Saturday, June 11, 2022
Poll: Most Believe Biden Admin Allowing Gas Prices to Rise to Get Americans off Fossil Fuels
Poll: Most Believe Biden Admin Allowing Gas Prices to Rise to Get Americans off Fossil Fuels
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
HANNAH BLEAU
HANNAH BLEAU
10 Jun 20225,608
Most voters believe the Biden administration is allowing gas prices to rise to force Americans to use less fossil fuel, a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey released Friday found.
The survey asked, “Do you believe the Biden Administration is intentionally letting gas prices rise to make Americans use less fossil fuels?”
Most, 53 percent, said “yes,” they believe the Biden administration is allowing it to happen purposely to force Americans to use less fossil fuel. Another 39.6 percent, however, do not believe that is the case, and 7.4 percent are unsure.
Opinions are divided along party lines. Over three-quarters of Republicans, 77.3 percent, and 56.5 percent of independents believe the Biden administration is deliberately allowing gas prices to rise for those purposes. Most Democrats, 68.7 percent, disagree and do not believe the administration is doing so.
Most voters believe the Biden administration is allowing gas prices to rise to force Americans to use less fossil fuel, a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey released Friday found.
The survey asked, “Do you believe the Biden Administration is intentionally letting gas prices rise to make Americans use less fossil fuels?”
Most, 53 percent, said “yes,” they believe the Biden administration is allowing it to happen purposely to force Americans to use less fossil fuel. Another 39.6 percent, however, do not believe that is the case, and 7.4 percent are unsure.
Opinions are divided along party lines. Over three-quarters of Republicans, 77.3 percent, and 56.5 percent of independents believe the Biden administration is deliberately allowing gas prices to rise for those purposes. Most Democrats, 68.7 percent, disagree and do not believe the administration is doing so.
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom holds a power cable before test driving a plug-in version of the popular Toyota Prius that is one of four on loan to the city for evaluation August 25, 2010, in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The survey was taken May 25-29, 2022, among 1,091 likely general election voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent. It comes as gas prices broke yet another record high on Friday, jumping to $4.986 overnight, according to AAA. That reflects a 22 cent rise in the last week and a 61 cent rise in the last month. SUBSCRIBE
All the while, the Biden administration has refused to take responsibility for ever-rising prices under Biden’s presidency, ignoring the fact that he attacked American energy independence on day one by nixing the Keystone Pipeline and continued the trend by rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and canceling oil and gas leases. In recent months, Biden has placed the blame on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even though prices were on the rise far before that event.
This Nov. 3, 2015, file photo shows the Keystone Steele City pumping station, into which the planned Keystone XL pipeline is to connect, in Steele City, Neb. (Nati Harnik, File/AP)
“Here’s what your president did when he first came to office,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm during a hearing last month.
“He immediately reentered the Paris Climate Accord. He canceled the Keystone Pipeline. He halted leasing programs in ANWR. He issued a 60-day halt on all new oil and gas leases and drilling permits on federal lands and waters. That’s nationwide,” he said.
“He directed federal agencies to eliminate all supports for fossil fuels. He imposed new regulations on oil and gas and methane emissions. Those were all just in the first few days. Are you telling me that had no effect on our energy supply?” he asked as Granholm remained in denial.
Source
Defense secretary says Russian invasion of Ukraine ‘preview’ of ‘possible world of chaos’
by: Caroline Vakil, The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Jun 11, 2022 / 12:09 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 11, 2022 / 12:12 PM CDT
(The Hill) – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned in a speech on Friday that the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is a “preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil.”
His remarks, made at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, come as the conflict in Ukraine has raged for more than 100 days.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all. It’s what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors. And it’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in,” Austin said.
“So we understand what we could lose. We see the dangers of disorder,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued an equally somber note on Saturday during his own virtual address at the Singapore security summit, saying that global order was being decided on Ukraine’s battlefield.
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“I am grateful for your support … but this support is not only for Ukraine but for you as well,” Zelensky said, according to Reuters. “It is on the battlefields of Ukraine that the future rules of this world are being decided along with the boundaries of the possible.”
Russia launched its invasion into the former Soviet state in February. It has dragged on for several months after Moscow was initially unsuccessful at seizing Kyiv.
Russia has since refocused its efforts in eastern Ukraine, including in the city of Severodonetsk, located in the Donbas area.
Zelensky has previously warned that “the fate of our Donbas is being decided there,” saying that the battle is “probably one of the most difficult throughout this war,” according to CNBC.
On Friday, Austin also met with China’s minister of national defense, Gen. Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, warning that Beijing must “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan.” It was their first face-to-face meeting.
The age of outbreaks: Experts warn of more animal disease threats
Issued on: 10/06/2022 - 11:48
Bats are a common spreader of zoonotic diseases, which experts warn could increase due to a range of human-induced upheavals to the animal world Freek van den Bergh ANP/AFP/File
Paris (AFP) – With the spread of monkeypox across the world coming hot on the heels of Covid-19, there are fears that increasing outbreaks of diseases that jump from animals to humans could spark another pandemic.
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While such diseases -- called zoonoses -- have been around for millennia, they have become more common in recent decades due to deforestation, mass livestock cultivation, climate change and other human-induced upheavals of the animal world, experts say.
Other diseases to leap from animals to humans include HIV, Ebola, Zika, SARS, MERS, bird flu and the bubonic plague.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that it is still investigating the origins of Covid, but the "strongest evidence is still around zoonotic transmission".
And with more than 1,000 monkeypox cases recorded globally over the last month, the UN agency has warned there is a "real" risk the disease could become established in dozens of countries.
The WHO's emergencies director Michael Ryan said last week that "it's not just in monkeypox" -- the way that humans and animals interact has become "unstable".
"The number of times that these diseases cross into humans is increasing and then our ability to amplify that disease and move it on within our communities is increasing," he said.
Monkeypox did not recently leap over to humans -- the first human case was identified in DR Congo in 1970 and it has since been confined to areas in Central and Western Africa.
Despite its name, "the latest monkeypox outbreak has nothing to do with monkeys," said Olivier Restif, epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge.
While it was first discovered in macaques, "zoonotic transmission is most often from rodents, and outbreaks spread by person-to-person contact," he told AFP.
Worse yet to come?
Around 60 percent of all known human infections are zoonotic, as are 75 percent of all new and emerging infectious diseases, according to the UN Environment Programme.
Restif said the number of zoonotic pathogens and outbreaks have increased in the past few decades due to "population growth, livestock growth and encroachment into wildlife habitats".
"Wild animals have drastically changed their behaviours in response to human activities, migrating from their depleted habitats," he said.
"Animals with weakened immune systems hanging around near people and domestic animals is a sure way of getting more pathogen transmission."
Benjamin Roche, a specialist in zoonoses at France's Institute of Research for Development, said that deforestation has had a major effect.
"Deforestation reduces biodiversity: we lose animals that naturally regulate viruses, which allows them to spread more easily," he told AFP.
And worse may be to come, with a major study published earlier this year warning that climate change is ramping the risk of another pandemic.
As animals flee their warming natural habitats they will meet other species for the first time -- potentially infecting them with some of the 10,000 zoonotic viruses believed to be "circulating silently" among wild mammals, mostly in tropical forests, the study said.
Greg Albery, a disease ecologist at Georgetown University who co-authored the study, told AFP that "the host-pathogen network is about to change substantially".
- 'We have to be ready' -
"We need improved surveillance both in urban and wild animals so that we can identify when a pathogen has jumped from one species to another -- and if the receiving host is urban or in close proximity to humans, we should get particularly concerned," he said.
Eric Fevre, a specialist in infectious diseases at Britain's University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, said that "a whole range of new, potentially dangerous diseases could emerge -- we have to be ready".
This includes "focusing the public health of populations" in remote environments and "better studying the ecology of these natural areas to understand how different species interact".
Restif said that there is "no silver bullet -- our best bet is to act at all levels to reduce the risk".
"We need huge investment in frontline healthcare provision and testing capacity for deprived communities around the world, so that outbreaks can be detected, identified and controlled without delays," he said.
On Thursday, a WHO scientific advisory group released a preliminary report outlining what needs to be done when a new zoonotic pathogen emerges.
It lists a range of early investigations into how and where the pathogen jumped to humans, determining the potential risk, as well as longer-term environmental impacts.
© 2022 AFP
Friday, June 10, 2022
Anthony Fauci reveals retirement plans: ‘It might be sooner than most people think’
By Graig Graziosi and Io Dodds
The Independent
2 days ago
Dr Anthony Fauci , 81, will hang up his lab coat for the last time someday.
He's just not sure when.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent , Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), discussed whether or not he has considered any plans for retirement .
"You know, to be honest with you, I certainly will some time, and I don't think it's going to be a very long time from now," he said.
Dr Fauci has helmed the NIAID for 37 years, and in 2020 became something of a surrogate for liberals frustrated by former President Donald Trump 's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. During press conferences Dr Fauci appeared visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed by the former president's words, and would even contradict Mr Trump during his cable news appearances.
Even that slight defiance to Mr Trump made him a target of right-wing critics, with former Trump aide Steve Bannon once calling for the doctor's head to be placed on a pike outside the White House as a message to other would-be rabble-rousers.
With the Trump years and the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind him, it would seem like an opportune time for the doctor to step away and enjoy retirement. But Dr Fauci says he hasn't really had time to consider any of that.
"I haven't really focused on exactly what that would be because we're sort of in the middle of a public health crisis," he said.
According to Dr Fauci, he'll consider retirement once Covid-19 is under "better control," which could be soon, or months or even years from now.
"I'm not trying to be evasive," he said. "It might be sooner than most people think, or it might be later than most people think."
However, during an appearance on Fox News last week, Dr Fauci did claim he would likely retire before the 2024 election.
Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Dr Fauci if he would continue to serve if Mr Trump runs and is elected to a second term in office. Mr Trump famously once told a crowd of supporters chanting "fire Fauci" to "let me wait a little bit after the election."
The doctor said he would not get involved in any politics and did not see himself in the position post-2024.
“By the way, by the time that happens, I think I won’t be around, no matter who the president is,” he told Mr Cavuto.
The Independent is the official publishing partner of Pride in London 2022 and a proud sponsor of NYC Pride.
Source
2 days ago
Dr Anthony Fauci , 81, will hang up his lab coat for the last time someday.
He's just not sure when.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent , Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), discussed whether or not he has considered any plans for retirement .
"You know, to be honest with you, I certainly will some time, and I don't think it's going to be a very long time from now," he said.
Dr Fauci has helmed the NIAID for 37 years, and in 2020 became something of a surrogate for liberals frustrated by former President Donald Trump 's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. During press conferences Dr Fauci appeared visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed by the former president's words, and would even contradict Mr Trump during his cable news appearances.
Even that slight defiance to Mr Trump made him a target of right-wing critics, with former Trump aide Steve Bannon once calling for the doctor's head to be placed on a pike outside the White House as a message to other would-be rabble-rousers.
With the Trump years and the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind him, it would seem like an opportune time for the doctor to step away and enjoy retirement. But Dr Fauci says he hasn't really had time to consider any of that.
"I haven't really focused on exactly what that would be because we're sort of in the middle of a public health crisis," he said.
According to Dr Fauci, he'll consider retirement once Covid-19 is under "better control," which could be soon, or months or even years from now.
"I'm not trying to be evasive," he said. "It might be sooner than most people think, or it might be later than most people think."
However, during an appearance on Fox News last week, Dr Fauci did claim he would likely retire before the 2024 election.
Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Dr Fauci if he would continue to serve if Mr Trump runs and is elected to a second term in office. Mr Trump famously once told a crowd of supporters chanting "fire Fauci" to "let me wait a little bit after the election."
The doctor said he would not get involved in any politics and did not see himself in the position post-2024.
“By the way, by the time that happens, I think I won’t be around, no matter who the president is,” he told Mr Cavuto.
The Independent is the official publishing partner of Pride in London 2022 and a proud sponsor of NYC Pride.
Source
Obama Attacks Free Speech: 'We Have to Take Steps to Detoxify Our Discourse'
NICK KANGADIS | JUNE 10, 2022
Never underestimate former President Barack Obama’s ability to influence the world through his rhetoric, which has only gone further and further left over the years. And with his most recent comments — along with the rest of the far-left all but saying that your rights are expendable — free speech is something that Obama doesn’t seem too fond of…when it doesn’t expand upon his far-left, global vision.
The extreme left Obama spoke at yet another globalist conference on Friday when he took time to give a speech at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.
Oh, and about your free speech? Yeah, he’s not fan.
“We have to take steps to detoxify our discourse,” Obama self-righteously said, “particularly the scourge of disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate online that has polluted our political discourse.”
Related: Obama Admits: We 'Clinically Tested the Vaccine on Billions of People'
What political discourse? Democrats and Republicans fight for the cameras in order to keep people as divided as possible, while one enacts some form of policy that positively affects very few and the other talks a big game but does nothing to stop it.
Welcome to the “Uni-party.”
Biden Soaring Gas Prices Are Part Of Green Agenda
Biden Soaring Gas Prices Are Part Of Green Agenda—Gas Stations Adding Extra Digit Expecting $10 a Gallon for Gasoline
May 24, 2022
by The Daily Caller
President Joe Biden suggested record gas prices were part of an incredible transition away from fossil fuels Monday in Japan.
At the press conference in Tokyo with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a reporter asked the president if a recession in the United States was inevitable.
“When it comes to the gas prices,” the president stammered for a moment. “We’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that God willing when it’s over we’ll be stronger, and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over.”
Biden then mentioned his decision to ease rising gas prices by releasing 180 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles in late March, though he noted it hasn’t been effective.
The Biden administration canceled the three remaining offshore oil and gas lease sales last week including the Cook Inlet in Alaska, and two in the Gulf of Mexico reportedly due to factors including conflicting court rulings.
Richard Spinrad, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reportedly said the backlog in permitting was from a miscalculation a sub agency found, according to a late April letter obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The average pump price nationwide has surged to $4.59 per gallon of regular gasoline compared to $4.11 in April, according to AAA.
AUTHOR
CHRIS BERTMAN
President Joe Biden suggested record gas prices were part of an incredible transition away from fossil fuels Monday in Japan.
At the press conference in Tokyo with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a reporter asked the president if a recession in the United States was inevitable.
“When it comes to the gas prices,” the president stammered for a moment. “We’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that God willing when it’s over we’ll be stronger, and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over.”
Biden then mentioned his decision to ease rising gas prices by releasing 180 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles in late March, though he noted it hasn’t been effective.
The Biden administration canceled the three remaining offshore oil and gas lease sales last week including the Cook Inlet in Alaska, and two in the Gulf of Mexico reportedly due to factors including conflicting court rulings.
Richard Spinrad, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reportedly said the backlog in permitting was from a miscalculation a sub agency found, according to a late April letter obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The average pump price nationwide has surged to $4.59 per gallon of regular gasoline compared to $4.11 in April, according to AAA.
AUTHOR
CHRIS BERTMAN
Ganoune Diop was Re-elected as Director for Religious Liberty, but not without Opposition
06-09-2022 09:27 AM CET
Press release from: Advent Messenger
Delegates to the 61st General Conference Session re-elected Ganoune Diop to continue serving as Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty on June 7, 2022, during the final business meeting of the day. The nominating committee provided a full list of all the new department heads, which was to be voted on as a group rather than individually. As a result, Ganoune Diop's name was included in that list. As the names were being read before the vote, the delegates were given the opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions, or even request that the list be rejected.
When sharing their concerns, however, the chairman of the business meeting would not allow the delegates to mention any of the people's names or the department's name. That complicates things. How can delegates express their opposition to re-electing Ganoune Diop if you can't mention his name or the department to which he's been nominated? This makes vetting a candidate for a position in an office nearly impossible. Why does the leadership make it difficult to express legitimate concerns by imposing rules that prevent you from speaking up?
And because all department heads were being voted on at the same time, you would have to reject the entire list of candidates to prevent Ganoune Diop from being elected. These tactics pretty much guarantee that every name becomes an easy winner because there is no proper vetting. We have all seen how our US Senators are allowed to vet the Supreme Court Justice nominees thoroughly. Yet when Ganoune Diop came up for re-election, you couldn't even mention his name, let alone his department, when deciding whether or not he should serve.
Despite these obstacles, Jonathan Zirkle of the General Conference was able to object to Ganoune Diop's nomination. Given the difficulty, this was a truly remarkable task. In a video that is provided, Johnathan Zirkle begins to demonstrate how the Religious Liberty Department has abandoned its original mission and is now writing amicus briefs (letters of support) for George Soros' left-wing political organizations.
It's unfortunate that the chair of the business meeting stopped Jonathan from continuing, as your will see in the video. Ganoune Diop was then re-elected along with all the names for the other department heads in one quick, single action. This was all done by design. In fact, the lack of liberty to have open discussions about any particular nominee was also by design. It's sad that there is more transparency in our federal government (which doesn't have very much) than in our church elections.
The fact that Ganoune Diop was re-elected with ease indicates that little will change in the near future. Rome is delighted, not just because Diop was re-elected, but also because we are using their election techniques. During my first two days in St. Louis, I've been able to witness a lot, and there's more to report on, but the re-election of Ganoune Diop and the lack of openness and discourse "takes the cake," as we say. I guess we can congratulate the business meeting chairperson on Diop's re-election.
Click to see this amazing video: http://adventmessenger.org/ganoune-diop-was-re-elected-as-director-for-religious-liberty-but-not-without-opposition/
Contact: Andy Roman, Publisher
Address: Advent Messenger, PO Box 96, Dover, OK 73734
Phone: (888) 299-2119
Website: www.adventmessenger.org
Email: adventmessengers@gmail.com
About: Advent Messenger provides news and commentary on current events, top stories, social trends and political and religious events. For more news visit www.adventmessenger.org
This release was published on openPR.
Dow dives 800 points, S&P 500 posts worst week since January after inflation hits 40-year high
PUBLISHED THU, JUN 9 20226:02 PM EDTUPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Jesse Pound@JESSERPOUNDWATCH LIVE
Netflix, AMD, and DocuSign are some of today’s stocks: Pro Market Movers June 10
Stocks dropped sharply on Friday after a highly anticipated inflation report showed a faster-than-expected rise in prices and consumer sentiment hit a record low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 880 points, or 2.73%, to close at 31,392.79. The S&P 500 fell 2.91% to settle at 3,900.86. The Nasdaq Composite sank 3.52% to 11,340.02.
The sell-off was broad, with nearly every member of the 30-stock Dow in the red. Declining stocks on the New York Stock Exchange outpaced advancing ones by more than 5 to 1.
Apple dropped nearly 3.9%, while Microsoft and Dow, Inc. slid about 4.5% and 6.1%, respectively. Salesforce sank 4.6%, and Amazon fell more than 5%.
CNBC
Friday’s declines means Wall Street suffered its worst week in months. The Dow fell 4.58% for its 10th down week in the past 11. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 5.05% and 5.60%, respectively, for their ninth losing week in 10 and the worst week since January.
S&P 500 in 2022
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Chart
Line chart with 251 data points.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Range: 2021-12-31 00:00:00 to 2022-06-10 00:00:00.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Range: 3800 to 5000.
Jan ’22Mar ’22May ’223800400042004400460048005000cnbc.com
End of interactive chart.
The May consumer price index report came in at its highest level since 1981, putting pressure on the stock market. The report showed prices rising 8.6% year over year, and 6% when excluding food and energy prices. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting year-over-year increases of 8.3% for the main index and 5.9% for the core index.
“It’s confirming some of the fears I’ve been hearing from investors this week,” said Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. She said alarm over inflation has been driving stocks lower this week.
For the broader market to perform better, we need to see a pullback in energy, says Jessica Inskip
“Does it sort of force equities to stay at the bottom the range it’s been in? Perhaps. I don’t think this is enough to force it down to new lows,” Calvasina added.
The hot inflation readings have flamed concerns about a potential recession for the U.S. economy among investors and the general public. The preliminary June reading for the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index came in well below expectations, hitting a record low.
“It just reinforces the impact the CPI number had on consumer psyche. We can guess this is going to have a negative future impact on consumer spending. It’s a shocking number, but this is what inflation does when it’s running as hot as it is,” said Peter Boockvar of Bleakley Advisory Group.
Traders appeared to be preparing for a more aggressive Federal Reserve in response to the surge in prices. The 2-year Treasury yield, which is seen as one of the most sensitive to Fed rate hikes, jumped above 3% on Friday to hit its highest level since 2008.
Tech stocks were under pressure as investors grappled with higher rates and a potential recession. Shares of Netflix dropped more than 5% following a downgrade from Goldman Sachs. Chip giant Nvidia slid nearly 6%.
Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:
Markets expect the Fed will now be more willing to risk recession to fight hot inflation
Buffett disciple has just one U.S. stock in his portfolio — and it’s a chip stock
This recession will be different, so buy these names with higher-income customers, BofA says
Banks and cyclical stocks also moved lower, possibly reflecting recession fears. Shares of Wells Fargo retreated by 6%, Goldman Sachs shed more than 5%. Boeing dropped 5%.
Stocks ended May with a rally off the 2022 lows on the speculation that maybe the worst of the inflation is behind us, but Friday’s CPI report dashed those hopes. The S&P 500 is back down nearly 19% from its record and sits roughly even with its May closing low for the year.
Thursday, June 09, 2022
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
A Confluence Of Calamities
Last Trumpet Newsletter
Volume 41 Issue Six June 2022
Last Trumpet Ministries · PO Box 806 · Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” I Cor. 14:8
A Confluence Of Calamities
“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”
Lamentations 3:21-26
We live in an interconnected world. Thanks to modern technology, the global population has the ability to travel extensively from nation to nation very quickly. If you have the financial means, you can travel via airplane from the United States to Australia in about twenty-one hours. Conversely, when the pilgrims in England set sail for America on the ship known as the Mayflower in 1620, the journey took sixty-six days. In ancient Biblical times, it took the Israelite people forty years to travel from the Land of Goshen in Egypt to the Promised Land. Today, a journey from the Land of Goshen area of Egypt to Jerusalem in the Israeli State can be accomplished in less than ten hours by automobile.
Our ability to travel so efficiently and quickly around the world is precisely the reason a novel coronavirus from China was able to spread across the entire globe in just a matter of months. This same efficient transportation has given way to what has come to be known as a “global economy.” In recent months we have heard a lot about a supply chain crisis that has led to shortages of a wide assortment of products and has exacerbated inflationary pressure in the United States and abroad. The supply issues began with the Covid-19 pandemic because so many areas of the world were shut down in 2020 and beyond. Our modern world cannot easily handle prolonged disruptions, and many people likely have no inkling of just how complex the global supply chain is.
When we think of American-made automobiles, certain manufacturers, such as Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors, likely come to mind. However, none of the vehicles produced by these companies are purely American in origin. Cars today use components from all over the world, and according to a report published in 2018, the two vehicles with the most components produced in the United States were, in a somewhat ironic twist, manufactured by Honda. The Honda Odyssey minivan and the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck were both 75-percent American made in 2018. “There are no purely American vehicles. These are global automakers who use global sources for all types of parts,” said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at the car sales website known as AutoTrader. (1)
Consumer electronics have an even more complicated supply chain. Take, for example, Apple’s famous smartphone known as the iPhone. The sheer complexity of these devices is almost mind-boggling. To produce an iPhone, Apple gathers components from forty-three countries and six continents. A video produced by CNBC in December 2018 describes the journey a microprocessor makes before it finally is installed into an Apple iPhone. The chip is designed in Cupertino, California. The chips are then fabricated in Taiwan. They are tested and packaged in the Philippines and finally shipped to either China or Taiwan to be installed in the devices. The video also reveals that a typical smartphone uses between sixty and seventy elements from the Periodic Table of the Elements. Many of these elements, including rare earth metals, are mined in China, but they come from other parts of the world, too. (2)
Monday, June 06, 2022
Legal claims shed light on founder of faith group tied to Amy Coney Barrett
Examination of People of Praise comes as supreme court seems poised to reverse Roe v Wade
Amy Coney Barrett gave the commencement address to Trinity graduates at People of Praise Center in South Bend, Indiana, in 2011. Photograph: Barbara Allison/AP
Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Stephanie Kirchgaessner
US Investigations Correspondent@skirchy
Mon 6 Jun 2022 02.00 EDT
The founder of the People of Praise, a secretive charismatic Christian group that counts the supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett as a member, was described in a sworn affidavit filed in the 1990s as exerting almost total control over one of the group’s female members, including making all decisions about her finances and dating relationships.
The court documents also described alleged instances of a sexualized atmosphere in the home of the founder, Kevin Ranaghan, and his wife, Dorothy Ranaghan.
The description of the Ranaghans and accusations involving their intimate behavior were contained in a 1993 proceeding in which a woman, Cynthia Carnick, said that she did not want her five minor children to have visitations with their father, John Roger Carnick, who was then a member of the People of Praise, in the Ranaghan household or in their presence, because she believed it was not in her children’s “best interest”. Cynthia Carnick also described inappropriate incidents involving the couple and the Ranaghan children. The matter was eventually settled between the parties.
Barrett, 50, lived with Dorothy and Kevin Ranaghan in their nine-bedroom South Bend, Indiana, home while she attended law school, according to public records. The justice – who was then known as Amy Coney – graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1997 and two years later married her husband, Jesse Barrett, who also appears to have lived in the Ranaghan household. There is no indication that Amy Coney Barrett lived in the house at the time when the Carnick children were visiting or witnessed any of the alleged behavior described in the court documents.
The examination of the People of Praise’s history and attitude towards women comes as a majority of the supreme court – including Barrett – appear poised to reverse Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal across the US.
Cynthia Carnick stated in the documents that she had witnessed Dorothy Ranaghan tie the arms and legs of two of the Ranaghans’ daughters – who were three and five at the time the incidents were allegedly witnessed – to their crib with a necktie. She also said that the Ranaghans allegedly practiced “sexual displays” in front of their children and other adults, such as Dorothy Ranaghan lying with her clothes on and “rocking” on top of Kevin Ranaghan in their TV room.
Cynthia Carnick – who no longer uses Carnick as her last name – declined to comment but said that she stood by the statement she made at the time.
In an affidavit that supported Cynthia Carnick’s written statement, a woman named Colette Humphrey said she had lived with Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan from 1973 to 1978, when she was a member of the People of Praise, and confirmed she had witnessed incidents of inappropriate sexual expression.
Humphrey also wrote in her statement: “When I was part of the People of Praise I was in full life submission to Kevin Ranaghan, under full obedience to him and he exercised this authority over most areas of my life. For example, we were ‘in common’ financially, which meant that I had to hand over my paycheck to Kevin Ranaghan and he would decide on how that paycheck would be used. Kevin Ranaghan controlled my dating relationships, deciding who and when I should date.”
Humphrey – who now uses a different surname – did not respond to a request for comment left at her residence.
A third woman, Susan Reynolds, said in a sworn statement that she lived in the Ranaghan household, and that she had at one point been “shocked” to hear that Kevin Ranaghan sometimes showered with two of his daughters, who were 10 or 11 at the time. She said in her statement she was later told by Dorothy Ranaghan that Kevin had “decided to quit showering with them” after Reynolds had questioned Dorothy about the practice.
The Ranaghans did not file any affidavits in connection to the 1993 proceeding, to which they were not a party.
Dorothy Ranaghan declined to comment to the Guardian. Kevin Ranaghan said: “These allegations are nearly three decades old, outlandish, and completely without merit. We have a loving and affectionate marriage of 55 years and have welcomed dozens of people into our home as part of our religious faith and commitment to service to God.”
A spokesperson representing the Ranaghans sent an emailed statement to the Guardian on behalf of the couple’s six adult children. It said they were “insulted by false and misleading statements about our childhood relationships with our parents from decades ago”. “We are part of a loving family and bringing these preposterous claims up now is hurtful and irresponsible.”
People of Praise said in a statement: “Since 1967 Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan have been known and respected for their tireless work sharing the free gift of the Holy Spirit with hundreds of thousands of people around the world. We are proud that they are members and leaders of the People of Praise.”
The claims about the Ranaghans’ behavior and Kevin Ranaghan’s alleged control over at least one former member of People of Praise is coming to light two years after the Guardian first reported that the group had hired a law firm to conduct an “independent” investigation into decades-old claims of sexual abuse against minors by some members of the Christian faith group.
Since then, at least one alleged victim who cooperated with the investigation has been told that the inquiry into sexual abuse claims by the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has been concluded, but that a written report of its findings would not be released to alleged victims or to the public.
When one alleged victim of sexual abuse, who spoke to the Guardian but asked not to be named, asked about the investigation into her own case, lawyer Diane Doolittle of Quinn Emanuel allegedly told her that at least some of the individuals who had been interviewed about the allegations “didn’t recall the details” and that it had been “difficult” to get information.
The South Bend-based group is a covenanted community, which means that members have entered a “covenant commitment” to live together – sometimes families and single members can live in a single household – and are expected to share portions of their income and regularly attend hours-long private prayer meetings, which can include exorcisms and speaking in tongues. The group has about 1,700 members, is mostly Catholic but is open to all Christians, and espouses conservative views on gender. It opposes same-sex marriage and only men can serve on its board of governors or as coordinators, who lead different branches of the community.
The Washington Post reported in 2020 that a People of Praise 2010 directory showed Barrett served as a “handmaid”, a female adviser to other female members. Barrett also served on the Trinity Schools board, whose members must belong to People of Praise, from 2015 to 2017, at a time when the schools effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and – according to the AP – “made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom”.
Doolittle did not respond to an emailed request for comment. People of Praise said in a statement: “The independent review by Quinn Emmanuel was concluded more than a year ago, and meetings regarding the review have taken place.”
The Guardian sought a comment from Amy Coney Barrett’s chambers through the supreme court press office, but did not receive a response.
In June 2021, four victims of alleged sexual or physical abuse in the People of Praise published an open letter in the South Bend Tribune calling for reforms within the faith group. The suggested reforms included public acknowledgment that there had been a “systemic failure to protect People of Praise children from abuse”, public naming of all individuals who have been “credibly accused of abuse” or “concealing abuse within People of Praise or its schools”, and placing an equal number of women in the highest leadership positions in the group, and giving them an “equal vote in all of the group’s decisions”. The letter noted that the Catholic church has publicly named individuals who have credibly been accused of abuse.
Barrett, who is Catholic, has never publicly been asked about her membership in People of Praise, which first came to light in a New York Times article in 2017, after Barrett, a former law professor at Notre Dame, was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as a judge on the US court of appeal for the seventh circuit. She was confirmed and then later, in 2020, was nominated and confirmed to serve on the supreme court after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Barrett has said that her religious convictions, including her previously stated views opposing Roe v Wade, had no bearing on her role as a judge and would not affect her impartiality.
The justice’s involvement in People of Praise became known publicly in 2017 only after one former member, Kevin Connolly, said he brought the story to the New York Times. He did so, he told the Guardian, because he believed it was important for the public to be aware of and understand her affiliation with the group. He was also one of the four authors of the open letter sent to the South Bend Tribune.
Connolly, who is the brother of the People of Praise’s chief spokesperson, Sean Connolly, told the Washington Post in 2021 that his father, who was then a member of People of Praise, was violent and once kicked him in the face when he was 10, leaving him with a black eye.
Connolly came forward, he said, after he heard of several other incidents of physical abuse among his friends growing up. Neither Connolly’s father nor his brother responded to the Post’s questions at the time the alleged abuse was reported in the Washington Post.
“Growing up in the People of Praise, I knew that they held beliefs that would be extremist to the vast majority of practicing Catholics, including on gay rights and women’s rights. I looked at the number of people living in those states covered by the seventh circuit court, and then projected those numbers over a lifetime appointment. It was well into the tens of millions. That’s when I brought the story to the New York Times in 2017. As a supreme court justice now, her extreme views may affect upwards of half a billion Americans in her lifetime,” he told the Guardian.
The founder of the People of Praise, a secretive charismatic Christian group that counts the supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett as a member, was described in a sworn affidavit filed in the 1990s as exerting almost total control over one of the group’s female members, including making all decisions about her finances and dating relationships.
The court documents also described alleged instances of a sexualized atmosphere in the home of the founder, Kevin Ranaghan, and his wife, Dorothy Ranaghan.
The description of the Ranaghans and accusations involving their intimate behavior were contained in a 1993 proceeding in which a woman, Cynthia Carnick, said that she did not want her five minor children to have visitations with their father, John Roger Carnick, who was then a member of the People of Praise, in the Ranaghan household or in their presence, because she believed it was not in her children’s “best interest”. Cynthia Carnick also described inappropriate incidents involving the couple and the Ranaghan children. The matter was eventually settled between the parties.
Barrett, 50, lived with Dorothy and Kevin Ranaghan in their nine-bedroom South Bend, Indiana, home while she attended law school, according to public records. The justice – who was then known as Amy Coney – graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1997 and two years later married her husband, Jesse Barrett, who also appears to have lived in the Ranaghan household. There is no indication that Amy Coney Barrett lived in the house at the time when the Carnick children were visiting or witnessed any of the alleged behavior described in the court documents.
The examination of the People of Praise’s history and attitude towards women comes as a majority of the supreme court – including Barrett – appear poised to reverse Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal across the US.
Cynthia Carnick stated in the documents that she had witnessed Dorothy Ranaghan tie the arms and legs of two of the Ranaghans’ daughters – who were three and five at the time the incidents were allegedly witnessed – to their crib with a necktie. She also said that the Ranaghans allegedly practiced “sexual displays” in front of their children and other adults, such as Dorothy Ranaghan lying with her clothes on and “rocking” on top of Kevin Ranaghan in their TV room.
Cynthia Carnick – who no longer uses Carnick as her last name – declined to comment but said that she stood by the statement she made at the time.
In an affidavit that supported Cynthia Carnick’s written statement, a woman named Colette Humphrey said she had lived with Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan from 1973 to 1978, when she was a member of the People of Praise, and confirmed she had witnessed incidents of inappropriate sexual expression.
Humphrey also wrote in her statement: “When I was part of the People of Praise I was in full life submission to Kevin Ranaghan, under full obedience to him and he exercised this authority over most areas of my life. For example, we were ‘in common’ financially, which meant that I had to hand over my paycheck to Kevin Ranaghan and he would decide on how that paycheck would be used. Kevin Ranaghan controlled my dating relationships, deciding who and when I should date.”
Humphrey – who now uses a different surname – did not respond to a request for comment left at her residence.
A third woman, Susan Reynolds, said in a sworn statement that she lived in the Ranaghan household, and that she had at one point been “shocked” to hear that Kevin Ranaghan sometimes showered with two of his daughters, who were 10 or 11 at the time. She said in her statement she was later told by Dorothy Ranaghan that Kevin had “decided to quit showering with them” after Reynolds had questioned Dorothy about the practice.
The Ranaghans did not file any affidavits in connection to the 1993 proceeding, to which they were not a party.
Dorothy Ranaghan declined to comment to the Guardian. Kevin Ranaghan said: “These allegations are nearly three decades old, outlandish, and completely without merit. We have a loving and affectionate marriage of 55 years and have welcomed dozens of people into our home as part of our religious faith and commitment to service to God.”
A spokesperson representing the Ranaghans sent an emailed statement to the Guardian on behalf of the couple’s six adult children. It said they were “insulted by false and misleading statements about our childhood relationships with our parents from decades ago”. “We are part of a loving family and bringing these preposterous claims up now is hurtful and irresponsible.”
People of Praise said in a statement: “Since 1967 Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan have been known and respected for their tireless work sharing the free gift of the Holy Spirit with hundreds of thousands of people around the world. We are proud that they are members and leaders of the People of Praise.”
The claims about the Ranaghans’ behavior and Kevin Ranaghan’s alleged control over at least one former member of People of Praise is coming to light two years after the Guardian first reported that the group had hired a law firm to conduct an “independent” investigation into decades-old claims of sexual abuse against minors by some members of the Christian faith group.
Since then, at least one alleged victim who cooperated with the investigation has been told that the inquiry into sexual abuse claims by the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has been concluded, but that a written report of its findings would not be released to alleged victims or to the public.
When one alleged victim of sexual abuse, who spoke to the Guardian but asked not to be named, asked about the investigation into her own case, lawyer Diane Doolittle of Quinn Emanuel allegedly told her that at least some of the individuals who had been interviewed about the allegations “didn’t recall the details” and that it had been “difficult” to get information.
The South Bend-based group is a covenanted community, which means that members have entered a “covenant commitment” to live together – sometimes families and single members can live in a single household – and are expected to share portions of their income and regularly attend hours-long private prayer meetings, which can include exorcisms and speaking in tongues. The group has about 1,700 members, is mostly Catholic but is open to all Christians, and espouses conservative views on gender. It opposes same-sex marriage and only men can serve on its board of governors or as coordinators, who lead different branches of the community.
The Washington Post reported in 2020 that a People of Praise 2010 directory showed Barrett served as a “handmaid”, a female adviser to other female members. Barrett also served on the Trinity Schools board, whose members must belong to People of Praise, from 2015 to 2017, at a time when the schools effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and – according to the AP – “made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom”.
Doolittle did not respond to an emailed request for comment. People of Praise said in a statement: “The independent review by Quinn Emmanuel was concluded more than a year ago, and meetings regarding the review have taken place.”
The Guardian sought a comment from Amy Coney Barrett’s chambers through the supreme court press office, but did not receive a response.
In June 2021, four victims of alleged sexual or physical abuse in the People of Praise published an open letter in the South Bend Tribune calling for reforms within the faith group. The suggested reforms included public acknowledgment that there had been a “systemic failure to protect People of Praise children from abuse”, public naming of all individuals who have been “credibly accused of abuse” or “concealing abuse within People of Praise or its schools”, and placing an equal number of women in the highest leadership positions in the group, and giving them an “equal vote in all of the group’s decisions”. The letter noted that the Catholic church has publicly named individuals who have credibly been accused of abuse.
Barrett, who is Catholic, has never publicly been asked about her membership in People of Praise, which first came to light in a New York Times article in 2017, after Barrett, a former law professor at Notre Dame, was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as a judge on the US court of appeal for the seventh circuit. She was confirmed and then later, in 2020, was nominated and confirmed to serve on the supreme court after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Barrett has said that her religious convictions, including her previously stated views opposing Roe v Wade, had no bearing on her role as a judge and would not affect her impartiality.
The justice’s involvement in People of Praise became known publicly in 2017 only after one former member, Kevin Connolly, said he brought the story to the New York Times. He did so, he told the Guardian, because he believed it was important for the public to be aware of and understand her affiliation with the group. He was also one of the four authors of the open letter sent to the South Bend Tribune.
Connolly, who is the brother of the People of Praise’s chief spokesperson, Sean Connolly, told the Washington Post in 2021 that his father, who was then a member of People of Praise, was violent and once kicked him in the face when he was 10, leaving him with a black eye.
Connolly came forward, he said, after he heard of several other incidents of physical abuse among his friends growing up. Neither Connolly’s father nor his brother responded to the Post’s questions at the time the alleged abuse was reported in the Washington Post.
“Growing up in the People of Praise, I knew that they held beliefs that would be extremist to the vast majority of practicing Catholics, including on gay rights and women’s rights. I looked at the number of people living in those states covered by the seventh circuit court, and then projected those numbers over a lifetime appointment. It was well into the tens of millions. That’s when I brought the story to the New York Times in 2017. As a supreme court justice now, her extreme views may affect upwards of half a billion Americans in her lifetime,” he told the Guardian.
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