The Left vs. America
The number of homicides in America is soaring. So far this year, murders are up 24% with more than 3,600 people killed. According to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, nearly three quarters of the nation's 50 largest cities have seen double-digit increases in their murder rates. 

Sadly, Chicago is America's murder capital with at least 440 homicides already this year. Police Superintendent David Brown released statistics showing that July was the deadliest month in Chicago's history.

This surge in violence seems largely attributable to two things: the pandemic and the left's assault on the police. The Journal writes:

"Homicides . . . are up because violent criminals have been emboldened by the sidelining of police, courts, schools, churches and an array of other social institutions by the reckoning with police and the pandemic."

In addition, a number of progressive cities are letting criminals out of jails to relieve crowding during the pandemic. They are also eliminating bail requirements, so criminals are back on the streets within hours of being arrested.

It's no coincidence that all of this is happening as the left is closing churches and schools, maligning law enforcement and championing efforts to "defund the police." This is what it looks like when you sideline the fundamental institutions of society. 

Not surprisingly, more and more Americans are choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights as the left tries to "handcuff" law enforcement. The FBI reports that background checks for gun purchases are up 44% over last year.

Thankfully, the Trump Administration is moving aggressively to combat this surge of violent crime. The Justice Department recently announced that it was expanding Operation Legend and deploying nearly 100 federal agents to Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee.

Left-wing Extortion

If parents didn't have enough to worry about, the big teachers' unions are exploiting the coronavirus to make outrageous demands that have virtually nothing to do with education. Once again, the teachers' unions and their progressive allies are calling for a "national day of resistance" against the idea of re-opening our schools.

Here are some of their demands:

·    Canceling rents and mortgages.

·    Bans on new charter schools, voucher programs and standardized testing.

·    A new wealth tax on billionaires and Wall Street.

As today's lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal notes, this is "political extortion" with the left-wing unions issuing "ultimatums" and holding our children's education hostage to their demands.

First they close our houses of worship. Then they take away our right of assembly. Now they're holding our children hostage. It's getting hard to distinguish the progressive left from a hostile foreign invader!

Religious Schools Under Siege

It's not just the public schools either. Montgomery County is probably the most liberal county in the state of Maryland. Nobody was expecting the liberals who run Montgomery County to open the public schools. 

But with no hearing and no input, Montgomery's progressive leaders declared that no private or religious schools would be allowed to open either. This announcement came as a shock to many parents who were getting ready to send their kids back to school. This is also happening in other progressive states and localities.

Governor Larry Hogan quickly overruled the order, but I have no confidence that liberal judges in Maryland will do the right thing. Nor do I have any confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court can be relied upon to side with religious schools given the increasing liberal bias of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Unfortunately, so many Christian churches have been passive in the face of orders preventing more than a few dozen people from attending church services. If it is okay to let the government regulate your church, how can we expect to win a legal battle over reopening Christian schools? 

I think more pastors should have issued statements essentially saying:

"To be clear, we do not believe the government has the constitutional authority to close our church or limit our attendance. We reject the notion that any bureaucrat has the authority to do this given the extra protections afforded to churches by the Constitution."

Unfortunately, almost none did that. And far too many churches conceded far too much ground. 

If men and women of faith don't push back, this power will be abused again for some other emergency, real or imagined.

Good News

There is some encouraging news in the fight against the coronavirus. New cases are down at least 5% compared to last week. California and Texas saw 8% declines in new cases, while new cases fell 10% in Arizona and 14% in Florida.

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration continues to do everything possible to speed up the delivery of vital supplies and development of treatments and vaccines.

·    Yesterday the president signed an executive order expanding telemedicine, especially in rural communities.

·    Working with private industry, the administration has delivered massive quantities of PPE, including 100 million N-95 respirators and 250 million masks.

·    The U.S. has conducted nearly 60 million coronavirus tests and is averaging more than 800,000 tests a day.

·    Last week the administration launched a new campaign to promote blood plasma donations with Covid antibodies.

·    The administration has also pledged that Covid vaccines will be free for "any American who is vulnerable, who cannot afford the vaccines, and desires the vaccine."

The Stream

Please be certain to check out my recent interview with James Robison, founder of The Stream. It would really help The Stream and me if you would watch the interview now and share it with your friends and family.