Barron's headline today: "Swedes Stock Up on Food as Fears of War Deepens." First paragraph: "Swedes are stocking up on food items in case of war, as more conflict in Europe no longer feels like a distant possibility and authorities encourage measures to boost readiness."
From September 30th's "unprecedented military meeting" of around 800 generals and admirals, per Yahoo News:
"At a rare gathering of top generals and admirals in Quantico, Va., President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a sweeping — and highly political — plan to reshape the U.S. military.
" . . . Hegseth also delivered a warning for adversaries: 'To our enemies: FAFO,' he said, using an acronym that translates to 'F*** around and find out.' 'If necessary, our troops can translate that for you,' he said.
"But if they were expecting applause, they didn’t get it. Hundreds of officers, summoned from around the world, sat mostly stone-faced — a stark contrast to the raucous cheers Trump drew from rank-and-file soldiers at Fort Bragg this summer. At one point, Trump even broke the silence: 'If you want to applaud, you can applaud. ' ”
Democracy Docket on this meeting:
"President Donald Trump, in an address to the U.S.’ top military officials Tuesday, stressed that after decades of military campaigns abroad, it was time to turn the armed forces inwards against an unspecified 'enemy from within.'
“ 'Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, while America is under invasion from within,' the president said.
“ 'We’re under invasion from within,' Trump repeated. 'No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms. At least when they’re wearing a uniform you can take them out.' "
Analysis of this meeting by a YouTuber:
"I call it the Merkel (as in Germany's Angela Merkel), but Hegseth did the Masonic pyramid hand sign at least 100 times. I was taking screen shots of all the different times he did it and I was starting to get like carpal tunnel it was just so many times he did this sign. There's been a lot of big Christian nationalist rallies, so it's hard to keep up with all the propaganda."
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From Catholic News Agency headline on September 14: "Pope Leo XIV on Saturday morning (Sep. 13) received Brian Burch, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for the formal presentation of his letters of credence.
"According to a U.S. embassy statement, the two men discussed the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as “protecting religious freedom, the Vatican’s relationship with China, and the AI revolution.”
"Regarding this week’s assassination of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, 'Pope Leo underscored that our political differences can never be resolved with violence and told Ambassador Burch that he was praying for the widow of Mr. Kirk and his children,' the embassy said."
Analysis: "Why would a pope tell a U.S. Ambassador who he's praying for? Oh, in case you haven't heard, we just got a new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See, incumbent since September 13, 2025. It's kind of interesting that we even have an ambassador to the Vatican. Shouldn't we recognize the Vatican as a legitimate nation?"
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From Vatican Jubilee official website: "In 2025, the Vatican Jubilee will mark the centenary of the Reformation and will be a monumental event for the Catholic Church, with the theme 'Pilgrims of Hope.' Part of a tradition that dates back to the 14th century, this special Holy Year will begin on Christmas Eve 2024 and will end on January 6, 2026. This is a great opportunity for travelers to experience the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of the Vatican and Rome during this period of time . . .
What has now made the rounds is the resurfaced Charlie Kirk X Tweet from May 8, 2025 in which he wrote: "We talk about a Golden Age in America . . . I am an Evangelical Christian, but I pray the new pope will help usher in a new Golden Age of Christianity. If the new pope defends the faith, defends the West, defends biology and eternal truths, I will be his biggest fan."
Analysis from a YouTuber:
"What does Kirk mean by, 'I pray the new pope will help usher in a new Golden Age of Christianity'? 'Usher in' is often used with the Antichrist. Do we need a new golden age of Christianity? When was the old golden age? What are you even talking about?!
"This sounds kind of like Christian nationalism, which is kind of a nightmare. You can't force people to become Christian. That's not how it works. There's going to be plenty of lost people at the end of the age. There never will be a golden age on earth until Jesus Christ returns. He will usher in a new golden age. We don't need the pope's help. The pope cannot possibly usher in anything . . .
"Kirk says he hopes the pope 'defends biology.' Didn't the pope just have a transgender summit at the Vatican? Looks like he's not defending biology. But I guess it's illegal to say anything contrary to the great Messiah, the alleged martyr."
From September 1: "Outreach, a ministry promoting LGBTQ acceptance, will participate in a big Holy Year pilgrimage Friday and Saturday sponsored by Italian LGBTQ Catholic group 'Jonathan’s Tent.' Significantly, the pilgrimage of about 1,200 people includes a Mass at the Jesuit church in Rome celebrated by the second-highest member of the Italian bishop’s conference . . .
"The message received from Leo was 'that if people were happy with Pope Francis’ approach to LGBTQ Catholics, they’re going to be happy with Pope Leo’s approach.' "
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Here is an event scheduled this coming week on the National Mall called "Awaken the Dawn," as described by the organizers on their official website Communion America:
"We are calling the nation to gather in Washington DC on the national mall on October 9-12, 2025.
"We are not gathering around celebrity personalities. We are gathering around the presence of Jesus at the center of our nation’s capital. This is a festival around the presence of God and the gospel for a new generation because his presence changes everything!
"We will gather in 50 state tents filled with thousands of musicians, worshiping and praying day and night in public. We will gather every evening together for gospel proclamation and commissioning.
"On the final day, we will come to an unprecedented communion table the length of the entire national mall to declare Jesus’ reality, and our love for one another to the nation.
"This is not just an event. It is a commissioning of a generation to host God’s presence in their region and campus!"
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