Happy Brewsday!

Let’s start with a question: “What issues should the Church be paying attention to?”

We have an answer: Watch the new “Conversations with Christians Engaged” series that launched this morning called “Issues that the Church is Not Paying Attention To.” Up first, Bunni Pounds talks to Kevin Freeman about “China, Inflation, & the National Debt.”

36 Strollers

Some 240 people are believed to be held hostage by Hamas, 36 of them children. A group called Tennessee Stands With Israel held a rally and march in Nashville featuring 36 empty strollers to symbolize those in terrorist captivity. So we won’t forget. With the busy holiday season closing in, when we can be easily distracted, we cannot forget.

“All we want to do is bring them home,” an organizer told Nashville’s News Channel 5. “It’s a humanity thing. This is not a religion thing, this is not a politics thing, it’s a humanity thing. We need to bring these hostages, especially these babies home.”

IDF: Hamas Command Center Found Under Gaza Children’s Hospital. Hostages May Have Been There

Some of those babies may have been held underneath a children’s hospital in Gaza City. The IDF released footage Monday demonstrating how Hamas was operating a command center underneath Gaza City’s Rantizi Hospital.

“Underneath the hospital, in the basement, we found a Hamas command and control center, suicide-bomb vests, grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, and other weapons, computers, money, etc,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed. “We also found signs that indicate that Hamas held hostages here.”

“Monsters,” tweeted Guy Benson. “This should provoke righteous OUTRAGE from every civilized person. Hamas has verifiably operated out of a children’s hospital, where it appears they held innocent hostages. Note well who reacts with silence.”

Benson is evoking the timeless and very timely quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Many thousands, of course, have been noisy in the face of evil. That is, loudly voicing their support for those who carried out the atrocities of Oct. 7 and would use a children’s hospital as a base. CNN’s Jake Tapper is stunned.

“There are loud voices in the United States who are actually rooting for the hostage takers,” he told viewers, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

In a related story, Raymond Ibrahim has a follow-up to his fascinating article about the Islamic concept of “Ribat.” This one deals with how Ribat is impacting the United States. “America’s Islamic Ribat Problem.”

QAnon Shaman Running for Congress?

Remember the so-called QAnon Shaman? The guy in face paint and Viking horns who wandered the U.S. Capitol on January 6? And although he was less rowdy than those rattling the gates of the White House last week … golly, less troublesome than your average Eagles fan … spent 27 months in prison, including 11 in solitary confinement? Chansley didn’t get sprung until J6 surveillance footage aired by Tucker Carlson in March appeared to exonerate him.

Well, Jacob Chansley may soon be walking around Capitol Hill again. Chansley filed the paperwork Thursday announcing his intention to run a Libertarian for the 8^th District seat currently held by Republican Rep. Debbie Lasko. Lasko’s already said she’s not running in 2024.

So why does he want to to run? “We’re not really seeing accurate representation whatsoever in Congress,” Chansley told Newsmax, “and this is because they are representing the lobbyists and the non-governmental organizations.”

Of course, January 6 hangs over Chansley and he admits he was wrong.

Of course, breaking the law, there’s no excuse, and if I could go back and know what was going to happen, I would stop everything from happening as much as I possibly could. Now, whether or not that would be possible, considering the police threw concussion grenades and tear gas into an otherwise peaceful crowd, I don’t know. I mean, who’s going to listen to the guy in horns and face paint telling everybody calm down, right?

I dunno. “Blessed are the peacemakers” doesn’t appear to rule out people dressed up like they were working a Nordic Festival.

Along The Stream

This weekend Pope Francis removed Bishop James Kirkland of Texas, whose firm and outspoken advocacy for traditional Catholic teachings had raised the ire of the Vatican. With that news as a backdrop, John Zmirak interviewed author John Gravino. The topic? “How the Sexual Revolution Conquered the Catholic Church”. It is a fascinating read and helpful primer on the battle within the Body today.

We’ve also got a report from International Christian Concern about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

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.