Posts Tagged ‘datechguy's magnificent seven’

The Biden Regime’s war on the Free Exercise of Religion accelerates

Posted: April 13, 2023 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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Progressives, and other Leftists, have long detested all forms of Christianity.  This is because all ideologies of the political left are religions in themselves.  Unlike the different denominations of Christianity, the ideologies of the left are political religions. This makes them more akin to Islam.  Because progressivism is a political religion, it cannot exist peacefully with other religions.

Joe Biden, and those pulling his marionette strings, are all hardcore leftists.  Because of this they seek to banish all forms of Christianity from the public square.  Soon after being installed in the White House, the Biden regime began waging a war against the religions they detest.  The latest major battle in this war began at the beginning of Holy Week when, under the direction of the Biden Regime, Walter Reed National Military Medical center jettisoned Catholic Priests serving as chaplains.

In a move that has stunned Catholics and religious freedom advocates, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. issued a “cease and desist order” just before Holy Week to a community of Franciscan Catholic priests from Holy Name College that had been serving servicemembers and their families at the center for almost two decades.

On April 7, the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) announced that Walter Reed issued the order on March 31, just as the most sacred week of the year for Christians was beginning. AMS noted that the contract for providing Catholic Pastoral Care was instead awarded to a secular defense contracting firm that does not have the capacity to offer Catholic pastoral services such as Mass and confession, which can only be administered by an ordained priest. AMS further pointed out that without the services of the Franciscan priests, there would be only one other Catholic priest assigned to Walter Reed, an Army chaplain who is currently “in the process of separating from the Army.”

This unprecedented move sparked outrage amongst the Catholic hierarchy.

Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio was perplexed by Walter Reed’s decision and expressed concern that it would infringe on the ability of Catholic servicemembers and their families to freely exercise their faith while at the center.

“It is incomprehensible that essential pastoral care is taken away from the sick and the aged when it was so readily available,” he said. “This is a classic case where the adage ‘if it is not broken, do not fix it’ applies. I fear that giving a contract to the lowest bidder overlooked the fact that the bidder cannot provide the necessary service. I earnestly hope that this disdain for the sick will be remedied at once and their First Amendment rights will be respected.”

The Archbishop is absolutely correct.  The Free Exercise of Religion clause of  the First Amendment guarantees all Americans the right to worship as they please.  Progressives claim that Establishment clause of the First Amendment created a separation of Church and state.  This is absolute fiction.  That clause only prevents the United States from declaring an official state religion.

AMS said that despite numerous appeals to Walter Reed by their general counsel Elizabeth A. Tomlin to reinstate the priests at least through Holy Week, they received no response from the medical center.

“Especially during Holy Week, the lack of adequate Catholic pastoral care causes untold and irreparable harm to Catholics who are hospitalized and therefore a captive population whose religious rights the government has a constitutional duty to provide for and protect,” 

This move is only the latest attack on the free exercise of religion.

Additionally, in September of last year, the administration issued a rule mandating that Veterans Affairs medical facilities carry out abortions as well as provide abortion counseling. When a Christian nurse practitioner requested a religious accommodation on two occasions from having to participate in abortions, she was denied. She is now filing suit against the hospital for placing a substantial burden on her sincerely held religious beliefs.

And here is one more from Louder With Crowder

The Weaponization of Government Committee obtained information from the FBI revealing the agency had sent undercover agents into Catholic churches to investigate them for domestic extremism. Yes, into churches. Jim Jordan wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, “Based on the limited information produced by the FBI to the Committee, we now know that the FBI relied on at least one undercover agent to produce its analysis and that the FBI proposed that its agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to develop sources among the clergy and church leadership to inform on Americans practicing their faith.”

This rather despicable episode also violates the Fourth Amendment. We do not live in a police state.  Actually that is not accurate anymore.  Progressives have now disgracefully turned the US into a police state.

A classified duh

Posted: April 8, 2023 by navygrade36bureaucrat in in Ukraine, war
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It now looks like our very secret plans concerning Ukrainian movements and some of our weapons capabilities have been leaked online. Here’s a link from the Japan Times (it does NOT contain any photos of the documents, which I won’t share):

The scale of the leak — analysts say more than 100 documents may have been obtained — along with the sensitivity of the documents themselves, could be hugely damaging, U.S. officials said. A senior intelligence official called the leak “a nightmare for the Five Eyes,” in a reference to the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the so-called Five Eyes nations that broadly share intelligence.

First, ANY leak of classified data causes a nightmare for our allies. Many of them share very sensitive data with us, which requires them to trust the U.S. to treat their data seriously. When you break that trust, those allies hesitate to share data in the future. This makes it really hard to build comprehensive war plans with them, or to cooperate in general.

Now, leaks happen, both in the U.S. and by our allies, so the response to these leaks is the important part. Given that the leaks involved information stamped “Top Secret,” its not going to take the government too long to figure out who leaked it. Here’s the kicker though…what is going to happen because of it?

When I wrote a while back about the Hillary Clinton leaks and everyone treating it as “no big deal,” I was most concerned that not punishing her would essentially excuse other people to leak classified data in the future. If you’re some mediocre bureaucrat that gets to handle classified material, and you see your boss get away with leaking it, then why not leak your material to further your own agenda?

My bet is that the DoD will either find the person, who will be some mid-range bureaucrat in the intelligence community that will, at best, be removed from his or her position, or they won’t find anyone at all, which will likely mean the person that leaked it is too connected to punish. Our allies will hesitate for a while on sharing, and China and Russia will use this as an excuse to say its proof we’re really “at war” and to excuse further transgressions on their part.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency. Don’t forget to donate to DaTechGuy or purchase one of the author’s books!

Deconstructionism is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the Political Left

Posted: April 6, 2023 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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Progressives here in the United States have been working tirelessly since the mid 1960s to tear down all of the institutions and philosophies that served as the bedrock of this nation.  They employed a philosophical wrecking ball that was based on the writings of Karl Marx, who firmly believed in tearing down and destroying all that was traditional, all that led to prosperity, or all that led to freedom for individuals.

That philosophical wrecking ball is known as deconstructionism.  It is the dismantling of all political philosophies that are built upon individualism, which is the polar opposite of the collectivism espoused by Karl Marx.

Deconstructionists first endeavored to destroy the fundamental truths that give reality its structure.  Marxists do not believe in objective truth.  They believe that all reality is malleable.   If reality is malleable then people are extremely malleable.

Next they worked at destroying language.  Words no longer have fixed meanings.  Only the meanings assigned by the reader, not the author have any value.  All words that progressives deemed offensive were erased under the banner of political correctness.

United States history drew the full wrath of  deconstructionists because this nation, which was the freest and most prosperous that ever existed for over 150 years, was built on a foundation of individual liberty.  Slavery, which was an evil practiced by every nation and culture at the time of America’s founding, became our Original Sin, a sin that erased all good that we ever accomplished.  A sin that only we bore any blame for.

Next up on the chopping block was science. All fundamental scientific truths were dismantled.   Climate change started as a pseudo science.  Now it is the de facto religion of the left.  Biological sex has been replaced by gender fluidity.

The political left has run amok with this deconstructionism unchecked for too many decades.  It is most likely too late to repair the damage. We surrendered the culture war to them and now we are paying a very hefty price.

Easy street for electric vehicles

Posted: April 4, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

When an industry needs federal subsidies, it’s almost certain that businesses are in trouble.

That’s precisely the state of affairs for the electric car industry.

Here in Pennsylvania, the federal and state governments plan to build “alternative fuel corridors” along the interstates, sucking millions of dollars into an industry that should be self-sufficient.

Think gasoline stations. Was there ever a time that gas stations needed federal subsidies?

But Joe Biden plans to spend $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations nationwide. The federal government gives money to Pennsylvania and the other states to distribute, and a second pot of discretionary funding will come straight from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Pennsylvania will receive $171.5 million for electric vehicle charging over the next five years under the program. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is preparing to open grant applications for the first year of funding for about $24.5 million.

We all know that the cost will exceed $7.5 billion because government programs never come under budget.

Here’s an idea: Since Elon Musk has already built an extensive charging system for his Teslas, I would wager he’d create a less costly and more efficient plan than any government.

Silly me! I forgot Musk has the wrong kind of politics!

But there’s more. More money will be needed to subsidize the electric car industry.

Ford’s electric vehicle business lost $2.1 billion in 2022 and has projected $3 billion in losses for 2023. When a company loses that much money, it’s likely to lean on governments for subsidies.

Those losses came despite government rebates for buyers of up to $7,500 and a significant increase in the number of vehicles bought.

All told, Ford plans to spend $50 billion by 2026 on electric vehicles.

Alternatively, the company’s gas-powered business, which it is calling Ford Blue, and its commercial and government fleet, Ford Pro, generated $6.8 billion and $3.2 billion in adjusted income in 2022, respectively.

Biden has made the electric vehicle industry a cornerstone of his executive policy—a policy that includes “voluntary” standards through which he expects half of all new cars to be electric by 2026 and to achieve fuel-efficiency standards of 55 miles per gallon during the same period.

Finally, the electric vehicle “revolution” neglects flyover country for the most part. EVs work fine in balmy climates, where owners drive long distances and have good weather for much of the year.

Simply put, EVs need more frequent charging in Pennsylvania than in California.  

Here’s some sage advice from James Meigs, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the former editor of Popular Mechanics.

“Governments generally aren’t very good at picking the technologies of tomorrow. Maybe the car of the future will run on batteries; maybe it will be hydrogen fuel cells, maybe it will be super-efficient combustion engines. Nobody knows for sure, least of all state and federal bureaucrats,” he wrote recently. “Instead of limiting our choices, our leaders should let innovation flourish and let Americans drive what they want.”

Amen! 

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