Saturday, September 26, 2020

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

by A. Joseph Lynch

THE WEEKLY BRIEF
THE DEATH OF GINSBURG AND HER REPLACEMENT

On Friday, September 18th, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of cancer at the age of 87. Given her declining health in recent years, her death comes as no surprise. The timing, however, leaves Senate Republicans enough of an opening to replace her ahead of November. This marks a sea change in the coming elections. If no replacement is on the bench by Election Day, Democrats are sure to come out in droves hoping to elect Biden and a Democrat Senate. A Senate confirmation by the end of October is sure to take the winds out of Democrat voters' sails. Many will vote out of anger, but more would have voted if they thought they it would gain them a Biden-appointment to the Court. On the flip side, Republican voters will be enthused to vote following an October confirmation win, so it is imperative for President Trump to nominate an able, scandal-free conservative. Given that no man will make it through the hearings without a trumped up sexual assault allegation, it is highly likely the president will choose a woman. This he plans to do later today. His nominee seems to be Amy Comey Barrett, whose ties to the People of Praise community (some call it a cult) may jeopardize her confirmation. Barbara Lagoa, the Cuban-American and Catholic judge from Florida, might be a safer choice. We'll wait and see.

The good news for the president is that it appears Republicans have enough votes to confirm. Thus far only Senators Collins and Murkowski stood opposed to any nomination ahead of the elections. That being said, nether Collins nor Murkowski have said that they are sure to vote against the nominee. Yet even without these two senators, Republicans will have the 51 votes needed to confirm - assuming they find the nominee acceptable.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a very strong case for the nomination and appointment of Ginsburg's successor during a Senate floor speech this week. He tackled the 2016 Merrick Garland case head on, explaining that Garland was rejected not because it was an election year, but because it was an election year during a divided government. The last nominee to be confirmed in an election year while the government was divided (i.e. the president was of one political party and the Senate majority of another political party) was in 1888. What's more, Supreme Court nominations that took place during an election year where there was no divided government resulted in 7 out of 8 being confirmed. What took place in 2016 and now in 2020 are well within the history and tradition of the Senate. 

Democrats are furious and threatening to up-end the government over the nomination. Schumer has said "nothing is off the table" while Pelosi declared that Democrats had "many arrows" in their quiver. It has been suggested that Democrats, whenever they take back control of the government, should pack the Supreme Court by raising the number of justices and adding a slew of liberals. The House has already passed legislation to make Washington DC a state - and with it giving Democrats two additional senators. Other's are calling to "burn it all down" if the president and Senate Republicans attempt to confirm Ginsburg's replacement. Don Lemon of CNN has called on Democrats to pack the Court, saying, "We're going to have to blow up the entire system."

As Ben Shapiro's new article points out, this is good news for Republicans. If Democrats continue to press for stacking the Court and stacking the Senate, election attention can be placed on Democrats trying to "stack the deck" - cheating. FDR failed to pack the Court in 1937 because it was painfully obvious he was trying to make an end run around the Court's limits to his power. If Republicans can effectively tell voters that a vote for a Democrat is a vote for Democrats stacking the Court and Senate so that they can never lose, then the balance is sure to swing further towards the president and to the GOP. Either way, October's press coverage of the election is sure to focus more on the nomination battle than on issues that are more dangerous for the president. And if Barrett is the nominee, any unjust attacks against a woman and mother of seven will likely push suburban women towards Trump's reelection. 


I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

CARDINAL SACKED: Cardinal Angelo Becciu, given the red hat by Pope Francis only two years ago, has been sacked in the latest financial scandal to hit the Vatican. It is reported that Becciu sent $100,000 euros of Holy See money to his brother's charitable fund. He had also been previously accused (by Archbishop Vigano) of knowing more about the McCarrick scandal than what people know.

NFL KICKER-DEVOUT CATHOLIC: Kansas City Chiefs Kicker, Harrison Butker, might kick for the Chiefs during game day - he recently helped his team make a stunning come back by tying the franchise record for longest field goal - but he's also a regular server at a Latin Mass. EWTN produced an excellent video about Butker, his faith, and his service on the altar.

MORE CHURCHES, SAINTS ATTACKED: Statues of Jesus and Mary were destroyed here in the US while the Eucharist was desecrated in Sicily. Taylor Marshall does a good job breaking down the stories and discussing what could be coming next. 

MAPPING PERSECUTION: Attacks on Catholics are going under-reported in the media. To see just how widespread it is, look at this map from Complicit Clergy. The Anti-Defamation League has it's own map of Hate, Extremism, Anti-Semitism, and Terrorism (HEAT) Map. But if one breaks down the map by "Leftwing" ideology, only the murderer Michael Reinohl comes up on the map. Perhaps someone should send the ADL a link to the map from Complicit Clergy.

FOUR MORE YEARS: As the president likely prepares to nominate a Catholic woman to the Supreme Court, here's an article from a female Catholic law professor at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) who hopes the president gains another four years. More about Professor Teresa Stanton Collett.


II. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA

LOUISVILLE RIOTS: Louisville, Kentucky is the latest city to be struck by Black Lives Matter riots. Two police officers were shot as the riots began to unfold (PBS, seemingly trying to cover for the riots, declared that it was unclear if the shooting was tied to the protests!As Joe Biden would say: "Come on, man!"). This followed the grand jury's decision not to indict city police officers over the death of Breonna Taylor. BLM supporters saturated the airwaves with the fake news that the police charged into the apartment issuing a no-knock warrant and that Taylor was gunned down by the police while asleep in her bed. Neither was true. Other residents testified that the police announced their presence several times and entered the apartment only after no one came to the door. When they entered, Taylor's boyfriend fired on the police - striking one in the femoral artery - and that Taylor was killed when the police returned fire. The truth behind Taylor's death was not enough to silence the mob or keep Nancy Pelosi from claiming the police murdered her. It also hasn't stopped BLM supporters from attacking black sports celebrities like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neil for telling the truth. As support for BLM protests (riots) continues to fall, we hope more and more Americans are "red-pilled' as the truth comes out and the riots continue.

HIGH-TECH TYRANNY: The big tech company are clearly doing everything they can to help Democrats in November. They've banned Trump from declaring victory on Election Day and threatened social media uses who do the same. In the wake of the Louisville riots, Twitter is happy to pull tweets from conservatives yet allow tweets such as "Louisville will burn tonight" to remain posted. The late move to make Section 230 reform is perhaps one of Trump's biggest failures of his first term - and one which may haunt him come November.

SCOTUS REPLACEMENT FACTS: Democrats argue the election is too close for a nominee to be confirmed. A glance back at history might beg to differ. It took Justice John Paul Stevens only 19 days to be confirmed by the US Senate. Sandra Day O'Connor was confirmed in 33 days. Ginsburg, who died 46 days before the elections, was approved by the Senate in 42 days. When Chief Justice Roger Taney died on October 12, 1864 - even closer to Election Day than Ginsburg - Salmon Chase was nominated and approved by the US Senate on the same day in December!

1776 COMMISSION: The 1619 Project - promoted by the New York Times and taught in some schools - seeks to reinterpret American history as thoroughly racist. It's been debunked by historians and TV personalities alike. President Trump has announced his own rebuttal through the 1776 Commission. The commission will offer a badly needed defense of our great American history. Read more from the National Review.

HARRIS-BIDEN TICKET? In just one day, both Biden and Harris declared their future administration as the Harris-Biden Administration. Although they both said it was an accident, Biden did reassurre voters this week that Harris was ready to take over if someone pushed him off a roof.


II. THE NATIONS

JAPAN'S NEW PRIME MINISTER: With the resignation of Shinzo Abe for health reasons, Yoshihide Suga - Abe's right hand - has succeeded him. Suga plan's to follow Abe's policy on economics and foreign affairs, including the policy of re-arming Japan.

MIDEAST PEACE? While we are cautiously optimistic about the president's efforts in the Mideast in terms of Israel's recognition by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, we fear it's anti-Iran focus might damage peace in the long run. Bahrain is a Shia country dominated by a Sunni king. We don't see how pitting a Shia-majority nation against Shia Iran by forging ties with Israel will lead to long term peace. Pat Buchanan has some similar concerns.

MORE SAUDI HYPOCRISY: The Saudis allowed sexually explicit Netflix material to air in their country so long as Netflix removed a TV episode that criticized the Saudi regime. It's important to remember that the Saudi royal family are ruthless, allowing Wahhabi extremists to help them maintain tight control over the people while the royals do everything to maintain their own power and international status.



III. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

BLM TERROR: Military veteran Terrance Moses, a black man who runs a non-profit group for the homeless, was recently harassed with his neighbors by BLM rioters. Some threatened to burn down a house that flew an American flag. What ordinary people would call terroristic threats the New York Times calls "confrontational" protests. As the riots move from downtown to the suburbs and residential areas, it's only a matter of time before the movement loses all support.

JAKE GARDNER SUICIDE: Jake Gardner killed in self defense during a Black Lives Matter riot in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite clear video evidence of this, Gardner was charged for the death nevertheless. As a result of this outrageous charge, he lost his business and his home. It's now taken his life. The great calamity facing our nation's citizens is a political class that keeps police from protecting cities and then prosecuting civilians as they defend their homes and businesses from the riots. We pray this changes after the election.

BORN ALIVE ORDER: The nation's most pro-life president announced during the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast that he will sign an executive order concerning aborted babies born alive. This is something Obama opposed as a senator and something we'd never see in a Biden-Harris administration.

WHEN TO USE FORCE: An anti police brutality activist attempted to pass a set of three police use-of-force scenarios. He failed. Watch the video here as he learns being a police officer is much more difficult that he realized.

BLM GAINS LOST: The polling site Civiqs has been following the support of Black Lives Matter for some time now. The BLM riots that have taken place for months have now eliminated all BLM gains of 2020. Net support was at 10% on January 2, 2020 and spiked to 25% on June 3, 2020. On September 14, net support of BLM had dropped to 9%. As rioting in Louisville continues, we expect support for BLM will continue to decline.

DEFUNDING SEATTLE POLICE: Seattle's city council prefers riots to order. The city council voted 7-2 to override the mayor's veto of their plans to defund the city police. We hope all seven are voted out of office. 

SUSPENDED FOR FLAGS ON 9/11: Two high school students were suspended after carrying the police and firefighter-themed American flags during as they took the field with their football team on 9/11. One young man was the son of a police officer while the other was the son of firefighter. They did it to honor their fathers and the brave officers and firefighters who died on 9/11. The school's action is appalling but it's good to know they've been offered college scholarships for their action.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

First Century Church History

We invite our AoA readers to watch the latest video from the Dr. Pence inspired YouTube channel Religion, Sex, and Politics. Click on the picture link below or the following link to watch the new video: Church History in the 1st Century.

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

PARTISAN PULPIT: A Wisconsin priest name Fr. James Altman released a highly produced video homily condemning Catholics who vote Democrat. While Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas the priest his support, Altman's bishop in La Crosse is no longer allowing Altman to livestream Masses. While there is corruption within the American hierarchy and the Democrat platform is broadly opposed to Catholicism and the natural moral law, we believe Altman oversimplified his words. To say no real Catholic could vote for Obama in 2008 reveals Altman didn't know John McCain very well. A McCain presidency would have been much more disastrous, doing grave harm to the nation and to the Republican Party. Although we need many more priests and bishops to speak up, Fr. Altman ultimately was not quite over the right target when he dropped his bombs. 

EUCHARIST STOLEN: A tabernacle was stolen this week from the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral in Ontario, Canada. Although the tabernacle was recovered, the Eucharist was taken for undoubtedly diabolical purposes. More from Taylor Marshall here and here. Taylor Marshall also hosted an excellent conversation on Eucharistic Miracles well worth checking out.

WHITE PRIVILEGE MASS: A NYC priest recently led congregants in a white privilege prayer pledge during Mass at St. Xavier Catholic Church. Fr. Kenneth Boller, a Jesuit, added the pledge at the end of Mass. It seems as though the Archdiocese has remained silent on the matter. While priests are not allowed to make additions to the prayers of the Mass, we find this act was doubly egregious as it acted as a kind of credal statement for an alternate secular religion - a religion rooted in "anti-racist" racism. 


II. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA

TRUMP AND MINORITIES: Trump's strong showing with black and Latino voters is keeping him neck-and-neck with Biden as polled white voters tend to give verbal support to Biden. The Democrat strategy has long been aimed at white, elite, feminist, and homosexuals in the cities and suburbs while assuming minorities and workers will vote Democrat as always. If minorities are shifting enough in Trump's favor and if the number of "secret" white Trump voters (too scared of cancel culture to tell pollsters the truth), Trump may be headed to a big win in November.

MAIL IN VOTING: VOX has released a good run down on mail in voting in the US. Voters in Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Jersey, Vermont, and DC will be mailed directly with their ballots. While almost are of these are a near lock for Biden without the controversial universal mail in voting, Nevada (and possibly Utah) could become a battleground for legal disputes after Election Day. Thankfully most swing states are not set to use universal mail in voting.

TRUMP TROOP-HATER? It appears the president's "law and order" message is working as the Democrats and the mainstream media coordinated a hit on Trump over allegations surrounding his 2018 trip to France to honor fallen WWI soldiers. The smear has been denied by a host of Trump administration members - including the Trump-hating John Bolton. The story has no legs - but it did distract the nation from Trump's campaign message for a day or two.

BEN SASSE REFORMS: Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has proposed some excellent reforms for the US Senate. He argues for a two-term limit on Senators and a return to Senate order by having senators live in a common living space while in DC while Senate sessions are closed to the public (and the media). We've been arguing that real debates - not soundbite speeches - should be taking place in the Senate and it seems one senator agrees. What's more, Sasse also seeks the repeal of the 17th Amendment. In doing so, the selection of senators would come once more from state governments as the Founding Fathers intended, not through a direct vote of the people. Senators are not "super Representatives of the People" but rather represent state governments at the federal level. Sasse's reforms would truly be a return to order in the US Senate.

ENDING CRITICAL RACE THEORY: President Trump has called for an end to critical race theory training sessions within the federal government. Although some media outlets are describing this as an end to "racial sensitivity" classes, Trump's move it to rid the government of classes that teach "reverse racism" - racism against majority races in order to lift up minorities. "Critical race theory" and "anti-racism" are racist ideologies founded in reverse racism. 


II. THE NATIONS

ISRAEL-BAHRAIN: Last week we reported that the UAE has agreed to normalize relations with Israel. On the 19th anniversary of 9/11 news broke that Bahrain will do the same. Trump's role in the peace process (both in the Mideast and between Serbia-Kosovo) has now earned him two Nobel Peace Prize nominations. Of course a writer from the anti-Trump Atlantic is now calling for an end to the prize.

BRINGING TROOPS HOME: As the president brings peace to the Middle East, he's pulling more troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, seeking to withdraw the US from endless foreign wars. There will soon be a mere 3,000 troops in Iraq and 4,500 troops in Afghanistan. Like President Eisenhower, Trump warns us against the military industrial complex - which seems to have the full support of both establishment Democrats and Republicans (more from Tucker Carlson). Biden has said he would keep more troops in region. Who's the peace candidate in this election?

DUTERTE PARDON: A US Marine, who has been locked up in a Philippine government van for years, is getting a pardon and release from President Duterte. The marine, Joseph Pemberton, was convicted of murdering a trans-person after discovering in the bedroom that "she" - who Pemberton was dating - was a he.  


III. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

BOOING THE NFL: The Chiefs hosted the Texans to kick off the NFL's season. The NFL's embrace of BLM, however, is not helping the league or the nation. Rather than unify the country with one national anthem, all games this weekend are beginning with the Black National Anthem. When both teams took the field to lock arms, they were met with boos from around the stadium. Viewership numbers revealed a 12% loss from the opening game last year and we expect more viewers will tune out in the days ahead.  

CANCEL NETFLIX: As Netflix moves forward with the release of a French film depicting 11 year old girls in sexual situations, more people are cancelling their subscriptions to the digital entertainment platform. The film is rated TV-MA (mature) in the US. In Turkey, the Islamic nation-state has done what others should have done by ordering Netflix to remove the film from its Turkish site.
 
WOKE OSCARS: The Academy Awards are going full woke when it comes to the category of best picture. No longer will a film's artistic quality be the driving factor for the award. Films will now be required to meet certain diversity requirements in order to be nominated. If these norms were in play in past years, historical movies like Patton and Braveheart would not have been nominated - much less won - best picture. Hollywood has been mostly mum - but Kirstie Alley has spoken out against the move.

SEGREGATED CAFES: University of Michigan in Dearborn came under fire for a decision to create segregated online cafes. The university later issued an apology - not for the idea but for the way it was worded (what they call "framing and presentation"). And this is why the white supremacists like Richard Spencer are endorsing Biden and the Democrats. As the Left fully embraces a racial identitarianism - be it by segregating college cafes or singing the Black National Anthem at NFL games - the white supremacists see the Left as the true supporters of their racist cause.

Saturday, September 5, 2020

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA

GOP HAWKS ENDORSE BIDEN: Over seventy GOP war hawks from the "blob" have endorsed Biden. Although the Democrats said Trump would take America into war within the first week of his presidency, Trump has overall kept the peace (remember it was Obama-Biden that took the two wars of Bush and expanded them to seven). It turns out that Trump is the peace candidate - and the war hawks now endorsing Biden are proof of it.

MINNESOTA MAYORS ENDORSE TRUMP: Six Democrat Mayors across Minnesota's Iron Range have endorsed Trump for re-election. This part of Minnesota is a Democrat stronghold composed of the states second largest industrial belt. Biden and the Democrats are trading the worker for the suburban feminists, Antifa rioters, and homosexuals (who comprise 2-4% of the US population). Can the Democrats afford to lose the working class and an increasing number of minorities?

SPENCER ENDORSES BIDEN: Despite the media calling Trump racist, the white supremacist Richard Spencer has endorsed Joe Biden. We've long noted that the white supremacists have hated Trump, particularly because his daughter not only married a Jew but converted to Judaism. Depsite what Biden says, Trump has consistently condemned white supremacy. It's no surprise Spencer is endorsing Biden.

ANTIFA.COM: And if an endorsement from Richard Spencer isn't enough, if one was to go to antifa.com, he would arrive at Joe Biden's campaign website. Biden's campaign has remained mum on the subject, but they are likely receiving donations from Antifa supporters who end up on their website.

NATO PULL OUT: General Kelly has said it was difficult for him to convince President Trump not to pull out of NATO. While AoA is generally supportive of having military men in Trump's inner circle, we recognize that globalist-imperialism is ingrained in virtually all of them. Perhaps with their influence waning, Trump can end America's commitment to NATO in a second term.

COVID STATS REDUX: The CDC has updated its coronavirus numbers to show that roughly 6% of virus deaths were with healthy people while 96% tended to have 2+ health conditions that contributed to their deaths. Some 3% of coronavirus deaths were from suicides and accidents (not exactly virus-related if you ask us).

THE STATE OF THE RACE: The chart below shows that the race today is much closer than it was in 2016. For now the trajectory is with Trump.



II. THE NATIONS

ISRAEL-UAE: With the help of President Trump and Mike Pompeo, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have normalized relations and Islamic nations like Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco may soon follow suit. Others see the potential of oil pipelines to Israel and Europe.

KOSOVO-SERBIA: President Trump also successfully normalized economic relations between Serbia and Kosovo. While he was at it, he pushed Muslim Kosovo to recognize Israel and got Serbia to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

MACRON AND BLASPHEMY: As the Charlie Hebdo trial is underway, France's Macron is telling all French Muslims that part of being French is accepting the right to commit blasphemy. America used to have laws against blasphemy - France would have much more peace if they allowed their growing Muslim population to help them impose blasphemy laws in their nation.

WARNINGS AGAINST WAR: Pat Buchanan warns America to be more cautious.


III. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

MORE DEATH FROM KENOSHA: The "peaceful" protests in Kenosha included a speaker who said that, "If you kill one of us, it’s time for us to kill one of yours." Hours later Aaron “Jay” Danielson was shot dead in Portland. The suspected killer, Michael Forest Reinoehl, gave an interview with Vice in which he all but confessed to the murder. Reinoehl was killed by federal officers as they prepared to arrest him for the murder. Reinoehl recently declared himself "100% ANTIFA all the way!" Reinoehl (and his son) was also recently charged with a DUI while speeding 111 mph and possessing a concealed firearm without a permit. On July 5, Reinoehl was arrested in Portland for resisting arrest and for possession of a loaded firearm. The district attorney, Mike Schmidt, treated him like the majority of other rioters - he was not charged.

STATE POLICE DEPUTIZED: President Trump made the bold move of deputizing Oregon's state police as federal officers. In doing so rioters who assault them will now face charges by the US Attorney under federal law rather than be released by the district attorney, Mike Schmidt, who refuses to charge the many rioters previously arrested.

ANTIFA COMMANDER ARRESTED: An Antifa commander in Wisconsin was arrested after being caught with a flamethrower. It is said he fell into a fetal position and cried when he was arrested.

DC MONUMENT ASSAULT: A Washington DC task force is wants to rename DC sites - including the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. Trump was right when he warned against tearing down Confederate monuments - our Founding Father would be next. Meanwhile DC is seeking statehood - more from Pat Buchanan.

PROTECTING GAY PEDOPHILES: According to Church Militant, California is sending a bill to the governor that would effectively allow "a 23-year-old man [to] sodomize a 14-year-old and might not be registered on the sex offender list." Read more about the law from Church Militant.