Prominent journalist maintains US is ‘slowly healing from Obama and Biden’; GOP could pick up 19 congressional seats if SCOTUS strikes down part of Voting Rights Act; Groundhog Day in DC and no end to the shutdown in sight; PA Senator defends Trump voters: ‘They are not fascists’; DC braces for organized No Kings riots; Pope Leo is gifted a beautiful Arabian horse; Today Catholics celebrate St. Gerard Majella, patron of unborn babies and expectant mothers; and more —
Supreme Court case could shift 19 House seats toward GOP
Republicans could pick up as many as 19 congressional seats if the Supreme Court strikes down a key part of the Voting Rights Act in a major redistricting case argued Oct. 15. Groundhog Day in DC and not end to the shutdown
The case, Louisiana v. Callais, stems from a dispute over whether Louisiana must create a second majority-Black congressional district under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — a provision meant to protect minority voters from discrimination. In redistricting, Section 2 has led to the creation of “majority-minority districts,” designed to amplify minority voting power.
Read more at Catholic Vote; see also the Daily Caller
Gorsuch Gets NAACP Lawyer To All But Admit Support For Racial Discrimination In Redistricting
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch got a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to all but admit support for states intentionally discriminating on the basis of race in the redistricting process.
The moment came during the Supreme Court’s Wednesday oral arguments for a pair of cases known as Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais, which center on the Louisiana Legislature’s use of race when creating its recent congressional map.
Read more at The Federalist
It’s Groundhog Day on Capitol Hill with no shutdown solution in sight
Each day on Capitol Hill for the last 16 days is the same: a press conference (or five), lawmaker demonstrations, partisan fights, rinse, repeat. And the phrase “same s***, different day” is becoming a reality as staffers and lawmakers don’t see an end to the government shutdown in sight.
Both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) come to work every day with the same message, aiming to cast the blame for the government shutdown on each other. …
Johnson has reiterated to reporters that this is how the day-to-day will be until “Chuck Schumer ends the shutdown,” giving no indication that he will bring the House back from recess any time soon. Jeffries has said repeatedly that Democrats will “sit down with anyone, any time, any place” to reach a deal.
Read at the Washington Examiner
Scott Bessent appeals to moderate Dems to re-open the government
Read more @RapidResponse47
House speaker slams ‘Hate America Rally’ scheduled for Saturday
Watch @PatriotOasis
Pennsylvania Senator defends Trump voters: ‘They are not fascists’
Watch @VigilantFox
Scott Adams explains risks he and other MAGA supporters have paid for the Republic
Watch @jayplemons
Miranda Devine: Trump Derangement Syndrome is on the way out – prez’s alpha-male greatness shines after peace deal
It’s early days but there are signs that Trump Derangement Syndrome is on the way out. And the Middle East peace deal Donald Trump pulled off with sheer force of personality is part of the reason.
In a whirlwind 36 hours, the president addressed the Knesset in Jerusalem to hail a “new dawn in the Middle East,” and then flew to Sharm el-Sheikh to sign the Gaza peace deal, flanked by the leaders of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, who had helped forced Hamas’ hand.
European leaders took a back seat and meekly kowtowed to Trump. …
The country is slowly healing from Obama and Biden.
Read more at the New York Post
A New Sheriff in Town – short essay by Bill O’Reilly
On Sunday, I filed a column comparing the style of President Trump to that of previous presidents Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt. The point is that Mr. Trump is governing as a “strong man” leader who gets things done …
The Middle East chieftains like that because they govern the same way, without the Constitutional restraints we have in America. The Chinese respect unbridled authority, and so does Putin, who still idolizes the mass murderer Stalin to this day.
But here in the USA, millions do not like authoritarian leadership. Even if it stays within legal bounds. The “woke” and “Me, Too” movements were dedicated to bringing down male power. Politicians became terrified.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden did not lead with swagger. Neither did George W. Bush. They were all rather conventional and, at times, timid. …
Read more at billoreilly.com
Thousands Gather on National Mall for Christian Revival, Praying for Unity in America
Thousands of people from all 50 states gathered to celebrate Christian revival and pray for unity in America during a four-day-long festival in Washington, D.C.
Awaken the Dawn, a grassroots movement focused on worship, prayer, and missions, hosted Communion America, “a festival around the presence of God.” From Oct. 9-12, thousands gathered on the National Mall for nonstop worship events.
During what was called the Jesus March, marchers began with a worship service on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, then walked 2 miles to the National Mall with their faith on full display.
Read more at The Daily Signal
Fox News announces a Christian revival
Watch @bennyjohnson
Florida School Caught Promoting Witchcraft
Government school officials in Orange County, Florida, were subjecting captive students to lessons teaching sorcery and witchcraft — literally. The move sparked outrage among critics, and legal demands that West Orange High School stop the program immediately or at least give students the ability to opt out and promote Christianity.
According to news reports and a Christian non-profit law firm that got involved in the case, every Wednesday, students at the school were shown witchcraft programming across the school’s TV system as part of the mid-week morning announcements. There was no option to avoid the program.
Dubbed “Witchy Wednesday,” the video series shown schoolwide over the school’s TV system included lessons on casting spells, using magic, worshipping the moon, and other occult rituals. The lessons also taught students to burn incense and fold papers to burn based on the moon’s cycle.
Read more at The Liberty Sentinel
China Flexes Power over Rome Once Again with New Bishop Consecration
It appears that once again, Beijing has delivered another blow to the Holy See by consecrating a bishop to the pivotal Diocese of Shanghai after he was elected during the papal sede vacante.
On October 15, Father Wu Jianlin will be consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai. News of the ceremony came via official notices issued by the schismatic state-approved church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA).
Previously vicar general of the diocese, Wu was elected, effectively unopposed, in a vote on April 28. The next day another priest, Father Li Janlin, was similarly “elected” as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Xinxiang, reportedly being the sole candidate.
Read more at OnePeterFive
Cardinals Cupich, Reina appointed to Vatican City State commission
Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, as members of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The commission, led by Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, is the state’s legislative body. …
The Pope’s appointment of Cardinal Cupich to the commission comes less than a month after several US bishops criticized his decision to give Sen. Richard Durbin a lifetime achievement award.
See more @Catholic Culture; see also Holy See Press Office
Christians in western African nations [e.g., Niger] are facing a rising tide of Islamic persecution and terrorism
Open Doors, one of the Christian advocacy groups seeking to expose the crisis, told the story of a Christian widow in the nation of Niger who lost her husband at the hands of Islamic militants.
“Hakuri,” whose name was changed in the interview by Open Doors to keep her safe, revealed in a Sept. 18 interview with the nonprofit that her village in Niger was attacked by jihadists. …
The militants … revealed that they would kill any man they found in that building, forcing Hakuri and other mothers to disguise their sons as girls. … Hakuri and her children were able to depart from the village, and they started counting the corpses of men killed by the group strewn along the roadside. …
“I will not say that God has rejected me, God forbid,” she said. “But I can say that I am paying the price of following Jesus.”
Read more at The Western Journal
Violent Attacks Just One Threat Facing Nigerian Christians
The fertile Middle Belt region in north-central Nigeria became a killing field in June, when more than 200 Christian men, women, and children were slaughtered in an apparent series of coordinated attacks. The massacre was the latest in a string of killings that have taken the lives of an estimated 7,000 Nigerian Christians so far this year.
Since 2009, Islamists – including Boko Haram and outside terrorist groups such as ISIS – have killed at least 52,500 Christians and displaced another 5 million of them, while destroying some 18,000 churches and setting 2,200 schools ablaze, according to a 2023 report by the Nigeria-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law.
Read more at Real Clear Investigations
Pope Leo receives gift from Polish horse breeder
Watch @breeadail
Pope Leo’s new horse is happy at his new home
Watch @breeadail
Pope Leo Condemns Falling Birthrates in Europe as Abortions Kill Millions of Babies
In a stark warning to a continent facing demographic collapse, Pope Leo XIV decried Europe’s plummeting birthrates Tuesday, calling for urgent action to bolster families and protect every human life “from conception.”
His comments were a direct rebuke to the scourge of abortion that has claimed millions of unborn children and hollowed out the future of nations like Italy.
Speaking during an official visit to Italian President Sergio Mattarella at Rome’s Quirinal Palace, the pontiff painted a picture of a Europe adrift, where “in recent decades, as we know, we have witnessed in Europe the phenomenon of a significant decline in birthrates.” The address, delivered amid preparations for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, underscored the pontiff’s first major public intervention on family issues since his election earlier this year.
Read more at LifeNews.com
Abortion Pill Reversal pioneer pens book on life-saving APR protocol
As chemical abortion numbers have risen to nearly 70 percent of abortions in the United States and many women have regret after taking abortion pills, more women will find themselves in the fraught situation of wondering whether they can reverse their chemical abortions.
One of the pioneers of Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) is releasing a book at this pivotal time discussing the advent of APR, attacks on the life-saving protocol, and how APR signifies hope and another chance at life.
In Abortion Pill Reversal: Second Chance at Choice Dr. George Delgado offers personal accounts from women who have attempted to reverse their chemical abortions and the doctor who performed the first documented reversal, along with testimonies from APR hotline nurses. He also gives an inside look at how and why he established the network now known as the Abortion Pill Rescue Network.
Read more at Pregnancy Help News
Today is the feast of St. Gerard Majella, patron of unborn children
See @CatholicSat; see also father_rmv
