How Many Of You Knew THIS Story?

 

Media Hoaxes? OMG! The List Is Endless!

Since President Donald J. Trump took office 100 days ago, it has been a nonstop deluge of hoaxes and lies from Democrats and their allies in the Fake News suffering from terminal cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

In no particular order, here are some of the most egregious hoaxes peddled by the usual suspects so far in President Trump’s second term:

• HOAX: Fake News CNN attempted to “fact check” President Trump’s claim that the Biden Administration spent millions on “making mice transgender.”
• FACT: After their so-called “fact check” was thoroughly debunked, they were forced to update it in disgrace and admit the claim was, in fact, true.
   
• HOAX: The Fake News claimed the Department of Defense removed Gen. Colin Powell’s name from a list of notable Americans buried at Arlington Cemetery.
• FACT: No service members’ names were removed from that section — and Gen. Powell’s name remains among those listed.
   
• HOAX: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) claimed “no president” presided over more plane crashes during their first month in office as President Trump.
• FACT: “There were 55 aviation accidents in the U.S. between Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 21, 2021, and Feb. 17, 2021, compared to 35 during the same period for Trump,” Fox News reported.
   
• HOAX: Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Chicago Public Schools officials claimed, without bothering to verify, that ICE agents had conducted a “raid” at an elementary school — a false claim echoed by media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune.
• FACT: It was actually the U.S. Secret Service investigating a threat unrelated to immigration.
   
• HOAX: Far-left influencers and other leftist hacks falsely claimed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk were out to “cut Social Security.”
• FACT: They were referencing an interview in which Musk was clearly referring to the tremendous amount of waste, fraud, and abuse within entitlement programs.
   
• HOAX: The media smeared DOGE as “young, inexperienced engineers” engineering a “government takeover.”
• FACT: In reality, DOGE is led by seasoned industry professionals, including successful CEOs who paused their lives to aid in the effort of streamlining government and holding the bureaucracy accountable.
   
• HOAX: NBC’s Peter Alexander peddled the lie that “constituents in some traditionally red districts” were unhappy with President Trump’s effort to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
• FACT: The same “protests” cited by the Fake News were funded and organized by far-left special interest groups.
   
• HOAX: NPR claimed NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — who were stuck on the International Space Station for more than nine months following problems with their spacecraft — were “not stranded.”
• FACT: NPR itself had described the astronauts as stranded in prior reporting, and only seemed to take issue with the description once President Trump and Elon Musk made it a priority to bring them home.
   
• HOAX: A foreign Fake News outlet reported that President Trump “shut down” the British prime minister during a news conference.
• FACT: In reality, President Trump was simply moving on from a reporter who was trying to goad the two leaders into division.
   
• HOAX: NPR falsely claimed the White House was actively searching for a new secretary of defense.
• FACT: This lie was immediately shut down by multiple Trump Administration officials, including President Trump himself.
   
• HOAX: The Fake News attempted to paint illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as an innocent “Maryland father” who was unjustly deported by the Trump Administration — and actively censored the truth about him.
• FACT: Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and was deported to his home country amid overwhelming evidence of his gang affiliation.
   
• HOAX: Deranged “filmmaker” Michael Moore questioned whether deported illegal immigrants would go on to cure cancer or stop “that asteroid (sic) that’s gonna hit us.”
• FACT: Moore’s statement was a strong early contender for the dumbest, most ridiculous statement of the year considering those deported illegal immigrants were violent criminals.
   
• HOAX: The Fake News portrayed Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas radical who led violent protests at Columbia, as an innocent graduate student with an absolute right to remain in the U.S.
• FACT: An immigration judge ruled Khalil — who is not a U.S. citizen — can be deported.
   
• HOAX: The Financial Times reported that Senior White House Counselor Peter Navarro wanted to remove Canada from the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing network.
• FACT: Mr. Navarro immediately shut down this fake story.
   
• HOAX: A foreign Fake News reporter claimed President Trump referred to European nations as “parasites.”
• FACT: President Trump immediately pushed back on this ridiculous claim — as did the Italian prime minister.
   
• HOAX: Fake News CNN’s Brianna Keilar implied the Trump Administration was somehow wrong for stopping illegal immigrants from stealing taxpayer dollars in the form of welfare benefits.
• FACT: Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller summarily embarrassed her with the facts: “The federal government will find EVERY illegal alien who is stealing American taxpayer dollars — and that's what Americans expect to happen. I don't even fathom the premise of your question.”
   
• HOAX: A favorite refrain of the Fake News is that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is “anti-vaccine.”
• FACT: Kennedy debunked the lie in his confirmation hearings: “This has been repeatedly debunked ... Bringing this up right now is dishonest.”
   
• HOAX: WIRED falsely claimed the Social Security Administration is “shifting its public communication exclusively to X” under President Trump.
• FACT: Not happening.
   
• HOAX: Reuters falsely reported that the Trump Administration “stalled a United Nations program in Mexico aimed at stopping imported fentanyl chemicals from reaching the country’s drug cartels.”
• FACT: The Department of State is actually trying to expand the initiative.
   
• FACT: The Fake News frequently pushed the lie that as part of the Trump administration, Secretary Kennedy would implement a national abortion ban and “restrict or even ban medication abortion without a single act of Congress.”
• FACT: Secretary Kennedy consistently pledged to implement President Trump’s policies — which include leaving abortion to the states, ending barbaric late-term abortions, protecting conscientious objections, and ending federal funding for abortions.
   
• HOAX: Fake News savant Tara Palmeri falsely reported that President Trump’s proposal for Gaza was conceived by Jared Kushner.
• FACT: This lie was immediately and summarily debunked by the Trump Administration: “The worst reporter in America makes up fake news for clout because she has no real sources. Sit down, dummy.”
   
• HOAX: Sen. Chris Murphy, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and media outlets claimed President Trump’s directive to pause radical, wasteful government spending meant an end to Medicaid, food assistance, and other individual assistance programs.
• FACT: Individual assistance programs — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, etc. — were explicitly excluded, as was made clear by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and the Office of Management and Budget. Only unnecessary spending — DEI, Green New Scam, NGOs that undermine the national interest — were included in the directive.
   
• HOAX: A “physicians advocacy group” was widely cited as opposing President Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
• FACT: The “advocacy group” was really an astroturfed partisan organization funded by prominent left-wing donors — and accepted fake signatures.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and other Democrats pushed the lie that DOGE posted “classified information” on their website.
• FACT: That alleged “classified information" was really just an employment headcount — which has been publicly available for years.
   
• HOAX: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) claimed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called all Venezuelan immigrants “dirtbags.”
• FACT: Secretary Noem actually called illegal immigrant members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang “dirtbags,” which is true.
   
• HOAX: The New York Times wrote that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., wanted to “ban fluoride in drinking water” and “reverse ... one of the most important public health practices in the country’s history.”
• FACT: New York Times made no mention of their own reporting that fluoride may be “linked to lower IQ scores in children.”
   
• HOAX: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) repeatedly lied about President Trump “going after” Social Security.
• FACT: President Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect Social Security and make it more robust for American citizens.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Mark Kelley (D-AZ) attempted to scare veterans by shamelessly claiming their care was in jeopardy due to “layoffs” at VA hospitals.
• FACT: The lie was debunked by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins: “What changes are you talking about? We’ve not had those layoffs... I put $360 million back into community care... It’s concerning to me that a veteran would actually tell stories to veterans that are not true.”
   
• HOAX: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) exploited the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport plane crash tragedy by claiming President Trump “froze the hiring” of air traffic controllers.
• FACT: Air traffic controllers were exempt from the federal hiring freeze.
   
• HOAX: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) implied that “cutting” members of an aviation advisory committee was somehow a cause of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport plane crash tragedy.
• FACT: The advisory group hadn’t met since 2023 and was comprised of business and union leaders who gave “advice” to the TSA and had nothing to do with actual air travel.
   
• HOAX: A far-left writer claimed Elon Musk and DOGE staffers “illegally installed a commercial server to control federal HR databases that contain sensitive personal information, including SSNs, home addresses, and medical histories.”
• FACT: A top official confirmed “there’s nothing illegal and no server, just more made up tall tales from uninformed career bureaucrats.”
   
• HOAX: The Washington Post alleged the Trump Administration was setting “quotas” for immigration authorities — and gave the administration just four minutes to comment before publishing.
• FACT: As usual, this was a fake story.
   
• HOAX: Online liberal activists claimed President Trump “took down” President Obama’s portrait in the White House.
• FACT: Obama’s portrait was not taken down — it was simply moved only feet away from its previous location.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) claimed Attorney General Pam Bondi created a “weaponizing task force.”
• FACT: It was a task force to END weaponization at the Department of Justice.
   
• HOAX: CBS News reported that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a “makeup studio” be installed inside the Pentagon.
• FACT: It was a “totally fake story,” and the alleged studio was really an existing green room with no frills.
   
• HOAX: Politico reported the Trump Administration was debating lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, including the Nord Stream pipeline.
• FACT: This was debunked by both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
   
• HOAX: An illegal immigrant in U.S. custody “simply disappeared,” The New York Times reported.
• FACT: The illegal immigrant was a confirmed member of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang. An immigration judge ordered his removal, and he was deported along with other threats to national security.
   
• HOAX: The Wall Street Journal alleged that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was receiving sensitive information on a personal phone while in Moscow and that Russian Intelligence must’ve had access to the information.
• FACT: This was a total fabrication. Special Envoy Witkoff did not even have a personal phone with him in Russia. He had only a government phone; a secure line of communication.
   
• HOAX: The Wall Street Journal claimed the Trump Administration “sought to portray” deported criminal illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as “violent.”
• FACT: Abrego Garcia’s own wife filed an order of protection against him and testified that he brutally beat her.
   
• HOAX: An AP reporter claimed that FAA staff who worked on “radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, among others” were “harassed on Facebook” by DOGE.
• FACT: That was a total lie. DOGE doesn’t have a Facebook page and no professionals who perform critical safety functions were fired.
   
• HOAX: The Daily Beast claimed Vice President JD Vance “broke one of the most notorious Vatican rules during his Easter weekend visit” by being photographed in the Sistine Chapel.
• FACT: Buried all the way down in the 14th paragraph, The Daily Beast admitted the vice president was given special permission by the Vatican to have photographs taken inside the Sistine Chapel.
   
• HOAX: Left-wing social media accounts promoted fake, AI-generated audio of Vice President Vance “disparaging Elon Musk in private.”
• FACT: The audio was debunked as fake.
   
• HOAX: The New York Times reported that funding for the Women’s Health Initiative was being slashed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
• FACT: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., himself declared this Fake News and recognized the project is “mission critical.”
   
• HOAX: Fox News’s Jennifer Griffin gave legitimacy to a hoax from delusional Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requested nearly $140,000 in “upgrades” to his government residence.
• FACT: This lie was debunked by Secretary Hegseth — and it was so outrageous, even the AP was forced to admit it was completely fake.
   
• HOAX: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and many others claimed the Supreme Court ordered the return of illegal immigrant gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States.
• FACT: Even CNN admitted that’s not what happened: “They did not order the administration to return him to the United States … they could’ve said ‘we order him returned,’ but they didn’t do that.”
   
• HOAX: Joe Biden accused the Trump Administration of “taking aim at Social Security.”
• FACT: As usual, he was lying — President Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect Social Security.
   
• HOAX: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) claimed the arrest of a Milwaukee judge who helped an illegal immigrant evade arrest was “unprecedented.”
• FACT: It wasn’t; it has happened before.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called the arrest of a Milwaukee judge who helped an illegal immigrant evade arrest a “gravely serious and drastic move.”
• FACT: The judge violated the law by obstructing an ICE arrest of an illegal immigrant.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) claimed the arrest of the Milwaukee judge who obstructed an apprehension of a criminal illegal immigrant “threatens the rule of law.”
• FACT: It literally does the opposite because no one is above the law.
   
• HOAX: Politico claimed the Trump Administration “wipe[d] out firefighter health and safety programs.”
• FACT: The programs remain a top priority for the administration — and will remain intact.
   
• HOAX: Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed that President Trump’s policies make it so “no one wants to make investments in the United States.”
• FACT: President Trump has secured more than $5 trillion in investments since taking office, which is expected to create more than 451,000 new jobs — and the list is only expected to grow.
   
• HOAX: NBC’s Kristen Welker peddled a Fake News hoax that the Trump Administration was deporting children.
• FACT: Secretary of State Marco Rubio shut down her desperate attempt at a hoax by highlighting how the mother, who was in the country illegally, made that choice all on her own.
   
• HOAX: The New York Times implied President Trump was alone in wearing a blue suit to the funeral of Pope Francis.
• FACT: Photos show dozens of world leaders and other attendees — many situated near President Trump — also wearing blue clothing.
   
• HOAX: Teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten accused President Trump of taking teachers’ salaries and giving them to “billionaires” by cutting the Department of Education.
• FACT: President Trump has repeatedly called teachers “the most important people in this country” who should be paid more, not less. The federal government does not pay the salaries of teachers; state and local governments do.
   
• HOAX: The Fake News and their predictable allies ran with a story that claimed an American citizen was detained by authorities after he informed them he was, in fact, a citizen.
• FACT: That’s not what happened. The individual “approached Border Patrol in Tucson and stated he had entered the U.S. illegally through Nogales. He said he wanted to turn himself in and completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully … A few days later, his family presented documents showing U.S. citizenship. The charges were dismissed, and he was released to his family.”
   
• HOAX: PBS News claimed “DOGE operatives attempted to gain access to secure spaces,” implying they attempted to access classified information without approval.
• FACT: This wasn’t even remotely true.
   
• HOAX: The AP falsely claimed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Trump is “very good friends” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• FACT: The AP was humiliatingly forced to retract its story, admitting they were wrong. Stephanie Ruhle also had to issue a correction. DNI Gabbard was referencing President Trump’s relationship with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
   
• HOAX: Student visa holders should have unfettered access to do whatever they want in the United States.
• FACT: Wrong. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest… If you tell us when you apply for a visa ‘I’m coming to the U.S. to participate in pro-Hamas events,’ that runs counter to the foreign policy interest of the United States… If you had told us you were going to do that, we never would have given you the visa."

This Is What We're Up Against: Don't Forget It!

 

Really Big News From The Cherry Hill Mall!

They Saw It, They Knew It And They STILL Denied It!

The media lied. pic.twitter.com/NsML78fx2W

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 30, 2025

This is why they now have NO credibility!

The First 100 Days: The Economy

 Jobs Statistics:

• President Trump has created 345,000 jobs since taking office in January.
  • 188,000 (54%) of these were in non-government and government-adjacent sectors. This is a dramatic improvement from the last two years of the Biden Administration, when three-fourths of all new jobs were in government or government-adjacent sectors.
    • 2,000 of which were mining and logging jobs.
    • 27,000 of which were construction jobs.
    • 9,000 manufacturing jobs were created (compared to the 6,000 manufacturing jobs lost per month from Jan 2023 to Dec 2024).
  • At the same time that there were large private sector job gains, 15,000 federal government jobs were cut.
• The labor force participation rate for those without a high school diploma is up by 0.7% since President Trump took office.
• The veteran unemployment rate is down from 4.2% in January to 3.8% in March.
• 228,000 jobs were created in March alone, well above expectations.
  • This was the fourth best month in the last two years for private payroll growth.
• Remote work among federal employees has fallen over 16 percentage points from March last year to March this year, showcasing the success of President Trump’s initiative to bring federal workers back to the office.
  • Federal telework numbers are now in-line with the private sector.

Inflation Statistics:

• Prescription drug prices are down over 2% since President Trump took office. 
• Last month’s drop in the price of prescription drugs was the largest ever recorded.
• Gasoline prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), are down 7% since President Trump took office.
• Energy prices are down 2% since President Trump took office.
• Wholesale egg prices down are about 50% since President Trump took office. Most consumers have seen relief in prices on the shelf, but all consumers should see it within the next month or two.
• February inflation (the month prior to the most recent data) showed the smallest annual increase in core inflation in over four years (since March 2021).
• Both of the last two CPI inflation prints came in below expectations.
• Last month’s (March) decline was only the second monthly decline in inflation (CPI) in the last two-and-a-half years.
• These price declines are in contrast to the persistently high inflation under President Biden, which reached the highest annual rate in the past 40 years. After suffering for years under Biden Administration inflation, consumers are now getting welcome relief. On Biden's watch, grocery prices rose 23%, and energy prices rose 34%.
• As a result of biting inflation, real wages in President Biden’s term were down about 2.4%.
• Moreover, in the most recent inflation print from March, airfare, used motor vehicles, and motor insurance all saw price decreases.
• Prices for wholesale goods fell nearly 1% last month and prices for wholesale services fell 0.2% last month, which will eventually lead to lower consumer prices.
• Last month, retail egg price inflation continued to slow.

 
Miscellaneous Positive Economic Statistics:

• Real average hourly earnings for middle- and low-income workers are up 0.4% and up 1% for workers in the manufacturing sector since President Trump took office.
• The automotive sector is growing: under President Trump, we already had the biggest one-month increase in auto sales in March in more than a year.
• Mortgage rates have declined roughly four-tenths of a percentage point since President Trump took office.
  • Assuming the most recent median home price in the U.S., a new homebuyer making a 20% down payment on a 30-year mortgage would save roughly $32,400 over the course of the loan, or about $1,080 per year.
• Industrial production was at the seventh-highest monthly level ever recorded in March. The only higher monthly levels occurred during the first Trump Administration in 2018 and in February of this year.
• Since the beginning of the Trump Administration, at least $5 trillion in new investment in the U.S. has been pledged from both foreign governments and private companies.

 
Economic Policy Wins:

• Upon taking office, President Trump immediately blocked all unfinalized Biden-era rules, saving Americans over $180 billion — $2,100 per family of four over the next decade — and launched a bold, multi-agency effort to roll back existing federal regulations that drive up the cost of living. This effort is projected to yield significant cost savings in the coming months, including the EPA’s rollback of tailpipe emission rules for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles ($667 billion in total savings) and the Department of Transportation’s latest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards ($88 billion in savings). These two efforts alone yield $755 billion in total savings or over $8,800 per family of four over the next decade. The combined savings from all of these actions equal just over $935 billion or nearly $11,000 per family of four over the coming decade.
• The Trump Administration has implemented an aggressive 10-to-1 deregulatory initiative, which requires that whenever an agency proposes a new rule or guidance document, it must eliminate 10 existing rules or guidance documents. This effort builds on the successful deregulatory initiative introduced in President Trump’s first term, which required the repeal of at least two existing regulations for each new rule, and in practice eliminated 5.5 rules for each new significant rule.
• To date, President Trump has issued over 20 significant deregulatory presidential actions (i.e., executive orders, presidential memoranda, and presidential proclamations).

Charts:
 

An American Journey: RIP, David Horowitz 1939 - 1925

On behalf of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, we are very saddened to announce the passing of the Center’s founder, David Horowitz. After a lengthy battle with cancer, David passed yesterday at the age of 86.

David Horowitz, 1939-2025. Requiescat in pace. pic.twitter.com/F47yooJL3K

— David Horowitz (@horowitz39) April 29, 2025

An Amazing 100 Days -- And More To Come!

100 Days of Greatness pic.twitter.com/TzQtmOw37f

— Shannon Ford 🇺🇸 (@shannonfordUSA) April 29, 2025

We've Never Been Amazon Fans: Now, Even Less

Amazon will be adding an amount next to the price of the product reflecting the amount added because of the tariffs. This is why we buy American made products. pic.twitter.com/3G0Xa79AHe

— 🇺🇸𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓭🇺🇸𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷🇺🇸 (@Texas_jeep__guy) April 29, 2025

Fake News VS REAL News . . .

 

Some Of the Best News We've EVER Had!

 

So Authentic: One Of The Day's Best Moments!

NEW - Tom Homan Reminds the Press That Illegal immigration is NOT a victimless crime and Drops Brutal Firsthand Examples That Left the Room Stunned

He started with a clear message to the media:

“There's a lot of people in this country don't like me. I don't care.”

“People… https://t.co/6jmOEyYbv6

— Overton (@overton_news) April 28, 2025

Well, It Was That Kinda Day, Philly!

 

NY World's Fair: 61 Years Ago This Month!

Catholics In Crisis: Who Will Lead Us Now?

Pope Francis has been laid to rest. And now, the truth must be faced: the Catholic Church is in a state of crisis -- perhaps the most serious crisis the Church has faced in nearly 100 years.

Francis (aka Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was a highly authoritarian pope who ruled in an autocratic manner. During his reign he kept even his allies guessing regarding his next move, was distrustful of the Church hierarchy and, whether intentionally or not, sowed runaway confusion about the core teachings of the Church as well as the Church's commitment to those teachings. 

Don't take my word for it. Listen to what two renowned Catholics and Church experts have to say on this subject. First, columnist and author  Peggy Noonan:

There is broad appreciation for the man and his efforts but not deep sadness at the end of his papacy. In its dozen years, Francis was often confusing, with striking impulses followed by unexplained silences, with a lack of doctrinal clarity. For me the whole blur culminated in the Synod on Synodality, essentially a conference on having conferences. His liberalism seemed uncertain except when it was aggressive, even belligerent . . .

Remember, Noonan is a devout Catholic. Now, here's an observation from another devout Catholic and respect Church scholar, the esteemed biographer of Saint John Paul II (John Paul the Great), Paul Weigel. Here, he describes the Great Divide that the Church now faces:

Fundamental questions are at stake in the choice of a new Bishop of Rome . . .  the fault line within Catholicism has been defined by two competing understandings of the Church’s approach to the modern world, especially on questions of religious authority, human dignity and the place of sexuality in our lives.

According to one interpretation, the [Second Vatican] Council began the Church anew, and if that means jettisoning or modifying truths held for almost two millennia, so be it. The other interpretation holds that Vatican II reformed the Church in dynamic continuity with its settled tradition, as the Church finds fresh ways to present ancient, enduring truths.

 

Both New Model Catholicism and Dynamic Orthodoxy, as we might call them, seek to make the Church attractive to Christians and others looking for spiritual insight and guidance amid today’s cultural turmoil. Only Dynamic Orthodoxy has been successful in drawing growing numbers of people to the Church, especially outside the regions where the faith began. Which view will prevail?

Again, Weigel adds that "Francis has been the most autocratic pontiff in centuries."

Will the Church now modify or jettison 2,000-year-old core truths and "so be it," as Weigel explains or will it opt for a "dynamic" return to core teachings in an manner that has already proved successful in growing the Church both in emerging nations as well as in some Catholic communities in North America? This is a critical question and one which must be confronted because, from all indications, this Church's fault line is at a perilous point. Indeed, under Francis it most assuredly grew deeper and wider. 

About a week from now the cardinals will begin their conclave to select a new pope. How will the voting break? Who will emerge to lead the Church through this quagmire? 

Again, we turn to Weigel, writing in today's Wall Street Journal, who warns against assuming that all those cardinal electors appointed by Pope Francis (about 80% of them) will necessarily choose a new Pope in his mold:

Today, 13% of the cardinal-electors are from sub-Saharan Africa, the Church’s greatest area of growth, and 17% are from Asia. Latin America and the Caribbean will provide 13% of the electorate, North America 10%, Oceania 2%, and Europe 39%, despite much of the Church there being on life support.

Let's do the math. It takes a two-thirds vote (67%) of the cardinals to become Pope. Europe still holds the biggest block of votes with 39%. They're followed by Asia with 17%, Africa with 13%, Latin America with 13% and North America with 10%. But Europe and North America (49% combined) do not seem likely to vote in a block. Africa and Asia, as a block could bring in nearly a third of the vote. Africa, Asia and Latin America could bring in 43% -- a significant number, far exceeding that of previous conclaves for these regions. Suppose these newer areas of Church dominance decided to show their mettle? Combined with North America, they could put a papal candidate over the critical 50% mark. 

Yet, it may be personalities more than regions that will eventually sway the vote. And, cardinal electors may still be feeling sentimental toward the Franciscan era following the pope's funeral, thus impacting their judgement. Under such circumstances, if traditionalism is to prevail, the new pope will need to be a sort of stealth candidate. He may need to look and sound gentle, merciful and vaguely modernist while actually committing those very traits to a return to bedrock teachings. Or, he may present as a compromising bridge-builder while actually skewing traditionalist. Indeed, he may appear to be a product of the moderate/progressive wing but once ensconced, restore some semblance of orthodoxy. Barring that, we're in for more of the same -- not a good scenario!

Could Be The Most Important Photo Of The Day!

 

It Ain't No Toy; It's The US Marines, Baby!

Marines perform boarding exercises with JETPACKS and landing on a high-speed ship. This is very cool 😎 pic.twitter.com/fNxU7oPUtE

— 🇺🇲 Gunner 🇺🇲🫡 (@Steve1055K) April 26, 2025

How Many Times Has This Happened To YOU?

 

And Now, Elon Explains It All For You!

ELON MUSK: There is a gigantic magnet to attract illegal immigrants and have them stay in the country. It's outrageous that American taxpayer money is spent on luxury hotels for illegals, because the Democrats are trying to import voters to win elections. pic.twitter.com/b4IiFBt1ld

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 26, 2025