Greg Goebel is “Celebrating” That Babykiller Kamala is Biden’s VP Pick

Even before Kamala Harris was elected U. S. Senator from California, I noted her babykilling ways.  Probably worst of all was her voting against the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act as Senator, which would have required medical treatment of babies that survive late-term abortions.  She’s committed a lot of evil as a public official, but it’s hard to top that.

But before then as Attorney General she did try to punish David Daleiden for exposing Planned Parenthood, a major political donor to her, of course.  She even had his home raided for committing journalism.  I didn’t call her a feminazi for nothing.

But never mind the babykilling, the brazen attacks on the 1^st Amendment and much much more.  ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach’s Canon Greg Goebel is “celebrating the nomination of the first Black and South Asian woman as Vice President.” Because gender and ethnicity are so much more important than the lives of the unborn or of freedom of speech, don’t you know.

Yes, he actually uses “God’s image” to justify that.  He really goes there.  Using the image of God to celebrate the elevation of a babykiller.  

That is obscenity bordering on blasphemy. 

Again this is Foley Beach’s Canon in the Diocese of the South.

A Good Morning for Psalms 56 and 57

I never cease to be amazed how the appointed readings in the Book of Common Prayer can be so providential.  I was so amazed during personal Morning Prayer today when I saw Psalms 56 and 57 were appointed for the 11^th morning of the month.

These two psalms well describe the mob running rampant today.  They “goeth about to devour” those who dare say no to their evil.  “They be many” and control many/most of the big corporate and educational institutions.  They are tyrannical.  They twist and use people’s words against them.  They “speak lies,” and more.  

The actions and success of the mob of late certainly can alarm.  But…

Nevertheless, though I am sometime afraid, yet put I my trust in thee.
I will praise God because of his word; I have put my trust in God, and will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

These psalms comfort and strengthen in the midst of times such as this.  These psalms remind that God and his people, not predatory mobs, win in the end.  Being so reminded is needful as it takes courage to say and do what is right today when freedom of religion and freedom of speech is so under attack.

Thanks be to God that he knows well what we are going through and helps us providentially through his word and through the Book of Common Prayer.

Fascistbook

There really isn’t that much difference overall between fascism and communism.  Both are rather nasty totalitarian forms of socialism.  (Remember that the Nazis were the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.)

But there is one notable difference historically.  The instinct of Communists is to steal, that is “nationalize” everything.  Government takes over most or all industry (with predictably horrible results, of course.  Hence some forms of modern Communism are not that communist while still totalitarian.).  Fascists would rather most business and industry stay in place but collaborate and be tools of the government in suppressing basic freedoms and rights.  Some German companies are still trying to live down that history – Hugo Boss making those very fashionable uniforms for the SS, for example.

Which brings me to Fascistbook, I mean Facebook.  As openly admitted by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is responding to Democrat requests and taking down posts announcing peaceful protests against the coronavirus shutdowns.  Facebook is collaborating with tyrants by interfering with the Constitutional rights of Americans to peaceably assemble and protest.

You want to know what fascism in the United States looks like?  Tyrannical state governments and Fascistbook are showing us part of how it’s done.

Politicize All the Things!!

My memory is fuzzy on this, but I may have noted here the Left’s tendency to try to politicize everything.  Some even demand everything be politicized.  This is part of their totalitarian streak.

Yes, yes, there are non-Leftist extremists that can be that way, too.  But it is much more frequent from the Left.

This morning, I see an example both annoying and amusing from an alumni group I am in.  One alum, who constantly makes political posts from the Left, replied to an admin’s very polite insistence that the alum group was not the place for political posts with the following:

With all due respect to you, there are no spaces that are inappropriate for politics. Doing politics is an ethical demand which must be carried to ALL spaces and the idea that there are or should be spaces in which politics are inappropriate is complicity with fascism.

It is precisely in spaces *like this* where doing politics is most important.

He followed it up with this:

Spaces where people feel uneasy about politics are the spaces in which doing politics is most important.

We dont have time to play around any more. The fascists are in power and the jet stream is collapsing. Theres no time for polite company. [Punctuation and logic his.]

Well there you go.  If you want a little space or time apart from politics, you are complicit with fascism.

But it seems to me that it is rather “fascist” and even totalitarian to insist all spaces be politicized.  But that’s just me.

And isn’t it funny that many of the same people, who insist you listen to them at all times and in all places, shout down and even assault those that dare disagree with them.

So I suspect I am right that Leftist attempts to politicize all the things come from a totalitarian streak.

By the way, a reminder that this blog is decidedly less political than it used to be.  Political posts that are not that relevant to Anglicanism, Christianity, or other recurring subjects on this blog go to my sister blog on history and current events.  So if you just can’t get enough of my wisdom on politics, go there.

Clearly I do still occasionally post on political subjects on this blog.  But I am much more selective about that than I used to be.  

You’re welcome . . . or I’m sorry, whichever is appropriate.

Matt Kennedy Banned From Twitter

Many of my readers know Matt Kennedy as the Rector of Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd in upstate New York. Along with his wife, the almost famous author and blogger Anne, he is adept at sarcasm and very dry humor. More importantly, he is both measured and straight-spoken in what he says and writes.

But that is not good enough for Twitter. He is banned and is likely to remain so.  I will let Fr. Matt tell the story from his Facebook account:

Well, I've been suspended from Twitter for 12 hours. Remember the man posing as a woman and trying to force poor immigrant women working in spas to give him a "brazillian wax" treatment. 

Yep, that . . . whatever again.  

He tweeted that he had been victimized by women refusing to touch his genitals and I wrote the following under his tweet: "@trustednerd You are a man pretending to be a woman trying to force real women to touch your testicles. It is perverse and sickening. It has nothing to do with love. But you can be forgiven if you will forsake yourself and turn to Jesus who bled and died for sinners. He can heal you." And so, now I am suspended. So fascinating to see "progressives" defend, angrily I might add, an attempt by a man to legally force women to touch his reproductive organs. Here's the note from Twitter: "We've temporarily limited some of your account features. We have determined that this account violated the Twitter Rules. Specifically, for violating our rules against hateful conduct. You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease."

It’s not Matt Kennedy who is doing the harassing.  And to his credit, he is not backing down.

Update 1: They said I could lift the ban by removing the tweet or by appealing. I will not remove the tweet. So I appealed the banning. Here's what I wrote. They only gave me a limited number of characters: "a Canadian man is trying to legally force women to touch his genitals. I objected to this. I have no idea why this violates twitter standards." 

Let's see what happens.

Update 2: Here's what happened: 

"Thank you for your patience as we reviewed your appeal request for account, @lambeth98, regarding the following:

Matt Kennedy
@lambeth98
'@trustednerd You are a man pretending to be a woman trying to force real women to touch your testicles. It is perverse and sickening. It has nothing to do with love. But you can be forgiven if you will forsake yourself and turn to Jesus who bled and died for sinners. He can heal you."

Our support team has determined that a violation did take place, and therefore we will not overturn our decision.
You will not be able to access Twitter through your account due to violations of the Twitter Rules, specifically our rules around:
Violating our rules against hateful conduct

In order to restore account functionality, you can resolve the violations by logging into your account and completing the on-screen instructions."

Which are….

"By clicking the above button, you are removing the content of your Tweet and forgoing the option to appeal this violation. Please note that the original content will be replaced with a notice stating your Tweet is no longer available because it violated the Twitter Rules."

Now in case you do not already know that Fr. Matt is not one to back down, his conclusion is:

Yeah, no, that's not going to happen. 

I will update if anything new happens. But knowing Fr. Matt’s backbone and Twitter tyranny, I am not expecting any change.

Are we at Revelation 13:17?

When I was younger and more Dispensationalist, I took the Book of Revelation pretty literally.  I therefore expected Revelation 13:17 to be fulfilled by a world government requiring an actual mark or tattoo of some sort with those not submitting being unable to buy or sell.

Now with bar codes and the like (and with several governments making cash more and more unusable), such a literal fulfillment is certainly possible.  But I am beginning to wonder if a less literal fulfillment is happening now.  For both governments and corporations are making doing business more difficult for those who do not submit to lib/left cultural standards.  Robert Spencer of JihadWatch has been banned by Patreon and MasterCard.  The State of New York has made banking difficult for the National Rifle Association.  And this is for starters only.  Those in power, both government and corporate power, with totalitarian tendencies are making life more and more difficult for more and more of those determined to exercise their free speech against various Leftisms and Islam.

Jordan Peterson is so concerned about Patreon’s part in the attacks on free speech that he is leaving that platform.  His announcement of that also summarizes much of the current war on free speech. 

Bishop Gavin Ashenden has also noted the use of finance to attack free speech.  He, too, wonders if this is Revelation 13:17 happening today.  

And really such a less literal fulfillment is more likely. Why should “the Beast” bother with putting physical marks on everybody if invasive modern technology can be used more effectively to “deplatform” and defund those who refuse to submit? That certainly seems the direction the beast of tyranny seems to be going today in its attacks on free speech.

And remember this is not the first time corporations have been the willing tools of tyrants.  That is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany and what has been happening in China for years.

And now it’s beginning to happen even in the United States. Whether this is Revelation 13:17 or not, that should alarm.

To Combat Hate, YouTube Trusts . . . a Hate Group.

Well, I guess the Southern Poverty Law Center knows about hate.  They see it in the mirror every morning.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is assisting YouTube in policing content on their platform, The Daily Caller has learned.

The left-wing nonprofit — which has more recently come under fire for labeling legitimate conservative organizations as “hate groups” — is one of the more than 100 nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and government agencies in YouTube’s “Trusted Flaggers” program, a source with knowledge of the arrangement told TheDC.

The SPLC and other program members help police YouTube for extremist content, ranging from so-called hate speech to terrorist recruiting videos.

If this doesn’t heighten one’s concern about YouTube censorship, I refer you to this past post about the SPLC.  When it comes to hate and extremism, they can only be trusted to produce and legitimize the same.

Assaulting freedom of speech is a crime and should be treated as such.

Speaking of the instapundit, Glenn Reynolds has an excellent column up at USA Today.  He addresses attacks on free speech, particularly on college campuses.  And he suggests possible legal remedies.

Do read the whole thing – it’s not long – but I cannot let pass the clever beginning:

They told me if Donald Trump were elected, voices of dissent would be shut down by fascist mobs. And they were right!

Obama, Berkeley and Violent Attacks on Free Speech

Events in Berkeley two nights ago and NYU last night beg the question: when will Obama and other Leftist Democrats denounce violent attacks on free speech?

A few days ago, Obama said he was “heartened” by anti-Trump “protests” on immigration.  Let that sink in.  A corrupt Leftist former President, less than two weeks after a freely elected President is sworn in, encourages protests against the new President.

Is this America or a banana republic?

And Obama issued his statement after anti-Trump “protests” had already turned towards violence and attacking the rights of others, including blocking traffic.

Now that Leftist violence is escalating and is cheerleaded by numerous other Leftists, including Florida DemocRAT Congresswomen Val Demings, will Obama use his position for good for a change and step up and denounce violent riots and attacks on free speech?

. . . .

I’m waiting.  But I think I better not hold my breath.

NOTE: Speaking of breath, I am having an especially nasty allergy attack.  I hope it has not affected this post.

New Totalitarians in Action at Berkeley

Some may have thought me overwrought in the past in contending there is a deep totalitarian streak in today’s Leftists.  And maybe you’ve thought I’ve been too worked up when I’ve posted that campus totalitarian attacks on free speech demand that universities that do not defend free speech be stripped of federal funds.

But last night’s events at U. C. Berkeley practically made my arguments for me.  And guess who has gotten the message:

If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017

I lack time and energy at the moment, but is suffices to say the conduct by Leftists last night demands justice.  I find the following especially intolerable:

My friend was giving an interview when some coward peppersprayed her #Berkeley pic.twitter.com/CDpEqDsw2A

— janey (@janeygak) February 2, 2017

If there are not mass expulsions, then government should finally step in and defend free speech on campus.  No free speech?  No fed funds.

By the way, Fox Business is reporting at the moment that there have been no arrests.  None.  Disgusting if that is even close to accurate.

Which leads to an even bigger issue, violent "protest", really attacks and riots, including shutting down highways, must be punished severely.  Leftists must be made to understand that we respect their freedoms, but they damn well better start respecting ours or else.

An American’s Plea to the British: Please Brexit

I will start with several apologies.  As I’ve warned, studies prevent me from posting as fully and frequently as I would like, and this post will not be extensively linked or referenced.  Second, I fully realize that whether the UK leaves the EU is a decision for British to make, not this Texan.  So take this as a plea from the heart to my British friends.

The British, particularly the English, have given two great and related gifts to the world.  First, just being British.  Britain has a distinctive culture that is a delight to experience (at least for the most part).  Second, Britain has given to the world, perhaps more so than any nation, freedom under the rule of law.  (Yes, the UK perhaps excels the United States in that regard.  What was once was freedom under the rule of law in this country has grown from a British heritage, if a much altered one.)

Now, sadly, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and company jettisoned too much of these distinctives.  But a great deal still remains.   So why listen to Major, Blair, Brown and Cameron and throw the rest away by staying in the EU?

And do not let the Remain camp fool you.  The EU is no place for British culture or for freedom.  The EU is a profoundly anti-democratic institution and a pipeline for migrants who have no interest in furthering British culture.  Many really attack British culture and freedom as we’ve sadly seen.

And why would Britain put itself under the thumb of a German Chancellor who cares not one whit for the UK?  You suffered and fought a certain war to prevent that, and now you would do that voluntarily?

Now you may ask why should this nosy American care whether the UK stays British or stays in the EU. 

A big reason is fear.

I see my own country on the edge of throwing away its freedom, the rule of law, and the consent of the governed.  No matter who wins the election in November, we are close to making our Constitution a dead letter.  And we are close to being overwhelmed by people, foreign and domestic, who care not one whit for American civic culture or for American freedom under the rule of law, under our Constitution.

The irony is that the UK has no written Constitution, yet lately is doing a better job of following the rule of law than the U. S.

America used to be where people fled to be free.  If we go down the tubes, will there be anywhere left to flee?  I look around the world, and free countries are getting fewer and fewer.

And I have no confidence that the EU would allow Britain to remain either British or free.  Just the opposite.  The pattern of the EU has been to take more and more power to itself away from member countries, and that pattern will surely continue.  Already the EU is not a safe place, if you will, for freedom, particularly for free speech.

Another British gift to the world (if a very reluctant one) was a United States that was a beacon and a refuge for freedom.  I’m afraid us Americans are throwing that gift away.  We are becoming less a safe place for freedom as we tolerate and even welcome a New Totalitarianism and tear up more and more of our Constitutional rule of law under its dictates.

Will the UK remain a beacon and a refuge for freedom?  The UK was a buttress against totalitarianism under Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.  Will it be a buttress against a New Totalitarianism and against the noxious ideology of the EU that demands Britain cede democratic freedoms to unelected overseas bureaucrats?  

Please, the world needs more free places, not fewer and fewer.  The world needs a free, sovereign and British Britain. 

I cannot vote in the referendum and freely admit it is not my place to do so.  But I beg my British friends, for the sake of the U.K. and of the world, please vote Brexit.

Fed Judge Rules for Protecting Free Speech from Kamala Harris

Yes, I’ve been quiet this week.  I’ve been fighting off a virus or two, but am doing much better now.

I have some catching up to do, but want to present to you a ruling that protects, for now, the anonymity of donors to Americans for Prosperity.  California Attorney General Kamala Harris – yes, that feminazi again – sought to find out the names.

The ruling is worth reading in part because it itemizes several of the attacks and threats from Leftists against conservatives.  They move the judge to conclude, “this Court is not prepared to wait until an AFP opponent carries out one of the numerous death threats made against its members.”

This episode is quite an eye-opener on the predations of Leftist Brown Shirts . . . and on Leftist politicians like Kamala Harris who enable them.

She, of course, is appealing the ruling to the very liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Her political opposition must be harassed and crushed.

By the way, if you had conservative activists engaged in the numerous instances of attacks and harassment listed in the ruling, do you think the noos media would be so quiet about it?

War Between Twitter and Conservatives Just Got Real

I’ve warned that free speech, namely Right of Center speech, was in danger at Twitter.  Well the war between Twitter and conservatives on the matter of free speech just got real.

Over the weekend, Robert Stacy McCain was banned from Twitter for telling it like it is about a feminazi feminist member of Twitter’s new shiny Leftist “Trust and Safety Council.”  Then Twitter doubled down by banning his book promotion identity as well after it quickly gained followers.

For some, this is the last straw.  Ace (of Ace of Spades) is taking his content off twitter.

if you want to see my content you'll just have to go to my site. i'm not providing it to Twitter any longer @KetchupDoritos @instapundit

— The Scandalous DJT (@AceofSpadesHQ) February 22, 2016

And although I intend to make twitter ban me, I fully understand.

@AceofSpadesHQ I don't blame you. @nero is right - time for another Twitter where being right is legal. @KetchupDoritos @instapundit

— WannabeAnglican (@WannabeAnglican) February 23, 2016

Adam Baldwin and Larry Correia have also had enough and are “done with Twitter.”

Da Tech Guy is following this well. 

As for me, although I’m not leaving Twitter yet, I will reecho what @Nero has said – it is time for another Twitter that actually upholds free speech.

Oh, and isn’t it interesting that Twitter is shadowbanning and banning conservatives now that it’s an election year.

Report: Twitter is Shadowbanning the “Politically Inconvenient”

Near the beginning of this year, I posited the question: “Is free speech at Twitter in danger?”

I think we can now sadly answer, “Yes.”

Twitter is almost certainly using the practice of shadowbanning (Short definition: Suppressing an unfavored user’s content rather than directly banning him.) against “politically inconvenient” users.

For weeks, users have been reporting that tweets from populist conservatives, members of the alternative right, cultural libertarians, and other anti-PC dissidents have disappeared from their timelines.

Among the users complaining of shadowbans are sci-fi author and alt-right figurehead Vox Day, geek culture blogger “Daddy Warpig,” and the popular pro-Trump account Ricky Vaughn. . . .

The pattern of shadowban reports, which skews towards the alt-right, the populist right, and cultural libertarians, follows close on the heels of Twitter’s establishment of a “Trust and Safety Council” packed with left-wing advocacy groups, as well as Islamic research centre the Wahid Institute.

I’m afraid Milo Yiannopoulos is correct in concluding, “Users in search of a transparent, politically unbiased platform will soon have to find — or build — an alternative.”

And, again, I say this with sadness as a frequent tweeter myself.  Twitter once furthered free speech.  Now it is suppressing it.

Is free speech at Twitter in danger?

No, I do not want to jump to conclusions regarding the above question.  Yes, there are abusive twitter users who could use a good banning as at almost any popular social media platform.

Nonetheless, Twitter should be watched closely in 2016.  For they are implementing a stricter policy against abusive users.  And the question is whether definitions of “abuse” and “direct attacks” and the like will be used and twisted to ban legitimate speech, particularly by conservatives.  Such terms are easily manipulated.

For example, when I rightly call out #BlackLivesMatter or certain members of the same as #BlackRacists, will that be categorized by Twitter as “abuse” or a “direct attack”?

I doubt it.  But I would be naïve to ignore that a Social Justice Warrior mentality opposed to genuine free speech has infected society, including Twitter.  So, again, Twitter should be watched, particularly in this election year.

I am not alone in having this concern.

Your University Might Be Run By New Totalitarians If . . .

. . . If students find it necessary to take reasoned discussion underground.  That is the case at Brown.

Yes, I do think Brown is the sort of university that should be told to defend free speech or have its Fed funds cut off.

Defund the Campus New Totalitarians

This morning, I could enumerate further enormities from campus totalitarians at Missouri, Yale etc.   Believe me I could.  Instead, I propose a solution.

The Feds have long pressured universities with money.  A big reason the campus has suddenly become such an UNsafe space for young men with healthy heterosexual instincts is that the Obama Administration has pushed campus kangaroo courts – which, by the way, I warned you about over four years ago.

Since the Feds give universities so much money for student aid, research grants, art grants etc., it is time that is levered for good for a change.  Universities should be required to uphold and protect freedom of speech and freedom of religion on their campuses or else face a cut off of federal funds.

My proposal includes requiring universities to discipline faculty and students who commit fascist behavior such as “students” not permitting speakers to speak and professors grading down students with “incorrect” political views.

Universities who have a persistent history of attacks on the rights of non-Leftists would be required to correct that quickly with draconian measures or would have ALL fed funds cut off.

Trust me that respect for freedom of speech and freedom of religion and conscience would improve dramatically on campus.  Most universities do NOT want to lose their fed funds.

By the way, some readers may themselves give to their alma mater thinking they are giving to the beloved college of their younger years.

You might want to double-check that.  You may be appalled at what your school has become.  I once gave to Duke.  I do not give to the Duke of today.

A Totalitarian Speech Code

Yesterday, I briefly looked at the big picture of the New Totalitarianism on campus.  Today, I will focus on one instance of the same, the new speech code at the University of Missouri Law School.

One provision of the speech code is totalitarian practically by definition.  A characteristic of totalitarian countries is authorities pushing a duty to rat on those who express counter-revolutionary thoughts.  Such is the case in Cuba, North Korea, and Obamerica, and was the case in the Soviet Union.

So guess what the Missouri Law School speech code mandates.

…the officers of SBA [Student Bar Association, i. e. Law School students – Ed.] not only expect students to obey—they expect students to inform on other students who violate the policy:

It is the duty of each member of the SBA to report instances of possible non-compliance with this policy to the Vice-President of the SBA-all reports will be kept anonymous and in confidence.

Note that the speech code was written by the law school students themselves.

These are the New Totalitarians who will be future judges.