Charlie Kirk Wasn’t Just Assassinated, He Was Martyred
Charlie Kirk wasn't ultimately killed for his second-order political beliefs but for his first-order belief in Jesus, out of which his other beliefs flowed.Charlie Kirk wasn't ultimately killed for his second-order political beliefs but for his first-order belief in Jesus, out of which his other beliefs flowed.Charlie Kirk: Loving father, fearless communicator, happy warrior — 1993-2025
Charlie James Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and husband to Erika Kirk, was fatally shot and killed by an assassin at a Utah Valley University event in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday afternoon.
"Charlie Kirk was one of one. He was a gifted communicator, loving husband and father, visionary builder, and a faithful Christian. He was also my friend," said Blaze Media CEO Tyler Cardon. "He was the most effective representative of conservative Christian values of his generation. A force of nature. I will miss him dearly."
Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson said, "This is a terrible day for America, and we must all pray for the repose of Charlie’s soul, for his family, and for our divided nation.”
Peterson continued, “His voice mattered for a reason. He was constantly and fearlessly working harder to make America great again and solve the looming problems of our age. He built an organization and reputation that ultimately helped staff and guide the current Trump administration.”
Kirk noted in his book "Time for a Turning Point" that he had committed his life "to fighting to restore, perhaps finish building, an America that was envisioned by our Founding Fathers."
At the age of 18, the native of Prospect Heights, Illinois, founded his vehicle for this restoration: Turning Point USA, a non-profit organization committed to empowering students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and a limited government.
'He never stopped building, he never stopped learning, and he never stopped doing.'
TPUSA, whose revenue exceeded $81 million in 2022, has not only influenced multiple American elections but has also sparked difficult conversations, changed perspectives, and helped build new connections on campus.
Critics have made sure to mention over the years that Kirk did not personally complete college. This persistent reminder made it all the more impressive when the young man would cut through academic theses like a knife through hot butter; when he coolly dismantled the best arguments that Oxford Union speakers could muster; and when he befriended the leader of the free world.
Peterson, who first met Kirk in class sessions he was teaching while heading up the Claremont Institute’s Lincoln Fellowship program, noted, "As a 2021 Lincoln Fellow, Charlie was a revelation: He was a bright light, a sharp student, and one of the best of the Fellows. He sought us out and wanted to be there in order to learn. Charlie then rose to his current position as a leader of this movement in the last few years because he never stopped building, he never stopped learning, and he never stopped doing.”
While Kirk would on occasion volunteer some criticism, he was to the end a resolute defender and friend of President Donald Trump, who on two occasions was himself nearly assassinated.
Trump noted in a statement, "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"
"The President has confirmed what I can scarcely bring myself to say: my dear friend, Charlie Kirk, is gone," wrote Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck. "In all my years, I have spoken tens of millions of words—but tonight, I have none.
"Tomorrow, many of his friends and his Blaze family will join me on national radio and podcast as we try to honor him. I pray that God grants me the words worthy of such a man, though I know none of us could ever truly capture the depth of his faith, his courage, and his love for this country."
"Pray, please, for his family. And pray for our republic, which has lost one of its most faithful defenders. I can only imagine the joy that must now fill his heart as he hears those words we all long to hear: 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.' Rest well, Charlie. Until we meet again."
Peterson recalled, "I interviewed him about statesmanship not long ago, and it occurred to me that above all, what Charlie was truly about was just that: statesmanship. Charlie Kirk was a leading statesman of his generation. And that is why what happened today was political assassination."
Liberals at the Southern Poverty Law Center, CNN, and other outfits had long painted a target on Charlie Kirk's back as they had Trump, smearing him as an extremist or worse — a dangerous game in light of polling data that indicate a great many on the American left are bloodthirsty and keen to advance their agenda by any means necessary.
'I worship a God that defeats evil.'
Charlie Kirk is among those who stood up to radicals when it mattered most; spoke out against the left's extreme agenda when it was at its strongest; and changed minds through spirited debate despite an unrelenting onslaught of vicious attacks by political and cultural elites.
A gunman evidently chose to silence a great man on Wednesday because his words and ideas were too powerful to rebut. Kirk is, however, not only survived by his loving wife, Erika Kirk, and two young children but by a movement that he has left permanently energized.
Kirk knew full well that some victories take time, but most importantly, that the ultimate victory belongs to God.
"I worship a God that defeats evil," Kirk said at a TPUSA rally for Trump last year. "And we worship a God that wins in the end."
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Bodies of right-leaning AFD politicians are piling up in Germany ahead of elections
The right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany — often abbreviated AFD for its German name, Alternative für Deutschland — has grown increasingly popular since its founding in 2013 by free-market economists keen to strengthen German sovereignty.
Despite a concerted suppression campaign by the liberal German establishment, which has attempted to ban and criminalize the AFD outright, the right-leaning party came in second place in Germany's national elections earlier this year, doubling the vote share it previously won in 2021.
The AFD is hoping for continued success in the local elections scheduled for Sept. 14 in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
'The alternative is too frightening to contemplate seriously.'
The trouble is that its candidates keep dying.
On Sunday, Alice Weidel, the federal co-chairwoman of the AFD, confirmed the report from the German public broadcaster WDR that four candidates — Stefan Berendes, 59; Wolfgang Seitz, 59; Ralph Lange, 66; and Wolfgang Klinger, 71 — had "died suddenly and unexpectedly."
Stefan Homburg, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Hannover, said on X that the cluster of deaths were "statistically almost impossible" — a claim that elicited concern from former Trump adviser Elon Musk, who noted a day earlier that "either Germany votes AFD or it is the end of Germany."
The early and mail-in ballots cast for the dead candidates have reportedly been invalidated.
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The AFD regional association in North Rhine-Westphalia revealed that as of Monday, there were at least another two confirmed deaths of its politicians, reported Politico.
"In my view, it's statistically striking and currently difficult to explain," said AFD deputy federal chairman Stephan Brandner. "I have never heard in my life that politicians of a party die in such a short period of time before an election."
German police suggested that while investigations are ongoing, there is no evidence of foul play.
Days after the Politico report, another AFD candidate, Hans-Joachim Kind, reportedly perished, making a total of at least seven dead AFD candidates just days ahead of the local elections.
Blaze News has reached out to the AFD and to Weidel for comment.
Suspicions online regarding the deaths have been fueled in part by the efforts of German establishmentarians — whose agenda and power is threatened by the AFD — and leftist activists to crush the party.
After designating the AFD as a potential extremist organization in 2021, Germany's domestic intelligence agency placed the party and its federal members under surveillance, tapping their phones and monitoring their movements.
In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a spy agency, officially classified the AFD as a "proven right-wing extremist organization" — a brazen attempt to neutralize the opposition party. That classification has, however, been placed on pause pending the result of a court appeal.
Last year was an especially bad year for institutional attacks on the AFD: An administrative court disarmed party members, barring them from owning firearms; leftist activists succeeded in having the party de-banked; and an AFD politician, Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, was convicted of a hate crime for sharing government statistics about the disproportionate number of gang rapes committed by immigrants, specifically Afghan nationals.
Attacks on the AFD have also taken the form of violence.
Prior to the AFD securing 15.9% of the German vote in last year's European parliamentary elections, a leftist who was tearing down an AFD candidate's campaign posters allegedly stabbed AFD's spokesman for Mannheim, Heinrich Koch, with a carpet knife.
Rod Dreher, a senior fellow at the Danube Institute in Budapest, noted, "What is the likelihood that four candidates and two reserve candidates of the same political party, in the same region, would drop dead suddenly, within 13 days of each other — and just before local elections?"
"It must be hoped that the unfortunate and statistically unlikely deaths of four politicians from a party the German government is considering outlawing were nothing more than a fluke," continued Dreher. "The alternative is too frightening to contemplate seriously."
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America Needs To Defy A Culture Of Mass Shootings And Death
Last week’s horrific Catholic school shooting is a snapshot of how godless our nation has become due to leftists' policies.3-year-old boy dies after woman working for Alabama state agency left him in car that may have reached 140 degrees: Attorney
An emotional vigil took place Friday evening in Bessemer, Alabama, for Ke'torrius "KJ" Starkes Jr. — a 3-year-old boy who died after being left in a hot car on July 22, WZDX-TV reported.
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"He was our bright little child," a family spokesperson said, according to the station, which added that green, blue, and white balloons were released skyward as mourners shared memories of KJ, and his distraught parents leaned on faith and loved ones.
'He should be here today.'
On the same day of the vigil, Birmingham Police arrested 54-year-old Kela Stanford.
The Jefferson County District Attorney said Stanford was hit with a felony charge of being a person for hire responsible for a child under the age of 7 and leaving the child unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm. The DA said a conviction could result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
“This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary," DA Danny Carr added. "Our condolences go out to [KJ's] family."
Stanford was working as a contractor for the Alabama agency in charge of child welfare, the Washington Post reported.
Alabama’s Department of Human Resources assigned Stanford to take KJ on a weekly basis from his day care to supervised visits with his father, family attorney G. Courtney French said at a Friday news conference, according to the Post.
WZDX added that KJ was living with a foster family while his parents worked to regain custody through the court system.
More from the paper:
On July 22, KJ’s visit with his father ended around 11:30 a.m. local time, according to French. Instead of taking the child back to day care, Stanford took a detour and ran errands, including buying groceries and visiting a tobacco shop, and arrived at her residence at 12:30 p.m., French alleged at the news conference.
She then allegedly left the boy unattended in the vehicle for five hours with the windows up, French said. A preliminary investigation conducted by law enforcement and the fire department said the heat index inside the car could have reached upward of 140 degrees, French added.
The day care later called Stanford to ask about the child’s whereabouts, French said. Stanford allegedly told police that she had forgotten he was inside her vehicle, French said.
The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office pronounced KJ dead at 6:03 p.m., the Post noted.
“She had one job to do,” French said of Stanford, according to the paper, “and that was to pick KJ up from the day care and to take him back. ... DHR and these workers are responsible for this child’s death. He should be here today. This should never happen to another child.”
Brittney Johnson, KJ's maternal aunt, said at the news conference that her nephew was an “active” child, and she found it hard to fathom that he was quiet or asleep while under Stanford’s supervision, the Post reported.
“KJ was a child full of life,” Johnson said, according to the paper. “It’s heartbreaking for the mom and the dad because they’re not going to see him again.”
The Post said jail records indicated that Stanford was released from Jefferson County Jail the same day she was arrested on a $30,000 bond. The paper added that it wasn't immediately clear Saturday if Stanford had an attorney, and she couldn't be reached for comment.
“A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” a DHR spokesperson said in a statement to WIAT-TV. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
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As Texas Christians Walk Through The Valley, Fear Not The Shadow Of Death
'The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us. Let us not, therefore, be afraid.'The founders were young and so is America — really
Although America’s 250th birthday is still one year away, there is a fun, unique, and mathematical fact about this year's 249th birthday that will help illustrate just how young America is as a nation.
To do that, we can start with the age of President Thomas Jefferson on the day he died — significantly enough, on the day America was celebrating its 50th birthday: July 4, 1826. Jefferson was 83.
Just three 83-year-olds living back-to-back-to-back takes you to the year our nation was founded.
As an interesting aside, our third president was not the only commander in chief whose life was historically tied to America's birthday. President John Adams also died within five hours of Jefferson on July 4, 1826. Five years later, on July 4, 1831, our fifth president and founding father James Monroe also passed away.
Not to be too maudlin, one president was actually born on the Fourth of July. In 1872, Calvin Coolidge came into the world and would grow up to become America's 30th president.
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So what does Jefferson’s age of 83 have to do with this year’s national birthday celebration? Well, if you find an 83-year-old person living in America and go all the way back to the year he was born, you would find yourself in 1942. Now, in 1942, find a person who was born 83 years in the past, back to 1859. Finally, find a person born 83 years before that, and you arrive at ... 1776!
Just three 83-year-olds living back-to-back-to-back takes you to the year our nation was founded.
And while we're pondering this age business, it's also fun to look at the relative youth of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, keeping in mind that 56 delegates representing the 13 original colonies actually put their very “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” on the line when they signed their John Hancock on the document (and, yes, one of them was indeed John Hancock).
Also, with present-day controversy in mind, it is worth noting that none of the representatives signed using an auto-quill.
The average age of the document’s signers was 44 years, which happened to be George Washington's age at the time. And Washington's nemesis across the pond, the other George, King George III of England? He was 38.
The oldest signer of the Declaration was (no surprise) Benjamin Franklin, age 70.
Finally, by now you have probably done the math to figure out the age of Thomas Jefferson — the document’s chief author — when he signed: 33.
Now, enjoy the celebrations and get ready for the biggest one of all, next year’s 250th!
Editor's note: A version of this article appeared originally at American Thinker.
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