Corporate Whistleblower Center Looking for Partners

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How cool is this!  The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well!

Regular readers know that I’ve been telling you about scams involving Medicare and Medicaid that are often perpetrated through long term care facilities for the elderly or disabled.

NURSING-HOME-FRAUD
Nursing home fraud on the rise.

And, I’ve told you that if you help the government find the fraud, you can make money if the government recovers funds stolen from taxpayers.

Now here comes a group banding together to go after this fraud with the lure of making money AND making yourself such a hero you could run for Congress!

That last part made me laugh because I’ve said on previous occasions that one could craft a whole campaign for elected office around the goal of exposing fraud, waste and abuse involving taxpayer dollars.

From PR Newswire,

Corporate Whistleblower Center Now Goes After Nursing Homes Ripping Off Medicare/Medicaid From California to Florida for Whistleblower Rewards and a Physician or Investor is Invited to Participate as a Partner-Become a Local Hero-Make Money

The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “We have just launched our most ambitious initiative ever to go after nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, rehab centers and or acute care facilities that are overbilling Medicare or Medicaid for services that were never performed, and we need some financial partners in some specific states. When we say ‘services never performed’ we are referring to facilities that are so understaffed their patients are prematurely dying. Short staffing is the foundation and starting point for our state specific whistleblower reward initiatives. While these types of healthcare facilities might be extremely understaffed-they are billing Medicare or Medicaid as if they are fully staffed.

“We are inviting a successful physician, dentist or an investor in one of our targeted states such as California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois or Ohio to financially participate in this venture and to share in the whistleblower rewards. A medical doctor/dentist or investor who financially participates with us in one of the states we have mentioned could probably run for Congress in a couple years after the notoriety they will gain for their participation in our initiative as we would like to discuss with them anytime at 866-714-6466. We also want to emphasize this initiative is very focused on making certain our financial partners make money.”

Go here for more to see additional states the group plans to target!

Of course, I am not advocating for this new ‘business’ model just bringing you news you might find of interest.

You know what you need to do, right!—keep an eye on granny (or any family member) who resides at a long term care facility to assure that they are being cared for properly and that there is no financial funny-business going on with Medicare or Medicaid. Report suspicions of fraud or medical abuse!

NOTE: Services are available in these states: Alabama – AL | Alaska – AK | Arizona – AZ | Arkansas – AR | California – CA | Colorado – CO | Connecticut – CT | Delaware – DE | District of Columbia – DC | Florida – FL | Georgia – GA | Hawaii – HI | Idaho – ID | Illinois – IL | Indiana – IN | Iowa – IA | Kansas – KS | Kentucky – KY | Louisiana – LA | Maine – ME | Maryland – MD | Massachusetts – MA | Michigan – MI | Minnesota – MN | Mississippi – MS | Missouri – MO | Montana – MT | Nebraska – NE | Nevada – NV | New Hampshire – NH |New Jersey – NJ | New Mexico – NM | New York – NY | North Carolina – NC | North Dakota – ND | Ohio – OH | Oklahoma – OK | Oregon – OR| Pennsylvania – PA | Puerto Rico – PR | Rhode Island – RI | South Carolina – SC | South Dakota – SD | Tennessee – TN | Texas – TX | Utah – UT | Vermont – VT | Virgin Island – VI | Virginia – VA | Washington – WA | West Virginia – WV | Wisconsin – WI | Wyoming – WY

EDITORS NOTE: This Frauds, Crooks and Criminals column with images is republished with permission.

VIDEO: Uncle Ted — Case NOT Closed

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Everything must be revealed.

TRANSCRIPT

I’m Michael Voris coming to you from Rome in the aftermath of a phony summit which accomplished no good of note — but did manage to deflect from the real evil.

To show how unimportant this was, and how it was just a giant PR stunt meant to make the Pope and his homosexualist henchmen appear to be doing something, recall this singular fact: That despite the prior knowledge that all these men had of Theodore McCarrick’s evil, they never felt the least bit of interest in having any kind of summit about sexual predation.

It was only because the news broke about McCarrick that anything was done, meaning, of course, that if McCarrick’s altar boy victim of decades ago had not come forward more than a year ago, it would be just business as usual here in Rome.

All of this means that the McCarrick case cannot be swept away, and everyone feels as if this summit closes a sad chapter — oh no, definitely not. The recent defrocking of Theodore McCarrick is a case not closed by any stretch of the imagination.

While many in Rome want to truly put this to rest and hope that faithful Catholics forget about the massive damage done to Holy Mother Church by this former prince of the Church, the truth is he was a prince of Satan working to destroy the Church from within.

He still clings to his innocence without making one — not even one — statement of remorse or apology or admittance of his crimes. For the sake of review, he was a homosexual priest, bishop, archbishop and cardinal preying on both boys and young men for years.

He spent a year of his young life in what appears to be a Swiss training center established by the Soviets. He established recruiting teams within his dioceses so that selected priests would be sent abroad in order to attract young seminarians to his diocese and then later would entice them to have sex with him.

He would troll through seminaries looking for seminarians to add them to his harem of male lovers in an effort to satisfy his own distorted and warped sexual desires. There was, of course, the infamous Jersey Shore beach house where he and all of his homosexual clerical friends would gather with seminarians for their sex parties on a regular basis.

He would also provide his beach house to other homosexual priest and bishop friends so they too could use his den of iniquity. He promoted many homosexual priests to positions of influence within the U.S. Church.

He actively promoted and lobbied his fellow bishops and cardinals — both in the United States and in Rome — in appointing a large number of auxiliary bishops to become shepherds in many other U.S. dioceses. And many of these former auxiliary bishops were in fact under McCarrick at one time or another.

In short, if you were one of “McCarrick’s boys,” you could be assured of a happy career in the Church guaranteed and supported by McCarrick. There is the millions of dollars raised and moved around by McCarrick all in an effort to buy influence, power and prestige, making him completely “untouchable” within the Church. So why is this a case not closed?

Because there is a mountain of information we simply do not know. We just don’t know the full extent of all of his evil endeavors. In order to look at this massive problem which needs to be cleaned up in the Church, you have to approach this with the greatest of objectivity and prayer.

McCarrick’s treachery needs to be treated the way you would approach any investigation into a major agent or spy. Essentially the McCarrick case needs to be looked at from a counterintelligence perspective.

This is a person who infiltrated the Church — most likely by Communists — spreading lies and deceit, promoting those he selected into positions of power. While all the time he continued to gain more and more influence and pulling as many levers of control that he could grab onto for his own selfish benefit. He continued to live a double life, manipulating any and all who came within his orbit.

We know that with all the damage which has been done, there is much more which lies below the surface and has yet to be discovered. Like an iceberg, we only see the tip of McCarrick’s evil deeds. Most are still below the water-line, still hidden in the darkness.

We simply need to know the full extent of the damage done. To do this requires a tremendous level of effort by investigators who will not quit and who are determined to find out all that there is to find. This is a lifetime investigation which needs to happen into the whole history of McCarrick because he lived a lifetime of doing evil in the Church.

All the old files on McCarrick need to be reopened and reviewed — his old high school records to explain where he was for a missing 18 months during high school. Why was he expelled from one New York Catholic high school?

What was he doing in St. Gallen, Switzerland for a year after eventually graduating from high school? We need to see his seminary files, understand his relationship to New York Cdl. Spellman who ordained him, his diocesan files, all his correspondence, what he was doing in Puerto Rico after ordination at the island university.

We need to examine very closely who he chose to advance in the Church and why, who he supported and/or covered for as a bishop, archbishop or cardinal. Those very clerics are still at this very moment in their positions of power and influence owing directly to him — men like Blase Cupich, Kevin Farrell and Joseph Tobin.

Although gone from the scene officially, Donald Wuerl needs to be looked at extremely closely as well because he covered for McCarrick for years, finally getting busted for his lies in the secular press.

Like any major counterintelligence investigation into a spy, McCarrick’s activities rank among the worst of any spy in human history, and this is not an exaggeration. Practically no spy in history has flown under the radar for 50 years and caused this level of damage.

To be a true “agent provocateur” in the Church, you have to be a real master manipulator, a great deceiver and a consummate liar.

Spying is considered to be the world’s second oldest profession, and McCarrick did it well, with the help from the father of lies, Satan. But let’s not forget that there are many people in positions of power within the Church in the United States and in Rome who do not want McCarrick’s deeds to become fully known because they would be exposed as his proteges and need to be dismissed from the clerical state as well.

So the only course of action these “McCarrick boys” have is to continue lying about the truth, above all else and keep the cover-up and deflections going. That’s what this summit the past few days has been about: covering for McCarrick’s allies.

They will continue to lie about knowing anything and hold fast to the line that all the rot in the Church has nothing to do with priests, bishops or cardinals being homosexual. It is they who want the case closed on McCarrick. And this is why this cannot happen. As long as the current corrupt homosexual regime reigns in Rome, this will never be done by the Church.

It’s why wealthy lay Catholics must step up and pony up money for assorted private investigations. Private eyes must be hired, research teams involved, financial forensics experts must be employed — not to get revenge on McCarrick himself, but to prevent the McCarrick evil from spreading any further in the very agents he promoted and advanced to carry on his evil long after he was gone from the scene.

Now is the time for the light to truly shine into the darkness against every aspect of McCarrick’s wicked life. And no amount of phony cover-up summits or synods should distract from this overarching truth. The entire case file of the notorious Uncle Ted must now be opened.

Ubi est tenebrae fiat lux — where there is darkness, let there be light.

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column with video and images is republished with permission.

Supreme Court Will Consider Whether A 40-Foot Cross Must Be Removed To Appease Atheists And Dishonor Fallen WWI Soldiers

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ANN ARBOR, MI – On Wednesday, February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decision which ordered the removal or disfigurement of a 40-foot tall cross erected in 1925 to memorialize the World War I service and death of forty-nine soldiers from Prince George County, Maryland.

The “Peace Cross of Bladensburg” located at the entrance to the town of Bladensburg, Maryland sits on a rectangular base which includes the words “Valor,” “Endurance,” “Courage,” and “Devotion.” A bronze plaque lists the names of the forty-nine fallen sons of Bladensburg. Above the names is the inscription: “This Memorial Cross Dedicated To The Heroes of Prince George’s County Maryland Who Lost Their Lives In The Great War For The Liberty Of The World.”

The Fourth Circuit ruled that the cross is the “preeminent symbol of Christianity,” and that while the cross may generally serve as a symbol of death and memorialization, it only holds that value because of its affiliation with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and thus violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The Thomas More Law Center (“TMLC”), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, engaged in the heated culture war battle over the meaning of the Establishment Clause, by filing an amicus brief (friend of the court brief) to save the Cross. The stakes are high. Crosses throughout the nation, including those in the Arlington National Cemetery, will be in jeopardy should the Supreme Court affirm the lower court decision.

This is the second amicus brief filed by TMLC. The first brief, filed in July 2018, asked the Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit’s ruling against the cross. Once the Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling, this second brief, filed on December 19, 2018, asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit’s decision.

The federal lawsuit challenging the “peace cross” was brought in 2014 by three atheists who occasionally drove past the cross and claimed they were offended. TMLC’s brief authored by Erin Kuenzig addresses their claim by arguing,

“Allowing a historic war memorial to be destroyed to quell some momentary discomfort plaintiffs feel when they drive past the Bladensburg monument would do real and lasting harm to this country; it would send a message of disrespect to our fallen soldiers and their families, and it would deprive future generations of a treasured piece of history.”

TMLC’s brief also claims that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision shows a hostility toward religion, particularly Christianity, not intended by the Constitution.

Moreover, TMLC’s brief importantly points out,

“We cannot change the stories of the dead to appease the all too easily offended living. Any harm respondents feel they incur due to seeing the shape of a cross when they happen to drive past the Bladensburg memorial, pales in comparison to the real and lasting harm that destroying such memorials will cause to this country as a whole, to veterans’ families, and to the memories of the men and women who are honored by them.”

Clearly, use of the Latin Cross in 1925 reflected the custom in Europe during World War I where the cross became the principal grave marker in cemeteries where soldiers were buried as described in the opening lines “In Flanders Fields,” a famous poem of the time whose opening line begins “In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row.”

In this case, the purpose of the cross is to honor the dead using a historical symbol of death and sacrifice. The decision to destroy this memorial, simply because the plaintiffs claim to be offended by the memorial’s Latin cross, evidences an intolerance to Christianity that is wholly inconsistent with our nation’s history and with the purpose and meaning of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Click here to read TMLC’s brief filed on December 19, 2018.

Click here to read TMLC’s first brief.

Thank you for your continued support of the Thomas More Law Center. Your donations help us to be Battle Ready to Defend America!

EDITORS NOTE: This TMLC column with images is republished with permission. Photo: Algerina Perna /The Baltimore Sun via AP.

A Video Message from a Real Hollywood Hero

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“Something’s gone wrong, for all our vigilance and battle scars over the Bill of Rights, have we let the flame of freedom’s torch grow cold? Because there can be no torch to pass where there’s no flame.”

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EDITORS NOTE: This NRA-ILA video with images is republished with permission. The featured image is by skeeze on Pixabay Pixabay.

Why Gender Dysphoria Must Remain a Bar to Military Service

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In normal usage, “discrimination” is an ugly word.

But discrimination has two meanings. The first and more familiar definition is “the treatment of a person or particular group of people differently, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated.” Discrimination of that sort is clearly unacceptable.

The second, less common usage is the “the ability to judge the quality of something, based on its difference from other, similar things.”

Earlier this month, several members of Congress introduced a bill to allow transgender individuals to serve in the military. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., one of the bill’s sponsors, said in introducing the bill, “President Trump’s ban on transgender service members is discrimination. It undermines our military readiness, and it is an insult to the brave and patriotic transgender Americans who choose to serve in our military.”

What members of Congress like the sponsors of this bill—and indeed, the American public—often seem not to grasp is that discrimination—the less common meaning of the word—takes place every day at military recruiting stations across America.

That’s neither unjust, nor prejudicial. And contrary to Gillibrand, who aspires to be our next commander in chief, it’s necessary to ensure the readiness of the military and protect at-risk individuals.

Some examples are in order. Have asthma? You’re probably ineligible to join the military. A depressive disorder? Sorry, no. Torn rotator cuff in your shoulder? Nope. Come back perhaps when it heals or is repaired. 

It’s the difference between an individual who is able to serve, and those for whom service presents a risk—either of not being able to complete military service or of doing so without incurring harm to themselves. In a strict sense, that’s discrimination.   

By law, the military can accept only “qualified, effective and able-bodied individuals.” That means people who are expected to need more than routine medical care or treatment are not qualified to join.

Without this lawful ability to “discriminate,” we would place our military in jeopardy of not being able to protect the nation.

That brings us to the issue of service by transgender individuals. Anyone who wants to serve their nation is worthy of our nation’s thanks, because not enough do. A mere desire to serve, however, does not equal qualification.  

What is often described as “Trump’s transgender ban” is anything but. Underreported is the fact that the policy that the Pentagon wishes to put in place—but that has been thus far been stayed by the court system—is far more permissive and evidence-based than the policy that existed for decades prior to June 2016, when President Barack Obama’s defense secretary, Ashton Carter, abruptly unveiled a new policy.

Before that, individuals who identified as transgender were automatically excluded from the military. Under the new policy devised by then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, the Pentagon makes a distinction between individuals who identify as transgender, and those who identify as transgender and experience gender dysphoria.

It’s necessary to get a bit technical here. An individual who is transgender is a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person’s biological sex. Transgender individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria often “experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think of themselves (referred to as experienced or expressed gender) and their physical or assigned gender.” 

Unlike the previous policy, the new rules allow individuals who are transgender but not experiencing gender dysphoria to join and serve in the military.

Why does the policy prohibit service by individuals who experience gender dysphoria? It’s principally because exhaustive Defense Department clinical and U.S. survey data confirms that individuals with gender dysphoria attempt suicide at rates between eight and 10 times the average for individuals not suffering from gender dysphoria. 

Individuals with gender dysphoria experience severe anxiety again at between eight and nine times the rate of individuals without gender dysphoria. What’s more, there is no evidence that medical treatment, including gender-reassignment surgery, can remedy those challenges.

Military service is inherently stressful. It takes service members and puts them in unfamiliar, lonely, austere, and often hostile areas. Stress, anxiety, and suicide are already existential military problems. Indeed, the suicide rate for active-duty military members has been slowly rising over the past couple of decades.

At one point, it was lower than the U.S. national average. In 2015, however, in the active component, it stood at 20.2 per 100,000 service members, compared with the U.S. average of 13.3 per 100,000.

It would, therefore, be reckless and ill-advised to allow individuals demonstrably at a higher risk of suicide and anxiety to join the military and be subject to the increased stresses of military duty—both for the readiness of their units and for the safety of the individual.

Critics, in raising objections, ask why then can’t transgender individuals with gender dysphoria be allowed to serve far from the front lines, perhaps in a desk or office job? Surely, they say, that wouldn’t be stressful.

But the military doesn’t work that way.

In order for the military to be effective, to borrow an analogy, every player must be able to get on the field and play their position. If there were a job divorced from stress, it would be reasonable to ask why we would need a uniformed service member to fill it at all.

Still others ask how such a tiny fraction of the military force that would be transgender, if allowed, could constitute a risk to a force the size of the U.S. military.

That ignores the fact that the U.S. military often goes to war one squad, one plane, one ship at a time. Often, the performance of a single individual can mean the difference between mission success and failure.

Finally, those opposed to the restrictions point to examples of transgender individuals who have successfully served in the military, including those who have been decorated for bravery.

Kudos to these individuals for serving, and serving well. But the military must set entrance criteria based on broad evidence, as opposed to isolated examples. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, if allowed to enlist, would present unacceptable risks to both a prospective military unit and to themselves.

Thus far, the courts have seen fit to substitute their judgment on military enlistment criteria in place of that of the commander in chief. That’s unfortunate.

What would be even more unfortunate is if a decision were made to permit individuals with gender dysphoria to serve in the military, and in so doing, took a reckless gamble with both the readiness of the U.S. military and the safety of those patriotic individuals.

COMMENTARY BY

Portrait of Thomas Spoehr

Thomas Spoehr

Thomas W. Spoehr, a retired Army lieutenant general, is director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation.

RELATED ARTICLE: What a Judge’s Ruling on Drafting Women Means for Military

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column with images is republished with permission. The featured image by Defence-Imagery on Pixabay.

Florida: The Patriot’s Owner and Sex Slaves

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I read a bunch of news stories this morning all pretty much agreeing that when Robert Kraft allegedly used the services of a Florida massage parlor, he was interacting with modern day sex slavery.

Most of the ‘workers’ were young Asian girls (Chinese and South Koreans) who cannot speak English and lived at the establishment.

But, what I didn’t find was any report or opinion piece throwing any blame at our LEGAL immigration system that is allowing such large numbers of young women into the US on visas of some sort. Does no one at the US State Department or in USCIS see any red flags with visas from China?

Sex slavery in Florida

Here is just one article (by Eric MacLeish at the Boston Globe) about what Robert Kraft has alleged to have participated in.

Sounds like the same type of operation we heard about in rural New Hampshire, here, where they weren’t catching big fish like Kraft, but did arrest some of the Chinese ring-leaders.

Why the allegations against Robert Kraft are a big deal

In the wake of the disclosures involving Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft allegedly soliciting two prostitutes at the Orchids of Asia Spa in Juniper, Fla., some commentators have suggested that the charges may get dismissed at the arraignment and that they only involve two alleged misdemeanors for which Kraft cannot be extradited from Massachusetts to Florida. So, no big deal and according to some, Kraft’s place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame looks pretty secure.

Robert Kraft
Maybe the Kraft bust will do us a great service by educating a lot of people about our flawed immigration system!

Kraft has issued a carefully worded statement denying that he did anything against the law. He’s entitled to a trial. The police say that they have video evidence of him engaging in a sex act with two prostitutes that he allegedly paid. Unless it’s another person on that video, a trial seems unlikely. So should all of this go away for Kraft in a neat plea deal?

It should not. Investigators in Florida report that the women working at the spa are victims of a human trafficking operation where they were coerced into performing as many as 15 sex acts a day.

Apparently, many live and sleep at the spa and are undoubtedly working without pay based on some fictitious debt that they incurred for being smuggled into the United States. Some were discovered squatting at the back of the spa, cooking on a hot plate. We don’t know all of the details yet, but let’s be clear. If the allegations are true, Robert Kraft has in effect aided and abetted an organization involving human slavery.

[….]

In cases involving statutory rape (when a child is below the age of consent), it is typically not a defense when a victim misidentifies his or her age. It’s the responsibility of the defendant to find out how old he or she is. There are no charges of underage victims here, but a similar rule should apply. A 2018 Polaris report estimates that there were 9,000 storefront operations similar to Orchids of Asia employing exploited women in the sale of sex, with revenues totaling $2.5 billion.

Most of the women are from China or South Korea and most do not have a high school education. It was up to Kraft to understand the type of operation he was entering on those two visits.

There are more than 400,000 human beings held as slaves in the United States.

More here.

What do you do? Educate your friends and family members to this horrific practice, and if one of the 9,000 storefront operations is near you, keep an eye on them and look for signs that the Asian girls are not free to leave the establishment and then let the authorities know.

EDITORS NOTE: This Frauds, Crooks and Criminals with images is republished with permission. The edited featured image is by Pixabay.

The Income Tax: Still the Root of All Evil

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February 25 is a momentous day in American history. It is the day in 1913 the 16th Amendment took effect.

February 25 is a momentous day in American history. It is the day in 1913 the 16th Amendment, authorizing a federal income tax, took effect with the certification of Secretary of State Philander C. Knox.

Because of the crucial effects the income tax has had on America, one would hope that there would be some serious discussion of it in the media. But that hope is routinely disappointed.

But serious consideration of the effects of the income tax has occurred. For example, in his 1954 book, The Income Tax: Root of All Evil, Frank Chodorov showed how the abrogation of citizens’ property rights by the income tax leads to the expansion of government far beyond reason and corrupts Americans and America’s experiment in liberty in the process. And because Chodorov’s analysis brings us back to first principles, it is worth remembering his understanding of the Constitutional revolution it caused.

“A government is as strong as its income. Contrariwise, the independence of the people is in direct proportion to the amount of their wealth they can enjoy. We cannot restore traditional American freedom unless we limit the government’s power to tax.”

“Trace this wholesale infringement of our rights to the power acquired by the federal government in 1913 to tax our incomes—the Sixteenth Amendment…where the doctrine of natural rights has been all but abrogated in fact, if not in theory.”

“Getting something-for-nothing from government… this trade is often made, and… government is able to enter into it because of its income-tax revenues.”

“The government says to the citizen: ‘Your earnings are not exclusively your own; we have a claim on them, and our claim precedes yours; we will allow you to keep some of it, because we recognize your need, not your right; but whatever we grant you for yourself is for us to decide.'”

“The right of decision as to the disposition of your property rests in the government by virtue of the Sixteenth Amendment…it gives the government a prior lien on all the property produced by its subjects.”

“When the Sixteenth Amendment became part of the Constitution, the American political order, which rested on the axiom of inalienable rights, underwent a major operation.”

“The Constitution of 1789 barred the income tax. The Founding Fathers could not have put it in, even if they had a mind to, and there is no evidence that they had… They had come by freedom the hard way and they meant to hold on to it.”

“A people who remonstrated so vigorously over a measly tea tax could hardly have understood the idea of letting their pockets be picked. The suggestion would have sounded preposterous.”

“In the important matter of taxation, the Constitution quite definitely granted the new government very limited powers: import tariffs and excise taxes… As a consequence, it was a weak government, in the sense that it could not become bothersome; and the freedom of the people made them strong, so that wealth multiplied and the country flourished.”

“On the whole, previous to the Civil War the government of the United States confined itself to the business for which it was created, that of protecting people in the enjoyment of their God-given rights. It should not be forgotten that the Founding Fathers, agreeing with John Locke… thought of government principally as an instrument for safeguarding private property; and that was considered the prime business of the United States government until 1860. The dictum that “all men are created free and equal” held in the matter of taxes… No one, and no group, could be singled out by the government for special spoliation.”

“[The Sixteenth Amendment] was a revolution… every activity of government turned Santa Claus by the income tax.”

“Thus, the immunities of property, body and mind have been undermined by the Sixteenth Amendment. The freedoms won by Americans in 1776 were lost in the revolution of 1913.”

“The Sixteenth Amendment changed our country economically, politically, and morally… the Sixteenth Amendment has widened the area of government power, and as a consequence has reduced the area of liberty.”

“The Internal Revenue Bureau quite sensibly takes the view that every one of us is a potential lawbreaker, as far as the income-tax law is concerned… It has a war against society on its hands, and to win that war it must make use of the artifices of war, such as espionage, deception, and force… If this setting produces corruption, we must look to the law, not to the human beings involved, for cause.”

“Corruption… is simply the inevitable consequence incident to the operation of an immoral law. Of far greater concern is the use of income taxation to undermine the principles of republican government and to make a mockery of our tradition of freedom.”

“The income tax, by transferring the property of earners to the State, has disintegrated the moral fiber of Americans to such a degree that they do not even recognize the fact.”

“The income tax, by attacking the dignity of the individual at the very base, has led to the practice of perjury, fraud, deception, and bribery.”

“With the advent of income taxation, socialism was unavoidable…The more power the government exercises the less freedom will the people enjoy.”

“From the very beginning of the Union it has been customary for Congressmen to try to wangle out of the federal government some special privilege for their more influential supporters, or some appropriation of federal funds for spending in their states… However, before 1913…[but] The manna that fell from Washington was hardly enough to buy up the independence of the states or the votes of their citizens. No candidate for Congress could offer his constituents gifts paid for by the citizens of other states.”

“The ink was hardly dry on the Sixteenth Amendment before the heretofore picayune federal patronage began to blossom… The laws multiplied and the appropriations grew bigger… buying votes with political favors.”

“However, this weakness of democracy is only as dangerous as the amount of the citizens’ wealth the government has at its disposal. Before 1913 the American government was comparatively poor and political jobbery was correspondingly limited in scope. When the government acquired this power of confiscating the national wealth, the corruption was limited only by the amount that expediency would permit it to confiscate.”

“This centralization of power, which the Founding Fathers feared and sought to prevent by constitutional safeguards, is made possible only by income taxation… the atomic bomb that has virtually destroyed the Union.”

“Somehow, a Mississippian sees no immorality in forcing a Pennsylvanian to support his local economy…[but] the immediate beneficiary of federal grants to local projects is the politician who solicits it, and the ultimate beneficiary is the federal bureaucracy. Everybody else pays.”

“The American Revolution was unique in history… because it made possible the establishment of a government based on a new and untried principle, namely, that the government has no power except what the governed have granted it. That was a shift in power that had never occurred before.”

“A new American revolution was initiated in 1913, when the government was invested with the power to confiscate private property… that this power over the economy of the country put into the hands of the American government a means of liquidating the sovereignty of the citizenry.”

“As a result of income taxation, we now have a government with far more power than George III ever exercised… an inevitable consequence of income taxation. The citizen is sovereign only when he can retain and enjoy the fruits of his labor. If the government has first claim on his property he must learn to genuflect before it. When the right of property is abrogated, all the other rights of the individual are undermined, and to speak of the sovereign citizen who has no absolute right of property is to talk nonsense. It is like saying that the slave is free because he is allowed to do anything he wants to do except to own what he produces.”

Those who want others’ money for their purposes meet such complaints with the argument that “taxes are the price we pay for civilized society.” But as Frank Chodorov knew, Oliver Wendell Holmes said that over a century ago, before the income tax could dramatically increase citizens’ burdens, and give us less civilization in exchange.

Certainly, no tax on incomes got into the Constitution. That was unthinkable. A people that had but recently kicked over the traces because of taxes far less onerous would hardly have countenanced an income tax. They knew their freedom.

The general welfare is not improved by the increasing load of taxation. On the contrary, the upward climb of civilization is retarded in exact proportion to the levies.

COLUMN BY

Gary M. Galles

Gary M. Galles

Gary M. Galles is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University. His recent books include Faulty Premises, Faulty Policies (2014) and Apostle of Peace (2013). He is a member of the FEE Faculty Network.

EDITORS NOTE: This FEE column with images is republished with permission.

Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger In Her Own Words

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The Margaret Sanger Papers Project lists a series of quotes attributable to the founder of Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger. Given the current debate on infanticide it may be appropriate to revisit what Margaret Sanger said about her beliefs on eugenics, women, race, the weak and birth control.

Here are Margaret Sanger’s own words:

On criminals

“America . . . is like a garden in which the gardener pays no attention to the weeds. Our criminals are our weeds, and weeds breed fast and are intensely hardy. They must be eliminated. Stop permitting criminals and weaklings to reproduce. All over the country to-day we have enormous insane asylums and similar institutions where we nourish the unfit and criminal instead of exterminating them. Nature eliminates the weeds, but we turn them into parasites and allow them to reproduce.” – Burbank, quoted by Sanger in “Is Race Suicide Possible?” (1925)

On poor and “unfit” women

“The poor woman is taught how to have her seventh child, when what she wants to know is how to avoid bringing into the world her eighth.” (Pivot of Civilization, 116).

As an advocate of Birth Control, I wish to take advantage of the present opportunity to point out that the unbalance between the birth rate of the “unfit” and the “fit”, admittedly the greatest present menace to civilization, can never be rectified by the inauguration of a cradle competition between these two classes. In this matter, the example of the inferior classes, the fertility of the feeble-minded, the mentally defective, the poverty-stricken classes, should not be held up for emulation to the mentally and physically fit though less fertile parents of the educated and well-to-do classes. On the contrary, the most urgent problem today is how to limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective.

Birth Control is not advanced as a panacea by which past and present evils of dysgenic breeding can be magically eliminated. Possibly drastic and Spartan methods may be forced upon society if it continues complacently to encourage the chance and chaotic breeding that has resulted from our stupidly cruel sentimentalism. – Sanger, “The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda,” Birth Control Review, Oct. 1921, 5.

Give the women of the poorer classes a chance also to limit and control their families, and it will be found that in very many cases the material is equally good. The difference is that, like plants crowded too close together on poor soil, there is no chance to develop and the whole families are left impoverished in mind and body. Give room for each [to] grow and all may become fine and healthy American citizens. – “A Better Race Through Birth Control” (Nov. 1923)

On white supremacy

“The object of civilization is to obtain the highest and most splendid culture of which humanity is capable. But such attainment is unthinkable if we continue to breed from the present race stock that yields us our largest amount of progeny. Some method must be devised to eliminate the degenerate and the defective; for these act constantly to impede progress and ever increasingly drag down the human race.” – A Better Race Through Birth Control” (Nov. 1923)

The potential mother is to be shown that maternity need not be slavery but the most effective avenue toward self-development and self-realization. Upon this basis only may we improve the quality of the race. – Sanger, “The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda,” Birth Control Review, Oct. 1921, 5.

The Negro Project & FDR’s New Deal

By the late 1930s, the birth control activists began to focus on high birth rates and poor quality of life in the South, alerted to alarming Southern poverty by a 1938 U.S. National Resource Committee report which asserted that Southern poverty drained resources from other parts of the country. Starting in the mid-1930s, Sanger sent field workers into the rural South to establish birth control services in poor communities and conduct research on cheaper and more effective contraceptive….The birth control movement also looked to Southern states as the ideal region in which to secure funding under New Deal legislation and to establish birth control services as part of state and federal public health  programs….

In 1937, North Carolina became the first state to incorporate birth control services into a statewide public health program, followed by six other southern states. However, these successes were clouded by the failure of birth controllers to overcome segregated health services and improve African-Americans’ access to contraceptives. Hazel Moore, a veteran lobbyist and health administrator, ran a birth control project under Sanger’s direction and found that black women in several Virginia counties were very responsive to birth control education. A 1938 trip to Tennessee further convinced Sanger of the desire of African-Americans in that region to control their fertility and the need for specific programs in birth control education aimed at the black community. (Hazel Moore, “Birth Control for the Negro,” 1937, Sophia Smith Collection, Florence Rose Papers.)

On Forced Sterilization

“I admire the courage of a government that takes a stand on sterilization of the unfit and second, my admiration is subject to the interpretation of the word ‘unfit.’ If by ‘unfit’ is meant the physical or mental defects of a human being, that is an admirable gesture, but if ‘unfit’ refers to races or religions, then that is another matter which I frankly deplore.”

Eugenics today is known as the study of “genetics.” Merriam-Webster defines genetics as, “a branch of biology that deals with the heredity and variation of organisms.” So did Eugenics.

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EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of Margaret Sanger, seated behind desk. Photo: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Margaret Sanger Collection [reproduction number, e.g. LC-USZ62-12345].

VIDEO: Vatican Sex Summit Report – Day 4

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by Michael Voris, S.T.B.  •  ChurchMilitant.com

A relatively well-organized propaganda summit was brought to a successful corporate close today just a few hours ago as Pope Francis made an important statement.

He said, “Indeed, in people’s justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons.”

At this point, a line from the Book of Job comes to mind: “Your own mouth condemns you.”

The Church under Pope Francis is really the McCarrickist Church in which all this evil has been allowed to fester and grow.

True, McCarrick did not begin the evil, but during his 50 years as a priest, bishop, archbishop, cardinal and resurrected advisor under Francis, it escalated to unimaginable heights.

Some of the very men either advanced by McCarrick and/or who knew about him are now essentially running the show — men like Cupich and Farrell.

Cupich immediately shut down any discussion of the real cause of the crisis — homosexuality among the ranks of the clergy — even communicating to bishops that they were not to talk to the press and especially not to raise the question of homosexuality during the summit.

So much for transparency. There is no transparency.

What has been set up under Cupich and the rest of the homosexualist inner circle of Pope Francis is not transparency, but a hall of mirrors where things look a certain way, but nothing can ever be clearly ascertained or figured out.

So the Pope listed eight points — best practices — that weren’t really even the fruit of this summit but came instead largely from the World Health Organization that he just sort of “baptized.”

Those are: protection of children; impeccable seriousness; genuine purification; formation; strengthening and reviewing guidelines by episcopal conferences; accompaniment of those who have been abused; the digital world and sexual tourism.

But again, nothing specific; and in some cases, so ridiculously broad that each could be the topic of its own pointless four-day summit.

Speaking of the “wrath of God,” one would presume that it would extend to those who create the environment for this evil to be incubated and then set loose.

But on that score, not much was on the agenda.

Cover up bishops: not really an agenda item.

Homosexuality within the clergy: not on the agenda.

Anything specific, anything about accountability for bishops: also hard to find on the agenda.

The financial crimes that are usually part and parcel of this evil: also not really on the agenda.

The crimes and sins against seminarians: hard to find on the agenda.

A complete opening up of the extensive McCarrick file to discover not just how the man advanced, but more importantly, who his protectors and enablers were — in other words: the network. You guessed it, not on the agenda.

In short, we were told that those who sexually abuse children — the actual abusers themselves — are tools of the devil and do the devil’s work. And that’s where it pretty much stopped.

Well, thanks for that show stopper. No one out here in faithful Catholic land had ever really considered that before this colossal waste of time.

Even headlines from the secular media giants are also saying not much happened — lots of words, little action or meaning.

In other words: a lot by way of the dog and pony show, but that was about it.

If this summit accomplished anything good, however, it was that a concentration of forces, an alignment of the stars, began here with clerics and laity alike completely fed up with the lies and distortions and deflections from those within the Vatican.

Eyes are starting to open wide that almost to a man, anyone considered an insider of this pontificate simply cannot be trusted.

Bishops we have talked to privately admit that some of these leaders are lying. Others say it’s very clear that huge numbers of men ordained to the priesthood should never have been.

Many were hoping, probably against reasonable hope, that Francis might finally wake up and take the horse by the reins and set about fixing this.

But with news coming out of Argentina and Chile getting more and more attention — pointing at what looks like the Pope’s own personal involvement in assorted cover-ups — a massive clamp down on the network and its cover-up was never really in the cards.

The Pope is growing older. The men around him, while still in authority, are essentially being disregarded more and more. This phony summit might well turn out to be the sunset on the papacy of Francis.

With his own cases now coming to the forefront, with federal and state investigations intensifying all over the United States, it looks more and more likely that this papacy is simply going to be buried by the avalanche of sin and immorality that so many of its defenders have had their hands stained by, symbolized by the resurrection of Theodore McCarrick, who was the entire reason this summit had to be called to begin with.

It’s not too early — given all this — to begin turning attention to the next conclave; a conclave no doubt that, despite its top-heavy Francis appointed cardinals, may very well want to never have to deal with this sinful, embarrassing situation again.

Pope Francis now appears to be the pope who will go down in history as not the great reformer, but the man who could not extricate himself from his own past and alliances and was eventually buried under a mountain of homosexual filth, homopredator priests and the hierarchy that tried unsuccessfully to keep it all covered up.

If that is what this summit turns out to be, then perhaps it wasn’t a total loss after all.

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column with video and images is republished with permission.

VIDEO: Vatican Sex Summit — Day 3

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by Michael Voris, S.T.B.  •  ChurchMilitant.com.

Church Militant has learned exclusively of a secret meeting that occurred with a good number of papal nuncios last night.

The point of the meeting was to air their grievances among each other at how the Vatican simply ignores whatever bad behavior of priests or bishops they report — meaning bad sexual behavior.

The nuncios, we were told — a somewhat sizable group of them who are here because of the sex summit — are extremely upset and angry and didn’t really discover the scope of how the Vatican was ignoring their reports until they just started talking with each other informally.

That is quite a development. It’s not exactly sure what recourse the various nuncios have, but that they are feeling dismissed, ignored and their reports trivialized is absolutely certain.

They are ticked off, frankly, and so are quite a few other people.

We’ve been told by various folks who work in and around the Vatican that things have never been this bad. Priests are afraid to wear cassocks, afraid that if they look “too traditional” they will be reported to the Vatican.

Various individuals are being followed and their movements monitored. Rooms are bugged, phone lines are tapped and the Vatican more and more resembles North Korea, as one cleric termed it to us.

Sources tell us that the level of homosexual activity here is off the charts. The Swiss Guard, for example, is a regular target.

One source told us that grooming attempts and sexual advances by various archbishops are so off the charts that each year’s new recruits should be given a week-long class on how to handle it.

And don’t forget, this is the new Rome, the “Rome of Mercy” — mercy apparently for lying, covering up, homosexualist prelates who hate the Church, but no mercy for anyone else, especially those who uphold Tradition.

One of the more interesting developments to come out this week — speaking of homosexualist clergy who hate the Church — Fr. Thomas Rosica was busted plagiarizing multiple sources.

Yep, the Vatican’s English-speaking liaison to the media simply ripped off lines from various sources in a speech he gave at Cambridge earlier this month.

But he didn’t stop at just plagiarizing. He actually plagiarized out of context, using the moment to charge that the testimony of whistleblower Abp. Viganò was lies, which is rich considering he was passing off as his own words many other people’s words in his speech.

In just one example, quoting out of context, he called Viganò’s testimony a “diabolical masterpiece,” a term first credited to a bishop and repeated by a cardinal referring to the crisis, notViganò’s testimony.

When caught red-handed, in typical unaccountable fashion, he apologized, accepted full responsibility and then turned around and blamed his interns.

And the tidbit about Abp. Viganò brings us back to the secret meeting of nuncios last night.

They are the keepers of many secrets, and if a group of them suddenly decided to do what former nuncio to the United States Viganò did last August, the Vatican could be in quite a mess.

As media scrutiny intensifies, it came up a couple of days ago that another papal inner circle member, Indian Cdl. Oswald Gracias, on two occasions himself left victims unprotected and did not go to the police, perhaps even breaking Indian law which mandates such action.

In one case, a family reported to him in 2015 that their son had come home from serving Mass and told them he had been raped by the priest.

They contacted him, and then Gracias simply left for Rome that same night and did not inform police. He found out sometime later from one of his auxiliaries that the family had ended up reporting it themselves.

Gracias also looked the other way when he was informed that one of his priests offering retreats for women had molested one woman, and Gracias just left him in service and did not report anything to the police.

It is example after example of this constant drip, drip, drip of offense and cover-up and ignoring that the laity, good priests and now apparently the nuncios are simply not going to stand for any longer.

To add insult to injury, Gracias is present here at the summit in so-called “listening sessions,” hearing accounts of victims’ suffering.

Which begs the question: If one of the Pope’s inner circle can’t listen and pay attention in his own diocese back home to these horrible things and follow the proper course of action, why is his sitting here in Rome going to make a difference?

The evil, the hypocrisy, the cover-up and the lies, the police state, the fear, the indignant attitude, the lack of good will — all of it is being laid bare case by horrible case.

Unfortunately, until real action is taken, Catholics are going to have to endure this sordid filth being exposed day by day.

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column with images is republished with permission.

Jussie Smollett’s Evil Academy Award Worthy Performance

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I recently watched the original Jussie Smollett ABC interview on YouTube in which he claimed to have been attacked by racist homophobic Trump supporters.

Considering that we now know Jussie staged his attack and has been arrested for filing a false police report, I thought, “This guy should be nominated for an Academy Award.” In his ABC interview, Jussie’s sincerity, tears and portrayal as a suffering victimized black homosexual man was insidiously and brilliantly executed. 

Even though Jussie has been exposed as a liar, will leftists continue to use Jussie’s irresponsible hate generating lie to smear Trump and his supporters? Folks, we have seen this kind of leftist propaganda movie before titled, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” starring young black criminal Micheal Brown.

A police officer attempted to arrest Micheal Brown after he robbed a convenience store and assaulted the clerk. At 6 ft 4” and 292 lbs, Brown wrestled the officer for his gun and was shot and killed. A witness claimed the white cop murdered Brown while he tried to surrender with his hands in the air. Evidence confirmed that the witness lied. Brown’s blood was found on the officer’s gun and inside his police car, confirming the officer’s account of what happened. 

Even after the truth about the Brown shooting was exposed, the Grammy Awards irresponsibly did a musical production number further promoting the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” lie. In essence, the Grammy Awards show cruelly painted targets on the backs of our brave men and women in blue across America. Grammy Awards show producers purposely filled black youths with hatred for police, victim mindsets and hatred for their country based on a proven lie.

To this day, leftists are still promoting and many blacks still believe the lie that Michael Brown was shot in cold blood by a racist white cop. Thanks to fake news media, Democrats and Hollywood many blacks believe the lie that police routinely murder blacks. Consequently, police are being ambushed and assassinated by blacks seeking revenge. 

It blows my mind that there was very little fake news media coverage or outrage over a mob of Black Lives Matter thugs marching down a NY street chanting, “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!” Meanwhile, stats confirm that police are the greatest defenders of black lives. 

Jussie was unsuccessful in his attempt to get his bogus staged attack caught on closed circuit TV. Rush Limbaugh pointed out and I agree that had Jussie gotten his fake attack on video, fake news media would promote it 24/7; possibly causing riots and violence across America.

When the dust settles leftists will, more than likely, make Jussie Smollett a hero. Leftists will claim Jussie raised awareness about those routinely abused by racist homophobic Trump supporters.

In my opinion, Jussie’s insidious fake attack scheme is the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded auditorium. It could have led to massive racial violence resulting in many Americans being injured and lives lost.

I hold no malice against Jussie. I pray that this young man will come to know Jesus, turning his life around. Behavior has consequences. I believe Jussie Smollett should be prosecuted. We have emboldened leftists by allowing far too many of their evil hate and violence generating hoaxes to go unpunished.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jackson gay rights leader accused of burning down own home

RELATED VIDEO: Smollet’s Lies and Leftist Hate with Jamie Glazov.

EDITORS NOTE: The edited featured image by Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay.

VIDEO: Vatican Sex Summit Report – Day 2

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Day one of the summit, Feb. 21, was the feast day of St. Peter Damian, a Doctor of the Church who fought against rampant homosexuality in the Church here in Rome almost 1,000 years ago.

Feb. 21 was also the 171st anniversary of the publishing of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

The convergence of these two anniversaries provides a jumping off point to talk about the convergence of these two themes here in Rome — homosexuality and communism.

For the record, though communism and socialism have some different approaches to economic philosophy, from a Catholic perspective, these ideologies are essentially the same. Where they slightly diverge from each other economically and politically, they are twins in their relationship to Catholicism.

Each derides religion in general and Catholicism specifically. The Church has, in fact, returned the favor, condemning both systems for their hatred of God and mutual destruction of man and His essential identity. Likewise, homosexuality, when accepted, also carries with it a hatred for God and destruction of man and his essential identity.

So it is beyond curious — in fact, it’s downright disturbing — that these two evils are experiencing a rehabilitation in Rome these days. For example, Abp. Charles Scicluna made a devastating comment yesterday in response to a reporter’s question denying any essential differences between heterosexuality and homosexuality.

Responding to the inquiry why the word homosexuality has not appeared anywhere in the summit’s official documents, here was his answer: “These are human conditions (heterosexuality and homosexuality) that we recognize, that exist. But they aren’t something that really predisposes to sin.”

Why is the archbishop denying Church teaching in this matter? In case he hasn’t brushed up on the catechism lately, which he should, it says that homosexual inclination is objectively disordered.

But the archbishop speaks as though the natural attraction to marital sex and the disordered attraction to homosexual sex are essentially the same. He is flat-out wrong.  

Switching over to the question of communism, an endorsement “in practice” is the new standard as move after move by the Pope and multiple subordinates seeks to restore communism — cleverly discussed as socialism.

Multiple liberation theologians, condemned by Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict, are all of a sudden back in good graces in Rome these days. Liberation theology was little else than Marxist principles with a very thin veneer of Christianity. It was, in fact, imported to South America by the KGB.

Rome’s constant support of socialist policies and ambitions, as well as its non-stop refusal to condemn active homosexuality — and even some cardinals’ actual support of it — lends much support to the notion that communists and homosexuals have operational control of the Church — temporarily.

The constant bad-mouthing and downplaying of tradition, the near non-stop slamming of capitalism — both approached as bad things from the past that must be eradicated is a disturbing trend because they are being presented as Church teaching.

If McCarrick was, in fact, a Communist agent in the Church — as evidence Church Militant uncovered strongly implies — he would be the perfect example of how these two evils converge in one man.

In a statement that he may not have fully understood the import of himself, Abp. Scicluna said last week that there may be other McCarricks out there.

Given the current dimensions of what’s going on, that’s almost a guarantee. And what is really a troublesome revelation is that, given the degree of McCarrick’s involvement and participation in every level of the Church, that officials here in Rome are perfectly content to let him slip out of the limelight.

McCarrick is the key to everything wrong in the Church these days — from his predatory homosexuality, which brought him down, to his socialist vision of the world, yet no one here in Rome wants that story being looked at.

McCarrick has been sacrificed on the altar of convenience by his fellow travelers to protect themselves from any further scrutiny. And true to form, with him out of the way, they have instantly reverted to their old ways of denying Church teaching and promoting anti-Catholic ideologies.

So it is fitting that yesterday was the day of two important anniversaries — one revolving around homosexuality and the other around communism.

As the saying goes, “The more things change…”

The battle is real. The intensity has ramped up to never-before-imagined levels, and it is no exaggeration to say the fate of the world is in the balance.

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column with video and images is republished with permission.

Michigan Attorney General: Church Failed Victims [+Video]

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Packed press conference reveals enormity of sex abuse investigation.

The Michigan attorney general is accusing Catholic Church leaders of failing to protect victims.

At a packed press conference here in Lansing today, state attorney general Dana Nessel announced the findings so far of her ongoing investigation into clergy sex abuse and cover-up, making clear the Catholic Church cannot be trusted to police itself.

Dana Nessel:

If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their Rosary. And here’s why that matters: because many churches and dioceses appear to be self-policing, and encouraging parishioners to report abuse to them so they can conduct their own internal investigations. … And victims may believe that they cannot or should not report abuse to us because the Church is going to handle it. And simply put, that’s just not true. … 

Nessel also said the scope of the investigation is far bigger than most know, involving not only all seven dioceses, where priests were shuffled from one diocese to another, but multiple states as well, since abusive clergy were also moved out of state.

Dana Nessel:

Our team seized and is now continuing to review hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, including procedures for receiving and investigating allegations of abuse by the Church. … Now, as of this date, we’ve received more than 300 tips through our clergy abuse hotline, an online tip forum, and there are tips being investigated right now for potential criminal prosecutions. … Priests have been moved from one diocese to the next, protecting the priests in the parish, and we’re also going to be cooperating with other states — I believe it’s 12 other states — that now have similar ongoing investigations, because we know that there have been priests that have been moved from state to state to state.

Michigan chief of police Col. Joseph Gasper echoed the need for victims not to go to the Church first, but to law enforcement.

Col. Joseph Gasper: “I also want to echo your comments regarding the importance of reporting tips directly to law enforcement. We take all leads seriously, and it’s critically important that we hear directly from you when you have information to provide.”

Nessel confirmed the surprise statewide raids her office conducted on all seven Catholic dioceses in October, involving 70 officers and special agents as well as 15 assistant attorneys general on the scene.

The raids were prompted by the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report published in August, which exposed 301 alleged predator priests accused of abusing at least a thousand minors. Some of those priests moved to Michigan.

At the time of the raids the Detroit archdiocese, considered the mother diocese in Michigan, tried to downplay the events, the rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary sending an email to faculty saying such raids were “a normal part of these types of investigations.”

In light of the attorney general’s remarks today, it will be difficult for Detroit to minimize the investigation, which Nessel said could involve more than a thousand victims and take up to two years to complete.

Nessel had a message for the Catholic church.

Dana Nessel:

If the Catholic Church really wants to stand up to its pledge to assist in our investigation, I would like to say this. Here’s how they can actually help: Firstly, stop self-policing. Our office is conducting a thorough investigation and it’s important we be able to talk with any and all victims harmed by these egregious acts without the intervention of the Church.

Church Militant asked if, in addition to predator priests the attorney general would also go after Church officials, including bishops who covered up sex abuse. Nessel said, “Nothing is off the table.”

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

EDITORS NOTE: This Church Militant column with video and images is republished with permission.

Arkansas Pulls the Trigger on Roe v Wade

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While the U.S. Senate gears up for what should be a no-brainer vote on infanticide, the states are nudging their own needles to the pro-life side. Arkansas is the latest, thanks to Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) — and hardly the last.

Tuesday, with a nationwide protest over late-term abortion raging, Arkansas became the fifth state to make it clear where they stand if the issue ever returns to states. The minute Roe v. Wade is overturned, a growing number of states will already be prepared. Under the “trigger law” that Hutchinson just signed, Arkansas would immediately ban abortion if the ruling pro-lifers have been praying for ever came down.

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota have similar laws on the books — and Kentucky and Tennessee may be next. “It’s time for the United States to redress and correct what many believe is a grave injustice and a crime against humanity which is being perpetuated by the decisions of Roe v. Wade,” said the Arkansas bill sponsor. Under the law, abortion will be completely outlawed, except in medical emergencies. It also, LifeNews points out, allows abortionists to be prosecuted.

“In 2017, the abortion advocacy group NARAL predicted that 13 states immediately would ban abortions if the high court overturns Roe. Last year, the Center for Reproductive Rights put their estimate at 22 states,” Michaiah Bilger reports. After another year like this one, who knows how high that number could go? If you live in Kentucky or Tennessee, help us get to 24! Contact your state leaders and support trigger laws like Arkansas’s.

Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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EDITORS NOTE: This FRC column with images is republished with permission.

5 Efficient Ways to Help Your Personal Injury Attorney Win Your Case

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If you got hurt and injured in a bus accident, one of the best things you need to do is to hire a personal injury attorney to provide you with legal assistance with your case. Doing it will be your first step to get through this tough situation and help secure a more successful outcome for your accident case.

f you got hurt and injured in a bus accident, one of the best things you need to do is to hire a personal injury attorney to provide you with legal assistance with your case. Doing it will be your first step to get through this tough situation and help secure a more successful outcome for your accident case.

A personal injury lawyer is essential for providing you with legal services when you claim for a psychological or physical injury such as a bus accident. However, it would also be ideal to help your lawyer help you win your case together. As such, here are five effective ways to assist your lawyer to win your case.

Tell Your Lawyer About the Whole Story

Telling your lawyer the truth and facts about the accident is helpful to get a more successful outcome with your case. You need to explain everything to your bus accident attorney and answer his or her questions truthfully without hesitation. Doing it will help keep your lawyer well prepared during your court trial or hearing.

When talking to your lawyer, you also need to avoid omitting some details regarding the accident because it might lead to devastating effects for your case. Doing it is crucial to help your attorney disprove the negative accusations from your opposing counsel and to keep unfavorable facts from hurting your side as well.

Put a Hold on Your Social Media Accounts

When you’re claiming for a personal injury such as a bus accident due to negligence, it can be ideal that you put a hold on your social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You need to avoid posting updates, photos, and videos about the accidents because some insurance companies can find them and might use them against you.

Insurance companies can quickly and effectively follow you on your social media accounts to investigate regarding your claiming injury. That’s why it would be helpful to avoid using them so that your lawyer can protect you and help do the litigation more smoothly.

You Need to Follow Your Doctor’s Recommendations

Going to the doctor is essential to get the proper treatment for your injury since getting well should be your priority. You need to follow your doctor’s recommendations for having formal surgery or therapy. You also need to make sure that you won’t miss any appointment from your doctor to get compensation for your injuries and medical bills.

Get All the Requested Documents on Time

One of the best ways to keep your case progressing is to get all the requested documents and filling out a variety of forms on time. You need to provide medical and insurance documents on time to help your lawyer meet the filing deadlines. Hence, you need to be patient along the way since the legal process takes time to progress.

Always Listen to Your Lawyer

Choosing an experienced personal injury attorney is essential to help get through your accident case with the help of the law. Your lawyer can help you maximize the compensation that you can receive for the injuries and suffering you get after the car accident.

Hence, make sure that you listen to what your lawyer wants you to do or not to do because they have the knowledge of the law and experience in the field. Aside from that, you should also need to cooperate with his or her requests to help you secure the best outcome for your accident case.

Takeaway

Hiring a personal injury attorney is crucial when you get hurt or injured in an accident. Indeed, your lawyer can provide you with legal assistance and help you get through with this difficult situation.

However, you also need to help your lawyer help you with your case. Aside from his or her requests, doing simple things such as those mentioned above will help your lawyer do the litigation more efficient and secure a more successful outcome for your injury claim.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is from Pixabay.