lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Trump sent a powerful message to China by hosting Chen Guangchen at the RNC

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August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – “ The CCP is an enemy of humanity .
It is terrorizing its own people , and it is threatening the well-being of the world.
” – Chen Guangcheng at the RNC True to character , activist Chen Guangcheng did not pull any punches in his speech at the Republican National Convention .
( Read the full transcript here . )
When he exposed the widespread use of forced abortion and sterilization in Linyi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for years .
The Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) failed to break his spirit , and he continues his valiant activism from , in his words , “ the United States , where we are now free.
” Having Chen speak at the Convention was a bold move .
It sent a clear message that the United States will no longer kowtow to Beijing and practice appeasement diplomacy .
The current administration has taken strong action for human rights in China , including standing with the people of Hong Kong and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the CCP ’ s forced abortion and sterilization policy .
The Convention has given an important national platform to Chen – the world ’ s most heroic opponent of forced abortion under the One Child Policy in China .
Seeing Chen speak at the Convention was a profound experience for me personally , since I spent years traveling the world to raise the visibility of his case while he was in prison .
You can watch our “ Free Chen Guangcheng ” video below .
We translated and released his searing report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Congressional hearing .
We worked with Chinese activists to create an international Sunglasses Campaign to press for his release .
The day before it became public that he had escaped house arrest , I was advocating on his behalf at the Dail ( Irish legislature ) .
A group of activists protested on his behalf in front of the Chinese Embassy in Dublin .
The day Chen arrived safely in the United States was one of the most thrilling days of my life .
Meeting him and his wife for the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , addressing the nation and indeed the world in such a powerful way is almost surreal .
Congratulating him warmly over the phone last night , I reflected how I had once said , “ I would have crawled halfway around the world to see him while he was under house arrest.
” May Chen ’ s message ring loud and clear .
The United States must continue to challenge , not appease , China on its human rights record .
Freedom in China – and indeed in the world – depends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president of Women ’ s Rights Without Frontiers .

PETITION: Hold UN accountable for babies killed by sex-selection abortion! Sign the petition here. August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – “The CCP is an enemy of humanity. It is terrorizing its own people, and it is threatening the well-being of the world.” – Chen Guangcheng at the RNC True to character, activist Chen Guangcheng did not pull any punches in his speech at the Republican National Convention. (Read the full transcript here.) When he exposed the widespread use of forced abortion and sterilization in Linyi, China, he was jailed and tortured for years. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) failed to break his spirit, […]
PETITION: Hold UN accountable for babies killed by sex-selection abortion! Sign the petition here.
August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – “The CCP is an enemy of humanity. It is terrorizing its own people, and it is threatening the well-being of the world.” – Chen Guangcheng at the RNC
True to character, activist Chen Guangcheng did not pull any punches in his speech at the Republican National Convention. (Read the full transcript here.) When he exposed the widespread use of forced abortion and sterilization in Linyi, China, he was jailed and tortured for years. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) failed to break his spirit, and he continues his valiant activism from, in his words, “the United States, where we are now free.”
Having Chen speak at the Convention was a bold move. It sent a clear message that the United States will no longer kowtow to Beijing and practice appeasement diplomacy. The current administration has taken strong action for human rights in China, including standing with the people of Hong Kong and the Uyghur Muslims, who are current victims of the CCP’s forced abortion and sterilization policy. The Convention has given an important national platform to Chen – the world’s most heroic opponent of forced abortion under the One Child Policy in China.
Seeing Chen speak at the Convention was a profound experience for me personally, since I spent years traveling the world to raise the visibility of his case while he was in prison. You can watch our “Free Chen Guangcheng” video below.
We translated and released his searing report of forced abortions and presented it at a Congressional hearing. We worked with Chinese activists to create an international Sunglasses Campaign to press for his release. The day before it became public that he had escaped house arrest, I was advocating on his behalf at the Dail (Irish legislature). A group of activists protested on his behalf in front of the Chinese Embassy in Dublin.
The day Chen arrived safely in the United States was one of the most thrilling days of my life. Meeting him and his wife for the first time was unforgettable. To see him now, addressing the nation and indeed the world in such a powerful way is almost surreal. Congratulating him warmly over the phone last night, I reflected how I had once said, “I would have crawled halfway around the world to see him while he was under house arrest.”
May Chen’s message ring loud and clear. The United States must continue to challenge, not appease, China on its human rights record. Freedom in China – and indeed in the world – depends on it.
Reggie Littlejohn is the president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers.
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Dem governors ignore CDC dropping 14-day quarantine recommendation for out-of-state travelers

PETITION : No to radical mandatory mask mandates !
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ATLANTA , Georgia , August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) ― The Center for Disease Control has dropped its recommendation that travelers coming from out-of-state or overseas quarantine for two weeks , but liberal American states have not followed suit .
Fox News reported that the governors of New York , New Jersey , and Connecticut had not commented on the CDC ’ s change of heart on the subject .
Although the CDC dropped the recommendation on Friday , all three states still require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to quarantine for 14 days .
The three states have collaborated on a joint quarantine since late June .
On Tuesday , however , New York , New Jersey , and Connecticut dropped five states from the quarantine list while adding Guam .
Now those travelling to the tri-state area from Alaska , Arizona , Delaware , Maryland , and Montana have freedom of movement .
The current restricted list for New York , New Jersey , and Connecticut is Alabama , Arkansas , California , Florida , Georgia , Guam , Hawaii @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Nebraska , Nevada , North Carolina , North Dakota , Oklahoma , Puerto Rico , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Virginia , the Virgin Islands , and Wisconsin .
According to New York ’ s NBC Channel 4 , New York is levying a heavy fine on travelers who do not isolate .
Those who come into the state are fined $ 2,000 if they do not fill in a contact form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highways for travelers .
Hotels also must get visitors to fill in contact forms .
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order last week requiring hotels to refuse rooms to guests who won ’ t fill in the form .
The governor has also indicated that COVID-19 testing centers will be set up at the JFK and LaGuardia airports .
The combined lockdown and quarantine have dealt a punishing blow to New York ’ s economy .
In July Marketwatch reported that in 2019 tourism was “ a $ 70 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tourists to New York City .
”

New York is levying a heavy fine on travelers who do not isolate.
PETITION: No to radical mandatory mask mandates! Sign the petition here.
ATLANTA, Georgia, August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― The Center for Disease Control has dropped its recommendation that travelers coming from out-of-state or overseas quarantine for two weeks, but liberal American states have not followed suit.
Fox News reported that the governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut had not commented on the CDC’s change of heart on the subject. Although the CDC dropped the recommendation on Friday, all three states still require travelers coming from several states and territories to quarantine for 14 days. The three states have collaborated on a joint quarantine since late June.
On Tuesday, however, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut dropped five states from the quarantine list while adding Guam. Now those travelling to the tri-state area from Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, and Montana have freedom of movement.
The current restricted list for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut is Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, the Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin.
According to New York’s NBC Channel 4, New York is levying a heavy fine on travelers who do not isolate. Those who come into the state are fined $2,000 if they do not fill in a contact form. There are police spot checks on the highways for travelers. Hotels also must get visitors to fill in contact forms. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order last week requiring hotels to refuse rooms to guests who won’t fill in the form. The governor has also indicated that COVID-19 testing centers will be set up at the JFK and LaGuardia airports.
The combined lockdown and quarantine have dealt a punishing blow to New York’s economy. In July Marketwatch reported that in 2019 tourism was “a $70 billion industry that brought a record 67 million tourists to New York City.”
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Conservative outlet Rebel News wins fight to become accredited press at Alberta legislature

EDMONTON , Alberta , August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Conservative Canadian media outlet Rebel News declared a victory Wednesday in fighting one of Canada ’ s largest news chains , who they say was responsible for preventing two of their reporters from becoming members of the Alberta Legislature press gallery .
Rebel News reporter Keean Bexte announced on Twitter yesterday that they are now accredited with the Alberta press gallery .
`` Finally , after a long battle , @ SheilaGunnReid and I are officially accredited reporters at our first Canadian legislature : Alberta .
The Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new day is dawning in Canadian media !
Full story soon , '' wrote Bexte on Twitter .
In a Rebel News report from August 14 , editor Ezra Levant declared victory in lifting the press gallery ban against them .
“ Today is a day of celebration — a group of censors had their bullying blow up in their face , ” wrote Levant .
The August 14 report claims that in late July , Postmedia employee Tyler Dawson sent Rebel News an email notifying them that they had barred their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from joining the Alberta press gallery .
“ I 'm writing to inform you that the gallery has voted to reject the applications of Sheila Gunn Reid and Keean Bexte of the Rebel News Network Ltd. for membership to the Alberta Press Gallery Association , ” wrote Dawson .
Dawson had just been elected as president of the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery Association ( ALPGA ) , and his letter to Rebel News gave no reason as to why their reporters ' applications to the gallery were not accepted .
Rebel News was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No explanation .
No appeal .
We weren ’ t invited to the secret witch trial .
They just banned us , ” reported Rebel News .
“ It ’ s bizarre that our right to send journalists to the Legislature depends on the permission of a snobby little club of obscure , left-wing reporters called the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery .
But for reasons that no-one can remember , they ’ re in charge of granting security passes to the Legislature.
” The Rebel News report says that for some time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accreditation for the Alberta Press gallery , but were not successful until this Wednesday .
As a result of not being allowed press gallery membership before , Rebel News had their lawyer send Dawson a letter threatening Postmedia legal action under The Competition Act .
“ The ALPGA is a Postmedia-dominated trade association .
Postmedia benefits from a dominant position in Alberta ’ s media landscape — Postmedia owns Alberta ’ s largest daily newspapers ( in Calgary , the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun ) ( in Edmonton , the Edmonton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and has no significant rivals in either city , ” reads the legal letter from Rebel News .
“ The ALPGA ’ s denial of membership to Rebel News serves to demonstrate the anti-competitive nature and practices of Postmedia and the ALPGA , and in particular , their efforts to prevent/lessen competition in Alberta ’ s media landscape.
” In summary , the Rebel News legal letter says they are “ seeking an immediate reversal of the Denial by the ALPGA , failing which , we have instructions to commence formal proceedings against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R.S.C.
, 1985 , c. C-34 , which regulates anti-competitive business practices in Canada.
” Rebel News also had their lawyer send a letter to the Speaker of the Alberta Legislature , demanding that the “ Independent Press Gallery of Canada be given the same recognition and standing as the Press Gallery in Alberta.
” The Independent Press Gallery of Canada is a “ not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent , non-governmental journalist organisations ” and was recently formed and is run by Candace Malcolm of True North News .
Last Friday , Postmedia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rebel News and offer a defense of the freedom of the press , despite the fact it was one of their reporters , Dawson , who notified them of their ban .
The Post commentary refers to the 2016 Boyd report , which came about as a result of the former Alberta NDP government failing to recognize Rebel News as a legitimate news site .
“ Media organizations and individuals should not be denied accreditation strictly on the basis of their point of view , ” states the report which was authored by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commentary states that until the ALPGA takes freedom of the press seriously as per the report , they will “ withdraw its reporters from the gallery , effective immediately.
” “ This step was made necessary by the gallery ’ s recent decision to hold a vote denying official accreditation to , yet again , the Rebel .
( Unlike Ottawa ’ s press gallery , where such decisions are made by a board , Alberta ’ s group lets majority vote rule . )
Let us be clear : we do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own work makes the case against its dubious standards better than we could , and its frequent personal attacks on other journalists are not just disgraceful but dangerous , ” reads the National Post commentary .
However , Rebel News says the Post media letter “ disavows ” their own reporter ’ s email which banned Rebel News , noting their opinion piece makes no mention of the email from Dawson , nor the legal letter from Rebel ’ s lawyer .
“ So last night , faced with a massive boycott and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” says the Rebel News report .
“ Not only did Postmedia disavow their own letter banning us , they actually ordered all of their own reporters to quit the Alberta Press Gallery themselves !
And — even more delicious — they ordered their sullen reporters to just shut up about it , and to stop promoting censorship !
” In addition to the letter , Rebel News launched a campaign to their readership base called , “ CancelThePost.com.
” According to Rebel News , “ hundreds ” canceled their National Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News says it is “ ironic ” that the National Post tried to ban them from the gallery only to have their higher-ups ban their reporters .
“ What irony : left-wing reporters at the National Post tried to ban us from the press gallery , and gag us .
But now they ’ re banned from it and they ’ re gagged — by their own company !
” said Rebel News .
“ The National Post embarrassed itself , it lost a lot of money , and it had to admit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are hard things to do — and they didn ’ t do them very gracefully .
You can read their angry editorial here — they condemn censorship , but they don ’ t actually tell their readers their own central role in the censorship fiasco .
They call us a dozen names and insults — but then criticize us for being mean to other journalists.
” Rebel News has also launched a fundraiser to help them “ fight Postmedia censorship ” with the goal being to raise $ 40,000 .
To date , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

‘The Press Gallery's monopoly has been busted and a new day is dawning in Canadian media’ said The Rebel’s Keean Bexte
PETITION: Break up Big Tech tyrants and defend free speech! Sign the petition here.
August 28 update: Rebel News announced yesterday that it was the Alberta Speaker of the House who gave their two reporters access to the Alberta legislature press gallery, bypassing the reporter run press gallery in the decision. Rebel News was informed of the decision by the Alberta Sergeant-at-Arms.
EDMONTON, Alberta, August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Conservative Canadian media outlet Rebel News declared a victory Wednesday in fighting one of Canada’s largest news chains, who they say was responsible for preventing two of their reporters from becoming members of the Alberta Legislature press gallery.
Rebel News reporter Keean Bexte announced on Twitter yesterday that they are now accredited with the Alberta press gallery.
“Finally, after a long battle, @SheilaGunnReid and I are officially accredited reporters at our first Canadian legislature: Alberta. The Press Gallery's monopoly has been busted and a new day is dawning in Canadian media! Full story soon,” wrote Bexte on Twitter.
In a Rebel News report from August 14, editor Ezra Levant declared victory in lifting the press gallery ban against them.
“Today is a day of celebration — a group of censors had their bullying blow up in their face,” wrote Levant.
The August 14 report claims that in late July, Postmedia employee Tyler Dawson sent Rebel News an email notifying them that they had barred their reporters Sheila Gunn Reid and Keean Bexte from joining the Alberta press gallery.
“I'm writing to inform you that the gallery has voted to reject the applications of Sheila Gunn Reid and Keean Bexte of the Rebel News Network Ltd. for membership to the Alberta Press Gallery Association,” wrote Dawson.
Dawson had just been elected as president of the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery Association (ALPGA), and his letter to Rebel News gave no reason as to why their reporters' applications to the gallery were not accepted.
Rebel News was not happy with his letter.
“No explanation. No appeal. We weren’t invited to the secret witch trial. They just banned us,” reported Rebel News.
“It’s bizarre that our right to send journalists to the Legislature depends on the permission of a snobby little club of obscure, left-wing reporters called the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery. But for reasons that no-one can remember, they’re in charge of granting security passes to the Legislature.”
The Rebel News report says that for some time, they applied to have their reporters obtain accreditation for the Alberta Press gallery, but were not successful until this Wednesday.
As a result of not being allowed press gallery membership before, Rebel News had their lawyer send Dawson a letter threatening Postmedia legal action under The Competition Act.
“The ALPGA is a Postmedia-dominated trade association. Postmedia benefits from a dominant position in Alberta’s media landscape — Postmedia owns Alberta’s largest daily newspapers (in Calgary, the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun) (in Edmonton, the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun), and has no significant rivals in either city,” reads the legal letter from Rebel News.
“The ALPGA’s denial of membership to Rebel News serves to demonstrate the anti-competitive nature and practices of Postmedia and the ALPGA, and in particular, their efforts to prevent/lessen competition in Alberta’s media landscape.”
In summary, the Rebel News legal letter says they are “seeking an immediate reversal of the Denial by the ALPGA, failing which, we have instructions to commence formal proceedings against Postmedia pursuant to the Competition Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34, which regulates anti-competitive business practices in Canada.”
Rebel News also had their lawyer send a letter to the Speaker of the Alberta Legislature, demanding that the “Independent Press Gallery of Canada be given the same recognition and standing as the Press Gallery in Alberta.”
The Independent Press Gallery of Canada is a “not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent, non-governmental journalist organisations” and was recently formed and is run by Candace Malcolm of True North News.
Last Friday, Postmedia published a commentary that appears to defend Rebel News and offer a defense of the freedom of the press, despite the fact it was one of their reporters, Dawson, who notified them of their ban.
The Post commentary refers to the 2016 Boyd report, which came about as a result of the former Alberta NDP government failing to recognize Rebel News as a legitimate news site.
“Media organizations and individuals should not be denied accreditation strictly on the basis of their point of view,” states the report which was authored by retired journalist Heather Boyd.
The Postmedia commentary states that until the ALPGA takes freedom of the press seriously as per the report, they will “withdraw its reporters from the gallery, effective immediately.”
“This step was made necessary by the gallery’s recent decision to hold a vote denying official accreditation to, yet again, the Rebel. (Unlike Ottawa’s press gallery, where such decisions are made by a board, Alberta’s group lets majority vote rule.) Let us be clear: we do not seek to defend the Rebel. Its own work makes the case against its dubious standards better than we could, and its frequent personal attacks on other journalists are not just disgraceful but dangerous,” reads the National Post commentary.
However, Rebel News says the Post media letter “disavows” their own reporter’s email which banned Rebel News, noting their opinion piece makes no mention of the email from Dawson, nor the legal letter from Rebel’s lawyer.
“So last night, faced with a massive boycott and a Competition Bureau lawsuit, they blinked,” says the Rebel News report.
“Not only did Postmedia disavow their own letter banning us, they actually ordered all of their own reporters to quit the Alberta Press Gallery themselves! And — even more delicious — they ordered their sullen reporters to just shut up about it, and to stop promoting censorship!”
In addition to the letter, Rebel News launched a campaign to their readership base called, “CancelThePost.com.”
According to Rebel News, “hundreds” canceled their National Post subscriptions due to the campaign.
Rebel News says it is “ironic” that the National Post tried to ban them from the gallery only to have their higher-ups ban their reporters.
“What irony: left-wing reporters at the National Post tried to ban us from the press gallery, and gag us. But now they’re banned from it and they’re gagged — by their own company!” said Rebel News.
“The National Post embarrassed itself, it lost a lot of money, and it had to admit that it’s wrong. Those are hard things to do — and they didn’t do them very gracefully. You can read their angry editorial here — they condemn censorship, but they don’t actually tell their readers their own central role in the censorship fiasco. They call us a dozen names and insults — but then criticize us for being mean to other journalists.”
Rebel News has also launched a fundraiser to help them “fight Postmedia censorship” with the goal being to raise $40,000. To date, they have raised just over $9,000.
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Is COVID-19 not as dangerous as public health officials have been claiming?

August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — If a major flaw were discovered that almost completely discredited the COVID-19 and pneumonia death counts provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , is it likely that government public health officials and liberal politicians would admit it ?
Or , if there were data that suggest that COVID-19 is not nearly as severe as was first propagated , would public health officials admit they were wrong and suggest life return to normal with full sports stadiums , full churches , no masks , and no “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of lives that have been harmed and the power and money that were gained by public health officials , governors , and other politicians , if either scenario occurred , it is reasonable to suggest such persons would likely not admit the truth .
There is an apparent ongoing major development regarding COVID-19 that either is being deliberately ignored or has been overlooked by public health officials : COVID-19 reportedly continues to spread , yet the locations where it is spreading are not observing the same trend in excess COVID-19 deaths that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York City , New Jersey , and Massachusetts early in the reported pandemic .
There have not been even close to the numbers of reported COVID-19 deaths or pneumonia deaths resulting from the reported June and July “ spike ” or “ surge ” in COVID-19 cases throughout the U.S .
Some may suggest that the reported recent cases of COVID-19 are in younger people than those reported to have caused thousands of deaths in places like New York and New Jersey .
Such persons imply that more COVID-19 cases in older persons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not necessarily true ; a brief comparison of New Jersey and New York ( where COVID-19 was reported to be spreading early ) to California and Florida ( where COVID-19 was more recently reported to be spreading ) may partially refute such an argument .
Locations where “ spikes ” reportedly recently occurred are actually reporting more COVID-19 cases in older persons with fewer deaths than were reported in New York City and New Jersey .
As of this writing , New Jersey reports 43,849 COVID-19 cases and 12,637 COVID-19 deaths among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ City reports 52,901 COVID-19 cases and 14,005 deaths among those 65 and older .
California reports 71,455 COVID-19 cases and 8,870 COVID-19 deaths among those 65 and older .
Florida reports 87,547 COVID-19 cases and 6,948 “ deaths involving COVID-19 ” among those 65 and older .
California and Florida both report more cases than New York City and New Jersey among those 65 and older , but both New York City and New Jersey report almost double the number of COVID-19 deaths in the same age group .
New Jersey ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counts were the main statistics used to cause panic throughout the rest of the country early in the reported outbreak .
They were also used ( and continue to be used ) to support draconian removal of freedoms and trillions of dollars in giveaways , including to government entities .
But the trends in “ COVID-19 deaths ” are very different now .
Notably , the excessive deaths were reported during the lockdowns , at a time when it may have been more difficult to prove that the excessive deaths ( and excessive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jersey , and Massachusetts may not have been occurring .
This leads to several questions , which most people would probably rather not ask .
First , is it possible that certain entities deliberately falsified death count totals in New York City , New Jersey , and elsewhere , by falsely reporting large numbers in March , April , and May ?
One of the biggest government scandals in the history of the United States , the FBI ’ s use of false information and apparent deliberate deception against the president and persons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for asking such questions .
It is reasonable to expect similar establishment-type persons to be employed in other government entities .
It may or may not be relevant that since 2015 , employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) have reportedly given 8,000 donations to Democrat entities ( like “ Biden for President ” ) compared to only five donations to Republican entities .
The list of potential motives for government or public health entities falsifying data could be extensive .
One need only follow the potential money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
Even the FBI , the entity that may be responsible for investigating potential fraud , may profit off of COVID-19 ( approximately $ 1.8 billion for a new building ; Americans should want to know what types of technologies , ruses , covert FBI-owned businesses , or otherwise illegal activity the FBI might use such an expensive new building for ) .
This is not to say that fraud or deliberate falsification of COVID-19 information actually did occur .
Due to the following argument , though , one has to mention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radical mandatory mask mandates !
Sign the petition here .
Different types of scientific misconduct have been described ; one of those is broadly termed falsification and is defined in the following manner : The data presented by the CDC is a type of research , and it can be shown that the CDC and others are not accurately representing the research record — specifically , evidence suggests that COVID-19 is being inaccurately represented to be more severe than it may be .
Some introductory medical information is necessary prior to explaining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It has been suggested that most adults will experience an average of two to three common colds every year .
This means that when an adult dies , it is quite possible ( and in many cases highly likely ) that an adult will die with a common cold .
It is probably not a surprise if a frail elderly person dies with a common cold ; it may actually be more of a surprise if a frail elderly person does not die with a common cold .
There are many viruses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the most common causes is human rhinovirus , but coronaviruses may also cause the common cold .
Since it is normal for most adults to experience two to three common colds every year , and since coronaviruses can cause up to 30 % of those common colds , one could reasonably suggest that during a normal year , there could be more than 120 million “ coronavirus cases ” in America .
There are no scientific studies that tested every deceased individual in America for the possibility of having a common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prior to their deaths .
But , because adults may have two to three colds every year , since coronaviruses can cause up to 30 % of those common colds , and because more than 2 million adults normally die in America every year , for the sake of this example , hypothetically , say 250,000 people die every year with a common cold caused by a coronavirus .
Would it be truthful , then , to say 250,000 people are “ killed by the common cold ” or “ killed by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such a statement would not be truthful ; it would be a misrepresentation of the data .
In fact , if such information were propagated for multiple months by one public health official — let alone by multiple public health officials at numerous public health entities in America — one would rightly say those people were either incompetent or fraudulent .
The most recent reporting of “ deaths involving COVID-19 ” may be mostly persons who died with a positive COVID-19 test rather than persons who died “ from ” or “ due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials are not clearly stating this in their representation of the severity of COVID-19 ; this indicates the possibility of falsification , a type of scientific misconduct mentioned above .
Some may wonder why this writer and others continue to harp on the falsified or misleading COVID-19 death counts .
One reason is that the death count is wrongly used to support legal decisions like the declaration of a public health emergency , which is then used to support the draconian lockdowns and remove many rights and freedoms from Americans .
The resulting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health emergency may have resulted in thousands of deaths and other serious problems themselves .
Such false information would have had gravely harmful consequences and would need to be brought to light .
And many people want their lives to get back to normal ; if there is information ( for instance , information showing that COVID-19 is not even close to being as severe to what was originally reported ) that supports the return to normality , then that information should also be published and propagated .
Such information appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the virus named SARS-CoV-2 .
The “ SARS ” in “ SARS-CoV-2 ” stands for “ severe acute respiratory syndrome ” ( which is sometimes also referred to as acute respiratory distress syndrome or adult respiratory distress syndrome ) .
When the virus was first reportedly discovered , the panic and hysteria propagated by public health officials were supposedly due to their belief that the SARS-CoV-2 virus would cause millions of people to experience pneumonia , “ severe acute respiratory distress syndrome , ” and death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the CDC was suggesting that the expected sequence of events leading to death in COVID-19 patients would be pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome .
To be considered a severe case of COVID-19 , the CDC requires “ clinical or radiographic evidence of pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS ) .
” It is unlikely that non-severe COVID-19 cases ( cases without pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome ) would cause death ; in other words , true COVID-19 deaths would likely require “ clinical or radiographic evidence ” of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CDC makes a similar point , implying that a true COVID-19 death would include pneumonia or ARDS , when explaining to physicians how they are expected to fill out a death certificate .
The CDC acknowledges that in the cases where “ COVID-19 played a role in the death ” of a person , the “ life threatening conditions ” ( and therefore the potentially “ death causing conditions ” ) expected to be observed are pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome .
A reputable source used by medical professionals explains the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep in mind , according to the reputable source and even the CDC , is that if COVID-19 causes death , the deaths will mostly be due to lung problems known as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome .
That is , a true COVID-19 death would be expected to result in pneumonia or ARDS , and the certificate of death for a true COVID-19 death would likely then include at least both COVID-19 and pneumonia or both COVID-19 and ARDS .
A simplification may be helpful .
If SARS-CoV-2 causes an infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The infection is referred to as COVID-19 .
Most people do not die from COVID-19 .
If a person really dies from or due to COVID-19 , there are expected sequences of events and conditions that occur in the lungs before a person dies .
The sequence expected is as follows : So if the CDC and other public health officials were to accurately represent the severity of the currently spreading SARS virus , SARS-CoV-2 , according to their own criteria , they would be looking at incidences of pneumonia and acute respiratory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people whose death certificates list them as having died from COVID-19 and pneumonia or COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome would provide a more accurate description of the severity of COVID-19 ( rather than including all of those who presumably died from COVID-19 or those who died with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test , which may result in falsely overstating the severity of COVID-19 ) .
How many “ deaths involving COVID-19 ” have been reportedly due to “ acute respiratory distress syndrome , ” then ?
According to the CDC , as of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 153,504 “ deaths involving COVID-19 ” included the “ contributing cause ” of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome “ mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving COVID-19 ” on the death certificates ( the CDC and other public health officials have been using words pertaining to COVID-19 in a misleading and unclear manner , so the “ scare quotes , ” while annoying , are necessary to indicate others ’ use of misleading and/or ambiguous words ) .
That is a big deal .
SARS-CoV-2 — the “ Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in less than 22,000 deaths due to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome .
As other articles noted , one should not trivialize life and death ; this article is not making light of those deaths .
Instead , it is evaluating the statistics to make the point that COVID-19 may not be as severe as many may have untruthfully stated .
Moreover , the number of deaths involving COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome — fewer than 22,000 out of 154,000 — suggests that what was being reported as the “ COVID-19 death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be wrong by a large amount .
As stated previously , one could also view the statistics of deaths involving COVID-19 and pneumonia to determine the real severity of SARS-CoV-2 .
Before listing those statistics , it should be noted that Dr. Robert Redfield , the director of the CDC , and Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , wrote about a “ case definition of COVID-19 requiring a diagnosis of pneumonia ” ; such a definition of “ COVID-19 ” along with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been infected but unharmed by SARS-CoV-2 , they explained , would suggest that “ the overall clinical consequences of COVID-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza…or a pandemic influenza.
” Considering the COVID-19 death rate from the standpoint of deaths certified as being caused by both pneumonia and COVID-19 may also shed more light on the topic , then .
Oddly , though , instead of being straightforward and listing pneumonia statistics individually , the CDC obscures the number of COVID-19-related pneumonia statistics .
This seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an explanation .
Instead of listing pneumonia due to COVID-19 or viral pneumonia individually , the CDC ’ s pneumonia statistics combine viral pneumonia with various types of influenza ( COVID-19 is not influenza ) diagnoses , various types of bacterial pneumonias ( COVID-19 is not a bacteria ) , pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae , pneumonia due to Hemophilus influenzae , and pneumonia due to other infectious organisms .
Combining all of those misrepresents the number of diagnoses of pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 .
Prior to the reported spreading of COVID-19 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and emergency room visits every year due to pneumonia .
So , just as it is possible for a frail elderly person to die “ with the common cold , ” it is not unreasonable to suggest that , due to the prevalence of pneumonia , an elderly person may die “ with pneumonia ” not caused by COVID-19 .
In other words , the CDC ’ s combining of all types of pneumonia in COVID-19 statistics may be misleading .
Even so , the CDC reports that 64,465 death certificates have “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths involving COVID-19.
” This is also a big deal .
Even after potentially misrepresenting and overstating the pneumonia statistic by including various types of influenza and bacterial pneumonia , the total number is still less than half of what are listed as “ deaths involving COVID-19.
” If a true COVID-19 death required a diagnosis of pneumonia , and if fewer than 65,000 or so COVID-19 deaths include that pneumonia diagnosis , then the COVID-19 death count could be inflated by close to 100,000 deaths .
Consider this : if the actual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20,000 , or even 65,000 people , would governors and public health officials have a significant basis for their continued draconian restrictions , including their restrictions on sporting events or gathering for the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ?
Would those numbers even be high enough to label COVID-19 as a public health emergency , epidemic , or pandemic ?
Either way , evaluating the above data from the CDC ’ s COVID-19 severity criteria suggests that COVID-19 is not nearly as severe as public health officials have been claiming .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death statistics being significantly lower than the excess deaths which were reported in New York City and New Jersey early in the reported pandemic , from an honest and objective scientific standpoint , one must wonder if any of the statistics can even be trusted at all .

One must wonder if any of the official coronavirus statistics can even be trusted at all.
August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — If a major flaw were discovered that almost completely discredited the COVID-19 and pneumonia death counts provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is it likely that government public health officials and liberal politicians would admit it? Or, if there were data that suggest that COVID-19 is not nearly as severe as was first propagated, would public health officials admit they were wrong and suggest life return to normal with full sports stadiums, full churches, no masks, and no “social distancing”? Due to the number of lives that have been harmed and the power and money that were gained by public health officials, governors, and other politicians, if either scenario occurred, it is reasonable to suggest such persons would likely not admit the truth.
There is an apparent ongoing major development regarding COVID-19 that either is being deliberately ignored or has been overlooked by public health officials: COVID-19 reportedly continues to spread, yet the locations where it is spreading are not observing the same trend in excess COVID-19 deaths that were reportedly observed in places like New York City, New Jersey, and Massachusetts early in the reported pandemic. There have not been even close to the numbers of reported COVID-19 deaths or pneumonia deaths resulting from the reported June and July “spike” or “surge” in COVID-19 cases throughout the U.S.
Some may suggest that the reported recent cases of COVID-19 are in younger people than those reported to have caused thousands of deaths in places like New York and New Jersey. Such persons imply that more COVID-19 cases in older persons will result in more deaths. That is not necessarily true; a brief comparison of New Jersey and New York (where COVID-19 was reported to be spreading early) to California and Florida (where COVID-19 was more recently reported to be spreading) may partially refute such an argument. Locations where “spikes” reportedly recently occurred are actually reporting more COVID-19 cases in older persons with fewer deaths than were reported in New York City and New Jersey.
As of this writing, New Jersey reports 43,849 COVID-19 cases and 12,637 COVID-19 deaths among those 65 and older. New York City reports 52,901 COVID-19 cases and 14,005 deaths among those 65 and older. California reports 71,455 COVID-19 cases and 8,870 COVID-19 deaths among those 65 and older. Florida reports 87,547 COVID-19 cases and 6,948 “deaths involving COVID-19” among those 65 and older. California and Florida both report more cases than New York City and New Jersey among those 65 and older, but both New York City and New Jersey report almost double the number of COVID-19 deaths in the same age group.
New Jersey’s and New York City’s COVID-19 counts were the main statistics used to cause panic throughout the rest of the country early in the reported outbreak. They were also used (and continue to be used) to support draconian removal of freedoms and trillions of dollars in giveaways, including to government entities. But the trends in “COVID-19 deaths” are very different now. Notably, the excessive deaths were reported during the lockdowns, at a time when it may have been more difficult to prove that the excessive deaths (and excessive hospitalizations) in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts may not have been occurring.
This leads to several questions, which most people would probably rather not ask. First, is it possible that certain entities deliberately falsified death count totals in New York City, New Jersey, and elsewhere, by falsely reporting large numbers in March, April, and May? One of the biggest government scandals in the history of the United States, the FBI’s use of false information and apparent deliberate deception against the president and persons associated with him, provides sufficient basis for asking such questions. It is reasonable to expect similar establishment-type persons to be employed in other government entities. It may or may not be relevant that since 2015, employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reportedly given 8,000 donations to Democrat entities (like “Biden for President”) compared to only five donations to Republican entities.
The list of potential motives for government or public health entities falsifying data could be extensive. One need only follow the potential money and power gained by misleading America about COVID-19. Even the FBI, the entity that may be responsible for investigating potential fraud, may profit off of COVID-19 (approximately $1.8 billion for a new building; Americans should want to know what types of technologies, ruses, covert FBI-owned businesses, or otherwise illegal activity the FBI might use such an expensive new building for).
This is not to say that fraud or deliberate falsification of COVID-19 information actually did occur. Due to the following argument, though, one has to mention the possibility.
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Different types of scientific misconduct have been described; one of those is broadly termed falsification and is defined in the following manner:
manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record
The data presented by the CDC is a type of research, and it can be shown that the CDC and others are not accurately representing the research record — specifically, evidence suggests that COVID-19 is being inaccurately represented to be more severe than it may be. Some introductory medical information is necessary prior to explaining the apparent misrepresentation of the severity of COVID-19.
It has been suggested that most adults will experience an average of two to three common colds every year. This means that when an adult dies, it is quite possible (and in many cases highly likely) that an adult will die with a common cold. It is probably not a surprise if a frail elderly person dies with a common cold; it may actually be more of a surprise if a frail elderly person does not die with a common cold.
There are many viruses that may cause the common cold; one of the most common causes is human rhinovirus, but coronaviruses may also cause the common cold. Since it is normal for most adults to experience two to three common colds every year, and since coronaviruses can cause up to 30% of those common colds, one could reasonably suggest that during a normal year, there could be more than 120 million “coronavirus cases” in America.
There are no scientific studies that tested every deceased individual in America for the possibility of having a common cold–causing virus — like the coronavirus — prior to their deaths. But, because adults may have two to three colds every year, since coronaviruses can cause up to 30% of those common colds, and because more than 2 million adults normally die in America every year, for the sake of this example, hypothetically, say 250,000 people die every year with a common cold caused by a coronavirus.
Would it be truthful, then, to say 250,000 people are “killed by the common cold” or “killed by a coronavirus” every year? No, such a statement would not be truthful; it would be a misrepresentation of the data. In fact, if such information were propagated for multiple months by one public health official — let alone by multiple public health officials at numerous public health entities in America — one would rightly say those people were either incompetent or fraudulent.
The most recent reporting of “deaths involving COVID-19” may be mostly persons who died with a positive COVID-19 test rather than persons who died “from” or “due to” COVID-19. But public health officials are not clearly stating this in their representation of the severity of COVID-19; this indicates the possibility of falsification, a type of scientific misconduct mentioned above.
Some may wonder why this writer and others continue to harp on the falsified or misleading COVID-19 death counts. One reason is that the death count is wrongly used to support legal decisions like the declaration of a public health emergency, which is then used to support the draconian lockdowns and remove many rights and freedoms from Americans. The resulting draconian lockdowns from a potentially wrongly labeled public health emergency may have resulted in thousands of deaths and other serious problems themselves. Such false information would have had gravely harmful consequences and would need to be brought to light.
And many people want their lives to get back to normal; if there is information (for instance, information showing that COVID-19 is not even close to being as severe to what was originally reported) that supports the return to normality, then that information should also be published and propagated. Such information appears to have been available for months now.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the virus named SARS-CoV-2. The “SARS” in “SARS-CoV-2” stands for “severe acute respiratory syndrome” (which is sometimes also referred to as acute respiratory distress syndrome or adult respiratory distress syndrome). When the virus was first reportedly discovered, the panic and hysteria propagated by public health officials were supposedly due to their belief that the SARS-CoV-2 virus would cause millions of people to experience pneumonia, “severe acute respiratory distress syndrome,” and death. During the initial outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the CDC was suggesting that the expected sequence of events leading to death in COVID-19 patients would be pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
To be considered a severe case of COVID-19, the CDC requires “clinical or radiographic evidence of pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).” It is unlikely that non-severe COVID-19 cases (cases without pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome) would cause death; in other words, true COVID-19 deaths would likely require “clinical or radiographic evidence” of pneumonia or ARDS.
Elsewhere, the CDC makes a similar point, implying that a true COVID-19 death would include pneumonia or ARDS, when explaining to physicians how they are expected to fill out a death certificate. The CDC acknowledges that in the cases where “COVID-19 played a role in the death” of a person, the “life threatening conditions” (and therefore the potentially “death causing conditions”) expected to be observed are pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. A reputable source used by medical professionals explains the same medical fact:
The major morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 is largely due to acute viral pneumonitis that evolves to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
The main point to keep in mind, according to the reputable source and even the CDC, is that if COVID-19 causes death, the deaths will mostly be due to lung problems known as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. That is, a true COVID-19 death would be expected to result in pneumonia or ARDS, and the certificate of death for a true COVID-19 death would likely then include at least both COVID-19 and pneumonia or both COVID-19 and ARDS.
A simplification may be helpful. If SARS-CoV-2 causes an infection, it usually infects the lungs. The infection is referred to as COVID-19. Most people do not die from COVID-19. If a person really dies from or due to COVID-19, there are expected sequences of events and conditions that occur in the lungs before a person dies. The sequence expected is as follows:
1) COVID-19 infection
2) Pneumonia
3) Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
4) Death
So if the CDC and other public health officials were to accurately represent the severity of the currently spreading SARS virus, SARS-CoV-2, according to their own criteria, they would be looking at incidences of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Calculating the number of people whose death certificates list them as having died from COVID-19 and pneumonia or COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome would provide a more accurate description of the severity of COVID-19 (rather than including all of those who presumably died from COVID-19 or those who died with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, which may result in falsely overstating the severity of COVID-19).
How many “deaths involving COVID-19” have been reportedly due to “acute respiratory distress syndrome,” then? According to the CDC, as of this writing, 21,054 death certificates out of 153,504 “deaths involving COVID-19” included the “contributing cause” of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome “mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving COVID-19” on the death certificates (the CDC and other public health officials have been using words pertaining to COVID-19 in a misleading and unclear manner, so the “scare quotes,” while annoying, are necessary to indicate others’ use of misleading and/or ambiguous words).
That is a big deal. SARS-CoV-2 — the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” virus — has reportedly resulted in less than 22,000 deaths due to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.
As other articles noted, one should not trivialize life and death; this article is not making light of those deaths. Instead, it is evaluating the statistics to make the point that COVID-19 may not be as severe as many may have untruthfully stated.
Moreover, the number of deaths involving COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome — fewer than 22,000 out of 154,000 — suggests that what was being reported as the “COVID-19 death count” of approximately 154,000 or more could be wrong by a large amount.
As stated previously, one could also view the statistics of deaths involving COVID-19 and pneumonia to determine the real severity of SARS-CoV-2. Before listing those statistics, it should be noted that Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wrote about a “case definition of COVID-19 requiring a diagnosis of pneumonia”; such a definition of “COVID-19” along with the potential that higher numbers of untested persons have been infected but unharmed by SARS-CoV-2, they explained, would suggest that “the overall clinical consequences of COVID-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza…or a pandemic influenza.”
Considering the COVID-19 death rate from the standpoint of deaths certified as being caused by both pneumonia and COVID-19 may also shed more light on the topic, then. Oddly, though, instead of being straightforward and listing pneumonia statistics individually, the CDC obscures the number of COVID-19-related pneumonia statistics.
This seems to be a big deal that requires an explanation. Instead of listing pneumonia due to COVID-19 or viral pneumonia individually, the CDC’s pneumonia statistics combine viral pneumonia with various types of influenza (COVID-19 is not influenza) diagnoses, various types of bacterial pneumonias (COVID-19 is not a bacteria), pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, pneumonia due to Hemophilus influenzae, and pneumonia due to other infectious organisms. Combining all of those misrepresents the number of diagnoses of pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2. Prior to the reported spreading of COVID-19 in America, there were 4.5 million outpatient and emergency room visits every year due to pneumonia. So, just as it is possible for a frail elderly person to die “with the common cold,” it is not unreasonable to suggest that, due to the prevalence of pneumonia, an elderly person may die “with pneumonia” not caused by COVID-19.
In other words, the CDC’s combining of all types of pneumonia in COVID-19 statistics may be misleading. Even so, the CDC reports that 64,465 death certificates have “mentioned” pneumonia “in conjunction with deaths involving COVID-19.”
This is also a big deal. Even after potentially misrepresenting and overstating the pneumonia statistic by including various types of influenza and bacterial pneumonia, the total number is still less than half of what are listed as “deaths involving COVID-19.” If a true COVID-19 death required a diagnosis of pneumonia, and if fewer than 65,000 or so COVID-19 deaths include that pneumonia diagnosis, then the COVID-19 death count could be inflated by close to 100,000 deaths.
Consider this: if the actual death count of COVID-19 is somewhere around 20,000, or even 65,000 people, would governors and public health officials have a significant basis for their continued draconian restrictions, including their restrictions on sporting events or gathering for the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Would those numbers even be high enough to label COVID-19 as a public health emergency, epidemic, or pandemic?
Either way, evaluating the above data from the CDC’s COVID-19 severity criteria suggests that COVID-19 is not nearly as severe as public health officials have been claiming. And, with the recent COVID-19 and pneumonia death statistics being significantly lower than the excess deaths which were reported in New York City and New Jersey early in the reported pandemic, from an honest and objective scientific standpoint, one must wonder if any of the statistics can even be trusted at all.
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--‘Neonunzism’: Left-wing Catholic pundits attack nun at RNC who gave powerful pro-life speech

VILLANOVA , PA , August 26 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) ― Left-wing Catholic media pundits have attacked a powerful pro-life speech by the army surgeon-turned-mother superior who spoke at the Republican Party ’ s National Convention last night .
Massimo Faggioli , a professor of Catholic theology at Villanova University took to social media to protest the appearance of Sister Deirdre “ Dede ” Byrne , POSC .
He posted several messages on Facebook in response to her speech where she called Americans to “ stand up for life against the politically correct or fashionable of today ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential ticket ever ” because together they support even “ late-term abortion and infanticide.
” The professor also retweeted an Italian psychiatrist ’ s post that described Sister Dede ’ s heartfelt speech as “ Neonunzism.
” “ Bellissima , ” i.e .
“ Beautiful ” , he replied to Cristiano M. Gaston .
Faggioli ’ s first critique of the American nun , written over a video of her speech , was “ Ho il voltastomaco ” , i.e .
“ I ’ m sick to my stomach.
” “ The Catholic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clergy and religious in the election campaign and party politics , but obviously here in the USA now nobody cares.
” To this , he posted a page from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that clearly applies only to priests .
Priests are usually forbidden from partisan politics , including running for public office or joining unions , “ unless , according to the judgement of the ecclesiastical authority , the rights of the Church and the defence of the common good require it .
Even then , however , the Church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clerical state.
” Religious sisters , even mother superiors like Sister Dede Byrne , are not clerics .
They do , however , take oaths of obedience to their religious superiors .
Byrne has indeed already circumscribed her civic activities at the behest of her religious order , having retired from the military ’ s Medical Corps after a tour of duty in Afghanistan .
In response to objections that America magazine ’ s editor-at-large Fr .
James Martin , S.J .
had spoken at the Democratic Party ’ s National Convention , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a substantial difference between delivering a prayer to a party convention and a partisan speech like this.
” The professor was then informed by other Twitter-users that Sister Simone Campbell had appeared at the DNC on more than one occasion .
At the 2012 DNC , she gave a short speech .
Sister Simone , when recently asked about her organization ’ s stance on legal abortion , replied : “ That is not our issue .
That is not it .
It is above my pay grade.
” This low pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catchphrase : she said something similar in 2012 .
Fr .
James Martin , S.J .
himself posted opposition to Sister Dede ’ s speech on Facebook this morning , saying that members of religious orders shouldn ’ t “ endorse or campaign.
” “ Here is what bishops , priests , members of religious orders and Catholic organizations ( including magazines ) should do in an election season : pray and educate , ” the pro-LGBT Jesuit priest said .
Martin said that no candidate or party “ ever could ” fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Catholics are not “ one-issue voters.
” He also stated that endorsing candidates “ splits dioceses and parishes ” into “ supposedly ‘ Good Catholics ’ and ‘ Bad Catholics ’ .
” The priest declared that is “ not a sin to vote either Democrat or Republican ; nor is it a sin to vote for either Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden.
” Catholic author John Gerard Lewis , however , in his book Catholic Voting and Mortal Sin : How Your Vote Can Endanger Your Salvation , makes the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least adheres to the Church ’ s teaching on abortion can be a mortal sin.
” A number of pro-life priests have made the case that Catholics can not in good conscience vote for Biden .
Martin went on to bring up the specter of the Church losing her tax-exempt status .
“ We would ( and should ) lose that privilege if we were to engage in partisan politics , ” said the DNC 2020 participant .
“ Catholic leaders obviously have their own thoughts about political matters , but in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be religious , not partisan .
For all these reasons , we can pray and educate , but not endorse or campaign.
” He repeated the message on Twitter .
To Martin ’ s credit , when he prayed for the DNC this year , he listed the “ unborn child in the womb ” as one of “ those most in need.
” Sister Simone Campell neglected to mention the unborn .
Instead she characterized the DNC gathering as “ an important next chapter in our story of who we will @ @ @ @ @ @

The army doctor who became a nun described Biden-Harris as the ‘most anti-life presidential ticket ever’ because together they support even ‘late-term abortion and infanticide’
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VILLANOVA, PA, August 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― Left-wing Catholic media pundits have attacked a powerful pro-life speech by the army surgeon-turned-mother superior who spoke at the Republican Party’s National Convention last night.
Massimo Faggioli, a professor of Catholic theology at Villanova University took to social media to protest the appearance of Sister Deirdre “Dede” Byrne, POSC. He posted several messages on Facebook in response to her speech where she called Americans to “stand up for life against the politically correct or fashionable of today” and described Biden-Harris as “the most anti-life presidential ticket ever” because together they support even “late-term abortion and infanticide.”
The professor also retweeted an Italian psychiatrist’s post that described Sister Dede’s heartfelt speech as “Neonunzism.” “Bellissima,” i.e. “Beautiful”, he replied to Cristiano M. Gaston.
Faggioli’s first critique of the American nun, written over a video of her speech, was “Ho il voltastomaco”, i.e. “I’m sick to my stomach.”
A few hours later Faggioli added:
“The Catholic Church has rules for the participation of clergy and religious in the election campaign and party politics, but obviously here in the USA now nobody cares.”
To this, he posted a page from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that clearly applies only to priests.
Priests are usually forbidden from partisan politics, including running for public office or joining unions, “unless, according to the judgement of the ecclesiastical authority, the rights of the Church and the defence of the common good require it. Even then, however, the Church deems the activity “foreign to the clerical state.”
Religious sisters, even mother superiors like Sister Dede Byrne, are not clerics. They do, however, take oaths of obedience to their religious superiors. Byrne has indeed already circumscribed her civic activities at the behest of her religious order, having retired from the military’s Medical Corps after a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
In response to objections that America magazine’s editor-at-large Fr. James Martin, S.J. had spoken at the Democratic Party’s National Convention, Faggioli said that there was “there is a substantial difference between delivering a prayer to a party convention and a partisan speech like this.”
The professor was then informed by other Twitter-users that Sister Simone Campbell had appeared at the DNC on more than one occasion. At the 2012 DNC, she gave a short speech. Sister Simone, when recently asked about her organization’s stance on legal abortion, replied: “That is not our issue. That is not it. It is above my pay grade.”
This low pay grade may be Sister Simone’s catchphrase: she said something similar in 2012.
Fr. James Martin, S.J. himself posted opposition to Sister Dede’s speech on Facebook this morning, saying that members of religious orders shouldn’t “endorse or campaign.”
“Here is what bishops, priests, members of religious orders and Catholic organizations (including magazines) should do in an election season: pray and educate,” the pro-LGBT Jesuit priest said.
Martin said that no candidate or party “ever could” fully encompass the totality of Church teaching and that Catholics are not “one-issue voters.” He also stated that endorsing candidates “splits dioceses and parishes” into “supposedly ‘Good Catholics’ and ‘Bad Catholics’.”
The priest declared that is “not a sin to vote either Democrat or Republican; nor is it a sin to vote for either Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden.”
Catholic author John Gerard Lewis, however, in his book Catholic Voting and Mortal Sin: How Your Vote Can Endanger Your Salvation, makes the case that “voting for the candidate who least adheres to the Church’s teaching on abortion can be a mortal sin.” A number of pro-life priests have made the case that Catholics cannot in good conscience vote for Biden.
Martin went on to bring up the specter of the Church losing her tax-exempt status.
“We would (and should) lose that privilege if we were to engage in partisan politics,” said the DNC 2020 participant.
“Catholic leaders obviously have their own thoughts about political matters, but in public and in their public roles, they should be religious, not partisan. For all these reasons, we can pray and educate, but not endorse or campaign.”
He repeated the message on Twitter.
To Martin’s credit, when he prayed for the DNC this year, he listed the “unborn child in the womb” as one of “those most in need.”
Sister Simone Campell neglected to mention the unborn. Instead she characterized the DNC gathering as “an important next chapter in our story of who we will become as a nation.”
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – In response to the crisis unfolding in our world and in the Church , LifeSite is offering Catholics throughout the world a chance to be united daily in prayer , in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Crusade .
Catholics from all over the world—from Israel , Uganda , Italy , France , Germany , Ireland , Pakistan , Singapore , the Philippines , India , Indonesia , Australia , New Zealand , Thailand , the United Kingdom , the U.S. , Canada , Brazil , and other countries—are gathering daily to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Pillari , J.C.L.
, an American priest currently studying in Italy .
Our goal is , by means of this daily rosary and by embracing and living out the message given by the Virgin Mary at Fatima , the triumph of Our Lady ’ s Immaculate Heart .
To help obtain that goal , Bishop Athanasius Schneider graciously composed the following prayer for this worldwide rosary crusade : O Immaculate Heart of Mary , you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother .
Look upon the distress in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church .
In Fatima you warned against these errors , as you spoke about the errors of Russia .
You are the Mediatrix of all graces .
Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope : that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart , so that Russia will be converted , a period of peace will be granted to the world , and your Immaculate Heart will triumph , through an authentic renewal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purity of the Catholic Faith , of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life .
O Queen of the holy Rosary and our sweet Mother , turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer .
Amen .
+ Athanasius Schneider , Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana To learn more about the urgency of responding to Our Lady ’ s message at Fatima , and about what you can do , please read Cardinal Burke ’ s 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ https : //voiceofthefamily.com/full-text-cardinal-burkes-historic-call-for-consecration-of-russia/ ) .
As St. Padre Pio once said , “ The rosary is the weapon for these times.
” Through prayer , God can shape history , change the world , and bring about a great time of renewal and peace for the Church and for the world , through the triumph of Our Lady ’ s Immaculate Heart .
Join us today !
If you would like to follow along with the prayers said during this rosary , you can access them via this PDF .
This document also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the daily rosary on LifeSite led by Fr .
Pillari .
Send photos or videos of you and your family praying the rosary with Father Pillari to [ email protected ]

(LifeSiteNews) — In response to the crisis unfolding in our world and in the Church, LifeSite is happy to promote Regina Angelorum Press’s Daily Rosary, which is offering Catholics throughout the world the chance to be united daily in prayer, in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Crusade.
Catholics from all over the world — from Israel, Uganda, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and other countries — are gathering daily to pray the Rosary, led by Father Pillari, JCL, MCL, STL, an American priest currently studying in Italy.
The Daily Rosary is being offered each day at 12noon EST through Regina Angelorum Press’ YouTube Channel to which you can subscribe HERE.
The goal is, by means of this Daily Rosary and by embracing and living out the message given by the Virgin Mary at Fatima, the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
To help obtain that goal, Bishop Athanasius Schneider graciously composed the following prayer for this worldwide Rosary crusade:
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. Look upon the distress in which the Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church. In Fatima you warned against these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. You are the Mediatrix of all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope: that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. O Queen of the holy Rosary and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer. Amen. + Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
To learn more about the urgency of responding to Our Lady’s message at Fatima, and about what you can do, please read Cardinal Burke’s 2017 address at the Rome Life Forum.
As St. Padre Pio once said, “The Rosary is the weapon for these times.” Through prayer, God can shape history, change the world, and bring about a great time of renewal and peace for the Church and for the world, through the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. Join us today!
If you would like to follow along with the prayers said during this Rosary, you can access them HERE. The document also includes a brief F.A.Q. pertaining to the daily Rosary.
You can send your prayer requests to https://reginangelorumpress.com/prayer-intentions/
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Chinese defector, human rights activist Chen Guangcheng praises Trump’s ‘courage’ at RNC

PETITION : Hold UN accountable for babies killed by sex-selection abortion !
Sign the petition here .
WASHINGTON , D.C. , August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A human rights activist who defected from China had strong praise at last night ’ s Republican National Convention for President Trump ’ s courage and global leadership in dealing with the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) .
“ When I spoke out against China ’ s one child policy and other injustices , I was persecuted , beaten , sent to prison , and put under house arrest by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chen Guangcheng , who is blind , and is now a distinguished visiting fellow at the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America .
“ I ’ m forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States where we are now free , ” proclaimed Chen .
“ The U.S. must use its values of freedom , democracy , and the rule of law to gather a coalition of other democracies to stop CCP ’ s aggression , ” stressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on this , and we need the other countries to join him in this fight , a fight for our future , ” he continued .
“ Standing up to fight unfairness isn ’ t easy , I know .
So does President Trump , but he has shown the courage to lead that fight.
” The human rights activist stressed , “ We need to support , vote , and fight for President Trump for the sake of the world.
” Blind from a young age , Chen gained international prominence more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government over its brutal “ one-child policy , ” which has resulted in forced abortions , estimated to be in the hundreds of millions .
He was imprisoned by China ’ s communist government for his activism .
In 2012 he escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing .
He and his family were later allowed to leave for the United States where , in addition to his role as a senior fellow at Catholic University in the nation ’ s capital , he is also a senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was born and raised in China under the communist despotism .
I personally experienced the brutal torture and persecution that the atheists of the Communist Party committed against dissidents , ” explained Chen previously .
“ They have no fear of God or any moral bottom line ; they have committed innumerable murders with a total disregard for human life for the sole purpose of maintaining their reign.
” Reggie Littlejohn , president of Women ’ s Rights Without Frontiers , commented , “ Guangcheng is thoroughly despised by the Chinese Communist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world by exposing their late-term forced abortion practices .
Having Guangcheng speak at the RNC sends a bold message to China : The U.S. will no longer put up with China ’ s egregious human rights atrocities , but will hold accountable those responsible .
”

'I’m forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States where we are now free,' proclaimed Chen Guangcheng.
PETITION: Hold UN accountable for babies killed by sex-selection abortion! Sign the petition here.
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – A human rights activist who defected from China had strong praise at last night’s Republican National Convention for President Trump’s courage and global leadership in dealing with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“When I spoke out against China’s one child policy and other injustices, I was persecuted, beaten, sent to prison, and put under house arrest by the Chinese Communist Party,” recounted Chen Guangcheng, who is blind, and is now a distinguished visiting fellow at the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.
“I’m forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States where we are now free,” proclaimed Chen.
“The U.S. must use its values of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law to gather a coalition of other democracies to stop CCP’s aggression,” stressed Chen.
“President Trump has led on this, and we need the other countries to join him in this fight, a fight for our future,” he continued. “Standing up to fight unfairness isn’t easy, I know. So does President Trump, but he has shown the courage to lead that fight.”
The human rights activist stressed, “We need to support, vote, and fight for President Trump for the sake of the world.”
Blind from a young age, Chen gained international prominence more than a decade ago for bravely suing the government over its brutal “one-child policy,” which has resulted in forced abortions, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. He was imprisoned by China’s communist government for his activism.
In 2012 he escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. He and his family were later allowed to leave for the United States where, in addition to his role as a senior fellow at Catholic University in the nation’s capital, he is also a senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute.
“I was born and raised in China under the communist despotism. I personally experienced the brutal torture and persecution that the atheists of the Communist Party committed against dissidents,” explained Chen previously. “They have no fear of God or any moral bottom line; they have committed innumerable murders with a total disregard for human life for the sole purpose of maintaining their reign.”
Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, commented, “Guangcheng is thoroughly despised by the Chinese Communist Party, because he shamed them before the world by exposing their late-term forced abortion practices. Having Guangcheng speak at the RNC sends a bold message to China: The U.S. will no longer put up with China’s egregious human rights atrocities, but will hold accountable those responsible.”
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lifesitenews--2020-08-27--Why pro-lifers who reject Trump have ‘blood on their hands’

August 27 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – These days , National Review writer and self-proclaimed evangelical David French is most well known for his deep-seated contempt for President Donald Trump and pro-Trump Christians , which has taken him to some places that would have been unthinkable a decade ago .
Case in point : his latest Sunday newsletter at The Dispatch , titled “ Do Pro-Lifers Who Reject Trump Have ‘ Blood on their Hands ’ ?
” in which he denies that his NeverTrump stance carries the “ blood of unborn children , ” on the grounds that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over abortion at all.
” French sets the stage for his argument by noting that abortion rates continue to trend downward over the long term , regardless of who is in office .
This is heartening , certainly , but hardly mitigates the moral urgency of the fact that more than 3,000 babies are still legally murdered every day in the U.S. , or 826,320 in 2017 .
French writes : It ’ s worth noting that the Trump administration has demanded Planned Parenthood return the bailout money ( of course , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back up words with action ) , and that Republicans have been rubber-stamping budgets that included Planned Parenthood since long , long before Trump came along , and it never made them unsupportable to French before .
More importantly , Planned Parenthood ’ s record funding would obviously be even higher had Trump not been in office to enact the Title X rule , or restore and expand the Mexico City Policy ( which French neglects to mention ) .
That loss for Planned Parenthood potentially amounts to thousands of real , innocent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions Trump was there to take .
French continues : The born-alive law sailed through Congress unopposed , and the partial-birth abortion ban had a Republican Congress and enough Democrat votes to overcome the filibuster .
As French knows full well , since then the Democrat Party has purged its pro-life and even anti-infanticide factions , and even when Republicans had the House , there weren ’ t enough Senate votes to overcome the legislative filibuster ( which Trump opposes , and many NeverTrumpers support ) that kept blocking bills like the late-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Continues French : It ’ s obviously true that the judiciary can not be the only direction from which we attack Roe .
But it ’ s equally obvious that French ’ s bizarre passivity about bad GOP judges ( a recurring trait among pundits who came out of a fundamentally-broken “ conservative ” legal establishment ) is wildly insufficient .
The fact that we can ’ t trust decades ’ worth of Republican justices to behave as originalists , despite the last four Republican presidents promising exactly that , is not some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; it ’ s the result of years of presidents , senators , advisers , lobbyists , pundits , and activists choosing to tolerate bad selection and bad vetting .
Yes , Trump is just as disappointing as Bush on this front .
But the lesson here is not that the presidency is unimportant because pro-lifers don ’ t get enough out of it , but that it ’ s so important we need to be smarter and bolder about demanding more , from judges to spending bills to long-neglected prosecutions… a task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have made themselves useless .
By casting Trump as the enemy , NeverTrumpers destroy any potential they might have had to influence those areas where Trump hasn ’ t delivered .
When you make clear that nothing a politician does will ever be enough to win your support , what reason is there for him , his advisers , or his supporters to listen to a word you say ?
Next , French argues that “ losing or winning state elections has proven to be more directly material to the law of abortion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” citing the fact that states enacted 288 abortion restrictions between 2011 and 2015 .
To the obvious counterpoint that these laws are utterly at the mercy of federal courts , he claims that “ overruling Roe won ’ t touch the vast majority of American abortions.
” He writes : Note how French changes his metric from number of laws to abortion rates between these two bullet points .
If abortion rates were used for both , it would undoubtedly illustrate the limits of what the states can do with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro-life laws for both would highlight the fact that , if Roe fell , abortion would become mostly or entirely illegal in the eighteen states with their pre-Roe bans still on the books and/or trigger laws designed to take effect once Roe is out of the way , and in the four other states that enacted heartbeat laws or general abortion bans between 2018 and 2020 .
Besides , the study French cites says those percentages “ would amount to 118,554 [ ... ] women prevented from obtaining abortions in a single year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s more than a hundred thousand babies saved , more than a hundred thousand executions stopped .
And this would be followed by further gains won by a movement supercharged with the knowledge that the policies they fight for can finally take effect .
Maybe David French ’ s conscience can handle delaying that by God-only-knows how many years ; mine certainly couldn ’ t .
French tries to sidestep that moral quagmire by arguing that , because abortions continue to fall regardless of who ’ s in power , therefore the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local community activism like supporting pregnancy centers , and the “ presidency and national politics ” actually “ matter the least.
” Obviously , the heroic pro-life grassroots are essential .
What ’ s not heroic is using them as an excuse not to do all we can at the federal level .
It ’ s simply immoral to advocate that we not resist a pro-death ticket ’ s takeover of the executive branch just because part of the victim pool will be saved either way… especially when that ticket ’ s judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that directly impact pro-lifers ’ ability to serve their communities .
Reading French ’ s column , one senses a theme shared by a lot of “ pro-life ” NeverTrumpers ’ rationalizations : a distinct lack of moral urgency for the task of ending abortion .
That ’ s nothing new ; similar arguments have been used for years by moderate Republicans trying to justify complacency .
And they ’ re just as inadequate now as they ’ ve always been when it comes to the legalized murder of children .
But if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ David French to the horror of his 2020 stance , then how about the words of his 2012 self ?
Apparently that price doesn ’ t seem so steep to Mr. French anymore .

URGENT PETITION: Tell the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade! Sign the petition here.
August 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – These days, National Review writer and self-proclaimed evangelical David French is most well known for his deep-seated contempt for President Donald Trump and pro-Trump Christians, which has taken him to some places that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Case in point: his latest Sunday newsletter at The Dispatch, titled “Do Pro-Lifers Who Reject Trump Have ‘Blood on their Hands’?” in which he denies that his NeverTrump stance carries the “blood of unborn children,” on the grounds that “presidents don't have much influence over abortion at all.”
French sets the stage for his argument by noting that abortion rates continue to trend downward over the long term, regardless of who is in office. This is heartening, certainly, but hardly mitigates the moral urgency of the fact that more than 3,000 babies are still legally murdered every day in the U.S., or 826,320 in 2017. French writes:
Trump is rightly praised for enacting new Title X regulations that required physical and financial separation of Title X projects from abortion-related activities […] But the Trump rule is less strict than Title X rules promulgated under the Reagan administration. Moreover, Trump has hardly “defunded” Planned Parenthood. In fact, Planned Parenthood received record-high taxpayer funding in 2019, performed a record-high number of abortions, and its affiliates received $80 million in coronavirus bailouts earlier this year.
It’s worth noting that the Trump administration has demanded Planned Parenthood return the bailout money (of course, it remains to be seen if it will back up words with action), and that Republicans have been rubber-stamping budgets that included Planned Parenthood since long, long before Trump came along, and it never made them unsupportable to French before.
More importantly, Planned Parenthood’s record funding would obviously be even higher had Trump not been in office to enact the Title X rule, or restore and expand the Mexico City Policy (which French neglects to mention). That loss for Planned Parenthood potentially amounts to thousands of real, innocent, human children who live because of actions Trump was there to take. French continues:
Unlike George W. Bush—who signed into law a born-alive infant protection bill and a partial-birth abortion ban—Trump has not signed a single significant piece of pro-life legislation.
The born-alive law sailed through Congress unopposed, and the partial-birth abortion ban had a Republican Congress and enough Democrat votes to overcome the filibuster. As French knows full well, since then the Democrat Party has purged its pro-life and even anti-infanticide factions, and even when Republicans had the House, there weren’t enough Senate votes to overcome the legislative filibuster (which Trump opposes, and many NeverTrumpers support) that kept blocking bills like the late-term abortion ban and stronger born-alive protections. Continues French:
How many of the current Supreme Court justices have recently and unequivocally stated that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (the two cases securing a constitutional right to an abortion) are bad law? Exactly one out of nine. It’s George H.W. Bush appointee Clarence Thomas […] For almost three decades, the Supreme Court lesson has been clear—put not your trust in judges to rescue America from the moral stain of abortion.
It’s obviously true that the judiciary cannot be the only direction from which we attack Roe. But it’s equally obvious that French’s bizarre passivity about bad GOP judges (a recurring trait among pundits who came out of a fundamentally-broken “conservative” legal establishment) is wildly insufficient.
The fact that we can’t trust decades’ worth of Republican justices to behave as originalists, despite the last four Republican presidents promising exactly that, is not some law of nature we have to accept; it’s the result of years of presidents, senators, advisers, lobbyists, pundits, and activists choosing to tolerate bad selection and bad vetting.
Yes, Trump is just as disappointing as Bush on this front. But the lesson here is not that the presidency is unimportant because pro-lifers don’t get enough out of it, but that it’s so important we need to be smarter and bolder about demanding more, from judges to spending bills to long-neglected prosecutions… a task for which French and his fellow travelers have made themselves useless.
By casting Trump as the enemy, NeverTrumpers destroy any potential they might have had to influence those areas where Trump hasn’t delivered. When you make clear that nothing a politician does will ever be enough to win your support, what reason is there for him, his advisers, or his supporters to listen to a word you say?
Next, French argues that “losing or winning state elections has proven to be more directly material to the law of abortion than 40 years of federal electoral contests,” citing the fact that states enacted 288 abortion restrictions between 2011 and 2015. To the obvious counterpoint that these laws are utterly at the mercy of federal courts, he claims that “overruling Roe won’t touch the vast majority of American abortions.” He writes:
This interactive chart is a bit outdated (the data is from 2014), but still useful. It shows abortion rates varying from a low of 5 per 1,000 women (Utah) to a high of 29 in New York state. That’s immense variation. The consequence is that overruling Roe would have a disproportionate effect in states with already-low abortion rates. A recent study calculated a potential 32.8 percent decrease in the abortion rate “for the regions at high risk of banning abortions.” But for the nation as a whole, the abortion rate would likely shrink by only 12.8 percent.
Note how French changes his metric from number of laws to abortion rates between these two bullet points. If abortion rates were used for both, it would undoubtedly illustrate the limits of what the states can do with the courts tying their hands.
And using pro-life laws for both would highlight the fact that, if Roe fell, abortion would become mostly or entirely illegal in the eighteen states with their pre-Roe bans still on the books and/or trigger laws designed to take effect once Roe is out of the way, and in the four other states that enacted heartbeat laws or general abortion bans between 2018 and 2020.
Besides, the study French cites says those percentages “would amount to 118,554 […] women prevented from obtaining abortions in a single year due to increased travel distances.”
That’s more than a hundred thousand babies saved, more than a hundred thousand executions stopped. And this would be followed by further gains won by a movement supercharged with the knowledge that the policies they fight for can finally take effect. Maybe David French’s conscience can handle delaying that by God-only-knows how many years; mine certainly couldn’t.
French tries to sidestep that moral quagmire by arguing that, because abortions continue to fall regardless of who’s in power, therefore the “things that matter most” are local community activism like supporting pregnancy centers, and the “presidency and national politics” actually “matter the least.”
Obviously, the heroic pro-life grassroots are essential. What’s not heroic is using them as an excuse not to do all we can at the federal level. It’s simply immoral to advocate that we not resist a pro-death ticket’s takeover of the executive branch just because part of the victim pool will be saved either way… especially when that ticket’s judges will also decide the fate of laws that directly impact pro-lifers’ ability to serve their communities.
Reading French’s column, one senses a theme shared by a lot of “pro-life” NeverTrumpers’ rationalizations: a distinct lack of moral urgency for the task of ending abortion. That’s nothing new; similar arguments have been used for years by moderate Republicans trying to justify complacency. And they’re just as inadequate now as they’ve always been when it comes to the legalized murder of children.
But if none of this is enough to awaken David French to the horror of his 2020 stance, then how about the words of his 2012 self?
It is now beyond clear that if a Christian wants to support Barack Obama and Joe Biden, they have to be content with supporting a ticket that not only supports abortion “rights”, it supports taxpayer funding of abortions, and it does so as a “core” value. Simply put, a Christian who takes such a position or lends even the slightest support to such a position — a position that, to be clear, seeks to not just sanction but subsidize the intentional taking of hundreds of thousands of human lives — is committing a grievous sin. In May I wrote a much-discussed post that ended with a simple question for our newest generation of “post-partisan” Christians: “As the price for your new path, are you willing to forego any effective voice at all for unborn children?” The next president is likely to select no less than two Supreme Court justices. Your vote can help determine whether we have a fighting chance at overturning a constitutional atrocity or whether you secure the right to kill yet another generation of unborn Americans.
Apparently that price doesn’t seem so steep to Mr. French anymore.
Follow Calvin Calvin Freiburger is a Wisconsin-based conservative writer and 2011 graduate of Hillsdale College. His commentary and analysis have been featured on NewsReal Blog, Live Action, and various other conservative websites. Before joining LifeSiteNews, he spent two years in Washington, DC, working to build support for the Life at Conception Act with the National Pro-Life Alliance, then worked a year and a half as assistant editor of TheFederalistPapers.org. You can follow him on Twitter @CalFreiburger, and check out his personal website, ConservativeStandards.com.
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