The LOOP
The Thursday Loop - January 23, 2025
WHAT BIDEN WROTE IN A LETTER TO TRUMP AFTER LEAVING OFFICE
President Joe Biden left President Donald Trump a letter Monday upon leaving the White House. The letter wished Trump and his family “all the best in the next four years,” and asked citizens to look to “this house for steadiness.” Trump praised the “inspirational” letter and released it to the public.
JOHNSON: HOUSE TO INVESTIGATE BIDEN’S PARDONS
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, told reporters Wednesday that the Republican-controlled chamber will investigate the controversial last-minute pardons President Joe Biden granted to political allies. Johnson especially singled out Biden’s decision to pardon several Biden family members, saying the move lends credence to the “suspicion” that they deserve the appellation “the Biden crime family.”
CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES BILL TO REPEAL FACE ACT
Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, has introduced a bill in the House that would repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. “Americans just spent the last four years being targeted by a weaponized justice system” that used the FACE Act “to politically target, arrest, and jail pro-life Americans for speaking out and standing up for life,” Roy stated.
BORDER CZAR: HUNDREDS OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ARRESTED ON DAY ONE
The Trump administration arrested hundreds of criminal illegal migrants during its first full day. “Some of them were murderers,” said Trump Border Czar Tom Homan. “Some of them were rapists. Some of them raped a child. …We’re concentrating on the worst first.”
DEMS BLOCK BILL PROTECTING BABIES WHO SURVIVE ABORTION
Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act Wednesday. The Republican-backed legislation would have required medical care for infants born alive during botched abortions.
SEC. RUBIO REMOVES LGBT FLAGS FROM GOV BUILDINGS
The Trump State Department issued a “One Flag Policy” Monday, mandating that only the United States flag is authorized to be flown at all State Department buildings both at home and abroad. The new policy, implemented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, effectively bans Pride and Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags from the federal buildings.
LOOPcast
With Josh in a suit, Tom on the streets, and Erika watching from home, the offers three angles and analyses of the inauguration – complete with memes! Biden gets off a few last-minute pardons, Usha Vance is bringing classy back, and CBS complains about white people. From executive orders to airboats in the snow – this episode has it all!
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COMMON ‘ERROR’ IN INTERPRETING CATHOLIC TEACHING ON DEPORTATION
Father Peter Totleben, O.P., recently cleared up a common “error” in interpreting the Catholic Church’s nuanced teaching on “deportation.” The definition of the kind of “deportation” explicitly opposed in certain Catholic texts “does not apply to deportation in the colloquial sense that Americans use the term,” the priest explained.
SYRIAN CHRISTIAN RECOUNTS ASSAD REGIME
A Syrian Christian man recently recounted his harrowing experiences in the Sednaya prison, infamously dubbed the “human slaughterhouse” for its treatment of political and “special” prisoners under the Assad regime.
DIFFICULTY IN PRAYER
It’s nice when we feel relaxed, peaceful, and hopeful during prayer. But it can also lead to a false belief that prayer should naturally be accompanied by these feelings. Here’s some advice for those struggling with distraction or dryness during prayer, and a reminder that we are all made for love no matter how our feelings fluctuate.
CATHOLIC 101
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), secular discourse often compares developments in machine learning to human thinking. Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, clarifies the discussion with four key differences between AI and human intelligence. A must-!
SAINT OF THE DAY
Born in Germany, St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918) entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, New York, and was eventually voted provincial mother twice. In 1883, she received a letter asking for help running a hospital for lepers in Hawaii. There, Mother Marianne worked tirelessly to better the poorly run hospitals and care for the suffering. She also befriended and worked with St. Damien of Molokai.
DAILY PSALM
“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” (Psalm 40:8)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
TRUMP SUPPORTERS REACT TO INAUGURATION DAY
The LOOPcast’s Tom Pogasic traveled to D.C. on Inauguration Day and spoke with dozens of passersby. their unfiltered reactions here. Note: video contains some foul language.