Washington State Lawmakers Confirm They're Anti-Church

By James Hirsen, NY Times Bestselling Author, International Business Attorney, News Analyst & Cultural Commentator

The State of Washington recently passed a law that requires religious clergy to report information to authorities, even when the information is obtained during the centuries-old rite of Confession. Although there are other legal ramifications to the new law, of particular significance is the reporting of information involving the sexual abuse of a child that is obtained during the sacramental rite. Under the new legislation, clergy are required under penalty of law to report to authorities information that is acquired within the sacred walls of a confessional. In my legal assessment, this new law is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and selective in that it exempts from compelled testimony an aunt or uncle, an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) sponsor, a union representative, and an extensive list of others receiving confidential communication. Catholic priests, on the other hand, are left exposed to be subpoenaed. [more...]

6-10-25 Great Guests for Your Show

1. John Lott: Biden Made Communities Less Safe by Forcing DEI on Police and Fire Departments

2. Todd Sheets: How Can We Get Foreign Relations Back on Track?

3. Kerry Lutz: We Predicted the Immigration Riots (George Floyd 2.0) - But This Time, TrumpGPT is Ready

4. Daniel Greenfield: Jihadists Show Up to Attack ICE in LA

5. Judd Dunning: U.S. Still Welcomes Legal Immigrants with Merit

6. Robert Spencer: LA Rioters Want to Be Feared

7. Kenneth Rapoza: Overregulation and Foreign Competition Dominate House Hearing on U.S. Seafood

Biden Made Communities Less Safe by Forcing DEI on Police and Fire Departments

By John Lott, Worldwide Expert on Guns & Crime

The Trump administration has taken steps to free police and fire departments from the Biden administration's onerous consent decrees.

The Trump administration has dropped the Biden administration's push for onerous consent decrees on police and fire departments. These legal settlements micromanaged police operations and mandated DEI-based hiring and promotion practices. "These radical requirements seem disconnected from how police departments actually work," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon on Friday. "They tie officers' hands and make communities less safe." [more...]

How Can We Get Foreign Relations Back on Track?

By Todd Sheets, Author of 2008: What Really Happened

A simple framework for a system based on "putting your money where your mouth is" and a discussion of recent developments with Russia, Iran and China. The Trump administration is correct that it's time for a global reset in our trading and defense relationships. In addition to resolving our own financial problems and unleashing our economy, we should isolate our enemies while also working constructively and cooperatively to create balanced, sustainable and mutually beneficial trading and defense relationships with our allies. Today we face important challenges, but none that are greater than those we have overcome time and again throughout our storied history. [more...]

We Predicted the Immigration Riots (George Floyd 2.0) - But This Time, TrumpGPT is Ready

By Kerry Lutz, Host of Financial Survival Network

Minneapolis is once again the flashpoint, along with LA and many others. Another questionable police interaction. Another viral video. Another round of "spontaneous" riots...  that just so happen to be perfectly timed. This isn't a grassroots movement; this is a coordinated political operation designed to destabilize the country in the weeks leading up to mass deportations. Trump has already signed the executive orders. The California National Guard has been federalized and deployed. Anti-terror forces are pre-positioned in all major sanctuary zones. And TrumpGPT was more than three steps ahead the whole time. [more...]

Jihadists Show Up to Attack ICE in LA

By Daniel Greenfield, Author of Domestic Enemies

Before the open borders' riots, LA leftists and Jihadists were able to freely terrorize UCLA, assault a synagogue and a Holocaust museum while going virtually unpunished. Their connections to the ruling elite were such that the Board of Supervisors voted to pay the legal bills of the UCLA thugs who assaulted Jewish students and community members, and the only people charged in the antisemitic riots were Jews who defended themselves. Now that same network pivoted to attack ICE. Some of them are waving Mexican flags, but others are wearing Hamas and PFLP gear. Graffiti includes attacks on ICE, but also on "Zionists." [more...]

U.S. Still Welcomes Legal Immigrants with Merit

By Judd Dunning, Talk Show Host, Bestselling Author

Where ICE is locked out of schools, cartels control neighborhoods, and American law no longer applies. As Trump calls for the National Guard to the L.A. ICE protests, L.A. spirals into chaos. Anchor-baby funding scams, fentanyl flows and foreign flags fly where U.S. sovereignty used to stand. This isn't immigration... it's surrender. I just returned from Italy. Stunning country. Culture, history, architecture - it's everything. But I followed their laws. You break their border laws, they throw you out. And rightly so. Yet in America, our laws, our borders are being violated daily without consequence. Why? [more...]

LA Rioters Want to Be Feared

By Robert Spencer, Author of Antisemitism: History and Myth

The rioters in Los Angeles have decided, as leftists and their jihadi allies so often do, to take the path of terror. They are trying to frighten the public into being too afraid to oppose the mass migration of unvetted people into the United States, as well as too afraid to support deporting all these illegal migrants. They want to terrorize the Trump administration and the public into accepting that the migrants are here to stay, or else. They’re doing this because the migrants are essential to the left's power base. If Trump succeeds in deporting a vast number of illegal migrants, Democrat states will suffer a significant decline in population, which means a significant decline in political power. Accordingly, CA Gov Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have come out strongly in favor of the rioters and against Trump, insisting that he is acting like a dictator in calling out the National Guard to quell the unrest, and declaring that they're going to do everything they can to ensure that the migrants stay. [more...]

Overregulation and Foreign Competition Dominate House Hearing on U.S. Seafood

By Kenneth Rapoza, Reporter/Columnist for Coalition for a Prosperous America

At a June 4 hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee's Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee, lawmakers and industry representatives expressed growing frustration with what they described as an overregulated domestic seafood industry that is steadily losing ground to foreign competition. Democrats mostly led on the discussion over budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with Rep. Dave Min (D-CA-47) taking what has become the standard Party response on trade matters. He came out against tariffs as a solution to the problems. [more...]

TrumpGPT - The AI Battle Plan

By Kerry Lutz, Host of Financial Survival Network

What if I told you that the comeback of Donald J. Trump in 2025 wasn't just the result of voter frustration, election momentum, or a series of lucky breaks? What if it was the result of a battle plan - AI-generated, gamed out, and executed with machine precision? The whispers began long before the election. Behind the scenes, a team of rogue technologists and political operatives worked with models not unlike GPT-4, trained not only on publicly available data but on deep simulations of political outcomes, psychological responses, legal pathways, and sociocultural tipping points. The objective? Prepare for every possible countermove. They knew the election would be contested. They knew indictments were coming. They knew mainstream media narratives would be weaponized. And they planned for all of it. [more...]

6-3-25 Expert Guests for Your Show

1. Todd Sheets: The Way Forward - From Consensus to Confusion

2. Kenneth Rapoza: Trump's Playbook May Be Tossed, But Higher Tariffs are Here to Stay - One Way or Another

3. Daniel Greenfield: Muslim Terrorist Tried to Burn Alive Elderly People Marching for Israeli Hostages

4. Judd Dunning: The Truth about COVID Vaccines is Finally Catching On

5. Lord Conrad Black: Carney Continues on a Path of Mindless Globalism

6. Robert Spencer: Boulder Terrorist Shows Why Leftists Love Jihadis

7. Greg Rabidoux: Is Harvard Still Committed to Veritas?

The Way Forward - From Consensus to Confusion

By Todd Sheets, Author of 2008: What Really Happened

President Trump's agenda is entering into a critical phase as his administration: 1) contemplates what to do with Russian, which keeps expressing an interest in peace talks even as it escalates war in Ukraine; 2) considers what to do about a trade agreement with China that suddenly seems to be at risk of collapsing; 3) tries to disable Iran's nuclear ambitions; and 4) works to negotiate new trade relationships with our friends even as we rethink our military alliances. It's safe to say that enacting the president's foreign policy agenda is proving more difficult than expected. [more...]

Trump's Playbook May Be Tossed, But Higher Tariffs are Here to Stay - One Way or Another

By Kenneth Rapoza, Reporter/Columnist for Coalition for a Prosperous America

Is Trump's trade strategy in limbo? Yes, but 'Tariff Man' has options. The question now is not whether Trump can revive his strategy - but how far he's willing to go to finish what he started. The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in New York City unanimously decided last week that President Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs was illegal, based on their reading of that law. But then, a higher federal court decided that the tariffs would remain as it reviews this case on appeal. So, where does 'Tariff Man' go from here? Trump has options. [more...]

 

Muslim Terrorist Tried to Burn Alive Elderly People Marching for Israeli Hostages

By Daniel Greenfield, Author of Domestic Enemies

The last two pro-Hamas terrorist attacks - the arson at Gov. Shapiro's mansion and the murder of two people at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. - were carried out by leftists. But actual Muslim terrorists weren't going to be left out. Shortly after the media pushed a Hamas hoax of an Israeli massacre at an aid distribution site and on the eve of a Jewish holiday, Mohammed Soliman attacked a group of people holding a 'Run for Their Lives' walk to bring attention to hostages held captive by Islamic terrorists. Islamic terrorism is always with us. The particular vectors may change, but the underlying reality is that it's cruel, vicious and evil. [more...]

The Truth about COVID Vaccines is Finally Catching On

By Judd Dunning, Talk Show Host, Bestselling Author

COVID didn't just damage our health system; it decimated our economy — and gutted the soul of the American work ethic. Entire office sectors collapsed as we created a new entitled class of remote workers, many of whom no longer serve their company, country, or community — only their own comfort. We saw a rise in anti-patriotism, self-centered labor activism, and a total abandonment of the JFK spirit: We forgot that true Americanism means putting your family, your team, and yes, your employer ahead of personal convenience. That spirit built this nation — not the soft, shrinking mentality of "me first" that's infected so many since 2020. Even the federal government is retreating from its own COVID narrative. HHS just dropped its recommendation for routine vaccination in children and pregnant women. Why? Because the science was never settled — and the truth is finally catching up. [more...]

Carney Continues on a Path of Mindless Globalism

By Lord Conrad Black, Author of The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol II

Despite all the nationalistic noises of the new federal government, we appear to be plodding on in the mindless globalism of the preceding Liberal government. It was pleasing to hear the King assure us on the advice of the prime minister that Canada was moving into an era of greater strength and unity. Handing authority over pandemic preparedness to a front organization for the People’s Republic of China is not the best first step in charging out of the starting blocks toward this promised era of greater purposefulness. [more...]

Boulder Terrorist Shows Why Leftists Love Jihadis

By Robert Spencer, Author of Antisemitism: History and Myth

Why do leftists and Islamic jihadis love each other so much? Two terrorists have recently shown us anew. As Mohamed Sabry Soliman started throwing Molotov cocktails at the elderly Jews who were peacefully demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado to call upon Hamas to release its Israeli hostages, he repeatedly screamed "Free Palestine." This cry has already echoed off the hallowed halls of our nation's great universities, courtesy of far-left agitators who have done their best to make campus life miserable for Jewish and pro-Israel students ever since Oct. 7, 2023. [more...]

Is Harvard Still Committed to Veritas?

By Greg Rabidoux, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Author & Cultural Commentator

As Harvard students and faculty defend their school against Trump's efforts to eliminate antisemitism on its hallowed campus, one truth is inescapable -they brought it upon themselves. For curiosity, learning, and growth to occur, these campuses must be free of intimidation, coercion, retaliation, and of course, violence of any kind. And Harvard has been one of the biggest violators of betraying this sacred trust in learning for decades now. Along with Columbia University, both have had its hand out for so long, saying yes to every wealthy extremist, radicalistic, anti-American donor there is, they forgot that it's okay to say no and stay true to your core mission and why you got a tax-exempt status in the first place... which is a privilege not a right, by the way. Harvard and its faculty got into the business of training radicalized activists because it seems that's who was paying the bill. [more...]

5-27-25 Excellent Guests for Your Show

1. Todd Sheets: The Big Beautiful Bill Passes

2. Kenneth Rapoza: China Solar, Once Biggest Beneficiary of Inflation Reduction Act, No Longer Qualifies

3. Kerry Lutz: Bitcoin Nears $107K – But This May Not Be the Top

4. Greg Rabidoux: Is Harvard Still Committed to Veritas?

5. Daniel Greenfield: America Props Up An Al Qaeda Terror State

6. Lord Conrad Black: End of Ukraine War Would Be a Chance to Resolve Long-Deferred Strategic Matters Between United States, Europe and Canada

7. John Lott: Crime Rates of Illegal Immigrants Underreported

8. James Hirsen: Comey's Stumble on the Beach

The Big Beautiful Bill Passes

By Todd Sheets, Author of 2008: What Really Happened

President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson achieved a milestone accomplishment with the passage of legislation that will preserve the tax cuts from Trump 1.0. The Senate will now take up the bill, with a goal of delivering a final version for Trump’s signature this summer. Combined with the preliminary Geneva agreement on Chinese tariffs and his successful trip to the Middle East, this announcement helps build momentum for the Trump agenda of reinvigorating growth through reduced taxes, deregulation, trade, energy independence, and efficiency. The recent increase in Treasury bond yields reflects the fact that there is still important work to do on the spending side of the equation, but the best chance to work our way out of our serious financial problems is through economic growth, and avoiding a draconian tax increase is critical in this regard. [more...]

China Solar, Once Biggest Beneficiary of Inflation Reduction Act, No Longer Qualifies

By Kenneth Rapoza, Reporter/Columnist for Coalition for a Prosperous America

Under the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” as passed by the House, Chinese solar companies will no longer qualify for renewable energy tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Congress previously had barred benefits under the CHIPS Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL) from flowing to so-called "foreign entities of concern" (FEOCs), defined as the governments of the "countries of concern" being China, Russian, North Korea, and Iran, and companies with defined relationships with those governments. [more...]

Bitcoin Nears $107K – But This May Not Be the Top

By Kerry Lutz, Host of Financial Survival Network

As Bitcoin approaches record highs, investors are asking the same question they asked in 2017 and 2021: Is this another top? I called both of those previous peaks - not with hype, but with the help of Martin Armstrong's Economic Confidence Model, which has guided my market timing for over a decade. But as I am preparing to attend the upcoming Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, I'm not sounding the alarm. This time, the signals are different. Let's explore why... [more...]

Is Harvard Still Committed to Veritas?

By Greg Rabidoux, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Author & Cultural Commentator

As Harvard students and faculty defend their school against Trump's efforts to eliminate antisemitism on its hallowed campus, one truth is inescapable -they brought it upon themselves. For curiosity, learning, and growth to occur, these campuses must be free of intimidation, coercion, retaliation, and of course, violence of any kind. And Harvard has been one of the biggest violators of betraying this sacred trust in learning for decades now. Along with Columbia University, both have had its hand out for so long, saying yes to every wealthy extremist, radicalistic, anti-American donor there is, they forgot that it's okay to say no and stay true to your core mission and why you got a tax-exempt status in the first place... which is a privilege not a right, by the way. Harvard and its faculty got into the business of training radicalized activists because it seems that's who was paying the bill. [more...]

America Props Up An Al Qaeda Terror State

By Daniel Greenfield, Author of Domestic Enemies

How is supporting terrorists - who rule Syria and threaten Christians - in our national interest?

Democrats and Republicans got played by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey and other Islamic states into embracing the Arab Spring. Now we're being roped into supporting Jhadis taking over Syria all over again. And then where to next? Libya? Gaza? America? [more...]

End of Ukraine War Would Be a Chance to Resolve Long-Deferred Strategic Matters Between United States, Europe and Canada

By Lord Conrad Black, Author of The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol II

Yet the joint declaration by Britain, France, and Canada on ending the Israeli offensive in Gaza is so fatuous and dishonest that it condemns all three governments as appeasers of terrorism. [more...]

Crime Rates of Illegal Immigrants Underreported

By John Lott, Worldwide Expert on Guns & Crime

Democrats actively oppose the Trump administration's efforts to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, despite the administration's focus on those with criminal histories. To support their opposition, Democrats frequently claim, almost as an article of faith, that illegal immigrants are less prone to commit crime. "The crime rate among immigrants is far lower than the crime rate among native-born Americans," New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler asserted confidently. The media's relentless narrative that illegal immigrants don't commit crimes has shaped Americans' perceptions. And these numbers, as bad as they are, likely undercount the number of criminal illegals. Even if some believe undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates, ignoring ICE detainers for convicted undocumented immigrants to prevent their deportation raises doubts about whether they really care about the criminal rate of these illegal immigrants. [more...]

Comey's Stumble on the Beach

By James Hirsen, NY Times Bestselling Author, International Business Attorney, News Analyst & Cultural Commentator

Former FBI Director James Comey recently posted a photo of seashells on the sand that had been arranged to form the following pair of numbers: 86 47. Perhaps surprisingly for Comey, the seriousness of his wholly ill-advised post appears to be increasing with the passage of time. This is because the individual with whom the second seashell number is associated was saved by God's grace from two attempts of the first seashell number's kind. A political viewpoint? FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino sees it very differently: he said that the numeric symbolism was being used by copycats to send out threats that the FBI is mandated to investigate, which requires valuable time and resources. "We are now dealing with copycats, sending cryptic threats to public figures, using the '86' reference," Bongino wrote. [more...]

The Big Beautiful Bill Passes

By Todd Sheets, Author of 2008: What Really Happened

President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson achieved a milestone accomplishment with the passage of legislation that will preserve the tax cuts from Trump 1.0. The Senate will now take up the bill, with a goal of delivering a final version for Trump’s signature this summer. Combined with the preliminary Geneva agreement on Chinese tariffs and his successful trip to the Middle East, this announcement helps build momentum for the Trump agenda of reinvigorating growth through reduced taxes, deregulation, trade, energy independence, and efficiency.

The recent increase in Treasury bond yields reflects the fact that there is still important work to do on the spending side of the equation, but the best chance to work our way out of our serious financial problems is through economic growth, and avoiding a draconian tax increase is critical in this regard. 

The underlying cause of the long-delayed ratings downgrade announced by Moody’s this week was the enormous expansion in debt that resulted from the Obama administration’s failed attempt to spend our way out of the Great Financial Crisis. Deficits averaged 7.5% of GDP during the first five years under Obama and, by the time he left office, the federal debt had ballooned from a very manageable 39% of GDP to a dangerously high 76%. This is why Standard Poor’s reduced their ratings back in 2011.  Furthermore, the post-Obama debt left little room for the emergency borrowing later needed to address the COVID shutdown. These problems were only magnified when the Biden administration then pushed "non-emergency" post-COVID spending up to 23.5% of GDP. 

And what do we have to show for all of this spending? - Chronic peacetime deficits, dangerous debt, a bout of the worst inflation since the 1970s, and anemic growth; all of which is why America re-elected President. Trump. Obviously, there is much work left here, and my hope is that in addition to reigniting growth, the administration and Congress will also turn their attention to reigning in spending. Nevertheless, passage of the Big Beautiful Bill is an important and critical step in unleashing the American economy’s unmatched potential to deliver upward mobility, peace through strength, and to ensure the viability of our social welfare commitments.

5-20-25 Great Guests for Your Show

1. Kenneth Rapoza: UK and China Tariff Agreements Might be The First and the Last

2. Scott Powell: With Sovereign Wealth Fund, Trump Seeks to Strengthen Nation

3. Todd Sheets: Tariff Update

4. Kerry Lutz: Trump's Qatari 747 - Gift, Fortress, or Political Trap?

5. Greg Rabidoux: Biden's Secrets

6. Daniel Greenfield: No, Hamas Has Not Been Destroyed

7. Lord Conrad Black: High Time for an American Pope

UK and China Tariff Agreements Might be The First and the Last

By Kenneth Rapoza, Reporter/Columnist for Coalition for a Prosperous America

This month's tariff agreements with the United Kingdom and China might end up being the first deal of its kind, and the last. Last Friday, President Trump reiterated that the administration could not possibly strike deals with every country, and that tariff announcements would be made over the next two to three weeks. Some other countries may slip in there within that timeframe with a deal – most likely India, Japan and/or South Korea. But others will see their tariff rates range between the 10% baseline tariff up to as high as 50%, Trump said in a press conference during the UK deal. [more...]

With Sovereign Wealth Fund, Trump Seeks to Strengthen Nation

By Scott Powell, Author of Rediscovering America

There is no greater betrayal by the U.S. government than failing to protect the safety and security of the American people. But this, in fact, was the case prior to Trump, because Washington abdicated its responsibility to protect and develop all-important rare earth elements that are critically necessary in the production of high-tech military weapons systems, like F-16, F-22 and F-35 jet fighters, drones, and AI-driven systems. Rather, the U.S. has become dependent on China. In fact, the U.S. government admits that we rely on China for 100% of 20 key minerals and rare earth elements that are required by our high-tech defense systems. Such incompetence at the federal level borders on treason. [more...]

Tariff Update

By Todd Sheets, Author of 2008: What Really Happened

Who knew that something as seemingly mundane as trade and tariffs could result in an unfolding drama led by characters and events of nearly Shakespearean proportions? While there is still a long way to go, Trump and Bessent both deserve a great deal of credit for orchestrating what has the potential to continue the de-coupling with China that began in Trump's first term. My hope is that the tariff negotiations will lead to something of a two-tiered playing field. On one tier, trade policy will be used to isolate consistently hostile and threatening regimes (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea). On another tier, we will level remaining imbalances with our allies and then establish a "free-er" trade zone that promotes upward mobility, enhanced security through rising economic resources, and an incentive for hostile regimes to end their aggressions and join the prosperity. [more...]

Trump's Qatari 747 - Gift, Fortress, or Political Trap?

By Kerry Lutz, Host of Financial Survival Network

During Trump's visit to the Middle East, Qatar offered him a gleaming Boeing 747-8, formerly part of their royal VIP fleet. The jet, which looks more like a flying palace than a commercial aircraft, was framed by Qatari officials as a goodwill gesture - a symbol of allegiance, respect, and partnership. To the mainstream media it's an "Emoluments Clause violation" and an outrage. The irony is rich: Before Trump's first presidency, the average pundit on the left couldn't even pronounce the word "emoluments," much less cite it. Now, they've turned it into the hill to die on - claiming that the gift, despite being intended for U.S. government use, somehow crosses a constitutional line. [more...]

Biden's Secrets

By Greg Rabidoux, Award-Winning Filmmaker, Author & Cultural Commentator

There is a simple, clear, and inescapable conclusion after hearing the news yesterday about the discovery of Joe Biden's prostate cancer - apparently, a very aggressive and advanced stage of cancer. Someone knew. Because if the White House physician did not know, then serious questions need to be posed and answered about the competency of President Biden's White House entire staff of doctors. This isn't some unfortunate homeless guy with no access to healthcare, let alone, supposedly, the best in the world. Depending on what the answers are, if we get any, then the next level of inquiry needs to be focused on the depth of dishonesty that was also allowed to metastasize throughout the White House under Biden. What's the alternative? That his doctors knew and simply looked the other way, knowing Biden wanted to finish out his first term, and even run for a second term? This needs to end - for the health of the body politic. [more...]

No, Hamas Has Not Been Destroyed

By Daniel Greenfield, Author of Domestic Enemies

Hamas is the Brotherhood and they're still here.

Lately there's been a clamor of voices calling for an end to the fighting in Gaza, and I mean beyond the usual theatrics from the anti-Israel crowd. Pro-Israel people have claimed that Hamas is destroyed because most of its leaders are gone. Yes, most of the top Hamas leaders inside Israel are dead. The terror group has suffered serious battlefield casualties. But it is by no stretch of the imagination destroyed. The thing to remember is that Hamas is just the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. Unlike Al Qaeda or ISIS, the core of Hamas consists not just of armed terrorists, but the Brotherhood itself. And the Brotherhood/Hamas is still running Gaza. [more...]

High Time for an American Pope

By Lord Conrad Black, Author of The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol II

There are two principal takeaways from the election last week of Pope Leo XIV, one reflecting on the condition of the Roman Catholic Church, the other that the new Pope is an American, albeit one who has spent much of his career in Latin America. Despite centuries of effort by millions of people to portray the Roman Catholic Church as a superstitious anachronism, it endures. This is the first pope whose native language is English since Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear), who died in 1159. English is the most widely spoken language in the world and although that singular self-nominated "defender of the faith" Henry VIII of England caused the English-speaking peoples to be more heavily influenced by the Reformation, and not necessarily its best aspects, than the other great western cultures, it is high time that there was an English-speaking pope. [more...]