The Morning Report — 5/ 9 /25

Good morning kids. Of course the big story this morning is the election of a successor to Pope Fiction, and the first American to be elected pontiff. While I was hoping for one of the cardinals from Africa or perhaps the Philippines to have been elected, considering those nations and their Christian citizenry have been enduring horrendous Islamic persecution and butchery for years. That the papacy has at best been silent and/or indifferent to Islamic genocide against it and at worst appeasers of and apologists for Islam especially during the tenure of the last Pope, was a travesty. Islam was, is and always will be a malign, totalitarian evil that seeks the subjugation of humanity or death of those who resist. To publicly state that, despite being a truth written in an ocean of blood over the course of 15 centuries, would be impermissible given the attitude of much of the western world – a world that would never have come into being were it not for Judaism and Christianity, that are today on the knife edge of being snuffed out by both the twin evils of Islam and godless atheistic secularism.

Christians in Nigeria are murdered almost daily through indiscriminate attacks led by Muslims. Nigerian Christian women are abducted, raped, gang-raped and sexually abused on a widespread scale. Violence is only one of the many forms of persecution that Christians in Nigeria face. They are also subjected to systematic, Sharia-based discrimination, a situation which is particularly routine in the majority-Muslim northern states.

One of the methods used to silence Christian voices utilizes the deadly blasphemy laws. In many cases, Muslim mobs take the law into their own hands and execute Christians who they accuse of blasphemy.

In 2022, for instance, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a second-year Christian college student, was stoned and burnt to death by a mob of Muslim students in Sokoto, Nigeria, after being accused of blasphemy against Islam. . .

. . . Nigerian social media has been awash with many hate speech posts against the Church, and many Muslim clerics have made it a point of duty to constantly preach hate against Christians. The immediate past governor of Kaduna was seen on video preaching hate against Christians. Almost all the time the perpetrators of these kinds of smear campaigns are not brought to justice. Smear campaigns are a very common thing against Christians… Also, Christians in the North experience daily abuse and are called all kinds of derogatory names such as “infidels.”

Christian families and children appear to be a specific target of Muslims in Nigeria:

Christian spouses and/or children of Christians have been subject to separation for prolonged periods of time by circumstances relating to persecution. Children of Christians have been harassed or discriminated against because of their parents’ faith. Most of this happens in the North, although increasingly also in the South.

Babies and children of Christians have automatically been registered under the state or majority religion.

First on the down side . . .

Many Catholics (and non-Catholics, for that matter) were praying for a more traditional, conservative choice after twelve years of the globalist progressive, Pope Francis. During his pontificate, Francis made landmark declarations that encouraged the Left, including allowing the blessing of people in same-sex unions and calling for more mass migration into already overwhelmed Western nations. One conservative Catholic author even persuasively argued several reasons “Why We Need a Pope From Africa” such as Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, a defender of the embattled, traditional Latin mass (but who, at 80, was a long-shot pick).

Just prior to today’s revelation that a pope had been chosen, Sheryl Collmer at Crisis Magazine online, a publication on Catholic issues, wrote that Francis’ tenure was “tragic” and nearly “destroyed” the church. She asked, “Will we have the heart and courage to rebuild the Church after the devastation of the recent past?

Perhaps not, because Prevost’s career was apparently closely observed, if not steered, by Francis himself. According to GB News, “Francis clearly had an eye on him for years.” To summarize from The College of Cardinals Report profile of Cardinal Prevost: in 2014, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, then Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. Francis appointed him to one of the most influential Vatican posts in January 2023, running the office that selects and manages bishops globally. He held that post until Pope Francis died late last month. On September 30, 2023, Francis elevated Prevost to the rank of Cardinal.

And as Daniel Greenfield observes . . .

Why pick the first American Pope now? Robert Prevost was made Pope Leo XIV as a counterweight to President Trump.

There’s been little ambiguity about the new pope’s politics and less about the overall agenda.

Pope Francis had all but rigged the process to assure another radical successor.

President Trump’s return represents an ongoing institutional crisis. The ideological battleground is going to be the border and Prevost has been chosen to lead the response in the largest sense possible.

Choosing an American Pope is supposed to raise the stakes and elevate a leader with the stature to rally opposition to Trump and more specifically to his immigration policies by invoking the familiar tropes about the need for welcoming in every single migrant.

That’s what this is about. This is less about the long-term future and more about the next four years.

And yet, some are putting a more positive spin on Pope Leo. . .

there are reasons to be hopeful.

The former cardinal, who is from Chicago, is of Spanish, French and Italian descent, which explains his Mediterranean look. He came out in red papal robes, all ornate and embroidered, same as previous popes before Pope Francis, meaning, he's more traditional than Pope Francis, whose desire to appear humble verged on ostentatious, although it wasn't malevolent.

That was him, this is Leo. It suggests he won't be the same as his predecessor.

And the name he picked was reason to be hopeful, too: Leo. The last pope named Leo, Leo XIII (1878-1903) was famous for denouncing socialism. That tells me all I need to hear, but for many, it will be well worth looking at for the nuances -- Leo XIII was also a champion of labor and unions, which, given the realities of the times, seemed like a good idea. As for the socialism, his condemnation of its failures is eternal, and he's the only pope who ever singled out socialism for its evils very specifically by name. . .

. . . His background might give some pause -- I don't know the full story about his citizenship and whether he chose to dump his U.S. citizenship or kept it, or really needed Peruvian citizenship to get around, or simply wanted to be like the Peruvians he ministered to. It isn't that important to a cleric, who is Heaven-focused, so I don't judge. I don't feel optimistic that he was from Chicago, home of Cardinal Cupich who hid his pectoral cross as he gave his blessing to the DNC with its abortion truck outside, and to FARC's sympathizers in the states, but his Mediterranean background suggests he didn't come from the elites. . .

. . .It's early, of course, and everything I am surmising about him could be wrong. We will know more as he makes his address next week. But for now, we can be hopeful that there may be many good and great things about him and he will be an able and confident leader, like Leo XIII.

The ascendancy of populism not only here but abroad is certainly reflected in the reaction of leftists and in what the late Pope Francis had promoted during his tenure vis a vis open borders, the global warming scam, attacks on the free market etc. etc. etc. So is the election of Leo as Daniel Greenfield posits the undergirding of the assault on traditional Catholicism or as Monica Showalter posits/hopes will he abandon some of Francis' more radical positions to be more in line with the mainstream (or what was and hopefully still is the mainstream) of the faith. Considering that far too many of my fellow Jews have completely rejected traditional Judaism, the teachings of the Torah and the 10 commandments, I'm not going to speculate about Catholics. Of course with the likes of Pelosi and Biden and others of their bent, there are parallels.

We'll have to wait and see. Regardless, it is of course up to all of us as individuals to live an upright, moral and righteous life regardless of who our religious and secular leaders may be. I certainly hope and pray that Leo will lead the Catholic faithful in paths of righteousness and in keeping with Biblical teaching and tradition.

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.

Have a great weekend.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• The world would be a better place without the corrupt and malignant institution.
  Defund The United Nations
  
• What’s become increasingly clear is that absent Trump and a few Republicans, the GOP lacks the willingness and ability to govern.
  What Is The Point Of Having A GOP Congress?
  
• Victor Davis Hanson: No country can long endure without sovereignty and security.
  The Trump Counterrevolution and the Moral Ledger

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE
• Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts says he has no immediate plans to step down from the bench, citing good health as the primary reason. The 70-year-old Justice shared this during a public event in Buffalo, New York, marking the 125th anniversary of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
  Chief Justice Roberts, 70, Dismisses Retirement Speculation.
  
• Roberts fails to understand that SCOTUS’s continued allowance of leftists’ judicial coup is undermining Americans’ faith in the judiciary.
  John Roberts’ Tacit Endorsement Of Judicial Supremacy Is Undermining SCOTUS
  
• “This is bold, this is gonna be challenging, but we absolutely can do it,” Duffy declared of his plan, which calls for at least six new air traffic control centers replacing 1960s-era facilities; swapping out old-fashioned copper wiring for fiber-optic, wireless and satellite technology at 4,600 locations; and replacing 25,000 radios and more than 600 radar installations.
  Transportation boss Sean Duffy plots multi-billion-dollar overhaul of US air traffic control by 2028

  
  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• The United Kingdom and the United States of America are to sign a “tremendous trade deal” and enter into a “economic security alignment”, President Trump said at the Oval Office during a conference with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
  Trump Hails ‘Breakthrough Trade Deal’ And ‘Economic Security Alignment’ With United Kingdom
  
• Other nations use non-tariff trade barriers as weapons to choke off American exports.
  Trump Takes on a Globalist Trading System Rigged Against the U.S.

• "Other than that, I like him very much!"
  Fed Says It Won’t Lower Interest Rates. Trump Calls Powell A ‘Fool Who Doesn’t Have A Clue.’
  
• The economic good news comes despite globalist criticism of President Donald J. Trump’s America First tariffs, particularly the significant increase on Chinese imports to 145 percent. Anti-tariff economists have been persistently warning that negative sentiments observed in surveys—likely driven by the media clamoring over a hypothetical tariff-driven downturn—could be set to translate into negative employment data. Still, the above-expectations fall in new unemployment claims suggest market jitters are yet to translate into meaningful job losses.
  Trump Economy Gains Strength as Unemployment Claims Fall Even More Than Expected.
  
• Unions are resisting tech advances that would make East Coast ports more efficient—and dramatizing a tension within the Trump coalition.
  On the Twenty-First-Century Waterfront
  
• A pollution tariff would hold China accountable for environmental abuses, block tariff evasion, protect U.S. interests, and position America as a global trade leader.
  A Pollution Tariff Would Close China’s Trade Loopholes

  CIVIL WAR 2.0: J-6 FBI FALSE FLAG "RIOT" & AFTERMATH, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION

• President Trump has shown an almost superhuman knack for being unthwarted by the CIA and other tendrils of the federal Cthulhu.
  Trump is neutering the Deep State by gutting the CIA
  
• And playing the “racist/fascist/Nazi" card.
  The First 100 Days For The Trump-Hating Left

  "BIDEN/HARRIS BORDER BLOODBATH," AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY

• Illegal immigrants enjoy many privileges while unlawfully in the United States — but being counted for apportionment should not be one of them.
  This Bad Legal Interpretation Allows Democrats To Skew Congress With Illegal Immigration

• Andrii Dmyterko, 45, has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter following the horrific crash, which was caught clearly on a nearby dash cam. In the video, the truck doesn't appear to slow down or swerve in the least as it mowed down a line of stopped vehicles, decimating them all within seconds.
  Migrant on a Work Visa Plows Into Multiple Cars at a Stoplight in Texas, Killing Two
  
• No one made a peep when Obama and Biden deported millions of illegal aliens who also merely worked hard, paid taxes, and stayed out of prison.
  Where Was Democrats’ Outrage When Obama And Biden Deported Illegal Alien Housekeepers And Gardeners?

  ISRAEL vs IRAN & GAZA/HAMAS . . . AND BIDEN

• On Wednesday, nearly 80 protesters were arrested after storming Columbia University’s Butler Library in New York City. The demonstrators, many of whom were masked and wearing kaffiyehs, disrupted students preparing for exams, defaced property, and declared the library a “liberated zone” in support of 'Palestinian' activism.
  Marco Rubio Vows Visa Crackdown After Columbia Library Takeover: ‘Pro-Hamas Thugs No Longer Welcome’ in U.S.
  
• Douglas Murray: . . . the US government should order a swift and deep inquiry into the way in which foreign funding is being used to subvert American institutions, especially institutions of higher learning.
  Probe the foreign influence behind these terror-loving, anti-Jew college agitators

  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• Qatar has been a threat to our national security since at least 1986, and though their inroads into the U.S. have been subtle, it doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
  Qatar: Our Enemy Hiding in Plain Sight
  
• Importing Sharia.
  The Collision of Islamic Culture With Western Civilization
  
• Including blasphemy laws and extrajudicial mob violence.
  Nigeria: Sharia-Based Discrimination Against Christians
  
• Will there be consequences?
  Fahad Ansari, London Defender of Hamas and Other Terrorists

  
  OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY/LEFTIST-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

• The same leftwing voices objecting to using government funds to teach American children how to read and write in Catholic schools howl in complaint that DOGE cut USAID funding to Catholic charities that supported illegal immigrants.
  Catholic Funding by Government in the Political Crosshairs

  FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH

• It seems that media persecution comes with the presidential territory, unless you die in your first month in office.
  The Presidency and the Media

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS,

• Slashes will be made to renewable energy support, solar and wind farm financing, and “climate crisis” activities throughout the federal government.
  Trump’s 2026 Budget Pulls Plug on Biden’s Green Energy Scams

  
  AMERICA AND THE WORLD IMPRISONED: CHINESE+Fauci-created CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS AND FACTS

• Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on The Ingraham Angle, and alleged that Dr. Anthony Fauci played a central role in moving dangerous “gain-of-function” virus research offshore to places like Wuhan.
  Trump Signs EO Restricting ‘Gain of Function’ Research That Enhances Pathogens

  
  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT
  

• Daniel Greenfield: Ending indoctrination is apparently the real indoctrination.
  “Your Education is Indoctrination, Their Indoctrination is Education.”
  
• The Lone Star State’s new billion-dollar, universal-eligibility voucher program shows that educational freedom has gone mainstream nationwide.
  Texas Marks a Milestone in the Battle Over School Choice
  
• University presidents can undo fear-based decisions they made during the years of Peak Woke.
  The Genius of Trump’s Attacks on the Ivy League

• “After interviewing multiple anonymous Stanford faculty, students, and China experts, the Review can confirm that the CCP is orchestrating a widespread intelligence-gathering campaign at Stanford,” the student newspaper revealed in a Wednesday X post.
  Investigation Alleges ‘Widespread’ Chinese Spying at Stanford U.

  DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY

  
  

• House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI), in a letter to the DOJ, said that ActBlue’s “concerning activities” could have a “direct effect on U.S. political campaigns and elections.”
  House Committee Chairs Brief Trump DOJ on Fundraiser ActBlue’s ‘Concerning Activities’

• Epstein, who pled guilty to sex charges in 2008, committed suicide while awaiting trial after he was arrested in 2019 on new charges. Kennedy asked Patel if he would see the release about what happened to Epstein in his lifetime during a hearing held by the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
  John Kennedy Asks Kash Patel Point-Blank If Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself

• Gallego narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake during the 2024 Senate election to replace the outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
  Senate Democrat Ruben Gallego ‘About to Knife the Crypto Community’ After Taking $10 Million from Pro-Crypto PAC

  CONFIRMATION HEARING News and Views

• Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC) said he opposed Martin’s nomination, whining about him defending a few Capitol Hill rioters.
  Trump Pulls Ed Martin Nomination for U.S. Attorney for D.C.

  POLITICS

• Famed Democrat strategist James Carville unleashed a blistering attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after her controversial comments about white men resurfaced on social media. The outspoken former Clinton advisor didn't mince words at Wednesday's Truth Tellers Summit, where he systematically demolished Omar's inflammatory rhetoric.
  James Carville Tells abro-FO Omar to Get Out of the Democrat Party
  
• Joe Biden’s fine, y’all. Totally with it. Not a puddle of mental goo at all. Just don’t watch this clip from The View if you still want to hold on to that fantasy.
  Asked About His Mental Decline, Biden Rambles Incoherently Before Jill Jumps In
  
• The former New York governor has said that anti-Semitism is his campaign’s most important issue.
  Andrew Cuomo Is Betting on Jewish Voters. But Do They Want Him as the Next Mayor?
  
• GOP gains in the wake of Trump’s victory shake up the Garden State governor’s race.
  Will Democrats’ Leftward Lurch Put New Jersey in Play This Year?

  
  AFTER POPE FRANCIS

• Same as the old Pope?
  Meet the New Pope
  
• The 267th pope is considered a moderate with views close to Pope Francis on several key issues.
  Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago, Considered a Moderate, Elected First American Pope
  
• His choice of names is a good sign.
  The new Pope Leo XIV gives us reasons to hope
  
• Daniel Greenfield: That's what this is about.
  The Only Reason for Picking an American Pope was to Fight Trump
  
• The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Prevost from Chicago, IL as the new pope.
  The First American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV
  
• Prevost’s election as a dual U.S.-Peruvian citizen shatters a long-standing bias against an American pope, potentially reshaping the Catholic Church’s global influence amid its 1.4 billion followers.
  The Pope Is American.
  
• Cardinal Robert F. Prevost was elected the 267th supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday by the College of Cardinals during a two-day conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. He will go by Pope Leo XIV.. . . The new pope inherits a spiritual flock of 1.39 billion Catholics and will likely need to address an increasingly secularized world, clerical sex abuses of minors and the fallout, as well as global conflicts, both armed and rhetorical.
  Cardinal Robert F. Prevost Elected 267th Supreme Pontiff Of Roman Catholic Church

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.
  Pakistan and India accuse each other of waves of drone attacks
  
• Daniel Greenfield: And Yemen’s Houthis used our money to go to war against us.
  U.S. Sent Billions in Famine Relief to Yemen. The Population Rose 30%
  
• As Preston Manning, one of Canada’s most influential public figures and a force for good, wrote, “Voters, particularly in central and Atlantic Canada, need to recognize that a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for Western secession—a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.” Unfortunately, it’s rather too late now. The people have misspoken. 
  Western Canada Puts the Rest of Canada on Notice

• “Simion represents a new and increasingly common type of political actor. . .The success of this strategy reveals the right’s conceptual limitations.”
  How the Establishment Is Domesticating Populism
  
• The United States has protected and bailed out Europe for far too long.
  80 Years After The Allies Won World War II, U.S. Taxpayers Are Funding European Authoritarianism
  
• Mock Trump all you like—but in the coming contest for the Arctic, it’s his map everyone will be using.
  President Trump’s Bold Statement: Greenland as America’s Strategic Imperative
  
• An anti-mullah Persian-American is furious about President Trump's move to rename the 'Persian Gulf' the 'Arabian Gulf' to please the region's sheiks and spite the Iranian mullahs.
  About that renaming of the 'Persian Gulf' ...

  DEFENSE, MILITARY, SECURITY AFFAIRS

• Fred Fleitz: Trump has ousted NSA Michael Waltz and tapped Marco Rubio as interim, signaling a businesslike, high-stakes push for loyalty, competence, and bold execution in national security.
  What President Trump Needs in His Next National Security Adviser

  ACTUAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

• SpaceIL had built Beresheet-1, which in 2019 successfully reached lunar orbit, only to crash when it attempted to soft land.
  Israeli non-profit suspends its effort to build a second Beresheet lunar lander
  
• The margin of error is still large, almost 9 hours before or after, which essentially means there is as yet no way to predict where it will fall.
  Updated prediction for uncontrolled re-entry of 1972 Soviet Venera lander now targets May 10th

  FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY

• Speaking in defense of HB 25-1312, which in part threatens to strip the custody rights of parents who refuse to “affirm” their child’s “gender identity,” bill sponsor Sen. Chris Kolker compared concerned parents to the Ku Klux Klan before saying he will be “accountable to almighty God” for “standing up for equality” - especially if he has to defend himself to “trans Jesus” one day.
  Colorado Democrat Says He'll Be Accountable to 'Trans Jesus' On Judgement Day
  
• Women have to walk around with "kid gloves on, and California won't protect women's sports, bathrooms, locker rooms, saunas, spas and other female spaces. It makes me angry inside."
  California's incarcerated women say 'keep men out of our prison'

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• “So, we’re having a baby? I mean, we, and also, I guess, Jesse,” Bella Ramsey’s character, Ellie, asks Isabela Merced’s character, Dina, in Episode 4 of the post-apocalyptic series’ Season 2, before adding, “So we’re all having a baby. Holy shit. I’m gonna be a dad.”
  HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Shows Lesbian Character Declaring, ‘I’m Gonna Be A Dad’
  
• The cabaret star imagines he’s actually in Cabaret.
  Michael Feinstein’s Auschwitz Envy
  
• This kind of ‘artwork’ is designed to denigrate and tear down western civilization for the purpose of seizing cultural and political power.
  The Statue Of The Random Black Woman In Times Square Is Leftist Cultural Warfare

  HITHER & YON

• After decades of drift and decline, a humbled America turns to Trump—renewed, resolute, and ready to reclaim its purpose under God.
  America Humbled
  
• Christian Toto: Vince Vaughn leads lovable cast in sweet and sappy fact-based tale
  ‘Nonnas’ – Now, That’s Italian

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  posted by J.J. Sefton at 07:10 AM
  
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