My 9/11 story, FWIW

I was 34 years old, with three kids, ages 7, 9, 11. We lived in the NYC metro area, in Southwest Connecticut, with many neighbors who took the train into the city every day. We had recently repatriated to the U.S. from a temporary Canadian assignment.
My office was in Stamford. I arrived early to hit the gym on our campus, as was my custom. It was a beautiful, slightly crisp Tuesday morning. I was at my desk when the first plane hit the North Tower, and word went through the building like wildfire. At least half of my coworkers had a spouse or relative who worked in the city.
In the next 17 minutes, there was a lot of confusion about what had happened. Many of the reports were saying a small plane had strayed into the tower. Information was hard to come by, with streaming video on the internet being not exactly high quality in 2001. As more people got online, the bandwidth became even more choked, which slowed things to a frozen buffering mess. We turned to the radio as a back up.
In the 18th minute, the second plane hit the South Tower, and the mood changed dramatically. Everyone in that instant knew we were under attack. We didn’t know who it was, but we knew it wasn’t an accident. It was shocking.
All communications went down in the next two or three minutes. Neither cell phones nor landlines were working, and people were panicked. Our V.P. of H.R. hurried to hook up the only television we had, in the cafeteria. At 9:59 a.m., the room filled with screams and profanity as the South Tower collapsed. This was as big or a bigger shock than when the second plane hit. Even as we stood there watching the terrible fires, it had never entered my mind that the buildings could collapse. That V.P. turned to me, with her jaw dropped and face ashen, unable to speak. I said to her, “We need to close the office now.”
My wife and I were planning to meet for an early lunch and then Noon Mass at St. John’s (if you’re ever in the area, plan to visit – it’s now a minor basilica). Again, all communications were down. By the time she got to my office, I was already gone, headed to our kids’ school. When I got there, they had pulled all the kids into the gym to wait for parents to arrive. They had managed to get a phone call through to my wife, so she was on the way too. The sisters decided it would be best to not tell the kids what was going on, not wanting a panic on their hands depending on the whereabouts of the parents. I explained it to them in the car on the way home.
We spent the afternoon at home in front of the TV, like everyone else. The speculation began as to who did this and what could we do about it? No one had ever heard of al-Qaeda until about six months earlier, when the USS Cole investigation began to bring to light the organized network of terrorists lead by bin Laden. Were there more attacks planned? I remember telling my kids that things weren’t going to be the same for awhile, not even sure how long it would be until school reopened.
We got that answer from President Bush in his speech from the Oval Office that evening. America was going to be open the next morning. The government would be open, businesses would be open, schools would be open, etc. Anything less would be a sign of victory for the terrorists.
Earlier at Ground Zero, CORRECTION: This happened three days later, 14 Sept 2001. Bush made the famous bullhorn speech, which was a powerful moment. While he would go on to make a lot of mistakes, the initial response and the war against the taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was just. The Iraq War was not only a mistake, it was morally wrong from the beginning. But this day he showed leadership, and we needed it.

President Bush: “I want you all to know that America today is on bended knee, in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. The nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.”
Rescue Worker: “I can’t hear you!”
President Bush: “I can hear you! I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people — the people who knocked these buildings down, will hear all of us soon. The nation sends its love and compassion to everybody who is here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the nation proud, and may God bless America.”

“Never Forget” means forcing yourself to relive that day. Force yourself to watch the videos. But more importantly, educate the younger generations.  All of my kids were old enough to “never forget”. But anyone younger than 20 has no idea. You need to explain the details. They have no idea how iconic those towers were, which of course is why they were targeted. They have no idea how resolute the response was, and the honesty regarding the motive of the attackers. I had only recently begun learning the truth about Islam, and these events were key for me. Lastly, they have no idea how everyone came together and were united as Americans, something that hardly seems possible today. That’s what sticks with me the most, 16 years later.
Dear Father in Heaven,
We give you thanks for your great glory, and for the many blessings in our lives.
Today we pray for all those who lost their lives in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. We pray for their families, and all those who grieve the losses of this terrible day. We also remember in a special way, firefighters, police, and all first responders, as well as our active duty and veteran military. We entrust them all to your protection.
Lord, be our strength. Pour forth your abundant grace. Watch over and guide us, our family and friends, and our leaders, always to seek your Will in humble service – as individuals, as a community, and as a nation.
Lord, we place our trust in you today, hoping that this once great republic might stand together in unity as one nation, under God, indivisible.
May God Bless the United States of America.
Amen

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The basilica of Saint John the Evangelist, Stamford CT

The importance of linear thinking: Separating the Bergoglian Heresy from the Bergoglian anti-papacy

Jonathan Byrd, the gentleman who took over Fr. Carota’s blog, has written a declaration on the Bergoglian anti-papacy HERE.  He links to several blogs, including this one, which already make his point for him. Mr. Byrd himself makes several good points, which I will get to tomorrow. But first, I wanted to highlight a distinction that often gets lost.
The first link he provides is from RadTrad Thomist, where Fr. Paul Kramer’s proof was posted a few days ago HERE. Unfortunately, I think Fr. Kramer muddied the water a bit, even though nothing he says is untrue. Although he does cover the details of Benedict’s Substantial Error and subsequent failed abdication, he also spends a great deal of time talking about the Bergoglian Heresy as being a means of the anti-papacy. As if to say, “Here is the proof that Bergoglio is an antipope (because Benedict is the only living pope), but hey, if that’s not proof enough, Bergoglio also isn’t pope because he isn’t Catholic.”
So if everything Fr. Kramer says is true, and it is, why take issue with his presentation of it? Well, because the ability to reason, and to follow a logical, linear thought process, is very important.
Benedict’s failed partial resignation is the only thing that matters. Benedict, for reasons known only to him, attempted to bifurcate the papacy into an “expanded Petrine ministry”, with one “Active” member and one “Contemplative” member. Benedict tried to alter the divinely-instituted nature of the papacy, and his doing so was mind-blowing Substantial Error, rendering his abdication entirely invalid in accord with Canon 188. Full Stop. There was no abdication, and hence no conclave, no election, no coronation that followed.
Benedict is still THE ONLY pope. The invalid conclave which followed could have elected the most orthodox prelate who ever lived, and he would still be an anitpope. To focus on anything else unnecessarily complicates things. So while the Bergoglian Heresy is indeed horrific, soul destroying, and unprecedented, it’s actually a great comfort knowing that he was never the pope, and so never promulgated anything magisterially, and he will be completely abrogated and expunged. It’s not so comforting to know that this fact only remedies the acute problem, while leaving the chronic and systemic disease of nuChruch to be healed another day.
Mr. Byrd, welcome to the jungle. We got fun and games.

A Reflection for Cardinals and Bishops on the Beheading of St. John the Baptist

“I spoke of Thy testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed; I meditated also on Thy commandments, which I loved exceedingly.” (Ps. 118:46-47) Introit for the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist

How’d that work out for St. John the Baptist? What was his earthly reward for speaking Truth to power? What price are you willing to pay for defending the indissolubility of marriage? Was the price paid by John just TOO MUCH? Should he have been more pastoral? More accompanying? More discerning? More tender and merciful? Ask yourself: Did St. John the Baptist err in his defense of marriage? Is this the error now being corrected in Chapter Eight of Amoris Laetitia? There can be only one Truth.

“Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.” Jeremias 1:17-19, Lesson for the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist

Our Lord did not lie when he proclaimed divorce and “remarriage” as adultery, and our Lord did not lie in today’s Lesson. Our reward is not of this earth. Where is the St. John of our times? Where are the men willing to sacrifice everything to defend our Lord and His Church? Where are those who will stop worrying about what they might lose and STEP UP? Have you no care for the souls which are perishing? If you’re not willing to defend the Sixth Commandment, you’re not much committed to the First Commandment.

“The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus in the house of the Lord. To show forth Thy mercy in the morning, and Thy truth in the night. Alleluia, alleluia. The just shall spring as the lily, and flourish forever before the Lord.  Alleluia.” (Ps. 91 13-14, 3; Hos. 14:6) Gradual for the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist

If flourishing forever before the Lord sounds glorious to you, get cracking.

Of hurricanes and the Body of Christ

I flipped over to the Weather Channel last night as Harvey was about to make landfall in Texas.  I despise both the Weather Channel and NOAA, as both organizations are completely given over to the climate change religion. But when disaster looms and you have friends and family in harm’s way, what cha gonna do?
What happened yesterday afternoon was completely unforecasted. On Thursday, Harvey wasn’t even a hurricane. It was expected to make landfall as only a Category 1 (75mph winds, 4 foot storm surge).  Because of this, a large majority of the population did not evacuate. The real threat was thought to be not the winds, but the rain and flooding, because the forecasted path inland was a dead stall.
But Harvey had other ideas, and spent all day Friday rapidly intensifying. By 7pm Central Time, it was a Category 4 (140mph winds, 15 foot surge). In other words, two to three times as powerful as expected. At this point, there was no way to evacuate.
As the radar came up, the eye wall was about to make landfall. The image startled me enough that I immediately grabbed my phone to take a screenshot.
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I might be predisposed to seeing signs and signals where they don’t necessarily exist.  I write about this kind of stuff a lot, so maybe this is not an objective observation.  I’m also personally connected to this situation, still having a large number of family and friends from the years we lived in Texas, and I would hate to admit emotions to be driving my thought process. But wow. A week which began with a black hole sun traversing the U.S. ended with a deluge with an angle of attack appearing like a striking visual metaphor to the deluge of sin being waged on the Eucharist, Corpus Christi, through the implementation of Amoris Laetitia.
In case you missed it, this week as Harvey strengthened in the gulf, the famous letter of anitpope Bergoglio to the Argentine bishops regarding the implementation  of AL was posted to the official Vatican website. This is the letter that was “leaked” nearly a year ago, in which Bergoglio firmly and positively quipped , in reply to the bishops’ blasphemous intent to administer Corpus Christi to persons in obdurate unrepentant mortal sin, “There are no other interpretations.”
That’s right, it is now posted officially to vatican.va HERE
Anyway, South Texas is in rough shape.  Harvey took a slight turn to the northeast after landfall, toward Houston. That stalled pattern is still the forecast, at least for the next five days; non-stop rain. This on top of the terrible wind damage overnight that was not expected. They say some areas will receive as much as 40 inches of rain, a number I can’t even get my head around.
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Please say a few prayers for these folks.

Austin fascists shut down Barnhardt website

There must be so much to do on a Friday afternoon with a Cat 3 Hurricane making landfall in south Texas within hours, the most powerful to hit Texas in 47 years.  Errands to run, stocking up on groceries…
And stomping out free speech!
Site5 web hosting shut down Ann Barnhardt’s website around 1pm Central Time, Friday 25 August 2017, the Feast of St. Louis, who died 747 years ago today while on Crusade against Muslims. St. Louis was so non-inclusive, non-accompanying, and non-dialoguing, one has to wonder when all those statues in France and Missouri are going to come down.
UPDATE 8pm Central: SuperNerd was able to migrate the site and it’s back up and running…
It begins today, folks.  Are you ready?  What is it going to take for you to realize this is happening? Do you see where we stand on the timeline, and what lies to the right? They will come after every Christian writer, blogger, company, etc. The trads just come first; the lukewarm will get eaten last. But it’s all got to go, because charity is “hate”, and intolerance is tolerance.
Lesson for the Feast of St. Louis:

She conducted the just, when he fled from his brother’s wrath, through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours. In the deceit of them that overreached him, she stood by him, and made him honourable. She kept him safe from his enemies, and she defended him from seducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and know that wisdom is mightier than all. She forsook not the just when he was sold, but delivered him from sinners: she went down with him into the pit. And in bands she left him not, till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: and shewed them to be liars that had accused him, and gave him everlasting glory.
Wisdom 10:10-14

Thanks, Ann. Stay strong.

The night Trump came to Phoenix and I prayed my city would survive

He started the day in Yuma at the Marine Corps air station. He arrived in Phoenix in the afternoon, his motorcade passing my street around 4pm on the way to the hotel about two miles from me. The police presence in the city was stunning.

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Not taken yesterday, but we do have nice sunsets here
Everyone was on eggshells all day.  Someone out of state texted me to ask if I was going to the rally. “Hell no” was my response. “I need to be at home with my family in case SHTF.” As I typed those words, it hit me just how real this is. Before the election, protesters here successfully blocked his motorcade temporarily on the day of a rally.  What would be their plan tonight, I wondered?
Well, the Phoenix PD took care of that, as they took care of everything else last night.
The rally itself was packed, as several pictures today showed. People were lined up before dawn. By 4pm, the line stretched probably a quarter mile down the block and around the building.  I saw video of this on twitter, but now I can’t find it. People waited for hours upon hours.
It was 108 degrees here yesterday.
These were “normal” Trump supporters. There weren’t any white nationalists or neo-nazis. You saw them during the speech. White, black, Hispanic, men, women, old, young, Middle America. You could see a sense of hope in their faces.  They just want to be treated fairly, and they are angry about being lied to for so long. Two of the biggest cheers of the night were when Trump trashed McCain and Flake, our two traitorous RINO senators.
As speech time approached (7PM) I could feel the tension as all the local news outlets were all over it as Antifa converged on the scene from three different muster points, some of them open carrying ARs and AKs, which of course is perfectly legal here. Most “only” had bricks, tear gas, and bottles. The convention center is smack downtown, amid all the skyscrapers, churches, stadiums, museums, etc. I wondered if my city would be smashed/burned.
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The speech ended about 8:25pm, and the supporters began exiting the building. Antifa made their move, but the way the police had corralled the crowd, and the manner in which they had placed the barricades, meant that Antifa’s surge was blunted precisely due to their angle of attack. Frustrated anarchists began throwing bricks and gas canisters at police, and the police wasted no time. The ROEs must have been made pretty clear to them. The few minor injuries among the rally goers were mostly due to not following directions and getting caught behind enemy lines. Next time, maybe give a little more thought to where you’re going to park.
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As the police formed their line and began pushing Antifa back away from the convention center, the only path of retreat took them directly in front of the local NBC affiliate, which has a glass-walled studio facing that side of the street. Of the four legacy network affiliates in Phoenix, NBC 12 is left of the bunch. But you should have heard them shrieking for justice as the mob came up against the glass.
At the end of the night, thanks be to God, it ended quietly. I walked outside around 9:15 and saw the motorcade heading back to the hotel for the night. The route from the convention center to the hotel is mostly freeway, until the last three miles, which is a surface street with about five stoplights. Those last three miles were blanketed by police, and several threats were removed ahead of time. I spoke to a friend who told me that every single Phoenix PD officer/detective was on duty last night, and they did the job they’re trained to do.
Lest we gloss over that last point… People don’t realize that 90% of police training involves crowd and traffic control. All cops know the proper tactics. That’s why what happened in Charlottesville is so obviously a set up. If you haven’t watched the videos, you really should. The vile Nazis were gathered in the park where they had legally obtained a permit to peacefully assemble. They were spewing their disgusting but protected free speech, peacefully, legally, for about one hour. Then a cop with a bullhorn announced that the permit had been terminated and this was now deemed an illegal assembly, and ordered the Nazis to disperse immediately. As the police forced the Nazis out of the park and into the open streets filled with Antifa fascists, who could know there would be trouble, am I right? It’s not possible to claim that the police could be caught off guard in any way regarding this. It’s literally the very thing they receive the most training on. They knew EXACTLY what was going to happen, and even after it did start happening, they stood down. They didn’t even give chase to the driver of the car… there is video of him driving away from the scene at a low rate of speed.  They did NOTHING.
Are you prepared in the event of a public disturbance in your neighborhood where the police do NOTHING?  Are you?

ANTIFA: Rapidly approaching the flash point

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Folks, how’s your bearing? I have the feeling it’s about to get real, don’t you? Are you planning your contingencies? What’s it going to take?
The title of this post isn’t hyperbole; it’s an understatement. We are actually past the flash point. Quick chemistry refresher:

  • Flash Point is the temperature at which a substance will ignite, given an ignition source
  • Fire Point is the temperature at which a substance will stay ignited, even if the ignition source is removed
  • Kindling Point is the temperature at which a substance spontaneously ignites

I would say metaphorically we are now between the latter two. The majority of Americans are still asleep, and football season starts in a couple weeks, when bread and circuses make it that much harder to penetrate the opioids. So time is short and you have a lot of work to do. Here are three things to know and share regarding Antifa, the name itself being a perfect example of diabolical inversion of truth:

1. The MSM will support, glorify and carry water for Antifa, because in their minds, remember, “they go low, we go high”

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This headline at CNN is strikingly accurate, other than the word “activists”. It looks like a headline for a story exposing and condemning the terror tactics, incitement to violence and actual violence of this group, which started mildly with Occupy, morphed into BLM, and now really a coalition of Antifa/Occupy/BLM. But here’s the catch: The story itself is sympathetic to Antifa. Which means the headline, read it again, is endorsing the use of violence to stop free speech. The ideology is so embedded, the copy editors couldn’t even see the stark irony of this, which is perhaps the most telling and dangerous symptom of all. They are saying that bricks, bats and urine cannons are acceptable tools of justice against people who’s ideas you disagree with. Oh, and the only reason they don’t yet have better weapons is because they’re all anti-gun.  Give it time, they will “evolve”.

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Don’t worry, we’re only here for the “Nazi’s”

2. These people actually believe that they are the enforcers of liberty, freedom, and justice for all; they fancy themselves the DEVGRU of SJW

I’m not talking about the NWO globalists who are funding this. I’m talking about the boots on your neck the ground, the riotous mobs.  They can’t even hear you when you try to tell them that you hate Nazis too. These people have been turned into militarized zombies through indoctrination and desensitization, undergirded by a profound lack of education.  This could only have been done in a post-Christian society, and only after a learned disregard for the human person, through a steady diet of fornication, contraception, abortion and pornography.  After the war, books will be written on that last sentence.
Having been thus conditioned, now they finally have something they can feel part of, and they’ve emerged from their parents’ basements to wage war against sanity. This is where we are in America, and there is no longer any excuse for being in the dark about it.
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3. Incredibly, “Average Americans” are still totally in the dark about the seriousness of the situation

Obviously, this is partly due to said average American also being completely awash in the fornication, contraception, abortion and pornography I just mentioned. But I’m also talking about people in their 30s/40s/50s who I talk to every day, centrists on the left and the right. One center left friend remarked this weekend that he saw Antifa as “garden variety liberals”, and thinks them to be generally harmless. Many others think the despicable white nationalists “had it coming”. When I try to explain that’s not how free speech works, that’s not how the First Amendment works, and the only trajectory this mindset leads to, all I get is hysteria. Literally.

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Nope, no irony here, move along

But still, we have to keep trying. The ones who are willing to engage in reasoned dialogue are still reachable.  But in order to understand just how difficult this is going to be, you need to do a little prep work by reading up on Belief Perseverance and Cognitive Bias. I won’t make a long post longer by going into those here.  Just take ten minutes and research the terms.
You won’t convert anyone in one conversation, but you can certainly get one or two nuggets through. May I suggest that the one concept to focus on is the trajectory I mentioned earlier. There is only one place this leads if it’s not stopped, and it’s going to be much, much worse than anything you can imagine. Did you think we’ve somehow progressed to the point of being incapable of the atrocities of the past? Not only are you wrong, but sadly it’s worse than you can even imagine. Because of the devaluing of human life as a result of the conditioning/desensitization we discussed, we are now actually capable of atrocities far WORSE than in the past, or at least the recent past.
I wrote a post back in March with several more examples that really show how these people are totally blinded by the ideology.  I am re-posting below in it’s entirety. I’m not sure if the videos will re-embed, but if they don’t, you can view them at the original post.
The third video in particular is breathtaking. Tucker keeps describing the violent behavior engaged in by Antifa as being the exact kind of behavior Antifa says it opposes, and even shows video of the interviewee engaged in violence. But the interviewee is so filled with “righteous” rage, she doesn’t remotely get it. These people are so far gone, it really gives you a sense of how bad it’s going to be when their power is far greater than it is today.
Trust me; we didn’t dodge a bullet in Charlottesville, we turned a corner.  Please do not be silent. Engage everyone you can. Develop your contingency plan.

A triumvirate of Antifa Fascists

I’m giving you three examples here, one audio and two video, in an effort to demonstrate how totally unhinged are the Leftists/Marxists/Fascists. Not only are they completely detached from reality, they are living inside their own separate “reality” which cannot be penetrated by reason whatsoever. So as you review the material here, see if you can find the common thread that runs through the thought process of all these brainwashed souls. All of these are at least a month old, so sorry if it’s old news to you. But seeing them together really drives home the horror.
First is an audio clip of Professor David Parry of the not-in-my-lifetime “catholic” Saint Joseph’s University of unhappy memory. I attended in the gogo 80s, when the Theology chair was a turtleneck atheist, at least that was my impression at the time, and the campus didn’t even have a chapel. They do have one now, but bring some eye bleach if you visit.
Anyway, this was recorded two days after the election, 10 Nov 2016. The good professor, still huffing paint from two nights previous, encourages minorities toward full hate of Trump supports and condones violence against them. Actually he condones anything at all they feel the need to do. He says, “People are going to die” because Trump won, and he’s basically inciting a preemptive race war. Listen for three minutes and tell me if I’m exaggerating:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKBPtCa2H_o?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&start=18&wmode=transparent]

The university issued this statement in response:

“Saint Joseph’s University…is fundamentally committed to free speech and the exchange of ideas…Fostering a safe learning environment is one of the University’s primary obligations. Freedom of expression is integral to this effort. The University does expect respectful dialogue at all times and opposes any form of intolerance. This always has been and will remain a central principle at Saint Joseph’s University.” (Full statement HERE)

I ask you, is sedition covered under free speech?  I didn’t think so. Did you hear respectful dialogue, or did you hear intolerance? I guess the university will only tolerate intolerance toward the tolerant. Liberal pretzel logic! What a great acronym…LPL. LOL.
On a side note, I must say it astonishes me how few people actually click the videos or source references I link to, even on the most insane subjects. I’m sitting here writing on topics and taking positions many times that 99% of the world would disagree with, and you’re not even going to fact check my own references? This is how fake news is spread.  People, do a little digging.
Up next, a two minute video with a professor from NYU at the Gavin McInnes protest last month. Warning, she’s a bit of a potty mouth. Try to ignore that, and focus on her message.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJa_s_2QX_c?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

Got it?  Of course…violence is the answer! Look, we really should be praying for these people.  This woman might very well be possessed by something more serious than an ideology. But you’re starting to see a pattern, right?
Yep, it is those protesting fascism most vociferously who are themselves the fascists.
Okay, last clip.  It’s ten minutes but you only need to watch the first three. This one is yet another “educator”, Yvette Felarca, self proclaimed advocate of intolerance “by any means necessary.”  You almost feel bad for her, because Tucker simply sets up the deadly irony and then lets her destroy herself in her own words.
The video opens with Felarca inciting violence and assaulting a peaceful protester. Then Tucker asks her to define fascism. It’s an instant classic, watch:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSjyxgN6lPM?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

 
This is what we are up against.

 

With infinite temerity

“The nations have raged and the peoples imagined vain things” (Ps.ii., 1.) against their Creator, so frequent is the cry of the enemies of God: “Depart from us” (Job. xxi., 14). And as might be expected we find extinguished among the majority of men all respect for the Eternal God, and no regard paid in the manifestations of public and private life to the Supreme Will – nay, every effort and every artifice is used to destroy utterly the memory and the knowledge of God.

When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks (II. Thess. ii., 3). Such, in truth, is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere in persecuting religion, in combating the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort to uproot and destroy all relations between man and the Divinity! While, on the other hand, and this according to the same apostle is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist, man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in himself all knowledge of God, he has contemned God’s majesty and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he himself is to be adored. “He sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” (II. Thess. ii., 2).

Verily no one of sound mind can doubt the issue of this contest between man and the Most High. Man, abusing his liberty, can violate the right and the majesty of the Creator of the Universe; but the victory will ever be with God – nay, defeat is at hand at the moment when man, under the delusion of his triumph, rises up with most audacity. Of this we are assured in the holy books by God Himself. Unmindful, as it were, of His strength and greatness, He “overlooks the sins of men” (Wisd. xi., 24), but swiftly, after these apparent retreats, “awaked like a mighty man that hath been surfeited with wine” (Ps. 1xxvii., 65), “He shall break the heads of his enemies” (Ps. 1xxvii., 22), that all may know “that God is the king of all the earth” (Ib. 1xvi, 8)

E SUPREMI    POPE ST. PIUS X, 4 OCTOBER 1903
ON THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS IN CHRIST

Happy feast day!

Things of greatest moment fall into deplorable decay

There was once a time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel. Then it was that the power and divine virtue of Christian wisdom had diffused itself throughout the laws, institutions, and morals of the people, permeating all ranks and relations of civil society. Then, too, the religion instituted by Jesus Christ, established firmly in befitting dignity, flourished everywhere, by the favour of princes and the legitimate protection of magistrates; and Church and State were happily united in concord and friendly interchange of good offices.
The State, constituted in this wise, bore fruits important beyond all expectation, whose remembrance is still, and always will be, in renown, witnessed to as they are by countless proofs which can never be blotted out or ever obscured by any craft of any enemies. Christian Europe has subdued barbarous nations, and changed them from a savage to a civilized condition, from superstition to true worship. It victoriously rolled back the tide of Mohammedan conquest; retained the headship of civilization; stood forth in the front rank as the leader and teacher of all, in every branch of national culture; bestowed on the world the gift of true and many-sided liberty; and most wisely founded very numerous institutions for the solace of human suffering. And if we inquire how it was able to bring about so altered a condition of things, the answer is-beyond all question, in large measure, through religion, under whose auspices so many great undertakings were set on foot, through whose aid they were brought to completion.
A similar state of things would certainly have continued had the agreement of the two powers been lasting. More important results even might have been justly looked for, had obedience waited upon the authority, teaching, and counsels of the Church, and had this submission been specially marked by greater and more unswerving loyalty. For that should be regarded in the light of an ever-changeless law which No of Chartres wrote to Pope Paschal II: “When kingdom and priesthood are at one, in complete accord, the world is well ruled, and the Church flourishes, and brings forth abundant fruit. But when they are at variance, not only smaller interests prosper not, but even things of greatest moment fall into deplorable decay.”
IMMORTALE DEI Pope Leo XIII, 1 November 1885 

Read the rest HERE
The decay of modern society – the fall of the West – is directly traceable to the protestant revolt.  The dethroning of God and the deification of man had a full head of steam, so massive that it shattered Christendom. Soon the error of Americanism promised the peaceful coexistence of all the shiny new sects. Next came the Endarkenment and all its hopes and joys murderous villainy. The hubris spread like the plague, infecting even those who remained Catholic. The rights of man, and all that jazz. The Church herself “officially” caught up with the thinking of modern man at Vatican II, never mind that we already had a council to condemn this mindset four hundred years earlier.
Explains a lot, doesn’t it? Do you see how this only leads to madness? It seems every day there is another sign of the end times. It doesn’t mean it is, but there sure are a lot of signs, wouldn’t you agree?
Next up: Antifa/Occupy/BLM communists are looked upon as heroes because they oppose Nazis and free speech, as CNN praises “peace through violence”.
 

True charity vs forced redistribution (aka theft)

True charity is the means by which the Catholic Church built western civilization. Hospitals, universities, monasteries, churches, libraries, laboratories, infrastructure were all borne from true charity.
But now the world chooses the slavery of Marxism, which makes the state the sole administrator of “charity”. Since the state possesses no wealth of its own, it must forcibly confiscate half the slaves’ wealth (or more, depending on the country). As the state assumes control of a diverse range of institutions, notably education, the process of societal lobotomization can begin. The slaves really truly believe that a state with no wealth can provide stuff for “free.” Once all the mechanisms are in place and the slaves resigned to ever more labor for ever less reward, so long as they’re permitted their Game of Thrones and football, the only thing left for the Leftists is to see how far they can take it (this includes all areas of morality). The Church, itself thoroughly infiltrated, also has to get in on the game, because the Church survives no longer on true charity alone, but also forced redistribution, which flows through the state.
So the next time Antipope Bergoglio abuses the poor, by using them to advance his agenda of redistributive criminality, remember this:
August 10.—ST. LAURENCE, Martyr.
ST. LAURENCE was the chief among the seven deacons of the
Roman Church. In the year 258 Pope Sixtus was led out to
die, and St. Laurence stood by, weeping that he could not
share his fate. “I was your minister,” he said, “when you consecrated
the blood of Our Lord; why do you leave me behind
now that you are about to shed your own?” The holy Pope
comforted him with the words, “Do not weep, my son; in
three days you will follow me.” This prophecy came true. The
prefect of the city knew the rich offerings which the Christians
put into the hands of the clergy, and he demanded the treasures
of the Roman Church from Laurence, their guardian. The
Saint promised, at the end of three days, to show him riches
exceeding all the wealth of the empire, and set about collecting
the poor, the infirm, and the religious who lived by the
alms of the faithful. He then bade the prefect “see the treasures
of the Church” Christ, whom Laurence had served in his
poor, gave him strength in the conflict which ensued. Roasted
over a slow fire, he made sport of his pains. “I am done
enough,” he said, “eat, if you will.” At length Christ, the Father
of the poor, received him into eternal habitations. God
showed by the glory which shone around St. Laurence the
value He set upon his love for the poor. Prayers innumerable
were granted at his tomb; and he continued from his throne in
heaven his charity to those in need, granting them, as St.
Augustine says, “the smaller graces which they sought, and
leading them to the desire of better gifts”
Reflection.—Our Lord appears before us in the persons of the
poor. Charity to them is a great sign of predestination. It is
almost impossible, the holy Fathers assure us, for any one
who is charitable to the poor for Christ’s sake to perish.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed.
[1894], at sacred-texts.com