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"Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!" wrote Sir Walter Scott in his poem "In Marmion" (1808, canto VI, stanza XVII). On AUGUST 19, 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Peter Carr: "He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions." The Greek philosopher...

According to the official, Israel is willing to finance flights from an airport in the south for those who are interested in leaving. Israel is actively encouraging the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza, a senior Israeli official told reporters accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his current trip to Ukraine. According to various tweets from reporters on the trip, the official said that Jerusalem is in contact with other countries – including some in the Mideast – to see if they would be willing to absorb Gazan emigrants. The official noted that more than 35,000 Gazans left the area last...

President Trump came to terms with an important constitutional realization: Gun confiscation laws, commonly called Red Flag laws, won’t work to reduce gun violence. The President is now backing away from his earlier statements supporting more gun control at the federal level – for now, at least. When asked how he’s handling expanded gun control, Trump responded with a suddenly pro-gun tone: "So, Congress is working on that. They have bipartisan committees working on background checks and various other things. And we'll see. I don't want people to forget that this is a mental health problem. I don't want them...

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have attracted more criticism for their recent trips on private jets, after sharing a 'hypocritical' quote on their Instagram page urging people to 'do your little bit of good'. Earlier today the couple, who have been outspoken on environmental issues in recent months, were pictured leaving the south of France over the weekend in a fourth trip by private plane in just 11 days. The couple visited the £15million palatial home of Castel Mont-Alban, owned by Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish. Sir Elton revealed he paid for the Duke and Duchess of...

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men & women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."-Judge Learned Hand "A conservative among liberals, and a liberal among conservatives," he was not consistently conservative enough for Republican President Warren G. Harding and he was not consistently liberal enough for Democrat President Franklin Roosevelt. As a result, he was passed over several times to be a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. His name was Learned Hand, who served as a judge for over 50 years, first on New York's District Court, then...

I take a look at some of the misconceptions Mohammed had regarding the Bible and explain why he is not a reliable narrator when it comes to Biblical exegesis.

Yale President Ezra Stiles addressed Connecticut's General Assembly, May 8, 1783, regarding General George Washington being chosen to command the Continental Army: "The memorable battle of Bunker Hill. (June 17, 1775) ... convinced us ... that Americans both would and could fight with great effect. ... Whereupon Congress put at the head of this spirited army, the only man (George Washington), on whom the eyes of all Israel were placed ... This American JOSHUA was raised up by God, and divinely formed by a peculiar influence of the Sovereign of the Universe, for the great work of leading the armies...

Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has removed sections of her campaign website that had disputed claims about her heritage, including the results of a DNA test that showed she had scant traces of Native American ancestry. Until Sunday, Warren’s website included a video of the Democrat receiving the results of the genetic test, which showed that she had between 1/64th and 1/1024th Native American ancestry. Warren initially touted the results as a vindication of her claims throughout her academic career that she has Cherokee ancestry.

The leader of Poland’s ruling party praised the Archbishop of Krakow on Sunday for his opposition to the redefinition of marriage and gender ideology in the country. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party, said at a campaign event in Southeast Poland on Aug. 18 that he was “grateful” to Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski for his statement earlier this month that attempts to redefine marriage and impose gender ideology in Poland were part of a “rainbow plague.” Calling the promotion of LGBT ideology a “hard offensive” and a “travelling theatre,” Kaczynski said that “we are the ones...

Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub argued Monday that a failure to accept the results of free and fair elections “undermines our democracy.” “There is no evidence of rampant voter fraud in 2016,” Weintraub told CNN host John Berman. “To be suggesting to people that if the candidate they choose doesn’t win, that it’s because of fraud, that undermines our democracy.” Weintraub was pushing back against President Donald Trump’s repeated accusations of voter fraud that he has claimed may have cost him a greater margin of victory in 2016.

ROME — An Italian psychologist has proposed modifying people’s unconscious prejudices and stereotypes by subjecting parts of the brain to electric and magnetic impulses. Over the past 20 years, researchers have attempted to alter people’s ethnic and racial stereotypes and prejudices by providing information that counteracts the prejudice, writes Maddalena Marini, yet these interventions, while effective to some extent, have produced only limited results, especially regarding duration. A postdoctoral researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Marini says that these stereotypes are so instilled in the human mind that “the only way to change them is to change the...

Pic at link. An Ohio seventh grader who won $15,000 during the Huron County Fair livestock sale this month has reportedly donated all of his winnings to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Western Reserve Schools in Cleveland announced Diesel Pippert's donation on Facebook over the weekend, calling him "a hero" for giving his large animal sale funds toward research for young children's illnesses. "A young man lives amongst us who should be an example to us all," the Facebook post reads. "WR 7th grader Diesel Pippert donated all of his livestock premiums to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital today at...

Video interview by Sen Cruz of Dr. Robert Epstein.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a 2020 White House hopeful, on Monday acknowledged the controversy over her claim of Native American heritage, saying she has made "mistakes." “Like anyone who's been honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes," Warren told attendees at the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa. "I am sorry for harm I have caused. I have listened and I have learned a lot, and I am grateful for the many conversations we have had together," she added. Warren faced backlash late last year when she released results of a test that...

The tech giant is a leader in artificial intelligence products for China. Microsoft has partnered with several Chinese universities to create an open AI platform and several of its employees train government bureaucrats on how to use its advanced technology. These universities are well-connected to the Chinese military, which effectively makes Microsoft a collaborator. The tech giant has denied this assertion, claiming it only works with benign academic researchers. That claim is only believable if you ignore who uses the technology developed by these humble academics. At least three AI projects have been developed with China’s National University of Defense...

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray has rejected public calls to build a statue honoring a Christian saint and will, instead, build a monument paying tribute to drag queens.New Yorkers were asked to take part in a public vote on who to honor with a statue celebrating women who built NYC.The initiative is part of a program called “She Built NYC” which was launched by McCray last summer.

Middle East The ban came after LGBTQ group Al-Qaws was planing to hold a gathering for its members in Nablus. The Palestinian Authority banned members of the Palestinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community from carrying out any activities in the West Bank. The ban came after the grassroots group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society (Arabic for “the bow”), which engages and supports Palestinians who identify as LGBTQ, was planning to hold a gathering for its members in Nablus at the end of the month. The group operates both in the West Bank and...

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, calling for a national "atonement" over the treatment of Native Americans, vowed Monday to rescind medals of honor for those who fought against them and even take down President Andrew Jackson's portrait from the Oval Office if she's elected. The spiritual author, who has gained a devoted following in recent weeks for her memorable debate performances, called for a “new era of American history” with Native Americans during an appearance at the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum. "We can atone. We can make amends," Williamson said. "And if and when I'm president of the...

Arizona and Nevada are facing the first-ever mandatory cuts in the amount of water they can take from the Colorado River next year. The two states are among seven that have agreed to drought contingency plans for the river system that serves about 40 million people and 6,300 square miles of farmland from Wyoming to Southern California. The cuts are triggered by water levels expected in Lake Mead, a giant reservoir on the river at the Arizona-Nevada border. On Jan. 1, Lake Mead's level is projected to be 1,089.4 feet, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said late last week. That's...

“It’s not going to be like in the past when seals had a bounty on them and were wiped out,” King said. “As long as the federal government protects the species, the problem is not going to be solved.”