Be pleased, Holy Father, don’t let your heart be disturbed. I don’t have my Nona’s lace to turn into an alb; she died in 1946! And I gave a five minute homily to our children at the closing Mass of our week long Vacation Bible School.
And my prop; can you detect it?
—AND IF LACE CAUSES YOU TO SIN—CUT IT OUT!
87 comments:
Forbici from me to comment.
Just more stupidity from our current epoch.
White people have to apologize for their skin color.
Men and women have to pretend that men pretending to be women are women and women pretending to be men are men.
100,000 protesters surround the Capital, barely break a few windows and only a few people enter and it's a "dangerous insurrection", but BLM and ANTIFA burn down cities and it's "peaceful" and "racial justice".
We are supposed to drive electric cars because fossil fuels are bad, but most of our electricity comes through the use of fossil fuesl.
People who never owned slaves are supposed to pay reparations to people who never were slaves.
Taxpayers who never went to college are supposed to pay for college for young people and people who break in to our country in violation of our laws get free college.
So why are we surprised to see our self-hating Catholic leaders worshipping a Council whose documents they cannot cite, telling us things this Council never demanded, trying to destroy our traditions while calling themselves the custodians of tradition?
Rcg, 2 Buona!
"... barely broke a few windows..." is a bald faced lie.
Innocent people died. Government officials, inluding the Vice President, were threatened with lynching. Offices were vandalized. Government property was stolen.
All in the attempt to thwart the will of the Americans who voted for President Biden. All in the attempt to scuttle democracy in the name of demagoguery. All In the attempt to DESTROY almost 250 years of our Republic's amazing experiment.
This kerfuffle over lace is silly, considering the fact that LGBTQ loving crowd has a problem with it. Maybe they should go to a Pride Parade. These “men” disgust me
Fiskars? I hope you're not demonstrating how a bris is done!
Fr K,
Trying to bolster your lefty credentials? Ashli Babbit, a veteran, was murdered by Capital police and unlike the “mostly peaceful protests” of BLM in cities throughout the US (all Democrat controlled) the Capitol was not torched nor businesses or homes destroyed. But to someone who votes for a Party that believes abortion is “healthcare” I can understand why you cannot comprehend the distinction between what happened at the Capitol and those cities. The BLM rioters were almost to a person given immediate release where the January 6 protestors are still languishing in prison. You are quite the guy!
Fr K - you should read Alan Dershowitz’s statement on the January 6 Show Trial - not good for the Dems - he accused them of doctoring tapes and lying to the American people. He said President Trump committed no crimes. And it does not got better with Jonathan Turley!
Those who have seen the video of the riot in the capitol know that "Babbitt attempted to climb through a shattered window of a barricaded door, which led to her being shot in the shoulder/neck by a Capitol Police officer."
She was not murdered. She was a rioter in league with those who, egged on by President Trump, sought to overthrow the legitimate, certified election results.
The adage is, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." Ashli Babbit, as a veteran, was stupid.
"...people died"
That sure SOUNDS LIKE/READS LIKE the author is suggesting a group of people were killed. AT VERY LEAST it suggests a PLURAL amount...for those of you educated in the public school system, that means "more than one".
Yet, as TJM points out, only ONE person died: Ashli Babbit.
AND SHE WAS ONE OF THE PROTESTERS--you know, the great unwashed. Those who DARED to question. She was not one of the sanctified, holy, blameless, pure and innocent uniparty careerist establishment types who were under such huge, big dangerous threats!
Oh yes, let's look at that "threat". Actually, we can't--because the holly, sanctified, blameless, pure and innocent uniparty careerist establishment hacks who run the House of Representatives (under the leadership of that exemplary Catholic icon Nancy "more abortions, please" Pelosi) refuse to release all the evidence--which itself suggests that much of it is exculpatory to their agenda. (Boy, it's fun using Mark Thomas' language)
In spite of that there IS video evidence that many of these people were let in. There IS video evidence that doors were opened for them.
How many people got in? After two years, no one can even tell us, but visuals suggest that at BEST, MAYBE 200 or 300 people.
And WHO got in? The worst of the worst. A few were violent. Most were stupid. Can you name ANY movement or group that doesn't have its fringe or outlier types who violate the larger group's goals and ideals?
AT VERY LEAST, over 100,000 people surrounded the Capitol Building, exercising their right to let their needs be known to the people whose lavish lifestyles we subsidize with our tax dollars. The OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THEM behaved themselves. THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY did not bash in windows or doors. THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY made NO attempt to so much as enter the building--OUR BUILDING THAT REPRESENTS ALL AMERICANS.
This after watching a long spring and summer of self-righteous mouth-breathers burn down cities, proclaim that all white people had to apologize for their whiteness and open their checkbooks for reparations, commit violence in the streets, threat, bully, harm and shout obscenities at laws enforcement and mainstream the "F" word in America.
You want to compare those two groups? I'll take the Capitol "rioters" every time. I would feel 1000 percent safer with that group than the "social justice" brats who have made America "so much better, safer and just" in "memory of George Floyd".
(vomit break)
PART 2:
The "militant" groups who supported Trump include people who KNOW about guns. They know about tactical warfare. They KNOW how the government works and know the layout of the Capitol building. If those people had wanted an insurrection, they would have planned it and there would have been massive bloodshed. This gigantic protest was amazingly peaceful, especially compared to the infantile destruction most of us witnessed on TV for 5 months from the sinless liberals of America.
IT IS A MATTER OF RECORD that Trump offered Pelosi the National Guard, to assuage her fears. She played him like an instrument, denying that would be necessary, as her long-con game. And, outsider that he is, he fell for it.
The full video evidence is kept from us and we are told to just shut up and believe the people holding it from us because they have our best interests in mind (never mind how much they hate Trump).
It is a matter of record and demonstrably evident that Trump told his supporters to march PEACEFULLy to the Capitol. That's not the battle-cry of insurrection.
And, in the latest evidence that the majority of Americans aren't buying this political theater--THE NETWORK CLOWN SHOW ON THURSDAY NIGHT WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO DAZZLE US WITH "NEW" "UNSEEN" FOOTAGE, was a ratings bust. The ranking "Republican" on this show-trial commission, Liz (where's my defense contract kickback?) Cheney, is 27 points behind her opponent in the Wyoming primary polls.
Father K, since politics seems to be more important to you than your own purported faith, all I can say is, enjoy it while it lasts. No amount of "Pro-woman" pro-abort outrage, gun violence scapegoating indignation or Stalinist show-trials from people who claim to hate Russia is going to stop it. It's coming.
Enjoy your day in the sun. The sun is setting. As our economic indicators show us with glaring obviousness, it wasn't a sunny day in the first place.
How did lace get us here????
Well Father K is playing a stupid game, so he will end up with a stupid prize. The Democratic Party, the Party of Abortion, Gay Marriage, Transgenderism and Economic disaster for the little guy, is no more than a crime organization masquerading as a political party. You shall know him by the company he keeps!
The best I can make of this divagation is that people will say preposterous things simply to aggravate other people for their own entertainment.
I think I am the guilty party who led us from lace to the January 6 "big bad insurrection" debate. I hope I'm not TOO preposterous and I certainly am not pointing out certain observations to irritate others or entertain myself, although, once in a while, I will confess watching this absurdity play out is entertaining.
The whole "lace and Vatican II" absurdity just struck me as a symptom of the time we live in, an age that denies reality and creates narratives which we are supposed to march to--not just leftists, but EVERYONE. It's done on the right too.
While I may be more conservative than some of the people here, my biggest concern about the way we are handling controversy today, whether it is politics OR religion is that instead of listening to each other, we are just trying to obliterate each other. The world NEEDS conservatives and it NEEDS liberals--in both cases in the best sense of each term--and they are just terms, which I regret I am forced to use for lack of a larger vocabulary.
I am been a Democrat and I have been a Republican. Neither group offers a panacea for our times, although I am currently more comfortable with the latter group than the former. I look at Facebook pages loaded with "gotcha" style political memes and just groan. No one's mind is changed by this silliness. Debate is dead. Now we simply try to annihilate our opposition. I can understand the temptation, but I don't approve of it. I've said some pretty angry things myself in the heat of discussion, but when either side starts acting on the presumption of moral superiority, it gets toxic. No doubt, someone like TJM will accuse me of abandoning the fact that being anti-abortion IS a morally superior position. And he's right. But just because one holds such a position, doesn't mean we need to broadcast our belief of such a position.
We've forgotten how to disagree without being disagreeable. Myself included. And the media>. Forget about it.
Jerome Merwick,
You sound like my kind of guy. I was a Democratic Party Official when I was young, so I speak from direct experience with that Party. Jack Kennedy would not recognize what has happened to his Party and Harry Truman would be apoplectic. The US Catholic Church has failed us. If they had squelched the pro abortion Democrats when they still weilded greater influence, the Democratic Party would not be rabidly pro abortion today. Look back at the career of any Democrat, for example, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. He was pro life early in his career but the Party (controlled by Planned Parenthood) told him he had no future unless he became pro abortion. It does not say much for his character that he succombed to their siren song.
I walked away from the Party when they would not allow pro life Governor Casey of PA to sit on the presidential party nomination platform. That's when I knew they had sold themselves to Mammom. And they can no longer claim to be the Party of the "little guy." Since they can no longer appeal to more normal types they have to flood the Country with illegal aliens to take the place of their former blue collar voters. Biden's economic policies, although making academia, the media, and Hollyweird, happy, are crushing the little guy. They are no longer in touch with them. Debbie Stabenow had her "let them eat cake" moment when she said, because she has an electric powered car, she is not worried about gas prices at all! Well most of the working class cannot afford to lay out $50-50,000k for a new electric car. Their new allegience to transgenderism and grooming little children is absolutely disgusting. You have to be morally craven to support the Democratic Party at this point. There is nothing proportionally good they offer. The last 3 Democratic presidents, Clinton, Obama, and the Bidens have become wealthy off of selling influence. Harry Truman would call them crooks.
rcg - You may be right. When I read Jerome Merwick's assertion that the January 6th violent attempt to overturn the election amounted to nothing more that a few people and barely broken windows, I was flabbergasted. That assertion is a lie, and every one of us who has seen the videos knows that it is a lie.
TJM chimes in and says Ashli Babbit was merdered, which is another lie. We've seen the videos and we know precisely where she was and what she was doing when she was shot.
How people can make such clearly false statements is amazing.
As for the claim that BLM/ANTIFA rioters were somehow treated differently, that, too is a lie. A cursory scan of the news will lead to stories such as "Records rebut claims of unequal treatment of Jan. 6 rioters" (ABC News 30 AUg 2021), "Black Lives Matter Protesters Handed Harsher Sentences Than Capitol Rioters" (Black Information News, 31 AUg 2021), and "Records rebut claims of unequal treatment of Jan. 6 rioters" (AP News 30 Aug 2021).
Jerome Merwick - Not once have I compared BLM/ANTIFA rioters with January 6th Protesters/Insurrectionists. Not once. That has come from you and others 100%.
AS A MATTER OF RECORD, Trump called the Georgia Secretary of State and attempted to cajole him into "finding" enough votes to give him a win in Georgia.
AS A MATTER OF RECORD, Trump campaign executives in Washington conspired with Georgia Republicans to put forward a fake slate of electors, instructing them to keep their activities secret and to lie to the Georgia Capitol Building security as to why they were there. Robert Sinners, Trump’s head of election day operations in Georgia, wrote, “Your duties are imperative to ensure the end result — a win in Georgia for President Trump — but will be hampered unless we have complete secrecy and discretion.”
You apocalyptic predictions are as meaningful as Chicken Little's "The Sky Is Falling."
Jerome Merwick - and FOR THE RECORD, politics is not more important to me than my faith. I am a patriotic American. FOR THAT REASON, I will react against those who seek to harm it. The insurrectionists of January 6th who attempted to prevent the Congress from carrying out THEIR legal and patriotic duty - "Congress shall be in session on the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 1 o’clock in the afternoon on that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer." (3 U.S. Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress) - sought to harm this nation.
Inasmuch as The Big Lie continues to be pushed by the 45th President and his sycophantic supporters, ignoring the facts, the damage continues to be done. It is shameful, it is unpatriotic, and it is sinful.
Fr K,
Well you never disappoint - if Ashli Babbit was a BLM rioter you would say the exact opposite. That a Catholic bishop or priest would support a Party with intrinsic evils in its platform is disgusting. Prior to Vatican II you would be forced to find another line of work.
You still can’t deal with Dershowitz and Turley’s legal analysis of the so-called insurrection. I think your Party’s tactics regarding the justices who may overturn Roe is more in line with a resurrection and clearly manifests a total disregard for the Rule of Law.
Meanwhile, back in Ukraine......
Blogger Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...
How did lace get us here????
June 11, 2022 at 10:57 AM
I don't know, and given the dynamic of this discussion, I wish it hadn't.
Folks - Like it or not, Fr MJK is correct with his statements on June 11, 2022 at 9:02 AM, and June 11, 2022 at 2:44 PM. The very chambers of our government were attacked, by destructive rioters who also intended physical injury, or worse. For those who feel the election was stolen, how will you react the next time the other side claims the same? Do we really want to go there? If the notion of this doesn't provide some degree of concern about our republic and how easily its survival can be jeopardized by mob rule, I don't know what would. Fr. MJK's comments sound like the responsible attitudes taught/instilled in a civics class. Some of the other comments, not as much. That in and of itself is scary. I might not like the results of the last election, however, I accept them as that's just how it works in a democracy with the peaceful and orderly transfer of power as one of its cornerstones.
Gee Father Kavanaugh, I would never question your patriotism. You obviously have good intentions.
However, just for the record:
Georgia was one of several states where Trumps pre-selected electors (now labeled "fake electors" by those in lockstep with the zeitgeist) signed their own certifications. This "underminding of democracy" occurred because of all the stories that were circulating from a wide variety of sources about irregularities and the actual video footage we could see on the news of Republican observers being shut out and ejected from the vote-counting rooms. In every state where this happened, these parallel certification was undertaken on the understanding that it might later be determined that the alternate slate of electors were duly elected and qualified--based on pending court cases, ALL OF WHICH WERE THROWN OUT WITHOUT ANY SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE, BUT ON TECHNICALITIES. And being told to act in secret was just plain common sense, since so many state capitols were barring the altnernate--oh sorry, "FAKE" electors from meeting.
As far as what YOU and your like-minded patriots call the "cajoling: of GA secretary of state Ben Raffensberger, A). Any transcript of the call is debatable, because it was not recorded and B). Trump was letting Raffensberger know (as I or any other candidate likely would have done) that he was aware of fraud, especially in the Fulton County area (whose reputation for dirty politics stinks like a sewer) and urged him to look into it. Raffesnberger, unlike a lot of other secretaries of state, took his antipathy towards the president public and spun it for maximum effect showing himself to have oh, so much "integrity". Yeah.
I don't believe--I could be wrong--that I ever accused YOU of comparing the ANTIFA/BLM protestors to the Capitol group, however the contrast between the two is amazing and to see the media continue to lie to us about it is equally so. Your "irrefutable" sources of ABC News, the Associated Press and The Black Information News are not exactly without bias. Anyone with eyes and ears can clearly see the difference no matter how much sancitmonious outrage is feigned by Pelosi and Cheney.
The manufactured slogan of "BIG LIE" you are so comfortable invoking can be chanted until you turn purple. The fact is new evidence and new accusations surface almost daily about problems with the last election as you and Joy Reid and the rest of your like-minded opinion=makers chant your two-year old mantra of "no credible evidence".
PART 2
Need examples?
A sheriff in Barry County Michigan is suing his state's attorney general for covering up and obstructing INVESTIGATIONS (plural!) into election fraud.
President Trump's auditor found 97,000 ballot issues worthy of investigation in the State of Georgia. These were submitted to Ben Raffensberger, who decided to ignore it all.
Two Utah mothers filed an open records request about the 2020 election, something any citizen should be allowed to do. The response? The Lt. Governor contacted the state's 29 counties and told them not to release any information regarding the election. Why? What are they hiding?
The president of Brazil AGAIN just recently publicly questioned the legitimacy of Biden's election.
Judge Amy Totenberg (appointed by Obama) recently Sealed Halderman Report Showing Material Voting Machine Issues in Georgia. Again, what are we hiding?
And it just goes on...more importantly, it just doesn't go away. This is a wound that will not heal because every investigation is silenced and shut down. I would never definitively say that Joe Biden won the election by fraud. However, I also cannot definitively say that he didn't. If these relentless obstructions didn't exist, this "Big Lie" (did I say it right?--I'll check with MSNBC) stuff would go away. This is all is shameful, unpatriotic, and sinful.
Finally, I have no apocalyptic predictions of doom. But I have one prediction that even Democrats are admitting: There is an electoral bloodbath coming from the Democratic Party in November. Every midterm has losses for the party in power, but this is going to be a beast of a cataclysmic nature for the Democrats--of which I used to be a member. They've earned it. That's the consequence of silencing all opposition in America.
Gee Father Kavanaugh, I would never question your patriotism. You obviously have good intentions.
However, just for the record:
Georgia was one of several states where Trumps pre-selected electors (now labeled "fake electors" by those in lockstep with the zeitgeist) signed their own certifications. This "underminding of democracy" occurred because of all the stories that were circulating from a wide variety of sources about irregularities and the actual video footage we could see on the news of Republican observers being shut out and ejected from the vote-counting rooms. In every state where this happened, these parallel certification was undertaken on the understanding that it might later be determined that the alternate slate of electors were duly elected and qualified--based on pending court cases, ALL OF WHICH WERE THROWN OUT WITHOUT ANY SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE, BUT ON TECHNICALITIES. And being told to act in secret was just plain common sense, since so many state capitols were barring the altnernate--oh sorry, "FAKE" electors from meeting.
As far as what YOU and your like-minded patriots call the "cajoling: of GA secretary of state Ben Raffensberger, A). Any transcript of the call is debatable, because it was not recorded and B). Trump was letting Raffensberger know (as I or any other candidate likely would have done) that he was aware of fraud, especially in the Fulton County area (whose reputation for dirty politics stinks like a sewer) and urged him to look into it. Raffesnberger, unlike a lot of other secretaries of state, took his antipathy towards the president public and spun it for maximum effect showing himself to have oh, so much "integrity". Yeah.
I don't believe--I could be wrong--that I ever accused YOU of comparing the ANTIFA/BLM protestors to the Capitol group, however the contrast between the two is amazing and to see the media continue to lie to us about it is equally so. Your "irrefutable" sources of ABC News, the Associated Press and The Black Information News are not exactly without bias. Anyone with eyes and ears can clearly see the difference no matter how much sancitmonious outrage is feigned by Pelosi and Cheney.
The manufactured slogan of "BIG LIE" you are so comfortable invoking can be chanted until you turn purple. The fact is new evidence and new accusations surface almost daily about problems with the last election as you and Joy Reid and the rest of your like-minded opinion=makers chant your two-year old mantra of "no credible evidence".
I also can't help but be confused by your statements, Father Kavanaugh, about Ashli Babbitt.
In your first rebuke towards me, you tell us that "innocent people died".
Again, pointing out the misleading use of the plural noun--only ONE person died in that BIG DANGEROUS UGLEY INSURRECTION THAT ALMOST TOOK AWAY DEMOCRACY FOREVER, THREATENING THE LIVES OF EVERY SENATOR, CONGRESSMAN AND U.S. SERVICEMAN, WHO WOULD HAVE SURELY BEEN OBLITERATED...ahem! Anyway, only ONE person died: Ashli Babbitt.
Personally, I think she was stupid for going inside in the first place, and perhaps her actions are responsible for the officer shooting her. But again, she was ONE person, she was not "people".
Then you remind us that she was not murdered...you now, more of that merciful, liberalCatholicspeak suggesting "she had it coming".
So people died, but they were not murdered, but they deserved it and...Father, you are REALLY confusing me and I suggest a lot of other readers here might find this confusing too. Let's try to get the math straight and, if we are really going to be upset about someone's death, it's probably best not to suggest on the same page that that person asked for it.
Fr. K, I am one of the skeptics about all of it, including the honesty of the voting officials, the over reaction of the capital guards, and the crocodile tears of the politicians in the Capital Building. This extends to the conspiracy theorists and their endless paranoia. In this republic the government must be willing to prove it is trustworthy and show procedures and account for ballots and actions. When it pretends to be above question is when it is clearly wrong.
If there is a link here to the Pope bullying Sicilian priests about lace it may be in the temptation of those in power to abuse it for trivial purposes.
ByzRus,
I do not deny that there were violent people who got in to the Capitol building. I do not deny that they destroyed property and some of them even made threats. However, much of the video evidence of this incursion continues to be kept from us. Much of what has leaked shows a VERY different picture than what the media is telling us.
As I state before, EVERY group has its fringe elements who violate the principles of the group. For example...at best, maybe 7 or 8 abortion clinics were bombed by fanatics since Roe v. Wade was published in 1973. The news media continues to scream about all this "proof" of "anti-choice violence", but a). the numbers are pretty low--NOT THAT I AM EXCUSING THEM EITHER and b). every mainstream pro-life organization has denounced such violence.
So back to the "insurrection". What nobody seems to notice--or perhaps what they refuse to see is that the crowd surrounding the capitol was enormous--I was shocked to see how many people surrounded that building (which you and I own). Keep that in mind, because THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THOSE PEOPLE NEVER ENTERED THE BUILDING. THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE PEACEFUL. MANY OF THEM TRIED TO STOP THE "GATE CRASHERS" FROM GOING IN! Do you think any leftist group could practice that level of restraint? Do the math: If you have, say, 100,000 people and (being very generous here) 500 of them break ranks and go inside, that's a fraction, .5 percent. Again, can you picture ANY of today's leftist groups showing that kind of restraing.
And as far as this canard about "overthrowing the election". That is pure bunk. Everyone there KNEW the electoral vote had to be counted. They were letting Congress know that they wanted that count DELAYED until proper investigations were done into the states in question.
And Schumer, Pelosi and the rest of the careerist class we support milked it for everything they could: The second impeachment hearing, then turning Washington D.C. into a high-security lockdown zone that made North Korea look like Disneyland. This whole January 6 hearing group is just political theater. And again, as I said before, most Americans aren't buying it. The ratings MORE than demonstrated that.
The Washington establishment despises Donald Trump and it's not just Democrats. I've said many times, Trump is no saint. But he managed to show America how incompetent many of these careerists are, and he showed no fear or obeisance towards them. They cannot abide that. Washington is THEIR turf and they will punish and try to destroy anyone who exposes their con.
Jerome, Trump's call to Raffensperger was taped. "Trump, in Taped Call, Pressured Georgia Official to ‘Find’ Votes to Overturn Election" You can find this online.
The fake electors were not certified by the states they falsely claimed to represent, including Georgia. They faked their status and some delivered the fake, uncertified credentials to the National Archives.
If you think BLM/ANTIFA rioters were NOT prosecuted, then you are not aware of the facts. Look into it yourself and see what your "credible" sources report.
Democrats who are doing nothing but throwing gasoline on the flames of those protesting the Supreme Court and not only at its institutional building but at judges homes are more dangerous to our form of democracy than the radicals who stormed the Captiol building. These democrats and starting with the speaker of the house and Senator Schumer need to be investigated for their remarks that are inflaming radicals (most democrats btw) to foment violence and insurrection against the third branch of the US government. What we are seeing is just as dangerous as anything Trump may have fomented.
The hypocrisy and corruption of politics and politicians in this country is breathe-taking to say the least.
And if you think the election wasn’t manipulated in certain locations, I have a tunnel under the Savannah River to Hilton Head to sell you. Just think of social media platforms that banned the sitting president of the USA and fake reporting by liberal media on the president since day one. Think of the truly fake news and corrupt politically motivated reporting to CNN and MSNBC. Much it truly false, especially the constant Russia, Russia, Russia connection.
Our country and way of life are indeed in peril. And it isn’t the former president that we need to be concerned about now, of which the theatrics of Thursday’s night low rated theatrical production was but a smokescreen, but rather the current democrats in leadership in our country. They all need to be voted out of office.
Father Kavanaugh, I think this will be my last post to answer you , because, just like the political nonsense you support, you take PART of what someone who disagrees with you says and you transform it into a generalized statement, essentially attempting to define the opposition and define them in a distorted manner.
I NEVER said BLM and ANTIFA protesters were not prosecuted.
OK, I realize you might have trouble digesting that, so take a deep breath and read...
I NEVER SAID BLM AND ANTIFA PROTESTERS WER NOT PROSECTUED>
ARE WE CLEAR ON THAT YET?
What I HAVE said or suggested or implied (can you add some verbs to that) is that the news media and many of the Democrats in Washington have treated those protests with an entirely different standard and almost canonized them, especially our Valley Girl Vice President. Many of those arrested were released without bail and many of them just got away with it. Proportionally, the January 8th crowd has been treated entirely differently and even reported upon differently in the press (whose talking points you parroted with your whole "people died" rant, then later blamed the "people" [1 person] for being there). To this day, we are STILL finding people being investigated for the crime of being registered Republicans and being in the D.C. area on the day of the protests. And the constitutional rights of many of those arrested have been so badly violated, I believe they might get better treatment in a Soviet gulag. BLM protesters at least got arraignments and bail hearings--when anyone bothered to arrest them.
I used to be like you Father. I used to think like you. I used to buy all that B.S.. Politics isn't the answer to all of our problems, but I've sure noticed that a lot of Catholics who are Democrats seem far more interested in political solutions to everything than Catholics who are Republicans. I used to think that an all-encompassing government that defined our values was the way to go. I really did. I really thought that one party was the "party of the rich" and didn't care about anyone. I used to...heck it doesn't matter what I used to think, because you don't care and it doesn't change anything.
I'll leave you with this: My stomach almost turned that summer of protests when I watched footage of a young male getting in the face--right in the face--of a police officer and saying, "You know what you are? You're a piece of sh-T! F_ck you you pig! Go f_ck yourself you racist pig!" And the officer just stood there, staring straight ahead and took it. I want no part of that kind of America--I am not knocking free speech either--I want no part of an America where we have citizens who are that depraved that they would abuse their free speech to that degree. It sickened an embarrassed me.
That's the America Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the rest of the clown show are encouraging. Even more troubling is that is the America that Klaus Schwab, Yuval Harrari, Xi Jinpeng and many others are encouraging and laughing at. I'm not saying YOU support that. But you sure don't seem to be too bothered by it either. I'm done.
I meant to type January 6, not 8. I have fingers like smashed cigar butts.
"And if you think the election wasn’t manipulated in certain locations, I have a tunnel under the Savannah River to Hilton Head..."
What I THINK and what you apparently THINK is not germane. If you have evidence, not anecdotes or affidavits, that manipulation took place, post the links. Otherwise, you can "think" all you want - it doesn't matter.
As you consider where you might find that evidence, recall that each of the 50 states, including 29 controlled by Republicans, certified the election results. And as you consider your evidence, please describe how YOU know more about the election tabulations than the people who were directly involved in the process.
When the 45th President, now out of office, joined social media platforms, he did so fully aware of the rules that govern participation on those platforms. He chose to violate those rules repeatedly and was banned for those violations. There is nothing sinister in this. Recall that YOU have rules for posting on your blog on this platform and that those who do not abide by those rules are also banned...
Because he continues to agitate, making false claims daily about the integrity of the election that led to his being fired, Trump continues to be a threat to our democracy. Because people uncritically accept his false claims, he continues to be a threat. Yes, we do have to worry about his corrupt, transactionalist nature.
I still have that tunnel from Richmond Hill to Hilton Head, under the Atlantic to sell you.
Jerome Merwick,
You are dealing with a Mark Thomas type with Father K, who blithely will NEVER answer or respond to facts which might burst his liberal bubble. Like we had no new hot wars during President Trump's term and Blacks and Hispanics were better off economically. His connection to reality, like Joe Biden's, is tenuous. And charity? Forgetaboutit! Ashli Babbit: play stupid games, win stupid prizes. His bishop might be interested in that statement because it evinces a spirit which should never be found in a Catholic pastor.
Here is an article you might find interesting from Clarice Feldman on whom is destroying the Rule of Law in this country. Hint, it is not President Trump:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/06/the_democrats_a_criminal_organization.html
Fr. ALLAN McDonald. - "I still have that tunnel from Richmond Hill to Hilton Head, under the Atlantic to sell you."
That tunnel, like your manipulated election," is a figment of your imagination.
Jerome Merwick - Can you support the following claims with facts and links?
"...we are STILL finding people being investigated for the crime of being registered Republicans and being in the D.C. area on the day of the protests." (I don't think Ginni Thomas has been arrested yet...)
"...the constitutional rights of many of those arrested have been so badly violated..."
As for politics, you are dead wrong to say that I think politics is the answer to all our problems. And if you're inclined to say "Well, it sure sounds like that from what you post!" then think again. But, guess what I am going to discuss when someone brings up politics.
While you are sickened by protesters making their point in public, I am not. I would not use, nor would I encourage other to us, the kind of language you speak of. BUT, I recognize the right of others to make that choice.
There's nothing new in nasty, vulgar expressions in politically charged times. "James Callendar (secretly hired by Thomas Jefferson) assailed then-President John Adams as a “repulsive pedant” and “a hideous hermaphroditical character,” whatever that means. Later in the 19th century, Martin Van Buren was accused of wearing women’s corsets (by Davy Crockett, no less) and James Buchanan (who had a congenital condition that caused his head to tilt to the left) was accused of have unsuccessfully tried to hang himself."
And just recently I learned of the blackmail used against US Senator Lester C. Hunt to force him to withdraw from his re-election campaign for the Senate. Hunt's son had been arrested for solicitation, and none other than Joseph McCarthy engineered a plot with two other US Senators to blackmail Hunt Sr, saying that his son would not be prosecuted if Hunt dropped out of the race. "On June 19, 1954, Senator Hunt shot himself at his desk in his Senate office, using a .22 caliber rifle he apparently brought from home. He was taken to Casualty Hospital, where he died a few hours later at age 61."
Bringing your paranoia about the World Economic Forum into the discussion is simply ludicrous. What's next? The Jesuit plot that led to Lincoln's assassination?
I would argue that two wrongs do not make a right.
Additionally, I would argue that sedition and civil unrest aren't held to the same standard of law - clearly they aren't, the charges are totally different.
Is it possible there were irregularities somewhere during the last election, or, any other for that matter? Sure, anything is possible. It just seems unlikely that such irregularities, to the extent process breakdown regarding judging the election in a given precinct occurred, would, in aggregate, throw a national election one way or another.
The 45th President, by appearances, abused both power and Office. Additionally, and by the accounts of others, was consumed with self preservation, not his constituents. Before being overly loyal (though laudable), consider the lack of loyalty coupled with apparent incitement that was originating from the Executive Branch from the evening of the election through the events of 1/6. Power blinds and corrupts, the people in turn suffer.
I've tried to be objective, fair and balanced with my comments. We have to decouple conjecture and semantics from events and the consequences of those events.
Had the 45th President conducted himself differently during his time in Office, it's possible that we as a country might not have gotten to this end and, the concerns regarding fitness and competence that have plagued the current President and Vice President might never have been talking points. Also possible, the Ukrainian invasion, saber rattling by the Chinese and North Korean nuclear build up might not have gotten to the point where they are today. See just how critical it is to conduct oneself with integrity and within one's confines? See how easily the balance shifts and, arguably not in the best ways when one doesn't? Neither side is without "sin" here, the 45th President's sins, arguably, were beyond what most consider to be defensible.
God help us all. Hopefully, and in the longer-term, some are voted out, quality candidates are found, civil discourse and the best interests of citizens becomes more prevalent, hateful rhetoric and actions subside, and we move toward a more fair and just society in keeping with the best principles upon which this country was founded. If we don't, life can easily become more difficult for each and everyone of us in addition to the churches and/or other places of worship that citizens attend - particularly our own.
Byz - Thanks for your measured comments in this discussion. God help us, indeed.
There are some who voted for and continue to support the 45th president because they liked his policies. Some liked his pro-life rhetoric and judicial appointments. I do not for an instant think that he cares one way or the other about human life, but saw the pro-life stand as politically expedient. Many voted for him because he was not Hillary Clinton.
I have a sense, though, that quite a number who voted for him did so because they find his traits attractive, traits that I, and probably you, would not think appealing. The bullying, the dishonesty, the transactionalism, the sexual vulgarity, the braggadocio, and the possibly imaginary business success and wealth are what people find alluring. (Satan seduces by disguising evil as good.) This type of voter is, I think, among those most unlikely to give up their allegiance to 45, doing so only when their souls depart from their bodies. They find the "image" captivating. And, they want to be like him or at least live his life vicariously.
“God help us all. Hopefully, and in the longer-term, some are voted out, quality candidates are found, civil discourse and the best interests of citizens becomes more prevalent, hateful rhetoric and actions subside, and we move toward a more fair and just society in keeping with the best principles upon which this country was founded.”
Amen, ByzRus, amen! And to make explicit what is surely implied in your eloquent statement, we must also commit to the search for facts and truth and reject lies and other falsehoods.
Having fully endorsed what ByzRus writes (how could one not?), the question now arises how we can help make this happen. In a book published last year I stated the problem in the following terms:
“In the third step we move beyond the context of our own practices to engage in explicitly political conversation with our fellow citizens in the larger Republic. This third step, although crucial, is perhaps the most challenging of all and requires the longest treatment because our political conversation has become so degraded. The symptoms of the crisis of well-being, distress, and dysfunction in the Republic mentioned in Chapter 1 -- hyper-partisanship, political gridlock, deepening economic, cultural, and racial divisions, an identity politics of fear, suspicion, and outrage, social media tribalism, poisonous incivility and dishonesty, and so on -- manifest in the political relationships with our fellow citizens, not just in relationships among our elected political leaders. If politics was “civil war by other means” when MacIntyre originally wrote those words in After Virtue in 1981, it is now “civil war by other means on steroids.” How do we, the ordinary citizens of the Republic, “take our country back” from the political, social, and technological forces that have divided us into social and political tribes -- frequently, it seems, even invading and poisoning relationships among family members and erstwhile friends? How do we overcome our mutual alienation and find our way back to one another, re-enabling meaningful political conversation to occur? These questions are likely to remain urgent even if the 2020 general election produces a change of Administration.” [page 381, citations omitted]
Drawing on other thinkers, I propose a way forward in Chapter 8 of the book and conclude that
“There is good reason, then, to remain hopeful about the future of political conversation among motivated citizens at the grassroots level in the near term, and among politicians at the institutional level in the longer term. Our further hope as Thomistic-Aristotelians is that, as we participate in the healing process of “reconnecting a fractured world” and “building bridges ” in political conversations, we will—through example, invitation, and rational argument—make a unique contribution to the process of “re-envisioning what it means to live the life of a [citizen]” and to “caring for the well-being of one another, as well as ourselves,” and thereby to the process of transforming the liberal democratic state into a “republic of virtue” more like Piscopolis and its citizens into flourishing human beings more like Drew than Cash.” [pp. 395-96, citations omitted]
I have hinted at this book before but have been very reluctant to mention it (rightly or wrongly, I find self-promotion distasteful). However, I should have the courage of my convictions, and this seems an appropriate conversation in which to do so. Here is a link:
https://www.amazon.com/Professions-Politics-Crisis-Mark-Jones/dp/1531021972
Although intended for lay readers as well, the book is an academic publication and unfortunately priced as such. In brief, though, as the quoted passages suggest, I subscribe to and advocate Catholic philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s Thomistic Aristotelianism as a solution for what ails us both in our politics and more broadly. I realize, of course, that my voice is just one among many seeking to grapple with the crisis we face in contemporary liberal democracies such as the United States (and a small one at that).
Thank you, Mark, and Fr. MJK, for your kind words.
Fr. MJK,
I concur with your thoughts. Fundamental decency leads me to this mindset. To me, the challenge going forward will be to not compromise moral values while at the same time avoiding extremism.
Mark,
There is not an easy answer it would seem. Until we as a society rediscover our collective respect for live, we may never again fully respect each other. Until we as a society commit to more equality relative to being secure in one's person and domicile, we will have division. Until we as a society commit to more equality of opportunity so we can all benefit from the good things this country has to offer, there will be division. Until we as a society commit to doing our part, pulling our weight, fulfilling our individual and collective obligations as would be taught in a civics class, we will continue to be divided. If things continue as they are, the gap between the haves and have nots may become a chasm and the decay, poverty and violence emblematic of so many of our cities will become more deeply rooted.
I'm afraid a lot needs to change else we continue down the aforementioned slippery slope. I'm just not sure there's a willingness among the majority to have a change of heart and meet in the middle.
Sophia Here: "The new documentary “2000 Mules,” which investigates evidence of widespread cheating in the 2020 presidential election, is hitting home with voters who have seen the film." It is still playing in some theaters and the DVD is available.
"Among voters who have seen “2000 Mules,” 85% of Republicans, 68% of Democrats and 77% of unaffiliated voters say the movie strengthened their conviction that there was systematic and widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.
Among voters who have seen the documentary, 78% say they would recommend “2000 Mules” to others regardless of whether or not they share their political beliefs. That includes 84% of Republicans, 73% of Democrats and 74% of unaffiliated voters who have seen the film."
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/public_surveys/2000_mules_documentary_s_message_resonates_with_voters
Watching these comments is like watching America, divided in two. We have two readers and a priest who will not back down from observing the obvious, no matter how much they are told that they don't see anything. We then have two men and their priest insisting that the other three don't see anything and congratulating each other on their superior knowledge and higher moral ground. To make matters worse, the priest of the second group seems to be imitating Pope Francis by telling us the motives of a certain group of voters and putting them down. I am eager to find out which seminaries have been teaching such advanced psychology.
As much as we would like to ALL congratulate ourselves on taking the higher moral position, in this case, there isn't one to take. Thanks to MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, PBS and, to some degree, even FOX, we all know what Trump is. However, five of those six networks will never tell us the same truths about the Clintons, Pelosi, Schumer and the rest of the morally superior Democrats, and it's as easy as lifting up a rock.
If anyone can read about the antics of the Bidens and Clintons, there is no room to complain of Trump being dishonest. If anyone knows a thing about Lyndon Johnson, there is no room for assailing Trump as being uniquely vulgar. It seems to be an unfortunate reality that people who rise to that level of political power in America seem to always live double lives.
But what about competence? Ronald Reagan had a great litmus test. He asked us if we were better off than we were four years previously. We don't need that big of a window to answer that question. Are we better off now than we were just a year and a half ago?
2,000 Mules is loaded with errors, false claims, and assertions with no factual support.
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-usa-mules/fact-check-does-2000-mules-provide-evidence-of-voter-fraud-in-the-2020-u-s-presidential-election-idUSL2N2XJ0OQ
https://www.jan-6.com/2000-mules?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwJuVBhCAARIsAOPwGAQYsPBjHTLKSN0VqGxbIUVbm3lCAEpK7lFl956npwcyxeKw_0loqCQaAhO5EALw_wcB
https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/may/04/faulty-premise-2000-mules-trailer-about-voting-mai/
Just the facts, Sophia. Just the facts.
Thomas Garret asks: "Are we better off now than we were just a year and a half ago?"
What metrics are used to determine "better off"?
Does one have money invested in financial products such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and the like? Then the answer is YES. You are better off. (Full disclosure - I have my retirement in a mutual fund and one individual stock which I inherited.)
Does one consider how the US government is perceived in the community of nations? then the answer is YES. From Pew Research: "America’s Image Abroad Rebounds With Transition From Trump to Biden. The election of Joe Biden as president has led to a dramatic shift in America’s international image. Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, publics around the world held the United States in low regard, with most opposed to his foreign policies. This was especially true among key American allies and partners. Now, a new Pew Research Center survey of 16 publics finds a significant uptick in ratings for the U.S., with strong support for Biden and several of his major policy initiatives."
Does one consider that having a head of state who is not sexually vulgar, who does not brag in print about his sexual conquests, and does not make references to the size of his . . . hands? Then the answer is YES. There are no recordings of Biden bragging about how he would put the moves on a married woman who would, because he is a celebrity, give in to his "charms." The current president is not a serial adulterer who admitted to cheating on his first wife before he married his second wife who he subsequently left to marry his third wife.
Does one consider making judicial appointments? Then the answer is YES. Bloomberg reports: "Biden is still getting judges confirmed at a record rate, at least among recent presidents."
Does one consider American household disposable income? Then the answer is YES. from Trading Economics reports: Since July of 2021 US household disposable income has increased from $54207.00 to $55220.00.
Just a few of the metrics one might consider...
Fr K,
LOL. The stock market is in the toilet which shows how divorced from reality you are. Gas prices and inflation are out of control which is greatly burdening the people you claim to love. But no worries, Pelosi etal still live in their gated mansions, eating $13.50 a pint ice cream, and being flown around at taxpayer expense!
"Measured response" means you have caved into my leftwing views. Dems are masters of "measured responses." Par example:
Obama: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."
Maxine Waters: "Let's make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd," Waters told supporters at a rally in June 2018. "And you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere. We've got to get the children connected to their parents."
Schumer: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer said at a March 4, 2020 pro-abortion rally.
Very measured, reasonable, to a Democrat.
Here's more from the "follow the science" Left:
Attributing violence against Nigeria’s Christians to climate change is “incorrect and far-fetched,” according to the bishop of a diocese where at least 40 people were murdered at a Pentecost Sunday Mass.
Bishop Jude Ayodeji Arogundade of Ondo was responding to a statement issued by Irish president Michael D. Higgins after the June 5 massacre at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, southwestern Nigeria.
Higgins condemned the attack on June 7, but appeared to link it to “the consequences of climate change.”
“While thanking the Honorable Mr. Higgins for joining others to condemn the attack and offering his sympathy to the victims, his reasons for this gruesome massacre are incorrect and far-fetched,” Bishop Arogundade said in a message dated June 10.
The bishop said he felt compelled to address the president’s statement because of the historical ties between the Republic of Ireland and his diocese."
I think Higgins must be deathly afraid of the "Religion of Peace."
Re: Stock Market Reality
Dow Jones Averages
May 1982 2,446 (Reagan)
May 1992 7,106 (Bush I)
May 2002 16,138 (Bush II)
May 2012 15,764 (Obama)
May 2022 32,120 (Biden)
As everyone knows, short term fluctuations are generally indicative of . . . nothing, especially when it comes to the continued, steady growth of the US stock market.
Over last year, Starbucks revenue is up 31.4%, Amazon 13.99%, Subway 8.7%, WalMart 2.35%.
Oil companies revenue last 12 months
Occidental + 24.4%
Marathon + 20.1%
Exxon Mobile + 9.4%
Devon Energy + 8.9%
Chevron + 6.6%
Reality.
Father K says:
"Does one consider American household disposable income? Then the answer is YES. from Trading Economics reports: Since July of 2021 US household disposable income has increased from $54207.00 to $55220.00."
But what economic guru Father K does not tell you is that increase of $900 in disposable income buys a lot less than it did when President Trump was president. When you are spending $70 to fill your gastank when a couple of years ago it was around $30, it does not take a Harvard MBA to figure what he is peddling is utter nonsense. No sale, Father K.
Father K,
Maybe you should stick to your day job because you are batting 0 here. Since you like to quote Forbes, here is something the sentient amongst us know:
"As investors grapple with the worst-performing market in years, some experts have zeroed in on Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge as an indication that stocks have more room to fall—even as major indexes flirt with bear market territory."
Cherrypicking a handful of stocks that one would expect to do well even when the overall market is not, is disengneous, even for you.
And in terms of inflation, you do not give a damn about working men and women sitting cozyily in your parish paid digs. Well this came out of UCLA:
"The Biden administration has been under pressure to reassure Americans that inflation won’t reel out of control. The most recent numbers seemed to upend that hope, with prices rising for goods across the board, led by sharp jumps in the costs of energy and groceries.
In a metro area as large as Los Angeles with an economy driven by low-wage work, the effects of inflation — especially gas prices — fall disproportionately on the working class, said Leo Feler, a senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast.
Annual inflation in the L.A. metro area, which includes Los Angeles and Orange counties, clocked in at 8% in May. San Diego saw 8.3%, while the Riverside metro area, which includes Riverside and San Bernardino counties, saw a 9.4% inflation rate."
And then there's this from Bloomberg:
The red-hot inflation expected to last throughout the year will leave the average US household spending $5,200 more compared to the year prior, Bloomberg economists Andrew Husby and Anna Wong said in a Tuesday article. That boils down to an extra $433 per month on the same goods and services as last year.
So with $900 of additional income that you touted, they are behind $4300 with rising food costs, etc.
But I would expect no less from a guy who votes for a Party that calls abortion "healthcare" and demanded additional funds to keep the baby killing mills afloat during the pandemic.
Have you no sense of decency?
Thomas Garret, the diagnosis I offered above is not a psychological one, but a spiritual one that is based on our Catholic understanding of the seductive power of evil. Yes, they do teach us about that in seminary.
Fr K,
Seductive power of evil - that would be the modern Democratic Party and corrupt mainstream media - peddling evil 24/7!
I had not heard about 2000 Mules before, but just the other day I was wondering what had happened to Dinesh D’Souza, who directed it, as I had not heard about him for some time. Now I know why.
Based on the evidence so far, I must agree with Father Kavanaugh and former Attorney General William Barr regarding the claims made in 2000 Mules. For Barr’s evaluation, see the end of the following analysis of these claims:
https://www.factcheck.org/2022/06/evidence-gaps-in-2000-mules/
D’Souza has done some good work in the past. I found his books What’s So Great About Christianity? (2007) and The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 (2007) to be quite helpful, and indeed even used excerpts from the latter in my teaching. But like some others (including some prominent lawyers), something has happened to him. I can’t explain it, but some type of pathology seems to have taken hold of them that goes way beyond normal confirmation bias. Quite honestly, I find it deeply disturbing, frightening even.
Here is more on D’Souza for context and perspective:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinesh_D%27Souza
An excerpt:
“D'Souza has promoted several conspiracy theories, such as the false claim that Obama was not born in the United States and the conspiracy theory that the Clintons had murdered people. D'Souza has also promoted conspiracy theories about Hungarian-born Jewish financier George Soros, including the false claim that Soros had collaborated with the Nazis, and that Soros has sponsored Antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist movement. In an August 2016 interview with GQ, D'Souza denied being a conspiracy theorist, stating: "I have never advanced a conspiracy theory in my life."
In August 2017, D'Souza suggested that the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally had been staged.[17] In the same month, D'Souza tweeted that it would be "interesting to see" Soros "extradited to Israel & tried for his complicity in Nazi atrocities against Jews", and referred to Soros as "Hitler's collection boy".
After mail bombing attempts on prominent Democratic politicians occurred in October 2018, D'Souza tweeted: "Fake sexual assault victims. Fake refugees. Now fake mail bombs." D'Souza spread the conspiracy theory that because there was no cancellation mark on the bomb-containing packages, they were not mailed.”
And here is the Wikipedia entry on 2000 Mules, exposing even more weaknesses in the “documentary.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Mules
As I wrote on the Blog last year, in 1987 Allan Bloom wrote about the Closing of the American Mind. I fear that what we are now witnessing is the Decomposition of the American Mind.
Sophia Here: Fr. K. says, "Just the facts, Sophia. Just the facts." Rather than taking other people's opinion on whether "2000 Mules" contains compelling, unassailable evidence or not, why don't you do what even some other Democrats have done- see it. Then you would have the facts on which to draw your own conclusion. That's what I did. That's what Dennis Prager did. Instead, your M.O. is to search for some links which support the ideology you espouse in a brazen but foolish attempt to overwhelm a position you refuse to acknowledge regardless of evidence -despite screaming for evidence. I concluded a long time ago that you actively and persistently adhere to untenable, false and even evil positions not out of simple ignorance, but because of your ideology. You have had more than ample opportunity to clear up your ignorance! In other words, yours is not "Invincible Ignorance", it is most definitely "Vincible (culpable) Ignorance"!
I think, in principle, Fr. MJK has provided a reasonable argument regarding economic factors, the interplay between them, and how they are dependent/independent. Additionally, he has layered in Catholic spirituality regarding the national election and influencing factors. He has taken no particular position regarding the Democratic Party nor has he supported any particular ideology. Reading critically, his macro views, coupled with factors that tie back to our beliefs seem clear to me. Am I missing something here?
What are the Economic Factors?
Examples of Economic Factors
Top 10 Economic Factors Affecting Business
#1- Interest Rate
#2 – Exchange Rate
#3 -Tax Rate
#4 – Inflation
#5 – Labor
#6 – Demand / Supply
#7 – Wages
#8 – Law and Policies
#9 – Government Activity
#10 – Recession
Economic Factors Affecting Development
#1 – Education and Training
#2 – Natural Resources
#3 – Power and Energy Resources
#4 – Transportation
#5 – Communication
“Rather than taking other people's opinion on whether "2000 Mules" contains compelling, unassailable evidence or not, why don't you do what even some other Democrats have done -- see it. Then you would have the facts on which to draw your own conclusion. That's what I did. That's what Dennis Prager did. Instead, your M.O. is to search for some links which support the ideology you espouse in a brazen but foolish attempt to overwhelm a position you refuse to acknowledge regardless of evidence . . . “
I realize that this comment is probably directed to Father Kavanaugh, but I feel compelled to respond. I guess former Attorney General William Barr, that well known leftist and progressive, must also espouse the suspect ideology too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz6smxo-MkE
I am a trained lawyer, as is William Barr. We can generally detect “BS” (Barr’s expression) when we see it unless our minds have been warped (as seems to have happened in the case of some very prominent lawyers, who might do well to read my Chapter 7 -:)). True, I have not yet seen 2000 Mules (I would if it were readily accessible, which it isn’t, it seems), but I have personally and open-mindedly researched some of these claims related to the Big Lie and found nothing there but crazy talk.
And isn’t it just a little bit suspicious that 2000 Mules is released just as the January 6 Committee is getting ready to hold its public hearings? D’Souza gives the game away in the following trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4NleCBK_fw
Please do not fall for this nonsense. By all means, watch 2000 Mules, but then employ your critical thinking faculties to question what you see. It is especially important to do this with things you want to agree with to help guard against conformation bias.
Sophia,
You are dealing with a leftwing ideologue masquerading as a Catholic priest. He was perfectly fine with the Clinton and FBI Russian collusion hoax which was pretty thin gruel. If anything that was an attack on Democracy. To borrow the leftwing playbook the January 6 event was a mostly peaceful protest. According to the leftwing Washington Post only about $1.5 million dollars in damage occurred in stark contrast to $1-2 Billion dollars of damage to about 140 Democrat controlled cities during the BLM mostly peaceful protests where Black homes and businesses were destroyed. Could BLM actually be a front for a revived KKK? Now remind me Sophia how many cities were burned by Whites after the BLM activist murdered Grandmas and children during the Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I can’t seem to find those stories.
Mark,
As a “trained lawyer” you and your kind fell for Hillary’s Russian collusion hoax even though Alan Dershowitz admonished people that even if you could prove collusion , collusion is not a crime. I think a better case for collusion with Russia are Biden’s energy policies, which fueled high oil prices and provided Putin with the cash to invade the Ukraine. The invasion which may not have happened if Biden had been smart enough to retain President Trump’s energy policies! Also the working class would not be suffering financially.
Sophia - Your suggestion sounds so very common sensical, so very down-to-earth, so very American Individualism. "See it for yourself and YOU decide." Who would argue with such wisdom...?
Well, suppose the movie in question were the Wizard of Oz. Suppose I said, "Here are some reviews that show convincingly that there is no land of Oz, no Wicked Witch, and no flying monkeys." You would say, "See it for yourself and YOU decide." I think not.
Maybe the movie in question is "A Clockwork Orange." I find a review or two or three that say, "It's "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," but that also say it is has pornographic aspects and should be avoided as morally objectionable in part for all. You would say, "See it for yourself and YOU decide." I think not.
No, you see, that advice is silly. I don't have to see the Wizard of Oz to decide for myself if the Land of Oz, the Wicked Witch, and the flying monkeys really exist. Nor do I have to see A Clockwork Orange to know that, while it may have great artistic merit, it is not something that a person who objects to pornography should see.
In making your judgments about the veracity of 2000 Mules, I assume you have great experience and expertise in analysing surveillance footage of election drop boxes as well as the entire process of election counting in the Great State of Georgia, don't you?
And, of course, your expertise in geotracking and how the movie makers gleaned it from unnamed - there's a sure sign of solid evidence - sources is well-known. You've got lots of training in that, I am sure.
The problems with the film are laid out pretty clearly in the Reuters item I referenced. But YOU with ALL your expertise in video surveillance and geotracking - YOU can make an informed judgment about the film.
Ah, Sophia, neither you nor I have the capacity to test the veracity of the claims of 2000 Mules. So this notion of "See it for yourself and YOU decide" is just silly.
You've been bamboozled, Sophia, into believing that EVERY person, whatever his or her background, is in a position to make a professional judgment on claims made by anyone else, even those with substantial education and experience in some pretty technical matters. It's a common trait among many Americans today.
Carl Sagan descibed you and others who cling to the 45th president's Big Lie well: "One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
I am glad that I, unlike you, am not so bamboozled that I cannot recognize the things I do not know, much less claim to have knowledge that I do not have.
As I said, many will go on believing the Big Lie until the day they die. I suspect strongly you are among that benighted class.
Father K,
And you may go on believing in the Big Lie that the Russian Collusion Hoax was real and that abortion is "healthcare." By the way, all stock market gains since Biden was elected have been wiped out. Congratulations! Are you going to start buying gas for your poorer parishioners?
TJM willfully refuses to acknowledge the distinction, made in several of my previous comments, between proving criminal coordination or conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt (an appropriately high bar for a criminal conviction) and substantial evidence of “collusion” between the Trump Campaign and Russian government operatives. Mueller could not develop evidence meeting the very high standard for a criminal charge in large part, one suspects, because two key figures – Paul Manafort and Roger Stone – lied and/or refused to properly cooperate with the investigation. Read the following and make up your own mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Links_between_Trump_associates_and_Russian_officials
Donald Trump is a pathological liar and a cheat. It would be entirely in character for him to have cheated in the 2016 election, just as it is in character for him to be cheating in the 2020 election by propagating the Big Lie. He knows no other way to be. He even cheats at golf—all the time.
For reasons of charity and professional courtesy, I will refrain from commenting on Alan Dershowitz.
TJM, whose sole interest and intent seems to be to carry water for Trump, invokes the price of gas as an argument. Well, let’s assume for the sake of argument that gas would be cheaper under Trump. In effect, the choice TJM presents us with is: “Cheaper gas or the Republic.” Sadly, many will be bamboozled (to use Father K’s word) to choose cheaper gas. Elect Trump again and you lose the Republic (without necessarily getting cheaper gas). But if that’s what you want: “Every nation has the government it deserves” as the saying goes.
I am on record as saying that our politics is corrupted, indeed almost rotten to the core. Neither the current Republican Party nor the current Democratic Party is worthy of support, although unfortunately we are compelled by practical reality to choose between two evils. And Donald Trump, a known pathological liar and cheat, is certainly not worthy of support. But I am still hopeful, idealistic even, that our politics can be redeemed (which is probably why one reviewer described my book as being as much John Lennon as Alasdair MacIntyre). We must turn to the better angels of our nature if we are to extract ourselves from the slime pit into which we are being dragged down. And to be able to do this we must pray for divine grace.
Mark,
One last thing. Is there something you would like to point out about Jonathan Turley. Please read this:
“Pelosi’s decision to shred the long tradition on balanced committees was a signature muscle play,” said liberal law professor Jonathan Turley on Twitter. “The Jan. 6 Committee was stripped of any pretense. It was as subtle as her ripping up President Trump’s State of the Union speech on the House floor. The Committee can now deliver precisely what Pelosi demands: politics unburdened by process. The shame is that it could have been so much more if the committee were balanced and allowed a broader scope of inquiry.”
"McCarthy threatens to pull choices for Jan. 6 committee after Pelosi rejects Jordan, Banks"
"McCarthy pulls his 5 GOP members from 1/6 committee after Pelosi rejects 2 of his picks"
"McCarthy pulls all Republicans from January 6 Select Committee after Pelosi rejects two picks"
"How Kevin McCarthy tried to sabotage the House January 6 investigation"
etc...
Fr K,
Each Party traditionally selects their members. Nice try. Now do you know more than Jonathon Turley? So you are now a legal expert in addition to your expertise in economics. You are the clerical version of Mark Thomas - ignoring inconvenient facts. Is abortion “ healthcare” in your world?
While I may not agree with all his positions, I have the sense that Jonathan Turley tries to be a voice of balance and moderation, certainly much more so than Dershowitz. But he is clearly no fan of Trump’s conduct on January 6 and indeed called for Congress to pass a motion of censure condemning his actions and omissions on that day:
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/533693-the-case-for-censuring-trump/
This said, I am not particularly enthusiastic about the apparent desire/need of some of my colleagues in the legal academy to become TV celebrities, whoever they may be.
Turley is correct, of course, that Pelosi is playing politics with the January 6 Committee. But then so were the Republicans in nominating members to the Committee with the intent of undermining it. As I said, our politics is corrupt. And a reminder--again although I did not agree with all his positions, it is an interesting thought experiment to imagine how things might be different if John McCain were still alive and in the Senate.
By the way, Turley says in The Hill piece that “In his speech to a massive rally on Jan. 6, Trump did not call for violence; rather, he called on his supporters to go ‘peacefully’ to Capitol Hill to show support for senators backing an electoral-vote challenge and opposition to those who opposed it.” This is correct insofar as it goes and does not rise to the level of misrepresenting the facts. Not so Alan Dershowitz who has said that
“It was not a fair proceeding . . . And even if you say it was one-sided, it was unethical. Why was it unethical? Take for example President Trump’s speech on January 6th. I opposed that speech. I didn’t think it was done well. I didn’t think he should have done it. But he said at the end of the speech he wanted people to show their voices patriotically and peacefully. They doctored the tape! They edited those words out.”
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2022/06/14/honest-liberals-know-trump-is-innocent-and-the-j6-hearings-are-a-sham-n1605470
Yes, the Committee edited those words out. But those words did NOT come "at the end" of Trump’s speech; they came toward the beginning (about a quarter of the way through). So, very plausibly, by the time Trump reached the end, having worked up the crowd into a frenzy, they had forgotten the beginning. It’s all to do with context. Words must be read in context, to be properly understood, and here the context is the entire speech, working up to the climax at the end. Besides which, Trump is a shrewd operator when it comes to his self-interest. So, it is again entirely plausible that he, or his advisors, thought it a good idea to include these words to cover himself. Plausible deniability, right? It certainly fooled Dershowitz who now cannot tell his ___ from his ____. Which is the charitable explanation.
Please check for yourself. Here is the full text of Trump’s speech on January 6:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial
Democrats use the rules to achieve their goals (January 6th Committee) and they are the devil incarnate.
Republicans use the rules to achieve their goals (blocking the nomination of Marrick Garland to the SCOTUS) and they are the cat's meow.
See how some twisted minds work?
Thanks for making my point about political corruption on both sides. However, the Democrat party is a party of hate, hate of the unborn with their desire to give others the choice to kill innocent human life and to snuff life out that becomes burdensome like the elderly and handicapped through euthanasia or putting people to sleep like you would a dog, but a dog has more rights.
Yes, there was election fraud and in almost every election. If you don’t believe that, then I have a tunnel from Richmond Hill to Hilton Head with a stop off on Wilmington Island for you to buy.
Father, I used to be a Democrat and I easily agree with you. Republicans don't have the answer to everything, but I am far more comfortable on that side of the aisle, because the Democratic party has sold its soul. Abortion is a right. Perversion is a "civil right". Defending evil has become its priority. I can't be a part of that.
I don't wish to argue with any of the people here with me, but just make my point about two things:
1). INSURRECTION. People on the right know the Constitution--many carry copies in their pockets. They know about guns. They know about tactical warfare and defense. If the right wanted an insurrection, it would have looked a lot different than the disorganized mess we saw on January 6. This entire Stalinist show trial in the House is just one more attempt to make sure Trump can never get elected again. We all know it, no matter how much we reach into Trump's words and try to find some evidence of "incitement".
On the other hand, we have clear video evidence of Senator Schumer openly threatening Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Crickets. We have open violation of federal law with protesters in front of SCOTUS members' homes. Crickets. We have online meetings with members plotting to disrupt Church services where SCOTUS members attend Church. We have evidence of leftist groups telling members where the children of SCOTUS members attend school! Crickets. THAT is insurrection. THAT is incitement. And THAT will go untouched and unprosecuted because our government is currently under the control of anarchist thugs. THEY get to define truth for us. That isn't just wrong, it's downright Luciferian. There is no justification for this level of hypocristy, duplicity and selective outrage. And this nonsense WILL stop after November, which brings me to my next point...
2). REVENGE. Politics is no longer about public service. It's about revenge. The careerist swamp-dwellers who have comfortably worked the managed decline of America for decades want revenge on Trump for exposing them. They know Trump remains very popular and they will do whatever it takes to shut that threat down. Republicans want revenge too. I know I do. I want revenge for all of our tax dollars going to B.S. like "climate justice" and scores of programs that don't work. I want revenge for shutting down pipelines, denying oil leases and making me and millions of Americans lose all of our disposable income because we have to spend it on fuel. I want revenge for...well it doesn't matter, because this should NOT be about revenge. I am wrong to want revenge and I have to repent of it every time it crosses my mind. And that is what scares me the most. When the Republicans take control of D.C.--and make no mistake, they will--I fear that all we are going to see is the flip script to the other side and get more revenge against the Democrats instead of just getting a competent, sensible government.
Our politics are poisoned. I don't believe that most Americans are bad, but I believe the number of misled and bad people who are Americans has grown so much that it's going to take a cataclysm to restore sanity. Democrats in power/Republicans in power--one might be more tolerable to me, but either way, I can't help but sense God is about to spank us. How He'll do it is anybody's guess. I am trying to think less about politics and prepare for martyrdom, because it's going to get worse, regardless of who is holding the gavel.
Your tunnel remains in your imagination, like the notion that I have made your point. Are you really that much of a dullard...?
No one doubts that errors are made in counting ballots. Humans count them, or run the machines that count them, so no surprise there. There may even be fraud, but, you see, it has to be proven. Time and time and time again the claims made by the 45th president and his sycophantic supporters have been shown to be without merit. That rebuttal starts with the 50 states that certified the election results. Recall that 29 of them are headed by Republicans.
As the advisors to the 45th president, from his own Attorney General to his children to many on his election campaign staff told him, he lost. And he lost because more Americans voted for Biden, not because the election was rigged or stolen.
FR. K,
The best evidence that the election was rigged, is that the Democrats have fought tooth and nail to block investigations along with certain corrupt establishment Republicans. Barr never looked at a thing but came to his laughable conclusion. That is what disgusts me about him. If he had I might feel differently. Moreover, President Trump was comfortably ahead in all of the so-called battleground states at midnight. Constitutionally that is when vote tabulation should cease. When I was stupid, young and a Democrat, I was a Democratic Party official and was in charge of elections for my district. All absentee ballots were received and counted before the polls closed on election day. They were then added to the in person votes tabulated as of 7 pm. Biden miraculously took the lead after midnight and all of the ballots were from Democrat controlled cities like Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta. By the way, people like you slobber over the French. The French outlawed mail-in ballots in 1975 because of rampant fraud.
If you really believe a senile grifter, hiding out in his basement throughout the campaign did better than Barack Obama in his first run, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you. But I know you are happy that the Party of Intrinsic Evil won.
Jerome Merwick,
You stated your case well, but the Mark Thomas of clerics, Father K, will never respond to the facts you laid out. He will ignore them. You would think at least he would be angry that a Kavanaugh was attacked so viciously in the Senate confirmation hearings but that would require honesty and basic decency. Rather than converting folks and working on vocations, he spends his time as a Democrat operative masquerading as a Catholic priest. If he were older, I would swear Bella Dodd recruited him.
Father Kavanaugh,
I know you are addressing Father McDonald in that last post, but I strongly urge you to let go of it. You can name-call and cite your sources all that you like, but that isn't changing anyone's mind. I don't have to be right and feel right all of the time. Neither do you. This petty one-upsmanship bickering is what is driving the hateful revenge-oriented state that our political atmosphere has become. We all have to stop.
If you know that you are right, great. You have nothing to prove to me. If I believe I am right, I figured out about 10 posts ago that I'm not making any difference presenting my ideas here either. So I'm presenting a new idea: Let's stop it. Just stop. If you think anything you've posted here has made a difference, well, good for you. As for me, I've realized that NOTHING I'VE posted here has made one iota of difference. All you and I HAVE proven is how toxic this "dialogue" has become. So let's stop. Just let it go. Let the network talking heads waste their breathe trying to convince us all of whatever it is we are supposed to believe. As for me, I believe God is using the sad state of our world to bring us back to our knees.
Please, everyone here, just let it go. You don't have to let go of your beliefs. You don't have to agree or disagree with anyone. But we ALL need to let go of our need to feel right. Maybe in some crazy way, we're ALL right.
Jerome Merwick
INSURRECTION - "a violent uprising against an authority or government."
What we saw on January 6th was violent. We SAW the violence. To claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie.
What we saw on January 6th was an attempt to use violence to stop the counting of the legitimate, certified election results from the 50 states, 29 of them headed by Republicans. To claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie.
That the insurrection, thanks be to God, failed is no proof whatsoever that it was anything but a violent uprising against the government of the United States..
What we saw was part of a plan, known even by those who hatched it (John Eastman among others), to be contrary to the Constitution of the United States. Article II, Section I, Clause III: "The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted."
There is NOTHING in the Constitution or US Code Title III, Chapter I, Section XV that empowers the Vice Prfesident, acting as President of the Senate, to declare that certified electoral college votes are invalid, questionable, in dispute, or in any way less than official. To claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie.
Knowing that the 45th president was an is unfit for office, Mitch McConnell said of the 45th President: “The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us,..." That is somethign he and his caucus should have done themselves.
God bless you, Father.
Jerome Merwick - What is driving our political divisions are those who continue to 1) believe the Big Lie spewed out by the 45th president and 2) defend him and the insurrectionists who attacked our Capitol on January 6th. I love my country too much to "let it go."
As long as such a threat to our Republic exists, I will not stop defending the truth with facts and calling out the errors of those who present "alternate facts."
As long as people think defending the truth and being right is merely a "feeling," that it isn't based on facts, I will continue the good fight.
A suggestion: Let your "feeling" about the last presidential election go. Recognize that Joseph R. Biden of the State of Connecticut is the duly elected President of the United States. Acknowledge that those who attempted insurrection on January 6th are criminals and that they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
"WATCH: Trump lawyer knew theory for Pence to overturn election was false"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f8YYMzJ7ls
The words of the witnesses are damning.
I understand Jerome’s plea because studies show how difficult it is to persuade someone firmly wedded to another point of view. It seems that facts don’t persuade people as much as experiences, for example:
https://www.livescience.com/facts-dont-win-political-arguments.html
Also, preeminent among the essential dialogical virtues is intellectual humility, a virtue which we all probably need to exhibit more than we do.
But I also understand Father Kavanaugh and share his frustration at egregious misunderstandings or misstatements of facts. For example, TJM has asserted that “President Trump was comfortably ahead in all of the so-called battleground states at midnight. Constitutionally that is when vote tabulation should cease.” I have NEVER heard this argument before, which may be indicative of my own ignorance as I do not claim to be a constitutional law expert. And so I ask TJM to enlighten us on this point of constitutional law by citing authority for this proposition. Does the Constitution say this? Has a court interpreting the Constitution ever said this? Has a constitutional law expert such as Jonathan Turley ever said this?
And to end on a positive note, the following piece contains much wisdom:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/opinion/problems-world-solutions.html
In addition to intellectual humility, another important virtue here is intellectual honesty. And so each of us most ask ourselves, and honestly and courageously answer for ourselves, the following question: What would we be saying here on this thread if it were a Democratic President who had behaved like Trump after the 2020 Election and a “leftist and progressive” mob that had stoned the Capitol?
Oh dear, spelling corrections in order:
In addition to intellectual humility, another important virtue here is intellectual honesty. And so, each of us must ask ourselves, and honestly and courageously answer for ourselves, the following question: What would we be saying here on this thread if it were a Democratic President who had behaved like Trump after the 2020 Election and a “leftist and progressive” mob that had stormed the Capitol?
On person here finally had enough sense to realize that no one can benefit from this endless arguing and in doing so, he got you last two guys to expose your backside.
You've been outclassed.
Hillary Clinton foisted the Russian scandal on us, and is still whining about the 2016 election. How is that dignified? It also smacks as undermining the Rule of Law because she was a soar loser (and still is).
And as for the January 6 Committee consider this:
"The current committee is not bipartisan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., forbade Republican nominees traditionally selected by the House minority leader to serve on the committee.
No speaker had ever before rejected the minority party’s nominees to a select House committee.
Pelosi’s own cynical criteria for Republican participation was twofold: Any willing minority Republican members had to have voted to impeach former President Donald Trump while having no realistic chance of being reelected in 2022.
Of some 210 Republican House members, that left just Representatives Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who were willing and able to fit Pelosi’s profile.
A real investigation would have ignited argumentation, cross-examination, and disagreements – the sort of give-and-take for which congressional committees are famous.
In contrast, the January 6 show trial features no dissenting views. Its subtext was right out of the Soviet minister of Internal Affairs Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria’s credo: “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”
Nancy Pelosi (who LOVES abortion) is the dangerous one and the true enemy of the Rule of Law. If she had the "R" after her name instead of a "D" our resident lefties would be frothing at the mouth.
And another shot from the other side. Yeesh, you guys just don't know when to quit. Like Merwick said, NO ONE is changing their mind about anything, but oh no! That's not stopping the itty bitty ego patrol!
"America wouldn't be divided if everybody thought the same way I do!"
"Oh yeah? I'll show you!..."
Yeah, you've all shown us all right. You've shown us your collective _sses.
Thomas Garrett -
You will recall that this discussion began with the bald-faced lie that the January 6th attack on our Democracy was nothing more than a few barely broken windows.
The FACTS, as we know them, as we SAW them, show that that assertion is false. You may think that it's best not to report facts or to argue against lies with facts, and that to do so is equivalent to showing one's ass. I don't share that view. (Pun intended.)
FACT:
January 6 was one event
BLM/Antifa encompassed more than 500 riots
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA riots included 20 murders by participants
January 6, no murders by participants (one participant shot by police & killed)
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA destroyed hundreds of small businesses
January 6 destroyed no small businesses (people who have to work seem to respect such enterprises)
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA brought damage to more than 150 federal buildings
January 6. brought damage to ONE federal building
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA riots caused approximately $1-2 Billion dollars worth of damage nationwide
January 6 caused about $1.5 million dollars of damage to the Capitol building
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA riots saw 2,037 police officers assaulted
January 6 about 140 officers were assaulted
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA protesters were mostly bailed out of jail. Many had to pay no bail at all.
January 6 protesters are still kept in solitary confinement to this day
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA riots were encouraged by politicians and media--mostly DEMOCRATIC
January 6 riot was encouraged by fringe political groups and agitators
FACT:
BLM/ANTIFA riots were and continue to be downplayed by the media
January 6th continues to be exaggerated by the media and the ruling elites who despise Trump
FACT:
Your outrage over January 6th is both manufactured and selective.
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