At Normandy, Yesterday

 

Today they look like harmless old men sitting in the sun. But inside each of these heroes still beats the courageous heart of a youthful US warrior who faced down unimaginable terror to take the beaches of Normandy in June 1944. 

Yesterday a few survivors had returned to that scene of brutal carnage to remember the day that changed the world and to honor their fallen brothers. It was heartwarming to see the veterans cheered by French school children. As I learned on my visit to Normandy two years ago, the French people have a long memory for the gift of their freedom, so dearly purchased.

Americans can only stand aside with profound respect for and gratitude to these remarkable saviors. When the last of them are gone, it will be a very sad day for our country. We shall not see their like again.

Destruction by Disagreement

The Left destroys everything it touches.

~ Dennis Prager

Mark Steyn, the brilliant commentator and writer, was once Rush Limbaugh's go-to for guest hosting his national radio show. He was a Fox News contributor and a best-selling author.

But he had some politically incorrect ideas about climate change and Islam, among other subjects. This was enough to activate the leftist machine to destroy him. The Lefties have done an impressive job. They've nearly killed him, and they're not finished with him yet.

After a dozen years of legal persecution, in recent years Steyn has suffered two heart attacks; the second one was nearly fatal. I saw a recent photo of him being pushed in a wheelchair. His once coppery hair and beard are now grey. 

Steyn perseveres and still writes insightful, often hilarious, always powerful commentary at his website, SteynOnline. In his most recent posting, A Republic? You Can Keep It, Steyn addresses the relentless persecution, trial of, and verdict on former President Donald Trump. It's worth reading in its entirety, but a key section appears below:

"I am about to begin my thirteenth year in the foetid septic tank of the District of Columbia courts. My finances are ruined, and so is my constitution. By the latter, I mean my health, not the United States Constitution, which is already dead. By contrast, I'm just about hanging on, although I very much doubt I will live long enough to be vindicated at the Supreme Court. Which is bad news for my heirs and relicts. As one of the lawyers taunted me last year, "This doesn't end with your death."

I'm sad about that, and would much prefer to devote the time that remains to playing music and enjoying the sunsets. I am worn out, and bitter about the books I'll never get to write because of the way American litigation has consumed what should have been my most productive years. I have a theological objection to suicide, but would not be averse to dying in my sleep.

And that's just with two rinky-dink cases on the go.

Trump, on the other hand, is barraged at all turns - here, there, state, federal, civil, criminal. He has been subjected to all manner of indignities - such as, just this week, having to sit in the crappy courtroom while the jury deliberates, which Judge Irving did not force me to do in DC."

We in the United States of America are in a dark and dangerous place today. We must take our perilous situation seriously. Like a bad heart attack, it can quickly become fatal.

Remember and Honor

The thousands of American troops who died on a French beach nearly 80 years ago were a crucial key to giving us the life we have enjoyed and prospered from ever since. We should all honor and respect their memory, along with that of every member of the US Armed Forces who has fallen in battle.

The 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing is ten days away. The video below is only about two-and-a-half minutes long. That's a tiny drop of time to return for their sacrifice, but it's a fitting way to remember our D-Day heroes on this Memorial Day.

Normandy American Cemetery

A Millennial Saint

Blessed Carlo Acutis is on deck to become the first canonized saint of the Millennial generation.

A computer expert who died of leukemia at the tender age of 15 years, Carlo worked on websites for Catholic schools and churches and created an online database of Eucharistic miracles. His brief life story shows that he was precocious in his faith as well as in internet technology

This week, the Catholic Church recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo's intercession. The Church requires two miracles to advance a candidate for sainthood to canonization. Both miracles involved healings of young people.

Had he lived, Carlos would be 33 years old now. Many of his generation describe themselves as "Nones," having no religious affiliation or particular belief. In Carlo, who has been called "God's influencer" and "patron saint of the Internet," we will soon have our first official Millennial saint. I believe that's something that will do our world good.

Carlo Acutis ~ 1991-2006

Letter to the Leftists

Dear Leftists, Communists, Marxists, Terrorists, and Anarchists who are currently roiling American life and culture:

Why don't all of you sit down for about five minutes and take a deep breath? More importantly, why don't you just shut up for a few minutes? All of you could benefit from listening, for a change.

You seem to have so many grievances against the United States. Well, it's still supposedly a free country. If life is so unbearable here, why don't you try leaving and going to a different country? Just a thought.

To the "university" protestors--how many of you are professional agitators? How many are faculty? You know, I'm from the 1960s. I understand protests. I even participated in a few in 1970. My issue was the vote; 18-year-olds were being shipped off to Vietnam, but the voting age was twenty-one. Not fair. I carried a candle, sang "We Shall Overcome," and marched down the center of the street with my classmates. We didn't break anything, throw trash everywhere, trespass on private property, scream hateful slogans at bystanders, threaten minority groups, invoke the destruction of the nation, make demands, or wave terrorist flags.

As at colleges across the nation in that era, we walked and sang, then we went back to our dorms and did our homework. Then, in 1971, the 26th Amendment was passed giving the vote to 18-year-olds. Go figure.

"From the river to the sea!" Do you even know which river and which sea you are screeching about? Do you care? It's doubtful. You are apparently focused on societal destruction, not specific problems.

A religious Catholic sports figure gave a talk at a private Catholic college commencement ceremony, endorsing traditional family values that have been proven positive for thousands of years. He is now under scathing attack from multiple left-wing sources, including nuns (yes, nuns can be lefties), and is facing petitions and calls for his firing. And you are supposedly the "tolerant" group? Give me a break. You cannot stand the thought of any challenge to your radical ideology. Your overreaction proves the flimsiness of your convictions. If you were secure in your philosophy, a commencement speaker with different beliefs would be just one more opinion in the national mix.

But you can't allow that, can you? You can't take the chance that there is solid validity to his views. Anyone recognizing a grain of truth in his remarks would threaten your cultural power. He's got to be taken down. This once again demonstrates your weakness.

A former US president is facing multiple indictments at the behest of our current president. We are told that, if elected, this former president will be "a dictator" and "a threat to our democracy." Please be reminded that our 45th president has already spent four years as our chief executive. During that term, he did not direct his Department of Justice to indict any of his political opponents; he followed federal law at our borders; he respected the Supreme Court decisions; he eased regulations on business; he kept the peace on the world stage.

News flash--we are living under a dictatorship right now. The current president dismisses the authority of the Judicial and Legislative branches of our three co-equal branches of constitutional government. Supreme Court decisions limiting the president's power on "forgiving" (read "transferring to taxpayers") student loans are ignored; the current president does what he pleases. By his inaction, he endorses the destruction of our national borders, in violation of both federal law and his presidential Oath of Office. Citizens exercising free speech he finds distasteful are arrested in their homes, usually at dawn and in front of their families, and dragged off in handcuffs. Josef Stalin would approve! The president micromanages the average citizen by dictating what cars we should drive and which cooking appliances we should use. He does all this damage to our liberties, and much more, with impunity. Welcome to authoritarian America.

So, to all the Lefties and fellow travelers who hate the United States and would rejoice in its downfall, ask yourselves--which other country would give you this much freedom to spew hatred toward our government and our traditional way of life? You know the answer. That's why you're here.

Sit down, shut up, and try to learn.

Signed,

A Loyal American Citizen

Attempted SAVE

There's a movement in Congress to pass legislation that would protect the right of US citizens to vote in a federal election. Aptly named the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility), it would require proof of citizenship to vote.

Regardless of the fact that it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote, the sudden appearance of the SAVE Act raises an unavoidable question: What took you so long, Congress?

With uncounted masses of illegal aliens invading the United States freely and continuously for the past three-plus years, wouldn't a thinking American voter wonder why our "representatives" in Washington DC lagged for such a length of time before starting to address this lawless and dangerous national crisis?

Thinking American voters know better than to expect much from our "leaders" these days. Go ahead, guys, give it a go. But probably most of us citizens are not optimistic about the election being SAVEd.

St. Joseph the Worker

It's been a while since I gave a shout-out to my favorite saint, Joseph of the Holy Family. Today, May 1, is one of his feast days; the other is celebrated on March 19. While May 1 is a recent addition, the March 19 feast day dates to the 10th century.

Two dedicated feast days in the Catholic calendar is a rare honor afforded to only four saints. Besides St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, and St. Paul are the only others so lauded. Unlike those three saints, St. Joseph has no spoken words recorded in the New Testament. Two feast days for such a humble soul may seem striking. But considering the fact that Joseph accepted the divine, lifelong charge of protecting, supporting, and caring for Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother, two feast days hardly seems sufficient.

St. Joseph died at an unknown time before Good Friday. There is a theory I've heard and read that God permitted his death before Christ's suffering because Joseph would not have been able to stop himself from trying to protect Jesus. It's interesting to imagine how differently the story of the Lord's Passion might have unfolded if St. Joseph had been alive. There would have been a few unexpected twists, I'm willing to wager.

But Good Friday had to happen as it did, so God made sure Joseph was safely home before then. After working so hard his whole life, both in physical labor and under such awesome responsibility, St. Joseph had definitely earned his rest.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Indecent Indifference

Until this month, it had been more than 30 years since a Syracuse police officer was killed in the line of duty.

Ten days ago, on April 14, two of the city's officers were killed: Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen and Onondaga Sheriff Lt. Michael Hoosock.

As one might imagine, the law enforcement community has been grappling with shock and grief. The officer funerals were held in the past few days; Officer Jensen's was on Saturday, and Lt. Hoosock's was on Monday--two days ago.

Joe Biden is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Syracuse on Thursday--tomorrow. Due to the enormous burden a presidential visit places on local law enforcement, the Syracuse police chief and the mayor expressed their concern to the White House about managing this event in the midst of such stress upon their officers. They did not request a postponement, yet it's painfully obvious that basic decency demands one should be offered.

But we're talking about Joe Biden. He's the cold-blooded candidate who recently held a campaign fundraiser in New York City and ignored another murdered officer, Jonathan Diller, who was being mourned the same day in a New York suburb. It would have been an easy limo ride away, especially for a president. After all, there was a former president who made a special trip to pay his respects to Diller. But not Biden. His show must go on. Especially, it appears, if it includes murdered officers.

If you think Biden might delay his hurrah speech in Syracuse for a couple more days, just to be respectful to law enforcement officers, you'd be wrong. He's coming to Syracuse tomorrow as scheduled. The cops will just have to cope.

There are many things I could say about the current occupant of the White House. Most of them I wouldn't want to appear on my pages. But there's one thing I will say with certainty--Joe Biden is not a nice man.

Sadly Symbolic

Today's devastating fire at the Copenhagen Old Stock Exchange is, similar to the destruction at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, in 2019, symbolic of the deterioration, dismantling, and outright destruction of Western civilization. 

Do you recognize our country? I, for one, do not. In the past few years, it has become a hostile, alien place filled with danger and uncertainty. There is no reliable system of justice. Crime is rampant and without consequence. The economy has been crushed by inflation, with prices rising at every turn. The middle class is ever shrinking, leaving us with a feudal-like system of the mega-rich in their safe enclaves surrounded by always increasing impoverished masses. The southern border is non-existent, and the unknown throngs of foreign entries is reminiscent of barbarians overwhelming the Roman Empire.

To add to the mounting national dismay, young children are encouraged to explore and affirm a different "gender," with parents rendered largely powerless to protect them. Those same parents are subject to unfettered surveillance by Federal agencies if they speak out for their children at school board meetings, pray outside an abortion clinic, or attend a government-disapproved church. 

And, for the first time in US history, we have a major political candidate, a former president seeking a second term, prosecuted as a criminal under feeble and frivolous charges. Since when is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) considered "hush money"? In my career I've drafted, typed, processed, notarized, mailed, and maintained files on hundreds of NDAs. Not one of them was ever referred to as "hush money." But that buzz term certainly makes for juicy headlines in a jaded media.

In short, we're losing our society. We are losing it through our inaction and unwillingness to face the hard reality of the threats within. We're losing principles of freedom that go back to the Magna Carta and that are enshrined in our country's founding documents. Western civilization may already be beyond rescue, and we just don't realize it yet. Perhaps the fiery end to Denmark's iconic four-centuries-old building is just one more symbol of the implacable march to our demise.

 

Copenhagen Old Stock Exchange Building

Allowing Stages

“Play is the work of the child.”

 ~ Maria Montessori

When I was about four years old, I became fascinated with large trucks and similar heavy equipment vehicles. I asked for a “dump truck” for Christmas. My parents were not worried, horrified, or intimidated by this traditionally unfeminine interest. They made sure that Santa came through for me.

I can still see the three gifts waiting for me that Christmas morning. They were all Tonka trucks, a time-honored quality brand for sturdy toys. The boxes were big and heavy for a little tyke, but I wrestled them open. I received the yearned-for dump truck; it had a yellow cab and a green bed, with a working mechanism that lifted the bed, tilted it backwards, and opened the hatch. The next box contained a bright red tractor with a steering wheel that moved the huge tires. The last box held a teal green steam shovel that swiveled left and right. It had a yellow “scoop” operated by a little switch that could move it up and down, back and forth. Oh, joy; I was in make-believe heavy construction heaven.

I remember playing with these toys for at least a year, probably closer to two years. They transported stuffed animals, checkers, ping pong balls, cookies, unshelled walnuts, and innumerable other compact items that fit into their functional parts. Eventually my well-used trucks transitioned to my younger siblings, and I moved on to play with Easy-bake ovens and Barbie dolls. But it took a long while. The point is, I never felt like a boy when I was playing with my Tonka toys. My preoccupation with trucks was what my mother accurately termed, “a stage she’s going through.”

Can you imagine if I were a four-year-old girl today expressing such interest in dump trucks and similar construction vehicles? Probably already I'd be on hormone blockers and waitlisted for my penile implant. Children aren’t allowed to go through stages these days. At the first sign of any unusual behavior, they are immediately analyzed, diagnosed, and drugged. This is a mental sickness on the adults’ part, including—perhaps especially—the physicians and therapists. The overhyped gender hysteria is warped, it’s wrong, and it’s most often irreparably damaging to the child.

If a boy wants to play with dolls, or if a girl wants to play with trucks, let them play. Childhood is brief enough, and it moves with lightning speed. There is plenty of time ahead to sort out gender identities. And, as my experience shows, given enough time such things sort themselves out. If, indeed, such sorting is even necessary—which it usually is not.