The Pour Over Today - Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Episode Date: September 29, 2021

R. Kelly's conviction, General Milley's testimony on Afghanistan withdrawal, the rising murder rate, and other top news for Wednesday, September 29. Stay informed, while remaining focused on Christ, with The Pour Over.

Happy Wednesday. It's September 29th and you're listening to The Pour Over. Thanks for joining us. Here's the quote of the day. The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not. C.S. Lewis Back in 2008, R&B singer R. Kelly was acquitted of all charges in a child pornography trial. This week's remix sounded different. Starting last month, a jury heard from 45 witnesses, including 11 of Kelly's accusers. Prosecutors made the case that Kelly's entourage, who helped the singer meet and ferry

girls around the country, amounted to a criminal enterprise, and the jury agreed. The three-time Grammy winner was found guilty of all nine charges brought against him, running a criminal organization, racketeering, and eight counts of sex trafficking, including a minor. Kelly, who still boasts 4.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, faces between 10 years and life in prison. He'll be sentenced on May 4th. Christians have a hard job. While we should celebrate justice and come alongside victims, we do not have the privilege of letting guilty verdicts lessen our love for those convicted.

As their equal apart from Christ, we are called to love everyone always. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3.23-24. Top military officials were grilled by the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. The main topic of discussion was the United States' bumpy withdrawal from Afghanistan. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the exit a, quote, logistical success but strategic failure, and said that he favored keeping 2,500 troops in the country to prevent the government from collapsing,

contradicting President Biden, who said the military had not recommended keeping troops in Afghanistan. General Milley was also questioned over his two phone calls to China late in the Trump presidency, where he promised the U.S. would not attack. Republicans have suggested the call may amount to treason, but Milley said both calls were fully coordinated with the defense secretaries of the time. Love was not in the air last year. The FBI reported 2020's crime statistics on Monday, and they showed a 29.4% rise in the murder rate between 2019 and 2020, the largest increase on record. Criminologists think the spike was likely due to a healthy mix, or unhealthy depending on your perspective, of the pandemic, conflicts over race and politics, and economic hardship. Conservatives have also blamed efforts to defund the police, while liberals have pointed to guns,

which were involved in 77% of the murders as the main issue. It's not all bad news, though. While murders were skyrocketing, the murder rate overall remains considerably lower than its all-time high in 1991, and overall crime was down 6%, thanks to steep declines in property crimes, like burglary. There may be good reasons to be worried or scared about this day, month, or year. God does not promise good days. He promises a great eternity. Stay focused on eternity.

It changes everything. I lift my eyes towards the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121 verses 1 and 2. In other brews, we've got a quick round of updates. The EU is cracking down on one of life's greatest annoyances, charger incompatibility. Under the proposal, USB-C would be the required charging port for all electronic handheld devices,

from cell phones to e-readers. Unsurprisingly, Apple, the we-have-a-dongle-for-that company, has spoken out against the proposal. Facebook has pressed pause on their development of Instagram for children under 13. Chief Insta officer Adam Mosseri said he still firmly believes

a tween Instagram is a good thing, but that the company will take more time to talk with parents, researchers, and safety experts. We'll double-tap that idea. The GOP isn't blinking. As promised, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have prevented a government shutdown because it also raised the debt ceiling. They've demanded Democrats agree to rein in spending or raise the ceiling on their own.

Uncle Sam needs the ceiling raised before October 18th, or he'll default. on their own. Uncle Sam needs the ceiling raised before October 18th, or he'll default. The stock market fell 2% yesterday, with Facebook, Alphabet, which is Google's parent company, and Amazon dragging down markets. The drop was largely due to a climb in the 10-year Treasury yield, an indication investors believe that the Fed will soon carry through on last week's promise to begin tapering COVID-era stimulus policies. carry through on last week's promise to begin tapering COVID-era stimulus policies. Vaccine mandates versus staffing shortages. Hospitals and police stations are beginning to fire or suspend employees who are defying vaccine mandates, furthering their staffing issues. 11.6% of New York public hospital staff and up to 20% of Massachusetts state police are

unvaccinated, making this no small standoff. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. If you found this podcast helpful or informative, we would really appreciate it if you would consider sharing it with someone you know. But if you're more of an introvert and you don't like talking to people, we understand, but we'd appreciate if you could just leave us a five-star review. Otherwise, we hope you have a great day, and we'll see you back here on Friday.