I am very sad to report the recent passing of a friend of many years, John Scoles. My condolences to his wife, Kelly, who has contributed greatly to the Gazette for several years now.

I knew John for virtually all of the 34 years I've been in Fillmore. I saw him regularly at Mass until his disability made his attendance too difficult. John was also a close associate of a best friend of mine, Joseph P.D. Kern, who passed away several years ago. Both outstanding lawyers.

May the souls of these faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

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An unusually clear display of the Democratic Party's mind was exposed to the world last Tuesday when Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Gliannoulias (D) testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee to protect child pornography. The hearing, entitled "Book Bans: Examining how Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature", seeks to defend the vilest child porn as "literature" worthy to be included in school libraries. His argument: (child pornography must not be banned.) "This legislation is important, because both the concept and the practice of banning books contradicts the very essence of what our country stand for, and what our democracy was founded on," Giannoulias told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday." So, according to his twisted logic, the Founding Fathers supported sodomy.

The law – passed earlier this year – "prohibits state funding for any library that pulls books for "partisan or doctrinal" reasons." " The new law comes as predominantly Republican-led states continue to restrict books some consider offensive in schools and libraries across the country."

Giannoulias was questioned by Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) who shocked many by reading aloud excerpts from two infamous pornographic books ("All Boys Aren't Blue" and "Gender Queer") now promoted for public school libraries by Woke Democrats, but banned by others. Normal Christian parents loudly condemn the books as viciously pornographic. "Vicious", because the book's visual contents leave vivid spiritual scars on innocent memories.
Psychologists tell us that even a single pornographic picture stays with the child for a lifetime. But Democrats say banning any book is a bad thing, and child porn is a good thing. They use the idea of "free speech" to perfume the fecal stench of child pornography.

Illinois must be staffing its senior politicians from NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) membership lists. This situation epitomizes one of America's fatal flaws today, a flaw that may well end our Republic. That is, in multiple cases America faces completely intolerable, even lethal, situations - and seems incapable of doing anything about it. Call it sovereign political impotence.

Examples are plentiful. Our border was opened on the first day of Biden's election - 7 million global illegal aliens continue to pour in. Nothing has been done to stop it. Biden surrendered Afghanistan after squandering 20-years of blood and treasure. Nothing to stop hasty abandonment, including American citizens and $85 billion worth of equipment handed to the Taliban. Just today, capitulating to Iran (giving Iran $6 billion in prisoner swap for five Iranian Americans now held in Tehran). Iran is close to having nuclear weapons; the deal sabotages Israeli defense, endangers America. Who - what - can stop it? Evil in America today appears unstoppable.

Conclusive evidence of historic multi-million-dollar Biden family corruption (think treason), Democrat indifference, and media cover-up with no cure in sight, infests the Republic with confusion. Again, nothing can be done in a timely fashion - while China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran don't bother with fashion. Unpopular common sense declares America is in grave, imminent danger - too proud to pray, too naive to save the innocence of our school children. Still Home of the Brave? Or Ship of Fools?