Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

CONSERVATIVE CHURCH BOMBED: A church in California known for its defense of marriage and declared a "hate group" by the radical Left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center has become the victim of a hate crime. The bombing of this church is a reminder that the real terror threats to this nation come not from the political right.

FR Z ON THE MOVE: Fr. Z, the controversial traditionalist priest and blogger, is leaving Madison after a seeming fall out with the bishop. We here at AoA have had some concerns about Fr. Z, especially after his 2018 defense of a traditionalist priest who was caught having homosexual relations. Clearly his traditionalism trumps cleansing the church of active homosexual clerics. Perhaps it is time for Fr. Z to move on.

CHRISTIANITY AND GENDER: We invite our readers to watch the latest video from the Religion, Sex, & Politics channel on Christianity, St. Paul, and Gender. What did St. Paul really mean when he said that in Christ there is neither "male nor female"?

II. AMERICA AND PRESIDENTAL POLITICS

WASHINGTON UNDER SIEGE: Democrats used the bizarre storming of the capitol by hapless and foolish citizens to pack the city with a 25,000 man occupation force. It now plans to keep more than 5000 troops in the city during the faux impeachment trial. The Department of Homeland Security has warned of a looming domestic terror threat over the election yet has no specific evidence of any planned attack. It's not all that hard to imagine partisan forces at DHS manufacturing a vague threat in order to justify the capital's continued occupation. It's clear no threat faces our nation or capital - yet when riots  destroyed businesses and churches in D.C. last summer Democrats threatened impeachment if the troops were called in. The are in D.C. is thick with hypocrisy these days.

HIDDEN SPEECH: Joe Biden's inauguration was a disaster. Few attended, Biden was gaffe-prone, and no one watched. In fact, the video of the inauguration speech was so reviled (4.3k thumbs up votes to 48k thumbs down votes) that it continues to be officially unlisted on the White House's YouTube account.

BIDEN COVID HYPOCRISY: In an October 15 Tweet, Joe Biden condemned President Trump's virus response by saying: "We're eight months into this pandemic, and Donald Trump still doesn't have a plan to get this virus under control." Now in office Biden has said "there's nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months." Last year Biden condemned President Trump for pandemic-related travel bans to some African nations, saying the ban was "designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United State." This same man is now using the virus to impose a travel ban on South Africa.

MAIL IN FRAUD? Jeff Bezos has suddenly changed his tune on mail-in voting. While seemingly in favor of it in the general election - which helped Biden - Bezos does not want Amazon employees to use mail-in voting during a vote to unionize an Amazon site in Alabama. Insisting that only in-person voting would ensure a "valid, fair and successful election," is quite the hypocritical double standard from November.

GOP CENSURES: As question remain in the minds of many regarding the legitimacy November's presidential election, Trump-haters within the GOP are finding themselves in hot water. The Arizona GOP has now officially censured Jeff Flake, Cindy McCain, and sitting Governor Doug Ducey while re-electing Kelli Ward - a fierce Trump supporter - as the party chair. Mitch McConnell was also censured in his home state of Kentucky. In Oklahoma - the state where Trump won every county - there are demands that both GOP senators resign for not supporting the president. What this all means is that President Trump may very well be ascendant in the party overall. Lingering questions related to the election mean that President Trump's movement will continue.

III. THE NATIONS

ANGLOSPHERE FEDERATION: With Brexit accomplished the United Kingdom seeks to chart a new path in the world. Part of this is a potential - if rather unlikely - federation of Anglo-nations. Meanwhile as Scotland seeks independence the United Kingdom is fighting to stay... united. 

NATIONS FIGHTING TWITTER: Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has been suspended by Twitter. As Twitter cracks down on civic leaders and civilians, countries are waking up to the dangers posed by Twitter and Big Tech. The fact that a company like Twitter can censor speech that does not violate the law means that Big Tech can force its own speech laws on nations. Nations like Poland, however, are fighting back. Poland plans to fine social media each time it unjustly censors its nation's citizens. 

US-RUSSIA RELATIONS: As both the US and Russia abandoned the Open Skies Treaty, Biden hopes that both nations will extend another nuclear arms treaty for five more years. Meanwhile Russia and India have poked the US as the latter plans to use a Russian anti-air missile system - the same system over which the US penalized Turkey for purchasing. We expect the inept and secular Biden to do little over this - which in the end will thankfully favor Christian Russia and Hindu India. 

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

NOT MY PILLOW: Mike Lindell, founder of My Pillow and vocal supporter of President Trump, announced his pillows will no longer be sold by many major outlets. Lindell and My Pillow are but one example of the great purge befalling Trump supporters. Cancel culture aims to shame people both socially and financially. 

FOX NEWS DOWNFALL: Since its stunning betrayal of President Trump, Fox News ratings are in a death spiral. Programs lead by MacCallum, Baier, Ingraham, Hannity, Bream, and Tucker have all seen viewership drop by at least half. The biggest move from Fox News since November? It fired the Trump-hating Chris Stirewalt. Good start, but no where near enough to being back viewers. Next in line needs to be Chris Wallace and the entire election night Decision Desk.

BIDEN'S CULTURE OF DEATH: In some of his first official acts, Joe Biden is promoting abortion overseas, increased the cost of insulin and epinephrine, sent thousands of American workers into unemployment, and put transgendered people in military uniform. Is this really the kind of politician Catholicism produces and protects?

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 23

by A. Joseph Lynch 

THE WEEKLY BRIEF 

BIDEN SEIZES POWER

The week's edition looks squarely at Biden's power grab in Washington D.C. and his first days in power. We'll return to our usual format next week.

On Wednesday, January 20, amid a sea of half-filled chairs and insulated by 25,000 American soldiers (who were slapped in the face and treated as traitors through additional FBI vetting), the frail-looking and mumbling Joe Biden seized power in Washington. Far from projecting strength, Biden's entrance projected nothing but weakness. Nancy Pelosi had hoped for machine gun nests to lock down the capital from any unarmed pro-Trump protesters seeking to have their voices heard. It makes one recall the impeachment threats lobbed at President Trump if he called in the national guard following the DC riots, fires, and near assault on the White House last summer (and that wasn't an insurrection?). The same people who decried President Trump holding a Bible in front of a burned out church across the street from the White House now pat themselves on the back as the capital looks like a military fortress. They know they are a detestable swamp, using the military to silence even legitimate peaceful protest. 

Even Biden knew this as he ended his speech by saying, "may God protect our troops." Later in the day, Biden appeared to parrot something from his earpiece as he approached two Marines in a doorway. He mumbled out, "Salute the Marines," clearly repeating what he was told rather than actually saluting the soldiers as he should have. Of course, once their role was over, 5,000 American soldiers were booted from the US Capitol, crammed into a parking garage, and forced to share one electric socket and two toilets. Cramped and huddled like cattle, hundreds of soldiers are now in quarantine having been exposed to the coronavirus. It was an absolute disgrace and a mockery of the US military. 

But Biden wasn't done humiliating America and her armed forces. 

As part of his first day in power, Biden signed a series of executive orders. One order closed the Keystone oil pipeline and sent thousands of Americans into unemployment. As Biden launches his plan to end fracking and oil drilling while rejoining the disastrous Paris Climate Accord, America will need energy resources from somewhere... which is why in less than twenty-four hours he used American military forces to invade a foreign country - Syria - and begin installing troops around Syria's oil sites. One of President Trump's final acts was to remove troops from Somalia. Democrats and Republicans prevented the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. We fully expect a new war to be launched in the next 6-12 months. As Biden plans to allow the transgendered into the military, the poor living in third world countries will be expected to marvel at American diversity as a black, transgendered lesbian drops bombs on their children.  

Biden also ordered the end of President Trump's 1776 Commission, thus ensuring America's youth will be indoctrinated to believe the United States is fundamentally evil and racist. 

As Biden begins his rule, he's used the military to shut down political speech, cut American jobs, bound America to job-killing climate deals, disrespected the troops, invaded a sovereign nation, endorsed gender confusion, and promoted contempt for American history and America's heritage. It's no wonder so many troops turned their backs on his motorcade as he toured the empty streets of his newly seized capital. 

Meanwhile President Trump gave a moving farewell address and flew to Florida where he was given a hero's welcome. Thousands poured into the streets to welcome the president. He leaves office with an approval rating of 51% while Biden's approval is underwater at 48% - a first in American history. It remains to be seen what President Trump plans for the future. The bogus and unconstitutional Senate trial is set to begin in February and it's unlikely the president will fully reveal his plans until the trial has ended. The threat of launching a third party - the Patriot Party - may be enough to convince Senate Republicans to acquit. Nevertheless, the president may launch a media empire or run again as a Republican or Patriot Party candidate. 

For now President Trump appears to be America's Braveheart. He rallied the nation's "peasants" to fight back against the swamp but was ultimately betrayed by the nobility in his own party. Will he return or power, or will an American Robert the Bruce arise to overthrow the GOP establishment and win back the nation once and for all? Time will tell.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 16

by A. Joseph Lynch

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

THE PURGE INTENSIFIES

Since the events of January 6, liberal politicians and their allies in the media, social media, and virtually every institution across the nation launched a soft-coup on what remained of President Trump's presidency. The sitting US President has now been banned or restricted on Facebook, Twitter, Google, Grindr, Snapchat, Instagram, Shopify, Reddit, Startplay, V Live, Tik Tok, and Pintrest. (Gab, a Twitter-esque social media platform founded by a devout Christian, managed to save and repost Trump's Twitter feed before it was deleted.)

And if this could happen to President Trump, what could befall his supporters? Almost anything. The Lincoln Project, together with Forbes, is putting together a blacklist of Trump officials and staff with hopes of making sure no one associated with the president gains future employment. Tens of thousands of Trump supporters have also been banned from social media. Facebook has deleted the Walk Away group - a movement seeking to bring Democrats into the Republican party. The self-proclaimed "milk toast fence sitting" left-leaning moderate, Tim Pool, has now been demonetized on Facebook. Cumulus Radio, which hosts some of the biggest conservative names in the radio world, has threatened to cut ties with any commentator who questions the election.

And it's not just conservative individuals or groups under assault. The social media platform Parler, which has been billed as the conservative alternative to Twitter, was nuked from orbit as it was banned from the app stores on Apple and Google while Amazon banned it from Amazon's servers - thus ending the platform altogether. The far left and the establishment wings of both parties has allied itself with big business and big tech to stifle free speech and eradicate the nation of its nationalist patriots while organizations like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have seen little backlash after using social media to organize riots, looting, and violence.

If all this wasn't enough, the re-appointed Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, shoved an impeachment vote through the House without any any formal investigation or committee hearings ahead of the vote. The president, who called for a peaceful protest on January 6, was accused of incitement by the Democrats (along with ten Republicans - including Never Trumper Liz Cheney - who apparently don't mind ending their own careers) and impeached a second time. The Babylon Bee humorously hit the impeachment farce on the nose with this headline: "'Let's all remain peaceful,' says Trump in clear incitement to violence."

The US Senate is out of session until January 19, meaning no trial could take place until one hour after inauguration on the 20th. And since private citizens can't be impeached, the rushed impeachment was a joke from beginning to end. Why do it? Some suspect the move was made to further incite conservatives across the nation in hopes some violence would ensue during the inauguration. Any violence would thus be used to enforce harsher persecution of conservatives. In any case, President Trump has become the first president to be impeached twice... but he's also the first president to be impeached when publicly accessible exculpatory evidence vindicates his innocence.

As the president nears the end of his first term, we hope his movement and supporters can hunker down during the storm to come. As election lawyer Robert Barnes has pointed out, it might be better for the president to spend the next four years rebuilding his movement, creating a platform of his own, coordinating primaries on his Republican opponents, and preparing for 2024. Even after everything that's happened, polls reveal that 91% of his supporters would vote for him again. The Republican Party is still Trump's party. As the Left launches its purge, we await a Trump-led purge of political backstabbers in the Republican Party. The next two to four years will be interesting indeed.

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

FRANCIS' BIG MISTAKE: Pope Francis new motu proprio, Spiritus Domini, is changing Canon 230 to allow women to become lectors and acolytes. While every pope makes some mistakes, this mistake is Francis' biggest - and its garnered little to no attention from media (liberal or conservative). This article tackles the changes through a Q&A format. The big question not asked is: How many lectors are acolytes are used at the average Mass? Answer: NONE. Lectors and acolytes are instituted through an ordination-looking ritual with the bishop. Since women were never allowed to become instituted lectors and acolytes, no bishop has instituted any laymen to the ministry. Now that bishops are no longer allowed to keep women out, expect liberal bishops to institute both genders while conservative bishops either follow suit or continue refusing both genders into these ministries. There is much more to say about this topic. Expect a video from Religion, Sex, & Politics in the weeks ahead.

CARDINAL PAROLIN'S PERIL: Cardinal Pietro Parolin is now neck deep in the British property scandal plaguing the Vatican. A Parolin-scribed letter has emerged looking for loans to purchase the London luxury real estate property. More from CNA News.

STEALING CHRISTMAS: Did Christians steal December 25 from the pagans or did the pagans try to steal December 25 from the Christians? Find out in the recent video from Religion, Sex, & Politics.

NO CONFESSIONAL SEAL? A group of North Dakota state legislators (mostly Republican) seek to legally eliminate the seal of Confession when it comes to priestly sex abuse. Though well intentioned, it flies in the face of religious liberty. Would that our priests and bishops had been more honest and trustworthy in the past (and in too many cases, the present).

TRUMP'S EMMAUS MOMENT: A religious reflection on the current political turmoil along with a call to have hope and take action.

II. PRESIDENTAL POLITICS

LINCOLN PROJECT PERV: It comes as no surprise that John Weaver, former aide to John McCain and co-founder of the Trump hating Lincoln Project, is accused of grooming young men and using homosexual sex in a quid pro quo for employment opportunities. Weaver has admitted to some accusations and we expect more to come in the weeks ahead. 

REICHSTAG FIRE DECREE: The media and the Democrats continue to call the storming of the Capitol last week an insurrection, using it as a means of claiming the President incited violence and to persecute conservatives. The fact that those who entered the Capitol carried no weapons, had no plan, and took silly photos of themselves inside makes such leftist claims rather dubious. Yet recalling that the Nazis used the Reichstag fire to push the fascist Reichstag Fire Decree (which was used to imprison critics of the Nazis) we should be very wary of the new domestic terror bill now being pushed by the Democrats to target conservatives. Of course, there is nothing in the law to target Antifa, BLM, or other leftist groups that have burned cities and terrorized citizens since May.

LEFTIST TERRORISM (1983-2020): As the Left uses the events of January 6 to persecute conservatives, little attention is being given to an actual terror attack on the US Capitol in November 1983. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Susan Rosenberg and Linda Sue Evans led the M19CO  terror organization to bomb the US Capitol, "an FBI office, the Israel Aircraft Industries building, and the South African consulate in New York, D.C.’s Fort McNair and Navy Yard (which they hit twice.)" M19CO stood for May 19th Communist Organization, with May 19 as a reference to the birthdays of Ho Chi Min and Malcom X. According to Wikipedia, the terror organization "was a combination of the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground" that "also included members of the Black Panthers and the Republic of New Africa (RNA)." Caught and convicted, Evans' and Rosenberg's sentences were commuted by Bill Clinton (with help from Jerry Nadler) on his last day in office. Rosenberg went on to become the vice chair for Thousand Currents - which provides fundraising for Black Lives Matter. Of course BLM and Antifa, championed by the Left, followed in Rosenburg's footsteps to loot and raze businesses and buildings across America. A glance back at history should not surprise us that the atheist-communist, black ethno-nationalist/supremacist spirit of M19CO is alive and well in organizations like BLM.

ROBERT BARNES ON VIVA FREI: Election lawyer Robert Barnes was a consistent voice of reason throughout the weeks following the election. In a recent interview/discussion, he describes the current situation as akin to The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to Star Wars wherein it seems all hope is lost. He argues that a darker second act will make the triumphant third act all the more glorious. The interview includes many other good points on hot topic legal issues - well worth the watch.

III. THE NATIONS

GOVERNMENTS IN COLLAPSE: It appears snap elections will soon be held in the Netherlands and Italy as their respective governments collapse. New elections in Italy may open the door for nationalist Salvini's return to power as two nationalist parties seem to be positioned to run the next government.

BACK TO CHINA: According to China critic Gordan Chang, given the coming policy changes under Biden, Walmart is cancelling orders it had placed with domestic suppliers and sending them to Chinese factories. 

CHINA-RUSSIA ALLIANCE? Caspian Report offers its take on China-Russia relations and why a full alliance is likely not in the cards.

NATIONS AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA: Nations the world over are reacting to the blatant censorship of President Trump and conservatives by social media platforms. Merkel of Germany came out against the banning of President Trump (you know things are getting out of hand when the Germans are warning against creeping fascism in your country). Poland is enacting monetary penalties on social media platforms that censor Polish citizens. And in an ironic act of pure hypocrisy, Twitter condemned Uganda for banning social media ahead of national elections. This comes after Twitter banned a sitting US President, purged tens of thousands of Trump supporters from its service, cheered the destruction of its conservative-leaning competitor, and influenced the results of the US national election. The sad part is that the hypocrisy will only get worse. For the moment, conservatives can cheer as Facebook and Twitter stocks took a combined $51 billion hit this week.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

ABORTED VACCINE? (UPDATE): In a previous R&G we noted that the Catholic Church has officially backed the use of the new coronavirus vaccines. Pope Francis has since roundly approved their use. But what about the morality of the vaccine? We've done some digging on the topic of abortion's connection to the vaccine and found that cell lines stemming to aborted children in the 1970s and 1980s were used as part of vaccine R&D. This article stresses that no aborted tissues are in the vaccine and that the cells used result from abortions decades ago. This interview with expert Pamela Acker, however, raises serious concerns about the vaccine's ethics. Do watch, but note that the interview gets graphic, so we recommend avoid listening to it around small children.

FIRST ABORTION FREE STATE? It appears as though Missouri is the first state in the US to be abortion free. Although Planned Parenthood claims there is one place available for abortions in St. Louis, attempts to schedule abortions are rejected with a message saying: "abortion services are not offered at this location." It is a great triumph for one state and the lives of the unborn. More from Church Militant.

AMEN AND A-WOMEN? Missouri Representative Emanuel Cleaver, a Methodist pastor, concluded a recent Congressional prayer with the words "Amen and A-women". One would think a college educated pastor would know that the etymology of "Amen" has nothing to do with males. It goes to show how poorly educated is his left-wing audience and how low he can go to take advantage of their ignorance to score cheap partisan points during a moment which should be sacred and above partisanship.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 9

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

By A. Joseph Lynch

FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS AND A PRESIDENT BETRAYED AS DARKNESS DESCENDS UPON THE NATION

Today's edition of Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review is a reflection on this past week, a week we fear will mark the first of many dark days to come.

Tuesday's election in Georgia played out as we all expected. The Governor and his secretary of state continued to bow to Democrat demands to weaken election integrity, and both Republican senators lost. Neither stood by the president this past month, neither called for election integrity or reform ahead of the elections, and both have been booted out of office. In the end, neither deserved to win. Kelly Loeffler was a crony crook who is accused of insider trading during the pandemic's outset. Purdue was a spineless coward. While it is highly likely the Georgia legislature will take up election reform, it is too little too late to save the Senate from the far Left. Senator Joe Manchin of all people may be the Republicans last best hope. But we're not holding our breath.

Wednesday morning we woke to the news that the Democrats would flip the Senate and by mid-morning we learned that Mike Pence would refuse to fight. Like a true coward he waited to release his decision until moments before the joint session was held. In his statement he claimed he couldn't choose whose electors to count - so he went ahead and counted Biden's. In doing so he became a modern day Brutus in the Senate and perhaps the most reviled Republican in the nation. Rather than "not choosing" in order to send the electors back to the state legislatures, Pence would do no more than give a brief two-hour debate for each disputed state, but all knew there were not enough votes to make a difference. Though some Republicans stood up for what was right, other establishment Republicans like Lindsay Graham would speak against the President and refuse to address the legitimate evidence of election malfeasance. The GOP establishment struck back. Pence, the GOP establishment, and the Democrats made a total mockery of American democracy. If the halls of Congress were desecrated on Wednesday, they were first desecrated by cowards like Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsay Graham. 

Ahead of the joint session, President Trump rallied tens of thousands of supporters near the capitol. His speech once again laid out the evidence of fraud in the November election. At the end of the speech he asked the protestors to march on the capitol, not to attack it, but to "try and give [the moderate Republicans] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country." The protestors marched and videos have emerged showing Capitol Police welcoming them into the Capitol building. We don't know what sparked things, but soon after a fight broke out with the police within the Capitol. Despite what the media says, nothing was organized and details are somewhat scarce. Though the protesters lacked weapons and organization, Senators and Congressmen took cover. What later emerged were pictures of a man in horns standing in the halls of Congress, another man with his feet on Pelosi's desk, and another man - who hasn't voted since 2002 - carrying off her podium. 

As "violent" protesters go, this seemed pretty tame. In fact, it was more peaceful than the "mostly peaceful" BLM protests that for the last six months burned buildings and killed people across the nation. While a few appeared to die from heart attacks or other ailments, one person was shot and killed - an innocent peaceful protestor shot dead in what appears to be a police officer firing blindly into the crowd. But not a single media outlet is going to speak out on her behalf. No one will be allowed to protest over her killing. No, it was a police killing but the media makes it sound as if the protesters shot her. Besides, everyone is too busy condemning Trump and the protestors whose voices have yet to be heard. Of course, every Republican condemned the hooligans in the Capitol, but has any Democrat condemned BLM? Indeed, did anyone describe it as a seditious assault on democracy when armed Black Panthers stormed the California state capitol in 1967? Not long ago the Huffington Post defended it.

What are we to make of the protest in the Capitol? The Left is using it to declare all out war on Trump conservatism. They want to expel any Senator or Congressman who objected to the contested states. Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter. Senator Hawley lost the publication of a new book. Conservatives across social media are being de-platformed. Parler - the censor-free version of Twitter - has been told to clamp down on conservatives or be removed from Apple's app store. Steve Bannon has been banned from YouTube. The great purge is beginning and the Left will see to it that many heads will roll alongside the President's. Remember when everyone said if Trump went after Hillary following his 2016 victory that he'd be no better than a dictator if he punished his political opponent? What we're about to see will be that on steroids. 

Meanwhile on the right there are calls for secession. While some conservatives like Pat Buchanan see the storming of the Capitol as a "desecration", others compare it to the Doolittle Raid or the British bombing of Berlin in World War II. Both were tactically meaningless but both pushed the Japanese and the Germans to overplay their hands. The Doolittle Raid pressured the Japanese to launch the disastrous Midway campaign while the Brits' attack on Berlin led to Hitler's failed air war over Britain. The swift action now being taken by the far Left in DC, some say, shows how scared they were by Wednesday's events. It revealed how weak and impotent they really were. For a couple of hours it was revealed that the emperor had no clothes. We all know Biden did not win the election. Can the far Left in DC, the media, and Big Tech really stop determined Americans from standing up amid lockdowns, economic stagnation, and repressive censorship? What happed at the Capitol revealed how little credibility and strength the crooks in Washington have left. 

Trump protesters poked the bear and the bear is striking back in order to give the appearance of uncontested strength - but it will only make them look petty and small. Pence is under pressure to use the 25th Amendment to remove the President (a coup by another name). Pelosi is pushing for a second impeachment - and it is not at all unlikely that both houses will move to ban President Trump from holding office in the future. Meanwhile cabinet secretaries Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao used the protest to quit their posts. So much for women's loyalty. And the women were not alone. Bill Barr proved himself to be a total joke and swamp dweller when he accused the President of committing "a betrayal of his office." Absolutely pathetic (and don't ever expect to see the Durham report). Despite all this, President Trump has unseated Obama as the most admired man and now enjoys a 51% job approval.

Nevertheless we at AoA believe it a grave mistake for President Trump to quit campaigning after Election Day. The fight had to be fought and won in the contested states - and he absolutely needed to have three rallies a day to bring pressure on the state legislatures to act. Campaigning only in Georgia for two pseudo-Republicans in a rigged race was not going to do it. And here we are.

It's hard to tell what comes next. Pray for the President. Pray for the nation. Pray for deliverance from the evil that surrounds us. For now dark days are here to stay...

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JANUARY 2

by A. Joseph Lynch

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

PENCE'S DECISION

By this time next week we should have a very good idea how the presidential election will wrap up. When the join session of Congress meets on Wednesday, only one US Representative and one US Senator are required to hold up certification. Should this happen, both houses will hold two hour debates over each contested state. So far it looks like one or two Senators will object while around 140 Representatives will join them. 

Rumors are swirling, however, that McConnell and Pelosi will change the rules to make such a move more difficult. And even if debate moves forward, it seems highly unlikely that both houses will agree to count contested electoral votes for President Trump.

This is why it may all come down to Vice President Pence. Although the joint session will be held in the House, Pence will lead the show as Pelosi takes a seat. Pence makes the initial decision regarding which votes from the contested states to count - Trump votes or Biden votes. But what will he do? Were he to count Trump votes first, it might be very hard for both Houses to overturn his decision - and even if they did, Pence could refuse to certify the election.

It all comes down to Pence. 

Recently Representative Louis Gohmert (Texas) took Pence to federal court in order to force him to defend the president. Trump's own DOJ stepped in to fight off the suit as Pence stood idly by. This week a federal judge tossed the suit by using the same escape hatch the courts have thus far used: no standing. 

Sadly since November 3 the courts, state governors, and state legislators, have abdicated their authority to act. Will Congress and Mike Pence soon join them in their cowardice? We'll soon find out.

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

MERRY CHRISTMAS: The Christmas season has begun. If you haven't read it yet, read Dr. Pence's Christmas reflection. And be on the lockout for a Christmas-related video coming out in the next day or so.

MOTHER OF GOD OR CIRCUMCISION? Dr. Taylor Marshall explains the evolution of January 1 in the Roman Rite. And be sure to read Dr. Pence's reflection on the Circumcision of Christ. 

ABORTED VACCINE? The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has approved the use of vaccines made in part through research on the remains of children who were murderously aborted. The CDF argues that those who receive the vaccine only "remotely" cooperate in evil and that the vaccine cannot be a justification for the evils of abortion. To those on the fence, however, the CDF also stressed that vaccinations must be voluntary, not coerced. 

II. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA

LIES AND STATISTICS: Daniel Oliver's recent piece in The American Conservative examines the statistical evidence pointing towards election fraud while critiquing liberal hypocrisy on statistics.

MORE VOTES THAN VOTERS: Lawmakers in Pennsylvania say 170,830 more ballots were recorded than voters voting in presidential race. Is anyone surprised?

ALL IN THE FAMILY: As Democrat Stacey Abrams cut a deal with Georgia's RINO Secretary of State to reduce election integrity, her sister - US District Judge Leslie Abrams - has worked from behind the bench to ensure Georgia's election laws remain sidelined. If this continues, AoA predicts the Democrats are only days away from seizing control of the Senate. 

PORK-COVID FUNDING: We were saddened to learn that President Trump signed the pork-laden pandemic relief bill into law. There was enough money spent to ensure Americans received $2000 checks - but this money went to a host of pork barrel spending the left Americans high and dry. Breitbart outlined all the pork funding that could have been cut to make this a reality.

III. THE NATIONS ROUND UP

BREXIT TAKES EFFECT: With the coming of the New Year the EU-UK divorce has become final. The UK is now free to chart its own national destiny. We wish them the best and long to see other EU nations win their independence in the months and years to come.

SOLEIMANI ONE YEAR LATER: It's been one year since the US assassinated Iran's great war hero Soleimani. We argued a year ago that this was a terrible mistake. It remains one of President Trump's greatest mistakes as president. Iran is still vowing vengeance as America has brokered an anti-Iranian alliance network between Israel and the Arab states throughout the region. What seems like peace now could turn into a great war in the not too distant future. 

IMMUNITY TO SAUDI PRINCE? As the US pressures minority Shia Iran, it appears close to granting immunity to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused of attempting to assassinate a former Saudi official in Canada. The Saudis continue to be the largest state sponsors of Salafist terrorism and they get cushy immunity deals. It's not hard to see why the Iranians are angry.

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT COLLAPSE: After failing to meet a budget deadline, the government of Israel has collapsed again and will hold snap elections in March. Will this be the end of Netanyahu?

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

NASHVILLE BOMBING: In a sad story, a deeply depressed man in Nashville blew himself up on Christmas. He used an RV and gave warning before the detonation. It wasn't terrorism. The man wanted to die and wanted people to know he died. His is a plight shared by an increasing number of men falling behind in today's society governed by the wealthy feminist and homosexualist elites.

MORE SCOTUS COWARDICE: Hopes that the US Supreme Court would help conservatives fight the culture war were dashed anew as the court refused to stop boys (claiming to be girls) from using girls bathrooms and locker rooms in Oregon schools. Does anyone really see Roe v. Wade being struck down?

CLEOPATRA'S RACE: Outrage recently ensued over the casting of Jewish actress Gal Gadot to play Cleopatra in an upcoming movie. Many claimed she should be played by an Arab actress. Of course, people forget that during the days of Cleopatra the Arabs hadn't yet conquered Egypt. At the time, Greece controlled the region and Cleopatra was a descendant of the Greek Ptolemy family dynasty. 

WEAR THE MASK - OR ELSE: The team formerly known as the Redskins has stripped its quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, of his captaincy and fined him $40,000. Why? He attended a party without a facemask. We at AoA are not opposed to facemasks - but we recognize that people should not be punished and shamed to this degree if they fail to wear one. Have such penalties befallen Democrat political leaders who have done far worse? But if you want to see the ultimate mask fanatic, watch how this woman uses her mask when walking her dog.