Derrick Max: Your January 5, 2025 First Sunday Summary of the Year: Speaker Johnson, New Laws, Car Inspections and Car Taxes, Flag over Korea, Gambling, Energy, Governor's race...and more. Enjoy!

"Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those to whom in Thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." Prayer Speaker Johnson appears to have wrongly attributed to Thomas Jefferson -- but still a worthy prayer for our country!

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Dear Friend of TJI, 1.) After a brief revolt, Speaker Mike Johnson was re-elected to Speaker of the House. While there has been some controversy as to the attribution of a prayer he linked to Thomas Jefferson, Speaker Johnson's acceptance speech was a primer on "America First" Republicanism. It was a powerful and well reasoned vision for America -- well worth a watch on the link at the end of this Sunday Summary.  2.) A lot of new Virginia laws came into effect on January 1, 2025 -- from a 41 cent increase in the minimum wage, to a doubling of mandated car insurance crash coverage levels, to higher pay for court appointed counsel. The full list is nicely summarized in Fairfax Now. Overall, a long list of government intrusion and mandates. We can do better. 3.) The state of Texas joined the long list of states doing away with their annual auto safety inspections. As the GAO has reported, these inspections do not improve safety. Virginia should join the 36 states that do not require these costly and time consuming inspections as our Joshua Devamithran recently urged. 4.) Georgia and Rhode Island repealed their car taxes. Governor Youngkin has a plan to provide car tax relief to low income workers. We have written that car taxes are an inefficient way to collect revenue and they hurt the poor the most. While we support the Governor's amendment, we wish it went further! 5.) The flag of the Commonwealth of Virginia flew over the city of Gwangju, South Korea in opposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol and in support of his arrest on insurrection and power abuse charges. According to Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-Jung, the Virginia motto "Sic semper tyrannis" (thus always to tyrants) on the flag made it a timely gift from the Governor of Virginia. 6.) Gambling news: Virginian's spent a record $761 million on sports betting in November. Over 100 national security leaders, including defense and intel officials have warned that a casino in Northern Virginia posed an "unacceptable health and national security hazard."   7.) Race for Virginia Governor continues to heat up as former Representative Denver Riggleman, who endorsed Rep. Abigail Spanberger for Congress two years ago, is mulling a run as an independent (he is also mulling running for Lt. Governor instead). Also, Representative Bobby Scott continues to mull a primary challenge to Representative Spanberger. This could be an exciting year for elections if you are a political junkie like me!   8.) In an odd commentary in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Lauren Grob praises Governor Youngkin's new public school accountability framework, but then attacks it for being a hidden plan to undermine public schools. So, she likes the accountability, but worries that the accountability will undermine schools? Sounds like this self described "liberal who works in education policy" -- knows that the light of true accountability will be an eye opener for most parents. As our Chris Braunlich wrote, we need to shine a light on our public school performance -- as the gap in performance of our low-income and African-American students is unacceptable. Hiding this gap is not the answer! 9.) Schools are preparing to implement Gov. Youngkin's cell phone ban, although safety continues to be a key parental worry according to a story in Cardinal News. As a former Principal who implemented a no cell phone policy in my school, I know first hand that cell phones harm school culture, are used for bullying, porn, and cheating and can actually reduce safety. That being said, I wish parents had a choice in the school they send their children to -- until then, we support common sense policies that improve learning and school culture.  10.) While drone sightings are in the news, Virginia had its own drone story as a Chinese student's drone got stuck in a tree near Newport News shipbuilding. An FBI investigation found photos of classified military equipment and the student was sentenced to six months in prison. How have we let President Biden continue to be asleep while China is clearly spying over sensitive installations?   11.) Virginia Democrats in Richmond continue to push the concept of creating an entity to override local opposition to large scale solar farms. This takes green extremism to a new level -- overriding local zoning and regulations would be a massive increase in state power. The Virginia Clean Economy Acts requirement to entirely eliminate carbon based energy is not currently possible, as noted by our Steve Haner.   12.) Power generation and data centers continue to dominate the work of the State Corporation Commission after the release of a troubling report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission showing that energy demand is quickly outpacing supply. The impact and legacy of Governor Youngkin's "all of the above" energy strategy may well rest on the development of small modular reactors or the implementation of the recently announced first commercial nuclear fusion plant. Our Steve Haner has rightly noted that the real answer lies in the approval of more natural gas generation. 13.) Virginia Business ran a great article on what to expect in the upcoming General Assembly. As we have noted, energy and gambling will be key issues debated, along with housing and some constitutional amendments on abortion and other social issues.  14.) Of course, the special elections scheduled for this week will impact control and direction of the General Assembly. Will Republican momentum shift control of two key seats, or will the blue Democratic wall in Virginia hold firm? Either way, if you live in the 32nd or 10th Senate Districts, or the 26th House District, be sure to vote!

In Freedom,

Team Miyares: Miyares Weekly Roundup

Miyares Celebrates Victory for Women's Sports For years, Attorney General Miyares has fought Biden's illegal Title IX rewrites, winning at every level—including the Supreme Court. Now, after pressure from state attorneys general, the Biden administration has WITHDRAWN its proposed rule that would've allowed biological men to compete in women's sports.    "I'm proud to have stood up for Virginia's female athletes and for the common-sense protections they deserve."   –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE HERE

Chabad of Williamsburg Attorney General Miyares was honored to light the menorah with Chabad of Williamsburg during the eight nights of Hanukkah!    $1.29M Secured to Combat Human Trafficking VIRGINIA AWARDED $1.29M TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH TRAFFICKING VICTIMS    In recognition of Human Trafficking Prevention Month, AG Miyares announced a $1.29 million grant to enhance the Commonwealth's efforts to combat child and youth labor and sex trafficking.    Through a series of coordinated objectives, the Virginia Office of the Attorney General will work to strengthen interagency collaboration, expand research, enhance training resources, and pilot innovative support programs for youth victims of human trafficking.   "No child should ever have to endure the horrors of human trafficking. This comprehensive multi-year plan will leverage the expertise and resources of our public and private partners to identify victims, dismantle trafficking networks, and ensure survivors receive the compassionate, trauma-informed care they deserve. By tackling gaps in identification, training, and services, Virginia will continue to act as a national leader in combating child and youth trafficking for years to come."   –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GRANT HERE

Miyares: Fairfax County Puts Criminals First  "America is a nation of immigrants predicated upon the rule of law. As a first-generation American and attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am grateful and mindful of both on a daily basis.   Public safety rests on the faithful application of federal and state law. Our Constitution vests broad immigration authority at the federal level while reserving authority over state crimes to state and local prosecutors. In the case of illegal immigrant Denis Romero, this partnership was sacrificed to an extreme political ideology that victimized Virginians and continues to place our communities at risk.   The unsettling reality in Fairfax County is that local residents are being actively put in jeopardy by the reckless policies of Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid and Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano, not just because the two of them cannot separate their ideology from reality. Their insistence on being social workers rather than law enforcement professionals, combined with their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, is actively hurting real people." READ AG MIYARES' FULL OP-ED HERE My Announcement

Mark Obenshain: Winter Weather Resources

The first big winter storm of 2025 will be impacting much of the Commonwealth starting later today and into Monday.  Governor Youngkin issued a state of emergency late last week ahead of the storm and is encouraging citizens to take the proper precautions. 

Here in the Shenandoah Valley, we are expected to get snow accumulation with some areas getting sleet and ice.  If you must travel and be on the roads, please use caution.

With any winter weather event, there is a chance for power outages and downed power lines are possible. Remember to never approach downed power lines or try to clear debris from them. Report outages or downed lines to your local electric service provider.

Here are some helpful local resources:   

Dominion Energy (866) 366-4357 

Shenandoah Valley Electric Coop  

Harrisonburg Electric Commission 

Non Emergency Numbers: 

Rockingham County: (540) 564-3800

City of Harrisonburg: (540) 434-4436 

Follow local media and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for continued updates:

WHSV TV3

Winter Weather Preparedness Tips

Situational Awareness Unit (24hr line): (804) 674-2400

Twitter: @VDEM

Facebook: Virginia Department of Emergency Management

As always, if my office might be of service to you, please do not hesitate to contact us at senatorobenshain@senate.virginia.gov or call us at 540-437-1451. 

Be sure to monitor the latest forecasts and advisories over the next 24 hours. Stay safe!

Family Research Council: FRC's Tony Perkins, Governor Jeff Landry, & Christian Leaders to Hold Sunday 'Prayer for the Nation'

FRC's Tony Perkins, Governor Jeff Landry, & Christian Leaders to Hold Sunday 'Prayer for the Nation' Broadcast Following New Orleans Attack

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- This Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. CT, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a Louisiana resident and former state representative, will hold a one-hour broadcast "Pray for the Nation" in response to the terrorist attack in New Orleans. Christians leaders including Pastor Carter Conlon, Pastor Jack Hibbs, Michele Bachmann, Dr. David Goza, Troy Miller, and Pastor Art Reyes will also be a part of the prayer event. Mike Clark, a chaplain with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association who has been in New Orleans ministering to those affected by the attack, will join the broadcast to pray.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry: "The terrorist attack on New Year's morning is a tragic reminder of the evil in this world that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. We are thankful for the men and women in uniform who protect us; please join us in praying for their safety and their ability to thwart these heinous acts of terror. We also lift up the victims of this attack and their families."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins: "America must pray! We need God's protective hand upon our cities and our nation. Having worked in law enforcement and anti-terrorism, I know the difficulty of confronting an ideology determined to kill and destroy. As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 127, which Benjamin Franklin quoted at the Constitutional Convention, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.' Pray that our nation turns to the Lord so He may guard our cities and our country."

WHO: Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

Jeff Landry, Governor of Louisiana

Dr. Mike Clark, Strategic Chaplain Coordinator, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Carter Conlon, General Overseer, Times Square Church

Michele Bachmann, Dean, Regent University School of Government

Dr. David Goza, Senior Pastor, Jefferson Baptist Church

Troy Miiller, President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters

Art Reyes, Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Downey

Jack Hibbs, Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills

What: Pray for the Nation

When: 6:00 -- 7:00 p.m. Central Time

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Where to watch: FRC's Stand Firm app

NRB TV Network (DirecTV Channel 378)

Real Life Network

Victoria Cobb: Fairfax School Teacher Receives Justice

FFLC Secures Religious Victory for Fairfax Teacher Victoria Cobb, President Friday, January 3, 2025 Our Founding Freedoms Law Center, in partnership with America First Legal, was successful in getting Fairfax County Public Schools, the 10th largest school district in the nation, to back down and agree to accommodate the free speech and religious freedom of elementary school teacher, Ashley Pak.  FCPS was seeking to force her to undergo special interactive training on "LGBTQ" issues, including their radical transgender policy which includes hiding gender transitions from parents. As a Christian, Ms. Pak was unable to affirm in good conscience that she would comply with their LGBTQ policies which are in clear violation of state law. We are seeing this practice of government coercion requiring teachers to deceive parents and use inappropriate pronouns in numerous other school districts across the Commonwealth, as well.  After receiving our letter, thankfully, FCPS wisely decided to respect her religious convictions and accommodate her. While this is a good outcome, sadly, Ashley Pak's story is just the latest example in woke Virginia school districts where the government seems to forget that its employees have constitutional rights – until, that is, attorneys like ours step in and threaten litigation. In another county, we defended a teacher with the same issue about a year ago.  None of this would be possible without the generosity of all of you who believe in our mission to defend religious freedom and free speech. If you are inspired by Ashley's story, would you please consider supporting our work? Our generous supporters who issued the 2024 Matching Gift Year End Challenge want us to reach our entire goal of $400,000.  This means your gift will still have DOUBLE the impact! Every year, we depend on the funding from this end of the year campaign to keep the Family Foundation in business. Because of supporters like you, we raised $334,288 of our year end goal. But we are still $65,000 short. If you give by January 11th, your gift will help us meet our budget shortfall!

Will You Pray How You Can Help?

Several generous supporters have chosen to bless The Family Foundation's mission through gifts of appreciated stock, while avoiding capital gains taxes. If you would like to give to The Family Foundation via stock and avoid capital gains in 2024. Click here for more information. If you would like to learn more about how to give, please contact Marie Edwards, Development Officer, at (804) 343-0010 Ext.5 or marie@familyfoundation.org.

Thomas D. Klingenstein: A Golden Age, If You Can Keep It

By Peachy Keenan We find ourselves, almost incredibly, at the dawn of what may be a new Golden Age. President-elect Trump is planning to unleash a mile-wide tornado of Executive Orders on January 20th that will obliterate four years of Biden-era crud in its path. I have no doubt that the entire southern border will be sealed, Venezuelan gang members will be loaded onto deportation transports, and peace will break out in Ukraine within the first few weeks of his presidency. Hamas will suddenly remember it's holding hundreds of Israelis in dungeons and sheepishly let them go. Just a few bold, early moves in the right direction will echo into history and set the stage for one of the most consequential eras in modern American history. Perhaps more importantly, the instantaneous changeover from the out of gas, broken down jalopy Biden admin to a rocket-propelled jet engine blasting out of the gate will be enough to lift the leaden blanket off our hearts and minds. Vibes will flow. The energy will shift hard. It will be a glorious celebration, and optimism will once again course through the nation's veins. The rivers will turn red, white, and blue. The birds will warble the Star-Spangled Banner. Happiness will awaken and come out of its long slumber, squinting in the bright January morning. Yes, I feel this way. But this is not my first time at the rodeo. We are still mere mortals, earthbound, subject to the conflicting desires of all the other millions of people crowding this democracy. Barring pure and enlightened monarchy, we are going to experience disappointments. There will be setbacks. But, this time around, there will be no corrupt FBI traps or grotesque special counsel investigations or slanderous "Russia" hoaxes. There will be no hairless moles like Lieutenant Colonel Vindman in his dirt hole burrowed beneath the Oval Office, spying on the president and squealing to Nancy Pelosi. This time, the pitfalls and landmines are more obvious...

Read More

Gary Bauer: End Of Day - 1-3-25 - A Ukraine Connection

A Ukraine Connection

Do you remember Ryan Routh? He was the second attempted assassin who hid in the bushes at Donald Trump's Florida golf course. Somehow, Routh managed to avoid being shot by a Secret Service agent when he was no more than five feet away.

Routh had a bizarre obsession with Ukraine. In spite of his serious financial troubles, Routh somehow managed to travel the world recruiting mercenaries to fight for Ukraine.

Now, there are unconfirmed reports that Routh visited Fort Bragg more than 140 times over the past four years. As we reported yesterday, both of the New Year's Day terrorists also trained at Fort Bragg.

That could be a total coincidence. Tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed at Fort Bragg. But, if the reports are true, we need to know why Trump's attempted assassin was also at Fort Bragg more than 140 times.

Here's another odd "coincidence." Matthew Livelsberger, the Green Beret who killed himself in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, also strongly supported Ukraine. He reportedly served in Ukraine at some point during his military career.

Online photos show him wearing a shirt with an inscription that reads, "Glory to Ukraine. Glory to heroes." The inscription was written in Ukrainian. And like Routh, he was also attempting to recruit people to fight in Ukraine.

The FBI is puzzled by the incident outside the Trump Hotel because the explosives packed into the Cybertruck are not what you might expect a Green Beret would use to carry out such an attack.

They also discovered that as the truck was set on fire, Livelsberger put a bullet through his head, so they are labeling this as a "suicide."

Well, it could be a form of suicide protest. There have been at least two self-immolations in Washington, D.C., in protest of the war in Gaza against Hamas. One involved a member of the U.S. Air Force. By the way, an Army veteran was just indicted for attempting to join Hezbollah.

I don't think it's much of a leap at all to view Livelsberger as a gung-ho Green Beret all in on fighting Russia in Ukraine. How he could be active duty and also be recruiting mercenaries online raises some questions in my mind.

But he and the American people have been subjected to years of lies that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election, that Trump is a friend of Putin's, that he will abandon Ukraine to Putin, and get us out of NATO. The "Deep State's" lies have serious consequences.

So, there are a number of odd Ukrainian connections. But, once again, we are also seeing just how dangerous the left's nonstop smears and false narratives against Donald Trump can be.

Moral Midgets

In the aftermath of the latest act of Islamic terrorism against our homeland, it's worth reminding you that Joe Biden recently announced his national strategy for combatting radical Islam. Oh, wait – that's not what he did.

Three weeks ago, Biden announced the "first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate." Incredibly, the White House statement contains this outrageous claim, "Over the past year, this initiative has become even more important as threats against American Muslim and Arab communities have spiked."

Excuse me? There's been no massive surge in Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate over the past year.

The truly bizarre thing is that after more than a thousand innocent Israelis were raped and brutally murdered, the exact opposite thing happened -- there was an explosion of antisemitic hate!

No one is burning down mosques. There are no riots on college campuses demanding Muslim students be kicked out. There are no Jewish terrorists carrying out mass casualty attacks in our cities. No one is questioning the legitimacy of any Arab state or its right to exist.

What the moral midgets at the Biden White House are doing is not just stupid, it's evil. They are ignoring the real victims of hate while providing cover for the hate-filled perpetrators.