Connell Friel

President of the American Family Advocates - For over 35 years the AFA has been defending and protecting the American family.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Our Democracy Is Built Upon the Foundation of Election Integrity

American democracy rests on a simple, non-negotiable principle: elections must be accurate, transparent, and limited to eligible citizens. When voter rolls contain ineligible names, when systems remain vulnerable to foreign exploitation, and when officials resist enacting basic safeguards and maintenance, the equal weight of every lawful ballot is diluted. Public confidence erodes, and the consent of the governed becomes contested. Recent declassified documents, state-level failures, and the painstaking work of citizen auditors make clear that election integrity is not optional—it is the foundation that keeps the republic intact.

In July 2026 the White House released a substantial cache of previously classified intelligence assessments, FBI investigative files, and related agency materials. These documents, codified by senior intelligence leaders exposed systemic vulnerabilities. Here are the five major points that demand our attention.

· First, U.S. Intelligence Community assessments conclude that foreign adversaries—including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and non-state actors—possess the capability to compromise American election infrastructure, particularly centralized voter-registration databases, electronic poll books, and related systems.
· Second, the materials detail that the People’s Republic of China and its proxies acquired as many as 220 million U.S. voter-registration records through purchase, theft, or hacking, including non-public data, representing what officials described as the largest such compromise of election-related information in history.
· Third, the intelligence describes how possession of that data could enable malign activities, such as altering records to prevent or delay legitimate voters or to support more precisely targeted influence operations.
· Fourth, FBI files examining a Michigan voter-registration operation identified systemic and widespread practices involving false registrations and other irregularities that investigators viewed as potential criminal activity.
· Fifth, a Department of Homeland Security review identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections across examined records, with the true figure certainly much higher because many states declined full cooperation.

These findings are not abstract. They are reinforced by concrete failures at the state level. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, between June 2023 and June 2024, improperly registered roughly 6,600 non-citizens onto the voter rolls, even though the applicants had answered that they were not U.S. citizens when seeking driver’s licenses or identification cards. Preliminary analysis showed some 400 of those individuals actually cast ballots. This illustrates how easily state registration systems illegally place non-citizens on the voter rolls and then how corrupt state officials do nothing to have them removed.

Compounding these problems is the documented resistance of several Democratic-led states to perform routine voter-roll maintenance and to enact common-sense verification measures. The Department of Justice has pursued litigation against multiple blue and purple states that have refused to share comprehensive registration data or to run systematic checks against federal databases designed to identify non-citizens. Federal judges in places such as Oregon, California, and Michigan have blocked or limited access, allowing ineligible names to remain on the rolls.

The scale of these vulnerabilities has been identified most thoroughly by private and citizen-led audits. Their efforts exposed massive and systemic failures in many states’ voter rolls. In New York alone, a forensic review of the 2022 midterm found millions of registrations containing material omissions and errors under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, hundreds of thousands of votes that did not meet eligibility criteria, and substantial numbers of non-existent voters who did not reside at the addresses from which ballots were cast.

They also found evidence of algorithmic anomalies, duplicated records, and certification of elections that exceeded allowable error thresholds by orders of magnitude. These certifications all occurred with demonstrably inaccurate rolls that failed the most basic legal requirements.

Taken together, the declassified intelligence, the New Jersey registration failure, the resistance of many states to cleanup efforts, and the detailed findings of private and citizen-led audits reveal a consistent pattern. Systems designed to record the will of the people are being intentionally made susceptible to foreign data harvesting, technical lapses that admit non-citizens, and bureaucratic inertia that leaves flawed rolls uncorrected.

Election integrity does not require perfection; it requires continuous, transparent compliance with existing law—unique and verified registrations, timely removal of ineligible names, resilient paper trails, and independent audits. When citizen auditors must do the work that officials neglect, and when intelligence agencies must declassify warnings long known by government insiders, the message is unmistakable: Democracy endures only when every eligible citizen’s vote is protected and every ineligible one is excluded. That is not a partisan demand. It is the minimal condition of self-government.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

https://t.co/joW7coxio3

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Everyone Wins with School Choice

School Choice is a win-win for everyone involved. Most people do not realize that the implementation of a school choice program actually decreases the portion of property taxes earmarked for the public-school system. In fact, public school funding per-student is actually higher in states with higher private school attendance.

This is because per-student private school spending is, on average, substantially less than per-student public-school spending. And if only a small percentage of public-school students shift from public to private schools, significant taxpayer savings begin to accrue. The more students that shift, the bigger the savings. Who benefits from these school choice programs?

· Private schools’ benefit with increased enrollment, which, because of economies of scale, help bring down the overall cost per student.

· Public schools’ benefit because every public-school student who shifts to a private school frees up additional tax money to spend on the remaining public-school students.

· Taxpayers benefit because the cost of their property taxes is significantly reduced.

· Parents benefit because they get to send their child to the school of their choice, where their child can flourish, spiritually and academically.

· Everybody wins!

Why then are school choice programs not available in every state and every school district in the country? Because the teachers’ unions do not want competition to their government-sponsored monopoly. And since the school unions are supported by virtually every Democrat politician, Democrat-controlled states refuse to allow their constituents any school choice options.

Ironically, the demographic group that would benefit most from school-choice programs are urban minority children, because the inner-city public schools are such a total failure. Therefore, the Democrat party is acting against the interest of their own constituents and hurting everyone involved - private schools, public schools, taxpayers, parents, and school children - just to appease the teachers’ unions.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

https://t.co/HZpTGMXM1b

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

https://t.co/l8zh75kEq4

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Is the Transgender Ideology Collapsing?

Recent developments in the medical community's stance on so-called "gender-affirming" surgeries for minors represent a profound and welcome shift toward sanity, science, and the protection of vulnerable children.

In a groundbreaking move, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has become the first major medical organization to formally recommend against performing gender-related surgeries—such as breast/chest removals, genital procedures, and facial alterations—on patients under the age of 19. Citing a clear lack of high-quality, long-term evidence demonstrating meaningful benefits, along with serious risks and the irreversible nature of these interventions, the ASPS emphasized the need for rigorous, evidence-based standards.

Soon after, the American Medical Association (AMA) followed suit, acknowledging that "the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient" and stating that such surgeries should "generally be deferred to adulthood." This marks a striking departure from the AMA's prior aggressive advocacy for unrestricted "gender-affirming care" for youth and its opposition to legal safeguards.

While both organizations continue to endorse non-surgical approaches—such as mental health support and, in some cases, hormone treatments—their new positions on surgery represent a major victory for truth in medicine.

These reversals come amid intensifying scrutiny of pediatric gender interventions, including a landmark $2 million malpractice verdict awarded to a young woman who underwent a double mastectomy at age 16. The jury found clear medical negligence in her case, underscoring the real human costs of rushing vulnerable minors into life-altering procedures based on ideological pressure rather than science.

For those of us at American Family Advocates who have long warned about the dangers of transgender ideology, these developments confirm what we have consistently proclaimed: this entire edifice was built on a foundation of falsehoods and outright deception. The push to medicalize childhood confusion—treating normal developmental struggles as fixed "identities" requiring irreversible bodily mutilation—has always defied biology, reason, and basic human dignity.

It is instructive to recall how entrenched and unyielding the establishment consensus was just two short years ago. Most major medical, educational, cultural, and governmental institutions—as well as virtually the entire ruling class—insisted that affirming every child's fleeting or socially influenced claims of gender distress was not only compassionate but medically imperative, while dismissing any opposition as hate or bigotry.

Thankfully, the transgender institutional complex has been proven profoundly disordered. This reversal stands as a stark reminder of how rapidly the tide can turn. This turnaround is due in large part to a relatively small but extraordinarily courageous group of men and women who defied the conventional wisdom and proclaimed the truth at great personal cost to their reputations and physical safety. Some of them—like Charlie Kirk—paid the ultimate price with their lives.

Today, we are witnessing the beginning of the collapse. Transgender ideology, once imposed with near-universal institutional support, is crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions and documented malpractice. As more medical bodies align with reality, as lawsuits expose the consequences of past practices, and as detransitioners bravely share their disturbing stories, the truth becomes undeniable: children deserve protection from experimental interventions, not affirmation of confusion.

But the fight must continue. We must also protect vulnerable young people—and adults of all ages—from this pernicious ideology. Subjecting any human being to dangerous, experimental puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, as well as to life-altering, body-mutilating surgeries, is immoral and inhumane. We must therefore press forward—safeguarding future generations, restoring biological truth, and rejecting any worldview that leads our brothers and sisters, made in the image and likeness of God, down paths of irreversible regret and inconceivable suffering.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

A Pastoral Reflection on the Border, the Child, and the Demands of Charity in Truth
by Bishop Joseph E. Strickland
January 22, 2026

In these days, once again our nation turns its eyes toward the border. Emotions run high. Accusations fly freely. Cries for compassion echo from many quarters – including from within the Church herself. These conversations are necessary. But they must be rooted in truth. For compassion without truth is not charity; it is sentiment divorced from justice.

The Church must always be a mother – never a manager. She must always love – never exploit. She must always speak – never remain silent when souls are endangered.

The Church is called by Christ to welcome the stranger, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to care for the vulnerable. These are not optional works of mercy; they flow from the Gospel itself. At the same time, the Church is also bound to uphold justice, order, and the common good. These are not opposing principles. They are inseparable.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches clearly that political authorities have the right and the duty to regulate migration in service of the common good. Nations may establish borders. Laws may be enforced. Order may be preserved. This teaching does not contradict compassion – it safeguards it. When law collapses, the innocent suffer first.

We must be honest about what has occurred in recent years. When borders cease to function, when enforcement is undermined, and when accountability is abandoned, evil rushes in to fill the vacuum. Drug cartels flourish. Human traffickers thrive. Children are exploited. Women are sold. Men are enslaved. What presents itself as “compassion” on paper often becomes cruelty in practice.

We now know that hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors were brought into this country through systems that could not – or would not – track them. Many were lost. Many were exploited. Some were forced into labor. Others into sexual slavery. This is not a failure of enforcement alone. It is a moral catastrophe.  And it demands an examination of conscience – including within the Church.

It must be said plainly and without evasion: when Church institutions become financially entangled with government programs, when large contracts replace personal charity, when ministries depend on state funding to the point of silence, the prophetic voice of the Church is weakened. The Church must never profit – in money, influence, or prestige – from the suffering of others.

Our Lord warned us: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). This warning applies with particular force when serving the poor. Charity that is compromised by financial dependence loses its freedom to speak the truth. Mercy administered without accountability becomes permission for exploitation.

Some within the Church have been quick to condemn border enforcement while remaining silent about trafficking, cartel violence, and the mass disappearance of children. This imbalance wounds the Body of Christ. True compassion does not turn a blind eye to victims of crime, to communities devastated by drugs, or to children sold by the very networks that profit from chaos. To ignore these victims is not mercy; it is abandonment.

At the same time, we must speak clearly against cruelty, hatred, and indifference. Every human person – regardless of legal status – is made in the image of God. Migrants are not statistics. They are sons and daughters of the Father. Any enforcement that forgets this truth betrays the Gospel. The Church must always insist on humane treatment, respect for dignity, and protection for the vulnerable.

But dignity does not require disorder. Compassion does not require lawlessness. Mercy does not demand the suspension of truth.

When borders are rightly ordered, when laws are justly enforced, when corruption is resisted, the most vulnerable are protected – not punished. Children are rescued instead of trafficked. Families are safeguarded instead of preyed upon. Communities are preserved rather than destroyed.

This is why the work of those who labor to dismantle trafficking networks and rescue exploited children must be acknowledged and supported. Law enforcement, when acting justly and humanely, is not the enemy of mercy; in many cases, it is its last defense.

The Church must recover clarity. She must recover courage. She must repent where she has been silent, complicit, or confused. She must resist the temptation to become merely another NGO. Our mission is not to administer systems, but to proclaim Jesus Christ. Not to manage suffering, but to confront the causes of it.

The saints remind us that mercy and truth cannot be separated. St. John Paul II taught that there is no peace without justice, and no justice without forgiveness. But forgiveness does not erase responsibility, and justice does not negate mercy. They walk together – or not at all.

Let us welcome the stranger – but let us also defend the weak against the wolves that hunt them. Let us build a border where mercy flows – but also where justice stands guard. Let us love without compromise, serve without corruption, and speak without fear.

In this hour of confusion, may the Church in America renew her witness to the Gospel of Life. May she remember that every work of mercy must begin and end in Christ. And may Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, wrap her mantle around every wounded soul at the border, and all who labor for justice, and all who seek to protect the least among us – especially the child. And may she lead us always to her Son, who is Truth and Mercy Incarnate.

And may the Lord Jesus Christ – the Truth who sets us free and the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep – bring light to places long darkened by exploitation and fear. And may He grant protection to every child endangered by the sins of men.

And now, entrusting all that has been said to the mercy and justice of Almighty God, I ask the Lord to heal what has been broken, to expose what has been hidden, to protect the innocent, and to convert every heart – including our own.

May Almighty God bless you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland
Pillars of Faith
https://t.co/7kmKT4Pn4H

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

The Left Has Amassed an Army of Domestic Terrorists

In the back rooms of America's political leaders and the editorial offices of mainstream media, the Left has systematically built an army of domestic terrorists—not through overt recruitment, but through a relentless barrage of incendiary rhetoric. Spearheaded by Democrat politicians and dishonest, agenda-driven media executives, this verbal assault has achieved its intended effect: dehumanizing political opponents and framing them as existential threats that must be eradicated.

By portraying conservatives as fascists, Nazis, and enemies of democracy, these influential figures indoctrinate left-leaning Americans into viewing violence not as a last resort, but as a righteous and legitimate first response. This calculated incitement has normalized aggression—from street riots and assaults to the burning of American cities, fatal attacks, and political assassinations. Followers have been convinced that brutality against ideological opponents is not only justifiable but heroic.

At the heart of this strategy is the weaponization of language to erode the sanctity of human life. Democrat figures and major media executives have repeatedly demonized law enforcement agencies such as local police, ICE, and the National Guard, labeling them terrorist organizations that oppress the vulnerable. Such rhetoric portrays these institutions—and by extension, their supporters—as inhuman oppressors deserving of retaliation.

In one alarming example, inflammatory accusations against immigration officers contributed to a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility in September 2025, where the attacker—who left behind anti-ICE messages—was emboldened by claims that these agents were akin to modern-day Gestapo. The aftermath saw calls from leftist activists for the outright murder of ICE personnel, echoing a broader narrative that equates lawful border security with genocide.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), assaults on ICE officers increased dramatically in 2025, with reports indicating more than a 1,150% rise from January 21 to November 21, 2025 (compared to the same period in 2024), and an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE officers throughout the 2025 year. Right now, in Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have escalated the rhetoric to a chilling degree, vilifying ICE agents for simply enforcing immigration law and performing their duties—rhetoric that has included comparisons to the Gestapo and profane demands for ICE to "get the f**k out" of Minneapolis.

This is not an isolated phenomenon; it is a pattern in which politicians and mainstream media outlets stoke fears of "systemic evil," indoctrinating young supporters through biased news reports and social media to believe that violent disruption is a moral imperative. The indoctrination extends to broader societal issues, linking everyday conservative policies to apocalyptic dangers. Abortion debates, for example, are twisted into accusations that pro-life advocates seek to enslave women, justifying violent responses as self-defense.

This mindset fueled the widespread Black Lives Matter riots, where cities burned under the banner of racial justice, with participants claiming that destroying property, assaulting police, and murdering innocent Americans were acts of liberation against a fascist regime. Even education and family values are targeted: opponents of gender ideology in schools are branded as transphobic bigots whose mere existence threatens lives, leading to violent threats against public figures and events. High-profile Democrats have amplified this by warning of an impending "civil war" if their agendas are thwarted, priming their base for armed conflict.

The result has been the targeting of conservative leaders and others, deemed as threats by the Left, with assassination. Some of the most notable recent examples include:
· The assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025
· The two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump in 2024
· The assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024
· The assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022
· The assassination of Trump supporter Aaron Danielson in 2020

Mass shootings have also targeted religious and political groups the Left deems expendable. Some of the most notable recent examples include:
· The August 27, 2025, mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, which killed two children and injured more than 20 others (including many schoolchildren) during a Catholic school Mass
· The 2023 Nashville mass shooting, which targeted a private Christian parochial school and killed six people, including three children
· The 2017 congressional baseball shooting targeting Republicans, which wounded four people (including Rep. Steve Scalise, who was critically injured and nearly died)

This evil ideology thrives on division, turning neighbors into enemies and discourse into declarations of war. Politicians and corrupt media exploit emotional vulnerabilities, using their platforms to spread lies about conservative motives. Such fabrications incite mobs, where the rhetoric of "resistance" transforms into real-world terrorism.

Yet amid this storm, there is hope. This strategy of terror will ultimately fail as long as patriotic Christians and other God-fearing Americans remain steadfast in their biblical principles and commitment to the rule of law. Scripture calls us to love our enemies, protect the innocent and most vulnerable among us, and trust in divine justice. By upholding truth and fastidiously enforcing the law against the Left’s army of domestic terrorists, we combat this evil with faith and fortitude. The Left’s foot soldiers may rage, but evil ideologies cannot overcome a fortress of moral clarity and legal integrity. In the end, God is in control, light overcomes darkness, and America's moral resilient spirit, guided by providence, will prevail.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

The Gift

December 2025

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Savior. I pray that you and your families are enjoying a happy, healthy, and holy Christmas season.

I write this post out of deep love for you and your loved ones. It is from this love that I feel compelled to share the most profound gift I have ever received—the gift of my Catholic faith.

I ask you to take a moment to read this message and truly consider Jesus Christ and His teachings. Reflect on some fundamental questions: Did Jesus establish a Church on earth before ascending into heaven? Did He promise that the gates of hell would never prevail against it? If so, would that Church not still exist today? And if it does, would that not be powerful evidence that Jesus Christ is truly God and that He founded one true Church?

This unbroken continuity is one of the clearest signs that Jesus is God and that the Catholic Church is His true Church. In this post I offer additional reasons, but consider this: How could a man who lived over 2,000 years ago appoint successors to lead His Church and accurately predict that it would endure forever? More than two millennia later, the Catholic Church remains. All other earthly institutions have come and gone, yet the Church endures. How is this possible if not by divine design?

The Catholic Church offers historical evidence of its direct, unbroken connection to Jesus and the Apostle Peter. It is the oldest Christian institution, with beliefs and teachings handed down directly from the Apostles. The Catholic Church began with the teachings of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD in the Roman province of Judea. It is the continuation of the early Christian community established by Jesus—no other Christian denomination can make this historical claim.

Furthermore, only a divinely founded Church could inspire so many saints to perform extraordinary acts of charity and sacrifice throughout history, including Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joan of Arc, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Paul, St. Peter (the first pope), the Blessed Virgin Mary, and over 10,000 more. Why have so many holy men and women—including some of history’s greatest philosophical and theological minds—willingly died for their faith and their Church? What did they understand about the Church and the Catholic faith that we may not yet fully grasp?

Consider also the multitude of verifiable miracles associated with the Catholic Church. Jesus performed many miracles during His earthly ministry, and such signs have continued through the centuries to the present day. The Church teaches that miracles confirm the authenticity of God’s revelation and help even the uninstructed and skeptical to believe. They affirm the truth of the Church’s teachings and that its founder is Jesus Christ. Here are a few well-documented examples:

The bodies of certain saints have remained miraculously incorrupt after death—a phenomenon science cannot explain, and one found exclusively among devout Catholics. The Church has recorded over 150 such cases. These incorrupt bodies, often displayed in glass reliquaries, serve as a consoling sign of Christ’s victory over death and the resurrection of the body. Notable examples include St. Vincent de Paul (†1660), St. John Vianney (†1859), Blessed Pope Pius IX (†1878), St. Bernadette of Lourdes (†1879), St. John Bosco (†1888), and Pope St. John XXIII (†1963).

The Miracle of the Sun at Fatima on October 13, 1917, in Fatima, Portugal, approximately 70,000 people—believers and skeptics alike—witnessed the sun spin, change colors, and plunge toward the earth. The ground and the clothing of those present, soaked from rain, dried instantly. This event fulfilled a promise made by the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children and confirmed the authenticity of her apparitions and message. Part of that message was a warning Our Lady gave to the children of “errors” that obfuscate truth and that lead to the rejection of God. The miracle at Fatima, therefore, strengthens our faith, demonstrates the power of Mary’s intercession and reinforces core Catholic truths.

The Lourdes Miracles began with Bernadette Soubirous, a poor French girl who, beginning on February 11, 1858, experienced 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at a grotto in Lourdes, France. Our Lady led Bernadette to discover a miraculous spring with healing powers. This divine event established Lourdes as a major Catholic pilgrimage site. The Lourdes grotto has been a source of miraculous healing, both for those who have visited the Grotto and for those who used the water in remote places. Since the time of Bernadette, more than 7,000 miraculous cures have been reported to the Lourdes Medical Bureau by pilgrims who have visited Lourdes, and countless more have been cured by the grotto’s water away from Lourdes. Bernadette was canonized a saint in 1933, with her body found to be incorrupt after her death, adding to the validity of the site's miracles.

I also invite you to explore the many other miracles associated with the Church, including numerous approved Marian apparitions, over one hundred documented Eucharistic miracles, and thousands of healings through the intercession of saints.

Despite my firm belief in all of this, the most personally profound miraculous graces I have ever experienced are the ones I receive through the sacraments of the Church. The body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus is available to me daily in the Eucharist. My sins are forgiven when I submit myself to Jesus’ will in the sacrament of confession. The sacrament of Matrimony has blessed me and my wife with three children and five grandchildren—each a precious, miraculous gift. The seven sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony—offer mystical graces that transform lives. I encourage you to immerse yourselves in them.

Many of us have received a gift more precious than any earthly possession: the Catholic faith. It would be tragic to set it aside without deeply examining Jesus, His teachings, the sacraments, and the Church He founded. My fervent prayer is that you come to know with certainty what the saints and devout believers have always known: the Catholic faith is the gift that leads us to eternal life in heaven.

Yours in Christ, Connell

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Beware the Wolf in Shepherd’s Clothing

During a Sunday service on November 23, 2025, Rev. Phillip Phaneuf, a United Methodist pastor in Rochester, New York, announced to his congregation that he was transitioning from male to female. Among other things, he said: “I’m affirming to all of you that I am transgender. The best way to put this is that I’m not becoming a woman; I’m giving up pretending to be a man… Are my parents OK with this? Absolutely not! They texted me this morning and asked me to tell you all that they do not support me and have chosen their convictions and beliefs over supporting their child… We all have to live the way that we live.”

Phaneuf stated that his name would become Phillippa and that his preferred pronouns are she/her. He delivered the announcement from the pulpit while wearing a rainbow stole and claimed that the bishop, the church, and its theology all supported his transition. The previous year, the United Methodist Church had reversed long standing rules that condemned LGBTQ+ identities, according to its official website.

This is a profound tragedy. A man raised by good, loving Christian parents, instilled with biblical values, has gone from teaching and preaching the Word of God to promoting a worldview that is antithetical to Christianity. He is profoundly confused and deeply disordered, living in denial of both biblical truth and biological reality. Tragically, he has fully embraced the culture’s disordered, egocentric, self-absorbed glorification of the self—the precise opposite of Christianity’s call to selfless, altruistic glorification of God. We should keep him and his family in our prayers. What is far more insidious, however, is his attempt to present this disordered worldview as a legitimate “Christian” value, thereby leading innocent souls into spiritual peril.

Regrettably, spiritual problems with religious leaders are not limited to the United Methodist Church. Devout Catholics have long been frustrated by an episcopate that has also lost its way on many issues. At this moment in salvation history—when our culture is in freefall and the American family is under withering attack from the forces of evil—too many pulpits preach politically liberal talking points, while they are conspicuously silent about grave sin. This is a profound dereliction of duty.

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) gathered for their Fall 2025 Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, they issued a Special Message that focused almost exclusively on immigration. It read in part: “We are disturbed… by a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement… We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants… We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people… To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering… You are not alone!”

In response, Daily Wire host Matt Walsh offered a near-perfect rebuke on X: “I don’t recall the bishops making any sort of video like this to condemn the Biden White House for supporting, funding, and facilitating the mass slaughter of children in the womb. I also can’t remember seeing any video with solemn condemnations of the Biden White House and its support for the castration and sexual mutilation of children… Trump is neither Catholic nor is he doing anything, policy-wise, that contradicts Church teaching. Deportations certainly do not. And yet the bishops suddenly find their voice and their courage for this issue. Very strange indeed.”

Regarding the defense of traditional Catholic teaching on the liturgy, faith, and morals, Pope Francis’ pontificate was a terrible disappointment, and in the same regard, Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate is off to a bad start. In September 2025, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich announced that U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) would receive a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The decision drew outrage and sharp criticism from the Catholic faithful because of Durbin’s forty-year, vociferous, and unapologetic support for abortion—a position that profoundly contradicts Church teaching.

Some U.S. bishops publicly spoke out against the award to Durbin, most notably Bishop Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, the Senator’s home diocese, where Durbin has been denied the Eucharist because of his long record of support for killing unborn children. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI explicitly affirmed in authoritative papal documents that Catholic politicians who support abortion “must be denied any ecclesiastical recognition or honor.” Both popes unequivocally asserted that no Catholic institution is permitted to give awards or public honors to any politician who persistently and publicly supports abortion.

On September 30, 2025, Pope Leo was asked about Senator Durbin receiving this award from Cardinal Cupich. Pope Leo responded: “I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But I think, as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the Church. Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life. So, they are very complex issues and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them…”

It is hard to overstate how scandalously inadequate this response was. Not only did Pope Leo fail to answer the reporter’s question, but—entirely unprompted and of his own volition—he equated abortion (the deliberate murder of more than 65 million innocent children over the last fifty years) with the death penalty (the execution of approximately 1,651 criminals, convicted of heinous acts of violence against innocent human life, over the same period of time).

Just as grievously, Pope Leo then equated abortion with the alleged “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States.” This is unfathomable. Since immigration records began in 1820, the United States has welcomed nearly 100 million legal permanent residents—more than any country in world history by a vast margin. Even with this staggering volume, the United States consistently ranks in the top ten nations worldwide for humane immigrant-integration policies focused on rights, health, education, and family unity.

If Pope Leo was actually referring to illegal immigration but awkwardly omitted that crucial word, the statement becomes even more problematic. Is he drawing a moral parallel between abortion—the direct killing of innocent human life—and a sovereign nation’s legal right and moral duty to enforce its own immigration laws? If so, he has ventured far outside his proper expertise. There is nothing immoral, nor anything opposed to Church teaching, in enforcing immigration law.

On the immigration issue, Pope Francis, Pope Leo, and virtually all U.S. bishops have proven themselves hypocrites of the highest order. They maintained complete silence about the “inhuman” suffering caused by the Biden administration’s four years of wide-open borders—a policy that inflicted harm on Americans through the massive influx of violent criminals into our communities, the flood of deadly fentanyl that killed hundreds of thousands of American youths, the entry of international terrorists, and the overwhelming strain on public resources. Yet they also ignored the suffering of immigrants themselves: human trafficking of women and children into the sex trade or other forms of enslavement, hundreds of thousands of migrant children gone missing and unaccounted for, and the infiltration of violent criminal gangs, primarily into immigrant communities. If the popes and bishops truly cared about immigrants in particular—or human suffering in general—where were their voices during all this, under a self-proclaimed “Catholic” President Biden?

To combat the confusion and moral ambiguity now being sown by our religious leaders, we must return unequivocally to biblical truth. We must once again fill our churches in great numbers and insist on being nourished with the authentic faith. For Catholics, the Catechism of the Catholic Church remains one of the surest and most reliable guides, firmly rooted in more than two thousand years of faithful tradition and unwavering fidelity to biblical principles. The true faith has withstood every heresy raised against it, as well as every failing of weak and wayward clergy.

We must encourage our fellow Christians—and indeed our fellow citizens—to truly come to know, love, and serve God in this life, so that we may be happy with Him forever in the next. In pursuing this quest, however, we must ourselves remain faithful, offer fraternal correction to those who are leading souls astray, and—above all—stay ever vigilant, always beware of the wolf in shepherd’s clothing.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Dear Friend of the Family,

As we enter this blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas season, all of us at American Family Advocates pause to give thanks for the countless blessings we have received – most especially for friends like you.

Above all, we remain deeply grateful for our founder, Frank J. Russo, and his remarkable family. More than 35 years ago, he established this indispensable organization, which has remained a steadfast voice for the protection and flourishing of the American family.

We are thankful that, through your partnership, we have been able to stand firmly against radical agendas that promote abortion on demand, redefine marriage as anything other than the union of one man and one woman, indoctrinate children with transgender ideology, and strip parents of their God-given authority to raise their children in faith and freedom. Without strong defenders like you, the American family—the very bedrock of our civilization—would be in grave peril.

That is why American Family Advocates exist. For over 35 years, we have championed the most critical issues of our time: the sanctity of marriage, the right to life for the pre-born, parental school choice, religious liberty for the faithful, and the protection of children’s innocence, morals, and lives.

As I write this letter, our reach and influence have never been greater. We now have more than 1,000 loyal mailing and email subscribers and over 500 followers on X. Through our newsletters, email alerts, and posts on X, more than one million people have read our pro-life and pro-family message this year alone.

Your generous gift today directly funds the ongoing defense of unborn life, parental rights, traditional marriage, school choice, and the American family itself. Every dollar you give helps stop another assault on the values we hold dear.

Please visit our website at: https://t.co/TcGyOvaUFV to send your most-appreciated tax-deductible gift today. Together, we will keep the American family strong, safe, and free.

May God abundantly bless you and your family with a joyous, healthy, and holy Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

In grateful partnership,
Connell Friel
President, American Family Advocates

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Leftists Are Now Saying the Horrifying “Quiet Part” Out Loud

In today’s deeply polarized America, mainstream leftists have dropped all pretense. They now openly advocate and encourage the murder of conservative Americans solely for their political beliefs. This chilling reality emerges in jubilant reactions to assassinations, inflammatory rhetoric from leaders, and institutional leniency that emboldens violence—transforming mere disagreement into a death sentence.

The assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, by a self-identified transgender activist over his views on gender ideology sparked widespread celebration among leftists. Thousands flooded platforms like X, Bluesky, and Reddit with posts hailing the killer and mocking the death of a man devoted to free speech and Christian values. This glee was not confined to the fringes; it revealed a deeper ideology that deems conservatives subhuman and deserving of death.

Leftist podcaster Jennifer Welch has swiftly risen to mainstream media stardom, showered with fawning interviews on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and numerous liberal publications. She has also hosted high-profile conversations with some of the most powerful Democrats in the country, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris, and Barack Obama. Yet this elevated status has not deterred her from urging Democrats to “jump on board” with celebrating the deaths of Charlie Kirk and other conservatives—or from explicitly threatening to “come after” them. Her call to revel in the extermination of half the country lays bare the left’s unhinged shift from “agree to disagree” to wishing death upon political opponents.

High-profile Democrats only fan the flames. Jay Jones, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for Attorney General, fantasized in private texts about murdering a Republican rival and watching his children die violently in their mother’s arms. Despite the exposure of these messages, he remains in the race, still backed by unwithdrawn endorsements from figures like Abigail Spanberger and Senator Cory Booker, who have refused to disavow him.

Such silence is no accident—it signals tacit approval of murderous fantasies and suggests that violent extremism is permissible when directed at conservatives. Surveys underscore this troubling trend: 25% of liberals now say political violence can be justified, a figure that dwarfs support among conservatives. Lenient rulings, such as the eight-year sentence handed to Nicholas Roske for attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh by a Biden-appointed judge, further shield leftist aggressors and invite more bloodshed.

Recent events drive the point home. The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione drew cheers from leftists who framed it as righteous vengeance against corporate America, with online mobs glorifying the killer and ridiculing the victim. Rhetoric from President Joe Biden—urging supporters to “put Trump in a bullseye” days before an assassination attempt—and Vice President Kamala Harris’s endorsement of BLM riots that left 25 dead and caused billions in damage only normalizes such hostility.

This toxic ideology, intertwined with volatile forces like transgender extremism—linked in isolated but high-profile cases to mass shootings targeting Christians—erodes the foundations of democracy. The left is no longer reticent to voice the horrifying “quiet part” out loud: political opposition merits murder.

Americans of every stripe must not remain silent in the face of this malevolence. We must demand accountability, reclaim our institutions, and unequivocally reject this evil before more lives are lost.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Has the American Left Embraced Murder and Assassination as Acceptable Political Tactics?

In an era of deepening political divides, a disturbing question arises: has the American Left normalized murder and assassination as acceptable tactics against conservative opponents? Compelling evidence indicates as much, from inflammatory rhetoric and lenient sentencing to celebrations of violence.

Consider Jay Jones, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for Attorney General. Resurfaced texts reveal Jones fantasizing about killing a Republican lawmaker, his political rival. Jones also wished for the violent death of the lawmaker’s children in their mother’s arms. Despite this, Jones has not dropped out of the Attorney General’s race, and other prominent Democrats, including Abigail Spanberger, have not withdrawn endorsements, signaling tacit approval of such extremism.

Broader trends reinforce this troubling development of normalizing violence. A recent survey found that 25% of liberals deem political violence justified, outpacing their conservative counterparts by a wide margin. This aligns with escalating left-wing extremism, including a spike in attacks on Trump supporters and an even greater spike in Antifa-inspired terror.

The lenient sentencing of Nicholas Roske, who plotted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022, exemplifies institutional complicity. Roske, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder, which carries a maximum life sentence, received just eight years—well below the prosecutors’ 30-year request—from a judge appointed by President Biden. Critics decry this as shielding leftist aggression, emboldening other would-be assassins.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University by a self-identified transgender activist marks a grim escalation. Thousands of leftists, including mainstream voices on X, Bluesky, and Reddit, celebrated, posting videos hailing the killer. This fits a historical pattern of leftist political violence. Dehumanizing rhetoric from Joe Biden, who said, “put Trump in a bullseye”, and Kamala Harris, who endorsed the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots that caused $2 billion in damage and 25 deaths, fuels this violence.

Conservative commentators and many mainstream American voices have signaled this moment in American history as an “inflection point,” highlighting Kirk’s martyrdom and the Left’s dangerous ideology that justifies targeting conservatives.

These incidents—unpunished threats, institutional biases, lenient sentences, and jubilant reactions to an assassination—paint a compelling picture. The Left’s embrace of murder and assassination erode civil discourse, necessitating all freedom-loving Americans to denounce this pernicious ideology in order to restore principled debate and preserve democracy itself.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: An Inflection Point in American History
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a towering figure of conservative activism, was tragically assassinated during an appearance at Utah Valley University. A self-identified transgender activist, enraged by Kirk’s critiques of gender ideology, shot and killed him, leaving a profound void in the conservative movement and the nation as a whole.
Prominent figures across the political spectrum paid tribute to Kirk’s unwavering commitment to free speech, civil discourse, truth, and freedom. President Trump described him as “a tremendous fighter for America, a true patriot who loved our country and its youth like no one else—Charlie was irreplaceable, and we’ll never forget what he built.” Others echoed this sentiment: “He made extraordinary contributions to society, boldly standing against the radical Left’s agenda,” said one conservative leader. “His virtue, political prudence, and deep Christian faith shaped everything he did,” noted a close colleague. “He was a good man, rooted in biblical values, who believed in right and wrong,” added another. Through his steadfast Christian faith and relentless patriotism, Kirk mobilized generations to embrace conservative principles and defend American liberty with steadfast dedication. These tributes highlight Kirk’s enduring legacy, particularly his creation of Turning Point USA, one of the most effective youth movements in history.
A Pattern of Violence
American history reveals a troubling trend: the overwhelming majority of major political assassinations have been committed by leftist perpetrators. John Wilkes Booth, a Democrat, killed Lincoln; socialist Leon Czolgosz assassinated McKinley; and communist Lee Harvey Oswald murdered JFK. Over the past decade, leftist violence against conservatives has surged, turning political discourse into a battlefield. Notable incidents include the 2017 congressional baseball mass shooting by Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson, which severely wounded Rep. Steve Scalise, and the 2020 murder of Trump supporter Aaron Danielson by Antifa militant Michael Reinoehl in Portland. In 2022, pro-abortion activist Nicholas Roske, recently revealed to identify as transgender, plotted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Data underscores this escalation. Left-wing attacks on Trump supporters spiked 250% during Obama’s final years in office, with over 600 incidents in his first two years alone. The 2020 BLM riots, endorsed by Kamala Harris as “essential,” caused over $2 billion in damages across 200 cities, killed 25 Americans, and prompted the largest non-wartime military deployment in U.S. history. Mainstream media obscures this almost-exclusive epidemic of leftist political violence by attempting to equate right-wing “extremism” with organized leftist aggression. This purposeful concealment of the facts, and lack of retribution for leftist crimes, has dramatically increased the violence against conservatives. Kirk’s assassination marks a tragic culmination of these unaddressed aggressions.
Rhetoric and Ideology
Dehumanizing rhetoric from leftist elites has fueled this violence. Joe Biden’s comment that it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye”, was made just days before Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Biden also once said he would “beat the hell out of” President Trump if they were in high school. Kamala Harris supported the BLM riots’ persistence, while Sen. Chuck Schumer threatened Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch with reprisals for simply doing their job. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters have called for “uprisings” and confrontation, normalizing hostility
Transgender ideology has emerged as a particularly volatile force. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2333) emphasizes the biological reality there are only two genders, male and female. It also instructs us that transgenderism is a disorder against human dignity. Dr. Paul McHugh, a leading expert, warned that affirming transgender identities increases suicide rates 20-fold.
Analysis by X user @CBHeresy shows that from 2015 to 2025, transgender and non-binary individuals committed mass shootings (four or more fatalities) at 7.7 times the rate of the general population. Examples include Audrey Hale’s 2023 Nashville shooting, which targeted a private Christian parochial school, killing six, including three children. And the 2025 Annunciation Catholic Church mass shooting, injuring 18 schoolchildren and killing two of them. Kirk’s assassin, a self-proclaimed “non-binary” individual, fit this pattern of LGBTQ ideologically driven violence, often targeting Christian communities.
A Call to Renewal
Charlie Kirk's martyrdom heralds dawn, not dusk, and marks a seminal inflection point in American history. It has awakened America’s moral majority—over 70% of whom identify as Christian—who are no longer willing to tolerate the erosion of our cultural values. This moment galvanized a movement to reclaim academia, media, government, and judiciary from ideologies that have undermined and corroded the nation’s soul. Energized by faith, family, and fortitude, Americans are recommitting to defending what is good and moral and true and beautiful.
Charlie Kirk's legacy of free speech and civil discourse endures, most profoundly in the worldwide movement he built. But also, in Charlie himself, because of his deep Christian faith and indefatigable patriotism, he is going to be remembered as one of history's most effective and positive forces for cultural and political renewal. This is why he will inspire many generations to do the same, for decades, and God willing, for centuries to come.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: An Inflection Point in American History

On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a towering figure of conservative activism, was tragically assassinated during an appearance in Phoenix, Arizona. A self-identified transgender activist, enraged by Kirk’s critiques of gender ideology, shot and killed him, leaving a profound void in the conservative movement and the nation as a whole.

Prominent figures across the political spectrum paid tribute to Kirk’s unwavering commitment to free speech, civil discourse, truth, and freedom. President Trump described him as “a tremendous fighter for America, a true patriot who loved our country and its youth like no one else—Charlie was irreplaceable, and we’ll never forget what he built.” Others echoed this sentiment: “He made extraordinary contributions to society, boldly standing against the radical Left’s agenda,” said one conservative leader. “His virtue, political prudence, and deep Christian faith shaped everything he did,” noted a close colleague. “He was a good man, rooted in biblical values, who believed in right and wrong,” added another. Through his steadfast Christian faith and relentless patriotism, Kirk mobilized generations to embrace conservative principles and defend American liberty with steadfast dedication. These tributes highlight Kirk’s enduring legacy, particularly his creation of Turning Point USA, one of the most effective youth movements in history.

A Pattern of Violence

American history reveals a troubling trend: the overwhelming majority of major political assassinations have been committed by leftist perpetrators. John Wilkes Booth, a Democrat, killed Lincoln; socialist Leon Czolgosz assassinated McKinley; and communist Lee Harvey Oswald murdered JFK. Over the past decade, leftist violence against conservatives has surged, turning political discourse into a battlefield. Notable incidents include the 2017 congressional baseball mass shooting by Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson, which severely wounded Rep. Steve Scalise, and the 2020 murder of Trump supporter Aaron Danielson by Antifa militant Michael Reinoehl in Portland. In 2022, pro-abortion activist Nicholas Roske, recently revealed to identify as transgender, plotted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Data underscores this escalation. Left-wing attacks on Trump supporters spiked 250% during Obama’s final years in office, with over 600 incidents in his first two years alone. The 2020 BLM riots, endorsed by Kamala Harris as “essential,” caused over $2 billion in damages across 200 cities, killed 25 Americans, and prompted the largest non-wartime military deployment in U.S. history. Mainstream media obscures this almost-exclusive epidemic of leftist political violence by attempting to equate right-wing “extremism” with organized leftist aggression. This purposeful concealment of the facts, and lack of retribution for leftist crimes, has dramatically increased the violence against conservatives. Kirk’s assassination marks a tragic culmination of these unaddressed aggressions.

Rhetoric and Ideology

Dehumanizing rhetoric from leftist elites has fueled this violence. Joe Biden’s comment that it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye”, was made just days before Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Biden also once said he would “beat the hell out of” President Trump if they were in high school. Kamala Harris supported the BLM riots’ persistence, while Sen. Chuck Schumer threatened Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch with reprisals for simply doing their job. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters have called for “uprisings” and confrontation, normalizing hostility

Transgender ideology has emerged as a particularly volatile force. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2333) emphasizes the biological reality there are only two genders, male and female. It also instructs us that transgenderism is a disorder against human dignity. Dr. Paul McHugh, a leading expert, warned that affirming transgender identities increases suicide rates 20-fold.

Analysis by X user @CBHeresy shows that from 2015 to 2025, transgender and non-binary individuals committed mass shootings (four or more fatalities) at 7.7 times the rate of the general population. Examples include Audrey Hale’s 2023 Nashville shooting, which targeted a private Christian parochial school, killing six, including three children.  And the 2025 Annunciation Catholic Church mass shooting, injuring 18 schoolchildren and killing two of them. Kirk’s assassin, a self-proclaimed “non-binary” individual, fit this pattern of LGBTQ ideologically driven violence, often targeting Christian communities.

A Call to Renewal

Charlie Kirk's martyrdom heralds dawn, not dusk, and marks a seminal inflection point in American history. It has awakened America’s moral majority—over 70% of whom identify as Christian—who are no longer willing to tolerate the erosion of our cultural values. This moment galvanized a movement to reclaim academia, media, government, and judiciary from ideologies that have undermined and corroded the nation’s soul. Energized by faith, family, and fortitude, Americans are recommitting to defending what is good and moral and true and beautiful.

Charlie Kirk's legacy of free speech and civil discourse endures, most profoundly in the worldwide movement he built. But also, in Charlie himself, because of his deep Christian faith and indefatigable patriotism, he is going to be remembered as one of history's most effective and positive forces for cultural and political renewal. This is why he will inspire many generations to do the same, for decades, and God willing, for centuries to come.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Transgender Ideology: A Scourge on America

Transgender ideology represents a false belief that absurdly posits a man can become a woman, or a woman a man, through mere self-declaration, hormones, or surgery. This delusion defies basic biology, as sex is determined by chromosomes and immutable physical traits. At its core, it rejects objective reality in favor of subjective feelings, leading adherents down a path of confusion and self-harm. Anyone subscribing to this ideology exhibits mental imbalance, with a tenuous grasp on reality. They often exhibit symptoms similar to those of other body dysmorphic disorders, where distorted perceptions override objective truth, fostering instability that ripples into society.

This imbalance manifests in alarming trends of violence by transgender individuals over the last decade. From 2015 to 2025, transgender and non-binary perpetrators have been disproportionately represented in mass-casualty events, highlighting the ideology's destructive potential. Notable examples include the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, where non-binary individual Anderson Lee Aldrich killed five and injured 19 in a gay nightclub. In 2023, Audrey Hale, a woman believing she was a man, stormed a Nashville Christian school, murdering six, including three children, in a targeted attack. These horrors culminated in the recent deadly shooting at Assumption Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where transgender shooter Robin Westman killed two children and injured 18 others by opening fire during Mass at the affiliated Catholic school.

This pattern underscores a broader trend of aggression linked to gender dysphoria. Supporting this, a new analysis by X user @CBHeresy examines per capita rates of mass shootings (public incidents with four or more fatalities) from 2015 to 2025. Based on a dataset of 32 total perpetrators, the combined transgender/non-binary mass-shooter rate is approximately 7.7 times higher than the general population rate, far exceeding rates for other groups, such as white men or black men. While the absolute numbers are small, the per capita disparity reveals a stark overrepresentation, demanding scrutiny of the ideology’s role in inciting such violence.

Christianity has always viewed transgender ideology as a disordered and immoral condition, rooted in the belief that God created humans male and female (Genesis 1:27), with any deviation constituting a rejection of divine order. This aligns with natural law, condemning attempts to alter one’s God-given biological sex as sinful and self-destructive. By professing this truth many Christian institutions and believers have become targets of this increasingly violent ideology.

Until recently, the American psychiatric profession echoed this, classifying transgender ideology as a mental disorder. Dr. Paul R. McHugh, a renowned expert in this field and former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, noted that gender dysphoria belongs alongside disorders like anorexia, where false assumptions about the body prevail. In 2015, McHugh wrote that transgender ideology is a "mental disorder" meriting treatment, not affirmation through surgery or hormones, which are "biologically impossible." He cited studies showing 70–80% of children with transgender feelings outgrow them spontaneously.

One of the most pernicious lies perpetrated on the American public by malicious transgender activists is; if society does not affirm the transgender delusion, the transgender person will be more likely to commit suicide. The exact opposite is true. Affirming the fallacies of those who suffer from transgender ideology significantly increases their risk of suicidality. Dr. McHugh reinforces this fact by citing studies showing post-surgery transgender suicide rates are 20 times higher than non-transgender individuals. He emphasizes that the proper treatment for this disorder is to address the underlying psychosocial conflicts, not to affirm the disorder with dangerous, life-altering drugs and mutilations.

To remain a moral, civilized, and stable society, the entire transgender ideology must be eradicated from American life. Schools, media, and institutions must cease promoting this delusion, instead offering compassionate therapy to resolve underlying issues. Only by reaffirming biological reality and rejecting this scourge can we protect our children, uphold sanity, and preserve societal order. Failure to do so risks further chaos, violence, and moral decay.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Defending the Indefensible: The Democrats’ Desperate New Strategy

On July 10, 2025, agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted a large-scale law-enforcement operation at two licensed cannabis (pot) facilities in Ventura County, California. These facilities are owned by Glass House Farms and the owner is a donor to Governor Gavin Newsom and other local democrats.

Reports show 361 illegal aliens were arrested during the operation. Sources noted that among those arrested, some had prior convictions for serious crimes, including rape, child molestation, homicide-related offenses, gang affiliations, burglary, and hit-and-run. At least one individual arrested during the raid was identified as a convicted sexual predator who had prior convictions for kidnapping, attempted rape, and attempted child molestation. This child predator was working among 14 migrant children also found at the cannabis facilities. Ten of these children were unaccompanied minors. All these children were rescued by ICE from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the Glass House Farms facility is under investigation for child labor violations due to the presence of these minors.

You will recall that, during the Biden Administration, the Department of Human Services (DHS) lost track of some 500,000 children who crossed the U.S. border illegally as “unaccompanied minors”. Many of these children were placed with phantom “sponsors” registered at bogus addresses, leaving responsible authorities fearful these children were trafficked into prostitution and forced labor. Sadly, this law-enforcement operation at the Glass House Farms facilities confirms many of those fears.

Approximately 500 people gathered to protest this law-enforcement operation at Glass House Farms. This mob turned violent and many reportedly threw bricks and other objects at ICE agents. One individual allegedly fired a handgun toward federal agents, prompting the FBI to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of this unknown subject. Federal agents used tear gas and less-lethal ammunition to disperse the crowd after protesters blocked roads and clashed with authorities. The violence led to a significant law enforcement response, including the deployment of the California National Guard to help support federal agents. In response to this violence, President Trump authorized ICE agents to use “whatever means necessary” to protect themselves, vowing to continue enforcement operations.

Incredibly, California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, and local democrat leaders were more concerned about the actions of federal law-enforcement agents than the criminality of the illegal aliens and the violence of the protesters in their own backyard. Newsom described the law-enforcement operation as "inhumane" and accused the Trump administration of using tactics that "evoke chaos, fear, and terror within our communities." He specifically criticized White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, calling him a "fascist cuck" and alleging that ICE was detaining U.S. citizens and racially profiling Americans to meet arrest quotas. He also called President Trump “the real scum”.

This incident lays bare a disturbing trend in leftist Democrat ideology: defending policies and actions that clash with American history, the Constitution, and traditional Christian convictions, particularly those articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These foundational principles—rooted in the Declaration of Independence’s affirmation of inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and the Constitution’s emphasis on ordered liberty and justice—align with Christian teachings on the dignity of the human person, the sanctity of life, and the importance of family and societal order. Yet, leftist Democrats increasingly champion positions that undermine these values, defending that which is indefensible.

Open Borders and Human Trafficking
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2241) acknowledges the right of nations to regulate immigration but stresses the moral obligation to protect the vulnerable, especially children. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution prioritize the government’s duty to secure the safety of its citizens. Leftist Democrats’ advocacy for open borders and non-existent immigration enforcement, however, has facilitated human trafficking. The Glass House Farms raid exposed how unchecked immigration policies under the Biden administration allowed 500,000 unaccompanied minors to vanish into potential exploitation. By opposing ICE operations and border security, Democrats enable cartels and traffickers, placing vulnerable populations at risk in defiance of both moral and legal imperatives.

Transgenderism and the Invasion of Women’s Spaces
The Catholic Church teaches that human beings are created male and female, with biological sex as a gift from God (CCC 2333). The Constitution’s equal protection clause (14th Amendment) ensures fairness but does not mandate the erasure of sex-based distinctions. Leftist Democrats’ promotion of transgenderism, including policies allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports and access private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms, undermines these truths. This agenda disregards the safety and privacy of women, contradicting the Founding Fathers’ commitment to individual dignity and the Church’s teaching on the complementarity of the sexes.

Promoting Political Violence
The violent protest at Glass House Farms, met with Democrat leaders’ tepid condemnation and animus towards law-enforcement, reflects a broader tolerance for political violence. The Constitution’s First Amendment protects peaceful assembly, not mob actions or attacks on federal agents. Catholic teaching condemns violence that disrupts the common good (CCC 1907-1909). By excusing or downplaying such acts—whether through rhetoric or failure to prosecute—leftist Democrats embolden chaos, opposing the ordered liberty envisioned by the Founders and the Church’s call for peace.

Attacks on Law Enforcement
Calls to defund ICE and other law enforcement agencies directly challenge the Constitution’s understanding of governance as divinely instituted for justice and order (Romans 13:1-4). The Constitution empowers the federal government to protect national security (Article IV, Section 4). Democrats’ efforts to weaken ICE and police forces destabilize society, contradicting both biblical and constitutional mandates for public safety and justice.

Dissolution of Marriage and the Nuclear Family
The Catholic Church upholds marriage as a sacred union between one man and one woman, foundational to the family unit (CCC 1601). The Constitution’s protection of individual liberty does not extend to redefining societal institutions that predate the state. Leftist Democrats’ support for same-sex marriage, no-fault divorce, and policies that disincentivize traditional family structures undermines this foundation. By prioritizing individual desires over communal stability, these policies weaken the nuclear family, which both the Church and America founding documents recognized as the bedrock of a virtuous republic.

Abortion, Euthanasia, and De-Population Policies
The Declaration of Independence declares the right to life as unalienable, and the Catholic Church unequivocally defends life from conception to natural death (CCC 2270-2271). Leftist Democrats’ aggressive promotion of abortion and euthanasia defies these principles, prioritizing individual autonomy over the sanctity of life. Such policies, often framed as “reproductive rights” or “death with dignity,” clash with the Founders’ vision of inalienable rights and the Church’s moral framework, effectively endorsing de-population measures that erode societal vitality.

In defending these positions, leftist Democrats find themselves at odds with the moral and legal foundations of the United States and the timeless teachings of the Catholic Church. Their strategy—doubling down on rhetoric that vilifies law enforcement, traditional values, and constitutional principles—appears desperate, as it alienates the core convictions of a nation built on faith and freedom. The Glass House Farms incident is a microcosm of this divide, where Democrat leaders prioritize political posturing over the protection of the vulnerable and the rule of law. As they defend the indefensible, they risk eroding the very principles that have sustained America’s moral and civic order for centuries.

[Connell Friel @cfrielafa]

Zohran Mamdani: The Inevitable Consequence of the Democrats’ Radical Leftward Shift

The Democratic Party’s sharp pivot leftward has produced figures like Zohran Mamdani, a New York State Assemblymember whose socialist/communist agenda embodies the party’s embrace of extremism. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, champions policies like defunding the police and wealth redistribution, reflecting a broader trend of radicalization within the party. This shift, amplified by growing evidence of election fraud in blue states and an alarming increase in political violence, has empowered leftist politicians to push further left, unchecked by electoral accountability. Mamdani’s rise is proof of this dangerous trajectory, where corrupt politicians, believing they are not answerable to the electorate, unleash tyrannical radicalism. No issue in American history matters more than election integrity, as it is the sole check against such extremism.

The left’s history of political violence is long and troubling. John Wilkes Booth, a Democrat, assassinated Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Leon Czolgosz, a socialist, killed William McKinley in 1901. Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist, murdered John F. Kennedy in 1963. This violent streak persists. In 2017, Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson shot six people, nearly killing Rep. Steve Scalise. In 2020, Antifa radical Michael Reinoehl murdered Trump supporter Aaron Danielson in Portland. The 2024 presidential campaign saw two assassination attempts on Donald Trump—on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear, killing one supporter and wounding two, and on September 15—highlighting the left’s willingness to silence opposition through bloodshed.

This violence is fueled by incendiary rhetoric from Democratic leaders. Joe Biden’s call to put Trump “in a bull’s eye” preceded the first assassination attempt. Rep. Dan Goldman said Trump must be “eliminated.” Kamala Harris justified the 2020 BLM riots, which caused $2 billion in damage and 25 deaths. Chuck Schumer’s threats against Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch preceded an assassination attempt on Kavanaugh. Leftist activists have also targeted Tesla dealerships and owners with firebombing and violent harassment, reflecting a broader pattern of intolerance. A 2019 study found Democrats far more supportive of political violence, with over 600 attacks on conservatives during Trump’s first two years.

Compounding this extremism is mounting evidence of election fraud in blue states over the past five years. Reports of irregular vote counts, unsecured mail-in ballots, outright voter fraud, and hopelessly corrupted voter rolls in states like Illinois, California and New York have eroded trust in the electoral process. These irregularities empower leftist politicians like Mamdani, who face no accountability as corrupt systems ensure their victories. If politicians believe they can rig elections, as many now do, there is no check on their radicalism. Mamdani’s unapologetic socialism—pushing policies that dismantle law enforcement and economic stability—thrives in this environment, where electoral consequences are nullified.

Election integrity is paramount because it safeguards democracy from tyrannical overreach. Without it, figures like Mamdani will continue to escalate their radical agendas, backed by a party that tolerates violence and manipulates elections. Patriotic Americans must demand transparent elections to restore accountability and curb this tide of extremism.