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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - FEBRUARY 21, 2024
UPCOMING PRIMARIES: February 24th, South Carolina, Republican Primary. February 27th, Michigan, Democrat and Republican Primary (Michigan also has a Republican caucus on March 2). For election information, visit My Voter Hub and click on your state.
In this week's Intersect, read about:
Louisiana Governor Declares State of Emergency Due to Police Shortage
“Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency due to a police officer shortage. Landry’s executive order issued Thursday lifts limits on how many new employees Louisiana sheriffs can hire and on payroll increases for their departments. Landry, who previously had a career in law enforcement, said that police departments in the state are experiencing record-low employments ‘resulting in increased crime and less public safety.’ As of July, sheriff’s offices statewide were down 1,800 deputies, Landry said.” read more at Biz New Orleans
THINK.
- Louisiana isn’t the only state impacted by a shortage. According to a national survey of nearly 200 police agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum, resignations were up 47% in 2022, compared with 2019 and retirements are up 19%. What’s behind this? "Media coverage has led many young people to view police differently than their parents' generation may have," International Association of Chiefs of Police president John Letteney said. "And a lot of officers think their job has gotten more difficult since high profile use of force incidents."
- The role of a police officer is to ensure the safety and security of those who uphold the law, and to protect and help communities from those who do not. And sometimes, the ultimate sacrifice is made in doing that job. Communities throughout my home state are mourning the horrific loss of two police officers and one paramedic, all shot and killed by a man with a long rap-sheet. They were responding to a domestic abuse call where the suspect had barricaded himself in a home with seven young children present. He died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, although several officers returned fire during the incident. One of the officers killed had two young kids and anchored his life in Jesus.
- From the local to the national level, we need elected leaders who have a biblical understanding of justice, who know that it is neither merciful nor kind to allow their fellow Americans to be repeatedly harmed by unrepentant lawbreakers. These leaders should also know that the source of virtue and order lies in godly families and public institutions which embrace people of faith rather than reject them. Rising crime has been spurred by a disregard for law and order, a disdain for the men and women of law enforcement, and an increasing lack of consequences for criminals who hurt their fellow citizens. Disturbingly, many of these acts are not only committed by hardened, professional criminals, but by young people with little to no moral guidance at home and no biblical values tolerated in their schools. Just last week at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade, one person was killed and 22 wounded by gunfire—many of them children. Two teenagers and two adults escalated an argument which has now damaged their community.
PRAY.
Pray for PEACE, because "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:20). Pray for an OUTPOURING of His comfort and love to the families impacted by these tragedies (Matthew 5:4). Pray for PROTECTION for our first responders who stand in harm's way and face challenging situations (Psalm 91). Pray for REPENTANCE, that each of us would humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways (1 Chronicles 7:14).
ACT.
Being a police officer is often a thankless job. Take a moment this week to reach out to your local police station with a simple gesture; write a thank you note, drop off an appreciation gift, pick up their tab at a local restaurant or coffee shop, ask them if you can pray for them…there are many actionable ideas to show your appreciation. If you are in Minnesota, an official benevolent fund has been set up for the families of the fallen officers here. Non-monetary contributions can be brought to Prince of Peace Church in Burnsville, MN. The church has more information here.
Big Tech Teams up to Take Action Against AI Deepfakes in 2024 Election
“The collective 20 companies announced the ‘Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections’ on Friday during the Munich Security Conference. The pact is a series of commitments from companies including Google, Meta, Amazon, and Adobe to work together to design tools that can detect AI-generated images or videos intended to deceive voters, also known as deepfakes. It is the latest effort by Silicon Valley to crack down on AI-generated misinformation in the primary and general elections while Congress is running out of time to pass anything substantial.” read more at the Washington Examiner
THINK.
- Will their efforts succeed, or will it only mislead us further? Critics say tech companies cannot be trusted to regulate themselves and more needs to be done to hold the companies and their platforms accountable. Since My Faith Votes’ inception, we’ve seen dramatic changes (for the worse) in the reach and engagement we’ve had on social media platforms. Some will point to conservatives being targets for censorship, but we also know directly from Instagram and Facebook that anything regarded as “political” is and will be much more difficult to see. Social media now plays the role of the “public square” for culture, but My Faith Votes and those like us are intentionally being kept muzzled.
- The quality of deepfakes has rapidly improved, making them harder to distinguish from authentic videos, images and audio. The worry is that voters might not be able to tell the difference between what is real and what is AI. And that could lead people to question authentic content as well. Generative AI is already being used to influence politics and even convince people not to vote. In January, a robocall using fake audio of President Joe Biden circulated to New Hampshire voters, urging them to stay home during the state's presidential primary election.
- Five states – Michigan, Minnesota, California, Washington, and Texas – already have laws in place to restrict AI in political communications. During this legislative session, lawmakers in 32 states have introduced 52 bills to regulate deepfakes in elections, according to Public Citizen. There is currently no federal law. With technology changing rapidly, even legislation could be quickly outdated.
PRAY.
Let us remember that God doesn’t call us to be nostalgic for yesteryear, a time when life was simpler. Rather, He has equipped us to move forward with His unchanging Word. Nothing we face today surprises the Lord or catches Him off guard. He is the maker and sustainer of all things, including humanity as His unique image-bearers (and the technologies that we create). It will require all of us to pray unceasingly, think biblically and intelligently about the issues, and act consistently to ensure the influence of our faith is accurately maintained in the voting booth. Not only must we pray for discernment about the candidates we choose, but in the way we learn about them.
ACT.
One of the latest Artificial Intelligence developments is ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT can interact with a user by responding to questions and replying to prompts. While some of the responses are amusing or simply wrong, the results are frequently astonishing, providing surprisingly coherent and cogent responses to a wide variety of prompts. Could artificial intelligence be used to interfere with elections? We wondered. So, we asked ChatGPT to confess to the ways it could be used to manipulate election results. Read its revealing and deeply troubling answer.
Protests Erupt at Iowa Capital Over ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’
“Protests erupted at the Iowa state capitol on Monday over the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” a bill (HF 2389) that would define ‘men’ and ‘women’ in law based on biology; it would also codify the definition of ‘sex’ as ‘a person’s biological sex, either male or female, at birth.’ HF 2389 states: A ‘female’ is a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova and a ‘male’ is a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female. The bill’s supporters – including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds – say the bill will protect women and women’s spaces from men who identify as women.” read more at Daily Citizen
THINK.
- Why we need this: The bill, which is now awaiting consideration by the entire Iowa House, is nicknamed the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” in contrast to policies in other states that violate women’s rights by allowing men to enter women’s bathrooms or to compete in women’s sports. The root problem of all those policies is that they don’t recognize the biological differences between men and women. “It’s unfortunate that defining a woman in code has become necessary to protect spaces where women’s health, safety, and privacy are being threatened like domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. The bill allows the law to recognize biological differences while forbidding unfair discrimination,” Governor Kim Reynolds stated.
- In the recent documentary, “What Is A woman?” Matt Walsh interviewed members of the Maasai tribe in Kenya, who correctly defined man and woman simply by observing creation. But we in the U.S. need laws to clarify it for us because we deny God’s creation. We deny God’s authority as the Creator to define us. Rather, we make an individual’s self-identity paramount. This is reflected in the language of those who oppose this Iowa bill, saying it would “systemically erase transgender Iowans from public life.” Outside the committee room, hundreds of protestors shouted obscenities.
- I’m reminded of something my friend wrote in 2021 in response to the federal Equality Act, which would have made gender identity a new protected class under federal law. Her words apply to the differing state policies today: “This is not a cultural debate about the rights of transgender individuals to live freely in the United States, as that right is already afforded to every American regardless of their gender identity or sexual preferences….It is an ideological war in which progressives wish to force everyone to believe exactly as they do, coercing people of faith to abandon their beliefs about God’s creation of gender as male and female.”
- Montana, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Kansas have passed laws like Iowa’s bill, and more states are considering them. ABC News reports that bills in West Virginia, Georgia, and Iowa would legally define women and men based on whether they have, had, will have or would have "a reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes" eggs or sperm for fertilization, respectively. It’s a reminder that state elections matter greatly; we can’t neglect them this presidential year.
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, thank You for creating us in Your image, male and female. Give courage to elected officials who uphold this truth through laws that protect our rights, especially the rights of the vulnerable.
ACT.
This week, My Faith Votes has a team at the National Religious Broadcasters convention interviewing Christian influencers about acting on our faith in today's culture. Two notables we're interviewing are Alisa Childers and Dr. Jeff Myers. Alisa recently interviewed Dr. Myers about how to protect children and teens from transgender activism. Watch or listen here. We'll be sure to let you know when our interviews with them are released!
House Democrats Condemn Appearance of ‘Radical Christian Nationalist’ Pastor Jack Hibbs
“In January, California pastor Jack Hibbs was invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to serve as the House of Representatives’ guest chaplain. Twenty-six House Democrats then signed a letter condemning the pastor’s opening prayer. The letter, led by Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) called Hibbs a ‘radical Christian Nationalist who helped fuel the January 6th insurrection and has a long record of spewing hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community.’” read more at American Faith
THINK.
- Why the attacks? Responding to their attempts to paint him as an instigator of the Capitol riot, Pastor Hibbs said, “I do take that as a slanderous statement.” A bigger part of their objection was based on Pastor Hibbs’ preaching and actions, which, though in line with the Bible, was characterized as a “militant and fanatical agenda he preaches about the LGBTQ+ community, Jews, Muslims, and anyone who conflicts with his ‘biblical worldview.’” This is significant: 26 members of Congress think bible-based preaching about the gospel, sexual morality, protecting children, etc., should disqualify someone from giving a prayer before Congress.
- What is the history of prayer in our nation? The very first prayer before the first Continental Congress in 1774 closes in the name of “Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.” Yet Pastor Hibbs revealed that the guidelines today for a guest chaplain’s prayer is not to bring up Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He chose to break the rules. Our nation does not respect the gospel as it once did, and in some instances like these, regards it with hostility. I am grateful Pastor Hibbs radically obeyed God rather than man.
PRAY.
I invite you to pray for our nation using Pastor Hibb’s prayer:
Almighty God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, together we come before You in humility as a people in need of Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your goodness, and Your grace.
For these 250 or so years, our fathers in this Congress have prayed for Your guidance and protection. We stand here in humble petition that You today might do the same, that this Nation and its unparalleled Constitution--Your great gift to all freedom loving people--might be renewed here and across this land as a beacon of hope to all who seek peace.
I ask You today, Father, to bring to us a great awakening of righteousness and confidence in You who alone are mighty to save.
Hear my cry in this hour of great need that we might be humbly blessed before You in repentance of our national sins.
You, Almighty God, are the source of all wisdom, and there is no wisdom but that which comes from You.
So please come upon those here who are the stewards over the business of our Nation with Your wisdom which comes from above and with Your holy fear knowing that Your coming day of judgment draws near when all who have been and are now in authority will answer to You, the great judge of heaven and of Earth.
For the decisions that they make here in this place, I offer this prayer to You, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, and our crucified Savior and resurrected Lord.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
ACT.
Our nation needs your prayers right now! Be inspired by four prayers that shaped our nation, including the prayer to open the first Continental Congress. Download your free devotional, Four Prayers That Shaped America.
My Faith Votes— is a ministry that motivates, equips, and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. An estimated 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, fail to vote in presidential elections. My Faith Votes is on a mission to change this statistic by helping Christians act on their faith and vote in every election. When we pray unceasingly for our nation, think biblically about the issues, and vote consistently in every election the impact of Christians taking action from the local to the state and federal level will be unprecedented.
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