lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Google is spying on your private conversations, manipulating search results: Harvard-trained researc

Google is spying on your private conversations, manipulating search results: Harvard-trained researcher

September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Today , I ’ m happy to announce the quasi-kickoff to a new video series we ’ re producing at LifeSite that ’ s meant to expose the suppression and censorship coming from the major tech companies — Google , Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , and others .
We ’ re calling it “ Uncensored : Big Tech vs. Free Speech.
” Some of the best known fighters for truth will be speaking with us over the next month about their own run-ins with the four major tech giants , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro-conservative voices .
Today , I ’ m speaking with Dr. Robert Epstein , a dyed-in-the-wool liberal Jewish Democrat whose findings have exposed the shocking lengths Google has gone to to censor , manipulate , and surveil those who use its programs .
Dr. Epstein is a psychologist , professor , author , and journalist who earned his Ph.D. in psychology at Harvard University in 1981 .
He testified at the U.S. Congress about his research last year .
“ The message I ’ m trying to get out there has nothing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Epstein told me today .
“ We need to set our politics aside and try to understand what 's happening with the tech companies and especially the way they ’ re affecting democracy.
” I was blown away by the research Dr. Epstein has conducted .
He ’ s done a number of studies that definitively show that Google is manipulating search engine results .
I asked him why , given his liberal political views , he isn ’ t happy about what ’ s going on .
“ These companies are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a very large scale , ” he responded .
“ I don ’ t care who these companies are favoring right now .
The fact is , they shouldn ’ t have this kind of power ... whoever they ’ re favoring today might not be who they ’ re favoring tomorrow.
” He also said Google and other companies like it are unaccountable to anyone and that that ’ s a serious threat for democracy .
“ These are these are big issues involving surveillance , involving censorship , involving free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re much bigger issues than , you know , who ’ s going to win the next senatorial race or presidency ... this year is a watershed year ... this is the year where we either wake up and and try to fight these companies or we will be turning over democracy to these companies.
” These companies have to ability shift opinions , attitudes , beliefs , purchases , and even voting , he continued .
They ’ ve become the “ technological elites ” President Eisenhower warned about in his famous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Epstein also stated that its not just Google ’ s search engine that ’ s problematic , but the massive amount of surveillance and censorship the company engages in as well .
“ Google deliberately gives all of their their premium services free of charge to educational institutions around the world .
Elementary schools , high schools , colleges , top universities use Google .
And all of that information is being recorded and analyzed , ” he said .
During President Obama ’ s second term , six federal agencies were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
Under Trump , all of those people have been kicked out , and the lawsuits have started again .
Dr. Epstein said that if Joe Biden gets elected in 2020 , those lawsuits will be dropped .
Dr. Epstein also explained to me that Google stores and analyzes not only every search you ’ ve conducted , but also every email you ’ ve ever drafted , sent , and even deleted !
Android phones spy on you when you ’ re not even using them , he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That 's the first thing…you must not use Gmail…you ’ ve got to dump Chrome , Google ’ s browser .
You 've got ta dump Android , which is Google ’ s operating system.
” “ If you ’ re a grown up and you ’ ve been using the Internet for maybe close to 20 years , Google alone has the equivalent of about three million pages of information about you.
” Dr. Epstein , who was featured in the documentary The Creepy Line , said he doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this mess .
As individuals , we must take measures to have our privacy protected while online .
He said people should use Brave , Proton Mail , and StartPage.com for browsing , email services , and search engine queries .
He urged people to visit www.StopBigTechNow.com .
“ Regardless of our political affiliation , we really have to ask , do we want a private company that ’ s not accountable to the public , any public anywhere in the world to be deciding what 2.5 billion people around the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show ’ s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog .
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify , Soundcloud , and ACast .
We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well .
To subscribe to the audio version on various channels , visit the ACast webpage here .
We ’ ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clicking here .
You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel , and you ’ ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content .
You can send me feedback , or ideas for show topics by emailing [ email protected ] .

'This is the year where we either wake up and and try to fight these companies or we will be turning over democracy to [them],' Dr. Robert Epstein said.
September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Today, I’m happy to announce the quasi-kickoff to a new video series we’re producing at LifeSite that’s meant to expose the suppression and censorship coming from the major tech companies — Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others.
We’re calling it “Uncensored: Big Tech vs. Free Speech.” Some of the best-known fighters for truth will be speaking with us over the next month about their own run-ins with the four major tech giants, who clearly despise pro-life, pro-God, and pro-conservative voices.
Today, I’m speaking with Dr. Robert Epstein, a dyed-in-the-wool liberal Jewish Democrat whose findings have exposed the shocking lengths Google has gone to censor, manipulate, and surveil those who use its programs.
Dr. Epstein is a psychologist, professor, author, and journalist who earned his Ph.D. in psychology at Harvard University in 1981. He testified at the U.S. Congress about his research last year.
“The message I’m trying to get out there has nothing to do with my political views,” Dr. Epstein told me today. “We need to set our politics aside and try to understand what's happening with the tech companies and especially the way they’re affecting democracy.”
I was blown away by the research Dr. Epstein has conducted. He’s done a number of studies that definitively show that Google is manipulating search engine results. I asked him why, given his liberal political views, he isn’t happy about what’s going on.
“These companies are using this power strategically and deliberately and on a very large scale,” he responded. “I don’t care who these companies are favoring right now. The fact is, they shouldn’t have this kind of power…whoever they’re favoring today might not be who they’re favoring tomorrow.”
He also said Google and other companies like it are unaccountable to anyone and that that’s a serious threat to democracy.
“These are big issues involving surveillance, involving censorship, involving free speech, human autonomy. They’re much bigger issues than, you know, who’s going to win the next senatorial race or presidency…this year is a watershed year…this is the year where we either wake up and try to fight these companies or we will be turning over democracy to these companies.”
These companies have to ability shift opinions, attitudes, beliefs, purchases, and even voting, he continued. They’ve become the “technological elites” President Eisenhower warned about in his famous 1961 speech on the military-industrial complex.
Dr. Epstein also stated that its not just Google’s search engine that’s problematic, but the massive amount of surveillance and censorship the company engages in as well.
“Google deliberately gives all of their premium services free of charge to educational institutions around the world. Elementary schools, high schools, colleges, top universities use Google. And all of that information is being recorded and analyzed,” he said.
During President Obama’s second term, six federal agencies were run by former Google executives, he added. Under Trump, all of those people have been kicked out, and the lawsuits have started again. Dr. Epstein said that if Joe Biden gets elected in 2020, those lawsuits will be dropped.
Dr. Epstein also explained to me that Google stores and analyzes not only every search you’ve conducted, but also every email you’ve ever drafted, sent, and even deleted! Android phones spy on you when you’re not even using them, he said.
“You have to get away from Google. That's the first thing…you must not use Gmail…you’ve got to dump Chrome, Google’s browser. You've gotta dump Android, which is Google’s operating system.”
“If you’re a grown-up and you’ve been using the Internet for maybe close to 20 years, Google alone has the equivalent of about three million pages of information about you.”
Dr. Epstein, who was featured in the documentary The Creepy Line, said he doesn’t believe that regulation will get us out of this mess. As individuals, we must take measures to have our privacy protected while online. He said people should use Brave, Proton Mail, and StartPage.com for browsing, email services, and search engine queries. He urged people to visit www.StopBigTechNow.com.
“Regardless of our political affiliation, we really have to ask, do we want a private company that’s not accountable to the public, any public anywhere in the world to be deciding what 2.5 billion people around the world can or cannot see?”
The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and ACast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the ACast webpage here.
We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.
You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Trump v. Biden: One honors Virgin Mary with song, other fawns over sexually explicit rapper Cardi B

September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Music tells a large part of the story when it comes to understanding the difference between President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential contender Joe Biden and what they and their political parties stand for .
Trump ’ s official announcement accepting the Republican Party ’ s nomination to run for reelection was immediately followed by a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria ––Hail Mary–– sung in Latin , honoring the Blessed Virgin Mother .
A week before that unprecedented Catholic moment at the White House , Elle Magazine published Democrat candidate Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rapper famous for extreme obscene lyrics in the music she peddles to young minds .
Cardi B is a former stripper whose song , Wet A** Pu**y ( WAP ) , is about a woman who prostitutes herself to earn money .
Moreover , it ’ s a lesson in hypersexualization for impressionable teen girls , grooming them to see themselves as nothing more than sex objects , and in the most base , demeaning , and vile terms .
“ The 77 year-old Democrat is happy associating with a rapper who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted conservative radio show host Wayne Dupree of Biden .
“ Not only Biden , but the Democratic Party and progressives have embraced this vile woman , ” continued Dupree .
“ Not a real surprise , for they have also embraced the BLM thugs , the Antifa anarchists , and anyone who hates America.
” Compare Ave Maria to Cardi B ’ s current hit , Wet A** Pu**y : One is about a woman full of grace , the other about a woman full of sin .
There are more souls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than for any other reason , Our Lady of Fatima told the Portuguese children more than a century ago .
“ It 's aimed at young American girls , ” said Carlson .
“ People are getting rich pushing that crap on the country and they should be ashamed of themselves , but they ’ re not ashamed of themselves.
” “ Joe Biden just did an interview with Cardi B , ” continued the Fox News host .
Biden “ doesn ’ t do a lot of interviews , ” but “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He sucked up to her and called himself ‘ Joey B.
’ ” “ This is not James Brown being sexually suggestive on stage .
Go online right now and look up the lyrics to this song , ” urged Carlson .
“ Ask yourself : ‘ If you were Joe Biden , would you suck up to the person who sang it ?
’ ” Biden referred to Cardi B in “ glowing terms , ” wrote National Review ’ s Robert Cherry , “ How can he justify embracing her ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and in so doing , embraced her loud message to American girls to see themselves as nothing more than whores , willfully engaging in rough , dehumanizing , loveless sex .
In contrast , President Trump , with his family gathered around him , kicked off his reelection campaign with a song honoring the Virgin Mary .
“ By all means let 's invoke the help of Jesus ' mother in protecting our nation & our descendants from those who consider abortion ‘ sacred ’ and our physical , sexual natures as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and pornographers , ” said conservative Catholic commentator John Zmirak in a Tweet about the White House event .
“ The stakes could not be clearer this election , ” he declared .
In June , President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Washington , DC ’ s Saint John Paul II Shrine and took a moment to kneel and pray .

Trump turned to classical ‘Ave Maria’ for inspiration while accepting his party's nomination. Biden tried to gain popularity among young voters by interviewing sexually explicit rapper Cardi B.
PETITION: Urge state legislatures to scrap universal mail-in ballots and help protect the vote! Sign the petition here.
September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Music tells a large part of the story when it comes to understanding the difference between President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential contender Joe Biden and what they and their political parties stand for.
Trump’s official announcement accepting the Republican Party’s nomination to run for reelection was immediately followed by a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria ––Hail Mary–– sung in Latin, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mother.
A week before that unprecedented Catholic moment at the White House, Elle Magazine published Democrat candidate Joe Biden’s interview with Cardi B, a rapper famous for extreme obscene lyrics in the music she peddles to young minds.
Cardi B is a former stripper whose song, Wet A** Pu**y (WAP), is about a woman who prostitutes herself to earn money. Moreover, it’s a lesson in hypersexualization for impressionable teen girls, grooming them to see themselves as nothing more than sex objects, and in the most base, demeaning, and vile terms.
“The 77 year-old Democrat is happy associating with a rapper who revels in women being whores,” noted conservative radio show host Wayne Dupree of Biden.
“Not only Biden, but the Democratic Party and progressives have embraced this vile woman,” continued Dupree. “Not a real surprise, for they have also embraced the BLM thugs, the Antifa anarchists, and anyone who hates America.”
Compare Ave Maria to Cardi B’s current hit, Wet A** Pu**y: One is about a woman full of grace, the other about a woman full of sin. There are more souls in hell for sins of the flesh than for any other reason, Our Lady of Fatima told the Portuguese children more than a century ago.
Tucker Carlson called the song, “Garbage.”
“It's aimed at young American girls,” said Carlson. “People are getting rich pushing that crap on the country and they should be ashamed of themselves, but they’re not ashamed of themselves.”
“Joe Biden just did an interview with Cardi B,” continued the Fox News host. Biden “doesn’t do a lot of interviews,” but “he just did one with her. He sucked up to her and called himself ‘Joey B.’”
“This is not James Brown being sexually suggestive on stage. Go online right now and look up the lyrics to this song,” urged Carlson. “Ask yourself: ‘If you were Joe Biden, would you suck up to the person who sang it?’”
Biden referred to Cardi B in “glowing terms,” wrote National Review’s Robert Cherry, “How can he justify embracing her?”
And yet he has embraced her, and in so doing, embraced her loud message to American girls to see themselves as nothing more than whores, willfully engaging in rough, dehumanizing, loveless sex.
In contrast, President Trump, with his family gathered around him, kicked off his reelection campaign with a song honoring the Virgin Mary.
“By all means let's invoke the help of Jesus' mother in protecting our nation & our descendants from those who consider abortion ‘sacred’ and our physical, sexual natures as the tools of fetishists, quack doctors, and pornographers,” said conservative Catholic commentator John Zmirak in a Tweet about the White House event.
“The stakes could not be clearer this election,” he declared.
In June, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Washington, DC’s Saint John Paul II Shrine and took a moment to kneel and pray.
Follow Doug Doug Mainwaring is a journalist for LifeSiteNews, an author, and a marriage, family and children's rights activist. He has testified before the United States Congress and state legislative bodies, originated and co-authored amicus briefs for the United States Supreme Court, and has been a guest on numerous TV and radio programs. Doug and his family live in the Washington, DC suburbs.
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Google is spying on your private conversations, manipulating search results: researcher

Dr. Robert Epstein is a dyed in the wool liberal Jewish Democrat but he believes the four major tech giants @ @ @ @ @ our democracy .
He thinks the massive amount of surveillance , censorship , and manipulation @ @ @ @ @ of Google is a threat to free speech and personal autonomy .
`` Do we @ @ @ @ @ 's not accountable to the public , any public anywhere in the world to deciding @ @ @ @ @ 2.5 billion people around the world can or can not see ? ''
he asks @

Dr. Robert Epstein is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal Jewish Democrat but he believes the four major tech giants have become too dangerous for our democracy. He thinks the massive amount of surveillance, censorship, and manipulation carried out by the likes of Google is a threat to free speech and personal autonomy. “Do we want a private company that's not accountable to the public, any public anywhere in the world to deciding to to be deciding what 2.5 billion people around the world can or cannot see?” he asks.
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--New JP II Life Academy pres criticizes Vatican archbishop for attacking political defense of life in

New JP II Life Academy pres criticizes Vatican archbishop for attacking political defense of life in US

VATICAN CITY , Rome , September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — The archbishop who heads the Vatican ’ s Pontifical Academy for Life suggested that the political defense of life in America , currently being championed by President Trump , can be a cause of “ great harm.
” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia made his remarks in an interview with Crux and in reference to the upcoming presidential election in the United States , where the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are both Planned Parenthood-endorsed abortion extremists .
Despite this , Paglia “ cautioned against turning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” wrote Crux Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen .
Paglia said issues of ethics and morality are not just of concern to the United States but are “ global issues , ” and called for an engagement on life issues from “ a perspective of global bioethics , one that engages all the major topics that touch on life , of the individual and of the human family , ” reported Allen .
“ It would do great harm if some topic of bioethics is extracted from its general context and put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It would do great harm.
” But Dr. Thomas Ward , president of the new John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family ( JAHLF ) , decried Paglia ’ s “ startling ” remarks as an unwarranted “ intrusion ” by a Vatican official into American politics but more crucially , an evasion of Paglia ’ s “ moral responsibility.
” “ As bishop in charge of the Pontifical Academy for Life he has evaded his moral responsibility to denounce the extremist , anti-life position of the self-professed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told LifeSiteNews .
Paglia “ appears to refer to abortion as ‘ some topic of bioethics ’ , ” added Ward .
“ Far from being ‘ some topic of bioethics , ’ with regard to the United States , we are talking about 62 million babies who have been eviserated and decapitated by abortion.
” Moreover , the Italian archbishop “ says ‘ some topic of bioethics ’ would do great harm .
I ask , harm to whom ?
Surely , only to the anti-abortion party , ” Ward pointed out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ representative to caution against today ’ s political defense of life in America can only serve to weaken the resolve of less committed Catholics to vote for the pro-life party.
” A family doctor , Ward is president of the U.K. ’ s National Association of Catholic Families as well as head of the JAHLF , a lay-led group of Catholic academics which formed in October 2017 after Pope Francis re-constituted the original Pontifical Academy for Life and brought in abortion supporters and a new mandate that included immigration and the environment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ appointed Paglia as head of the Academy for Life and chancellor of the Pontifical Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family .
At the time , Paglia was head of the Pontifical Council for the Family , which came under fire a month before he left for promulgating a youth sex-ed program that includes explicit sexual imagery , and leaves aside the Church ’ s teaching on sin .
Paglia also is known for supporting allowing Holy Communion for those living unrepentantly in objectively sinful situations , inviting same-sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2015 , and paying a homosexual artist to paint a homoerotic mural in his cathedral church in 2007 which includes an image of the archbishop himself .
More recently , Paglia sparked controversy by retweeting a post from the Vatican ’ s John Paul II Institute to promote a film about marriage that included an image of a naked man and woman lying on the ground surrounded by unclothed children .
In keeping with the Vatican Academy for Life ’ s apparently new priorities , Paglia told Crux ’ s Allen that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discover a new alliance that goes beyond politics ” that he described as one in which “ all believers and all men and women of goodwill commit to saving all the lives of all the peoples who live in this one common home.
” “ This is why I believe that to instrumentalize some topic for political ends or for laziness [ in one ’ s own ] horizon ” is harmful , he said , according to Crux .
He hopes that Christianity globally “ finds in men and of goodwill an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , particularly the weakest , are defended from the beginning to the end , from the mother ’ s womb until the moment of death , ” Paglia said .
“ For the head of the Pope 's Academy to say that it is harmful to instrumentalize ‘ some topic ’ for political ends as being harmful will have the effect of disarming those who defend unborn babies thus weakening the pro-life vote and risking increasing the slaughter , ” countered Ward .
More significantly , “ the issue of abortion is predominant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to attack the instrumentalization is to attack Trump 's pro-life policy.
” Paglia stated that because human life is a gift , “ the human person is never a means but always an end .
Period , ” and the Catholic Church insists on respect for human life because human beings are at the center of God ’ s creation .
“ In this sense , everything that doesn ’ t respect the human person…is a sin against the Gospel of life , ” he said .
“ This appears to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theory ’ whereby abortion was initially made equivalent to nuclear war and capital punishment but now seems to be equivalent to any disrespect to a human being , ” said Ward .
“ This is a gross dilution of the gravity of abortion.
” That was echoed by Dr. Jeff Mirus , a co-founder of Christendom College .
Political action to end the “ stupendous ” wrong of abortion is “ rooted in the natural law ; it is the very opposite of ideology , ” wrote Mirus in Catholic Culture .
Paglia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ garment ’ tactic , which takes the truth that all problems adversely affecting the human person are issues of ‘ human life ’ , and then emphasizes that very marginal insight to the point where it becomes immoral to prioritize these issues , ” observed Mirus .
“ Thus is our moral energy dissipated , preventing us from producing any positive effect at all.
” “ In contrast , let us consider these two realities : ( a ) Priority must clearly and emphatically be placed on the right to life itself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be sought at all ; and ( b ) Around the world in our lifetimes , politics has been used , through laws , court decisions and regulations , to attack the right to life , ” observed Mirus .
“ If this is so , how can any Catholic leader deliberately seek to dissipate the energy and commitment that all men and women of good will ought to apply precisely to politics , in order to redress such stupendous wrongs ?
” he added .
The Academy for Life also released a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholic Culture ’ s Phil Lawler described as and “ embarrassment ” to Catholics and which does not mention “ God , Jesus Christ , the Holy Spirit , the Church , the sacraments , prayer , or even charity ; even the word ‘ Christian ’ does not appear in the text .
”

‘For the Pope’s representative to caution against today’s political defense of life in America can only serve to weaken the resolve of less committed Catholics to vote for the pro-life party’
PETITION: Urge Catholic bishops to refuse Holy Communion to pro-abortion Biden! Sign the petition here.
VATICAN CITY, Rome, September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The archbishop who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life suggested that the political defense of life in America, currently being championed by President Trump, can be a cause of “great harm.”
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia made his remarks in an interview with Crux and in reference to the upcoming presidential election in the United States, where the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are both Planned Parenthood-endorsed abortion extremists.
Despite this, Paglia “cautioned against turning the pro-life cause into an ideological weapon,” wrote Crux Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen.
Paglia said issues of ethics and morality are not just of concern to the United States but are “global issues,” and called for an engagement on life issues from “a perspective of global bioethics, one that engages all the major topics that touch on life, of the individual and of the human family,” reported Allen.
“It would do great harm if some topic of bioethics is extracted from its general context and put toward ideological strategies,” said Paglia. “It would do great harm.”
But Dr. Thomas Ward, president of the new John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family (JAHLF), decried Paglia’s “startling” remarks as an unwarranted “intrusion” by a Vatican official into American politics but more crucially, an evasion of Paglia’s “moral responsibility.”
“As bishop in charge of the Pontifical Academy for Life he has evaded his moral responsibility to denounce the extremist, anti-life position of the self-professed ‘Catholic’ Biden,” Ward told LifeSiteNews.
Paglia “appears to refer to abortion as ‘some topic of bioethics’,” added Ward. “Far from being ‘some topic of bioethics,’ with regard to the United States, we are talking about 62 million babies who have been eviserated and decapitated by abortion.”
Moreover, the Italian archbishop “says ‘some topic of bioethics’ would do great harm. I ask, harm to whom? Surely, only to the anti-abortion party,” Ward pointed out.
“For the Pope’s representative to caution against today’s political defense of life in America can only serve to weaken the resolve of less committed Catholics to vote for the pro-life party.”
A family doctor, Ward is president of the U.K.’s National Association of Catholic Families as well as head of the JAHLF, a lay-led group of Catholic academics which formed in October 2017 after Pope Francis re-constituted the original Pontifical Academy for Life and brought in abortion supporters and a new mandate that included immigration and the environment.
A year before, the Holy Father appointed Paglia as head of the Academy for Life and chancellor of the Pontifical Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
At the time, Paglia was head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, which came under fire a month before he left for promulgating a youth sex-ed program that includes explicit sexual imagery, and leaves aside the Church’s teaching on sin.
Paglia also is known for supporting allowing Holy Communion for those living unrepentantly in objectively sinful situations, inviting same-sex couples to the World Meeting of Families in 2015, and paying a homosexual artist to paint a homoerotic mural in his cathedral church in 2007 which includes an image of the archbishop himself.
More recently, Paglia sparked controversy by retweeting a post from the Vatican’s John Paul II Institute to promote a film about marriage that included an image of a naked man and woman lying on the ground surrounded by unclothed children.
In keeping with the Vatican Academy for Life’s apparently new priorities, Paglia told Crux’s Allen that “today we are all called to discover a new alliance that goes beyond politics” that he described as one in which “all believers and all men and women of goodwill commit to saving all the lives of all the peoples who live in this one common home.”
“This is why I believe that to instrumentalize some topic for political ends or for laziness [in one’s own] horizon” is harmful, he said, according to Crux.
He hopes that Christianity globally “finds in men and of goodwill an alliance so that the lives of all, particularly the weakest, are defended from the beginning to the end, from the mother’s womb until the moment of death,” Paglia said.
“For the head of the Pope's Academy to say that it is harmful to instrumentalize ‘some topic’ for political ends as being harmful will have the effect of disarming those who defend unborn babies thus weakening the pro-life vote and risking increasing the slaughter,” countered Ward.
More significantly, “the issue of abortion is predominant in Trump’s policies and therefore to attack the instrumentalization is to attack Trump's pro-life policy.”
Paglia stated that because human life is a gift, “the human person is never a means but always an end. Period,” and the Catholic Church insists on respect for human life because human beings are at the center of God’s creation.
“In this sense, everything that doesn’t respect the human person…is a sin against the Gospel of life,” he said.
“This appears to be a gross development of the ‘seamless garment theory’ whereby abortion was initially made equivalent to nuclear war and capital punishment but now seems to be equivalent to any disrespect to a human being,” said Ward.
“This is a gross dilution of the gravity of abortion.”
That was echoed by Dr. Jeff Mirus, a co-founder of Christendom College.
Political action to end the “stupendous” wrong of abortion is “rooted in the natural law; it is the very opposite of ideology,” wrote Mirus in Catholic Culture.
Paglia “essentially resorts to the ‘seamless garment’ tactic, which takes the truth that all problems adversely affecting the human person are issues of ‘human life’, and then emphasizes that very marginal insight to the point where it becomes immoral to prioritize these issues,” observed Mirus.
“Thus is our moral energy dissipated, preventing us from producing any positive effect at all.”
“In contrast, let us consider these two realities: (a) Priority must clearly and emphatically be placed on the right to life itself, without which no other human good can be sought at all; and (b) Around the world in our lifetimes, politics has been used, through laws, court decisions and regulations, to attack the right to life,” observed Mirus.
“If this is so, how can any Catholic leader deliberately seek to dissipate the energy and commitment that all men and women of good will ought to apply precisely to politics, in order to redress such stupendous wrongs?” he added.
The Academy for Life also released a document on the coronavirus in July that Catholic Culture’s Phil Lawler described as and “embarrassment” to Catholics and which does not mention “God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the sacraments, prayer, or even charity; even the word ‘Christian’ does not appear in the text.”
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Italian bishops roll out new missal that includes Francis’ ‘Our Father’ change, altered Gloria

VATICAN CITY , September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — The controversial new Italian missal , featuring a reworded Gloria and novelties in the Lord ’ s Prayer promoted by Pope Francis , has appeared On Friday , August 28 , Pope Francis was presented with the new , three year cycle Missal of the Italian Episcopal Conference by its president , Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti .
The new missal will be mandatory for Italian celebrations of the Mass of Paul VI from Easter ( April 4 ) 2021 .
It will cost €110 ( $ 131 US ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Italian bishops , reported on Friday that the new translation , the third edition of the Roman Missal that followed the Second Vatican Council , was approved by the Italian bishops in 2018 and promulgated by Pope Francis in 2019 .
Avvenire confirmed that the new translation includes Francis ’ s changes to the Lord ’ s Prayer , made last year , and a change to the Gloria .
The first of the Pontiff ’ s change to the Lord ’ s Prayer is the word “ anche ” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our forgiveness of others , i.e .
“ come [ anche ] noi li rimettiamo ai debiti ” ( as we forgive our debtors ) .
The second is the retranslation of Greek “ kai mē eisenenkēis hēmas eis peirasmon ” ( “ lead us not into temptation ” ) into the Italian “ non abbandonarci alla tentazione ” ( “ abandon us not into temptation ” ) .
In a December 2017 interview on the Italian Bishops ’ official television network , Pope Francis said that the then-current Italian translation “ non @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead us not into temptation ” ) was “ not good ” and should be changed .
The pontiff said that he did not like the traditional translation because “ it ’ s not [ God ] who throws me into temptation , in order to then see how I ’ ve fallen .
No , a father doesn ’ t do this … The one who leads us into temptation is Satan .
That ’ s Satan ’ s task , ” he said .
Pope Francis observed that the Church in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the prayer .
The change to the Italian Gloria is a rendering of the ancient Latin “ in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis ” ( “ on earth peace to men of good will ” ) from the Italian translation “ pace in terra agli uomini di buona volontà ” to the new “ pace in terra agli uomini , amati dal Signore ” ( “ peace on earth to men , loved by the Lord ” ) .
Other changes to the Italian Missal are expected but not as yet confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The New Liturgical Movement blog , told LifeSiteNews that the new translation is “ just nonsense.
” “ Is it really more comforting to know that the Lord can not lead up into temptation , but can abandon us in it ?
” he asked .
When the Italian bishops first approved the new missal , Di Pippo wrote that the hitherto current Italian Lord ’ s Prayer had been used for hundreds of years , that every Italian , churched or unchurched , knew it , and that there was no pastoral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also took issue with the translation ’ s lack of authenticity .
“ The Greek verb in question “ eisenenkēis ” does not mean ‘ abandon , ’ he wrote .
“ It is a form of a highly irregular verb “ eispherō – to bring in , lead in , carry in , introduce , ” he continued .
“ No dictionary lists ‘ abandon ’ or any synonym thereof as a translation .
It is as if Christians have not been praying ‘ lead us not into temptation ’ in countless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if no one has ever bothered to consider what these words mean , and comment on them.
” St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the many theologians who pondered “ lead us not into temptation.
” In his Summa Theologiae he wrote that in the Lord ’ s Prayer we do not ask not to be tempted at all but not to be conquered by temptation : We are directed to beatitude accidentally by the removal of obstacles .
Now there are three obstacles to our attainment of beatitude .
First , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man from the kingdom , according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 , `` Neither fornicators , nor idolaters , etc.
, shall possess the kingdom of God '' ; and to this refer the words , `` Forgive us our trespasses . ''
Secondly , there is temptation which hinders us from keeping God 's will , and to this we refer when we say : `` And lead us not into temptation , '' whereby we do not ask not to be tempted , but not to be conquered by temptation , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thirdly , there is the present penal state which is a kind of obstacle to a sufficiency of life , and to this we refer in the words , `` Deliver us from evil '' ( ST , IIa IIae , 83.9 ) .
Scholar Anthony Esolen weighed in shortly after Pope Francis ’ interview to point out that Jesus ’ wording of His prayer , transmitted through the Gospels , is canonical .
“ I believe that the Greek means what it means , and what it means is accurately rendered as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ exactly the same in Matthew as it is in Luke , ” Esolen wrote in First Things .
Esolen believes , however , that we are literally asking to not be tempted , even though temptations will certainly come .
He believes we should embrace the strangeness of Jesus ’ s words “ The words of Jesus , as words , are clear , ” he wrote .
“ Their implications are profound .
They are hard for us to fathom .
They strike us as strange .
That is as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Di Pippo found the change to the translation of the fourth century Latin Gloria in excelsis even “ more grotesque and unjustifiable.
” “ I hazard a guess , and no more than that , as to the rationale behind this , ” he wrote .
“ To speak of ‘ men of good will ’ implies that there are men who are not of good will , one of the most basic facts about human existence , and one which the Church has for over half a century wasted enormous time and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading permits the insertion of a comma , turning the phrase “ loved by the Lord ” into a nonrestrictive adjectival phrase , ( “ men , who are loved by the Lord ” ) , in a way that can not be done by translating the actual text.
” Philosopher and author Dr. Peter Kwasniewski told LifeSiteNews that the re-translation of the Italian Missal was a useless exercise .
“ To use a hackneyed but terribly accurate saying , it 's just more rearranging of deckchairs on the Titanic , ” Kwasniewski @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attendance is already plummeting catastrophically throughout Europe ; the COVID shutdown will accelerate the process ; the liturgy is already in shambles ; and the Italian bishops think it 's a great idea to monkey with liturgical texts , moving them away from what the original Greek and Latin say , to something idiosyncratic ?
” he continued .
“ Leave it to the bishops to redefine parody.
” Kwasnieski also said that Pope Francis ’ “ misinterpretation and mistranslation ” has already been “ thoroughly critiqued , but truth never mattered much @ @ @ @ @

Avvenire confirmed that the new translation includes Francis’s changes to the Lord’s Prayer, made last year, and a change to the Gloria
PETITION: Urge Catholic bishops to refuse Holy Communion to pro-abortion Biden! Sign the petition here.
VATICAN CITY, September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The controversial new Italian missal, featuring a reworded Gloria and novelties in the Lord’s Prayer promoted by Pope Francis, has appeared
On Friday, August 28, Pope Francis was presented with the new, three year cycle Missal of the Italian Episcopal Conference by its president, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti. The new missal will be mandatory for Italian celebrations of the Mass of Paul VI from Easter (April 4) 2021. It will cost €110 ($131 US).
Avvenire, a Milan-based Catholic newspaper owned by the Italian bishops, reported on Friday that the new translation, the third edition of the Roman Missal that followed the Second Vatican Council, was approved by the Italian bishops in 2018 and promulgated by Pope Francis in 2019.
Avvenire confirmed that the new translation includes Francis’s changes to the Lord’s Prayer, made last year, and a change to the Gloria. The first of the Pontiff’s change to the Lord’s Prayer is the word “anche” (also) inserted into the line about our forgiveness of others, i.e. “come [anche] noi li rimettiamo ai debiti” (as we forgive our debtors). The second is the retranslation of Greek “kai mē eisenenkēis hēmas eis peirasmon” (“lead us not into temptation”) into the Italian “non abbandonarci alla tentazione” (“abandon us not into temptation”).
In a December 2017 interview on the Italian Bishops’ official television network, Pope Francis said that the then-current Italian translation “non ci indurre in tentazione” (“lead us not into temptation”) was “not good” and should be changed.
The pontiff said that he did not like the traditional translation because “it’s not [God] who throws me into temptation, in order to then see how I’ve fallen. No, a father doesn’t do this … The one who leads us into temptation is Satan. That’s Satan’s task,” he said.
Pope Francis observed that the Church in France had already changed their traditional translation of the prayer.
The change to the Italian Gloria is a rendering of the ancient Latin “in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis” (“on earth peace to men of good will”) from the Italian translation “pace in terra agli uomini di buona volontà” to the new “pace in terra agli uomini, amati dal Signore” (“peace on earth to men, loved by the Lord”).
Other changes to the Italian Missal are expected but not as yet confirmed.
Gregory Di Pippo, editor of The New Liturgical Movement blog, told LifeSiteNews that the new translation is “just nonsense.”
“Is it really more comforting to know that the Lord cannot lead up into temptation, but can abandon us in it?” he asked.
When the Italian bishops first approved the new missal, Di Pippo wrote that the hitherto current Italian Lord’s Prayer had been used for hundreds of years, that every Italian, churched or unchurched, knew it, and that there was no pastoral reason to change it. The linguist also took issue with the translation’s lack of authenticity.
“The Greek verb in question “eisenenkēis” does not mean ‘abandon,’ he wrote.
“It is a form of a highly irregular verb “eispherō – to bring in, lead in, carry in, introduce,” he continued.
“No dictionary lists ‘abandon’ or any synonym thereof as a translation. It is as if Christians have not been praying ‘lead us not into temptation’ in countless languages for over 19 centuries, as if no one has ever bothered to consider what these words mean, and comment on them.”
St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the many theologians who pondered “lead us not into temptation.” In his Summa Theologiae he wrote that in the Lord’s Prayer we do not ask not to be tempted at all but not to be conquered by temptation:
We are directed to beatitude accidentally by the removal of obstacles. Now there are three obstacles to our attainment of beatitude. First, there is sin, which directly excludes a man from the kingdom, according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, etc., shall possess the kingdom of God“; and to this refer the words, “Forgive us our trespasses.” Secondly, there is temptation which hinders us from keeping God's will, and to this we refer when we say: “And lead us not into temptation,” whereby we do not ask not to be tempted, but not to be conquered by temptation, which is to be led into temptation. Thirdly, there is the present penal state which is a kind of obstacle to a sufficiency of life, and to this we refer in the words, “Deliver us from evil” (ST, IIa IIae, 83.9).
Scholar Anthony Esolen weighed in shortly after Pope Francis’ interview to point out that Jesus’ wording of His prayer, transmitted through the Gospels, is canonical.
“I believe that the Greek means what it means, and what it means is accurately rendered as ‘lead us not into temptation,’ exactly the same in Matthew as it is in Luke,” Esolen wrote in First Things.
Esolen believes, however, that we are literally asking to not be tempted, even though temptations will certainly come. He believes we should embrace the strangeness of Jesus’s words
“The words of Jesus, as words, are clear,” he wrote.
“Their implications are profound. They are hard for us to fathom. They strike us as strange. That is as it should be. Let them stand.”
Di Pippo found the change to the translation of the fourth century Latin Gloria in excelsis even “more grotesque and unjustifiable.”
“I hazard a guess, and no more than that, as to the rationale behind this,” he wrote.
“To speak of ‘men of good will’ implies that there are men who are not of good will, one of the most basic facts about human existence, and one which the Church has for over half a century wasted enormous time and effort on denying.”
“The new reading permits the insertion of a comma, turning the phrase “loved by the Lord” into a nonrestrictive adjectival phrase, (“men, who are loved by the Lord”), in a way that cannot be done by translating the actual text.”
Philosopher and author Dr. Peter Kwasniewski told LifeSiteNews that the re-translation of the Italian Missal was a useless exercise.
“To use a hackneyed but terribly accurate saying, it's just more rearranging of deckchairs on the Titanic,” Kwasniewski said via social media.
“Church attendance is already plummeting catastrophically throughout Europe; the COVID shutdown will accelerate the process; the liturgy is already in shambles; and the Italian bishops think it's a great idea to monkey with liturgical texts, moving them away from what the original Greek and Latin say, to something idiosyncratic?” he continued.
“Leave it to the bishops to redefine parody.”
Kwasniewski also said that Pope Francis’ “misinterpretation and mistranslation” has already been “thoroughly critiqued, but truth never mattered much to liturgical reformers.”
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Former Dem vote ‘fixer’ says election fraud rampant, will spark ‘war’ in November

PETITION : Urge state legislatures to scrap universal mail-in ballots and help protect the vote !
Sign the petition here .
September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Stealing elections by manipulating mail-in ballots is a very real danger , according to a longtime Democrat “ fixer ” who told his story to the New York Post over the weekend .
The individual , who requested to remain anonymous , claims to have rigged mail-in ballots “ on a grand scale ” for “ decades , ” according to the Post , which says it has verified his identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political consulting work .
“ His dirty work has taken him through the weeds of municipal and federal elections in Paterson , Atlantic City , Camden , Newark , Hoboken and Hudson County and his fingerprints can be found in local legislative , mayoral and congressional races across the Garden State , ” the Post ’ s Jon Levine wrote .
“ Some of the biggest names and highest office holders in New Jersey have benefited from his tricks.
” “ There is no race in New Jersey — from city council to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t worked on , ” said the fixer , a former Bernie Sanders supporter .
The fixer explained that photocopying ballots is simple enough , as real copies have no security features , but return envelopes do , so real ones have to be collected from actual voters .
“ He would have his operatives fan out , going house to house , convincing voters to let them mail completed ballots on their behalf as a public service , ” Levine reported .
“ The fraudster and his minions would then take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over boiling water ” to loosen the glue , then simply replace the real ballot with a fake one and reseal the envelope .
“ Five minutes per ballot tops , ” the fixer said .
The whistleblower added that in some localities postal employees actually serve as a fraud operation ’ s “ work crew.
” If an anti-Trump postal worker serves in a neighborhood where “ 95 percent are going to a Republican , he can just throw those in the garbage.
” Other effective methods include “ helping ” nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ gold mine , ” per the fixer ) , bribing homeless people to vote for a certain candidate , and even sending operatives to impersonate voters at polling places ( based on public records revealing who tends to sit out elections ) .
He also revealed that ballots his people have fixed are subtly marked in such a way ( such as a bent corner ) that Democrat volunteers at county elections boards know not to challenge them .
President Donald Trump set off a firestorm in May when he tweeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be “ substantially fraudulent .
Mailboxes will be robbed , ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed.
” Many have attempted to discredit Trump ’ s comments as a conspiracy theory , but evidence suggests there is ample cause for concern , from former New York City elections commissioner Alan Schulkin ( a Democrat ) admitting in 2016 that vote fraud is widespread , to a New Jersey judge vacating the results of a city council election over charges of election fraud .
“ An election that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ votes … could be enough to flip states , ” the anonymous fixer warned the Post .
“ This is a real thing .
And there is going to be a f***ing war coming November 3rd over this stuff … If they knew how the sausage was made , they could fix it .
”

Tactics range from unsealing envelopes and replacing ballots, using complicit postal workers to throw out ballots, and 'helping' nursing home residents fill out ballots.
PETITION: Urge state legislatures to scrap universal mail-in ballots and help protect the vote! Sign the petition here.
September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Stealing elections by manipulating mail-in ballots is a very real danger, according to a longtime Democrat “fixer” who told his story to the New York Post over the weekend.
The individual, who requested to remain anonymous, claims to have rigged mail-in ballots “on a grand scale” for “decades,” according to the Post, which says it has verified his identity, past crimes, and history of political consulting work.
“His dirty work has taken him through the weeds of municipal and federal elections in Paterson, Atlantic City, Camden, Newark, Hoboken and Hudson County and his fingerprints can be found in local legislative, mayoral and congressional races across the Garden State,” the Post’s Jon Levine wrote. “Some of the biggest names and highest office holders in New Jersey have benefited from his tricks.”
“There is no race in New Jersey — from city council to United States Senate — that we haven’t worked on,” said the fixer, a former Bernie Sanders supporter.
The fixer explained that photocopying ballots is simple enough, as real copies have no security features, but return envelopes do, so real ones have to be collected from actual voters.
“He would have his operatives fan out, going house to house, convincing voters to let them mail completed ballots on their behalf as a public service,” Levine reported. “The fraudster and his minions would then take the sealed envelopes home and hold them over boiling water” to loosen the glue, then simply replace the real ballot with a fake one and reseal the envelope. “Five minutes per ballot tops,” the fixer said.
The whistleblower added that in some localities postal employees actually serve as a fraud operation’s “work crew.” If an anti-Trump postal worker serves in a neighborhood where “95 percent are going to a Republican, he can just throw those in the garbage.”
Other effective methods include “helping” nursing home residents fill out their ballots (a “gold mine,” per the fixer), bribing homeless people to vote for a certain candidate, and even sending operatives to impersonate voters at polling places (based on public records revealing who tends to sit out elections). He also revealed that ballots his people have fixed are subtly marked in such a way (such as a bent corner) that Democrat volunteers at county elections boards know not to challenge them.
President Donald Trump set off a firestorm in May when he tweeted that mail-in ballots for the upcoming elections would be “substantially fraudulent. Mailboxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed.” Many have attempted to discredit Trump’s comments as a conspiracy theory, but evidence suggests there is ample cause for concern, from former New York City elections commissioner Alan Schulkin (a Democrat) admitting in 2016 that vote fraud is widespread, to a New Jersey judge vacating the results of a city council election over charges of election fraud.
“An election that is swayed by 500 votes, 1,000 votes … could be enough to flip states,” the anonymous fixer warned the Post. “This is a real thing. And there is going to be a f***ing war coming November 3rd over this stuff … If they knew how the sausage was made, they could fix it.”
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Will Left’s brilliant strategy of fomenting riots and then blaming them on Trump work?

September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – `` No one will be safe in Biden ’ s America , '' said Donald Trump at last Thursday ’ s RNC to howls of outrage from Democrat politicians .
But the President ’ s assertion was graphically affirmed—in full view of tens of millions of Americans—by the howling mob of Leftists waiting outside the gates of the White House who verbally , and in some cases physically , assaulted those leaving .
The same disconnect was also in full view in Kenosha , Wisconsin , which the state ’ s Democrat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump not to visit because his “ presence will only hinder our healing.
” This is rich , coming from the liberal politician who did nothing for days on end to hinder Kenosha ’ s burning , which only ended when President Trump provided aid from federal law enforcement and the National Guard to restore order .
But the most delusional politician in America today is , without a doubt , the Far Left Mayor of Portland , Ted Wheeler , who denounced Trump for offering to bring Federal resources into the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would only make things worse .
“ Just how could things get worse ?
” Americans may be forgiven for asking .
After all , for three long months Leftwing anarchists and thugs have been rampaging through that city ’ s streets every night , destroying property , setting upon the police , and now shooting dead a counter-protester .
Everyone knows that Trump has repeatedly offered to send federal officers to cities and states under siege by Leftwing mobs .
The Democrats in charge have invariably refused his offers on the grounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And then they go on to inflame the situation themselves by ordering the police to stand down in the face of violent mobs .
And the looting and burning continue .
In reality , the problem isn ’ t President Trump – it ’ s the elected officials in Democrat-run cities turning a blind eye to the radical left-wing mobs burning down their communities .
That liberal politicians would close ranks against Trump is not a new story , but we are in an election year when nothing , politically speaking , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the original demonstrations against “ racism ” and “ police brutality ” , encouraging a movement they saw as a way to energize their Party ’ s leftwing supporters who were not excited—to say the least—about the aging septuagenarian who was heading their ticket .
Anarchists and communists are not good about taking direction , however .
Marching virtually unopposed in Democrat-controlled cities soon emboldened some of their number to begin engaging in acts of vandalism like toppling statues , breaking windows , and overturning police cars .
Looting and arson quickly followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chicago , and other cities turned violent in late May , not a single Democrat politician called for the restoration of law and order .
Instead , they have repeatedly given left-wing rioters cover by calling them “ peaceful protestors.
” After suggesting on May 30th that the protesters should remain peaceful and not violent , Biden himself went silent .
Even worse , when asked if he would redirect our nation ’ s law enforcement funding , Biden responded “ Yes , absolutely ” – encouraging the far-left anti-police radicals within his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and destruction of property grew worse and spread to other cities .
His running mate , Senator Kamala Harris , was not nearly so circumspect .
As soon as the riots began she set about raising bail money for the jailed rioters .
“ If you ’ re able to , chip in now to the @ MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota , ” she Tweeted .
Even as the rioting and rampant vandalism spread to other cities , she continued to tell protesters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” let up .
Biden ’ s campaign staff were among those who responded , supporting the unrest with their pocketbooks .
At least 13 members of Biden ’ s staff donated to a fund set up to bail out those arrested for rioting and more serious crimes .
Many in the left-wing of their party—the only wing that seems to matter these days—followed their lead .
With bail money readily available , some of the same miscreants have been arrested and released a half dozen times .
The result of allowing dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looting , and arson right back out on the streets was … more rioting , looting , and arson the following night .
Liberals saw little risk in this revolving door strategy because they knew that the mainstream media would help them frame the protests as “ mostly peaceful.
” Certainly CNN , MSNBC , and the Washington Post have done their best to ignore or explain away the scenes of violence and arson that have become nightly features of life in a number of America ’ s cities .
Someone should have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and social media , however .
Enterprising journalists like Andy Ngo have used Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram accounts to reach millions with first-hand reports on the riots in Portland and elsewhere .
Then there is Trump himself , with his 85.6 million followers on Twitter .
It ’ s safe to say that one “ Law and Order !
” Tweet from Trump has more impact than an entire issue of the Washington Post celebrating “ peaceful protesters.
” The media smokescreen has been shredded by social media , revealing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and something more : that it was conjured up by the left .
The violence is being perpetrated by left-wing groups , supported by liberal donations , rioting in left-leaning cities , run by left-wing mayors who promote radical causes .
The only way to disassociate the Democrats from the recent violence would have been for Joe Biden to draw a clear distinction between the Democrat Party and the radical Left .
But this would have been fatal to his electoral chances , since he needs the support of the radical wing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So instead , he emerged from his basement on Monday to blame the riots and violence in Democrat-run cities solely on President Trump .
In his remarks , given to an almost empty auditorium in Pittsburgh , the Democrat nominee uttered not a breath of criticism of the left-wing mobs led by Antifa and other radical groups that have been terrorizing America ’ s cities .
He offered no criticism of people who call for the killing of police , whom they refer to a “ pigs ” or a “ cancer ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mayor of Portland that he should accept federal help in his failing city or that Democrat governors need to control the riots by calling in the National Guard or the federal government .
Instead , he attempted to shift the blame for the violence onto the one person who more than any other has tried to restore law and order in Democrat-run cities .
Attacking Trump for problems of his political allies ’ own making is , in my view , outrageous enough , but Biden went even further .
He threatened even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t win : Now the Left was wrong to foment riots for political gain , and more wrong still to blame the riots on the one person , more than any other , who tried to stop them .
But it is absolute folly for the leader of the Democrat Party to suggest that , if Americans don ’ t vote the way he and his party want , they will unleash even more violence .
Americans do not like to be threatened by thugs , even if the messenger is as mild-mannered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia : Why China ’ s Dream is the New Threat to World Order .

‘The Left thought they could send radicals into the streets and then blame the resulting chaos on Trump and his supporters’
PETITION: Urge state legislatures to scrap universal mail-in ballots and help protect the vote! Sign the petition here.
September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – “No one will be safe in Biden’s America,” said Donald Trump at last Thursday’s RNC to howls of outrage from Democrat politicians. But the President’s assertion was graphically affirmed—in full view of tens of millions of Americans—by the howling mob of Leftists waiting outside the gates of the White House who verbally, and in some cases physically, assaulted those leaving.
The same disconnect was also in full view in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which the state’s Democrat Governor, Tony Evers, urged President Trump not to visit because his “presence will only hinder our healing.” This is rich, coming from the liberal politician who did nothing for days on end to hinder Kenosha’s burning, which only ended when President Trump provided aid from federal law enforcement and the National Guard to restore order.
But the most delusional politician in America today is, without a doubt, the Far Left Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, who denounced Trump for offering to bring Federal resources into the city to restore order, insisting that this would only make things worse.
“Just how could things get worse?” Americans may be forgiven for asking. After all, for three long months Leftwing anarchists and thugs have been rampaging through that city’s streets every night, destroying property, setting upon the police, and now shooting dead a counter-protester.
Everyone knows that Trump has repeatedly offered to send federal officers to cities and states under siege by Leftwing mobs. The Democrats in charge have invariably refused his offers on the grounds that this would only inflame the situation. And then they go on to inflame the situation themselves by ordering the police to stand down in the face of violent mobs. And the looting and burning continue.
In reality, the problem isn’t President Trump – it’s the elected officials in Democrat-run cities turning a blind eye to the radical left-wing mobs burning down their communities.
That liberal politicians would close ranks against Trump is not a new story, but we are in an election year when nothing, politically speaking, happens by chance. The liberals welcomed the original demonstrations against “racism” and “police brutality”, encouraging a movement they saw as a way to energize their Party’s leftwing supporters who were not excited—to say the least—about the aging septuagenarian who was heading their ticket.
Anarchists and communists are not good about taking direction, however. Marching virtually unopposed in Democrat-controlled cities soon emboldened some of their number to begin engaging in acts of vandalism like toppling statues, breaking windows, and overturning police cars. Looting and arson quickly followed.
When the protests in Minneapolis, Chicago, and other cities turned violent in late May, not a single Democrat politician called for the restoration of law and order. Instead, they have repeatedly given left-wing rioters cover by calling them “peaceful protestors.” After suggesting on May 30th that the protesters should remain peaceful and not violent, Biden himself went silent. Even worse, when asked if he would redirect our nation’s law enforcement funding, Biden responded “Yes, absolutely” – encouraging the far-left anti-police radicals within his own party even as the wanton looting and destruction of property grew worse and spread to other cities.
His running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, was not nearly so circumspect. As soon as the riots began she set about raising bail money for the jailed rioters. “If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” she Tweeted. Even as the rioting and rampant vandalism spread to other cities, she continued to tell protesters in television interviews that they “should not” let up.
Biden’s campaign staff were among those who responded, supporting the unrest with their pocketbooks. At least 13 members of Biden’s staff donated to a fund set up to bail out those arrested for rioting and more serious crimes. Many in the left-wing of their party—the only wing that seems to matter these days—followed their lead.
With bail money readily available, some of the same miscreants have been arrested and released a half dozen times. The result of allowing dangerous criminals who were arrested for rioting, looting, and arson right back out on the streets was … more rioting, looting, and arson the following night.
Liberals saw little risk in this revolving door strategy because they knew that the mainstream media would help them frame the protests as “mostly peaceful.” Certainly CNN, MSNBC, and the Washington Post have done their best to ignore or explain away the scenes of violence and arson that have become nightly features of life in a number of America’s cities.
Someone should have told Biden’s handlers about smartphones and social media, however. Enterprising journalists like Andy Ngo have used Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to reach millions with first-hand reports on the riots in Portland and elsewhere. Then there is Trump himself, with his 85.6 million followers on Twitter. It’s safe to say that one “Law and Order!” Tweet from Trump has more impact than an entire issue of the Washington Post celebrating “peaceful protesters.”
The media smokescreen has been shredded by social media, revealing the nightly violence that plagues some American cities and something more: that it was conjured up by the left. The violence is being perpetrated by left-wing groups, supported by liberal donations, rioting in left-leaning cities, run by left-wing mayors who promote radical causes.
The only way to disassociate the Democrats from the recent violence would have been for Joe Biden to draw a clear distinction between the Democrat Party and the radical Left. But this would have been fatal to his electoral chances, since he needs the support of the radical wing of his party in order to win. So instead, he emerged from his basement on Monday to blame the riots and violence in Democrat-run cities solely on President Trump.
In his remarks, given to an almost empty auditorium in Pittsburgh, the Democrat nominee uttered not a breath of criticism of the left-wing mobs led by Antifa and other radical groups that have been terrorizing America’s cities. He offered no criticism of people who call for the killing of police, whom they refer to a “pigs” or a “cancer”. There was no suggestion to the mayor of Portland that he should accept federal help in his failing city or that Democrat governors need to control the riots by calling in the National Guard or the federal government. Instead, he attempted to shift the blame for the violence onto the one person who more than any other has tried to restore law and order in Democrat-run cities.
Attacking Trump for problems of his political allies’ own making is, in my view, outrageous enough, but Biden went even further. He threatened even more left-wing violence if he didn’t win:
“Does anyone believe there will be less violence in America if Donald Trump is reelected?”
Now the Left was wrong to foment riots for political gain, and more wrong still to blame the riots on the one person, more than any other, who tried to stop them.
But it is absolute folly for the leader of the Democrat Party to suggest that, if Americans don’t vote the way he and his party want, they will unleash even more violence.
Americans do not like to be threatened by thugs, even if the messenger is as mild-mannered as Old Joe Biden.
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order.
Follow Steven Steven Mosher is an internationally recognised authority on China and population issues as well as an acclaimed author and speaker and founder and head of the Population Research Institute. He was the first American social scientist to visit mainland China in 1979 where he witnessed women being forced to have abortion under the new “one-child-policy” which he then exposed to the world. Mr. Mosher was a pro-choice atheist at the time, but witnessing these traumatic abortions led him to reconsider his convictions and to eventually become a practicing, pro-life Roman Catholic. Mosher has appeared numerous times before the US Congress as an expert in world population, China and human Rights abuses. He has also made TV appearances on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, 20/20, FOX and CNN news, as well as being a regular guest on talk radio shows across the nation. He is the author of the best-selling A Mother’s Ordeal: One woman’s Fight Against China’s One-Child-Policy. His latest book is Bully of Asia, exposing the threat of China to the entire world at this time. Articles by Steve have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The Washington Post, National Review, Reason, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Freedom Review, Linacre Quarterly, Catholic World Report, Human Life Review, First Things, and numerous other publications. Steven Mosher lives in Virginia with his wife, Vera, and their nine children.
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Why 2020 election could trigger America’s apocalypse

September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Our elections are taking on sinister overtones .
Each one is billed as the most important of our lifetime .
And each one is the most important—until the next election .
The unraveling political processes bring our Armageddon each time closer .
Thus , we live in times of apocalypse elections , in which the victory of one side represents an apocalypse for the other .
The only way to avoid total breakdown is an exhausting seesaw of stalemates in which one party prevails over the other , which keeps the winner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holding on to the House or the Senate .
However , the general direction of the country is toward disintegration .
The nation is polarized and coming apart .
A real apocalypse is in the making .
This scenario is a recent phenomenon since elections in time past were never this dramatic or consequential .
The political parties had significant differences , but the nation had a common direction inside the liberal order .
There was political drama but not an apocalypse ’ s fire and brimstone .
A political system reflects the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society had some order , people found ways of resolving problems civilly .
Courtesy and modesty governed human relationships and prevented the explosions of the unbridled passions .
Virtue played an essential role in regulating society and keeping things balanced .
Although the American order has long contained the seeds of a later explosion , gravitas and respect in politics informed most of its history .
They kept the Apocalypse ’ s Four Horsemen at bay .
Everything changed when social structures deteriorated in the sixties and seventies .
The safety nets and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell by the wayside .
A cultural revolution shook America like an earthquake , challenging all institutions , fashions , morals and orthodoxies .
This revolution set in motion gradual political processes , which sought to mainstream the radical cultural changes showcased at Berkeley and Woodstock .
Revolutionaries hoped that society would accept the changes without much resistance .
They did not expect the profound reactions against procured abortion , same-sex “ marriage , ” socialism , transgenderism , and , most recently , satanism .
They were not prepared for the grueling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which continues unabated in vast sectors of the American public .
Instead of the smooth transition of parallel narratives , American society has polarized and clashed .
Everything is now weaponized , politicized and radicalized from sports to bathrooms , pronouns to personal preferences .
Hence , the rise of intense apocalypse elections .
Like the Biblical narrative , apocalypse elections happen when a decadent society is faced with an anti-Christian agenda so forceful that it sparks serious reaction .
Not all react to the anti-Christian offensive equally .
However , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and engage the overwhelming attack upon its values .
The struggle forced each side to seek an ever more intense application of its bedrock principles .
Each faction strove to express itself more authentically and clearly .
Thus , each successive apocalypse election builds toward an apotheosis with ever more dramatic consequences .
Not Only a Matter of Partisan Politics However , apocalypse elections are far more than partisan affairs .
A final victory of one party over the other will not resolve the problem .
In the present climate , political parties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movements deep within American society .
Political conventions and campaigns must often adapt their messages to the fickle sentiments of voters and are thus limited in their ability to represent the profound issues .
However , the elections are apocalyptical because they reflect an existential struggle to define America ’ s soul .
They are apocalyptical because they represent a fight between good and evil , truth and error , faith and disbelief .
Thus , the herculean back and forth of struggle will bring the deeper issues to the surface .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is between two contrary visions of life .
One side groups together Ten Commandments Americans—those who still value the remnants of Christian civilization centered on the God-given institutions of family , community and faith .
They defend the philosophical framework of Western thought and recognize God ’ s sovereignty over His creation .
The other side ’ s flag represents an aggressive anti-Christian civilization based upon postmodern thought and extreme individualism that questions all certainties , values and narratives .
It recognizes no masters save the unbridled passions burning like demons within each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a decadent society that is being forced to choose which way it will go .
The liberal establishment and media favor the anti-Christian side .
The battle is playing out in the streets of Portland or other cities where rioters now roll out guillotines , burn flags and Bibles , and unabashedly attack the forces of law and order .
They shout , “ Death to America !
” These disrupters follow the script of countless other revolutionaries of the past , attempting to terrorize complacent and decadent societies into submitting to totalitarian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans attached to God , order and country opposes these rioters .
This majority of Ten Commandment Americans must speak out .
It must not be intimidated by the dark message of hatred and class struggle .
On the contrary , it must soundly reject it .
The present apocalypse election is a dangerous step toward revolution .
All must choose what America is going to be .
John Horvat II is a scholar , researcher , educator , international speaker , and author of the book Return to Order , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ articles .
He lives in Spring Grove , Pennsylvania where he is the vice president of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition , Family and Property

September 1, 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Our elections are taking on sinister overtones. Each one is billed as the most important of our lifetime. And each one is the most important—until the next election. The unraveling political processes bring our Armageddon each time closer.
Thus, we live in times of apocalypse elections, in which the victory of one side represents an apocalypse for the other. The only way to avoid total breakdown is an exhausting seesaw of stalemates in which one party prevails over the other, which keeps the winner of the White House in check by holding on to the House or the Senate.
However, the general direction of the country is toward disintegration. The nation is polarized and coming apart. A real apocalypse is in the making.
Political Drama Without Fire and Brimstone
This scenario is a recent phenomenon since elections in time past were never this dramatic or consequential. The political parties had significant differences, but the nation had a common direction inside the liberal order. There was political drama but not an apocalypse’s fire and brimstone.
A political system reflects the society it governs. Thus, when society had some order, people found ways of resolving problems civilly. Courtesy and modesty governed human relationships and prevented the explosions of the unbridled passions. Virtue played an essential role in regulating society and keeping things balanced.
Although the American order has long contained the seeds of a later explosion, gravitas and respect in politics informed most of its history. They kept the Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen at bay.
The Rise of Clashing Narratives
Everything changed when social structures deteriorated in the sixties and seventies. The safety nets and guardrails that kept society civil and moral fell by the wayside. A cultural revolution shook America like an earthquake, challenging all institutions, fashions, morals and orthodoxies. This revolution set in motion gradual political processes, which sought to mainstream the radical cultural changes showcased at Berkeley and Woodstock.
Revolutionaries hoped that society would accept the changes without much resistance. They did not expect the profound reactions against procured abortion, same-sex “marriage,” socialism, transgenderism, and, most recently, satanism. They were not prepared for the grueling Culture War of the last fifty years, which continues unabated in vast sectors of the American public.
Instead of the smooth transition of parallel narratives, American society has polarized and clashed. Everything is now weaponized, politicized and radicalized from sports to bathrooms, pronouns to personal preferences.
Hence, the rise of intense apocalypse elections.
The Problem of Apocalypse Elections
Like the Biblical narrative, apocalypse elections happen when a decadent society is faced with an anti-Christian agenda so forceful that it sparks serious reaction.
Not all react to the anti-Christian offensive equally. However, in America, the Christian element did mobilize and engage the overwhelming attack upon its values. The struggle forced each side to seek an ever more intense application of its bedrock principles. Each faction strove to express itself more authentically and clearly.
Thus, each successive apocalypse election builds toward an apotheosis with ever more dramatic consequences.
Not Only a Matter of Partisan Politics
However, apocalypse elections are far more than partisan affairs. A final victory of one party over the other will not resolve the problem. In the present climate, political parties are shallow surface representations of unseen tectonic movements deep within American society. Political conventions and campaigns must often adapt their messages to the fickle sentiments of voters and are thus limited in their ability to represent the profound issues.
However, the elections are apocalyptical because they reflect an existential struggle to define America’s soul. They are apocalyptical because they represent a fight between good and evil, truth and error, faith and disbelief. Thus, the herculean back and forth of struggle will bring the deeper issues to the surface.
The Real Battle
The real battle in today’s society is between two contrary visions of life.
One side groups together Ten Commandments Americans—those who still value the remnants of Christian civilization centered on the God-given institutions of family, community and faith. They defend the philosophical framework of Western thought and recognize God’s sovereignty over His creation.
The other side’s flag represents an aggressive anti-Christian civilization based upon postmodern thought and extreme individualism that questions all certainties, values and narratives. It recognizes no masters save the unbridled passions burning like demons within each soul.
In the ever-shrinking center is a decadent society that is being forced to choose which way it will go. The liberal establishment and media favor the anti-Christian side. The battle is playing out in the streets of Portland or other cities where rioters now roll out guillotines, burn flags and Bibles, and unabashedly attack the forces of law and order. They shout, “Death to America!” These disrupters follow the script of countless other revolutionaries of the past, attempting to terrorize complacent and decadent societies into submitting to totalitarian agendas.
A mostly silent majority of Americans attached to God, order and country opposes these rioters. This majority of Ten Commandment Americans must speak out. It must not be intimidated by the dark message of hatred and class struggle. On the contrary, it must soundly reject it.
The present apocalypse election is a dangerous step toward revolution. All must choose what America is going to be.
John Horvat II is a scholar, researcher, educator, international speaker, and author of the book Return to Order, as well as the author of hundreds of published articles. He lives in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania where he is the vice president of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property


lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Priest who said Catholics cannot be Democrats ‘is speaking truth’

Formerly Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam , Mother Miriam Live brings you inspiration and solutions for life ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Miriam is a Catholic nun on a mission to bring hope to a world that @ @ @ @ @ let her share that hope and joy with you !
To tune into Mother Miriam @ @ @ @ @ Facebook page here every Monday to Friday at 10am .

To help keep this and other programs on the air, please donate here. In this episode, Mother Miriam praises Fr. James Altman, who recently chastised Catholics who support Democrats. You can tune in daily at 10 am EST/7 am PST on our Facebook Page. Subscribe to Mother Miriam Live email updates here
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lifesitenews--2020-09-01--Masks don’t work against prolonged exposure to the infected, CDC admits

PETITION : No to radical mandatory mask mandates !
Sign the petition here .
WASHINGTON , D.C. , September 1 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Wearing a mask will not guarantee one ’ s safety from COVID-19 if worn in close proximity to an infected person for more than 15 minutes , according to guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) .
The guidelines recommend that anyone who has spent roughly 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 should “ stay home until 14 days after last exposure and maintain social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from others at all times , ” “ irrespective of whether the person with COVID-19 or the contact was wearing a mask or whether the contact was wearing respiratory personal protective equipment ( PPE ) .
” “ While research indicates masks may help those who are infected from spreading the infection , there is less information regarding whether masks offer any protection for a contact exposed to a symptomatic or asymptomatic patient , ” the CDC explained .
“ Therefore , the determination of close contact should be made irrespective of whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was wearing a mask .
Because the general public has not received training on proper selection and use of respiratory PPE , it can not be certain whether respiratory PPE worn during contact with an individual with COVID-19 infection protected them from exposure.
” State governments and private businesses across the country have mandated mask-wearing in the name of containing COVID-19 , with some localities going so far as to encourage residents to report neighbors for non-compliance or even mandate masks in private homes .
These mandates have become a subject of intense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science is less certain than many pundits and politicians are .
A “ pooled ( so-called ‘ meta- ’ ) analysis of 10 controlled trials assessing extended , real-world , non-healthcare-setting mask usage revealed that masking did not reduce the rate of laboratory-proven infections with the respiratory virus influenza , ” Dr. Andrew Bostom of Brown University wrote .
“ The findings from this unique report — published May 2020 by the CDC ’ s own ‘ house journal ’ ‘ Emerging Infectious Diseases ’ — are directly germane to the question of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some elaboration.
” Further , much of the skepticism over masks is due to the CDC and other public health authorities sending out conflicting signals on the subject .
In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak , the CDC and U.S .
Surgeon General Jerome Adams counseled against wearing mask , which the public later learned was because they wanted to conserve the supply for health workers .
Recently , the CDC also acknowledged that the vast majority of Americans officially recorded as dying from COVID-19 also had other factors contributing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times reported that the primary tests currently being used are so sensitive that “ most ” of the positive cases they identify “ are not likely to be contagious ” because they “ may be carrying relatively insignificant amounts of the virus.
” As of September 1 , the United States is estimated to have seen 6.2 million cases of COVID-19 with more than 188,000 deaths and 3.4 million recoveries .
But doubt and debate have surrounded those numbers all year , thanks in part to various health agencies admitting that they counted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dying as having died from the virus , regardless of their actual cause of death .

'It cannot be certain whether respiratory PPE worn during contact with an individual with COVID-19 infection protected them from exposure,' the organization reported.
PETITION: No to radical mandatory mask mandates! Sign the petition here.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Wearing a mask will not guarantee one’s safety from COVID-19 if worn in close proximity to an infected person for more than 15 minutes, according to guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The guidelines recommend that anyone who has spent roughly 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 should “stay home until 14 days after last exposure and maintain social distance (at least 6 feet) from others at all times,” “irrespective of whether the person with COVID-19 or the contact was wearing a mask or whether the contact was wearing respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE).”
“While research indicates masks may help those who are infected from spreading the infection, there is less information regarding whether masks offer any protection for a contact exposed to a symptomatic or asymptomatic patient,” the CDC explained. “Therefore, the determination of close contact should be made irrespective of whether the person with COVID-19 or the contact was wearing a mask. Because the general public has not received training on proper selection and use of respiratory PPE, it cannot be certain whether respiratory PPE worn during contact with an individual with COVID-19 infection protected them from exposure.”
Wondering what @cdcgov really thinks about masks? Their guidance on quarantining after exposure to someone with #covid explicitly states whether the infected OR exposed person wore masks doesn’t matter. My mask protects no one. So does yours. Thanks for clearing that up, CDC! pic.twitter.com/3P1fm9tuAV — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) August 23, 2020
State governments and private businesses across the country have mandated mask-wearing in the name of containing COVID-19, with some localities going so far as to encourage residents to report neighbors for non-compliance or even mandate masks in private homes. These mandates have become a subject of intense debate, with conservatives arguing that the science is less certain than many pundits and politicians are.
A “pooled (so-called ‘meta-’) analysis of 10 controlled trials assessing extended, real-world, non-healthcare-setting mask usage revealed that masking did not reduce the rate of laboratory-proven infections with the respiratory virus influenza,” Dr. Andrew Bostom of Brown University wrote. “The findings from this unique report — published May 2020 by the CDC’s own ‘house journal’ ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’ — are directly germane to the question of masking to prevent COVID-19 infection and merit some elaboration.”
Further, much of the skepticism over masks is due to the CDC and other public health authorities sending out conflicting signals on the subject. In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the CDC and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams counseled against wearing mask, which the public later learned was because they wanted to conserve the supply for health workers.
Recently, the CDC also acknowledged that the vast majority of Americans officially recorded as dying from COVID-19 also had other factors contributing to their deaths, and The New York Times reported that the primary tests currently being used are so sensitive that “most” of the positive cases they identify “are not likely to be contagious” because they “may be carrying relatively insignificant amounts of the virus.”
As of September 1, the United States is estimated to have seen 6.2 million cases of COVID-19 with more than 188,000 deaths and 3.4 million recoveries. But doubt and debate have surrounded those numbers all year, thanks in part to various health agencies admitting that they counted anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 before dying as having died from the virus, regardless of their actual cause of death.
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