The Pyrrhic Impeachment

Posted on by charliej373

flying monkeys

By Charlie Johnston

Contemplating this article, there were several marvelous titles that came to mind.

It could have been the Seinfeld Impeachment. As you remember, Seinfeld was famously called a show about nothing – sort of like this impeachment, where the only actual fact witness the Democrats could come up with said that Trump said he wanted nothing from Ukraine.

It could have been the Emily Litella Impeachment. Litella was an easily confused, hard of hearing character played by the late Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live in the late 70’s and early 80’s when the show was routinely good. She would constantly go off on a rant about something she misunderstood – and when gently corrected, say, “Never mind” – kind of like Nancy Pelosi after her Democrats passed impeachment articles. Radner was much more entertaining, though.

My favorite potential title was the Flying Monkeys Impeachment. Alas, the site, The Conservative Treehouse beat me to it. I have long suspected that if someone tossed a glass of water on Nancy Pelosi, she would start melting. I sadly dropped the title but kept the accompanying picture atop this article.

I just went with The Pyrrhic Impeachment, for this is the latest of a series of events led by Democrats, the legacy media, and deep state bureaucrats these last few years that could culminate in their utter destruction.

Since September, I have been doing a bit of a deep dive into various election results across the country since (and including) the 2018 mid-terms. We are going through some volcanic shifts in allegiances right now. Much of the material is counter-intuitive and can seem contradictory until you dive very deep.

The suburbs have collapsed for Republicans (or at least what was once a GOP stronghold now tilts firmly Democrat). Everyone has their pet theory on it, but I have seen precious little hard data or focus groups that really explain it. Some had thought the shift was due to people fleeing blue states for red ones and then voting for the same things that had despoiled the states they fled. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has polling that shows that contrary to this trope, those who have moved to his state from a liberal one are actually even more conservative than Texans – that they know very well what tanked their state and are, in effect, conservative refugees like the old diaspora from Communist countries who are more conservative and American than native American citizens.

When I first saw election night results in 2018, I immediately thought of fraud – because they were almost a complete flip-flop from what they had traditionally been in the Texas suburbs I was most closely monitoring. That would happen if Democrat votes were counted as Republican and vice-versa. I quickly dropped that line of thought when I saw that it had happened in all suburban jurisdictions. Each county does an independent count – and it would take a massive conspiracy to create such a reversal in so many different jurisdictions. As I saw over the next week that the phenomenon was nationwide, I dismissed it entirely. Lazy operatives love to claim they were robbed, so I am not much given to that in the absence of hard, compelling evidence. I am re-thinking that now. Russ Ramsland, a voter fraud and election specialist, commissioned a detailed forensic investigation into cyber fraud in voting machines. He found that in many machines, security protections were intentionally disabled and source codes and passwords were widely distributed. If the results hold up to examination, this is staggering news. This is a way where, across the entire country, the suburbs could seem to be flipped without them having actually voted differently than usual. I remain dubious of this explanation, but I pray a serious investigation is done by the Dept. of Justice – and that these problems are fixed. It certainly is not unprecedented. The late Milton Rakove described, in his books, how Chicago voting machines in many precincts in the 60’s were set to record four out every five Republican votes cast as Democrat votes. All my life, I have been an advocate for paper ballots for, though the counting is slower, fraud is made much harder. Disabling security protections and widely distributing source codes would allow a few hackers to reverse vote counts nationally. The only restraining factor would be, to do it in real time without easy detection, they would have to carefully choose which areas to set automatic reversals: choosing a traditionally Democrat area would make it appear to have spontaneously changed to Republican. That being said, I have to rely on law enforcement and political parties to act on this, while I just work with the system and data we have. If I were a Republican State Party Chairman, I would be rallying my colleagues into a cry to the Atty. Gen.’s office to take this seriously and confirm or refute it – and call for a moratorium on any but paper ballots in my state until the issue is resolved.

I have my own theories about the suburban collapse. Like everyone else, though, so far they are only theories. It needs to be taken very seriously, for complacency could cause it to become a long-term reality.

Meantime, minorities are moving strongly away from Democrats. I don’t base this just on polling – but on results of elections since the 2018 General Election. In several districts I surveyed, Republicans were saved NOT by the suburbs that had once been strongholds, but by unexpectedly strong showings in counties (and a few cases, townships) that were heavily minority. That shift is real, as well. Meantime, I am getting the first whiffs that American Jews are starting to shift away from the party that hates them and Israel. So far, that is entirely from polling, supplemented by intense anecdotal cries. So I can’t reliably say whether it is real or wishful thinking yet, but I am paying attention now.

While there were significant (though not overwhelming) Republican losses last year, when you drill down, you find that almost all of those losses came from either left-wing or timid Republicans. This could be because most were in the suburbs (though the falloff even there was not nearly so bad for full-throated, unapologetic conservatives.) In deep-red Louisiana, a relatively conservative Democratic Governor who has led as a genuine centrist was able to hold on to his seat despite a solid Republican challenge. Though you would never know it to listen to the idiot media, conservative Kentucky got significantly redder this last election – even as its erratic Republican governor, Matt Bevin, was turned out by a razor-thin margin. (Bevin was the singular most unpopular governor in the country). As the legislative seats in Kentucky got redder, the media acted as if his loss reflected the base Republican vote in the state. If it weren’t for deceptive, superficial analysis, the legacy media could provide no analysis at all.

A decade ago, the bulk of the Republican establishment mainly wanted to get the best seats at the surrender ceremony after Democrats slashed them. In the last three years, many Republicans have sought to sue for peace with the Democrats as the latter tore through like Atilla the Hun – and with all the same fair-mindedness. I thought the Kavanaugh hearings would send a wave of disgust through the electorate , benefitting Republicans last year. It probably did minimize the national losses, but it was not a turning point for voters. Some studies have shown that it is easier to get people to change their religious affiliation than it is to get them to change their political affiliation.

I think the Democrats have given Republicans a great gift with their antics of the last year IF Republicans press their case with vigor and fortitude. Fortunately, the Democrats take-no-prisoners insane behavior has persuaded more GOP officeholders than I have ever seen that there is no negotiating with this crowd. They can only be beaten or surrendered to. So perhaps for only the second time in my lifetime, Republican officials enter campaign season with the right mindset.

Voters, shaken by the intemperate radicalism of the left, just want some semblance of normalcy – of old-time traditional Americanism. Over in England, early this year, Boris Johnson won a very narrow majority in Parliament. It was so narrow he could not get Brexit (or much of anything else) done. It was not much different than the narrow divide in England for the last five years. The left thought that if it just doubled down on the screaming, it was sure to win the spot elections last week. Instead, voters shifted en masse in repulsion at the European left’s radicalism and condescending paternalism, giving Johnson one of the two biggest landslides recorded in England in the last century. Large numbers of the working class abandoned the leftis Labour Party and voted, for the first time in their lives, for the conservative Tories. We have an analogous situation going on here in America. All the Democratic presidential candidates indirectly support higher unemployment by insisting on a “green” economy. At the last Democratic debate, Joe Biden made it overt, promising he would go “green” even if it cost hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers their jobs.

I have come to think this otherwise senseless impeachment, with no crimes and no evidence, makes no sense except as a distraction and a laying of groundwork to argue that the shock and awe that will begin mid-January from Atty. Gen. William Barr and Federal Prosecutor John Durham is just political payback. The problem for the Dems is that their own voters have started regarding both them and their media toadies much more skeptically – and the investigation into corruption at the Intelligence Agencies, FBI, Justice Dept. and State Dept. has something impeachment never has had – a mountain of solid (you might say unimpeachable) evidence behind it. Meantime, watch for indictments of Planned Parenthood to drop in the first quarter of 2020 AND the surprise revelation of Grand Jury investigations into judicial corruption to drop in early summer.

I have been working on a comprehensive election approach for Republicans. Ideally, Republicans would nationalize the elections, as Newt Gingrich did successfully in 1994. Even if they don’t, the approach I have almost finished will work well for all who adopt it. I was going to give a detailed summary next week, but Christmas is not the time to do that. Instead, I will run a piece on the relationship between Jesus and Mary that a reader from New Jersey intriguingly suggested to me.

Basically, this is the “faith, family and freedom” election. Emphasize that Republicans support an opportunity society – a return to normalcy. Candidates need not scream – in fact, they should not (though a Jim Jordan-style boldness or a Matt Gaetz-style humorous but steady resolve is a plus). Republicans’ instinct is to play it safe, to back off of even their supposedly strongest principles if the radicals or the media screams at them. Most of those “play it safe” Republicans will get wiped out this time. Showing firmness under fire is the indispensable quality of the successful GOP candidate this time around. In fact, their strategy should be to state boldly and calmly things that were universal verities just a decade ago – and then not waver when the hair-triggered left starts screaming. Voters want neither screamers nor timid appeasers this time. A Republican who, like Justin Amash, (the former GOP Congressman who became an independent Never-Trumper), tries to cozy up to the New York Times, will lose his base, the Democrats will still hate him, and after saying enough nice things about him to keep him on the leash, The Times will drop him. The day after election, such candidates will have to make the walk of shame – and the Times will never call them back, having got what it wanted out of them.

In 1812, The French Emperor and General Napoleon marched into Russia with an army of half a million – then the largest ever seen in Europe. He sliced through the heart of Russia with little resistance, thinking he would make a triumphant entry into Moscow. Instead, Muscovites abandoned – and burned – the city, seeking to deprive the French Emperor of any supplies. Trapped by his own hubris and bereft of basic supplies, Napoleon began a humiliating retreat – with a Russian winter coming on quickly. The Russian Army which had heretofore retreated so meekly, suddenly became aggressive, filled with a terrible resolve. Only one out of every five French soldiers survived that terrifying, deadly and disastrous retreat.

The Democrats and the media have given Republicans an historic opportunity. If the GOP takes it, impeachment will be the left’s March on Moscow.

 

127 thoughts on “The Pyrrhic Impeachment”

  2. On Seinfeld show: Toms resturant (W114 & B-way) exists… and the food is horrible. I tried the spagetti n meatballs yuck. Truly a show about nothing.
    *******
    Though, Crotona Pizza (110 & broadway) home of the two foot slice for a buck+ (20 yrs ago) or Carmines on 94th. Yumm.

    Liked by 4 people

  3. Like the picture,..but…but…, I swear that looks like mumbling Nancy and Shifty stirring up falsehood.
    We thank you, Lord, for your mercy in revealing the truth of our [America’s] iniquity.

    Merry and Blessed Christmas.

    Liked by 9 people

  4. Cyber Fraud via voting machines. Spot on!

    NYS recently went ‘digital signature’ where voters sign in on a tablet. I asked (prior to signing) if this signature was ‘kept’ and wondered about the security features. Blank, disillusioned stares accompanied…

    I knew when the old, metal slot voting machines were discarded (after being thourougly demolished) to alleviate any ressurection, we were in trouble. Now, NYS (& NJ) have signed laws whereupon anyone posing as an illegal undocumented immigrant in the usa can request a valid nys drivers license.

    A few years ago, NYS passed legislation allowing nYs Department of Motor Vehicles (DmV) to pose a question on their license application: Are you registered to VOTE? Yes __ No __

    New York State DMV automatically registers the (new—renewal—transfer) Licensee a VOTING registration Card (with notification to the voting district of a new voter) and shall be sent to their designatied address.

    This was the GET OUT THE VOTE Campaign.

    Beyond Identity Fraud concerning money, Voter Fraud is worse as elections are won and lost on votes. In NYS, the Florida hanging chip scandal will be immortalized as kids playing with toys compared with NYS ability to ‘manage’ voters via computer… sourced by thousands of ‘new’ registered voters whereupon no one is allowed to investigate as DHS ICE can not query NYS DMV files for suspected persons.

    Liked by 6 people

  6. “I am getting the first whiffs that American Jews are starting to shift away from the party that hates them and Israel. So far, that is entirely from polling, supplemented by intense anecdotal cries… ”

    I printed this article and gave it to my fellow breakfast counter mate with whom we have ‘nice discussions’. He is an Orthodox Jew and he immediately called B.S. referring to a community in Downstate NY giving their allegiance to Hillary…
    *******
    Articles like the above align our values and can only genreate positive views toward both sides, such as my friend at the breakfast counter. A few months ago I wished him a happy day of atonement and this morning he offered a Merry Christmas. Our common link is the search for truth…he being a retired nys Judge and I a retired flatfoot.

    Liked by 7 people

  7. Never in my entire life have I ever experienced anything like this mob mentality going on in our nation
    or anywhere else for that matter. Well as the saying goes,” Don’t make me bring out the flying monkeys!” Well I’m here to tell you I am proud to be a flying monkey and I am on my way to do my part. The time to stand up and speak and to stand our ground is here. The storm winds are blowing but (spoiler alert) we win. In the end good will prevail and God has this all in His hands. I cannot fathom how President Trump gets up each day and puts one foot on front the other to do his job and do it well with all the evil thrown at him.. I can’t do much but I can speak up, vote and pray. I am so tired of the leftist agenda that has changed my country and infiltrated into my church. Yes I believe it is my country and my church and like a mama bear with her cubs I’m gonna take those bad guys down with the tools at my disposal: my rosary, my voice and my prayers. God help us all.

    Liked by 13 people

  8. Bizarro world getting more & more bizzaro all da time😶 randomly opened Desmond TTT book last night to antichrist and wierd things that will happen…only simple folk will understand. ..I know this is far away yet..2k years???? But it sure seemed like these times to me…just wierd..God save all here 😣

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Love all that is posted and all that has been posted in previous posts. Thank you Charlie for all you do.
    I know it’s taxing for your own self to do what you do and for your writings here and elsewhere. May God Bless you abundantly!!!I You are all saying it like I’d love to say it. Meanwhile, I will remain lurking/reading. When I get my AhhhhHaaamoment, I will post bigtime! Heeeheee. Life is short, have been reading he book The Last Four Last Things by Father Martin Von Cochem which gave and gives me much pause…….on self reflecting and analysis… Merry Christmas to all of you!!! Happy 2020 New Year to all all! Much love and prayers for ALL here! Mary

    Liked by 5 people

  10. Steve Bannon says that Hilary will run. The Dems have nothing. It will be interesting to see if this comes to pass. Trump will crush her once again. I worry about voter fraud the most. Also, I was reading how with illegal and non citizens voting the Dems will gain “seats” after the 2020 census figures come in.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. @San San: I’ve also heard presentations from Steve Bannon, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, and others in which they cite exit polls showing that non-white voters tend to vote democrat 70-80 percent of the time. Also, as Charlie pointed out in this post, minorities tend to be “un-malleable” that is un-persuade-able when it comes to changing parties. Keeping in mind Sean Sullivan’s observations about NY and NJ giving drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants as well as the potential for voter fraud through cyberspace, it looks to be a race to the end for whether the demographics will allow many more elections where republicans gain national or even state offices.

      Perhaps pro-life issues are moot if immigration isn’t brought to a near standstill for a while since the democrat party is the party of death and recent history shows that the majority of immigrants tend to vote democrat. More reason to pray and be signs of hope.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. SANSAN, I hope Hillary does run and gets the nomination. I look forward to seeing her being dragged around by her armpits and carried up stairs by her caregivers on the campaign trail.

      Stock up on popcorn. Good times!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Christopher, my first laugh out loud moment today! I’m a visual learner and I could just totally visualize your description, especially because we saw it immortalized in video previously!

        More fantastic analysis, Charlie. The picture and descriptions you give are right on! I can just see (and hope for) Nancy melting out of sight!! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thanks Christopher J your comment made me laugh out loud. I mean up to your comic relief the other comments had panic rising up to my neck. And, yes, I saw the news clips of HRC being dragged around by her armpits. Oh, dear, I’m still laughing 😂

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Not only has there been flying monkeys but a lot of “gas lighting” political maneuvers in the electronic voting booth . 😳 Perhaps, it is time to return to paper ballets hand counted of course, like the good old days of politics. Was there ever such a time? Indeed we are living in the worst of times , but the best of times are yet to come!!!! Come Lord Jesus ….Oh come oh come Emmanuel ….

    Mary Christ Mass everyone and to all a good night from chilly So Cal!

    Liked by 5 people

  13. It is hard to see how anyone takes this impeachment seriously. You put it so well!….In the meantime, it appears that Francis today says that the Church is 200 years behind the times and must change according to the times. Of course, he does not say exactly what he means by this but I find it unfathomable that this would be a reason for change within the Church.

    Liked by 4 people

      2. God help us, we’ve had nothing but lack of rigidity for the last 50+ years! Where is this Pope going?! Many priests just do there own thing, GIRM be d*****! We have a new priest who has turned the Mass into a show about himself. This may be the minority these days, but even one is too many. I just want a holy, reverent Mass again, “say the black, do the red”.

        Liked by 4 people

        2. And the thing is, Annie: there’s actually nothing more rigid than a “liberal”. Just try even mildly contradicting any of their cherished nostrums and see how “liberal” their response is!

          Nollaig shona agus beannaithe diobh go léir (a holy and blessed Christmas to all, from Ireland) J.

          Liked by 4 people

      3. . Yes. Again it is hard to really know what he means, but based on past statements and actions, I consider this troubling. One never knows where he is going with this stuff.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. What else is new?

      Our Lady warns us about the evils of Communism in 1917, it’s only Pope Francis among all the Popes since 1917 that likes Communism and it’s upgrade Globalism.

      There’s been Catholic Prophetic warnings of a Islamic Invasion of Europe, Pope Francis probably figured why probably figured why not help things along.

      Pope Francis seems to value the ideas of Liberalism more than the “Word of God”, every controversy seems based on editing our Holy Faith (tried & tested over 2000 years) to conform with Liberalism which accepts everything but the truth, the ethical, and the one true God.

      Pope Francis seems to be part Globalist fan club promoting all their agendas like climate change & globalization. One World Government is the Devil’s endgame, which is why God confused languages at the Tower of Babel, and send people their separate ways.

      I find it easier to ignore Pope Francis (most of the time), as previous Popes contributed better knowledge & wisdom. I find it difficult to have faith in a man who doesn’t take his sacred duties of upholding & teaching the Church’s doctrine seriously.

      That’s the end of that rant, there’s lot’s that Pope Francis does that people don’t like nor understand.

      Liked by 4 people

    3. StJudithwanttobe: Oh StJudith don’t be surprised by what Francis said about being 200 years behind. Of course truth is neither behind or ahead but Francis is a proponent of relativism. Read Pope Francis’s Candid Views on Sexual Morality by Richard Spinello dated 2/12/2019 in Crisis Magazine and German Bishops Commit to “newly assessing” Catholic Doctrine on homosexuality and sexual morality by David Carlin, 12/12/19, printed one The Catholic World Report. The German bishops are planning a synod process. All the sacraments are under attack and so too is the family as represented by The Holy Family.

      Liked by 3 people

  14. Great new posting Charlie. May God save us.
    I finished sending angels to Cdl Cupich last week. Next week I will send angels to Thomas Cdl Collins of Toronto. So much corruption.
    May God continue to bless and guide all here. A Happy and a Holy Merry Christmas to all. jas

    Liked by 6 people

      1. Beckita All praise and honor be to God Almighty. We arebut humble servants striving to do the will of God, acknowledge God, do the next right step and aim to be a sign of Hope to those around us. May God continue to guide and bless us, lead us to all Holiness and Truth. jas

        Liked by 4 people

  15. “I have long suspected that if someone tossed a glass of water on Nancy Pelosi, she would start melting.” Best line of the article, Charlie! 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

  16. My great great great grandfather was a soldier in the noted Russian war. He was only 16 years old. That war prompted him to move to the United States. After raising 5 children he became a monk at age 65 and became known as Brother Hillarion at an abby in Latrobe PA. He never wanted his sons to fight in Napoleons army.

    There is a book called Russian Snow that details the experience of a soldier in that war. Horrifying things happened. No wonder my grandfatherx3 sought a dispensation from his marriage vows to ultimately become a monk.

    That said. I need help explaining to my husband what is going on. He is virulent about Trump. He can’t get beyond despising Trump to see what our government has become. Red pill you may say? How to implement that? He thinks himself well read and in the know compared to my conspiracy theory ignorance.

    Open to constructive input from this shire!

    Getting people to read contrary to their view is difficult but I will surely try. What to give him to read?

    Note: he finally took steps to enter RCIA this past September but lost his Professional job and took a laboring job that interferes with going to the class. Still trying to figure out God’s plan with all that!

    Thanks in advance!!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. @LittleOne: Kimberly Strassel might be a source of information for your husband to consider. Her book, Resistance (at ALL Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America, or interviews with her about her book might put a chink in his well-read position. She is a Wall Street Journal contributor and a twenty-plus year journalist. She seems fairly neutral in her presentation of facts.
      Dan Bongino’s recent interview with Rep Nunes is informative, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoqjMwsaxMw&spfreload=10

      Also, Ann Coulter’s book High Crimes and Misdemeanors: the Case Against Bill Clinton is eye-opening for a kind of hind-sight look into the evidence for the SWAMP and the jaw-dropping evidence of the weaponization of government against we the people.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. The Archabbey in Latrobe, St. Vincent, is 5 minutes from us. I looked up your g,g,g grandfather and it shows his grave marker and a photo of him. Don’t know how to contact you personally, so I mention it here. Love and Happy and Holy Christmas!!

      Liked by 3 people

      1. I was in Latrobe earlier this year, visiting the Carmelites.

        Thanks to everyone for your prayers. I rallied a bit last night and had a wonderful Midnight Mass. A quiet day today and I should be back on track.

        Liked by 5 people

      2. Thank you!!!!

        So kind. Joseph Paul Kirsch- Brother Hillarion. Before I knew of the connection, my sister became a tertiary of St. Benedict through St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe. She was thrilled to hear about our Greatx3 Grandfather. Coincidence? Good incidence. Just a beautiful way God weaves our lives together. The tapestry will be extraordinary to see in heaven.

        Thanks again sister!!

        Liked by 2 people

  17. Hey Charlie

    Great analysis…I appreciate your take on the spiritual state of things, but your ability to double as a professional political operative is such a treat.

    The British election results reminded me of our 2016 election, and how far off I was on that one.

    A friend of mine is a professional artist and travels quite a bit doing various art shows, many of them in rural settings. Prior to the last election, at our occasional lunches, he would tell me about his travels in the countryside, where all he’d see were Trump signs.

    I’d been reading never Trumpers for years at that point (David French, Jonah Goldberg, Bill Kristol) and remonstrated my friend about how wrong he, and they, were….that Trump was not to be taken seriously and that our choices lay with the usual suspects coming out of Washington.

    My impressions of Trump persisted right up to the election…I was planning to skip voting, per the instructions of some of our betters mentioned above. But before falling to sleep the night before the election, the thought occurred to me as to how I would feel if I found out the following day that Hillary had won by one vote. I quickly changed my mind, got up the next morning and voted for Trump.

    In the ensuing years I’ve become increasingly impressed with this man. I had no idea how conservative he was. Probably because I wasn’t actually listening to him, but to prognosticators. And the fact that he enjoys a good tussle makes him the perfect man for our times.

    My point is that it appears the British have just done what we Americans did in 2016. And the election in 2016 was driven by the so called “little people”, out in the hinterlands, the unsophisticated rabble, who turned out to have had it right the whole time.

    I believe the church refers to this as the “sensus fidei”…the idea that, over time, the flock will sort things out and actually point the direction we need to go.

    Thank God for this principal, and for the souls who comprise it. With all my so-called sophistication, I had missed it by a mile last time.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Paul R. As per Brexit, I really really thought that the powers in Britain would never never allow it to happen. Although the people voted for it, the left would stand in its way making one of the first times voting would be eliminated as a process for governing. After all no one is elected to the EU bodies in Brussels. They are appointed (clearly this is a communist process i.e. China, only like minded will be appointed). We see the same mind set in our own country within the Democrat party with Nancy Pelosi leading the way.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Hey Doug and Joanne-Merry Christmas!

          It would be interesting to see Charlie do a deep dive on the climate change hoax and explain to us how this thing actually works…appears to be a world wide effort on the left, it’s obviously a hoax, and they are taking advantage of the paganistic, earth worshiping naivete of many of their followers. Still, how the heck do they get away with it after sooo many years and still manage the subterfuge?

          Like

          1. Here is a straight forward calculation Paul.  If we have 300 years fossil fuel supply left and, we currently are at 400PPM CO2 (PPM= parts per million).  The increase was 180ppm over the last 100 years (220ppm plus 1800ppm=400ppm).  At current burn rate, in 300 years, we will be at 400PPM plus 3X 180ppm.  or at 940PPM (.094%).  .094% is miniscule.  This calculation makes an assumption that all the CO2 in the atmosphere was placed there from fossil fuel. So it is a conservative estimate.  Do we realistically have 300 years fuel left?  I don’t know.   However, I think this ball park calculation shows that we do not have “a sky is falling” scenario.  I would love to see some more precise calculations.  Anyone care to venture there?  Steve BC?Now, here is something not talked about.  Burning fossil fuel is repatriating CO2 back to where it came from.  Yup.  It all came from plants and the air to begin with.  Another note worthy point is the extra CO2 will actually make plant life thrive.  This means more sustainable food supply.  So extra CO2 is good.  Also not talked about is the greatest contribution to global warming is moisture, CO2 does not even come close to what moisture does for global warming.  How do we come to a conclusion CO2 is bad?  This is all speculation and hyperbole.Lastly, one scientific fact is there have been prehistoric periods where CO2 concentrations have been much higher than what they are now and much higher than what I calculated with colder temperatures.  I have not calculated this, but most likely, there is more oxygen and carbon dioxide dissolved in ocean water tha what is in fossil fuel left on earth.  At some point, fossil fuel will run out.  This will force alternatives without need of government intervention.  Merry Christmas!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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            1. Within the next few years, 2022, we shall see a new energy system come into the market: Micro reactor. Made specifically for NASA flight modules yet designed to be small, compact easily transported and stored in a shipping container. Micro fission reactors can power 1,000 to 100,000 homes for a period of ten years without fuel resupply. Game changer.

              “Micro-reactors are simply smaller, factory-built systems that can be easily transported by trucks, ships, airplanes or railcars.

              Some micro-reactors can be set up in days, not years, to provide reliable heat and power to a host of places, ranging from residential and remote areas to military bases.

              Micro-reactors may be small but they pack a real punch in terms of power.

              A single unit typically generates 1 to 10 megawatts-electric.”

              https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/big-potential-nuclear-micro-reactors

              Like

              2. Sean, like you, I expect some serious new tech by the time Trump leaves office in 2025 (or is it 2029, or 2033, I get confused!). I’ve heard of these little reactors but have not seen why these are not terror targets or raise potential proliferation issues. I’m not saying they *are* bringing these risks, but I’d like to see some further work on these issues before they get built and distributed.

                Doug, you’ve done some good number-crunching here, thank you. I would add that since we are heading for global cooling, the oceans will accept more CO2 than they otherwise would, so the actual number for total ppm would likely be less.

                This link:

                Click to access EngrCritiqueCAGW-v4o3.pdf

                goes to the best summary of climate issues I’ve found. Burt Rutan takes an engineer’s perspective on the issue and destroys the alarmists’ claims. Pay very close attention to the chart on Page 14, which shows that the optimal CO2 level is somewhere between 1,500 ppm and 6,000 ppm. Note particularly that the temperature range for the past 600M years has been fixed between 12 degrees C and 22 degrees C and we are currently at about 13 degrees C. This range is largely if not completely *un*correlated with CO2 levels (in fact temperatures may be more correlated to the layout of the continents over time than to CO2 level).

                Greenhouse owners routinely raise the CO2 percentage in their greenhouses because their plants thrive at 800 ppm. We are currently at 400 ppm, which only leads me to say that we need to get every bit of peat, and coal, and oil, and other CO2 deposits and dig them up and burn them as rapidly as we can! If God hadn’t invented humans to dig up and burn all that stuff, He would have had to do it Himself!

                CO2 is plant food, and a CO2 level of 150 ppm or less would cause all plant life to suffocate, and where would we be then? The lowest CO2 level ever recorded occurred at the end of the last ice age (*very* recently in geologic terms) at 252 ppm. We *need* lots more CO2 in the atmosphere before the next ice age hits or we could see all our plant life die. CO2 levels drop during ice ages, and we are still not very far away from rock bottom.

                Al Gore wants to spend $44T to get something like a 0.05 degree relative temperature drop by 2100. I believe that for a few trillion bucks we could put up a system of satellites that would be able to cool the planet if that were ever needed AND warm the planet if we were to go into a cooling period.

                Cooling periods are far more dangerous to humans than warming periods. I hope I’m wrong, but everything I see about climate and the Sun says that we are heading into a significant period of global cooling over the next decade that could last for several decades. If true, then it’s going to get rough *imminently* – before the end of the 2020s.

                Liked by 3 people

                1. That Burt Rutan analysis is just brutal on the Climate Change hoaxers. Somebody should send this link to the Pope. 2011 but I doubt much has changed since he published this.

                  Liked by 3 people

                  1. Being an engineer myself, Burt Rutan is one of my engineering hero’s.  He designed spaceship one that won the $10 million prize for sending a plane into space and safely returning.  This had to be done twice to win the prize.  It hit an altitude of 377,000 feet (roughly 75 miles).  It cost more money to engineer the rocket plane than what the prize was worth.  It essentially proved commercial space flight is viable.  Burt is retired now.I just read an article on growing marijuana.  It extolled how natural means we’re being use to grow all natural and healthy marijuana (choke, choke).  Of course, I thought this is so hypocritical.  Anyway, one of the things used to boost the crop was to inject more carbon dioxide on the plants for them to grow better.  Yup.  CO2 is good for plants.  It’s ok when marijuana is involved, but somehow over all bad for the environment.Happy New Year everyone!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

                    Liked by 2 people

                2. So true Steve.  Just to let everyone know, water dissolves oxygen and carbon dioxide.  When water heats up, the gas is undissolved or released.  When water is cold, it dissolves more gas.  It is just like dissolving salt in water, only in reverse as temperature heats up, more salt is dissolved where as less gas is dissolved.  I have not gone through a calculation, but I imagine there are quite significant amounts CO2 and O2 dissolved in the ocean than  most folks understand.  Off hand, I do not know how this affects the balance of air concentration, but it probably affects it a lot more than all the cars in the world.  Has anyone heard of fish kills?  Way down south during hot summers, the oxygen in lakes is released from the water due to warm temperatures.  The fish suffocate due to lack of it.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

                  Liked by 2 people

  18. “…Watch for indictments of Planned Parenthood to drop in the first quarter of 2020”, may it be, may it be, may it ever so be.
    Asking the Infant Jesus to grant abundant Christmas blessings upon all here, esp. Charlie and Beckita. (love this ethereal version of ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’.)

    Liked by 9 people

    1. @Phillip Frank: Thank you for this link. Except for Divine Intervention, it seems to me that only a ‘scorched earth’ result will be sufficient for changing leftists’ hearts and minds. If the Dems’ losses are less than what the French suffered in the retreat from Moscow, it may not be sufficient to wake them up. Also, unless America First voters who are morally ‘rigid’ when it comes to culture have a take-no-prisoners mindset, the 2020 upset that may be in progress will by a pyrrhic win. It appears this way to me because even if there is a ‘conservative’ landslide, the continuing willingness to compromise cultural morality that is presented by the majority of ‘conservatives’ today is a demonstration of serving two masters and the cold civil war drags on with increasing hot spots of activity.

      Liked by 4 people

  20. Hehehhe…I just ordered a birthday cake for Jesus for Christmas day….the lady at the bakery said, “who?!?!” 😂😃😄😅😆

    But in actuality I got this idea from a small child at the Christmas vigil Mass a few years back…

    This is that scene that night: The WHOLE congregation was in COMPLETE SILENCE … we were at that still small moment waiting for our priests to enter…then all of a sudden out of nowhere…this little boy yelled out at the top of his sweet little lungs… “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!” Oh, out of the mouths of babes….I do believe it made us all think a little bit deeper that great and wonderful night Our Saviour was born, at midnight in Bethlehem in freezing cold!🤔

    Liked by 11 people

    1. That’s clever. Get a rich, chocolatey layer cake for Jesus, but you and your family eat it all yourselves!! “Mmm…oh!…Sweet Jesus, you should taste this! It’s delicious! (I was gonna say “decadent” but…)

      I wonder, are there any atheist bakery shop owners who’d refuse to make Jesus a birthday cake because it goes against their “beliefs”? (Unlikely because to them only a fool would walk away from money).

      Say there is such a bakery shop owner who lives in, I dunno….California. Now could you imagine the Christians who wanted to have a cake made for Jesus then taking the atheist to court for exercising their freedom to refuse?

      Liked by 8 people

  21. I have been thinking about your wonderings about the suburbs becoming Democrat-leaning. I live in the ‘burbs as well. Here’s an observation: when I check my FB newsfeed and my husband’s, he receives more conservative content on his newsfeed than I do although I may have posted and shared more conservative-leaning articles on it than he does (big tech’s influence on voters). Also, many suburban families send their children to public schools (I am assuming this) and unfortunately, the ideas and values espoused in these institutions may be more left-leaning than conservative. So these children are now grown-ups (working and possibly living in the suburbs) and may have also attended colleges and universities where the same values are reinforced or even heightened (public education as promoter of leftist ideals). Then we also have the Church. I received an email from the Archdiocese of Baltimore where “abortion remains the pre-eminent threat to the sanctity of life, we agreed that we must also give consideration to the many other issues that reflect our Catholic Social Teaching and which Pope Francis has so passionately and effectively championed” and it gives more emphasis on issues on immigration, gun violence, and evangelizing the “nones” and Latino Catholics….”. In other words, we are against abortion, BUT…. and we all know which party is pro-life and which one is for open borders and gun control. It is pretty much an endorsement for one party over the other. Many suburban families go to church will hear this messaging. Priests’ homilies are also peppered with the same social justice talks and less on protecting life (at least in the churches I go to). Whether this is replicated in other suburban communities or parishes is not clear but this is what I observed from my part of the world. I hope the use of those electronic machines will be looked into because I don’t want to lose the next election. There is a lot at stake.

    Liked by 8 people

  22. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/12/22/the-fourth-sunday-of-advent-7/

    Christmas Address of President Ronald Reagan, 1981 (38 years ago!!!?)

    War on Christmas in the Workplace – What’s Next? – ACLJ Video

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/21/diversity-council-swap-christmas-parties-holiday-season-drinks/

    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/joshua-rogers-forget-impeachment-heres-the-most-stunning-political-story-this-christmas

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/genocide-christians-burkina-faso-raymond-ibrahim/

    https://www.wnd.com/2019/12/doctors-resist-attempt-force-abortions/

    https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2019/12/20/vatican-no-there-is-no-opening-to-same-sex-unions/

    https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/12/21/hundreds-attend-funeral-indiana-veteran-no-family.html

    http://nedforney.com/index.php/2018/12/19/hungnam-evacuation-korean-war-timeless/

    https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/12/21/reckoning-on-the-way-for-those-behind-political-hit-jobs/

    https://warroom.org/cnn-pays-58-airports-100000-each-to-play-channel/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. I have always loved Country Gospel Music – which has a close relation to Negro Spirituals – and to New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland. Louis Armstrong was my trumpet hero. The day he died, I was at the state band camp at the University of Illinois. Each day, we had two trumpet players assigned to echo each other playing taps when it was lights out. I was assigned on the day Louis died – July 6, 1971. For me, it was a tribute to him. Ah, how you could hear the joy in these three styles of music. Here’s Louis and Mahalia Jackson at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1970. Can’t you hear the joy and feel the spirit?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wX-YWOr8RQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wX-YWOr8RQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wX-YWOr8RQ

      Here is Kris Kristofferson with “Why Me Lord?” – and his conversion story (and yes, Willie Nelson is accompanying him on guitar):

      Why Me LordWhy Me Lord

      Here’s Louis again playing his glorious horn in:

      When The Saints Go Marching InWhen The Saints Go Marching InWhen The Saints Go Marching In

      And finally, Elvis Presley singing:

      The Miracle of the RosaryThe Miracle of the RosaryThe Miracle of the Rosary

      I love some of the Catholic Church’s High Music – The Hallelujah ChorusThe Hallelujah ChorusThe Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah blows me away – and has a special meaning for me. At Midnight Mass on Christmas of 1972, I had been hired as lead trumpet at St. Anne’s in Barrington, Illinois. It was the first full Mass I had ever attended. It still gives me chills to remember it. Oh, it was such a beautiful liturgy!

      While High Church music makes my spirit soar, the old Country Gospel and Negro Spirituals makes my spirit dance.

      Up until I was three and a half, I lived in the Norwood section of Birmingham. We were one of two white families in the neighborhood. Ha! Until I was four, I thought white folks were the minority. I guess I come from my love of black spiritual music honestly. Sometimes, I would spend a few weeks with my great-grandmother at her house on a hill above the train yards in Irondale – just a few miles from where EWTN is now. How I loved the sounds of the trains switching at night. It still soothes me. I once got a great deal on a great apartment in Galesburg, Illinois because trains would go through every ten minutes just 100 feet from my back window all day and all night. They had a hard time renting it because of the racket – but it was like a lullaby to me.

      Then we came north to Chicago and I fell in love with the High Church music of the Catholic Church when I was regularly hired by the Archdiocese of Chicago – and various Parishes which had heard of me – for a few years. Don’t know why I am feeling so joyfully nostalgic today, but I feel so extraordinarily fortunate to have been immersed in so many faith-filled communities. I guess I am kind of multi-cultural, in that way. I hope you enjoy these links a little like I do.

      Why Me Lord

      Liked by 10 people

      1. Thank you for the links and the memories. I especially liked the reference to Chicago.

        Last week, I visited a church at which the tabernacle was moved back to the center of the sanctuary. The priest got some chuckles when he said that, now, as he stood at the altar, he really knew that Jesus was literally behind him 100% and that Jesus truly had his back.

        A blessed, joyful, and faith-filled Christmas to you, your family and all the ASOH family. God bless.

        Liked by 7 people

  23. Some anecdotal evidence of God’s working even in the midst of the present chaos and collapse.

    The La Salette Fathers have a shrine and retreat center a few miles from our home. Every year they decorate the grounds with thousands of lights for Christmas. Thousands of people come each year to see the display which covers several acres. Today we accompanied one of our daughters and two of our granddaughters to the shrine to see the lights.

    One of the services provided by the Fathers is to hear confessions every day. I had been trying to get to confession before Christmas and decided our visit to the shrine would be a good time to accomplish this goal. I was amazed as I approached the chapel where the sacrament of reconciliation is heard. There were over fifty people in line. Even more surprising (actually wonderous) to me was realizing that nearly a third of the penitents appeared to be young people in their twenties and thirties.

    The Fathers themselves were taken by surprise by this outpouring of faith as only one priest was on duty. The line moved slowly, but everyone was patient and prayerful. After I was in line a few minutes a worker from the shire arrived and surveyed the situation with obvious surprise. Very quickly four other priests appeared to aid the faithful in their quest for absolution.

    It seemed like a miracle to me to see so many faithful, especially young faithful Catholics, hearing God’s call to reconciliation. The times are chaotic and dark but God continues to work His will with quiet, powerful patience.

    A blessed and joyful Christmas to all here. Your faithfulness, comments, support and prayers are a powerful work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

    JT

    Liked by 12 people

            1. Jlynnbryd: Haven’t done luminaries in years but your comment stuck in my head. So tonight on Christmas Eve I dug up just 10 white bags, sorted through a drawer full of those battery candles and went outside at dusk and set them up along the walkway to our front door. Pretty and thanks. Christ is the light of the world!

              Liked by 1 person

  26. Hate to comment back on politics after the Wonderful music ventures.
    My sister is A Dallas suburbanite who seemed offended by the Kavanaugh hearings ( in a bad way— believed accuser). Along with her fine neighborhood friends. I surmise many of them are post-abused or even abortifacient and both project onto Trump and over-defend female accusers.
    But with that said, plus that we are spending Christmas with them, along with my ‘tiny-est’ son Tim: God bless us, every one.

    Liked by 7 people

  27. Oh, also, there’s a wonderful priest out here, Fr. Welsh, who underwent serious surgery and is in need of prayer. Please remember him in your’s. Thanks to everyone. God bless.

    Liked by 5 people

  28. Angels We Have Heard On High

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/12/23/music-of-the-day-angels-we-have-heard-on-high/

    https://www.catholicleague.org/u-s-religious-freedom-panel-renewed/

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/219559/christmas-past-w-thomas-smith-jr

    https://video.foxnews.com/v/6117640684001#sp=show-clips

    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/viktor-orban-defender-of-the-faith

    https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2019/12/23/shhhhhjust-let-the-democrats-schiff-themselves-n2558390

    https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2019/12/22/robert-mueller-choose-not-tell-americans-dossier-false/

    https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/12/23/al-sharpton-pro-trump-evangelicals-would-sell-jesus/

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kyle-drennen/2019/12/23/year-ends-msnbc-panics-over-surge-conservative-judges

    https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/nearly-200-evangelical-leaders-condemned-christianity-today-editorial-on-trump

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2019/12/22/cuomo-asks-christian-radio-host-why-back-trump-who-makes-mockery-your

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/south-carolina-rep-silent-on-naval-cadets-being-cleared-in-white-power-investigation-after-accusing-them-of-racism

    https://stream.org/joe-biden-charlottesville-lie-wont-die/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 5 people

  30. Reminds me of a recent conversation I have been having with a good friend since High school. He has lived a much more straight Christian life than I did as God had to call me back with much grace. Anyway I thought he would be clear on issues of morality and of the left and right but sadly I have learned that my friend has been drinking the kool aid for a long time and is not amenable to discussion on thise things. He is very thin skinned and despite trying to discuss issues with much delicacy and trying to avoid saying , the left is nuts, etc he unable to listen and sadly I suppose he considers my friend Charlie here a nut case, but at least he is not in charge of the lions and I don’t think he would go that far, but as for ideas. So we will see if my friend is able to look at the craziness around him over time. Charlie I think you may be right that some would rather change or compromise their religion than change their political parties.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Bob, this is, sadly, true. I found that just because a friend has become an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion does not mean she is pro-life. 😢 We are called to pray for all, to love all and to set the example. So hard some days. 🙏🏼📿
      God bless,
      Katey in OR🙏🏼🕯🎶✝️💙

      Liked by 4 people

  31. The Pyrrhic Impeachment. Napoleon’s winter retreat from Moscow. Good metaphors that describe the Left’s predicament. What these metaphors imply is that somewhere, somehow, for some reason forces were launched in raging futile assault. In the end not enough. In the end doomed to defeat. A Lost Cause.

    The Left and all its minions in both the spiritual plane consisting of fallen angels and in the natural plane consisting of conscious and unconscious minions of the Devil has been launched on such a Lost Cause behind the rebellious banner of ” I WILL NOT SERVE !”

    I have been thinking lately of St Lucia dos Santos of Fatima and the Fatima message. St Lucia warned that “the Devil is in the mood for a Decisive Battle with the Virgin”. St Lucia’s warning:

    “In her interview with Father Fuentes, Sister Lucy discusses this theme, saying:

    “Father, the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin, and the devil knows what it is that most offends God, and which in a short space of time will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them.

    “Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but She made me understand this for three reasons. The first reason is because She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil; there is no other possibility.”

    It is clearer by the day that this Decisive Battle is spilling out over both the spiritual and physical planes of existence. The Impeachment attack is but one manifestation of the game plan which is to divide and disunify society. Archbishop Fulton Sheen described the 3 signs of the Diabolic from the point of view of psychology (Rollo May):

    “[Dr.] Rollo May of Rockefeller Institute has several chapters in his work on psychiatry on the diabolic. What is the diabolic from the purely psychiatric point of view? Dr. Rollo May analyzes the word diabolic, it comes from the Greek words dia and balime. Dia-balime is to tear apart, rend asunder. Anything, therefore, that breaks pattern, that destroys unity, that corrupts gestalt, produces discord, that is the diabolical. Now, there has been a great increase of the diabolic. Notice for example the discord in the Church, the discord in religious communities, the discord among the laity regards the Church, discord in the clergy. All these are manifestations of a spirit of the diabolic that surrounds us.

    Now this psychiatrist [Dr. May] analyzes the way in which the diabolic works. And he mentions three: First love of nudity. Secondly, violence, aggressiveness. Thirdly, split personalities, no inner peace, disjointed minds.

    Our Blessed Lord one time went into the land of the Gerasenes… and he found in this land a young man possessed of the Devil (Mark 5:1-20). The Gospel mentions three characteristics of this young man. First he was nude. Secondly, he was violent and aggressive. They could not even keep him in chains. And thirdly, his mind was split, schizophrenic. Our Lord said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “My name is Legion.”

    Now a legion in his time meant six thousand soldiers in the Roman army. See already he is a person and yet he is legion, six thousand others. My name is legion for we are many. See the personality is no longer unified, I, Legion, we many. Now this psychiatrist does not ever correlate his three manifestations of the diabolic with this young man in the Gospel. I am doing that because I could not help but notice the similarity between the two. So from just a superficial point of view, the diabolic disrupts, and whenever you have a great manifestation of the Spirit you always get the Devil working. When for example, Moses in the Old Testament worked miracles against Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s agents simulated a few miracles. When the Holy Spirit came upon the early Church at Pentecost, there was the persecution of Stephen. We had a Vatican Council, the blessing of the Spirit upon the Church. And we have immediately the manifestation of the evil spirit.

    So I just leave you with this characteristic note of the diabolic from the psychiatric point of view. The breakup of unity, the breakup of families, the breakup of corporations, the breakup of religious communities, the breakup of the oneness of Christ.”

    The three main tactical weapons of the Demonic are being hurled at the world and at the Church in what appears to be a ferocious Decisive engagement.

    The metaphor I have been contemplating lately is the Civil War and specifically Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. Gettysburg was the Decisive Battle of the Civil War. The final outcome of that war was sealed at Gettysburg. Yet the war dragged on for two more years. It was Decisive but not Final. The war dragged on until the South reached total exhaustion.

    Gen Robert E. Lee hurled 14,000 men at the center of the Union Line at 3:00 PM on July 3, 1863 after a two hour cannonade by 152 pieces of artillery. At 3 o’clock those minions of the Confederacy stepped out of a woodline in a mile long battle formation and began the one mile walk across open ground to the Copse of Trees and the Bloody Angle on Cemetery Ridge. The attack lasted 50 minutes. The attack, like Napoleon’s, exhausted itself 60 yards from a decisive breakthrough. A close run thing.

    Here is what the problem looked like from Lee’s point of view on that fateful day.

    This is pretty much what it looked like from the Union point of view.

    It was a desperate struggle which ended 60 yards short of success — exhausted.

    Today we have the legions of darkness in raging assault on the forces of light and truth. In 1863 the Confederates were led by Lee, Longstreet and George Pickett. The Union forces were led by George Meade and by Winfield Hancock. In our own case the Forces of Evil are led by Satan himself and the Forces of Good are led by Our Lady Queen of Heaven and of Earth.

    The tactics and weaponry of the futile charge against us are those 3 signs of the Diabolic described by Rollo May and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

    And the tactics and the weaponry of the Forces of Heaven?

    St Lucia described the canister of Heaven to Father Fuentes:

    “The second reason is because She said to my cousins as well as to myself, that God is giving two last remedies to the world. They are the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others.

    “The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with a certain trepidation the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother.”

    The Holy Rosary and prayer. The weapons given to us to defeat and halt the last Decisive Charge of the Devil. It may be the equivalent of something like 60 yards short of a Decisive Breakthrough. Stopped at the end by the canister shot of Heaven.

    The Battle rages.

    “Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil; there is no other possibility.”

    Liked by 7 people

  32. I would call the impeachment a bloody battle for a phantom hill. What a hot mess .

    I know there are a lot of Trump supporters on this site, so I’m going to take a risk here and say what I think about our president.

    I have spent the last 30 years in local politics and I have my own theories about the evaporation of Trump support among suburban women.(being one of them myself) I don’t think the blame goes to hostile media – Ever since Watergate the media has been increasingly left leaning. They were harsh critics of Reagan, HW Bush, and W Bush was pilloried mercilessly. To a white conservative woman in the suburbs, Trump is really offensive. I have always been drawn to republicans because they seemed to be more dignified and less likely to get into the name calling muck. I want to admire my leaders and I don’t particularily want them airing every random thought in public. I want them to hold their tongue and be above the fray. I admired Reagan, and the Bushes because they were able to articulate a clear conservative policy without belittling their opponents. They were real gentlemen.

    Trump has trampled the Republican “brand” – maybe beyond repair. I want to go back to conservative principals: Limited Government, Lower Taxes and Personal responsibility.

    I am really put off by the president name calling and belittling his opponents – I know Obama did it to some extent, but two wrongs don’t make a right. I want my president to be a statesman. As a manger, I am appalled at how Trump mocks HIS OWN TEAM – what he did to Jeff Sessions, regardless of whether Sessions was right or wrong was inexcusable. Sessions is the better man, IMO he continues to support the president even now. That in my book is Character. This is just one example. I don’t like all immigrants being called murderers and rapists – some are but that is the vast minority. Most are escaping a horrific situation fueled by the US appetite for drugs and /the power we give the cartels to supply those drugs.

    I know that California has not been friendly territory for Trump, but his war on the state is exactly the wrong approach. He has destroyed his support in the most conservative areas of the state by leading with his ego instead of his brains.

    I’m praying for a conservative leader who can articulate the conservative message without being divisive.

    I don’t trust Trump at all. I voted for him because he said he would support the right to life and appoint judges who will follow the constitution. And to his credit he has done that. I think he caters to the Christian right because that is his largest base of support not because he has any particular committment to the cause. I don’t believe he has a center of gravity at all. If the political winds change I think he could turn on a dime and go the other way. I’m concerned that this “Christianity Today” editorial might cause him to veer off in another direction.

    The Democrats have just one flavor – socialist secular humanism. If one democratic candidate stepped forward with a pro-life, pro-democracy platform I think they would do remarkably well. During college in the 70’s I took a Political Science course and read “The Real Majority” – as old as that book is, I think it still holds true. The voting majority in america are centerists. Trump’s policies may be centerist–but he comes across as the lunatic fringe.

    Having said this, I will not vote for anyone who supports PP and the abortion industry. So, barring any unforseen change, I will vote for Trump next year. But I am not happy about it.

    Ok, I feel better now that I’ve been honest with y’all…I’m going to continue to try to take the next right step and have a Merry (politics-free) Christmas. I hope you do as well. We’re all on this Barque of Peter together and we need everyone to row.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Can you provide some specific examples of how Trump has waged “war” against the state of California? May I recommend that you read one of the many articles that Victor Hanson Davis has written about California — they are easy to find with an internet search. Hanson is a raisin farmer whose family has been in California for several generations. He is also a professor emeritus of Classics at Cal State Fresno. He has written a book entitled “The Case for Trump”.

      Roger Kimball, who is editor and publisher, of the New Criterion, our foremost journal of arts and culture, also supports Trump. Similarly, Professor Janet Smith of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit is a Trump supporter. She is the leading apologist of Humane Vitae in the U.S., if not the world.

      Many intelligent, reasonable people support Trump because the alternative is devastatingly worse. Right now, there is no Philosopher King waiting in the wings to rescue the country. I only voted for Trump with great reluctance in 2016 (after reading Janet Smith). He may be boorish and vulgar, but this time I will vote for him out of a sense of urgency. Trump is not the Messiah but, for me, he’s the best we have right now.

      I wish you a merry and peaceful Christmas!

      Liked by 5 people

    2. Merry Christmas to all and to Madk.. I too don’t like Trump’s personal attacks a bit but I do like his fighting for his position and I wish he would find a way to do so without the personal invective. That said I remember before the election that Bishop Chaput referred to both candidates, Trump and Hillary as being deeply flawed human beings. And I am sure we would all agree that Hillary’s personal flaws were also very serious, including her years of covering for a sexual predator husband,among others, as were her political positions on moral issues so we had to choose among imperfect human beings. So let us pray that God would make the best He can of our imperfect leaders and continue to pray for them all. And for now I have family time and will try to focus on the Goodness of God in sending His Son for us.

      Liked by 2 people

    3. Madkatmomma: The primary reason in my opinion that the left hates Trump is that he is pro life and pro Christianity. He is stacking the courts and re establishing the rule of law. But he has done so much more. One such unreported victory is that he rid us of Chinese communist control of the port of Long Beach which is the second largest container terminal business in LA. Obama signed over control of this port to the Chinese in 2012. Trump delayed it by doing a drawn out national security review which forced the Chinese to sell their interest/business. Trump killed the 40 year terminal lease Obama signed. If Trumpcan win in 2020, hopefully it will set up either Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley to run for President in 2024. Trump’s crust is what protects him from the constant assaults. He so upset the left’s plans for full domination over us. Look what has happened to our major cities like Philadelphia. There is only one party that runs it. Your choice is only among Democrats. The Republican Party barely exists there. So Trump is rough and should edit himself but Obama was smooth, sneaky, dishonest, a socialist, sold us out to the Muslim Brotherhood and ignored the law. HRC was and is even worse. The Clinton Foundation was a front for a pay to play scam, little actual was paid out to charity. Trump is a good hearted man who has been maligned constantly. BTW, he has never said all immigrants were murderers and rapists. They are being run by drug cartels who are murderers and rapists and many children were unaccompanied and being recycled for a price. This was directly because of Obama’s policy catch and release. A policy Trump begged Nancy Pelosi to change to protect those children. A request Pelosi ignored. There are Supreme Court cases coming up next year according to the Becket Fund to re establish our constitutional first amendment freedom of religion. Pray the rosary, so much is at stake for our children and grandchildren.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. I can envision Trumps son running for president after his father finishes his 2nd term….Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

        Like

  33. Every, and I mean every cashier I have dealt with here in Appalachia has said, “Merry Christmas” instead of the anodyne b.s. that has polluted Christendom for decades. What a heartening joy!

    Grace and Peace.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Merry Christmas to all here and to your families, friends and beyond! Timothy, my family and I were just commenting last night as we drove around on how many more homes and businesses are decorated with Christmas lights this year. A woman from our health insurance company called this morning to update me on an issue and said, “Merry Christmas!”. That was really nice. May God bless all with peace, joy, and love. XO

      Liked by 4 people

  34. Charlie,

    You referenced Sundance’s website, “The Conservative Treehouse”. I would occasionally wonder about some of your analysis about things and if you yourself connected to his website, because Sundance has an extraordinary understanding of the deepstate operations. I don’t know who this Sundance person is, but I do believe that Heaven has a lot to do with the website. Thanks for referencing this website in your writing today.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I have read that he is an assistant produce manager at Publix. the factoid was meant as a disqulification. The person making that attempt only revealed themselves. I love how, in Christendom, the lowly deplorables do amazing and absolutely professional work in the sevice of Truth because He is True.

      Sundance is a defender of the Faith, a living example. Sundance is building up amazing treasures in heaven; we are blessed to have him among us.

      Liked by 3 people

  35. Thank you Charlie for this excellent update on the political situation in our country. My thanks to Charlie and Beckita for all you do for our community here.

    I pray for everyone here to have a most Blessed Christmas. I think it is becoming a more delicate dance to have discussions with people we love but with whom we disagree on matters of culture, politics, law, weather, etc. (Actually, a lot like a minefield.) I pray for your family gatherings to be peaceful and filled with love, and for mine to be also.

    God is with us. Jesus is honored that we love Him, say His name, and celebrate His birth at Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We are blessed to still have the ability to go to Mass and receive Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, one more time. Strength for our journey. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus, please come, into our troubled world, and bring your peace beyond our understanding.

    Liked by 9 people

  39. Bing & Frank Christmas Medley

    https://www.thesacredpage.com/2019/12/christmas-is-here-readings-for-nativity.html

    http://blog.adw.org/2019/12/a-late-advent-message-from-the-lord/

    https://stream.org/can-unite-around-jesus-rather-divide-trump/

    https://townhall.com/columnists/craigshirley/2019/12/24/what-christmas-meant-to-the-presidents-and-how-they-communicated-it-n2558480

    VIDEO: European Christmas—Rick Steves

    https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Christmas-in-Israel-16500-tourists-expected-10-percent-increase-from-2018-611955

    https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israels-Christian-population-grows-to-177000-citizens-611884

    MERRY CHRISTMAS & GOD SAVE ALL HERE

    Liked by 5 people

  41. Many, many blessings to all my extended “family” here at ASOH. I continue to pray daily for our good, our strength and perseverance. 🙏🏼💙🕯

    God bless us, everyone!

    Katey in OR
    🙏🏼🎄📿💕📖🌟☕️💙🕯🎶✝️

    Liked by 7 people

  42. May the people who walk in darkness see Christ’s Great Light!

    May we, with trusting vulnerability, open wide our hearts to THE CHILD that His Light may overcome any darkness within us. And may we have the courage to say to the Holy Infant: “Have Your way with me, Lord, in all those places where fear lingers. I surrender all to You.”

    Merry Christmas, Friends!

    Liked by 8 people

  43. Wow. First of all, Merry Christmas one and all!

    Second, over at Catholic Answers Forum, I’ve been speculating on events. Back on Nov. 10 I speculated that some event might happen on Nov. 15. (That would have been the 40th day after the alleged new message from Akita.) I wrote that “And it is very possible that IF something DOES happen, it might very well happen without anyone noticing. I mean something like, a random spark starts a small fire that might get only local coverage that night, and yet a week later the rest of the country learns of this huge fire that’s decimating central California.”

    Well, On Nov. 20 I realized what that spark was that happened on Nov. 15, In California, the group that exposed Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby body parts from abortions was found guilty of trespassing and was fined a little over $800,000. The trespassing was where the group gained entrance to these conferences and posed as buyers of parts for medical research. This was the civil trial; the criminal trial is still going on.

    The spark is that the judge served on a board that had provided financing and support to PP, yet he didn’t see that as significant enough to recuse himself. A bigger spark: when the judge was instructing the jury, he told them to disregard the innocence or guilt of the defendants, BECAUSE HE HAD ALREADY DECIDED THEY WERE GUILTY. The jury was just to determine the penalty.

    I thought the whole reason for a jury trial was to have your peers determine if you were innocent or guilty. Yes, you can waive your right to a jury trial and have the judge hear the testimony and decide, but this wasn’t that kind of trial. The judge also refused to allow videos made by the group while “trespassing” that captured PP execs admitting to illegal activities to be shown to the jury, as they were “irrelevant”.

    In looking around the world today, the common theme in the protests and violence is corruption. People are protesting the corruption of government officials which is leading to the unemployment and poverty of the people. Corruption. It is possible that this trial and the actions of that judge might lead to protests against a corrupt judiciary. It was just such belief in corruption of the judiciary that was one of the sparks for the American Revolution – that the British judiciary was stacked against American defendants. If faith in a fair judiciary should fall in America, then we, too, will be like Peru, and Iran, and all the other places in the world where people are rioting and protesting.

    A few days ago, I realized something else. Since I first posted that message on Nov. 20 I’ve been keeping this message of “corruption” in the back of my mind. We have Speaker Pelosi delaying sending the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. The subtext of the reasons why seem to say that she’s waiting until she can be assured of President Trump’s conviction by the Senate. There was a report this morning that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by a 3rd party provided information that may bolster the Democrat’s case, which some see as the reason for Pelosi’s delay. I do not know if there is any way to force Pelosi to send the Articles sooner rather than later. I can’t help but view this as a form of corruption.

    In the meantime, we have Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) subpoenaing Gulliani’s phone records. All well and good, and if the information had stayed within the committee that would be acceptable. But the subpoena also included requesting phone records for Devin Nunes (R-CA), a political rival on the committee, as well as for Nunes’s staffers and several journalists. Schiff then released these phone records to the public to say, “Look what we found!” The problem is that in doing so, Schiff violated California privacy laws, and Nunes is now preparing to either file criminal charges or sue Schiff for damages for this violation of not only HIS privacy, but everyone else that was included in the data dump, INCLUDING THE JOURNALISTS.

    Corruption? Perhaps. But what is more troubling (and more indicative of corruption) is that while numerous main-stream media (MSM) outlets such as the Washington Post and NPR have reported on the alleged activities allegedly exposed in this data dump, not one of them have reported on the illegality under California law of releasing this information to the public. Not one of them have reported on the lawsuits Nunes is filing against Schiff. (This is in addition to the MSM declining to report on the Judicial Branch excoriating the FBI for the misinformation and mishandling of allegations that were used to get the original FISA warrant for the Russia investigation.)

    I see this as efforts by groups to smear Trump’s reputation so that when he is cleared of charges by the Senate AND wins re-election in 2020, that will be the justification for riots and civil disorder after the election, since the results will show how corrupt the system is that the voting was rigged to allow Trump to stay in office. (Of course, if he is removed from office OR he isn’t re-elected, there will be no need for violence, since TRUTH will have prevailed and violence can be reserved for those so foolhardy as to oppose the TRUTH.)

    G_D, please forgive my country its many, many sins, and stay your hand of justice against us.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. JCarroll, you make some excellent points here. I’ve characterized what the House has done and is doing as character assassination. They have nothing on Trump (and will not), but by voting to impeach him and then holding the articles (possibly to add to them), they believe they can fool people into believing Trump is actually corrupt and guilty as they say (or as they themselves actually are). A good example of the Big Lie technique as a way to make an act of character assassination appear to be real and proper.

      There has been no abuse of power by Trump in Ukraine (but *lots* by Biden). Even more so. there has been no obstruction of the House. Since two co-equal branches of government are involved, only a judicial branch court decision to enforce a House subpoena has any grounds at all, and that hasn’t happened yet (and probably won’t).

      The articles of impeachment aren’t even real yet. Unless and until the House reports them in writing to the Senate, the House continues to be able to revise the articles and either vote them down or expand them by simple vote. Thus, no true impeachment yet, but the articles hover over Trump’s reputation day after day. To my mind at least, that makes it character assassination. Could it be a clearer violation of the Ninth Commandment (“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”)? I don’t think so.

      This seems to be backfiring, but it also seems to be early days in their efforts on this.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. @Steve BC: One America News Network has a three-part detailed interview with Rudy Giuliani and witnesses from Ukraine who have been denied the ability to testify about the actual corruption that’s been on-going. The projection of wrong doing is strong with the bad guys where ever they exist today: government, academia, media, and Church.

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        1. III, I’ve heard that Lindsey Graham will be calling Guiliani to testify about what he has learned before the Senate Judiciary Committee. We’ll see if that happens. Interestingly, RG has made it known that he has no suicidal tendencies. I think he thinks he is a target at least until he can testify and hand his info to the Committee. I thought it was very funny when the Dems went with Bribery as a charge against Trump due to it playing well with their focus groups but then had to withdraw that charge because of the vulnerability of several Dem people involved in their own Ukraine corruption. 😀

          Liked by 2 people

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Published by charliej373

Charlie Johnston is a former newspaper editor, radio talk show host and political consultant. From Feb. 11, 2011 to Aug. 21, 2012, he walked 3,200 miles across the country, sleeping in the woods, meeting people and praying as he went. He writes on cultural, global and political issues from an orthodox Catholic perspective. He emphasizes that we find God most surely through the ordinary, doing the little things we should with faith and fidelity. His constant refrain is that, to live real joy, we must acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around us. He lives in the Archdiocese of Denver in the United States.