UPDATED: Where is St James the Moorslayer when we need him?

We -- Walt, Poor Len Canayen [and Ed.! Ed.] - were preoccupied, this holiday weekend, with the Stanley Cup playoffs. I am happy to report that our beloved Habs won last night's game vs Tampa Bay (3-2 in OT) and are alive to fight another day (Wednesday, 2000 EDT). Now we can turn our attention to the rest of the news.

Turns out Walt was not wrong to be concerned about the future of the very Disunited States of Ameria. (See "'One nation, under God, indivisible...' HAH!", WWW 4/7/21. Americans -- or some of them -- celebreated the Glorious Fourth by shooting at each other. 150 citizens were fatally shot in more than 400 shootings nationwide. Epicentres of gun violence included New York City (Bill de Blasio, Democrat, Mayor) and Chicago (Lori Lightfoot, Democrat, Mayor). I leave it to you to figure out the race of the majority of the shooters and shootees. 

That's pretty run-of-the-mill stuff in today's America. But there was a truly bizarre "incident" in Massachusetts. A stretch of the I-95 around Wakefield was shut down for several hours owing to a standoff between MA state police and a group of "militiamen" calling themselves "Rise of the Moors", which authorities say adheres to "Moorish Sovereign Ideology".

During the standoff one member of the group broadcast on a social media account for the group "Rise of the Moors" that they were not anti-government or anti-police. The website for the group says they are "Moorish Americans [sic] dedicated to educating new Moors* and influencing our Elders." The group’s Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts had been taken offline by early Sunday

Reports from the Boston Herald and other sources say that the standoff began around 0130 on July 3rd when a state trooper stopped to offer assistance to two vehicles he found parked, with hazard lights flashing, on the shoulder of the I-95 near Wakefield. The trooper called for backup and most of the group went into the nearby woods until they surrendered to a police tactical team just after 1000.

The group told police they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine to conduct "training". Troopers recovered three AR-15 rifles, two pistols, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun and a short-barrel rifle. None of the men, who were dressed in military fatigues and body armor, was licensed to carry firearms in Massachusetts.

Ten of the 11 men arrested are to be arraigned today on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, use of body armor in commission of a crime, possession of a high capacity magazine, improper storage of a firearm in a vehicle, and conspiracy to commit a crime. According to police Capt. Peter Griffin, "additional charges are possible if the ongoing investigation, including the expected search of the defendants’ two vehicles, determines they are warranted."

Those identifiede by state police include:

Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer, aka Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey, 29, of Providence RI, the self-proclaimed leader of "Rise of the Moors", pictured.

Robert Rodriguez, 21, of the Bronx

Wilfredo Hernandez, aka Will Musa, 23, of the Bronx

Alban [doesn't that mean "white"? Ed.] El Curraugh, 27, also from the Bronx

Aaron Lamont Johnson, aka Tarrif Sharif Bey, 29, of Detroit

Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket RI

Lamar Dow, 34, another one from the Bronx, and

Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin NY

Authorities have not named the 17-year-old male also arrested, and two additional males have so far refused to identify themselves. The 17-year-old was released into parental custody, while the remaining adult defendants were held at the Billerica House of Correction on $100,000 cash bail. 

*Footnote: Our dictionary of archaisms defines "Blackamoor" as a black African or a very dark-skinned person. Not a word you see in use any more. Even "Moor", meaning a person from Morocco [geddit? Moor-oco? Ed.] has been thrown down the same memory hole as the N-word... until these guys showed up.

Another footnote: 1000s of Moors were allegedly killed by Christians, with the help of Saint James the Moor-slayer, aka Santiago Matamoros, the name given to the representation of the apostle James, son of Zebedee, at the Battle of Clavijo (which may or may not have actually happened). Surely no appeal to Saint James would ever be necessary in 21st-century America!

UPDATE ADDED 7/7/21: Further reading: "Members of 'Rise of the Moors' sovereign citizen militia REFUSE to cooperate at arraignment and claim they are not subject to U.S. laws after 11 were arrested during armed standoff near Boston", Daily Mail, 7/7/21. Check it out, if only to see the photos of the "Moors" and their baby mama supporters.

MA governor disses most valuable Bruin

As noted here on Tuesday, Boston Bruins' all-star goalie, Tim Thomas, refused to attend a White House reception given by the Prez, honouring the club for capturing its first Stanley Cup title in 39 years. (During the same interval, the Montréal Canadiens won the coveted trophy around a dozen times.) Thomas explained his choice to skip Monday's ceremony in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

Seem's like Tim's exercise of his right, as an American, to have his own opinion doesn't sit well with the governor of Massachusetts. Governor Deval "Patrick" Patrick said today that Thomas's decision to skip the ceremony points to a growing lack of courtesy in the USA. According to AP, the guv said Thomas is "a phenomenal hockey player and he's entitled to his views. It just feels like we are losing in this country basic courtesy and grace."

Governor Patrick is a Democrat.

Same-sex marriage in MA: the David Parker case

The case of David Parker cited by Rabbi Yehuda Levin - see preceding post - shows the pernicious effects of laws legalizing same-sex "marriage". Once you legalize something, you make it officially acceptable. Thereafter, any dissent from the notion that it is not acceptable can and will be punished!

In 2005, David Parker, of Lexington MA, insisted on being notified when teachers were discussing homosexuality or transgenderism with his kindergarten son so the boy could be removed from the class. The school responded by having Mr. Parker arrested and thrown in jail overnight. This subsequently cost Parker thousands of dollars in legal bills. That is the price he paid for daring to question things which were once considered abominations in the eyes of God but which are now officially sanctioned by the all-powerful (and all-godless) state.

For an extensive litany of horrific effects that same sex "marriage" has on public schools, child adoption, the legal profession, Government mandates, the media, and even our public places -- with an increase in vile "Gay Pride" parades like the one being held in Toronto this weekend -- click here to read "What Same-Sex Marriage has done to Massachusetts".

Orthodox rabbi speaks out on "de-evolution" of marriage

The following was written by John Vennari, editor of Catholic Family News. Click here to read "Amtrak to Albay for 'marriage' vote".

A number of Orthodox Rabbis were continuously in Albany fighting against same-sex “marriage”. I spoke with well-known Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Brooklyn who noted three crucial elements he sees missing from many religious leaders’ approach to the issue. These are observations with which a Catholic, or any man of good will, could agree.

"First", said Rabbi Levin, "with all the talk about homosexual ‘marriage’ we are losing sight of the fact that this is a huge and perhaps ultimate step of totally ‘legitimizing’ homosexual misbehavior. This aspect is no longer being talked about.

"When news reporters challenge religious leaders and ask ‘what’s wrong with this?’, the religious leaders respond by talking about ‘marriage between a man and a woman’ but no one bothers to point out that the homosexuals have accomplished their ultimate goal of totally ‘legitimizing’ their lifestyle. This topic is off the table of discussion. We have religious leaders even saying that their homosexual lifestyle is a ‘private matter’. No, this is a public sin, not a private matter.

"The second point is," he continued, "religious leaders are not talking about the fact that in Massachusetts [where homosexual ‘marriage’ has been ‘legal’ since 2004], a child or a parent cannot opt out of the educational aspect of this." He noted the David Parker case as an example. [See following post for more on the trials of David Parker. Ed.]

Rabbi Levin’s third point was directed at Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos, who could have stopped the vote from coming to the floor. Rabbi Levin said our religious leaders’ duty is to tell Skelos, "Every single child, grandchild and great grandchild who is poisoned by the homosexual agenda because of your cowardice is on your personal soul."

Levin also told me that during the press conference, he responded from the floor to the media’s claim that homosexual "marriage" represents a marriage evolution. A journalist challenged the panel saying that interracial marriage was once forbidden but is now legal, so homosexual "marriage" is merely the latest evolution in marriage.

"Who says evolution is always something good?", responded Levin from the floor. "Who says evolution has to apply to everything? Why can’t the next stage of evolution in marriage be legalized polygamy? Would this be good for society? And who says everything evolves? Some things devolve. Look at the crass music of today, the crass art, the crass dress. We see that some things devolve, and that is what homosexual 'marriage' does to marriage. It is not good simply because you say it’s evolution."

Only in Massachusetts you say? Pity!

Canadians will understand this headline when they hear news of the shocking outcome of yesterday's election in Massachusetts.

To the astonishment of nearly every and the dismay of Barack Hussein Obama, a little-known Republican state senator, Scott Brown, rode an old pickup truck and a growing sense of unease among independent voters to an extraordinary upset when he was elected to fill Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat.

Mr. Brown defeated the state's attorney-general, Martha Coakley, by a decisive margin. Coakley had been expected to win easily in a traditionally Democratic state, in spite of being more humorless than Hillary Clinton and even more patrician than John Kerry. But she blew it!

To explain the headline to Americans, it is the strapline to an old commercial for a certain brand of tea, available only in Canada. Pity! The Republican victory in Massachusetts, you see, was achieved with the support of a fledgling populist group styling itself the Tea Party!

In a campaign that rang all the right (and I do mean RIGHT) bells with Massachusetts voters, the Tea Party candidates ranted and railed against bailouts, handouts, reckless spending and more taxes. They kept pounding home the theme that the US government has grossly overreached itself and is out of control.

Now I ask my Canadian friends, why haven't you got a party in Canada standing up to say those same things? Don't you think the Canadian government and your provincial governments are guilty of the same profligate spending and egregious attempts to have the government control every aspect of your lives?

A similar message was preached a few years ago by Alberta's Reform movement. But the Reform Party got co-opted into the Conservative Reform Alliance Party (CRAP) and the promise of limited, back-to-basics government vanished like snow after a chinook.

A poll just before the Massachusetts election showed that 58% of Americans supported the principles of the Tea Party. In Massachusetts, the silent majority has spoken at last. When will it happen in Canada?

Click here to read "Tea Party rattles America's educated class".

Footnote: The online edition of the Boston Herald had a better headline: "Scott Brown bags it!"