Swalwell’s Secret

Good morning!

Two congressmen resigned yesterday over sexual sins being exposed: Democrat Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas. It’s a grim reminder of the malarial morality that permeates the D.C. swamp—and the kind of sins for which God is cursing America.

Swalwell’s lurid infidelity was no secret. In 2020, it was exposed that he’d been involved for three years with a known Chinese spy who used sex to lure politicians. Yet Nancy Pelosi, then House speaker, protected him and even kept him on the House Permanent Select Committee, where he had high security clearance.

• Adultery is winked at in the beltway, and apparently exposing state secrets is fine too.

Now several colleagues are acting shocked as, just days ago, the San Francisco Chronicle published a detailed exposé as four women, including a former staffer 17 years younger than Swalwell, went public with accusations of years of unsolicited explicit messages, assault and rape.

• This is consistent with Swalwell’s reputation, but for whatever reason, his rivals decided it’s time to unearth all the dirt they’ve been collecting on him.
• Once the report appeared, an ethics probe opened, the press and even Pelosi turned on him, his bid to become California’s next governor collapsed, and he announced his resignation from Congress.

Gonzales’s transgressions had also long lingered in plain sight.

• Months ago, he admitted to an extramarital affair with a subordinate who later died by suicide. New texts to a second staffer surfaced in early April. Still, many Republicans treated the scandal as a private embarrassment rather than a firing offense.

Only when Swalwell’s case ignited bipartisan outrage did Gonzales finally acknowledge what colleagues and reporters had known and largely tolerated and file his retirement papers.

America still playacts moral outrage at times—very selectively. Now and again a public figure is outed and disgraced for infidelity, or homosexual affairs, or trysts with young staffers, or pedophilia. But the sense is that, broadly, such behavior is simply part of life. Fine as long as it doesn’t hurt a man’s ability to do his job.

• But it’s not just our leaders. Self-reporting polls indicate that 20 to 25 percent of marriages in America experience adultery. And of course, premarital sex is nearly ubiquitous.

We can talk about a spiritual revival—but until we are truly willing to confront our national sins, it is just talk.

What does God think? America is a nation descended from the Israel of the Bible. (Prove that by reading this fantastic book.) In the prophecy of Isaiah 10:6, God calls us a “hypocritical nation.”

• In Jeremiah 5:7-9, He asks, “‘Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me … committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the Lord. ‘Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?’” (New International Version).

These sins are far broader than two erstwhile congressmen and far more malignant and fatal than people want to admit. To learn more, read “Open, Dirty Secrets.”

Pope’s Outreach to Africa

Pope Leo xiv paid Algeria its first-ever visit by the head of the Vatican yesterday. He is commencing a 10-day, 18-flight visit to West Africa, which will also include Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

• Africa is one of Catholicism’s fastest-growing regions. In 2023, Africans accounted for a majority of the 16 million people who were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope proclaimed himself a “pilgrim of peace” and sympathized with Africa’s grievances against colonialism in past generations.

• He encouraged African countries to speak out “in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” words generally believed to be directed at United States President Donald Trump, though they would more accurately apply to China or Russia.

Gerald Flurry wrote in “Watch Algeria!” in 2013, “North Africa is turning into a battleground with enormously important prophetic implications.” Algeria supplies large amounts of natural gas and provides a foothold for Europe to project power into Northern Africa. As Deutsche Welle reported:

The countries on Leo’s itinerary are among the world’s major producers of oil and minerals, including gold and diamonds. Yet large segments of their populations live in poverty.

Algeria has around 9,000 Catholics and 45 million Muslims, so the visit is largely designed to show respect toward Islam and to find ways to work with more moderate Muslims to resist radical Islamic terrorism and ultimately bring the nation into Europe’s alliance system.

• The pope visited the Great Mosque in Algiers yesterday, removed his shoes when entering, and stated: “[W]e can learn to respect one another, live in harmony, and build a world of peace.”
• He also spoke out against Islamist fundamentalism.

Augustine of Hippo, a foundational thinker of the Catholic Church, came from Algeria. Pope Leo is an Augustinian and has said that, for this reason, the trip holds great personal significance for him.

The visit reaffirms the Catholic Church’s interest in Africa as a geopolitical priority. For more information, read “Watch Algeria!”

European Governments Corner Israel

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy will halt the automatic renewal of a defense pact it has held with Israel for 23 years. Italy has repeatedly criticized Israel’s war against terrorist groups and regimes recently.

• The 2003 agreement involves the exchange of military equipment and technological research. Meloni’s announcement is less about tech and more about isolating Israel.

The announcement legitimizes claims that Israel is the warmonger of our day that needs to be restrained. It adds fuel to an inferno of European hatred toward the Jewish people. Israel is being cornered by its supposed allies.

On Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that Israel refrain from the “annexation of the West Bank.”

• Apparently, Merz believes he can dictate where Jews can and cannot live. He thus also rises as a defender of Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank who seek to erase Jewish life.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rebuked Merz, stating:

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the German Chancellor should bow his head and apologize a thousand times on behalf of Germany, rather than daring to preach morality to us on how to conduct ourselves against the Nazis of our generation. … Mr. Chancellor, the days when Germans dictated to Jews where they were permitted or forbidden to live are over and shall not return.

Israel is again facing an existential threat, this time from Islamic terrorism. But the Bible warns that the growing hatred within Europe is a worse threat.

• It’s not just the Holocaust, in which Italy was also complicit. European history holds countless examples of Jews being burned or tortured to death during inquisitions and pogroms.
• Some Europeans view that history in light of what Israel is doing today and feel it was justified.

European leaders’ words and actions are reviving the spirit of the Holy Roman Empire, which has always led to the slaughter of the Jewish people. And a prophecy in Psalm 83 reveals that the greatest threat to Jewish life is yet ahead.

IN OTHER NEWS

Rheinmetall strikes another deal to arm Europe: Rheinmetall is forming a joint venture with Dutch defense company Destinus to “manufacture, market and deliver advanced missile systems,” including “cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery,” a Rheinmetall statement said yesterday. ceo Armin Papperger said this venture furthers “the foundations for scalable, operational missiles that are tailored to the current requirements of the European and allied armed forces.” Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems is scheduled to start operations later this year and constitutes yet another necessary component of a rising European superpower.

China testing Trump’s Hormuz blockade? A blacklisted tanker linked to China transited the Strait of Hormuz today, despite a U.S. blockade on the crucial choke point, lseg shipping data shows. The Rich Starry, owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co. Ltd., was previously sanctioned by the U.S. for helping Iran circumvent energy sanctions. The tanker loaded 250,000 barrels of methanol at the United Arab Emirates’ Hamriyah Port over the weekend. It aborted an attempt to transit Hormuz yesterday, just as U.S. President Donald Trump’s blockade on the strait went into effect. This morning, the vessel resumed its voyage, successfully passed, and is now in the Gulf of Oman, bearing toward China. As the blockade’s aim is to dry up the revenue streams of the Iranian mullahs, it is likely that vessels calling at the U.A.E. and other non-Iranian ports may not be subject to it. Nevertheless, the decision to allow a blacklisted tanker to pass suggests America lacks the will to further use its power.

U.S. to host Lebanon talks: United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the U.S. today in Washington, the highest-level discussions between the two countries since the 1990s and a potential prelude to a formal peace deal for ending the state of war that has existed between them since 1948. The talks, coming under pressure from the U.S., are taking place while Israel is attacking Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese government’s apparent tacit blessing. The Lebanese government has also issued its first official declaration that Hezbollah’s military activity is illegal and condemned its attacks. It has conducted arrests of terrorists and is expelling Iranian personnel linked to Hezbollah. Israel, bowing to pressure from America, may hope that the current government could be a partner for peace. But Bible prophecy indicates that such deals will set Israel up for a double-cross.

Mark Carney wins majority government: Last night, Canada’s ruling Liberal Party won three by-elections, giving it 174 seats in Canada’s Parliament and a working majority. The Liberals won two districts in Toronto easily, and a narrow victory in a Montreal district that traditionally votes Bloc Québécois. These wins followed five members of Parliament from other parties joining the Liberals. This is the first time in Canadian history a minority government has switched to a majority between elections. Carney now faces much less resistance to his legislative agenda, which includes many dangerous authoritative measures, and a foreign policy that anchors Canada to Communist China and Catholic Europe. Learn more about “Mark Carney’s Successful Coup Against Democracy.”

Is your diet dooming your future grandkids? Eat zero-calorie sweeteners and you may pass on the negative effects to your grandchildren, a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition on April 10 concluded. Researchers found that when two groups of mice were fed sucralose, a sweetener used in Splenda, and Stevia, a more natural zero-calorie sweetener, the offspring of their offspring were worse at regulating their blood sugar levels and experienced changes to their gut bacteria. Sucralose had a much more powerful negative effect than Stevia. The study indicates that how you eat could impact your grandchildren in ways scientists are only just starting to understand. To learn more about sweeteners’ effects on humans, read “The Sweet Deception of Splenda.”