. About 85 % of the Muslim population of Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Lebanon are Twelvers. They believe that they are preparing the world for the return of the Mahdi by fighting oppression, and more specifically by perfecting their own character and spreading Islamic virtues. Creating an Islamic State is a necessary step toward paving the way for the global revolution the Mahdi will establish. Now that Khamenei is dead, Twelvers must reestablish their Caliphate with an appropriate leader. It is a serious problem for them and we are witnessing some confusing behavior as the Iran military sends bombs against its own Islamic neighbors.

It seems to me, that we are witnessing evidence of the spiritual war being fought in the heavens. (Prophecies in Daniel 12 and Revelation 12 might be speaking of these times—let me know what you think) There have been many reports of Iranians being converted to Christianity after a spiritual vision of Jesus Christ. God is certainly able to bring about these conversions, even in a country completely closed to missionaries! And we have seen continuing Islamic terrorist attacks around the world, many specifically directed toward Israel, God’s people.

Without commenting on the rightness or wrongness of the recent attack and continuing war with Iran, as a Christian I am inspired to believe that God is indeed at work to bring salvation to those who are His!! Let’s pray that the removal of Khamenei will bring about an opportunity for Iranians to hear God’s Word. Perhaps those in other Muslim countries will also begin to ask questions and be open to God’s Truth!! I am also praying that God will open the eyes of His people Israel to the Truth of His Word, that Messiah has come and will soon return to establish His Kingdom!

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Rev 22:12-13

By Kevin Finn from American Thinker

A “color revolution” (sometimes called a “soft coup” or “regime-change operation by non-kinetic means”) is a modern form of orchestrated political upheaval designed to replace an existing government without traditional military invasion or civil war. The term arose from events in the early 2000s, such as Serbia’s Bulldozer Revolution (2000) and Georgia’s Rose Revolution (2003). These operations follow a remarkably consistent playbook, refined over two decades by Western NGOs, intelligence-linked foundations, and State Department-affiliated entities (Open Society Foundations, USAID, etc.).

Authors describe seven stages of a color revolution. The stages include these tactics, which I’ll list in approximate chronological order:

• Portray the target government as illegitimate, authoritarian, corrupt, or “fascist.”

• Front-load allegations: accuse incumbent of planning the crimes the opposition intends to commit (rigging, regression, dictatorship).

• Fund and train NGOs, student groups, and opposition politicians to repeat a unified message.

• Create/amplify a unifying symbol or theme (e.g., Orange Man Bad).

• Manufacture an electoral crisis.

• Street mobilization.

• Public appeals to and moral blackmail of the military and police: “You’re with the people, not the regime.”

• Promises of immunity, future positions for defectors.

• Threats to those who support target government.

• Provoke a response, flood media with images of “peaceful protesters” being attacked.

• International legitimization as foreign governments and media recognizes opposition leaders as “legitimate” authority.

• Sanctions, frozen assets, diplomatic isolation applied to sitting government.

• New elections scheduled under international supervision.

We’re approaching the final four stages of this process with the Seditious Six’s “advice” to the military about alleged “illegal orders”, and threats to those who obey the POTUS. These warnings have eroded military cohesion, priming them for institutional resistance against Trump’s policies on immigration enforcement and domestic security.

General Michael Flynn described these actions as part of a coordinated effort to destabilize the nation’s power structure. These actions build on a pattern of Democrat actions that align with color revolution phases. Beginning with the 2016 election, the “Russiagate” narrative served to portray his presidency as illegitimate to erode public trust. Funded investigations, leaks from intelligence communities, and media amplification created an “illegitimacy loop,” where any Trump action was framed as evidence of tyranny.

The accusations of an illegitimate presidency rang out early in Trump’s first term. The cries came from Hillary Clinton on down to elected officials, celebrities, and the rank and file. The two impeachments manufactured crises, positioning Democrats as defenders of democracy (stop laughing!) against a purportedly rogue executive. Street mobilization echoed in the 2020 BLM protests which were leveraged to sustain urban unrest and pressure institutions. These events forced standoffs with law enforcement. More recently, accusations against Trump’s nominees, like Pete Hegseth facing war crime smears, fit the tactic of rapid, scripted attacks to paralyze the administration.

Victor Davis Hanson has tied the Seditious Six’s video to the “first salvo” in such a revolution, followed by these allegations, suggesting a sequenced operation to overthrow an elected leader. Additional moves, like Senator Ruben Gallego’s threats against military investigators or connections to figures like Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, hint at deeper coordination to protect allies and intimidate defectors.

Critics argue this culminates in an American adaptation: using congressional platforms, media allies, and intelligence ties for “international legitimization” via global outlets denouncing “Trumpism.” While not a full-fledged revolution yet, these symptoms — narrative delegitimization, institutional fracturing, and crisis fabrication — raise concerns of a partisan bid to subvert democratic mandates.

If unchecked, they could escalate to broader instability, echoing how color tactics have toppled regimes abroad. The Democrat (they’re not democratic) party has a well-established history of violence, insurrection and an affinity for the oppression of their adversaries. Their current trajectory, and the lack of a substantive response from the Republican Party does not bode well for the republic.

Fall

The sky is dark with cold as winter creeps across the land

Kissing each leaf in loving greeting.

Fresh from basking in the summer sun,

They shrink in fright before they understand his romantic invitation.

As the sun abandons them for warmer climes

They, blushing, accept, dancing with the wind he sends to partner with them.

Gliding to the ground, whispering their delight, they settle,

And let summer’s warmth leak into the earth beneath their blanket,

Nurturing the soil for the rebirth sure to come when the cycle begins again.

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If you didn’t know anything about Charlie Kirk before he was killed, you have been told by most media sources that he was a political right-wing advocate killed for his involvement in politics. If you haven’t listened to any of the readily available clips of his interviews and Q&A sessions with college students, you really have no understanding of what he was doing that led to his murder.

You see, Charlie Kirk applied biblical principles to cultural and political issues of our day. He took his understanding of the Bible and his Christian worldview and argued for its application in daily life by debating on college campuses where young people were receiving only an anti-biblical view in their classes. What 100 million people saw at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, was the first biblically founded volley in the spiritual war for our country’s soul. Charlie’s murder has opened the door for real conversation about the war between good and evil and how it needs to be addressed in our country.

For the past many years (I won’t put a number on it), the devil has had free reign in our country’s institutions. The church essentially left the public square after being threatened with loss of tax exemptions, as well as realizing that the government had taken over the “work of the ministry” caring for the poor, the widows and the orphans. Jesus gave us a parable noting that when the house is swept clean of evil spirits and doesn’t bring in His Spirit, the evil spirits return with more. (Matthew 12:43-45) Taking prayer out of the conversation in schools and the Ten Commandments from public government buildings, removed more than words. It removed a focus in this country on godly, moral principles that governed every day life.

What young people were being taught was that they didn’t need morality based on anything other than their own opinion. Charlie Kirk presented the truth. He told them that there was a moral basis for behavior and that the Truth was to be found in Jesus Christ. He clearly presented the gospel in most of his conversations.

As an aside, another very important thing that Charlie Kirk did was to recognize the importance of educating political leaders in a Christian worldview. He chose to interact with conservatives who were closer to understanding Christian values than liberals who for the most part reject biblical standards of morality. The Bible clearly supports marriage between a man and a woman (yes, only two genders); liberals held the view that it is up to the government to define marriage. The Bible says we should not murder; liberals argue about a definition of life and where it begins, questioning whether abortion is murder. A Christian sees those liberal positions as anti-God and, hence, evil. In the Bible, the devil is seen as the source of all evil and the father of lies, hence my assertion that this is a spiritual battle.

So, Charlie aligned himself with the political right. He supported right-wing candidates because they presented views that were closer to a biblical worldview. He nevertheless was unashamed to share the gospel with these same political leaders. In a sense he was also an evangelist to them. I was amazed to see the number of political leaders at his memorial service proclaiming the truth of the gospel. That really was because of Charlie Kirk. He gave them the truth; he boldly proclaimed it, and they took his lead. They will forever be on the record for that.

There are now many excellent articles out there about Charlie Kirk and his impact on our country and even the world. I suppose I am a bit redundant here. But my church and many, many others have still not mentioned his name. We didn’t even pray for his family. My question is, why not? They say it’s because we don’t want to address politics in the church. That, apparently, is not appropriate. We might offend someone. This may be my topic for another day.

It’s a problem for the church when we view the death of a brother in Christ and refuse to acknowledge it because he was “political.” Did the fact that Charlie Kirk interacted in our culture and answered questions that happened to reflect particular political views change his position as our brother in Christ whose family were grieving and needed our prayers.

Above and beyond that, what about the young people Charlie Kirk had ministered to and brought to the Lord? Where will they go to find comfort? In addition to learning truth about the culture from a Christian worldview (and, yes, about political positions), those young people also were introduced to the Truth, Jesus Christ. Who will continue to disciple them? Who will help them continue in the Truth? Who will encourage them to stand for Jesus Christ in this spiritual war?

If not the church, then who?

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The evidence collected, along with the young man’s confession, make it clear that murder was intended and murder is what happened. Let’s not muddy the waters and try to implicate some kind of “conspiracy” or some words or cultural groups out there that “made him do it.”

We all want to see the criminal brought to justice. Can we just keep it simple? He murdered Charlie Kirk. He intended to murder Charlie Kirk. He told other people that he murdered Charlie Kirk. Why he did it is not the point. Prosecute the man for murder. Let’s not attempt to weigh it down with psychology and politics. “Keep it simple stupid” seems to me to be the best response. What do you think?

I am making a judgment call. There is evil in our culture. It is evident in the gay and trans community as they refuse to acknowledge the truth God presented, that He created male and female and that He considered it an "abomination" for a male to lie with a male as one lies with a female (Leviticus 18:22). This evil has also become evident as murder has taken place, most recently on a commuter train in Charlotte, NC and at a Christian school in Minneapolis while the children were worshiping God. And, yes, when Charlie Kirk was murdered in cold blood. God also had something to say about that. He specified in His Commandments that "You shall not murder." (Deuteronomy 5:17).

Somehow, Christians have concluded that in order to show love to their neighbor, they must not speak out about those truths. I love my neighbor enough to tell them the Truth! I want to stand against these evil men and their attempts to influence and change our culture. In Galatians 4:16, Paul asks a pointed question: "So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?" I'm pretty sure the Galatians understood the implied answer. No, of course not! Paul was determined to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and help them live a godly life. In the same passage he says, ”My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you — but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you."

I too am perplexed. There seems to be an agreement among a large number of Christian leaders that we cannot say anything about Charlie Kirk's murder. Many are even passing judgment on Charlie Kirk saying that he was only a political figure, that he had said questionable things. He also spoke truth! He actually presented the gospel in many of his conversations. And was he not murdered in cold blood?!?! Is his murder not the biggest topic of conversation in our culture right now? Should we not be speaking truth in the public square now more than ever? We could even be saying, "Yes, Charlie Kirk was like all the rest of us--a sinner. But that doesn't make his murder right." And, because we have a clear understanding of who murdered him and the cultural philosophy that drove the murderer, perhaps we should be discussing how to address that. We should be judging that lifestyle and wanting to speak truth about it!

I am one person with a very small platform. My church pastor has a larger platform. Other Christians leaders have an even larger following on the Internet. I would really like to see Christian leaders standing up against the evil that is clearly becoming rampant in our culture. Ephesians 4:25 admonishes us: "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor for we are members of one another." The murder of Charlie Kirk has provided an opportunity for that conversation to happen. I pray that Christians will judge the evil that has taken place and take a stand for Truth in this terrible time!!

And I continually remind myself and all of us: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

And, you know what? You did the best you could with the information you were given. That's why God's Word says "Train up a child in the way he (individually) should go." Every child is different and the decisions you make for first one aren't necessarily the right ones for numbers two and three. Not only that, but the information you had for number one may have changed by the time you get to number four. What's a parent to do?

I remember how many books I read when I first had kids. Looking back, I can see how some provided information that was probably not the best, at least for my kids. I remember listening to a television program providing me information about different substitute sugars and various painkillers. I changed some of the things we did based on those programs. Now I know that some of that was excellent advice. But was I just lucky to have tuned in to get that information?

I often reminded our firstborn that he was "experimental." But in reality, they are all experimental. Because none of them come with a set of instructions for raising them "right." As I write this, the public is waiting for an announcement about what has caused the rise of autism in our country. For parents of children who are autistic or on the spectrum, I'm sure there are mixed feelings. It will likely be something about which we made a decision, whether we were fully informed or not.

I want to remind all of us that we do the best we can with what we've got. There's no perfect parent. And, we are all sinners, saved only by the grace of God. I pray that we give ourselves that same grace, no matter what we find out about the cause of autism. Because ultimately, God cares more about your child than you do. He loves them! And He can turn any parental error around and use it for your child's benefit. I know--it may not look good. It may even be painful. So forgive yourself and move forward with the information you have now. And pray for healing and grace to cover all the imperfections of this life.

Remember the Apostle Paul who persecuted the early Christians? He tells Timothy: "…..I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. (1 Tim 1:13-14) May we all give and receive that mercy and love in these trying times.

Fast forward to my 65th year when I made an effort to help my granddaughter organize her closet and drawers. My daughter said, "Mom, were you this organized when we were growing up?" Who me? Organized? 41 years of raising children, running a household, holding down a job, planning (planning and more planning) events, teaching, and just life in general have taught me some things about organizing.

But the truth is that being organized will never allow me to be in complete control. As the saying goes, "Life happens." Changes come; people are unpredictable. Catastrophes occur.

There is only One Who is in complete Control, the One who created it all and brought order out nothingness. Understanding my need for order is helpful for knowing what to ask in prayer. I need the God who is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient to be the one true Controller of my life. I need to submit my days, my things, my plans to Him and ask Him to direct my steps.

As His Word says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand." Psalm 37:23-24

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It occurred to me this morning that I have been living in blissful ignorance. Oh, there were plenty of things to be concerned about, primarily the freedoms that we could see being stripped away by the government. And there was the obvious downturn in the economy and the associated rise in prices for everything, but especially medical care (which was commandeered by the government during Obama’s term).

We knew those things were bad and that a new President could make a difference. Our freedom of speech and religion, guaranteed in our Bill of Rights, could be returned. Legislation and Executive Orders could cut red tape and reverse climate change rules that were killing our economy.

Yes, there is/was a Deep State elite making it hard to turn things around. But it was at least possible to find and root out the offenders. Donald Trump’s “blitzkrieg” has already been effective as a result of its speed. The “rodents” couldn't all get away and the pesticide is working.

But we didn't really grasp the depth of the Deep State or its power and ability to resist elimination. If delaying tactics don't work, they will try lying and other subterfuges. And if at first you don't succeed, blow it all up. Literally.

Which brings me to the things we didn't know. Courtesy of the Epstein Files non-release and the sexting among FBI employees, we are now aware of the depravity that is rampant in the halls of power. Evil, true evil is entrenched there.

Imagine powerful men satisfying their sexual urges in every possible way at our expense. How did this happen? And then imagine being able to control all the sources of information to prevent anyone finding out. And then think about the potential for blackmail at the highest levels of government if that information became available.

All of that is alarming. But, as a Christian, the thing that creates the most concern for me is the fact that our government leadership has been given over to demonic powers. The spirit of lust runs rampant among our leadership, and don't think that it doesn't trickle down and corrupt our entire society!

I seriously doubt the American people will see the Epstein files, nor will any of those protected people involved be held accountable. I have to be content that God knows and that He is the Righteous Judge.

But the things I didn't know compel me to pray. God’s Word tells us that He will hear from Heaven heal our land when we humble ourselves and pray. While my ways personally may not be as wicked as those in the government, we can still confess our country's sin of dabbling in evil and departing from God.

Pray for the new leaders who are making the effort to root out the poisonous evil. Pray for light to expose those evil deeds. Pray for God to oppose the satanic powers that have been invited by that leadership and pray that He will protect His people. And pray for truth to be revealed.

As the rats scurry to escape their elimination, pray that justice will be done! While it may sicken us to see it, we can be thankful for the revealing of the things we didn't know.

I’m not quite sure how to attribute stuff from other sources. The above cartoon was posted in Robert Malone’s substack. It reminded me of our experience in California many years ago.

I grew up in the Central Valley of California in a family that was invested in politics. I often heard rumblings about how Southern California was taking our water. It was true. They actually built a pipeline over the Tehachipi Mountains to pump water from the north to the south. We in the north didn’t like it, but Southern California had a large population and, even then, they were politically able to run the State legislature and get their way.

Our area was politically conservative and, along with my parents, I worked to elect our Republican Assemblyman in 1970. It was a time when Republicans still had power and we had already elected Ronald Reagan as Governor. But in 1970, the beginning of his second term, the Democrats gained control of the legislature. In that year, they controlled the redistricting of the state after the census and slowly, but surely, more and more districts were “redesigned” and lost conservative representation.

“Redesign” is a nice word for gerrymandering. The term “gerrymander” was invented in the early 1800s after Elbridge Gerry redrew districts in Massachusetts to benefit his political party. One of the districts looked a bit like a salamander, hence the term “gerrymander.” The only requirement for the districts is that they have an equivalent population, so if you want, you can lump particular areas together by a slim corridor and create a district that may have voters with a similar political bent, but actually no other affiliation to one another. You can also chop up a district into small parts and connect those parts to another district, thereby preventing those folks from becoming the majority. Districts end up being drawn with bizarre shapes and boundaries intentionally splitting voter concentrations to reduce their influence.

I lived in the East Bay area of California from 1971 until I left California in 2006. I really wanted to stay involved in supporting political candidates, but after the 1980 census when Willie Brown supervised the redistricting, there was no hope for getting a conservative elected with the exception of a few “safe” areas (not mine). The last candidate I worked for was a wonderful conservative and had represented his district well, but it was lumped together with more Democrats from the Oakland area over the hill geographically and they heavily supported a Democrat ending his public service to California.

I’m not sure how much more the Democrats can do to redistrict California to get more Democrat districts. I’m sure they will try in order to rebut the Texas redistricting efforts. But Democrats in California hold a super-majority in both houses of the state legislature and can pretty much pass whatever legislation they choose.

Say what you want about staying out of politics and just living your life, government does make a difference. As we viewed our options after retirement, we realized that the way California was governed meant our fixed income would not cover our taxes and our quality of life (things like crime, insurance rates, water purity and freedoms) would take a serious hit. Gerrymandering had ended the California good life I had enjoyed growing up by giving Democrats complete control of the state.

Gerrymandering is done everywhere on both sides of the political aisle and even here in the South where I now live. That doesn’t make it right!!

This map shows what is commonly known as Novorossia and is labeled with the years when the area was populated by Russia. (It previously had a very low tribal-type population) The word Ukraine actually means "borderland." It had never been independent until the Soviet Union broke up. Gorbachev and Yeltsin mistakenly made Ukraine independent. There was no pressure by anyone in Ukraine and essentially no one wanted it to be independent. The new countries were established based mostly on internal "state" boundaries. When everyone was just a sub-part of Russia, it didn't matter whether you spoke Russian or Ukrainian. But the new post-Soviet states inherited borders that did not align neatly with ethnic distributions, leading to concerns over cultural rights, political representation, competing nationalism, and sometimes violent conflict between ethnic majorities and minorities or among minority groups themselves. At the time of the break-up, 80-90% of Ukrainians spoke Russian. The cultural Ukrainians were mostly in the western part of what became Ukraine and the eastern part consisted of people who mostly spoke Russian. They weren't given a choice about being "Ukrainian"!

It is really interesting to look at a current ethnic map of Eastern Europe and see how many different ethnicities are mingled. There is even a large cohort of Armenians in Ukraine along the Black Sea. The history of Europe, and Eastern Europe especially, is one of conquest after conquest and people having to move away or be assimilated into the new conquering culture. Unrest is a feature of Eastern Europe, not a "bug" as they say in the computing world. Westerners really have no business being a part of it; we simply can't understand it. It would be as if the U.S. was broken up and each state (or group of states) became its own country. California might decide to choose Mexican-Spanish as the language of the country; but think about all the people in northern California included in the new country who wanted to continue speaking English (and maybe don't even know Spanish). There has always been a division between Northern and Southern California, but sadly, they would continue as one new country. You could imagine the northern part pleading with Oregon (or whatever larger entity existed as a result of the "break-up") to help them out.

So, getting back to Ukraine, it really is a matter of all of the Eastern Europeans choosing to get along with one another. Unfortunately, the new Ukraine decided it didn't want to get along with the Russian-speaking peoples in Eastern Ukraine. Under western influence, it changed the Ukrainian language. Using its powerful media, it re-programmed tens of millions of Russian-speakers in Ukraine with psy-ops and other tools to pressure them into a new identity. Today, even the Russians no longer see these Ukrainians as "brothers" but rather as traitors. In spite of that, in 2022, the liberated territories in the east (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia) were still offering the Ukrainian language in schools and flying Ukrainian flags despite Ukraine having bombed them and persecuted Russian speakers there.

As a "splinter" independent state, Ukraine was vulnerable, an easy target for the West to meddle with. Western leaders (neo-cons) really wanted to stick it to Russia and divide it up even further. The U.S. actually brought Bandera (founder of the infamous Ukrainian Azov Battalion) to Germany to be trained by the Nazis and he became more Nazi than even the Nazis were comfortable with. George Soros made Ukraine his favorite project and Ukraine became a cesspool of corruption. In addition to promoting criminal activities, Europe paid Ukraine to dump their nuclear waste in mines in Donbas. The West wanted to use Ukraine as a wedge against Russia and successfully launched color revolutions there.

What support there was in Ukraine for fighting Russia after the Special Military Operation was launched in support of the Eastern Ukrainians came mostly from the younger people, although a few older people remembered and held anger toward the Russians due to the starvation of Ukrainians under Stalin. A 19-year-old Ukrainian in 2022 would have grown up with pro-Ukrainian views simply because of the government and media. Older people who had lived in the Soviet Union before the breakup have less commitment to the war.

Certainly there are two sides to every story, but history does appear to support Russia's concern for the parts of Ukraine east of the Dniepr River. Once a war begins there is a "fog" that prevents clarity about what is happening to whom. Accusations of atrocities fly, and truth is impossible to determine, sometimes even by the people who are there. We in the West are simply not able to know the whole truth, and we need to stand aside and let the war take its course. One thing is certain, the war cannot be won without troops on the ground and Ukraine is sorely lacking in that. The longer we provide arms, the longer the war will go on. We can hope that some kind of resolution can be found as Trump and Putin meet this coming week.