“In the Name of … Unlimited Immigration?”

U2, the band that rocketed to fame with songs like the Martin Luther King Jr. tribute “Pride (In the Name of Love),” just put out a surprise EP “Days of Ash.” The stealth release includes a tribute to the late anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activist Renee Good. The Irish rockers probably saw Bruce Springsteen getting all that fawning press for his anti-ICE tirades and wanted in on the action.

Goldberg once asked Epstein if she could hitch a ride on his plane. Or she claims someone did so on her behalf.

Still, the legendary band’s choice of martyrs is a mite suspect at this late date. “American Obituary” is the song’s tortured title, and it’s a sad reminder of how the foursome famously toured the U.S. in the Reagan era, a trek captured in the 1988 concert film “U2: Rattle and Hum.”

That documentary and accompanying album saw the Irish rockers luxuriating in American culture. Now, lead singer, Bono, is calling out MAGA and ignoring all the actions that led to Good’s tragic death.

The bright side? The band isn’t force-feeding us their music this time …

Taylor’s version

If you mock the left, they will come.

And by “they,” we mean viewers. Paramount Plus’ “Landman” series, starring the mighty Billy Bob Thornton, wrapped its second season with its highest ratings yet.

The show generated 1.62 billion minutes of viewing time during the week of Jan. 19-25, second only to Netflix’s “Stranger Things” for an original streaming series.

This season of “Landman” featured several swipes at the left, including a conversation mocking ABC’s “The View” and an extended assault on pronouns. The latter featured ditzy Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) sparring with her college’s woke administrator and, later, her nonbinary roommate.

Most shows wouldn’t dare broach these subjects, let alone in a farcical fashion, but showrunner Taylor Sheridan isn’t your average TV scribe. The heartland-friendly creator isn’t afraid to ruffle progressive feathers, and he does so while uncorking some elegantly written stories.

That may explain why the industry doesn’t shower him with Emmys, but he’s too busy juggling a half dozen (or more) shows to care …

RELATED: ‘I wasn’t his girlfriend’: Whoopi Goldberg breaks silence on her presence in the Epstein files

Photo (left): Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival; Photo (right): Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Best Pixel

Imagine there’s no virtue signaling at awards shows. It’s easy if you try.

Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey shared some thoughts on AI during a Variety/CNN town hall interview with fellow star Timothee Chalamet.

McConaughey earned his trophy for 2013’s “Dallas Buyers Club,” and he fears future red carpets may be crowded with computer-generated competition.

“Will we be, in five years, having ‘the best AI film’? ‘The best AI actor?’” he said. “Maybe. I think that might be the thing; it becomes another category. It’s going to be in front of us in ways that we don’t even see. It’s going to get so good we’re not going to know the difference.”

Another plus? AI actors can’t walk down red carpets wearing those insufferable “ICE Out” pins …

Carpet cringe

By George, I think he’s got it.

Comic actor Jamie Kennedy of “Scream” fame added a dollop of common sense to Hollywood’s anti-ICE histrionics. Kennedy shared his views on celebrity activism tied to the illegal immigration enforcers, and he refused to read the preapproved talking points.

Instead, he pointed out the hypocrisy of stars safely sashaying down the red carpet while demonizing law enforcement on the “Trying Not to Die” podcast.

People are protesting ICE, and I understand the situation — but when you have actors from the red carpet of an award show, on there saying all of this stuff about “we’re under a fascist regime, we’re [under] authoritarianism …” bro … you’re literally guarded by the most top [security] — it’s insanity, you can’t say you’re under authoritarian rule when you’re literally being authoritarian.

Somewhere, Ricky Gervais is grinning ear to ear …

Whoopi’s whoopsie

“The View” is getting a crash course in Epstein files nuance.

The extreme-left show has pummeled President Donald Trump for being mentioned in the infamous files. But as everyone knows, a “mention” doesn’t mean much if there’s no “there-there.”

And to date, there isn’t, just a revelation that Trump cheered on police for investigating the ghoulish financier.

That hasn’t stopped the left or “The View” from connecting disparate dots. Until now. Turns out some “View” hosts, including Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, are in those files too.

Goldberg once asked Epstein if she could hitch a ride on his plane. Or she claims someone did so on her behalf.

Awkward!

Now, fellow listee Behar is lecturing viewers that she’s totally innocent, and everyone named in the files isn’t a monster. The other embarrassing part? Behar attended Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples:

“I was at Trump’s wedding to Marla. Maybe Epstein was there too. Who knows? So that means I’m not guilty obviously, but these other ones, how are you going to decide who is really guilty and who is not? It’s very tricky!”

Tricky, you say? We say karma on steroids.

​Entertainment, Hollywood, Ice, Culture, Renee good, Jeffrey epstein, Bono, U2, The view, Joy behar, Whoopi goldberg, Donald trump, Toto recall 

Growing infighting among prominent Democrats signals deeper instability within the party — and BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere has the receipts to back it up.

“It seems like there is a little bit of trouble in paradise these days over on the Democratic side. You’ve seen some of these divides before,” Stu says, reading a Fox News headline: “John Fetterman slams anti-Israel ‘rot’ in Democratic Party, rejects AOC’s claims of Gaza ‘genocide.’”

Another recent headline from The Hill reads, “House Democrat: Mamdani’s proposed wealth taxes ‘not going to work.’”

“That is [Rep. Jared] Moskowitz. He’s fighting with Mamdani because Mamdani wants a wealth tax and Moskowitz says that’s not going to work. By the way, one reason it’s not going to work as a federal situation is because it’s completely unconstitutional,” Stu comments.

“Now, of course, Mamdani does not care whatsoever about those sorts of things,” he adds.

Even Bernie Sanders and Gavin Newsom have now become “adversaries” over the push to tax California billionaires.

“Of course, you know, Bernie Sanders, number one, is a socialist. Number two, doesn’t have to worry about actually funding the state and, you know, building new magical railroads across it. So he doesn’t care about whether all the billionaires leave or not. He’s going to get their money either way, right?” Stu explains.

“There’s a big divide inside that party. Now, that’s not to say, I will point out, that there’s none of this going on on the right. It is existing on the right as well. But on the left it’s really interesting,” he says, pointing out that when one party holds more power, the other party tends to put aside internal differences and unite.

“You saw some of that, I think, during 2024, where people looked at the Biden situation and were like, ‘Gosh, we don’t want any more of this.’ They united around Trump even though there was a lot of people who liked him and a lot of people who didn’t like him on the Republican side,” Stu says.

But the Democrats are not showing the same strength, and a new AP-NORC poll only solidifies Stu’s point.

The poll reflects that “many Democrats are still down on their party after 2024.”

“You see, there was some uniting going on — a little bit, maybe, you could argue — in the early days of the Trump administration, where approval of the Democratic Party among Democrats rose north of 83%. Now it’s dropped to 70%. Interesting. Not a massive drop-off, but significant,” Stu says.

And positive views of the Democratic Party are down among Democrats, from 92% at the turn of the century to 80% today.

“We’ve never seen one as low as it is now, though,” Stu comments.

“That’s not good. That’s bad,” he adds.

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the firing of a trans-identifying “wolf” elementary school teacher who sparked several complaints from Fort Bragg families.

Military families began expressing concern about the trans-identifying wolf teacher, who worked as a substitute teacher and teacher’s aide at the Mildred B. Poole Elementary School, for reportedly using several names like “Roxxanne Wildheart,” “Kiera Blackheart,” “Lilith Deathhowl,” “Captain Roxxie,” “Artemis Deathhowl,” and “savagebeastqueen,” according to CBN News.

‘The “Wolf” was fired.’

The parents also cited the teacher’s troubling interactions with their children, allegedly sharing with them “sexually inappropriate” details about his identity and dating preferences.

Families began speaking out in early 2025, criticizing administrators for not having taken action against the teacher’s “disturbing behavior,” which reportedly included wearing feminine clothing, a dog collar, an animal tail, and fetish tags.

RELATED: ‘No more dudes in dresses’: Hegseth gives multitudes of trans-identifying service members the boot

Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images

He also allegedly divulged his sexual fetishes in front of children by telling his students that he turns into a “wolf” at night, howling like a wolf, and insisting he be addressed by his “wolf character names” and with inaccurate female pronouns.

Parents claimed their children felt “scared and anxious” about the teacher’s behavior, with one child telling her mother, “Mommy, I’m scared he’s going to come eat me.”

Another child reportedly told her mother, “Mommy, Ms. Roxxie says he was born in a male’s body, but he’s actually a woman, but he likes boys!”

RELATED: Activist judges overruled: Trump judges greenlight Hegseth’s ban on military ‘dudes in dresses’

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Hegseth took matters into his own hands, protecting the students from further perverted behavior.

“The ‘Wolf’ was fired 2 weeks ago,” Hegseth posted to X Thursday in response to CBN.

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In a world where millions claim to be Christians while living lives indistinguishable from anyone else, it’s critical to understand the importance of authentic faith. It’s a bit more than “all you have to do is believe” (explained here), which is an unsupportable position according to scripture and Jesus’ own words.

But a companion misunderstanding is that you should never question your own faith. Some even say it’s a sin to do so.

As you examine your thoughts and attitudes and actions in the clear light of scriptural teaching, the Spirit will show you things to work on — guaranteed.

But again — that’s not what the Bible says.

The apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, told them to test themselves to see if they were in the faith — “examine yourselves!” he exclaimed (2 Corinthians 13:5). It’s never wrong to thoughtfully examine our own hearts to ensure we’re on the right track.

So having established that it’s not wrong — and in fact, it’s desirable to examine ourselves — let’s answer the million-dollar question: How do we know we are saved?

1. Understand what happens at salvation

Obviously, you won’t know if you’re saved if you don’t know what being saved means. It means that God has freely given you:

Eyes to see the truth of the gospel. You sincerely believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to pay for your sins.A heart to repent. You recognize your sin separates you from a holy God, and you want to pivot to a life in relationship with your creator. You want to align with His plans for your life, not your own.

In that moment when those things happen, God does a miracle:

He brings a dead person to life.He wipes your slate clean (even the sins you’ll still commit) because they were all nailed to the cross, so you are now justified — you are officially “righteous” because you are cleansed.You are saved from eternal separation from God (hell).God Himself, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in you, and the process of your sanctification (becoming more like Christ) begins. (It will take your whole life!) The Holy Spirit also seals you in Him, which means you will never lose this salvation.You are promised that one day you will be glorified, which means when you die, you will be free of all worldly cares and sins and will be in the very presence of Jesus.

So in light of the mind-boggling gifts you, the new believer, have just been granted — how else do you know you’re saved?

2. Learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says:

In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit indwells us at the moment of salvation. It is not something that comes later, as some mistakenly teach. His presence in us is indeed proof of our salvation:

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Romans 8:9)

And later in that same chapter:

For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. … The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:14, 16)

So — the Holy Spirit in us helps us know that we belong to God. How, exactly?

Well, are you different than you were before you believed? Or more accurately, do you desire to be different, to love and serve the God who saved you? (Because it’s always about the heart’s desire, not some perfect behavior.)

If you want to change your life to align with God, that prompting is coming from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s assurance works in tandem with something else though.

3. Use scripture as a mirror

Are you reading and studying the Bible? Again — more precisely — do you have the desire to do so, even if you struggle to find a place for that in your busy schedule? Because the Holy Spirit will convict you of your need to be in the Word. If you’re feeling that prodding, that is itself an assurance of salvation. The Holy Spirit is in you, working.

And when you obey that prompting, He will illuminate the Bible for you to help you begin to become more like Jesus. As you examine your thoughts and attitudes and actions in the clear light of scriptural teaching, the Spirit will show you things to work on — guaranteed.

If you are wanting to be in the Word and wanting to obey the Spirit’s leading to change as you learn — that is a powerful assurance of your salvation.

RELATED: The laws freaked-out AI founders want won’t save us from tech slavery if we reject Christ’s message

Photo by Bloomberg/Getty Images

4. Seek out other believers

Are you in relationships with other believers? Are you going to or at least looking for a church? This life can’t be lived sitting on the sofa watching screen church — it requires real human interaction due to (among other things) the commandment Jesus gave us to love one another, which is impossible from your comfy couch.

Again, it comes down to obedience. The Spirit will prompt you to seek out other believers, because God designed us to be in those relationships, serving and loving each other, and being served and loved.

If you’re obeying Him in this, that is also a powerful assurance that you are saved, because stepping into an entirely new group of people we’ve never met before —which is how most of us start finding a church — does not come particularly easy to anyone.

5. Check your life for ‘fruit of the Spirit’

The Bible brims with teaching about fruit — we’re supposed to produce good fruit as followers of Jesus. More on this here, but for now, let’s look at what the Bible explicitly calls out as the “fruit of the Spirit” living in us (Galatians 5:22-23):

LoveJoyPeacePatienceKindnessGoodnessFaithfulnessGentlenessSelf-control

John MacArthur calls this “attitude fruit” — the attitudes we should begin to exhibit once we are saved. So that’s the fruit of the Spirit — attitudes the Spirit helps us develop.

But in that same chapter of Galatians, Paul also lists some opposites. “Deeds of the flesh” he calls them, which include:

Sexual immoralityImpuritySensualityIdolatrySorceryEnmitiesStrifeJealousyOutbursts of angerSelfish ambitionFactionsEnvying dissensionsDrunkennessCarousing“and things like these”

So are you more characterized by deeds of the flesh or the Spirit?

Or again let’s ask the right question — which do you desire to be more characteristic in your life? If it’s the good stuff, that is a desire implanted by the Holy Spirit within you — again, an assurance of salvation. And He will help you transform that desire more and more into reality, which will strengthen your assurance as well.

6. See how others have tackled this question

Q: What are some of the signs of genuine saving faith?
A: From the excellent website gotquestions.org

Q: What kind of things do and do not prove the genuineness of saving faith?
A: From Grace to You, John MacArthur’s website

7. Take heart from the words of Jesus

As I’ve written before, the question isn’t “will you believe in Jesus?” The question is “will you follow Jesus?”

If you repented and believed (described above), and now your desire is to follow Him and become more like Him — that desire is from the Holy Spirit within you, and you are assuredly saved. As Jesus said:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish — ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. (John 10:27-30)

A version of this essay previously appeared on She Speaks Truth.

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