Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 22

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

THE MUNICH REPORT: The results of an investigation into priest sex abuse in the Munich archdiocese has been released. Pope Benedict XVI was found negligent in four cases while the current archbishop - Cardinal Marx - appears to have botched two. The real story may be found in the man who led the archdiocese between Benedict and Marx, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter. Under Wetter's leadership, a full twenty-one cases of sex abuse were mishandled.

ORTHODOX EPIPHANY: The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the old Julian calendar, dates Christmas and Epiphany later than most Christians throughout the world. This week they celebrated Epiphany with, in the Orthodox tradition, an emphasis on the baptism of Christ. It is traditional for Russians to enter into this holy day by immersing themselves, outdoors, in freezing waters as an imitation of Christ's baptism. Even Vladimir Putin participated. More from Dr. Steve Turley.

IRENAEUS, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: Pope Francis will declare St. Irenaeus, the great Church Father of the second century, a Doctor (Latin for teacher) of the Church under the title of “Doctor unitatis,” or “Doctor of Unity.” Originally from Smyrna (now in present day Turkey) but moved to what is today France, St. Irenaeus' defense of apostolic succession and papal primacy makes him an early witness to the dignity of the episcopacy and the status of Pope from a man with one foot in the east and the other in the west.  

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

WHO IS RAY EPPS? As the House Select Committee on January 6 continues its mockery of an investigation to the Capitol Riot, a man named Ray Epps is poking holes in the official narrative. Epps, who is on video telling protesters they need to storm the US Capitol, was placed on the FBI most wanted list only to have his name quietly removed later. Was he a federal agent or working for the feds in order to entrap Trump supporters? What role did the FBI play in instigating the events of January 6? Officials from the US government refuse to say - and we have a hunch the "insurrection" will turn out to be just another "Russiagate" (i.e. fake news). In related news, Politico "debunked" the story about Ray Epps by telling its readers that Mr. Epps has denied any wrongdoing. Of course that's like letting a person accused of a crime off the hook because he said he didn't do it. 

AMERICANS EMBRACE THE GOP: For the first time in decades, Gallup now shows Republicans outnumber Democrats across the nation. Meanwhile the polling organization Trafalgar - one of the most accurate pollsters in the nation - says that the GOP has a +14 point advantage on the generic congressional ballot. If true, this is a bigger advantage than the GOP held in 1994 and 2010 combined - both of which were massive red wave years.

BIDEN ADMITS 2020 ELECTION ILLEGITIMATE? In Joe Biden's most recent disaster of a press conference, he declared that US elections conducted without his hoped-for election reform bill would be illegitimate. President Trump followed the logic and was glad Biden now seems to agree with him about the illegitimacy of the 2020 election.

A TURN IN VIRGINA: Virginia's new governor and attorney general are making waves. Governor Youngkin immediately ended the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia classrooms and appointed an ambassador for the unborn. Meanwhile the new Attorney General, Jason Miyares, took bold steps in his first days on the job. Since taking office, he has fired all the lawyers in Virginia's civil rights division and plans to take up cases that local leftist district attorneys fail to prosecute. He also announced plans to investigate Loudon County Public Schools and the State Parole Board over their handling of transgendered students accused of sexual assaults. If the ship can be righted this quickly in Virginia, the rest of the nation can quickly follow suit.

III. THE NATIONS

KAZAKHSTAN UPDATE: The latest US/European-backed color revolution on Russia's borders has come to complete failure. What most do not understand is that the former leader of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev (president from 1990-2019), was leading the nation in a pro-European direction. For example, Nazarbayev embraced the use of the Latin alphabet over the Cyrillic and sought a legal reform on the basis of English common law. What's more, Kazakhstan's rich energy sector has been dominated by American companies, not Russian. Though Nazarbayev recently left office and was succeeded by President Tokayev, he had the capital city of Astana re-named after himself and placed himself as head of the Kazakh military - clear signs he wasn't going anywhere. Since then it's been unclear what direction Tokayev would take the nation. With the recent coup attempt, however, Tokayev has brought his nation under Russia's wings. Nazarbayev is now firmly out of power and his family members in the government have likewise been removed. Even the Kazakh defense minister has been fired amid the purge. To the consternation of the Americans and her allies, Kazakhstan is now more firmly allied with Russian than ever before.

NATIONS WITH NUCLEAR POWER: The United States is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, producing more power than the next two nations - China and France - combined. Learn more about the nations that use nuclear power - with excellent charts - here.

"THE WEEK" GIVING GOOD COVERAGE TO UKRAINE-RUSSIA: The media has never been more in lockstep with the warmongering neocons and neoliberals seeking war with Russia. Two short editorials from The Week, however, are the first we've seen to make sense of the current situation in Ukraine. The first is entitled The false premise making war with Russia more likely while the second is The war hawks are at it again.

RUSSIA STAGING A FLASE FLAG ATTACK? One of this week's big news stories about Ukraine revolved around intelligence reports that Russia planned to stage a "false flag" event that would justify its "invasion" of Ukraine. It turns out that the "intelligence" was spoon-fed to the director of the CIA by... Ukrainian politicians.

CANCELLING SWIFT CANCELLED: While Russia has plans for calibrated responses to any threat, the US has but two tools in its toolbox: sanctions and military action. The biggest sanction of them all was the plan to "cancel" Russia's ability to use SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), the interbank global payments system. Now, having been warned that such action would result in more damage to western Europe and the US than to Russia (which has created its own version of SWIFT), America and her allies are backing away from the the biggest sanction weapon in their toolbox. Russia wins again.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

COVID RESTRICTIONS LOOSENING? In the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling on a federally-imposed vaccine mandate, other countries appear to be loosening their pandemic restrictions. The United Kingdom has cancelled all restrictions while the Czech Republic put off imposing a vaccine mandate. Meanwhile in Israel, an end to the green passes - or showing one's papers to enter public life - appears to be imminent. Are we in the waning days of this pandemic?

COVID AND HOSPITALIZATIONS: While the CDC has admitted that the coronavirus vaccines do not prevent the transmission of the virus, many still seek to impose vaccine mandates. Their reasoning is no longer based in transmission prevention but rather in the problem of overwhelmed hospitals. But this problem has a much longer history than the past two years. Time, for example, reported in 2018 about a flu epidemic that led to the exact same problems we see today (yet no one sought to impose flu vaccine mandates, masking, and social distancing). It turns out that in 1975 there were nearly 1.5 million hospital beds in the US. Today that number has declined to around 900,000. Critical care beds are rarer still as hospitals deem them not financially viable. Indeed, a focus on the bottom dollar has driven the reduction of America's ability to treat patients, especially patients with the coronavirus. But rather than the US government applying pressure on the medical industry to increase its care capacity, the government punishes its own citizenry by spending billions on experimental drugs and forcibly imposing them on everyday Americans. Meanwhile nearly half of Democrats approve of jail time for the unvaccinated. Something is not adding up.

MORE FAMILY DECLINE: Rod Dreher sounds the alarm at a rapid decrease in American's favoring couples with children should marry. The numbers he examines are scary.

USING ARREST WARRENTS AS ID: In the latest sign that we live in clown world, the TSA has announced it will accept arrest warrants as alternative ID for illegal immigrants seeking to board airplanes. One would think such documentation would lead to an arrest. Funnier still is the thought of an illegal immigrant visiting his local police department in order to get a copy of his arrest warrant for travel use.

QUARTERBACK ARRESTED: Ex-Alabama quarterback, Jay Baker, was arrested and charged after allegedly using his car to try and run over his estranged wife. This brings a comparison to the car rampage in Waukesha - an event that only took place after the suspect Darrell Brooks, who is alleged to have been arrested - and released! - after attempting to run over his girlfriend. Apparently "southern justice" has moved much father north.

BLM, THE NFL, AND MLK: Despite the NFL fully caving to BLM and even mandating the performance of the racist, ethnic nationalist "black national anthem" at all its games, the far Left continues to say the NFL isn't doing enough. And that's why it's never worth caving to radicals. No matter how much you embrace the cause, it will never be enough.

TRAIN RAIDING IN CALIFORNIA: The far Left continues to run California into the ground as now even trains are being raided for goods. A recent video revealed hundreds of Amazon packages gutted and spewed along a stretch of train tracks. Since Leftists give the looters a mere slap on the wrist, the Union Pacific railroad now considers leaving Los Angeles. And rightfully so.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 15

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

By A. Joseph Lynch

BIDEN'S BAD WEEK

Biden's fifty-first week in power was but his most recent disaster. It featured defeats on many fronts: foreign policy, healthcare, legislation, the US economy, and the polls. Let's briefly consider each.

The big news of the week came from the US Supreme Court, which quickly struck down Biden's efforts to force vaccines in workplaces across the nation. The 6-3 ruling came down along partisan lines, and most conservatives breathed a sigh of relief to see Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett all reach a good decision. The decision dealt a huge blow to Biden's pandemic power play and is a sign that the Supreme Court is willing to stand up to his executive overreach.

The same day the Supreme Court ruled on the OSHA vaccine mandate, Biden was dealt another major blow, this time from the US Senate. Biden - who had declared he was "tired of being silent" - came out swinging this week to end the Senate filibuster so that Democrats could jam through far Left legislation like the new "voter rights" bill. Biden's efforts on this front came to a crashing halt as Arizona's Democrat senator, Kyrsten Sinema, announced she would oppose any vote to jettison the filibuster. Joining Sinema is Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who applauded Sinema's decision. It appears that the two taken together will effectively end Biden's legislative agenda through the midterms.

This week also saw the meeting of US and Russian diplomats in Geneva as they discussed the anti-Russian aggression of the US and its NATO allies since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia seeks an end to NATO expansion, a rollback of American and NATO infrastructure in eastern Europe, and the respectful treatment of Russia going forward. While little was achieved in the meetings, Russia was given ample time to make its case before the United States, NATO, and Ukraine. All are now on notice of Russia's redlines on Ukraine and its demands concerning NATO. When America and NATO refused to heed Russia's demands, Russian diplomats floated the idea of sending the Russian military to Cuba and Venezuela - a threat which if carried out, according to White House officials, would lead to a "decisive" US response. This knee-jerk reaction from the US government, however, proves Russia's point. Why does a Russian presence in the Americas demand a decisive military response from the US while Russia is told it cannot react the same way to the US presence in Europe? (More from Pat Buchanan.)

Interestingly enough, the Democrats' incoherence on Russia and the filibuster collided this week in the US Senate. Ted Cruz rallied six Democrats and every Republican but Rand Paul into voting for his virulently anti-Russian sanctions bill which sought in part to cripple Russia's new pipeline to Germany. (As a brief aside, the bill was so bad that its worth fearing a Republican takeover in the Senate next year. There may be enough votes to overturn a presidential veto - and if this bill passes in a year, expect a massive crisis between the US and Russia. Senate Republicans are on the wrong side of any policy concerning Russia.) The irony of the bill's failure was that the Democrats had declared both that they opposed the new pipeline and also the sought to end the filibuster - yet they used the filibuster to block the bill which aimed to sanction the pipeline they claimed to oppose. While we applaud the end result, it was yet another sign of Biden's policy incoherence.

Making matters worse for Biden, the US economy is in complete shambles. Inflation is hitting a forty year high while store shelves across the country are empty amid a continued logistics breakdown. It's no wonder why even a leftwing polling outlet like Quinnipiac now has Biden polling at 33%. The only question now is whether or not a GOP-controlled Congress can rid the nation of this incompetent administration. 

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 8

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

FRANCIS - CHILDREN, NOT PETS: Pope Francis is calling for married couples to embrace children, not pets. “The other day, I was talking about the demographic winter that we have today … many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one — but they have two dogs, two cats," Francis said. “Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children. Yes, it’s funny, I understand, but it is the reality, and this denial of fatherhood and motherhood diminishes us, takes away humanity.” He's absolutely right. And many left-wingers (here's one and here's another) were quick to denounce him for it. Funny how the left is so quick to turn on its celebrities when they step out of line.

LATIN MASS OUT, ILLICT LITURGICAL PRACTICES IN: Taylor Marshall has pointed out the seeming contradiction in the Latin Mass policies of many prelates. Cardinal Cupich, for examples, is cracking down on the Latin Mass while allowing rampant liturgical abuses to take place in his parishes. Marshall reviews one horrific Christmas Mass as a case study in the contradiction. A follow-up video revealed more abuses in other Masses. While we disagree with Marshall on the Latin Mass, we agree that such contradictions must end. Holy and orthodox Catholics can't be expected to give up a holy Mass only to be subjected to such liturgical abuses.

CARDINAL TURKSON RESIGNS: Cardinal Peter Turkson has resigned from his role as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. For the first time since 1977, there is no African head of a Vatican dicastery. It us unclear as to why he resigned, but the dicastery came under scrutinity in recent times as Pope Francis ordered an investigation that led to a personnel shakeup. Turkson is only a handful of years away from being all but eliminated from papal contention and may be eyeing retirement rather than papal ambitions.  

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

"INSURRECTION" REJECTED: It's been one year since the Capitol Riot of January 6 and Democrats can't help but continue to push the "insurrection" narrative. Yet the narrative is falling apart. The many unindicted co-conspirators of January 6 indicate federal or "deep state" involvement with the riot - something Tucker Carlson is closely following. Meanwhile a recent CBS poll revealed that 76% of Americans believe what happened a year ago was merely "a protest that went too far." The final nail in the "insurrection" coffin? Not a single person has been charged with insurrection.

MANDATES AT SCOTUS: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over Biden's vaccine mandates. While the three liberal justices are all but certain to uphold the mandates, Sotomayor fared particularly poorly as she not only couldn't understand the difference between state and federal powers, but she also vastly inflated the numbers of sick children in the hospital with COVID. The final decision will likely come down to justices Barrett and Roberts, but one of the two is likely to strike down the mandate.

CEO'S AND THE CDC: While the Left tells us to "trust the science", it seems like science had little to do with a recent change in COVID quarantining rules from the CDC. What made the difference? The CEO of Delta Airlines. This is just further proof of what Chesterton would call the alliance between "Hudge," "Gudge," and "Sludge" - Big Government, Big Business, and Big Science.

III. THE NATIONS

KAZAKHSTAN'S INSURRECTION: As the American Left continued its obsession with the January 6 US Capitol riots of 2021, Kazakhstan showed the world what a real insurrection looks like. Taking advantage of the protests that followed a rise in gasoline prices, anti-Russian and anti-Chinese forces (likely backed by US intelligence agencies and NGOs) launched an all-out attack on the Kazakh government. Police stations were attacked in order to drive police back to defend their stations, thus leaving government buildings vulnerable. Airfields came under attack in order to keep government reinforcements from arriving. Reports that some police officers were beheaded gave rise to fears that Islamic jihadists were involved - perhaps hoping a new regime would allow them to support jihadi attacks across the border in China's Islamic Xinjiang province. Kazakhstan's President Tokayev, however, was quick to take control and call for aid from his allies in the Russian-led Collective Security Treating Organization (SCTO). Troops are now on the ground. Tokayev is expected to fully consolidate power and forge even stronger ties with Russia and China.

RUSSIA-US TALKS: Russia has long sought the end to the Ukrainian conflict by way of the internationally-recognized Minsk Accords, an agreement forged in large part by Germany and France. These two nations, however, have proven unwilling to push Ukraine to keep its end of the bargain. For this reason Russia has gone over the heads of the European powers and gone right to the Americans. Last month Russia outlined a potential US-Russian treaty and an agreement it hopes to make with NATO. It's unlikely that either will be agreed to, yet the fact that Russia is making new demands on top of those it's already making in regards to Ukraine shows how Russia's position has only strengthened in recent years. 

UKRAINE WEAKENING: The Ukrainian government is under mounting pressure. As the US and its NATO allies say they are only willing to sanction Russia - not fight Russia - if Russia attacks, Ukraine finds itself after burning its bridges with Russia. Since the fall of the USSR, Russia has been Ukraine's chief economic investor. In fact, a large portion of Ukraine's economy depends on the transit fees Russia pays each year to pipe its natural gas into Europe. The contract for these pipelines ends in 2024 - and Russia will not be renewing them. More Ukrainians realize the clock is ticking down to a total Ukrainian economic collapse and few see President Zelensky as the man to save them. For this reason Ukrainian oligarchs met in Lithuania to discuss plans for the future of Ukraine - and Zelensky. Fearing his own demise, Zelensky began accusing any potential adversary of treason - including Petro Poroshenko, the man who led Ukraine against Russia in 2014. For those who fear a Russian attack, fear not. Ukraine is destroying itself without any need of Russian intervention.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

JACK MURPHY DISGRACED: Jack Murphy, a famed name of the "manosphere" who teaches males how to be "men" for $99.99 a month, has been disgraced as lurid details of his decidedly unmanly sexual life were recently revealed. We recommend Rod Dreher's article on Murphy entitled Queer as Volk along with this essay on the macho-homosexual connection to fascism.

SHOT WITH HER OWN GUN: A female cop was partnered with a male cop. They responded to a noise disturbance report only for the woman to be overwhelmed, disarmed, and killed with her own gun while her partner was shot in the head. While we can see the use of women to assist the police in certain circumstances, the idea that a woman can go toe-to-toe with an able-bodied male is absurd. It gets people killed - including the women we send out as police. In another case a woman in Minnesota who mistook her gun for a taser has been found guilty in Minnesota. We're saddened at the gender insanity but not at all surprised by the results.

E.O. WILSON (1929-2021): The father of Sociobiology, E.O. Wilson, has died. We've previously discussed him in the context of Catholic Sociobiology and the famed theology of Henri de Lubac. You can also watch a video we made regarding his thinking on Religion, Sex, and Politics.