TRUMP ANGERS NRA President Trump met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and publicly challenged the NRA. Trump said he favored getting rid of bump stocks and raising the age of purchasing rifles to 21 from 18. He even suggested that he supported a return of the so-called assault weapons ban. Trump said: “I’m a big fan of the NRA. These are great people, these great patriots. They love our country. But that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything.” http://cvote.it/2GS1vtP
CORPORATIONS RESPOND The nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, announced that they are raising the age to buy guns and ammo to 21, and remove items which they claim resemble assault-style rifles. http://cvote.it/2GRmM72
WHITE HOUSE Hope Hicks is out as White House Communications Director. Hicks worked on Trump’s campaign before her tenure at the White House. “Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years,” Trump said. http://cvote.it/2GTxjhU
TAXES The IRS just released a new tax withholding tool to help workers figure out how much they should deduct under the new law. http://cvote.it/2GRf7FL
MEN & WOMEN IN CHINA Decades of China’s one-child policy has left China with 37 million more males than females. And that sexual imbalance has lead to a rise in sex trafficking and elderly suicide. http://cvote.it/2GUOuQv
THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT Has American freedom failed? Some thinkers suggest the American views on the free society are self-defeating. But every human system is imperfect. http://cvote.it/2t4HvST
MORE CATHOLIC THAN CONSERVATIVE? Peter Wolfgang asks: Isn’t Le Pen and Trumpism closer to Catholic principles than the Ayn Rand-inspired talk of “moochers” and “takers”? “What Americans are most lacking in right now is not liberty but solidarity. By responding to this need, Trump-era conservative politics is more closely-aligned with Catholic principles than was the libertarian politics of the immediate pre-Trump era.” http://cvote.it/2GQLzrY
RELIGION AT WAR WITH ITSELF? Cardinal Sarah: High-ranking prelates are trying to undermine Christian morality on life, marriage, and the family. http://cvote.it/2GUHtiD
SAINT OF THE DAY Saint David of Wales was by legend the nephew of King Arthur. He was educated under the tutelage of Saint Paulinus, whose sight he allegedly restored. He was known as the “Water Drinker,” because he drank only water, and was a vegetarian. He founded 12 monasteries of very strict observance. He lived over 100 years. http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS READINGS “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. (Ps 1:40) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
SPIRITUAL BATTLE Requests for exorcisms have tripled in Italy. The demand has become so great that the Vatican is planning an international conference on exorcisms. http://cvote.it/2F4r1Qk