…and Rumors of War

Posted on by charliej373

By Charlie Johnston

My next talk will be on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 1 – 5 p.m. It will be at the Renaissance Montessori School at 12625 Fitzwater Dr., Nokesville, Virginia – near Manassas, site of the first battle of the American Civil War. For information or to RSVP, go here.  At the First Battle of Bull Run (or the Battle of First Manassas, as the Confederates called it) many northerners from nearby Washington, D.C. made a picnic on a hillside to watch, expecting the rebellion to be quickly suppressed. Before the day was over, those picnickers were fleeing in panic along with routed Union troops. Before this battle, southern soldiers were quick to brag that one southerner could rout 10 Yankees. Meantime, much of the northern establishment expected the rebellion to evaporate like morning mist as soon as force was applied. Both sides got their first glimpse of how difficult and grueling this war was truly going to be.

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If you haven’t checked out this week’s podcast with Pam Popper, founder of Make Americans Free Again, you should get over there. Popper’s group is similar to CORAC in many ways, doing very practical things to fight back against government mandates – and hold petty officials personally accountable, while also helping small businesses survive and grow again AND helping families to get their kids out of failing public schools. Their work is magnificent. I heartily endorse it. I think it is an organization many of you will want to get involved with – and Pam is one feisty, no-nonsense lady. About the only thing I disagreed with her about is the value of public protests. She is focused on getting specific things done, but I believe that public protests help hearten and give courage to the faithful and other ordinary citizens being oppressed, which I think is tremendously valuable. It was a great interview.

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Of all the commentary I have read on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, only one so far has struck me as being grounded in hard geo-political facts. Interestingly, it largely relies on the analysis of the late Aleksander Solzhenitzyn – one of the most astute historical and political observers of the last century. Most of the rest of the commentary, even by the best pundits, has seemed to me to be hair on fire reactions that don’t even skim the surface of this flash point or what its potential consequences are. So I’ll give it a go for all you Next Right Steppers. I am going to go step by step through some significant issues that have to be considered before making any sort of coherent analysis.

  • Historical Aspects: It has been a troubled encounter between Russia and Ukraine for over three centuries. Most of the offenses have been the fault of Russia – but not all. The Russian Empire took over Ukraine in the late 1700’s and held it tightly until the dissolution of the Soviet Empire in 1991. Unfortunately, Soviet rule seriously warped the definition of what is actual Russian and what is Ukrainian territory. In 1954, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev “gifted” Crimea to Ukraine. This was peculiar because Crimea had never been part of Ukraine. It was part of the Khanate when Russia took it over in the late 1700’s and drove most of the Muslims out, replacing them with ethnic Russians. And yet, it was kind of an honorary thing because both Crimea and Ukraine were firmly under the rule of Russia, so it changed nothing then about who ruled – just made it part of a particular Soviet Province. Many suspected it was a tacit apology by Khrushchev for the Holodomor, the forced starvation of millions of Ukrainians by Josef Stalin. These redefinitions of boundaries of Soviet Regions had no consequences then but are having many now. When the Soviet Union broke up and Ukraine declared its independence after three centuries of Russian rule, big chunks of Eastern Ukraine considered themselves Russian – and believed they were now governed by a “foreign” power. Data from public surveys in the 90’s showed that nearly 70 percent of people in Eastern Ukraine considered themselves Russian – and wanted to be repatriated with Russia. Had Soviet rule not deformed traditional national boundaries, many of the ongoing troubles in that region would never have been sparked. Kiev is not only an historical Russian city: it is the city where Russia was founded in 988 A.D.
  • Cultural Aspects: About a third of modern-day Ukraine is overwhelmingly Russian Orthodox. This is all in the east. The rest is Eastern-rite Catholic. The shallow thinkers in the media and modern foreign policy establishments don’t think culture and religion mean much of anything. They are wrong. The border between Russian Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholic in Ukraine is almost as sharply defined as the border between the north and the south was in the American Civil War. Most Russian Orthodox consider themselves Russian. Most Eastern-rite Catholics consider themselves Ukrainian. That is a problem that has been festering since the Soviet break-up over 30 years ago. Eastern Ukrainians have repeatedly reported that the Ukrainian government has treated them as second-class citizens since independence. This animosity is understandable, as Ukraine has been oppressed by Russia worse than any country except, perhaps, Poland. But I have known since the 90’s that this could not last. I had hoped that Russia and Ukraine would, through diplomatic means, work out the borders so that ethnic Ukrainians were fully in independent Ukraine and places with majority ethnic Russians could peacefully re-unite with Russia if they so chose.
  • Feckless U.S. Diplomacy: The last U.S. President who had both a coherent understanding of the Russia issue and the political capital to carry out coherent diplomacy was Ronald Reagan. Everything since has been wishful thinking or thwarted efforts. The Soviet Union fell under the first George Bush’s watch, but that result was entirely the culmination of events initiated by Reagan, Pope St. John Paul II, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Bush Sr. was too busy celebrating the illusory end of history and American status as the world sole superpower to deal effectively with the turbulent transition in world affairs. Bill Clinton continued the policy begun by Bush of inviting near every country in the world to join NATO, thus diluting it and ensuring that it would become a dead man walking at the next truly global crisis – when he wasn’t ignoring the growing threat of radical Jihadists and giving satellite-targeting technology to the Chinese. The second George Bush handled the specific immediate crisis of 9-11 well but had little feel for geo-political realities otherwise. Hurricane Katrina sapped Bush junior’s mojo and he staggered ineffectively to the end of his second term, both in foreign affairs and domestically. Barack Obama put the feck in feckless. One of his first acts was to unilaterally stop the missile defense radars being built in Poland. Russia had complained of them, because of course they would. Actually, Russia would have benefitted from them as an early warning against Chinese mischief, but it was a good opportunity to get something in exchange from the U.S. in trade. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stupid. This was a routine diplomatic ploy by Russia. The first rule of international diplomacy is that the only thing you give away for nothing is…nothing. I remember watching in 2010, I think, an early meeting between Obama and Putin after the latter had cancelled the missile defense program. Putin could barely hide his disdain for the American president. A serious global leader is not much interested in shows of how much a colleague loves them: they want to know you are a competent dance partner. Putin’s visage reflected the late Casey Stengel’s lament about the pitiful 1963 New York Mets: “Doesn’t anybody here know how to play this game?” Any idiot could see the growing threat of China – and the ultimate conflict that must come between China and Russia because of simple geography. Putin was looking for a competent ally to deal with that threat – and we could have gotten a lot in return, but Obama was too busy looking for a pat on the head to be a serious ally, so Putin made a deal with China in hopes of forestalling the inevitable confrontation between those two states. Donald Trump provided the first serious opportunity since Reagan to forge mutually beneficial ties. It is not so much that Trump is a geo-political genius, but he is a brilliantly shrewd negotiator whose gut instincts are as fine as any around. Alas, the Democrats and Republican establishmentarians hated Trump so much they were glad to use Russia as a bugaboo for purely political reasons to mount a false narrative in hopes of taking Trump down. They squandered our last serious chance to forge a diplomatic alliance that could have preserved peace and provided a diplomatic means to resolve conflicts in the region. Then came Joe Biden who took fecklessness to a whole new level. Since Bush junior, Putin has had to deal with incompetent American dance partners or a competent one who was barred from forging any serious alliance with Russia. Putin realized that, for the foreseeable future, he is on his own. So he forged an alliance with the Chinese, hoping to forestall the inevitable conflict they would have if he is not willing to become a vassal client state to China. For a decade and a half, he has practically been screaming for someone of stature in the American foreign policy establishment to notice that China is a huge and growing threat to both America and Russia – and everything in between. But the America foreign policy establishment hasn’t gotten anything right in decades – and is too busy grappling with the “crises” of climate change, gay rights, critical race theory and transgenderism to pay attention to anything real. Some of these guys are smart but, sadly, in these times, smart often just means you are better able to convince yourself of your own fantasies than that you can deal effectively with the reality in front of you. When the history of these times is written 50 years from now, it will be a history of constantly squandered opportunities spanning decades.
  • Haven for U.S. Officials Corruption: It is often noted that corruption is rife in Ukraine. That is true BUT powerful American politicians have used that poor country as an ATM and an effective money-laundering operation for the proceeds of their influence peddling and rank corruption. Shoot, when he was vice-president, Biden actually bragged about getting the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, the company from which his son Hunter was getting tens of thousands a month, fired. When Ukraine tried to root out corruption, powerful establishment American officials stepped in to keep it corrupt so as not to disturb their honeypot. I have read various establishment media outlets supposedly “debunking” these stories – but all the debunking consists of technical issues rather than the raw substance of the allegations of corruption. They say that, for example, it is not Mitt Romney’s son who is making big money from Ukraine, but a close crony…or that Nancy Pelosi’s son does not work for a Ukrainian energy company, he just has a sweetheart deal to import Ukrainian oil. The establishment is so desperate to hide these ties that they impeached (but did not convict) Trump when he tried to get to the bottom of it. It did stop the investigation which would have led to their massive corruption, though. Ukraine was victimized by powerful American establishment politicians to keep their own honeypot flowing. Now it is victimized by Russia’s invasion. But when Biden and company so ruthlessly exploited Ukraine for profit, I have to wonder whether the dogs of war they want to unleash are to defend Ukraine or to keep the Russians from getting hard evidence of their own corruption. There is no doubt that Ukraine has been badly victimized for a long time – but I have yet to see a “good guy” in this situation…and I am not eager to commit American lives to protect the dirty secrets of establishment politicians.
  • What Putin Wants Now: Putin is often quoted as saying the breakup of the Soviet Union was the worst catastrophe of the 20th century. The implication is that he is a closet communist, yearning for the old days. Even when he was a KGB officer, Putin had no great love for communism. He did, however, and still does have a yearning for a great and powerful Russian Empire. If people say that Putin is a modern equivalent of a Russian Czar, I have no quibble with that. He has no desire I have ever fathomed to be a Communist First Secretary. Given the realities that he wants Russian greatness, fears Chinese hegemony, and knows he is on his own to fend as best he can, what is his endgame? Here it gets tricky, for several are possible. What is certain is that Putin wants to expose NATO as the toothless paper tiger it is and utterly destroy it. Thanks to German intransigence and dependence on Russia, he will probably succeed on that. NATO was the greatest collective security coalition in the history of the world – but its sell-by date expired three decades ago. It has been a shuffling zombie ever since. You might think that is no big deal, but it is. The maintenance of a now-useless security alliance retards the creation of new security alliances that match the threats of our time. What we need is a collective security alliance along the lines of NATO in East Asia and with Eastern European and Middle Eastern states that border China. Even if Putin can’t hope to get such a collective started under this feckless administration, the destruction of NATO will force officials to think with fresh eyes about such things. I have doubts that Putin wants to absorb all of Ukraine. To take Western Ukraine would just create a constant center of resentment and rebellion. When he invaded Georgia in 2008, after those responsible for violent incursions into Russia were brought to heel, Putin withdrew his forces and returned full sovereignty to the nation of Georgia. He has not shown a history of wanting to buy vexing problems for show. If he goes into Ukraine just to the intrinsic border between the Russian Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholics, for all the storm and fury of the moment, this will ultimately die down and both nations will have more stable borders. If that breaks NATO, I doubt he will go any further. If it does not, I would not be surprised if he does go further or even invades other countries on his border such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia or Belarus. He needs to break NATO and get other western nations focused on the threat of China. If he has to ultimately go it alone against China, in his mind, better to do it from Empire. If the backlash that seems certain in American politics takes solid shape this fall, he only has two more years before once again having the potential for a potent western alliance. As a bonus, he would have a host of bargaining chips in his pocket to sweeten any deal. I cannot speak to what Putin’s moral character is. Certainly, he is a determined autocrat, for which Americans denounce him regularly – without noting that the only Russian rulers who have survived very long for over a thousand years in Russian politics of whatever stripe have been strongman autocrats. Faculty lounge fantasists need not apply – and if they do, they will be toppled very quickly. If you doubt it, see Georgi Malenkov. What I do know is that, up to this point in his tenure, the moves Putin has made have made geo-political sense from the standpoint of someone who puts Russian interests first. The great tragedy is that we have been too blind to exploit opportunities where mutual interests could have made us allies and shaved off some very rough edges, while genuinely confronting China.
  • Consequences and…China: If America and NATO do somehow mount a vigorous defense of Ukraine, I expect to see cyber-attacks like we have never seen before. I already know that Putin is shrewd. If he is very shrewd, he will target his cyber attacks against critical government infrastructure such as federal police forces, military communications, the IRS and other bureaucracies while making as few attacks on services ordinary Americans rely on as possible. He still wants an ultimate American alliance, for that would be a much stronger starting point in any conflict with China than any Empire he could realistically mount. Better even a frail gesture of good will to the American people than no such gesture to facilitate cooperation in the future. The bottom line is that whatever happens in Ukraine is most unlikely to start World War III BUT…China is watching closely. If America and NATO are as feeble and aimless as I think they are, I expect China to invade Taiwan while we are all pre-occupied with Ukraine. That does have the strong potential of setting off World War III. Even so, it advances Putin’s aims. The time has not yet come for China to abrogate its treaties with Russia and attack – and the very act of China beginning its Hitlerian drive for world dominance will force the west to get serious about collective security arrangements to stop China. That is the best chance for Russia to survive the current geopolitical currents.

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I was amused to see that Justin Trudeau ended the Emergency Act, under pressure from the Canadian Senate, and very real fears that his precipitous actions might collapse the Canadian banking system. Leftists can rarely foresee the logical consequences of their actions. If you are 20 feet from them, they will eagerly toss a grenade at you and always be shocked that it cripples them, too. They are very mouthy and arrogant, but not very bright.

It may not help very much. The run on Canadian banks by normal people and by international corporations has already begun. Now all those banking customers know that Canada is willing and able to steal people’s money for simply disagreeing with the government and the media. It will be hard to get that toothpaste back into the tube. For all the fearful events in the world, when ordinary people unite, they are the most powerful force on earth.

My friend, Desmond Birch, made an insightful post on his Facebook page on the end of tyrants and how we should look at them.

Find me on Gab at Charliej373 or at the CORAC group.

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146 thoughts on “…and Rumors of War”

  1. Thank you so much for this, Charlie. Lots to chew on here. Love the history review and explication. The links are not to be skipped, especially the rich piece about Solzhenitzyn’s perspective. Your analysis makes sense, bringing clarity amidst the din of commentary.

    Incredible pressures have made this a verrry dangerous world, while the Storm rages on, inviting deeper reliance on the Lord with trust cemented in our ongoing prayers as we each do the little we can right before us. Mighty grateful to be in the boat with our ASOH and CORAC peeps.

    Liked by 11 people

    1. Thank you, Charlie, yours is the second and only commentary I have looked at today. Dennis Prager was the first. You both seem to be right about in line with each other. I agree that Pam Popper’s ideas about building community are wonderful. People are waking up left and right. I have now spoken with three people at the middle school where I work and I have had the opportunity to speak freely finally to give them information about several subjects and encouragement with prayers.
      I ask for continued prayers for all my middle school students whose parents are taking to get the mRNA shots. They know not what they are doing…God bless all here and good night.

      Liked by 11 people

    2. Yes, Charlie, thanks so much for the historical perspective. In spite of the serious tone, the whole piece had smiles tucked in it. I had to smile about Obama putting the feck in feckless…and others.
      Beckita and all, if you follow JohnPaul and Annie of PrayMoreNovenas, they are beginning a new novena for peace in Ukraine tomorrow. Wanting a special prayer, this seemed to be the answer. We are just totally dependent on God and must pray constantly to see and take the next right step.
      As always, praying for all here ~
      Love & God bless, katey in OR
      🙏🏽💕✝️

      Liked by 9 people

      1. John, as you can see I edited out the video. While some of the gentleman’s statements are addressing the real corruption in Ukraine, he says them in a most inaccurate way by making a series of sweeping generalizations about all the people of the Ukraine, calling them ALL “evil, liars and thieves.” Not true. We’re not going to do that here. It’d be like calling everyone at ASOH, CORAC and in the rest of our country “evil, liars and thieves” when we’re actually suffering under the governance of some Americans who are engaged in the kinds of wicked things the far Left is known for, such as lying, stealing and thievery. This brings to mind the tyrannical government of China. I’ve spent time in the land of China with beautiful, yet oppressed people. It’s simply not just nor true that “The Chinese are evil, liars and thieves.”

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Charlie, you can put together a 1,000 piece puzzle faster than anyone else. I just look at the pile of pieces and don’t know where to begin. You have the whole picture put together while everyone else is looking for the border pieces.
    Thanks for this writing! We all needed it.

    Liked by 13 people

  6. Charlie- the main reason our political elites and intelligence services have appeared blind to the threat from China is because China has been capturing them at an alarming rate through old fashioned corruption. The conclusion that many American leaders are “on the take” is the only rational explanation for where we are right now with China, because the threat has been visible to all but the most hopelessly ignorant for the last three decades. These greedy grifters would sell their own grandmothers for the right price, and they could care less about such old fashioned concepts as honor, duty, loyalty, and patriotism. You can’t buy beach houses with those.

    As for Russia, I would like to believe there is a chance to create some sort of a mutually beneficial alliance with them long term against the Chinese. However, Putin probably knows more about how many of our elites are already compromised by China than we do. Given this, and in light of how the democrats and RINO republicans used Russia as a foil to cripple Trump’s foreign policy efforts and injure him domestically, I’m not sure Putin feels he could trust us in any such overtures. Moreover, our foreign policy with Russia and on a host of other issues has swung nearly 180 degrees in different directions depending on which party has the White House from the time of Bush Jr. through the current Cheater in Chief. For example, Gaddafi accepted Bush’s offer to renounce terrorism in exchange for us not targeting him in the war on terror, and then Obama/Hillary turned around and torched him, and most of the rest of the Middle East (right in Putin’s backyard) during the so-called Arab Spring a few years later. Hillary infamously offered Putin the “reset” button from Staples as Secretary of State and, after being embarrassed by him diplomatically for her presumptuousness, has since essentially characterized him as Satan incarnate. Further, generally, the democrats are not trustworthy partners in foreign policy, and the American electorate (with some major help from the DNC, Dominion, and others) puts them back in power regularly. In light of all of these negative variables, how can he count on any deal with us to be honored?

    Absent a major reset of our political landscape, I cannot imagine anyone on our side having the ability our courage to pursue this path, and I cannot see Putin ever thinking he could trust us to follow through. Hope I’m wrong.

    Liked by 9 people

    1. Fred, there is so much (frightening) truth in what you say about many in our government being paid off stooges of China. I honestly believe that only God can correct the many evils we are facing. Man (all of us!) can only submit to God to find true freedom.

      Liked by 5 people

    2. I think that major reset of the political landscape is underway, Fred. So often, Heaven is at work under the radar, setting the stage for breakthrough. (Here, I think again of Jesus’ birth… so hidden, so quiet in many ways, so unknown by the masses initially. But WOW! What a breakthrough was His birth.) For sure, life built on lies simply cannot be sustained. What twists and turns will emerge and evolve as we go through the process of today’s Babylon coming down, only God knows, yet we do know He has a Plan to reclaim us. We surely do have wood to chop, but that can’t be fully fruitful without God’s promised intervention, opening up our own Red Sea in these times.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Dear Beckita,
        What a beautiful and succint synopsis of the situation.
        Only in God is my soul at rest, in Him lies my Hope, my Salvation.
        I live in Canada and have just witnessed peaceful people standing up for their freedoms being condemned as terrorists, losing their livelihoods, being arrested, having their bank accounts frozen…
        I am a first-generation Canadian, born of Slovenian parents who met in a displaced persons camp in Austria after the war. By God’s grace they were not in the initial trainloads of people handed over by the British back to Tito, part of the Yalta ‘agreement’, which affected other European countries as well. Some were able to jump from the trains and run back to warn the others; however, thousands and thousands were murdered in mass graves, among them a number of my relatives.
        We have witnessed decades of the evil of abortion, the slaughter of Holy Innocents in our midst.
        May God have mercy on us all!
        The Ukrainian people are only at 15% jabbed and are a faith-filled people. Like them, ultimately, we are all, sadly, expendable in the eyes of those who seek to change this world in defiance of God’s beautiful plan. We need to be prepared for martyrdom, and not be afraid, for martyrdom is, ultimately, to fall into the arms of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
        Yes, let us stand at the shore of the Red Sea and trust in God’s perfect plan for each and every one of us. In every moment of the day let us look for the action of God and follow Him. He has already won the victory and He will supply all that we need. God is cleaning His House and every burning ember will become a blazing bonfire so that all may witness His glory and majesty and Divine Mercy. Come Lord Jesus! Come Holy Spirit!

        Liked by 3 people

        1. What a beautiful history you have shared, Virginia. God bless you, your family and your ancestors. Together, in solidarity, we pray Amen! to your closing paragraph as we NRS our way through this transition into the Era of Peace promised by Our Lady!

          Liked by 2 people

  7. Here is a noteworthy paragraph:

    “Now it [Ukraine] is victimized by Russia’s invasion. But when Biden and company so ruthlessly exploited Ukraine for profit, I have to wonder whether the dogs of war they want to unleash are to defend Ukraine or to keep the Russians from getting hard evidence of their own corruption. There is no doubt that Ukraine has been badly victimized for a long time – but I have yet to see a “good guy” in this situation…and I am not eager to commit American lives to protect the dirty secrets of establishment politicians.”

    I am monitoring this line of thinking, through non-MSM sources.

    Liked by 12 people

  8. What people are so blind about, is what is happening before our very eyes in the West. The marginalisation of the Christian Faith in schools and instead we have governments thrusting secularism on our children & society in general. Christian values are set aside and governments encourage abortions along with belief systems which are grossly unchristian and society have embraced all these changes. Guess what? Russia has rejected all these unchristian values and it is the USA leading the Western world into decadence. It is evident right now before our very eyes. Those who are aware & cling onto Christian values are marginalised. Wake up folks, please wake up.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Blessedly, Barb, thanks to Charlie’s tutelage and sheperding over these last eight years, the people in the ASOH and CORAC communities are wide awake, praying consistently and already have their hands filled with the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy to present to the Lord… and, in many ways, we’ve only just begun.

      Dr. Pam Popper (such a great and hopeful interview with her at CORAC’s website!), even from a non-Christian perspective expresses the work of the enemy well: “They always overplay their hand.” Look at Trudeua’s mess he, himself, created. He not only had to back peddle, God drew tremendous good by bringing the Canadians out of isolation and into community for the common purpose of defending their God-given freedom. The videos which Trudeau demanded You Tube to take down were filled with such scenes as Praise and Worship on the streets, a line of protestors being confronted by a line of thugs aka police approaching them and the peaceful protestors broke into praying the Our Father together, and more.

      What you describe is true, but it’s not a permanent condition and right now the landscape is changing before our eyes. So SO good to see the Dawn of a New Beginning.

      Liked by 5 people

            1. Brothers and Sisters in Christ

              I don’t recall ever citing anything connected with CNN before. There is part of an article which is necessary in order to adequately present this piece. It is from the ‘Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training’ (ADST). It begins with a cryptic statement of Fredrick Becker, the former U.S. State Department ‘Desk Officer’ for Romania in 1989. One of his quotes from that piece appears directly below:

              “December (1989) saw the fall of one of Eastern Europe’s most brutal dictators, Nicolae Ceaușescu, and it did not come peacefully.”
              The Romanian dictator, Ceaușescu, [pn. chau·cheh·skoo] to whom Becker refers was the then Communist/Marxist ruler of Romania. He was part of the Defense Pact of the Eastern Bloc of Communist countries. Yet he was not just a satrap (regional governor or ’yes man’) for the USSR. He was Communist/Marxist to the core and ran his own independent version of that form of government in Romania, a country about 90% the size of the state of Colorado in the USA.

              The linked article below describes the events which finally brought down Ceausescu.

              What is my purpose for discussing it at this time? It is this! There are two central points to be found by a Christian in the article;
              1. All brutal dictators believe they can deny many of people’s basic rights from God, and think they are immune from resistance or retaliation when they so oppress their people. Their belief in their own immunity is brought on by two factors;

              a) Their inability to look at things and events objectively. That is a result of their out-of-control egos, their narcissism run wild.

              b) From there, they disrespect the natural rights of those over whom they wish to have absolute rule without limit. To this end, they virtually always enact ‘laws’ and/or try to give proclamations which gradually clamp down upon the God-given rights of the people. When they peacefully speak out and protest – dictator uses brutal tactics to try to drive the people into submission.

              In cases like Caesescu, the following result described in the article sometimes happens: “The army caught the Ceausescus (Nicholae and his wife) and lined the two of them against a wall and executed them. The army unit filmed the execution and broadcast it on state tv….”

              2. A sincere follower of Jesus Christ must remain objective in his view of such situations.Where does that objectivity begin? It begins in love of God AND love of neighbor. Sometimes their neighbor is a friend, sometimes he is an enemy. A true follower of Jesus Christ loves (wishes well) everyone, both friends and enemies. He or she, like Jesus Christ, loves everyone and wants them to go to heaven. To this end, they wish evil on no one. [THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT THEY BE A COMPLETE PACIFIST.] It means that if they wish to go to heaven themselves, this desire is objectively
              incompatible with any wish of revenge against – an evil end for the other.

              3. Therefore, I wish for Trudeau to hear the call of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, for Justin to repent of his brutal tactics – and apparent desire for total levels of power not granted to any man in Canadian foundational documents. I wish for him conversion, repentance, and subsequent joy in dealing justly with his electorate. [Ordering truck drivers that they must even wear masks when driving alone down the road is a clear sign of a man drunk with the desire for power.] There is time for a fully peaceful solution in Canada, the land of my own birth.

              4. I also wish for any wanna-be dictators in my own country to have a change of heart – and to respect the God-given rights of all U.S. citizens. I wish them well. In the words of St. Thomas More (while King Henry VIII was planning Thomas’ murder) “I wish no man harm.”

              In that phrase of More’s – I find my path. I wish for peace and justice for my fellow Americans – with their God-given rights fully respected by those in political power. I wish for all wanna-be dictators to see the light and turn back before they do much harm to either others or ultimately to themselves.
              Here is the link to the article: https://adst.org/2015/10/the-1989-romanian-revolution-and-the-fall-of-ceausescu/?gclid

              Liked by 6 people

              2. Brilliant. My children’s paternal grandparents were both immigrants. One from Romania and the other from Ireland. It is getting clearer to see how we were surrounded by this evil all along. I recall having a good thing it is *them* and not us take on matters many times under different circumstances my whole life.
                Anne the Lay Apostle shared this tidbit today that ties in the love God’s chosen are being called to in something as simple as basic human contact. When we hear or speak of communications these days, our minds race to things external by and large. Truly it is what we give and share from our internal selves that bears more spiritual weight. ❤

                Message A Day
                Excerpt from Whispers From The Cross

                “Clear communication is a heavenly grace and it can be acquired if people are willing to be humble. This type of heavenly communication requires hard work and self-evaluation. How grateful God is when he observes two people trying to get it right for him in this regard. This communication is part of the reverence God asks us to have for each other. If we desire a holy relationship, we will work for an honest relationship. If we desire to protect God’s will, we will be willing to work at the relationships God wills. Everything else is shadow boxing, positioning, power mongering. Who needs it? Not God’s holy apostles” (Anne, Whispers From The Cross, p 76).

                Liked by 2 people

                1. “It is getting clearer to see how we were surrounded by this evil all along. I recall having a good thing it is *them* and not us take on matters many times under different circumstances my whole life.”

                  I think you are talking about generations here. I was thinking similar thoughts, Jen.

                  Liked by 1 person

                    1. Jen, the frog analogy is true and one I have been hearing and saying for probably over 50 years! I think I learned it from my father, who taught me so much. Yes, how could we have imagined our country falling to Communism?! And so many now don’t even realize it, no clue. As an aside remark, someone on the radio said yesterday that 80% of our young people would not even be fit for military duty since they spend all their time on phones, etc. and get no exercise (and of course many read very little.) Well, we have hope and prayer!! Come Lord Jesus!

                      Like

  10. You can tell Charlie “you’re in your lane” ☺️. Great words to delve into… know there are many intricacies. We too look below the MSM “ news”feed on this all. The corruption in Ukraine and their own Deep state govt cannot be trusted , that they may well sacrifice their own people for saving their secrets. Even read that Ukraine did not apply for it’s established borders by Dec. 25 1991 deadline… conjecturing if Ukraine has always been a part of Russia since then, and the 2014 Crimean conflict was to put in place the corrupt elites to do the deep state’s bidding . Idk, but history will show. So much intel, fake intel and deep evil ….that we do best in what we all “know to do best”…Jesus I trust in you! God bless✝️

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Remember, though, ECD that to say Ukraine has always been a part of Russia bypasses the history between Russia and Ukraine as well as the divisions between the Ukrainins themselves and a corrupt government cannot speak the truth of what the peoples of Ukraine would choose to resolve their current situation. This passage from Charlie’s writing speaks to the compounding of an already complicated Ukrainian history: “The Russian Empire took over Ukraine in the late 1700’s and held it tightly until the dissolution of the Soviet Empire in 1991. Unfortunately, Soviet rule seriously warped the definition of what is actual Russian and what is Ukrainian territory.” Thanks for your comment which prompted me to read a bit more of the fascinating history of the Ukraine (found here) and its interplay with surrounding empires/countries/regimes long before Russia took over. This, too, has impacted, in competing ways, the will of the Ukrainian peoples on how to stabilize their situation. With you on your closure of trusting God for solutions.

      Liked by 4 people

  11. Charlie, another great assessment. Enjoy hearing your thoughts. I feel emboldened when I know that I’m not the only one seeing what’s coming at us. Good job!

    Liked by 4 people

  13. After America made an agreement with Russia to remove nuclear weapons from Ukraine they also promised to defend Ukraine from foreign aggression. One of the reasons Putin invaded was because this agreement was being ignored and weapons redeployment into the Ukraine was back on the table. He made several strong complaints about this and said he would move militarily if this was ignored. He does not trust the U.S. using our historical record of deception regarding the Middle East and others and does not want his country to end up like them.
    He makes his case here:
    “I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border.” https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/putin-makes-public-statement/

    Also, Putin’s admin stated publicly multiple times that the US are creating bio weapons at Russia’s borders. This entire situation has further details than just missile from the UN being stationed in the Ukraine. This may help explain explosions deep within Ukraine as Russia targets these facilities.
    https://dailyexpose.uk/2022/02/24/is-there-is-more-to-the-ukraine-russia-conflict/

    Another look from Russian news…

    “The report claims, however, that Russian values are under threat from outside forces including terrorist and extremist organizations, multinational corporations, NGOs, and the US and its allies. Among the foreign ideas said to be invading Russia, the authors name egoism, permissiveness, “amorality,” and the refusal to grant Russia a positive place in history and culture.”

    “The draft text defines “traditional values” as “moral guidelines that form Russian citizens’ worldview, transferring from generation to generation, guaranteeing civil unity, forming the base of Russian civilizational identity and the nation’s unified cultural space, and manifesting uniquely and distinctly in the spiritual, historical, and cultural development of the multiethnic people of Russia.”

    According to the order, examples of these values include “life, dignity, human rights and freedom, patriotism, civic consciousness, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, high moral ideals, a strong family, creative work, prioritizing the spiritual over the material, humanism, charity, justice, collectivism, mutual support and respect, historical memory and continuity between generations, and the unity of the peoples of Russia.”

    Liked by 8 people

  14. Charlie: Good analysis of a very complex, and long troubled, relationship between Ukraine and Russia. My mother’s parents came from the part of Poland that is now near the Ukrainian border. From what I know of the history of that side of my family, I have a decent amount of Ukrainian blood in my genetic makeup. It is not only the history between Ukraine and Russia that is complicated. The history of the west in its dealings with the Slavic peoples is full of broken promises, blood and betrayal.
    It pains me greatly to see Slavs killing each other again over issues that were partly triggered by the interference of the western countries. I really thought, or maybe unrealistically hoped, that this crisis would have come to some resolution short of war. Now that the cage has been opened it may not be that easy lock things down again.

    Looking at the events of the past several years it seems as if a great stop gap or control on events has been released. In the last thirty months I have seen more impossible things than I had in my whole sixty-five years before that. Mary has been warning us of these things for over a century now, but they always seemed like something that was supposed to happen far in the future.

    We trust in God, in the ultimate victory of Jesus and the intercession of His Mother, while we take one day and one next step at a time.

    JT

    Liked by 6 people

      1. Today I came across a Catholic site that stated in part, “Did you know that the Pope visited the Russian embassy in Rome? In international law, the embassy is part of Russia. Therefore, the Pope visited Russia….”
        Do you believe this is a stretch? For years, I’ve reading about events occurring after Pope Francis visits Russia and therefore it has been a dot on my radar. I believe the book by Mirjana Soldo – My Heart Will Triumph mentioned it. Again just a fleeting thought and curiosity as to what others might think about that interpretation. ❤

        Liked by 4 people

          1. It was Garabandal, Jen. So much waiting to be seen as fulfilled or replaced by a better plan or discovery that a certain detail was misinterpreted or mistakenly passed around.

            Liked by 2 people

    3. JT my Dad’s family is from that area, they came here around 1917. However, I have very little knowledge of them, sadly. From what little I know, I think they were “Russians” for the reason that were Russian Orthodox, my Grandfather was named Nicholas and born on St. Nicholas’s feast day. My Dad used to say they were white Russians.

      I’ve search-engine that term and it says it refers to cossacks that opposed the Bolsheviks. However, both of my Russian grandparents were in America by 1917. This piece below says it refers to the Russians in the white army who opposed the French Revolution.

      https://www.familytreemagazine.com/heritage/russian/genealogy-white-russian/

      I have a cousin who has done extensive genealogy, but sadly he only knows my older sibs and not me from a stranger. My adults kids did the gene ancestry and a large percentage of genes from that area of the world.

      My Russian relatives always carried such enormous sadness and mystery and deep hidden secrets. I would love to learn more about them all.

      Liked by 6 people

  15. Charlie, I enjoyed your talk this past Wednesday in Columbia, MD. It was a treat to meet you after reading your blog for so many years. After I left the meeting, I was blessed by a sense of deep peace that has not left me. Thank you for all that you are doing to hearten the faithful.
    Your post is such a good analysis of this complex geopolitical mess. And you are on the road! Fred raised a good question about China. It does appear that the Chinese have infiltrated our government – I think of Biden’s connections, Gen. Miley’s contacts with his Chinese counterparts, their infiltration of our school system, the list goes on. It seems to me, as well, that China would benefit from any conflict between the US andRussia. How do you see the Chinese influence in the US impacting the current situation and the ultimate confrontation between Russia and China?
    In any event, we need to pray for the people of the UKR caught in the middle. Pray for peace. 🙏🙏🙏

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Hey Barbara, it was great to see you after our memorable chats a few years back. I will deal with China more as the need and opportunities arise. Chinese influence on American establishment politicians is a very big deal, but I kind of think the way the trajectory is going, there will be a MAJOR transformation in the U.S. before we reach the point for those critical decisions.

      Liked by 8 people

          1. But I’m not tired, Linda. 🙂 I’m loving the ways people are responding and awakening… and this is leading to the great Catholic Awakening. These events are like fertilizer for the soil of the heart. I will never forget the 2020 Encounter Conference in Toledo, OH when Christian Unity was embraced as the Catholic planning team for the conference invited some Christian, non-Catholic preachers. Randy Clark, an international itinerant minister, proclaimed in one of his presentations that revival (Catholics speak in terms of a harvest of souls) is coming… and this minister of evangelical faith said the revival is coming through the Catholic Church.

            Liked by 8 people

            1. I need some of your joy and zeal😂😂😂 I’m just tired all the time😩 but then again I am babysitting a lot these days and old for this job and yet I wouldn’t stop doing it for anything😂😂😂

              Thanks for reminding me though that this is really a very glorious time in history. We are indeed blessed to be alive at this time🥰

              Liked by 5 people

              1. Right there with you, Linda, in loving the time I have had with my grandchildren and getting tuckered out in the bargain. Mercy! When they were into distance learning, I would rise in the morning, pick them up to bring them to our house, cook breakfast and then jump into teaching three different grade levels with three different learning styles and personalities, serve lunch and snacks and then drop in the recliner after they went home… only to rise and shine the remaining days of the week to run my one room schoolhouse. Of course, on very cold days, they had their nonagenarian Ye Ye to chase them around the house, spraying them with holy water when he could get close to them.

                Take good care, Linda, and pamper yourself with extra naps if you can. 🙂

                Liked by 8 people

                  2. Hehehee you go ye ye!!! I put exorcised salt 🧂 in all my meals I make for family 😂. I also hide green scapulars under mattresses😂 me me & ye ye are having fun!!!😂

                    Liked by 3 people

                2. Omgosh Beckita that is truly amazing!!! Plus do all you do here for all of us and Charlie that must’ve been a really really hard thing to accomplish each day!!! 😳 Girlfriend you give me strength and courage just reading your witness!!! Thank you for all your good advice🥰 God will give us all strength in these times!!!

                  This made me laugh out loud (but quietly because we just got the baby to sleep😂)

                  “. Of course, on very cold days, they had their nonagenarian Ye Ye to chase them around the house, spraying them with holy water when he could get close to them🥰“

                  Liked by 5 people

                  1. I’m glad you were laughing, Linda. 🙂 Some things ARE hard and demand extra focus and energy, don’t they? There is a happy kind of tired in a lot of things. Your grandbabies are so very blessed you are in their lives!! You are making forever joyful memories in their lives. You just get good rest and don’t feel a bit guilty about a nap or two.. 🙂

                    Liked by 4 people

                    1. Thank you Beckita!!! Gosh I thank God for you and your beautiful kind words you share so often with us all!!! Your grandchildren are so blessed as well B!!! Plus they have Fr Wang as well🥰🥰😇😇😘😘You have heartened me this weekend!!!😇

                      Liked by 4 people

                    2. Happy to see you heartened, Linda. You, too, bring cheer to the comments here, uplifting spirits. I think we’ll all continue doing so for one another because we’re bound to have some rugged days/times as we carry on.

                      My ardent prayer is that we can remain steady and hopeful as we note the happenings around us.

                      In ongoing educators’ trainings something that stuck with me is when shaping kids’ behaviors to redirect the inappropriate stuff, we could challenge ourselves with self-monitoring. For every correction we gave a child, it’d be good to find three authentic good things the kid was doing and comment on that to encourage the wee person. So it is with the shocking news of the day… for every development we note, we can comment on many things that reflect the Dawn of the New Beginning which is unfolding. 🌞🌎🌹

                      Liked by 6 people

                    3. Oh I love that Beckita!!!

                      The Dawn of the new beginning!!! What a glorious way to keep depression away because of the hell of war we see on the news and keep upbeat!!! I have to say Charlie’s message of renewal I’ve been sharing with many people these past few days since war broke out and to the people I mentioned it too exhibited a ray of hope !!!

                      Yes we are definitely going to need each other as things progress!

                      And ohhhhh how we need this storm🥰

                      Liked by 2 people

              2. Goodness! Linda and Beckita, you make me feel like a lazy gramma only taking the grands one day a week. Yes, it is exhausting and wonderful😍 …and then there’s the preschooler on Monday mornings. It’s a great time for me. Also it’s an interesting time – needs prayer constantly. Keeps us close to our loving Father. Keeps us searching for that next right step.
                Ongoing prayers, katey

                Liked by 4 people

                2. Myownbackyard2017 sounds like you’re doing a lot too!!! They are exhausting but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Babies see things too we can’t see!!! I was getting ready to bless Jaxon with st Raphaels Holy Oil from Fr Joe’s ministry last week and right before he looked up and followed something or someone go across the room!!! Babies and children are as close as you can get to God this side of the veil, eh🥰

                  How appra po for us to be discussing all our grandchildren today🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

                  People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
                  but the disciples rebuked them.
                  When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
                  “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
                  for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
                  Amen, I say to you,
                  whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
                  will not enter it.”
                  Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
                  placing his hands on them.

                  Liked by 3 people

    3. Barbara, most would agree that the Chinese have infiltrated many levels of U.S. life, including universities and yes, our government. It’s only in the “under the radar” news that one reads what I saw today. That there are some decent people in Congress who want to get those Chinese out of universities, etc. where they are stealing secrets in many areas. (The Gateway Pundit, for ex., regardless of what some people think of it, writes articles about this type of subject matter.)

      Liked by 6 people

    4. Barbara Riley: DuckDuckGo search engine: Imprimis, What is the Great Reset? by Michael Rectenwald. This helps explain so much that we have observed in policies implemented in this country that seem so contradictory to common sense and law. The Great Reset is real and a goal of the EU, China, and the USA Democrat party.

      Liked by 8 people

      1. Good find, Joanne1950. This is a clear, organized description of what we see happening all around us, and all around the world.

        The Great Reset makes the Tower of Babel (how’d that work out for ’em?) look like a little sandbox structure. Happily, the Creator of the Universe and of us all makes The Great Reset look like that same little sandbox structure.

        God bless and keep us all!

        Sister Bear

        Liked by 7 people

        1. Do you know that when the EU built their meeting building in (I think without researching the city again) Brussels they built it to look like the Biblical Tower of Babel? It’s true. You can DuckDuckGo it. What’s the Yiddish word for pride? Chutzpah.

          Liked by 2 people

      2. Joanne, I just read the referred article in Imprimis, and it’s a doozy! It is more complete in defining the Great Reset, and its steps, than anything I’ve read before. One great thing is that the author ends on a note of hope, and I have read the same opinion lately. That is that the Great Reset is DOA; please God let it be true. Of course that all depends on “Resistance”. Thank you for the alert.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. Annie I see it in every move the HR Clinton and Obama and especially Biden has done. I can’t help thinking all of them and their supporters in control of government want the Russians to crush the Ukrainians. The Great Reset crowd can’t have us, any of us resist ie Canadian Truckers. Even as Russia has joined with China, China is already offering Russia $$$ based on the yuan in there goal to unseat the world’s currency based on the dollar. Biden’s crowd thinks they are “in” with the Chinese BUT they are not. The Chinese want to conquer us. I really believe Biden was hoping Ukrainians would roll over and surrender. Putin years ago allowed the Russian Orthodox Church rebuild itself. I often wondered why based on his evil history. He doesn’t come across as a follower of Christ. I’ve read that western part of U is Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox Church operates their too. Just heard on Newsmax that the second largest city Karkviv (sp?) first reported as taken by Russia, was then reported retaken by U with Russian troops surrendering. Maybe the big mistake was allowing Russians to reform their Christian consciences. Look for the Bidens Great Reset group to conclude they will have to obliterate the 2nd amendment to implement their plans. Praying to St Michael to protect them all.

          Liked by 4 people

  16. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …;-)

    https://mailchi.mp/jkmi/all-souls-day-1067357

    https://turnto10.com/news/local/woonsocket-ukrainian-churches-hold-prayer-services-amid-russian-invasion

    https://canonlawmadeeasy.com/google-search-suppression/

    https://aleteia.org/2020/07/09/why-do-nuns-and-others-in-religious-life-wear-habits/

    https://thefederalist.com/2022/02/25/the-ruling-class-is-a-far-greater-threat-to-americans-than-russia-is/

    https://townhall.com/columnists/jonathanemord/2022/02/25/as-ukraine-bleeds-taiwan-weeps-n2603784

    https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/02/24/americas-military-aircraft-readiness-has-tanked-amidst-a-focus-on-woke-politics/

    How come Cali’s Guv isn’t raising hell?? ..Yeah! .. ’cause he is all-in for The Agenda!!
    Every time I see Guv Loathsom’s smirking face, I think Antichrist
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/gov-refusing-send-water-california-farmers-amid-drought-prioritizes-protecting-endangered-wild-fish/

    https://www.floppingaces.net/2022/02/25/the-week-in-radical-leftism-2-25-21/

    https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/02/25/hillary-clinton-praises-biden-russia-response-it-has-been-well-executed/

    THEY are trotting out the most RADICAL judge THEY can so THEY then can call all the GOP Senators (& Manchin?) Racists & Bigots for opposing/rejecting her.
    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2022/02/25/breaking-scotus-n2603792?utm_source=breakingemail

    I’m guessing we will be in News Overload Mode till the CyberHackers take down The Grid ;-(
    We don’t need to read the Headlines to know it’s past time to Stock-Up & Neighbor-Up!!
    https://spectator.org/
    https://amgreatness.com/
    http://www.frontpagemag.com/
    https://www.americanthinker.com/
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE

    Liked by 5 people

  17. Appreciate the deep dive into Russian history, Charlie. I didn’t know all that early stuff. Saying that Putin “dreams” of a glorious Russian empire may not be far off considering some of his comments/speeches. I am not sold on his goodness, but find him more predictable than Joe and company. The corruption in our government [all agencies] runs long and deep. It has broken my heart and trust. The same goes for our “allies”. BTW, Belarus is already a close ally with Russia, providing military support.
    Right you are about China. Expecting difficulties.. Thank goodness God is Sovereign and in control and I believe many are waking up to that.

    Come, O Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
    Heavenly Father, please grant the end to war and hatred in Ukraine and with Russia. Keep all other nations out of this conflict, except that they bring true peace. May your peace reign in all nations, all hearts. Amen

    Liked by 6 people

  18. The Stages of Change:

    1) Pre-contemplation (what’s for dinner?… and pass the TV remote).
    2) Contemplation (what’s up with Putin, Trudeau and the markets?… and maybe we should cancel the trip to Hawaii next June).
    3) Preparation and Determination (since I wrote this little speech for the school board meeting, I reckon I’ll actually go on Tuesday).
    4) Maintenance (my lutfisk casseroles have been such huge hit at the last few KofC fish fries, I went ahead and dropped one off at the Rectory on the way home).
    5) Relapse (oops… just dropped another meme on a comments thread).

    Liked by 7 people

  19. I read this last night and again just now, Charlie, and it’s JUST FASCINATING!!! If you had been my history teacher, I believe I certainly would have paid attention to what you were saying! Unfortunately my history teachers were boring and I’m not sure they taught us true anyways!😂.

    I’ve shared this piece with as many people as I can think of. I hope they read it too!

    Sounds like we’re entering into the greatest part of the storm before Our Lady Rescues the world! I hope it goes by lickity split because it’s all just getting so exhausting😩

    Thank you Charlie for telling us all about this and for teaching us all for many years now how to behave and fumble through these times!

    Ave Maria Stella Maris

    Liked by 4 people

  20. Sorry, am finding this hard to follow. If Russia wants allies againt expanding power if China, how is attacking Ukraine going to help? That would just annoy the EU and make them less likely to ally with Russia, not more.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Kelly, this is a richly written piece with a lot to unpack. It demands a reread or two if someone is not fluent in the history of the region as well as the intricacies of what has been developing all over the world. It’s not so simple as saying Russia attacked Ukraine to get allies. We can see that a LOT of the Ukrainian people consider themselves Russian, not Ukrainian. For those Ukrainians who do consider themselves Russian, is this really an attack? The complexities of the current invasion are interwoven in Ukrainian history, Ukrainian-Russian history, diplomacy, and cultural influences, the failure of American diplomacy, the greed of corrupt American politicians who have illegally used and abused Ukraine, making it their pot of gold and, as Charlie wrote, in Putin’s own ambition in “a yearning for a great and powerful Russian Empire.”

      Then, I think it’s good to pick up from the following passage to see what Putin is potentially trying to achieve and read to the end of the segment on Russia and Ukraine (emboldened text my own): “Given the realities that he wants Russian greatness, fears Chinese hegemony, and knows he is on his own to fend as best he can, what is his endgame? Here it gets tricky, for several are possible. What is certain is that Putin wants to expose NATO as the toothless paper tiger it is and utterly destroy it…”

      Liked by 5 people

  21. From Our Lady of Medjugorje today

    February 25, 2022 – Monthly Message to Marija

    “Dear children! I am with you and we pray together. Help me with prayer, little children, that Satan may not prevail. His power of death, hatred, and fear has visited the earth. Therefore, little children, return to God and to prayer, to fasting and to renunciation, for all those who are downtrodden, poor, and have no voice in this world without God. Little children, if you do not return to God and His Commandments, you do not have a future. That is why He sent me to you to guide you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

    Liked by 5 people

  22. All of a sudden (ie this year) I have begun to understand the imprecatory psalms. I enjoy praying them! Also I have a new love for the Magnificat.

    Liked by 6 people

  23. As far as this invasion goes, are we getting all our information from the lying media? I don’t know what is really happening, I’m just wondering how much information is even true.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. As Charlie has taught us, Louise, use reliable sources. To this I add, we are more helpful to the Ukrainians and to all the peoples of the world by putting much more energy into drawing close to Christ via all ordinary means the Church has given us (which are actually very extraordinary in the supernatural) and doing what we can to accomplish the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy with those who are all around us.

      I’m excited for Lent as I’ll be carving out some time to review an excellent way to spend time in contemplation.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. I love lists and this is my go to shared one for the beautiful next right steps given to each of us as a guide from the Acknowledged One Himself. ❤

        If you have not seen the movie – "Little Boy" I recommend it for wholesome family viewing. The acts of mercy are central to the plot and it has a happy ended, which I am a sucker for every time. Great show for a Sunday night matinee. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/littleboy2015

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Inadvertently, originally replied to the wrong comment. Here we go…

          I poked around in the archives to share with you some of Charlie’s previous counsel for determining reliable sources, Louise:

          https://asignofhope379.com/2020/10/16/some-tools-for-discernment/
          https://asignofhope379.com/2020/12/03/steady-on-full-speed-ahead/
          On not squandering our reliability: https://asignofhope379.com/2021/01/12/the-discipline-of-a-quiet-man/
          Look for the Discipline section here: https://asignofhope379.com/2021/02/08/your-audience-is-god/

          Like

    1. Interesting and sound analysis, Pawel.

      At the 2:30 minute mark, as seen in the lower right hand corner, a military tank rolls right over a moving car and it’s driver. Cam, a reporter that I follow who is “Influencer @pragerforce | Writer @mericanownews” shared this miracle from that scene (linked below). Hopefully the video clip won’t be *vanished* before people can be heartened by it. God is with us!

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Pawel: Thanks for the link. I saw a clip of Joy Behar saying that Republicans are supporting Putin and I thought what an out and out lie. Everything I have seen is in complete support of the Ukrainian people by Republicans. I often wonder where the Behars of the world get any support for their lies. Then I viewed this clip and there is HRC actually saying the same. Do they not know we have access to information beyond them? It is remarkable. In any case you should read this article on the Great Reset (which is real and Biden policy). Here’s the link
      https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/what-is-the-great-reset/
      It explains all that we have witnessed in this country: Big Tech censorship to Open Borders and more, much more.

      Liked by 2 people

  25. Happy birthday 🎂🎈🎁🎉 Charlie!!! A year ago today you were at our house!!! Hope they have a nice cake for you today and 🎶 sing Happy Birthday!!!! May God bless and protect you so much now and forever!!!🎂🕺🏼🐿

    Liked by 2 people

  26. I wondered why Trudeau so abruptly rescinded his emergency power and ended his confiscation of bank accounts. Thanks, Charlie. I also include a recent article in Imprimis (a publication of Hillsdale College) What is the Great Reset? by Michael Rectenwald.
    https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/what-is-the-great-reset/
    It explains so much. It is The Plan. Even Trudeau’s last comment at his emergency powers announcement was to say it was time for The Great Reset. The article gives understanding for Big Tech censorship, attacks by the Democrat (communists) on President Trump (fly in the ointment of The Plan), pandemic and the censorship of medical doctors, January 6th overreach and suspension of rights of the arrested, “mostly peaceful riots” that destroyed billions in small business properties and murder, so called “climate change” and the reaction of the EU to Ukraine and the embracing of Russian oil and gas and the elimination of USA energy independence, the nomination by Biden of essentially communists to power positions within every government agencies. They have all bought into The Plan. The USA is even importing Russian energy to states like Massachusetts. See Our Lady of the End Times. O Jesus I surrender the world to you. Take care of it. Take care of those Ukrainian souls resisting The Plan and fighting for their freedom.

    Liked by 4 people

  29. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …;-)

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/prayer-for-the-deliverance-of-ukraine-in-time-of-invasion

    THEY will attempt to Ram This Thru while BoobLand USA is Distracted! Get On It!!
    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250462/us-senate-to-vote-on-pro-abortion-women-s-health-protection-act
    https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

    https://www.catholicleague.org/to-whom-do-children-belong/

    https://www.ncregister.com/cna/priest-working-for-ewtn-risks-life-to-stay-in-ukraine-our-life-is-in-god-s-hands

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/archbishop-borys-gudziak-responds-to-ukraine-invasion-feb-25

    https://denvercatholic.org/on-ukraine/

    https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/no-time-for-whining-a-knoxville-lawsuit?utm_source=url

    https://off-guardian.org/2022/02/13/the-fear-not-to-be/

    https://mises.org/wire/russia-and-china-arent-natural-allies-many-assume-them-be

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/25/joe-biden-leaves-for-delaware-as-russians-prepare-to-take-kyiv/

    8 ways YOU can prepare for possible Russia, Ukraine outcomes

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/feb/25/china-shared-us-intelligence-ukraine-crisis-russia/

    Yep!

    https://stream.org/category/us/
    https://www.crisismagazine.com/
    https://www.zerohedge.com/
    https://newsbusters.org/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE

    Liked by 6 people

  31. Colombia, South America approved abortion up to six months. Nobody seems to care. There’s the real war. As Mother Teresa once said “the fruit of abortion is war”. Those are the little warriors fighting for their own survival in the womb each day that I’m praying for. Don’t get me wrong, I pray for God’s Will in all of these events, since I don’t know exactly where the truth lies. Thy Will be done o Lord!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well, Maria, the people who gather round here care very much about rebuilding a culture of life. When you scroll down the right side of this page after clicking on the MENU bar, you can see all sorts of links to the seminal work of David Daleiden which is thrusting a mortal blow into abortion in this country. Charlie – in faithfulness and with fortitude while honoring the call on his life – has written many times of his own hours of consultation and work in collaboration with David. Most here are either on the streets or in their homes working and praying for an end to abortion. All that said, we are not only praying and working to end abortion, we also embrace all the works of God’s Mercy as we note what is going on around us all over the world and, then, set our faces like flint to partner with God as He leads us in all our next right steps while we do the little we can before us.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. I have been following Charlie for many years, when many people abandoned the other site I continued to follow, just that I don’t make comments. When I said nobody seems to care, I’m not referring to Deleiden or Charlie’s work. I’m very much aware of it, and I pray for them both. I’m referring to the world in general. What I mean is that the people who are so horrified with killing in the battlefield should be equally horrified by abortion, and euthanasia as well. It is as if they cannot connect the dots. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

        Liked by 7 people

  33. I’m in the middle of the latest CORAC Newsletter (February 25, 2022). Well done, S.C., editor, well done. Thank you for your diligence and expertise. The information is ALL so helpful.

    Blessings, friend ~
    Sister Bear

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Yes, praying for the Ukraine, but also praying for Russia. As I mentioned before, JohnPaul and Annie have an excellent novena – and the prayer begins for Ukraine and then also prays for the whole world. Our Lady of All Nations, pray for us!
      Putin has put his nuclear weapons in readiness. We need to give up our control of God’s world and turn it back over to God. Yes, please, pray for Ukraine and also pray for Putin and Russia.
      🙏🏽Our Lady of Peace, pray for us.🙏🏽
      God bless all here, katey in Oregon🙏🏽✝️💙

      Liked by 3 people

  37. Klaus Schwad and Thierry Malleret wrote a book about how to implement the Great Reset. Michael Rectenwald breaks down the goals thusly: “While approved corporations are not necessarily monopolies, the tendency of the Great Reset is toward monopolization—vesting as much control over production and distribution in as few favored corporations as possible, while eliminating industries and producers deemed non-essential or inimical. To bring this reset about, Schwab writes, “ Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed.”
    ” The Fourth Industrial Revolution—or 4-IR for short. The first, second, and third industrial revolutions were the mechanical, electrical, and digital revolutions. The 4-IR marks the convergence of existing and emerging fields, including Big Data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics. The foreseen result will be the merging of the physical, digital, and biological worlds, which presents a challenge to the ontologies by which we understand ourselves and the world, including the definition of a human being.”

    “The Great Reset is doomed to ultimate failure. That doesn’t mean, however, that it won’t, again like those earlier attempts, leave a lot of destruction in its wake­—which is all the more reason to oppose it now and with all our might.” (Michael Rectenwald).
    https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/what-is-the-great-reset/

    Liked by 5 people

  38. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! …;-)

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250496/pope-francis-opens-special-process-to-canonize-16-carmelite-martyrs-of-the-french-revolution

    https://excorde.org/2022/this-sunday-you-may-be-a-failure-but-you-can-be-great

    http://blog.newadvent.org/2022/02/seen-on-cnn-stunning-image-of-christian.html

    SIGNS!?
    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250502/vandalism-arson-hits-catholic-churches-cemeteries-and-schools-across-us
    https://justthenews.com/nation/religion/doctors-sue-california-threatening-punish-them-not-facilitating-assisted-suicide

    https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/putin-has-alienated-ukraines-powerful-orthodox-community/

    https://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-activist-nominated-to-high-court/

    More true than false I’ll wager!
    https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/02/25/the-party-of-chaos-blows-its-cover/

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/26/nolte-state-joe-bidens-union-domestic-worldwide-chaos/

    https://amgreatness.com/2022/02/25/why-they-cant-make-trump-go-away/

    https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/dont-be-brain-dead?utm_source=url

    Democrat CA “Rep” Fang-Fang In-Action ;-(
    https://freebeacon.com/democrats/swalwell-cozied-up-to-lobbyist-for-putins-pipeline-while-accusing-gop-of-enabling-russia/

    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2022/02/26/ric-grenell-destroys-biden-and-his-obama-third-term-crew-for-weak-diplomacy-n1562003

    https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2022/02/26/is-the-top-republican-on-the-senate-intelligence-committee-trying-to-tell-us-something-about-putin-n451443

    https://www.zerohedge.com/
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/
    https://newstarget.com/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE

    Liked by 3 people

  40. Good read & summery.

    My understanding on the Ukranian situation was a little oversimplistic. Russia doesnt like NATO military assets being located next door in Ukrane, just like America didn’t like Soviet military assets being moved to Cuba. Putin is definately no saint and for sure has worldly ambitions for power.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Jewels, I viewed the top clip (It was a great one that shows the resolve of people.) and heard nothing about Soros. Therest of the clips are many, but none highlights Soros in its description.

      Like

          1. Because Putin is seen by some as a kind of Christian leader (because LGBT issues are not promoted in Russia, apparently) the globalists are framing this as LGBT “rights”. It’s all really sick. I don’t know how much of the news is real (I’m assuming it’s all false) but there has been a lot of obvious propaganda and clearly fake news being published about Ukraine and Russia. But if th narrative is all about how evil and bigoted Christianity is because it opposes LGBT perversion, then it may be that this becomes a full persecution of Christians worldwide. At the very least, I’m sure that’s what many “leaders” would like. And of course, they love to accuse us of the very things they themselves do.

            And if nothing else, it’s a huge distraction from the Covid crimes against humanity.

            Like

            1. Not all the news is false, Louise. As mentioned in those pieces in which Charlie gave us counsel on how to discern reliable news and sources, there is some solid stuff out there. Granted, though, it is generously peppered – as you say – with too much propaganda and fake junk. Even the best and reliable commentators do not all agree as they analyze the worldwide landscape. All we can do is turn to what is reliable, and, of course, maintain our prayer life… that includes our traditional ways of praying right alongside the prayers of doing the little we can right before us.

              Like

              1. Personally, and nobody has to agree with me of course, but the media have no credibilty left with me. None. All gone.

                Like

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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.