Bernie Sanders is the most visible democratic socialist in national politics.

I read commentary put out by M.A. Rothman about Bernie Sanders. He reported that Bernie caucuses with the Democrats and has shaped much of the party’s left wing for years.

In a recent interview he was asked what Trump understands about working-class anger that Democrats do not. He did not answer that question.

He said Trump is doing what demagogues have always done. He compared it to what was done to the Jews in Germany. He named the groups he says Trump wants people to blame: undocumented immigrants, trans people, Canadians, and Mexicans.

There is no soft wording. He laid it out in clear terms.

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Asked what Trump understands about working-class anger that Democrats do not, Sanders did not answer the question. He reached for the Holocaust.

He said millions of Americans who cannot afford health care, housing, or prescriptions are being manipulated into blaming undocumented immigrants, trans people, Canadians, and Mexicans instead of billionaires.

A conservative commentator reviewing the clip turned the accusation back on him. How angry are Democrats right now? Look at the protests. How many are living in fear from the rhetoric alone — being told daily that President Trump is a threat to democracy, that MAGA will burn this country down? Who speaks that way? Bernie Sanders and his entire crew.

Then there is the billionaire charge itself. Sanders spent years watching tech and finance billionaires surround Joe Biden’s White House. Jamie Dimon golfed with him. Google and Microsoft chiefs sat on his councils. He said little about demagoguery then. The only thing that changed is whose name is on the door.

Invoking Nazi Germany to score a domestic political point is the kind of casual comparison Holocaust educators have warned against for decades. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has said such comparisons cheapen the actual historical record. Sanders, whose own family lost relatives in the Holocaust, reached for it anyway — against an American president, not a genocidal regime.

He accused Trump of needing an enemy. Then he made Trump his enemy — straight out of the same playbook.

What Are We Supposed to Do With This Information?
Do not brush this off as just another news story. Pay attention.
Again, Bernie Sanders is the leading democratic socialist figure in national politics.

Do not forget what awaits us if this approach gains more power.
Remember that at the ballot box.

“You will know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 7:16

Until Next Time….

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Source: M.A. Rothman on X, October 20, 2026.

(citing @devorydarkins)

A major showdown is looming in the Middle East. For weeks, President Trump has been hinting that he intends to bomb the living daylights out of Iran after the midterm elections.

As you will see below, he made a statement at a campaign rally that makes this very clear. Of course the Iranians are well aware of everything that Trump has been saying, and they are feverishly preparing for war.

In fact, the head of the IRGC Navy seems to be quite eager for more fighting to begin so that he can target U.S. warships.

But if the Iranians hit even a single U.S. warship, there will be no turning back. Just imagine the frenzy that would be created if CNN and Fox News were endlessly broadcasting images of a U.S. warship billowing smoke after being hit by an Iranian missile.

That would almost certainly mean all-out war with Iran. Needless to say, in a “doomsday war” scenario the Iranians would throw everything that they have got at the United States and Israel.

According to a report in End of the American Dream, the head of the IRGC Navy says they are waiting for U.S. warships to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so they can sink them.

“We are waiting for U.S. warships to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so we can sink them. We are counting down every moment until this happens.”
Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei, IRGC Navy Commander, televised remarks October 13, 2026

Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei spoke on Iranian state television. He said American claims that the Strait of Hormuz is open and under U.S. control do not match what is happening on the water. He invited the Americans to come closer and see who is in charge.

He also said a U.S. aircraft carrier worth about $13 billion has stayed 700 to 800 kilometers away. He called it vulnerable. He said it does not dare come within range of Iranian fighters.

Think about that for a minute. They said this on television. They are not whispering it in a back room. They are telling the world they are ready and waiting.

At the same time, attacks on commercial ships continue. Security data from Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations show at least ten vessels struck in or near the strait since Sunday. Four were hit on Tuesday. Six were hit on Sunday. That is the highest number in a single day since the conflict began.

A Singapore-flagged container ship sank after being struck. All crew were evacuated. Another container ship was hit. Reports also mention ships striking mines.

Iran says some vessels were punished for not following their rules. They claim “smart control” and say ships need authorization to pass through Iranian waters.

Oil is still moving. TankerTrackers and Kpler data show millions of barrels a day still going through. But the costs have gone up. Insurance is higher. Some operators are using routes closer to Oman’s coast under U.S. military protection. The New York Times reported that this month has been the most dangerous period for shipping during the war.

U.S. Central Command pushed back. They said the IRGC navy commander “has no navy.” They said American forces and regional partners control the strait and that more than 19 million barrels of crude moved through on one recent day with their help.

Both sides say they control the waterway.

One side is hitting commercial ships. The other side says the hits are not stopping the oil.

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What does this mean for us here at home?

Every barrel of oil that has to take a longer route or pay higher insurance eventually shows up in the price of gas. It shows up in the cost of food that is trucked across the country. It shows up in the price of almost everything that moves by sea.

If a U.S. warship is hit, the conversation changes. That is what several analysts have said. The IRGC is talking about it openly. They are counting the moments.

I have written about the Strait of Hormuz before. The numbers keep changing. The threats keep coming. The ships keep getting hit. The oil keeps moving, but it is moving under more risk every week.

You can watch the reports. You can read the quotes. Then ask yourself how long both sides can keep saying they control the strait while commercial ships are being struck and warships are being told to stay away.

In recent months, someone has been helping the Iranians with their ballistic missile program.

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So who has been helping Iran?
Has it been the Russians?
Has it been the Chinese?
Has it been the North Koreans?

There is a lot of debate about this. Whoever is helping Iran is risking war with the United States.

Until Next Time…..

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Sources

End of the American Dream: https://endoftheamericandream.com/the-head-of-the-irgc-navy-we-are-waiting-for-u-s-warships-to-approach-the-entrance-to-the-strait-of-hormuz-so-we-can-sink-them/

Anadolu Agency / A News: https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2026/10/13/irans-irgc-navy-threatens-to-sink-us-warships-approaching-strait-of-hormuz

The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/business/hormuz-oil-tanker-attacks.html

Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/iran-steps-up-hormuz-surveillance-attacks-soar-oil-flows-crash-again

IRNA English: https://en.irna.ir/

US Central Command https://www.centcom.mil

Related Higher Ground News Articles on the Strait of Hormuz

But President Trump Promised- He Said Gasoline Would Fall Below $2 A Gallon: https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/but-president-trump-promised-he-said

Hormuz Stays Shut-What Is The Ransom Price? https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/hormuz-stays-shut-what-is-the-ransom?r=91ugfh

Contact Us: highergroundnews@protonmail.com

On October 12, 2026, Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order to the grid operator that covers a large part of the Midwest and East. The order lasted only a few days. It is part of a pattern of similar orders this year.

What Does This Mean For You And I?

A Quick Overview

This particular order was short. It is already over. It applied only to the PJM (Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Maryland) region. Most people outside those 13 states and D.C. will not see a direct change from it.

The bigger picture matters more. Data centers are adding large amounts of new demand. In the PJM area, that demand has already raised capacity costs that show up on bills.

Grid operators and the Department of Energy are using temporary emergency authority more often to keep plants running and to call on backup generators when conditions get tight.

The October order is one more example of the tools the Department is using right now. The January letter and the list of 2026 orders show they expect to keep using them.

Read The Rest Of The Article Below:

Secretary Wright has said the country has 35 gigawatts of backup generation sitting idle. He has argued that using it for a few hours a year would expand available capacity. The January letter and the repeated orders show the Department is prepared to authorize that use when it finds an emergency.

At the same time, the Department is supporting new data center projects that bring their own generation. The stated goal is to add power overall so that costs do not rise for other customers.

For people in the PJM states, the near-term effect is more frequent use of these emergency tools during high-demand periods. Costs from capacity markets have already risen in those areas because of the demand growth. Whether new generation is built fast enough to match the load will determine if reliability stays tight and whether bills keep climbing.

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Outside PJM, the same national demand growth from data centers is happening. Other regions have their own rules about who pays for the infrastructure. The Department’s approach of using emergency orders to bridge gaps is available in any region if the conditions meet the legal standard.

Until next time….

If you found value in this article, consider making a one time donation.

One-Time Donation

Sources

2. Department of Energy press release: https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-secretary-secures-mid-atlantic-grid-ahead-anticipated-stressed-system-conditions

3. 2026 DOE 202(c) Orders list: https://www.energy.gov/ceser/2026-doe-202c-orders

4. January 2026 letter on backup generation: https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-secretary-prepares-unleash-backup-generation-ahead-winter-storm-fern

5. Reuters on FERC data center registry and 29 GW projection: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-panel-approves-pjms-registry-data-centers-rejects-plan-curtail-power-them-2026-10-12/

According to a report from yourNEWS, a federal review found that nine major U.S. banks had policies that could deny or restrict services based on political or religious views or lawful business activities.

The review followed a Trump administration executive order on fair access to banking.

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Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses.

According to this report, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency looked at the nine largest national banks. Those banks are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank. The review covered 2020 through September 2025.

All nine banks had policies that could influence whether a customer got services based on political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities.

The main problem was broad “reputation risk” policies. These policies did not have clear standards or objective risk-based criteria. Banks could look at negative publicity, what advocacy groups said, or possible criticism from activists and shareholders.

The OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of bank documents.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said the report gives irrefutable evidence that the largest banks denied, debanked, and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses. He said Americans should have access to financial services no matter their beliefs, affiliations, or political views.

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Examples in the report include:

A payment processor owned by a major bank that closed a merchant’s account in February 2021 for selling Trump and MAGA merchandise.

In February 2023 one bank declined to serve a public education organization because its political arm endorsed only Democratic candidates.

A religious conservative nonprofit’s account was closed over reputational concerns tied to its views.

Banks also restricted services for industries such as firearms manufacturing, fossil fuel production, coal, detention facilities, tobacco products, and cryptocurrency.

This matters to everyday U.S. citizens.

When banks can quietly close accounts or refuse services because of someone’s political views, religious beliefs, or the type of lawful business they run, it affects real people.

• Small businesses can lose the ability to take payments.

• Individuals can lose checking accounts or loans without a clear reason.

• Families who depend on those accounts for bills, payroll, or daily needs feel the impact first.

It also raises the question of whether access to basic financial services is still open to everyone or only to those whose views fit certain expectations.

The report noted that smaller businesses were more likely to be denied services than wealthier clients. Banks often gave vague explanations for closures.

The investigation could not determine the full number of affected customers or the financial damages.

The OCC has already eliminated reputational risk as a consideration in certain examinations and is looking at more steps.

The review followed a Trump administration executive order on fair access to banking.

Fair access to banking should not depend on political opinions or religious convictions. When the largest banks use loose reputation-risk rules to decide who gets service, ordinary Americans lose.

The OCC report puts the facts on the table. Now the question is whether the rules will stay changed so this does not keep happening.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” Proverbs 3:27

Until next time…

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Sources

Full original article: https://yournews.com/2026/10/15/7225116/major-u-s-banks-denied-services-over-political-and-religious-views/

• OCC press release (October 14, 2026):
  https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2026/nr-occ-2026-90.html

• Full OCC report PDF – Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans (47 pages):
  https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2026/nr-occ-2026-90a.pdf

• OCC fair-banking page with report summary and examples:
  https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/fair-banking/index-guaranteeing-fair-banking.html

• New York Post (Miranda Devine):
  https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/us-news/banks-closed-accounts-of-maga-pro-life-and-other-conservative-groups-disfavored-by-biden-admin/

• Axios:
  https://www.axios.com/2026/10/14/occ-banks-debanking-politics

• Just the News:
  https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/finance/major-banks-closed-accounts-based-political-and-religious-views-during

• Fox Business:
  https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/us-regulator-accuses-nations-largest-banks-debanking-customers-over-political-views

• Comptroller Gould’s related statement:
  https://www.occ.

President Trump held a midterm campaign rally in Wasilla, Alaska, on October 13, 2026, at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center—and during it he signed on-stage presidential pardons for two local diesel mechanics/shop owners.

This was the first time a sitting president held an event in the Mat-Su (Matanuska-Susitna) region. The rally packed the roughly 3,500-capacity venue in support of Republican candidates, especially U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (facing Democrat Mary Peltola), U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, and gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson (whom Trump endorsed earlier that day on Truth Social).

Speakers included Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the candidates. Trump spoke for nearly 90 minutes, touted energy projects (including claims about foreign investment in the Alaska LNG pipeline), urged a “yes” vote on Ballot Measure 2 to repeal ranked-choice voting (calling the system a “scam”), and closed with familiar MAGA themes.

The “Made-For-History” Moment

Midway through, Trump called two men onto the stage and signed full, unconditional pardons for them with a pen in front of the crowd.

The men were Zachary Czubak (or Czubac) and Patrick Fleming, co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys (an Anchorage diesel vehicle repair shop).

They had pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act for removing federally mandated emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring/diagnostic devices on at least 37 private and commercial diesel vehicles (roughly July 2019–September 2020).

The shop charged fees for the work (reported around $100,000 total). Sentences included probation, fines of about $66,000 each, and community service; none served prison time. A third co-owner, Michael Hanzuk II, was also referenced (and had previously been pardoned or was covered in the action).

President Trump framed the cases as Biden-era DOJ overreach that “viciously targeted the Alaskan way of life,” saying they faced potential long sentences “because they fixed an engine” that performed poorly in extreme cold.

He called the charges “sick” or absurd, took a jab at Biden’s use of an autopen, and said he was giving them (and the third person) unconditional pardons so they were “as clean as a newborn baby.”

One of the men thanked him onstage, noting the prosecution had destroyed friendships and families and that they were trying to help Alaskans keep diesel trucks running.

This continued a pattern of President Trump pardoning people convicted in similar Clean Air Act “defeat device”/emissions-tampering cases (including a prior pardon for Wasilla mechanic Mackenzie “Mac” Spurlock).

The DOJ had also shifted policy earlier in 2026 away from criminally pursuing certain onboard-diagnostic tampering cases.

Protests occurred outside the venue. The event was widely covered as both a standard campaign stop in a strong Republican area and a theatrical use of clemency power.

The crowd got the expected campaign speech—plus the public on-stage pardons that made the “pen in hand and two grateful Alaskans” moment.

Until next time…

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Sources

• https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/10/14/trump-packs-menard-center-wasilla-midterm-rally-boosting-sullivan/

• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-auto-workers-alaska-rally-clean-air-act/

• https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/10/14/at-alaska-rally-trump-endorses-wilson-and-seeks-to-boost-sullivan-and-begich/

• https://www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-signs-pardons-alaska-diesel-mechanics-onstage-rally-touting-major-energy-deals

• https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/co-owners-arm-rippin-toys-plead-guilty-clean-air-act-violation (2022 DOJ release on the original case)

• https://www.matsusentinel.com/thousands-pack-menard-center-for-trump-rally-marking-first-ever-presidential-event-in-mat-su/

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Earlier this week, researcher Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic, saying the firm and its competitors are “gambling with our lives“.

“We really do earnestly believe A.I. could kill all humans,” added current Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger in a post on X.

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Coxon isn’t the first to down tools over fears of A.I. doom.

The idea that A.I. could wipe out humanity, advanced in Nick Bostrom‘s 2014 book Superintelligence and the influential LessWrong forum, has long circulated among researchers.
View 342 Page Document Here

There are many scenarios for how this could happen, but the core idea is that A.I. smarter than humans could escape our control and destroy us.

In 2024, Jan Leike and Daniel Kokotajlo quit OpenAI over safety concerns.

This year, Anthropic safety chief Mrinank Sharma departed, warning,

“the world is in peril“.

Alex Turner left Google DeepMind after it signed a deal with the Pentagon permitting “killer drones”.

But Coxon’s resignation has made waves

More researchers admitting they think A.I. might kill everyone.

So if the people building A.I. believe it could cause extinction,
why keep building it?

Some think the Risk is Worth It

A.I. leaders acknowledge the risk of losing control and killing everyone.

In 2023, the chief executives of OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind agreed that A.I. extinction risk should rank alongside pandemics and nuclear war.

Anthropic’s Dario Amodei puts the chance of things going, “really, really badly” at 10–25%...

Yet Amodei also promises a world without poverty or disease, while Elon Musk speaks of A.I.-enabled “universal high income“.

There are three main reasons...

This is the first reason for pursuing A.I.:

The belief that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Perhaps so, but that decision arguably deserves a more democratic process.

Some say you Can’t Study the Danger from a Distance

The Second Reason:

You can’t learn to make dangerous A.I. safe without building it first - like a spacecraft, you can study safety from afar, but can’t really test it without going to space.

OpenAI’s plan is “iterative deployment”: release each model, learn from its problems, and fix them in the next one.

The idea is like getting as close to the cliff edge as possible to see what the jump looks like.

Some feel it’s Winner-Takes-All

The third and perhaps most important reason is the race.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently said,

“we are close to creating a genie that can grant any wish”.

The trouble is everyone wants to hold the lamp - it would be hugely profitable, and each company doubts the judgment of rivals to use their wishes wisely.

So they race, reasoning that if they slow down, someone else will get there anyway, so it’s better to arrive first as the “responsible one”.

Some fear even a mutual agreement would be broken in secret.

So they press on...

A.I. Making Better A.I.

You might doubt runaway A.I. is plausible.

But when the companies themselves raise the alarm, we should listen...!

A.I. firms already report signs of “recursive self-improvement“, where each model helps to build a better successor.

According to OpenAI’s chief scientist, models are improving faster than humans’ ability to control them.

In July, hundreds of A.I. employees signed an open letter calling for a slowdown.

But the dynamics of the race make that hard for any single company - or country - to do alone.

A Classic Arms Race

A.I. research has the hallmarks of an arms race.

OpenAI doesn’t want to lose to Anthropic, and the United States doesn’t want to lose to China.

History offers a template for how to manage a situation like this, with rules binding all players, and enforcement everyone can verify.

Nuclear weapons are the classic case.

Treaties and verification systems haven’t eliminated the risk of nuclear war, but they have slowed proliferation, and no nuclear weapon has been used in conflict for 80 years.

Rules for A.I.

In the US, where most cutting-edge A.I. research happens, the Trump administration shows little sign of slowing A.I. development.

In its first week it scrapped the old A.I. safety rules. Now it is trying to override state-level rules, arguing caution risks losing the race to China.

Some politicians are pushing back.

California recently passed laws supporting independent assessment of A.I. systems.

US senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill to ban superintelligence, and British MP Alex Sobel introduced a similar bill.

Companies have moved too.

OpenAI paused its most advanced training after a swarm of its agents hacked another startup in August.

The company’s head of policy now says that when safety and speed conflict, safety should win.

Still, without binding rules, we’re relying heavily on the ‘goodwill’ of a handful of companies...

What happens now?

In mid-2025, researchers published what might be our best guide to the coming years: a detailed scenario called A.I. 2027.

Since then, A.I. capabilities have advanced faster than predicted.

Unless something changes, staffers who quit over safety will simply be replaced, A.I. models will help build better A.I. models, and each generation will grow harder to monitor and control...

Is the situation hopeless?

I hold out three hopes.

First, that more people recognize A.I. escaping human control is a bigger risk than A.I.'s water use.

Second, that governments listen to their people. In the US, two thirds say A.I. is moving too fast.

Third, that we have a good plan ready before a crisis hits.

The best plan, in my view, looks something like this: delays, transparency. and verification, to slow the race and keep humans in control.

Insiders at the world’s top A.I. companies say our current safety plan isn’t good enough.

If they’re leaving their jobs over safety fears, we should listen to what they have to say...!

Until Next time…

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Hate Crimes-Hate Speech

This past week two separate stories were discussed in the news about “hate crimes”.

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Both are real cases.
Both involve bias language tied to an underlying criminal act.
And both are being handled under state law, not federal law.

That last detail is easy to miss because the phrase “hate crime” gets thrown around so casually that the actual legal lines start to blur.

State Law, Federal Law, and the Fine Line

State Law

Most of the time when you hear that someone has been charged with a hate crime, it is a state charge. Nearly every state has its own statute or sentencing enhancer, which means the judge can give you a tougher punishment for a regular crime if you did it for a biased reason.

Wisconsin’s enhancer, for example, can raise the penalty on an ordinary crime like disorderly conduct if prosecutors prove the defendant selected the victim because of a belief about that person’s race, religion, national origin, or other listed category.

Connecticut has its own version. These laws are enforced by local police and state prosecutors. They have been on the books in most states since the 1980s and 1990s.

Federal Law

The main federal statute is the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed in October 2009 and codified at 18 U.S.C. § 249. It lets the Department of Justice prosecute willful causing of bodily injury (or certain attempts) when the motive is the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and when other jurisdictional requirements are met.

Below is an excerpt from my July 5, 2015 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dyg2Tlp3pkyn2KJR8ncy07jrUww5eBvw/view?usp=sharing

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https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr1913

Federal prosecutors use it far less often. It functions more as a backstop—when a state cannot or will not prosecute, when the crime crosses state lines, or when additional resources are needed.

The line between the two is real but thin in practice. The same set of facts can sometimes support both a state charge and a federal charge.

Because the state and federal governments are separate sovereigns, dual prosecution is constitutionally allowed in limited circumstances. In everyday life, though, the state system handles the overwhelming majority of cases.

The Arndt and Torrington examples are typical: local police made the arrest, and the case stays in state court unless the U.S. Attorney’s Office later decides to step in.

People still use the term loosely. A heated argument, an offensive social-media post, or a protest chant is not automatically a hate crime.

Both federal and state laws generally require an underlying criminal act—assault, threat with a weapon, vandalism, disorderly conduct that crosses into criminal territory—plus proof of a bias motive.

Speech by itself is protected.

The First Amendment language in the federal statute is explicit on that point, and most state courts apply the same principle.

1948 Genocide Convention.
The Only Place the Phrase “Mental Harm” Appears in the Law

(excerpt from my article in 2016-Pg 1)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DAuu3qTlOjvNl2ivY1_a82wcWgOznlxz/view?usp=sharing

Source: On December 11, 1946, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously to declare genocide as a crime under international law.

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/1/ares1.htm 96(1) The Crime of Genocide-Pg 188-left column,bottom)

The phrase “mental harm” sometimes gets pulled into these conversations, but it does not come from the hate-crime statutes. It comes from the 1948 Genocide Convention.

In 2016 I wrote about the Genocide Convention and the long path the United States took before it became a full party.(excerpt from that article)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DAuu3qTlOjvNl2ivY1_a82wcWgOznlxz/view?usp=sharing (Pg 7)

The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948. The U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent on February 19, 1986.

On November 04, 1988 President Reagan signed on to the Genocide Treaty/The Genocide PACT. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/05/opinion/reagan-signs-bill-ratifying-un-genocide-pact.html

At the time I observed that the decades-long gap between the Convention’s adoption and U.S. ratification left open questions about how its language might later be read, including the reference in Article II to “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.”

That was my observation then.

The Convention still requires specific intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group as such; it is not the standard used in ordinary state or federal hate-crime statutes.

U.S. hate-crime laws—both the 2009 federal Act and typical state enhancers—do not use “mental harm” as a standalone trigger. They look for an underlying violent or criminal act plus a bias motive.

Feeling offended, distressed, or mentally harmed by words is not, by itself, a hate crime under either system.

The Practical Reality

In the two cases from this week, prosecutors will have to prove more than ugly language.

In Wisconsin they will have to show that the disorderly conduct was motivated by a protected characteristic under that state’s law.

In Connecticut they will have to connect the knife threat and the slur to the elements of their hate-crime statute. Those are ordinary criminal cases with an added bias element. They are not genocide cases, and they are not federal cases unless the Justice Department later chooses to make them so.

The distinction matters because the term “hate crime” has become shorthand for almost any expression of hostility.

The actual laws are much more narrow. They punish bias-motivated criminal acts. They leave pure speech alone. And, for the most part, they are enforced by the states that already had their own statutes long before the federal law was signed in 2009.

If the goal is clarity, the simplest way to say it is this:

When you hear “hate crime” in a local news report, it is almost always a state charge. The federal statute exists, but it is the exception, not the rule. And “mental harm,” standing by itself, is not the legal hook that turns either one into a crime.

Until next time….

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What the Heck Is Going On With This Flydubai Plane?

The story around Flydubai flight FZ1073 has taken on a life of its own. A passenger account. A fight in the cockpit. A dozen versions of what happened.

I first wrote about this on September 30, 2026. One article. One time but we continue hearing more and more theories. It just doesn’t stop.

Some of the talk sounds like a conspiracy. Some of it doesn’t. Officials say the co-pilot attacked the captain and tried to take the plane down. He is in custody. The passengers lived. Later reports say Oman had already grounded him over extremist material, and Flydubai hired him anyway.

When the rest of the facts come in, will they change the story, or only fill it in? I don’t know.

Here’s The Bottom Line

Does any of this affect you personally?
If it doesn’t, it may be time to move on.

We don’t have to know everything, we just need to know the one who does and that’s Jesus Christ. Eventually everything will be brought to light.

God’s Eye’s Are Never Closed

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)

“For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”
Luke 8:17 (KJV)

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The reports linked below are the facts behind this article. The comments are strictly my opinion.

Until next time….

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Sources

The National (UAE attorney general): https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/10/03/co-pilot-on-flydubai-flight-attempted-to-carry-out-terrorist-act-uaes-attorney-general-says/

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/03/flydubai-co-pilot-used-crash-axe-to-attack-captain-says-uae

CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/03/flydubai-co-pilot-attacked-pilot-with-axe-uae-says.html

Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/security-failures-flydubai-pilot-israel-e400e8f6

Ynet: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byztiba5gl

Japan Times / Bloomberg: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/10/05/world/flydubai-co-pilot-extremism/

Jerusalem Post (airline deal): https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-910192

Jerusalem Post (first account): https://www.jpost.com/international/article-910155

Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/diverted-flydubai-flight-israel-was-not-hijacking-incident-israeli-prime-2026-09-30/

Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/copilot-subdued-after-stabbing-pilot-in-alleged-attempt-to-crash-plane-full-of-israelis/

Earlier Higher Ground News article: https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/we-saw-what-you-did-we-know-who-you

You may have seen the X post circulating about a mysterious death at a plague research facility in Siberia.

A 28-year-old laboratory worker dies after developing pneumonia, and suddenly roughly 200 people who may have had contact with her are being monitored.

But before we jump to conclusions, there is an important fact to know:

The plague has not been confirmed as the cause of her death. Russian officials have described her illness as pneumonia of unknown origin, and authorities say they found no signs of a laboratory accident involving pathogens.

Source: Reuters — Dozens quarantined in Siberia after plague institute lab worker dies

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But here’s where this story gets really interesting.

Plague isn’t just something that happened during the Middle Ages.

Researchers recently found evidence that plague was already killing people around Lake Baikal in Siberia approximately 5,500 years ago. Ancient DNA from human remains showed Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, in two phases of prehistoric outbreaks.

Source: Nature — Lethal plague outbreaks in Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago

That means the region making headlines today was already dealing with plague thousands of years before the Black Death.

And eventually, this ancient disease became one of the greatest killers in human history.

The Black Death swept across Europe in the 14th century, killing more than 50 million people in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

Source: World Health Organization — Plague

But here’s the part we sometimes forget: the plague never actually disappeared.

Yersinia pestis still circulates in animal populations and their fleas today. Human cases are rare, and modern antibiotics can successfully treat plague when it is recognized and treated early.

Source: World Health Organization — Plague

So what does this have to do with the X post?

Is plague actually back in Siberia? We don’t know yet.

And that’s precisely why I think this story is worth watching—not because we should panic, but because it is a remarkable reminder of how long some diseases have been with us.

Five thousand years ago, people living around Lake Baikal were dealing with the same bacterium. Centuries later, the Black Death changed the course of European history. Today, we have antibiotics, modern laboratories and vastly better medical knowledge.

But the organism itself? It’s still here.

And then there is the bigger question.

Some people are already asking whether stories like this fit into a larger “depopulation agenda.”

Right now, there is no evidence connecting this Siberian death to an intentional depopulation program—and I don’t think suspicion should be presented as fact.

But questions about who controls dangerous pathogens, who decides when a public-health emergency exists, and how much information the public receives are legitimate questions regardless of what ultimately caused one woman’s death.

The key is keeping the questions separate from the conclusions.

Because sometimes the most important part of a story isn’t what we know yet. It’s what we should be paying attention to.

The plague may be ancient. But our questions about power, fear and who controls the response to a crisis are not.

Until next time….

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This is the same pattern I wrote about in The State at Your Door and Eleven Days Later They Came for Your Babies. The papers come first. The children go next. This time the state said, on the record, that there was no emergency.

“So the state’s position is that the department, the state, can go in, without a parent present, affirmatively say, ‘There is no emergency here, but I would like to take these children,’ and due process permits that?”
Justice Charlie Bethel, Georgia Supreme Court, September 22, 2026

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What Happened

In 2024, Dayshundra Wilson lived in Atlanta with her five children. On June 8, at about 1:00 a.m., her 13-year-old son shot himself in the family’s apartment. He died three days later. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. Wilson was asleep when it happened. She was never charged with a crime.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

A month later, Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services came for two of the surviving children. Court papers name them D.B. and R.W. The other two children were living with their father.

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, republished by The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

The First Order Was Denied

On July 9, 2024, DFCS filed a dependency complaint and an emergency request to take the children. On the form, the state said the children were not in immediate danger. It said shelter care was not necessary to protect people or property. It said it did not have a good-faith belief the children would run away. It said they were not without a parent or guardian.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

The juvenile court judge denied that request on July 10. The judge found no immediate harm. The mother was cooperating. The case was referred to family preservation.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

The Second Order Was Granted

On July 11, DFCS filed again. The form again said the children were not in immediate danger. This time the filing stressed the brother’s death, an unsecured weapon, inadequate supervision, and the mother’s earlier history with the agency. The same judge granted the order. The children were removed with no parent present and no hearing first.

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, via The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

That is the fact the viral posts leave out. The first knock was turned away. The second knock, two days later, was not. Both filings said there was no immediate danger.

Source: Supreme Court of Georgia, oral argument summary, S26G0021, September 22, 2026 https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sept22OA_output.pdf

What The Hearing Showed

A preliminary hearing was set for July 15. It was continued to August 2 at the mother’s request. At that hearing, the DFCS caseworker testified that the gun did not belong to Wilson. No other guns were found in the apartment. One sibling knew about the gun and kept it secret. The sibling believed the brother got it from another child Wilson had told him to stay away from. There was no evidence Wilson knew about the gun.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

The caseworker also said there was no evidence of abuse or neglect of these two children before or after their brother’s death. The children wanted to be with their mother. The caseworker said, “There’s nothing saying [the mother] can’t care for her kids.” The caseworker said upper leadership at the agency wanted the children removed.

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, via The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

DFCS also pointed to earlier reports from 2018 to 2024. Those reports involved supervision, food, clothing, shelter, and school. The caseworker testified that the earlier reports were largely unsubstantiated. None of them involved a firearm or self-harm. That history is in the record. It is not the same thing as proof these two children were in danger in July 2024.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

Judge T. Natasha Crawford dismissed the dependency petition. She found “absolutely no probable cause to believe the children are dependent.” She ordered the children returned at once. According to the hearing transcript reported later, she said, “I am baffled as to why The Department wanted to fight this.”

Source: Savannah Now, December 15, 2025 https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/state/2025/12/15/cases-challenge-practice-sending-children-to-foster-care-without-judges-order/87731103007/

The Children Came Home. The order that sent them home did not change the procedure that let the state take them.

The juvenile court sent the children home. It still denied Wilson’s due-process challenge. The judge said DFCS had followed the Juvenile Code. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling on June 23, 2025. Judge McFadden dissented in part. He wrote that an order taking children with no parent present requires exceptional circumstances, and he cited the U.S. Supreme Court case Stanley v. Illinois.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

The Georgia Supreme Court took the case. The docket number is S26G0021, In the Interest of D.B. et al., Children. Oral argument was September 22, 2026. The court has not ruled. Most of its cases are decided within six months of argument.

Source: Supreme Court of Georgia, oral argument calendar, September 22, 2026 https://www.gasupreme.us/oral-arguments-september-22-2026/

What The Justices Asked

Justice Charlie Bethel asked the state’s lawyer if due process allows the department to say there is no emergency and still take the children, with no parent present. The state’s lawyer, Deputy Solicitor General Sven Henningson, said yes, “in exceptional circumstances short of emergency.” Justice Verda Colvin added, “Particularly after a month had passed.”

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, via The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

Henningson said the exceptional circumstance was that a child had died in the house, and that a minor child had given conflicting information about an unsecured weapon. Wilson’s lawyer, Emma Brown-Bernstein, said an emergency right after the shooting would have been a different case. This case, she said, was about an unusual circumstance, not an emergency.

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, via The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

The state also says the case is moot because the children were returned. Wilson’s side says the question will keep coming back. These removals are short. Appeals take longer than the removal. The ACLU of Georgia and the ACLU’s Center for Liberty filed a brief asking the court to require a real emergency before the state may take a child without hearing from the parent.

Source: ACLU, In the Interest of D.B. et al. https://www.aclu.org/cases/in-the-interest-of-d-b-et-al

The Same Door

In The State at Your Door, I wrote about the papers that arrive before the parent has a real chance to answer. In Eleven Days Later They Came for Your Babies, I wrote about how short that clock can be. Wilson’s case is the same door, with a date on it.

Source:https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/the-state-at-the-door-massachusetts?r=91ugfh

Source:https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/eleven-days-latertheyre-coming-for?r=91ugfh

June 8 was the shooting. July 9 was the first filing. July 10, the judge said no. July 11, the state filed again and the children were taken. The preliminary hearing was continued to August 2. Then the same court said there was no probable cause and sent them home.

Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, In the Interest of D.B. et al., June 23, 2025 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

A mother buried her son. About a month later, the state took two more children. On the form, it said they were not in immediate danger. A caseworker later said there was nothing showing she could not care for them. The children are home. The question in front of the Georgia Supreme Court is whether the state may do this again.

Source: Supreme Court of Georgia, case summary, S26G0021 https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sept22OA_output.pdf

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3

The first person to tell the story is not always the last word. The viral posts are right that the children were taken after a suicide, with no hearing, and that the state said there was no immediate danger. They are wrong if they say the first order was approved, or that the children were never returned, or that Wilson was charged.

“The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.”
Proverbs 18:17

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Sources

Georgia Court of Appeals opinion, June 23, 2025:

Source: In the Interest of D.B. et al., A25A0616 https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2025/a25a0616.html

Source: Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder, via The Georgia Sun, September 25, 2026 https://thegeorgiasun.com/news/justices-sound-skeptical-of-georgia-agencys-decision-to-remove-children-from-their-home/

Source: Supreme Court of Georgia oral argument calendar, September 22, 2026 https://www.gasupreme.us/oral-arguments-september-22-2026/

Source: Supreme Court of Georgia argument summary PDF, S26G0021 https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sept22OA_output.pdf

Source: ACLU case page, In the Interest of D.B. et al. https://www.aclu.org/cases/in-the-interest-of-d-b-et-al

Source: Savannah Now, December 15, 2025 https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/state/2025/12/15/cases-challenge-practice-sending-children-to-foster-care-without-judges-order/87731103007/

Source: https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/the-state-at-the-door-massachusetts?r=91ugfh

Source: https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/eleven-days-latertheyre-coming-for?r=91ugfh

Taking a break from the world of politics on Sundays to let a song do the teaching.

Today: “Story of My Life” by Shannon Adducci.

She wrote it as a testimony, not a headline. If every memory were traced back to its source, the thread running through the pages would be the same. Faithfulness. Mercy, and a life still being written.

You Jesus, Are The Story of My Life

Listen as Shannon ushers you into the Throne Room of God.

Be Blessed.
Until Next Time…

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Understanding The Terminology of Substack

Many subscribers are “veterans” about how Substack works, but for those of you who are new, I want to give a very brief description of the terminology this platform uses.

To the veterans: if you see anything that is incorrect, or if you would like to offer additional guidance, I welcome your comments.

Terminology

Notes - That is the Engine That Drives Daily Exposure To Everything.

It is exceptionally important that you always click on the Notes tab on the website. That makes everything happen. It is also very important that you “Restack” my “Notes” as they then get more exposure which in turn can produce growth.

Posts (Articles) - These are seen by subscribers ONLY.

That is why it’s important that you always “Restack” them. I usually put up a “Note” giving a brief description of the Post (article) and I put a link to the “Post”.

Restack — What the heck does that mean?

In simple terms, Restack is the key that will extend my exposure to others within Substack only.

The Restack button is the circle with the arrows. When you hit it, the post circulates to your subscribers and followers. It does not send an email to anyone.

Think Notes & Restack…Notes & Restack…Notes & Restack

Why is this important to me?

It’s important because after a three year break in reporting on End Times and Current Events From A Biblical Perspective, it is time to get back in the trenches, especially considering the current state of the world we live in.

Everywhere I go there is someone who asks, “When Are You Going to Start Your Classes Again?”, or “I sure miss your teachings”. What I am finding is that all those 1,000+ articles that I wrote years ago are just as relevant today, and I will be connecting the dots to many current events..

For those who were in my weekly, face-to-face classes, if you remember we also videoed each one. Last week someone suggested that I put them up. I’m not sure that that will happen, but everyone received a print out of each class, and that is what I will be working on in the coming days and weeks ahead. I will not send out emails alerting you that a new post of my previous articles is up, (that would be email overload) so be sure to check the Archives to find those.

The Share icon

That is what you hit to share an article with anyone outside of Substack. All you do is hit the Up arrow ( same as on other platforms) and then copy the link and paste it wherever you want.

The Heart icon and the Comment icon

Those are self-explanatory.

In closing I would very much appreciate your help by hitting the Restack and Share icon considering the important role they play.

A True Litmus Test of the Mindset of Many People

I had a younger pastor tell me I was in the “older” generation
when I confronted him on a very serious situation.

Yes, that really did happen and I was told that the Gen Z generation understood these things, it was the “older generation” that gets shocked. Little did he know that I am an expert in the field we were discussing because during these interim 3 years, I have also been producing and editing videos for a very high-profile alt media personality and I pretty much know the ins and outs of that arena. I let that snarky remark go, but even so, that mindset is not new. It is just said more openly today.

I have been studying current events since 1987. Back then you clipped an article out of the newspaper and filed it away. I owned an employment agency for 20 years. At that time they called me an “info nympho,” because I always asked people what they thought about the state of the world. Those questions opened the door to some very interesting discussions, plus I got a deeper understanding of what they thought about the world. Guess what… back then people didn’t have the slightest clue about anything.

I have been teaching in the church house since 2007. My personal testimony is From the Mafia to the Ministry. I sat in front of the top Mafia bosses in this country. That is a world few people escape.

Yes, I am 76. I have a lot of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to share. Even so, we live in a disposable world. That mindset is right on the Richter scale of total stupidity. However, we keep pressing on.

I’ve got news for them. It ain’t over yet for this “older” generation Doctor of Theology.

When you try to get rid of wisdom, the questions do not leave.
The people who can answer them do.

Scripture already settled this.
“With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days
understanding.” Job 12:12.

Until Next Time…
H I G H E R G R O U N D N E W S
October 3, 2026
Higher Ground News · highergroundnews@protonmail.com ·
Cindee Becker, D.Th.

I first reported about Flock Cameras on September 7, 2026. I believe this will stay in the news for a long time, as reporters keep finding more ways these cameras are used.

“Opting Out of Surveillance Means Opting Out of Society.”

A Flock Safety executive told a critic that opting out of the cameras means opting out of society. The same company had a worker call the police on a reporter who filmed one of those cameras being installed.

The Real Question Is Who Gets To Watch Whom
And Who Gets To Opt Out.

Why can’t you opt out? You can, if you want to opt out of society.
Josh Thomas, Chief Communications Officer, Flock Safety, to Atlanta News First
Watch it Here

What happened

Brendan Keefe reports for Atlanta News First. He stopped near his house in Milton, Georgia, and filmed a Flock worker upgrading a camera. He was in a marked press van. He wore a high-visibility vest.

The worker left. He called 911. He said he was being followed and harassed, and that someone was taking video and pictures. He would not give his full name on the call. He said he did not want them to hear it.

Milton police sent three vehicles. They stopped the reporter.

Filming on a public street is not a crime. The First Amendment covers taking pictures and video in a public place, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

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What The Company Said

Keefe asked a plain question. Why can’t I opt out? Why can’t the spouse or the ex-spouse of a police officer opt out of this record of where they drive?

Josh Thomas is Flock’s chief communications officer told Atlanta News First that the whole community is the customer. He said you cannot opt out because your car can be stolen, and because the government already requires a license plate. He called it plain viewing information.

Then he said, Why can’t you opt out? You can, if you want to opt out of society.

That is two different things. The cameras record cars that do not belong to Flock. The worker called the police when a reporter recorded him doing the install.

Who gets to watch

Flock sells automated license-plate readers to police. The company says the cameras make people safer, and that abuses come from how police use the data, not from the collection itself.

The reader still cannot refuse the camera and keep driving the same roads. Thomas said the way out is to opt out of society.

So the question is not only who is watching. It is who is allowed to watch back. And who is allowed to say no.

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What the Bible says

God watches. That is not the same thing as a company watching.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15:3

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
2 Chronicles 16:9

The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
Psalm 33:13–15

God sees the heart. A camera sees a plate. God is not selling the record. Man is not God, and a city contract does not make him God.

God’s watch is a comfort to the person who trusts Him. A company’s watch is a file. One is the Lord. The other is a business that called the police when someone filmed the camera.

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Sources

The September 7 article
https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/flock-cameras

PDF of that article
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13WHbt8zZU4PL7kjANX-j1qGa-l2NQzr2/view?usp=sharing

The opt-out line and the 911 call
https://newrepublic.com/post/215182/flock-camera-employee-calls-cops-reporter-filming

Link To My Notes:

Facts carried over from my September 7 article
https://www.flocksafety.com/

https://www.hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-investigates-ai-powered-flock-cameras-amidst-privacy-concerns/

https://www.axios.com/2026/08/26/flock-cameras-senate-investigation-josh-hawley

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/republican-senator-opens-investigation-flock-cameras-surveillance-program

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/4701630/josh-hawley-investigation-flock-cameras/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/us/red-states-republicans-flock-cameras.html

https://www.chron.com/texas/article/flock-cameras-texas-22417789.php

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/leander-removes-all-flock-cameras-ends-use-of-license-plate-reader-system

Flock Cameras as reported by Cindee Becker,D.Th.

One-Time Donation

Until Next Time…

“Full Disclosure” You Either Want It Or You Don’t.

What Is The Difference In A “Rule Vote” and “Final Passage?
And “What Difference Does It Make?”
Don’t Fall For Another “Slick Willie” Tactic Again

It makes a LOT of Difference. If you want FULL DISCLOSURE on a candidate’s voting record, then you have to look at their “RULE” vote.

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’
For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Matthew 5:37

Look at it like “Truth in Lending”, “Full Disclosure” or A “Traffic Light”

The law makes a lender show the real cost, not a smaller number on the front. A “no “vote on Final Passage is the number people see. The Rule Vote is the vote that decides if the bill will move forward for a final vote , a/k/a “Final Passage”.

A major bill on the House floor has to clear two votes.

Can someone vote “Yes” on a Rule Vote
and then vote “No” during the “Final Passage?”
Or Vice Versa?

Absolutely

If you want to research a candidate’s voting record, check their Rule Vote for Full Disclosure

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The Rule Vote is Like A “Traffic Light”

If the majority votes “no” that is a red light. It stops the bill dead in its tracks.
A “yes” vote is a green light. It moves the bill forward for final voting.

So what prompted me to write this article?

I came across this video that Marjorie Taylor Greene made on July 23, 2026. Regardless of how you feel about her politically, I found this information very informative.

— Marjorie Taylor Greene, July 23, 2026

The rule vote comes first. The Rules Committee writes the rule. The rule sets the debate time. It also says which amendments can be offered. The House then votes on that rule. A simple majority passes it. If the rule fails, the bill does not move to a final vote.

Final passage is the vote on the bill itself. A member can vote no on final passage. The bill can still pass.

National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, H.R. 8800.

Here is the case she walked us through. The bill was the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, H.R. 8800.

Bill record: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8800/all-actions

On July 21, 2026, the House adopted the rule that brought that bill to the floor. C-SPAN producer Craig Caplan reported the rule passed 214 to 211. He reported that Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote no. MTG said the rule vote was 213 to 212. That particular number doesn’t line up with the clerk record. It doesn’t change, however, the message she was sending.

Caplan report:

On July 22, 2026, the House passed the bill 216 to 212. That was roll call 278. Seven Republicans voted no. Six Democrats voted yes.

Roll call 278: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026278

Passage report: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/house-republicans-pass-defense-bill-01008493

MTG’s point was simple. Only Massie voted no on the rule.
Six other Republicans voted “yes” on the rule,
”then” voted “no” on final passage.

In My Opinion
They are like wolves in sheep’s clothing

She called the ”no” vote on the final-passage a “safe” no, because the bill was already going to pass. She called the Rule Vote the vote that could have stopped it from going forward.. If the Rule Vote fails, there is no final passage vote.

Those later yes or no votes did not stop the bill. And it may not have reflected their true vote on the bill.

Full Disclosure Only Takes Place On The Rule Vote.

MTG’s video on Facebook: Same video https://www.facebook.com/reel/1403504811696783/

So What’s The Bottom Line
Don’t Be Deceived By Another “Slick Willie” Tactic
Everything Makes A Difference

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Until Next Time….

Sources

MTG video, posted by Thomas Massie:

Thomas Massie post of the Greene video, July 24, 2026.

Same video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1403504811696783/

That is the difference. The rule vote decides whether the bill gets a final vote. Final passage decides the bill, after that door is already open.

Congress.gov, H.R. 8800, all actions. Passage 216–212, roll call 278, July 22, 2026. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8800/all-actions

House roll call 278. https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026278

Craig Caplan, C-SPAN, rule vote report, July 21, 2026.

Politico, House passage, July 22, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/house-republicans-pass-defense-bill-01008493

Contact: highergroundnews@protonmail.com

Thanks for stopping by! I have written more than 1,000 articles since 2007, but not all of them are here yet. I am still new to Substack, and bringing the older work over will take time. While that archive grows, please enjoy the current articles as well.

Contact: highergroundnews@protonmail.com

Some people are calling this a cockpit dispute. Officials say a man with a knife tried to crash a plane full of Israelis.

The Behind The Scenes Story Is
How He Got On That Flight In The First Place.

In days gone by, I would have been called a conspiracy theorist for even asking a deeper question about this story. We have all watched it happen. What used to be called conspiracy is now out in the open. This is how I look at the Omani Pilot. Yes the plot thickens.

Here’s a real “conspiratorial” question for you. Did he run into the real co-pilot, take his ID, and board that way? Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. Didn’t the pilot know what his co-pilot looked like? Was the co-pilot wearing a synthetic head-piece to make him look like the real co-pilot? (It’s not like it hasn’t been done before…) All I’m saying is nothing is impossible in today’s world, but, one thing is certain.

There was a plot.

The question is who was puling the strings? Oman and Israel are not at peace. It will be interesting to watch this unfold.

The passengers did what they had to do. Two extra pilots took the plane back.
Thank God they did.

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“They saved many lives. They prevented a heavy disaster”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quoting a passenger on Flydubai flight FZ1073

On Wednesday, Flydubai flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv. Most of the people on board were Israeli. There were about 170 to 180 passengers, according to Israeli reports.

According to a report put out by Israeli officials and carried by Reuters, the co-pilot stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane. Flight tracking showed the aircraft dropped more than 14,000 feet in less than a minute. It also showed an emergency code, then a hijack code.

According to those same accounts, the wounded captain used what strength he had left to open the cockpit door. Passengers and crew rushed in. They pulled the attacker off the controls and tied him up. Two extra pilots were already on the flight because of possible extra flying time, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. Those two pilots took the plane back and landed it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

No passengers were reported injured. Both men in the cockpit were taken to a hospital. Saudi authorities are questioning the co-pilot. Israeli officials say he is Omani. Oman does not have normalized relations with Israel. Flydubai’s agreement to fly into Israel said pilots must come from countries that do, according to the Jerusalem Post.

See the Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-910192

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a severe security incident. Defense Minister Israel Katz called it an attempted jihadist terror attack. Israeli jets were scrambled while the plane was still in the air.

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Early reports said a Russian and a Ukrainian were fighting in the cockpit. That did not hold. Later reports said the duty captain was Emirati and the co-pilot under suspicion is Omani. Israel Hayom, citing Tabuk airport, said those two extra pilots were a Russian and a Ukrainian. The airline has not confirmed that. A passenger told the BBC one of those two relief pilots was British. What is confirmed is that two extra Flydubai pilots were already on the flight. They took the controls and landed the jet.

The airline later sent a replacement flight. The passengers reached Israel. The story is still being investigated. What we know now is simple. Someone in the cockpit tried to kill everyone on that jet. Passengers stopped the attacker. Two pilots took the plane back.

“Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 124:7–8 (KJV)

The plane landed. Now find out who put him in that cockpit.

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Sources

Hot Air / Ed Morrissey: https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/09/30/flydubai-pilot-attempts-hijacking-mass-destruction-n3819464

Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/diverted-flydubai-flight-israel-was-not-hijacking-incident-israeli-prime-2026-09-30/

Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/copilot-subdued-after-stabbing-pilot-in-alleged-attempt-to-crash-plane-full-of-israelis/

Jerusalem Post (Oman pilot / airline deal): https://www.jpost.com/international/article-910155

Jerusalem Post (Regev / pilots must be from countries that have peace with Israel): https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-910192

Israel Hayom: https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/09/30/who-was-the-omani-copilot-who-stabbed-captain-flydubai-tel-aviv-flight/

The Independent / BBC passenger account: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-plane-flydubai-pilot-stabbing-uk-b3059208.html

Eleven days after a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case, Gov. Maura Healey asked for money to send a nurse into every home after a baby is born. On the radio she said everybody who has a baby is going to get a visit, and a healthcare provider will make an assessment.

Is there a connection between the two? I’ll let you be the judge.

I wrote about the home-visit plan in The State At The Door.

https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/the-state-at-the-door-massachusetts?r=91ugfh

This Article Is About The Timing.

“Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit within days, or weeks and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment.”
— Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Public Radio

Lindsay Clancy killed her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. The children were Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Clancy was a labor and delivery nurse. She then tried to kill herself.

She pleaded not guilty. Her lawyers did not deny that she killed the children. They said she had postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible.

Prosecutors said the killings were planned. The trial was in the Massachusetts Plymouth Superior Court. The jury could not agree. The judge declared a mistrial on September 4, 2026.

One trial in one town is not a reason to treat every new baby in Massachusetts as a case to assess.

If a mother asks for a nurse, that is help. If a state worker comes because the governor said “everybody,” that is a different thing.

Dr. Brock Chisholm

Interestingly, Dr. Brock Chisholm’s name is back in circulation and people are quoting him again. The line they keep repeating is taking “right and wrong” out of child teaching. That is the mindset and Governor Healey’s statement is the current form of it: “a provider at the door to make an assessment”.

Who Is Dr. Brock Chisholm?

Dr. Brock Chisholm was the former Director of the World Health Organization and identified “family unity” among other things as a “hindrance”.

Plato

Dr. Chisholm echoed Plato when he said: “What basic psychological distortion can be found in every civilization of which we know anything?

•The only psychological force capable of producing these perversions is.....

• morality- the concept of right and wrong.”

• “The re-interpretation and eventual eradication of the concept of right and wrong

• Are the belated objectives of nearly all psychotherapy....

▪ If the race is to be freed from its crippling burden of good and evil...

▪ It must be psychiatrists who take the original responsibility”

In Closing

The groundwork for this was laid decades ago. Brock Chisholm said a trained person should get to the young mother and father early, so the family is not the only voice in that house. and the family would not be the last word.

Governor Healey said a healthcare provider will come to the home after a baby is born and make an assessment. That is a trained outsider at the door, after the baby is born.

Same direction. Not the same program. One is an old argument about who should shape the family. The other is a governor describing a nurse at the door.

The title of this article is the gap between September 4 and September 15. A hard case in one town. Then a plan to reach every new baby. Stay alert.

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More Background Information

Previous Article - The State At The Door - https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/the-state-at-the-door-massachusetts?r=91ugfh

On September 15, Massachusetts Gov. Healey spoke at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. That was eleven days later. She asked lawmakers for $2 million to expand Welcome Family. That program sends a maternal and child health nurse to the home after a baby is born. She also asked for $250,000 more for MCPAP for Moms, which helps doctors who treat pregnant and postpartum women. The money is a request in a supplemental budget. It is not a finished law.

Governor Healey Did Not Name Clancy At The Announcement.

She said there had been a lot of talk lately about what mothers face after a
baby is born. Newsrooms tied the timing to the trial.

The press release calls the visit voluntary and free. The Massachusetts pages still do.

Welcome Family now reaches about 3,000 births a year. Massachusetts has about 68,000 births a year. Officials say the extra money would offer a visit to every parent and caregiver. The program started in 2013. The program is not new. The statewide push after the trial is what is new.

Then Healey went on Boston Public Radio. She said everybody in the state who has a baby is going to get a home visit within days or weeks. She said that visit is a chance for a healthcare provider to make an assessment. She did not say “if you want one.” That is the line that spread.

Postpartum illness is real. That is not the argument. Clancy had already been in treatment. She had been in a psychiatric hospital. She had been given many medications. A nurse visit program did not stop what happened in Duxbury. Expanding it statewide does not change that fact.

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Last night “The Ingram Angle” did a segment on the home visit that every newborn would receive within days of their birth. In 2013 I wrote an article titled “The War On Parents” about this progressive pattern. Get the child as young as possible. Call it help. Check the home.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blue-state-gov-ignites-online-firestorm-plan-send-govt-homes-newborn-babies-lunatic-libs

First it was school. This week Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts talked about a visit after the baby is born.

“Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit within days, weeks and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment.”

— Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Public Radio

The Seed Was Planted

My article discussed the very thing Governor Healey was describing. This is a progressive pattern that started by indoctrinating the people into a belief system that treats what parents teach as a mistake to fix. I wrote that the goal is to reach the child as young as possible.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mOWYFj-C1MSXWwbXWQs3b7jPfvCyWiZj/view?usp=sharing

Page 58 of the UNESCO handbook says: “ As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism.

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The school should then therefore use the means described earlier to combat family attitudes

That was about kindergarten
and the seed was planted.

That seed has now progressed to tearing down a parent’s right to raise a newborn without the state coming in to assess the home.

The state presents it as help, safety, and mental health. The press release from the governor’s office says the visit is voluntary. You can say no. The Massachusetts government website says the same thing. On the radio, Gov. Healey did not say that. She said everybody who has a baby is going to get a home visit.

Once the state has a list of every birth, a “no” is not the end of it. Your name is already there.

Press release:
https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-new-actions-to-strengthen-maternal-mental-health-and-postpartum-care

On September 15, Gov. Healey spoke at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She asked lawmakers for $2 million to expand a program called Welcome Family. The Department of Public Health runs it. A maternal and child health nurse comes to the home in the first weeks after birth. The nurse checks the mother and the baby, answers questions about feeding and sleep, screens for postpartum depression, and offers referrals.
Welcome Family page: https://www.mass.gov/welcome-family

She also asked for $250,000 more for MCPAP for Moms. That program helps doctors who treat pregnant and postpartum women. The Department of Public Health is also updating screening rules.

Welcome Family now reaches about 3,000 births a year. Massachusetts has about 68,000 births a year. Officials say this would be the first state money in a program that has run on federal funds. Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said he hopes the extra money can serve every family that chooses to take part.

In 2025 the program did 1,620 postpartum depression screenings. Two hundred eight screened positive. The state says all of them got a referral.

Fox News, Howie Carr, Rep. Nancy Mace, and many parents repeated the radio wording. Massachusetts GOP chair Amy Carnevale, a mother of three, told Fox the plan is government overreach. She said doctors already screen for postpartum depression.

The announcement came after the Lindsay Clancy trial in Plymouth. That trial ended in a mistrial on September 4. Clancy is a former labor and delivery nurse. In 2023 she killed her three children. Her lawyers said she had postpartum psychosis. The jury could not agree on whether she should be held criminally responsible. Healey said the trial brought new attention to postpartum care. Postpartum illness is real. That is not the argument here.

The argument is who comes to the house, and why.

If a mother asks for a nurse, that is help. If a state worker comes because the governor said “everybody,” that is a different thing.

Here is what we know. The program exists. The $2 million is a request to lawmakers. It is not a finished law. The press release and the state website still say the visit is optional. Gov. Healey’s words on the radio did not.

(A subscriber let me know that some of the Welcome Family links were not working. -Here they all are below:

Welcome Family main page
https://www.mass.gov/welcome-family

Welcome Family information for families
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/welcome-family-information-for-families

Welcome Family programs and eligibility
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/welcome-family-programs-and-eligibility

Governor’s press release
https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-new-actions-to-strengthen-maternal-mental-health-and-postpartum-care

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Draw a line from Moscow to New York. It goes over Greenland.
Why Is This Important?

Look at the map
The line from Moscow to New York goes over Greenland.
Missiles, bombers, and air traffic headed at North America cross that airspace.

That is why the United States built a base in northwest Greenland in the first place.

Why Do Some People Still Seem To Be Confused?

Some people hear “permanent control over security” and think America now owns Greenland.
Others hear “Denmark kept the land” and think nothing happened. Both of those views are incorrect.

Neither of those statements line up with the signed agreement.

I previously wrote an article about this very situation and went into great detail about what was taking place. (You can find the link at the end of this article.)

The base is now called Pituffik Space Base. It is still the northernmost U.S. military base on earth. Pituffik was not invented last week.

Ice is also opening water that used to stay frozen.
Shipping routes past Greenland’s coast matter more than they did. Under the ice there are minerals used in phones, cars, and weapons.
Russia and China have been watching all of that.
That is why Greenland matters.

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On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, President Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed an agreement in New York at the United Nations. That agreement is public.

The agreement says the Kingdom of Denmark still has sovereignty. It says the people of Greenland have a right to self-determination. It is not a sale. It is not annexation. Greenland is still part of Denmark.

The same agreement gives the United States more room on the security side. America can expand Pituffik. It can add bases at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east. U.S. planes and ships get wide access.

Non-NATO countries cannot put their own military bases there unless all three parties agree. There is also a check on outside money in sensitive work, including resources. The agreement has no end date.

If Greenland ever becomes independent, the agreement says that the new state is supposed to stay with NATO and keep these defense terms.

President Trump is still calling it permanent control over security, and all other needs.
Denmark is still saying the land was not handed over.

It Is Not Finished Yet

We Have A Signed Agreement. We Do Not Yet Have A Finished Law.

They signed it. That is new since my first article. It still has to pass the parliaments in Denmark and in Greenland before it takes effect. So we have a signed agreement. We do not yet have a finished law.

In Conclusion

Last week we were waiting on a signing. On Tuesday they signed.
The next step is the two parliaments. Denmark has to vote. Greenland has to vote.
Until they do, it is signed, but it is not finished.

If you only argue about Trump, you will miss the map. If you only look at the map, you will miss the text of the agreement. Read both.

Sources

My first article: https://www.highergroundnews.com/p/greenland

Signing report, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-denmark-greenland-sign-deal-bid-end-arctic-standoff-2026-09-22/

What is in the deal, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/what-is-us-greenland-denmark-security-deal-2026-09-22/

CBS News on the signing: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-greenland-deal-denmark-united-nations/

Full agreement text: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/agreement-between-the-government-the-united-states-america-and-the-government-the-kingdom

Greenland’s position on the map, Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/21/greenlands-strategic-position-in-seven-maps-why-trump-wants-the-island

Cindee Becker, D.Th.
Higher Ground News

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