Top defense and military officials have been testifying on Capitol Hill this week. Their comments were far from reassuring.

As we noted, an Iranian drone attack killed an American contractor and wounded several others last week. In response, the U.S. struck multiple enemy targets in Syria. While that exchange made news, what isn’t being reported is the frequency of such Iranian attacks.

Under questioning from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted that the U.S. has only launched “four major responses” to 83 attacks by Iranian-backed proxies over the past two years.

As Sen. Cotton noted, “So, 79 and 4 is Iran’s record right now… What kind of signal do we think this sends to Iran when they can attack us 83 times since Joe Biden has become president and we only respond four [times]?”

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told members of Congress that the most “disturbing” thing he has seen in his entire career is the “ongoing expansion” of communist China’s nuclear arsenal.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley echoed Kendall’s concerns, warning that communist China was on a “really disturbing” path to be militarily superior over the United States.

Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief Biden is busy draining our military of vital weapons, pushing abortion in the military (see next item), and fighting pronouns and climate change.

Tuberville Stands For Life

When the Supreme Court correctly ruled that there is no right to destroy an innocent preborn baby in the Constitution, the radically pro-abortion Biden/Harris Administration ordered all departments and agencies of the federal government to do whatever they could to promote abortion.

But there’s a big problem: It’s generally illegal for the federal government to pay for abortions. Well, the Pentagon got creative with Biden’s demand.

It announced new extended leave policies and agreed to pay travel expenses for military personnel in pro-life states like Alabama to get elective abortions in pro-abortion states like California. Biden’s Pentagon has essentially become a pro-abortion travel agency.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has introduced legislation to close this “loophole.” But Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is taking another approach.

He’s holding up routine military promotions, which are usually rushed through the Senate under expedited procedures. Tuberville has brought that process to a screeching halt.

Needless to say, the left is howling. Even some Republicans are reportedly upset. But Tuberville is standing firm. In response to the criticism, Tuberville ripped the left’s hypocrisy, saying:

“Every single one of these nominees can receive a vote if Sen. Schumer wants it. In fact, one of the civilian nominees is getting a vote this week. If Democrats are so worried about these nominations, let’s vote… It’s not too much to ask of the United States Senate to do its job — to vote…”

“Democrats are in a panic about 184 promotions for generals and officers. Yet, I have not heard a word from them about the 15,000 enlisted soldiers we’re missing right now from last year’s recruiting [failure]. That’s an entire division.

"There’s another 8,600 who were discharged over the president’s vaccine mandate. Kicked out. I don’t hear a word about them from the Democrats.

"So, the military is down 23,000 enlisted soldiers due to the actions of the Biden Administration… Yet Democrats are worried about 184 generals getting their promotions? Only one of those things threatens our security. It is not the officer promotions…”

“I will stay here until hell freezes over. I am not going to be intimidated by a campaign of selective outrage. I gave the Pentagon fair warning. They chose to go forward with this policy… I’m keeping my word.”

Kudos to Sen. Tommy Tuberville! It’s refreshing to see some fight in the GOP!

Ending The COVID Emergency

Lost in the recent headlines were two important votes in Congress on legislation ending the COVID-19 national state of emergency. First declared in March 2020, the state of emergency has been repeatedly extended throughout the entire Biden Administration, in spite of the president’s declaration six months ago that “the pandemic is over.”

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to terminate the COVID state of emergency, and the new GOP majority quickly approved the bill on February 1st.

The vote was very revealing. Every Republican voted to end the state of emergency. But only 11 House Democrats voted to give up the government’s extra powers.

Wednesday night, the Senate took up Rep. Gosar’s legislation. While it easily passed the upper chamber, the issue once again revealed that many Democrats are having a hard time letting go of COVID-19. Every Senate Republican supported the bill. But Senate Democrats were split 23 to 23.

It’s not that the left especially loves COVID. The issue is that the left loves any emergency that allows it to take away rights. And if we easily give up our rights, then Big Government authoritarians will always find another emergency, like climate change.

Lessons From Nashville

While the left is predictably attempting to exploit the brutal murder of innocent Christians in Nashville to restrict Second Amendment rights, there are important lessons for the rest of us to learn from this horrific incident.

Number One: Security matters. Gun free zones protect no one.

Number Two: The left is totally unhinged.

In response to Christians being gunned down, NBC News seemingly tried to turn the shooter into a martyr.

Josselyn Berry, the press secretary for Arizona’s Democrat governor, posted a disgusting meme promoting violence against “transphobes.” Thankfully, she was forced to resign.

But Berry is far from alone in her hate. Well before the Nashville shooting, trans activists have promoted violent imagery and threats of violence to advance their agenda.

One theme is the slogan “Trans Rights Or Else” featuring pictures of guns. One trans activist posted a call for violence against Christians using words like “kill,” “behead,” and “crucify.”

And it may not be just a few individuals. A Canadian study last year found that “Transgender and gender-diverse youth emerge as the group at the highest risk of support for [violent radicalization].”

That’s not terribly surprising if they’re already struggling with mental health issues and being pumped full of powerful drugs and hormones.

Sadly, Tucker Carlson almost predicted this. On his show last week, he discussed how some leftists are hyperventilating about “Christian nationalists” and a so-called “genocide” against trans people.

My friends, these are not normal times. Once again, I urge every church and Christian school to take precautions to ensure the safety of its congregations and students.