Standard References for this Website

Biblical and Constitutional Politics

Standard References for this Website

This webpage lists the “Standard References” for articles on this website. These are sources I listen to, watch, or read on a regular basis. But it is hard to keep track of exactly which detail I mention in an article I heard, saw, or read on which source. As such, I am listing on this page all of these standard references. The ones marked with an asterisk are ones I utilize most.

However, I try to verify what I hear or see with written sources for important or potentially controversial details. Those specific sources are indicated in the “References” list at the end of most articles.

Moreover, specific sources for particular details on this website are generally only noted in the text when using a direct quote. The source is cited after the quote in parentheses by the first word or two of the main title of the source, followed by part of an article title if more than one webpage is quoted from a given website in a particular article. The full biographical data is then given in the References at the end of the article.

Otherwise, most often, more than one reference is the source for the information. In fact, I try to only use information that can be verified by at least two independent sources to ensure it is accurate. If I rely on only one source, the tentative nature of that information is noted. These various sources are also indicated in the References.

I have tried to be as accurate as possible on this website, but with so much going on so quickly, it is often hard to keep up and get everything exactly right. But that is why I usually include a lengthy list of references, so the reader can check my details.

There are many extended Biblical quotations on this website. These are generally not put in block quotes (indented) as is normally done for extended quotes, as they are easily identified by the superscript verse numbers. However, extended quotes from sources other than the Bible are indented for easy identification.

All bolding in Biblical and other quotes is added for emphasis.

Note: All of the following links open in a new window, except ones linking to items on any of this writer’s four websites.

Bible Verses:

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible verses quoted on this website are quoted from this writer’s Analytical-Literal Translation of the Bible (ALT). Copyright © 1999-2018 By Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org).

Book:

All quotes from the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence are from: Roosevelt, Franklin. *15 Documents and Speeches That Built America (Unique Classics) (Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and Amendments, Articles of Confederation, Magna Carta, Gettysburg Address, Four Freedoms) (Kindle edition).

Cable TV News Channels/ Online News Outlets:

Christian Broadcasting Network News (CBN)

*Cable News Network (CNN)

*Fox Business Network (FBN).

*Fox News Channel (FNC).

MSNBC

My Local (Pittsburgh, PA) News Reports/ Online News Outlets:

*Answer, The 1250 AM

*KDKA Radio, 1020 AM (CBS News affiliate and the world’s first radio station).

CBS Pittsburgh/ KDKA TV Channel 2

*NBC News Radio (on iHeart Radio).

*News Talk 1320 AM (WJAS)

*Trib Live (website for the Tribune Review and Valley New Dispatch, a Pittsburgh newspaper and my local newspaper, respectively)

WPXI TV Channel 11 (NBC affiliate)

*WTAE TV Channel 4 (ABC/ CNN News TV affiliate)

Additional Online News Outlets:

Breitbart

Federalist, The

Guardian, The (International)

Guardian, The (UK)

New York Times

*Reuters

USA Today

Wall Street Journal

Washington Post

WhiteHouse.gov

Commentators:

*Ben Shapiro.

Bill O’Reilly

Breakpoint (4:58 am, weekdays, WORD FM 101.5)

*Dana Loesch (The Dana Show).

Dennis Prager (noon to 3:00 pm, News Talk 1320 AM, Pittsburgh).

Glen Beck (9:00 am to noon, News Talk 1320 AM, Pittsburgh)

*Mike Huckabee (8:00 – 9:00 pm, Saturdays, TBN).

*Hugh Hewitt (8:00 am to 10:00 am, 1250 The Answer, Pittsburgh).

Jay Sekulow Live (TBN, Daystar, WORD FM, various times).

Michael Gallagher (10:00 am to noon, 1250 The Answer, Pittsburgh).

Rose Unplugged/ Quinn and Rose (8:00-10:00 am. ESPN Pittsburgh, 970 AM, 106.3 FM, 104.7HD2).

*Rush Limbaugh (noon to 3:00 pm, News Talk 1320 AM, Pittsburgh).

*Sean Hannity (3:00-6:00 pm, News Talk 1320 AM, Pittsburgh).

*Town Hall Review (5:00-6:00 am weekdays, 5:00-6:00 am Saturdays, 101.5 WORD FM, Pittsburgh).

*Washington Watch (5:00-6:00 pm weekdays, 7:30-8:00 am Sundays, Bott Radio Network).

All of the indicated radio stations are available on the iHeartRadio app, as are podcasts of many of these commentators. Rose Unplugged is on the Sound Cloud app.

English Reference:

Abbreviations.com

Dictionary.com

Oxford Dictionary (as found on Microsoft Word 365).

*YourDictionary.com. Definitions on YourDictionary are taken from the following sources:

      YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp.

      Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

      The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

      English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

      I give “YourDictionary” as the reference when a definition is taken from any or all of the first three sources, as all three are reliable. But I do not use definitions from Wiktionary, as it is as reliable as Wikipedia, which is to say, not very reliable. That is why I do not quote from the latter in my writings, except for basic information of which there is little controversy or possibility of error, like the meaning of an abbreviation or details on a TV show or movie. Much more reliable online encyclopedias are Encyclopedia Britannica and New World Encylopedia.

Further Details on the ALT:

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible verses on this website are quoted from the author’s Analytical-Literal Translation (ALT). The ALT is published in seven volumes.

Volumes I – IV are the Old Testament (OT). One unique feature of the ALT: OT is it is translated from the Septuagint (LXX) rather than the Hebrew text. The LXX is a third century BC Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The name and abbreviation come from the tradition that 70 (or 72) Jewish scholars worked on its translation, six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

As such, the wording of some OT verses quoted in this book might differ from Bible versions based upon the Hebrew text, which most versions are. In cases where there is a difference between texts affecting the subject of an article, the verses will also be quoted from the author’s own translation of the Hebrew text or from Bible versions based on the Hebrew text.

Volume V of the ALT contains the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical (A/D) Books. These are the “extra” books found in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles as compared to Jewish and Protestant Bibles. Since there is debate as to whether these A/D books should be included in the Bible, they will not be quoted as authoritative on this website.

Volume VI of the ALT is the New Testament (NT). It is translated from the Majority Text. This Greek text differs slightly from the other two Greek texts used in Bible translation: the Textus Receptus (used by the KJV and NKJV) and the “Critical Text” (used by the ESV, NASB, NIV, and most other modern-day versions). Thus again, the wording of some NT verses quoted on this website might differ from the wording in other Bibles. If a textual variant affects the interpretation of a verse, then that point is mentioned.

However, more often than these textual reasons, the wording of the ALT differs from other Bible versions due to the ALT being a literal translation while many Bible versions use a less than literal translation method. These textual and translation differences are addressed in this writer’s book Differences Between Bible Versions.

Volume VII of the ALT is the Apostolic Fathers (APF). These are the writings of the Church leaders of the late first through mid-second centuries, some of which were considered for inclusion in the NT. These writings will not be quoted as authoritative on this website, since they are not included in the Bible proper and are only included in the ALT as an appendix to the NT.

For a discussion of the canonicity (authoritative nature) of all of these books, see this writer’s three volume set, Why Are These Books in the Bible and Not Others?