Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate, shared her story at Florida Family Policy Council’s Annual Policy Awards Dinner in Orlando, May 11, 2019.
The prohibiting duties we lay on all articles of foreign manufacture which prudence indeed requires us to establish at home, with the patriotic determination of every good citizen to use no foreign article which can be made within ourselves, without regard to difference of price, secures us against a relapse into foreign dependency. Thomas Jefferson, in an 1815 letter to John-Baptiste Say, a French economist
A free people … should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent on others for essentials, particularly military supplies. President George Washington
Under free trade, the trader is the master and the producer the slave. Protection is but the law of nature, the law of self-preservation, of self-development, of securing the highest and best destiny of the race of man. Free trade destroys the dignity and independence of American labor… It will take away from the people of this country who work for a living— and the majority of them live by the sweat of their faces— it will take from them heart and home and hope. It will be self-destruction. President William McKinley
I wish we still had tariffs on all imports. Why? Because tariffs are what kept America’s manufacturing alive, our people with decent jobs, our ability to purchase quality goods produced by American owned companies, and because those tariffs once supported the entire cost of running our country. For 126 years, until 1913, there was no federal income tax and we kept all of the monies we earned. Today’s communist progressive taxation is a far cry from what our founders envisioned for America’s citizens.
Following World War II, America began switching from a policy of protection, to a policy of “free trade,” which used international trade deals as a means of diplomacy and alliance-building, slowly eroding and ultimately destroying America’s status as the world’s dominant manufacturing power.
The idea that America’s economic tradition has been economic liberty, laissez faire, and wide-open cowboy capitalism, which would naturally include free trade… is simply not real history. The reality is that all four presidents on Mount Rushmore were protectionists. Protectionism was, in fact, the real American way.
Trump’s populist pro-tariff advisors Bannon and Navarro opposed the globalists in Trump’s administration, including economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, then Trump’s national security adviser.
Gary Cohn resigned when the President called for broad import tariffs on steel and aluminum, anathema to establishment free-trade Democrats and Republicans. McMaster was fired and replaced by former UN Ambassador, John Bolton.
This tax dominates the revenue scheme of the federal government today. It is totally unconstitutional. Prior to ratification of the 16th Amendment (income tax) in February 1913, the federal government managed its few constitutional responsibilities without an income tax, except during the Civil War period. During peacetime, it did so largely or even entirely on import taxes called “tariffs.”
Congress ran the fed government on tariffs alone because fed responsibilities did not include welfare programs, agricultural subsidies, Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid. Before the Northern War of Aggression, the need for tariff revenue to finance the federal government generally kept the tariffs at reasonable levels. During wartime throughout early American history, the Founding Fathers were able to raise additional revenue employing a different method of direct taxation authorized by the U.S. Constitution prior to the 16th Amendment. These alternative taxing methods gave the young American nation embarrassing peacetime budget surpluses that several times came close to paying off the national debt.
President Andrew Jackson boasted in his veto of the Maysville Road Bill in 1830 that God had blessed the nation with no taxes (except tariffs on imports) and no national debt. “Old Hickory” presided over a nation where Congress had abolished all federal internal taxes, and no citizen saw a tax collector of the United States unless that citizen was in the business of importing foreign goods. (And now, the $20-dollar bill sporting the visage of Tennessee’s beloved President Andrew Jackson will be replaced with the picture of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman.)
While American consumers were occasionally manipulated by outrageously high protective tariffs, inside the United States a massive free market emerged over which the U.S. government had almost no influence.
By way of contrast, the advent of the income tax prompted some congressmen to note that this tax was designed not principally for revenue, the U.S. government had always had plenty of money from tariffs, but to manipulate the American people and their choices in the market.
This has been the legacy of the income tax. While the income tax has produced the type of revenue that has made a massive transfer of wealth from the productive to the unproductive, the incentives, through thousands of deductions and tax credits have manipulated the American people into choices that they wouldn’t have otherwise made in a free market. These manipulations, whether in favor of “green energy” research, “cash for clunker” automobile purchases, or tobacco crop subsidies, have been chosen according to the prevailing virtue in Washington.
Prior to 1913, Americans were responsible for themselves and independent enough to know that their future depended not on the government, but solely on themselves.
In 1992, ads in local newspapers encouraged businesses to transfer their manufacturing to Honduras, El Salvador, the Caribbean Basin International Development Zone, of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. These were International Free Trade Zones and Port Industrial Free Zones. This included Mexico.
Instead of paying living wages in the United States, corporations were urged to move to countries where wages were $.33 to $.56 per hour. In 1991, a U.S. government agency actually directed apparel firms in the Southeast to be approached and sold on the idea of going offshore where the labor was cheaper. There is a Puerto Rican and Asian connection as well. Hundreds of companies moved their plants out of our country, and this was 27 years ago.
I remember a friend of mine who worked for Levi Strauss jeans at a terrific middle-class salary being told to train the Mexican workers how to do their jobs knowing the company was moving manufacturing to Mexico. The Mexicans were given free living accommodations in our country, they were free from our income taxes, and they took over the jobs our American citizens had for a lot less money and manufacturing was ultimately moved to Mexico.
Check out the 1992 article from the Pennsylvania Crier. It will shock you. Then go to the original Pennsylvania Crier home page and click on “Downloads.” The information in this website documents history with far more than anything you’ll find in today’s school books. It is invaluable!
Our country’s manufacturing was purposely sold to third world countries to the detriment of our own people. When NAFTA was first promoted, the calls to our Congressional reps were ten to one against it, but our globalist enemies sold us out and voted for it.
Unfortunately, Trump’s Trade Representative, CFR member Robert Lighthizer has sold us out and fooled our President into thinking the USMCA is a better deal than NAFTA. It is not! And Trump does not have conservative advisers who will read Lighthizer’s USMCA and tell him the truth. Numerous articles have been written regarding the contents and the loss of our sovereignty. Publius Huldah wrote that it not only violates our U.S. Constitution, but it also sets up global government. And my friend, J.W. Bryan, has written numerous articles exposing the dangers within the USMCA.
Last September 2018, President Trump announced tariffs on “roughly $200 billion of imports from China.” These tariffs are on top of the ones imposed during the summer on $50 billion of products from that country.
Mr. Trump has consistently believed that Beijing needed America far more than America needed China, largely because China is the country running large trade surpluses. In 2017, China’s merchandise trade surplus against the United States hit a record $375.6 billion. As Trump knows, trade-surplus countries get mauled in “trade wars.” Therefore, Beijing, not Washington, is the party that needs to talk to reduce tension.
After extensive trade talks with China ended without an agreement on May 10, 2019, President Trump raised the tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. China retaliated three days later, announcing new tariffs on $60 billion of American exports.
Asia expert, Gordon Chang is urging the president to remain strong on tariffs, telling Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Opens a New Window. the only way to prevent Chinese theft and trade imbalance is for the U.S. to raise tariffs Opens a New Window. and implement continued pressure on the Chinese. Chang told Dobbs, “We have seen so many trade negotiations between previous presidents and the Chinese. They have all failed. The Chinese have violated every single agreement. This is really important for us. This is where we either stand or we fail, and the only thing that’s going to get us there is President Trump.”
Of course, there are free-trade Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz who claim these actions will hurt the farmers and people of Texas. Cruz previously supported giving fast track authority on trade to President Obama. But our President already said the government would be subsidizing the farmers’ losses during this “fair” trade battle with China.
Personally, I’d like to see the border closed completely. The trade trucks can stand in line at the border and be thoroughly inspected to allow them into the states. But the border should be closed. All border ports of entry should also be closed. We are being flooded with illegal immigrants pleading asylum, being loosed in America and never showing up for their court appearances. If anyone believes there are only 12 to 30 million illegals in this country, they are not paying attention. The count is over 60 million or more and growing daily.
We do not have enough border patrol agents, ICE agents, fences or walls built as high as the Vatican, or congressional laws to protect American citizens from the influx and costs of these lawbreakers. There are many Islamist terrorists amongst them who daily illegally cross into America.
President Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico being raised every single month until something was done by Mexico to stop them. According to the State Department, Mexico agreed to dispatch 6,000 national guardsmen at the border with Guatemala to block migrants from reaching the United States and expand a Trump administration program that holds thousands of asylum-seekers in Mexico during U.S. immigration processing. Over 90 percent of those released into America never appear in court and are free to remain in America.
If Mexico’s actions “do not have the expected results,” additional measures could be taken within 90 days, and the two countries will continue to discuss add-on steps during that period. This includes tariffs on Mexican goods coming into our country increasing every month until this influx of illegal aliens is quelled. Link Without our President and without these tariff threats, there would have been no deal.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson put more than 100,000 National Guard troops on the Mexican border. The military buildup followed an early-morning raid at the garrison town of Columbus, New Mexico. Ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed when the Mexican revolutionary leader General Francisco “Pancho” Villa attacked with almost 500 men.
It’s time for America to put thousands upon thousands of National Guard troops on our border again, and armed with equipment to prevent the surge of illegals from entering our country. And yes, there is new military equipment that repels invaders called the Active Denial Systems Non-Lethal Weapon and turns them back without hurting them. This needs to be manned and used on the entire southern border.
Pat Buchanan was absolutely on target when he stated, “Once a nation has put its foot onto the slippery slope of global free trade, the process is inexorable, the end inevitable: death of the nation-state.”
Tariffs are the answer. The only way our nation can regain control of trade that benefits American citizens is through tariffs. Neither China nor Mexico will cave to our demands unless they suffer the consequences of American tariffs.
If we subsidize our farmers and those who lose during this battle, a battle that we continue to fight over a period of five years or more, manufacturing would again start up in America, first with small businesses, and then it would spread. Our nation would again be one of productivity, surplus, and financial growth for her citizens.
To right the wrongs can be painful for a short time, but in the long run will revive and restore our country.
In a June 10, 2019 document entitled “Male and Female He Created Them” the Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE)wrote:
The Christian vision of anthropology sees sexuality as a fundamental component of one’s personhood. It is one of its mode of being, of manifesting itself, communicating with others, and of feeling, expressing and living human love. Therefore, our sexuality plays an integral part in the development of our personality and in the process of its education: “In fact, it is from [their] sex that the human person receives the characteristics which, on the biological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or a woman, and thereby largely condition his or her progress towards maturity and insertion into society”. As each person grows, “such diversity, linked to the complementarity of the two sexes, allows a thorough response to the design of God according to the vocation to which each one is called”. In the light of this, “affective-sex education must consider the totality of the person and insist therefore on the integration of the biological, psycho-affective, social and spiritual elements.” [Emphasis added]
This document comes as parents are increasingly objecting to new sex education courses in public schools that promote homosexuality.
In the United Kingdom this has lead to a growing national movement involving parents, Muslims and Christians, who are speaking out against “gender ideology” classes that “indoctrinate” their children. Watch this BBC video:
The CCE notes:
6. If we wish to take an approach to the question of gender theory that is based on the path of dialogue, it is vital to bear in mind the distinction between the ideology of gender on the one hand, and the whole feld [sic] of research on gender that the human sciences have undertaken, on the other. While the ideologies of gender claim to respond, as Pope Francis has indicated, “to what are at times understandable aspirations”, they also seek “to assert themselves as absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised”, and thus preclude dialogue. [Emphasis added]
There is a growing push back against “gender ideology” as currently presented to children.
MassResistance in an August 24, 2014 column entitled “Introducing kids to adult/youth “gay clubs” in communities, outside of schools. A dangerous intro to “gay sex.” warned:
Probably the fastest and most dangerous way that schoolchildren are introduced to homosexual behavior is through adult-youth “community” gay clubs, which are run by homosexual (and transgender) activist adults and seek to attract local high school and middle school children.
[ … ]
How dangerous can these clubs get? Most parents and public officials don’t have a clue. Back in 2007 MassResistance posted a shocking public letter written by a 20-year-old homosexual activist in Maine describing the abuses going on by adults to kids in the local “gay youth” club. It included his own admission of sexual relations with two younger boys.
We have been writing about the introduction of the absurdity that one can “choose” their gender. Gender is determined at birth. Biology and science tell us so. To teach otherwise goes against science and culture. Parents are getting the word led by Catholics and Muslims alike.
RELATED VIDEO: To Defend The Children.
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Maria Espinoza and her family immigrated to the US from Mexico in the 1950’s. Today, Maria is a successful businesswoman, and heads up a national initiative, which she founded with her husband, . “The Remembrance Project”, Maria has been a guest on dozens radio and internet broadcasts, including the Laura Ingraham Show, Lars Larson Radio Show, and many more. She has been often featured in blogs across the country where immigration is the topic, including Breitbart. Maria is widely quoted for her unwavering position that it is the American family that deserves protection from the tidal wave of illegal alien crime.
TOPIC…Americans Say Government, Immigration Are Lead U.S. Woes
Dr. Michael Brown is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His forthcoming book is…Jezebel’s War With America .. He is also the author of…Donald Trump Is Not My Savior: An Evangelical Leader Speaks His Mind About the Man He Supports As President.
TOPIC…New York: Dismember the Late-Term Babies But Do Not Declaw the Cats.
Richard Vedder, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and is Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at Ohio University and author of the new Independent Institute book, “Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America. His hundreds of articles and reviews have appeared in numerous scholarly journals as well as in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, National Review, CNN.com, Washington Times, and Investor’s Business Daily. And, he has been interviewed on Fox News Channel, ABC, NBC, Fox Business Network, CNN, PBS, C-SPAN, Fox Nation, NPR, and many other TV and radio networks and programs.
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Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo)
For years, those who spoke of this issue were demonized as the ones who had the problem. Now that this issue is here, what solution do the progressives have? BBC on the clash between fundamentalist Muslims (who have immense reach & power) & LGBT community:
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Please consider helping dozens of Gold Star family members make their voice heard this Independence Day as we rally together on the lawn of the Capitol against the rise of socialism in our nation.
We, America’s Gold Star families, carry a unique qualification to speak common sense over this issue.
Moms for America (a 501c3 non-profit) is hosting this event. All donations are tax deductible. Events like this require a tremendous amount of money to pull off. We’re taking it on because we believe this can honestly make a difference.
“[Disney CEO] Bob Iger acts like he’s spent too much time in Fantasyland, because his position here is downright goofy. Hollywood deals in fiction, and Iger is reading from the left’s pro-abortion script, not a logical narrative.”
A recent article in the Washington Times has exposed serious hypocrisies in the recent corporate attacks on the State of Georgia over the “heartbeat bill.”
The Georgia law is one of the toughest pieces of pro-life legislation, and, if implemented, would prohibit abortion after a doctor can detect a baby’s heartbeat. In recent weeks, under pressure from Hollywood leftists, entertainment companies like Disney (1.7 – Liberal) and Netflix (2.1 – Lean Liberal) have threatened to stop filming projects in the state if the measure goes into effect.
However, the Washington Times reports these companies regularly do business in foreign countries that restrict abortion:
Disney CEO Bob Iger said it would be “very difficult” for the company to continue to film in Georgia if the state’s newly enacted abortion law goes into effect, though the entertainment giant had no similar reservations about shooting in Jordan.
Portions of the just-released blockbuster “Aladdin” were shot in Wadi Rum, Jordan, where women who undergo abortions except in medical emergencies face up to three years in prison — in short, a law significantly more restrictive than Georgia’s fetal heartbeat bill.
Iger’s statements beg the question: would Disney move its resort properties if Florida passes a similar “heartbeat bill”?
The article continues:
Then there is Netflix, which raised the possibility last week of leaving Georgia over the fetal heartbeat bill signed May 7 by Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, even though the entertainment company announced plans May 27 to film an original series, “Paranormal,” in Egypt.
Abortion is illegal in Egypt, with exceptions for saving the life of the pregnant woman or “fatal foetal abnormality,” according to the pro-choice international advocacy group Women on Waves.
Even so, “Paranormal” comes as Netflix’s third production foray into the Middle East: The shows “Jinn,” scheduled for release June 13, and “Al Rawabi School for Girls” were also filmed in Jordan as part of what the company described as its “dedication to investment in Middle Eastern Arabic content.”
It would appear both Disney and Netflix prioritize political pandering over logical consistency. After all, given the amount of children’s programming created by these companies, how much since does it make to support an abortion industry that exists to destroy the next generation of consumers?
If you think that Disney and Netflix should end their hypocrisy, and just stick to making television shows and movies, please do not hesitate to hit the buttons below to reach out to them!
Reach Out to Walt Disney on Facebook!
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For the mathematically challenged, 25 years goes back well before 9/11/2001, which is when Rep. Ilhan Omar, claimed the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was founded as a mechanism to deal with anti-Islamic sentiments.
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Boy & girl scouts are supposed to uphold American values. These scout branches in Michigan are being trained to think of the U.S. as terrorists are being indoctrinated in Iranian regime and Hezbollah ideology.
Iranian regime and Hezbollah supporters have set up Boy & and Girl Scout branches in Michigan.
In fact, the Boy Scouts of America website officially recognizes one Islamist-linked Boy Scout pack in the state, listing a Cub Scout branch, Pack 1139, at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn.
Cub Scouts are for children from kindergarten through fifth grade.
In 2017, the Muslim Scouts of Michigan held its Waiyullah Camp where the boys and girls were taught by a radical supporter of the Iranian theocracy and Hezbollah, Sheikh Usama Abdulghani.
The sheikh preaches that Muslims must follow the commands of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He has also said that ISIS is a secret front for Israel and the West as part of their war against Islam.
An older website for the Muslim Scouts of America, last updated in 2014, shows that it previously had a weekly program every Sunday at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in Dearborn. This mosque has a history of honoring Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and founder of the current theocracy.
The Bint Jebail Cultural Center, which is largely Lebanese, says its Boy Scout branch was started in 1997 “through the Boy Scouts of America.” It was founded by Hajji Khalil Baydoun, the treasurer of the Bint Jebail Cultural Center’s executive board.
In 2001, it took on the name of the Muslim Scouts of Michigan. This development started:
“…bringing our religion and heritage to our scouting program. Although not an Islamic school, this is where our religion is put into practice and carried out on a daily basis through the Scout Law and Oath … All along this journey to become an Eagle Scout, our religious morals are being instilled and put into action.”
The center’s promo video says it has a class on Saturday for youth to learn Arabic and understand the Koran.
If religion is being integrated into a Boy or Girl Scout program, then it’s reasonable to ask what type of religious interpretation is being taught to these youth, especially when the camping activities include “rifle shooting.”
The Muslims Scouts of Michigan website says its weekly program is held every Friday at Great Revelations Academy in Dearborn. The Academy is literally less than 400 feet from the Bint Jebail Cultural Center responsible for the Muslim Scouts.
The Clarion Project published an expose of the academy’s support for the Iranian theocracy and Hezbollah terrorist group in April. The academy is a private school for children from kindergarten through 9th grade.
The Muslim Scouts of Michigan also has a branch in the Detroit area called the Al-Mustapha Scouts, chartered by the Al-Mustapha Association.
Though they appear separate at first glance, the Al-Mustapha Girl Scouts’ Facebook page identifies it as part of the Muslim Scouts of Michigan.
Public records from 2017 show that the Muslim Scouts of Michigan and Al-Mustapha Association are essentially the same entity.
Mohamad Awad is listed as the president of the Muslim Scouts of Michigan. Awad is also listed as the director the Al-Mustapha Association and Al-Mustapha Boy Scouts. Additionally, the organizations list the same address in Dearborn in their filings.
The organization claims that the Al-Mustapha Boy Scouts is officially Boy Scouts of America Troop & Pack 1172 and Girls Scouts of the USA Troop 48050, consisting of over 300 girls.
However, the websites for the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA do not currently list any such branches. (There is an unconnected Troop 1172 in New Mexico.)
The Al-Mustapha Association makes it clear that its ideology is intertwined with its Boy and Girl Scouts program.
“The Islamic Scouting experience is delivered by a staff carefully selected based on their passion to be Muslim role models and are trained to carry out the core values of Al-Mustapha (s) Scouts,” the website says.
The Al-Mustapha’s Girl Scouts have also held events at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, yet another mosque with a history of radical preaching including advocacy for the Iranian regime.
A 2013 posting on the mosque’s website advertises an event with the “Muslim Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan Troop 48050.”
The Al-Mustapha Scouts have also advertised radical Shiite events on their social media accounts, such as this Mizan Institute event (see right) at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, which has a history of affinity for the Iranian regime, Hezbollah and anti-Semitism.
The instructor at the event promoted by the Al-Mustapha Scouts is Sheikh Amin Rastani, a dedicated supporter of the Iranian theocracy educated at the regime-friendly school in Qom, Iran.
The Al-Mustapha Scout leaders include devotees of the Iranian regime.
One Al-Mustapha Boy Scouts leader has repeatedly posted in favor of the Iranian regime, going so far as to make his profile picture that of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
In one post, at a time when Iranian women were bravely taking off their headscarves in public to protest the mandatory wearing of the hijab, he translated an explanation from Supreme Leader Khamenei justifying the law. It depicted the regime as a bigger supporter of women’s rights than America.
The Khamenei quote he translated and posted reads:
“Every movement that seeks to defend women (e.g. women’s rights) must have its main goal be the chastity of women. The West does not care about the issue of women’s chastity and it has resulted in a mockery … When you look around the world, you see that one of the problems of women in the Western world, especially in the United States of America, is the issue of men exploiting their power to abuse women’s chastity … Islam is aware of this issue, and for that reason, the issue of hijab has been mandated by Islam, for that very reason.”
A second Al-Mustapha Boy Scouts leader also posts videos from Iranian regime officials, including Khamenei and Alireza Panahian, a radical cleric who has called for the execution of major opponents of the regime in Iran.
At least two other Al-Mustapha Boy Scout leaders are seen in a picture with Sheikh Ibrahim Yassine, yet another radical pro-regime cleric.
In a speech from 2016 in Detroit on Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Day, Yassine referred to America as the biggest terrorist in the world and expressed how those who stand with Iran’s leaders stand with truth.
Part of the speech, given in Arabic, was translated by Clarion’s Arab Affairs Analyst and Shillman Fellow Ran Meir:
“This American administration is the one that supports terror in our area. We say it out loud and you all know that,” Yassine said. “Imam Khomeini emphasized the importance of participating in Quds Day,” he added.
The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America are meant to be patriotic organizations. The Scout oath includes a pledge to “do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law.”
Support for the Iranian regime, Hezbollah and their radical clerics who shout “Death to America” is hardly compatible with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts’ oath, mission and purpose.
The Boy and Girl Scouts should expel any affiliate or leader linked to such blatant radicalism. Islamist extremists should not be allowed to use the good names of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to push their hate-filled agenda.
These organizations are cynically indoctrinating children to become the next generation of extremists – a real form of child abuse.
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EDITORS NOTE: This Clarion Project column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.
Brad Miner: If we take awe and reverence and the quest for holiness and heaven out of religion, faith becomes little more than a campaign for votes.
An Italian priest visits our parish a few times a year to say Sunday Mass. He’s remarkable: tall, ascetic, and very serious. When he elevates the host and then the chalice, they stay elevated longer than in the hands of any priest I’ve ever seen – almost to the point of seeming theatrical. But it’s not. He is simply reverent. He’s also a fine and courageous homilist, which is to say he’s one of the only priests I’ve ever heard condemn abortion from the pulpit, and one of the few who takes the time to discuss what the Church actually teaches about moral and spiritual matters.
He recently spoke about holiness. I’ve heard other priests speak about that too, but never so starkly against the trend to present faith in the contest of public policy: migration, pollution, poverty. I’m sure he’s committed to an orthodox understanding of social justice, but, again, his homily was against an emphasis on social and economic issues that ignores Christ’s call to holiness.
What struck me most was his insistence that, when the call to holiness is replaced by a call for social and economic justice, the Church risks presenting itself as a non-governmental organization (NGO), at which point it makes sense that folks stop coming to Mass.
When what seems to define a “good Christian” is volunteering and check-writing, when the assertion that “I’m religious in my own way” seems plausible, why wouldn’t I sleep in on Sunday morning? Especially true, I suspect, for those who neither volunteer time nor contribute money.
I was reminded again of the way H. Richard Niebuhr (of the Evangelical Synod of North America, d. 1962) described liberal Christianity: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.”
And the crazy thing is, liberals not only empty the churches with their politicized rhetoric, they actually believe it’s the only way to bring people back. So, the more people leave, the more vigorously liberals double down on the message that’s driving them away.
Of course, one understands the allure of the social message, which is an extension of our Lord’s teaching on discipleship in Matthew 25:
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” 40 And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
To some, that’s ironclad proof of the liberal assertion that contemporary social action trumps traditional dogma. Who can stand against science and politics, which now offer objective solutions unavailable to preachers in 1st-century Palestine? Charity is best managed by governments and their NGO partners, and best administered in the spirit of the separation of Church and State. Let the smart people, the experts, take care of the poor.
Well, they’ve been working on that with energy in the United States since at least the 1930s. Correlation is not necessarily causation, but we ought at least to consider caution about any further expansion of social-welfare policies and ecclesiastical innovation, since their rise seems to track with the persistence of poverty and the decline of religious orthodoxy.
And there’s no use anymore in saying the problem is more Protestant than Catholic. It’s true, as James Simpson writes in Permanent Revolution: The Reformation and the Illiberal Roots of Liberalism that “Sixteenth-century Protestantism ushered in a culture of permanent revolution, ceaselessly repudiating its own prior forms. Its rejection of tradition was divisive, violent, and unsustainable,” but many Catholics throughout the West have pretty much embraced the same point of view – essentially the Marxist thesis-antithesis-synthesis; or in its cheerier version: Day by day in every way I’m getting better and better. That was the formulation of French psychologist Émile Coué, which sounds a whole lot better in the original, Tous les jours à tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux– although only if you don’t know French.
As Mr. Simpson puts it, every day and in so many ways, liberalism has “repeatedly and compulsively repudiated its own prior forms.” It can’t help itself; it can’t stop itself.
Of course, when Marxists, neo- or otherwise, attempt to feed, clothe, and care for the poor, they mostly end up killing them by the millions: a brutal, un-Christian solution happening again in Venezuela – as ever, in the name of the poor.
As our Italian priest made clear, when you take out awe and reverence and the quest for holiness and heaven, focusing instead on ostensibly Utopian solutions to problems in the here and now, “religious” people become merely opiniated – engaged in debates about public policy: immigration, prison reform, Medicare and Social Security, the “environment” – the whole range of issues that attract or repel voters and define the political process.
We once when visited a pre-school in Manhattan when our older son was four – taking him, in other words, for an interview. The new head of school said: “I can’t wait to begin experimenting on these kids!” That reminded me of Newman’s famous line from his Apologia:
my battle was with liberalism; by liberalism I mean the anti-dogmatic principle and its developments. This was the first point on which I was certain. Here I make a remark: persistence in a given belief is no sufficient test of its truth; but departure from it is at least a slur upon the man who has felt so certain about it.
A slur on the man and his Faith.
COLUMN BY
Brad Miner is senior editor of The Catholic Thing, senior fellow of the Faith & Reason Institute, and Board Secretary of Aid to the Church In Need USA. He is a former Literary Editor of National Review. His most recent book, Sons of St. Patrick, written with George J. Marlin, is now on sale. His The Compleat Gentleman is available on audio.
EDITORS NOTE: This Catholic Thing column is republished with permission. © 2019 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.org. The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.
Whereas a representative Republic is defined as the rule of the people, by the people, for the people, Islam is defined as the rule of Allah, by Allah and his emissaries, for the pleasure of Allah. And when people, out of concern for political correctness or ignorance, describe Islam as a religion, (forget the peace) they are, at the very least, guilty of misrepresenting it.
Islam is a comprehensive totalitarian form of slavery. It is the opposite of freedom. Islam means submission or surrender. True to its name, Islam strives for nothing short of enslavement of the body of humanity as well as the bondage of its mind. This non-negotiable surrender to Islam requires the individual, as well as the society, to disenfranchise themselves of many fundamental and deeply cherished human rights. Islam seeks nothing less than total global domination.
Islam is an unabashed politico-expansionist movement wrapped in the trappings of religion and bent on universal conquest by any and all means or tricks available at its disposal.
In the interest of impartiality, the authors of the Constitution did not define what constitutes a religion. Presently, a plethora of sects, cults and orders-all claiming to be religion-cover the length and the breadth of the land. So, as long as these “religions” minister to the legitimate spiritual needs of their congregations without threatening the rights of others, there is no reason for concern. However, when one or more of these claimants strive to undermine the very Constitution that protects them in order to impose their beliefs and way of life, serious problems arise.
The problem is, too few Americans are aware of it and organizations like CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood are taking full advantage of our naiveté. Moreover, Islam stands in stark contrast to the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and what the First Amendment was designed to protect—our God-given unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Islam considers itself the three branches of government. It enacts laws as it sees fit, adjudicates laws, and executes them as it deems. Islam is anathema to the provisions of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and much more.
Islam proclaims itself as the only legitimate religion for the entire world, grudgingly granting minor recognition to Judaism and Christianity from whom it has liberally plagiarized much of its dogma. Jews and Christians are allowed to live under the rule of Islam as “dhimmis” and must pay a special religious tax of jizyah. Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, members of other religions, agnostics and atheists are not even allowed to practice their belief or disbelief. Islam actively suppresses and even prohibits the practice of other religions, including those of the “people of the book,” Jews and Christians.
There is not a single church or synagogue in the cradle of Islam, Saudi Arabia, while thousands of mosques are tolerated and welcomed in Western non-Muslim lands. Islamic countries that allow for Jewish and Christian places of worship subject these “people of the book” to numerous subtle and not-so-subtle forms of persecution. Muslims in non-Muslim lands proselytize relentlessly and convert others while any Muslim who leaves Islam is considered an apostate and is automatically condemned to death.
Freedom of speech is just about non-existent in Islam. The word is Allah’s, his chosen divines such as Ayatollahs and Imams are the only ones who have the power to make pronouncements squarely based on Allah’s word, the Quran. Any expression that deviates in the least from the Quran, the Hadith or the edicts of Islamic high divines is heresy and severely punishable. Hence, stifling of free expression is the major mechanism by which the Islamic clergy retain power and prevent constructive change in Islamic societies.
Freedom of the press is completely alien to Islam, since a free press tends to express matters as it sees it, rather than as it is stated in the Quran. To Islam, the Quran is the press and the only press. There is no need for critical reporting, no need to present ideas that may conflict with the Quran, and no place for criticism of anything Islamic.
Peaceful assembly of the people is not allowed. Backward oppressive Islamic societies inflict great hardship on the citizenry and any assembly of the victims presents a threat to suffocating rule. Islamic governments routinely prevent peaceful assemblies from taking place. Failing to do so, they unleash their hired thugs, the police and even the military against any assemblage no matter how peaceful and how legitimate is its grievance. The Islamic Republic of Iran which is vying with Saudi Arabia as the leader of true Islamic rule, routinely attacks any and all gatherings of its people, arrests them, imprisons them without due process, tortures them, and even executes them in secret dungeons.
Devout Muslims literally have turned into walking missiles. You can’t reason with Muslims blinded by hate. You can’t argue with Muslims blinded by Islamic faith. Islam hates the power of the individual. Islam hates the achievements of women. Islam hates progress. Islam hates the religious freedom of others. Islam hates the pre-Islamic heritage of other nations. Islam is against free-will and hates democracy, liberty and justice for all. Islam simply loves to devour you alive.
The greatest threat facing the United States today is its own ignorance about Islam. Until American citizens understand the threat of Islam on American soil — people will continue to die. Until there is a true understanding of this satanic faith and means to control it, people will continue to die.
No, Islam has never been hijacked by militant or radical Muslims. In fact, radical Muslims are true Muslims. Islam itself has hijacked humanity for almost 14 centuries. Unfortunately, American politicians ignore this, lie to their citizens and portray Islam as a religion of peace. What a shame!
Any dogma, doctrine, cult or a religion that seeks to create its own governance, its own legal system and seeks to mobilize its own militia is itself not interested in separation of Church and State, and has no right to use that separation to create hegemony. In fact, such a doctrine is not even a religion at all. It is a totalitarian regime, and must be considered the enemy of the US Constitution and everything Americans believe in.
Islam is not a religion by any standards. It is a militant, political and violent cult created by one man: Muhammad. It is time that we treat Islam as the greatest threat to the human race. The Islamic treasury, flushed with oil extortion money together with the help of Marxist-Democrats and Hollywood celebrities (“Muslim Brotherhood front-groups have targeted Hollywood as one of many vehicles through which to conduct its civilization jihad.”) are having the upper hand in this battle of survival for freedom.
Time is of the essence. Americans must act now and stem the tide of this deadly threat. If we don’t defeat it politically and do it swiftly, our children and grandchildren could be engaged in a religious and ideological bloody war, the likes of which has never been seen on American soil.
Start to immediately tell them that to know Islam is not a race and Islamophobia is a term used by groups of Muslims and non-Muslims apologists in order to protect Islam from scrutiny. Make sure they understand the term Islamophobia is itself misleading.
A phobia is an irrational fear of something. In the case of Islam, however, it often makes practical sense to be afraid. Even most former Muslims themselves, have genuine fears about a religion that advocates the murder of its apostates and victimizes its own members, especially innocent women and children.
Make sure they understand that the criminalization of homosexuality, under the teachings of Islam. Homosexuality is not only a sin, but a crime. As a crime against God, it is permissible, according to many Muslim scholars, to punish the offender with death.
Be sure they understand once a Muslim leaves the religion of Islam, he or she is condemned to death for turning their back against Islam. Educate them about the founder of Islam, the prophet Muhammad and his crimes against humanity. They must know any criticism against Islam in public can be punished by death. Do not allow them to learn the sanitized version of it in public schools. Make sure they understand that. Most school texts are written by Muslims and it is a pure fabrication.
For a starter, remember the Somali Muslim cabbies of the Minneapolis airport and their refusal of blind fares with seeing-eye dogs, because dogs are unclean according to their belief. The same cabbies that had a virtual monopoly at the airport also rejected passengers who had alcoholic beverages in their possession.
Be honest and firm about it. Explain that the Muslim book, the Quran, discriminates against women:
[Quran 4.34] “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the others and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you take no further action against them. Allah is high, supreme.”
Muslims always blame others for their misery. They blame the Jews, Christians and America for their fate. No, it is not the Jews or the Christians who are misrepresenting Islam and make them unhappy. It is Muslims and Muslim organizations who are guilty of dissimulation and fraud. Muslims act meekly when they lack sufficient power. Once in power, the real Islam emerges from its shell of dissimulation and puts free people and their way of life to the sword.
Indoctrination occurs when we present opinions as fact without presenting opposing views. Saying that Islam teaches “Allah is the one true God” is of course a fact, but the statement itself is widely disputed by billions of Christians worldwide, who believe the claim is false. When schools present Islamic beliefs, without balancing those beliefs with opposing views from other religions or even to present secular opposition, then a line has been crossed into indoctrination.
It’s ancient wisdom that our actions speak louder than our words—or when it comes to our children, our screaming. As parents, most of us seek advice on best parenting tips so that our children listen to us and follow our values and ideals.
The prophet Muhammad understood human motivation and learning styles very well. At his farewell khutbah (sermon) on Mount Arafat, he reminded believers that he had left behind him the Qur’an and his Sunnah, and anyone who adhered to them would not err. Thus, the prophet’s Sunnah is the demonstration of the Qur’an which he had modeled to his Ummah, as the Qur’an by itself may not be fully understood by all.
Recognizing that people will do exactly what he did in his life for generations to come, even at the level of imitating how he dressed and ate, he was very careful about each and every one of his actions and words. With all his actions, the prophet not only considered his the current generation, but also the future.
In short, to Westerners, just about all matters range from black to white with an array of gray shades in between the two poles. To Muslims, by contrast, nearly everything is in black and white and with virtually no shades of gray. The former type of thinking is typical of more mature minds, while the latter is that of young children and the less enlightened.
Jordan McGillis is a Policy Analyst at the Institute for Energy Research. In his role, McGillis writes on energy policy and contributes to IER’s communications initiatives.
McGillis graduated with a B.A. from the University of South Florida and an M.A. from Seton Hall University, both in International Affairs. Areas of focus: Federal Lands (permitting, drilling rights,ect.), Carbon Tax & Climate Change, Free Market Theory.
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Alan Gottlieb is a strong advocate of defense. A nuclear engineering graduate of the University of Tennessee, publisher of Gun Week, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Conservative Union.
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Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, West Point Graduate, Founder of “Stand up America” and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations under President Reagan and retired as Deputy Commanding General for the US Army Pacific. Now a guest military analyst for TV and radio and co-author of the book “Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror”.
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A couple of years ago, I praised federalism in part because state and local governments would be less likely to adopt bad policy (such as higher minimum wages) if they understood that jobs and investment could simply migrate to jurisdictions that didn’t adopt bad policy.
But “less likely” isn’t the same as “never.” Some state and local politicians can’t resist the temptation to raise taxes, even though that means workers “vote with their feet” for places with lower tax burdens.
And some state and local politicians continue to mandate higher minimum wages (see here, here, here, and here), even though that means workers have fewer job opportunities.
Today, we’re going to look at some fresh evidence from Emeryville, California.
The local newspaper has an impressively detailed look at what’s happened to the town’s labor market.
Representatives from the Mills College Lokey School presented data from its recent ‘business conditions’ survey to our City Council on Tuesday. The study confirmed what restaurant owners warned when the ordinance was hastily passed in 2015. They are struggling, rapidly raising menu prices and increasingly looking to leave. …It’s getting harder to find small food service businesses that were around in 2015 when the MWO was passed. Emeryville institution Bucci’s, Commonwealth, Farley’s, Scarlet City … all gone. In fact, nearly all the brick & mortar businesses that comprised the short-lived Little City Emeryville small business advocacy group have moved, folded or sold. …The survey also identified that “the restaurant industry is clearly struggling.” Specifically, small, independent, non-franchise establishments are having the most difficulty.
Here are some of the survey data on the negative effect.
Here is some specific information on how restaurants have been adversely impacted.
…nearly all the new businesses that have opened have embraced the counter service model that requires fewer employees. Paradita Eatery, whose original plan was for a full service sit-down restaurant, cited Emeryville’s wage ordinance specifically for ‘pivoting’ to a counter service model. Counter service models require fewer employees to offset higher labor costs. …The only full service restaurant that has opened since the Minimum Wage was passed was 612One Asian Fusion which folded after just two years in business.
One of the reasons for the economic damage is that Emeryville has gone further and faster in the wrong direction.
The local law is more onerous than the state law and more onerous than other nearby communities.
But it’s not just workers who are suffering.
Consumers are adversely impacted, as well.
One commenter, who identified herself as a resident, questioned why the survey did not include consumer data noting her dining frequency was altered by the drastic price increases she’s observed. …She noted that she used to frequent her local Doyle Street Cafe 2-3 times per month but last year went only twice. …Once franchise owner noted that the price increases they’ve been forced to pass along have ironically had the biggest impact on vulnerable communities that are more price-sensitive. “Our largest decrease in guests are folks over 50. Obviously our elderly, disabled, and folks on fixed incomes are unable increase their income to compensate for the price increases.”
Let’s close with a new video from Johan Norberg, which looks at the impact of minimum wage increases in San Diego.
P.S. If local communities are allowed to mandate minimum wages higher than the state level or federal, shouldn’t they also have the freedom to allow minimum wages that are lower than the state level or federal level?
P.P.S. A number of European nations have no mandated minimum wage. As explained in this video, that’s an approach we should copy.
P.P.P.S. If you want some minimum wage-themed humor, you can enjoy cartoons here, here, here, here, and here.
This article was reprinted with permission from International Liberty.
COLUMN BY
Daniel J. Mitchell is a Washington-based economist who specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition, and the economic burden of government spending. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review.
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EDITORS NOTE: This FEE column with videos is republished with permission. All right reserved.
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