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The Eternal Quest: What is Truth?

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9 minute read

Mankind, from time immemorial, has been a seeker of Truth.

Civilizations from the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, and the Mesopotamians to the modern roman empire have searched their world for Truth.   While earlier civilizations sought simpler Truths in their limited world view, our advanced ‘modern,’ society seeks more complexities using far different tools with the same boundless curiosity.

Before the modern era, men and women looked for truth in different ways.  Young men would set off with the armies and sea traders of their time in search for the answer to the burning desire in their souls, are the stories true?  Is there really a whole world to explore?  Are their great sea monsters as my grandfather told me?

Others, somewhat less adventurous and more academic, looked to the mysteries of alchemy or spiritual quests and tempted God by turning base lead in to Gold, worshiping false idols or seeking solace in the quiet spaces of monasteries and remote faith communities; all with an eye to Truth.  Can gold be made from base metals?  Is God, Allah, or Yahweh found in the wilderness or among men in our world? Can we hear the voice of God? How do we reconcile God in our lives?

Amidst the spread of civilization and the rise of the ages or reason and industrialization and technology, the quest for knowledge was not easily satiated with the greater good not always lining up with Truth but rather diversion and deception with Truth often being a casualty.

Most significantly the rise of the internet and information technologies has led to an increased pace of extremism with the left and right seeing greater division and the perceived requirement that there can be no reason or good discussion betwixt the ends of the spectrum.

We have seen this in far greater concentration since 2001 after the events of 911 with so-called conspiracy theories rising immediately.  Building on the momentum of the discoveries during that time, previous histories for events dating back to the great depression were released through various sources and previous ‘Truths,’ were contradicted and influenced by current global motivations.

If we consider the current Covid19 crisis, our sources of information can be mainstream media like CNN, ABC, NBC or the BBC or Al Jazeera or Fox.  Online, websites like beforeitsnews.com or outofmind.com or web presences of regular news broadcasts can inform readers in many ways.  In Canada, we look to the Rebel, CBC, CTV, or regular web news from browsers.

Our newspapers are no longer the haven of true current affairs.  Due to shrinking subscribership and advertising, there is no longer space to present multiple viewpoints for decision making. The issue of news bias is also a concern in many countries with censorship rising its ugly red pen.

Our social media world is rife with censorship.  YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook now all regularly delete content not in keeping with ‘community’ standards.  In the US election, many news items from both parties are not given equal treatment while in Canada, many anti-corruption and scandal news items are also given less than fair access to the public or have been deleted.

In the US, Q Anon has been teasing readers with more than 1500 entries filled with coded information seemingly educating readers on current affairs filled with details accurate enough to suggest an inside source.

The BIG questions are simple:  Is Covid 19 a hoax?  Is it real?  Has it been created by the mythical illuminati?  Do masks work?  Will a vaccine come in our lifetime?   Who is responsible for the patients care or payments IF the proposed vaccines do not work?  Or is it as dangerous to humanity and the draconian measures imposed are necessary to protect mankind?  Is the total makeover of society required to protect us?  Are lockdowns and economic control the answer to a biological condition?

Closely tied to the pandemic question is that of the politicians who want to see those behind the scenes brought to justice for their parts in various international crimes including Child trafficking, international drug trafficking, influence peddling, population control and other crimes against humanity.

The question of truth remains, and those with left leanings will incline their ears towards leftist ideologies and the rightists towards the right.  Centrists are often criticized for their balanced views and considering both sides of the discussion.

We have witnessed and will continue to witness the great cost to our communities of the divisive nature of the legislation and changing coping strategies suggested by health officials.  Families, church congregations, company work forces, sports team fans and employees and many associations have been shattered by our varying reactions to the conflicting ‘facts.’    We can’t forget that we are now also encouraged to report our friends and neighbours who do not follow the ‘rules.’

The sheer financial cost to economies being locked down, global, regional and local is beyond calculation.  Couple that with the social cost of the monetary turmoil and the resulting mental illness, overdose deaths, divorce rates, suicide, ‘natural’ deaths due to delayed medical treatment and future potential respiratory conditions triggered by improper and un-necessary mask usage and we have financial numbers that are nearly beyond belief.

This brings us back to the original premise.

We, as human beings who live in our communities, political leaders who lead our cities, states, provinces, and countries want one thing.  Mankind, throughout history, all over the world, has searched for ONE thing.

Truth.

Truth about our faith issues.  Truth about our politicians and their place in our world.  Truth about our future-will our children be able to survive?  Truth about our economies and the political policies that affect them.  Truth about everything.

The funny thing is that Truth cannot be relative because while times have changed, Truth would have changed and if that is true than we are probably all wrong and if I am right, you may be wrong and one of us is going to face eternity paying for poor decisions.  Not much hope there.  Therefore, Truth cannot change and moreover, it is not relative, it is absolute. It just IS.  No options.  And for Truth to be consistent for millennia, it cannot be based on circumstances, but rather something or someone who IS eternal and DOES NOT CHANGE.

Those who live their lives based on relative truths waiver like a ship on the ocean.

It has been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Throughout the world, light is dispelling the darkness.

What is Truth

Just as Pontius Pilate asked Jesus when he stood before him prior to crucifixion, the question is the same and always will be be…

What is Truth?

Answer the question carefully.  Your life depends on it.

Tim Lasiuta is a Red Deer writer, entrepreneur and communicator. He has interests in history and the future for our country.

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Daily Caller

‘Almost Sounds Made Up’: Jeffrey Epstein Was Bill Clinton Plus-One At Moroccan King’s Wedding, Per Report

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Melissa O’Rourke

Former President Bill Clinton personally asked to bring Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as guests to the Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s 2002 wedding, a move that unsettled Clinton’s own aides, the New York Post reported Thursday.

Clinton requested permission to include Epstein and Maxwell at the royal wedding in Rabat despite neither having any official relationship with the Moroccan royal family, the Post reported. Sources told the outlet that Clinton’s request was viewed internally as inappropriate and has quietly circulated in Democratic circles for more than two decades.

“[Clinton] brought them as guests to a king’s wedding. I mean, it almost sounds made up,” one source familiar with the matter told the outlet. “How many times in your life have you been invited as a guest of a guest at a wedding?”

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Undated photo of former President Bill Clinton posing with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Former President Bill Clinton poses with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. (House Oversight Committee)

Clinton traveled to Morocco with Epstein and Maxwell aboard Epstein’s private jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express,” according to the Post. Chelsea Clinton attended separately, and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton remained in Washington due to her schedule.

“[Former First Lady] Hillary [Clinton] was in the Senate, so she couldn’t go. Chelsea very much wanted to go, and the president very much wanted to go,” a second person told the outlet. “The idea that they would take [Epstein] was a head-scratcher. But nonetheless, the Clinton office moved forward and made this request … to bring these two guests, and that’s what happened.”

Once in Rabat, Clinton, Epstein and Maxwell were seated with King Mohammed VI during the black-tie wedding dinner, sources said. At one point, Chelsea Clinton requested a group photograph that included her father, Epstein and Maxwell.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking conspiracy and related offenses. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Their crimes were not publicly known at the time of the wedding.

The Clintons continue to downplay the extent of their past relationship with Epstein, maintaining that they cut off contact with him in 2005, three years before he pleaded guilty to state sex crimes in Florida.

Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña previously told the outlet that Clinton took four trips aboard Epstein’s jet between 2002 and 2003 and denied that Clinton ever visited Epstein’s private island or residences.

“I don’t know how many times we need to say there was travel more than 20 years ago before he was cut off. Apparently, we need to one more time. But nice try,” Ureña said, according to the outlet.

Former President Bill Clinton shaking hands with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the White House in 1993.

Bill Clinton greets Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the White House in 1993. (White House photo)

Neither of the sources quoted by the New York Post said they believed Clinton was aware of Epstein trafficking or sexually abusing children, but did say the ex-president is downplaying his former links to both Epstein and Maxwell.

The Clinton Foundation did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Both Bill and Hillary are scheduled to give depositions in January to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about their ties to Epstein. The Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August, and Committee Chairman James Comer said that if the Clintons didn’t appear for depositions scheduled for Dec. 17 and 18 or arrange to appear for questioning in early January, then contempt charges would be pursued.

Photos released by Oversight Committee Democrats in December show Epstein with prominent figures, including President Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Bannon.

The Department of Justice is expected to release a new trove of documents related to the Epstein investigation Friday.

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Business

Trump signs order reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III drug

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From The Center Square

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order moving marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, despite many Republican lawmakers urging him not to.

“I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization [of] marijuana in any way, shape, or form – and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” Trump said. “It’s never safe to use powerful controlled substances in recreational manners, especially in this case.”

“Young Americans are especially at risk, so unless a drug is recommended by a doctor for medical reasons, just don’t do it,” he added. “At the same time, the facts compel the federal government to recognize that marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications when carefully administered.”

Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I drugs are defined as having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs – such as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and testosterone – are defined as having a moderate potential for abuse and accepted medical uses.

Although marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, 24 states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized marijuana within their borders, while 13 other states allow for medical marijuana.

Advocates for easing marijuana restrictions argue it will accelerate scientific research on the drug and allow the commercial marijuana industry to boom. Now that marijuana is no longer a Schedule I drug, businesses will claim an estimated $2.3 billion in tax breaks.

Chair of The Marijuana Policy Project Betty Aldworth said the reclassification “marks a symbolic victory and a recalibration of decades of federal misclassification.”

“Cannabis regulation is not a fringe experiment – it is a $38 billion economic engine operating under state-legal frameworks in nearly half of the country that has delivered overall positive social, educational, medical, and economic benefits, including correlation with reductions in youth use in states where it’s legal,” Aldworth said.

Opponents of the reclassification, including 22 Republican senators who sent Trump a warning letter Wednesday, point out the negative health impact of marijuana use and its effects on occupational and road safety.

“The only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be left paying the bill. Marijuana continues to fit the definition of a Schedule I drug due to its high potential for abuse and its lack of an FDA-approved use,” the lawmakers wrote. “We cannot reindustrialize America if we encourage marijuana use.”

Marijuana usage is linked to mental disorders like depression, suicidal ideation, and psychotic episodes; impairs driving and athletic performance; and can cause permanent IQ loss when used at a young age, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

Additionally, research shows that “people who use marijuana are more likely to have relationship problems, worse educational outcomes, lower career achievement, and reduced life satisfaction,” SAMHA says.

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