Jonathan Twining

Husband/Dad/YouTube (in that order)

[David French @DavidAFrench]

Many many congratulations to Sarah. So well deserved.

[Sarah Isgur @whignewtons]

Guess what!? Advisory Opinions listeners raised over $12,000 for the Supreme Court Historical Society’s hometown program for high school students to moot a SCOTUS case that happened in their town!!

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

David French: Biden chose pride over American people https://t.co/nUretF7Ocm via @YouTube

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@megbasham Megan, you constantly prove French’s points. Everything you quoted is not an unkind thing to say. We all believe things strongly and both you and French are compelled as communicators to say and argue for what you believe is right. He doesn’t devalue when he critiques. You do.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@darren_depaul @megbasham @DavidAFrench How in the world does saying “voting for Trump doesn’t make you a bad person” mean that you can’t also explain why you think voting for Trump is the wrong thing to do? You and Megan are making no sense.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@mhkinsvoice @philvischer How in the world was @philvischer’s thread insensitive to those women? He was referencing the DNC abortion platform, which is far more radical in allowing elective abortions in many more cases. It has nothing to do with medically necessary abortions.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@freshhel I mean he’s just being a goofball.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@brianprogrammer @mrsdobbins_ @emilykmay She isn’t arguing against feminism specifically (maybe she usually does, I don’t know her content), but she is rebutting the “men have all the fun” rhetoric that some feminists use. Sure there are lazy men, but not all traditional families are like that.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@brianprogrammer @mrsdobbins_ @emilykmay She said “marry a good man” so I think she is being clear that not every wife is privileged.

[Joshua Claybourn @JoshuaClaybourn]

British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher famously once said, “Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.” Nearly all European nations trace their beginning to a common ethnic kinship or a cultural characteristic, but America was created by exiles united in voluntary assent to shared political beliefs. That’s why British writer G. K. Chesterton visited the United States for the first time and remarked that America was “a nation with the soul of a church,” not because of its religiosity, but because of a common creed enshrined in “sacred texts” of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

In 1776, a near-miraculous stew of ideas and leaders came together to form a Declaration of Independence, and 11 years later an equally miraculous gathering formed the Constitution, both centered on a belief in universal human dignity.

Government does not grant you the right to free speech, assembly, religion, press, protest, or redress of grievances. We believe that these rights are inalienable and government’s role is simply to protect those rights and ensure human dignity. Government is just a tool, not a source. That’s really a remarkably profound idea we take for granted and fail to celebrate enough.

Of course, the sad irony is that the very Founders who argued these ideas so frequently fell short of those same principles. Some owned slaves, and nearly all opposed equal rights for women. So it naturally caused upheaval when nineteenth century Americans increasingly adopted a view held that “All men are created equal,” including black Americans, and a few generations later it came to encompass women as well.

Abraham Lincoln believed that the Declaration of Independence did not necessarily proclaim people equal in all respects. Instead, it meant that all people were created with certain equal, inalienable rights—they are ours by right of simply being human—among which are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” A free society should always strive to achieve these equal rights, even if, as in the case of the Founders, it fell short of that goal in the past. The Declaration’s concept of equality is an aspiration, Lincoln said, “constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even, though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people, of all colors, everywhere.”

That is the genius of Lincoln’s argument: that the Constitution is concrete (at least until amended), but the Declaration of Independence is aspirational, and the American project is a move toward the aspiration.

Despite its roots in American independence, the 4th of July is incomplete without understanding and celebrating Lincoln too. His unique view of the Declaration as an aspirational goal helped properly frame American independence for what it was and what it was bound to be.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@ReformedBritt @NancyAFrench @DavidAFrench @ReformedBritt what you’re saying is either (1) you haven’t actually read French, or (2) you have, but are content with lazy mischaracterizations anyway.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@ReformedBritt @NancyAFrench @DavidAFrench “…my view on the religious nature of marriage has not changed. It is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, sealed before God, and breakable only on the limited conditions God has outlined in his Word.” HOW is that = “no issues with?”

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@ReformedBritt @NancyAFrench @DavidAFrench Tell me you haven’t actually read French without telling me you haven’t actually read French. 🙄

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@WombatGrizz @DavidAFrench Well, opposing someone and threatening to kill millions who don’t agree with you is a bit different don’t you think?

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@rajboshmahal @VaughntheLawyer @jigawatt97 @DavidAFrench Patently false. How many times has he called out Hillary Clinton for example? He has a long track record of openly opposing left-wing policy and unethical politicians alike.

[Jay Nordlinger @jaynordlinger]

In his ad for his daughter, Dick Cheney says, "A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters." This question of manhood has been in the air lately. I address it in a post, along with some other pertinent matters. See what you think. https://t.co/ZRD0IhDX1D

[David French @DavidAFrench]

Yes. Unhinged rhetoric causes most people to LARP online. It leads some people to grab rifles or storm the Capitol. And the more widespread the unhinged rhetoric the more likely it is that the real radicals act.

[Jonathan Twining @Jon_Twining]

@NathKovich @HistoryBoomer It’s still assault in some states, just not battery. And definitely illegal.

[Phil Magness @PhilWMagness]

HOW DARE THEY BUILD A GIANT SHIP THAT TRANSPORTS THINGS THAT PEOPLE WANT IN A SAFE AND INEXPENSIVE MANNER!
https://t.co/ZIoQyAHnFE