But fresh air through open windows is blowing like a gentle breeze, this breeze is reaching all the clergy and laity of the world, especially we young Catholics!

From Silere non Possum:

Vatican City - Without clamor, without triumphant announcements or leaked communiqués to journalists, this morning Pope Leo XIV held his first private audience as the new Bishop of Rome. The recipient of the meeting was not a head of state or a high diplomatic representative, but Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.

Leo XIV chose to begin his ministry as Pontiff in this way, marking in practice and not in words, his connection with the Urbe. No public emphasis on the meaning of the meeting, but a clear message: the Pope intends to be, first of all, the Bishop of Rome, for his priests and take care of them.

Behind the sobriety of gestures there is a deep awareness. Leo XIV knows well what happens inside the Vicariate and in the Diocese of Rome: the power games, the intrigues, the questionable choices that, over the years, have favored some to the detriment of others. A reality documented and denounced for a long time by rumors like Silere non possum. Yet, more than struggling with the shadows of the past, the new Pontiff seems to want to look forward, with lucidity, mildness, listening and a decisive step. His first concern is clear: the priests and the people of God of his diocese. It is to them that he wants to turn his energy and his care. And for this reason, on his first official day of meetings he chose to meet his vicar to whom he has already expressed the desire to meet the priests.

A symbolic and concrete gesture together marks the beginning of the journey that Leo XIV wishes to undertake as a pastor, close to his priests and his people. The attention that Pope Leone has immediately reserved for priestly vocations will also mean that the Pontiff will return to visit his seminary and dialogue with the trainers and future priests of his diocese. On May 31, 2025, Pope Prevost has already decided to preside over the presbytery ordinations in St. Peter's Basilica.

Thus begins, without clamor, a pontificate that announces itself sober, attentive to the real life of the Church and oriented to rediscover the authentic roots of Peter's ministry. Rome, once again, is in the center: unlike what has happened in recent times, the Pope does not exalt the title of Bishop of Rome to belittle that of Supreme Pontiff. On the contrary, he takes care with awareness and depth of his being Bishop of this Church, from which derives - by grace and by mission - also his universal responsibility as Pontiff of the Catholic Church.

Pro-life lawmakers from across the country are demanding that Congress put an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood, calling on Republicans to use their “trifecta” in Washington.

The letter, sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie and signed by 183 legislators, urges Republican leadership to include a measure to defund “Big Abortion” in the budget reconciliation bill, which is scheduled for markups on Tuesday. Planned Parenthood rakes in tens of millions from taxpayers every year, according to its annual reports, while performing about 400,000 abortions between 2021 and 2022.

“As pro-life state legislators from across the country who are members of the National Pro-Life Leaders Network, we are deeply concerned with the way that big abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood prey on unborn children and hurt women, all while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from American taxpayers,” the letter, first shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation, reads. “With a Republican trifecta in Washington, it is time to use the budget reconciliation process to defund big abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”

The letter also cites several cases of botched abortions that have occurred at Planned Parenthood and deteriorating conditions at the clinics that had  disastrous results. In one case, a baby was never removed from a woman’s womb, and the woman later gave birth to the child who quickly passed away, according to The New York Times. At a Nebraska clinic in 2022 an abortion provider neglected to notice a woman was four months pregnant before inserting an IUD, leading her to deliver a stillborn baby just hours later.

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“Planned Parenthood has regularly opposed basic health and safety requirements for their facilities, all while providing poor care,” the letter says. “Women deserve better than this. Women and girls can receive better and more comprehensive care at Federally Qualified Health Centers and community health centers that vastly outnumber Planned Parenthoods.”

The state of Missouri is currently suing Planned Parenthood for allegedly helping a man traffic a 13-year-old girl across state lines in order to receive an abortion without her parents’ knowledge.

“Pro life has always been a big issue for me; it’s something I believe down to my very core, and I have always been very disappointed that federal dollars go to support an organization like Planned Parenthood that is happily destroying life and babies,” Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Kathy Rap told the DCNF. ” I believe it is time to send a strong message to our congressional leaders, both in the House and Senate and to the administration, that the majority of the American people do not want to fund Planned Parenthood when women have other resources that they can seek out for funding for prenatal health and maternal health. I do not believe that most of our citizens want to support an organization whose main goal is to perform abortions.”

Planned Parenthood did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

LifeNews Note: Jaryn Crouson writes for Daily Caller. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience.

The post Legislators From Almost Every State Call on Congress to Defund Planned Parenthood appeared first on LifeNews.com.

British PM Admits UK Being Engulfed in the Camp of the Saints

Paul Craig Roberts

PM Keir Starmer said immigrant-invaders are turning Britain into an “island of strangers.”  He blames the Conservatives  for betraying the British people for cheap foreign labour that is “pulling our country apart.” Unlimited immigration has inflicted “incalculable damage” on Great Britain.  Starmer promises to reduce annual inflows by 100,000.  His program seems to be to reduce the rate at which England is becoming an “island of strangers,” not to stop the process.  The white birth rate is falling, and that of the immigrant-invaders is rising.  Before long there will be no more white countries.  The leaders of the white ethnicities thought delivering their countries into the hands of invaders was “the moral thing to do,” a clear indication that the West’s belief system has been destroyed.  Upon its new foundations the West is constructing a Sodom & Gomorrah Tower of Babel.

Care4Calais, an activist group for immigrant-invaders, accused Starmer of “fanning the fire of the far-right,” by using “shameful and dangerous language.”  Countries based on ethnicity and common values are unacceptable to the liberal-left.  Multiculturalism means a Tower of Babel, disunity, and as the immigrant-invaders gain power persecution of the remaining white population.  The Camp of the Saints is now upon us just as Jean Raspail predicted in 1973.  In the US the judiciary won’t allow President Trump to enforce the law and deport illegal aliens.

How can a country with no sense of itself beyond a geographical location that cannot defend its borders go to war with countries that know who they are, such as Russia, China, and Iran?  For whom is a Tower of Babel fighting?

The Energy and Commerce Committee has unveiled their portion of the reconciliation bill that Republicans plan to advance in Congress to cut the massive size of the federal government.

The good news for pro-life Americans is that the measure includes language to defund Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading pro-life group, celebrated the news.

“It’s time to stop forcing taxpayers to fund the Big Abortion industry. Thanks to Speaker Johnson and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, this year’s budget reconciliation bill contains the commonsense language to make that happen,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America in comments to LifeNews.com.

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She continued: “Taxpayers should never be mandated to prop up an industry that profits from ending lives and harming women and girls. Take Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain. While their non-abortion services have sharply declined, abortions, transgender ‘treatments’ and political spending against Republicans are skyrocketing. While raking in close to $2 million a day in tax dollars, they are responsible for the deaths of almost 400,000 babies in a single year. Women and girls have also died on Planned Parenthood’s watch.”

Dannenfelser added: “Better alternatives to businesses like Planned Parenthood exist for women. They will receive high quality care at community health centers that outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 15:1 nationwide. These centers are accessible and provide much more comprehensive care without performing abortions – and because Medicaid dollars follow patients, they can continue to use Medicaid.

“Forcing Americans to fund the abortion industry is a gross abuse of our hard-earned tax dollars and it’s unconscionable how long it has gone on. President Trump and Republicans included defunding in their 2017 reconciliation bill. We have a historic opportunity to get the job done in 2025 and we look forward to a vote on the House floor.”

Last week, a few Republicans in the House and Senate expressed their reservations about defunding Planned Parenthood within the budget bill. Asked about that, President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Republicans will resolve internal disagreements to advance legislation defunding Planned Parenthood.

“I don’t know yet. I have to see because you’re just telling me that for the first time, we’ll work something out,” Trump said in response.

The reconciliation process, which allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, offers Republicans a rare opportunity to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. Pro-life groups argue that taxpayer dollars, even if not directly funding abortions, indirectly subsidize Planned Parenthood’s operations, which include killing over 390,000 babies every year.

However, three House Republicans—Reps. John Curtis of Utah, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Anthony D’Esposito of New York—are reportedly hesitant to support the defunding measure with Planned Parenthood defunding in it. They fear political backlash in their competitive 2026 reelection campaigns.

Pro-life advocates emphasize that community health centers, which outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics and provide comprehensive care without abortions, can absorb patients if funding is redirected.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch pro-life advocate, has signaled that defunding “big abortion” is a priority in the reconciliation bill, which also addresses Trump’s agenda on taxes, border security, and energy.

The Hyde Amendment already prohibits federal funds from directly paying for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. However, Planned Parenthood receives approximately $700 million annually through Medicaid reimbursements and Title X grants. Pro-life leaders argue this funding frees up resources for Planned Parenthood’s abortion operations.

The reconciliation bill, which allows legislation to pass with a simple majority in both chambers, is seen as a critical opportunity to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. The abortion company received nearly $700 million in taxpayer funds in its 2022-2023 fiscal year, killing 392,715 babies in abortions, according to its annual report.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) wants the big budget reconciliation plan extending President Donald Trump’s tax cuts sent to his desk — ready for signature — by July 4. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would like it even sooner: Memorial Day.

Meanwhile, Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill.) is waging a fierce campaign among her Republican colleagues to make defunding Planned Parenthood a non-negotiable piece of the final proposal.

On Monday, Miller sent a passionate letter to Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, obtained by Breitbart News. In it, she urged Guthrie to “use every legislative option available to cease all federal funds going to Planned Parenthood,” exposing the organization’s deep entanglement in abortion and transgender treatments. “Abortions and transgender treatments have exploded in clinics across the country,” she wrote.

Citing the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Miller highlighted that “abortions made up 97.1% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services from 2021-2022, performing nearly 400,000 abortions.” She also underscored the crisis in her home state, noting, “In 2023, my home state of Illinois performed 72,143 abortions, the most in our history since the state started reporting abortion totals in 1973.” Miller laid bare Planned Parenthood’s financial empire, stating, “Due to a lack of decisive Congressional action, Planned Parenthood has become a federally funded health network with private assets valued at $2.5 billion. Recent numbers show that Planned Parenthood received nearly $700 million in taxpayer revenue from 2022-2023.”

Her letter concluded with a call to action: “It is essential that we protect taxpayer dollars and stop funding this organization. President Trump has already issued an Executive Order that implements such a plan. Therefore, I urge you to do everything possible to ensure Planned Parenthood never receives another penny of taxpayer dollars.”

Speaking to Breitbart, Miller doubled down, declaring, “Planned Parenthood is a multi-billion-dollar abortion business that continues to receive millions in federal funding.” She praised Trump’s leadership, stating, “President Trump had it right when he issued an Executive Order to cut off taxpayer dollars from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood,” and insisted, “it’s time for Congress to make that policy permanent. I urge the Energy and Commerce Committee to ensure that not another dime of American tax dollars goes to this murder-for-profit organization.”

The post House Reconciliation Bill Unveiled, Will Defund Planned Parenthood appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Cops enforce laws. On first impression that may seem a good thing as one considers long in place laws, such as against assault, murder, and theft, that can help protect individuals’ ability to live in peace. But, laws have proliferated over time in America so that cops are spending a significant portion of their effort enforcing laws against things like drugs and even speech — acting to restrain instead of protect the exercise of individual rights.

Coming with the expansion of laws has been the conversion, continuing during the Donald Trump administration, of police departments largely into effectively military forces with military-style practices and weapons more suited for fighting against an opposing military force than for serving and protecting the people in a community.

A demonstration of the extent of this conversion of police forces came up in recent oral argument at the United States Supreme Court for the case of Martin v. United States. There a lawyer for the US government argued, in the case concerning a wrong house being hit by a brutal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) no-knock SWAT raid, that it is acceptable for police not to even check the house number out front before detonating an explosive in a house, knocking down a door, and rushing in guns drawn. Crazy but true. Read here a Friday Reason article by Billy Binion that includes an excerpt from the oral argument and some background details.

What happened 13 years ago is happening again today with the election of Pope Leo XIV. He does not disdain the trappings of the institutional papacy. The heterodox left is freaking out, not only over the Mozzetta and papal stole, which Leo wears so impeccably, but also because he now uses an upgraded vehicle  for transportation and will live in the Apostolic Palace instead of the Vatican Motel VI. 

Leo is also very clear. They know he will not have a magisterium of off-the-cuff homilies and interviews and act like a pop psychologist decrying the mental illness of backwards. The Vatican will NOT have to do damage control over some of the things that they had to do when Francis spoke. 

There will be a solid papal magisterium as there has been with all other popes except Francis. 

Pope Leo condemns liturgy as spectacle and superficial!

Finally, Pope Leo as a priest and bishop decried that over the last 60 years, the liturgy has been transformed or celebrated as a spectacle rather than as a Mystery. For him a spectacle is superficial and distracts from the true nature of the Liturgy as people discovering the Mystery of Christ, not technical spectacles. 

I would suspect that Pope Leo appreciates the TLM for its superb enablement of priests and laity to experience the solid foundation of Jesus Christ in the Mystery of the Mass, not some kind of man made spectacle of light and thunder. 

This is an example of superficial spectacle and entertainment that moves the Mass away from Christ and Mystery!:

Assessing a bear market rally proves challenging when you experience it firsthand. It is only in hindsight that the complete picture reveals itself to investors. Of course, after a bear market rally, investors tend to review their investments and speculate on what they should have done differently.

Retail investors seem to view the recent sharp correction as possibly finished. As I noted last week on X, despite the near 20% correction in the markets, retail investors piled into US equities at a record pace. Of course, historically, retail investors were considered a contrarian indicator, but in recent years, particularly post-pandemic, they have been aggressive buyers of any dip in the market. Of course, after 15 years of monetary and fiscal interventions to stave off deeper bear markets, their "buy the dip" mentality is unsurprising.

Before we go further, we should discuss what a "bear market rally" is to frame better our discussion about what the possibilities and probabilities of what happens next.

Bear Market Rally Or Just A Correction?

A bear market rally represents a short-term increase in stock prices that emerges while the market is in a downward trend. Such price rallies bring forth positive expectations because markets experience significant upward movements throughout several weeks or months. These rallies do not indicate any actual market recovery. They serve as brief interruptions before the dominant downward trend continues. The general drivers of these bear market rallies generally result from investors buying back their short positions, market participants feeling increasingly optimistic, and technical indicators showing oversold conditions. As such, they increase risk assets.

However, the fundamental problems that initiated the previous corrective phase are still present. Such factors generally range from declining earnings to monetary condition changes, rising recession risk, economic policy uncertainty, or a combination that persists despite temporary price increases. Reality eventually returns to market fundamentals, which makes the rally disappear before the bearish trend reemerges. A good example was 2022, where investors experienced several bear market rallies amid the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates while Russia invaded Ukraine. Each time the bear market rally occurred, it sucked bullish investors back into the market and left them stranded.

Conversely, a correction, which occurs during an upward market trend and represents a decline of 10% or more, differs from a bear market rally. Generally, a correction is a short, singular down cycle within a rising trend. These events typically stem from short-term market anxieties, including overbought positions, geopolitical disturbances, and policy modifications. Yet, they do not shift the future direction of the market. The market stabilizes after a correction because positive economic trends and favorable earnings support its upward movement. The fundamental distinction rests in the environment and period of the market situation. The basic trend stays solid during a bull market correction, and investors will eventually experience positive outcomes from new price peaks. A good example of corrections within a bullish trend is evident in the 2023-2024 market. Despite a bank crisis, concerns of AI, or leveraged blowups, the market recovered quickly and moved to new highs.

The risk for investors is the real-time determination of what type of corrective action we are in. Investors who reenter risk assets during a bear market rally face additional market declines since the primary downward trend continues after the brief recovery. Investors who buy the dip during a corrective phase in a bull market benefit.

One grievance I often receive from readers is that I don't tell you the answer. The reason is that neither I nor anyone else can predict the future. All I can do for you is address the possibilities and probabilities of what can happen so you can manage your investment risk accordingly.

With that said, let's dig into both cases.

The Bull Case For A Correction

The bulls can certainly make a case for continuing the bull market that began in October 2022.

First, Q1 earnings delivered above-average results overall but were primarily driven by major technology companies and the AI-powered "Magnificent 7." That cohort continues to provide the cornerstone for investor optimism. However, even though the largest capitalization-weighted companies delivered the bulk of earnings, the proportion of companies beating estimates remained well above the long-term average of 74%.

Secondly, financial conditions refer to current conditions across financial markets that can affect the dynamics of the economy. Those factors include improved interest rate levels, U.S. Treasury yields, credit risk spreads, equity valuations, and currency strength, which are supportive of the financial markets.

Furthermore, sentiment among both professional and retail investors has rebounded from its profoundly negative state, which is bringing buyers back into the market. Notably, that sentiment remains far from optimistic, providing further support for asset prices. The chart below shows the Z-score (standard deviation) of the net bullish sentiment of both retail and professional investors. Profoundly negative readings are often coincident with market lows.

Overall, investors maintain a favorable position toward the market because the current conditions provide sufficient space for constructive improvements without leading to excessive speculation. The recent market decline resulting from tariff concerns has proven more significant than expected. However, it is worth noting that spikes in policy uncertainty tend to mark the bottom of market corrections rather than the beginning. Given that policy uncertainty around tariffs and other political statements about trade barriers has reduced in intensity lately, this could become supportive for the market.

Are these factors a guarantee that the recent market correction is over? No. But historically, depressed sentiment, high levels of policy uncertainty, and easing financial conditions have often been the contrarian setup that investors should be looking for.

But let's review the case for a bear market rally.

Why This Could Still Be A Bear Market Rally

Multiple indicators indicate this could be a bear market rally. Since markets are forward-looking, investors focus on future earnings growth to justify paying higher valuation multiples today. The problem for the market currently is that economic data, particularly the key ingredient of employment, which drives consumption, is softening. As we discussed in this past weekend's #BullBearReport such is critical given that employment and consumption drive earnings growth.

“Since 1947, earnings per share have grown at 7.7% annually, while the economy expanded by 6.40% annually. That close relationship in growth rates should be logical, particularly given the significant role that consumer spending has in the GDP equation.” – Market Forecasts Are Very Bullish

“Since, consumer spending comprises nearly 70% of the GDP calculation, everything else, from business investment to imports and exports, is a function of the consumer’s “demand.” In other words, if the consumer is slowing down or contracting spending, businesses will not 'invest' in expansion projects, increasing employment, or buying more products for resale. That relationship is shown in the chart below, which compares PCE to jobs and private investment.”

Economic data is softening as post-COVID monetary supports fade. As such, consumer confidence indicators show a downward trend, especially regarding expectations about the future. The chart below shows the difference between current and future expectations. Historically, very low readings are consistent with more protracted bear markets and deeper corrections.

Lastly, the market's technical backdrop remains a near-term concern. While momentum and relative strength have improved, those factors are beginning to wane, suggesting buyers may be reaching near-term exhaustion. Secondly, volume has been weak during this corrective process. If this were just a short-term correction, we would have liked to see much stronger buying coming into the market. Finally, support is just below current market levels, which may limit near-term declines. However, there is formidable overhead resistance just above. The 100 and 200-DMA and the January lows will likely prove challenging for the markets to crack without a pullback to support first.

As noted, numerous investors failed to predict how quickly or dramatically the market decline would be. As such, these "trapped longs" will likely become sellers as soon as this rally falters. While our 2022 example of bear market rallies set new lows, this does not mean we will repeat that process. A pullback to support could hold if economic data stabilizes, trade deals progress, or the Federal Reserve cuts rates.

Conclusion

So, what does this mean for investors? With no clear indication of the market's next move, investors will likely benefit from managing risk exposures. Moreover, investors must avoid making absolute decisions because both sides present compelling evidence. More often than not, markets resolve themselves in a more bullish fashion. Therefore, adopting a more bearish view has a risk associated with it. The current market rally does not necessarily negate the risk of this being a bear market rally. Nor does it signify the end of the correction.

The essential question is whether market risks are appropriately incorporated into prices and if upcoming returns justify additional market participation. For now, caution is prudent. The current macroeconomic environment shows gradual improvement without being strong. While Q1 earnings reports showed strength, the most notable risk to investors is the drastic cuts to forward earnings. Such certainly does not portray economic optimism.

Investors can do a few things to navigate the market's next move.

1. Focus on maintaining portfolio equilibrium instead of following recent market gains.
2. Review your current exposure positions for alignment with current risk patterns.
3. Reassess position sizes, tighten stops, and avoid concentration in crowded trades.
4. Risk management can be achieved by combining cash reserves with portfolio hedging strategies.

The trick to navigating markets is not to try to “time” the market. That is impossible. Successful long-term management is understanding when “enough is enough” and being willing to take profits and protect your gains. That is our situation for many stocks after the robust rally from the recent lows.

With markets in a corrective process and trading below long-term moving averages, there is an opportunity to rebalance risk and reduce portfolio volatility.

Unfortunately, many investors will opt to “hope” for further gains, but will sell at lower levels if the correction continues.

Trade accordingly.

The post A Bear Market Rally? appeared first on RIA.

LOL. I was using Grok as a research assistant just now, asking what I had written about something or other since I started writing online in 2009.

Grok thinks I’m dead!

Grok thinks I’m dead, *even though I’m the one asking Grok for resources about my past online writing!*

Caveat inquisitor!

On the other hand, Grok did just give me quite an accurate recapitulation of my conversations with Zippy about usury, back in the day. It even got usury right (i.e., *not* high interest rates, but rather, mutuum contracts).

NB: I am *not* suicidal. Nor do I think I matter enough for The Powers That Be to want to expend resources on rubbing me out (not yet, at least, although I’m sure I am on their list (as are you, you Nazi Orthosphere reader)).

This whole thing is just silly.

I mean, sure, any search engine trained on the products of fallible humans is bound to generate fallacious results from time to time. But still. Really? Grok can see perfectly well that I posted here just the other day. Sheesh.

Just be super careful out there and triple check all the citations you get from AI.

Honestly, it looks to me as though AI is bound to drive the greater part of human interaction down to the level of the high school sophomore. Not that there is anything wrong with high school sophomores; I’m more or less myself just one such, writ experienced.

Still. Really?