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Cardinal Tells Catholics Who Protest Pope to Become Protestants Gualtiero Bassetti's outburst hints at Francis' concern with new Catholic media PERUGIA, Italy (ChurchMilitant.com) Italy's chief archbishop lashed out at critics of Pope Francis on the feast of Saint Francis de Sales, asking them to make "other choices" and become Protestants if they are unhappy with the policies of the present pontiff.  "Our Protestant brethren have neither the pope nor the bishop — everyone makes his own choices. I told someone they could make the choice of becoming Protestant if you don't like the Catholic Church, if this boat is too narrow," Cdl. Gualtiero Bassetti, president...

Paul Krugman slammed President Trump for threatening 25% tariffs on European vehicles and auto parts as they posed potential risks to national security. The Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist also criticized Trump's refusal to turn over to Congress a report about an investigation into the national-security risks. "Pretty sure that's just plain illegal," Krugman tweeted. "Congress ... didn't make him a dictator free to set tariffs wherever he likes without even offering an explanation."

If recent polls are any indication, Sen. Bernie Sanders is surging in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination. According to a CNN poll out this week, the Vermont independent has reached a statistical tie with Joe Biden for first place nationally. In New Hampshire, meanwhile, a WBUR survey shows the self-described democratic socialist with a 12-point lead. Polls vary, but Sanders is clearly winning over many Democratic primary voters. At every stage in his adult life, Sanders has been an unabashed apologist for communism, an evil ideology with a body count of 100 million people dead in its wake....

A special election Tuesday for a seat in the Texas state House is being closely watched for early glimpses into just how competitive the delegate-rich state might be in the presidential election — and how critical suburban voters might trend in November. Democrat Eliz Markowitz, an education specialist, faces Republican Gary Gates, a self-funded businessman, in Tuesday’s runoff to replace Rep. John Zerwas, a moderate Republican who is not running for re-election. Markowitz, the only Democrat in the race, won 39.1 percent of the vote in the November election. Gates received 28.4 percent, while three other Republicans split the remainder...

White House officials described the plan as realistic and said Israel is prepared to act. According to White House officials, the plan calls for a two-state solution including the state of Israel and the "future" state of Palestine. Under the plan, the Palestinians would have to reach certain benchmarks to achieve a state. Those benchmarks include rooting out terrorism, stopping what they call “pay to slay,” implementing steps toward free speech, and other political reforms.

China’s recent activities in the South China Sea, which include bullying Vietnam and Malaysia over ocean drilling and ramming Philippine fishing vessels near Scarborough Shoals, top the list of Asian security concerns, a panel of experts said last week. “China is in the driver’s seat” in the region since it has completed its island-building campaign on coral reefs that can support the persistent deployment of coast guard and paramilitary vessels to back up territorial claims, Gregory Poling, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said Wednesday during the CSIS Asia Forecast 2020 panel...

Meanwhile, be aware in the coming media swamp of diversions, that the Democrats and Media would do anything to illegally remove Donald Trump from office Warning: President Donald Trump removal-obsessed Democrats have reached new totalitarian heights. Deliberately, all Big 3 networks ABC, CBS and NBC—the same Big 3 who gave LIVE saturation coverage to the Democrats shut-door ‘Impeachment Trial’—blacked out Trump defense lawyer Pam Bondi’s presentation yesterday afternoon of Ukraine corruption related to Joe Biden, son Hunter and Burisma. That CNN and MSNBC aired Pam Bondi’s report at the Senate trial was a convenient way to make it appear as...

Last week, President Trump triggered the left when he tweeted a Photoshopped picture that portrayed former President Barack Obama perched midair outside Trump Tower, binoculars and listening device in hand.The liberal outlet Vox condemned the president for his “increasingly bad tweets,” before declaring “there’s no evidence the Obama administration spied on Trump.” Vox then regurgitated the false narrative that, while the FBI did surveil former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page, “that didn’t happen until after Page left the campaign.” For years, conservatives tried to correct the record, noting that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order gave the...

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders' White House bid and some Democratic National Committee members are frustrated with some initial appointments made by DNC Chairman Tom Perez to the crucial committees that will oversee the rules and party platform at this summer’s presidential nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wis. Their frustration comes after Perez named former Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts – who was a surrogate for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign -- as co-chair of the convention’s Rules Committee. And Perez picked John Podesta – who served as Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager – to have a seat on the committee.

Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Monday took a shot at Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz over his legal arguments against the impeachment of President Donald Trump, branding his remarks as “nonsensical.” “His characterization of the law simply is unsupported. He is a criminal law professor who stood in the well of the Senate and talked about how law never inquires into intent and that we should not be using the president’s intent as part of understanding impeachment,” said Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, according to The Hill. “Criminal law is all about intent. Mens...

I am in awe of our president. I was not a big Trump fan before the election. In the end I did vote for him and have never looked back. With everything against him, no other man would ever be able to do what this man does. He fights the media. He fights the courts. He fights the democrats. He fights the republicans. The economy is at unheard of heights. When he wins he gets no credit for winning. He has won on immigration. He has won on foreign policy. I am truly awed watching him announce a Middle East...

The ink was barely dry on headlines announcing Kobe Bryant’s sudden death in a helicopter crash Sunday before Twitter started buzzing with reminders about the 2003 rape allegations against him.Just hours after news broke about the crash, which also killed Bryant’s 13-year old daughter and seven others, Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez tweeted a link to a 2016 Daily Beast story recounting the 17-year-old rape case.In a series of follow-up tweets (now deleted) Sonmez unintentionally captured the depressing zero-sum spirit of woke cancel culture, writing, “Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality even if that public figure...

A federal court has ruled Arizona Republicans’ ban on mail-in ballots is illegal and unconstitutional, calling it intentionally discriminatory toward people of color, who already face increased barriers to voting. The ruling is a major victory for the Democratic party, which filed the suit, and will likely make it easier for minorities to get their ballots counted in the largely red state. Four years ago, Arizona Republicans made it a felony, punishable by prison time, for third-party groups to collect mail-in ballots during elections – a process often called “ballot harvesting.” Marginalized communities in the state may rely more on...

A leftover from late last week that's worthy of some extra attention, if only to demonstrate the gulf separating the elite media from much of the country over the issue of impeachment.  Interest is low, as a deeply-polarized and evidently-exhausted electorate remains torn over Democrats' partisan maneuvering and the president's conduct.  The Bolton development we covered yesterday represents a dramatic curveball in DC, which may have an unpredictable impact on the trial and public opinion, but a fresh (pre-Bolton) national survey from the Washington Post and ABC News -- a consistently Trump-unfriendly polling series -- finds that as the president...

Retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz gave what may be the most persuasive case against impeaching President Donald Trump while in the well of the U.S. Senate on Monday evening. Speaking as a representative of Trump's defense team, the lifelong liberal Democrat urged senators to not "let the feelings about one man, strong as they may be, cause irreparable damage" to the fate of other presidents. "Passion and fears of the moment must not blind us," he pleaded. Giving a clinic on the history of impeachment in a matter-of-fact and understandable way, Dershowitz explained the derivation of the idea of...

In the former Vice-President's addled brain, "drunk driving isn't really a crime we should be deporting people for. Many members of Congress have gotten behind the wheel of a car when they shouldn't have. Fortunately, we have immunity from arrest going to and from our duties in Congress. I don't see any good reason why newcomers from foreign lands shouldn't have the same right. That would be the democratic thing to do. I mean, it's not as if they are any worse than the average American citizen." However, statistics do not support Biden's perception. The so-called "dreamers," for which President...

A flight carrying U.S. diplomats, family members and other Americans out of Wuhan, China, as a potentially deadly form of coronavirus continues to spread is expected to land at Ontario International Airport Wednesday. About 240 U.S. citizens, including nine children, will be screened for symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus before boarding the plane in China, according to a statement from David Wert, a public information officer for San Bernardino County. The flight, chartered by the U.S. government, is expected to leave Tuesday night before stopping in Anchorage, Alaska, to refuel. Passengers will again be screened before the plane continues on...

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders' White House bid and some Democratic National Committee members are frustrated with some initial appointments made by DNC Chairman Tom Perez to the crucial committees that will oversee the rules and party platform at this summer’s presidential nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wis. Their frustration comes after Perez named former Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts – who was a surrogate for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign -- as co-chair of the convention’s Rules Committee. And Perez picked John Podesta – who served as Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager – to have a seat on the committee. The...

During the 2016 presidential election, I had the feeling that Barack Obama was not very enthusiastic about the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. His rare rallies in support of Hillary were not energetic enough and were held in the same style. Obama told the audience about the successes of his administration, and in the end, he casually introduced Hillary and asked supporters to vote for her in the election. It seemed that he was simply fulfilling his duties to the party but would have preferred to spend time elsewhere. A hypothesis was formed in my head that, in reality, Obama did...