But people don’t kill people with replica guns, because they are not guns.
The point appears to be lost on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATFE), the nation’s top cops for enforcing federal firearms laws.
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It’s nearly illegal, and very difficult, for regular civilians to get machine guns, or anti-tank rocket launchers. But you can get replicas of either; at most, they’ll have been demilitarized, with things like triggers, bolts and firing pins removed and plugs welded into barrels; at the lower level, they are metal facismiles that are specifically deisgned not to be able to shoot anything, absent some fairly malicious ingenuity.
Which brings us to the case of Patrick Adamlak – who had a business, selling not firearms, but replicas, including of “RPG’7s” – the Soviet-era “bazooka” famous from “Black Hawk Down” and countless third world wars – and of a “Sten” submachinine gun, a bargain-basement British weapon from World War 2 favored by Resistance groups on the continent.
This is the story of Patrick “Tate” Adamlak, a US Navy Petty Officer First Class and candiate for Naval Special Warfare (from which we might deduce had had a clean criminal record), and his…gun store?
No. Replica store.
None of these inert launchers require a Federal Firearm License for the purchase because they’re not firearms. They aren’t real. Many have had their internal parts stripped. To be clear, these are non-firearms, which are perfectly legal for anyone to buy or own … unless you’re Patrick “Tate” Adamiak.
Adamiak is about to start the third year of his 20-year federal prison sentence because the ATF reworked his legal inert RPGs until they were capable of firing a single 7.62x39mm round.
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The case involves the ATF raiding Mr. Adamiak’s…gun collection? The BATFE got to Mr. Adamlak via a confidential informant who’d seem to have had an interest in getting himself out of a jam:
“He used to own a machinegun shop,” Adamiak said. “The ATF raided his house, found a gun and charged him with felon in possession. He kept asking me for a machinegun, which I never got him. I got him a shroud off of Gun Broker. The ATF paid him around $8,000 for my case alone.”
“To be clear, I never sold a single item that qualifies as a firearm or requires an FFL (Federal Firearm License). Only non-regulated gun parts,” Adamiak said.
While dropping off gear at Adamiak’s home, the CI saw the replica grenade launcher and belt-fed machinegun replicas. He asked Adamiak if he had an SOT (Class 3 FFL).
“No, they’re replicas,” Adamiak replied. “That was the end of the conversation. We finished trading and bartering and he left.”
But eventually, the BATFE raided Adamiak again, confiscated a few replicas – and set about trying to make them work.
First came the republica “Sten” gun. The “barrel” was made of zinc – which, if you can actually put a live round through it, is just as likely to be called “shrapnel”, zinc is a soft metal, which is the opposite of the property that makes a real gun barrel. It was also basically stuck into the barrel, not pinned or screwed in like an actual firearm barrel. The “replica”/toy also had no bolt – the part that keeps the bullet in the barrel, and no magazine – bullet holder – could be made to fit it even with the BATFE’s full genius at work.
Bodell went a bit crazy in his testing. He inserted a real machinegun bolt from a real STEN submachinegun and replaced the toy’s fake barrel with a real STEN barrel, which did not fit until the technician “wrapped it with a few layers of electrical tape to make a tight fit, and press fit the machinegun barrel.”
There was another problem: no real magazine would fit into the toy gun.
“Due to the fashion in which I improvised a machinegun barrel to fit, a magazine cannot be inserted due to the barrel being too far aft,” Bodell wrote in his report.
It took a while, but agent Bodell managed to get a round to squeeze out the muzzle:
Eventually, using the real machinegun bolt and barrel, Bodell was able to load one round by hand and get it to fire.
“I test fired Exhibit 28, assembled as described above, on June 8, 2022, at the ATF test range in Martinsburg, West Virginia, using commercially available, Federal brand, 9mm Luger caliber ammunition. I pulled the bolt to the rear until it engaged with the sear, inserted one cartridge into the chamber of the barrel, and pulled the trigger. The Exhibit successfully expelled a projectile by the action of an explosive,” he wrote. “The process of converting Exhibit 28 into a weapon which will expel a projectile by the action of an explosive was extremely simple. No specialized knowledge, tools, or machining were required to convert Exhibit 28. Only three items were utilized in the conversion process: a STEN machinegun barrel, a STEN machinegun bolt, and electrical tape. The entire process took approximately five minutes.”
Once the gun fired a single round, Bodell wrote that the toy STEN was a firearm, and he also determined it was “a machinegun as defined.” However, he claimed the records were missing for the thousands of other fake STENs that had already been imported from the Spanish firm.
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The “Sten” fired one round, and likely couldn’t have fired another; a zinc barrel might as well be cardboard.
And that pales compared to what Agent Bodell did to make Adamiak’s replica RPG-7 shoot, not a rocket, but a rifle round. This is notwithstanding the fact that the rocket launcher had been originally built as a training simulator, had no trigger or firing pin, and had had a hole drilled into the exhaust tube right about where the user’s face would have been had they tried to fire a real rocket, rendering it literally more dangerous to shoot than to be shot at.
Perhaps most telling was that Adamiak’s inert RPGs were missing all of the critical fire control components, which were never found in his possession. As a result, case law was on Adamiak’s side.
Adamiak had none of the essential parts needed to turn his RPGs into actual weapons.
But Agent Bodell rummaged around the BATFE’s inventory of confiscated parts, found some fire control parts from a real RPG as well as a “subcaliber” training rifle barrel that allowed it to shoot, not a rocket, but a rifle round.
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It’s a little like tacking on enough armor and firearms to make a riding lawn mower qualify as a tank.
The point being that while there are plenty of actual crimes for our various levels of bureaucracy to go after, some parts of our federal law (sic) enforcement are apparnetly bored and idle enough to literally, not figuratively, manufacture evidence.
Yesterday, in my Sunday Smiles essay, I mused about Trump’s “own the libs” style of trolling.
It drives the liberals nuts, which can be very entertaining to watch, but I think a lot of MAGA converts who were initially reluctant to support Trump for cultural reasons are made extremely uncomfortable by his constantly trolling liberals.
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What’s the point, they wonder. Is it presidential? Doesn’t Trump have more important things to do? Is it unnecessarily provocative?
Obviously, what set off my musings was the recent controversy about Trump’s tweet in which he put up an AI-generated image of himself in Papal garb.
A year or two ago, these same people applauded when the FBI labeled traditional Catholics “domestic terrorists,” regularly call priests pedophiles (I could write essay after essay about the fact that government-employed public school teachers abuse more children in any given year than priests did in 70 years and liberals work assiduously to prevent kids escaping the public schools), and bash the Church due to its pro-natalism and anti-gender-ideology stances.
But whatever.
Tell AI to make you the pope and post it. Every lib will suddenly become pro catholic. Trust me. pic.twitter.com/RjFYIYc8A5
I can’t tell you how many anti-Catholic liberals have expressed horror and outrage over this meme, and at some level, I can understand some of the criticism. Was this really necessary?
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Revolting. Sick. Is the Roman Catholic hierarchy going to demand this twisted Trump post be removed? Republican Catholics should be the first to speak up–you saddled us with Dear Leader, after all. https://t.co/aNorZF5BSy
Do you really believe Larry Sabato was revolted? I mean, any more revolted by this than he is by the fact that Donald Trump is president at all?
I don’t. Every single outraged liberal was defending the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence being celebrated. They cheered on the Olympics, performing the trans version of the Last Supper. Their view is that the best Catholics are those who kill babies, trans the kids, and denounce Catholic social teaching. So spare me any of this fake outrage.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the Last Supper skit at the Olympics mocks Christ Himself.
Oh, the outrage over Trump’s Pope meme—from the same crowd that applauded an abortion bus outside the DNC and cheered on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for mocking Christ.
Trump may have posted that image as a joke–and a lot of people found it funny–but was it necessary, and why did he do it?
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I have a theory. Not an especially brilliant theory, but I think it hints at why Trump trolls the left so viciously and purposely inspires the outrage.
Democrats:
How dare President Trump jokingly post a hilarious AI image of him being the Pope!!!
Also, the Democrats:
Here is a video of us mocking the Eucharist with a Dorito to make fun of Trump.pic.twitter.com/EjNXzMM1KL
Trump’s greatest allies are his opposition, who overreact to everything he does and go to ridiculous extremes because he violates the norms they claim (and often do) hold so dear. Liberals will go to the mat to defend wife-beating, human-trafficking MS-13 members rather than agree with Trump on anything, and that reveals them to be insane.
This stuff transitioned from sort of funny to puzzling to lame to just depressing. Like they’re serious here and this is a third of the country now. https://t.co/zPR8l7Sr0l
More importantly, at this moment, the judicial insurrection is slowing down Trump’s agenda, and as important as these fights are, they are complicated and boring. Boring is bad for Trump because he needs his base to pressure Congress to make his reforms and budget cuts permanent.
Trump needs an excited MAGA base, not a frustrated and confused one.
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Trolling the liberals keeps his base excited, not so much because they love the trolls–some do, some don’t–but we can all unify in defending Trump against the insane attacks. The hypocrisy of the left keeps getting exposed, and the trolling Trump does keep the liberals in a perpetual state of lighting their hair on fire.
The crazier the left, the more the “rally around the flag” impulse unites MAGA.
Trump needs these seemingly peripheral fights because the core battles he is engaged in are complicated, often dull–at least in the sense that watching appeals move their way through the courts is frustratingly dull–and occur at a pace that benefits his enemies. If we are focused on what lawyers are arguing Trump’s momentum will be pissed away.
Trolling is not governing, but it is essential to Trump’s power to move Republicans in Congress to get into gear and pass his agenda. Keeping his base engaged and even angry is the only way to keep his momentum going.
When liberals go crazy because Trump put up lawn signs of illegal alien mug shots, it gets the blood flowing. And since Washington politicians will not do anything besides spend money, help their buddies, and pat themselves on the back unless they are scared of their constituents, a MAGA base that is fired up is necessary for Trump to accomplish the goals we voted for him to reach.
That, at least, is what I believe Trump is doing. Keeping people fired up. Owning the libs is the best way to own the governing process. It is not an end in itself–although I think Trump enjoys it–but a means to an important end.
Not only that, it is often hilarious.
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President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, which he celebrated this week with a characteristically electric campaign-style rally in Michigan, were the fastest and most frenzied 100 days in modern presidential history. And if Thursday’s presidential personnel drama is any indication, the next 100 days could offer more of the same.
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On Thursday, embattled Trump administration national security adviser Mike Waltz and deputy national security adviser Alex Wong resigned their posts. Reading the not-so-subtle tea leaves out of Washington, one does not get the sense that these resignations were offered voluntarily. Frustration within the administration — and especially the Pentagon — with Waltz and his team grew following the March “Signalgate” controversy, in which a group chat organized by Waltz’s office to discuss attack plans on Iran-backed Houthi jihadists in Yemen inadvertently included the Trump-skeptical editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. For a while, Waltz was able to maintain his perch despite vocal pushback. But his day has now come.
Or has it? In a shocking announcement just a few hours later on Thursday, Trump announced that Waltz — who, along with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, was one of the leaked group chat’s stronger voices advocating for U.S. military strikes on the Houthis — would instead be nominated for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz, a highly decorated combat veteran who in 2018 became the first Army Special Forces soldier ever elected to Congress, was seemingly thus able to stay in Trump’s good graces, despite Signalgate. If anything, U.S. ambassador to the UN is an arguably more prestigious — or, at minimum, equivalent — position than that of national security adviser. It seems, then, that Trump just wanted the air cleared in the office of the national security adviser, rather than intending to leave Waltz out to dry.
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In an equally shocking development, Trump also announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long held similarly hawkish views with respect to the terrorist Iranian regime, will temporarily also fill the role of national security adviser. In the hours after Waltz’s national security adviser resignation, some had speculated that Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump personal friend and foreign policy dilettante who seems to hold considerably more dovish views on Iran, might have been in the mix for the post. Clearly, such speculation did not materialize — at least for now. For the time being, Witkoff will have to settle for his role leading the administration’s ongoing, high-stakes Iran nuclear negotiations overseas.
That’s a lot of executive branch personnel turmoil for a Thursday! What in the world is going on here?
Truth is, it’s difficult to tell. Waltz had his share of disputes with some Pentagon officials, so perhaps Trump simply thought it prudent to reassign him to New York City. Certainly, Waltz will serve his country well in Turtle Bay as he fights back against what former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Jeane Kirkpatrick memorably once called the institution’s “jackals.” Regardless, it is notable that Rubio, a one-time Trump foe turned staunch ally who has never wavered on his disdain for Iran’s mullahs, will temporarily serve multiple crucial foreign policy or national security roles at such a critical time. That Rubio is now serving as both secretary of state and interim national security adviser while Witkoff, a favorite of commentator Tucker Carlson and other isolationists, is nominally leading the nuclear negotiations with Iran evinces the at-times schizophrenic nature of the administration’s foreign policy.
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Ultimately, when it comes to any potential second Iran nuclear deal, the principal is Trump himself. Advisers are important, but those advisers are ultimately only agents acting on behalf of the principal.
It is unclear what exactly the principal believes when it comes to the Iranian regime and its harrowing nuclear aspirations. On the one hand, Trump is the consummate real estate dealmaker — the literal former author of “The Art of the Deal.” And some of the recent things that Trump and Witkoff have said about Iran do seem to indicate that they care most about securing a deal with Iran — at least when the alternative scenario is (disingenuously) framed as a “forever war.” But on the other hand, Trump knows that Iran has, in the not-so-distant past, personally tried to kill him. That is no small deal. Trump, furthermore, is the same president who once took out top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps baddie Qasem Soleimani via drone strike. And he is the same president who ordered recent strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
More than anything else, it is crucial that Trump and his nuclear negotiating team understand that a deal — any deal, just for the sake of a deal — is not the goal of this exercise. The goal is to ensure that Iran, the world’s No. 1 state supporter of terrorism for nearly five decades running, does not acquire the most dangerous weapons known to man. The goal is to ensure that a regime that regularly chants “death to America” in its national legislature and directs its various regional proxies to murder Americans whenever they can does not acquire the means to hold the world hostage by risking nuclear Armageddon. Right now, Iran is largely a paper tiger. But that changes overnight if such a fanatical regime acquires nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them across continents.
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A deal — a real deal, one with teeth and which earnestly verifies that Iran’s nuclear facilities and nuclear capacities have been entirely dismantled — is one possible means to accomplish that goal. But there are other available means too — kinetic ones. And those alternative means of securing the desired end goal — that of a demonstrably, verifiably nonnuclear Iran — must not be written off yet. On the contrary, they must be carefully considered.
In such situations, everyone — yes, everyone — prefers diplomacy to kinetic action. Maybe there is an acceptable deal to be had with Iran. But it is entirely possible, perhaps likely, that there is not such a deal to be had. Let’s see that dealmaking prowess, Mr. President. But let’s also not commit the cardinal logical fallacy of confusing means and ends — especially when the stakes are so high.
To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
President Donald Trump’s approval declined after he announced broad tariffs not just on China but on trading partners who, in his opinion, take advantage of America with their tariffs on American goods. But how quickly those rooting for Trump’s failure forget the mood of the country during the Biden administration.
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In September 2024, NBC News wrote: “Two in 3 voters say the country is on the ‘wrong track’ as voters weigh whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump would be better able to change that less than two months from Election Day.” Not exactly a tough act to follow.
Critics call Trump 2.0 an “imperial” presidency careening toward a “constitutional crisis,” meaning Trump intends to ignore lower court rulings that thwart his agenda. Yet most sat silently when one of the Democrat stars, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.,) demanded that President Joe Biden ignore a 2023 lower court ruling to ban the so-called abortion pill. AOC called the ruling a “mockery of our democracy and a mockery of our law.”
When the Supreme Court ruled the Biden student debt forgiveness program unconstitutional, Biden insisted the ruling left him undeterred. He said, “The Supreme Court tried to block me from relieving student debt. But they didn’t stop me.”
Trump has secured the southern border and is fulfilling his promise to deport the estimated 15 million illegal aliens — prioritizing violent criminals — intentionally admitted into the country by Biden. Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently fretted: “I worry for people of color all over this country. … And that makes me — that frightens me. It keeps me up at night.”
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Michelle Obama must not have gotten much sleep during her husband’s administration, when even Democrats derisively referred to President Barack Obama as “deporter-in-chief.” In January 2024, PolitiFact wrote: “Under Trump, from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2020, the Department of Homeland Security recorded 2 million deportations … During Obama’s first term, fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2012, there were 3.2 million deportations (removals and returns).”
Suddenly, Democrats are pro-“insurrection.” Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently called for “mass protests” against Trump: “It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.”
“Fight everywhere and all at once”? The governor will no doubt claim he means “fight” peacefully. But when Trump, on Jan. 6, 2021, urged his supporters to “fight like hell,” his critics described this as the equivalent of ordering his supporters to set the country on fire. Never mind Trump also said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Suddenly, “mocking” one’s disability isn’t such a bad thing after all. An August 2016 Bloomberg poll of likely voters found what most bothered them about then-candidate Trump was that he supposedly “mocked” a disabled reporter, something Trump has denied doing. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Trump supporter, has since 1984 been paralyzed from the waist down. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in March, at a California Human Rights campaign event, elicited laughter when she said: “Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now. And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a– mess.” Crickets from most Democrats.
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Polls show a majority of Americans support Trump’s border wall and a plurality support his goal of mass deportation. Democrats therefore find themselves thrashing about to decide on an effective anti-Trump attack strategy. What’s their message? Waste, fraud and abuse are to be protected? Illegal alien MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the equivalent of a political prisoner? Teslas are bad — so much for climate change?
Democrats continue to claim that only the very rich stand to benefit from extending the Trump tax cuts. Biden in his first major speech since leaving office repeated the nonsense that Trump wants to “cut and gut” social security. So, there’s that.
If Trump is proven right on his tariff strategy and our trading partners cut deals that eventually turbocharge the economy, what’s left for the Democrats? Apart from mass suicide, there’s always the Trump’s a “racist/fascist/Nazi” card. It’s better than nothing.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
Note:I had intended to write a new reflection for this weekend, but my main computer stopped working on Friday night. Instead, I hope you will enjoy this reflection from 2016, and keep that timing in mind when I write about the film ‘Risen’ I still highly recommend it, too.
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This morning’s Gospel reading is John 21:1-19:
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
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Just recently, this scene played on thousands of cinema screens around the country in the excellent film Risen, and provided one of the emotional high points of the movie. A Roman tribune named Clavius, played by Joseph Fiennes, has tagged along with the apostles and sits in the boat with them when the man first calls out to them from the shore. It takes a few minutes for the apostles to realize that it is Jesus speaking to them, and they come ashore with great joy. Clavius also comes on shore, not filled so much with joy but with a compulsion to know the truth, and an undeniable thirst for the salvation of the risen Christ — even if Clavius cannot quite believe his own eyes.
Put aside the film for a moment, though, and consider what role someone like Clavius would have played at this event. Would he have been a seeker, like Clavius? A true believer from Jerusalem who witnessed the events of the Passion, and had already given his heart to Christ? Alternatively, it could be someone whose skepticism motivated him to tag along to look for reasons for disbelief. Perhaps such a traveling companion would simply have enjoyed the company of the apostles without necessarily having a primary interest in their philosophy or their particular mission. One might have been looking for work, a vocation of sorts, and hoped that the apostles might need some assistance in some manner that another traveler could provide.
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Does any of this sound familiar? It should — and the last suggestion about vocations probably tipped most of you off already. This passage from John provides us with an analogy of our church, and we are those who come to it, just as the fictional Clavius does literally in Risen.
The apostles pilot their boat and attempt to fish, but without Christ do so to no avail. When Christ appears on the shore, He leads them by guiding their efforts, and they succeed in abundance. The nets bring in multitudes of fish — in fact far too many, or so they would think. Yet the nets do not tear and the apostles bring their multitudes to Jesus, who prepares a meal. Jesus gives them the bread in a Eucharistic parallel, and then the fish for their own care. They have been fishermen, but Christ fulfills his promise to make them “fishers of men,” and in its own way, this parallels the transformation that will shortly occur on Pentecost.
We see the fruits of that transformation in our first reading today from Acts 5. The apostles have succeeded so well in “fishing” people that the Sanhedrin sees them as a threat to their own power. They are brought before the council, accused of subversion, and threatened to stop “fishing,” as it were. Yet Peter refuses to be intimidated, and the council ends up offering nothing but mostly empty threats, and the apostles rejoice — the nets have not torn. Their recognition of Christ as the living leader of the Church and humility toward the Holy Spirit lifted the nascent church, for which the apostles rejoiced afterward.
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It is this recognition and humility that transforms the church, and transforms each of us. On our own, we cannot hope to achieve salvation and eternal life, no matter how each of us comes to the church: philosopher, skeptic, friend, and so on. The Christian church satisfies all these impulses, but it cannot succeed without recognizing the imperative of Jesus Christ’s authority and leadership.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Jesus addresses this specifically to Peter in this passage, and that is also significant. This takes place after the risen Christ asks Peter to profess his devotion three times — a reversal of the three times Peter betrayed Jesus during the Passion. All three times, Jesus instructs Peter to care for his flock, but on the third time Jesus tells Peter that his life is no longer his own. The Holy Spirit will lead him “where you do not want to go,” and that Peter’s mission will always be to “follow me” in humility. Not Peter’s will, but the will of the Father through the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ will be done. And this time, with help of Christ, Peter will remain faithful to that mission unto death — and new life in the Kingdom.
The nets will not tear. The church will endure. And those who follow the apostles and succeed them will ensure that the church can embrace the wanderer, the philosopher, the skeptic, and those called to see for themselves the truth and beauty of the Word of God. When they do, we must find a way to welcome them with joy and hospitality, but remember that we can only do that when we recognize Christ as the master, and at the center of our feast, just as the apostles did on the Sea of Galilee.
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The front page image is an image from the garden of the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha, Israel. From my own collection.
“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature that looks at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state’s two legislative leaders announced a budget deal Monday night on how much to tax New Yorkers and how much the state government will spend in the coming fiscal year, which starts June 1.
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From the smattering of information available, it’s likely this deal will necessitate additional tax hikes months from now that could trigger an economic death spiral for the state and its largest city.
Here’s the kicker. This is a backroom deal, done in secrecy. No press allowed, and none of the other 211 members of the legislature were permitted in the room.
New Yorkers are paying through the nose because of this backroom dealing. It allows the state to spend a staggering $254 billion in the coming year. That’s more than it costs to run Florida and Texas combined, even though New York has 33 million fewer people to serve.
As lieutenant governor, I witnessed this backroom dealing 30 years ago. It prevented lawmakers from doing the right thing. They’re still getting sidelined today. State Sen. Tom O’Mara considers the level of spending “reckless,” but his voice isn’t heard. In fact, there was no Republican in the room.
Now that the deal is announced, nine or more bills will be hurriedly printed and put on each lawmaker’s desk, along with a “message of necessity” from the governor asking that it be voted on within hours, even in the middle of the night. Unread.
Lawmakers will vote with no debate. Like party puppets. This is not representative government.
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The New York state Constitution requires three days to read a bill before voting on it. There is no justification for waiving that.
Americans fought a revolution against taxation without representation. New Yorkers should not put up with it in their own state capitol.
On her first day as governor, Hochul promised “a new era of transparency,” but now she’s going along with Albany’s customary backroom horse trading.
She insists she doesn’t negotiate “in public.”
Sorry, but in public is how a budget affecting millions of New Yorkers should be negotiated.
Why elect 213 legislators and pay them the highest salary of state lawmakers anywhere in the U.S. — a cool $142,000 a year — only to lock them out, leaving them to wander the halls of the Capitol killing time.
Monday night, Hochul put out a press release boasting that the new budget deal doesn’t “raise income or statewide business taxes” and reduces “the payroll mobility tax for small businesses.” Those are half-truths at best.
The budget continues a tax hike on millionaires for five years that was scheduled to sunset, and increases the payroll mobility tax on most businesses in the Metropolitan Transit Authority region. New Yorkers would get a straight story if their reps and the press were allowed in the room.
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One other state — solidly blue California — does backroom budget deals. Ironic that the Democratic Party styles itself the defender of democracy, but the two biggest Democratic-controlled states locked the people’s reps out of the budgeting process.
Thirty years ago, there were complaints about “three men in a room” making the New York state budget. One of the three, then-state Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno, wrote a spirited defense of the backroom process in his memoir, claiming it worked pretty well.
Truth is, it doesn’t work. New York state is one of the worst-governed states in the nation. New Yorkers pay the most in taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, but the state is rated 50 — dead last — in economic outlook, per Rich States Poor States.
More people are fleeing New York than any other state, turning the Empire State into the Exit State.
What’s especially worrisome is that Hochul and her fellow dealmakers refuse to downsize the budget now to accommodate expected cuts in federal funding and possible downturns in tax revenue caused by financial market turmoil. Ed Ra, ranking Republican on the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, said “Democrats keep warning about thunderstorms while driving with the top down.”
An open budgeting process would invite more caveats like Ra’s. Hochul’s Budget Director Blake Washington says “we want to deal with the facts as they are today, not what could or could not be two months from now.”
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That’s crazy. No sensible person managing their household budget would deliberately ignore risks ahead.
Count on the governor to come back in a month or two proposing tax hikes. Another nail in the coffin.
New Yorkers need to demand a real say in how their state is governed, tell their elected reps to do the same, and put an end to Three Stooges budget deals.
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths at www.hospitalinfection.org. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
A supporter of Donald Trump called for violence against attorney Michael Cohen because his testimony could result in an indictment for the former president.
During a Monday interview on MAGA network Real America’s Voice, host Ed Henry spoke to a guest named Jared.
“He lives in New York, right? Michael Cohen? He lives in Manhattan?” Jared pointed out. “I hope he’s being protected, because even though the president doesn’t condone violence, that man needs his ass handed to him.”
“Maybe not violence,” Henry interrupted. “We’re not calling for violence.”
“I mean, he’s a lying sack of crap, man,” Jared continued. “It pisses me off. And I’d slap a figure-four leg lock on him in seconds. That guy is disgusting. You talk about a horse face.”
“He’s like, I can’t stand that guy,” he added. “Right between the eyes, he needs it. Anyway, that’s my opinion on Michael Cohen. You can’t let somebody like that off the hook. You can’t let him off the hook.”
Co-host Karyn Turk downplayed the guest’s calls for violence.
“Well, and being from Jersey myself, I want to say that like the things that you say, you know, these are normal speak for someone from Jersey,” she opined. “They’re not to be taken totally, literally.”
“Don’t blame Jersey,” Jared quipped. “Just blame me. I’m a man of loyalty. I’m a man of passion. I’m a man of conviction. And for that man to do what he did alone, he needs his ass handed to him.”
The guest insisted that he was usually a “gentle man.”
“It doesn’t sound like it this morning,” Henry observed.
Trump has also suggested his supporters engage in violent protest as he faces a possible indictment concerning hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
You might remember this story from earlier in the year. Pullease was pepper-spraying a suspect directly in the face, apparently while he was handcuffed in the back of a squad car when another officer objected. He became irate, grabbed her by the throat and pepper-sprayed her as well. Well, after a long investigation he’s now under arrest. He had been on paid administrative leave ever since.
A Florida police sergeant who was seen in body camera video grabbing another officer by her throat last year was charged with battery and assault on a law enforcement officer, officials said Thursday.
Christopher Pullease, 47, was also charged with evidence tampering and assaulting a civilian during the Nov. 19 incident, the Broward State Attorney’s office said in a statement.
Pullease, who was relieved of his supervisory duties in January, was accused of “intentionally touching or striking” the female officer against her will and assaulting her when he held pepper spray to her face, the statement said.
The assault charge against the civilian, who was being arrested on what authorities described as a violent felony when the incident occurred, was prompted by Pullease holding the spray to the man’s face, the prosecutor’s office said.
CLARIFICATION: According to the probable cause affidavit, Sgt. Pullease was charged with tampering with evidence over a cell phone he tampered with on or about January 19, 2022 (not for ordering officers to turn off their body cameras). No further information was provided. pic.twitter.com/nlnCjeegWv
For the first time since 2004, there will be no Usain Bolt scorching the track. That means a new generation of speed demons is looking to make its mark.
The case involved a teenage cheerleader who dropped F-bombs on Snapchat. At issue was whether schools may punish students for speech that occurs online and off-campus but that may be disruptive.
