WHAT IS HELL LIKE?

In the history of the Catholic Church various saints and blesseds have described what hell is like and even exactly where “bad Christians” would be placed, based on visions and messages they received during their lives. Here’s what heaven reportedly taught these holy men and women about hell.  READ

Are Catholic schools really booming?

Patrick Reilly of the Newman Society warns that Catholics should not become complacent due to recent increases in Catholic school enrollment. There is still a crisis in Catholic education, he writes. “In the midst of a crisis, it’s natural to look for signs of hope—moments when the news isn’t so bad as it was before. But it’s perilous to ignore larger trends.”  READ

Oakland School District Denies Bible Club Equal Access

OAKLAND, CA – Liberty Counsel sent two demand letters to Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), including to Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell and the school board, for discriminating against Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) NorCal East Bay by denying its elementary school Good News Clubs access to district facilities on an equal basis with other similar non-religious organizations. Since January 2023, CEF NorCal East Bay has requested to use public facilities to resume holding the after-school clubs on four different campuses.

However, the school district has violated state and federal law by denying these requests and has failed to respond to Liberty Counsel’s last demand letter sent December 8, 2023. 

The school district previously allowed CEF NorCal East Bay to host Good News Clubs on its campuses prior to COVID. In response to COVID, the school district cancelled all clubs in Spring 2020. However, when CEF requested to resume the Good News Clubs throughout the Spring and Fall of 2023, elementary school officials responded with a variety of denials. In one of the denials, a principal overtly displayed religious viewpoint discrimination stating in an email, “As a public school, we are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” 

The district also denied CEF NorCal East Bay because there was “no space” available even when spaces were listed as available online. In addition, the district failed to grant the organization’s “community partnership” application in a consistent manner with other similarly situated groups. 

Liberty Counsel sent its first demand letter to Dr. Johnson-Trammell in March 2023 notifying the district denying Good News Clubs equal access based on CEF’s religious viewpoint is viewpoint discrimination. 

After the school district continued to deny the Good News Clubs equal access, Liberty Counsel sent a second demand letter in December 2023 reiterating unlawful viewpoint discrimination. To date, while other organizations such as Girls on the Run and Berkely Chess School are allowed to use school facilities for after school programs, school officials have not responded to Liberty Counsel nor to CEF’s partnership application. 

CEF is an international non-profit worldwide children’s ministry. CEF Good News Clubs positively impact the lives of children and their families. Good News Clubs typically meet once per week, immediately after school, and are led by trained and vetted local community volunteers. The clubs provide religious and other teaching and activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to others, as well as social, emotional, character, and leadership development. 

Good News Clubs do not charge any fee and welcome children with written permission from parents. There are currently 3,041 Good News Clubs in public elementary schools across the United States. 

In June 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court in Good News Club v. Milford Central School ruled that public schools violate the First Amendment by not providing equal access and equal treatment to Christian clubs when the school has opened the forum to secular clubs. 

Liberty Counsel has represented approximately 200 CEF cases nationally and has never lost a case involving Good News Clubs. 

In July 2023, CEF Rhode Island prevailed in Liberty Counsel’s lawsuit against the Providence Public School District. Due to the legal victory, Good News Clubs in the state are now free to hold after school Bible clubs. A federal district court approved a Consent Decree that prevents the Providence Public School District from discriminating against CEF, declaring the Christian clubs are permanently entitled to equal access “on the same terms” as other after school clubs. 

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Oakland Unified School District must give the Good News Clubs equal treatment as the similarly situated non-religious groups on public school campuses. Equal access means equal treatment in terms of use of the facilities, including fee waivers, time of meetings, and announcements.”

The "Big Lie" Exposed and the True Threat to "Democracy"

 Submitted by the American Freedom Law Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Undoubtedly, the 2020 general election was contentious.  But so are most general elections. 

For example, Al Gore repeatedly claimed that the 2000 election was “stolen” by George W. Bush.  Hillary Clinton continues to claim that the 2016 election was “stolen” by Donald Trump. 

But not until recent times has a political party (the Democratic Party) sought to weaponize the courts and the legal process to punish those who question an election. 

Unfortunately, a dangerous precedent has been set, and it is unclear how this will turn out. 

Typically, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.  Should Republicans prevail in the next general election and the losers seek to challenge various aspects of the election, claiming that it was illegitimate (which history shows is inevitable), the precedent has been set to unleash the power of federal, state, and county law enforcement officials to target political opponents with burdensome and costly criminal indictments and for politically-motivated litigants to pursue civil lawsuits for similar reasons. 

This dangerous practice must stop.  Using the power of government to attack political opponents who question elections is the biggest threat to our constitutional republic (yes, we have a constitutional republic and not simply a “democracy”).  It is not the questioning itself. 

To be clear, the 2020 election was not as pristine as the Democratic Party and its national media propaganda machine would like the public to think. 

For example, in Michigan, Donald Trump lost by a mere 154,188 votes.  This is a fraction of the vote when you consider the fact that there were approximately 3 million absentee ballots alone (the most in Michigan history).  Consequently, Trump only lost by approximately 5% of the absentee ballots. 

This is a critically important fact because Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance on how these absentee ballots should be treated—she directed the clerks “to presume that signatures are valid”—was declared unlawful.  See Genetski v. Benson, 2021 Mich. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 3, *12, 19 (March 9, 2021) (“[T]he standards issued by defendant Benson on October 6, 2020, with respect to signature-matching requirements amounted to a ‘rule’ that should have been promulgated in accordance with the APA.  And absent compliance with the APA, the ‘rule’ is invalid.”). 

But that court decision was issued too late to do anything to remedy the unlawful guidance or to prevent its adverse impact on the election. 

This is particularly problematic as the courts have long held that mail-in ballots are exceedingly susceptible to fraud (and the Democratic Party knows this). 

As the Commission on Federal Election Reform—a bipartisan commission chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and cited extensively by the United States Supreme Court—observed, “the ‘electoral system cannot inspire public confidence if no safeguards exist to deter or detect fraud or to confirm the identity of voters.’”  Building Confidence in U.S. Election, Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform at 46 (Sept. 2005). 

According to the Carter-Baker Report, mail-in voting is “the largest source of potential voter fraud.”  Report at 46. 

Many well-regarded commissions and groups of diverse political affiliation agree that “when election fraud occurs, it usually arises from absentee ballots.”  Michael T. Morley, Election Emergency Redlines at 2 (Mar. 31, 2020).  Such fraud is easier to commit and harder to detect. 

As one federal court put it, “absentee voting is to voting in person as a take-home exam is to a proctored one.”  Griffin v. Roupas, 385 F3d 1128, 1131 (7th Cir. 2004); see also id. at 1130-31 (voting fraud is a “serious problem” and is “facilitated by absentee voting”). 

Accordingly, courts have repeatedly found that mail-in ballots are particularly susceptible to fraud.  As Justice Stevens noted, “flagrant examples of [voter] fraud . . . have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists,” and “the risk of voter fraud” is “real” and “could affect the outcome of a close election.”  Crawford v. Marion Cnty. Election Bd., 553 U.S. 181, 195-96 (2008) (plurality op of Stevens, J) (collecting examples). 

Similarly, Justice Souter observed that mail-in voting is “less reliable” than in-person voting.  Id. at 212, n.4 (Souter, J., dissenting) (“‘[E]lection officials routinely reject absentee ballots on suspicion of forgery.’”); id. at 225 (“[A]bsentee-ballot fraud . . . is a documented problem in Indiana.”); see also Veasey v. Abbott, 830 F.3d 216, 239, 256 (Fifth Cir. 2016) (en banc) (“[M]ail-in ballot fraud is a significant threat”—so much so that “the potential and reality of fraud is much greater in the mail-in ballot context than with in-person voting.”); see also id. at 263 (“[M]ail-in voting . . . is far more vulnerable to fraud.”); id. (recognizing “the far more prevalent issue of fraudulent absentee ballots”). 

We will never know the true impact of Secretary Benson’s unlawful guidance on the 2020 election. 

Moreover, in Johnson v. Secretary of State, 506 Mich. 975, 951 N.W.2d 310 (2020), a case in which the American Freedom Law Center was one of the law firms representing the petitioners, the Michigan Supreme Court denied a petition for an extraordinary writ that sought an independent audit of the votes in the 2020 election.  Secretary Benson vigorously opposed our request. 

The petition ultimately failed by a vote of 4 to 3 (hardly a decisive victory for the Secretary).  In his dissent, Justice Viviano stated, in relevant part, the following: 

“For the second time in recent weeks, individuals involved in last month’s election have asked this Court to order an audit of the election results under Const 1963, art 2, § 4. . . .  As in that case, petitioners here allege that election officials engaged in fraudulent and improper conduct in administering the election.  In support of these claims, petitioners have submitted hundreds of pages of affidavits and expert reports detailing the alleged improprieties.  Here, as in Costantino, I would grant leave to appeal so we can determine the nature and scope of the constitutional right to an election audit.  After all, “[i]t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” Marbury v Madison, 5 US (1 Cranch) 137, 177 (1803).  But I write separately to highlight the lack of clarity in our law regarding the procedure to adjudicate claims of fraud in the election of presidential electors.” Johnson, 506 Mich. at 984-85, 951 N.W.2d at 319 (Viviano, J., dissenting) (emphasis added). 

The bottom line is that this constant refrain from the Democratic Party (and its national media echo chamber) that there is “no evidence” of election malfeasance in the 2020 election is demonstrably false. 

Indeed, the “Big Lie” that Democrats keep shouting is, in fact, a big lie. 

Make no mistake, the greatest threat to our “democracy” is not challenging elections—which we have a right to do.  Rather, it is this coordinated campaign by the Democratic Party to use the instruments of government to attack political opponents and to silence free speech. 

Undoubtedly, the purpose of this strategy is to chill those who might raise concerns about the conduct of an election. 

Indeed, we are witnessing this strategy playout across the nation, including here in Michigan, where Oakland County law enforcement officials are investigating and potentially seeking criminal charges against Andrew Hess, who simply asserted during a recent ballot recount and after he found ballot bags with broken seals and no chain of custody that cheating on elections is “treason.” 

The head of elections for the county apparently felt intimated or threatened by Hess’s speech, which is protected by the First Amendment.  A complaint was made against Hess, prompting law enforcement to commence a criminal investigation.  We are representing Hess in this matter. 

At the end of the day, “democracy” will not survive unless we stop this frontal attack on the First Amendment.

Catholic school enrollment continues to rise

“After facing the largest single year decline in enrollment of 6.4% from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 followed by the largest increase of 3.7% from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, Catholic school enrollment had a slight increase of 0.3% this year,” the National Catholic Educational Association reported.  READ

Pro-Abort Kate Cox to be first lady’s guest at SOTU

First Lady Jill Biden invited Kate Cox, a Texas woman who unsuccessfully sued the state over its pro-life legislation, to President Joe Biden’s March State of the Union Address. The first lady and President Biden both “thanked [Cox] for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out about the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas,” the White House stated.  READ

Are all men really created equal?

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – We’ve all heard the simple statement, “All men are created equal.” But how far do we, as Christians and as Americans, take this as gospel.

          We live in a world of contradictions. We aspire to the words of our birthing document, The Declaration of Independence, yet we see around the world, and in some parts of our own nation that many men, women, and the pre-born are treated as some type of sub-human species not entitled to equality with their fellow man.

          And that is now being exaggerated by political charlatans from the opposite sides of the body politic, who are doing so not to help humanity, but to feather their own political nests.

          First let us articulate what the phrase “all men are created equal” means. It stands for only two propositions. All men are equal before God and have been created by him in his image. And, of course, man is used in its generic meaning to include all human beings, man and woman, as well as children, the elderly, the sick, and the feeble-minded. This covers all people, regardless of race, creed, color, or place of habitat,

          Thus each – born yet or not – deserves to be treated with respect as a child – and gift – from Almighty God.

          The other meaning is that before the law all men stand equal with rights and privileges that can be abridged with only a critically high justification that is usually reserved for the protection of society, such as in a criminal conviction. Thus our laws require that each of us be deemed worthy of all the opportunities afforded our fellows, including the right to stand before the bar of justice on equal footing with those hurling accusations towards us. And it requires that any attempt to remove any of those rights must follow a strict procedure that ensures those rights to all involved without regard to status, education, wealth, color, or religion (including the lack of it).

          Now that is what it says and means when we, as Christians and Americans, give it our deference. And while we claim to support the phrase we know that around the world it is viewed differently. We see that every time we read a newspaper, watch or listen to a news broadcast, or study history. For what some men have done to their fellow man is enough to break the heart of God.

          But we also know that there are – and must be – some understanding that all men being equal does not mean that all receive the same gifts or talents. Many are plagued with depilating illnesses and physical handicaps. Some are not inclined to mechanics while others excel at mathematics.

          The point I’m trying to make is that some men are created with handicaps that limit their activities, and some by their own actions limit their own potential. I’ve seen that. As a chaplain at a drug treatment center I’ve seen young folks in their prime who have crippled themselves; and as a minister to the homebound, hospitalized and those in hospice care are just as limited.

          So why take half a column to point this all out when we all intuitively know it to be true? Why do I need to be reminded that I can’t dunk a basketball, hit a 90 mile an hour pitch, or play a musical instrument? While I don’t care what you know about me, I do hope that you know your own limitations and when you can challenge them. I’ll never be able to dunk that ball, but I can still enjoy the game.

          Here is what provoked today’s thought. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for a new focus on hiring people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities as part of diversity and inclusion in hiring. According to the FAA website, “Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. … They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism." 

          The policy is part of the FAA’s attempt to broaden its DEI hiring policies. The FAA is part of the Transportation Department and has approximately 45,000 employees. It is the agency which governs the regulations involving civil aviation. 

          The move has drawn criticism from several quarters including Elon Musk who wrote on what was once called Twitter, now X, "Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening." 

          Other critics have also argued against prioritizing DEI over safety. Much of it goes back to reports that surfaced that the DOT was beginning to mandate DEI conformity in pilot and air controller training. 

          Here’s my point today: Overall criticism of DEI revolves around its attempt to force a form of legal competency on a diverse workforce in place of actual merit. The concept of equity is being misused to legally enforce equality, which it is not. The idea that we can simply replace merit with a faux competency is not only illogical, it can be dangerous, and it is not in the true spirit of all men being created equal.         

          And as to those who claim that holding some to standards that they did not achieve is discrimination due to factors beyond the individual’s control, such as lack of education, my reply is simple. If your goal is to qualify them for special positions, fill in the needs they lack. If education is the problem how about demanding that all schools, especially those in the inner cities produce graduates who can read and do math as well as they know the new pronoun regime.  

          We hear a lot about “root causes” these days. Find out what the cause of the inadequacy is, then correct it. Respect the individual for how he is and make the fellow competent. Then the merit will be a real competence, not a pseudo one.  

Bishop: Abortion is ‘centerpiece’ of Biden campaign

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington blasted Biden for the pro-abortion rally he held in Virginia this week, calling it “incredibly devastating” that “Biden would place ‘choice’ over his sacred duty to protect life.” “President Biden has made abortion the centerpiece of his campaign,” Burbidge wrote. “At a rally in Manassas, VA, he advocated for codifying  Roe v. Wade into law.”  READ

OHIO NIXES DeWINE'S VETO, PROTECTS KIDS

Ohio on Wednesday became the latest state to adopt legislation protecting minors from being subjected to so-called “gender-affirming care” after the state Senate overrode a veto issued by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. The comprehensive new measure will now go into effect in 90 days.  READ

NFL Joins Hands With LGBT Bigots

 By Bill Donohue, Catholic League president

The National Football League (NFL) is pairing with an anti-Catholic LGBT organization, GLAAD, during Super Bowl week, celebrating what it calls “A Night of Pride with GLAAD.” Sponsored by Smirnoff, the fun and games begin on February 7 and will be carried on CBS Sports, GLAAD, and NFL social channels.

 

GLAAD has a history of anti-Catholic antics, ranging from celebrating anti-Catholic plays to bashing popes. More recently, it heralded the decision by the Los Angeles Dodgers to honor an anti-Catholic group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, at its June 16 game in 2023; the Dodgers reversed its earlier ruling to disinvite the Sisters.

 

On June 17, NBC Los Angeles noted the role of the Catholic League in getting the Dodgers to initially disinvite the bigots. “The Dodgers pulled the Sisters from their Pride Night the day after Bill Donohue…had emailed Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to urge the team to yank the group.” Manfred was bombarded with emails from our subscribers.

 

But then the Dodgers caved in to gay pressure groups. Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said the ruling to reinstate the Sisters restored “fairness.” Fairness to whom? Not to Catholics.

 

As we recounted at the time, the Sisters have a long history of Catholic bashing extending back to 1979.

 

Why is the NFL cheering homosexuals and the sexually confused (males who think they are females and vice versa)? Why is the NFL now aiming at the kids? To be precise, why is it hosting its second annual Pride Flag Football Clinic for young boys? Does it really expect that these kids are the future of the NFL? Or are they pandering?

 

More seriously, why is the NFL teaming with GLAAD, an organization that is not shy about bashing Catholics? If it is wrong to host an anti-gay group during Super Bowl week, why is it acceptable to host an anti-Catholic group?

 

For that matter, if the NFL is reaching out to young LGBT boys, why doesn’t it reach out to young Christian boys? Why doesn’t it have a clinic for young Jewish and Muslim boys?

 

The NFL, under its woke commissioner, Roger Goodell, is not content to promote professional football. Its foray into left-wing politics is no secret, but less well known is its embrace of anti-Catholic bigotry. But now the word is out. Our fans will surely weigh in against him.

This week on Faith On Trial: How identity politics hamper medicine; city tries to curb church’s overnight hours.

You don’t need to wait for the weekend broadcast, you can listen to the podcast now at: https://faith-on-trial.simplecast.com/episodes/laura-morgan-and-ryan-gardner-398-1-27-2024-AjdoAApp

House moves to free up funding for pregnancy centers

The House on Thursday moved to block the Biden administration from restricting funds for pregnancy resource centers. The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act passed with a vote of 214-208. It now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it will face stiff opposition.  READ

Feds worked with far-left group to target Americans

Shocking new evidence backs up suspicions that bureaucrats in numerous federal agencies apparently tag-teamed with the Southern Poverty Law Center to target Americans as “domestic terrorism threats.”  READ

The ’24 campaign: Insurrection and fake electors

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – It’s the New Year. Christmas decorations are down, winter has hit us hard, and our beloved president has unveiled his campaign strategy: insurrection and fake electors.

          So while the rank-and-file Iowa Republicans are digging through snow to attend the presidential caucus they are being bombarded by warnings that if they nominate their leading candidate it will mean the end of our democracy as we know it.

          It looks like we are in for a steady beat of insurrection and fake electors. Perhaps the modifier might be moved to reflect reality: fake insurrection and electors.

          Let me take up their “fake” part first.

          I think most of us know who the electors are. They are the individuals chosen in each state to cast the official ballots for president and vice-president of the United States. Collectively they are referred to as the Electoral College. Each state is allocated the number of electors that total its representation in congress. Thus, if your state has four congressmen and two senators your electoral vote total is six.

          The original idea for the Electoral College was to allow the states to choose the nation’s executive officers. One of the reasons for the use of electors was that having the president chosen by Congress would make him (or Nikki) a tool of Congress which did not comport with the founders’ idea of separation of powers. And, in reality, they couldn’t think of any other practical method considering the travel and communication logistics available in 1787.

          Now there were really only three restrictions on the electors. The first was that no employee of the federal government could serve, thus no elected member of Congress could serve, neither could a postmaster as we found in a subsequent election. Second, they must meet in their respective states on the same day to cast their ballots. Ballots would then be sent to Congress to be counted. Finally, they could not vote for both president and a vice president from their own state. Thus making it impractical to have a Trump-DeSantis ticket since they are both from Florida.

          Gradually the idea of letting the people – rather than the state legislature – pick the electors took hold and political parties each designated their own electors to serve if their presidential candidate carried the state. The losing slate of electors just went home while the winners cast the state’s ballots.

          This winner-take-all system of election is used in 48 states, two, Nebraska and Maine, award electors by congressional district with the two “senatorial” elected at large.

          Now there have been some rough spots. Once in a while the election is contested and two slates of electors vie for the right to cast the ballot. The most famous was in 1876 when four states each sent conflicting counts to Congress, and one state’s elector was the aforementioned postmaster from Oregon.

          At the time 185 electoral votes were needed for victory. On Election Day the Democrat candidate Samuel J. Tilden was one vote short with 184 votes; Republican Rutherford B. Hayes had 165 with 20 votes in dispute. Since the Constitution was silent on what to do, Congress established an electoral commission to examine the facts and award the votes.

          The 15-man commission awarded each disputed vote to Hayes who was declared the winner 185-184.

          Over the years Congress has had other cases of disputed votes, none quite as monumental as in the Hayes-Tilden election. As Congress adopted procedures to determine which votes were legitimate and which not, it became clear that Congress had given itself the final say in the matter.

          Now we come to the insurrection part of the story. January 6, 2021 was the day Congress received and counted the electoral votes for the 2020 election. Republicans were suspicious of the election results because of what they saw as vote stealing, stuffing of ballot boxes, and a form of proxy voting.

          We’ve had on our radio program an election expert who explained the difference between illegal activities and irregular procedures. We may never get to the bottom of the illegal activities but it is clear there were some unauthorized and irregular activities set around the 2020 election.

          Thus, on that January 6, the electoral ballots were to be counted by a joint session of Congress and the rules provided for challenges to the returns from any state. That same day Mr. Trump held a rally to urge support for the challenges which then might change the election result in his favor.

          Probably in retrospect, not a good idea.

          In the city for the rally were plenty of die-hard Trump fans, as well as many others who were intent on disrupting things. We’ve gone over this before, but the result was the previously misnamed insurrection. An unarmed “insurrection” where the only person killed was an unarmed woman shot by a police officer.

          Ironically, what I call a riot was disruptive enough to prevent Congress from taking up all of the complaints against certain electoral results.

          The “insurrection” is now used as a warning cry against the tyranny of the MAGA Republicans. So determined is the Biden Administration to root out all those who took part in the insurrection that it has announced that it is now trying to round up those who were at the rally that day but did not enter the capitol building. And we know that several have been arrested who were not even in the city that day.

          But, I guess an insurrection is an insurrection and you need to punish anyone thinking about it. You know, to preserve our democracy.

          And, while many arrested that day on the capitol grounds were give lengthy jail sentences, the man who had been accused of being a government plant to stir up the crowd, Ray Epps, was just given a sentence of one year of probation. Thank God for our impartial judicial system.

          [CatholicVote is now reporting that one congressman is claiming he has evidence that over 200 undercover federal agents were in the capitol January 6 encouraging the rioters.]

          And what about those elector candidates who were not selected? At least seven states have filed criminal charges against them. Their crime? They stood for election and lost but were cited as the challengers in state litigation over the 2020 election irregularities, thus “fake” electors. And in at least one state, Michigan, they are also being civilly sued by the winners.

          That Oregon postmaster was lucky. He only lost his vote.

-30-

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every weekend on Faith On Trial or podcast at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)

ORWELLIAN NIGHTMARE: Biden Admin Consulted Anti-Christian Group for 'Dom...

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Law-abiding Americans increasingly are convinced that their government views them as an enemy, perhaps even a “domestic terrorism threat.”

A newly unearthed video may confirm those fears.

Bureaucrats in numerous federal agencies apparently tag-teamed with the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that demonizes conservatives and Christians, including groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom and Moms for Liberty, in order to raise money and silence political opponents.

The federal bureaucrats reached out to the SPLC, which conservatives criticize as a far-left smear factory, as they planned to combat “the domestic terrorism threat.”

I’ve long raised the alarm about the SPLC, which gained its reputation by suing the Ku Klux Klan into bankruptcy and then weaponized that program against conservatives. Today, the center maintains a “hate map” plotting mainstream conservative and Christian groups alongside KKK chapters. It pressures the government to crack down on these groups and urges the charity and tech sectors to blacklist them.

The Video

In the fall of 2021 after President Joe Biden took office, SPLC President Margaret Huang bragged in a donor meeting that many agencies in Biden’s administration had approached the center to craft a domestic terrorism strategy.

“I think there’s no question that we are unparalleled in our abilities to track and monitor the hate and extremist groups in the country, and I can tell you that we’ve had many agencies in the new Biden administration reaching out to solicit our expertise and our knowledge and information to help shape the policies that the new administration is adopting to counter the domestic terrorism threat,” Huang said in a fundraising event video exclusively provided to The Daily Signal by an attendee who wishes to remain anonymous.

Read the full story: FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Law-abiding Americans increasingly are convinced that their government views them as an enemy, perhaps even a “domestic terrorism threat.”

A newly unearthed video may confirm those fears.

Bureaucrats in numerous federal agencies apparently tag-teamed with the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that demonizes conservatives and Christians, including groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom and Moms for Liberty, in order to raise money and silence political opponents.

The federal bureaucrats reached out to the SPLC, which conservatives criticize as a far-left smear factory, as they planned to combat “the domestic terrorism threat.”

I’ve long raised the alarm about the SPLC, which gained its reputation by suing the Ku Klux Klan into bankruptcy and then weaponized that program against conservatives. Today, the center maintains a “hate map” plotting mainstream conservative and Christian groups alongside KKK chapters. It pressures the government to crack down on these groups and urges the charity and tech sectors to blacklist them.

+++

Read the entire story by Tyler O’Neil of The Daily Signal: 

https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/01/11/exclusive-biden-admin-approached-anti-christian-splc-help-shape-policies-counter-domestic-terror-threat/

FOT this week: Administration pushing censorship in schools; upcoming cases of interest in the area of religious liberties

 Listen Now: https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/ -- Episode 397

Archbishop Naumann explains reactions to ‘Fiducia Supplicans’

The confusion regarding ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ was predictable,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City recently wrote. “Gay rights activists within and outside the church have been demanding the church’s blessing of same-sex unions as a necessary step to the church ultimately conforming to the culture and embracing same-sex marriages.”  READ

Moms For Liberty Told To Stay Out Of NYC

By Bill Donohue, Catholic League president

 

Moms for Liberty is a pro-family organization dedicated to protecting the wellbeing of children. But to radical left-wing politicians and activists, it is a threat to their agenda. The latest public foe of this organization is Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine; he previously served in the New York City Council.

 

Levine went ballistic when he learned of an event that Moms for Liberty will hold in New York City on January 18. He said they “have no place here,” accusing them of supporting “book bans” and the harassment of teachers and school librarians. He added that they have been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “far right extremist organization.”

 

Levine does not speak for all New Yorkers, so he has no business deciding which organizations have a “place” here. Indeed, as an agent of the state, his words are dangerously censorial: government officials should never threaten law-abiding voluntary associations.

 

The arrogance of this man is unfortunately not a novel experience for New Yorkers.

 

In 2011, New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio [he would later become the mayor] publicly objected to a billboard erected by black pro-life Americans. Life Always posted a billboard that said, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.” De Blasio called for it to be removed, simply because he objected. He succeeded.

 

In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told pro-life conservatives that they “have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.” So he decided to speak for all New Yorkers, effectively telling pro-lifers to get out.

 

Levine shares the same radical politics that marked the tenure of de Blasio and Cuomo. His enthusiasm for abortion is so strong that he has invited “everyone in any place in the country” to come to New York to abort their babies. He also supports federal funding of abortion and abortions performed for sex-selection purposes.

 

During Covid, Levine proved to be more controlling than even Gov. Cuomo. When the governor issued an executive order at the end of May 2020, allowing groups of up to 10 to gather without a mask, Levine was livid. He called it a “shocking order.”

 

But not wearing a mask and not practicing social distancing was perfectly fine by Levine when it came to the rioters who destroyed New York City during this time. “If there is a spike in coronavirus cases in the next two weeks, don’t blame the protesters”; rather, he said, blame racism and the cops.

 

The man is also clueless. When there was an outbreak of monkeypox in New York—a direct result of gay sex practices—Levine tweeted that “95% of the cases are in men, for some unexplained reason.” He just doesn’t get it.

 

When he was a New York City Councilman, Levine showed his contempt for diversity and religious liberty when he refused to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2014. Gays were allowed to march in the parade but not under their own banner (the same was true of pro-life groups). But that didn’t matter—Levine wanted to force parade organizers to follow his politics.

 

It is one thing to adopt a radical political agenda; it is quite another to smear innocent Americans.

 

Moms for Liberty is not in favor of book banning. Like most Americans, they believe that there are certain books—e.g., those with graphic sexual content—that are not appropriate for children. Nor do they promote the harassment of school employees. In fact, what Levine calls “harassment” is what most would call free speech.

 

Most risible of all is Levine’s reliance on the Southern Poverty Law Center for assessments of extremist organizations. This far-left entity has branded mainstream pro-family and non-profit law groups (the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom) as extremist, yet when it comes to bona-fide urban terrorist groups—such as Antifa—it not only says they are not violent, it actually says that classifying them as such is “dangerous” and a “threat” to civil liberties.

 

The Catholic League, which is headquartered in New York City, welcomes Moms for Liberty. We also have a piece of advice for Levine: know your place, back off, and learn the virtue of tolerance.

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[Editor’s Note: On our radio program two weeks ago we had a local leader of Moms For Liberty, Jennifer Turner, as our guest. You can listen to a podcast of that program at: https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/. It is Episode 395.]