By Charlie Johnston
It is ironic that the most smugly self-righteous generation in our nation’s history will likely be looked at with revulsion by future generations for having knowingly perpetrated one of the great atrocities of history. Despite science proving that a child is fully human from the moment of conception, this generation insists on the “right” to kill that child. The abortion industry, like the cotton industry in the south two centuries ago, has become such a big financial interest that its benefactors insist on promoting and expanding it, the former by killing babies, the latter by enslaving black people.
This weekend is the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Despite the large, annual crowds, the establishment media gave the goofy, vulgar, anti-Semitic “Women’s March” more coverage than the last decade of Marches for Life – even though the attendance at the life march exceeds the attendance at the Women’s March by an exponential factor. The coverage for the Women’s March was fawning, that for the Pro-Life Marches indifferent or snide – and critical. This is because the establishment press is part and parcel of the slave, I mean abortion, power in this country. It maintains that if you are pro-life, you are anti-woman. Once upon a time, German authorities insisted if you defended Jews, Gypsies or Catholics, you were anti-German. The ash heap of history, soon enough, will have a huge new addition.
There has been substantial good news in the pro-life movement this week. The Fifth Circuit ruled yesterday that Texas CAN bar Planned Parenthood (PP) from Medicaid reimbursements. It went further and noted that, though PP consistently insists that the videos that David Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress (CMP) captured of abortionists speaking bluntly and ghoulishly about abortion are heavily edited and doctored, a forensic examination showed they are neither doctored nor edited deceptively. (Daleiden provided both edited and unedited versions of almost all his videos.) A year and a half ago, unable to make their case in the public square, PP got a pro-abortion judge who has deep ties to the industry, to forbid the showing of even a small clip from unreleased videos from a National Abortion Federation (NAF) conference of a few years ago. The court went aggressively after Daleiden AND any other entity that kept the three-minute video up. I got a threatening notice. I would have kept the video up anyway, but it was banished from almost every source I could find. Fortunately, National Review’s Alexandra DeSanctis HAS kept a copy of that video embedded in an article she wrote a few years ago. I hope that video clip can make the rounds again, perhaps under the hashtag of #ReleaseTheVideos. If the left can’t defend what they say and do, they just get a judge to keep you from hearing or seeing it for yourself.
This generation, besides willfully perpetrating a genocide (more black babies were aborted in New York City in 2012 than were born), seeks to crush the Bill of Rights because it interferes with their drive for power. Maybe it is not ironic that these monsters are so smugly self-righteous. So were those who swept the Nazis to power, the Russian Revolution, and the bloody French Revolution. In each of these cases, a major component of the movement was college students and other young activists. If today’s young people really do want to be moral, I wonder if they ever pause to think about how many times in recent history great atrocities were committed by people who were brought to power, in large part, by self-righteous young people.
I know this: today’s generation does not have to worry much about future generations pulling down statues honoring them: when the fever lifts, few such statues will be erected in the first place. The time is coming – and sooner than anyone thinks – when people studying their ancestry will be as ashamed to find an employee of Planned Parenthood in their history as they are to find a slave-trader.
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It strikes me that Robert Mueller was not granted subpoena powers so much as he was issued hunting licenses – to get anyone associated with Donald Trump by any means necessary. I know officials must profess their undying love for Mueller lest they trigger the shrieking mob of Democrats, Never-Trumpers and media. I think he is the dirtiest, most corrupt cop in our nation’s history to hold such a high-ranking position.
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In 398 A.D., St. Augustine wrote that, “In her mind and her rational intelligence, (a woman) has a nature the equal of man’s…” (Confessions, Book 13, Section 32). He, like all Christian thinkers, was an early feminist – though a realistic one. He did not pretend that a woman is every bit as strong and physically gifted as a man. No, he was in the truth business. At the time Christ came into the world, women were treated as little more than chattel, part of a man’s possessions by almost every culture in the world. In an age when women were still heavily dependent on men, Augustine noted the simple truth that men would be foolish and wrong to arbitrarily dismiss the intellect and wisdom of women, which is equal to men’s.
From the first, Christianity emphasized the equal, but complementary, worth and roles of men and women. It was Christ, Himself, who first forbade husbands from casting off wives they had wearied of through divorce (divorce was NOT an option that could be initiated by women). It was not just a ruling on marriage – but a ruling on the equivalent worth and dignity of the two sexes – and was, indeed, incredibly radical in that culture. With Christ, the question ceased to be how many sheep, goats, cattle, women and children a man could amass. Rather, it was how, in true covenantal partnership, men and women could lift each other up and form families that endured and grew. This required honest observation of the nature, strength and differences of the two sexes. Men, who were stronger, were called to protect, defend and provide for the weaker, but more nurturing, sex – who had a genius for establishing a healthy home.
Movies which show 100-lb. women tossing 225-lb men around like rag dolls are all the rage in Hollywood these days. They are pure fantasy, but they have an impact. The difference between a 100-lb. woman and a 140-lb. man these days is that the man, however fit he is, knows that if he tries to outmuscle a 225-lb. man he is going to get crushed. We live in a technologically sophisticated culture of plenty, which makes possible the pretense that men and women are equivalent in every way. If we suffered some setback that caused society to become much more primitive, the most effective thing that would keep women from becoming, once again, chattel to men (or even worse, something to barter with) is a commitment to Judeo-Christian ethics and truth. Strange to me to see so many “feminist” women so eager to attack, during sunny weather, that which is their greatest protection in stormy weather. How often we call forth our own doom thinking it only applies to others.
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My friend, Kyle McCarter, was confirmed as America’s Ambassador to Kenya shortly after the new Senate was seated. I wrote a piece on how Senate Democrats had tried to hold him up because he was a believing Christian and a conservative state senator, despite his and his family’s long history of 
missionary work in Kenya. That piece was actually picked up by some press outlets in Africa. Many of you called and wrote senators to advocate on behalf of McCarter. Thank you. He is now our Ambassador in Kenya.
Over the last year, I got to know and came to deeply admire a prominent Texas lawyer, Trey Trainor, who Pres. Trump nominated to the Federal Election Commission a year and a half ago. Alas, Trainor’s nomination was stonewalled for similar reasons – he is a serious, believing Christian and a rather brilliant conservative. Trump re-nominated him earlier this month. I pray the Senate will confirm him forthwith.
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The crisis in our Church is primarily doctrinal. The sexual abuse and systematic cover-ups are merely the most obvious symptoms of this doctrinal crisis. In the late 90’s, talking with a Priest friend, I naively asked what difference it made if a Priest felt attracted to the same sex: after all, all had a vow of chastity. In itself, that was true – but it showed how little I really understood the problem.
For several generations now, dissenters in the hierarchy have been trying to correct what they think are the errors of Christ; to remake the Church in their own image rather than seeking to conform themselves to the image of Christ. What was a muffled battle has now become an open assault on the faith – with many enemies attacking from within. This is a hard thing for most of us. Fortunately, the great majority of Priests and those in the hierarchy are NOT enemies of the faith. Unfortunately, many of those are too timid to boldly defend the faith from the assaults either from without or from within. Some of the faithful have become fearful that the Church may not survive the twin assaults of a hostile culture and a hostile contingent of anti-Catholic bigots in the hierarchy.
For the first 300 years of Christianity, to publicly confess Christ as Lord was a capital crime throughout the Roman Empire. Even so, the faith grew and flourished. Men and women would give their lives to live this doctrine which gave profound, transcendent meaning to life beyond the transient scrabble for power and influence that so pre-occupied the Romans. We will survive, we will thrive, we will flourish as we each recollect that we are called to boldly proclaim Christ and His teaching even unto death. We have to choose – and that is what God is reminding us of every time He allows things to grow dark around us.
On Oct. 1, 2015, a lunatic at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, went around asking students if they were Christians. If they said yes, he shot them. He killed nine and wounded eight others. It is reasonable to assume that the first one killed did not know the safe answer to the madman’s question. Those that followed did, though. And many professed Christ, anyway. This was Oregon. This was a community college. I would venture that many, probably most, of those Christian martyrs did NOT know they were Christian until moments before they chose martyrdom. When our love grows cold, when we become so lukewarm we fear to proclaim what we believe lest someone speak ill of us, God allows the darkness to surround us to force us to choose Him – or remain in that darkness.
God is calling us out of the catacombs, that we may help our fellows come out of the intellectual and ideological ghettoes they have condemned themselves to. Oppression sparks holy boldness and conviction, which sparks renewal. I eagerly await the arrival of the great harvest of men and women who will discover, when forced to choose, that they are Christian – and will proclaim it fearlessly.
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I am a parishioner at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Arvada, Colorado. We have a young Pastor, Fr. Nathan Goebel. He has a lively sense of humor and is very good with the many young families who make up much of the Parish. He has addressed the scandals which are rocking the Church with forthright candor and an unambiguous call for reform. But he did something special this last week that touched my heart and deepened my admiration for him.
One of my constant frustrations with the institutional Church has been that it has so degenerated into a mere bureaucratic lobbying agency, offering banal pronouncements demanding the government do the good works that IT should be doing. Over the last few years, as I travelled around the country speaking to different groups, I became appalled at how high tuition rates are for Catholic schools. In one Diocese in the Midwest, I discovered that the average tuition per student was over $10,000. It quietly outraged me. How, I wondered, could Catholic leaders encourage families to be fruitful and multiply while simultaneously having tuition rates that they knew most big families could not bear? It reminded me of one of Jesus “Woe” sequences to authorities of His day: “…you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens…” (Luke 11:45)
Fr. Nathan announced a new initiative last Sunday. Acknowledging the sacrifice that parents make and the faith they live in sending their children to Catholic school, he is raising money so that the Parish, itself, will pay for one month of tuition for every child enrolled in Catholic school who is a member of the Parish. And he intends that this be so for at least the next four years in which he is Pastor. Wow! No lobbying, no lectures, just let’s get up and do this. He set up a target of $25,000 by next Sunday – and promised he will cut off his mullet (I told you he is young) if that target is met.
Fr. Nathan is always friendly to me, but we are not pals or confidants. I know he was tipped off before he became Pastor that this was the Parish of “that Charlie Johnston.” I have no clue what he thinks of me. But I can tell you what I think of him: flat-out admiration for his direct approach to helping lift up those souls given into his care. He truly has the heart of a Pastor.
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About a month and a half ago, a friend of mine in media let me know that a person prominently affiliated and identified with the Kansas City Chiefs is a fan of this site. My friend wanted to arrange for 
us to get together the next time that person is in Denver or I am in Kansas City. I enthusiastically agreed – and told him that was great, because it gives me a good excuse to become a football fan again. Ever since, I have been rooting for the Chiefs. This Sunday, the Chiefs play the New England Patriots for the American Conference Championship. The winner goes on to the Super Bowl. I only have one thing to say: Go Chiefs!
A Sign of Hope 
Good article from Bishop Barron regarding the “grinning high school student and the Native American elder.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/the-internet-and-satans-game/6002/
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Abortion is slavery. Unborn children have become the property or “chattel” of women who condemn the very same treatment they are perpetrating upon their own unborn. That is the great irony. Women who support abortion also scream and fight for equality and fairness and all the while deny that equality and fairness to their unborn child. They have made themselves gods. They have given themselves the supreme right to kill upon whim and have convinced others to not only go along with it, but to see it as a “good” and enlightened thing. That is the purest evil I can think of. To take an evil thing and disguise it to the population to look like a good thing. That is pure Satan. I wonder how abortion can still be legal? If science has proven that life begins at conception and that it is a human being, not a puppy or a kitty, then it should no longer be legal. Slavery was abolished and it is illegal to treat human beings as property or slaves in America. If a fetus is a human being, how are we able to treat it as property?
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The left promotes “false charity”.
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What blows me away is these same people recognize destroying a fertilized eagle egg should not be allowed but a-ok with abortion.
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Yup. And we Christians are evil for defending life.
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“If today’s young people really do want to be moral, I wonder if they ever pause to think about how many times in recent history great atrocities were committed by people who were brought to power, in large part, by self-righteous young people”
If real history were taught, the young folks would know better. The issue is our secular schools have been taken over by the leftists. We have a good friend who teaches in the Nashua, NH public school system and I hear how bad it is. If I were a young parent, I would either home school (1st choice) or send my kids to Catholic school. However, still have to be careful which school. For college, if I pay anything towards my kids education, it has to be on the Newman list. If the child does not want to, ok. I am not obligated to pay for tuition. You are on your own. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way and two of my three kids have left the faith. I don’t care a rats tail if they succeed or not economically if they sacrifice their souls. I want to see them in heaven. It break my heart. Lambzie and I pray the Saint Bridget prayer every day for our kids. God has given us a promise they will reach eternal salvation if we do our part. I trust in his mercy and ability to transcend reality to reach their souls.
Lastly, sorry Charlie. I routed for the Patriots, but then, what would you expect? I am from New England. 😎
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Why shoot, Doug, I don’t demand that anyone be a traitor to their own. Much as the Chiefs have given me reason to support football again, had they been playing the Bears, I would have, most likely, have been mildly conflicted as I cheered on the Bears while wishing the Chiefs a creditable, but losing, performance. It’s funny – in both baseball and football my loyalties can shift as to who my second team is – but the first will always be, I suspect, The Cubs and the Bears.
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The Battle for Life
I received good news, the Gosnell movie has reached On Demand Video. Please review and forward. I am watching it now.
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Dear Supporters,
We are anxiously awaiting delivery of the Indiegogo DVDs from our distributor that will be sent out to those of you who chose it for “perk”. Thank you for your patience in this.
We are so grateful for your help in making this film. Without your contribution there would be no Gosnell Movie.
You can now also watch it on Video on Demand in your own house.
We really need to raise awareness about the Gosnell film. It has never been more important that you show that you want Hollywood to change its ways.
This morning I was reading about the Sundance Film Festival – which is a launching board for all the movies that will become the “most talked about” in the next year. You can read about the hottest movies of the festival here.
By my reckoning four of them are overtly liberal – pushing anti-American or anti-Conservative talking points. And then of course some of the others no doubt throw in some anti-Americanisms in the middle of an otherwise non-political movie. The leftists never sleep when it comes to the culture.
So that’s why we need you to support Gosnell by watching it on Video on Demand or by ordering the DVD.
You can order the DVD here. It has already been a bestseller on Amazon beating studios backed movies such as Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born. Hollywood wants to ignore you but we can send a message by ensuing that the Gosnell movie remains a bestseller.
Now the DVD won’t be released until Feb 5th so if you can’t wait until then – you can watch the movie in your own home on Video on Demand. It is available through all the major platforms and here are some of the links that will take you directly to the film:
Amazon Video: https://amzn.to/2FYTFRU
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2FJkcn4
iTunes: https://apple.co/2T9Pu9N
Spectrum: http://bit.ly/2AYD79k
Microsoft: http://bit.ly/2DtGg2F
DirectTV: https://soc.att.com/2FVyz7k
Dish Network: http://bit.ly/2MvuGHu
Christian Cinema: http://bit.ly/2U9JJZS
YouTube: http://bit.ly/2T8Ykod
Vudu: http://bit.ly/2sIDznH
VUBiquity: http://bit.ly/2MppJzR
Fandango Now: http://bit.ly/2UaWyTw
So let’s send a message. Hollywood and the mainstream media have tried to shut us down every chance they could. Kickstarter refused to let us fundraise and the media refused to review the film even though it opened in the top ten across the US. Then NPR and The New York Times refused to let us advertise, Facebook blocked our posts and even the Hyatt Hotel cancelled a screening because of pressure from Planned Parenthood.
So please pre-order the DVD or watch it on Video On Demand. The mainstream media refused to cover the trial. They don’t want the truth out there so lets stop the coverup.
Thank You,
Phelim, Ann and Magdalena
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Todays lead article on http://WWW.spiritdaily.com is an article about Pope Francis and his great focus on holy “patience” due to the strong influence of his parents and his beloved Italian grandmother Rosa who was a very strong influence in the first five years of his life. It covers the concept developed by Tertulian including divine patience of God the Father and Jesus.
I don’t think they even alluded to it but I saw in this article the basis of a greater understanding of what Pope Francis is all about. Based on the dictum of St. Francis to always teach the gospel and if necessary use words, in great patience, Pope Francis refrains from defending and explaining the real meaning of some of his confusing statements that are incorrectly interpreted and misunderstood. In patience he is allowing time to make things clear. We have a tendency to interpret things from our own perspective. This puts me in mind of the statement, “The only thing limiting the number of different worlds that can simultaneously exist is the number of different perspectives from which it can be viewed.” I don’t necessarily agree with the Pope’s approach but it puts his position in a more understandable light. The spiritdaily article talks about God the Father and Jesus’ great patience with sinners and lack of direct condemnation of them, the sin yes but not them. “Who am I to judge?” must be more properly viewed in light of his later otherwhere statements in condemnation of the sins of homosexuality. I will try to view Pope Francis more from this perspective in all fairness to him and my own benefit in my continuing search for truth. A food for thought.
May the Holy Spirit continue to protect and guide us, lead us to all holiness and truth as we continue to discern the next right step and be prepared to be a sign of hope to those around us. Watch and pray, pray and watch. TRUST in the Lord.
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To Dolordee and Jlynnbyrd, Did you understand my point and did you read the referenced spiritdaily article and did it help?
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You know, Sojourner, I read the piece which was linked at Spirit Daily and while patience is, indeed, a worthy and wise option in many situations, I cannot see its value in the face of the issues which need to be acknowledged and addressed in the crises which we have as a Church in these days.
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JAS, I am just now catching up with today’s posts. Like Charlie alluded to, I too appreciate/respect the many gifts we share and express and *like* that we do, even when I may still be mulling over subject matter. ❤
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I guess I did not make my point very well. I did not mean to advocate patience or Pope Francis’ connection to it. I saw his connection to it as a possible explanation for some of his inexplicable responses to the homosexual crises. I gave one example which I guess did not illustrate very well what I was driving at. I thought the article made it clear that patience allowed the person with the sin who may need time to work it out, to come to repentance. It’s much more complicated than that. Maybe I understood the article somewhat differently but in my mind I could see that Pope Francis’ fixation on patience as I understood it could explain his unorthodox positions. I’ve run out of time and I don’t know how to save it so I will send it as is. Thank you for your patience with me. (No pun intended,)
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Beckita, As I understood the article, without going back and rereading it at this time, presented Pope Francis’ fixation on patience and his understanding and definition of it. Patience is a large part in my life too but I would define it much differently with different emphases. I could see that Pope Francis’ definition of patience, especially with regard to Divine patience, and his emphasis on it explains his specialized treatment of the problem of the homosexuality crisis in the hierarchy. He indicated an unrealistic attitude that the matter should be left as a private matter within the Church and should not be exposed by anyone outside those constraints. He even seemed to label it a betrayal by those who did. How unreal can you get? I can see how this would lead to focus on protection of the Church and the clergy and the possibility of false accusations as opposed to justice for the truly abused. All this is not to agree with the Pope, just an attempt to understand him. Far be it from me to judge him only God can know the degree of his culpability.
I even made the statement, “I don’t necessarily agree with the Pope’s approach but it puts his position in a more understandable light.” To understand is not equivalent with agreement. I didn’t agree with his apparent approach but was not prepared to condemn it without deeper justification which I was not prepared to do at that point.
I would have preferred you had told me why you, along with others perhaps, choose not to post my submittal rather than attempt to placate me by obviously posting it in a place unlikely to be read but unfortunately some did and even two expressed “like.” My intuition already told me something was wrong and that is why I asked them those questions. I hope not too much harm was done. I will have to be extremely cautious in any future offerings. I take my responsibilities very seriously. I try to make contributions as I can and fight against any tendencies toward self-aggrandizement. It is not about me. God knows the truth and any other opinions, including my own do not change that and He is the only one who counts.
Thank you Beckita and team for all you do, especially Charlie, the heart of this very special community. May God continue to bless us all. just a sojourner
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Sojourner, the placement of a comment is not determined by any moderator. Comments automatically appear in a queue based on the time and date when they are posted by the commenter and the comment always appears under the piece where the commenter writes. You did nothing wrong. You simply entered your original comment under the piece entitled “Short Takes…” so that’s where it appeared. As for the content, I appreciated your clarification this afternoon and would have said so when clearing it but Father and I were called out to minister to someone who was very troubled today so I quickly cleared a few comments before leaving. I am just now responding. No worries if we view any topic differently, Sojourner. No need to second guess yourself either. Please, continue freely commenting. I love hearing your voice at this humongous kitchen table we share at ASOH.
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Let me reiterate what Beckita said, Sojourner, moderators have no place – nor even the capability – of determining where a comment is placed. The WordPress platform does not work that way. A moderator can determine whether or not to clear a comment at all, but once it is cleared, it appears in whatever the location the commenter originally put it. This is not the only time someone placed a comment to the wrong article and then thought we had shuffled it. We can’t. I suspect sometimes it happens because people look at most recent comments in the menu and respond to that, thinking it is posted to another article than it is. So the only thing to be careful of to make sure you are attaching your comment to the right article. We had well over 100,000 comments at the old site and are at almost 20,000 at this one. If our moderators had to both clear comments AND choose where to put them, I would never get anyone to be a moderator again. Thank God the platform does that automatically based on what the commenter was commenting on. So keep on keeping on.
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