Day: March 4, 2021

The Case Against Reparations

Repudiating false narratives.

BY LARRY ELDER

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/03/case-against-reparations-part-1-larry-elder/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Last week, I testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties regarding H.R. 40: Examining the Path to Reparative Justice in America. In other words, reparations. This is the first part of the statement I submitted:

"Reparations is the extraction of money from people who were never slave owners to be given to people who were never slaves."

It is also interesting that we are having this hearing at a time when racism as a barrier to success has never been so insignificant. In 1991, Black Democrat and Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson said: "The sociological truths are that America, while still flawed in its race relations and its stubborn refusal to institute a rational, universal welfare system, is now the least racist white-majority society in the world; has a better record of legal protection of minorities than any other society, white or Black; offers more opportunities to a greater number of Black persons than any other society, including all those of Africa."

In 1997, Time/CNN did a broad survey of Black and white teens. Asked whether racism is a major problem in America, both said yes. But, when Black teens were asked whether racism was a big problem, small problem or no problem in their own daily lives, 89% said small or no problem. In fact, nearly twice as many Black teens, compared to white teens, agreed that "failure to take advantage of available opportunities" was a bigger problem than racism.

During the 2008 race for the presidency, the major contenders were Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton; and Republicans Mitt Romney, a Mormon, and Sen. John McCain, who would have been 72 by the time he entered office, if elected. A 2007 Gallup poll found fewer Americans would refuse to vote for a Black person (5%); than would refuse to vote for a woman (11%); than would refuse to vote for a Mormon (24%); than would refuse to vote for someone who would be 72 upon entering office (42%).

In 2007, the year before he was elected president, Obama spoke at a Black church on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. He said: "The previous generation, the Moses generation (the generation of Martin Luther King Jr.), pointed the way. They took us 90% of the way there, but we still got that 10% in order to cross over to the other side."

I thought that 10% remaining "to cross over to the other side" was a fair assessment. After all, a 2002 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll found that 8% of Americans believed that Elvis Presley was still alive — or that at least there was "a chance." So, as to Obama's 10% remaining, I'm not sure how much more wiggle room we have left before running into the Elvis factor.

The reparations argument is based, in part, on the belief that but for slavery, America would not have become the prosperous nation it is today.

To the contrary, conservative scholar Michael Medved notes:

"It's not true that the U.S. became a wealthy nation through the abuse of slave labor: The most prosperous states in the country were those that first freed their slaves. ...

"At the time of the Constitution, Virginia constituted the most populous and wealthiest state in the Union, but by the time of the War Between the States the Old Dominion had fallen far behind a half-dozen northern states that had outlawed slavery two generations earlier."

About the difference in wealth between the North and the South, Frederick Douglass, after escaping from a plantation in Maryland to freedom in Massachusetts, wrote: "But the most astonishing as well as the most interesting thing to me was the condition of the colored people, a great many of whom, like myself, had escaped thither as a refuge from the hunters of men. I found many, who had not been seven years out of their chains, living in finer houses, and evidently enjoying more of the comforts of life, than the average of slaveholders in Maryland."

To be continued next week.

Exploiting Jesus to Convert Vulnerable Christians to Radical Islam

ICNA and terror-related imam set up booth to missionize to flea market-goers.

BY JOE KAUFMAN

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/03/exploiting-jesus-convert-vulnerable-christians-joe-kaufman/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Joe Kaufman is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center; a writer for the Counter-Islamist Grid, a project of the Middle East Forum; and the Chairman of the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative. He was the 2014, 2016 and 2018 Republican Nominee for U.S. House of Representatives (Florida-CD23).

The Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop is a well-known ‘hot spot’ for South Florida bargain hunters seeking out the latest flea market deals and moviegoers heading to watch the latest drive-in flics with their families. It once featured free concerts of famous bands and a circus with elephants, clowns and acrobats. It was where Jeb Bush announced his run for Governor, well over two decades ago. Now, once every two weeks, the famed Swap Shop features extreme Muslims seeking to convert the vulnerable to radical Islam, and they are doing it in the name of Jesus, literally. The dangerous nature of this offensive endeavor must be exposed and condemned.

"WhyIslam" is the dawah (religious outreach) division of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US arm of South Asian Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). As such, WhyIslam and ICNA have sizable links with overseas terror. Appearing on a 2008 video promoting WhyIslam was Mazen Mokhtar, a former admin for the now-defunct al-Qaeda recruitment site, qoqaz.net, and a champion of Hamas and suicide bombings. Since September 1989, ICNA has been associated with Ashrafuz Zaman Khan, a former JI death squad leader who was sentenced to death, in absentia, for multiple murders, and who has held a number of top ICNA positions.

Up until recently, WhyIslam featured a message board on its website. A number of the forum moderators used it to post messages in favor of Hamas, Hezbollah, the vilification of Jews, and the destruction of Israel. One, BrJimC, wrote, “I don’t think Hamas has a reason to not want to destroy Israel…” and “Those Jews that speak out against such atrocity by holding their public officials accountable are the ones who deserve peace and life… The rest will one day wind up in the Mediterranean Sea.” Another moderator, MARWAN, wrote, “I support Hezbollah as long as they stand by justice” and “Nazi restaurant… I wonder if they have kosher meals.”

This past December, the South Florida Muslim Federation (SoFlo Muslims), an umbrella group for South Florida’s many radical Muslim entities, along with WhyIslam opened up a booth at the Swap Shop targeting members of the Christian community. It included a canopy hovering over a table, on top of which were free copies of the Quran to be given away. Attached to one side of the canopy was a huge WhyIslam banner that read, “I [heart] JESUS.” The sign was meant to disarm Christians and make them believe they were in friendly territory. While the group may purport to have an affinity for Jesus, regarding them as friends would be a grave error.

Accompanying WhyIslam was Texas-based imam, Ibrahim Dremali, who had previously been a fixture in the South Florida Muslim community and later would be added to the federal ‘no fly’ list. In 2000, Dremali partook in an event in Miami, where Israeli flags were burned and event-goers shouted for “Zionist blood.” In 2001, when his Boca mosque was criticized for publishing a violent essay on its website labeling Jews “enemies” and stating that Muslims will “fight the Jews and kill them,” Dremali lied and said it was the result of “hackers.” And in 2002, he was a character witness at a hearing for soon-to-be-convicted al-Qaeda operative Adham Hassoun.

Dremali has also been involved with ICNA, in the past. From March 2000 to September 2001, Dremali was listed as one of eight local contacts for ICNA-SE, ICNA’s southeast regional division, on the same web page as links to the official sites of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban. The page also solicited funds for al-Qaeda’s qoqaz.net (mentioned previously). The webmaster for the ICNA-SE site was Syed Khawer Ahmad, a co-founder of Dremali’s Boca mosque and who was, at the time, a website designer for Hamas in Gaza.

The Muslim Federation, which has as one of its members a mosque, Masjid Jamaat Al Mumineen (MJAM), that propagates material on its website which repeatedly curses Jews and Christians, has branded its Swap Shop project participants, the ‘SoFlo-WhyIslam Dawah Team.’ It claims the booth will run once every two weeks, and according to the Federation, the team is “growing.”

The Federation has posted photos on its website and social media of the Dawah Team in action. One photo taken from the team’s booth depicts a serious-looking Dremali wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh-patterned COVID mask, hunched over, while ‘in the face’ of a disabled man in a mobility scooter. Another photo, taken in January, included a second WhyIslam banner, which stated, “ISLAM: The way of life [of] Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad.”

For years, ICNA has been spreading a similar message via buses and billboards. However, the message is offensive to many within the Jewish and Christian faiths as well as misleading, because it implies that the most revered figures in Judaism and Christianity were practicing Muslims and are solely part of Islam. This, even though the religion of Islam came into existence long after the others. In 2009, when the Islamist group CAIR paid for the identical message to be placed on Broward County, Florida buses – something that this author led a demonstration against – even the liberal Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel said the message was incendiary.

Now, twelve years later, ICNA and the South Florida Muslim Federation are, once again, co-opting Jewish and Christian icons of the past, while getting into the faces of non-Muslims, to push the same pseudo-theological drivel, what amounts to nothing more than a repulsive lie. But then, what can you expect from Islamist organizations that associate with and promote bigotry and terror? Shame on those who ignore the threat coming from these dangerous groups practicing religious theft and cultural appropriation, and shame on the Swap Shop for allowing such abuse to be placed upon its vulnerable patrons!

Action: If you wish to contact the Swap Shop to provide an opinion on this matter, you can do so by calling 954-791-7927. Please be respectful in any and all communications.

Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.

CITIZENS’ COUNCIL FOR HEALTH FREEDOM: Where’s the COVID in COVID Relief Legislation?

President Biden's “American Rescue Plan” Features more

Pork than Lean-Meat Solutions

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Democrats’ “American Rescue Plan” is an economic endangerment plan. This $1.9 trillion heavily-earmarked bill is a spending bill, pure and simple. Covid-19 is just an excuse to dole out dollars to their favorite causes.  (630-page text of H.R. 1319). 

Despite claims otherwise, this bill has little to do with COVID-19. Some say only nine percent of the funds will be for COVID-19 vaccine and vaccinations. Nine percent. If true, that would mean 91% of the dollars will be with other “goodies,” all funded by taxpayers, many of whom are no longer working because of the pandemic restrictions. For example, beyond COVID-19 funding, H.R. 1319 includes changes to the law and funding related to topics such as:

  • Agriculture
  • Nutrition
  • Minimum wage mandate
  • Child care
  • Funding for the arts
  • Head start
  • Data modernization
  • Family planning
  • Native American health
  • Water assistance
  • Pollution
  • Airports
  • Environmental justice
  • Bridge construction to Canada

America’s debt is already more than $27 trillion. When President Reagan left office, our debt was only $2.1 trillion. Debt is making the U.S. poor. “Over the past decade, the U.S. has spent more on interest than it has on programs such as veterans benefits and education,” writes Marcus Lu.

Yet, Rep. Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader in the U.S. House, is pushing to add another nearly $2 trillion in financial obligations for current and future taxpayers, including the children, grandchildren, and maybe even the great-grandchildren of today’s American families:
 

“Five hundred thousand Americans have died. Thousands and thousands of businesses have either shut down or gone away. People are in food lines that never expected in their wildest dreams that they would need to be in a food line. I don't want this to sound corny, but I think the best politics for us… is to do the right thing.” (3/2/21 Hoyer press release)

The $1,400 checks some Americans will receive if this Democrat bill becomes law are small pennies compared to the large taxes, lower incomes, and fewer jobs Americans will experience when the federal government returns to taxpayers to seek payment of its escalating debts. An indebted nation is not a strong nation.  Foreign investors, including China, hold roughly 40% of our debt. 

The U.S. House passed H.R. 1319 early Saturday morning. Talk to your U.S. Senators now. Take time now to do your part to rescue the American economy. 
In Case You Missed It
  

MS and TX Reverse Mask Mandates, Lift Restrictions

With the dramatic fall in recorded COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the governors of the states of Mississippi and Texas announced on Tuesday they would be ending their states’ mask mandates.  In Texas, effective March 10, business will also be allowed to reopen “100 percent,” according to Gov. Abbott’s order. In Mississippi, where most businesses remained open during the pandemic, Gov. Reeves said it was time for government to get “out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.”

Changes in End-of-Life Care

More people are choosing to stay home for their final days rather than face the isolation in hospitals and nursing homes. In Carroll Hospital in Westminster Maryland, there has been a spike in home-based care, where roughly 30-40% are staying home. According to the executive director of Carroll Hospital, Regina Bodnar, the spike is directly related to the risks of coronavirus. Similar decisions are being made across the country. Typically, there are logistical complications for individuals to receive hospice care at home. With at-home care increasing, many are choosing this route as a better option for their final days.

South Dakota's Executive Order LegislationSouth Dakota has introduced legislation in the House that would allow the state to determine if President Biden’s executive orders are unconstitutional, and, if so, nullify them. The legislation allows for the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council to review any executive order that is issued by the President if it has not been affirmed by a vote of the Congress and signed into law. The attorney general would then seek an exemption from the order or have it declared as unconstitutional. As South Dakota has stood against many of the coronavirus enforcements, it is no surprise they are seeking to stand in defense against government overreach.

 

   

    This week’s “In Case You Missed It” 
    is written by Ashley Smothers,
    CCHF Legislative and Policy Manager

France: Nearly 70% say ‘Islamo-Leftism’ is a major problem

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/france-nearly-70-say-islamo-leftism-is-a-major-problem;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

It’s not a problem just in France, but all over Europe and North America: a massive coalition of two groups that hate the West, hate Judeo-Christian civilization, hate free societies. How long can the free West last in the face of this relentless onslaught?

“Nearly 7 in 10 French Say ‘Islamo-Leftism’ a Major Problem,” by Chris Tomlinson, Breitbart, February 28, 2021:

A poll has revealed 69 per cent of French, nearly 7 in 10, say that there is a problem with an ideology of “Islamo-Leftism” in the country.

The Odoxa-Backbone consulting poll found that a comfortable majority of respondents believed there was a problem with leftist groups, political parties, and personalities refusing to take hard positions against radical Islamic extremism for fear of “stigmatising” Muslims as a whole.

When the results are divided by political affiliation, the survey showed that 82 per cent of the supporter of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally believed the issue to be a problem, while 83 per cent of the centre-right Republicans held the same views, Franceinfo reports.

Supporters of Emmanuel Macron’s Republicans on the March (LREM) party agreed with the proposition 80 per cent of the time.

Among the far-left France Insoumise supporters, just 46 per cent agreed the Islamo-Leftism was a problem, however, 63 per cent of the Socialist Party supports saw the concept as a problem….

Turkey: Muslima says if she knew she wouldn’t be punished for it, she would cut off the heads of 20 Christians

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/turkey-muslima-says-if-she-knew-she-wouldnt-be-punished-for-it-she-would-cut-off-the-heads-of-20-christians;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Where did she get this idea? Might it have been from the Qur’an? “When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks” (47:4).

 

“Criminal Complaint Filed Over Armenian Hate Speech,” International Christian Concern, February 28, 2021:

02/28/2021 Armenia (International Christian Concern) – A criminal complaint has been filed against a woman for hate speech who said she would cut off the heads of 20 Armenians if she knew she would not be punished for it. The woman in question was interviewed on the street by a YouTube channel asking people what actions they would do if they would not receive punishment. She later said she was Azerbaijani.

An Armenian member of the Turkish parliament announced he was filing an official criminal complaint against her for her hate speech. Incitement towards violence against Armenian Christians is common rhetoric coming from Turkish and Azerbaijani governments….
According to a report by the Hrant Dink Foundation, Armenians were the most targeted ethnic minority in Turkish media with hate speech in 2019….

Terrell: ‘Cancel Culture Is Going To Backfire Because It Denies History

MICHELLE OBAMA LIKED DR. SEUSS!

Biden CANCELS Dr. Seuss: President bucks predecessors and omits author from his Read Across America Day proclamation after Virginia school system's drops iconic children's books because of 'racial undertones'

  • President Joe Biden did not mention Dr. Seuss during his proclamation for Read Across America day bucking a more than 20 year trend 
  • Presidents Clinton, Obama and Trump have all mentioned Seuss in conjunction with the day designed to encourage school children to read more 
  • Biden's omission comes as a Virginia school district dropped author from its list 
  • Loudoun schools say they have 'shifted the emphasis' of the March 2nd day 
  • District claim 'Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones'
  • It came following a 2019 report called 'The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books' 
  • Read Across America Day had traditionally focused on Seuss books
  • But since 2017 the focus has shifted to 'Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers' 

SEE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9315015/Biden-cancels-Dr-Seuss-leaves-mention-childrens-favorite-Read-America-day.html

Here Are Some Books the Woke Left Would Replace Dr. Seuss With

BY JARRETT STEPMAN

SEE: https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/03/03/here-are-some-books-the-woke-left-would-replace-dr-seuss-with;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

As you likely have heard, the latest casualty of cancel culture is Dr. Seuss. And because nature abhors a vacuum, the woke left has a list of books as ready replacements it would prefer that children read instead.

The late children’s author Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Seuss Geisel, has come under fire for drawing a few racially insensitive and anachronistic cartoons in his books in the mid-20th century. 

His estate has already announced it’s removing six of his books from further publication, but it goes well beyond that. A Virginia school district announced it would no longer emphasize Dr. Seuss during its annual Read Across America Day, an event sponsored by the National Education Association teachers union, even though it takes place every year on Geisel’s birthday, March 2. 

But here’s where it gets interesting: Left-wing activists aren’t just canceling Dr. Seuss. They’re also recommending woke books for children that are more about indoctrination than education or enjoyment. 

The National Education Association’s website includes a Read Across America section called “Find your book.” 

Almost every title on the list are books about race, gender identity, and various other left-wing causes. It’s not just a few woke books included; they make up practically the entire list.

One such book is “Julian Is a Mermaid,” about a little boy who sees women dressed as mermaids and wants to dress just like them.

Another, following the gender-bending theme, is “The Prince and the Dressmaker,” about a prince who secretly wears dresses at night.

Then there is “Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card,” about an illegal immigrant from Iran.

“We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults” is also about illegal immigrants.

“This Is Our Constitution: Discover America with a Gold Star Father” is a book by the Gold Star father who spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” is an adaptation from the introduction to a book by “anti-racist” activist Ibram X. Kendi.

There are other books recommended that aren’t inherently left-wing activism, but it’s undeniably the slant of the list.

The teachers union’s recommendations aside, the anti-Dr. Seuss movement is real.

The efforts to disappear the beloved author of children’s books didn’t just touch a single school district. President Joe Biden this week left Dr. Seuss out of his Read Across America message entirely, despite his having been mentioned in the annual messages from Biden’s predecessors, Trump and Barack Obama.

Obama even told a group of White House interns in 2015 that “pretty much all the stuff you need to know is in Dr. Seuss.” That same year, first lady Michelle Obama also had high praise for Dr. Seuss: “We love Dr. Seuss in this house.”

Oops, it looks like the Obamas were spreading racism, white supremacy, or something.

On issues of race, Dr. Seuss—a liberal and New Deal Democrat who preached tolerance—is hopelessly retrograde for the woke left. The new ethos requires a redefinition of racism, in which intent is meaningless and racial identity is the essential aspect of who you are. In the cultural revolution, Dr. Seuss has to go.

Many on the left and those in denial about the reality of our current culture war argue that Dr. Seuss isn’t really being canceled. It’s only his estate removing six “offensive” books and a shifting focus in education. What’s the big deal? And if your culture is racist, it deserves to be canceled anyway.

It’s true that, so far at least, not every work of Dr. Seuss has been scrubbed. His books are certainly a hot item on Amazon right now, though don’t count on the online retail giant to keep selling material that offends perpetually aggrieved woke activists.

If you’ve been paying any attention to what’s been happening in recent years, it’s likely that this is merely a prelude to Dr. Seuss being wiped entirely from public forums.

Universal Orlando announced it is “evaluating” its Dr. Seuss-themed attractions. Media outlets are running reports on the Dr. Seuss racial “reckoning” being a long time in coming.

Does this slide to oblivion for Dr. Seuss really have to be explained? We went from canceling Robert E. Lee to canceling Abraham Lincoln in just a few short years. Dr. Seuss doesn’t have long for this world.

Still, why are these woke activists deleting an endless array of once-beloved figures from our history?

As increasingly ludicrous as their crusade has become, there is a hidden agenda, which was described by freelance writer Sean Collins:

The woke warriors seek to tear up existing culture, root and branch, because they believe it is irredeemably racist. And Dr Seuss has, in fact, played an important role in our culture: His books are part of childhood and family life.

They bind generations together, as parents read to kids, who grow up to read to their kids. Dr. Seuss and his books thus have become a common reference within our culture, something we share warm feelings about with people close to us.

They certainly are that.

Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in The Hat” was the first book I was able to read cover to cover as a child.

I’ve read a few books since that time, so I don’t need woke activists, professors, a teachers union, or the president to tell me what to think of Geisel’s work.

Nevertheless, that’s the point in disappearing Dr. Seuss and so many others. The goal is to reprogram the way people think, to strip young Americans of previously significant cultural and historical points of reference, and to reshape the American mind to embrace the revolution.

Tearing down Dr. Seuss, as activists have done with innumerable other figures in our history, is a way for woke activists to clean the slate of American civilization—effectively, to begin again at year zero.

That was the larger point I made in my 2019 book “The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past.”

The movement to tear down historical figures—both figuratively and literally—is not simple nihilism or idiocy, though there’s certainly a lot of both at work here. It’s also not a straightforward debate about the details of any particular historical figure’s legacy.

If anything, the humanity of the past is a problem for the woke in a world that has never conformed to their worldview.

The purge is, in fact, the point.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we will consider publishing your remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Ebay Just NUKED Dr. Seuss Books As OFFENSIVE, RSBN Gets Nuked By Youtube As Censorship Escalates

MEIN KAMPF & LOUIS FARRAKHAN BOOKS ARE STILL OK?

Ebay Just NUKED Dr. Seuss Books As OFFENSIVE, RSBN Gets Nuked By Youtube As Censorship Escalates. While it may be silly to complain about Dr. Seuss Enterprises canceling some books, it is extremely concerning when Ebay bans the private sale of those books from third parties. The latest act of censorship is beyond anything we have seen in a while. Silicon Valley Democrats and leftists are defending removing certain books from society even among private individuals. But the censorship goes beyond just Dr. Seuss fans, many of whom are not even conservative. Censorship of conservatives is reaching news media and even the Supreme court as a documentary on Clarence Thomas was also banned from Amazon.

FBI Chris Wray’s Lies @ Capitol Raid are Treason. Mask Mandates End, SCOTUS Hearing Case

In this episode of The Silent War:

The Supreme Court to hear a Landmark Ballot Harvesting Case from Arizona - Setting the stage to fix FUTURE elections..

The FBI must be complicit in the treasonous coup, nothing else explains why Chris Way just outright lied to the American People about Antifa, BLM, and CNN's involvement in the terrorist attack aspects of the mostly peaceful "capitol raid" of January 6th.

Also, Multiple States are Ending the Mask Mandates! Yay, No more Face Diaper of Oppression.

Pope Francis Warns of Another Great Flood Due to Global Warming

COMMUNIST POPE FRANCIS DENIES THE WORD OF GOD IN ORDER TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT & IN LINE WITH THE GLOBALIST, SOCIALIST AGENDA

The Pope Has Totally Lost His Mind and Gone Full Political

BY JAMES MURPHY

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/pope-francis-warns-of-another-great-flood-due-to-global-warming/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Pope Francis is warning that the Earth could be facing a second great flood — similar to the one that Noah and his family faced — should planetary leaders not quickly address “injustice” and the scourge of anthropogenic global warming. The pontiff made the remarks in a new book titled Of Vices and Virtues by Don Marco Pozza, the chaplain of the Padua prison.

The book — basically a book-length interview with Pope Francis — was released on March 2 in Italian by Rizzoli Publishers. An excerpt was published on Sunday in Corriere Della Sera, an Italian newspaper.

“A great deluge, perhaps due to a rise in temperature and the melting of the glaciers: what will happen now if we continue on the same path,” Pope Francis said.

The Pope made the remark while speaking on the much broader topic of God’s wrath against evil and injustice.

“God’s wrath is against injustice, against Satan. It is directed against evil, not that which derives from human weakness, but evil of Satanic inspiration: the corruption generated by Satan, behind which single men, single women, entire societies go. God’s wrath is meant to bring justice, ‘clean up,’” the 84-year-old Francis said.

“The flood is a result of God’s wrath,” the Pope continued. “He is a figure of God’s wrath, who according to the Bible has seen too many bad things and decides to obliterate humanity. The biblical [flood], according to experts, is a mythical tale. (Now I hope someone doesn’t argue that the Pope said the Bible is a myth!) But myth is a form of knowledge. The flood is a historical tale, archaeologists say, because they found traces of a flood in their excavations.”

“The story of Noah shows that God’s wrath is also a savior,” Francis concluded.

The excerpt also included Francis’s thoughts on prudence in government, saying that “prudence is an essential virtue for those who govern.” The Pope also spoke about faith and doubt in the lives of Christians.

The release of these papal remarks comes in advance of the Pope’s visit to Iraq this week. It is the first papal visit to any country since the COVID-19 pandemic began and is believed to be the first visit by any pope to a Middle Eastern country besides Israel.

It is hoped that the visit will bolster the Christian population of the region, which had suffered so terribly under ISIS rule. Christians still find themselves under attack by Islamic extremists in the region.

The trip will include a meeting between Francis and the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraqi Shia Muslims. Open Doors, which maintains a world watchlist of Christian persecution, currently lists Iraq as the 11th most dangerous country for Christians.

Hopefully, the Pope can use his influence to make some inroads in Iraq about the treatment of Christians there.

But he may wish to study the Great Flood a little more.

Pope Francis describes the evil events preceding the flood accurately enough. Genesis 6:5 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually.”

We all know the story. Noah alone was found righteous by God; the ark was built and the flood destroyed everything but Noah, his family, and the animals on the Ark. God’s wrath fulfilled, just as Francis described.

But there was more to it than that. After the flood receded and Noah and his family got to work rebuilding the world, God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants. Among God’s promises: “And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there be any more a flood to destroy the earth.” — Genesis 9:11.

Is Pope Francis calling God a liar? Doesn’t the leader of the Catholic Church believe that God will keep His word?

In times past, the question, “Is the Pope Catholic?” has been a sarcastic reply to a question for which the answer is an obvious “yes.” However, Pope Francis’ many unorthodox views and expressions of support for “progressive” policies that are at variance with Catholic teaching — on communism, socialism, capitalism, Islam, immigration, radical environmentalism, “gay marriage,” divorce, pagan worship, etc. — have many conservative and traditional Catholics seriously asking, “Is the Pope Catholic?”

Puerto Rico Statehood Bill Introduced

Puerto Rico Statehood Bill Introduced. Can D.C. Statehood Be Far Behind?

BY RICK MORAN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/03/03/puerto-rico-statehood-bill-introduced-can-dc-statehood-be-far-behind-n1429743;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Fifty is a nice, round number. It looks good: “The 50 States of the United States.” I can vaguely remember when it was the “good ole’ 48” states. And then Alaska and Hawaii entered the union and 48 became 50. Back then, we all looked around and didn’t see any more room for a state. The U.S. was full up and we posted a “no vacancy” sign.

But “50” is not set in stone. There was always that holdover from the American imperial era, Puerto Rico. Following the end of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. military basically just stayed there, eventually giving the people the rights of a territory. At the time, there were other territorial governments in addition to Hawaii and Alaska in New Mexico and Arizona.

At first, the Puerto Rican people wanted independence. The first vote in 1914 was overwhelmingly in favor of the territory declaring itself an independent state. But Congress nixed the plan and that’s where the matter has rested until today.

There have been five referendums since 1967 asking Puerto Ricans if they want to be a state, declare independence, or remain a territory. The question of independence has also been debated several times in the last few decades, most recently in 2017.

Statehood has usually won these referendums but by narrow margins. The vote in 2020 for statehood or remaining a territory was 53-48, which has precipitated a movement by Democrats in Congress to vote on the island’s status.

The issue of statehood has been given a sense of urgency as the island continues to struggle in recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Many residents believe that statehood would have gotten them more aid sooner. That’s debatable, but it’s clear that the island could use the extra financial help statehood would bestow.

This week,  Florida Representative Darren Soto, a Democrat; Delegate Jenniffer González-Colón, the island’s resident commissioner, a Republican; and Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico plan to introduce a measure in the House and Senate granting Puerto Rico immediate statehood.

CBSNews:

“They have finally decided that enough is enough, that their territorial status and second class citizenship isn’t working and it’s time for change,” Soto told reporters.

But the bill contradicts a proposal written by Puerto Rican Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last summer. The two outlined a panel of elected delegates who would decide what the best long-term solutions would be for the island, giving the options of independence or a statehood or territory status. Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an opinion piece on NBC News at the time that the island’s residents should determine for themselves if they want statehood. “The key is that this framework would be developed by Puerto Ricans and for Puerto Ricans, not dictated to them like so many previous policies,” the two wrote.

That proposal received an immediate thumbs-down from pro-statehood advocates who think it would dilute the statehood vote.

What these referendums have shown is that Puerto Ricans are nowhere near united in envisioning their future. The vote for remaining a territory is always strong because many on the island recognize that without a consensus for statehood or independence, the island would be hopelessly divided. Standing pat, for now, appears to be a viable option.

Of course, you can’t escape the Electoral College implications. Puerto Rico would be eligible for five House seats and two Senate seats. But there is a complicated formula that would determine which states would have to lose a seat with the addition of Puerto Rico into the union. By law, the House is set at 435 seats, so seats would have to be taken from five states to accommodate Puerto Rico. The Senate would grow by two seats making the magic number in the electoral college 271.

The Republican Party is not invisible in Puerto Rico and could be competitive. It’s by no means a certainty that Democrats would dominate as they would in the state of “New Columbia” — or, “State of Washington, Douglas Commonwealth” depending on what name they choose if D.C. becomes a state.

Still, few would argue that making both D.C. and Puerto Rico states wouldn’t give an advantage to Democrats. This is why Republicans will do all in their power to block statehood for both. When the margin is razor-thin, any advantage might tip the balance against the GOP and lead to many years of wandering in the political wilderness.

It’s unfortunate that the aspirations of people in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., should be held hostage by national political circumstances, but that’s the reality they must deal with if they’re to learn to live as a state in the union.