A New Year's Resolution We All Must Make

 If 2020 showed us anything, it's that we must live and pray as real traditional Catholics.  That means we must stand up to the progressive reset happening under cloak of covid-fear, etc.  Please listen to Michael Matt's message below and pass it along.

Howard County MD Dictating Religious Practices

As mentioned in the previous post, most of Maryland is starting to open up, with the exception of Montgomery County.  Masses will start to happen, although the restrictions on them remain draconian.  However, the executive of Howard County, Calvin Ball, is still flexing his inner tyrant.  He has forbidden the consumption of food and drink during services.  In a valid Mass, the priest must consume the Host and the Sacred Blood.  If that doesn't happen, the Mass isn't licit.

Archbishop Lori has weighed in.  He has "serious concerns".  I should hope so.  Now what is he prepared to do about it?  Might I suggest he look to his brother bishops in Minnesota?  Many churches across the country are prepared to defy their local overlords.  WIth the exception of the Minnesota bishops, I don't know of any other Catholic clergy who are exhibiting anywhere near the courage and resolve of their protestant counterparts.

We have the fullness of Faith.  We have the Sacraments.  I would ask why don't all our prelates display some spinal fortitude, but readers of this blog (and others) can surmise why.

Cross MD Road Rally With Congressman Andy Harris

On  Saturday, May 2, 2020,  ReOpenMDNow conducted a statewide "Cross MD Road Rally" to protest Hogan's shutdown of Maryland social, religious and economic life.  It started in Frederick and ended in Salisbury.  Congressman Andy Harris spoke in Salisbury.

Because of other commitments, I couldn't join the rally in the beginning.  I caught up with them at a lunch stop on Kent Island.  We then had a motorcade down Route  50 till we got to Salisbury.  We were slated to use one empty mall parking lot.  Some Salisbury bigwigs decided they didn't like that (I don't know all the details) but we were able to relocate relatively painlessly to a Kohl's parking lot just a few minutes north of our original location.

I understand that State Rep Dan Cox was slated to give an opening address in Frederick.  However, MD State Police informed him that if he attended the rally, he'd be arrested.  I am happy to learn that Cox and some other delegates have filed suit on account of that gross violation of First Amendment rights.  The Maryland Troopers also pulled participants off the road as they were processing along Interstate 70.  Again, another violation of First Amendment rights that one might have found in a history text regarding Nazi Storm Troopers.  In the video, you'll hear Congressman Harris allude to that.

We had heard that counter-protesters might try to disrupt us along the way.  I myself didn't see any of that.  When I was driving to the Kohl's lot, I saw a vehicle with the signs that you see to the right.

When I first saw this, I thought how the sign on his car was quite typical of the thinking of liberals.  He admits that he's simply willing to laze around and do nothing while good people strive to be productive. 

A few minutes later, I realized this fellow was malevolent as well as lazy, as you'll see in the video.  The long and short of it is that he got into the parking lot before I did and when I emerged from my car, he had shoved one of our people - with his car!  I believe the term is "vehicular assault".  The cops put on a show of interviewing him, but he wound up just driving away.  Why was he not put in handcuffs?  A few hours ago, MD State Troopers were pulling us over for simply driving on the freeway.  In Salisbury, a liberal deliberately strikes someone with their car, and the local cops just send him on his way.  I don't know if he even got a perfunctory "slap on the wrist".

There will be other actions - such as a protest next Saturday at Church Circle in Annapolis.  I believe it starts noon, but will confirm.  In the meantime, here is my video of the rally.

It's Time That We Stopped Playing The Wimps In The Face Of The Corona Boondoggle

Yesterday good citizens of the state of Michigan descended upon Detroit to make clear to Governor Whitmer that her draconian constrictions upon them will no longer be tolerated.  They called their protest "operation gridlock".  I for one was delighted to see that and pray that we may all emulate their example if our local tyrants don't wake up and smell the coffee.  Many of these same citizens are now taking her to court and I hope they prevail.  If they do, a precedent will be set that we will use.

Frankly, though, I'm not sure what troubles me more: the power-hungry grabs of the governors, OR, the gutless and passive acceptance of these dictates by so many Americans and even Catholics.  I have had numerous discussions both in person and online with faithful Catholics who have regrettably swallowed the "safety-first" koolaid.  When I mention that the founding fathers who wrote the US Constitution wisely allowed for no exceptions to the First Amendment, they poo-poo it. Their excuses:

• "They didn't know how pandemics worked".  I doubt it.  They may not have had the full range of knowledge that is available today, but they had a basic understanding of how certain diseases spread.  Still they did not consider that reason to violate civil rights.
• "They did that during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic".  That is one that will require more unpacking.

They acknowledge the status of the First Amendment as a guiding principle, to their credit.  They then claim that sometimes that principle needs to take a lesser place for "safety".  Well, here's a problem.  When we break principles to satisfy some real or perceived need, one cannot invoke that same principle when some other threat emerges, one that might have been prevented had the principle remained intact.  Why cannot we not invoke that principle?  Because we have already allowed for the breaking of the principle for safety, so why cannot someone break it for another reason? 

In light of that, consider the "Spanish flu" excuse.  It's quite likely that the US government, in 1918, did play fast and loose with the First Amendment.  They violated it.  In using that sad episode to justify the abrogation of our First Amendment rights today, very imprudent people are actually demonstrating the harm done by that violation of the First Amendment 100 years ago.

Truth be told, though, I think many Americans don't understand their own history.  When I've mentioned "First Amendment", some of them scoffed and asked how my freedom of speech was being abridged.  They didn't know that freedom of speech is not the only civil right addressed in the First Amendment.  Under attack now are two other First Amendment rights: freedom of religioin and freedom of assembly.  If they went to public school, their study of American history was devoid of any study of the founding documents and why they were written.  It is up to us to fill in the gaps of knowledge ourselves.

Similar deficiencies exist in the formation of Catholics, and the events of the last few weeks have made that quite clear.  In one facebook discussion, one misguided individual stated that Jesus was just as concerned for the body as He was for the soul.  Well, not quite.  While caring for the the whole man, Jesus clearly placed greater priority on matters of eternal salvation than He did on temporal affairs.  Many though, especially those in the Church hierarchy, have no supernatural faith and truly don't believe in the afterlife.  Therefore it really is no wonder that their sole focus is on maintaining physical safety, or at least an illusion of it.  They don't value the efficacy of Holy Mass or the other Sacraments, so they see it as no tragedy to restrict our access to God's graces.

Then there exists the fairytale about "virtual Masses".  First, a clarifying note.  The parish priests who are producing these virtual Masses are by far simply doing the best they can under the constraints under which they must operate.  I've no doubt that they are hurting that they cannot make the sacraments more available to their parishioners.  However, they are vowed to obey their bishops, and it is the bishops who are the source of these draconian and I daresay sinful restrictions.  In Maryland, Hogan never completely forbade religious services.  It is possible to hold Mass, albeit in much more constricted manners.  Therefore no excuse existed to completely shut the Churches.  And why did Lori stop all confessions, while confessions continue in the south part of MD that is in the DC diocese?

But let's get back to the general populace.  Since when did US citizens become a nation of pantywaists?  Government officials, flouting the constitution, order citizens to abandon their rights and their lives out of craven fear of some virus.  Instead of standing up to these thugs like men, too many cower before them and meekly go along with the tyranny.  Besides ignorance of both our Faith and US history, are there other root causes to the timidity of so many?  Perhaps.

Many of us have been spoiled by living off the fruits of the struggles of our forefathers.  We have become used to lives of relative ease and comfort.  We never had to face dire situations that forced us to develop spiritual fortitude and moral courage.  Therefore, when faced with evil, we fold like a deck of cards, roll over and play dead.  For the past few decades I have seen this play out as I have pleaded with fellow Catholics to join us in front of abortuaries.  They refuse to step out of their comfort zones, believing that they aren't obliged to take any moral stand that might cost them something.  Now faced with corona tyrants who promise them that all will be normal in a few weeks (and now the deadlines are ever-moving), they choose to blind themselves and hunker down for what they think will be temporary degradation - as long as they don't have to display courage and stand up to evil.

But now lives are being ruined as good people are watching their livlihoods needlessly wither away.  How much longer are the willfully blind sheeple going to stand with eyes shut and ears plugged?  We had better snap out of our torpitude before it's too late.  People in Michigan have started to act.  Tomorrow in Maryland there will be a similar protest in Annapolis and I will be there along with (hopefully) thousands others.  People in PA and other places plan protests within the next week or two.

Of course we as Catholics must be in prayer for our nation.  We certainly pray for those who are suffering from covid-19.  But make no mistake - this corona thing is a mere pretext for the undermining of the United States Constitution and of Trump's presidency.  It is time to wake up and to get off our duffs and act.

Common Core Branches Into Potty Training

Potty abuse might be more like it.  In a Common Core dominated Chicago school, teachers are being instructed to sign their classes up for "restroom time slots" in which their students may use the facilities.  We're talking kindergarten kids, mind you!  These potty breaks should last five minutes only, and the teachers are urged to time the pee-times with stop-watches!  Of course the kiddies are to be praised when they "meet expectations" (and if they don't?).

Recognizing that sometimes nature calls outside the scheduled times, each child will receive two rest-room passes per quarter.  My!  How generous!  Seriously - have they forgotten that children's bladders are smaller than adult bladders and just can't "hold it" for long periods?

So why is all this being done?  In their own illustrious words, "to maximize student learning and reduce the loss of instructional time".  News flash!  News flash!  If a little child is struggling to control the urge, no "student learning" will be occurring!  This is nothing more than sadistic child abuse.

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.  This is just one more reason why the nitwits running our governmental institutions need to have their wings clipped.  They are completely devoid of any common sense whatsoever.

Speaking of the use of toilets, that's where Common Core belongs.

Liberal Tyranny Increases - We Must Stand Our Ground

There are some who cannot understand why people such as myself who abhor abortion are also beholden to the Second Amendment - the right to keep and bear arms.  After all, they reason, guns snuff out life just like abortion does, right?  Well, no.

Abortion is the murder of babies in their mothers' wombs.  Murder is defined in Catholic moral theology as "the deliberate taking of innocent human life".  The Fifth Commandment is most accurately translated as "Thou shalt not murder".

The Second Amendment is the guarantee of the right of every person to defend themselves and to have the means adequate to do so.  It is a necessary adjunct to the right to life.  If a person is attacked and takes the life of the aggressor while defending him/herself, that taking of life is justified.  It does not fit the definition of "murder".

The Founding Fathers were quite aware that an out-of-bounds government might well assume aggressive stances towards its citizens, and that these citizens had the right to defend themselves against even governmental aggressors.

Now here's the rub.  The Bill of Rights acknowledges certain human rights exist because God, not government, bestowed them.  They state plainly that government must acknowledge its role as guardian of those rights.  However, when abortion became liberalized by governmental fiat, government usurped the place of God in societal life.  Government at that time started to show a tyrannical face.  If government was not going to protect innocent life in the womb, no other innocent life would be safe from its claws.

Here's a "case in point".  Remember Bill Elliott?  He's the cancer patient who criticized Obamacare after he was told that he'd have to pay premiums almost 10 times what he was paying, owing to his cancer.  He said he'd take the penalty and "let nature take its course".  After the media attention, his broker found him a new policy.  Well, guess what?  Both Elliott and the broker who assisted him received notices of (guess!) impending IRS audits!  In the words of Gomer Pyle, "su-praz, su-praz, su-praz!"

If we really want a glimpse of horrors to come, we just need to look at some events in countries that are a little further along in the plunge down the socialism sewer.  From England's Telegraph we read of some social service tyrant who thought some lady might be an unfit mother.  They seized the woman and forcibly performed a cesarean section on her and took her baby from her.  This could have happened in Red China, but at least they didn't kill the baby.  I urge you to read it, and consider that some hgh-and-mighty bureaucrat could pull the same barbarian stunt here.

IRS Tells Pro-Life Group To Keep Your Faith To Yourself

Both Lifenews and Lifesite News have pieces about this, to which I link (please click their links for substantiating documentation).  They both have the audio of the interview in question.  This agent Sherry Wan is clearly overstepping her bounds when she tells the pro-life group not to exercise their First Amendment rights.  Her arrogance is breathtaking.

Alliance Defending Freedom worked with Pro-Life Revolution and helped them to secure their non-profit status.  I don't know if action will be taken against the IRS and Ms Wan, but both are liable.  Now before some jump in and say that Wan was "simply doing her job" or "obeying orders", perhaps you should think again and remember a bit of history.  I refer to the Nuremberg Trials that happened right after World War II.  There Nazi soldiers and other operatives were tried for "crimes against humanity", most notably against Jews and other prisoners.  Many of the accused tried the "I was only following orders" line, only to be reminded that they were sentient human beings who should have known better than to obey inherently immoral orders.

Such is the case with IRS agents today (I might add DHS, TSA, NSA officials, as well as public school officials and other law-enforcement personnel).  I strongly suspect that as a government officer, Ms. Wan had to sign some sort of agreement that she would uphold the United States Constitution.  Perhaps she even had to take an oath to that effect.  At any rate, she made mincemeat of any adherence to the Constitution.  She and others should be tossed out of their cushy jobs on their cabooses.

In fact, the whole IRS should be abolished quickly and unceremoniously.

Wise Words From President Reagan

As you watch, pay attention at the 0:56, 1:07-1:15 (particularly relevant today), 4:00-4:11.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.