The Religion of the Left: Poem by Norma Bruce

The religion of the Left 

 The Party's faith in Sustainability, a poem

(by Norma Bruce, based on an idea in How Sustainability is Becoming the One True Corporate Religion by Ellen Weinreb, Dec. 20, 2011)

Their Religion, the One True, is Sustainability 
Their Cult is Climate Change
Their Cathedrals are on every college campus
Their Priests are staffing corporate H.R. departments 

Their Sacrament is Abortion

Their Baptism is a sprinkle of mRNA

Their creed is a CRT screed

Their church fathers are Marx, Nietzsche, Sarte, Marcuse, and Foucault.

Their testimonies speak lived experience of oppression

Their scripture contains no objective truth

Their Revivals are George Floyd riots
Their Galileo's trial is a January 6 Committee 

Their boards deny Corpernicus a seat
Their choir directors creates castrati 

Their missionaries translate language into chaos

Their pulpits are filled with media CEOs and intersectional academics.

 

Note from Darrell Michaels: I have long been a reader and admirer of the wisdom and wit always posted by Norma Bruce on her blog Collecting My Thoughts.  The above was one of her recent postings that I thought was brilliant and perfectly encapsulated the leftist mindset in their "religion".  I heartily recommend putting her site on your blog reading list!

 

24 Memes for the Weekend!

 No time to write this week, so I figured I'd share some great memes to do the writing for me!  Cheers and have a great weekend!

"Devout Catholics" and the Scandal They Bring

America’s founding fathers, after successfully fighting a war to free our newly formed nation from the chains of tyranny, were adamant that we the people would not replace one tyrannical regent with an equally tyrannical federal government over our nascent nation.  Out of that legitimate concern, the brilliant United States Constitution was written to limit the role of what the federal government could and should do and to further enshrine in our Bill of Rights what our rights were that the government was sworn to protect under this new constitution.

One of our 1^st amendment rights as Americans is the “right of the people peaceably to assemble”.  As such, America has many such groups, clubs, professional societies, service organizations, and institutions of faith where like-minded people are free to assemble in furtherance of their intended causes.  Many of these groups and faith organizations have developed their own by-laws and codes of conduct in order to be a member in good standing with that said group. 

The Roman Catholic Church is one such group.  Indeed, the very church built on the rock of Peter by Jesus Christ himself has long established such rules and codes that a Christian is to live by if he or she is to remain faithful to God and His teachings.  These teachings are encoded in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church for anyone to read. 

One of these teachings regards the mortal sin of abortion.  The Catechism specifically states the following,

“2270  Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.  From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which in the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.

‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.’  (Jer 1:5)     

‘My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.’ (Ps 139.15)

2271  Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.  This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.  Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

‘You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.’  (Didache 2,2)

‘God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves.  Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.’ GS 51 3

2272  Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.  The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.  ‘A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae’ ‘by the very commission of the offense’ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.  The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.  Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273  The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

‘The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority.  These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin.  Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.’  CDF Donum vitae III

‘The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law.  When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined… As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.’  Donum vitae III

So, what are we to make of public figures such as Joe Biden and Speaker Pelosi who insist that they are being good, devout Catholics, while giving support and indeed even promotion and tax-payer dollars to what their faith describes as a mortal sin?  Further, that mortal sin that they have committed unrepentantly has not only brought great scandal upon the Catholic Church as it can and has given permission to those Catholics that are less well-versed in their faith, scripture, and catechization, to support this grave and mortal sin.  Catholicism teaches that in order to partake of the Eucharist, Holy Communion, one must not be in a state of mortal sin.  To partake anyway in such an unworthy fashion is to commit another grievous sin. 

And yet, many of our Catholic leaders still insist upon their own piety.  They disregard the very rules of the Church of which they profess to be members.  If they deny the sacredness of life from conception to natural death, then perhaps Catholicism is not a compatible faith for them.  Perhaps they should look for salvation elsewhere accordingly if they are invincibly ignorant in their steadfast support of abortion.

They certainly should not be propping themselves up as spokespeople for the Church when they are clearly and obstinately not abiding by its core tenets.  There are many bishops, including Nancy Pelosi’s own Archbishop Cordileone, that have instructed their dioceses not to distribute Holy Communion to such transgressors. 

Luckily, the sacrament of reconciliation offers Christ’s mercy to reestablish communion with the church for these transgressors, but they must truly be repentant for the support of this grave evil and work to not fall back into such sin.  In the meantime, it brings great shame and scandal to the church for such high-profile politicians to proclaim their Catholicity while blatantly ignoring its teachings. 

If Mitt Romney, as a Mormon were to be a heavy drinker and smoker and promote such things, he would likewise bring scandal to his church.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would similarly be greatly dismayed as such intractable behavior that goes against their church laws.  Certainly one can understand that a group can establish its own rules.  Churches in particular have a right and obligation to do so.  Membership in such suggests that one is willing to abide by those organization's rules.  This becomes of the utmost importance when the rules are dictated by God himself!

Renowned Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin recently wrote,

“…someone who still professes to be Catholic—even unfaithfully—remains so, even if it is purely in a “bodily” way and not “in his heart.”

Although there is no doubt that public figures—as well as private individuals—gravely compromise their communion with the Church when they reject key Catholic teachings and values, this doesn’t mean that they literally cease to be Catholics.

Bad Catholics are still Catholics. And that just makes their betrayal of the Faith worse.”

Indeed, and that is why Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi may view themselves as devout, but their sins and hypocrisy is clear for all who know to see this.  Prayers for their conversions of heart is greatly needed from the truly devout accordingly.

 

Ronald Reagan's Words on Christopher Columbus

"Columbus is justly admired as a brilliant navigator, a fearless man of action, a visionary who opened the eyes of an older world to an entirely new one. Above all, he personifies a view of the world that many see as quintessentially American: not merely optimistic, but scornful of the very notion of despair."

~President Ronald Reagan

Sanford and Son Spoof

There is a lot to write about with the ongoing corruption and incompetence of the Biden administration continuing, but sadly there simply isn't the time for me to do so this week.  That said, a friend sent me this video spoof of the fabulously funny Sanford and Sons TV show that I enjoyed in my younger days.  I figured it was good for a well-needed laugh for everyone.  Have a great weekend!

A Naturalized American's Message to Joe Biden

A friend forwarded this video to me of a gentleman who is a recently naturalized citizen of the United States of America. His name is Elmo Heniopari (spelling?). He will have the privilege of voting for the first time this November.  He made this video specifically for Joe Biden.  I doubt that Biden will ever see it and almost assuredly would ignore the message if he were to see it.  That said, this man's faith and goodness evidently far exceeds my own.

The video is a little over five minutes long but is well worth the time to watch.  This gentleman articulately makes a good case in his statement to Biden and there are tens of millions of his fellow Americans that share his sentiments. God bless him and all such legal immigrants that hope and share in the promise of America!

 

 

 

 

H/T: Carrie
 

Constitution Day and our Woefully Inadequate Education System

Years ago, I received a text from my college-educated daughter on September 17th, saying  "Happy Constitution Day, as I know you are a fan, Dad."  My response was something to the effect of, "How come you and so many Americans today are not fans, considering that is the very document that codifies your liberties and restrains a potentially tyrannical government from usurping them?"  My daughter, unfortunately had succumbed to the leftist indoctrination of our educational system in college and now sees America as an unjust and racist nation.  

 

This is the quality of our educational system today with the ridiculously erroneous attempts to rewrite American history with largely debunked political diatribes such as the 1619 project.  Leftist professors are free to pontificate on the evils of America to a captive audience, and anyone asking critical questions is automatically mocked at best, or intimidated and chased out of school at worst.

There are a few strongholds of educational integrity left though.  Hillsdale College is one of these that teaches classical liberalism and the humanities.  They proudly teach American history and civics to all of their students in an unbiased fashion.  Further, they accept no money from the federal government whatsoever, including in the guise of students using federal aid for student loans.  They do this so as to have complete academic independence so as not to be beholden to leftist government bureaucracies demanding that their dictates be followed in the educational process.  

From time to time, Hillsdale College will send out emails to me.  I wanted to share this one as such endeavors in regaining control of our educational system from leftists may be the only way we can save America.  If your are so inclined, look into this and see if you might be interested in supporting Hillsdale College and our United States Constitution!

 

Following is the email I received:

 

 

Dear Mr. Michaels,

September 17 is Constitution Day—the day in 1787 that the members of the Constitutional Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, signed the final draft of the American Constitution. 

 

America’s Constitution endured for more than two centuries—longer than any other constitution in human history—because it was brilliantly conceived and based on the principles of liberty in the Declaration of Independence.

 

Today, however, certain parts of the Constitution have been completely subverted.

 

For instance, many of the functions intended to be carried out by our elected representatives are instead in the hands of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats.

 

And some of the remaining parts of the Constitution—including the fundamental rights of free speech and freedom of religion in the First Amendment—are seriously under attack.

 

Underlying these efforts to destroy our Constitution is the movement in American schools and universities to push a false and dishonest account of American history. This account portrays our nation as essentially racist and irredeemably unjust.

 

It’s no surprise, then, that a recent Rasmussen poll found that over half of President Biden’s strong supporters think the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.” 

 

Or that two law professors—one from Harvard and the other from Yale—wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled “The Constitution is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed.” 

 

American education has become a battleground, and reviving a proper understanding of American history and a proper reverence for the Constitution—especially among younger Americans—has become one of our most urgent priorities. 

 

You are already a generous and reliable supporter of Hillsdale’s educational efforts on behalf of liberty.   

 

That’s why I’m asking you to join Hillsdale’s Liberty & Learning Society today.

 

Liberty & Learning Society members are vital to our expanding efforts to educate citizens (especially younger citizens) about American history, the importance of the Constitution to liberty, and free-market economics. 

 

Joining the Liberty & Learning Society is easy. 

 

Members commit to an automatic, recurring monthly gift of $5, $10, or even $20 or more each month, which automatically advances the important work of reaching and teaching additional millions of citizens on behalf of liberty.

 

Most members give in the $25 a month range, but we are grateful for every single member at whatever level they can afford. 

 

In these trying and uncertain times, when so much is at stake, we have set an ambitious Constitution Day campaign goal: 1,200 new Liberty & Learning Society members by midnight on Constitution Day, September 17. 

 

When you join, you become a partner in educating additional millions of Americans about the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and America’s great heritage of liberty through efforts like our free speech digest Imprimis, our free online courses, and our expanding work in the area of classical K-12 education. 

 

By joining the Liberty & Learning Society, you also help us reduce fundraising expenses and maximize the impact of every dollar given.

 

Hillsdale has a tradition of and a reputation for being wise with our resources because we are almost unique in refusing to accept even one penny of government funding—not even indirectly in the form of federal or state student loans and grants.

 

All of Hillsdale’s work depends entirely on the support of individual citizens who understand the importance of our educational mission on behalf of liberty.

 

Will you consider being one of the 1,200 citizens we need to sign up for the Liberty & Learning Society before midnight on Constitution Day? 

 

You can learn more about and join the Liberty & Learning Society using this secure link:

 

https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/constitution-day-liberty-learning-society

 

And if you accept my invitation to join Hillsdale’s Liberty & Learning Society on or before September 17, I’ll send you a link to a session of our upcoming free online course, “Understanding The American Founding: A Conversation.”

 

We are deeply grateful for your support of our ongoing work to recover and preserve liberty and limited government for future generations of Americans. 

 

Warm regards,

 

 

Larry P. Arnn

President, Hillsdale College

Pursuing Truth and Defending Liberty Since 1844

 

P.S. I’m grateful for your steady and reliable friendship, which is why I hope you will join our automatic monthly giving group, the Liberty & Learning Society, before midnight on Constitution Day, September 17.

 

When you do, you will become our partner in educating additional millions of Americans about the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and America’s great heritage of liberty.

 

Joining is simple, safe, and convenient—learn more at this secure link:

 

https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/constitution-day-liberty-learning-society