This is CrossPoliticNews’ Weekly Roundup sponsored by Christian Business Leaders Network. If you want to find out more about this network and its efforts to connect Christian business leaders so that they can more effectively help their businesses and shape culture, visit businessmakers.network. Again, that’s businessmakers.network. (https://businessmakers.network/)  Well, as our journalist Justin Chartrey reported, Washington state is in for some trouble right now because their governor, Bob Ferguson, just allowed more taxes to be passed in the state. And if this wasn’t bad enough already, these look like they will be some of the largest tax increases in the state’s history. According to our reporter, Justin Chartrey, the bills that were passed will increase the state budget. "The budget, expected to increase an additional $12 billion over the budget from two years ago ...Washington’s Congress operates on two-year budget cycles..., also adds more than $9 billion in new/updated taxes." Specifically, there are three big areas that these taxes are hitting: house prices, gas prices, and small business taxes. For houses, these taxes will increase the cap of 1 percent to at least 3 percent on the annual property tax. This might sound familiar because I covered this particular tax a few weeks ago, but basically it will make housing taxes fluctuate worse by taking away specific limitations. For example, these taxes will partly depend on population growth, which as everyone knows, can change. Secondly, the gas price is going to rise six cents. This one might not sound as bad as the others, but since gas prices in Washington state are already more expensive than most other states, this tax doesn’t really help the state move in the right direction. Finally, there are a few new taxes that will make it much harder to maintain a small business. It’s already hard enough to make money in a small business, and the last thing that these small business owners need is to have more taxes breathing down the back of their necks. And did you know that even Tesla owners are impacted by other new taxes? Check out the full article on crosspoliticnews for more information on these new tax laws in Washington state. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/governor-signs-off-on-tax-hikes) Meanwhile, our journalist Justin Chartrey also wrote an article about baseball bans and Pete Rose. Pete Rose, nicknamed Charlie Hustle, had been permanently banned from the game of baseball in 1989. He has the all-time hit record, and he played for 24 years, but since Rose would bet money on baseball games, he was prohibited from playing the sport and banned from any possibility of entering the hall of fame. Mark Dewey, the podcast host of In the Bullpen and a former major league pitcher, said that, “I vaguely remember all of us kind of looking at each other, thinking, this is unbelievable. But I don't think any of us had any concept of, ‘Oh, this doesn't mean he gets in the Hall of Fame’. I think it was simply we knew he could not work in the game of baseball, and especially for a guy like Pete Rose. I mean it truly was sad. It truly was his life.” (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/baseball-permanent-bans-and-integrity) And yet Pete Rose was also banned from the hall of fame. At least, he had been banned until now because, even though he has passed away, his ban was just recently lifted. Now, there is a possibility again that he can re-enter the hall of fame. Of course, this raises many questions. Should we lift the ban only after a player has passed away? Is that just? How should we judge whether someone should make it into the hall of fame? To read more thoughts on this recent repeal, check out the full article at the crosspoliticnews website. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/baseball-permanent-bans-and-integrity) To discover more news, check out some of our other articles, such as, "School Districts Take up Title IX Fight", by our journalist Justin Chartrey, or "Drain The Music City Swamp: The Patriotic Musical Takeover", by our reporter Luke Edison, or even, "Time to "Degrade" Some SCOTUS Justices?" by our journalist David Fowler. Here at CrossPoliticNews, we want to faithfully deliver you unbiased news from a Christian worldview.  For more content, you can find us on YouTube at CrossPolitic News, follow us on X at cpnewsusa or cpnewsaus in Australia, or head to our email list and find us at CrossPoliticNews.com.

This is CrossPoliticNews’ Weekly Roundup sponsored by Christian Business Leaders Network. If you want to find out more about this network and its efforts to connect Christian business leaders so that they can more effectively help their businesses and shape culture, visit businessmakers.network. Again, that’s businessmakers.network. (https://businessmakers.network/)    What if I told you that the Supreme Court is reading the Constitution wrong because they don’t understand basic grammar that a fourth grader could know? Yes, it’s actually true, but before I explain why, we first need to talk about the tug of war going on in Washington State about transgenderism.  As our journalist Justin Chartrey reported, our country was broadly forced to accept the lie that boys could play in women’s sports, and if anyone questioned it, they were called names and canceled. That sounds like a toddler tantrum to me. Well, thankfully, Trump signed an executive order in February to keep boys out of girls’ sports, so this has been a blessing to our nation. However, not everyone on the West Coast has gotten the memo. The government of Washington State does not want to change its liberal policies, and this has frustrated the Central Valley School District by the city of Spokane.  This school district is not only writing a complaint against the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction of Washington State, but it has also appealed to Washington D.C. by asking the department of education and the department of justice to investigate Washington State’s transgender sports policy. The Central Valey School District is not alone in its efforts, though, because the Mead School District in Washington State is also opposing Washington State’s transgender sport wickedness.  However, I mentioned before that this is a tug-of-war, and so this is why. If the state government doesn't comply, then the federal government will hold money from the school districts. But if the school districts comply with the federal government, then the state government will take away funding. And here's the practical side of the problem. The federal government only holds 5% of a school district's budgets with their funding, but Washington State controls 78% of a school district's budgets. So, right now, the state government is the holding the bigger gun, but this hasn’t stopped Central Valley from asking for help from Washington D.C. anyway. We need more school districts like Central Valley and Mead to step out and do the right thing in states that are steeped in a liberal government. Check out the details at crosspoliticnews.com. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/school-districts-take-up-title-ix-fight)  Meanwhile, our reporter David Fowler wrote about the confusion over the first amendment in the Supreme court, and, like I said earlier, the court doesn’t understand the grammar right. We saw this begin to play out again a few weeks ago in a case where a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma wanted tax support from the state, but the state’s government refused. This made its way to the Supreme Court, but it seems like the Court will probably rule against the school because the court tends to rely more on its past precedents and rulings than the Constitution. And even though its previous rulings sometimes contradict each other or don’t seem to fit together, it doesn’t seem like there will be much support for the Catholic school, mostly because people have misunderstood what the Constitution says about religion. People love pointing to the First Amendment as proof for why the U.S. should stay away from religion in politics, but this is where looking at the grammar is helpful. The first amendment specifically says that, quote, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, unquote. As Justice Story wrote back in the 1800s, the first amendment was supposed to specifically prevent Congress from establishing a, as our journalist David Fowler wrote, quote, “national ecclesiastical establishment” unquote. Congress was the subject in the first amendment—not individual states. Again, as our journalist David Fowler wrote, “The First Amendment’s religion clauses do not give this Court jurisdiction to legislate a tax and educational policy for those in Oklahoma.” (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/will-scotus-get-the-religion-clauses-wrong-again)  Find out more of the details at crosspoliticnewscom.  To discover more news, check out some of our other articles, such as "The Thunder Take the Basketball World by Storm" by our journalist B.T. Westen, or "The Sons of Issachar mark the Tenth Anniversary of Evangelicalism’s Death" by our reporter David Fowler, or even "Governor Signs off on Tax Hikes" by our journalist Justin Chartrey.  Here at CrossPoliticNews, we want to faithfully deliver you unbiased news from a Christian worldview.  For more content, you can find us on YouTube at CrossPolitic News, follow us on X at cpnewsusa or cpnewsaus in Australia, or head to our email list and find us at CrossPoliticNews.com.

This is CrossPoliticNews’ Weekly Roundup sponsored by Christian Business Leaders Network. If you want to find out more about this network and its efforts to connect Christian business leaders so that they can more effectively help their businesses and shape culture, visit businessmakers.network. Again, that’s businessmakers.network. (https://businessmakers.network/)  Our journalist Justin Chartrey recently reported that the Governor of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, has signed a racist housing bill into law in Washington State.  This new bill, which is nicknamed the Taylor Bill after Washington State Representative Jamilla Taylor, gives huge initial downpayments and even loan forgiveness to house owners who meet a certain standard of financial instability. However, while this already sounds wonky, it gets even better. Anyone who wants these benefits must also meet the requirements of the Covenant Home Ownership Program. And if you want to be a part of the program, you basically have to be part of a racial minority. Representative Taylor of Washington State explained that this law will help balance the inequal house ownership situation between white and black families as well as continue to atone for the past racial injustice against blacks in America. Under the disguise of fighting racism and injustice, this law only supports them. If a pendulum swings one way, we all know where it will swing next. And even though the Trump administration is trying to root out these types of injustices in the government and nation, it doesn’t seem like it has noticed this new terrible law in Washington State. So, it looks like the citizens in Washington State will have to step up against these liberal policies instead in the next election. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/washingtons-mockery-of-justice)  Meanwhile, on a different subject, China’s laws against religious foreigners are only growing worse. Well, that’s at least what many people think who don’t have actual experience in China. Our journalist B.F. Westen wrote that while Dictator Xi of China doesn’t like religion outside of the Chinese government’s approval and enacts laws to reflect this, he actually hasn’t changed the pre-existing regulations against religious missionaries in China that much. If these religion regulations were a house, then China has just repainted it and added new furniture. It’s not a completely new house just because it’s been refurnished and looks a little different. But even with this said, these laws have been slightly changed because the government has clarified them and added more text. China has spelled out a little more clearly the specific ways a foreigner can and cannot approach religion in China while also keeping some broad regulations that could apply to any situation. For example, regulation number eleven of article 29 simply states that people cannot be a part of "Other illegal activities involving religion." (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/understanding-chinas-new-missionary-ban)  That’s very broad, and as our reporter B. F. Westen notes, this means that it lets China, quote, make something up when the time comes, unquote. China's government wants to cover all of its bases. So, how do these updated regulations affect missionary work in China? Our journalist B.F. Westen understands that while Dictator Xi is hostile toward Christianity and the persecution against Christians has grown, these updated foreign religion policies should not scare Christians away from China. Westen was a missionary in China, so he understands what these regulations actually mean. While there are occasions of fines and other punishments for missionaries, the persecution against Christian missionaries is much lighter than the persecution against Chinese Christians and pastors. Again, Westen actually lived in China before, and he thinks that "it is extremely rare for a foreigner to be prosecuted criminally for missionary work. The police just do not typically treat the “religious crimes” of foreigners that seriously. Instead, warnings are given or immigration rules are enforced by cancelling visas or work permits. The process feels much more like getting a ticket for a misdemeanor. I was detained, interrogated, and deported, but I was never searched or handcuffed. I was never treated like a “real” criminal, unlike faithful pastors such as Wang Yi." (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/understanding-chinas-new-missionary-ban)  Our brothers and sisters living in China are actually being persecuted, so do not fall for China’s weak threats of deportations and canceled visas. China wants missionaries to be afraid of coming, but Christ is King, and we must make disciples of all nations. To discover more news, check out some of our other articles, such as "School Districts Take up Title IX Fight" by our journalist Justin Chartrey, "The Thunder Take the Basketball World By Storm" by our reporter B.F. Westen, or even, "The Sons of Issachar mark the Tenth Anniversary of Evangelicalism’s Death" by our journalist David Fowler. Here at CrossPoliticNews, we want to faithfully deliver you unbiased news from a Christian worldview.  For more content, you can find us on YouTube at CrossPolitic News, follow us on X at cpnewsusa or cpnewsaus in Australia, or head to our email list and find us at CrossPoliticNews.com.

This is CrossPoliticNews’ Weekly Roundup sponsored by "Christian Business Leaders Network." If you want to find out more about this network and its efforts to connect Christian business leaders so that they can more effectively help their businesses and shape culture, visit businessmakers.network. Again, that’s businessmakers.network.  As our journalist Kevin Amundson reported, Pope Francis just died last Monday at age 88 after being Pope for twelve years. During this time, Pope Francis took an unbiblical, unchristian stance on many of the culture of the cultural issues that have gained traction around the world in the past couple decades, such as LGBTQ+ nonsense, speculative climate change, and immigration. It’s bad when a normal Christian takes a liberal view on these problems, but it’s even worse when the Pope does. However, like every ruler and person on earth, the Pope has passed away, and so the College of Cardinals has to select a new candidate. As our reporter Kevin Amundson wrote, these Cardinals and every other Christian must look back to Christ as head and remember he has authority over everything. He rules the nations, he rules the stars, he rules the President, and he rules the Pope. Christ had authority over Pope Francis, and he has authority over the next Pope, who will be the 267th Pope. Let’s pray that this next pope will better honor Christ’s authority and headship by taking a stronger, more biblical stance, against the liberalism rooted in our culture. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/pope-francis-dies-at-88)  On a different note, our reporter Justin Chartrey just wrote about the ongoing tax storm blowing through Washington State. And while already the tax weather is very temperamental, it looks like it could grow even worse with the newest two bills that have been proposed by Washington State’s Senate. These two bills are Senate Bils 5812 and 5786, and they will increase taxes for levies and properties. Also, as a side note, the one involved with property taxes is also connected to providing government funds for education. Yikes. Both of these bills, though, will triple the cap of the taxes from an annual growth of 1% to 3%. Our journalist Justin Chartrey showed the disastrous effects of Senate Bill 5812 by showing how it will increase property taxes: "An 1,800 square-foot home in Spokane Valley, Washington with a property size of roughly one-third of an acre has a valuation of about $350,000. The property taxes on that home in 2024 are just over $2,700. Let that sink in. A state like Tennessee meanwhile has a property tax of about $600 a year. Under the new proposed bill, combined with a 1% population growth for Spokane County; the tax increase for 2025 would push that amount to near, if not more than $3,000 a year."  (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/washington-wages-war-on-its-middle-class)  Meanwhile, the second Senate bill will increase liquor license taxes by 50%, which will really hurt many small businesses. So many taxes. Even Bob Ferguson, the governor of Washington State, isn’t thrilled about these taxes. If you’re living in Washington, now is the time to act against these terrible bills. Time is running out before legislatures make their decisions. Finally, our journalist Bill Peacock wrote an article about the new school choice rulings in Texas. Although the state’s House of Representatives in Texas debated on the issue for 11 hours, those who voted for school choice eventually won, securing a bill that will give money to homeschoolers and private schools in a few years. The democrats and two republicans tried to stop this bill, but it passed 86-61. While it is good that Texas is giving people the choice to pick their school and is backing their education decisions, there’s still something odd here. If we are finally securing a school bill from the state, doesn’t that mean we are still receiving orders about education from the government? It looks like the state still makes the standards when it comes to education, something that we don’t want. Yes, we shall be grateful for any progress, but let’s not stop at these pro-choice laws. The government in Texas isn’t gripping education in Texas anymore, but it also hasn’t completely let go. We must continue to press the advantage while we have it and fight for a government-free education. (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/texas-house-passes-school-choice-bill-after-marathon-partisan-battle)  To discover more news, check out some of our other articles, such as "What Happened to Parental Rights?" by our journalist David Fowler, or "Conservatives Voice Concerns over House Approval of Texas Budget," by our reporter Bill Peacock, or even, “‘Severance’ Season 2 Review” by our journalist Wes Walker. Here at CrossPoliticNews, we want to faithfully deliver you unbiased news from a Christian worldview.  For more content, you can find us on YouTube at CrossPolitic News, follow us on X at cpnewsusa or cpnewsaus in Australia, or head to our email list and find us at CrossPoliticNews.com.

This is CrossPoliticNews’ Weekly Roundup sponsored by Christian Business Leaders Network. If you want to find out more about this network and its efforts to connect Christian business leaders so that they can more effectively help their businesses and shape culture, visit businessmakers.network. Again, that’s businessmakers.network. Why is the soundtrack Epic which is about Homer’s Odyssey, suddenly so popular? Our writer Clarissa Alexandria created an article about this, and we can see that there are a few different reasons that could explain Epic's success, varying from the soundtrack’s content to its audience. For example, the music itself is good and fits the story, but that’s not the only thing. It also seems like the soundtrack has become popular for both what it is saying and to whom it is saying those things to. Epic centers around the story of the Odyssey, which deals with story themes that easily resonate in our world, as our writer Clarissa Alexandria points out: "It follows themes of exile, temptation, descent, and eventual renewal that should feel familiar to anyone who has studied the Scriptures or consumed a good story of any variety in their life." (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/an-epic-alternative-to-woke-hollywood) Our broken culture relates to these themes because they understand the journey of Odysseus. His character lives through their own problems and experience, so people gravitate towards his story. For example, they understand his longing for home, because so many people feel the lack of real, good homes in our world. And yet while this cultural tie is strong, Epic also contains themes that are found in the Bible, which is also why these stories are so effective. After all, they align with how God designed the world.  Meanwhile, on a different note, our reporter Justin Chartray wrote about how the State of Washington is having trouble trying to figure out how to deal with its taxes because while the liberals want to raise taxes, they are meeting opposition from the governor, even though he’s also a liberal. So, what’s going on in Washington State? Well, we can see that it has been very liberal recently in respect to their recent recognition of Muslim holidays, their attack on gun rights, and their unlawful orders against parental rights, but, as I just mentioned, its government can’t decide what to do with taxes yet. One of the reasons this tax issue is important is because Washington State needs a $12-15 billion deficit in order to uphold its current programs and bureaucracy.  In order to pay for all this, Republicans want the state to withdraw from areas that the government should not concern itself with, such as education and immigration. Unsurprisingly, the democrats don’t want to lower the budget this way, though. Instead, they would prefer increasing everyone’s taxes, specifically targeting property taxes and rich people. With these property taxes, Washington State's government would want to keep changing the amount of taxes in order to match the growth of society and other outside conditions. But there’s a problem here. If the amount of taxes changes continually because it is dependent on variables that frequently change, then there is no truly objective wall or limit that could stop its government from demanding very heavy taxes.  Nevertheless, these increased taxes would seem to meet the $15 billion budget deficit, but it would be through taxing people uninvolved with that deficit. However, while most of the liberals in power seem eager to adopt this strategy, the newest governor of Washington, Bob Ferguson, has rejected this plan. It appears that he doesn’t want to raise taxes to make the money they need. Despite his previous liberal actions, such as trying to sue the presidency of Trump almost a hundred times during Trump’s first time in office, Governor Ferguson is actually making a more Republican decision right now by rejecting these increased taxes. Did he change political parties? Our journalist Justin Chartray doesn’t think so: "No, Bob Ferguson has not become a conservative overnight. What he may represent is a rare callback to the previous generation of liberals; socially progressive but fiscally conservative. A dinosaur. A relic. A man woefully out of step with his progressive comrades and now, a fly in the ointment for their unending lust of the rich man’s gold." (https://www.crosspoliticnews.com/news/division-at-the-top) So, even though Ferguson isn’t a Republican or Conservative, he is still making a solid leadership move that serves the citizens of Washington State, who now have the opportunity to fight back against these unjust laws. We should pray that he continues this. To discover more news, check out some of our other articles, such as "Severance Season 2 Review", by our journalist Wes Walker, or "Stopping Universal (Nationwide) Federal Court Injunctions", by our reporter David Fowler, or even "Is Your Pastor a Coward?", by our journalist Luke Edison.  Here at CrossPoliticNews, we want to faithfully deliver you unbiased news from a Christian worldview.  For more content, you can find us on YouTube at CrossPolitic News, follow us on X at cpnewsusa or cpnewsaus in Australia, or head to our email list and find us at CrossPoliticNews.com.