Episode 23: Declassified Covid-19 Docs; Rogue Judges; What Does Empathy Mean?

This week on Not Gullible: Outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard declassifies reports on the origins of Covid-19 and it proves what we thought all along. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocks Trump administration from election integrity. And actor John C. Reilly says people on the right don't have empathy but how would he define that word? All of this and more on today's episode! 

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Transcript

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Welcome to Not Gullible. I'm your host, Vanessa Hunt, and each week we'll be discussing faith, news, and the stories that matter, all from a biblical worldview. I spent most of my life being a rule follower. I never got in trouble at school. I wasn't a rebellious teenager, and I wanted the approval of others, especially those in authority. But there were key moments throughout my childhood which indicated that even the ultimate rule follower has a limit. In my high school biology class, I was instructed to write a paper making the case for the exclusivity of evolution. I was explicitly told that I could not write about creation. And this presented a real dilemma for me. As a hardworking student, I knew that I risked getting a bad grade. And as a Christian, I knew that what I was being taught about evolution didn't match up with the Bible and frankly, reality. Faced with what felt like an impossible choice, I mustered up all the courage I could and wrote a really well-researched paper making the case for creation. And I got an F. It was the only F I had ever or would ever receive. But what I learned in that moment was that there were times when the quote unquote rules didn't make sense. I learned that simply following orders wasn't the right thing to do if it meant violating my faith. I learned that I had courage and that I could survive, not only getting an F, but also facing the disapproval of man, as long as I had the approval of God. Now, I didn't know it at the time, but this was a bellwether moment for me. It indicated that I would have the strength for future moments when there would be much greater challenges than writing a biology paper. And in today's stories, I'll be highlighting why we need to learn lessons from recent history in order to have the courage for what's ahead in our future. Last week, prior to leaving her position to take care of her ailing husband, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified documents on COVID-19 origins. Inside was a lot of information that I already knew, but I found that most people so desperately want to move on from the COVID era that they are disinterested in getting to the bottom of what actually went on. But if we just move on, though, we become susceptible to a repeat of it and we can never ever let anything like that happen again. So here's a quick summary of what was released. An assessment of the lab concluded that all of the necessary conditions were present for there to be an accident, accidental release of lab-modified coronavirus back in 2019. So this means that they already knew that the conditions of the lab were bad enough to make it very likely that there would be a leak. The National Institute of Health, headed up by Dr. Fauci, was funding gain of function research, which is linked to the pandemic origins. Emails and records show that Fauci had more direct engagement with intelligence officials about the origins of the virus than he previously disclosed. In fact, when he was questioned by Congress in 2024, he denied any knowledge of it. But these reports show that he was not honest and that he lied to Congress. The report goes on to say that Fauci led the effort to downplay the lab leak theory and to suppress anyone who was dissenting from his authority. Now, in related news, David Morens was a senior advisor for Dr. Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID. And he was indicted in April on federal charges related to concealing and mishandling emails and records. The charges include conspiracy against the U.S., destruction of federal records, and aiding and abetting. He reportedly deleted or hid records to avoid public disclosure during the pandemic. Now, Dr. Fauci has yet to be indicted for lying to Congress, but the DOJ has indicated that they might be pressing charges. I'm not going to be holding my breath. I honestly don't think anyone will ever be truly held accountable for not only COVID-19 being unleashed on the world, but also for the horrible, violating policies, which themselves had catastrophic and deadly results. Like all other terrible times in history, it seems everyone is anxious to put it behind us and just move forward. But unless we truly reckon with the damage it caused and the fact that our society was forever changed, I don't think we will learn the right lessons. I've had many people privately tell me that they appreciated the courage my husband and I showed during the COVID era, as we were pretty outspoken about the tyrannical leadership here in the state of Oregon. My husband came close to losing his job over his refusal to take an experimental vaccine. But far too many were happy to let us fall on the sword, even as they agreed with us. And far too many have never publicly acknowledged that they got it wrong. None of the supposed protective measure measures were based on anything other than creating a false sense of control. And whether it was Deborah Burke's books or emails uncovered from Dr. Fauci, it's all been revealed to be basically pseudoscience and a way to manipulate the masses. And we know for sure that it was a way to thwart the re-election of President Trump. I think we can all say that we have been forever changed on both personal and societal levels. And what concerns me is that there are many, many challenges still ahead. Challenges that also seek to reshape who we are as communities and as a nation. And I worry that the same people who are happy to let others do the heavy lifting of courage during the COVID years will take the same approach moving forward. And that won't cut it because what's ahead has even more potential to alter our society than a virus. It won't be enough to privately agree that we shouldn't allow illegals to vote in our elections. It won't be enough to privately believe that the Islamic call to prayer shouldn't be broadcast in our cities. It won't be enough to privately think that the solution to the drug, homeless, and crime epidemic is to strictly enforce the laws because it's actually the most compassionate thing you can do for a community. If we want to right the ship and restore our nation, it's going to require us to do things that might make us feel uncomfortable. It's going to require courage and involvement. It's going to require showing up and standing up. It might feel like you are being rebellious at first, but as the famous quote goes, rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God. Since he took office, El Salvador has been transformed from one of the most violent countries in the world to one with some of the lowest rates of violence in the Western hemisphere. There's been an over 96% decline in homicides, and gang-controlled areas have also dropped significantly thanks to aggressive anti-gang policies. It's really hard to even quantify how much this has improved the lives of the citizens of El Salvador. One of the most important things that Bukele noted was that the issue of corruption and compromise among judges in his country had a direct correlation to the rampant crime. He said, quote, if you don't impeach the corrupt judges, you cannot fix the country. They will form a cartel and block all reforms, protecting the systemic corruption that put them in their seats, unquote. So this quote came to mind this week when I read about the recent ruling in the Trump administration's ongoing attempts to shore up our voting systems. On June 22nd, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Suknan, a Biden appointee, issued a 75-page ruling that blocked the Trump administration from using a revamped federal database to help states verify voter citizenship and purge voter rolls. Critics of the ruling, which of course include most Republicans, argue that it actually blocks common sense election security. And you really do have to ask yourself why those on the left are working so hard to keep us from ensuring that only American citizens are voting in our elections, both at the state and federal level. In addition, if you look at the sheer volume of judicial rulings against anything the Trump administration tries to do, you can't help but notice how much harder these judges are working to block him than any previous president. In fact, what it seems like to a lot of us is that there's a there's very little point in having a duly elected president when you can have unelected judges essentially running the country. Now, the DOJ is obviously appealing this ruling, and recent precedent would suggest that the Supreme Court will overturn it since it's very similar to other blocked election measures. SCOTA's already ruled that judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions, but this one did it anyway. But what really stuck out to me about this story has more to do with the judge than anything else. I mean, I'm really troubled by the ruling, but there's some, there's a backstory here that we need to talk about. Because we expect the unelected machine to try to block any effort to protect the citizens of this nation. But what we don't expect is for judges who have dual citizenship to be given this much power. Yes, you heard that correctly. Judge Sparkle Souknan holds dual citizenship with the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago. During her confirmation hearing in 2024, she was asked about this amid very valid concerns about having a United States judge holding citizenship in another country. While she pledged to take the necessary steps to renounce her citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago, she has yet to do so. Now it's important to note that she is also a naturalized citizen, meaning she wasn't born in America. So Judge Sparkle would not actually qualify to be elected president. And someone who holds dual citizenship can't be elected to be president either unless they have been born in the US. It can't be overstated how detrimental it is to have judges who hold citizenship in other countries, making these kinds of rulings here in our country, especially when the rulings have to do with our elections and protecting the sovereignty of our nation. G.K. Chesterton once said, a man's reasons for not wanting his country to be ruled by foreigners are very like his reasons for not wanting his house to be burned down, because he could not enumerate all the things he would miss. It's more critical than ever that we understand that America isn't simply an idea or an opportunity zone. America may be made up of 50 states, with each state having its own unique feel to it. But most importantly, we are a nation that has an identity. And that identity is rooted in shared values, principles, history, and a commitment to self-government. An activist judiciary, especially one with judges who have divided loyalties, threatens to undermine the will of the people and the sovereignty of the nation. Foreign allegiance and ideological resistance will obstruct common sense measures to protect our elections and American citizenship. If our country is going to survive, we must demand that all unelected officials hold the same allegiance to our constitution that we require of our elected officials. That's the only way we can ensure that the voice of legitimate citizens will ultimately be heard. And we cannot be afraid to talk about these things. It's going to take boldness and courage to keep our country from going the way of the globalist agenda. Words can mean one thing to you and something entirely different to someone else. A prime example of this was an interview that the actor John C. Riley gave recently, where he said, quote, why aren't people on the right wing concerned about human rights? They're human too. Elon Musk says, don't be fooled by the empathy trap. Empathy is not a trap. Empathy is a superpower. It's what make makes human beings exceptional, our ability to look outside ourselves. Now, if you've listened to my episode on apologetics, you'll know that if I were having this conversation with John, I would ask him some questions, like, what do you mean by empathy? Define that word for me. What does empathy look like in practice? When you say human rights, does that include all humans, including those in the womb? What if empathy towards one group of people causes massive damage and chaos to another group of people? My guess is that the second you begin to drill down even one layer underneath the platitudes, you realize that his empathy and concern for human rights has limitations. This is why empathy on its own isn't necessarily a positive virtue. Whether it's empathy or morality, when we untether these things from an objective standard, specifically the objective standard found in God and his word, we're susceptible to being swept away by things that may sound good on the surface, but will end up doing immeasurable harm. In his book, The Sin of Empathy, Joe Rigney drove this point home by saying, quote, when empathy is unhitched from the truth, it becomes an idol and a god, and feelings create tyrannical idols and gods. One of the things that makes me hopeful is that it seems like many of us who are in the conservative camp no longer care about being called names or being accused of not being empathetic. It simply doesn't hold any power over us anymore. I have found this to be especially true for me personally since surviving the COVID and BLM era accusations. Being courageous is going to require us to not let the mud slinging affect us. Because as we work to restore order and regain the ground that's been lost, it's only going to get more intense. So here's my challenge to you this week. Find one place where you've been staying silent because it feels safer. Maybe it's a conversation with a friend or a neighbor about the importance of election and integrity. Maybe it's pushing back against the misuse of empathy in your church small group. Maybe it's showing up to a school board meeting and speaking out against the failure of their policies. Maybe it's just simply refusing to pretend that something false is true. Be willing to take the F if you have to. It's past time that we get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because history shows us that if enough people will choose courage over comfort, we can expose the lies and renew our nation. Also, big news not gullible is now on YouTube, so you can watch there as well as listen to the show. So subscribe on YouTube as well. That's it for today. Until next time, remember to stand firm and speak the truth boldly to a world that desperately needs to hear it.