Happy President’s Day!

Hail to the Chiefs that have served our nation.

To get us “in the mood,” check out our “Our Musical Presidents: Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome the White House Boogie Band!” from 2022.

Trump isn’t known for playing an instrument beyond tooting his own horn. But he did break out the dance moves this weekend.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Former President Trump breaks out into a dance as local high school cheerleaders and a marching band greet him at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/F0cEYNktKg

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 18, 2024

He also … yes, you are reading this right … introduced his own line of high-end, high-top ‘Never Surrender’ Sneakers. We tell you all about it, and the latest campaign news in the latest edition of Resolute.

The Dark Death of Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died while imprisoned above the Arctic Circle. His sudden, suspicious death sent shockwaves around the world and fingers pointed directly at Vladimir Putin. The cause of Navalny’s demise is unclear. Reuters quotes family members as saying they were told of “sudden death syndrome,” a vague phrase covering assorted causes of cardiac arrest. A source told the Russian-run RT news service Navalny died of a blood clot. 

We have two thoughtful, in-depth “big picture” looks at the death of Navalny:

John Zmirak’s “What Would Putin Do? (WWPD)” and Timothy Furnish’s “Murder Most Foul – But How Strange and Unnatural?”

Joe Biden blasted Putin for the death, and sent his condolences to Navalny’s family and staff who are “going to continue this work despite all of Putin’s desperate attempts to stamp out the opposition…”

Biden, whose DOJ is currently trying to imprison Trump: "We're going to continue this work despite all of Putin's desperate attempts to stamp out the opposition…" pic.twitter.com/aRfysWuvIm

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 16, 2024

Thankfully we don’t live in a country whose presidents try jailing their political enemies for life and “stamp out the opposition”, huh, Joe?

While Joe was blasting Putin, he was also muddying the waters in the Ukraine-Russia War with his latest mental lapse.

Biden Confuses NATO with Ukraine

What is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest gripe? NATO expansion onto Russia’s border. So would it be a good thing or a bad thing for our national security if the U.S. president says Ukraine is part of NATO?

Nonetheless, that’s exactly what Biden did Saturday, with his latest mental gaffe when he called the Ukraine funding bill “funding NATO.” In his words:

The idea that we’re going to walk away from Ukraine; the idea that we’re going to let NATO begin to split is totally against the idea of the United States of America.

It is against our word and troops that we’ve sent over all the way back to Eisenhower. So it is about time Congress come home and pass the legislation funding NATO.

The funding bill he’s talking about is specifically for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel. None of which are NATO countries. But he was sure making it sound like Ukraine is a NATO country.

Now onto the culture wars.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral to Offer “Mass of Reparation” After “Sacrilegious” Funeral Held for Transgender Activist

On the first day of Lent, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC hosted the funeral of transgender activist Cecilia Gentili; a funeral which became a celebration of transgenderism and “gender affirming care,” with Gentili being toasted as St. Celia, “Mother of all Whores.”

According to OSV News, the self-professed atheist “was the founder and principal consultant of Trans Equity Consulting and an advocate for the decriminalization of sex work.”

The Catholic community was outraged, and now the archdiocese itself is calling the funeral “sacrilegious,” “scandalous” and an “outrage. Insisting the church did not know the nature of the funeral, Rev. Enrique Salvo said in a statement:

That such a scandal occurred at “America’s Parish Church” makes it worse; that it took place as Lent was beginning, the annual 40–day struggle with the forces of sin and darkness, is a potent reminder of how much we need the prayer, reparation, repentance, grace, and mercy to which this holy season invites us.

Rev. Salvo announced the church would hold an “appropriate Mass of Reparation”

Meanwhile, remember the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence? The blasphemous drag group honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers last year? A member of their Brew City, Wisconsin chapter has been arrested on charges of child porn and sexual exploitation of a child. Adam Westbrook’s day job was as the human resources director for Outagamie County. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s office won’t release any more details on the arrest, citing a wider investigation to protect children.

It’s OK for Kids, But Not OK for Legislature

You see the same story in school board meetings and legislative sessions coast-to-coast, and it never fails to astound.

New Hampshire State Rep. Glenn Cordelli recently took to the House floor to read passages from books currently allowed into the hands of public school children. Books that contain explicit sexual contact, including the depiction of a minor being raped by an adult.

Democrats immediately protested, trying to shut Cordelli down. Their argument? Yup. The material was too offensive for the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Rep. Lucy Weber (D) said the books were “offensive to many and triggering to some that are victims of violence or abuse.” She called for a vote on whether Cordelli should be allowed to continue reading.  The vote to silence Cordelli failed, but 170 Democrats voted to protect the ears of the elected body from the same material shoved on the children of the state.

Kansas City Mayor: Calling Chiefs Victory Parade Shooters “Thugs” is Racist “Dog Whistle”

The more folks like you “pray, vote, engage,” the less we end up with folks in office like the mayor of Kansas City. Last week, a mass shooting at the Chief’s Super Bowl victory parade left one woman dead and a couple dozen injured, and wrecked what was supposed to be a joyous day for the city. And what’s Mayor Quinton Lucas worried about? Missouri Gov. Mike Parson referring to the shooters as “thugs.

Parson had said “We can’t let some thugs just take over and ruin what happened.” You have any problem with that? Lucas did. He told KCUR, “I certainly do think this was criminal activity. It was lawlessness, and I think that that’s troubling. But ‘thugs’ is a dog whistle in the most classic sense.”

Two minors, who happen to be African-American, have been charged in the shootings.

Two Presidents on This President’s Day

Enjoy yourself this President’s Day, and let’s head into the news day with these words from President Harry S. Truman:

“I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the h*** you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the h*** the rest of them ever got here.”

More seriously, consider this from President Benjamin Harrison, the nation’s 23rd president: “If you take out of your statutes, your constitution, your family life all that is taken from the Sacred Book, what would there be left to bind society together?” 

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and co-author of the counter-terrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.