December 28: The Feast of the Holy Innocents

[first published December 28, 2014]

David Pence writes:


The birth of a baby in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago revealed to chosen witnesses what his mother had kept hidden for nine months, and his Father in heaven had concealed before the foundation of the world. The angels sang hosanna from heaven, three wise rulers knelt to recognize a new kingdom was being established, and all wisdom would be recast in light of the star over the manger. The Jewish shepherds were there to acknowledge their Messiah and keep away the wolves. For whenever innocence and purity show their face in this still-fallen world, the wolves gather to destroy.

The day after Christmas, the Church reminds all whose hearts were warmed by the babe in the manger that Stephen was stoned for attesting to the baby-Savior’s true identity. Three days after Christmas, the Church liturgically remembers the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The three wise kings had bent their knees in homage and conformed their minds in faith. But a proud and ignorant Herod ordered a horrible bloodletting, so the screams of Jewish mothers losing their sons might erase the songs of joyous angels welcoming the Son of God.

Vigilant Joseph was warned in a dream of the danger and led his holy family hundreds of miles across hills and desert to the safety of Egypt. He must have pondered the death of so many sons of his countrymen as he guarded his sacred charges during the flight.

The Church also ponders their deaths on this day, and awards to those Holy Innocents the keys to the kingdom granted to martyred saints. Possibly their deaths and celestial fate may be a lesson for all who have suffered death as an "innocent:" the children at the time of Noah’s flood, the dutiful soldier drowned in the Red Sea, the cremated and tortured prisoners of the tyrants, the villagers buried by molten lava or a raging sea. This day we reflect on how deeply ingrained and inescapable is suffering to the Christian vocation. And, possibly, this day we can also find meaning in those other deaths of innocents -- the child or mother or father who appear on God’s strange and deadly list of patients afflicted by infection or malignancy. May all who experience the mysterious reality of human suffering know the crown of glory bestowed upon the Jewish baby boys who were killed at the births of Moses and of Our Lord.


UPDATE -- From a sermon by Saint Quodvultdeus (a student of Saint Augustine):

"When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come. 

"Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil...  

"How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory."

FINALLY -- on this day, we Americans are mindful of our own slaughter of innocents. In some ways it is more horrible that Rachel, instead of weeping, is the one who brings her babe to be slaughtered for career or convenience. Feminism is a bloody Pharaoh. When the sacred goods and the innocents are defiled, sometimes we must cover our own and flee as did Joseph. Other times we must remember  the Maccabees at Hanukkah and gather our brothers under the Father to stop the evil. For sure, we need a new approach as a profile movement organizing a culture of protection not making one more claim for rights.

CHRISTMAS: “Mortals, join the mighty chorus / which the morning stars began”

[first published Christmas 2013]


David Pence writes:

On April 30, 1916, Germany and Austria introduced the first Daylight Savings Bill to reduce the evening use of lamplight fuel during the Great War. This resetting of clocks was to better harmonize man’s calculation of time with the physical experience of daylight in the summer months of the Northern Hemisphere.

On December 25th of every year, there is a world-wide resetting of our spatial-temporal and emotional clocks to an axial experience in the story of man. Every nation looks to Bethlehem, and remembers that in the time of Augustus Caesar a new Adam came to light their way. Our calendars pivot from B.C. (before Christ) to A.D. (annos Domini: the years of the Lord.) In the midst of that blessed night the Incarnation of Our Lord, which for months had been hidden in Our Lady, was made manifest to the Jewish shepherds of Israel. Days later the manifestation ('epiphany') would be experienced by the searching men of the Gentiles. It was a day that reordered the palette of human feelings by elevating joy in God’s presence over all the other emotions. The child in a crib reorganized the physical world bending a star toward Bethlehem to signal that all of matter had a new center of gravity.

Let angels and men sing the Good News – that the Creator of heaven and earth has come to pitch his tent among us. Let us rejoice and be glad. Let us never shrink this day that takes a season to celebrate into "all about family." To be sure families congregate to share the joy and awe but this is a cosmic feast day-an event for humanity.   The true Age of Enlightenment is upon us and our calendars proclaim the new beginning.

                                         

UPDATE:

N.T. Wright on the word made flesh.

Chesterton on Christmas from The Everlasting Man.

The Poles share a special bread.

Puritans say a religious no while Victorians say a secular yes-A history of Christmas in America


And finally, from Dale Ahlquist and the American Chesterton Society --


Why is celebrating Christmas an act of defiance?

We should not be surprised that Christmas is controversial. After all, as G.K. Chesterton points out, the word consists of the two most controversial and divisive words in the world: Christ and Mass. And so, in a culture that is increasingly anti-Christian, and especially anti-Catholic, we can expect that celebrating Christmas is going to be counter-cultural.

But we are not celebrating it in order to defy the culture. We are celebrating it because we are happy. We commemorate a joyful event, and we commemorate it joyfully. Of course we will sing and pray and worship. We will also eat and drink and laugh. But the celebration is still an act of defiance. What we are defying, however, is much bigger than our current culture. It goes back much further. It goes back to Pagan times.

“Why, course!” you say. “The pagans didn't like Christianity, and so naturally, celebrating Christmas was an act of defiance against the ancient pagan culture.”

No, that's not what I'm talking about. In fact, Christmas is not an act against the Pagan culture, it is an act very much in keeping with the Pagan culture.

“What?” you ask, slightly startled.

You heard me. Chesterton says it is the one celebration that survives out of all the ancient festivals that once covered the whole earth: “Christmas remains to remind us of those ages, whether Pagan or Christian, when the many acted poetry instead of the few writing it.”

“What?” you ask again, because you have no idea what that means.

I will try to explain, and I will keep quoting Chesterton, who says there is in this old festival something that is both Pagan and Christian: “... that trinity of eating, drinking and praying which to moderns appears irreverent, the holy day which is really a holiday.”

You still seem puzzled, so you ask: “Are you saying Christmas is a Pagan celebration? That the Christians simply borrowed it from the Pagans?”

No, that's not what I'm saying. The Christian meaning of Christmas is certainly not borrowed from anywhere. It is unique. We believe that a virgin gave birth to God Incarnate, that the divine babe was worshipped by angels and shepherds and eastern kings, that he came into the world to save the world from the eternal self-destruction of sin. It was this good news that changed the Pagan world forever. How did it change? It became Christian.

But the celebration of Christmas, a feast that has continued for two thousand years and has spread across the world like light from heaven, has fulfilled a need that men have had for at least the two thousand years that preceded it, that continued through the next millenia after it as the Gospel spread to lands where similar feasts were held in the names of gods who are now no more than footnotes. The feast remained after the Pagan gods were gone. It became the Christmas feast, but the feast itself had an important meaning that also remained even after it was christened.

“Explain,” you say, now losing your patience.

No, I respond. I will have Chesterton explain: “Christmas occurs in the winter. It is the element not merely of contrast, but actually of antagonism. It preserves everything that was best in the merely primitive or pagan view of such ceremonies or such banquets. If we are carousing, at least we are warriors carousing. We hang above us, as it were, the shields and battle-axes with which we must do battle with the giants of the snow and hail. All comfort must be based on discomfort. Man chooses when he wishes to be most joyful the very moment when the whole material universe is most sad. It is this contradiction and mystical defiance which gives a quality of manliness and reality to the old winter feasts which is not characteristic of the sunny felicities of the Earthly Paradise.”

A feast in the middle of winter is defiant of the winter. A fire blazing indoors is defiant of the cold world outside. It is a bold act of faith to have such when the circumstances are completely against it. It represented hope on the part of Pagans. It represents fulfillment on the part of the Christians, for Christ has come. And it is fitting that Christ should come in our “bleak midwinter.” He is the light that comes into a dark world. He is the hope that comes in the middle of despair. The lonely world has been crying out for him. And he has come. His name is Emmanuel. God is with us.

The darkness has not overcome the light. The brute cold has not quenched the flame. So of course we celebrate. And the celebration itself has warmed the whole world. Even the newly-polished pagans and the half-hearted heathens of the modern world, who avoid Christ, cannot help celebrating with the Christians at Christ's birth. They want to join the winter feast rather than pretend to prefer the cold. Christmas is lovable, and they know it. Love and joy come to you, and to you a wassail, too.

                                                     

Father and Sons Defending the Sacred: The Real Hanukkah Lesson for Christians

by David Pence

Hanukkah begins this evening. It will end in eight days. It is not "the Jewish Christmas." Several hundred years before Christ, the Greeks, the very cosmopolitan educated Greeks, ruled over Palestine. When Antiochus had become the ruler he sought a uniformity of customs and loyalty. Circumcision -- that sign between Abraham and G-d that all the males would shed their own blood to be united as a people in Covenant with the Almighty -- was banned. The sacred precincts of the temple were defiled. Women who had their sons circumcised "were publicly paraded with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown from the top of the city wall."

                             

"... the Gentiles filled the temple with debauchery and revelry; they amused themselves with prostitutes and had intercourse with women even in the sacred court. They brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the law." Most defilements were done by consenting adults and there were plenty of Jewish collaborators. "There was great mourning for Israel. Virgins and young men languished and the beauty of the women was disfigured. Her sanctuary was desolate as a desert. She became a stranger to her own offspring. Her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths to shame, her honor to contempt. Her dishonor was as great as her glory had been and her joy was turned into mourning."

Against this sexual perversity so deeply linked with the defilement of sacral things, Mattathias and his five sons withdrew from the over-educated Greeks who scoffed at their ancient purity codes and rituals of divine worship. Before they organized to fight, the patriarch and the brothers "tore their garments, put on sackcloth and mourned bitterly." They knew the evil that had befallen their fellow Israelites followed their infidelity to G-d. They also knew they must organize to fight. They had seen a group of Israelites come before the Greeks and "refuse to profane the sabbath. Then the enemy attacked them and they did not retaliate... and they died with their wives and their children and their cattle to the number of a thousand persons." Mattathias resolved: "If we all do as our kinsmen have done and do not fight the Gentiles for our lives and our traditions they will soon destroy us from the earth. Let us fight against anyone who attacks us on the sabbath so that we may not all die as our kinsmen died in the hiding places." Mattathias and his men tore down the pagan altars. They also forcibly circumcised any uncircumcised boys they found in the territory of Israel." They stitched back together the only bond capable of ridding the land of abominations. They conscripted their state anew to guard the sacred of old.      
                

Sculpture of Mattathias by Boris Schatz (d. 1932)

"When the time came for Mattathias to die, he said to his sons, 'Arrogance and scorn have now grown strong, it is a time of disaster and violent anger. Therefore, my sons, be zealous for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers." He appointed his son Simeon because of his wisdom to be "like a father to them," and appointed his son Judas (called Maccabeus, the 'hammer') to be "the leader of your army and direct the war against the nations." His sons and the men they gathered around them defeated the Greeks. They tore down the defiled altar and built a new one with uncut stones. They repaired the sanctuary and purified the courts. On the anniversary of the day the Gentiles had defiled the temple they reconsecrated the sacred precinct with song and acts of worship. For eight days they celebrated the dedication, and then "Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days…"

There are many tales of noble martyrs who refused to profane the commands of the Lord before the Maccabees restored a civic order in consonance with G-d's decrees. In the Book of Maccabees the most notable was the mother and her seven sons who refused to defile themselves by eating pork. The holy mother watched her sons be tortured and killed and urged them one after another to persist in courage. Then "her womanly heart with manly courage" was pierced as well. In the Babylonian Talmud there is the story of the miracle of the oil in which one day's supply lasted for eight.  When the Church recounts this re-dedication of the temple in her late November liturgy she couples the reading from Maccabees with the Gospel of Jesus cleansing the temple. Two centuries after the Maccabees, the Jewish convert from Tarsus asked Christians, "Do you not know that you are a temple of the  Holy Spirit?"

For eight days let us Christians look for the lights of the candles shining forth from Jewish homes. They are not lit for the use of the household, but to give glory to G-d by reminding all who see them that the sacred practices of a culture can only be protected if there are fathers and sons who will covenant together under God to fight for them.
                             

Hanukkah candles in Jerusalem

December 12: Queen of Mexico, Our Lady of the Americas

[first published on December 12, 2014]


by David Pence


On October 12th of that seminal year of 1492, Cristóbal Colón named the land he sighted on the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar after her son: San Salvador. Thirty years later (1519-1521) Hernando Cortez would defeat Montezuma and the Aztec Empire, establishing the new Spain and eventually the nation of Mexico. Ten years later (1532-33) his second cousin, Francisco Pizarro, would defeat Emperor Atahualpa of the Incas in Peru. These military victories would set the groundwork for the Spanish nations of South and Central America.

In the same era another event would lay the "true spiritual foundation of America -- and of all the nations of the Americas -- North and South." The apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Nahuatl convert Juan Diego (December 1531) would synthesize the indigenous natives and Spanish warriors into a single La Raza. She appeared as an Aztecan beauty and told Juan Diego’s uncle (whom she healed) that her name would be Santa Maria de Guadalupe. This was the same name as the black Madonna of Castile – an inspiration to the Catholic warriors who established the nation of Spain through the Reconquista against the Muslims. That centuries-long war ended in 1492 just as Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) planted the Christian vine in the Americas. She said she would be “the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind.” She was both of the natives and of the Spaniards, and she left Castilian roses and the name of a river in Spain to accompany her beautiful native countenance. (The Spanish Guadalupe and the meaning of the Crescent)

As Catholics gather in ever growing numbers on this American feast day, let us honor Mary and her Son by deepening our public bonds of religion and  national citizenship. Our Lady of Guadalupe integrated cultures in her very person and provided a path to the syncretistic national identities of 8 million converted Aztec Indians and the evangelizing Catholic conquistadors.  Gathering to acknowledge her loving motherhood, hundreds of miles north and half a millenium later, may our liturgical actions forge the new personalities of Catholic nation men who belong to the supernatural organic community of the Eucharistic Church as well as the covenanted civic brotherhoods of our respective nations.

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, who called her appearance “the spiritual foundation of the Americas,” has written a little masterpiece on immigration.  He categorizes immigration reform as a religious project, for America is a spiritual adventure. It is here in America that Chesterton says a “cosmic commonwealth” is being formed by “molding many peoples into the visible image of the citizen.” Archbishop Gomez, unlike all too many immigration proponents, sees a restoration of the idea of citizenship and an integrating Americanization as the necessary spiritual alternative to the "anarchy of diversity" and the destructive bias of "our elites" against "the ideals of citizenship and integration around a common national identity."

On this feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Catholics across the Americas will unite as brothers and sisters under our common mother. On other days our civic task will be to reestablish the distinct religious national brotherhoods of the United States and Mexico, which have been so frayed and torn in this age of atheism. May we mend our sacred flags and meet our complementary destinies as Christian nations acting in history to fulfill God’s Providence. We must ask the Queen to bring forth new Cristeros. Authoritative masculine civic personalities will be the blessed "peacemakers who will be called the sons of God.”  A strong Catholic Mexican leader must regain control over outlaw provinces and diabolic criminal networks. A renewed Christian America will be led by men reasserting the police power of  states to once again outlaw those federally sanctioned abominations that would make an Aztec blush.  May Our Lady of Guadalupe provide the spiritual ground where brother nations can stand in fraternity to do the Will of Our Father.


                                                           

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

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

BY A. JOSEPH LYNCH

WAR IN UKRAINE IN VIDEO

WAR IN UKRAINE UPDATE

ZELENSKY DEFENDS WAR CRIMINALS

We continue our coverage of Ukraine this week with more videos from Religion, Sex, and Politics. Please feel free to watch the videos below to learn more about the events of the week.

Our first video offers our readers an update on Ukraine, specifically examining the battlefield situation, the economic war, and the geopolitics of Asia reorienting to Moscow and Beijing. 

Our second video offers a shocking clip of Ukraine's president, Zelensky, defending the Nazi Azov Battalion after an untold number of civilians state the unit's many war crimes in Mariupol.

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

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

BY A. JOSEPH LYNCH

WAR IN UKRAINE IN VIDEO

A CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA?

THE DENAZIFICATION OF RUSSIA

DID UKRAINE WANT WAR WITH RUSSIA?

AN AMERICAN MERCENARY'S PERSPECTIVE

IS UKRAINE TURNING ITS KIDS INTO NEO-NAZIS

We continue our coverage of Ukraine this week with more videos from Religion, Sex, and Politics. Please feel free to watch the videos below to learn more about the events of the week.

Our first video examines Pope Francis' ill-considered consecration of Russia to the immaculate heart of Mary. Thought the Vatican holds this was done in relation to Fatima in 1984, traditional Catholics argue wrongly that this consecration is the "real" one. 

Our second video explains why Russia speaks of the "denazification" of Ukraine and the history behind the neo-Nazi movement in the country.

In our third video we examine the possibility that - according to Ukrainian leaders - Ukraine might have sought war with Russia. 

Our last two videos this week involve shocking footage from a US mercenary who fled Ukraine as a "trap" for foreign soldiers along with video clips pertaining to the neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine.

 

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

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

BY A. JOSEPH LYNCH

WAR IN UKRAINE IN VIDEO

CIVILIZATIONAL CONFLICT (EXTENDED)

THE RUSSIAN WAY OF WAR

THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PERSPECTIVE

We continue our coverage of Ukraine this week with more videos from Religion, Sex, and Politics. Please feel free to watch the videos below to learn more about the events of the week.

Our first video is an extended take on the battle over Ukraine as a civilizational conflict.

Our second video explains why Russia's military strategy is so different from what we see in the way the US wages war.

UPDATE: Our third video regards the perspective of the Russian Orthodox Church on the conflict.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, MARCH 5

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

BY A. JOSEPH LYNCH

WAR IN UKRAINE IN VIDEO

CIVILIZATIONAL CONFLICT 

OVERVIEW OF THE WAR

MAPPING THE WAR ON THE GROUND

Anthropology of Accord is hard at work tracking the ongoing war in Ukraine in hopes of providing you both with good coverage and also with the information you need to understand the conflict. This week we recommend you watch some of the video content we've produced at Religion, Sex, and Politics. Please feel free to watch the videos below to learn more about the events of the week.

Our first video explains the conflict within the intellectual framework put forward by Samuel Huntington in 1996. This war, we argue, is part of the clash of civilizations. Thus while the atheist West characterizes the war in terms of ideology, we with Huntington see the war itself as a conflict within the Orthodox world on the one hand while at the same time being a point of contact and conflict between Orthodox Russia and the atheist West. Ukraine, in other words, sits along a civilizational fault line - and we are now witnessing an earthquake after years of pressure building underneath. The video below also provides some necessary historical context for the events of recent days. All very worth watching.

Our second video examines the war itself. It focuses on the events that led to the war, how Russia is strategically and politically carrying out the war, and what responses we've seen in the world since the war's outbreak.

And finally we have a short map video that explains Russia's strategy on the ground, the military progress it's made, and what we could expect to see in the days ahead.

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

THE WEEKLY BRIEF

BY A. JOSEPH LYNCH

WAR IN UKRAINE

RUSSIA EXPOSES THE WEST'S "EMPIRE OF LIES"

The time for diplomacy has ended. War has come. But what led to the war and what is its purpose? The events that led to war - what Russia is calling a military intervention - are many. In hindsight we should have expected this.

In the days leading up the war, President Macron of France promised Russia an endless number of diplomatic meetings - but couldn't promise that any of them would address Russia's security concerns much less reach an agreement in their regard. Olaf Scholz, the new chancellor in Germany, came to Moscow where he joked about genocide and refused to take Russia's position on Ukrainian neutrality seriously. 

Amid the failed diplomacy, it appears the US and its allies cheered Ukraine on as it ceaselessly shelled the Donbas. President Zelensky - a man who is not only a comedian but also a joke - seemed to believe the lies of the United States that Ukraine would join NATO. What's more, he spent his time at the recent Munich security conference talking about Ukraine's desire to obtain nuclear weapons which it could use against Russia. European leaders - and even Kamala Harris herself - sat quietly as Zelensky gave Russia more reason to fight. What is Russia to do with a belligerent neighbor dead set on nuclear weapons while no one in "the West" is willing to stop them? Given all this, Russia officially recognized the independence of the people's republics in the Donbas. As part of that recognition, Russia warned Ukraine to stop the shelling.

Ukraine refused to comply. It poked the bear for the last time.

In a last attempt to negotiate peace, Russia planned to meet with Antony Blinken, the worst Secretary of State in US history, on Thursday, February 24. But Mr. Blinken abruptly cancelled the meeting the less than 24 hours before the planned meeting. 

War thus became inevitable.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, air and missile strikes began to fall upon military targets across Ukraine. Reports surfaced of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian surface fleet at Odessa. With Russian support, the militias of the people's republics began to advance. Russian troops started marching north from Crimea, west towards Kharkov from Russia, and south towards Kiev from Belarus. It appears as though Russia plans a pincer move in the east, encircling the large Ukrainian army on the border of the Donbas, melting it away in what the Russian's military calls a "cauldron." 

There is now word that Kiev is all but encircled.

Meanwhile Zelensky leads his people into complete defeat. He is handing out assault rifles to civilians - who have used them to settle scores with each other and loot parts of Kiev. One family was gunned down in their SUV less than two hours after the weapons were distributed - because they were mistaken for Russians. Ukrainian air defenses have shot down at least one of their own fighters, and a Ukrainian anti-air tank ran over a hapless Ukrainian driver in Kiev. Ukrainian artillery have also been placed in residential areas of Kiev. It seems as though Zelensky wants civilians killed.

Zelensky and his Western partners are doing their best to push war propaganda. Claims of Ukrainian soldiers fighting to the death, blowing themselves up on brides, and shooting down Russian airplanes have either proven untrue or are unverified. For example, it is said that Ukraine shot down two large paratrooper planes with upwards of 100 soldiers aboard. Thus far no images of any large Russian plane wrecks have surfaced.

Fighting slowed down during the day on Friday as Zelensky expressed his desire to reach a peace deal. It was either a lie, or his Americans overlords denied him his desires. Either way, the war has resumed and Russia is sending more forces to the fight. 

It's also worth noting that the rapid Russian advances to this point were accomplished with a mere 30-40,000 troops. Compare this to the US war in Iraq. Iraq is a small nation, yet it took the United States with 300,000 troops several weeks to arrive at Baghdad. It took a further six days to conquer the city. Russia is already encircling Kiev - and that was with a pause in fighting on Friday. 

But what is Russia's end game? In his "empire of lies" speech that launched the war, Vladimir Putin described the West, led by the United States, as an empire of lies:

Incidentally, US politicians, political scientists and journalists write and say that a veritable “empire of lies” has been created inside the United States in recent years. It is hard to disagree with this – it is really so. But one should not be modest about it: the United States is still a great country and a system-forming power. All its satellites not only humbly and obediently say yes to and parrot it at the slightest pretext but also imitate its behavior and enthusiastically accept the rules it is offering them. Therefore, one can say with good reason and confidence that the whole so-called Western bloc formed by the United States in its own image and likeness is, in its entirety, the very same “empire of lies.”

Putin went on to describe how the West sought to destroy Russia after the Cold War:

As for our country, after the disintegration of the USSR, given the entire unprecedented openness of the new, modern Russia, its readiness to work honestly with the United States and other Western partners, and its practically unilateral disarmament, they immediately tried to put the final squeeze on us, finish us off, and utterly destroy us. This is how it was in the 1990s and the early 2000s, when the so-called collective West was actively supporting separatism and gangs of mercenaries in southern Russia. What victims, what losses we had to sustain and what trials we had to go through at that time before we broke the back of international terrorism in the Caucasus! We remember this and will never forget.

Putin reminds us that the West not only sought to attack Russia through economic and military means, but in an even worse and more subversive way: through what Pope Francis calls ideological colonization.

Properly speaking, the attempts to use us in their own interests never ceased until quite recently: they sought to destroy our traditional values and force on us their false values that would erode us, our people from within, the attitudes they have been aggressively imposing on their countries, attitudes that are directly leading to degradation and degeneration, because they are contrary to human nature. This is not going to happen. No one has ever succeeded in doing this, nor will they succeed now.

What Russia is now doing is standing up to the atheist West. What's more, it is revealing that the wizard behind the curtain is not nearly as strong as he appears. It's what we've long suggested at AoA: the infestation of our institutions by radical Leftists are not as strong we think. When they are confronted, they run away. Russia is revealing the truth about Western leaders: they used their power to enrich themselves and spread a self-defeating ideology. As Putin said, what Left-wing leaders in the West are  trying to do "are contrary to human nature... [they've] [n]ever succeeded... nor will they succeed now." 

While no one wants war, the appalling lack of leadership in the atheist West has led us to this day. They sought conflict with Russia, and Russia will bring it to a dramatic end.

What we're now seeing is the last gasps of American-led globalism. The Left sought the "great reset" - a plan to dominate the world. It appears there has indeed been a "great reset" - but it has come from Russia and the world will never be the same again.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

INVALID BAPTISMS: A priest under Bishop Olmstead in the Diocese of Phoenix has resigned from his parish after botching baptisms for decades. The baptisms were celebrated using the invalid form, "we" baptize you rather than "I" baptize you. Now this is one case where using the wrong pronouns counts. While it's said to think that Catholics are so poorly catechized that no one noticed the error for decades, we wonder what bright and well-educated Catholic caught the error and started asking questions? 

CATHOLIC CHARITIES SCAM? What role is Catholic Charities playing in human smuggling across our southern border? More from Church Militant.

BENEDICT'S FINGERPRINTS: Church Militant reminds us that the bishops and cardinals warring against the orthodox faith didn't receive their high status from Francis alone - they were elevated to power by John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

SPYING ON TRUMP: The Durham investigation has finally provided us the smoking gun evidence that Trump was not only spied as a candidate, but even after he was elected and in office. Now most Democrats want Hillary to be investigated. It appears as though a tech director named Rodney Joffe worked under Jake Sullivan (now Biden's NSA) to hack into Trump Tower - during the campaign - and the White house - during the Trump administration - in an attempt to link Trump to Russia. Trump says such acts in earlier times would carry the death penalty. It's no wonder why Sullivan is trying to distract us all with more lies about Russia. More from Dr. Steve Turley.

BIDEN SINKING: Biden only has positive marks in four states (Hawaii, Maryland, and Massachusetts) - and only in one of them (Vermont) did he reach 50% with the voters. We really hope he runs for re-election in 2024.

BLM ASSASSIN? Quintez Brown, who once appeared on TV with Joy Reid, is now accused of an attempted assassination of a Jewish congressmen. What's worse is that BLM paid $100,000 to bail him out. Meanwhile, financial scandal has so rocked BLM that Amazon has removed the organization from its charity program. And over at Civiqs, BLM support among Americans has plummeted from 52% to 43% - now tied with its disapproval number.

RECESSION COMING? Biden says war with Ukraine will hurt the US economy, but argues thay the cost is worth it. What is more likely is that Biden knows the looming interest rate hikes will halt or contract the US economy. It might be best in his mind to go to war with Russia and blame our economic woes on Putin.

III. THE NATIONS

WORKING MEN FIGHT BACK: One aspect of the Freedom Convoy left out of the news is the fact that their protest is at its core built up by working class men. The  men who provide us with our food and supplies are standing up to tyranny - and it's largely worked! Not only are more parts of Canada lifting their mandates, but even blue states in the US are following suits. What's more, men the world over are staging convoys in Israel, Scotland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. And the men of America will soon make their way to Washington. 

CANADA THE DICTATORSHIP: Justin Trudeau in 2012: "When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is when it's rapidly losing its moral authority." Nice word. Sadly they were spoken by a lying, hypocritical coward. The Canadian dictator, Justin Trudeau, cowardly ran from the men of Canada just days ago. But in a new act of cowardice, Trudeau has spit on his nation's constitution and effectively declared martial law. The courts have been sidelined as Trudeau uses emergency wartime powers to make himself Canada's dictator-in-chief. Using his powers he has dispatched forces to Ottawa to brutally assault his own citizens. Some of  his thugs used horses to trample peaceful protesters while reports emerge that at least one journalist was brutally beaten. Bounce houses, once filled filled with the children of truckers, have been burst and the children stolen and placed into child "protective" custody. The Ottawa Police are posting arrest numbers like they're keeping the score of a football game. Trudeau now threatens tow companies with arrest if they do not assist in towing away the trucks owned by the men they help on a regular basis. It appears that tow trucks have been seized by the government for use in Trudeau's assault. In the wake of Trudeau's assault on democracy, the premiers of Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan have come out in opposition to his move. Canada's civil liberties organization says it will sue Trudeau over his unlawful and unconstitutional acts. Oddly enough, much of what the Freedom Convoy has demanded have been given - but since Trudeau is a weak man and cannot appear to have lost, he will go far beyond the typical crackdown acts many expected and go full totalitarians on his own citizens. All this is a great reminder that "the West" didn't defeat the Soviet Empire - it succeeded it.

GIVESENDGO HACKED: The Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo was hacked over its role in supporting the Freedom Convoy. What's more, those donating have had their private information revealed and some are facing harassments, threats of physical violence, and termination from their jobs. Interestingly enough, the hacker proudly identified himself online despite the obvious risk of lawsuit and arrest. Rumor has it he's worked for the US government and thus fears no reprisal. More from Jimmy Dore (possible language warning).  

NO INVASION OF UKRAINE: Although newsmen claimed to know the date and time that Russia would invade Ukraine - 1 am, February 16 - no attack happened. As Biden presses for war, are Americans in support? A recent CBS poll found that American's under 65 want to keep us out of war over Ukraine. Those over 65? 61% favored war while 39% opposed. 

JAPAN-AUSTRALIA PACT: Last month, after a year of talks, Japan and Australia signed a defense pact that may see Australian military deployments to Japan. In fact, Australia now becomes the second nation - aside from the US - to have permission for a Japan deployment. The move is clearly aimed at China, but can a Japanese-Australian alliance really stop a determined China?

NO IRON DOME FOR UKRAINE: Ukraine asked the US for the "Iron Dome" missile shield technology used by Israel. America was happy to oblige. Israel? Not so much. Israel is in a tense relationship with Russia right now over Syria. Russia recently flew its first air patrol with Syrian aircraft and criticized Israel for its aggressive violations of Syria's territorial integrity. What's more, Israel depends on resources from Ukraine - especially in the territories likely to become part of Russia if war breaks out. Handing Ukraine the "Iron Dome" might be precipitate war, not prevent it. 

AFGHAN FUNDS STOLEN: The US has decided to steal Afghanistan's national assets and allow Afghani women and children to starve. The Washington Post calls it the further weaponization of global finance. It reminds us of US actions against Iran, Canada's actions against the bank accounts of peaceful protesters, and what many hope to do to Russia in the days and weeks ahead. While the US has tried to cover itself by donating half to the families of the 9/11 attacks, the other half is going to enrich the friends of the deep state through handouts to NGOs. American nepotism at its finest.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

MASKLESS CELEBRITIES: Politicians and celebrities crammed together to watch the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, California - and very few wore masks. Meanwhile children in California are still forced to wear masks and are denied their bodily autonomy as it pertains to the controversial coronavirus vaccines. It makes you want to laugh or cry. We suggest some laughter from the Babylon Bee. 

PAYOUTS TO CRT SPEAKER: "Critical Race Theorist" Ibram X. Kendi made $32,500 for giving a speech at the University of Virginia. Racist grifters like Kendi use enrich themselves off taxpayer dollars while feeding lies to young minds. It is a travesty.

"FREEDOM" IS FAR RIGHT: The MSM has decided that "Freedom" is now a term of the far right as the truckers demand freedom from Trudeau's tyranny. Whatever happened to liberals loving liberty - the very synonym for freedom? It turns out that conservatives are the new freedom lover while liberals have become the totalitarians. They say the parties "switched" back in the 1960s. It appears a real shift is happening once more.

CRITICAL MILITARY THEORY: Forget critical race theory in the US armed forces. A retired Marine 3-star general explains why we need to embrace a critical military theory. Sounds common sensical - but common sense does seem harm to come by these days.

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

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

FR. STU TRAILER: Devout Catholics, Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson, star in Fr. Stu, a film based on the remarkable story of an unlikely man's journey to priestly ordination. Fr. Stu comes out at Easter and we recommend you check out the new trailer.  

ATHEISM AND THE WEST: Over on Religion, Sex, and Politics, our own A. Joseph Lynch has posted a video presentation on the rise of atheism as a foundation of Western Civilization. It's a unique take on the topic, and one worth checking out.

RESURGENCE OF RELIGION: Dr. Steve Turley mostly comments on politics, but he is a huge champion of global Christianity and the rise of religion the world over. In this video he introduces us to Japan and the centrality of Shintoism. Japan is a living example of a nation that is both scientific and religious. The two are not opposed.

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

BIDEN KILLS MORE KIDS: Biden's hit on an ISIS leader in Turkish-occupied Syria feels very similar to the botched American bombing in Kabul which killed an innocent Afghan family. The administration attempted to blame the deaths of women and children on the leader's suicide bombing, yet questions remain about how the women and children were killed in the latest attack.

EDITS TO SUCCESS? A former clerk of a black woman contender for the coveted position on the supreme court took extraordinary - and in our opinion, disqualifying - steps to ensure success. The clerk, Matteo Godi, not only began editing the Wikipedia page of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in order to make her look better, but she also edited the pages of Jackson's opponents in order to make them look worse. Is petty behavior like this really what we want to see from the clerks of our supreme court justices?

SPYING ON CONSERVATIVE CONGRESSMEN: The Capitol Police are embroiled in yet another scandal. The police unit - the only US law enforcement body not under the executive branch but rather under Congressional leaders - is now accused of spying on a conservative congressman. The Capitol Police claim they entered Congressman Troy Nehl's office only because his door was left wide open - but a video released by Nehls clearly shows the door is self-closing. It's time for serious reform of the Capitol Police. 

INFLATION AT 40 YEAR HIGH: Inflation is now at its highest point since 1982, a full 40 years ago. Yet the inflation in 1982 was declining from the highs set by Jimmy Carter. Joe Biden appears eager to break his predecessor's record. According to reports, gas is up 40%, utility gas up 24%, furniture up 20%, eggs up 13%, and chicken is up 10%. Another report says that Americans had to pay an extra  $3500 in 2021 to buy the same products they purchased in 2020. It's no wonder why on 24 hours after the bombshell numbers came out that Biden began telling the world a Russian invasion of Ukraine was imminent. Can anyone say wag the dog?  

III. THE NATIONS

PUTIN AND XI MEET: As China's year of the Black Water Tiger begins, the Tiger and the Bear - Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin - met in person for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak. The two discussed the state of their alliance, with Russia defending China's claims on Taiwan and China defending Russia's security demands in Europe. The two nations are now in lockstep - and with the Ukraine quagmire ongoing, the US "pivot to Asia" gets more and more difficult with each passing day.

ARGENTINA AND RUSSIA - AND CHINA: Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez travelled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin in hopes of building a stronger relationship between their nations. Fernandez publicly stated his hopes for Argentina to be a gateway for Russia into Latin America while noting his nation's dependency on the United Sates has not been beneficial - in fact, he blamed the relationship with the US for Argentina's debt woes with the IMF. As the US continues to anger potential allies, isolate itself from the nations, and pick fights with powers it cannot defeat, Russia continues to win victories. It also turns out that China is involved in the new deal as well, with Argentina joining China's Belt and Road Initiative. The American hand is getting weaker.

INDIVISIBILITY OF SECURITY: Russia has long decried the US and NATO failure to keep their word concerning the expansion of NATO following the fall of the Soviet Union. This alone has given Russia cause to demand legally binding security guarantees. Despite this, Russia has made a legal argument against the expansion of NATO. This argument may be dubbed "the argument from the indivisibility of security" - and it's legal basis lies upon the foundations of the Istanbul Declaration of 1999 and the Astana Declaration of 2010. These declarations, binding upon the members of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), rejects the idea of security as a zero-sum game - i.e. increasing my security at the cost of yours. Instead security is defined as "indivisible" - and as such any expansion of NATO towards Russia's borders violates the principle of the indivisibility of security which America and NATO have agreed to. And while the aforementioned declarations do state that nations have the right to choose their alliances, such an argument cannot be applied to any Ukrainian desire to join NATO as NATO's own charter does not allow nations to simply join NATO. Instead, NATO itself must pursue new member states and may only invite a nation to its ranks through a unanimous vote by all current NATO member states. In other words, Russia has a tight legal argument behind its demands.

COORDINATING WITH RUSSIA'S MILITARY: The US revealed it coordinated its recent attack in Turkish-occupied Syria with Russia. Was Turkey in the loop? And why was the leader so close to Turkish units without Turkey knowing? Sounds a lot like bin Laden in Pakistan. And speaking of coordination with Russia, Syrian and Russian aircraft made their first coordinated patrol of Syria's borders along the Golan Heights - a clear sign to Israel that Russia will not tolerate its aggressive airstrikes on its Syrian ally. 

UKRANIAN RESISTANCE: Despite widespread claims that an invasion of Ukraine would be costly to Russia, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, told Congress in a closed door briefing that should war break out, 15,0000 Ukrainian soldiers would die and Kiev would fall in 72 hours while Russia would suffer a meager 4,000 causalities. Congress was also warned that war would also result in thousands of refugees flooding westward. While the neocon-laden State Department tells itself that Ukraine can be a new Afghanistan for Russia, it's clear the Pentagon sees Ukraine as another Afghanistan for America; a debacle we cannot win. Lucky for Ukraine, Russia has no intention of invading. 

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

GOFUNDME INVESITIGATIONS: GoFundMe is under fire over its handling of the Freedom Convoy. Recall that GoFundMe had no problems fundraising for the CHAZ - a real insurrectionist and occupation of Seattle back in 2020 that led to murder and mayhem.  

TEACHER BURN OUT: A new survey reveals the pandemic burn out affecting America's teachers as more than half say they are looking to quit. 

RACIST APOLOGIES: In other classroom news, a teacher and school district have come under fire for segregating white students and forcing them to apologize for being born white.  

DEMOCRATS WATCH TUCKER: As CNN continues its freefall, Tucker Carlson is dominating cable news. What's more, he's even drawing in the Democrats. Right now more Democrats watch Tucker than watch CNN or MSNBC. Tucker is the best thing FoxNews has ever had on its airwaves.

Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5

by A. Joseph Lynch

I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

PAPAL WOES: Pope Benedict has apologized for his role in clerical sex abuse while Pope Francis seems to embrace a Catholic form of "once saved, always saved" theology. Taylor Marshall is, of course, freaking out. Yet Dr. Marshall failed to consider other quotes from Francis on the reality of Hell. For example: "Convert, there is still time for not ending up in hell. It is what is waiting for you if you continue on this path." That doesn't sound like "once saved, always saved" theology to me.

WOMEN LECTORS, CATECHISTS: While Taylor Marshall freaks out over Francis' off-the-cuff remarks during a papal audience, he failed to address the real disaster that Pope Francis has unleashed  upon the Church: female lectors and catechists. The old "minor orders" were lay male fraternities open to vocations to higher orders. In allowing women to be lectors and acolytes, Francis has undermined the "resourcement" of Vatican II and only takes steps toward a further decline in men's participation in the liturgy and vocations. 

UPDATE ON THE CATECHIST: The "ministry" of the Catechist - an invention of Pope Francis - is proving to be a travesty in itself (and not merely because it is open to women in addition to men). The "catechist" appears to be an amalgamation of duties performed by lectors, acolytes, and even exorcists(!) as they will not only teach (though for some bizarre reason, actual school teachers are not allowed to become catechists), but also lead prayer services, and even perform minor exorcisms. It seems to be a lay "catch all" that rolls up the vast majority of what the old minor orders did. They might as well just call the "catechist" a subdeacon and be done with it. Francis has created a Frankenstein's monster and the shocking thing is that no one is talking about it. Where's Taylor Marshall on this?

II. AMERICAN POLITICS

#RELEASETHETRANSCRIPT: Many are demanding that Biden release the transcript of his recent call with Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky (and the debacle has even pulled in CNN in yet another scandal). Apparently the two shared a heated conversation as Biden insisted without evidence that a Russian attack was "imminent". Zelensky reminded Biden that the US was causing a panic in Ukraine by insisting the Russians were about to attack and that American citizens needed to leave the country. Indeed, it seems as though Biden is doing more harm to Ukraine's economy than the Russians ever could, as his hysteria has lead to panic buying and money hording in Ukraine. It sure would be nice to hear what was said in that phone call. We're sure it wasn't perfect. What we do know is that the US is no longer using the term "imminent" in regards to any conflict with Russia. 

FALSE FLAG? As soon as the US backed off on its claims of an "imminent" attack by Russia on Ukraine, the neocons in the state department began pushing another unsubstantiated claim about Russia. This time they said that Russia plans to stage a "false flag" attack on the Donbas in order to justify an invasion. When State Department spokesmen, Ned Price, insisted his own word was all the evidence the media needed for proof, reporter Matt Lee tore Price apart and even went so far as to say that "This is Alex Jones territory!" It's bad news for Biden when even the media is starting to ask real questions now.

BREYER TO RETIRE: In a sign that Democrats are in for a bloody red wave in November, Justice Breyer is taking advantage of a Democrat-held Senate under a Democrat President to retire. Biden is coming under fire for pledging to replace him with a black woman. Despite this it is very likely that his nominee will pass with ease while conservatives note that little will change in the court given a swap of a liberal for a liberal.

"REFORMING" ELECTION CERTIFICATION: Although Mike Pence agreed with the Democrats that he lacked the authority to send back questionable election results back to their respective state legislatures (as the Constitution requires), Democrats are pushing a "reform" of the role that the vice president plays in during the final certification of federal elections in Congress. It certainly seems to us - and President Trump - that Pence did indeed have the power to save us four years of Joe Biden's senility. 

WAKING A SLEEPING GIANT: It seems as though the COVID restrictions pushed by Democrats are turning Democrat parents against them.

III. THE NATIONS

ORBAN VISITS MOSCOW: Hungary's Viktor Orban responded to Biden's request to host American troops in opposition to Russia responded... by meeting with Putin in Moscow. For Orban, America's fake war with Russia in Ukraine wasn't what mattered most to Hungary. What mattered most was securing the energy needed for Hungarians to power and heat their homes. And so Orban went to Moscow and negotiated a natural gas contract with Russia through 2036 in which Hungary will pay five times less than the average European nation. Orban's re-election in April is now all but sealed.

RUSSIA'S MODERN MILITARY: According to the NY Times, Russia's military has undergone a rapid transformation over the past thirty years. We now hear not only of nuclear armed drone submarines capable of applying pressure on America's coasts, but also of the Burevestnik missile - a nuclear powered cruise missile capable of flying under the radar at high speeds, striking any target on the globe, and perhaps capable of staying in flight for days on end. If the US and its NATO allies don't make a deal, Russia has many alternatives to keep the pressure on.

CANADIAN FREEDOM CONVOY: The truckers that bring us food are now bringing us freedom. As the men who drive Canada's trucks were confronted with undue vaccination requirements - and perhaps even harsh taxation if they aren't vaccinated - they decided to flood the capital and shut down the city. Trudeau revealed what a coward he is by first claiming COVID exposure before fleeing the city (he must have caught the "convoy variant"). He later decided to label the peaceful protesters racists. But despite Trudeau's attacks - and the support he's received from Go Fund Me and Facebook - the tide seems to be turning against him. A wave of Canadian provinces - and nations around the world - are backing away from the harsh restrictions. And we have the brotherhood trucking men to thank for it. More from Dr. Steve Turley.

NO SWIFT, NO GAS: While the neocons in the US and UK are pushing to remove Russia from SWIFT - the interbank communications software - Europeans are freaked out by the economic catastrophe it bring upon them should they be unable to pay for Russian goods. Now Russia is reminding them of just this problem. It's no wonder why French leader Emmanuel Macron plans to visit Moscow and why Olaf Scholz - the new German chancellor - will soon follow him.

IV. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION

WHO RUNS BLM? The organization has $60 million in the back and full tax exempt status, yet no one knows who actually runs BLM since its leader, Patrisse Cullors resigned almost six months ago. Is it time for an IRS audit? 

NO CLEAR BENEFIT: As Democrats seek to impose COVID vaccination on children, Sweden is rejecting such injections. According to their scientists - who trust the science - there's no "clear benefit" of injecting children with experimental drugs when they are far more likely to die of the common flu than from COVID.

THE STUDY SHOWS: A new study from Johns Hopkins has revealed that lockdowns prevented a whopping 0.2% of COVID deaths. Naturally this study was not reported by the mainstream media.

TUCKER AND DORE: Tucker Carlson is clearly the best the conservative movement has on television these days. He not only speaks with common sense, but he's willing to reach across the aisle to speak with other men of good will. We recommend our readers check out a recent longform interview he did with left wing activist-comedian, Jimmy Dore. It was a respectful conversation between two men with entirely different worldviews and a reminder to us of just how refreshing it is to see two men who disagree share a real conversation and even find some agreement.

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.