PRO-COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA Major media outlets were downright shameful in their glowing praise for the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The New York Times said: “Without a word, only flashing smiles, Kim Jong-un’s sister outflanked Vice President Mike Pence in diplomacy.” http://cvote.it/2EhFxnr
NEW IMMIGRATION BILL ANNOUNCED A groups of six senators are introducing the Secure and Succeed Act, legislation which closely mirrors the immigration framework the Trump administration outlined recently. The bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 DACA immigrants while limiting chain migration to the nuclear family and reallocating the Diversity Visa lottery. “Our proposal is supported by the President, who’s come a long way to reach a compromise. This is the only Senate proposal that has any chance of passing the House and being signed into law,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA. http://cvote.it/2En5KAM
RELIGION AND THE PUBLIC SQUARE The U.S. Bishops praised Congress for passage of the budget that codified a new FEMA policy that allows churches and other houses of worship to apply for disaster relief funds just like any other charity. http://cvote.it/2Cb4drD
TRUMP BUDGET The Trump administration announced their budget goal of reducing government spending by $3 trillion over 10 years. Unlike last year’s 10-year budget plan, this framework would not balance after 10 years. http://cvote.it/2CdP88E
R.I.P., JEFF BELL Long-time conservative activist and two-time Senate candidate Jeff Bell passed away yesterday. He might not be very well known, but Jeff Bell is being fondly remembered by many in political circles. Jeff Bell was socially conservative and he argued that it was politically foolish for the GOP to downplay social issues. Four years before Trump won Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, Bell said: “The swing vote in the Midwest is socially conservative and less conservative economically… social conservatism is more likely to be helpful than economic conservatism.” This video interview from 6 years ago shows how prescient he was. http://cvote.it/2CgDz0Q
CATHOLIC OLYMPIAN Gold-medalist Yuna Kim lit the torch at the Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She converted to Catholicism, with her mother, in 2008. At her baptism, Kim took the name “Stella” after Mary, Star of the Sea and promised God to continue to “pray always.” http://cvote.it/2Cf6ims
CATHOLIC COLLEGES A pro-family group at Georgetown University has finally received donations that were inappropriately reassigned to pro-LGBT groups. http://cvote.it/2EiJSH4
LEGAL FIGHT OVER FULTON SHEEN A New York court overturned a ruling that Bishop Sheen’s body should go to Peoria, Illinois. According to the appellate court, important information about Archbishop Sheen’s burial intentions were disregarded at the previous trial. http://cvote.it/2EmIiUn
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The political left in the Church says let’s include all these other issues in with abortion. Let’s include the minimum wage, and the environment, and disarmament, and gun control, open borders, and whatever other liberal shibboleth they are peddling this year. This will mean we are consistent because all of these are life issues…. The funny thing you end up seeing is that the political left never really gets around to abortion.” -Austin Ruse, “Was the Seamless Garment Always a Scam?” http://cvote.it/2ElQe8E
SAINT OF THE DAY Saint Apollonia is the patron saint of dentists because her teeth were knocked out by an angry mob. http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS READINGS “Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.” (Ps 119:67) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
FAITH Prayers were said for all friends of CatholicVote at the Church of the Nativity in the Holy Land — the sight of the birth of Our Lord. A staff member of CV visited a few days ago and took this picture.