AMERICA IN CRISIS: 9.26.20 - 2020 Has Been A "Nightmare Year" For America, And The Economic Fallout Is Just Getting Started

2020 Has Been A "Nightmare Year" For America, And The Economic Fallout Is Just Getting Started - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/2020-has-been-a-nightmare-year-for-america-and-the-economic-fallout-is-just-getting-started Most of us have never experienced a year that has been as tough as 2020 has been for our nation. It has just been one major crisis after another, and the month of Septemberhas brought us even more trouble. The worst wildfire season in the history of the state of California has been making headlines day after day, and now the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg threatens to escalate the political turmoil in this nation to an entirelynew level. Many had such high hopes for 2020, but at this point this year has been such a disaster that USA Today is calling it "an American nightmare", and it is difficult to argue with their reasoning... First the pandemic, which divided us, economically devastated us, and has killed nearly 200,000 of us. Then the racial unrest, erupting at the deaths of more Black Americansat the hands of police: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude. Now the extreme weather. For only the second time in history, the National Hurricane Center has moved into the Greek alphabet for storm names. This season's wildfires arebigger, deadlier and more frequent than in years past. In the West, people can't breathe. And now a member of the U.S. Supreme Court has died with about a month and a half to go until we get to election day. The shocking death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has stunned the entire country, and I will share my analysis on where things could go from here on The Most Important News latertonight. In this article, I want to focus on the economic impact that all of this chaos is having. Since the pandemic first started, more than 60 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits, and that is a threshold that has never been crossed beforein all of our history. And we have also seen businesses shut down at a pace that is hard to fully grasp. If you can believe it, more than 160,000 businesses listed on Yelp say "that they haveclosed"... Yelp on Wednesday released its latest Economic Impact Report, revealing business closures across the U.S. are increasing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic's economictoll. As of Aug, 31, 163,735 businesses have indicated on Yelp that they have closed. That's down from the 180,000 that closed at the very beginning of the pandemic. However,it actually shows a 23% increase in the number of closures since mid-July. I was most alarmed by that last sentence. Things were supposed to be getting a lot better by now, but instead we have seen "a 23% increase in the number of closures since mid-July". That is not good. And the percentage of businesses on Yelp that are indicating that their closures are "permanent" just keeps rising... In addition to monitoring closed businesses, Yelp also takes into account the businesses whose closures have become permanent. That number has steadily increased throughoutthe past six months, now reaching 97,966, representing 60% of closed businesses that won't be reopening. So what this means is that none of us should be expecting a return to what we considered to be "normal" prior to 2020. In fact, it is likely that we will see large numbers of businesses continue to fail in the months ahead. According to Fox Business, a whopping 40 percent of all U.S. restaurants"could go under within the next six months"... At least 40% of restaurant operators struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic believe their businesses could go under within the next six months if thereis no additional stimulus package from the federal government, according to a new survey by the National Restaurant Association. With one in every six restaurants closed permanently or for the "long term," the industry is on track to lose $240 billion in sales by the end of the year, according tothe National Restaurant Association's findings on the impact COVID-19 has on the restaurant business. So what do you think? Should we bail out the restaurant industry? By the way, the airline industry really wants a bailout too. And just about every other industry is looking for government help as well. The reason why almost everyone has their hands out is because we have plunged into a crippling economic depression, and everyone is starting to realize that there is noend in sight to this downturn. Of course most average citizens also want another round of "stimulus checks" from the federal government, and we are being told that there is a really good chance that "theeconomy backslides" if that does not happen... Lawmakers remain deadlocked over a measure to provide another round of $1,200 checks to most households and more aid to struggling small businesses and unemployed Americans.Most saw the money they received from Congress's $2.2 trillion CARES Act run dry over the summer. "If they don't" approve another stimulus, "they're taking a huge risk, says Mark Zandi chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "The odds are better than even the economy backslides." We have already stolen several trillion dollars from future generations of Americans so far this year to fund "stimulus packages", and so a lot of people figure that itprobably wouldn't make that much of a difference if we stole several trillion more to fund another one. And the Federal Reserve has been flooding the financial system with so much new money that it makes everything that they have ever done in the past look completely insignificant. In the process, our authorities are systematically destroying the reserve currency that the entire globe depends upon, but at this point very few people seem to care. So we continue to steamroll toward economic oblivion, and nobody is even thinking about hitting the brakes. In the USA Today article that I quoted at the start of this piece, the author stated that it is "impossible to know if the worst is behind us or still lies ahead"... Many of us are vacillating between horror and disbelief at what can only be described as an American nightmare. Devastation doesn't cover it. It's impossible to know ifthe worst is behind us or still lies ahead. Of course that is not true at all. In fact, it is exceeding clear that what is ahead of us is going to be much, much worse than what we have already experienced. But most Americans don't want to hear that. Most of us just want to cling to the belief that someday we will wake up and everything will have returned to normal. That may happen in fairy tales, but this is real life, and real life simply does not work that way. America's Diminishing Role - By Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/09/23/americas-diminishing-role-by-terry-james/ One of the prime points of Bible prophecy, at least from the pre-Trib view, is that America isn't mentioned in it by name or even in cursory reference. (That's unless, ofcourse, one sees the reference to the "young lions" in Ezekiel 38:13 as meaning the United States as offspring of "the Merchants of Tarshish," referring to England.) This is made even more intriguing when we consider all that we believe is going on in setting the stage for the soon fulfillment of prophecy. We believe most, if not all, of Paul's "perilous times" (2 Timothy 3) forewarning is now taking place everywhere we look in our nation-i.e., people are "lovers of themselves,""without natural affection (abortion and homosexuality)"; they are "fierce" (think "BLM" and "Antifa"), and they're "traitors" (in reference to the Deep State and others subverting the Constitution), etc. All these things are, as I like to term them, "America-centric," in their composition. America seems to be at the center of all the earlier-mentioned stage-setting. Then we have this president stunning the world, really, with a peace arrangement that no one but perhaps he and a few others saw coming. It's a stage-setting reality thatis indeed profound. To convince so many within the Arab world to come along with the plan Mr. Trump, Kushner, and the others of the administration have put together is just nothing short ofphenomenal. It's phenomenal when we think about the absolute volatility of the Israel haters within the Arab world, which is so heavily influenced by the chief terrorist regime, Iran (ancient Persia). So America is at the center of most all primary activity as far as the current ebb and flow of issues and events. That makes it more than a curiosity, really, why God chosenot to make this apex nation of history (so far as worldly achievement is concerned) the main focus of prophetic national disposition. Yet America is overtly omitted by name in biblical prophecy. Why did I title this commentary: "America's Diminishing Role"? Again we come to what I see as the strangest presidency in our history. Certainly this is true, it's reasonable to conclude, because we're so near the end of this age (Ageof Grace/Church Age). The prophetic Word tells us it will be so as the time of Christ's return nears. Looking around, we're not disappointed. Things are getting stranger and stranger. One of the ironies, if that's what we may call the strangeness, is that this president exerts the most powerful influence on the issue of Middle East peace as any leaderever. At the same time, he's determined to pull out of that region to an extent that no other leader has attempted since much earlier days when isolationism ruled within American diplomatic spheres of influence. For example, he has announced troop withdrawalsfrom Afghanistan and other areas, much to the chagrin of those in the defense department who are supposed to serve at his pleasure. Trump doing so, as a matter of fact, constitutes one of the reasons the so-called Deep State opposes his every move. They like to determine such things and have always beenable to do so with the cooperation or the acquiescence of those occupying the White House. It's all part of the power wielded by the military-industrial complex President Dwight Eisenhower forewarned about. America's influence in the world, then, despite it being front and center in most every prophetic signal of the approaching Tribulation, is diminishing. The very presidentput in place by God to serve at this crucial time is an "America-First" chief executive, yet he also is withdrawing the nation from the most focal area of Bible prophecy-even while formulating a peace initiative that might lead to the very covenant Danielprophesied. The following news excerpt highlights this dichotomy within Mr. Trump's presidential action. Turkey and Iran are engaging in new operations in Africa... It is important to understand that this is in the context of the US generally reducing its global role and comesaround 60 years after European colonialism was rolled back... An article at The National in the UAE in May revealed that Iran has begun to play a role with military proxy groups in the Central African Republic (CAR). The article revealedthat Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force has played a role in cultivating "terrorist cells." It has operated, funded, trained and directed proxy groups. Its role and influence in Africa is still far from mapped and known but the article impliesit has recruited figures in the CAR and elsewhere. Iran has also been active in Nigeria and also in South Africa and Hezbollah has been active in West Africa... An article at Al-Ain also asserts that Turkey and Qatar are now working to exert influence in Africa. The article asserts that Qatar has been trying to do influence peddlingin Tunisia and that Qatar's Defense Minister Khalid al-Attiyah has been coordinating with Turkey's defense minister in discussions about Libya and Tunisia. They want to establish a "joint military training center" in Libya. (Seth J. Frantzman, "Turkey andIran Are Engaging in New Operations in Africa," Rapture Ready News, September 18, 2020) With the key Ezekiel 38-39 players blatantly moving to fill the vacuum developing in the region because of America's withdrawal-Iran (ancient Persia) and Turkey (much ofwhat comprised ancient Togarmah)-it becomes quite clear that America, although prophetically scheduled to diminish, is nonetheless most prominent in this pre-Rapture era. It will, it's therefore logical to conclude, take a dramatic set of circumstances toremove the nation so influential in the world power arrangement. Unpacking the Breonna Taylor decision - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Riots have broken out across the country over the decision by a grand jury to not indict the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor, an unarmed black woman, in her Louisville,KY apartment. The Black community is angry that justice wasn't done. The Black Lives Matter organization and Antifa protestors are using the occasion to create violence. Two Louisville police officers were shot. Fires have been started. Rioters have attackedpolice who were trying to put out the fires. In Brooklyn Center, MN, rioters set ablaze a home that had a Trump sign in the yard, spray painting "BLM", "Biden 2020" and the Antifa "A" with a circle around it. Democrats have become the face of violence andrevolt in America. The slogan, "Say Her Name" is regularly used to signal to and rally protesters against police. Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, instead of condemning the violence,spurred it on with a tweet: "We must continue to speak Breonna Taylor's name, support her family still in grieving, and never give up on ensuring the full promise of America for every American." Biden's running mate Kamala Harris tweeted: "We must never stopspeaking Breonna's name as we work to reform our justice system, including overhauling no-knock warrants." President Trump expressed prayers and concern for the two officers that were shot and responded, "My message is I love the black community." It appears to me that we have Marxists wanting rebellion and violence. Democrats wanting to get Trump out of office any way they can. The news media wanting a good fight.And all of them are blaming Trump for the lack of justice for Breonna Taylor. This is about the law, not the presidency. President Trump already has issued a very strong Executive Order on police reform; signed the First Step Act on criminal justice reform;and he has reversed many of the minimum sentence, bail policies and illegal evidence usage that Biden ardently supported when President Bill Clinton signed his infamous crime bill into law. The result of that bill has disproportionately and unfairly impactedthe black community. The narrative on Breonna Taylor appears to be far from the facts that the grand jury used in its decision. Police had been granted a "No Knock" warrant prior to the raidon Taylor's apartment. No such warrant, however, was used the day Taylor died. Instead, the ballistics report indicated, and an independent eyewitness, and Taylor's boyfriend (who opened fire on the police, causing them to defend themselves and resulting inTaylor's death) testified that both officers knocked and announced their presence at the apartment. This is hugely different than police officers barging into an apartment in the middle of the night and opening fire. According to court documents, that narrativeis false. Martin Luther King, Jr. said there were four steps to addressing racial problems of injustice: 1) Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; 2) Negotiation;3) Self-purification; and 4) Direct action. Basing a discussion on a perceived event, or an emotionally driven viewpoint rather than respectfully discussing the facts gets in the way of determining whether an injustice exists. Integrity and respect for oneanother is the foundation for achieving lasting results. Our leaders should act to calm the emotions, get the facts, repent of any ungodly motives, and then take action to correct injustices. OR we will continuously have an Isaiah 59:14 moment: "And judgmentis turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter." VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM