Antifa reportedly tried to invade the suburbs in Yucaipa, California, on Tuesday but the situation went south for them real quick after being confronted by locals.
“Antifa was ran out of town as quickly as they came in.” (video and story)
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa: A woman’s right to access free or low-cost contraception under the Affordable Care Act trumps anyone else’s religious freedom.
The Obama administration is being handed a lesson in Christianity 101 as religious leaders rise up to condemn an Obamacare requirement that forces religious organizations to pay for abortifacients or face crippling financial penalties.
“Christian doctrine states it is a sin for a Christian to enable or aid another in doing what the Christian believes to be sin,” states a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by a coalition of dozens of prominent Protestant theologians, African-American pastors and participants in the Manhattan Declaration.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed over the requirement in the Affordable Health Care Act that employers pay for abortifacents. Two cases, involving Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods, are pending for review before the Supreme Court.
Even members of Congress have weighed in against the provision, which effectively forces Christians to violate their faith by participating in the killing of unborn children.
Editor’s note: Sen. Murray’s totally wrong-headed point of view is very popular in the Seattle area, where liberal “Catholicism” has been the norm, for many years.
To be fair, we must apply gun control principles to elected politicians and government appointees, without exception.
by Doug Lawrence
Let’s get real. The problem is not guns. The problem is widespread corruption and immorality, which pervades our present day society and especially, our government.
With that in mind, it’s time to require instant background checks on every politician, elected or appointed, without exception, covering every local, state and federal jurisdiction … especially the Supreme Court, the Congress, and the President/Vice President.
Elected or not, if the politician fails to pass an instant background check, he/she is out of there! All accrued pensions and benefits would be instantly forfeit, as well.
Constitutional issues could certainly be quickly resolved by the same people who are presently attempting to subvert and otherwise “gut” our country’s founding documents. But of course, that would be grounds for instant dismissal, under the PIBC (Politician Instant Background Check) provisions.
Those guys better watch out!
An armed population is an essential guarantee against centralized tyranny.
Addressing Feinstein directly, Mr. Boston, who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, says he’ll refuse to register his weapons and writes, “You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain.”
“I am not your subject,” he continues. “I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant.”
Liberal’s worst nightmare: Even a child can see that the latest gun ban arguments are 1000 times more applicable to banning abortion.
Bill of Rights
by Doug Lawrence
The right to bear arms is specifically included in the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, while the “right” to abortion remains only a cruel fabrication of those who have elevated personal, irresponsible and unlimited sexual license above everything else.
The billions … probably trillions … of Homeland Security dollars that were “allocated” to states and municipalities all across the country, based on politics and alleged fairness, rather than likely exposure to terrorism, could have been used to properly secure every school in the country, but instead, they were squandered on spiffy new surveillance systems, cars, boats, trailers and trucks, as well as many other totally unnecessary law enforcement assets and projects.
Now the “libs” want to to demagogue the school violence issue in order to achieve a few minimal and totally ineffective gains for their gun control agenda.
But, you say …
if the life of only one child is saved …
it will be worth it!
How about instead, we ban abortion … and save the lives of 3000 innocent children every day!
Read the Hobby Lobby letter explaining why the Obamacare HHS Mandate will not stand.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that.
Fortnight for Freedom Issue #14: Religious Liberty FAQs
What do we mean by religious liberty?
Religious liberty is the first liberty granted to us by God and protected in the First Amendment to our Constitution. It includes more than our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It also encompasses our ability to contribute freely to the common good of all Americans.
What is the First Amendment?
The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights states the following: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
What does “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” mean?
This phrase, known as the “Establishment Clause,” started out as a prohibition on Congress’ either establishing a national religion or interfering with the established religions of the states. It has since been interpreted to forbid state establishments of religion, to forbid governmental preference (at any level) of one religion over another, and to forbid direct government funding of religion.
What does “prohibiting the free exercise thereof” mean?
This phrase, known as the “Free Exercise Clause,” generally protects citizens and institutions from government interference with the exercise of their religious beliefs. It sometimes mandates the accommodation of religious practices when such practices conflict with federal, state, or local laws.
What did our early American leaders say about religious freedom?
Read more (with PDF’s)
Fortnight for Freedom Issue #1: President Barack Obama wants to replace authentic Christianity with his phony, secular religious belief system.
by Doug Lawrence
While the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution prevents Congress from setting up a state religion, or from interfering with the free exercise and practice of any other, the President and the Executive Branch of the U. S. Government have no direct power or authority in these matters, at all.
The President has only indirect authority to enact certain programs and policies under the auspices of the controversial Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) … the constitutionality of which has yet to be determined.
Mr. Obama and his minions believe that artificial birth control is good, that is should be provided to all, free of charge, and that the American People should be forced to pay for it … not via taxation … but through some queer type of forced conscription … where insurance premiums are creatively diverted by the government … and then used for something which the U.S. Congress never envisioned, intended or sanctioned.
The President’s liberal secular ideology on this matter constitutes nothing less than an alternative religious belief. As such, any government attempt to impose that belief system or practice on the citizens of the United States is expressly prohibited by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In short, the President has absolutely no authority to demand that the Catholic Church … or anyone else … pay for someone else’s birth control, sterilization, or abortion … either directly … or through an indirect diversion of health care premiums … but for a number of reasons, he would like you to think that he does.
Over the last 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has seen scores of petty tyrants (and some not so petty ones) come and go … and the Church still stands. Tell President Barack Obama that Catholics are not easily fooled, nor are they easily intimidated.
Taking appropriate note of Barack Obama’s Marxist/Leninist “roots” … not too long ago … when push came to shove … the Soviet Union squared off against the people of Poland, Solidarity, Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church. History duly records, in spite of all their tanks and troops, that it was the Soviets who were shaken to their very foundations, and then, shortly ceased to exist.
The Catholic Church remains the world’s longest reigning continuous world government, not because of the power of corrupt men like President Barack Obama, or even good men like Pope John Paul II, but according to the grace and power of Jesus Christ, who is God Almighty, King of Kings and Lord of Lords … as well as the founder, advocate and eternal CEO of the Catholic Church.
Let that be a lesson to the forces of evil, wherever they may lurk!
Suggested reading: Old Testament Book of Exodus
Subject: Pharaoh squaring off against Moses (and God)
Long term results: Click here
Participate in Fortnight for Freedom activities near you
Participate in the Virtual Vigil for Religious Freedom
New Becket Fund website: 55 plaintiffs, 23 cases, one unconstitutional HHS mandate, and the go-to page for it all.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty led the charge against the Administration’s unconstitutional HHS mandate. The Becket Fund applauds the other courageous defenders who have stepped forward and filed additional suits in defense of America’s first freedom. Today, there are 23 separate cases and 55 individual plaintiffs, representing hospitals, universities, businesses, schools, and people all speaking with one voice to affirm the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution.
If Obama Can Mandate the Church, First Amendment Becomes Void
If the federal government can force not only Catholic institutions, but those of many other faith communities, and small businesses, and family-owned firms to provide drugs that can cause abortions or chemical contraceptives that violate their beliefs, then the First Amendment to the Constitution has effectively been repealed.
Late in the 19th Century,Germany’s Chancellor Bismarck waged an assault against Catholics. The Prime Minister intended to close down Catholic schools and hospitals, convents and monasteries throughout the country. We’re not there yet; but we must be vigilant.
Approximately one in six hospital patients in America is cared for in Catholic hospitals. These hospitals employ more than 550,000 full-time workers and 240,000 part-timers.
One thing needs to be emphasized here: Many of those employees and many of the millions of patients seen in those hospitals choose Catholic health care because it is grounded in a set of moral convictions. This is true even, and perhaps especially, for non-Catholics who seek care or who work in these Catholic institutions.
Editor’s note: Somebody needs to tell these left ideologues that “separation of church and state” works both ways!
Mary Ann Glendon: Why the Bishops Are Suing the U.S. Government
The main goal of the mandate is not, as HHS claimed, to protect women’s health. It is rather a move to conscript religious organizations into a political agenda, forcing them to facilitate and fund services that violate their beliefs, within their own institutions.
The media have implied all along that the dispute is mainly of concern to a Catholic minority with peculiar views about human sexuality. But religious leaders of all faiths have been quick to see that what is involved is a flagrant violation of religious freedom. That’s why former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared, “We’re all Catholics now.”
Catholics nationwide preparing ‘Fortnight for Freedom’ events
Washington D.C., May 20, 2012 / 05:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Various initiatives are planned throughout the country in response to the U.S. bishops’ call for a “Fortnight for Freedom” June 21-July 4 to encourage prayer, education and public action about religious freedom.
The initiative was created in response to several moves by the Obama administration that are threatening the Church’s religious freedom. The most well-known action is the Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to cover birth control and other services that Catholics and other believers find morally objectionable.
1st amendment prohibits the government from meddling in church business … even when it comes to politics … and tax exemptions!
The Thomas More Society says that the law and the Bill of Rights is on the bishop’s side, and promises a “free and aggressive legal defense to any religious leaders targeted or victimized for the robust exercise of their free speech rights.”
“The Internal Revenue Service has no legal right to investigate, let alone threaten or penalize the Catholic Diocese of Peoria for illegal ‘electioneering’ after Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C., referred to policies of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin while delivering a robust, wholly legitimate critique of current federal efforts to quash and curtail religious liberties,” says Thomas Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society.
“References to egregious, historical mistakes on the part of political leaders of the past in messages to congregations, even in an election year, are fully protected by the First Amendment, whether those messages are delivered from the pulpit or on soap boxes in the public square,” he continued.
“We think the law is very clear,” said Brejcha.
“Well-settled federal law does not prohibit churches and other tax-exempt non-profits from speaking out against government policies at odds with the common good or – as in this case – constitutionally obnoxious.”
Secretary Sebelius admits to Congress: Obama regime was woefully negligent in promulgating HHS Mandate.
…the spotlight was again on Secretary Sebelius yesterday during testimony before a congressional committee.
During her appearance, Sebelius was asked about her claim that the HHS mandate “strikes the appropriate balance” between religious liberty and so called “preventative services.”
She admitted, “I am not a lawyer,” and that no significant legal groundwork was done to determine how the new mandate would impact our religious freedom. She admitted that no legal memos exist; only that there were “discussions.”
The truth is the legal justification for the new HHS mandate is full of holes.
Religious Liberty: “You Need Not Thank Anyone But God For It”
Hat tip to Mark Scott Abeln at Rome of the West for bringing the story which follows to our attention. Although the U.S. Constitution enshrines free exercise of religion as the first freedom in the First Amendment, attempts by government to assert authority over who can and cannot carry out the ministry of the Church happened long before the recent unpleasantness of the HHS mandate.
The correct response to the Obamacare mandate: Direct, forceful, definitive and ongoing actions by courageous and defiant religious and lay leaders.
How can we act to make the most of this situation? A glance at the city of Nowa Huta, Poland provides insight. Nowa Huta was described by Brian Whitmore of THE BOSTON GLOBE, as the place “…where George Orwell’s dark vision of a perfect industrial metropolis was executed with stunning precision. Until, that is, the workers rose up and overthrew Big Brother”
In this grimy steel town the workers wanted a church. The communists said no. The Archbishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyla, persisted and defiantly held Mass on the site for years. Workers replaced every cross removed or destroyed by the State. Eventually the State caved.
What is needed now is for our bishops and other religious administrators to publicly defy the mandate and keep the institutions open without compliance. We must not give these Marxists the opportunity to seize the assets of religious and charitable institutions.
Our duty, yours and mine, is to assist them, to encourage them by letters and prayers. But our duty extends far beyond this rally in effort and time. We must make ourselves loud enough to be heard. We must be vigorous and persistent in creating prayerful and lively sit-ins in our politicians offices. We need to wheedle , encourage, beg , plead – what-ever it takes – to get our bishops, rabbis, ministers and priests to get motivated to the point of action. We must help them understand that a single pastoral letter to the flock is worthless without the personal courage to lead from the front. We long ago passed from the diplomatic maneuverings of 1938 to the brutal fighting of Stalingrad.
What is needed is direct, forceful, definitive and ongoing actions by courageous and defiant religious and lay leaders.
We need to tell them we will be standing next to them, saying“I will go to jail with you!” And above all we must pray daily, unceasingly, for the conversion and confounding of those whose word and deed threaten us and our nation with such malice. We have a right and duty to pray for our deliverance from evil.“
The National Rifle Association and the Catholic Church need to develop a shared strategy in order to better preserve our key constitutional rights.
For over 150 years all Americans understood the second amendment as an individual right to keep and bear arms. The left’s great distaste for this right is well known, but the 2nd amendment seems fairly clear on this point. Undaunted, for years the left asserted, contrary to all historic understanding, that this “right” belonged not to the individual, but to a group. In this case “A well regulated Militia.” They attempted to make a result of the right, the right itself.
If only “A well regulated Militia” has a right to keep and bear arms, this right no longer applies to the individual and ultimately the government gets to decide who can be in and what constitutes “A well regulated Militia.” Membership in the group is then more and more narrowly defined that in the end, the corporate right ceases to exist in reality, as does your former individual right. Thankfully, thanks to determined groups of citizens, the former understanding of this right as an individual one has been reasserted and established by the Supreme Court. Thank heavens, for such liberty lost is only found again in blood-soaked places.
As I watch the debate on Obamacare and the HHS mandate, the secularist left is using this same corporatizing tactic to attack your fundamental right to religious liberty.
Editor’s note: This would also be a whole new “take” on the concept of “The Church Militant” – a real ONE – TWO “punch” to the growing tyranny of the secular leftists – with the Catholic Church taking the lead on the First Amendment and the National Rifle Association continuing to concentrate on the Second.
Of course, the NRA isn’t likely to go along, since so many of today’s Catholics (as well as priests and bishops) are “lefties” themselves … so far to the left that the term “Church Militant” has been summarily excised from the current Catechism of the Catholic Church.
True or False: The U.S. Constitution Defines Blacks As Three-Fifths of a Person?
It’s a tired refrain – the Founders were racists, the Declaration didn’t really mean all men, the Constitution is pro-slavery. It’s also a gross distortion of our history – as King well knew when he invoked the promise that “all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” at the heart of the Founding.
The Constitution, contrary to what the New York Times would have you believe, does not classify people according to race. Free blacks in the North and the South were counted on par with whites for purposes of apportionment. As for enslaved blacks, it was the Southern states that wanted to count them as full persons, thereby inflating pro-slavery representation in the House. The three-fifths compromise was aimed at preventing Southern states from magnifying their own political power by holding slaves.
Yet this myth of a racist Founding has, unfortunately, become deeply entrenched in academia and among the chattering classes. It’s taught in high schools and colleges nationwide and has become unquestionable dogma for many.
First time the 222-year-old U.S. Constitution had been read in its entirety on the House floor.
Lawmakers took turns reciting each verse and article of the document. Republicans in charge of the chamber rattled it off with missionary zeal, as if in a school civics class. Democrats pitched in, but with seemingly less ardor.
Historians said it was the first time the 222-year-old governing document had been read in its entirety on the House floor.
Doug Lawrence's Catholic Site 