Nike: "Just Stop the Satan Shoe" by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. To be clear, I stopped buying Nike years ago. Their promotion of offensive campaigns encouraging kneeling during The National Anthem, their hiring of Colin Kaepernick to serve as the face of one of its campaigns, their compliance with Kaepernick's demands that the Betsy Ross tennis shoe be pulled honoring one of the nation's great female figures, and their continued association with China while hypocritically claiming to care about human rights injustices have been so offensive that I really don't want anything to do with the company. But when the record needs to be set straight. . . On Monday, Nike sued MSCHF, Inc., a company that has undertaken the design, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of exactly 666 pairs of "Satan Shoes." The shoes are modified Nike Air Max 97s. According to the complaint, the shoes were modified to include "60CC INK and 1 DROP HUMAN BLOOD." Nike further claims that the changes were undertaken without its consent or participation. Nike claims that the actions by MSCHF, which it undertook in partnership with Lil San X, have caused damage to its brand (presumably beyond the damage Nike caused itself by engaging in the previously described offensive campaigns). The case, unique in its distastefulness, appears to be a fairly straightforward one of patent infringement and wickedness on the part of MSCHF and Lil San X, except for the issue of football. Yes, football. It appears that Nike seems to be quite concerned when someone like MSCHF and Lil San X works to defile its brand, but Nike cared very little when its own efforts corrupted the brand of another. Yes, Nike did not engage in patent infringement against the NFL, but the actions it took in support of NFL players while they promoted kneeling before the flag during the playing of the National Anthem was every much an intrusion on the NFL's brand; just like MSCHF's actions were against Nike. The misplaced political activism on the part of the players cost the NFL millions of viewers and at least $30 million in 2017 alone, an assault from which the NFL has not yet recovered. The case of Nike v. MSCHF demonstrates a number of things. Patent infringement. Moral apathy. The disregard of, and disdain towards, human life the Left inherently harbors. . . Oh yes, and one more thing: It's interesting how one reacts when forced to walk in another's shoes. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
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Boulder Colorado Gunman Purchased His Gun Legally by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. Al Aliwi Alissa, the Boulder Colorado gunman bought his gun legally after passing a background check said the owner of the Eagles Nest Armory, where the Syrian born gunman purchased the weapon. The 21-year-old apparently purchased an AR-556 pistol, "which resembles an AR-15 rifle," (emphasis added) The Denver Post is reporting. Alissa also carried a 9 mm handgun that he apparently did not use. The Denver Post also reports that Alissi had a criminal record consisting of a misdemeanor assault, which does not disqualify him from purchasing a weapon in Colorado. Alissa is facing ten counts of first-degree murder. The findings punch a hole on the Left's emphasis on gun control laws to prevent mass shootings. It also weakens their contention that AR-15s need to be outlawed in the United States. Taken to its logical conclusion, the Left's position would have to include outlawing gun sales to individuals with misdemeanor convictions. By that argument, in Florida, misdemeanants, no matter how distant, of such crimes as petit theft (<$300.00), driving without a driver's license, and a second offense of driving with a tag that is more than 6 months past overdue would be disqualified from ever purchasing a weapon. Additionally, for a statute to capture the Ruger 556, it would have to include not only AR-15s themselves, but those that "resemble" AR-15s. Incidentally, the acronym "AR" in "AR-15" does not stand for "assault rifle" but for "ArmaLite Rifle," the name of the original manufacturer, ArmaLite, Inc. Investigators have also revealed that Alissi employed a 30-round magazine. Such high-capacity magazines may not be legally sold in Colorado, The Wall Street Journal reports. Whether Alissi purchased it legally and whether it was also purchased at the Eagle's Nest Armory is still under investigation. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
Article Published in collaboration with The Conversation.
Suez Canal blockage: what it takes to unwedge a megashipStephen Turnock, University of SouthamptonOne of the world’s largest container ships, named Ever Given, has been wedged across the Suez Canal since it was blown off course by high winds in the early hours of March 23, blocking one of the busiest maritime trade corridors in the world. The incident has created a logjam of hundreds of tankers, the operators of which are now weighing up whether to wait for the stranded container ship to be cleared, or whether rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southernmost point of Africa, will hasten their arrival at port. Read more: Suez Canal container ship accident is a worst-case scenario for global trade That decision hinges upon how long it’ll take to refloat the Ever Given, tugging it away from the banks of the canal and back into operation. Several maritime salvage firms, with experience rescuing stricken vessels, are already in attendance at the scene – but it’s unclear how much time they’ll need to dislodge the ship. The methods they’ll use to do so, however, will be the roughly the same as past examples. A grounded ship of any size requires additional buoyancy to help salvage crews ease it from where it’s stuck. And, in the case of the Ever Given, horizontal force – applied by tug boats – will be required to heave the ship from both banks of the Suez Canal. How it happenedThe Ever Given is 400 metres in length and has the capacity to carry over 20,000 20-foot containers. It was these containers, stacked high on the deck, that are suspected to have caught the gust of wind, like a sailboat’s sail, that ultimately blew the ship off course. It appears that the Ever Given lost control while heading northbound along the Suez Canal, diverting its course in such a way that one end struck one of the canal’s banks. The momentum of the massive vessel will then have pulled it round until the other end struck the other bank – slowly, perhaps, but with a huge amount of force. The precise way in which the Ever Given struck ground will be important for salvage teams to understand because, when refloating a grounded ship, it’s usually easiest to extract it the way it went in – as with a splinter. Salvaging shipsSalvaging has always been an important part of maritime operations, with specialist companies called in when large container ships or tankers run aground. The process of freeing grounded vessels is often referred to as refloating. In 2016, a ship of similar size to the Ever Given, called the CSCL Indian Ocean, took six days to refloat after grounding on the bank of the Elbe River in Germany. The same salvage techniques used then will be used this time around – albeit in the more restrictive environment of a narrow canal. There are two basic approaches to extracting a grounded ship. First, salvage crews will work to increase the vessel’s vertical buoyancy force, which means the whole boat floats higher in the water. Second, tug boats will apply sufficient horizontal force to overcome the static friction generated by whatever material the boat is resting upon. The larger and heavier the vessel, the more force required by the tug boats to refloat the ship. Fleets of tugsSwiftest to mobilise are a fleet of tugs, eight of which are already in position at the site of the stranded ship. But reports from the scene suggest that tugs have already attempted an unsuccessful operation to unwedge the ship. That means the first priority of salvage teams will instead be to make the Ever Given float higher in the water – by dredging near the sections of the bank upon which the ship is stranded, and by increasing the ship’s buoyancy. In previous salvage operations, buoyancy air bags have been attached to the underwater section of the hull to encourage it to float. But in the case of the Ever Given, this will need to happen alongside the unloading of the ship’s cargo, the removing of all on-board ballast water, and the draining of the ship’s fuel, all in an effort to make the vessel lighter and more buoyant before the tugs attempt another horizontal pull. The removal of cargo will be particularly challenging in this case. Seeing as land access will be difficult due to the Suez Canal’s sandy surrounds, a floating crane may be required, which will take time to transport to the ship and which will only be able to remove one container at a time. It might prove quicker to pump the fuel off the vessel instead of removing containers, which would require a small refuelling vessel to pull alongside to take on the fuel. Those overseeing the salvage will have access to computer models of the vessel to tell exactly which load-lightening strategy will be most effective. High tideDespite all these measures, increasing buoyancy during salvage usually relies on a rising tide, which provides an extra boost in sea level for the ship to potentially refloat upon. Unfortunately, the tidal range within the Suez Canal is limited compared to coastal waters, which will hamper refloating attempts – though a promising “spring tide”, which is higher than the usual high tide, is due over the weekend. It’s difficult to predict the rapidity with which the various components of the salvage puzzle can be brought to bear in the Suez Canal. This is not a standard salvage operation: the time pressure, with ships queuing at either end of the strait, will be weighing on everyone’s minds. Read more: Suez Canal container ship accident is a worst-case scenario for global trade But with expert salvage crews now on hand, and tried-and-tested refloating methods being put in place around the Ever Given, it’s likely to be only a matter of days – rather than weeks – before the ship is unwedged from the Suez Canal. Stephen Turnock, Professor of Maritime Fluid Dynamics, University of Southampton This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Georgia has a new slate of voting laws after Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 202, a 98-page omnibus bill, on Thursday. The "Election Integrity Act of 2021" was passed out of the legislature on a party-line vote and makes a number of controversial changes to how elections are run in the state, but also many adjustments welcomed by local elections officials who were overwhelmed by record turnout and an unprecedented shift towards mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic. Because it is such a massive piece of legislation, proponents and opponents of the bill are focusing on different sections of the law — but there are many that voters might have missed. Ultimately, Georgia voters will be impacted by most every change that is now in effect, so here is an extensive breakdown of how voters will be affected. READ GEORGIA'S NEW ELECTION LAW Changes to absentee votingMail-in absentee voting will look the most different for voters, especially after 1.3 million people used that method in the November general election. Voters over 65, with a disability, in the military or who live overseas will still be able to apply once for a ballot and automatically receive one the rest of an election cycle. But the earliest voters can request a mail-in ballot will be 11 weeks before an election instead of 180 days — less than half as much time. The final deadline to complete an application is moved earlier, too. Instead of returning an application by the Friday before election day, SB 202 now backs it up to two Fridays before. Republican sponsors of the bill and local elections officials say this will cut down on the number of ballots rejected for coming in late because of the tight turnaround. Counties will also begin mailing out absentee ballots about three weeks later than before, starting four weeks before the election. Requesting and returning a ballot will also require new ID rules: either your driver's license number, state ID number or, if you don't have those, a copy of acceptable voter ID. The law also allows for applications to be returned online, after the Secretary of State's office launched an online request portal using your driver's license number or state ID number ahead of November's general election. Poll workers will use that information, plus your name, date of birth and address, to verify your identity, and you will sign an oath swearing that everything is correct. This is a change from recent procedure that would check your signature on the application with those on file. State and local governments are no longer allowed to send unsolicited applications, and third-party groups that send applications have new rules to follow, too. Their applications must be clearly marked as being "NOT an official government publication" that it is "NOT a ballot," and must clearly state which group is sending the blank request. Plus, third-party groups are only allowed to send applications to voters who have not already requested or voted an absentee ballot. The groups potentially face a penalty for each duplicate sent. The actual absentee ballot and envelopes will look different, as well. SB 202 requires absentee ballots to be printed on special security paper, and your precinct name will now be included along with precinct ID printed at the top. Once you fill out your choices by filling in the circles for your choices, you will place it in an envelope that will have your name, signature, driver's license or state ID number (or last four digits of your Social Security number) and date of birth. The envelope will be designed so that sensitive personal information will be hidden once it is sealed. Military and overseas voters will have an additional set of absentee ballots mailed to them with their regular ballots — ranked choice instant-runoff ballots. Georgia's runoffs will now be four weeks long instead of nine weeks, but federal law requires ballots to those voters be sent out by 45 days before a federal election. So now, those voters will be given these ranked choice ballots, where they rank their choices for certain races in the event they head to a runoff, and send them back with their primary or general election ballots. Secure absentee ballot drop boxes — which did not exist a year ago — are now officially part of state law, but not without some new changes. The law now requires all 159 counties to have at least one drop box, caps the number of boxes at one per 100,000 active voters or one for every early voting site (whichever is smaller) and moves them inside early voting sites instead of outside on government property. Additionally, the drop boxes will only be accessible during early voting days and hours instead of 24/7. The State Election Board authorized drop boxes using the emergency rule process because of the coronavirus pandemic, and even that process is now being tweaked. The board must provide more notice of proposed emergency rules and has a much more limited scope in which it can enact those rules.
Changes to early votingOne of the biggest changes in the bill would expand early voting access for most counties, adding an additional mandatory Saturday and formally codifying Sunday voting hours as optional. Counties can have early voting open as long as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at minimum. If you live in a larger metropolitan county, you might not notice a change. For most other counties, you will have an extra weekend day, and your weekday early voting hours will likely be longer. If you live in Fulton County, you'll no longer be able to use one of two mobile voting buses the county purchased last year to help with long lines. While a 2019 omnibus allowed early voting sites to be more locations, including places that are normally election day polls, the Republican-led legislature has now written laws that expressly prohibits a mobile poll except during an emergency declared by the governor. For polling place changes or closures, the law now requires better notice of those changes, including a 4-by-4-foot sign that shows where the new location is. Another new rule that affects both in-person early voting and election day voting would prohibit anyone except poll workers from handing out water to voters in line, and outlaw passing out food and water to voters within 150 feet of the building that serves as a poll, inside a polling place or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line. Depending on the location, it is still possible for third-party groups to have food and water available — and it is possible for the lines to extend beyond 150 feet. During early voting, counties must publicly report daily how many people have voted in person, how many absentee ballots have been issued, returned, accepted and rejected. Early voting sites and times must be published publicly ahead of time. For runoffs, things would be tighter: the law says early voting should start "as soon as possible" after a primary or general election, and requires in-person early voting the Monday through Friday before the election. This means counties may not be able to offer weekend early voting depending on how quickly it takes them to finish the first election and prepare for the second. Changes to vote countingAmong complaints about the 2020 election was how long it took for some counties to release their final vote totals, how others missed batches of ballots the first time and general confusion about why the process is not over on election night. A change local officials embrace is a section that allows them to begin processing, but not tabulating, absentee ballots starting two weeks before the election. There's extra incentive to do so, by way of a new requirement that counties count all of the ballots nonstop as soon as polls close and finish by 5 p.m. the next day or potentially face investigation. Plus, local officials are required to post and report the total number of ballots cast on election day, during early voting, via absentee voting and provisional ballots, all by 10:00 p.m. on election night, essentially providing the public with a denominator to understand the total possible votes out there as results trickle in. Speaking of provisional ballots, out-of-precinct provisionals will not count anymore unless cast after 5 p.m. and a voter signs a statement saying they could not make it to their home precinct in time. Now that counties must finish tabulating all the votes by 5 p.m. the day after the election, lawmakers moved up their election certification deadline to six days after polls close instead of 10. Absentee ballots will be checked using the ID information voters write on the outside envelopes instead of their signatures, another departure from previous policy.
Changes affecting local elections officesOne change buried in the bill would give county elections officials greater flexibility with voting equipment for smaller, lower-turnout races. Previous law requires one ballot-marking device per every 250 active voters. Statewide general elections would still require that ratio, but any other election would be subject to the local elections officials' discretion, based on expected turnout, the type of election, number of people that have already voted and more. Counties will also have to provide better notice of public logic and accuracy testing of voting machines and equipment, where officials calibrate every piece of technology used in the election. The dates and times should be on the county's website, if they have one, a local newspaper and in a prominent place within the county. Plus, the secretary of state's office must keep a master list and make it public. In the 2020 election, many rural and urban counties received grant funding from philanthropic outlets such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the Schwarzenegger Institute. Under the new law, those elections offices could no longer directly receive funding. But the State Election Board is slated to propose a method to receive donations and distribute them equitably by October 2021. Another change that was proposed last year and is now law would require large polling places with long lines to take action if wait times surpass an hour at certain times during the day. Those massive polls with more than 2,000 voters and wait times longer than an hour would have to hire more staff, add more workers or split up the precinct after that election. More than 1,500 of Georgia's precincts have over 2,000 voters. After the 2020 election cycle saw an influx of partisan poll watchers who sometimes interfered with vote counting, the GOP-backed bill requires poll watchers be trained before allowing them to work, and gives local officials the authority to set where those watchers can observe from. Poll workers, in short supply for the June 2020 primary because of the pandemic, may now serve in adjoining counties. Scanned ballot images will now be subject to public records disclosures, and the secretary of state's office shall create a pilot program for posting those images online as well.
Changes affecting the State Election BoardWhile most Georgians don't directly interact with the State Election Board, several changes made by the Republican legislature could have an impact on local elections offices. The secretary of state will no longer chair the State Election Board, becoming instead a non-voting ex-officio member. The new chair would be nonpartisan but appointed by a majority of the state House and Senate. The chair would not be allowed to have been a candidate, participate in a political party organization or campaign or made campaign contributions for two years prior to being appointed. The law also says the governor should appoint someone if the position becomes vacant when lawmakers are not in session. Other changes to the State Election Board's powers would give the board — and by extension, the legislature — more power to intervene in county elections boards that are deemed underperforming. In addition to the legislature-appointed chair, the five-member board is made up of one member appointed by the House, one appointed by the Senate and one each picked by the Democratic and Republican state parties. The State Election Board, county commissions or a certain number of state House and Senate members that represent a county could request an independent group to conduct a performance review of their appointed elections board or probate judge that supervises elections, defined in Georgia law as the "superintendent." SB 202 would allow the State Election Board to suspend the multi-person elections board or probate judge and replace them with a single individual for at least nine months. The election superintendent is responsible for everything from certifying results, handling polling place changes and hearing challenges to voters' eligibilities — something that SB 202 clarifies that must be heard in a timely manner after being filed and can include an unlimited number of challenges. The board could only temporarily suspend up to four election superintendents at a time. Other changesThere are other more intangible changes that will not directly impact how you vote. For example, the law says the Attorney General's office shall have the authority to set up a hotline for people to file complaints about voter intimidation and "illegal election activities," including anonymous tips. That section also says the AG's office shall have the authority to review the complaints within three business days (or as "expeditiously as possible") and determine if the complaint should be investigated. The State Election Board and secretary of state's office would not be allowed to enter into any settlement agreements for election lawsuits without notifying lawmakers first. New language for certain judicial vacancies or candidates who die before election day has been added and the legislature has reiterated the state should be part of a multi-state voter registration database. In addition to the shortening of the runoff period, SB 202 would end so-called "jungle primary" special elections, requiring a special primary before a special election. Because of the delays in the 2020 census, the law also allows some of the municipal boundary line redrawing to wait until after upcoming elections.
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Ruthless Boulder Killer's Identity Released
A mass shooting in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has taken the lives of at least ten people. The tragic events come at the heels of another deadly shooting that took the lives of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia. Police have released the identity of the mass shooter as 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. He has been charged with ten counts of first-degree murder, although a motive has not been identified. Alissa's brother, Ali Aliwi Alissa told The Daily Beast that the shooter was "paranoid" and "very anti-social." In his opinion, his brother's actions, despite some anti-islamophobic comments discovered in the shooter's now-deleted social media account, was not about politics, describing him as mentally ill. The names of the ten victims have also been released. They are: Denny Strong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62, Jody Waters, 65. This is a breaking story. Please check in frequently for updates. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. Mass Shooting in Boulder Takes the Lives of at Least Six
Updated March 23, 2021; 0749 eastern. A mass shooting in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has taken the lives of ten people. The tragic events come at the heels of another deadly shooting that took the lives of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia. Although it is still too early to report on the details of the shooting and how it fits into the overall gun violence debate playing out across the nation, it appears that the shooting was perpetrated by a white male with the use of a semi-automatic rifle. A bloodied person of interest was taken into custody by Boulder police. Among the ten victims was a Boulder city police officer who has been identified as Eric Talley, 51, the father of seven children. Mr. Talley was the first at the scene, rushing in to provide assistance. The detainee, a person the police is calling a person of interest is injured and is being treated at a local hospital. This is a breaking story. Please check in frequently for updates. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. St. Andrew, the Fisherman Who Foresaw Kiev, Defeated Satan, and Saved Scotland. by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. Proudly perched atop of Andriyivskyy Descent (Andrew's Descent) in the heart of ancient Kiev, is the majestic St. Andrew's Church dedicated to Ukraine's patron saint. The church was built on the very spot where tradition holds that the Blessed Apostle Andrew placed a cross in honor of our Lord, Jesus Christ. As legend has it, Andrew climbed to the top of the hill with his disciples, which looked over the Dnieper River. Taking in the view, he placed a cross at the peak of the hill and foretold the appearance of a great city. Since then, at least three churches have been built on that spot, the present one dating back to 1744.
Andrew, along with Peter, James, and John heard Jesus prophesize of the terrible events that were to descend not only upon Israel, but personally upon the apostles:
Virtually all these prophecies applied to Andrew. After Jesus's resurrection, Andrew went east to preach the gospel (literally, "the good news"). He went to the area around the Black Sea and the Dnieper River. For a Christian this was a highly dangerous place to be since it was a land where the aggressive pagan tribes like the Rus were attempting to spread into the Roman Empire. These would have been lands and languages totally foreign to a Jew, yet Andrew somehow made his way there and successfully taught the gospel. It was as a result of his efforts of preaching the gospel in Scythia by the Dnieper River that Andrew found himself atop a hill in the wilderness of what was eventually to become Kiev and planted his cross before his disciples. Andrew also made his way to Constantinople, before it was known as such, and established the See of Byzantium, installing Stachys as its second bishop. But it was in the coastal city of Patras, in the province of Achaia (present day Greece) where St. Andrew met his greatest trial. According to the apocryphal "Acts of Andrew," there, while treating the sick and converting pagans he came across the prominent Maximilla, the interest of the proconsul or governor, Ægeates. Andrew converted Maximilla, which infuriated Ægeates, causing him to threaten the apostle with death. But again, in obedience to the warnings from Jesus, Ægeates's threats caused Andrew no fear, as he responded only by trying even more zealously to convert the proconsul, infuriating him all the more. It has been said that Ægeates possessed all the qualities of the devil, and therefore, had no chance at repentance. In his treatment of Maximilla, we see him as the seducer. In his failure to do justice, we have arrogance, and in his anger, we encounter ill temper, and selfish, unbridled passion. Yet all the temptations and threats from the devil are no match against Andrew who not only resists them, but uses them in his ascent to heaven. Andrew earnestly welcomed Ægeates's threats when the proconsul ordered his crucifixion. Like his brother Peter in Rome, Andrew refused to be nailed to the cross, finding himself to be unworthy of dying in the same manner as the Lord. Instead, he demands he be bound to the in a cross tilted diagonally, like an "X" (crux decussata). This attitude of the cross became St. Andrew's hallmark and the symbol for Scotland's flag and Russia's ensign. On that cross Andrew preached for three days, stirring up the hearts of all who listened. Fearing a riot, Ægeates reneged on his punishment and ordered his men to take down Andrew, but the Holy Spirit interceded, literally preventing the soldier's hands from touching the apostle or the cross. Those accumulated witnessed the spectacle hastening their conversion. Finally, according to the "Acts of Andrew", "an exceeding splendor like lightning coming forth out of heaven shone down upon him and so encircled him, that in consequence of such brightness mortal eyes could not look upon him at all. And the dazzling light remained about the space of half an hour. And when he had thus spoken and glorified the Lord still more the light withdrew itself, and he gave up the ghost, and along with the brightness itself, he departed to the Lord in giving Him thanks." Maximilla witnessed the death of Andrew and helped bury him in her own tomb. Afterward, she was "united to the love of Christ, [and] spent her life blessedly with the brethren." Ægeates continued to try to seduce her with promises of wealth, but was unsuccessful. He committed suicide by "[falling] off a great height." Andrew's body remained in Patras until moved by Constantius II to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople in around 357. Legend has it, that prior to his relocation, Saint Regulus, acting under the directions received in a dream, moved some of the remains. He was later told by an angel to take them to the ends of the earth and deposit the bones wherever he would shipwreck so as to protect them from what was to come. That place happened to be Fife, Scotland. Tragically, on June 14, 1559, John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, removed the relics of St. Andrews as part of the Protestant Reformation he was leading, and they were lost. In the thirteenth century, following the sack of Constantinople by the Turks, some of St. Andrew's relics were moved to Amalfi. Today, part of St. Andrew's small finger and skull remain in Patras along with some fragments of the cross upon which he was martyred. There are also two relics in Scotland, which were gifts from the Archbishop of Amalfi and Pope Paul VI respectively. One more connection with Scotland must be acknowledged, which is intriguing in its similarity to the experience Constantine had with Jesus in preparation for the taking of Rome. In 832, the Pictish King Óengus II (Angus) found himself preparing to do battle with an invading army of Angles led by King Aethelstan of East Anglia. Legend has it that St. Andrew appeared to Óengus II, ensuring him of his victory. In the morning of the battle, two linear clouds appeared in the shape of the crux decussata in the clear blue sky. The symbol was apparently witnessed by both sides, and inspired the Picts and Scots to victory. The symbol of a white saltire in a deep blue background was subsequently adopted as Scotland's flag. Next week we will continue our trek with Matthias, whose life, according to legend, was saved by Andrew. Help support the publication of more articles like these. Donate to The Federalist Pages, or Join The Founding Fathers Club. Read more from our Christianity Series by visiting thefederalistpages/news. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
Can you explain this?
I'm no conspiracy theorist, but can you explain why President Joe Biden's hand in this video posted on C-span.org appears to go through the microphone? Has this video been fabricated through green screen? Is it possible that Biden never really appeared before the press and the whole thing was electronically enhanced? Please send us any reasonable explanation you may have.
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Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or Donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. Breaking News: Rachel Levine Is a He!
My dear friends, we have been duped. We have been told that Rachel Levine, a biological male, is a she. No kidding. Absurd as that may sound, the Left, and now even Newsmax, is trying to convince us that Levine is female. Now, most of us recognize that the guy, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, is male. But regardless, the Left continues to assure us that indeed, Dr. Levine is a woman. At the very most they may concede that he is a transgender woman. And so it is that every time we hear people talk about Levine, they refer to him as she. Today, they even got Newsmax into the act when, during a ten minute televised conversation, the five people involved consistently referred to Levine as "she" or "her." Not one of them acknowledged the overarching reality that Levine is actually–get this–male! When those of us with a functioning pair of eyes (and ears) attempt to correct them, the Leftists assure us that we are wrong. It matters not that we show them pictures of Levine growing up, or in college, or even as a young professional in the healthcare field where he is unmistakeably male. None of that is relevant to the Left. Of course, providing definitive proof about Levine's masculinity leads to the inevitable conversation about the complexity of trangenderism, whether one's gender is "assigned" at birth or inherited at conception, and whether there is a theoretical possibility of there being as many genders as there are people (over 7.9 billion). And once it appears that those espousing the existence of only two genders begin to win the debate, as they inevitably will since theirs is the scientifically, experientially, ontologically, and theologically correct position, the transgenderist will ultimately and improperly reach for the First Amendment argument. The First Amendment argument holds that Levine is a human being and is entitled to identify himself and his sexuality as he sees fit. As such, we are all obliged to honor his gender preference and refer to him in a manner consistent with the gender he demands we use. But here is where the Left is wrong and where we have allowed ourselves to get duped. It is true that Levine may identify himself in whatever manner he wants. In his mind, he has the right to view himself as a woman, black, white, svelte, and even attractive. What goes unmentioned is my equally valid right to identify him as I see fit. Although Levine has the right to view himself as a lizard if he desires ("Hello, Dr. Lizard Levine. How are you today?"), he does not have the right to impose his view upon me. Similarly, if Levine desires, he can call himself a girl, a woman, or she all he wants. What he does not possess, despite the Left's insistence, is the authority to dictate to me how I see him, or for that matter, to dictate how the government should treat him. Having finally come to that realization, after all these months of useless debates and rulemaking, we can now back to espousing the undeniable truth. Breaking news: Levine is a he! And the rest of us should stop playing his stupid game of pretending that he is not. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
He was the only apostle at the foot of the cross during Christ's crucifixion and was the one to whom the care of the Virgin Mary was entrusted by Jesus Christ himself. John's life following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was quite long, with most estimating he died in 100 A.D. at the age of 93. As such he made many contributions to the establishment of Christianity in Asia and about the Mediterranean. So critical was he to the early work of the Church that Paul called him, along with James the Just, the pillars of the Church. Initially, because of his assignment to care for Jesus's mother, it is thought that John stayed with Mary. After her assumption, he went to Ephesus where he wrote at least two Epistles, eventually making his way to Asia where Irenaeus in Against Heresies placed him "until the time of Trajan" (between 96-117 A.D.). John also spent some time in Greece, apparently with one of the great Christian fathers, Polycarp, whom he taught. Polycarp tells a story that took place when he was in a bathhouse with John in Ephesus. Apparently, the two had a close encounter with a Greek heretic named Cerinthus. Cerinthus apparently wrote the now lost "Gospel of Cerinthus" where he argued that that the kingdom of Christ was to be established on earth and that the flesh "would again be subject to desires and pleasures." Eusebius, Church History, Bk III, Ch. 28, ¶ 2. He also claimed that Jesus was not born of a virgin and that he was merely a man. The heresies were findamentally offensive to the early Christians because they attempted to rob Christ of his divinity and suggested that God was not the creator of the physical world. According to Polycarp when John learned that Cerinthus was at the bathhouse where they were, he immediately fled "for he could not bear being in the same roof with him." Church History, Bk III, Ch. 28, ¶ 6. There are reports that Emperor Domitian, who reigned over the Roman Empire between 81 A.D. and 96 A.D., persecuted Christians and Jews alike. Of course, John was both. Eusebius tells that Domitian at one point called for John to be burned in oil, an attempted execution that was indeed carried out. It had the opposite effect, however, when John survived, and everyone in the coliseum who witnessed the failed murder converted to Christianity. Frustrated in his attempt to execute John, Domitian exiled him to the Island of Patmos in the Aegean where John received the Revelation that became the last book of the New Testament.
The accusations were threatening to Domitian, who thought this sect was going to threaten his reign and thus ordered for the Christians to be rounded up and executed. Some of Domitian's centurions made their way to Ephesus where they heard of John and captured him at his home. He was brought to Rome where John explained Christianity to the emperor, but Domitian remained unmoved, claiming that he needed proof. John suggested that Domitian give him poison to drink so Domitian could see that it could not hurt him. Agreeing to the test, Domitian had his men bring the poison to John who drank it after praying for the Lord's protection. John survived, leading Domitian to claim that the whole thing had been faked. In reply, John suggested that they try the poison on a condemned prisoner to prove its efficacy. This, the emperor did, and upon drinking the poison, the prisoner promptly died. When the king remained unmoved and ordered the prisoner's body disposed, John became indignant and resuscitated the prisoner, instructing him to give thanks to God who had delivered him from prison and death. Domitian, seeing that he could not kill John, ordered him banished to Patmos. After Domitian's assassination in 96 A.D., he was succeeded by Nerva, who welcomed all banished Christians. John thus returned to Ephesus where he continued his work of evangelization. Church History, Bk III Ch. 20. ¶ 10-11. One interesting event that took place in a city near Ephesus relates to the commitment of a youngster by John to the care of the local bishop. Trained in the faith, the young man nevertheless became corrupted by some other youngsters to the point where he engaged in repeated acts of robbery. He eventually became so immersed in the ways of sin and immorality that he left the faith and, according to Clement of Alexandria, entered a gang where he committed "greater crime[s]". Some time later, John returned to that city on an unrelated matter and asked the bishop about the youngster. "He is dead," the bishop said, to which John asked, "How and what kind of death?" "He is dead to God for he turned wicked and abandoned, and became at least a robber. And now, instead of the Church, he haunts the mountain with a band like himself." Upon hearing the news, the Son of Thunder, who by this time was in his 80s, demanded a horse and rode to the mountain where the members of the youngster’s gang took him captive. Insisting that he be taken to their captain, John found the young man who, upon seeing the elder John approach, turned to flee. John immediately ran after him, "forgetting his age," and yelled, "Why, my son, do you flee from me, your own father, unarmed, aged? Pity me, my son; fear not; you have still hope for life. I will give account to Christ for you. If need be I will willingly endure your death as the Lord suffered death for us. For you will I give up my life. Stand, believe Christ has sent me." The remainder of the story as related by Clement through Eusebius is particularly gripping and emblematic of the devotion of John:
John is buried in Ephesus. His tomb is in the Basilica of St. John at Selçuk.
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