In many ways, Stratfor thinks the world a decade from now will be more dangerous place, with US power waning and other prominent countries experiencing a period of chaos and decline.

Jade Helm 15, the controversial Special Operations exercise that spawned a wave of conspiracy theories about a government takeover, will open next week without any media allowed to observe it, a military spokesman said.

The Lord, in His wisdom, might see fit to smite America from the Earth, like Sodom and Gomorrah. Can’t say I’d blame Him. Or maybe He will lead us through this dark age to true greatness. I don’t know.

Slightly more than half of all Americans (54%) say the US has a special relationship with God, with 35 percent strongly agreeing with this perspective.

"Today, five lawyers have ordered every state to change their definition of marriage," Roberts said. "Just who do we think we are?"

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Transcript of Supreme Court Decision

Justices' pointed dissents to gay marriage ruling show unusual discord - USA Today

Scalia: Supreme Court now a 'threat to American democracy' - "Today's decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court," - Justice Antonin Scalia - Washington Examiner

No Court Can Change What Marriage Is - Jim Daly - Focus on the Family

SCOTUS ruling on marriage a 'spiritual 9/11' - OneNewsNow

Franklin Graham Warns Gay Marriage Ruling Will Lead to Christian Persecution - Fox

Bush, Carson, Walker: Protect Religious Liberty, State's Rights - NewsMax

Several churches in Charleston were full to overflowing on Thursday evening as prayer services were held.

A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston on Wednesday night, killing nine people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime.

Surveillance photos of the suspect and a possible get-away car have been released, but the perpetrator has not yet been apprehended.

"This Memorial day, we decided to take a close look at the number of American servicemembers who lost their lives during wartime in an effort to put their sacrifices into a broader perspective."

It’s a training exercise planned for this summer involving four branches of the military and seven southwest states. According to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the operation is routine (though extensive) and will have little to no impact on civilians.

“Barring a miracle, the family that has existed since antiquity will likely crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself. This is a time for concerted prayer, divine wisdom and greater courage ..."

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Gray's arrest was illegal and unjustified, and that his neck was broken because he was handcuffed, shackled and placed head-first into a police van, where his pleas for medical attention were repeatedly ignored.

The questions posed by the Justices, the arguments given in reply, and the reaction of people everywhere, show how divided the country has become over the issue. Some, like John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, were encouraged by some of the questions asked, especially by Justice Kennedy, because, “It shows that the justices realize that marriage has existed for millennia and they have no constitutional basis to redefine it.”

Those in favor of same-sex marriage found encouragement is some of the other questions and remarks by the justices.

The article reminds readers that,

Of the 37 states where same-sex marriage now is recognized, only three did so through a vote of the people. In most cases, it was imposed by the ruling of a single federal judge.

The justices are meeting Tuesday to offer the first public indication of where they stand in the dispute over whether states can continue defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, or whether the Constitution gives gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.

Observers will be watching Justice Anthony Kennedy to see which way he leans during the proceedings.

As many as 15 police officers injured in rioting that broke out when high school kids used social media to launch a coordinated "Purge." the slang term taken from a movie and meaning a night where laws are not observed.

When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life. - Ezekiel 33:8-9

Rosenberg warns America of three threats to our nation's very existence unless we experience a "Third Great Awakening,"

#1 — America could be heading towards collapse, towards implosion.
#2 — America could face the risk of annihilation by Apocalyptic Islam.
#3 — America could be heading towards total abandonment of the Jewish State.

Secretary of State John Kerry, in an often contentious Senate hearing, told lawmakers Wednesday the U.S. isn't negotiating a “legally binding” agreement with Iran, meaning future presidents could choose not to implement the accord.

Kerry said the agreement with Iran would not be an actual treaty. Treaties legally bind governments to the terms of the agreement, and the Constitution requires them to be approved by the Senate. The Iran deal will not be a treaty, but an executive agreement, and could be changed by a future president.

Mr. Kerry said that the present plan would contain mechanisms to enforce compliance.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (appointed to the court by George Washington) wrote this:

“By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.”